FWTS ### Chapter 70: Hou Zhubo's Music War
On November 13th at 7:00 PM, a topic called #HouZhubo'sMusicWar# went viral on Weibo. Within a short time, its views surpassed 20 million, ranking 9th in the past 24 hours and 1st within the past hour!
Clicking on the topic page, the top post is the official trailer of "Music War" from @BlueWhaleTV, the second is a live video from @YunHou1225, the third is a marketing account's summary of a fight video, the fourth is another marketing account's compilation of Hou Muyun's "legendary" moments, and the fifth...
Except for the first official trailer, all other posts had over 10,000 shares, with the highest reaching 120,000!
Such a topic going viral was undoubtedly intentional.
Over the past few days, from the Double Eleven Gala to the fight video to the broadcast of "Everyday" and then yesterday's live "travel" show, the accumulated attention exploded in this topic, reaching a level of popularity that even the show's producers did not anticipate.
By 9:00 PM, the topic's views had nearly reached 50 million!
The show’s producers knew that once this episode aired, breaking 100 million views was only a matter of time!
They were also filled with anticipation for the show's ratings.
At 9:10 PM, "Music War" officially aired.
At this moment, many people who usually didn't watch this show were already sitting in front of their TVs.
The show started with Hua Shao making his usual fast-paced introduction, then introducing the five groups of mentors, joking a bit, and bringing out the first contestant.
The first contestant was a middle-aged man, a behind-the-scenes musician, who sang a love song that was deeply moving, earning recognition from the five mentors and choosing to challenge Ami.
The second contestant was a young, beautiful girl, a third-year student at a music academy, also receiving approval from the five mentors. She was teased by Er Zhang as the "Queen of Iron Lungs" and chose to challenge Xianxian.
“Next, let’s welcome the third contestant.”
Hua Shao finished announcing, the camera focused on the energy ball, and then... predictably, it cut to a commercial!
"This guy sings so well!"
"But his chances against Ami are slim!"
"The girl is so pretty!"
"The third contestant should be Monkey, right?"
"Damn, this commercial!"
"All part of the plan!"
"Good, I need a bathroom break!"
"Man, this commercial is long, let me check Weibo!"
"…"
"It's back, it's back!"
The commercial ended, and in a very short prelude similar to a wedding march, a grand and powerful voice suddenly erupted!
“This is my declaration of love, I want to tell the whole world.”
The moment the voice came out, it stunned everyone!
“Oh my god, it scared me!”
Many viewers saw that the expressions of the five mentors on screen were as shocked as theirs.
“Whoa!”
“Ha!”
Hearing the voice from the energy ball combined with the gradually accelerating drumbeat, everyone got hyped.
The excitement grew when Hou Muyun stepped out of the energy ball and the camera showed Shi Shiwu’s expression changing from shock to delight.
“As expected, it’s the explosively powerful Hou Zhupo!”
“No one can match this voice! It’s terrifying!”
“Damn, it’s been a long time since I heard such intense rock!”
“Wow, Monkey looks so handsome today!”
“Mom, I saw Monkey’s dragon tattoo!”
“So good! During the live stream, I already thought his voice was great, and now with this sound system, it’s even better!”
“Simply terrifying! Look, even Shi Shiwu is stunned!”
“They all pressed the button, all of them!”
“Oh my god, this end pose is unbeatable!”
“Dominating!”
At this point, the five mentors in the video all stood up, clapping and cheering.
After the emotional “reunion” scene between Hou Muyun and Shi Shiwu, Hou Muyun chose to challenge Xiao Yu as everyone expected. But in the second round, the song Hou Muyun chose surprised everyone.
Everyone thought Hou Muyun and Xiao Yu would have a rock showdown, but instead, he sang a classic love song by Leslie Cheung, so quietly and beautifully!
It had nothing to do with rock’s powerful voice, as if he became a different person.
