Chapter 136: The First-Generation God of Songs?

The Great Wall created a massive sensation!

Its simple lyrics carried thought-provoking connotations. The target of its warning was not merely the entertainment industry, but also the ills of the current era. Netizens fell head over heels for it. From this piece, they finally witnessed the sense of responsibility a singer ought to possess.

Underneath his Weibo post, the comment count grew increasingly staggering—from ten thousand to thirty thousand, then fifty thousand, then one hundred thousand, showing an eventual trend of surging past one million.

"Trash Ren Qian, hogging newcomer resources, monopolizing media attention, the scum of the Chinese entertainment industry, utterly selfish!"

"Boycott Ren Qian! He drags down the cultural quality of the entire music scene and lets trash run rampant! Boycott Ren Qian and restore righteousness and clarity to the musical realm!"

"Is this still that cliché-ridden singer who could only write shallow tracks like *Dwelling on the Past*, *Guardian*, and *Under the Cherry Blossom Trees*?"

"The person above is a total moron, a paid professional troll!"

"Everyone above is a complete idiot. Are the songs he mentioned not pleasant to listen to? Where on earth do you get your sense of superiority? Do you seriously expect God Qian to write some hollow patriotic slogans and blindly praise the motherland?"

"Thank you all for holding my God Qian to such high standards. It is precisely because of your demanding standards that my God Qian, at such a young age, was able to write *Exaggerated*, a supreme depiction of ordinary little people, and craft masterpieces infused with deep patriotic sentiments like *The Great Wall*. Go ahead and spew your hatred, trolls! The harder you attack, the stronger my God Qian becomes!"

"Being too outstanding naturally draws hatred. He merely attended a concert as a guest, yet it sparked the jealousy of so many petty minds. Is malicious smearing fun? Instead of trolling online, why not learn more knowledge and earn more money in reality? All you are doing is exposing your own poverty."

"Heh, brainwashed fanboys of Ren Qian. You grovel just because he looks good. A bunch of morons!"

These were merely comments on Weibo. Although the anti-Ren faction and the pro-Ren faction were still locked in a fierce, undecided battle, many people began to perceive a shift in momentum. God Qian’s fans were gradually gaining the upper hand.

This was because they were beginning to unite.

For the sake of their idol! They could no longer sit idly by.

Looking Back was a search engine utilized by virtually the entire empire. Under its umbrella was a forum service. As the name implied, these forums were gathering places where netizens congregated to chat, joke, and share information.

Among them was a particular forum with a following of thirty million members—the Ren Qian Subforum.

On any given day, millions of threads were updated here, and popular posts could easily accumulate tens of millions of views.

Jokes, articles, songs, photos, and resources could all be found within. Naturally, what one saw the most were recent updates, photographs, and related articles concerning Ren Qian.

Posts about Ren Qian consistently garnered extremely high engagement.

Today, this forum was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere.

Because a particular post had been manually pinned to the top.

[If you are a true fan of God Qian, you should know that in today's entertainment industry, musicians like God Qian—who dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to music, refuse commercial performances, and decline brand endorsements—have gone extinct.

Yet there is such a man who, in order to bring us the finest music, has given up countless opportunities to make money. He pours his heart and soul into music, soothing our souls and bringing us tranquility!

However, tall trees catch the wind. There is a group of shameless scoundrels who, incapable of dedicating themselves to music like God Qian, have jumped out to smear him and prevent him from making music in peace!

They eat shit, and they want others to eat shit as well! As God Qian’s fans, can we tolerate such behavior?!

Absolutely not!!

We must provide God Qian with the optimal creative environment!

Therefore, we must crush those trolls so they can never influence God Qian again. Only then can we hope to hear masterpieces like *Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies*, *Exaggerated*, and *The Great Wall* once more!

God Qian's forty million fans, what are you still hesitating for?! To save music, to save the pure land of our souls! March forth!]

It was a blood-boiling post, and the replies below were entirely declarations of war.

"If I could trade my life for just one eternal classic from God Qian, I would die without regret! Since that is the case, I'll fight with my life on the line! Trolls, come and face me!"

"A single rendition of *The Great Wall* has made me vow to believe in God Qian for the rest of my life! To tear down this spiritual prison wall of the entertainment industry, let us fight to our hearts' content! When we grow old, we can still boast to our grandchildren that back then, we made massive contributions to the entertainment industry! Back then, we witnessed God Qian restore righteousness and clarity to the entertainment world!"

"No more words! I am going to contact my God Qian support WeChat group right now. We shall sharpen our weapons and armor, and we will not return until we shatter the enemy stronghold!"

This was the initial mobilization.

Several million people had already joined the battle ranks, shuttling through the comment sections of various entertainment news articles concerning Ren Qian to refute the remarks of the trolls.

A battle to vindicate his name had thus officially begun.

During a corporate meeting at a certain company, a young manager kept his head lowered, his fingers swiping across his phone screen as he browsed through those declarations of war one by one. He was also a staunch fan of God Qian. That song, *Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies*, had given him firm conviction, allowing him to take things step by step and climb to his current position.

Yet, after the concert the day before yesterday, God Qian had unexpectedly plunged into an endless wave of insults, which had him terribly worried.

His own idol—how could he stand by and let others hurl insults at him!

He immediately went to the God Qian support group to rally people, but the combined forces of several chat groups were merely a drop in the bucket.

To his surprise, however, two days later, the situation had completely turned upside down.

Millions of people in the Ren Qian Subforum had actually responded to the call!

This time, God Qian's reputation was not only safeguarded, but he was also about to deal a heavy, crushing blow to those who had intentionally smeared him!

At this thought, the junior manager grinned widely.

"Liu Yang, this is an important company meeting. What on earth are you doing?!" The young chairman suddenly slammed his palm on the table and barked angrily.

We're doomed... Liu Yang's heart tightened.

"I... I'm helping clear God Qian's name... I am a hardcore fan of Ren Qian. Because of his songs, I found hope in life and reached where I am today... So, to offer God Qian a bit of help, I..."

The young chairman had originally worn a displeased expression, but after Liu Yang finished speaking, his anger transformed into laughter.

"Little Liu, you're also a fan of God Qian? I follow him too! It is far too difficult to find a singer in the entertainment industry who is both this talented and genuinely dedicated to making music.

I admire one thing about him the most: he could easily make a living on his looks alone, yet he insists on relying on his talent! Just like me, hahaha!

Good, you are a person with a sense of justice, and our company needs talents just like you.

Come, come, let me take a look. Exactly how does one go about clearing Ren Qian's name? I've been wanting to do the same thing all along!"

The other junior managers all wore bitter smiles. Figures, young people could never be relied upon; if the chairman weren't the one throwing money around, they wouldn't even be working here...

"Chairman, have you lost your mind? How can you use the company's official Weibo account to repost the Weibo post of a mere entertainer? If other partner companies find out, they might just sever ties with us!"

Someone was startled, because the chairman had actually requested the company's official Weibo account... and was about to do something utterly irrational!

The winds and rains of the internet were entirely unpredictable. A celebrity who was famous today might have a scandal exposed tomorrow, and blindly taking a side so casually could easily inflict losses upon the company. For instance, there was once a cosmetics company whose young foreign relations manager reposted a celebrity's Weibo post, and a result, a month later, that celebrity was exposed for drug use and sent to prison! The cosmetics company's sales revenue plummeted by eighty percent for ten consecutive months!

With the chairman kicking up such a fuss, it might bring about massive financial losses!

Yet it was already too late to stop him...

The group of managers at Seagull Island Seafood and Marine Products Company were scared out of their wits. Online sales accounted for half of their company's total revenue. If their reputation in the virtual world was ruined, their seafood would simply rot in the warehouse...

The chairman was truly hot-headed; how could anyone meddle blindly in celebrity gossip and scandals?

Many muttered phrases like "We're finished" and "The company is going to take a massive bath."

"What are you worrying about? Do you take me for a mindless fool? Who is God Qian? He is undoubtedly innocent. Reposting his Weibo—how on earth does that translate to taking a massive bath?"

"Celebrities are ultimately just entertainers; their ups and downs are entirely unpredictable... They might be glorious today, but lose all popularity tomorrow. Taking such huge risks for a celebrity is simply not worth it."

Liu Yang could no longer endure listening to them. He unlocked his phone and turned the volume up to maximum.

The first song he played was *Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies*.

"Have you ever heard this inspirational song?"

The second song he played was *The Chronicles of the Stone*.

"Have you ever heard this pinnacle of ancient-style music?"

The third song he played was *A Prodigal's Voice*.

"Have you ever heard this transcendent song of profound educational significance?"

The fourth song he played was *Exaggerated*.

"Do you have any idea how deeply this song portrays ordinary little people?!"

The fifth song he played was *The Great Wall*.

Silence fell over the crowd. Far from merely having heard these songs, they had already been played to death on every street and alleyway, yet they never grew tired of them; whenever they casually caught a tune, they would hum along.

Were all of these songs actually sung by this so-called God Qian?

Looked at this way, that was truly terrifying!

"Right, these are the works of Ren Qian, the very entertainer you look down upon. He doesn't take part in commercial tours, he doesn't do endorsements, and he rarely grants media interviews. He keeps a low profile and simply repays his fans through his music. He possesses a strong sense of patriotism, and his innocence speaks for itself. He is about to become the second Generation God of Song. Yet petty people envy him and smear him! Tell me, at a time like this, should we stand behind him or not?!"

Liu Yang spoke with great passion and fervor.

The chairman sat alone, clapping quietly.

Three hours after Seagull Island Seafood and Marine Products Company reposted the Weibo update, their official Weibo account was rocketed to the trending homepage.

"This is the most conscientious company I have ever seen. The moment you reposted Ren Qian's Weibo, I knew the leaders of your company must possess an extraordinary sense of justice, as well as a deep love for this country."

"A company with a conscience, daring to uphold the truth. I'm backing you! I will place an order for seafood at your company's online store. Although the money contributed isn't much, it still counts as support for you. The empire is in dire need of such conscientious enterprises!"

"Your company deserves to grow and flourish day by day!"

"I'm going to support your business right this instant!"

"You are the very first enterprise to stand up and support Ren Qian, daring to brave this moment and shoulder the potential for massive losses... I salute you!"

In an instant, an endless stream of Ren Qian's fans flooded this enterprise with glowing reviews. The comments approached three million, and within a mere four hours, the number of people placing orders and subscriptions at their online store surged by one hundred thousand. The largest orders reached three million, while the smallest were two or three thousand—the grand total amounted to over thirty million in orders!

Seagull Island Seafood and Marine Products Company had emerged as the ultimate winner.

...

The fallout from *The Great Wall* incident was still fermenting.

Even those who were not fans of Ren Qian, upon hearing the song *The Great Wall* and reading reviews about it, developed more or less a shred of fondness for him.

Moreover, because this song was entangled with hot-button public opinion, it reached the ears of even more people.

Media outlets, print media, and magazines were all buzzing with heated discussions about the matter.

Fifty years ago, Zhou Bansheng, the first Generation God of Song, retreated while at the peak of his career. At the time, he was forty-six years old, and now he had reached the ripe old age of ninety-six. He had long since withdrawn from the entertainment industry and no longer paid attention to its affairs.

This time, however, his family members played *The Great Wall* for the elderly man.

'Remote Orient!
Vast borderlands!
And the ancient, crumbling wall!
Vicissitudes of past lives!
Glories of future generations!
Countless mountains firmly linked together!
Surrounding an aging nation!
Surrounding the truth of facts!
Surrounding the vast expanse of years!
Surrounding faith and ideals!'

The clanging vocal delivery and majestic lyrics deeply engrossed the God of Song. He squinted as he watched and listened, his passion undiminished from his youth.

He had never expected that, after so many years, there would still be a young man courageous enough to defy the current trend and innovate.

At this thought, the God of Song could not help but reminisce about the past.

In truth, the entertainment industry ultimately prioritized profits above all else; the majority of people were unwilling to earnestly create music. Coupled with the empire's massive population, as long as one had a single good song, endless wealth could be generated. Thus, who would bother to innovate?

Clinging to the musical style he had left behind was enough to live off for a lifetime!

Back then, he had indeed looked favorably upon a junior—Lin Ruowan—but that junior ultimately failed to withstand the overwhelming tide.

He never imagined that now, they would once again gang up to push out this Ren Qian.

"The entertainment industry seems to have been restricted by ancient-style music for far too long. *The Great Wall* is wonderful. Xiao Wei, don't I also have an official Weibo account? Open it for me, repost this Weibo post by Ren Qian, and write: Young man, I have high hopes for you! Keep up the hard work; a major transformation in the Chinese entertainment industry now rests entirely upon your shoulders!"

With that, his grandson spent a long time flipping through his phone before finally locating his grandfather's Weibo account. Though this account had not been used in ages, the official verification remained intact, and it still boasted over six hundred thousand followers.

Whatever was posted from it would unquestionably carry absolute authority.

Consequently, a demographic of nostalgia-driven middle-aged and elderly folks caught sight of the Weibo post.

Zhou Bansheng, the first Generation God of Song, had reposted Ren Qian's Weibo.

"This young man's music has already formed a school of its own. The entertainment industry has tended toward stubborn stagnation and desperately requires a great singer to spearhead reform. Ren Qian, I hope you will shoulder this heavy responsibility, return a righteous and clear entertainment world to the empire, and let music return to its most essential nature!"

The vast majority of those following the God of Song were elderly individuals. They were people from that era, having achieved success and renown by the time they reached today. They had witnessed both the glory and the decline of the entertainment industry.

Yet this was the very first time they had truly come to know Ren Qian.

How formidable must a young man be if even the God of Song—their idol—spoke of him with such unreserved praise? Could he continue the legend of the God of Song? Or perhaps surpass him? (To be continued.)