After the warm-up acts, Li Xiang and Jiang Cai’Er took the stage in stunning outfits. He was handsome and witty, she was beautiful and eloquent. Both had first-rate stage presence, and their simple opening remarks instantly created a festive atmosphere that drew everyone in.

The second act was a Sichuan Opera performance by Li Jinyu and Li Yucheng. They performed the Yellow Robe Story, one of the classic "Five Robes," which depicts Emperor Taizu of Song’s snowy night visit to Zhao Pu. It was a classic piece of Sichuan Opera, very popular with the older generation.

Next up was the "Blacksmith Rock Band" from the Hejia Platform Blacksmith Shop, composed of three generations of the family. They hammered out a rhythm on anvils, hammers, and bellows while Jiang Cai’Er had a robot dog dance along. Sparks from the dog’s paws flew in sync with the sparks from the smithing.

Jiang Cai’Er’s robot dog dance was absolutely incredible. It performed to the recent viral internet hit, "Li Xicheng’s March"—DONG DONG DONG~—which was ridiculously catchy and hypnotic. The key was that she also innovated on it. In a short routine, she blended more than a dozen different dance styles, yet it all felt perfectly seamless.

However, Jiang Cai’Er herself wasn’t on stage; only the robot dog was. Apart from the local villagers who knew it was hers, some of the out-of-town fans in the livestream chat had no idea. They were all curious. ’Holy crap, this backwater country place is actually using a robot dog for a dance performance?’

Then someone retorted, "They have so many drones, what’s so strange about a robot dog?"

And so, people had to admit that Li Family Village was already at the forefront of all rural villages in the country. It truly lived up to its name as a model village.

Jiang Cai’Er’s mental processing power was extremely high, allowing her to multitask effortlessly. She controlled the dancing robot dog, generated other special effects, directed hundreds of drones for filming, announced acts on stage, replied to fan messages in the livestream chat, and thanked her "family members" for their donations... She handled every task without a hitch, a truly incredible feat. Unfortunately, no outsiders knew about it.

But the act didn’t end there. There was one final climax.

"This piece is called ’Iron Bone Burning Wildfire’!" the old master blacksmith of Hejia Platform roared, his voice mingling with the metallic clang of clashing ironware as all six family members stomped their feet in unison.

At the same time, Jiang Cai’Er directed three hundred drones to sweep over the audience’s heads. The Purple Mirage Armor, hidden beneath her coat, shimmered with a faint light. Suddenly, a sky full of iron filings coalesced into a galloping, fiery wild horse, its mane trailing sparks as it leaped over the crowd. Tourists screamed and raised their phones, only to see the wild horse transform into a projection of a Crystal Stone vein upon landing, blurring the line between the real iron tools in the blacksmiths’ hands and the illusion.

The live audience and the livestream chat went absolutely wild. What a feast for the eyes today was.

Many other acts followed, such as the children’s choir from Zhaojiaping. Led by Zhao Xueqing’s younger cousin, a full dozen children sang a parody of "Dig, Dig, Dig" called "Plant, Plant, Plant" while wearing glowing basket-backpack costumes. Jiang Cai’Er secretly had drones fly over the audience carrying "seed blind boxes," randomly dropping vegetable seed-themed merchandise like keychains, refrigerator magnets, and bookmarks.

Since everyone was from the countryside, this felt very down-to-earth and had a distinct rural charm.

There was also the "Grandma Troupe from All Around": they wore "Intangible Cultural Heritage Fashion"—repurposed old clothes consisting of Miao embroidered aprons and fluorescent vests. Their runway music was a mashup of "The Most Dazzling National Style" and electronic music. Jiang Cai’Er used holographic projections to display the grandmothers’ old photos in the background, creating a "time travel" effect.

There were also interactive special effects. For example, the livestream chat could vote in real-time to choose an "Apocalypse Crisis Type": Zombies, Extreme Cold, or Exotic Beasts. The stage would then immediately switch to corresponding special effects.

For example, when someone chose Exotic Beasts, Li Xiang would use his Earth Superpower to summon an illusion of a crystalized wild boar. It would charge toward the audience, looking so real that it was breathtaking even when watched on a phone.

Li Xiang’s Obsidian Black Gold Holy Cauldron possessed an Extraordinary Attribute called "Crystalized Spiritual Beast." It could release hordes of Spirit Beasts of varying strengths, numbering from the hundreds to the thousands, which could be either illusory or solid.