Many people were moved to tears, including celebrity mentor Xianxian, the live audience, and many viewers in front of their TVs, especially those who were a bit older, emotionally rich, and prone to tears. This kind of crying wasn’t sudden but came gradually, unnoticed.
As many had expected, the challenge was successful.
And as many had predicted, Hou Muyun chose a second challenge, targeting the Er Zhang duo and opting to perform second.
### The Music War of Host Hou
On TV, after the Er Zhang duo finished their performance, everyone was on edge for Hou Muyun, as their performance was incredibly strong, with unbeatable harmonies! At this moment, everyone thought Hou Muyun would bring out his killer weapon, the erhu, but he didn’t. Instead, he took out a guitar. Everyone expected him to choose rock music, which would be more suitable for the competition and better at energizing the audience, but he didn’t. Instead, he chose folk music.
Wearing a white shirt and playing the guitar, he quietly sang to himself, his simple, bright voice unexpectedly captivating everyone with its romantic charm.
The song was "I Want You"!
Everyone was stunned, then went wild!
Especially the girls, who were not only going crazy but also completely enchanted!
Without a doubt, this was a song with deadly appeal to all women!
On the mentor's panel, both Ami and Xianxian were captivated, the eyes of the female audience at the scene sparkled, and many female viewers in front of their TVs were covering their mouths in surprise, with some even stomping and screaming.
"Amazing, absolutely amazing!"
"He sings so well!"
"Simply terrifying!"
"There are very few in the music industry who can sing rock, folk, and love songs so well!"
"Awesome, my host!"
"Don't just flirt and run!"
"Mom, I want to marry him!"
"..."
"Will he win the challenge?"
"The Er Zhang duo sang really well this time too; it's hard to say!"
"According to the challenge rules, he undoubtedly succeeded!"
"He definitely succeeded! Whether for his singing or the show’s effect, he surely succeeded!"
"..."
"He did it!"
"Double challenge success!"
"Ending the episode? Damn, that’s a cliffhanger!"
"It's over!"
"With the show’s length, it’s definitely over! But he'll surely be in the next episode!"
"Really hope Monkey can win three challenges in a row and set a record!"
...
By the end of the show, the topic's views on Weibo had comfortably exceeded 100 million!
Soon after, the full video of this episode appeared on Blue Whale TV’s app, drawing in those who missed the live broadcast for a second viewing.
Additionally, Hou Muyun's song collection video from "Music War" spread online, with many people sharing it after watching.
Those who knew little or nothing about Hou Muyun found it hard to believe that three songs with completely different styles came from the same person, and each was sung so well.
Many professional guitarists also praised Hou Muyun's guitar playing, recognizing it as performance-level!
On some websites, especially knowledge-based Q&A sites, Hou Muyun's singing skills received professional analysis, calling him the strongest amateur since the era of talent shows!
Of course, some questioned this title—thinking it could do without the words "since the era of talent shows."
As for those who said Hou Muyun got in through the backdoor due to his relationship with Shi Shiwu, those voices were quickly drowned out.
Related groups about Hou Muyun were abuzz once again, especially those who had watched Hou Muyun’s live streams from the beginning. They felt especially proud to see him succeed step by step, a sense of honor that deeply bonded the fans, turning many into loyal supporters. Even though most had never spoken a word to Hou Muyun, it didn’t stop them from spreading the word about him.
Meanwhile, more new groups were established.
By extension, "Master of Xuan Yuan Sword" received a surge in monthly ticket votes!
Hou Muyun’s Weibo and TB follower counts also soared.
In just a few hours, Hou Muyun’s Weibo followers increased by more than 800,000, and the Yunhoufu TB account's followers approached a million.
Hou Muyun’s Baidu Index skyrocketed, topping the day’s search rankings and making him the hottest person of the day!
Without a doubt, this set a record in the online literature community!
Along with this surge, the index of "Master of Xuan Yuan Sword" also jumped to third place on the daily novel charts, second only to two novels that had been adapted into popular TV dramas.