Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Chapter

If Cang Hong’s voice was a treat for the ears, then Jiang Qin’s was a balm for the soul.

“Every time I’ve known sorrow,

And been drenched by the pouring rain,

A flower blooms from the mud,

So I just let it grow…”

At that moment, the stage fog billowed out, perfectly timed with the soaring vocals.

Many in the audience couldn’t contain their excitement and leaped to their feet.

The chorus was so powerful that just listening to it seemed to fill their entire bodies with strength.

They suddenly felt that the challenges they’d faced in the past were no longer so daunting.

Life itself didn’t seem so unconquerable.

The very blood in their veins felt like it was boiling, igniting a desire to rush out and fight a glorious, unrestrained battle.

Even the simplest organisms fought to survive; as beings with High-level Genes, what reason did they have to ever sell themselves short!

“Hooo~ hooo~~”

After the crystal-clear female hum faded, Cang Hong picked up the melody:

“The tears that once burned your eyes

Are some of life’s few, clumsy, yet precious moments.

All you whose hearts are now ablaze,

Go on, and chase your dreams without restraint…”

Their voices intertwined like ocean waves. In moments of calm, they were like gentle, accompanying ripples.

But when the tide surged, they lifted each other higher and higher, each crest more powerful than the last.

They were like true companions, advancing hand in hand.

It was just as the final lyric said: Behind the myriad stars, the sun has begun to shine in all its splendor.

As much as Jiang Qin wanted to maintain control, she couldn’t. She truly loved to sing and was completely immersed in the ocean of music.

As a result, her Spiritual Body—a small rabbit—materialized. Fortunately, it only circled around her and Cang Hong instead of running wild.

Besides, with a hundred million people in the venue, the soothing effect of her spiritual power was only enough for the small portion of the audience who resonated with her to feel a sense of ease.

Most people just felt a cool breeze drift through their Spirit Sea.

And with emotions running so high at that moment, practically no one noticed.

The audience members were mashing their voting buttons, terrified their votes wouldn’t go through.

The vote count on the big screen continued to climb.

In the guest box, the faces of the other composers grew darker and darker, especially those who had yet to perform. They were grinding their teeth in frustration.

The viewers in the live stream chat were going wild:

[She’s slaying, she’s absolutely slaying! My queen is on fire, ahhhh~~]

[I want to be there live! @OfficialInterstellarComposer, sell tickets! Sell them now!]

[Holy crap, she sang so hard her Spiritual Body popped out? So powerful…]

[She shouldn’t be on a composer show. She should go straight to the All-Around Singer-Songwriter competition and just debut on the spot.]

[What’s going on? Why did that female’s Spiritual Body escape? Did she lose control?]

[Losing control of her spiritual power just from singing, impressive! As expected, the genetic flaws of the Federation people are a huge problem. Good thing we kicked them out back then, otherwise the Beastmen would probably be doomed by now.]

[Yep, Qin Bao’s genes are bad, that’s why her Spiritual Body always escapes.]

[That’s right, I can confirm. It’s a sign of her spiritual power going out of control.]

[+1, the entire Federation Star Network knows about it.]

…

After successfully misleading the Imperial people, the fans secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Among them were even online shills planted by the Federation Gene Research Institute.

The Institute hadn’t even figured her out yet; they couldn’t let the Empire discover Jiang Qin’s unique abilities so soon.

Although they couldn’t hide it forever, it was fine for now. Who would believe the truth anyway?

The arrogant Imperial people certainly wouldn’t.

Look, the live chat comments were already going in the exact direction they’d intended.

The proud Imperial people did indeed think it was a genetic flaw. ’She loses control of her Spiritual Body just from singing? How long can a female like that even live?’

Some Imperial people who liked Jiang Qin’s music were already starting to feel a sense of pity for her…

***

Although Jiang Qin performed rather late, she still swept up more than half of the remaining votes, garnering 23,690,000 votes.

Only a little over 19,000,000 votes were left in the pool.

This meant that the composers who had yet to perform could only fight over what was left.

They could forget about a high rank; the best they could hope for now was a spot in the top 50.

Jiang Qin actually found the system, hmm, a little unfair.

’But the organizers must have their reasons,’ she mused. ’And it’s not like I can change anything.’

The finals would be different, though. Not only could everyone in the venue vote on every song, but votes from users on the Star Network would also be included.

The winner would then be decided by the total number of votes, a true measure of popularity.

After leaving the stage, Jiang Qin and Cang Hong returned to their respective seats to await the final results.

But in reality, the folks from Tianwen Entertainment were already cheering.

Lan Yuyan even received a communication from his father. “Your eye for talent was good this time.”

With Jiang Qin’s vote count and score, her rank was all but guaranteed.

Receiving Father Lan’s praise, Lan Yuyan allowed a small smile to touch his lips. “She is truly exceptional.”

Father Lan was satisfied.

While he didn’t particularly care about the opinions of the company’s other shareholders, he was more than happy to see them put in their place.

“Is she signed to the company?”

Lan Yuyan shook his head. “We can’t sign her. She has her own plans, but as long as we treat her well, we can maintain a good working relationship.”

Take this competition, for example. Everyone knew Jiang Qin was representing Tianwen Entertainment.

Lately, Tianwen Entertainment’s stock had been on a steady rise.

After tonight, it was sure to surge again.

“As long as you have a plan.”

Even with his own son, Father Lan was a man of few words, and he quickly ended the communication.

In his private box, Lan Yuyan’s gaze wasn’t on the stage for a single second. Instead, his eyes followed a certain figure in the corner.

…

All eighty contestants had now performed.

The two hosts walked back on stage and said with a helpless shrug, “The rankings are already quite clear, so there’s not much suspense for us to build up.”

“And now, let’s welcome tonight’s first-place winner, Miss Jiang Qin, and her partner, Mr. Cang Hong, to the stage!”

Cang Hong was waiting at the edge of the stage and naturally offered his arm as Jiang Qin approached.

Arm in arm, they walked to the front of the stage.

The pairing of the handsome man and the beautiful woman was a true feast for the eyes.

“Next, please welcome our second-place winners, Mr. Park Junxi and his partner, Miss Yue Ji!”

“And our third-place winners, Mr. Karl and his partner, Mr. Yake!”

If Karl could barely maintain his composure after losing to a junior once, then losing to a Bronze-rank competitor a second time—and only taking third place—was too much. He couldn’t even pretend to be gracious anymore.

His face was thunderous as he walked on stage, looking as if he wanted to storm out and quit the show right then and there.

The second-place winner, however, felt completely different. Although he had also been beaten by a Bronze-rank competitor, he had defeated Master Karl!

From now on, his own prestige in the industry would be on a whole new level.

’Just as expected, Miss Yue Ji really is the ideal partner for any composer,’ he thought.

His song hadn’t been particularly stunning, but after her revisions, it had been elevated significantly.

If not for its overly oppressive style—a kind of dark rebirth that some people found to have ominous undertones—they might have even taken first place tonight.

Their loss came down to the judges’ scores.

Some of the judges had deliberately given Jiang Qin a higher score, as they were more supportive of a “rebirth” oriented toward light and hope.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep