150: Chapter 150 Shen Nian's Moment of Godhood

"With my left hand, I pluck a flower, with my right hand, I dance with a sword—"

Shen Nian's voice spread throughout the venue. Without any flashy reverb, it was so clean it didn't have a speck of worldly dust.

"Between my brows falls ten thousand years of snow—"

The technician behind the mixing console looked up. The fine hairs on the arms of the Audience Jury in the front row stood on end one by one.

In the second verse, the melody began to climb.

Her breath steadily supported every scale as it went up, her voice becoming brighter and more piercingly powerful.

"A single teardrop—ah, ah—"

"That is me—ah—"

The high notes of the first chorus soared directly upward.

In the first row of the venue, a male Audience Jury member wearing black-rimmed glasses nearly threw the voting device in his hand.

His mouth was agape, his eyes wide.

The bullet comments in the Livestream Room froze for half a second.

Immediately after, the screen was completely covered by dense text.

[Wait... this vocal range of hers...]

[Oh my god, did you hear that? This transition between real and falsetto voice...]

[No, no, no, that note she just hit is beyond the normal human vocal range, right??]

The five hundred members of the Audience Jury at the scene collectively lost their voices.

Their eyes were fixed on the white figure on stage.

Is this a sound a human can make?

In the backstage lounge, Chen Hao sat on the sofa, staring at the broadcast screen on the wall.

His hands rested on his knees, his fingers slowly curling shut.

He couldn't reach this vocal range; it wasn't a matter of his state, but a physiological limit.

The agent stood nearby, lips moving, swallowing the words of comfort that had reached their lips.

On stage, Shen Nian stood in the moon-white light, her chest heaving twice as she adjusted her breathing.

The interlude's strings flowed beneath her feet.

Many people in the audience were already reaching for tissues.

The second chorus arrived.

"With my left hand, I snap my fingers, with my right hand, I pluck the strings—"

"The boat ferries across, between the waters of the River of Oblivion—"

Shen Nian's voice rose again after the interlude.

"When worries can bloom into a red lotus—"

"Do not stop, give me distracting thoughts—"

The voice continued to ascend.

"With my left hand, I point at the moon, with my right hand, I take the red thread—"

"Bestowing upon you and me, the fated connection as you wish—"

One octave. Two octaves. Approaching the critical point of three octaves.

"In the moonlight—ah, ah—"

That high note rushed up.

Naturally, without a trace, sliding from chest voice into falsetto.

The two sounds merged together in that extreme vocal range, turning into a frequency that didn't belong to the human world.

"You and me—ah—"

The final long note.

Shen Nian closed her eyes, her face slightly upturned.

The moon-white light spilled onto her face, the hem of her white dress motionless.

The note began to fall from its highest point, peeling away layer by layer, until finally only a breathy sound remained, slowly dissipating.

It was quiet.

Shen Nian opened her eyes and lowered the microphone from her lips.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds—

Applause crashed down from all directions simultaneously.

The five hundred Audience Jury members stood up almost at the same time.

Some were crying, some were screaming, some were clapping until their palms burned, yet they didn't stop.

A girl in the first row squatted on the ground, unable to speak from crying; when the person next to her helped her up, she squatted down again.

The number of online viewers in the Livestream Room finally settled at—fifty-six million.

The bullet comment system was briefly paralyzed for three seconds.

After it recovered, only one line of text was looping on the screen—

[God-Tier!]

[God-Tier!]

[God-Tier!]

In the side stage area, Jiang Fan leaned against a pillar, arms crossed over his chest.

Zhou Yutong was already a teary mess beside him.

"Sister Nian... wuwu... Sister Nian is so amazing..."

Jiang Fan handed her a tissue.

"Wipe it, your makeup is ruined."

Zhou Yutong took the tissue and wiped her face messily.

"Brother Fan, this song you wrote is too much of a tissue-waster."

Teacher He walked out from the side stage. He walked to the center of the stage, standing next to Shen Nian. His hand holding the microphone trembled twice.

He took a deep breath before steadying his voice.

"At this moment, I don't know what to say."

Teacher He smiled, his eyes rimmed with red.

"But I want to let myself catch my breath first."

Laughter and applause mixed together in the audience.

"Alright." Teacher He turned to the judges' seats. "Three teachers, please provide your comments."

Heavenly King Zhou held the microphone, standing, not sitting down.

"Today's performance... is the most difficult live performance I have ever heard. Without exception."

He paused.

"Shen Nian, you aren't just singing. You are creating something that others will never be able to reach."

The entire venue erupted in applause again.

Producer Chen Kexin put his glasses back on and flipped through the lyric sheet in his hand.

"Let me tell you the honest truth. The vocal range span of this song, in the entire Chinese music scene, I can't think of a second person who could perform it live. That doesn't count for those using pitch correction in the Recording Studio."

He looked toward the side stage.

"Teacher Jiang Fan, you did this on purpose, didn't you? When you wrote this song for her, you knew no one else could cover it."

There was another burst of laughter from the audience.

It was Tang Yingxue's turn. When she picked up the microphone, her hand was still a little unsteady.

She watched as Shen Nian walked step by step to where she was now under Jiang Fan's guidance.

After tonight, perhaps the title of the new rising diva would fall onto Shen Nian.

And she had become the touchstone.

The whole venue quieted down.

"Shen Nian."

She looked up, watching the person on stage.

"I have been singing for twenty years. Regarding singing ability, I always thought I was... alright."

The venue was very quiet.

"Today, you made me realize one thing—"

Tang Yingxue's lips twitched.

"The thing called talent truly exists."

She lowered the microphone and didn't say anything more.

Applause rang out again.

Shen Nian stood in the center of the stage and bowed to the three judges.

When she straightened up, her gaze crossed over Teacher He's shoulder, looking toward the side stage next to that pillar.

Jiang Fan stood there, giving her a thumbs up.

Shen Nian wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and said softly into the microphone: "Thank you everyone."

Teacher He took over the stage.

"Alright! Thank you to both singers for the wonderful performance tonight."

He paused for a few seconds, letting the emotions of the entire audience slowly settle.

"Next, I invite the one thousand members of the Audience Jury to vote. Voting time is three minutes."

The big screen switched to the voting interface. The voting channel for the one thousand members of the Audience Jury opened.

The atmosphere at the scene became eerily quiet. Everyone was waiting.

The voting progress bar slowly moved up from zero.

The last voter pressed the button with five seconds left on the countdown.

Teacher He walked to the center of the stage.

"Alright, voting has ended. Let us look at the final voting results."

On the big screen, two numbers slowly appeared.

Chen Hao: 412 votes.

Shen Nian: 588 votes.

The venue exploded. The five hundred Audience Jury members sprang up again, their screams drowning out the applause.

The bullet comments in the Livestream Room flooded the screen again.

[She won! Shen Nian won!!!]

Teacher He picked up the microphone, his voice trembling.

"Presenting the champion of this season of The Sound of Nature—Shen Nian!"

Shen Nian walked out from the side of the stage.

She walked toward the center of the stage, toward that glittering champion trophy.

Teacher He stepped forward and handed her the champion trophy.

When Shen Nian took it, her hands were trembling.

"Say a few words." Teacher He handed her the microphone.

Shen Nian held the microphone, looked at the audience, and then looked at the side stage area.

"I..."

Her voice was a little hoarse.

"A year ago, I thought I was finished. Framed, blacklisted, I had nothing left."

"I thought I would never return to the stage."

She paused.

"But someone never gave up on me. He wrote songs for me, taught me how to sing, and accompanied me through the hardest days."

Shen Nian turned toward the side stage.

"Jiang Fan, thank you."

"I also want to thank everyone who supported me. Thank you to The Sound of Nature stage. Thank you to the three teachers for their guidance."

Shen Nian raised the trophy.

"This championship belongs to everyone who believed in me."

Teacher He took the microphone back.

"Let us give Shen Nian another round of applause!"

The entire venue erupted in thunderous applause.

The camera zoomed out; Shen Nian stood in the center of the stage, holding the champion trophy.

The moon-white light spilled onto her, the hem of her white dress glowing with a soft luster under the lights.

The number of online viewers in the Livestream Room finally settled at fifty-two million.

This moment was recorded in the history of the Chinese music scene.