《League of Unknowns》


 Chapter 1 - Retired as a Casual

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    DOTA Tournament, London, England


    Dazzling neon lights flared in the tournament hall, and multi-colored LEDs lit up the awards stage!


    Upon the stage, five English contestants raised a trophy high over their heads, beaming proudly. Beside them, a statuesque woman popped open a bottle and sprayed them with champagne in celebration of their victory!


    The one in the middle was a handsome young Englishman with brown hair. Flashing a gorgeous smile that made girls swoon, he looked down at another young man, beneath the stage.


    He was the triumphant heart of the winning team. Only seventeen, he was the prince of the English e-sports scene!


    ¡°I learned a Chinese proverb.¡± Rather than delivering a winning speech, the champion was directly addressing that young man beneath the stage. ¡°A man is only as good as his word. Now that you¡¯ve been defeated, please uphold your end of our wager, and give up DOTA forever!¡±


    The one he was speaking to was a young man with jet-black hair, a bit on the skinny side.


    Standing before the radiance of the Prince of Gaming and his blinding smile, all he could do was nod mutely.


    ¡°Here now, this is the talented player known as Hawk¡ªlet¡¯s have a smile, so we can commemorate this moment.¡± A photographer approached the dark-haired youth, speaking perfect Chinese.


    Facing the camera, the young man cracked a smile.


    It was a smile which tore his heart to shreds!


    Now, he understood: Often, there was no prize for second place. In war, for example.


    To him, multiplayer gaming was a battlefield. Although there was neither smoke nor bloodshed, the defeated were little better than corpses, with no fate to look forward to besides slowly rotting away in the dirt.


    That was e-sports, the same as any other event with lots of competitors involved, hardly anyone would remember who came in second.


    His name was Logan Yu. Game ID: Hawk.


    But he had to withdraw from the professional gaming scene for his beloved DOTA, and not merely because of his gamble with this English prodigy.


    ***


    One year later.


    ***


    Upon the balcony of an unremarkable residential apartment, verdant evergreen boughs waved gently in the wind coming off the river. If only the wind wasn¡¯t also carrying the stench of fetid water, Logan might have called this an incomparably lovely morning.


    Short black hair, a white singlet, baggy shorts, a pair of flip-flops: the very portrait of a loser.


    Thank goodness the face wasn¡¯t too bad to look at, and with the deliberate air of melancholy he wore about himself, there was a roguish sort of charm to him!


    Logan was holding up an English book, slowly memorizing new words.


    Truth be told, he spoke English rather well, especially when it came to words and phrases used to inquire about one¡¯s family and loved ones¡ªwhy, one he could say he had a marvelous talent for it!


    There was no helping it: If you needed to swear at someone in England, it was no good to do it in Chinese.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Logan can catch up in his studies. One practice exam and he¡¯s already in the top 30 for the school. He¡¯s a genius, no matter what you throw at him!¡± A woman¡¯s voice could be heard from the kitchen, tinged with pride and admiration.


    ¡°Hmph, if not for your encouraging him to keep playing those damned games, his grades would be even better. He could easily get into Tsinghua University, no problem. Top 30? That¡¯s a far cry from good enough. If he can¡¯t do any better than some unremarkable university somewhere, I¡¯ll smash that computer of his!¡± Now it was the voice of a middle-aged man.


    ¡°You dare¡ªyou dare try that and I¡¯ll throw all your smokes and your drinks straight into the rubbish heap! So what if he plays games? It¡¯s even taken him to foreign lands! Have you ever gotten out of the country?¡± The woman had instantly flown into a rage!


    ¡°You¡­ It¡¯s all because you¡¯ve spoilt him! If one day he finds stuck in a dead end, it¡¯ll all be your fault! What future is there in gaming?¡± the middle-aged man blustered in frustration.


    ¡°So what if it all falls to me? Tell me how you¡¯ve been taking responsibility in any of this, tell me that!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered!¡±


    It was the usual quarrel between his parents. Every morning, Logan was either woken up by his alarm clock, or more likely the ceaseless squabbling between the two.


    Their apartment was just eighty square meters in all. It offered no place for him to hide from that cacophony.


    The woman was obviously Logan¡¯s mother, Lilian. The typical doting mother who loved her son more than anything else in the world.


    The middle-aged man was his father, Eugene. Harsh in manner and short of temper, he was basically the same as every father.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯m going to school.¡± Packing his English book away, Logan put on the hideous uniform, slung his bag over his shoulder, and went to the door to put on his shoes.


    ¡°Alright. Stay safe out there.¡± Lilian poked her head out of the kitchen and watched until her son had finished putting on his shoes, before continuing to do the dishes.


    When she was done in the kitchen, Lilian went to tidy up her son¡¯s room.


    In the room, Lilian noticed some lights still flashing from the computer screen. Obviously Logan had forgotten to turn it off.


    ¡°This child, waking up early just to sneak in a few games,¡± Lilian muttered with some exasperation. Quietly, she shut the door, for fear that if Eugene noticed, there might be another outburst.


    Approaching the computer, Lilian noticed that the game program was still open. Across the top, bold words announced some sort of ¡®League of Legends¡¯.


    ¡°What sort of game is this?¡± she wondered curiously.


    Then she saw ¡®Rank 1,900 points¡¯, but she didn¡¯t know what that meant, either. She moved the mouse cursor over to close the game window, and then shut down the computer.


    ***


    Achievements in the Olympics were worth merit, and so was doing well in academics, in regional competitions¡­ but getting second place in an international gaming tournament? Not only was it not worth any credit, the board might also hesitate to admit you into their school.


    Logan Yu was a hardcore gamer. Ever since middle school, he¡¯d won first place even in silly things like bubble puzzle games, go-kart racing games and the like. Later, he became obsessed with Warcraft, and then DOTA. He could bury those so-called genius scholars under all the prizes that he¡¯d won.


    However, it was well-known that no matter what your accomplishments in the field of gaming, the grand majority of parents and relatives would label you as a good-for-nothing loafer.


    Logan was currently enrolled in a prominent regional high school, and it had cost his family several years¡¯ worth of savings to get him in there. His previous school was no good, which was why he¡¯d been able to find enough free time to become a pro gamer during his first two years of high school.


    In June of his second year, he¡¯d flown off to take part in an international DOTA tournament, but after that had ended, he¡¯d gone back to concentrating on his studies like a good little boy.


    The grand prize for the international DOTA tournament had been three hundred thousand RMB. But there had been no reward for placing second.


    As for why, you¡¯d have to ask the organizing committee in Britain.


    With two years of his high school education wasted, his family had paid an exorbitant price to transfer him to a better school. He wasn¡¯t from a wealthy family, and it had pained Logan to see the despair on Eugene¡¯s face, so he¡¯d been working hard for the past year.


    A talented person could find success in many areas. Doing well in academics was also a matter of talent.


    Logan Yu was a talented person. Not only had he regained what had been lost in the short span of a single year, he¡¯d even surpassed some of the star students there, as he¡¯d demonstrated in the recent round of exams.


    Of course, just because he was putting an effort into his studies, that didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d given up on gaming.


    To some in his generation, gaming was a second life.


    As Garen would say, ¡®Hold fast!¡¯


    Some things were worth fighting for, and gaming was one of those things.


    Logan had been keeping his promise to that English dude, and hadn¡¯t touched DOTA since. However, he¡¯d found a new love in League of Legends.


    Even if he couldn¡¯t be a pro gamer, it was fine just to play casually too.

 Chapter 2 - Five-Man Team

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There was still a quarter of an hour until the morning reading session, so Logan laid back in his seat and closed his eyes for a therapeutic nap. He was feeling a little drowsy.


    There was no helping it. He had to work hard at both his studies and his in-game ranking. Who could find the time to get enough sleep?


    ¡°For crying out loud, last night we lost to those idiots from Class 3!¡± A loud, brusque voice rang out from behind Logan.


    It was the familiar voice of Jin Wong, who sat next to him in class, and called himself ¡®Beast¡¯ in-game. Hopelessly devoted to LOL (League of Legends), he proclaimed himself to be the premier Mid-lane player in Cerulean High, the other LOL gamers in class looked up to him.


    ¡°Coulson Zhao, what were you doing up Top? Attack their rear line! Playing like that, you might as well be named Coulstoned!¡± Jin hollered in fury.


    MOBA 1 teams, just like basketball teams, comprised of five players¡ªone of which would be a useless loser whose only talent was finding defeat.


    ¡°Hey man, the enemy Top was Level 27¡ªI just got to Level 20 recently. How was I expected to fight against him?¡± Coulson whined . 2


    ¡°Then why were you in such a hurry to let him have First Blood? Couldn¡¯t you tell someone was waiting in the brush to ambush you?¡± Jin raged on.


    Coulson was cowardly by nature, and whenever he played, he¡¯d usually ask to be a Tank in the Top lane¡ªa role poorly suited for him.


    ¡°And as for the Bottom lane: What the hell were you guys doing? Three deaths in ten minutes!¡± Now Jin¡¯s sharp tongue had turned to two boys nearby.


    ¡°Blame Yang, not me,¡± a slender boy named Shane Chong replied. ¡°Every time Blitzcrank grabs somebody, I die.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what was going on last night,¡± Yang Soon declared indignantly. ¡°Even though I¡¯d managed to pull an enemy over to us, in the end it was the two of us who died.¡±


    Yang seemed to have a strong preference for using Blitzcrank, a champion which could often carry the whole game.


    But they¡¯d met with misfortune yesterday.


    Logan was flopped down against his desk, eavesdropping on the boys behind him as they discussed last night¡¯s defeat.


    He himself also enjoyed using Blitzcrank, the ¡®Great Steam Golem¡¯. He was certain that last night Yang had pulled over an enemy Taric, Alistar, Leona, or some other tanky, hard-to-kill Support champion.


    Snagging someone with Blitzcrank¡¯s Rocket Grab was great, but pulling over one of those champions was like throwing your teammate to the wolves. Whereas at first the danger was still a safe distance away, yanking them over to you with Rocket Grab would likely result in the death of a more fragile teammate standing near you.


    This was something you had to learn about by Level 30, if you were playing Blitzcrank in the Support role. Yang still had some ways to go with that champion.


    Of course, there were times when it was fine to pull over enemy Tanks, as you developed a more advanced grasp of game tactics.


    Logan didn¡¯t instruct Yang on how his Bottom lane had been lost. The struggles of noobs like them did not concern an expert of his caliber.


    ¡°I¡¯ve challenged the gentlemen from Class 3 to a rematch next Saturday. I¡¯ve bet my entire allowance for this month on that game,¡± Jin announced.


    ¡°My lord, don¡¯t be so reckless! We¡¯re no match for them,¡± Coulson spluttered.


    ¡°Says who?¡± Jin whirled on Coulson, who fell silent.


    At this, Logan finally opened his eyes to cast a solemn look at Jin. ¡°I guess you¡¯ll be broke this month, wagering all your allowance like that.¡±


    Betting money. Now that was serious business.


    Seeing his lifeless partner joining the conversation at last, he hurried over to whisper, ¡°Charlene is in the game too, and she¡¯s looking for someone to play with. Seth Lin from Class 3 challenged me for this honor, and to my dismay, we lost to them last night, with Charlene watching.


    ¡°The shame is unbearable! I have to reclaim my pride, don¡¯t you see? Ah, it¡¯s all because I¡¯m stuck with these hopeless noobs.¡±


    ¡°Charlene Yang? The beauty of Class 4, with legs for days?¡± This was a name Logan recognized, because whenever she passed by, she¡¯d leave a trail of slavering fools in her wake.


    Certainly, she was a feast for the eyes¡ªespecially with those long, voluptuous legs, swaying as she walked, her tight little butt bouncing this way and that¡­ Not even her loose-fitting uniform could conceal her ravishing sex appeal!


    ¡°Logan, don¡¯t you play, too? It¡¯s alright if you¡¯re not much good at it, since you¡¯re not playing for us anyway. Maybe next Saturday, you¡¯d like to come and help host the game?¡± Jin said.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll be busy.¡± Logan shook his head. ¡°You guys go ahead.¡±


    What a joke. A player with a score of 1,900, swinging by to watch some kids¡¯ 5v5 match? He¡¯d rather be rushing for 2,000 with his own team. Now that they were in their third year of high school, weekends were a precious resource!


    Didn¡¯t they know what a 1,900 score meant?


    It meant that if Logan Yu was Legolas, then Jin Wong and his motley crew were just a bunch of wretched orcs. They were far more than a few tiers of play apart!


    ***


    Do you have a passion for learning?


    Dare you proclaim any love for classical Chinese literature? The wending ways of English? The mystifying madness of Mathematics?


    Should you dare to make such a preposterous declaration in my presence, I won¡¯t hesitate to disprove your inane prevarications.


    Logan loathed it all, but he was without a choice in the matter. For the sake of his parents, not to mention his nebulous future, he had to sit through every class, keeping meticulous notes, six days every week.


    In this hazy way, an entire week would pass, and after the final class on Saturday, the class monitor never failed to stand before the classroom and point at the words on the blackboard, written in a vivid array of colors:


    ¡®120 DAYS UNTIL FINALS¡¯


    It was a grave warning which shrouded the room in a dark pall, like a funeral parlor.


    However, the moment the last bell rang, the gleam in the students¡¯ eyes betrayed their true feelings.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go grab something to eat, and then tonight we¡¯ll get some practice at the cyber caf¨¦. We¡¯ve got to figure out our strategy!¡± Jin harried his teammates in a bright, singsong voice.


    ¡°Jin, did you really bet money with those guys from Class 3?¡± Logan asked as he put his things away.


    ¡°Why would I lie about that? Money can be recovered, but pride must never be abandoned. That¡¯s what I told Charlene.¡± Jin spoke with righteous conviction.


    ¡°Alright. All the best.¡± Logan could tell that right now Jin was like a bull who¡¯d seen red¡ªthere¡¯d be no holding him back anymore.


    ¡°Are you really not gonna come and cheer for us?¡± Jin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got stuff to do on Saturday nights,¡± Logan replied. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll pop by if I get a moment. Rising Dragon Cyber Caf¨¦, right?¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯d be great if you could make it. You¡¯ll get to bear witness to the massacre I shall unleash!¡± Jin was grinning from ear to ear.


    He was already gathering Coulson, Shane, and Yang to eat out together, after which they would presumably assemble in the formation spoken of in legends: five seats in a row at the cyber caf¨¦, the forbidden ritual which tempts disaster!

 Chapter 3 - Damn!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After finishing dinner at home, Logan turned on his computer.


    Navigating to the directory for ¡®League of Legends¡¯ and starting the game, he was greeted by the majestic sight of the opening screen, Logan¡¯s normally sleepy eyes were suddenly radiant with light.


    His love for games went all the way into his marrow. There was no suppressing it.


    Once in the game, he selected the Freljord region. Opening up his Friends List, Logan found a name as familiar to him as his own heart: Snowfall.


    It was a feminine-sounding name, and in all the time they¡¯d played together, Logan had always assumed that it was a girl. However, he couldn¡¯t be certain: When you couldn¡¯t really see somebody on the internet, there was no way to confirm anyone¡¯s actual gender; for that matter, even if you did see them, it was still possible to somehow be mistaken.


    Modern society¡­ the waters ran deep!


    Not that Logan cared whether Snowfall was a man or a woman. The important thing was that you needed a partner to game with. Although she wasn¡¯t the best he¡¯d ever played with, they still had a special something when working together.


    ¡°Waiting for me?¡± Logan sent a message over.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I know you¡¯re always on, Saturday nights. That¡¯s how I figured out that you¡¯re a student.¡± The reply appeared immediately, as though he or she had been eagerly anticipating his arrival.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started, then. We¡¯ll get to 2,000 before the weekend is through.¡± Logan didn¡¯t mince around with niceties, and got right down to business.


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    ¡®League of Legends¡¯ was a kind of Tower Defense game, with five players on each side. The objective was to shatter the enemy¡¯s crystal Nexus.


    One could think of it as two enemy cities connected via three roads, down which both cities would constantly send out forces of identical strength. The players acted as captains in the field, clashing against one another with the aim of vanquishing the opposition, crushing their Nexus, and thereby claiming victory.


    There were Normal matches and Ranked matches.


    Normal matches involved randomly selected teammates and opponents, brought together for a bit of friendly sparring.


    Ranked matches were more serious in nature, because wins and losses both counted for points, and if you could prove your superiority by advancing through consistent victories, it was a fundamental indicator of player ability.


    A score of 1,900 meant he would be matched against expert players.


    For players like Jin Wong, it was best to stick with Normal matches. Only players with a Level of 30 and at least sixteen Champions in their collection were allowed to participate in Ranked matches.


    Jin and his Class 3 rivals hadn¡¯t even qualified for Ranked matches, so it hardly came as a surprise that Logan couldn¡¯t be bothered to go hang out with them, since they weren¡¯t even in the same league.


    Whenever Logan paired up with Snowfall, they always played in the Bottom lane. Logan would serve as Support, while Snowfall played an Attack Damage Carry (ADC). Both of them employing all manner of underhanded tactics in vicious harmony with each other, there was no act too low for them.


    After two victories in a row, Logan and Snowfall both made it into the 2,000 score bracket.


    Achieving 2,000 in Ranked was the pinnacle of achievement. To be able to reach this threshold indicated that you were among the best players in the whole game. For a third-year high school student to make it here was an extraordinary phenomenon . 1


    ¡°Something came up, I¡¯ve got to go,¡± Snowfall announced at the end of their second game.


    ¡°Are you done for tonight?¡± Logan inquired with some bewilderment. Typically they¡¯d play late into the night. Especially because they were on a roll at the moment, it came as a shock that Snowfall would suddenly call it quits here.


    ¡°Yup. There¡¯s no time for me to play on weekdays, so I¡¯ll see you again next week,¡± Snowfall replied.


    ¡°Alright. I guess I¡¯ll go fool around in Normal,¡± Logan said.


    Snowfall responded with, ¡°You know, you could just go solo in Ranked.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m nothing without you,¡± Logan answered.


    ¡°You say that like you¡¯ve been the one counting on me. The truth is, we¡¯re still not that good together. Often I feel like I¡¯m struggling just to keep up with you.¡± Snowfall could see that Logan was really good at playing Support, to the point that she sometimes got left behind.


    ¡°Heh. Get a mic, so we can use voice chat.¡± Logan said this with an air of mischief.


    ¡°Mm, I know what you¡¯re up to¡­¡± Snowfall replied coquettishly. ¡°I fear that when you hear my booming, manly voice, our friendship might end straight-away.¡±


    Logan gave her a ROFL.


    Snowfall¡¯s gender meant nothing to Logan¡ªbut if she really was a girl, now, wouldn¡¯t that be a stroke of luck?


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll go get a mic. Let¡¯s use voice chat next week,¡± Snowfall said.


    Really? Logan nearly fell off his chair in disbelief!


    He¡¯d been friends with Snowfall for quite a while now. After spending a lot of time together on ¡®Q Chat¡¯, she¡¯d pulled him into League of Legends.


    Everything about her had a feminine air about it, but because she¡¯d always declined video or voice chat, Logan had maintained some reservations about her, for fear that she might really turn out to be a GIRL (Guy In Real Life).


    Was the moment of truth finally at hand?


    Would it be the coarse, gravelly voice of some old dude, or the clear, melodic tones of a young maiden? Next week, the veil would be parted at last.


    Logan wondered why his heart was racing.


    ¡°I¡¯m going off now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, bb.¡±


    Snowfall¡¯s name faded into gray. Somehow, whenever that happened, Logan would feel a certain sense of melancholy.


    Following Snowfall¡¯s departure, Logan didn¡¯t actually start any Normal matches. Instead, he logged onto a separate account.


    The truth was, he didn¡¯t really enjoy Normal matches. As a former pro gamer, he easily got bored when there wasn¡¯t any tension.


    Just as he was about to join the queue to play Solo Ranked, the phone rang.


    No one else was at home, so Logan had to get it.


    ¡°Logan?¡± the caller ventured.


    ¡°That¡¯s me. Jin, weren¡¯t you going to have a big fight with Class 3? Why are you calling?¡± Logan recognized Jin¡¯s voice immediately. This right here was the classic example of the aforementioned ¡®booming, manly voice.¡¯


    ¡°Ah¡­ Yang, that bastard, got dragged off by his mom to study. Now we¡¯ve got no one to play Support. I can¡¯t leave it to the mewling kitten and the bamboo pole, those Level-12 noobs. The Class 3 guys won¡¯t let me hire on any outside help, so you¡¯re my last hope.¡± Speaking hurriedly, Jin outlined the whole situation all at once.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have enough players, don¡¯t play,¡± Logan suggested.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. The Class 3 guys say that if we don¡¯t play today, they¡¯ll count it as a forfeit. And Charlene is here already. She¡¯s wearing a skirt, and those alabaster-white calves, I tell you¡­ er, the point is that postponement is not possible. I need this favor from you.


    ¡°So what¡¯s your level in League of Legends? Are you any good at Support?¡± Jin sounded desperate.


    ¡°How much money are we talking about, here?¡± Logan wondered.


    ¡°One thousand!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± For someone from an average, middle-class family, one grand equaled two months¡¯ living expenses for a high school student staying away from home!


    Logan knew Jin couldn¡¯t afford to lose those thousand bucks. His dad would skin him alive!


    ¡°Seth just casually threw down one thousand, saying he didn¡¯t mind if I only put down five hundred, since this wasn¡¯t about money. I couldn¡¯t let him get away with that, so I matched his wager with all the money that I¡¯d just withdrawn. I figured Charlene would be impressed by that.¡±


    ¡°Get real. The only thing she¡¯ll be impressed by is what a fool you are,¡± Logan muttered. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll come play Support for you.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even told me what level you are. If you¡¯re not even Level 15 yet, then forget it¡ªI¡¯ll call someone else.¡±


    His only answer was an intermittent tone over the line.


    ¡°Damn, how could he just hang up on me!¡±


    Anyone who really played League of Legends should know that the player¡¯s level was no indication whatsoever of skill. Rather, their score in Ranked was what you should inquire about. After all, the maximum level was 30. Generally, you were considered a noob if you were still anywhere below that . 2


    Seth Lin came from a rich family. A thousand bucks was nothing to him.


    But if Jin lost that one thousand, he would starve. Seth must have been provoking him on purpose, in order to compound his suffering.


    For Logan, the squabbling between noobs was none of his concern; but to know that Seth was picking on his friends with deliberate malice, he couldn¡¯t abide by that.


    This Seth¡­ didn¡¯t he have anything better to do with all that money?


    Logan decided he¡¯d be taking that one thousand for himself, to buy some Skins and Runes 3 !


    Heh heh¡­ there was only one word for it: Damn!

 Chapter 4 - Favored of the Goddess

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Logan Yu had just left the house, making his way through the commotion of the city streets.


    By some ill twist of fate, two familiar faces were heading his way.


    It was a student and his mother, the student covering his face with his hands as his mother lambasted him savagely in public, as though he was guilty of the most heinous crime imaginable. Not daring to talk back to her, the student just hung his head as he walked along.


    Logan recognized the student. Just as Jin had said, Yang Soon was being dragged home by his mother.


    ¡°When will you ever learn? Is playing games the only thing you can do? Why were you in a cyber caf¨¦? Do you know how hard your father and I work to pay for your education, and for your brother and sister as well? We had to scrape and save every penny, and there you were, spending it on games!


    ¡°Alright, if you have to play those games no matter what, let¡¯s see what your dad thinks when I tell him about this! I bet he¡¯ll break both your legs!¡±


    The middle-aged plump woman continued to shriek the whole way, so that you could still hear them from halfway down the street. As though he was a thief who¡¯d been caught red-handed, Yang Soon just kept his eyes on the floor, never even noticing Logan as he passed right by him.


    With the way Yang¡¯s mother was bellowing away, the only thing Logan could do anyway was pretend he hadn¡¯t seen a thing.


    There weren¡¯t many parents out there who¡¯d appreciate e-sports, nor anything else unrelated to studies.


    Making his way down the street and through a somewhat darkened alleyway, the neon lights of Rising Dragon Cyber Caf¨¦ came into view, a welcome sight that filled him with relief.


    As soon as he¡¯d climbed up the stairs, he heard the sounds of people slamming mice and banging elbows, through heavy metal rock music interspersed with the occasional shout from one of the players.


    On the second floor, he was greeted with a gust of somewhat fresh air. The Rising Dragon was decent enough to section off a No-Smoking zone.


    The smoking zone was generally populated by adults and delinquent youths, while the No-Smoking zone was where one saw more students, women, and upstanding citizens (or those trying to appear as such).


    You got all sorts at a cyber caf¨¦. Back before there was a computer at home, Logan had whiled away many an idle evening in here.


    In those days, when he was still in elementary school or junior high, the cyber caf¨¦ wasn¡¯t very strictly managed. With both his parents at work so that no one was home the whole day, in his solitude he¡¯d felt drawn to the crowds in a cyber caf¨¦.


    As a kid, he hadn¡¯t had much money to spend, so he¡¯d been unable to play anything himself. All he did was hover behind other people, watching and learning.


    Of course, he often bore witness to the most horrendous incompetence, and all he wanted to do was shove the fool aside and take control himself¡ªand then the slaughter would commence!


    The air was much more breathable in the No-Smoking zone, and it was much less common to encounter some young man with dyed hair, or an unfashionable old geezer, or some skank festooned with piercings. On a good day, you could even spot a babe or two.


    ¡°Who are you¡­ who are you calling pathetic!¡± Suddenly, a holler rang through the area.


    ¡°The one who¡¯s losing it right now, that¡¯s who. If you can¡¯t afford the loss then just admit it. How long are you going to keep dragging on like this?¡± A more cultured voice could be heard speaking in response.


    ¡°Can¡¯t afford it? Cut the crap, even four-on-five, we could easily wipe the floor with you!¡± Jin blustered.


    ¡°Indeed, four against five? And who was it last week who suffered that humiliating loss, not even holding out for thirty minutes? If we go four-on-five, I think by the ten-minute mark you¡¯ll all be cowering at the fountain, too scared to leave!¡± the singsong voice responded laughingly, and some others joined in the laughter.


    This war of words was becoming quite the bitter feud.


    Class 3 and Class 8 had long been nemeses. Whether it was the school sports meet, or basketball and soccer matches, they¡¯d been at war with each other since Year 2, fostering a hatred as old as time itself.


    Now that feud had spilled over into League of Legends. To the youth, victory in computer games held every bit as much weight as triumph in physical sports, and could similarly become the cause of much hot-blooded excitement!


    ¡°Everyone calm down!¡± A clear voice cut through the chaos. It wasn¡¯t exactly a loud voice, but it easily commanded silence nevertheless, the mouth of every man snapping shut, as though fearing to lose the favor of the owner of that voice.


    ¡°Hey now, Charlene, you saw what happened last time. They¡¯re nowhere close to my ability. Let¡¯s play together tomorrow¡ªI guarantee a hundred percent chance of victory!¡± Seth Lin, of Class 3, flashed her a winning smile.


    Seth had a fair face, his complexion so clear it seemed to sparkle. His eyes lacked the same sense of purity, though. Whenever he was looking at you, there would be flashes of disdain and annoyance; whenever he was looking at Charlene, however, they shone with warmth and sincerity!


    Charlene Yang¡¯s status as the top beauty of Year 3 was common knowledge. Overflowing with sex appeal and vitality, with a broad variety of interests, including things more commonly associated with guys, such as League of Legends, most recently.


    When word of this got around, it became a free-for-all between every player in Year 3, and inspired many to put in long hours at the cyber caf¨¦, training to improve their skills in the hopes that it would allow them to get closer to her.


    Whenever a beauty appeared in the man¡¯s world of gaming, she would be elevated above other pretty girls, her charms suddenly far more compelling.


    Girls, this is a fact of life!


    Is there a gamer who doesn¡¯t dream of finding a girl who can play games by his side, wearing whatever little clothes she usually relaxes in at home? Especially a girl with a sensual body, enchanting features?


    If such a girl exists, she would be no mere babe, but a goddess!


    ¡°If there¡¯s no one else, then I can be their Support. It¡¯s only for one match.¡± Charlene took in the assembly of fire-breathing warriors with a sweep of her gaze.


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t do!¡± Neither Jin nor Seth were receptive to the idea.


    There was money on the table. Anyway, if Charlene was playing Support, there¡¯d be no meaning in the fight anymore. This whole point of the match was the girl; humiliating each other was a secondary priority.


    Friendship, like class, is a wonderful thing, which can be yours if you but seek it.


    ¡°Hey guys, I¡¯m here.¡± Logan decided this was the moment to step in.


    As one, Jin Wong, Shane Chong, Coulson Zhao, and Sean Cao turned to him. At that moment, Charlene just happened to be standing amongst the people from Class 8, and her big bright eyes fell upon him as well, appraising him with curiosity.


    ¡°Bro, you really came,¡± Jin¡¯s voice quavered with emotion. ¡°Whatever drink you fancy, it¡¯s on me.¡±


    ¡°Coke, then.¡± No sense holding back.


    ¡°You got it.¡± Jin brought a bottle of Coke over.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know this guy.¡± Bernie from Class 3 pointed at Logan. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s some hired muscle you found at the last minute?¡±


    Logan had only joined Class 8 during Year 3, and had never really mixed around much with students from other classes. Small wonder the students of Class 3 didn¡¯t know him.


    ¡°He¡¯s from Class 8.¡± It was Charlene who said this, with an air of certainty.


    ¡°How do you know which class he¡¯s in? Well, even if he were outside help, it would make no difference. Those four are beyond help. They can make a lot of noise, but they¡¯re only hollow drums.¡± Seth put on the semblance of carefree, imperturbable serenity.


    Logan was wondering the same thing: Why did Charlene seem to recognize him?


    While hanging out with Jin and company, he¡¯d stolen the occasional peek at her gorgeous legs, but he couldn¡¯t recall ever saying one word to her. There was no reason at all the goddess of Year 3 should remember him.


    Could it be, she¡¯d seen through his mundane mug, and noticed his inner charisma, his true worth?


    Sometimes it was like that: Some men, no matter how they obscured it and pretended to be otherwise, nevertheless their unique quality, their forlorn resolution, shone from their eyes¡ªa completely natural savoir faire that could be detected by a woman of rare insight, as obvious to them as a firefly in the night, and as stark a contrast to the surrounding fare.

 Chapter 5 - Duo Top

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± Seth Lin of Class 3 groaned.


    Seth seemed to command some small bit of prestige within this cyber caf¨¦, and had been able to reserve ten computers in two rows of five, facing each other. Each computer was already lit up with the opening screen for League of Legends, ancient motifs highlighted with azure and metallic hints.


    After a week of dry, dusty textbooks, this sight kindled a light within each person¡¯s eyes!


    ¡°Logan, you¡¯ll sit beside Shane.¡± Jin indicated the vacant seat.


    Jin took his place in the middle, the position of a Mid-lane Mage.


    To his right were Sean and Coulson, while Logan and Shane were on his left, assigned to pair-up in the Bottom lane.


    Behind them were no small number of other cyber caf¨¦ regulars from Class 8, here to lend their moral support. There were seven or eight of them, including a girl.


    ¡°Smash them!¡± Yuri Huang, the assistant monitor of Class 8, demanded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The basketball captain for their class nodded in agreement. ¡°We¡¯ve already lost to them in basketball. We can¡¯t lose to them in LoL too, or we¡¯ll never live it down.¡±


    ¡°If you guys win, I¡¯ll give every one of you a kiss!¡± Samantha laughed.


    ¡°Oh? Move aside, Logan. I¡¯ll play.¡±


    ¡°Buzz off! You¡¯re not even Level 10. Go play ball or something.¡±


    Jin lowered his headset, and turned to their supporters. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t lose.¡±


    And then everyone logged onto their accounts, and joined the ¡®Iron Solari¡¯ server. Seth created a Custom game.


    Custom games differed from Normal matches in various ways. They were most often used to arrange practice matches between teammates, whereas Normal matches would select opponents randomly from online.


    Sure enough, Jin used the ID ¡®Beast¡¯. Shane was ¡®Cloud¡¯, Coulson was ¡®Heedless¡¯, Sean was ¡®Godfather¡¯.


    Logan was ¡®Downfall¡¯. Just some random name he¡¯d come up with¡ªhe used it because it sounded profound.


    His main account (the one with a Ranked score of 2,000), was in the Freljord region. The one he kept here in the Iron Solari was an alternate account, only used to play with an old friend. Its level wasn¡¯t high.


    ¡°Oh no, you¡¯re only Level 13?¡± Shane stole a peek at Logan¡¯s account, and started getting anxious. ¡°Even Yang is Level 24. Looks like our Bottom lane is doomed again.¡±


    The last time they fought Class 3, the pairing of Shane and Yang had been beaten into the ground. This time he¡¯d be sharing Bottom with a Level 13. What hope was there to be had?


    ¡°Logan¡¯s only three levels above me. How about I go instead?¡± Trevor was eager to make a showing, bouncing excitedly and raring to go.


    Jin glanced over at Logan. ¡°Bro, you got this?¡±


    ¡°Relax.¡± Logan¡¯s lips curved into a self-assured smirk.


    In today¡¯s world, whenever there was any question of your ability, you had to know how to be convincing!


    What good was skill if you were never given the chance to show it?


    Very soon, the invitations arrived. Seth of Class 3 added Logan as a Friend, and then brought him into the Custom game¡¯s lobby.


    Upon entering the lobby, Logan saw that everyone on the opposing team had a name starting with ¡®Wild¡¯.


    Rather than any wild kind of sensation, Logan felt this was somewhat tacky.


    The enemy players were all Level 25 or above. The one named ¡®Wild Life¡¯ was Level 29, mere inches away from the maximum level of 30.


    As for his own team: Jin was Level 26, but everyone else was Level 21, 22¡­ and then there was him, with a startling Level 13!


    ¡°Looks like they really didn¡¯t have anyone else to call. Bringing over a Level-13 noob just to pad out their ranks. This is good news for our Bottom lane!¡± Sitting opposite, Zachary Fong guffawed heartily.


    ¡°They¡¯re about to get knocked about until they can¡¯t tell up from down.¡±


    This was when Seth spoke up, chortling, ¡°That¡¯s cool, we¡¯ll split the money based on kills. Kill them two dozen times or so, and that one grand will be all yours.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m not holding back. At first, seeing what noobs they are, I was planning to just pick some random champ; but if we¡¯re competing for kills, then I¡¯ll have to go with my best!¡± Zachary squawked excitedly.


    Under this torrent of mockery, as well as the unsettling presence of a Level 13 among their ranks, there were uncertain looks all around, until Jin raised his voice to holler, ¡°Quit your yapping and let¡¯s play. We¡¯ll have you picking your teeth off the floor!¡±


    Seth clicked the button to begin, and everyone found themselves looking at the screen for Champion selection.


    ¡°Which are the opposing team¡¯s signature characters?¡± Logan murmured. ¡°Ban them all. That will make things easier for us.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®ban¡¯?¡± Shane asked in bewilderment.


    Logan thought he¡¯d said it casually enough, yet suddenly all eyes were turned to him in confusion.


    He looked at his screen, and felt a chill run through him.


    The game had been set to Blind Pick. That meant choosing your own Champion, while not being able to see which Champions the enemy team would be fielding. The Ban Phase would be skipped entirely.


    ¡®Right, I forgot we¡¯re not playing a high-level game,¡¯ Logan consoled himself in the privacy of his own mind. ¡®Sure, let¡¯s do a Blind Pick, then.¡¯


    ¡°Which Champion will you be playing?¡± Jin turned to ask him.


    ¡°Perhaps Blitzcrank. I¡¯ve got that champion on this account,¡± Logan replied.


    ¡°Yup, Blitzcrank is great.¡± Jin nodded in approval.


    Shane was not as enthusiastic about this, moaning, ¡°Yang used Blitzcrank last time, too¡­ and we lost Bot-lane.¡±


    Logan ignored his whining, and examined his own team¡¯s line-up.


    Jin had selected ¡®Annie, the Dark Child¡¯.


    Don¡¯t be fooled by Annie¡¯s appearance as a pastel-shaded sexy lolita, she was a nightmare to contend with. Often called the ¡®Instant-Kill Queen¡¯, she was a Mage champion who could deal extremely high burst damage . 1


    Goodness, he hadn¡¯t figured the boisterous Jin for a lolicon.


    Shane meanwhile chose ¡®Miss Fortune, the Bounty Hunter¡¯, nicknamed ¡®Lady Luck¡¯ or ¡®Gunslinger Girl¡¯.


    This was a mature beauty whose lines tended to leave one flustered. With teasing blown kisses, she asked in a sultry voice, ¡°Are you sure you can handle me, Summoner?¡±


    Miss Fortune was a Marksman, and one who boasted among the highest damage rates, especially with her Level-6 Ultimate skill ¡®Bullet Time¡¯. Whenever her raucous laughter rang out across the battlefield, it meant that someone was in the face of imminent doom¡ªget out of the way!


    Coulson brought out a champion everyone should be very familiar with: ¡®Garen, the Might of Demacia¡¯.


    Garen was one of the most widely recognized champions in League of Legends. Despite almost never appearing in high-level tournaments, during low-level play, he was like unto a god.


    He had little need for introduction¡ªhis fearsome strength was widely known.


    Sean¡¯s choice was ¡®Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman¡¯, known as ¡®Master Yi¡¯ or the ¡®Sword Saint¡¯ . 2 The Blademaster of the Wuju style was a cross between a Mage and a Fighter, and there were two main ways to play him.


    Taking advantage of his Mage aspects required more skill, while focusing on his strengths as a Fighter could let you become a dominating force in a low-level game, which was how he¡¯d earned the title ¡®Noobchamp¡¯. In games among players beneath the Level 10 threshold, you¡¯d see Master Yi in pretty much every game.


    That was their team composition. To Logan¡¯s expert eye, it looked like a pile of garbage, but odds were that his teammates weren¡¯t yet familiar with a lot of other champions.


    ¡°You¡¯re Jungling with Master Yi, right? Why aren¡¯t you getting Smite?¡± Logan tried to remind Sean.


    ¡°Jungling? What do you mean?¡± Sean was at a complete loss.


    ¡°You know¡­ the Jungler farms on creeps,¡± Coulson interjected. ¡°You know what, don¡¯t Jungle. I¡¯ll be alone up here, fighting against two guys. It¡¯s too much.¡±


    So it was to be a low-level 2-1-2 formation. Logan was seized by the urge to roll his eyes.


    Well, this was the noob tier. What Logan didn¡¯t understand was that, if they usually played 2-1-2, why had Jin been talking about a Solo Top in class that day?


    Wasn¡¯t this the hallmark of low-level strategy, the Duo Top?

 Chapter 6 - How to ADC

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Having gotten used to Ranked play, Logan hadn¡¯t done things like this in a while. Apparently League of Legends players above Level 20 still used the 2-1-2 formation.


    ¡°Logan, you¡¯re only Level 13, and you¡¯ve got no Runes. Play safe in Bot,¡± Jin instructed.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve nearly got a full set of Runes.¡±


    Oh, thank goodness. They knew about Runes.


    Logan had been worried that if he reminded them to check their Runes and Masteries, they might give him another blank look and ask what Runes were.


    ¡°Right, everyone play seriously!¡± Playing the role of leader, Jin rallied his team.


    A countdown had appeared in the Champion selection screen, and then they were shown a Loading Screen.


    Logan glanced at Jin, who appeared tense and nervous.


    With a thousand bucks on the line, and the rare opportunity to impress Charlene, feeling nervous was perfectly natural.


    Coulson also appeared ill at ease. He was the biggest coward here.


    Sean was quiet, gazing intently at the screen.


    Logan was just taking it easy, idly looking around, and managed to catch a glimpse of Charlene¡¯s long, lovely legs.


    Noticing his lewd gaze, she fixed him with a look.


    ¡®Touchy¡­ Your skin¡¯s not going to fall off from just one peek! But wow she¡¯s hot. I wonder what those legs would feel like to the touch¡­¡¯ Such was the nature of Logan¡¯s private thoughts.


    ***


    On the other side, Seth had his arms crossed as he stroked his chin, a smile playing across his face.


    ¡°Heh, there¡¯s no way they would know that our Commander Lin is being trained by a master. Your Level might be shown as 29, but you¡¯d have no trouble taking down players at Level 30 or 40, huh?¡± A fair-faced student beside him whispered.


    ¡°Idiot,¡± Seth responded with a laugh, ¡°Max Level is 30 in League of Legends.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. So there¡¯s no going past Level 30?¡±


    ¡°You can go for Ranked,¡± Seth replied.


    ¡°Ranked? What¡¯s that like?¡± None of them had played in a Ranked match before, so they were all curious about it.


    ¡°There are lots of pros in Ranked, and they play at the highest level of strategy. Anyone who¡¯s been to Ranked could squash us flat. You noobs don¡¯t stand a chance against players of that caliber. The master I met here in the Rising Dragon is one of those Ranked players.¡±


    Having never before seen that world he spoke of, they beheld Seth with awe.


    ¡°Maybe next time, if there¡¯s a chance, my master could take you guys under his wing, and you¡¯ll know what a real pro looks like,¡± Seth suggested. ¡°Alright, the game¡¯s starting. Show no mercy. If we get our fill of blood this game, I¡¯ll treat you guys to a feast for supper.¡±


    ¡°You heard the boss. Tonight, we feast!¡±


    The Class 3 boys were beside themselves with anticipation. Everyone knew Seth¡¯s family was loaded, so many flocked around him. Furthermore, any opportunity to take their Class 8 archrivals down a notch was always welcome. It was their own fault for not knowing their place in the world.


    ¡°Welcome to Summoner¡¯s Rift!¡± A familiar female voice greeted them, pleasing to the ear, but carrying an underlying tone that was austere and solemn.


    Knowing that at this level of play, Level-1 teamfights and stealing creeps was all but unheard of, Logan brought Blitzcrank directly into the lane without worry.


    ¡°The two of you at Top, watch out for ambushes in the brush,¡± Jin warned Coulson and Sean.


    ¡°Yup, yup.¡± The two nodded.


    ¡®The two of you at Top¡­¡¯ For some reason, this statement prickled a little for him to hear.


    One mistake commonly made by beginners was to run into the brush before the minions spawned in. This was because they hoped to gain some sort of advantage on their opponents, as well as to check if anyone was in there.


    To face-check the brush was to invite disaster!


    Dear friends, life is precious. Cherish it.


    Since Logan was hiding behind the safety of the tower, he felt he could afford to observe events in the Top lane.


    Sean¡¯s Master Yi and Coulson¡¯s Mr Demacia were far from their own tower, cavorting around near the brush. If all five of the enemy players were in there waiting, those two would soon have to respawn.


    No one on the Class 3 team had Smite, either¡ªso they were doing 2-1-2 as well.


    Since there were no Junglers, Logan had only bought a single Ward, despite playing Support. Playing with noobs, he figured there would be very little roaming about during the early game. Placing wards would probably just be a waste of gold.


    Standing just outside the nearest clump of brush, he spent his first skill point on the Q-skill: ¡®Rocket Grab¡¯ . 1


    Shane, controlling Miss Fortune, was following right behind him.


    The minions were already arriving on the scene.


    As the melee minions traded blows, the ranged minions hurried to catch up, their robes billowing as though in a wind, and then began flinging stuff across the battlefield.


    Soon, the melee minions had been reduced to low health, and then a figure appeared from the brush in the distance, clad in red and black. A man with a spear emerged and struck down one of the minions.


    Meanwhile, Miss Fortune continued to linger behind Blitzcrank, making not a single move even after the enemy had already appeared!


    ¡°What are you doing? Go get some creeps,¡± Logan urged Shane.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting ready to hook somebody? I¡¯m waiting for you,¡± Shane explained.


    Logan held back tears as he watched the enemy melee minions perishing without Shane doing anything to claim them . 2


    An ADC who doesn¡¯t farm minions? With teammates like this, what outcome could there be, besides defeat?


    Miss Fortune finally stepped out of the brush, wiggling her tight waist and petite buttocks. Raising her dual muskets, she fired a shot!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Miss Fortune cried. The bullet struck unerringly upon one of the minions, and then ricocheted to hit another one behind it¡­


    ¡­ and neither one died.


    The first wave of minions was cleaned up in short order. Logan pressed Tab on his keyboard and silently regarded Miss Fortune¡¯s Creep Score of 1. A litany of curses drifted through his mind.


    Was this what they called farming randomly?


    Dude, this is not how you play ADC in the Bottom lane!


    ***


    ¡°Heh, heh! Last week, our boss taught me to wait until the minions are nearly dead, then strike to kill. This makes it easier to get that last hit in, for the gold. It really does work! I¡¯ve got seven already from just the first wave, while that idiot on Miss Fortune has only managed to snag one.¡± Zachary Fong of Class 3 was squawking away merrily.


    Zachary used to be an unremarkable nobody. Ever since getting into League of Legends, he¡¯d become the object of some awe from those noobs in class under Level 20. It had puffed him up like a penguin.


    That day, he¡¯d announced to his classmates that as the ADC, he¡¯d get at least twenty kills during the game!


    Zachary was playing ¡®Graves, the Outlaw¡¯, and he was certainly a good deal more skilled than Shane, using his skills to finish off the minions while at the same time shaving off bits of Miss Fortune¡¯s health.


    By the time she was around Level 3, Miss Fortune had already consumed all three of her Health Potions.


    Logan remained hidden in the brush, knowing that there was someone in the other bush nearby¡ªa formidable goliath named Garen.


    He could easily hook Garen over at any time, but the Might of Demacia would be only too happy to be brought into close quarters with them, putting the delectable Miss Fortune within easy reach of his massive broadsword.


    ***


    ¡°Sigh. Look at this fool Graves, throwing his Dash away for nothing.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes lit up. Now was the moment.


    ¡°Now, you¡¯re dead.¡±

 Chapter 7 - A Monkey’s Uncle

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Those of you who have played Graves before should know that his E-skill ¡®Quickdraw¡¯ includes a short-distance dash.


    Logan was aware that Shane wasn¡¯t particularly adept at the game. Although there had been other opportunities earlier, Logan had declined to hook Graves until he¡¯d expended his Quickdraw skill. That was the moment when Blitzcrank, golden shell gleaming and machinery whirring, moved to deliver Graves to his doom!


    Waiting until the minions had thinned out somewhat, Logan decisively activated his W-skill ¡®Overdrive¡¯, speeding himself up.


    ¡°Shane, attack Graves!¡± he commanded.


    Instead of the usual Blitzcrank playstyle of starting the fight with a Rocket Grab, Logan instead dashed boldly into the fray with his enhanced movement speed, bearing down on the stumbling Graves.


    Too slow to react in time, and without his dash to help him get away, he was knocked up into the air by Blitzcrank¡¯s E-skill ¡®Power Fist¡¯.


    Miss Fortune was a little late to the party as well, but she made it in time anyway, unleashing everything she had on Graves and reducing him to half health straightaway.


    Only then did the enemy Garen come charging out from the brush.


    This player had some brains on him, going straight for Miss Fortune and dealing a blow against her with his towering sword.


    ¡°Ignore him. Keep hitting Graves,¡± Logan said.


    By now, Graves only had one third of his health remaining. Realizing the danger he was in, he hurriedly used Flash to escape.


    With that, he was able to get eight hundred units away, beyond the reach of Miss Fortune¡¯s guns. Blitzcrank wasn¡¯t able to pursue, either. It looked like Graves was about to get away.


    No one noticed that, in the instant that Graves used Flash to teleport himself a short distance away, Logan¡¯s eyes darted to him, his finger pressing down on the Q hotkey.


    The robot¡¯s hand detached and hurtled forth, leaving behind a bright golden streak through the air. Finding its mark, strong metal fingers latched firmly onto Graves¡¯ fleeing derriere!


    Graves was yanked off his feet, and from what should have been a safe distance of eight hundred units away, he was dragged right back into the waiting arms of the Great Steam Golem!


    ¡°What the hell!¡±


    ¡°Nice hook!¡±


    Zachary and Shane both cried out at almost the same time.


    Even a noob like Shane couldn¡¯t fail to finish the job now. A few shots, and the last bit of Graves¡¯ health was extinguished completely!


    First Blood!


    A golden ¡®400¡¯ popped up over Miss Fortune¡¯s head!


    ¡°Haha, Zack has claimed First Blood down in the Bottom lane.¡± Class 3¡¯s supporters hooted with glee.


    ¡°Idiot, it was the enemy team. Zack¡¯s Graves was the one who got killed!¡±


    ¡°No way, a noob like Shane managed to take someone down?¡±


    The seven or eight spectators crowded in around Zachary¡¯s computer. Sure enough, his screen was grayed out, while the player sat staring in disbelief.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Team leader Seth frowned, his tone laced with disappointment.


    Zachary winced. ¡°I screwed up.¡±


    ¡°Play properly.¡± That was all Seth said. It was just one death, after all. It wouldn¡¯t really make that big a difference.


    Seth was playing Mid as ¡®Kha¡¯Zix, the Voidreaver¡¯, sometimes called the ¡®Mantis¡¯.


    At the start, it wouldn¡¯t have that much of an advantage against Jin¡¯s Annie. However, his Creep Score was five minions ahead of Jin¡¯s, and he still had Health Potions left. This indicated that Seth was indeed rather skilled at the game.


    ***


    Meanwhile, seeing that one of his own had won First Blood, the team leader of Class 8 was elated.


    ¡°Well done, Shane!¡± Jin called out in praise.


    Coulson grinned. ¡°Good kill¡ªoh crap! Run, I¡¯m low on health!¡±


    ¡°Heh, heh¡­¡± Shane felt good about himself.


    Jin, Sean, and Coulson were each engrossed with their own respective lanes. Never turning their eyes to Bottom lane until the announcement of First Blood, all they saw was Miss Fortune finishing Graves off.


    Therefore they came to the conclusion that Shane had been playing exceptionally well.


    However, Shane knew very well that if not for Logan¡¯s beautiful hook at the end, which prevented Graves from escaping with his Flash, this First Blood would not have been his.


    He hadn¡¯t really done anything amazing, besides attacking Graves like he¡¯d been told to do.


    The Class 8 students watching behind Shane were all barely Level 10 or so, and it was doubtful they understood what had happened well enough to appreciate the part that Logan had played.


    Waiting until the target¡¯s dash skill was on cooldown, then attacking when he was vulnerable, after the minions were out of the way. Speeding up and closing with the enemy in a single moment, he¡¯d kept him in place with a knock-up attack.


    Predicting that their prey would use Flash to break away, he¡¯d then used Blitzcrank¡¯s signature Rocket Grab to foil his escape.


    And so, Graves had used his Flash, but still hadn¡¯t been able to escape with his life!


    Logan had already figured out this entire series of events in his head before even beginning his attack. Players at this level generally weren¡¯t capable of such detail in planning or finesse in execution.


    The low-level noobs of Class 8 watching from behind might not even have caught everything that had just taken place, besides noticing that Logan¡¯s final hook had been super cool, countering Graves¡¯ Flash. They probably realized that the First Blood was thanks to Logan, but the rest of the fight was tragically beyond their ability to appreciate.


    It was only Charlene, she of the sensual legs, whose eyes had lit up in that decisive moment, and now her gaze was glued to his screen, flicking over to Logan himself now and again.


    ¡®This guy is pretty good. I remember when brother plays Blitzcrank, he also gets close and uses E to knock up, then Q to capture anyone trying to escape.¡¯ Charlene thought this to herself, gazing at Logan.


    ¡®Hmph, yet for all his skill, he¡¯s still a jerk. To think that he¡¯s forgotten me!¡¯


    Logan had no clue that he was being eyed by the beauty. He did notice that Garen, now all by his lonesome, was still cavorting about in plain sight. So he ran into the second bush, getting behind the minions.


    Same plan as before: Get close, knock Garen into the air, and when he tried to flee¡ªpull him back with a Rocket Grab!


    Shane was way too slow this time, joining in the fight much too late, not dealing enough damage, and therefore allowing Garen to get away by the skin of his teeth. A collective sigh arose behind Logan.


    Over on Class 3¡¯s side, meanwhile, Garen¡¯s player was in a cold sweat. There had nearly been a Double Kill down in the Bottom lane.


    ***


    Logan didn¡¯t lament about Shane being slow on the uptake. Now that Garen had been sent home limping, Graves would be alone in the lane when he came back, making him easy pickings.


    Meanwhile, Graves was taking his time shuffling back into his lane.


    ¡°Zack, I¡¯m holding out for enough gold to buy a Long Sword. Careful not to get hooked again,¡± Garen¡¯s player cautioned.


    Zachary saw the enemy Blitzcrank leaving, retreating until he was lost in the Fog of War. He harrumphed. ¡°I bet he¡¯s waiting in the brush for me. I¡¯m going to hide under the tower for now! If he hooks me again, I¡¯ll be a monkey¡¯s uncle!¡±


    ¡°Just be careful.¡±

 Chapter 8 - Bot-Lane Must Fall

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With the help of a Health Potion, Blitzcrank¡¯s health was almost replenished to full.


    Their team¡¯s minions had almost reached the enemy¡¯s tower. Gauging the time that had passed, Graves should have made it back by now.


    And so, Logan began by making a show of going to hide in the brush.


    Once he was out of sight, he slipped into the river and made his way to the tribush, then proceeded until he was behind the wall just North of the enemy¡¯s first tower. (The enemy was playing from the left side of the map.)


    The golden golem known as Blitzcrank pressed close to the wall, like a cheetah waiting patiently for its prey. Ah, here he came now¡­ (Tip: Without any wards or allies present, the other side of a wall would be hidden from view.)


    ¡°Shane, move closer towards me,¡± Logan suggested.


    Without objection, Shane obeyed, farming minions as he pushed further down the lane.


    Sure enough, some moments later, Graves re-appeared.


    Logan watched intently. As his minions laid siege to the tower, they also granted him vision into enemy territory, allowing him to spot Graves. However, with the obstruction of the wall between them, Graves was clearly oblivious to Logan.


    A ranged minion was on the last scrap of its health.


    Graves was moving in to finish it off!


    Take aim¡­ Rocket Grab!


    As Graves stepped forward to shoot the minion, a golden metallic hand came soaring over the wall beside him!


    Helpless as a bunny, Graves was snatched over to the other side of the wall, and then he ate a powerful uppercut from Blitzcrank, right in the groin.


    Holding his crotch in agony, Graves tossed up into the air!


    This was when Shane brought Miss Fortune around to unleash a slew of skills all at once: ¡®Double Up¡¯, ¡®Guns Blazing¡¯, and ¡®Make It Rain¡¯. This drained his mana to zero.


    In return, coupled with a barrage of basic attacks, it also drained Graves¡¯ health to zero!


    Having already died once before, Graves was a couple of levels behind Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune. His paltry amount of health was no good in the face of this savage assault.


    As Graves tried to escape with his E-skill, Quickdraw, one last shot from Miss Fortune struck him on the behind. With a howl of ecstasy, he flopped to the ground in the most ungainly pose, his life extinguished.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Zachary yelled once again from the opposing side.


    The Class 3 spectators were also in shock!


    ¡°What happened? You died again? Didn¡¯t I warn you to be careful?¡± The Class 3 Garen player hissed in contempt.


    ¡°Hell! How was I to know he was hiding behind that wall?¡± Zachary¡¯s face was all red, his frustration clear to see.


    Two deaths in a row. The shame was unbearable! He¡¯d been planning to get two dozen kills this game. To make things worse, the whole class was here to bear witness to his disgrace.


    ¡°This Blitzcrank is pretty good.¡±


    ¡°No, the champion is over-powered. He can hook people even when they¡¯re under the tower!¡±


    There had been several Class 3 spectators watching the Bottom lane. Seeing Logan¡¯s magnificent hook, they were dumbstruck with awe!


    ¡°Which side are you guys on?¡± Zachary turned back and glared at them.


    Everyone shut their mouths in a hurry.


    ***


    ¡°Well done. Good job, Bottom!¡± Jin boomed again.


    There were a thousand bucks on the line, as well as Class 8¡¯s pride as gamers. These two deaths, one after another, meant that their Bottom lane was gaining the advantage!


    ¡°Logan, that was a beautiful hook. I never knew it was possible to hook somebody like that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. And you were so accurate, too!¡± a Level-17 black dude said.


    He was a famous black guy in Class 8, who often hung out with them. It was just too bad that he was only mediocre at the game.


    ¡°Hey, did you guys hear somebody say just now that if he got hooked again, he¡¯d be a monkey¡¯s uncle?¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right! Hey, any monkeys in the house? Whose uncle is this?¡±


    The Class 8 students wasted no time taking advantage of this fault, and milked it for all it was worth.


    Zachary was turning a sickly green, but he didn¡¯t dare to retort, so he just had to put up with it. All he could do was buy himself a Vampiric Scepter when he¡¯d respawned.


    ***


    ¡°Double Kill!¡±


    ***


    These words suddenly appeared on-screen. It was a wake-up call.


    Logan had just gone back to get some new equipment. However, when he took a look at Top lane, he found their team¡¯s Garen and Master Yi lying dead in the middle of the street, the minions trampling their bodies underfoot.


    ¡°Crap, Seth¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix has gotten two kills!¡± Jin bellowed.


    Jin¡¯s Annie had been facing off against Kha¡¯Zix in Mid lane. After Kha¡¯Zix returned to base, Jin had continued farming. However, rather than returning to his lane, Seth had run up to the Top lane, where he helped his two teammates there to take down Coulson and Sean¡ªand claiming the last hit on both kills!


    Kha¡¯Zix was the sort of champion that, once it had picked up a number of kills, would dominate the mid-game.


    Their Bottom lane had been winning, but who¡¯d have thought that their Top lane would then suffer two deaths at once, both taken by Seth? Jin hadn¡¯t even been given the chance to rejoice, and now the situation was already looking grim.


    ¡°Enjoy your little victory while you can! In a moment, our Seth will be paying Bot a visit. Tell Miss Fortune to put on some nice underwear¡ªshe¡¯s about to get her *ss pounded!¡± Seth¡¯s fans began hooting and jeering.


    Logan returned his view to his own champion, and escorted Miss Fortune back to their lane.


    This time, he was leaving the base with a Sightstone, intent on maintaining watchful vigilance around the Bottom lane. That way, they wouldn¡¯t have to be constantly worried about Kha¡¯Zix descending upon them.


    Anyway, before Kha¡¯Zix evolved its wings, it wasn¡¯t actually that big of a threat.


    ¡°The two of you at Top, play safe. That one was my fault for not warning you,¡± Jin said.


    ¡°Right.¡± Coulson and Sean both nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re both doing great. Both of you managed to stay alive up until Seth showed up,¡± Jin added.


    ¡°Heh, heh. Well, our boss told us to play safe, after all.¡±


    Logan himself couldn¡¯t quite agree with Jin¡¯s judgment.


    True, both their players in the Top lane had done a passable job of keeping themselves alive, but in terms of levels and gold, they had fallen way behind.


    After seven minutes, their combined Creep Score only totaled twenty between the two of them. With the difference this produced between themselves and their opponents, it was no different from having been slain anyway.


    ¡®It looks like we¡¯ll have to play more aggressively. Top is no good to us now, so at the very least I have to cripple their Bot.¡¯ Logan could feel the game getting away from them.


    After returning to their lane and cleaning up a few more minions, both Logan¡¯s Blitzcrank and Shane¡¯s Miss Fortune had reached Level 6, while poor Graves was still stuck at Level 5.


    Logan estimated that Graves still needed maybe another five more minions to level up.


    Graves had a fearsome Ultimate skill, and Garen¡¯s was even more so. If both of them reached Level 6, the resulting power spike would allow them to overtake Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune. Therefore, Logan had to deal them another blow before they made it that far.


    ¡°Shane, I need you to work with me.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Shane nodded frantically.


    Not even Shane himself noticed how his previous doubts about Logan¡¯s skills had now been replaced by absolute trust and obedience.

 Chapter 9 - Watch Me Break It

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Doing battle in the Bottom lane required paying close attention to the state of the minions, as well as keeping track of enemy skills usage.


    Logan had seen that Shane was not a particularly skilled player, so he waited until Graves had used his Q-skill ¡®End of the Line¡¯ before finally making his move.


    In order to guarantee the kill, Logan Flashed right through the minions!


    The golden machine man suddenly looming large in his face, a startled Graves immediately turned to run.


    Zachary was clearly spooked. The more he ran, the better it was for Logan. Straight away, he fired his Rocket Grab at Graves!


    In this situation, it would be virtually impossible for Graves to dodge aside. Logan could smell victory!


    Of course, if Graves could keep his wits about him, he¡¯d know to zig-zag left and right, rather than just running straight backward. It wasn¡¯t as though he could hope to outrun Blitzcrank¡¯s rocket-propelled fist.


    It was the third time in this game that Graves was caught and dragged back to Blitzcrank. In order to prevent Graves from using his E-skill ¡®Quickdraw¡¯ to dash anywhere, he used Blitzcrank¡¯s ultimate skill, Silencing Graves for half a second, after which he used Power Fist to knock Graves off his feet.


    Having already received Logan¡¯s cue in advance, Shane immediately unleashed Miss Fortune¡¯s ultimate skill, ¡®Bullet Time¡¯!


    ¡°Ahahahahahaha!¡± The chilling sound of that unhinged, manic laughter rang through the din of battle. Bullets fanned out across the area, dealing extreme damage.


    The skill combo from Blitzcrank alone had already taken away half of Graves¡¯ health. Under the withering barrage from Bullet Time, the rest of his health quickly disappeared. Graves had been slain in barely a couple of seconds!


    Garen arrived at last. Bringing his colossal blade down upon Miss Fortune, he applied a Silence effect of his own which ended the Bullet Time halfway through.


    Tragically, it was too late for his good buddy, Graves!


    Garen was able to deal substantial damage during the early game. With the minions helping out, Logan figured that if Garen applied an Ignite on Miss Fortune as well, her perky butt would be crushed beneath the weight of Garen¡¯s massive sword when he threw out his ultimate skill, ¡®Demacian Justice¡¯.


    Logan immediately used Exhaust on Garen, slowing him and blunting his attack damage. Keeping Blitzcrank close to him, he rained blows down upon Garen until the cooldown timer on his Power Fist skill had elapsed, at which point he knocked Garen up into the air.


    Leaping into the air as if jolted by an electric shock, Garen took a few free hits from Miss Fortune, and was now on half health himself.


    However, Garen¡¯s player was a little more canny, and didn¡¯t turn to flee just like that. Decisively, he used Ignite on Miss Fortune, and when his Q-skill ¡®Decisive Strike¡¯ was ready again, he dove headlong towards her, aiming to set her up for ¡®Demacian Justice¡¯!


    With one-third of her health remaining, and Ignite eating away at that further, Garen¡¯s ultimate skill could very well be the end of Miss Fortune!


    Better still, Shane had no conception of how the fight was turning against him. He simply stood in place, continuing to fire at Garen.


    ¡°Die!¡± Garen¡¯s player, Ben Shieh, roared from the other side.


    This time, he¡¯d get Miss Fortune. If not, he might as well be her bitch!


    Logan smirked. Rocket Claw had just come off cooldown!


    Just as Garen was about to get within range, arms raised overhead to use his ultimate skill, a golden metal claw came hurtling in from behind! Seizing his cloak in its grip, it forcefully tore him away from Miss Fortune!


    Kid, you want a piece of Miss Fortune? Have a taste of Blitzcrank Daddy-O¡¯s Rocket Grab ! 1


    As Garen was hauled away bodily, Miss Fortune unleashed her wrath upon him, her damage bolstered upon several kills. A moment later, Garen was no more.


    Garen had charged in tenaciously, but in the end, he hadn¡¯t been able to finish off Miss Fortune.


    ¡°Unh!¡± Garen cried out, unable to call that colossal golden sword down from the heavens.


    ¡°Double Kill!¡±


    Miss Fortune was perhaps the most regal female figure in all of League of Legends. Twirling her muskets, the ravishing pirate queen placed her boot upon Garen and Graves where their bodies were piled together, and declared contemptuously, ¡°I¡¯ve got a good feeling about this.¡±


    Probably not what everyone expected. Probably not a good feeling for everyone. What she meant was the rush of blowing out their brains in an explosion of gunpowder!


    Another two kills, another five hundred gold in the bank. Shane stared at his screen in disbelief!


    A double kill!


    Last week, the enemy had been continuously getting Double Kills off of them. Now the tables had turned, and the feeling was indescribable. Shane could feel himself trembling a little, his pulse racing!


    ¡°Another two kills!¡±


    ¡°Holy cow, Shane and Logan are dominating Bottom lane!¡± Samantha cheered happily, barely able to restrain herself from giving the both of them a kiss right now.


    ¡°And here I thought Class 3¡¯s ADC and Support would give them trouble. Turns out they¡¯re just a couple of noobs. They¡¯ve given us four kills, just like that!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. Who was it last week, who was running their mouths off at us the whole time? Zachary Fong, have you run out of hot air? I guess you were blowing it around pretty hard, huh?¡±


    This double kill had buoyed Class 8¡¯s spirits. The kills were now 4 vs. 2 in their favor, and all four kills had been by the hand of Miss Fortune!


    Miss Fortune was a champion well-known for being able to dish out an obscene amount of damage in moments, especially during team fights. For her to have already picked up four kills so early in the round, it was a tremendous advantage!


    ¡°Heh heh, it¡¯s all thanks to Logan¡¯s amazing hooks.¡± Shane felt bashful to be receiving such effusive praise from everyone.


    ¡°Logan, you rascal! You¡¯ve been holding out on us!¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯d known you were this good, we would have brought you with us last week. Then those Class 3 wankers would have nothing to sneer about!¡±


    Logan gave them a little smile in response. He needed to smash the Bottom lane, so he¡¯d smashed it!


    ***


    With everyone prattling away like that, Zachary and Ben felt as though their faces were on fire!


    What happened to smashing the Bottom lane? What happened to getting twenty kills?


    The Miss Fortune was obviously a total noob, but in less than ten minutes she¡¯d gotten four kills off of them. It was the humiliation of the century!


    ¡°The two of you play safe, wait for me to come over,¡± Seth instructed them.


    The developments down in Bottom lane had completely defied Seth¡¯s expectations, and he was of a mind to chew off their ears, but he maintained his composure.


    ¡°The two turtles up Top!¡± Seth yelled.


    A few times now he¡¯d returned to Top lane looking for more kills, but those two would immediately shrink out of his reach, and he couldn¡¯t get anything out of them.


    Turning his attention to the Bottom lane, Seth decided he ought to go down there and help out, before it became a lost cause.


    Losing that thousand bucks meant nothing to him. The real problem was all the bragging he¡¯d already done, guaranteeing Charlene that he would definitely win. If he ended up getting defeated by these Class 8 losers, he would never hear the end of it.


    Most importantly, he¡¯d lose the opportunity to get closer to Charlene through gaming together!

 Chapter 10 - Failed Gank

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Boss is coming down to gank.¡± Zachary brought Graves back into the lane again.


    He¡¯d figured it all out. He would no longer run around wily-nily in front of Blitzcrank, until Kha¡¯Zix was in position to join the fight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush. Wait for them to get closer,¡± Seth ordered.


    He¡¯d placed Kha¡¯Zix behind the wall near the tribush, his finger hovering over Flash. Once Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune were close enough, he¡¯d Flash out and pounce on them!


    At last, the minions were pushing forward!


    Seeing that Miss Fortune was a little out of position, Seth Flashed out of hiding and pounced like a starving wolf at Miss Fortune¡¯s ample bosom!


    Garen and Graves also rushed gleefully towards Miss Fortune!


    Two hulking men and one alien creature, they closed in around the voluptuous beauty, eyes gleaming with naked lust!


    Shane leapt with fright when Kha¡¯Zix jumped in out of nowhere, and his fingers mashed clumsily upon the keyboard, unsure of what to do.


    ¡°Barrier, Flash, fall back!¡± Logan told Shane.


    As he said this, he had Blitzcrank sprint over at maximum speed to cover Miss Fortune¡¯s retreat, using his ultimate skill to Silence Kha¡¯Zix, Graves, and Garen all at once.


    A half-second Silence was hardly any use at all. Right after using his ultimate, Logan hit Graves with his Power Fist, delaying the enemy from dishing out his massive burst damage!


    Logan was about to hold Graves off like this, but Kha¡¯Zix and Garen both found Miss Fortune with their attacks. Shane¡¯s gameplay was a mess, failing to Flash before Garen imposed Silence upon Miss Fortune. Her ass was about to be torn to shreds by these two rambunctious lummoxes.


    Fortunately, he¡¯d managed to get his Barrier out at least, and it absorbed some of the incoming damage, just barely keeping her alive.


    Her slender hips swaying frantically, Miss Fortune continued to flee. In those few seconds while she remained Silenced, Kha¡¯Zix and Garen hounded her footsteps, and her health plummeted rapidly.


    At last, the Silence ended, and Shane used Flash, getting away with his last Hit Point.


    Thankfully, Logan had managed to stall Graves like he did, otherwise a couple of skills from him, and Miss Fortune would have perished before the Silence had run its course.


    Their spectators had been breathless with suspense, and it was only when they saw Miss Fortune reach the safety of the tower that they heaved a sigh of relief.


    However, in order to save her, Blitzcrank now found himself alone between the three enemy players.


    Since they couldn¡¯t get Miss Fortune, they¡¯d have to settle for Blitzcrank. All three of them rained their skills down upon the man of metal, who activated his W-skill ¡®Overdrive¡¯ and made a break for it. Even a Tank like him now had less than one third of his health remaining.


    ¡°Just a little more, just a little bit more!¡± Class 3 was baying for blood.


    ¡°He¡¯s going for the tower. Kill him!¡±


    ¡°Garen, ulti!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t reach him!¡±


    ¡°Graves, do something!¡±


    Seth glanced at his Skills bar. All his skills were ready, and Blitzcrank only had a quarter of his health remaining!


    One skill combo and he¡¯d be dead!


    Gritting his teeth, he had Kha¡¯Zix dive into the tower¡¯s attack range, whereupon he unleashed all its skills upon Blitzcrank.


    Whum¡­


    Just as the last of Blitzcrank¡¯s health vanished, he was suddenly surrounded by some kind of energy shield!


    The moment when Blitzcrank dropped to critical health, his Mana Barrier had sprung into being to preserve him!


    Seth hesitated. It was just a tiny sliver of health. One Ignite and the kill should be secured.


    And yet, how often had he watched an enemy escape to the safety of their tower with one last handful of Hit Points?


    Seth would dearly love to just go and whack him one last time, but the robot was running like he¡¯d left the stove on, and since he¡¯d already used his Flash just now, he had no hope of catching him anymore.


    There was the infuriating chime, a warning signal that he was under attack by an enemy Tower.


    Seth had no choice but to leave now. Swerving his mouse in the opposite direction, he swore under his breath. ¡°Curses, just one last¡ª¡±


    And then, before he¡¯d even finished the thought, something came sailing in from behind!


    That¡¯s right: Crackling with electricity, it was a huge, golden, metallic claw!


    Its fingers closed firmly around the creature¡¯s wings!


    And then, from the very limit of the skill¡¯s range, the bluish mauve insectoid was yanked through the air and deposited at the very foot of the tower!


    ¡°Ahahahahahaha!¡±


    A fan of bullets swept towards him. With four kills to her name, Miss Fortune demonstrated her overwhelming damage potential, reducing Kha¡¯Zix from two-thirds health to nothing in an instant!


    Seth sat frozen in disbelief. One moment he was leaving the tower¡¯s reach, the next moment all the color had washed out of his screen, leaving only shades of gray ! 1


    Miss Fortune¡¯s Bullet Time was still going on, the bullets spraying needlessly through empty air, with only his corpse left behind to hear her maniacal cackling.


    There was the broken body of Kha¡¯Zix, sprawled at her feet.


    He¡¯d died!


    Seth¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix had been insta-killed under the enemy tower!


    Had they just added insult to injury? No, no, no! He¡¯d chased Blitzcrank too far, failed to get the kill, and then got his own ass kicked instead!


    ¡°What in the world! You can do that?¡±


    The spectators on both sides were saying the exact same thing!


    It had already been a miracle for both Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune to make it out alive, but that last move had been smooth beyond words.


    Kha¡¯Zix hadn¡¯t managed to pick up any kills down in the Bottom lane, but had instead been pulled to its death under the tower!


    Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune were both at nearly zero health and mana, but the fallen corpse of Kha¡¯Zix made it clear that they had emerged from this 2v3 situation victorious!


    ¡°OP!¡±


    ¡°Amazing¡­ I¡¯ve never seen such an amazing hook in all my life!¡±


    Standing at death¡¯s door, he¡¯d turned around and killed off Kha¡¯Zix, who had been at full health. It was a legendary play, blinding everyone with its brilliance!


    No one could forget the sight of that miraculous long-range Rocket Grab!


    ***


    Seth gaped as the memory of that horrifying turnaround replayed in his mind.


    How could he have performed a hook at that moment? How did he even land that shot? How could he have anticipated that Seth would give up and fall back?


    Most importantly, that guy had guts! One hit away from death, he¡¯d nevertheless dared to pull Kha¡¯Zix over to himself!


    The players controlling Graves and Garen, Zachary and Ben, were also utterly flabbergasted. They¡¯d been pacing around just beyond the tower, trying to decide whether or not to dive in as well, but Miss Fortune¡¯s ultimate skill ¡®Bullet Time¡¯ had scared them off.


    Graves looked the worst, in all this. Not only had he contributed zero damage through it all, he¡¯d also been grazed by the Bullet Time for a moment, and had lost half his health just like that!


    And although Garen had been at full health himself, he hadn¡¯t dared to approach the tower while that horrifying golden specter lingered there. Never mind that he had neither health nor mana at the moment, the sight of Blitzcrank evoked a primal terror within him that prevented him from moving a single step closer!


    Now that was what you called an aura!


    ¡°The two of you idiots, why didn¡¯t you dive the tower together with me? Look at how fat 2 Miss Fortune has become¡ªyou even let her get a kill on me!¡± Seth had lost his temper at last!


    He¡¯d remained calm all this while because he thought he could still turn the tide down in the Bottom lane. However, when he¡¯d gotten killed himself, he snapped!


    Zachary and Ben made like a pair of ostriches and buried their heads in the sand, not daring to look up from the table.


    They didn¡¯t take this abuse gladly, either. Quietly, in his heart, Zachary thought, ¡®You¡¯re the one who got hooked into the tower. Is that our fault, too?¡¯


    ¡°Boss, this Blitzcrank is serious business. How are we supposed to fight him?¡± Ben whined.


    When Ben played Garen, he normally ran rampant all over the place. With the beating he was taking this time around, however, he was cowering so far away from the action that he was barely getting any Experience Points (XP) at all.


    ¡°Serious business, your mother! Just watch me wreck his shit!¡± Seth declared.


    Seth often watched his master playing in Ranked matches, and had seen plenty of skilled Blitzcrank players. That guy from Class 8 was no big deal, probably had never even heard of Ranked.


    That hook just now had been nothing but a lucky fluke. In fact, Seth thought it had been really stupid. If not for all his skills being on cooldown, one blast with ¡®Void Spike¡¯ and both of them, already on their last legs, would have been dead!


    ***


    Logan would probably have laughed if he¡¯d heard what Seth was thinking.


    Of course he¡¯d been keeping track of his skill cooldowns.

 Chapter 11 - Torn to Shreds

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Bottom lane was basically in the bag. Graves and Garen no longer dared to come out into the open, and so continued to lose out on Experience until they had fallen a whole three levels behind . 1


    This was the meaning of abject despair!


    Judging it to be a lost cause, Seth made the canny decision to abandon the Bottom lane entirely, and instead made regular trips to the Top lane to get kills.


    Honestly, he was not without skill: With the help of his two Top-lane teammates, he managed to score a Triple Kill¡ªthe two enemy Top-laners, as well as Jin¡¯s Annie¡ªand all of a sudden had fattened up once more . 2


    With great effort, Logan and Shane had managed to secure a decisive advantage down in their Bottom lane, but the situation in the Top and Bottom lanes meanwhile was a catastrophe.


    Having gotten a Triple Kill, Kha¡¯Zix could now insta-kill anyone with a single skill combo!


    Logan held down the ¡®Tab¡¯ key to inspect the state of the game.


    Kha¡¯Zix had picked up five kills in total, the same as Miss Fortune, but its Creep Score was thirty higher . 3


    On the subject of equipment, Kha¡¯Zix definitely had the upper hand over Miss Fortune.


    ¡°Double Kill!¡± The announcement rang out across the battlefield. Now Kha¡¯Zix was on seven kills!


    These two latest kills were thanks to the two up in Top lane. However, there was some consolation in that Coulson and Sean (playing Garen and Master Yi, respectively) had somehow managed to team up and take down Kha¡¯Zix, even at the cost of their own lives. One was awarded five hundred gold, while the other got two hundred and fifty.


    This exchange actually worked in their favor: The reward for killing both Garen and Master Yi didn¡¯t even total up to five hundred gold, whereas Kha¡¯Zix had been worth a bounty of seven hundred and fifty . 4


    Not long afterward, another grim development occurred: Kha¡¯Zix achieved Level 11.


    Those of you who are familiar with Kha¡¯Zix should understand that Level 11 is when this champion truly earns the name ¡®Voidreaver¡¯. Compared to what it became at this point, the whole time before that it had been nothing but a flighty little grasshopper!


    Seth¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix was tripping with kills now, and could instantly delete any enemy champion besides Blitzcrank and Garen. If they just kept farming in their own little lanes, this game would be as good as lost!


    With his essential items in hand, an 11th-level Kha¡¯Zix was an unholy terror in any duel!


    ***


    They still had two of their first-tier Towers, and their total kills were ten against the enemy¡¯s twelve. They should still be able to take back control of this game.


    Jin¡¯s Annie was shaping up nicely. While Kha¡¯Zix was doing his thing, Annie had likewise picked up a number of kills from the enemy Top-laners, and she now had three kills, three deaths, and four assists, and was even in Creep Score with Seth. With the equipment she¡¯d collected so far, she could easily get a kill whenever the opportunity presented itself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s group up.¡±


    His Blitzcrank working together with Miss Fortune, they¡¯d knocked down the enemy Tower in the Bottom lane, and were now assaulting the one in Mid.


    Kha¡¯Zix regularly left his Mid Tower unguarded, what with his frequent jaunts to the Top lane, and Annie had managed to whittle it down quite a bit. When Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune came up from Bottom to join her, they easily brought the whole thing down.


    In response to that, everyone in the game began gravitating towards the Middle lane, and things were getting crowded there.


    ¡°Eh? This fool still dares to swagger before me?¡±


    It was none other than Graves, the Monkey¡¯s Uncle!


    This was a fatal error of positioning.


    However, after much deliberation, Logan reluctantly allowed him to live.


    This was not out of worry over that whole gang of scoundrels lying in wait behind him, but because Graves simply wasn¡¯t worth much gold anymore, and attacking him would only serve to betray his own position.


    Cast the hook, he wanted to catch a big fish!


    Sure enough, the deep purple shell of Kha¡¯Zix soon came into view!


    It was heading towards the Raptors, intent on picking up a batch of jungle creeps.


    To his misfortune, Logan¡¯s Blitzcrank was lying in wait for him, in the brush near the Lizard Elder which granted the ¡®Red Buff¡¯ . 5


    Logan glanced at Miss Fortune and Garen, who were waiting with him.


    Yes, with these two, it should be enough to kill that mantis!


    Speeding up with ¡®Overdrive¡¯, Blitzcrank burst from the brush!


    Like a bolt from the blue, a Rocket Claw came hurtling towards Kha¡¯Zix!


    In that position, it had nowhere to run!


    Once again, the metal claw dragged Kha¡¯Zix into the arms of the Great Steam Golem!


    He unleashed his skills, finishing with his Ultimate, which silenced his prey for 1.5 seconds¡ªenough time to put an end to Kha¡¯Zix!


    Eh? Where¡¯s the damage? How come Kha¡¯Zix had only lost that little health?


    ¡®Pooh-pooh¡­¡¯ The 1.5 seconds elapsed, and Kha¡¯Zix fluttered its wings, buzzing like a fly. With one great leap, it bounded over the wall into the Red Buff pit, and was lost to their sight in the Fog of War.


    Logan was stunned. That kill should have been in the bag, but it had somehow managed to get away.


    Checking behind himself, he realized that his own Garen and Miss Fortune had at some point slunk away to go farming in the Bottom lane.


    ¡°Hey, why did you two run off? Didn¡¯t you see Logan pulling Kha¡¯Zix over?¡± As luck would have it, Jin had seen it all, and immediately began scolding those two.


    ¡°Did he?¡± Surprised, Coulson panned his view around for a look. Finding no evidence of Kha¡¯Zix, he shot back, ¡°No he didn¡¯t!¡±


    Shane was also wondering aloud, ¡°Was there a fight just now?¡±


    Logan realized that despite his best efforts, the two imbeciles hadn¡¯t even noticed him capturing Kha¡¯Zix!


    What kind of team was this?


    Alright, he¡¯d known what he was getting into right from the start. He should already have prepared himself to go 1 vs. 9.


    Just stay cool. Stay cool¡­


    ***


    Seth was drenched in a cold sweat!


    That Blitzcrank was a bit too sly, hiding in a place like that. Thank goodness his Garen and Miss Fortune had been too dumb to follow up on that, or else his goose would have been cooked!


    ¡°Everyone on me, stick together!¡± Seth commanded his four teammates.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯m just gonna farm a bit more, and then I¡¯ll be right over,¡± declared Xin Zhao, Seneschal of Demacia, from the Top lane.


    Xin Zhao was being played by John Lee, of Class 3. Having been slain by Jin¡¯s Annie several times, he was doing very poorly.


    ¡°Forget your damned gold, everyone get over here now!¡± Seth roared.


    Seth¡¯s master was a regular Ranked player, and often told him that when it was time for team-fighting, the whole team had to be able to gather together quickly. They couldn¡¯t afford to have anyone missing.


    Seth had taken this lesson to heart. He¡¯d decided to get everyone together and go do something about Garen and Miss Fortune, who were pushing through Bottom lane.


    Against all five of them, neither one would stand a chance!


    ***


    Quietly, the five of them snuck past the Raptors, following that corridor which ran between the Dragon and the Red Buff.


    Moving along the top of the cliff overlooking the Dragon¡¯s pit, they drew ever nearer towards Miss Fortune and Garen.


    ¡°Eh, why are we one person short? Who the hell isn¡¯t here with us?¡± Checking their formation, Seth suddenly noticed the absence.


    It seemed that Xin Zhao was missing¡ªthe one who¡¯d said that he wanted to farm some more.


    Just as Seth was about to chew John¡¯s ear off, there was a click of whirring machinery.


    It came from the Dragon¡¯s pit!


    ¡°Seth!¡± Xin Zhao¡¯s player, John, called out in panic.


    That was when everyone realized that, at some point, Xin Zhao had been hooked into the Dragon¡¯s pit!


    The Dragon was no longer there. Through their shared vision with Xin Zhao, they could see him being ganged up on by Blitzcrank, Annie, and Master Yi!


    ¡°Argh!¡± came the cry of horror. In moments, Xin Zhao, laden with high-damage equipment, lay in pieces upon the ground!


    His teammates, gathered upon the cliff above, could only watch helplessly as he was dragged away and beaten into a bloody pulp!


    A single wall was all that separated life from death!


    Cold sweat trickled down their backs.


    There was no way they could have anticipated that Blitzcrank would be waiting for them in the Dragon¡¯s pit!


    ***


    In truth, Logan had brought Annie and Master Yi with him to steal the Dragon.


    No sooner had they slain the Dragon when who should wander past his Ward but all five of the enemy team? What a to-do that had been!


    Imagine five fair, nubile young maidens drifting past before you. It was a desire beyond words to describe.


    He¡¯d decided to close his eyes, reach out, and see what he caught hold of.


    Ah, Xin Zhao.


    Instead of improving his Health, this Xin Zhao had opted for damage-boosting items. What else could he do besides perish?


    Annie, Yi, attack! Tear him to shreds!

 Chapter 12 - Master Yi, the Tank

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With one player down on the enemy team, Logan led everybody to assault the second-tier Tower, reducing it to a pile of rubble in one go.


    When that was done, the four enemy players seemed as though they didn¡¯t intend to let Jin and his team walk away just like that. Their Garen came charging in courageously with Decisive Strike at the ready, making a beeline towards Miss Fortune, who was a little too far in front!


    Even with one man down, they still dared to start a team fight!


    Well then, as the ancient sages would say: Let¡¯s do it!


    As a Support, Logan¡¯s primary duty was to keep his ADC safe. If Garen was looking to pick on Miss Fortune, Blitzcrank would answer with iron fists!


    Stepping forward into harm¡¯s way, he used his E-skill, ¡®Power Fist¡¯!


    And then, the situation became even more entertaining. Seeing Blitzcrank, Garen immediately turned tail and fled back the way he¡¯d come.


    Seeing this, Logan was taken aback for a moment. Hadn¡¯t he just been storming in, all wrath and fury, as though nothing could quench his thirst but blood?


    And yet he¡¯d cut off halfway the moment he¡¯d clapped eyes on Blitzcrank, as meek as a child fearing his father¡¯s retribution. Are you really Garen?


    ¡°Haha, this Garen, he¡¯s scared of Logan! What a laugh!¡± someone from amongst the Class 8 spectators hooted.


    Indeed, this whole game, Blitzcrank had beaten the fear into Garen!


    ¡°Come on, grow some balls!¡± Seth Lin of Class 3 hollered, so loudly that he could be heard on the other side.


    Garen¡¯s player, Ben Shieh, was wrought with anguish. Having been yelled at by Seth like that, there was nothing for it but to attack.


    Checking to see that Miss Fortune was still alright, Logan suddenly caught sight of someone from his own team rushing forward!


    He nodded in approval. Yes, his Top-laner Coulson was playing Garen the right way. This was the moment for him to charge!


    No, that wasn¡¯t it. The heavily armored Garen was still standing behind Miss Fortune. So who was that, running out there?


    Taking another look, Logan nearly lost control of his bladder.


    The one leading the charge was none other than Sean Cao, on the Wuju Bladesman!


    Master Yi, slight and slender of frame, dove into the fray with his Q-skill, ¡®Alpha Strike¡¯.


    For goodness¡¯ sake, he was using Q to jump onto the enemy Jax! Was their Master Yi a double agent? This was basically feeding them free kills!


    Sure enough, Master Yi¡¯s reckless aggression instantly made him the target of all four enemy players, who unloaded their skills on him in a crushing torrent.


    Barely a second after his Alpha Strike concluded, Master Yi flopped dead to the ground, obliterated by the concentrated fire!


    Dead, just like that!


    This Master Yi had done nothing besides that one Alpha Strike.


    Remembering how Master Yi himself would describe this skill as, ¡®Many foes, one strike.¡¯


    Someone here would like to say, ¡®It¡¯s because there were too many foes, that you only got in one strike! ¡® 1


    ***


    In a single moment, the situation had now become 4 vs. 4.


    However, besides taking all their skills upon himself, Master Yi had also succeeded in drawing the entire enemy team a bit too close together in front.


    Now that it had come to this, they had to fight!


    Following the demise of Master Yi, Annie stepped up!


    Jin¡¯s skills had earned him some tiny bit of respect from Logan. With his ultimate skill, he crushed both Graves and Jax beneath a bear¡¯s massive behind, Stunning them both.


    Logan wanted to hook Graves over, but Garen got in his way. Deciding to forego his skills for the moment, he rushed in to draw some fire away from Annie, lest she be the next one to get deleted.


    Annie unleashed a full skill combo, and Graves was at death¡¯s door. He was only still alive thanks to his high natural defenses¡ªany other ADC would already be dead.


    At critical health, Graves hurriedly threw out a few skills, and then used Flash to pull back.


    Jin wisely opted not to give chase, instead withdrawing a little as he waited for his skills to cool down.


    ¡°Ahahahahahaha!¡± Miss Fortune¡¯s ultimate skill, ¡®Bullet Time¡¯, came out a little late. A little sooner and Graves might not have gotten away.


    Bullet Time really covered quite a bit of real estate! Even a noob like Shane couldn¡¯t help but hit somebody!


    The bullets swept through the area, cutting Jax down to his last legs as well. However, he fearlessly pounced upon Annie nevertheless, raining vicious blows.


    ***


    Now that the team fight had begun in earnest, all hell was breaking loose, and each moment everyone was fighting someone else.


    For Logan, the worst thing was how Coulson waited until the team fight had been going on for a while before bringing Garen into the fight. He was truly an idiot without equal.


    To be able to play a durable Tank like Garen in such a particular way, it was certainly remarkable!


    Jax was the first to fall, but with his last breath, he¡¯d managed to take away half of Annie¡¯s health. Graves had also done her quite a bit of damage with his skills.


    Immediately afterward, Annie was the next to fall, cut down by the scythe-blade talons of Kha¡¯Zix!


    Its E-skill, ¡®Leap¡¯, refreshed its cooldown instantly with each kill. Somewhat reduced in damage potential, Kha¡¯Zix used its Leap to pounce upon Miss Fortune, too far in front as usual.


    Shane fell back hurriedly, fearing that Kha¡¯Zix might kill him off with a single skill combo.


    Truth be told, he had no need to flee. He had a good assortment of gear now, and if he stood his ground and fought, he could win out against Kha¡¯Zix, with only two-thirds of its health left. It had already used its ¡®Taste Their Fear¡¯ skill on Annie, and could no longer deal enough damage to take down Miss Fortune as well.


    Furthermore, throughout the entire team fight, no matter how chaotic the situation, Logan had kept a close eye on Kha¡¯Zix.


    As such, the moment Seth¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix pounced upon Miss Fortune, doubtlessly ready to do all kinds of nasty things to the gunslinging bombshell, Logan put an Exhaust on it right away!


    This Exhaust spell instantly deflated any unwelcome arousal!


    For champions with high burst damage like Kha¡¯Zix, Exhaust was a jagged blade across the hamstring.


    Poor Kha¡¯Zix could do little more than scrabble at the hem of Miss Fortune¡¯s sleeves, doing just the tiniest bit of damage to her, and nothing else.


    With another Rocket Grab, Logan yanked Seth¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix away from her, thoroughly eliminating any hope it had of killing her.


    It was just too tragic that Shane didn¡¯t know to take advantage of that opportunity and attack Kha¡¯Zix. The fight could have been ended right there.

 Chapter 13 - Boss Fight

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Coulson Zhao, go finish off Graves!¡± Jin yelled in frustration.


    Coulson was a total mess in a team fight. Jin¡¯s furious roar pierced through his stupor, and it was only then that he noticed Graves cowering in the corner, near death.


    He dashed over immediately, eager to use his Ultimate on Graves, when all of a sudden a spear thrust forward to intercept him!


    A chill settled over the battlefield, and then the spear flashed like lightning!


    As soon as Xin Zhao had respawned at the Fountain, he¡¯d rushed over to join the fight, arriving just in time to save Graves from Coulson¡¯s Garen!


    Already low on health, Coulson suffered a combined beatdown from both Xin Zhao as well as Graves, and fell in a bloody heap mere moments later.


    Watching Garen¡¯s fall, Logan felt he now understood how his classmates had lost so badly last week.


    There was a huge difference in skill from the Class 3 players opposite!


    Master Yi threw himself to his own death by focused fire; Garen could hardly survive combat for more than a moment. Both champions died without really achieving anything.


    Now the only ones on their team still standing were Blitzcrank and Miss Fortune. At least the enemy Garen had been taken out as well.


    This left three enemies for them to contend with: Kha¡¯Zix on half health, Graves at critical health, and Xin Zhao with nearly full health.


    Not the most ideal situation!


    ¡°Don¡¯t run, Shane. Press the attack!¡±


    Logan knew the time had come to demonstrate his true abilities!


    By now, Shane held absolute faith in Logan, and stepped up to engage Kha¡¯Zix in combat!


    Now that she had some Lifesteal as well, Miss Fortune had a definite advantage, health-wise!


    Kha¡¯Zix had just unloaded another round of skills onto Blitzcrank. Faced with Miss Fortune¡¯s vicious assault, the only thing Seth could do was Flash away and run for dear life.


    ¡°Xin Zhao, go!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and get in there, Xin Zhao!¡±


    As the one with the most health left, not to mention being a superb damage dealer, Xin Zhao moved in to take Miss Fortune out.


    As always, Blitzcrank was there, keeping her safe behind him.


    The fight carried on, and now Blitzcrank was the one on low health. Activating ¡®Overdrive¡¯, he tried to get away from Xin Zhao.


    ¡°Kill him! Quickly, kill him now!¡±


    ¡°Blitzcrank is on his last HP!¡±


    ¡°Use your Charge! Audacious Charge!¡±


    Logan led the enemy¡¯s Xin Zhao on a merry chase. As soon as his skill was ready again, he knocked Xin Zhao high into the sky, and then continued to flee, controlling his champion with deft timing.


    No matter what he did, Xin Zhao just couldn¡¯t get within reach of Blitzcrank. His player, John Lee, was fuming like a boiling kettle!


    Even Kha¡¯Zix had finished the cooldown on all his skills, and still Xin Zhao hadn¡¯t managed to finish the job yet.


    ¡°Heh, heh. This time you¡¯re done for!¡± Seth cackled.


    He flew Kha¡¯Zix over the wall, and fired a salvo of Void Spikes in a fan!


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Jin wailed.


    Once Kha¡¯Zix appeared, everyone knew Blitzcrank was doomed.


    Bamf!


    There was a flash of light, and just as everyone thought Logan¡¯s Blitzcrank was about to meet his end, he suddenly Flashed a few steps forward, putting himself out of the way of Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s W-skill!


    Seth gaped as his Void Spikes tore through the empty air!


    As the Sheriff of Piltover might say, ¡®Want another shot?¡¯


    How was this possible?


    Bang!


    Before Seth could recover from this shock, Miss Fortune put a bullet right through his brain!


    Kha¡¯Zix was barely clinging on to life as it was. This one attack from Miss Fortune turned out to be a Critical Hit, blowing Kha¡¯Zix to pieces.


    Blitzcrank was still alive, and now Kha¡¯Zix was dead. If not for Charlene¡¯s presence on the scene, Seth would be using words from his special vocabulary!


    ¡°This bastard has the devil¡¯s own luck. The two of you hurry up and take him down!¡± Seth hollered.


    That was when Xin Zhao found his chance, and charged in at Blitzcrank.


    Blitzcrank¡¯s E-skill, ¡®Power Fist¡¯, had just come off cooldown. Before Xin Zhao could land a second attack on him, Logan sent him up for another breath of sky, and then waddled on.


    Poor, hapless Xin Zhao, who¡¯d come in with nearly full health¡­ with Miss Fortune constantly firing at him with impunity, he was down to his last one-third of Hit Points.


    ¡°Graves, get him! Just one last hit!¡±


    ¡°Hit him, hit him!¡±


    The students from Class 3 were baying for blood.


    Since he was low on health, Zachary had been trying to play it safe, but it was when everyone¡¯s cheers rose up that he realized Graves was only a short jog away from Blitzcrank.


    It was a free kill, wasn¡¯t it?


    Zachary remembered his humiliation down in the Bottom lane, his boast to get twenty kills this game. Graves hefted his shotgun and surged towards the machine man.


    Twenty kills, starting with you, Blitzcrank. The whole world held its breath, as Graves descended upon his mark like a force of nature.


    He would soon be within arm¡¯s reach. That would be close enough, and then¡­ one shot, one kill!


    As Graves levelled his shotgun at the target, a burnished metal claw shot through the air towards his face!


    Which flew faster, shotgun pellets or a rocket-propelled claw? It was a moot point, since the Rocket Grab out-ranged Graves¡¯ shotgun!


    The huge metal hand slammed into Graves¡¯ face!


    He¡¯d already been half a step away from shuffling off this mortal coil. Before he could even be dragged anywhere, Graves let loose a pained cry of defeat, and collapsed to the ground right then and there.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? Not only is he not dead yet, he even got a turnaround kill?¡±


    ¡°Do you actually know how to play Graves?¡±


    Class 3 was aghast. Why was this Blitzcrank so tough to kill? He¡¯d even done in two of their guys!


    Make that three: Xin Zhao was also a hair¡¯s breadth from kicking the bucket now.


    ¡°Damn it all!¡± At last, Xin Zhao¡¯s player, John Lee, had slipped off the deep end, and nothing else mattered anymore.


    At the limit of the spell¡¯s range, he jammed his finger down on the F key, applying an Ignite on Blitzcrank!


    When Logan saw his golem wreathed in flames, he knew he¡¯d finally reached the end of the line, and all that was left to do during these last few moments was find a comfortable spot to die.


    At long last, Blitzcrank keeled over, falling apart as a heap of scrap metal on the ground.


    ¡°Good job. He¡¯s finally dead!¡±


    ¡°Ah, you killed him!¡±


    ¡°Nice Ignite there, Xin Zhao.¡±


    The five players of Class 3¡ªSeth Lin, Ben Shieh, Zachary Fong, John Lee, and Gavin Yi¡ªlet out a long sigh.


    Blitzcrank, the Great Steam Golem, had fallen at last!


    The whole game, that Blitzcrank had been an ominous presence on the battlefield. With his uncanny hooks and impenetrable metal body, he¡¯d had everyone jumping at shadows.


    After all this time, he¡¯d finally been defeated.


    Come to think of it¡­ Supposedly, they were playing League of Legends¡ªso how come their battle with Blitzcrank had felt like a boss fight in an online RPG?

 Chapter 14 - Mercy, Please!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Agh!¡± It was a cry of agony.


    As Blitzcrank crumbled apart in defeat, another Critical Hit from Miss Fortune put paid to Xin Zhao¡¯s short-lived victory.


    ¡°Double Kill!¡±


    With Kha¡¯Zix and Xin Zhao, that was another Double Kill for Miss Fortune!


    ¡°Ace!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s screens lit up with this word, this triumphant proclamation!


    An entire team, massacred!


    As a result of this last team fight, all five champions on the enemy team had been slain! Miss Fortune was the last one standing, and she still had plenty of health left!


    The proud feminine figure stood tall upon the desolate battlefield, pointed heels treading upon the bodies that littered the ground. The view panned over to catch Miss Fortune¡¯s self-assured smile.


    Shane stared at the screen, his hands trembling.


    8 Kills, 0 Deaths, 5 Assists!


    Recalling how things had gone last week, his score had been 0 Kills and 8 Deaths!


    Last time, he¡¯d been playing like trash; this time, he was like unto a god.


    And it was during a momentous match like this, with the glory of his class and the favor of a fair maiden on the line, that he was putting on this magnificent display. What a rush!


    ¡°Awesome!¡± a voice bellowed from the crowd.


    ¡°Shane, you¡¯re way cool!¡± The class athlete Samantha Fong¡¯s petite face was flushed red with excitement.


    Shane rubbed his face. It was the first time a girl had ever complimented him in this way. He was about to burst with glee!


    ¡°Hahaha, what can I say? Those Class 3 losers are just a bunch of scrubs.¡± Jin was smiling from ear to ear. ¡°Oho, Shane¡ªgo get us a Tower.¡±


    He had a thousand bucks riding on this game. Victory was everything!


    In that last battle, they¡¯d traded four deaths for five kills, but now their minions were advancing steadily on all fronts. With Miss Fortune spearheading one lane, and their troops surging down another, the enemy was about to lose at least two more Towers!


    With those down, the third-tier Towers would be exposed. Logan alerted Shane when the enemy champions respawned, and Shane prudently withdrew. Slipping into a secluded bush somewhere, Miss Fortune struck a stylish pose as she began Recalling back to the Fountain.


    Shane was well aware that he owed all his success to Logan¡¯s flawless support, and didn¡¯t hesitate to follow his lead.


    If Logan ordered him to run past the Tower and storm the enemy¡¯s own base, Shane would obey without question!


    ***


    Upon her return, Miss Fortune bought herself some new equipment.


    Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, and Last Whisper 1 . These three items had now been completed.


    With all this gear, everyone had good reason to fear her!


    Logan was the last to respawn. He saw his teammates hunting for jungle creeps around their Red Buff¡ªand on the map, Kha¡¯zix was farming minions down in the Bottom lane!


    ¡°For Kha¡¯Zix to be in Bot at a time like this, isn¡¯t it an open invitation for us to go take Baron?¡± Logan thought with delight.


    Kha¡¯Zix was the main damage dealer on the enemy team. If he was farming the Bottom lane, while all Logan¡¯s teammates were already in the vicinity of Baron Nashor. That meant the Baron was in for it!


    Times like this, Logan felt great sympathy for the Baron . 2


    There was always some rowdy bunch of hooligans breaking into her place, intent on doing the most unspeakable things to her. In her hour of desperation, another group would show up to rescue her, driving away those abhorrent blackguards. But then, before she even had the chance to thank her valiant saviors, they¡¯d toss aside their noble fa?ade, and it would be their turn to have their way with her¡­


    It was basically a game of ¡®Let go of her¡ªshe¡¯s mine!¡¯ It was even worse when things went back and forth repeatedly.


    Assuming the Baron Nashor was female, one might think of it as sort of a good thing, with a more open-minded perspective.


    But what if the Baron was actually male?


    Ah, forget this analogy then. It could only end in tears.


    Summoners, have you ever stopped to consider the Baron¡¯s feelings ? 3


    ***


    All sense of pity notwithstanding, Baron Nashor had to be taken.


    ¡°Everyone with me, let¡¯s go for Baron!¡± Logan sped up with Overdrive, travelling swiftly to the Baron¡¯s pit.


    ¡°Can we really kill it? What if the enemy shows up?¡± Coulson yammered nervously.


    ¡°What do you know? If Logan tells you to do something, you get to it!¡± Jin snapped in reply.


    Shane was already Logan¡¯s faithful subordinate. Jin, having clearly witnessed Logan¡¯s perfect control and judgment during the last team fight, felt he deserved some measure of authority.


    Little by little, the team had come under Logan¡¯s command.


    Placing down a Vision Ward 4 , it seemed the enemy hadn¡¯t set even a single Ward to watch the Baron!


    It looked like Kha¡¯Zix was still gorging itself on minions down in the Bottom lane. Very well¡ªno one would be coming to spare Baron Nashor from their savagery!


    Miss Fortune¡¯s staggering damage output allowed them to chew through the Baron¡¯s health very quickly. They¡¯d hardly lost any health by the time the Baron was successfully slain.


    A golden ¡®300¡¯ floated over everyone¡¯s heads, accompanied by the clink of gold. As well, their champions had now gained the Baron Buff.


    That was when Graves appeared in the Middle lane, using his skills to clear off minions.


    With no vision around the Baron¡¯s pit, Graves had no idea that Logan¡¯s team had already claimed the Baron, and he continued farming with no inkling of the danger he was in.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Logan sped up with Overdrive once more, leading the team after him!


    Freshly bolstered by the Baron¡¯s demise, and now Graves had popped up, a lamb to the slaughter!


    Ah, Graves. This is what you get.


    ***


    On the other side, Zachary Fong had Graves farming minions.


    All this while, he hadn¡¯t gotten a single kill. This was the pits.


    His Creep Score was also terrible. Zachary looked at the next wave of minions coming down Mid, trying to decide whether or not to go for it.


    ¡°Zachary, regroup. I can¡¯t see any of them on the map!¡± Noting Graves¡¯ position, Seth called out to him frantically.


    ¡°Okay.¡± That meant Zachary had to pass up on those minions, and back away. It was a depressing state of things: to be playing his best champion, Graves, and yet to be losing so badly that he didn¡¯t even dare go out farming.


    Whirr!


    That was when a golden figure burst from the slanted bush near the first-tier Tower! A head taller than Graves, the entire metallic form coursing with electricity, it rushed in at him like a furious thunderstorm!


    Blitzcrank!


    With his short, stumpy legs, Graves had no hope whatsoever of getting away!


    ¡°E! Use your E! Flash away! Flash!¡± Noticing the imminent disaster in Mid, Seth was climbing the walls in panic.


    The mere sight of daddy Blitzcrank had Zachary wetting his pants, quivering fingers scrambling to perform a Flash-and-Dash.


    This got him some distance away from Blitzcrank, and Zachary began to deflate a little with relief.


    He was nearly all the way up the slope. There should be no way for Blitzcrank to catch up to him now!


    Shing!


    A red aura rose up around Blitzcrank!


    Shurelya¡¯s Reverie 5 had been activated, speeding up the entire team as they all gave chase!


    With the speed boost, Blitzcrank seemed not so much to run as to fly, bringing his four teammates after him as they all bore down on Graves!


    Rocket Grab! There was no way he could dodge it now!


    Thick metal fingers caught hold of the waistband of Graves¡¯ trousers. Mere inches away from cresting the high ground, he was yanked back down the slope once more!


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    ¡°My blade is yours!¡±


    Garen and Master Yi dashed in like a pair of rabid hounds, unleashing all their skills at once!


    Annie and Miss Fortune, following behind, didn¡¯t even get the chance to do anything before Graves was instantly snuffed out. It was even more brutal than that time with Xin Zhao in the Dragon¡¯s pit!


    Graves¡¯ death threw the whole enemy team into chaos. Zachary himself was close to tears.


    That made his twelfth death so far. Have some mercy, please!


    Never mind twenty kills, now his last shred of dignity hung on whether he would be able to avoid getting killed twenty times!

 Chapter 15 - Snatched from the Fountain

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Where once Graves stood, there was now only a scene of tragedy. When Seth¡¯s team saw that their enemies were now lit up with the Baron Buff, their faces turned as sickly green as the Baron¡¯s venomous bile!


    No one even had the mood to scold Zachary anymore. The question now was whether they¡¯d even be able to survive the incoming siege.


    The enemy was at their gates. A wave of minions were now within reach of their third-tier Tower. Master Yi, Annie, Miss Fortune, Garen, and Blitzcrank, wreathed in the swirling Baron Buff, were so formidable that the surviving four enemy champions could only keep their distance.


    Blitzcrank was a team fight initiator. With the enemy team outnumbered, and Baron Buff on their side, there was every reason to press the attack!


    Logan activated his Overdrive and dove right into the fray. His target was neither Jax, Garen, nor Xin Zhao¡ªthe one he wanted was that fiendish Kha¡¯Zix!


    A buffoon like you presumes to court the rose of our generation? Save your airs and graces, your unwelcome advances¡ªI¡¯m going to start by crushing you!


    Ignoring everyone else, Logan charged the enemy formation, hurling a rocket-propelled claw at the insectoid creature!


    Using a hook in such a direct manner was a bit more challenging, because most players would do their damnedest to dodge it. However, today Logan had washed his hair with the good stuff, and nothing could tangle him up right now!


    The Rocket Grab shot out once more, unerring as destiny!


    Although he¡¯d shot it from maximum range, Kha¡¯Zix didn¡¯t manage to use his E-skill ¡®Leap¡¯ to move aside in time, and was dragged before Blitzcrank¡¯s feet once again!


    It was a miracle shot, worthy of legend. The Class 8 spectators were going wild!


    Whirr!


    First he used his ultimate skill to Silence Kha¡¯Zix, preventing it from getting away, and then he knocked it into the sky with Power Fist, holding it in place for that much longer!


    For a fragile champion like Kha¡¯Zix, being disabled like this for 1.5 seconds was life-threatening. Jin¡¯s Annie was the quickest to respond, dropping her teddy bear¡¯s colossal sit-me-down right on its face!


    That meant it was now Stunned!


    ¡°Eat it!¡± It was Jin¡¯s turn to get something back in this cockfight. He dumped every one of Annie¡¯s skills onto Kha¡¯Zix, with equal parts wrath and glee!


    Poor Seth had to watch his Kha¡¯Zix get killed off just like that, never even getting to use a single one of its skills!


    ¡°Damn it, isn¡¯t there a single one of you who knows how to block for me? Worthless bunch of noobs!¡± Seth had totally lost it now, and the whole cyber caf¨¦ echoed with his fury!


    Charlene Yang glanced sidelong at Seth, who was so incensed that his varicose veins might pop at any moment. A corner of her lip wrinkled with a little frown.


    Seth realized he was committing a social faux pas, and scrambled to get his emotions back under control.


    His Kha¡¯Zix was the main damage dealer of the Class 3 team. For it to be taken down first, right at the start of a team fight, meant that the battle was already lost. Miss Fortune¡¯s ¡®Bullet Time¡¯ scoured the battlefield, and Garen, Xin Zhao, and Jax fled, their health bars badly ravaged.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let a single one escape. Kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Keep going! Xin Zhao is nearly dead!¡±


    ¡°Triple Kill! Shane¡¯s gonna get a Triple Kill!¡±


    Class 8 was going hysterical, everyone screaming at the top of their lungs, having the time of their lives.


    Jin, Shane, Coulson, and Sean were chortling and spitting out a whole stream of off-the-shelf obscenities. Last week, the team from Class 3 had beaten them so badly that they couldn¡¯t look up from the floor.


    Today, they were getting payback, with interest. Never mind the third-tier Towers, the Inhibitors, the twin Nexus Towers¡­ not even the Fountain could keep them away from their long-awaited vengeance!


    Jax was next to fall, nearby the Middle Inhibitor, his body trampled underfoot by the enemy. Xin Zhao and Garen continued to run for all they were worth.


    Do you know what happens when two people run into a bear, up in the mountains? That¡¯s right¡ªthe slower one dies first.


    With a last, apologetic look to Xin Zhao, Garen activated his ¡®Decisive Strike¡¯ and raced ahead.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Xin Zhao cried out in anguish as he was slain in the heart of his own base.


    The Nexus Towers flared bright. In the many long years they¡¯d stood watch directly over the Nexus, they¡¯d never been so blatantly ignored before¡ªthey were the Nexus Towers, for crying out loud! They were the mightiest Towers on the whole map, and these rascals¡­ to think that they¡¯d pay no heed at all!


    Rushing, rushing, rushing like that¡­ were they going to run straight into the enemy¡¯s Fountain?