In fact, now that Li Xiang’s Earth Pivot World Record had been upgraded to its third form, he could create the same effect using only his Earth Superpower, without even needing the Obsidian Black Gold Holy Cauldron. It just wouldn’t be as powerful.

The children of Li Family Village, meanwhile, sang "Little Mining Heroes," a parody of "Lonely Brave." They performed in glowing miner costumes, and naturally, there were special effects that made the stage look like an underground mine during the Apocalypse.

The little hedgehog made a guest appearance, scurrying around the "mine" and playing hide-and-seek with the little miners. It was incredibly charming and had everyone roaring with laughter.

After seven or eight acts, the atmosphere in both the venue and the livestream surged to another climax with the appearance of Yao Yao.

Yao Yao’s figure was captivating. She had ingeniously fused the classical "Cai Wei" dance with the unique art of Sichuan Opera Face-Changing.

And she really did have seventy-two transformations—no, one hundred and eight transformations! Each one was different, leaving the audience dazzled and breathless.

Earlier, the children from Lei Family Gully had also performed face-changing, but they had used traditional opera masks. A civet cat had even made a guest appearance to interact with the young actors and liven things up. But Yao Yao was on another level—she changed into the faces of real people.

In addition to over a hundred different beautiful faces from all times and places—including some with blonde hair and blue eyes—she ended with an "easter egg." She suddenly transformed into Apocalypse-themed characters like a Mechanical Maiden and a "Zombie Face." Holy crap! That zombie face, in particular, was so sudden that it made some of the children in the audience cry and sent the livestream chat into a frenzy.

"How in the world did she do that?"

"Is that a holographic projection or something?"

"Can anyone in the live audience tell us? Is it real face-changing?"

"There’s no trace of how it’s done!"

The livestream and the internet at large were buzzing with discussion. No one knew how Yao Yao did it.

With this one "change," Yao Yao became famous, earning the title "Hundred-Change Demoness." Her follower count subsequently broke the ten million mark. In the past, Yao Yao would have been ecstatic, but now, she didn’t pay much attention to such things.

She thought to herself, ’This is all for Brother Xiang. Too bad he’s such a coward and never comes to enjoy it.’ Besides changing faces, she could also change her body shape and even create real Clones of herself. But those were secrets she wouldn’t be demonstrating at the gala.

Lei Xiaohui’s act was the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Skill: Blazing Fire Saber Technique," set to the music of "Song of the Apocalypse."

Other internet celebrities who performed this trick would spit alcohol or kerosene. In reality, her Blazing Flame Blade Technique was Spirit Flame—Taoist Fire manifested from thin air—so its momentum and endurance were extraordinary.

As the passionate, stirring song began, bronze braziers in the four corners of the stage ignited, and Lei Xiaohui stood in the center, holding her twin blades in a reverse grip.

Li Xiang secretly activated his Earth Superpower, causing magma-like patterns to crackle across the ground. Zhao Xueqing manipulated her Vine Technique, weaving a circular viewing stand as a warm, orange-red light seeped from between the branches. Jiang Cai’Er then simulated Ice Crystal effects among the vines.

Lei Xiaohui spun into her opening stance. The tips of her blades scraped across the Ice Vines, triggering a HISS of steam. The Spirit Flame, cooled by the ice, condensed into a shower of sparks that rained down on the audience. Of course, it was all just an "Illusion." The audience members yelped and raised their hands to shield themselves, but upon realizing nothing was there, they couldn’t help but gasp in amazement and then laugh.

Someone in the livestream chat commented, "Those have to be paid actors!"

When she executed the seventh move, "Cross Slash of the Prairie Fire," a horse-head-shaped burst of Spirit Flame erupted from where Lei Xiaohui’s twin blades crossed. Then, a stallion of blazing fire leaped forth.

This Spirit Flame Celestial Steed was incredibly lifelike. It reared up, its front hooves pawing at the empty air as it raised its head and neighed. Jiang Cai’Er directed the drone swarm to project dynamic irises into the steed’s pupils, which switched between illusions of famous generals from the Three Kingdoms—Zhuge Wu Marquis, Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong—in time with the chorus of "Song of the Apocalypse."

This was because Sichuan Province was the heartland of the ancient Shu Kingdom.

These illusions were astonishingly vivid, and a few drones zoomed in for close-ups, sparking a new wave of excitement in the livestream chat.

