The scene of the Penguin Music Annual Gala.

The broadcast signal was cut. The lights flared brightly.

The commotion in the audience continued; countless people refused to leave their seats, and a massive wave of sound echoed through the venue's dome.

Lu Zhixian walked through the passage at the side of the stage toward the backstage area.

On normal days, this narrow corridor would be packed with artists, assistants, and makeup artists from major companies, as noisy as a wet market.

Everyone would be scrambling for a good position in the hallway just to show their face in front of the camera.

But at this moment, dozens of people stood on either side of the corridor. Idol stars, second-tier singers, and backup dance teams all stood flat against the walls.

They watched as Lu Zhixian walked past.

This was the dimensionality reduction strike of absolute strength. When skill and height exceed the scope of envy, all that remains is to look up in awe.

Lu Zhixian's gaze swept calmly across the crowd, his pace never faltering.

At the end of the corridor, a cluster of cameras and lenses blocked the way.

Several old men from the Chinese Music Association stood on the periphery.

In the very center, Zhou Yaoting stood with his back straight, leaning on a black rosewood cane.

The flashes lit up the area like broad daylight.

Reporters from dozens of core media outlets held their equipment, holding their breath, their fingers tightly pressed against the shutters.

This setup was meant for him.

Lu Zhixian walked forward and stopped two paces in front of Zhou Yaoting.

Zhou Yaoting didn't say a word.

This seventy-three-year-old godfather of the previous generation's music scene transferred his cane to his left hand.

He raised his right hand and patted Lu Zhixian heavily twice on the shoulder.

The force was not light, and the suit fabric made two muffled thuds.

Then, Zhou Yaoting turned and walked away with large strides, supported by several assistants.

He hadn't uttered a single word the entire time.

But the media present instantly erupted into a frenzy.

This wasn't just recognition. Anyone in this industry knew that this was called a hand-off.

In front of dozens of media outlets from across the web, the godfather of the previous generation had personally placed this heavy title onto Lu Zhixian's shoulders.

At the entrance of VIP Lounge No. 2.

Old Zhao was completely blocked in.

He held a thick stack of document envelopes in both hands, with a dozen gold-embossed business cards stuffed into his arms. His forehead was covered in sweat.

The people surrounding him were all true big shots whom one usually couldn't meet even if they begged and pleaded.

“CEO Zhao!” Sun Jianguo, the CEO of Penguin Music, was glowing with health as he grabbed Old Zhao’s wrist.

“We’re saving the mentor seats for our two S-class music variety shows next year for Teacher Lu! Highest appearance fee specifications, we'll sign right now!”

“CEO Sun, don't be in such a hurry!” Director Wang of Xinghui Cinemas squeezed in, his high-end suit a bit wrinkled. He forced a contract with a blank header into Old Zhao’s arms.

“CEO Zhao, three major theatrical blockbusters in the second half of the year, prime slots. The OST production rights are all for Teacher Lu. You fill in the price; we at Xinghui will never haggle!”

Several China-region presidents of multi-billion dollar international brands were jumping with anxiety in the back, desperately stuffing business cards into Old Zhao’s pockets.

“CEO Zhao! Please consider a full-line endorsement for our brand! You can name your terms!”

Old Zhao looked at this group of normally high-and-mighty capital tycoons, now huddling together like grandmas scrambling for discounted eggs at a market.

He took a deep breath and straightened his back.

It felt great.

“Gents, please don't push.” Old Zhao intentionally elongated his tone, reaching out to straighten the hem of his suit.

“Old Lu’s schedule is very tight. As everyone knows, he has very high standards for his work.”

“We understand! We all understand!” Sun Jianguo nodded repeatedly, his face full of smiles.

“The timing will accommodate Teacher Lu, and all the rules will follow Teacher Lu’s!”

Old Zhao suppressed the corners of his mouth that were about to grin from ear to ear, walking with a spring in his step.

This is what they meant by 'when a man attains the Dao, even his pets ascend to heaven'.

He, Old Zhao, was finally experiencing the taste of being a big shot in this lifetime.

Meanwhile.

The back gate parking lot of the Jingzhou Sports Center.

Inside a black nanny van that hadn't been turned off, the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme.

Shen Yihang was slumped in the leather back seat, his eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at his phone screen.

The top twenty Weibo hot searches were entirely covered by Lu Zhixian's name.

Those marketing accounts he had spent a fortune on were now frantically reposting clips of Lu Zhixian singing a cappella on stage with a live mic, their words filled with fawning praise.

The wind had completely changed direction.

“Ding.”

An internal email popped up on Shen Yihang's phone.

Sender: Xingyao Entertainment High-Level Resolution.

The content was only a few short lines.

“Given the recent public opinion impact and investor requirements, the spot for the S-class music variety show 'The Strongest Voice' originally scheduled for Shen Yihang is hereby canceled. Related business activities are suspended for two weeks, pending further notice.”

Shen Yihang's hands began to tremble violently.

