Chapter 014: Astonishing Sun Yuzhen

Bringing Le Xiaotian onto the stage, Sun Yunzhen made the introductions. “This is our award-winning mixing engineer, Xiao Wang. And this is Le Xiaotian.”

After shaking hands with these long-time behind-the-scenes professionals of the music industry, Le Xiaotian felt as though his very aura of music had risen a notch in an instant.

After the brief introductions, a man in his twenties asked, “What sort of piece would you like to record?”

Though his words were polite, in his mind he’d already labeled Le Xiaotian—surely something within the realms of pop or rock. Of course, there were also folk, country, and electronic styles, but could one man really shake things up?

Unexpectedly, Le Xiaotian replied without hesitation, “Symphonic. For broadcast.”

In that instant, all the staff of Nine Phoenixes were visibly jolted.

Was this boy out of his mind? Recording a symphonic piece alone? Did he have hundreds of clones at his disposal?

Broadcast? Five million just to make a track for radio? Didn’t he know that finished pieces could be broadcast as they were?

As looks of disdain flashed among the staff, Le Xiaotian, as if realizing he’d misspoken, quickly added, “Oh, I mean it has traditional symphonic elements, with some folk and electronic components as well.”

He had no choice. On Earth, “Cloud Palace Rapid Sound” was categorized as electronic music, and was even dubbed the progenitor of electronic music for Chinese television dramas. But who could say what it was called on this planet?

At this, Sun Yunzhen’s lips twitched. Coming to record a piece with orchestral elements alone? Multi-track recording was possible, yes, but did he know how to play dozens of instruments himself?

Paying no mind to the subtle shifts in everyone’s expression, Le Xiaotian’s thoughts were entirely consumed by his music. For strictly speaking, this was his first time ever making music, in this life or the last.

He stepped up to the mixing console. “You can all step back now. I’m about to begin recording.”

There was a moment of awkward silence. Sun Yunzhen stepped forward with a smile. “There are many steps to the recording process. The mixing engineer I just introduced will help you process the sound to make it more pleasing.”

Well, so much for professional jargon—they were treating him like a novice. Yet, Brother Xiaotian was a god of music!

Realizing the situation was off, Le Xiaotian replied, “No need. I’m recording the master track. I’ll mix it myself.”

Sun Yunzhen continued, “The sound engineer will help you adjust the audio to its best effect, he—”

He cut her off. “No need to adjust. I’ll handle it.”

“And this monitor headset will help you filter out noise—”

“I know how to use it. I don’t need it.”

“This synthesizer has tens of thousands of special sounds. If you’re not familiar—”

“I’ll listen carefully. Besides, I know which sounds I want. I—” At this, Le Xiaotian sensed something was wrong.

Snapping out of his excitement at the prospect of making music, he looked at the staff—each with their distinct, bemused expressions. He realized they had misunderstood him.

So he smiled and said, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not asking you to leave for any other reason. I’m familiar with every stage of the process and want to control it all myself. The finished piece is already complete in my mind; I just wish to use your equipment and environment.”

Without further argument, after a brief exchange, Sun Yunzhen led the others away.

On their way to the glass-walled control room above, the staff could no longer hold back their laughter.

“He just wants to use our equipment and environment—this guy is a total pretender!”

“But wait, if he doesn’t know anything, why is he here?”

“I bet he’s got his eye on Sister Zhen.”

“Five million just to hit on her?”

“Oh, please, he doesn’t even know me.”

They burst into laughter as they entered the control room.

But as they prepared to share the joke with their colleagues, something seemed off.

The four colleagues in the monitoring booth were frozen like statues.

Despite the commotion, not one of them stirred. The incoming group was left momentarily dumbstruck.

Sun Yunzhen was the first to approach, turning on the amplifier that linked the downstairs auditorium to the control room. This way, the sound from below could be heard here, not just through the headphones.

Glancing at her colleagues, she saw the shock in their eyes.

Following their gaze through the glass, Sun Yunzhen looked down upon the stage where Le Xiaotian stood at its center.

With a single glance, she too was transfixed.

Black suit, white shirt, two buttons undone—he looked a little wild, unrestrained. And yet, there was an undeniable air of musical gravitas about him.

It is said that a master reveals himself with a single move. Sun Yunzhen now understood why her colleagues were so stunned.

His expression, so different from moments ago; those deep, focused eyes; the practiced adjustments to every piece of recording and sound equipment—none of this spoke of inexperience. On the contrary, he was clearly a consummate professional.

As dozens of mixing and sound engineers crowded in to witness, they too were dumbfounded—a sea of bewildered faces.

At the center of their gaze, Le Xiaotian, utterly focused, had already prepared everything.

The first thing he set up was the electronic synthesized tone.

The opening synthesized sound of the “Journey to the West” overture, “Cloud Palace Rapid Sound,” was absolutely fundamental—a true classic.

On Earth, any Chinese person, especially those born in the 1980s, would find that familiar “doo-doo-doo” sound a wave of pure nostalgia—a godly melody: the Monkey King arrives!

So now, Le Xiaotian’s attitude was one of utmost seriousness. After all, he did not intend to let a classic falter at his hands.

He played through the original sound samples on the mixing equipment, listening intently. Meanwhile, the sound was transmitted with perfect clarity to the control room above.

As a variety of tones emerged, the staff in the control room found them all deeply familiar.

Before long, their pupils dilated in unison.

“Impossible! That tone isn’t on the machine—how did he craft it on the spot so effortlessly?!”

“Incredible! How can this synthesized sound be so beautiful?!”

“What—could he be a top-level mixing engineer?!”

As Le Xiaotian opened his mouth to the condenser microphone, the people above were left utterly speechless. “Ah~”

The ethereal female vocal line left them awestruck.

“That synthesized sound is pure genius. And now, he’s singing in a woman’s voice?!”

“The sound quality is flawless—no need to clean up the noise, no need for touch-ups, no cutting or pasting. Is he even human?!”

“It can’t be! He’s collected two sound samples—two harmonies at different volumes, melded into one.”

“God! How is his French horn playing so divine? Perfect breath control, volume, zero noise—and all this without a monitor headset. How can it be? Xiao Wang, hit me!”

Smack!

“Damn! It’s real! Wait, is that a second voice? Can he truly perform a piece that would normally require an entire orchestra by himself?”

“My God! Such terrifying auditory skills—his control over sound quality, volume, breath, movement, expression, audio, harmony, ensemble, instrument performance—all of it, fully managed. Could he be a genius conductor of the highest order?!”

Exclamations, stupefaction, excitement—the musicians felt as though they were witnessing the very god of music.

Sun Yunzhen’s mouth formed a perfect “O,” her spirit shaken in a way words alone could never express.

Transcendent.