Phil Simmons spoke eloquently on the program, chatting and laughing with the other three big shots in a completely equal manner. He caught every joke they threw his way without the slightest hint of stage fright.

Not only that, but Phil often made fun of himself, telling several jokes that made the audience burst into laughter.

But when it came to choosing apprentices, things unfolded exactly as everyone expected: Phil couldn't recruit any apprentices with real talent.

*The Successor* had already gone through auditions, and those who came to participate all had the potential to become superheroes, but even among these, only a very few could win the favor of the judges.

During the on-site selection process, the main task of the contestants was to leave an impression on the judges and the audience. And there were many ways to leave an impression: perhaps they had a good appearance, perhaps they had special talents or skills, or perhaps they had a good story.

Some people who were eloquent and pleasing, if they also happened to have a likable face, and at the same time had very special talents and skills, would greatly increase their chances of winning the favor of a mentor.

Of course, if they had none of these, but happened to have a relatively complicated background that aroused the audience's sympathy and gave them a special label, then it was also possible to win the favor of a mentor.

In the first episode, all the excellent contestants were basically divided up by the other three mentors. Even the worst mentor managed to grab an apprentice, while only Phil Simmons' team was still empty.

As a result, after the first episode aired, it immediately caused a great stir on the Internet.

Some people thought that Phil was not qualified to be a mentor on this show at all and took a gloating attitude towards this, while others thought that Phil was eloquent and no less impressive than the other judges. He also spoke eloquently when discussing some professional issues, which showed that Phil was still capable.

What's more, Phil didn't place any advertisements for his real estate business on the show. He wasn't doing it for fame or fortune, and the appearance fee was probably far from his net worth, which meant that he was probably participating in this show as a carefree attitude of playing with life.

On the other hand, the apprentices didn't see the shining points in Phil at all, and still regarded him as an incompetent rich second generation. Even the production team intentionally created heat by making Phil "sell miserably," which was too much!

The two sides argued endlessly on the Internet, triggering another round of heated discussions.

And behind many of these voices, it was clear that Phil was providing support and instructions behind the scenes.

Amidst the extremely high heat and topicality, *The Successor* continued to be filmed and broadcast.

In the second episode, Phil finally got his first apprentice. He was very happy, warmly embraced this unremarkable black apprentice, and promised that he would definitely get him into the top five of this audition.

The Internet heated up again, saying that Phil was boasting and talking big, and that such a mentor was not worth following.

The other three mentors also joked about this on the show, and one mentor even joked that it was not too late for Phil to withdraw from the competition now. But Phil was not angry at all, and always said with confidence that he was confident that he could lead his apprentices to win the team competition.

Soon, the first part of *The Successor* was broadcast.

The teams of the four mentors were all full. The teams of the other three mentors looked very luxurious, but Phil's team was very shabby: most of the apprentices joined in the second half, and they were all the types that the other mentors didn't like. The audience also responded lukewarmly, and there were even two vacancies left at the end. The production team had no choice but to temporarily start a revival competition and selected two people from the previously eliminated personnel to replenish Phil's team.

For the team competition that was about to begin, all the audience was not optimistic about Phil's team. In the random questionnaire survey conducted by the TV station, more than 70% of the audience believed that Phil's team would definitely be the last one, and almost no one thought that Phil's team could get into the top two.

But all the audience didn't know that this was all a script arranged by Phil.

The second part of *The Successor* was the team competition led by the four mentors. The competition was divided into four forms:

The first is speech and debate. The production team will give a topic, which is often a hot topic with high attention, mostly related to superheroes.

The mentors will lead their teams to prepare, give speeches on the spot, and debate with teams that hold opposing attitudes, and the winner will be determined according to how many audience members they convince.

Superheroes have their own groups they represent, their own propositions and programs, and they often have to give speeches, and this form of team competition is to test the apprentices' abilities in this area.

The second is to develop a rescue plan. The production team will give a specific scenario, such as a group of thugs who have kidnapped hostages, and the apprentices will study and develop a rescue plan.

But they don't need to rescue the hostages themselves, but professional personnel will practice according to the rescue plan.

Superheroes often have to participate in similar rescue operations, but they can't be mindless reckless men, which may hurt the hostages or cause greater damage to the city.

Superheroes with brains are more popular with the public, and this form of team competition is to test the apprentices' abilities in this area.

The third is combat ability test. The production team will give a specific physical challenge level, including physical confrontation between groups, to see which group completes it better.

