Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

After finishing this scene, since Link was relatively busy, the crew continued shooting his parts the next day.

The second prince agreed to help the Queen stage a rebellion, left the palace to gather troops, and led ten thousand soldiers clad in golden armor to storm the Imperial Palace on the Double Ninth Festival. Ultimately, inside the palace, they were ambushed by the King's forces, resulting in the complete annihilation of his army, leaving only himself captured and brought to the Chrysanthemum Platform at the Double Ninth Feast.

This scene was grand in scale, and as the protagonist, Link shot it over eight days in Hengdian's Imperial Palace, constantly wielding his sword and battling enemies, breaking over sixty prop sabers in the process.

By mid-September, he had filmed his final suicide scene, officially wrapping up all his parts.

At the wrap party organized for him by the crew, Director Zhang praised his songwriting and singing skills, expressing his desire for Link to write a theme song for the movie.

"Link, what do you think?"

Director Zhang patted him on the shoulder and asked.

Link thought for a moment. The ending theme song of "Curse of the Golden Flower" was said to be Jay Chou's famous "Chrysanthemum Platform." Rumor had it that Jay Chou found inspiration while filming this movie and collaborated with Fang Wenshan to write the song.

Now that Link was playing the second prince, things had taken a different turn.

"Alright, I'll give it a try," Link replied.

"Haha, Link, you're such a good guy. You're not just a great actor; I also like your temperament. Working with you feels like collaborating with old partners Gong Li and Zhang Yimou—it's so seamless, so comfortable. I hope we have more opportunities to work together in the future."

Director Zhang enthusiastically toasted him.

Link chuckled and clinked glasses of beer with him.

As for acting, he didn't have much time, and besides, he had done so much of it. He held very high standards for scripts and roles; it was challenging to find a suitable character. Playing an unsuitable role felt unnatural—he'd rather not act at all.

Therefore, "Curse of the Golden Flower" might be his last movie.

After wrapping up his scenes, Link left Hengdian and stopped by his hometown in Huaxi for a few days. By late September, he returned to Capital City to resume his training.

Not long after arriving back in Capital City, he recorded a demo version of "Chrysanthemum Platform" in the studio and sent it to Director Zhang, who listened and expressed great satisfaction, promising to give him a hefty red envelope.

"Link, this 'Chrysanthemum Platform' sounds great. It has a classical Huaxia vibe. Why don't you write a few more songs in this style?"

In the recording studio, Zhang Yadong took off his headphones and remarked.

Link pondered momentarily before shaking his head. Such songs were better left to Jay Chou—he didn't want to turn into Xia Luo.

For his third album, he planned to release entirely English songs, using tracks from his first album released in 2009, "The Fighter." The songs would include "Unstoppable," "Chasing the Sun," "Fire," "Fight Song," among 12 others.

He had sung these songs many times before, so recording them would be relatively easy.

Additionally, releasing an English album could expand his overseas market and boost his popularity. Not only would he profit from album sales but also increase his earnings from boxing matches.

Overall, there were more advantages.

Domestically, his fame was already significant. Even releasing several more hit albums wouldn't substantially increase his recognition.

As for releasing an English album, the distribution channels were not particularly difficult.

The predecessor of Taihe Wheat Field Music was Warner Wheat Field. In 2000, Song Ke collaborated with Warner Records to establish the "Warner Wheat Field" music label.

Last year, Wheat Field Music partnered with Taihe Media to form "Capital City Taihe Wheat Field Music Cultural Development Company," but Link, Pu Shu, and Lao Lang still retained their record contracts under Warner Wheat Field.

His last album, with promotional support from Warner Records, sold over 3 million copies in overseas markets.

"All of Me," "Dream It Possible," and other songs subsequently made it onto the US Billboard singles chart as well as the charts of Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and other countries, earning Link over 3 million US Dollars.

As long as this next album maintained high quality, Warner Records would undoubtedly be willing to collaborate.

Zhang Yadong, upon hearing of his plans to break into the European and American music scene, did not oppose the idea, but he admitted he wasn't familiar with the current trends in Western music and couldn't continue as the producer for Link's third album.

