The next day.
Lin Yuan had just gotten up when he heard his sister making a fuss in his little sisterâs room:
âHurry up and vote for the Prince of Lanling! If we donât vote, how will he ever come out on top? Every vote counts. Sooner or later, the Prince of Lanling will make his debut!â
âOkay, okay!â
Big Yaoyaoâs voice was full of resignation, sounding adorably soft.
Not much later.
There was a knock at Lin Yuanâs door.
âCome in.â
His sister poked her head in, âSo, I stayed up to finish watching yesterdayâs competition and now Iâm a fan of the Prince of Lanling. We should vote for him. If we donât voteâ¦â
âWhat vote?â
âRemember that official activity from The Masked Singer, where they asked online spectators to vote for their favorite singer? All the Prince of Lanlingâs fans feel like he isnât getting enough votes. He beat Illaoi in the last round, who was in fifth place, so surely he should now be in fifth place!â
Lin Yuan: ââ¦â
Indeed, the show had organized such a voting activity.
âAlright.â
Lin Yuan mimicked Big Yaoyaoâs tone, even his voice was gentle and soft.
His sister paused for a moment, wondering if sheâd heard wrong, then left a bit bewildered.
Lin Yuan took out his phone and checked the ranking.
Seems like quite a few new fans like his sister had voted for him.
In The Masked Singer, he had shot up to eight place from tenth.
He didnât give it much thought.
Lin Yuan cast a vote for himself. According to the rules, everyone had one vote per day.
There wasnât too much change in the ranks above him.
The robot had moved up one place in the ranking, replacing the samurai who was previously in fifth place.
Samurai was unmasked and had been removed from the leaderboard.
Underneath the rankings, there was a comment section where netizens discussed their opinionsâ
âPrince of Lanling is amazing!â
âEveryone said the Prince of Lanling had played all his cards, but it seems like he still had a secret weapon. âI Surrenderâ was amazing!â
âIt was okay.â
âI think everyone is overrating âI Surrenderâ; the best performance was clearly the battle between the robot and the spirit. That was like divine play.â
âIllaoi really chose the wrong song.â
âIf Illaoi hadnât tried to compete with the Prince of Lanling in terms of breath control, the Prince wouldnât have stood a chance.â
âThe Prince of Lanling is cunning, intentionally luring Illaoi into a challenge on his strongest ground. Illaoi fell right into his trap. One has to admit that the Prince is good at using competitive strategies.â
âHow are these crazy fans so stubborn?â
âWasnât the Princeâs performance yesterday enough to shut you up?â
âWe admit the Princeâs breath control is amazing, but someone praised his high notes, whatâs up with that? Some people from the first team said his high notes werenât really that high, itâs just that he has long breath control.â
âPlease, the Prince never claimed to sing high notes. Heâs so modest.â
âExactly, the Prince even said it wasnât high. I think that implies he can sing even higher!â
âPrince of Lanlingâs fans are master interpreters. When he says it isnât high, it shows self-awareness. He means others can sing higher, not that he himself can sing higher.â
âWhat is there to argue? Everyone will lose when facing the Overlord!â
âThe Overlord is truly terrifying. Also, itâs clear from the team competition; the one who moves first always loses!â
ââ¦â
Lin Yuan shook his head.
The controversy around him didnât seem to have subsided after the competition. Thankfully, the competition goes on.
If one competition isnât enough, there will be more.
As for the so-called âthe one who moves first always loseâ, that does seem to be true. For some reason, whenever the first team went against the third team, whoever opened the song lost. It was quite bizarre.
Lin Yuan didnât think much, he just liked a few comments from those fans who had defended him.
Of course, he was using his secret account that nobody knew.
As for the Overlord that the fans mentioned, Lin Yuan paid close attention to him.
After all, the Overlord was widely recognized as the most likely champion.
Even the Maestro once commented that:
In the world of King of Singing, the Overlord is amongst the best.
Lin Yuan agreed with this statement.
Each one of the Overlordâs performances was overwhelming, and he was capable of mastering a wide range of song styles. As a singer, he was comprehensive and versatile.
â¦
Meanwhile.
In a certain companyâs break room, a handsome and tall man was watching the team competition of âThe Masked Singerâ on a sofa.
âGreetings, Overlord!â
His agent entered the room with a beaming smile.
The man casually turned off the show: âDonât call me that in the company, it would prematurely expose everything if others hear it.â
âThereâs no one else around.â
The agent poured a cup of soda for himself, took a sip, and said, âIn a few days, it will be the match between the second and fourth teams.â
âI just need to win.â
The man uttered these words with utmost confidence.
The agent laughed: âTrue that. Youâve won first place four times in a row. How could you possibly lose in the team competition? Just finish this match quickly and proceed to the finalsâ¦Were you just watching the match between the first and third teams?â
âYes.â
âWhat do you think?â
âA bunch of weaklings.â
âAll of them?â
The man paused for a moment, then toned down his remarks, âThe performances of the Robot and the Elf were acceptable. The Swan is unpredictable for now, but Iâll handle it. The competition for the championship should play out between her and me.â
âWhat about the Prince of Lanling?â
The agent asked with a tinge of amusement.
For an instant, the manâs breath became heavier, âIâm glad he wasnât eliminated!â
âHahaha⦠If the Prince of Lanling knew heâs been targeted by the Overlord, the top favorite, heâd probably want to eliminate himself in the next match.â
The agent laughed uncontrollably.
In fact, the Swan is the real threat to the Overlord, but the Overlord deemed the Prince of Lanling more important than anyone else. If the outside world found out about this, it would probably cause quite a stir.
The manâs gaze was sharp and unyielding.
The agent put down his soda and remarked, âSpeaking of which, we should thank the Prince of Lanling. If he didnât attack our King Fei, King Fei wouldnât have slaughtered the stage under the name Overlord.â
Whoosh.
The man pulled back the curtain, and the light revealed his identityâ
Fei Yang!
Thatâs right.
The current top favorite on stage!
The one widely recognized as the potential champion of the first-season âThe Masked Singerâ, Overlord!
It is Fei Yang!
The agent said, âBy the way, the Revenge Goddess who youâve overshadowed for four episodes, itâs Yuan Xi, isnât it?â
âMost likely.â
Fei Yang answered without hesitation.
The agent nodded his head, âWell, your fourth team is interesting then. Both you and Yuan Xi are targeting the Prince of Lanling. I just donât know if Yuan Xi will eliminate the Prince of Lanling prematurely, take off her mask, and say, âIâm out, mission accomplished.â
âThe Prince of Lanling is mine!â
Fei Yang asserted without hesitation.
The agent was momentarily stunned and wore a bizarre expression on his face.
The Samurai had said the same thing in the team competition.
And thenâ¦
Of course.
The Overlord is not the Samurai.
The Overlord is Fei Yang, the King of Singing!
The Samurai, Illaoi, could never be compared to Fei Yang in any aspect.
The most obvious difference being, the Samurai doesnât possess the Overlordâs terrifying stage domination â a power that seemingly suppresses everything.
A few days later.
The epic battle between the second and fourth teams.
The Overlord demolished his opponents with an unprecedented lead of eight hundred votesâcreating the largest gap in any team competition round!
Everyone online was shocked!
Some netizens even commented:
The Overlord reigns supreme in The Masked Singer, who could possibly rival the Swan if she doesnât appear!
ââââââ
PS: Thanks to the generous tip from Overlord Forest Spiritâââââ. An extra chapter as promised, moving on to a new dayâs chapter, no hope for a timezone change yet.