Although superheroes need to have brains, the necessary physical fitness and combat skills are also essential. A "fighting" superhero will make the public feel more secure and will not have the feeling that "this superhero is wasting superpowers."

The fourth is a large-scale comprehensive test.

This test often includes multiple aspects of content, and requires the captains of each team to coordinate and arrange personnel, and after completing the task, the production team will conduct a comprehensive assessment.

These four tests are progressive. The production team will record the preparation of each team throughout the process, and give more shots to the key figures in them, gradually allowing the public to become familiar with and like these apprentices who may become superheroes in the future.

In this process, the mentor's guidance must have a degree. They can't take on everything and do everything by themselves, which would steal the limelight from the apprentices and cause the apprentices who don't have the opportunity to show their faces to be defeated in the subsequent popularity voting; they can't completely let go, otherwise it may lead to a complete defeat in the team competition.

In short, team competitions similar to talent shows are like a rehearsal of the future work of superheroes.

The first episode of the team competition was indeed as everyone expected, and Phil's team was defeated in the competition with other teams.

The number of shots given to Phil's team by the production team was also the least, which created a false impression for the audience: it seemed that Phil did nothing, and his team was as useless as him, and was quickly defeated.

As a result, the discussion about Phil dominated the screen again.

But then, Phil's team in the second episode seemed to have been completely renewed and won second place with excellent performance.

But this time, the number of shots given to Phil's team by the production team was still the least, which led to the loss of a lot of information in the preparation process, causing dissatisfaction among the audience.

The audience felt that the production team looked down on Phil's team and didn't value them. They gave more shots to the other three groups, which led to Phil's team achieving good results, but they were not treated fairly.

As a result, in the third episode of the team competition, the production team gave Phil's team more shots, and this time the audience was able to see the whole process of Phil's team's preparation.

Phil Simmons played a very key role in the preparation process. He constantly encouraged the apprentices' confidence, gave them hints and pointers, and didn't directly give the plan to the apprentices to execute, but in a more inspirational way, let them come up with a relatively perfect plan themselves.

The apprentices, who were originally a mess, suddenly became high-spirited. Not only did the team's trust rise to a higher level, from the original fighting on their own to a whole, but their personal abilities seemed to shine brightly.

As a result, Phil's reputation and public opinion in the show began to reverse.

Many people's impressions of Phil have changed greatly, and there are more dimensions to his evaluation:

He is a playboy, a rich second generation, who was born at the end point of many people, which makes people envious and jealous;

He is a true person. He is outspoken on Twitter, and the things he likes are no different from those of poor young people, which makes people feel very down-to-earth;

He has a high degree and has his own company with good results. Judging from his age, this shows that he has a high talent and achievement in business. He is not only smart but also hardworking;

The most impressive thing is that he has a clear understanding of many problems and sees problems more clearly than ordinary people. On the show *The Successor*, he not only chats and laughs with the other three mentors, but also strategizes and leads a team with poor abilities to victory. His level is completely the same as that of industry big shots.

Of course, the voices of doubt about Phil still exist and are growing.

But the voices supporting Phil are even stronger, completely covering up the voices of doubt.

After all, Phil's performance on the show has conquered many people, and those who question Phil are easily labeled as "red-eyed disease," "hatred of the rich," and "loser mentality."

After the show, the black boy in Phil's team won second place with his outstanding performance in the end.

Phil's promise to get him into the top five was fulfilled, and it was even exceeded.

On the show, the black boy was grateful and tearful to Phil, but Phil just smiled and said, "This is all your own efforts. I just helped you tap into your potential."

This made the audience feel that Phil was good at recognizing people and worthy of the title of "mentor."

After the show, the production team cooperated with several large brokerage companies, and several apprentices who performed well were arranged to debut as superheroes, and they were very popular for a while.

Many people spread the word, thinking that Phil would also take this opportunity to debut as a superhero.

But Phil posted a tweet saying that participating in this show was completely a whim and he had no intention of becoming a superhero.

After that, Phil did not participate in any topics related to superheroes, which made the audience feel sorry.

But what they don't know is that Phil's first phase plan has been successfully completed.

Although he did not debut as a superhero, he gained a very high level of attention and successfully reversed the public's impression of him: from a rich second generation who had nothing to do with superheroes to a truly capable industry insider who knew the professional content of superheroes like the back of his hand.

Next, Phil will wait for a better opportunity to continue implementing the next plan.