Warner Records, hearing about Link's plans to release an English album, recognized the quality of his previous three songs and sent a production team from the United States to help him craft this record.

The team's leader was William Obert, who had previously produced two albums for Madonna.

Early on during recording, William Obert was quite authoritative, insisting that Link sing the way he instructed.

However, Link had experience as a former music company president, spent years in recording studios, and had mentored several young pop stars and divas. He was well-versed in arrangement and production.

Engaging with Obert in discussions about his arrangements, he gradually earned Obert's approval, with the producer acknowledging many of his ideas.

Link eventually became one of the producers for this album, ensuring an additional share of royalties after its release.

After registering copyrights for the 12 English songs and arrangements for his third album, Link handed the material to William and the team for production.

Once the arrangements were completed, they entered the recording phase, with plans to finish the recording by December.

During this period, Link represented Hundong Province in the 10th National Games held in Jinling from October 12 to October 23.

Since the domestic competitions offered limited prize money, he participated in only three events: the 100m sprint, 200m sprint, 4X400m relay, and was appointed as the chief referee for the men's boxing matches.

In the 100m sprint, he ran a time of 10.12 seconds, breaking the national sprint record and earning a gold medal.

In the 200m sprint, he achieved a time of 20.37 seconds, once again breaking the national and Asian record, earning a second gold medal.

In the 4X400m relay, he and three teammates from Hundong Province recorded a time of 3 minutes 07.42 seconds, finishing behind Jiangsu's team and taking home a silver medal.

Ultimately, Hundong Province's delegation ranked sixth nationally, with 29 gold, 20 silver, and 12 bronze medals, totaling 61 awards.

Hundong Province showed generosity by rewarding Link with an apartment in the provincial capital, Jinzhou. Local leaders warmly shook his hand during their meeting, encouraging him to return home often.

Link assured them he would, while reciprocating their goodwill by donating 20 million Yuan through his newly established 1+1 Charity Foundation to Hundong Province's Hope Project for educational aid.

After tending to these miscellaneous matters, Link returned to Capital City to record his album, train, and assist Liu Yifei in refining her debut album, ensuring its quality.

In early November, Liu Yifei's debut album, "Liu Yifei," was officially released. Given Liu Yifei's diligent practice over the past few months and the high quality of the album's songs,

in its first week of release, "Liu Yifei" sold 670,000 copies domestically, surpassing the sales of Jay Chou's 6th album, "November's Chopin," by 180,000 copies in the same period.

This album's 12 songs, including "My Song," "Cotton Candy," "Hello Tomorrow," "Wishing One's Heart," "The Offering of Love," and "Little Happiness," became some of the year's most popular tracks across Huaxia, echoing in streets and alleys, showcasing Liu Yifei's sweet voice everywhere.

The album's songwriter and composer, 'Lingling,' also rose to fame along with it.

Many within the industry were eager to discover who 'Lingling' was, a songwriter capable of crafting hits for a singer like Liu Yifei to achieve phenomenal success. Numerous female singers hoped to have 'Lingling' tailor songs for them.

However, all participants involved in the album's production had signed non-disclosure agreements, preventing anyone from revealing 'Lingling's' identity.

Link chose not to use his real name for two reasons: to avoid the hassle of receiving constant song requests and to sidestep potential rumors that might tarnish Liu Yifei's reputation.

He preferred quietly profiting in secrecy.

With Liu Yifei's album selling exceptionally well, Link, as the songwriter and composer, earned a 10% cut from each album sold.

Liu Yifei also enjoyed significant gains. Earlier in the year, her portrayal of 'Ling'er' in "Legend of Sword and Fairy" catapulted her to stardom, making her the most popular actress among the new generation.

The album's success added the title of talented singer-songwriter to Liu Yifei's profile, elevating her fame to rival the four established veteran actresses: Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, and Xu Jinglei.

However, with fame came controversies, as the media began circulating unfavorable rumors about her, including claims of being born male, having powerful backers, and an unwed pregnancy.

Link and Liu Xiaoli had to spend considerable funds to quash these damaging reports.