Josh’s three trainees were all from the Empire. The group was also a combination of two males and one female, and all of them were Beastmen.

Although no one knew the nationality of the contestants behind them when they turned around, some people inevitably had slight accents.

So, it wasn’t too difficult to tell them apart. The only ones hard to distinguish were males with feminine voices, females with masculine voices, Half-beastmen, and pure humans.

This group of trainees performed a lyrical ballad.

First, Male #1 and the female sang a duet, with Male #2 providing harmony. Then they switched, and after a three-person chorus, the final section featured a high-note duet between the two males, with the female singing an even higher harmony part.

It had to be said, they were much better than the trio that had performed earlier.

And the song highlighted the strengths of each of their voices.

Josh herself seemed quite satisfied. The smile never left her face as she watched her three trainees.

Their final score was 93 points.

The viewers in the livestream chat were also full of praise:

[As an up-and-coming composer, Josh really has some skill. Listening to this song makes you feel like you’re soaring into the clouds.]

[Those scalp-tingling high notes! The three trainees’ vocal skills are impressive too.]

[I’m a little worried about our Qin Bao. She picked her trainees too quickly. There were some great contestants later on, but she had no spots left.]

[True, Qin Bao turned for basically all the later trainees, but it’s a shame she didn’t have any spots to take them.]

[Did you guys see that? Just now, Sili was glaring at that pure human female, grinding her teeth. She looked absolutely furious.]

[I heard about that a long time ago. Sili despises Half-beastmen and pure humans, especially the females.]

[Why?]

[Because her father died young, and her mother later married a pure human male she really loved. She even had a pure human daughter with him.

Her mother doted on her pure human sister, leaving Sili to be cared for by her other partners while she personally looked after the younger daughter.

Then, the ’uncle’ tasked with caring for her lost control during a heat cycle and... violated her.

Although the male was executed afterward, the damage was done. To this day, she still hasn’t chosen her first partner.] 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Fortunately, Sili was a female of the Myriad Races and wasn’t that old yet, so she hadn’t reached the age of mandatory partner matching.

That was why she had been able to remain single.

[Gods, that’s so tragic. I forgive her.]

As usual, the host randomly interviewed members of the judging panel.

Most of their responses were complimentary. The occasional flaws they mentioned were directed at the singers; no one said the composition was bad.

This made Josh, who was already holding her head high, lift her chin even higher. Her beautiful, snow-white neckline was particularly eye-catching.

...

Next up were Qi Huaixuan’s trio.

Jiang Qin, leaning back in her chair, couldn’t help but tense up slightly.

The first voice to emerge was Qi Huaixuan’s:

"If you are the fireworks over the sea

Then I am the foam on the waves

For a moment, your light illuminated me

If you are a distant river of stars..."

Then came Qi Yuanyuan’s bright, high-pitched tone,

"I can follow behind you

Like a shadow dream-walking, chasing the light..."

The second verse began with Tang Wanqing.

Each of the three had their own lyrical solo, they all sang parts of the chorus, and they even swapped roles for the harmonies.

For the final part, Qi Huaixuan sang a section a cappella, followed by Xiong Yuanyuan, with Tang Wanqing concluding the song:

"Some love is like a torrential downpour

But I still believe in the rainbow..."

As the song, "Chasing Lighter," concluded, the judges, who had been listening with their eyes closed, revealed their scores.

The final score was 95 points.

The host, smiling, went through the motions and began interviewing the judges.

The camera landed randomly, and she once again found herself interviewing the same judge who had initially commented on Sili.

Despite her nervousness, she smiled and asked, "Could you share your thoughts on the trainees from Group 3?"

"The song is excellent. As everyone knows, Miss Jiang Qing’s songs are famous for being heartfelt.

This song is no exception; I was moved by it. The trainees were also outstanding. You can tell they took this competition very seriously, and every one of them gave it their absolute focus.

Qi Huaixuan’s deep voice is like a lover’s whisper, and Tang Wanqing’s vocals can soothe an anxious heart.

As for Xiong Yuanyuan, her voice is just like a ray of light breaking through dark clouds.

I really wanted to find some fault, but I couldn’t find a place to start. The compatibility between the singers and the song was just too high.

If I absolutely had to deduct points, I’d say it would be for the contestants’ technical skill."

"It seems you were very satisfied with Group 3’s performance! Now, let’s hear what someone else has to say..."

This time, the host picked a judge who had given a score of only 83.

When asked for his evaluation, he said, "I don’t think this was a good song choice."

"For a competitive stage, I prefer explosive songs, like the ones from mentors Sili and Josh. Those were excellent.

However, ’Chasing Lighter’ did genuinely touch my heart, which is why I gave it an 83.

If the song hadn’t been so moving, I likely would have only given a passing grade."

"Alright, thank you for your critique. Next up, let’s welcome the trainees from Group 4.

They’re from Mentor Ophina’s team. Let’s see what kind of fantastic song they’ll bring us!"

Ophina’s trainees were all female.

So, they performed a sweet, dance-pop style song.

It had to be said, bringing this kind of style to the stage at this moment was as refreshing as a cool breeze on a summer day.

Unsurprisingly, they received a high score of 91.

The main issue was that the song was a bit generic—catchy and easy to sing, but some judges were unwilling to give it a high score for that reason.

It was just like the judge who had only given Qi Huaixuan’s group an 83.

Some judges were just inflexible, believing that on a competitive music stage, showing off technical skill is more important.

That’s why Ophina’s average score was slightly lower than Josh’s.

The last group was Su San’s.

Her trainees were also a combination of two males and one female.

Everyone was thinking about the possibility of future songs requiring male and female pairings, so most had chosen a mix for their teams.

Only Ophina was different; she had chosen all females.

But in truth, she had probably wanted to pick a male for her last spot. By the time her turn came, however, there were only female contestants left.

She had no choice. If she didn’t pick someone then, she might not have had any options left, so she had to choose another female trainee.

Soon, the three trainees began to sing.

The female with the mature voice kicked things off with a powerful, roaring opening, followed by the male with the deep voice.

During the chorus, the female and the other, high-voiced male sang a duet, while the low-voiced male provided harmony.

If one had to describe the style of the entire song, it would be "a red flower complemented by green leaves."

The sole female was the blooming red flower in the center, while the two males were like the green leaves that made her stand out.

But this combination was also incredibly striking.

It was mainly because the female’s voice was perfectly suited for rock music—a great, smoky voice.