    Sure enough, with Logan absorbing the damage from the Towers for them, the rest of the team had gone mad with bloodthirst. They¡¯d killed Xin Zhao, and Garen wouldn¡¯t be allowed to escape, either!


    ¡°Holy crap, this bunch of lunatics!¡± hollered Ben Shieh from Class 3, frantically driving Garen for the safety of the Fountain.


    Thanks to his speed-boosting abilities, Garen was able to make it onto the raised dais of the Fountain 1 , and Ben exhaled in relief.


    Seeing that Garen had managed to survive, Seth consoled himself that at least they hadn¡¯t suffered a whole-party Ace.


    No, wait¡ªBlitzcrank was still in pursuit!


    Realizing what he intended to do, Seth whipped around to Ben. ¡°Watch out for his hook!¡±


    Ben stared for a moment, uncomprehending, while a golden metallic claw hurtled in behind him!


    In the end, he¡¯d barely made it a couple of steps up the pedestal, his health only just beginning to replenish itself, when that horrific robotic claw pulled him out of his sanctuary and back into the nightmare again!


    With three others following close behind Blitzcrank, the moment Garen was caught, what little health he still had was swiftly washed away under an overwhelming torrent of skills!


    Wham!


    That was the sound of his forehead whacking against the steps of the Fountain, his blood staining its blessed waters, his face frozen in an expression of abject disbelief.


    Oh my goodness, had they really snatched him out from the Fountain?


    Ben stared at his computer screen dumbly, staggered by the savagery of his enemies.


    Which champion was getting it worst this game? Whatever had happened to Graves and Xin Zhao, all of it paled in comparison to how Garen had been torn away from the safe zone of their own Fountain.


    Perhaps only the Baron Nashor could truly understand the pain he felt right now.


    ¡°Ah, that was so brilliant, I¡¯m blinded!¡± cried Yuri Huang, assistant monitor of Class 8.


    ¡°You¡¯re too cool, Logan!¡±


    ¡°Just like shooting fish in a barrel. You guys are stomping all over their base now!¡±


    ¡°Killed at the Fountain!¡±


    Endless praise rose up from behind Logan. He thought he even heard someone saying, ¡°I want to have your children!¡±


    If that had come from Charlene, Logan would be all for it. Samantha would be fine, too. However, it had been clearly been some deep and throaty man¡¯s voice. Absolutely repugnant.


    ¡°Ace!¡± That meant the entire team had been eradicated, for the second time this game!


    And it wasn¡¯t an exchange of four deaths for five kills, like the last time. On their side, only Master Yi had fallen to a Tower, but everyone else was still alive and kicking!


    For Shane, Jin, Coulson, and Sean, in all the time that they¡¯d been playing League of Legends, this was definitely the first time they¡¯d invaded the enemy base while all their third-tier Towers were still standing, and wiped out the entire opposing team!


    In Jin¡¯s mind, this situation was tantamount to breaking into Seth Lin¡¯s family home, letting each of the guys have a go with all their womenfolk, and then casually strolling out!


    Jin could feel himself expelling all the hatred, resentment, and malice that had been pent up within his heart!


    Meanwhile, Coulson¡ªalways going through life in a hazy blur¡ªfinally knew what it felt like to be a man.


    Shane, of course, had been riding a high this whole game, and he might very well have made a mess in his pants!


    Diving Towers, raiding the enemy base, killing champions beside their own Fountain¡ªslaughtering everyone! It was exhilarating!


    On the other side, everyone who¡¯d come to cheer on the Class 8 players was now standing with their jaws hanging agape. Seth, Ben, Zachary, John, and Gavin were stricken and aghast.


    Seth had boasted to Charlene, beautiful Charlene, that she would always find victory by his side. Now, with the way things were going, he didn¡¯t dare to so much as look at her.


    Before they¡¯d started, Zachary had proclaimed that he would get twenty kills this game. He was currently at zero. Now he had respawned at the Fountain, only to be greeted by the corpses of his fellows, and the enemy champions, pulling their trousers back up as they saw themselves out.


    Ah, perhaps he should just drown himself in the Fountain.


    Needless to say, Ben was down in the dumps, too. Never had he ever done so badly as Garen, and he still hadn¡¯t gotten over that traumatizing hook at the Fountain¡­ the Fountain, of all places!


    ¡°What¡¯s happening to us?¡±


    ¡°Last week, weren¡¯t we beating the stuffing out of those Class 8 guys?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stand this game anymore. It hurts even to watch.¡±


    ¡°That Blitzcrank is too good.¡± The Class 3 spectators spoke in whispers, no longer loud and self-assured like they had been before.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the first time I¡¯m seeing someone play Blitzcrank like that.¡±


    As Seth and his team wallowed in their shame and misery, dreading their impending defeat, unbelievable though it may be¡­ they were suddenly reminded by the chattering behind their backs!


    That¡¯s right, it was all because of Blitzcrank!


    Blitzcrank¡¯s player was too good. He was snatching their champions up like chicks in the coop!


    And every time he advanced, they felt the pressure. By now, no one dared to stand anywhere near him any longer!


    ¡°Who¡¯s that, playing Blitzcrank?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know him¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard the people over there calling him Logan.¡±


    Seth finally remembered. That guy had introduced himself as Logan Yu, here to replace Yang Soon in the Support role. He was only Level 13.


    There was no way this guy was a Level-13 noob!


    Logan Yu!


    Seth fervently committed the name to memory. From now on, this was the name of Seth¡¯s disgrace!

 Chapter 16 - Unholy Abomination

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The battles that followed were completely one-sided.


    It was an unquestionable, utter defeat for Class 3!


    The players slumped in their seats, like used eggplants in the house of a lonely woman.


    Meanwhile, it was a party over on the Class 8 side.


    After their humiliating defeat last week, they¡¯d come right back with a shining victory, and had given their hated enemies a beating even worse than they themselves had received. The frustration they¡¯d endured for an entire week had been returned a hundredfold to the people of Class 3, with a ringing slap right across their sneering, cocksure faces!


    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡± Jin was outright grinning, and he wasn¡¯t doing anything to hide it. After all, what could bring greater happiness than the sight of Seth¡¯s face contorting with displeasure?


    Seth rose to his feet and fished out his wallet morosely. He tossed some money on the table, saying, ¡°Here, one thousand. Just my snack money for a week, big deal.¡±


    Jin knew Seth was loaded, but he also knew he couldn¡¯t bear any form of humiliation. Come Monday, when everyone was talking about this game after school, Seth would be looking for a hole to crawl into and die.


    Most importantly, of course, Jin had successfully quashed this rich son of a bitch¡¯s designs to hog their goddess, Charlene Yang, all to himself!


    Scooping away the money quietly, his gaze soon turned to the girl in question.


    The money had always been a secondary concern. The ultimate prize for winning this match was the chance to get closer to this long-legged angel!


    Proximity brings opportunity, that¡¯s just common sense. Charlene was obviously an avid player of League of Legends¡ªperhaps if they started playing the game together, some sparks might begin to fly?


    His heart singing with delight, he checked to see if Charlene was already gazing at him with eyes full of adoration.


    ¡®Stay cool, you gotta stay cool in moments like these. Get your game face on, and show her the best side of yourself. Smile, let¡¯s have a smile!¡¯ In his mind, Jin considered a dozen different ways to meet Charlene¡¯s eyes.


    Eh, what was this?


    Jin hadn¡¯t been able to resist stealing just a peek at Charlene after all, but found that she wasn¡¯t looking at him, the victorious warrior, at all.


    Well, who else could she be looking at? Surely there was no one here more deserving of her attention than him!


    Following her gaze, he discovered that her sparkling eyes were affixed upon Logan Yu.


    In fact, everyone was crowding around Logan at the moment, showering him with praise while at the same time expressing their scorn for the Class 3 students.


    Get a load of this guy¡­ he almost had to be dragged here kicking and screaming, and Jin had taken that to mean he was just some noob, but the moment he¡¯d showed up, he¡¯d taken the show by storm!


    If not for Yang getting dragged off by his mom earlier, Jin would never have found out that the Logan who sat beside him in class was a player of such skill!


    Playing it innocent with a Level-13 account, he¡¯d really fooled everyone!


    But damn, he might just have let a fox into the rabbit hutch! This bastard was totally stealing his thunder!


    For a moment, Jin sensed that Logan might be a far greater threat than Seth ever was¡­


    An unholy abomination!


    ***


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going! How about we all have supper together, to celebrate?¡± Samantha Fong called out.


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡±


    ¡°The hell with that, let me get this straight: Before, you said we¡¯d never beat Class 3, and you didn¡¯t really want to throw in with us. Now there might be a party to be had, and suddenly we¡¯re all good friends?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, say goodbye to your one thousand bucks¡ªlet¡¯s feast!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s feast!¡± Whatever Yuri was high on, it looked like it really worked.


    They left Rising Dragon Cyber Caf¨¦ in a massive horde, everyone still gabbling away about the game just now.


    Unsurprisingly, every moment worth talking about invariably concerned one of Logan¡¯s flawless hooks. He was the star of the night, and everyone was stumbling over their own feet to offer him their adulation.


    After the Class 8 students had left, the ones from Class 3 eventually drifted off one-by-one.


    Having lost like that, Seth was in no mood to treat anyone to anything tonight. Not that anyone would have the appetite to eat, even if he did.


    The crowd had dispersed, but Seth remained standing before his computer, still thinking about the taunts and the mockery he¡¯d received. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, until he finally pounded a fist into his keyboard!


    ¡®Wham!¡¯ The keyboard flipped into the air, and crashed onto the floor.


    ¡°Hey kid, what¡¯s the big idea?¡± A young man with dyed hair and a checkered shirt walked over.


    There was a pause, and then Seth¡¯s temper cooled right away. When he answered, there was a hint of reverence in his tone. ¡°Michael, sir.¡±


    ¡°I heard you kids hollering over here for a while earlier. What happened?¡± The young man he¡¯d called Michael inquired.


    ¡°We lost. We were playing against those guys from Class 8¡­¡± Seth muttered dejectedly.


    Michael frowned. ¡°How could you lose, after all that I¡¯ve taught you? Your current level of ability should have been more than enough to slaughter those students.¡±


    ¡°Somehow, Class 8 pulled out some guy named Logan Yu. He was amazing with Blitzcrank. He totally handed us our asses,¡± Seth explained.


    The traitor by his side named Zachary nodded empathetically. ¡°Right, that¡¯s right. That Blitzcrank was something else. He had us all running scared. Those hooks he threw, you have no idea¡ª¡±


    ¡°Good at Blitzcrank?¡± Michael laughed raucously. ¡°I guess you¡¯ve never seen the World¡¯s Greatest Blitzcrank. I¡¯ll show you guys some day¡ªthat¡¯s what you call a good Blitzcrank. I bet you noobs were just running all over the place, making yourselves easy targets. If I were playing Blitzcrank against you, I¡¯d be landing every hook, too.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Michael. But I can¡¯t take this lying down,¡± Seth declared.


    ¡°How about this? Challenge them to another match some time, and I¡¯ll play on your team. That will put them in their place. No matter how good that Blitzcrank thinks he is, I¡¯ll be sure to clean his clockwork!¡± Michael replied.


    ¡°These matches are exclusively between the students of our classes. We can¡¯t bring in outside help.¡±


    ¡°Fool, just allow them to call whomever they want, too.¡±


    Seth nodded. It seemed like a good idea. Allow both sides to field outsiders, and then stage a rematch!


    He knew that he¡¯d fallen a long way from Charlene¡¯s good graces, but he couldn¡¯t let them get away with tonight!


    ¡°But what if they bring in some pros of their own?¡± Zachary piped up.


    Michael narrowed his eyes at Zachary, and sneered, ¡°Let them. If they can find someone in Lecheng 1 better than me, I¡¯ll be their bitch.¡±


    Seth glared at Zachary for speaking out of turn. ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Michael here is the leader of the team which won second place in the League of Legends Tournament of Lecheng Cyber Caf¨¦s!¡±


    ¡°I see, I see¡ªso Michael would definitely be able to tear them all a new one!¡± Zachary spluttered hurriedly.


    Just a bunch of schoolchildren. What could they know about League of Legends? Michael was not concerned in the slightest.


    He would show them what a true expert looked like, demonstrate to them the difference in their abilities. It wouldn¡¯t do for them to be impressed just by a Blitzcrank who¡¯d made a few lucky hooks.


    Heh, heh¡­ They¡¯d basically never come across a real player before. Since he had some free time on his hands, he was willing to come down to their level and open their eyes!

 Chapter 17 - Faithful Support

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Business was lively along the Qinghe riverside.


    Since they were only students, they wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere too fancy. Besides, this was the ideal season to relax on the shore, enjoying the river breeze, some good food, and just a smidgen of wine 1 . That was the life!


    ¡°Oh, the angel Charlene is joining us, too?¡± Shane boggled his eyes at the beauty sitting nearby, uncertain of how best to conduct himself.


    ¡°Is that alright?¡± Charlene wondered.


    ¡°Sure, of course!¡± Even as Shane blubbered in reply, all the guys rose to their feet, as though possessed, and began jostling for the coveted position at her side.


    Sitting beside her meant being able to take in those sensuous legs from up close, perhaps even bump into them by accident, feel the springy texture of her thighs. A man could catch his death from experiencing such bliss.


    ¡°You guys are really too much! Stop acting like a bunch of creeps!¡± Samantha glared at them as she pulled Charlene protectively to herself, as though fearing that the encroaching wolves might snatch her away and carry her off into the night.


    Samantha got along well with Charlene. Even though she wasn¡¯t in Class 8 with the rest of them, her friendship with Samantha allowed the guys to become a little closer to Charlene by association.


    Logan was the exception. He¡¯d never exchanged a single word with this goddess of legs.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s all start with a round!¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡±


    The gathering of students, gorging themselves on drinks and snacks, got into a merry mood. The conversation mainly revolved around the game from earlier.


    As a newly arrived transfer student, Logan was closest to Jin. Everyone else was still a stranger to him, but with that game and this supper, the ice was finally beginning to thaw.


    This reminded Logan of when he¡¯d first begun hanging out in cyber caf¨¦s. He¡¯d had a big group of buddies back then, too. They¡¯d play together in the cyber caf¨¦, then hang out together over cup noodles, and even pick up chicks together.


    Sadly, they¡¯d eventually drifted apart and went their separate ways¡­ and before he noticed it, he was already in his third year of high school¡ªhe no longer had the liberty to loaf around all day, the way he used to.


    Well, this was nice, too. He could always make new friends, and meet new girls, right?


    ***


    Supper was over, but everyone was still reluctant to part. Either way though, the girls had to depart earlier, and then everyone said their farewells anyway.


    ¡°Charlene, shall I walk you home?¡± Jin was the first to make the offer, hurrying over as everyone began to disperse.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going the same way,¡± Charlene replied.


    ¡°What? Of course we¡¯re going the same way!¡±


    When sending a pretty girl home, anywhere was ¡®going my way¡¯. Even if one lived in the North and the other in the South, it would still mean going the same way!


    As Charlene regarded Jin, a small laugh escaped her. It was so bewitching a sight that Jin was struck dumb where he stood.


    ¡°You should return to your hostel. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re a boarding student.¡± Charlene pierced through Jin¡¯s deception straightaway.


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m heading to my aunt¡¯s place,¡± Jin stammered bashfully.


    Charlene decided not to pay any further heed to Jin, turning instead to Logan, who seemed to be waiting for a bus.


    ¡°Which one are you waiting for?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not waiting for a bus. My place is just nearby here,¡± Logan replied.


    ¡°By the riverside?¡± Charlene pointed across the bridge.


    Logan was bewildered. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°I live around there, too. Have you never noticed me on your way to school every day? I¡¯ve seen you lots of times.¡± Charlene was smiling as she said all this.


    ¡°Hm, hmm¡­ doesn¡¯t ring a bell.¡±


    Hearing this, Jin wanted nothing better than to choke Logan to death. Didn¡¯t he know how to talk to a girl?


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go,¡± Charlene declared serenely, combing her fingers through her hair as it streamed in an errant wind.


    The entire conversation left Jin aghast.


    He¡¯d taken the initiative to approach the girl, and she¡¯d turned him down. Logan hadn¡¯t made a peep, and now he was walking her home!


    It didn¡¯t make sense!


    Fox in the rabbit hutch, that¡¯s what this was. All throughout supper, Jin had also noticed something odd in the way Charlene had been watching Logan.


    Game over. That fair blossom was about to be ruined by swine, and all he could do was watch helplessly. Oh, cruel fate!


    Jin hated himself for not spending more time on Blitzcrank. If he¡¯d known that Charlene was looking for a good Support, he¡¯d never lay hands on that lolita Annie again.


    Ah, don¡¯t leave me, goddess. Don¡¯t leave me for that wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. It will only lead you to ruin. I can play Support, too¡­ I¡¯ll support you as Annie!


    ¡°She¡¯s really leaving¡­¡± Watching them walking away side-by-side, Jin could hear his heart breaking a little more with each step that they took.


    From now on, he¡¯d play a faithful Support!


    ***


    At first, Logan thought Charlene was just having a bit of fun with him. However, when she followed him onto the bridge, he realized that he really would be walking home with this voluptuous belle.


    They walked alongside each other beneath the quiet streetlights. Logan was just half a head taller than Charlene. She was slender, yet shapely. The intermittent lamplights stretched and distorted their shadows, overlapping them atop one another.


    It really almost looked as though they were an actual couple, taking a walk together late at night.


    ¡°Do you play often?¡± Charlene¡¯s eyes fluttered as she gave him a sidelong glance.


    ¡°Once in a while.¡± Logan was not much of a conversationalist. In the company of a pretty girl, he always struggled to find something to talk about, but nothing would come up.


    ¡°Did you become that good by only playing ¡®once in a while¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Heh, heh. Playing games is just another thing that benefits from natural talent.¡± Logan chuckled as he said this.


    ¡°Feh, I bet you play late into the night every day. Check out your panda eyes.¡± Charlene rolled her eyes, skeptical of his words.


    ¡°Alright, you got me. After my parents are asleep, I¡¯ll get up and play a couple of rounds. I spend most of the weekend on the game as well.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll be free tomorrow?¡± Charlene asked.


    ¡°Afraid not,¡± he responded automatically.


    Logan spent the weekends playing Ranked matches. Indeed, he didn¡¯t do much else on those days.


    If Jin had been there to hear him say this¡­ never mind strangling him, he¡¯d tear him limb from limb!


    When a goddess asks if you¡¯ll be free, even if your schedule is full up, you¡¯ll still tell her you¡¯ll be free. It¡¯s the same principle as ¡®going my way¡¯, got it?


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again: Will you be free tomorrow?¡± Charlene was looking him straight in the eye, a slight hint of vexation in her tone.


    Besides a gorgeous figure, Charlene was also really pretty. When she was showing her annoyance like this, her dimples made her look not the least bit threatening¡ªrather, she looked completely adorable. All he wanted to do right now was plant a kiss right on her cheek. He could just imagine how sweet, how smooth, how fragrant it must be!


    To think that this goddess would cast her ire in his direction!


    As a good and proper man, Logan could not back down. He¡¯d already told her that he wouldn¡¯t be free, and that was that. Stout of heart and resolute of will, he faced Charlene boldly to inform her, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got some time. It¡¯s the weekend, right? Of course I¡¯ll be free.¡±


    This concession seemed to appease Charlene, and her dazzling smile returned to her. ¡°Then, let¡¯s play together tomorrow. I like to play ADC. With your masterful Support, I¡¯ll get to pawn all kinds of noobs.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing. With me be your side, your reign is assured!¡± Logan thumped his chest as he said this, the portrait of a gallant knight.


    ¡°It¡¯s a date, then,¡± Charlene giggled.


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your number?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a handphone. You can call me at my house.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±

 Chapter 18 - Come Over Some Time

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Time passed in a blur as the two of them chattered away, and before they realized it, they were already all the way across the bridge.


    ¡°This is far enough. I¡¯ll be off, now.¡± Charlene had paused at a crossroads to say this to Logan.


    ¡°How about I just send you all the way home?¡± Logan tried to be a man.


    Of course, the following scene was playing out in Logan¡¯s mind: First he¡¯d follow her back to her place, and then she¡¯d reveal that nobody else was home. It was scary being all alone, could he stay with her?


    As a faithful paragon of justice and virtue, he would then have no choice but to inconvenience himself with this burden. Once he was alone with her, they would¡­ you know, they would¡­ well, they¡¯d play League of Legends all night long!


    Bleh, what a joke. If this was what he was hoping for, then they might as well just go their own ways, return to their own homes. Heaven¡¯s sake!


    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Charlene replied. ¡°My dad will typically be waiting for me around here. If he spots me walking around with some good-looking fellow, he¡¯ll be sure to carry out a full interrogation and background check on you.¡±


    Logan scratched his nose. That first part had been quite delightful, hearing her call him a ¡®good-looking fellow¡¯; but why did the last bit sound kind of mean?


    ¡°In that case, how about we hang around here and chat a little longer?¡± Logan ventured, reluctant to let her go.


    ¡°No, thanks. Bye!¡± Charlene gave him one last look full of affection. And then, with a flick of her cascading tresses, her petite derriere bobbing this way and that, she strolled off into another residential district.


    Logan followed her with his eyes. To speak the honest truth, he was overcome with a desire to feel up those legs of hers. How could they be so long, so luscious¡­


    When she was out of sight, Logan remembered himself, and headed for home. It wasn¡¯t too late yet, so he figured he could still get in a couple of Ranked games. He¡¯d have to play with Charlene tomorrow, and she was probably still pretty low in level. That would be a good opportunity for him to try out the new champion, ¡®Thresh, the Chain Warden¡¯. 1


    ***


    Charlene¡¯s shadow stretched away from the streetlights, displaying substantial curves in the profile.


    She walked without apparent hurry, and eventually reached the fenced compound of a house, where she rang the doorbell.


    As she waited for the door to open, she stood there pouting, recalling the conversation from a while earlier.


    ¡°What a forgetful guy. Hmph. And always leering¡ªthe absolute worst,¡± Charlene muttered sourly.