He suddenly smashed his phone against the leather backrest opposite him. The screen shattered instantly, and glass shards fell onto the floor mat.

“It's all over!” Shen Yihang clutched his head with both hands.

The manager sitting in the passenger seat leaned back, unable to say a single word.

He knew very well in his heart.

With a guitar and a high-difficulty a cappella live performance, Lu Zhixian had stripped away the facade of these idol stars in front of the entire national audience.

Xingyao Entertainment's losses were far more than just one S-class music variety show. Capital is most heartless; whoever can bring the greatest profit is the boss.

Right now, Lu Zhixian was the boss of capital.

Underground garage VIP passage.

Lu Zhixian shook off all the media and social obligations, heading straight to his parking spot.

Just as he walked up to that all-black Rolls-Royce, his footsteps stopped.

A person was leaning by the car door.

Lin Shiya was wearing that black minimalist high-end backless dress.

She had her arms crossed, watching Lu Zhixian approach with her head tilted.

Her cold, fair skin was extremely eye-catching in the dim light of the garage, and the tiny tear mole at the corner of her left eye complemented her cool gaze.

“Why isn't the Diva up there socializing?” Lu Zhixian walked over, his tone casual.

“Boring.” Lin Shiya lowered her arms, picked up a can of iced soda from the roof of the car, and tossed it directly to Lu Zhixian.

Lu Zhixian reached out and caught it steadily, popping the tab with one hand.

With a 'pssh', the sound of bubbles echoed in the empty garage.

“You were quite arrogant on stage just now.” Lin Shiya leaned back against the car door.

“Weren't you afraid of failing?”

Lu Zhixian tilted his head back and took a gulp of soda, his Adam's apple bobbing.

“They like packaging, so I tore the packaging off for them to see.”

Lin Shiya looked at him, a trace of a smile flashing in her eyes.

She straightened up, extended her slender fingers, and brushed away non-existent dust from the shoulder of Lu Zhixian's suit.

“Attaining godhood with a guitar, and claiming the throne with a live performance.” Lin Shiya sighed, her tone carrying the teasing of a friend.

“After today, you've raised the threshold for the entire industry too high. Being born in the same era as you is a tragedy for all singers.”

“Scared?” Lu Zhixian raised an eyebrow.

“A little.” Lin Shiya nodded very honestly.

“So, in the future, if you write some monster-level song that you're too lazy to sing yourself, remember to consider your friend first.”

Lu Zhixian laughed. “Sure, I'll give you a twenty percent discount.”

The two of them chatted casually in the garage without any inhibitions.

A hundred meters away, behind a concrete pillar.

Two paparazzi were lying on the cold ground, their telephoto lenses locked onto this side, the shutters clicking like machine guns.

“Did you get it?” the short-haired paparazzi whispered excitedly.

“Nonsense! Lu Zhixian's secret garage meeting with Lin Shiya late at night! The two are acting intimately! This headline will definitely explode on the hot search tomorrow!”

“They weren't doing anything, just talking.”

“What do you know!” The short-haired paparazzi slapped his companion's head.

“With the traffic these two have now, even if they just stand together and daydream, it could make the servers crash again!”

One o'clock in the morning.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Lu Zhixian walked out of the bathroom wearing pajamas.

He went to the bar and poured himself a glass of warm water, then sat down on the sofa.

With a slight thought.

The system panel expanded before his eyes.

In the popularity points column in the upper right corner, the numbers were rolling at an extremely violent speed.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands...

The previous lucky draws had almost emptied his savings. But after tonight, he had sucked up all the traffic on the entire web by himself.

In just three hours, the data had directly broken through the thirty million mark! And it was still increasing at a rate of tens of thousands per second.

In his mind, the system's cold mechanical voice sounded.

“Ding.”

“Detected a huge breakthrough in the host's industry influence.”

“Congratulations to the host, the primary achievement [Godfather] has been reached.”

“Current prestige rating: S-class.”

“Achievement reward has been issued: Special God-level Blind Box * 1.”

A flash of light appeared in the center of the system panel.

A box emitting a dark gold glow emerged.

Lu Zhixian leaned on the sofa and took a sip of water.

He turned off the system panel and placed the glass on the table. He was just about to lie down and rest.

“Buzz— Buzz— Buzz—”

The phone on the bedside table vibrated frantically.

Lu Zhixian grabbed the phone and glanced at the screen.

Caller ID: Old Zhao.

He swiped to answer and said somewhat jokingly, “Old Zhao, in the middle of the night, you'd better have something big.”

“Old Lu!!!”

On the other end of the phone, Old Zhao's voice cracked.

“Don't sleep! Something big happened!”

“What? Is capital playing conspiracy theories again?” Lu Zhixian rubbed his temples.

“No!”

“Yitian Media!”

“Their notoriously difficult female vice president just drove over herself, bringing the Director of the Legal Department...”

Old Zhao took a sharp breath.

“They've charged straight into the underground garage below my building!”