Chapter 101: Forming a Team Is Not the End; the Faction Battle

The audience had already noticed something unusual.

Onstage, after the Glacier Boys had officially formed, all eleven of them stood clustered on the left side, blue ice flames licking up from beneath their feet and setting half the stage ablaze.

Yet the other half remained dark.

After every member of the Glacier Boys had delivered their remarks upon debuting as a group, He Hao continued with the next segment.

“Congratulations to these eleven outstanding young men. This summer, they have made their dreams come true and become members of the Glacier Boys.

“But this is not the end.

“Our viewers should already have noticed that tonight’s debut sprint night marks only the eighth episode of the season.

“That clearly does not match the length of a seasonal program.

“That’s right: this season of Star of Tomorrow has raised the stakes once again.

“Debuting is not the end, but a new beginning. Coming next is a debut trial.

“Glacier Boys, are you ready for the challenge?”

He Hao raised his voice and shouted the question.

Wu Junchen, Liu Yichen, and the other nine answered in one voice, “Ready!”

He Hao turned and gestured toward the other side of the stage.

“Our viewers should all have seen it: the lights on the other half of the stage have not been lit.

“How will the rules be upgraded? What kind of challenge will the Glacier Boys face next?

“Now, let the answer be revealed. Lighting crew, bring the stage to life!”

As his words fell, special effects erupted across the stage. Crimson flames began burning from the floor and spread in all directions.

The fire crawled over the giant screen and up the ceiling, igniting the right half of the stage.

The entire stage was split in two: one side a blaze of blue ice fire, the other a sea of crimson flames.

Then a spotlight shone down from above.

A lift rose from beneath the left side of the stage, carrying a figure slowly upward.

It was Fang Xing.

He wore a suit jacket in China red, and a prop flame had been attached to his left shoulder.

He Hao, his voice trembling with excitement, announced the rules of the next battle.

“Our viewers should already have seen it: Fang Xing has returned to the stage.

“That’s right, the next live performance will be a battle of ice and fire.

“Our eleven outstanding young men, the Glacier camp, will face the challenge of the Fire camp on the stage of the next performance.

“For the next round, Fang Xing will select members from among the trainees who did not debut and form the Fire camp.

“The clash between ice and fire is about to begin.”

He Hao paused, then declared at the top of his lungs, “Glacier Boys, can you win this challenge and complete the final debut trial of the summer? Let us wait and see!”

The moment the rules were announced, the venue exploded with excitement. The uproar rolled through the studio and lingered long after.

The livestream barrage of comments erupted as well:

So it is not over yet after all!

Ice versus fire. You people really know how to do it.

Not gonna lie, I seriously want to watch this.

Did the production team finally find the code to viral traffic? This is the kind of show that is actually fun.

So Fang Xing is going one against eleven?

Honestly, even if it were a one-on-one showdown, he would still have it in the bag.

It probably is not a solo match. The host said Fang Xing can choose from the trainees who never debuted.

Need you even say it? I can already recite the names of the Fire camp members.

Lu Ming, Shao Yu, Guo Keda — stop pretending and get your asses up there.

After debuting, there is still a competition? Is this the first survival show ever to do that?

Fire camp, charge!

Crush them!

I suddenly really want next week to come sooner.

Amid the flood of scrolling comments, He Hao continued announcing the rules for the next performance.

“The two camps have now been decided. Two weeks from now, we will reach the next camp showdown, and this confrontation will also be broadcast live.

“Will the Glacier Boys led by Wu Junchen win the challenge, or will the Fire camp led by Fang Xing seize another victory? Let us wait and see!”

Once the livestream time for the next camp battle was announced, the comments immediately turned to complaints:

What is this? Two weeks from now?

Isn’t the next fight supposed to start next week?

Isn’t that obvious? This show has always updated one performance stage one week and the training life the next.

As expected, this is only episode eight. There will definitely be episode nine and episode ten. The production team is sure to pad out one more episode, and only in episode ten will the ultimate ice-and-fire showdown happen.

...

After the rules for the next camp showdown were announced, this episode officially came to an end.

Fang Xing stepped down from the stage and exchanged high-fives with Lu Ming, Shao Yu, and the others.

Just then, more than a dozen trainees who had not debuted all crowded over.

“Fang Xing, for the final battle, can you take me with you?”

“I’ll obey any arrangement, sing anything you want. If not, I can just dance.”

None of these trainees were stupid.

The next camp battle would be the episode with the highest buzz.

And with the strength and popularity Fang Xing had unleashed over eight episodes, there was even a chance he could win it.

These trainees had failed to debut, but if they could defeat the eleven who had made it into the group in the final camp battle, they would not only win back their dignity, they would also raise their own profile.

So they were all desperate to join the Fire camp.

Some of them were especially bitter.

Back when Fang Xing first served as a team leader, he had not been taken seriously by them.

Who could have guessed that in every performance since then, Fang Xing would crush every opponent in overwhelming fashion?

Even the popularity leaders, Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen, had already suffered two straight defeats.

That kind of invincible aura left these trainees both envious and regretful.

If, when Fang Xing first became a leader, they had only made a little more effort, they might well have ended up on his team.

If that had happened, they would have been among the likes of Lu Ming, Shao Yu, and Guo Keda.

They still remembered it clearly.

The first trainee Fang Xing chose when he became a leader was Guo Keda.

The words Fang Xing had spoken then still seemed to echo in their ears: “Lend me your guitar, and I’ll take you to the finals.”

At the time, no one took him seriously. They all assumed he was just playing for variety-show effect and would be slapped in the face for it before long.

In the end, though, Guo Keda really did make it to the finals.

Although Guo Keda did not rank high on the popularity list, he had never lost a single stage he appeared on.

Fang Xing not only carried him into the finals, he was now about to carry him into the final ice-and-fire camp battle.

That made the trainees present so envious their expressions nearly twisted out of shape.

They could not help thinking, with deep emotion, how wildly different a person’s fate could be: just by lending Fang Xing a guitar, you could coast all the way to the finals.

More than a dozen trainees crowded around, all vying for a place in the Fire camp.

Fang Xing made no decision on the spot and answered casually, “Tell your agents to speak with the company.”

Once the show had reached the camp battle stage, who went and who did not was indeed Fang Xing’s call.

But for the final camp battle, merely getting onstage meant massive exposure.

Holding such valuable leverage, naturally it should be traded for resources with the other companies.