The city qualifiers were about to be broadcast.
The audience seats were already packed.
The live stream also saw a flood of viewers.
After so many episodes, the advertising fees for the city qualifiers had more than doubled.
It was important to note that the city qualifiers were not a traditional variety show, lasting only thirty to forty minutes, and also included trainee segments.
However, the advertising fees were comparable to ceiling-tier variety shows like "The Masked Singer," indicating the terrifying popularity of the qualifiers.
"Did you hear? Xu Ming has invited Erhu master Zhou Ningbin this time."
"This Xu Ming, who kept admitting defeat on Weibo, unexpectedly had such a trump card."
"This guy is playing the pig to eat the tiger."
"Ting Yu is in danger this time. You know, Master Zhou Ningbin's erhu playing is at a master level. Paired with Xu Ming's arrangement skills, just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle."
"Compared to the old artist Master Zhou Ningbin, even their King of Singers, Zhang Wenqing, would seem slightly inferior."
To the general public, Ting Yu had encountered their strongest opponent this time.
This "strongest" was solely within this specific genre.
If Ting Yu didn't confront Xu Ming instrumentally, they might have a chance to win.
However, an instrument in the hands of an old artist was enough to control the situation on stage.
Unless Ting Yu also invited a suona expert of the same master level, they would likely lose in terms of technique.
And China's renowned suona masters had not released any news.
Ting Yu had likely not prepared for this.
"This guy Xu Ming is unethical, launching a sneak attack!"
"This scoundrel is so insidious, catching Ting Yu completely off guard."
"Do you think it's too late for Ting Yu to invite suona master Wu Miao now?"
"What do you think? Master Wu Miao is on tour abroad, will he teleport here?"
"..."
Although Ting Yu's fans had confidence in him,
their opponent this time was too formidable; just hearing the name gave them a sense of powerlessness.
Zhou Ningbin, at nearly seventy years old, was one of China's three erhu masters.
Even abroad, many people were familiar with his erhu playing.
His technique had reached perfection, and coupled with the unique tone of the erhu, some described his erhu playing as "one tune breaks the heart."
In China, if there was anyone who could contend with him using the suona, it would only be suona master Wu Miao.
Wu Miao, just past sixty, had a profound understanding of the suona.
Fans believed that Xu Ming revealing his invitation to the erhu master only after the competition began was extremely shameless.
If he had announced it earlier, Ting Yu might have had time to prepare and invite an equally skilled suona master. Now, it was simply too late.
...
As everyone was discussing,
the city qualifiers officially began.
"Welcome to watch the flagship city qualifiers, exclusively sponsored by Xiang Guo Wu Yu. I am your host, Lin Han!!"
The host, with a brilliant smile, waved to the audience.
The audience also responded with a wave of cheers.
After a lengthy advertisement,
they directly entered the "refund segment."
It was still Shen Qingfeng and his trainee group.
Shen Qingfeng, having latched onto Ting Yu's popularity and becoming the hottest trainee in the group, served as the group leader.
However, he was currently filming in the "Sword of Immortals" drama and was not present at the scene.
Liu Yinfei, who had originally vied for the group leader position with Shen Qingfeng, was temporarily acting as the interim leader.
Finally achieving his goal, Liu Yinfei felt no joy. His position as leader felt like picking up something others had discarded on the ground, utterly unfulfilling.
Liu Yinfei couldn't help but complain in his heart.
If you didn't want to be the leader, why fight for it with me?
You fought for it and then didn't want it, what's the point?
...
Amidst a chorus of refined and amicable voices,
the trainees fully showcased themselves to the audience.
Then, they contentedly retreated backstage.
Being able to piggyback on the popularity of the current hottest show, what did it matter if they were scolded?
Although they were constantly being criticized, in a show with so much attention, they were bound to gain a few fans. This was also why the company paid for them to ride on the coattails of the popularity.
"According to the program schedule, it should now be the challenger, Teacher Xu Ming, taking the stage. However, this time our show has a heavyweight guest, please allow me to introduce them!"
After the host finished speaking, an old man carrying an erhu walked up from the entrance.
He had some white hair, but his entire demeanor was full of vitality.
He had a smile on his face and calmly waved to the cameras and the audience below.
"He is the Erhu Master, Teacher Zhou Ningbin!!" The host walked up to the old man and announced his name.
Wow!!
The venue erupted in a tidal wave of applause.
These older artists mostly promoted Chinese musical instruments abroad and rarely appeared on shows.
This was why everyone was so surprised when Xu Ming managed to invite Master Zhou Ningbin.
"Heh, I didn't expect my popularity to be so high, it's a bit of a surprise." Zhou Ningbin waved his hand and joked with the audience below.
Then, he continued, "The City Qualifiers is a very good show, bringing many great songs to the Chinese music scene, and this show is very popular. My purpose for coming this time is to promote traditional instruments to everyone."
He got straight to the point and stated his intention.
"China's traditional musical instruments are liked by many people even in the world, but the inheritance has always been a difficult problem. I came this time to call on everyone to try and learn about traditional instruments if they are interested."
Zhou Ningbin explained the reason for agreeing to participate in the city qualifiers.
What he had been striving to do was to make more people aware of traditional musical instrument culture.
For many years, he had been working towards this.
Besides promoting in China, he also frequently performed abroad.
Most artists of the older generation, like him, contributed their meager strength to the inheritance of traditional Chinese musical instruments.
Most children nowadays learn popular instruments like the piano and guitar. Very few would touch the erhu or suona because, in their view, the erhu and suona are only used for weddings and funerals, and not considered musical instruments at all.
This mindset had led to a dwindling number of people who could play traditional instruments.
It had been a long time since a remarkably talented young person had appeared. These older artists were more anxious than anyone. Whether it was the erhu, the suona, or other traditional instruments, they were all intangible cultural heritage of China, and like opera culture, once lost, they would be gone forever.
"Teacher Zhou is right, traditional culture must be passed down. In recent years, you and some old artists have been working, and there have been significant improvements. Whether it's you, suona master Wu Miao, or the younger generation's guqin prodigy Liu Qingxue, while promoting instrumental culture, you have also introduced our cultural treasures to foreigners."
The host said, a little excitedly.
The audience below, hearing the conversation on stage, couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence.
Now, traffic stars, once they have a little popularity, only think about how to make money. Meanwhile, the older generation is still working hard for cultural inheritance. These are the talents that deserve more traffic!