At eight in the evening, prime time.
Many people, after finishing dinner, were already gathered in front of the television, ready to watch the drama.
Both "Ye Yu Sheng Sheng" and "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" had generated significant buzz even before their premiere.
As the final installment of Jiangnan's "Condor Trilogy," "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" naturally had a large following of loyal viewers.
"Ye Yu Sheng Sheng," being the magnum opus of the esteemed Mr. Xiao Xueming, held a considerable advantage in the wuxia genre.
Both dramas were scheduled to air simultaneously.
The former was on Hua Shi Channel One, while the latter was broadcast on Mango TV, which had the largest younger viewership.
Thus, the question arose: which drama to watch?
It was a difficult choice.
"Honey, Chu He looks so handsome in the stills! I want to watch 'Ye Yu Sheng Sheng'!" a girl pouted charmingly at her boyfriend in front of the television.
"What nonsense are you talking about, 'Ye Yu Sheng Sheng'? Don't you know 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji' is also premiering?" Her boyfriend directly switched the channel to Hua Shi Channel One.
"But Chu He isn't in 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji'..." the girl said, her voice laced with grievance.
"Doesn't Shen Qingfeng's acting and looks completely outshine Chu He?" the boyfriend countered with a factual argument.
Though the girl wanted to retort, she couldn't find a valid reason to do so.
"Accompany me to watch 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji' first. After it's over, I'll watch the replay of 'Ye Yu Sheng Sheng' with you," he said, hiding the remote control in a crevice of the sofa.
Indeed, Shen Qingfeng excelled in all aspects compared to Chu He.
More importantly, the stills for "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" featured a bevy of beautiful actresses, a surefire hit with male viewers!
In terms of cast, Shen Qingfeng and Zhang Qingyun were representatives of the top tier of idol looks in the domestic entertainment industry. The female leads, the Qin sisters, held firm positions as popular young stars. Coupled with the numerous beautiful girls in the stills, "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" already had a significant edge over "Ye Yu Sheng Sheng" in terms of visual appeal.
...
Many young viewers disliked using television sets; they preferred watching dramas on their mobile phones.
At this juncture, the exclusive live broadcast room for "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" on Penguin Films played a crucial role.
Even before the drama aired, the live broadcast room had already garnered over twenty million views.
"Holy cow, so many people! Aren't they watching 'Ye Yu Sheng Sheng'?"
"Why would we watch 'Ye Yu Sheng Sheng'? Chu He takes up most of the screen in the stills, and only Yang Yingying is somewhat watchable. The stills for 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji' are amazing!"
"Hahaha, so we're all like-minded people! The scriptwriter really put effort into the stills for 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji'!"
"If they had promoted it like this earlier, what chance would 'Ye Yu Sheng Sheng' have?"
"Unlike you guys, I'm not here to see the girls; I'm here to hear the music!"
"Fans of Ting Yu (Listen to the Rain) declare that no amount of beauty can match the allure of a theme song by Ting Yu!"
The comments in the live broadcast room scrolled past at a furious pace.
It was evident that "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" had invested considerable effort in its promotion this time!
Furthermore, the production of the stills and posters, featuring many new actors, yielded excellent results.
After all, "lecherous fans" were not only the primary driving force but also a guarantee of viewership ratings.
Add to that Ting Yu's fanbase.
"Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" was, at the very least, guaranteed an undefeated position upon its premiere!
Whether it could retain the Ting Yu fans who came to listen to the music would depend on the appeal of Jiangnan's drama!
Amidst the audience's discussions.
Prime time arrived!
Suddenly, the live broadcast room displayed a visual.
The moment the opening credits of "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" appeared.
The crisp notes of a guzheng sounded, followed by the addition of a flute and drums. Just a few opening notes, and the essence of the martial world instantly materialized!
As the music gradually intensified, the scroll-like painting of the martial world slowly unfurled!
"Where will my sword go,
Love and hate, affection cannot be solely devoted,
My saber, slices through the sky,
Right and wrong, understood yet not understood..."
In Su Yu's past life, "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji" had been remade countless times, each version with a different theme song. However, Su Yu still chose this song, "Dao Jian Ru Meng" (A Dream of Swords and Blades).
This was because the song, in terms of popularity and thematic fit, was exceptionally perfect, tailor-made for "Yi Tian Tu Long Ji."
As for the singer, after careful consideration, Su Yu decided on Gong Ju Ren.
The wuxia style was a significant part of Gong Ju Ren's persona. Su Yu had given him almost all his wuxia-genre songs.
This one was no exception.
However, Gong Ju Ren's vocal performance on this song still lacked a certain depth; after all, not everyone could embody the martial world with just their voice.
Fortunately, the theme song was not a live recording but a studio version. With Su Yu's guidance, Gong Ju Ren managed to interpret "Dao Jian Ru Meng" with relative perfection.
"I am drunk, in a haze,
Favors and grudges, illusions or emptiness,
I awaken, a spring dream,
Life and death, all turn to nothing..."
The verses depicted a martial world atmosphere of drunken revelry and fleeting dreams.
Since "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," Jiangnan had established his unique wuxia style in the public's eye.
His declaration, "The greatest hero serves the nation and its people," could also be said to have pushed traditional wuxia to another peak!
By writing his unique understanding within the audience's familiar wuxia genre and crafting compelling stories, this was why many felt Jiangnan's wuxia could contend with Xiao Xueming.
His concept of "xia" carried a sense of patriotism and national defense, differing from the traditional idea of wandering the jianghu with a sword, but it still vividly conveyed the spirit of chivalry!
"Coming in haste, leaving in haste, wishing we had met,
Love comes in haste, hate comes in haste, all carried away by the wind,
A wild laugh, a long sigh,
A happy life, a sorrowful life,
Who will be with me until death..."
As the theme song entered its chorus, the sense of carefree abandon was deeply moving!
At this point, viewers also noticed certain details in the lyrics. The song was meticulously crafted, with its most distinctive feature being the use of antonyms: love and hate, right and wrong, life and death, favors and grudges, drunk and sober, joy and sorrow, crying and laughing, coming and going, heaven and earth...
Ting Yu used these antonyms to construct the entire martial world!
"Jianghu! This is the Jianghu! I can see the unique Jianghu from Jiangnan's works!"
"Brilliant! Ting Yu's wuxia songs are getting better and better!"
"Just the intro alone conjured Jiangnan's unique wuxia style in my mind. As the verses progressed to the chorus, I have no more words of praise for Ting Yu, because he has reached the pinnacle and needs no further accolades. I can only say, Ting Yu and Jiangnan are a perfect match!"
"The lyrics and melody of this song are as beautiful as a painting!"
"I'm a Ting Yu fan, originally here to listen to the music, but now I suddenly want to watch the show..."
"Damn, what did Jiangnan the scriptwriter sell to get a big shot like Ting Yu to compose a theme song tailor-made for his work!"
"Who knows? There must have been some shady dealings between the two behind the scenes!"
With just a theme song, the audience was already drawn into wanting to watch the drama.
This was the terrifying power of Ting Yu!
...