Lei Xiaohui’s movements were graceful and powerful. As she concluded her form, she suddenly kicked the pommels of her twin blades. The fiery steed used the force to leap into the air, soaring ten meters high. Where its front hooves stamped the void, a wheel of the twelve zodiac animals exploded into view, and the horse’s proud head froze in the very center of the wheel.

The new year was the Year of the Horse. The zodiac wheel was another one of Jiang Cai’Er’s perfectly executed special effects.

The fiery steed neighed in mid-air, and at the same moment, all ten thousand-plus audience members felt a warm breath on the backs of their necks, making them gasp in astonishment yet again. Someone couldn’t help but curse, "Holy shit, how can they produce special effects like this?"

At the same time, Jiang Cai’Er enabled the "Spirit Steed Cheering" feature in the livestream. Donating a gift more valuable than a "Rocket" would automatically generate a mini fiery steed that galloped around the screen. Instantly, the livestream was filled with non-stop galloping steeds, and the amount of money from gifts was impossible to count.

It’s worth mentioning that Lei Xiaohui’s "Spirit Flame Celestial Steed" intangible cultural heritage performance hit the top of the trending charts the next day. Not only that, but the Bureau of Culture and Tourism also capitalized on it by launching a "Steed Treading on Flying Flames" cultural-creative ice cream. The fiery-steed-shaped popsicles sold out—all one hundred thousand of them—in three days.

Yes, it was a collaboration between the Bureau of Culture and Tourism and Eternal Night Media, with a 30/70 profit split.

This popsicle was also sold at the attractions in Li Family Village.

Zhao Xueqing still performed the "Kung Fu Tea" intangible cultural heritage act. However, as a Tier Two Transcendent, she was on a completely different level from last year. This year, dressed in Hanfu, she danced while performing the tea ceremony. Her skills were even more fluid than before, and many moves considered highly difficult in the industry were child’s play for her.

And this time, she also used "special effects."

As Zhao Xueqing performed, her younger female cousin, also in Hanfu, danced to "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection" beside her. Another younger female cousin was responsible for the narration, introducing the names of Zhao Xueqing’s various unique techniques.

There was "Long River Drinking Moon": Zhao Xueqing spun, swinging a gilded bronze pot with a two-meter-long spout. The 90°C Tieguanyin tea drew an elegant arc through the air, and then, a dragon formed from the tea itself materialized around the stream, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, astonishingly lifelike. This was, of course, a Mirage Realm effect from the Purple Mirage Armor.

Then there was a move called "Thousand Mountains at Dusk Snow," an upgraded version of last year’s "Celestial Flying Immortal," which had featured the Reversed Kick of the Purple Gold Crown.

In addition, there were "Fishing Alone in the Cold River," "Vine Bridge Spring," "Thousand Vines Worshipping the Moon," "Ten Thousand Flowers Sealing Cup," and more. Every single one was breathtaking.

Not only was the performance beautiful to watch, but the tea brewed through this process was also exceptionally delicious.

Even emperors could never enjoy such a tea ceremony, but Li Xiang got to enjoy it every day.

Someone clapped their hands and laughed. "I’ve really seen it all today! One dazzling sight after another!"

A talented poet in the livestream chat composed a poem titled "Thoughts on Watching the Li Family Village Gala." In reality, it was Jiang Cai’Er’s sock puppet account.

The poem was a seven-character quatrain:

Shushan’s ancient echoes brightly gleam,

The village wonders, a world-shaking dream.

With changing faces, Sichuan’s art astounds,

A thousand-drone mirage, the sky surrounds.

For someone with her divine intellect, composing such a short poem was as easy as breathing, was it not?

As soon as this poem appeared, it fueled the atmosphere in the livestream even more. Many people praised it one after another: "Good poem, good poem!"

Jiang Cai’Er, getting into the spirit of it, dashed off another seven or eight poems. For example, "Illusion Realm of Intangible Heritage":

A Sichuan mirage towers toward the sky,

With changing faces, flaming blades cut high.

Tea mist to crystal, hiding earth’s deep veins,

A fiery pet now roars as heaven reigns.

Another, "Crystal Vine and Snowy Charm":

Ice Crystal vines twine ’round the scent of tea,

The blacksmith’s meteors splash for all to see.

Kids with bamboo dragons chase a Phantom’s flight,

The drone formation paints a celestial sight.

And another, "Village Gala That Broke the World":

Hot pot steams, warmed by a Crystal Stone’s heat,

A cute kid’s changing face teases the Civet King’s retreat.

Our heritage show beats the national gala’s stream,

A million comments flood the land of Shu, a boiling dream.