    After a bit more thought, a sly smile crept back into her expression. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s best that he doesn¡¯t remember. It¡¯ll be fun to tease him a little, especially considering how he used to make fun of me for being short.¡±


    Charlene was no longer short, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, she towered over the other girls, what with those legs that went all the way up. It must be that Logan had crossed her somehow in the past, for now this ravishing beauty thirsted for a long-awaited vengeance!


    ¡°Charlene, how unusual of you to pay a visit to your aunt. You haven¡¯t been here in so long. Back then you used to come and play every day, but now that you¡¯ve grown up, I hardly ever see you anymore. Ah, you grow more beautiful with each passing day. Look at these delicate features¡ªand such a fine body¡­¡±


    From the house, a middle-aged woman emerged to receive her, beaming widely and prattling on at the sight of Charlene.


    ¡°Aunty, you don¡¯t have to keep on flattering me like that. I was just having a bit of supper with friends, and we ended up staying out a bit too late, so I¡¯ve come to stay the night with you,¡± Charlene announced.


    ¡°Heh, heh. Look at you, girl. You¡¯ve become quite the little liar,¡± the woman chastised her laughingly. She looked towards the crossroads down the street, saying, ¡°You were clearly out on a date with a guy. There¡¯s no need to invent some story about supper with friends.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that,¡± Charlene protested. A blush began to blossom upon her cheeks.


    ¡°You won¡¯t admit it? I saw it all from the window upstairs. At first, I wasn¡¯t even sure that girl was you. Ah, don¡¯t worry¡ªI shan¡¯t tell your father. Charlene is a big girl now, after all, and so beautiful¡­ of course there would be guys after you. If you meet one that you like, you should get to know him better. Just don¡¯t get so distracted that it affects your grades.


    ¡°Who was that boy just now? He seems kind of familiar, but I can¡¯t quite recall which family he¡¯s from.¡± The woman said all of this in a rush.


    Charlene¡¯s ears were on fire now. Among the girls, she was considered to be particularly mild-tempered, but to become the subject of such wild gossip and speculation from her elders, it was too much even for her to bear.


    ¡°Aunty, it¡¯s really not what you think¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t say anymore. Oh, perhaps you could invite him over for dinner some time. You know I¡¯m an open-minded woman.¡±


    ¡°Aunty!¡± Charlene was miffed now. It was one thing leading to another!


    Tittering away, her aunt scrambled to placate her.


    ***


    Dappled morning sunlight filtered through the curtains and fell across the bedside, applying a dash of cheer to a pair of yellowing flip-flops on the floor.


    Slippers, slippers, burning bright, // In the rays of morning¡¯s light.


    Do you know what a man considers a nice surprise?


    What a man considers to be a nice surprise, obviously, is to wake from sound slumber to discover a tiny pair of lacy panties beside his pillow. Soft and springy, bearing hints of what those panties had been wrapped around, how lovely it must be. And then come the memories of the previous night, when the man had been exploring those blissful pleasures first-hand, and then his hand reaches out, unconsciously, across the bed¡­


    But do you know the true meaning of horror?


    That would be awakening to discover a set of flowery undergarments tangled up in your bedsheets, but upon extracting them, ever so gently, you find that they were sized to contain something enormously massive! A waistband twice the circumference of your own! Then you would shudder to recall the previous night¡¯s misadventures, with the woman lying by your side¡­


    Logan was only a boy in high school, and naturally had experienced neither such jubilations nor calamities. Nevertheless, as he awoke, he experienced a change of moods similar to what has just been portrayed.


    First, he saw the time: Crap, ten o¡¯clock!


    Instantly, his expression was that of the latter man¡ªthe one who discovers those oversized undergarments!


    Then he remembered that it was a Sunday. That meant no school. It was a sense of relief, similar to waking from a nightmare of colossal proportions, only to be greeted with those petite, pretty panties after all.


    Phew, safe ! 2


    ***


    Brushing his teeth, washing his face, and having breakfast¡­ Logan went through his usual morning routine.


    He observed a secret ritual when playing League of Legends: Before embarking upon Ranked matches, he would always take a shower and put on a fresh change of clothes, wash his hands and put on some deodorant.


    Essentially, the more he improved his appearance, the better his chances of victory!


    There was some scientific basis behind this!


    ¡®Ding-a-ling-a-ling!¡¯


    As he was washing his hair, the phone rang.


    Lilian hurried out of the kitchen, wiping her greasy hands upon her apron before picking up the receiver. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, aunty. I¡¯m a friend of Logan¡¯s.¡± A sweet, delicate voice could be heard on the other end.


    Lilian¡¯s eyes lit up. From whence had this fair maiden come, seeking the scion of their household first thing on a Sunday morning?


    Her eyes flicked towards the bathroom, where Logan was just now wiping his hair with a towel. She nodded inwardly. It stood to reason. Her young Logan had grown up so dashing and fine, and such a sensible boy, too. To have girls falling for him was only to be expected.


    ¡°Sure, let me get him now.¡± Lilian nodded at the phone, then hollered for Logan.


    ¡°Young lady, such a nice voice you have. You must be quite the little angel.¡± As Logan hung up his towel, Lilian seized the moment to conduct an inquiry.


    ¡°Not at all. Aunty¡¯s voice is lovely, too. You must be the young and gorgeous sort of mother.¡±


    Lilian burst out laughing. This gal had a mouth on her! If Logan had really been dating her in school on the sly, one day when his father wasn¡¯t around, he simply had to bring her over for a meal.


    Without a word exchanged between either of them, Lilian and Charlene¡¯s aunt were both hatching the same conspiracy!


    ¡°Hello. Looking for me?¡± Logan had no clue who was on the line.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Charlene Yang!¡± came a voice tense with feminine pique.


    ¡°Right, sure. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost two games waiting for you to log in!¡± she huffed.


    Hearing her voice, Logan could easily imagine Charlene¡¯s pouting face. It had to be the most fetching sight.


    ¡°Ah, my bad. I overslept.¡± It was only then that Logan remembered he wouldn¡¯t be playing Ranked today. He¡¯d been bound into the service of this titillating angel.


    This girl definitely belonged to the sweet dream of the tiny panties, and not the nightmare of the billowing bloomers!

 Chapter 19 - You Trash!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Last night, Logan had added Charlene as a friend on QQ, as well as in the game.


    They were still in the Iron Solari server, which meant that Logan had to continue using that Level-13 noob account.


    Of the thousand bucks they¡¯d won last night, five hundred of it had been spent on their victory feast, while the remainder had been split evenly between the five teammates.


    Logan immediately converted the one hundred that was his share into Q Cash 1 , and used it to purchase the champion Thresh for use on that account.


    ¡°Hey, invite me in.¡± Charlene sent him a QQ message, punctuated with a mischievous smiley face.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m just buying a champion now.¡± Q Cash in hand, he surfed onto the QQ marketplace and unlocked the new champion, Thresh.


    Logan often watched gameplay videos from abroad. In other countries, this champion had been out for a while now. It was supposedly intended for the Support role, and was both versatile and formidable.


    Playing with his usual compatriot Snowfall, they usually dominated the Bottom lane, with the Support handling the lion¡¯s share of combat.


    And now, he was finding out that Charlene was an ADC too. Logan felt a tinge of despair in his heart. Was this his lot in life? To provide Support to hot ADC girl gamers?


    But then again, there were any number of people out there who kept getting stuck with fat loser ADCs. Here he was, the hand-picked bodyguard of two fair young maidens. Seeing things from this perspective buoyed his spirits greatly!


    Remembering the sweet dream that all men aspire to, his passion as a Support player was renewed!


    Charlene was Level 23, not too bad. At least he wouldn¡¯t have to go over the basics with her. She¡¯d also told him that she often watched her older brother playing, and she looked up gameplay videos too. It was a fair guess that she should be somewhat above the average for her level.


    Doot¡­ doot¡­


    As they were selecting their champions, he got an incoming voice call from Charlene¡¯s QQ.


    Voice call? Logan hesitated for a moment.


    ¡°Pick up!¡± Charlene commanded over the text chat.


    ¡°Right, sure, fine.¡± The new microphone he¡¯d bought, he¡¯d been planning to save its first time for Snowfall. To think that he¡¯d be cuckolded by Charlene Yang.


    Never mind. It would save him trouble to just go with the flow.


    ¡°Can you hear me?¡± A gentle voice strummed playfully across his heartstrings!


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t,¡± Logan answered immediately.


    ¡°Oh? Let me check my microphone¡­¡± There was a buzz of static from her end, until she apparently caught on to his deception, at which point she hissed, ¡°What are you playing at? You wanna die?¡±


    ¡°Heh.¡±


    Charlene seemed to particularly favor ¡®Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover¡¯, because she insta-locked 2 that champion right away.


    Come to think of it, Logan could certainly see some similarities between Charlene and Caitlyn. For one thing, they both possessed a pair of long, statuesque, alabaster-white, killer legs!


    Caitlyn wore a European-style one-piece dress, ending in a miniskirt. The most eye-catching detail was the nylon straps adorning her porcelain-smooth thighs, which only seemed to enhance their taut, nubile appeal.


    Now a fantasy had begun to play, in the theater of Logan¡¯s mind:


    Charlene, standing before him in Caitlyn¡¯s outfit, teasing a finger through her hair, a lilting voice saying, ¡°Sorry, kid. I keep the fuzzy cuffs at home.¡±


    Nosebleed!


    What a dream come true that would be ! 3


    ¡°Hurry up and choose someone!¡± Charlene urged him.


    Startled from his reverie, he hurriedly picked ¡®Thresh, the Chain Warden.¡¯


    There was little glory to be had in playing Support, so there was little worry that someone would fight with him over the position. Playing in Normal games, the last person to make a choice would typically get stuck with being Support.


    During Ranked games, this could lead to some strange situations.


    If you came into Champion Selection howling something like, ¡°Give me Mid, or else I¡¯ll feed!¡± your teammates would surely give you an earful about squabbling over positions, and even threatening your own team!


    On the other hand, if you instead said, ¡°Let me Support, else I¡¯ll feed!¡± your teammates would probably chortle good-naturedly, thinking you a kind-hearted and charitable soul, who also had a healthy sense of humor.


    Why was there such a difference, here? Could anyone kindly explain?


    ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t that the new champion?¡± Charlene asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve played him before?¡±


    ¡°Nope, so I¡¯m trying him out,¡± Logan replied.


    ¡°Learned his skills yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m reading a champion guide 4 right now.¡±


    This left Charlene speechless for a long moment. Finally, she fumed, ¡°How can you be so infuriating! I ask you to lend me a hand, and you¡¯re trying out new champions? At least play one round as Blitzcrank!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s try things out first. Maybe I¡¯ll be amazing!¡± Logan scrambled to redeem the situation.


    It sounded like Charlene was losing her temper, and she was silent for another while, but in the end she couldn¡¯t hold it in after all, and muttered two venomous words over the voice chat:


    ¡°You trash!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Welcome to Summoner¡¯s Rift!¡±


    Thresh¡¯s character model looked pretty neat, like a cross between Ghost Rider and the underworld judge of Chinese legend.


    It was a skeleton topped with a flaming skull, shrouded in a gray cloak, skeletal hands twirling a hook-and-chain, all the while emitting a constant, otherworldly moaning.


    Each champion in League of Legends had their own distinctive feel, derived from myths and folk tales from around the world, or perhaps characters from blockbuster movies. Many of the champions would probably seem rather familiar to you right away.


    After a moment¡¯s inspection, Logan was of the opinion that Thresh was positively bad-ass!


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Charlene hissed. She¡¯d already raced Caitlyn over to a clump of brush 5 in the Bottom lane as quickly as possible, only to discover that Logan was still hanging around the Fountain.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t quite get the skills just now, so I¡¯m reading a little further,¡± Logan explained.


    ¡°I¡¯m so tired of you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right over. Careful of an ambush in the brush.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m not a child. I¡¯m not poking into the brush for no reason.¡±


    ***


    Reading the description alone was not enough to fully understand a skill. One had to get some hands-on experience with them as well.


    Logan bought himself some items, and then headed down the lane himself.


    Typical starting equipment for a Support champion: one Faerie Charm, one Vision Ward, two Stealth Wards, and one Health Potion.


    He arrived on the scene just as the minion waves met in the middle. At least Charlene had been smart enough not to run through all the bushes, and instead held back to farm the minions.


    ¡°Good, you know how to farm.¡± Logan offered her a word of praise.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite good at it!¡± Charlene laughed.


    ¡°Is that right? How many do you have by the ten-minute mark, on average?¡±


    ¡°If there hasn¡¯t been too much fighting, around fifty to sixty, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Mm, that is quite good.¡± Logan nodded in approval.


    It was rare for a Level-23 player to be able to achieve such efficiency. It was a far cry from that idiot Shane, who seemed completely oblivious to the whole concept of farming, and just stood around randomly attacking the minions.


    Random-farming referred to the practice of simply allowing your champion to keep using their basic attacks on enemy minions, instead of timing it carefully to be sure of getting in the last hit.


    Doing things this way, you would only pick up a minion kill entirely on random chance, otherwise it would be taken by one of your own minions instead. It was basically to leave things in the hands of fate!


    ¡°How am I doing?¡± Charlene asked, fishing for more compliments.


    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Logan responded at first, and then hurried to add, ¡°My lady Charlene, your farming skills are remarkable! Last night, Shane hadn¡¯t even managed to get forty minions after ten minutes. You¡¯re so much better than him!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Charlene laughed with delight.


    Charlene was obviously the sort of girl who threw little fits all over the place without really meaning it. One compliment from Logan, and all the unpleasantness from earlier was wiped clean, as though it had never happened at all, and she was all smiles once again.

 Chapter 20 - You Can Do That?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In a small cyber caf¨¦ in Lucheng, two youths were seated in a corner, watching a computer screen intently.


    For most people their age, being able to find the time to hang out in a cyber caf¨¦ gaming, drinking Coke and having a smoke like this, was also a little slice of heaven.


    ¡°Ice, the enemy¡¯s got a Thresh. Should we be worried?¡± said a young man with a face like a chunk of coal.


    ¡°The hell we should. That champion just came out a couple of days ago. Must be some dumb fool trying him out. Let¡¯s smack him!¡± the guy called Ice replied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point, there.¡± Coal Face grinned with a mouth full of teeth. ¡°Come to think of it, what skills has this hero got?¡±


    ¡°All you need to know is that he can hook people.¡±


    ¡°Hook people, like Blitzcrank does?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly the same. Blitzcrank yanks people over directly. Thresh can keep the person on the hook for a while, and drag them back a little. Just don¡¯t get hooked¡ªit¡¯s easy to dodge.¡± Ice took a gulp of his Coke.


    ¡°Right. Okay.¡± The coal-faced young man would be playing ¡®Ashe, the Frost Archer¡¯.


    It was a mystery why someone with such a dark complexion himself would favor an innocent maiden with snow-white skin like Ashe!


    ¡°Hey, that prick actually tried to hook me! Good thing I¡¯m a pro at juking!¡±


    Coal Face pulled Ashe aside, managing to evade the incoming hook.


    Seeing Thresh miss several hooks in a row, Ice sneered. So he really was just trying out a new champion. How could they let that go unpunished?


    ***


    Logan moved Thresh into the brush.


    Playing Support could actually be quite a leisurely experience. It was the only role which could afford to look around and see how everyone else was doing.


    Sometimes you could even munch on some snacks on the side while playing Support, or switch windows to search for some music to listen to.


    ¡®Thresh has a delay before his hook comes out. I¡¯ve got to let him swing that chain about a couple of times before letting it fly. It¡¯s a bit different from Blitzcrank. The skill¡¯s maximum range seems just a little bit longer.¡¯ After some experimentation, Logan now had a pretty good sense of how this hook worked.


    Using Blitzcrank¡¯s hook well required a certain degree of foresight, since no one would be stupid enough to just stand around waiting to get hooked.


    Therefore, it was important to become familiar with the travel time of the hook.


    Thresh wasn¡¯t really that different. There was a slight delay beforehand, but the hook itself seemed to fly a little faster and further in comparison, so that the timing and difficulty involved was roughly the same anyway.


    ¡®Aha, here¡¯s my chance!¡¯ Setting his sights on the enemy Ashe, he noticed a serious mistake in positioning.


    Alright, cast the hook!


    A ghostly green metal chain soared through the air in a straight line towards its target.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯ The hook caught on something upon Ashe¡¯s bosom!


    Logan immediately walked Thresh backwards, dragging Ashe and her bra along with him for several steps.


    ¡°Got her!¡± Charlene squealed in delight.


    She hurriedly brought Caitlyn over and attacked Ashe savagely, even applying a Headshot into the mix!


    ¡°Keep it up, I¡¯m going in!¡± Logan activated his Q-skill, ¡®Death Sentence¡¯, a second time.


    Thresh gave a mighty pull on the chain and, indigo cloak billowing, he flew over like a vengeful spirit, diving hungrily towards Ashe¡¯s ample bosom!


    Whereas Blitzcrank pulled his target over to himself, when Thresh caught somebody with his hook, he could activate the same skill a second time to bring himself over to the enemy, similar to Lee Sin¡¯s ¡®Resonating Strike¡¯.


    When he arrived before Ashe, Logan immediately stepped forward and used ¡®Flay¡¯, sweeping Ashe a couple of feet to the side!


    ¡®Snap!¡¯ That little shift had thrown Ashe right onto a Yordle Trap that Caitlyn had set earlier!


    ¡°Well-played! She¡¯s toast now!¡± Charlene sounded exhilarated.


    Hooked, dragged, and then knocked into Caitlyn¡¯s trap, that amounted to a total of three¡­ nearly four seconds worth of control. A fragile champion like Ashe stood no chance.


    ¡°Boom! Headshot.¡± With her next shot, Caitlyn brought Ashe to her knees!


    Three hundred gold, in the bag. Easy-peasie.


    The enemy¡¯s Support was ¡®Nunu, the Yeti Rider¡¯. Besides tossing a token snowball into the fight, all he¡¯d done was watch helplessly as Ashe was picked apart!


    ***


    ¡°What happened¡­¡± Coal Face had gone pale.


    ¡°Told you not to get hooked!¡± Ice snarled.


    ¡°How did he fly over to me like that?¡± Coal Face wailed in confusion.


    From the moment he got hooked, all the way until the moment of his death, his Ashe hadn¡¯t been able to loose a single arrow in retaliation. Wasn¡¯t this a bit excessive?


    ¡°Uh¡­ how would I know?¡± Ice himself had only seen Thresh in a couple of games, and didn¡¯t recall him being able to swoop around like that!


    ¡°Argh, we messed up! It¡¯s time to get serious!¡± Coal Face declared.


    ***


    After getting the kill, Charlene sent Caitlyn back to do a bit of shopping. Soon, she was the proud owner of a B. F. Sword. 1


    On the other side, Ashe could only afford a pair of Boots and a Vampiric Scepter¡­ and the Vampiric Scepter had merely been built up from the four-hundred gold Long Sword that she¡¯d started the game with. How tragic!


    ¡°Hey, Charlene, try touching this lantern, here,¡± Logan suggested to Caitlyn upon her return.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a green arrow on it, pointing to you,¡± Charlene observed.


    ¡°Walk over to it, and then try clicking on it,¡± Logan urged her.


    ¡°Alright¡­ wow, where did I zoom off to?¡± Charlene cried out in wonder.


    That was Charlene¡¯s first encounter with Thresh¡¯s W-skill, ¡®Dark Passage¡¯. One touch of the ghostly green lantern, and your champion would be transported over to Thresh, as though caught by a chain attached to their soul!


    ¡°So Thresh can pull his allies over to himself? He¡¯s like a flipped version of Blitzcrank!¡± Charlene said thoughtfully.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I just found out about it, myself.¡± Logan thought it was rather fascinating.


    Then he noticed that their minions were just about to reach the enemy¡¯s Tower. A sly grin stole across his face.


    ¡°Charlene, let¡¯s make a play.¡±


    ¡°What sort of play?¡±


    ¡°Go hide behind the wall, pretend you haven¡¯t returned to the lane yet.¡±


    Charlene was a clever girl, and figured it out immediately. Her bright laughter rang over the line, and she moved to hide Caitlyn away in the shadows.


    Logan brought Thresh back out into the lane, on his own.


    Seeing him by himself, the enemy players supposed that Caitlyn was still standing around back at their base, waiting for the gold to buy something. Ashe moved in to engage Thresh, thinking to bully him while he was outnumbered.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Besides killing monsters and enemy champions, each player¡¯s gold also increases steadily, on its own, throughout the game.


    Regarding the price of the Long Sword from earlier, it¡¯s become 350 gold nowadays ¨C but like I said previously, I¡¯m not always going to point out every minor detail.)


    Hook, line, and sinker.


    As the Tower cleared off the last of the minions, Logan pushed forward as well!


    Taking careful aim, he landed another hook on Ashe!


    He flung out the lantern, and it landed on the far side of the wall, at Caitlyn¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Take my lantern, babe!¡± Logan called out.


    Caitlyn seized hold of the lantern, which brought her straight into Thresh¡¯s waiting arms.


    Even as she soared through the air towards him, Logan activated ¡®Death Sentence¡¯ again!


    And then Thresh was in the air as well, swooping in towards Ashe, just like before¡ªbut this time, he¡¯d brought Caitlyn along for the ride, the both of them descending upon Ashe!


    ¡°Wow, you can do that? We¡¯re both flying together!¡± Charlene squealed, her girly voice alight with exuberance and excitement.


    ***


    Outside the room, a middle-aged woman was making her way slowly along the corridor, when she heard Charlene¡¯s heartwarming laugh of delight.


    ¡°What¡¯s that girl up to? Sounds like a good time,¡± the woman muttered to herself, and then continued on her way.


    And then she heard Charlene¡¯s thrilled voice again. ¡°Ah, that was fun! I didn¡¯t know you could do two people at the same time!¡±


    Two people¡­ at the same time?


    What in blazes was going on in there?


    The woman froze in place, gaping at the locked door.


    Dear girl, please be sensible¡ªyou¡¯re still too young!

 Chapter 21 - Pearls Before Swine

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    From within the room, one could hear constant laughter, interspersed with a young woman frantically saying things like, ¡°Get it off, hurry up and get it off of me!¡±


    When her aunt burst into the room, and found that Charlene was only playing a video game, she was greatly relieved. However, to hear such suggestive sounds arising from time to time, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was really going on between that young couple. She resolved to have that young man over for dinner, one way or another.


    As the girl¡¯s aunt, it was imperative that she gauge the man¡¯s character for herself, the better to watch out for her!


    ***


    Of the first three games they played together that morning, they won two, and lost one.


    By afternoon, Logan had gotten accustomed to using Thresh, as well as working with Charlene, and their odds of victory skyrocketed. The only time they lost was when someone on their own team disconnected halfway through the game.


    Charlene put her heart and soul into every game. It was easy to see that she was genuinely passionate about League of Legends.


    Every girl has a secret darkness concealed somewhere in her heart¡ªin much the same way that every guy has a hidden beast within.


    When playing games, this darker side of a girl will be revealed in all its twisted malice. Several times, the enemy¡¯s Bottom lane had been so badly ravaged that even Logan felt pity stay his hand¡ªbut Charlene would level her rifle at their opponents without hesitation, and slaughter them all!


    That fancy new champion that had cost them 6,300 IP¡­ you¡¯ve killed them so much that they¡¯re now worth about the same as a lowly cannon minion. Have you no pity at all?


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Influence Points (IP) are amassed through playing the game, and can be used to unlock more champions to play with. It was a revolutionary system back when ¡®League of Legends¡¯ was first introduced.


    A ¡®cannon minion¡¯ is just another type of basic minion, fewer in number but worth more money, making them the priority in every minion wave.)


    ***


    After practicing the whole day, Logan felt he understood the basics of playing Thresh. Over the next week, he¡¯d sneak on late at night to get in a bit more practice with him. Hopefully, next weekend he¡¯d get to resume playing Ranked with his usual partner.


    In terms of skill, Logan¡¯s partner was far superior to Charlene. Whether it concerned farming, tactical sense, control, teamwork¡­ that player had a substantial advantage.


    While he did enjoy playing with Charlene, Logan was a man of ambition, who lived to test himself against worthy foes. Fooling around with pretty young things was a fun way to pass the time, but he needed to keep honing his skills further by playing in Ranked games.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Playing for a whole afternoon had tired Charlene out, and her voice sounded weary, like a starving kitten.


    ¡°Go eat something, then,¡± Logan suggested. He was feeling kind of peckish, himself.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one home¡­¡± Charlene informed him.


    No one home?


    Was this meant to be some sort of hint?


    Could it be, that in the span of a single day, this angelic beauty had completely fallen for his charms?


    Could it be, when she said that she was ¡®hungry¡¯, what she really meant was¡­


    Instantly, everything became clear to him!


    ¡°I¡¯ll swing by, then,¡± Logan answered. ¡°Heh, heh, heh¡­¡±


    He would satisfy her cravings with every ounce of his youthful vigor!


    ¡°What could you be thinking about, you creep? What I meant was that no one cooked anything for me, here!¡± Charlene fumed.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Logan paused, and then recovered with superhuman alacrity. ¡°What I meant was that I could come over and cook something for you.¡±


    Hearing what he himself had just said, Logan heaved a sigh of relief. He¡¯d nearly been found out for the pervert that he actually was.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it myself. Thanks for playing with me today. It¡¯s been a long time since I had so much fun,¡± Charlene said politely.


    ¡°Hoo, hoo¡­¡± Not knowing what else to say, Logan just chuckled like a fool. Worried that this might be taken the wrong way, however, he hurried to add, ¡°It was my pleasure to play with a babe like you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to do my homework later, so I won¡¯t be playing later tonight. See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°See you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going off now.¡±


    Logan had wanted to chat with her some more, but she¡¯d already hung up.


    ***


    If even Charlene Yang had to do her homework, what more Logan Yu?


    When you were in your third year of high school, in the whole week, you could only have fun on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. The rest of the time was for solemn business.


    Endless worksheets ate up the rest of Logan¡¯s time, from the moment he finished dinner until the clock struck midnight¡ªsix whole hours in all. It was back-breaking hard labor.


    Lying in bed, allowing his mind to slowly unwind, Logan suddenly found himself looking forward to university life.


    He¡¯d heard that in university, you could attend classes at your own leisure, flirt around as much as you pleased, and play to your heart¡¯s content.


    If that was true, he¡¯d just sit through a couple of lectures every day, then return to his hostel for a bunch of Ranked games. When he¡¯d had his fill of Ranked, he might follow Charlene through some Normal games, or perhaps their relationship might develop to the point of being able to go out for meals, movies¡­ and once all those milestones had been reached, Logan would probably be quite satisfied with his life.


    The more he thought about it, the more he couldn¡¯t wait to speed through these last one hundred days of high school. And then he would know the boundless freedom, the limitless opportunities of university life!


    ***


    The truth was, no matter how pleasant the weather, or how good your mood, waking up to a Monday was a slap across the face.


    As always, Logan was still half asleep when he wandered into his classroom. Looking around, he noticed that quite a few people were watching him with ardent fascination. This gave him a moment¡¯s pause. Something was amiss.


    The moment he set down his schoolbag, he was surrounded.


    ¡°I heard you slaughtered those Class 3 guys!¡± Yang Soon was the first to start things off.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Logan nodded.


    ¡°Damn it, I didn¡¯t go that night! I heard it was a complete massacre. You guys actually dove right into their base? That¡¯s extreme!¡± some black dude sprayed words every which way.


    ¡°Logan, bro, teach me to play Blitzcrank. How about today? Dinner¡¯s on me!¡± That was Tyler Zheng, who¡¯d just started playing League of Legends.


    The whole group continued to gabble away about the match against Class 3.


    ¡°Ah, move aside, move aside!¡± Jin came in swinging, and waved them all away.


    All the attention had been making Logan uncomfortable, and he offered Jin a look of gratitude.


    However, Jin rounded on him with a manic light in his eyes. ¡°That night, you sent Charlene Yang home, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡± Logan nodded.


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°And then, what?¡±


    ¡°Quit playing dumb with me. Hurry up and tell me her address!¡± Jin slapped a hand down upon the desktop.


    A chill ran down Logan¡¯s spine. Was this guy planning to stalk her?


    There¡¯s no brush outside her place. If you go lurking around there, you¡¯ll get spotted right away!


    Anyway, Logan hadn¡¯t made note of the precise address. He gave Jin some rough directions to stave him off for the moment.


    He was even in possession of Charlene¡¯s phone number, but he naturally kept quiet about this, lest that halfwit Jin should use it to pester her.


    As for the house he was helping Jin to find? Charlene had already informed him that it was her aunt¡¯s house. If Jin wanted to go creeping around there, he could go right ahead.


    As though Logan would actually betray such vital information to the likes of Jin Wong. One did not scatter pearls before swine!

 Chapter 22 - Lingering Heart

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Hey, yo! Some nerve you have, coming round here again!¡± As their classes finished, Jin gave a cold reception to Seth Lin, who was in the corridor outside.


    Seth looked to be in a foul mood. No matter how many times he went over it, he just couldn¡¯t figure out how he¡¯d lost to these Class 8 scrubs¡ªand so badly!


    ¡°Hmph. Last time we won a game, and now you guys have gotten one yourselves. We¡¯re just about even at the moment.¡± Seth smirked as he said this.


    ¡°You¡¯re certainly talented at making excuses for yourself. So what are you getting at, then?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a tie-breaker!¡± Seth snarled.


    Class 3¡¯s defeat at the hands of Class 8 had become the talk of the school. All the LoL players were spreading it around. For Seth, who used to be viewed as the premier League of Legends player of Cerulean High, it was becoming such that he feared to show his face in public!


    ¡°I figured you¡¯d be a sore loser about this,¡± Jin huffed, patting Logan firmly on the shoulder.


    That gesture was meant to say, as long as they had Logan on their side, you could come and get your ass kicked as many times as you liked!


    ¡°Let¡¯s play again next week. This time, each team can bring in one outsider. Double the stakes, in or out?¡± Seth asked in challenge.


    Double the stakes meant a wager of two thousand bucks. Among students, it was going a bit overboard.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the money to throw around like that.¡± Jin kept hold of his sanity.


    ¡°No wager, then. It¡¯s just a rematch, after all,¡± Seth declared.


    Jin glanced at Logan. All the other LoL players in Class 8 looked up to him now, so it should be up to him to decide.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± Logan made a curt refusal.


    Even if they played against each other again, Seth and those noobs he ran with would still get clobbered just the same. Logan had better things to do with his time than stand around beating a dead horse.


    ¡°You, uh¡­ have you no balls?¡± Seth tried to smirk at him.


    Logan truly couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and left.


    ¡°Hah, too scared to go for a rematch? And here I thought Class 8 was starting to get somewhere. Turns out it was just a lucky fluke, and now you¡¯re just gonna slink away like a bunch of weasels.¡± Seth was really running his mouth off now.


    Jin refused to stand for this. ¡°Who are you calling a weasel?¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Am I wrong? Then let¡¯s fight again! You choose the time and place!¡±


    ¡°Come on, then! I¡¯ll wipe the floor with the lot of you!¡± Jin felt that he hadn¡¯t managed to enjoy himself thoroughly enough last game, but a few more rounds should hit the spot. ¡°Logan, you with me?¡±


    ¡°Play him yourself. It¡¯s none of my business.¡± Logan didn¡¯t mince his words.


    ¡°Hey, come on, man!¡± Jin was taken aback.


    Logan didn¡¯t want any part of this nonsense. This sort of thing, you could play around with once in a while, sure¡ªbut if you just kept going at it without end, then there¡¯d be no point to it at all.


    As Seth watched Logan swiftly departing the scene, a flash of rage lit up his eyes!


    He¡¯d gone so far as to even bring Michael into this, expressly for the sake of crushing that one, and now he wasn¡¯t playing? How was he going to get his revenge, then?


    Ignoring the both of them, Logan disappeared into the flood of students leaving the school. He was walking very quickly indeed, as though hoping to shake Jin off his tail¡ªor perhaps to catch up to somebody.


    ¡°Oh, what a coincidence.¡± Logan gave his sunniest smile to a girl who was just brushing past him.


    ¡°Coincidence, indeed. I saw you hurrying after me the whole way!¡± Charlene snapped at Logan, eyeing him scornfully.


    Logan guffawed with some embarrassment. She¡¯d seen right through him.


    While Jin and Seth had been arguing amongst themselves, Logan had spotted Charlene passing by outside. Normally, she¡¯d always be in the company of other girls. It was rare to catch her alone like this, and he couldn¡¯t let this precious opportunity get away from him, so he¡¯d withdrawn from that conversation immediately to give chase.


    The truth was that there were still quite a few guys deliberately tagging along beside Charlene, likely trying to think of a good pick-up line. And then this unremarkable nobody appeared out of nowhere and sidled right up to her, chatting her up like they were already buddies!


    ¡®Oh, what a coincidence.¡¯ Coincidence, your foot! School¡¯s out¡ªof course everyone would be passing through here!


    ¡°Shall we meet up again, this weekend?¡± Logan ventured.


    It was already Friday. After classes finished tomorrow, it would be another long-awaited weekend.


    ¡°Maybe not. My dad¡¯s taking me out,¡± Charlene replied.


    ¡°Oh. I was also planning to go for Ranked with someone.¡± Logan nodded.


    Charlene shot him an acidic glare. ¡°Then why ask me!¡±


    ***


    ¡°The finals will be in another couple more months. Which university are you aiming for?¡± Charlene inquired.


    In the end, the finals were always the ultimate priority. No matter how good you were at gaming, it had no bearing on academic matters whatsoever.


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± Logan said in response.


    ¡°Who else, if not you?¡± This guy always threw her off. He was clearly the one who¡¯d run over to strike up a conversation with her, but now it felt like he was absent-mindedly lost in space.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Logan answered.


    Which university should he aim for? Honestly, Logan was at a loss regarding this matter.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t care where he went at all, since his one motivation for working so hard at his studies was so that he wouldn¡¯t let his parents down.


    Whether because of prestige or recognition, whichever university his parents liked was the right one for him. Logan himself had no preference, after all.


    ¡°Sleepy-headed fellow. Every time I see you, you look like you¡¯re still half asleep. Do you find it that boring to be in school?¡± Charlene wrinkled her nose at him.


    ¡°Have you been paying that much attention to me?¡± Logan felt his heart stir.


    ¡°Who wants to pay any attention to you!¡±


    ¡°Alright, then. Next time you steal a peek at me, I¡¯ll try to perk up a little. How¡¯s that?¡± Logan was grinning peevishly.


    Charlene rolled her eyes, astounded by the depths of his depravity.


    ¡°I¡¯m interested in Zhejiang University.¡± She brought the conversation back to the original issue.


    ¡°I see. Myself, I might prefer Shanghai.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    Logan declined to reply. Charlene might be a LoL gamer too, but to her, it was only a game.


    However, as a former pro-gamer, Logan saw things differently. He just couldn¡¯t treat it as nothing more than a casual past-time. He¡¯d promised his parents never to return to that life, but deep in his heart, he still heard it calling him back.


    Shanghai was fast becoming the heart of competitive MOBA-gaming in China. If he could be given a choice in the matter, he wanted to go to a university in Shanghai. Even if he never returned to the pro-gaming scene himself, he felt like he¡¯d like to taste that atmosphere again.


    What¡¯s more, Logan had some old friends in Shanghai.


    A year had slipped past in the blink of an eye, and Logan found himself missing them terribly. He wondered if a bunch of DOTA veterans like them had ever tried out League of Legends.


    They probably had. It was all the rage now, and Demacian culture was everywhere. From children as young as eight or nine, all the way to senior citizens in their sixties, everyone was playing LoL.


    Those friends of his were elite MOBA players. It was unthinkable that they hadn¡¯t gotten themselves involved, too.


    Maybe they¡¯d already formed a team themselves, or had joined up with a prestigious pro-gaming team somewhere.

 Chapter 23 - Jeannie

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lots of people know about video games, and about MOBA games.


    But how many people know about pro-gaming teams, tournaments, and which competitions are the biggest ones?


    Geeks filled the land, and gamers were legion. How was it that everybody knew about the NBA and the CBA, but hardly anyone had ever heard of the G-League, the LPL, and the meaning of the term ¡®imba¡¯?


    You recognize sports teams like Barcelona, the Lakers, and the Rockets; do you know the teams competing to be world champion of your favorite games, like DOTA, LoL, Warcraft 3, Starcraft, and Crazyracing Kartrider 1 ?


    Of course not. Hardly anyone knew them.


    Although there were countless gamers and enthusiasts out there, pro-gaming teams could rise and fall without ever garnering a moment¡¯s notice from the general populace.


    Even those heroes who managed to become world champions would have nothing to show for it besides that little bit of prize money. They would receive neither fame nor recognition, as though glory had become as inconsequential a thing as honor in the modern world.


    GTV was planning to include game-casting in its broadcasts. Jeannie had little patience for such matters.


    She¡¯d been in the e-sports scene since her second year of high school, and had continued to give it her all after graduation. Thanks to the growing ubiquity of the internet, they¡¯d been getting more and more exposure.


    It was still far from enough.


    In other countries, it was now possible to earn a living from pro-gaming, and stand a real chance to become somebody.


    Here, pro-gamers were still being overlooked.


    Another petition rejected. She was all worn out. Without even changing out of her office clothes, she flopped down on her bed, sweat and all.


    Fulsome curves bulged beneath the white shirt that she wore. For a woman to be able to display such dramatic topology even while lying flat on her back, it was a rare thing indeed.


    Her short, black skirt was a little out of place, revealing voluptuous legs clad in flesh-colored stockings. It was a tempting sight to see.


    Maybe it was like people told her: with her assets, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for her to snag herself a rich husband, and enjoy the easy life. Forget all this e-sports nonsense¡ªno one appreciates it, anyway.


    But she loved it. With all her heart.


    She laid her head upon both hands, but she didn¡¯t shut her eyes. Instead, she stared at the pale yellow wall beside her bed.


    There was a poster on the wall. It had been there in her room for some time, now.


    The person in the poster was smiling, and for some reason, whenever she saw that smile, she felt tears welling up in her eyes.


    Buzz¡­ buzz¡­ buzz¡­


    There at her bedside, her phone was vibrating. Jeannie continued to stare at that poster for a while longer.


    When she saw who was trying to contact her, her pretty face was marred by a touch of annoyance.


    ¡°Yes, Dad,¡± Jeannie answered the call wearily.


    ¡°Have you finished packing your things yet?¡± The voice over the line was cold and harsh.


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you get to it, then? Are you expecting me to come over and give you a hand?¡±


    ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t want to go abroad.¡±


    ¡°Your mother and I purposely flew over from America just to get you, and now you say you¡¯re not leaving? Stop being silly. The flight is on Sunday. Finish getting ready by tonight!¡± It was a direct order.


    Doot¡­ doot¡­ doot¡­


    He¡¯d hung up.


    Jeannie tossed her phone aside despondently, a tiny droplet already squeezing itself out from the corner of her eye.


    ¡°Why are they always pushing me around!¡± Jeannie buried her head into her blanket, unable to hold back the tears any longer.


    They¡¯d left the country when she was ten, only returning to see her about once every couple of years.


    Whenever she felt lonely, the only thing she could do was play some MMO or MOBA games. That was what she did, all the way to this day.


    As an adult, she no longer feared loneliness. However, nowadays they were suddenly in the mood to take up their role as her parents, pressuring her to start a job in some financial firm!


    One day¡¯s salary there was more than what she currently made in a month.


    And over there, each day would feel longer and more tiring than an entire month here!


    ***


    The night wore on, and Jeannie had no appetite for dinner. Exhausted from crying, she trudged into the bathroom, shrugged off her clothes, took a shower, and then slipped into a more comfortable nightgown.


    Now that she¡¯d calmed down a little, she picked up her phone again, and called one of her colleagues.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Jeannie. Was there anything else you needed?¡± It was a young woman¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow. From now on, the GTV tournament broadcasts will be all up to you.¡±


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re leaving already? But there¡¯s still so much I don¡¯t know¡­ That matter you told me about today, about Coca-Cola sponsoring a nationwide e-sports championship, I still don¡¯t know what to do with that at all! Miss Jeannie¡­¡± The voice was tinged with fright and panic.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed the matter with the sponsors. It¡¯ll start off around mid-June. Just follow the program schedule I¡¯ve set and you¡¯ll be fine. If anything has to change later on, figure it out yourself. You¡¯re a clever girl¡ªI have faith that it won¡¯t be too much for you to handle.¡± Jeannie smiled warmly as she said this into the phone.


    ¡°But¡­ Miss Jeannie, I just don¡¯t think we can bear to see you go. In the e-sports domain, female announcers as outstanding as you are a vanishing breed. If we lose you too¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright. There will always be more gamer girls, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be even better than me, not to mention prettier, more charismatic¡­¡± A hint of bitterness crept back into Jeannie¡¯s voice as she said all this.


    ¡°In that case, please let us send you off tonight, Miss Jeannie. You deserve a farewell dinner, or something.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already got plans tonight. Don¡¯t do anything for me, it¡¯ll just make me feel worse about this.¡± By the time Jeannie finished saying that last sentence, she¡¯d already pressed the button to end the call.


    The more they talked, the heavier her heart grew. With every breath that she drew, the air soured her lungs.


    How many years had she put into e-sports? She¡¯d worked so hard, and now she had to throw it all away.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to say goodbye to him.¡±


    Jeannie started up her computer, and plugged the headset into the CPU.


    She¡¯d just bought this headset the other day. She had to wear one at work the whole day, and it became uncomfortable after a while, so she¡¯d never used one at home.


    Opening up QQ, Jeannie found that the person she was looking for was already online. Somehow, every time she saw his name lit up like that, her heart danced a little.


    As she always did, she greeted him with a smiley face.


    It seemed like he¡¯d also been waiting for her, because he immediately replied with a leering sort of expression.


    Jeannie frowned in exasperation, and told him he was a pervert.


    ¡°In the interest of optimizing our teamwork, shall we use voice communication today?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Oh, I forgot to buy that microphone!¡±


    ¡°Say it isn¡¯t so! Do you know how much I¡¯ve looked forward to this? Tell me your address, so I can mail one to you.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ now you¡¯re after my address, as well. Are you planning to break in here and do nasty things to me?¡±


    ¡°Please get your mind out of the gutter.¡±


    ¡°No, you!¡±


    ¡°Ah. Well, let¡¯s continue relying upon the psychic link between us to dominate the Bottom lane!¡±


    ¡°Fooled you. I¡¯ve got a brand new headset right here. Send me a voice call.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious!¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡±


    ***


    Across the distance, in Lecheng city, Logan stared at these earth-shattering words, his heart hammering in his chest.


    At last¡­ at last¡­ at long last, he¡¯d be able to hear her voice!


    Hold on, stay cool!


    He ought to brace himself. It might still turn out to be a guy¡¯s voice!


    But¡­ what if it was a girl?


    What if it was a hot babe, with a mesmerizingly lovely voice?

 Chapter 24 - Thoughts Running Wild

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Can you hear me?¡±


    It was a melodic, feminine voice, gentle and refined. It didn¡¯t carry that flirtatious sort of lilt to it, nor was it extra sugary sweet. Rather, the tone felt more reserved, dignified.


    And when Yu Luocheng heard that voice, his whole body began quivering from head to toe!


    It was a lonely gamer¡¯s fondest dreams come true!


    It washed over him like a spring breeze, melting away the ice that had formed around his doubting heart. Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t believe that his best friend over the internet really and truly was a woman, who spoke with such a dreamy voice.


    Already, an image of her had begun to form in his mind.


    She had to be wearing a delicate pair of spectacles, behind which shone a pair of radiant eyes, bright with intelligence. Her tiny mouth would be formed by a pair of lips that were full, red, and luscious.


    Every word she spoke would exude sensual appeal. With each movement, her long hair would shift in layers of cascading tresses.


    Her fine, exquisite features would perhaps be adorned by a pleated braid, playfully arranged, which served to further highlight her spellbinding beauty!


    Now and again, her mature demeanor would give way to youthful charm; although composed, she also radiated maddening temptation; in her kindly nature, the occasional hint of a wilder side.


    All the hallmarks of a sophisticated beauty from the big city!


    Of course, Yu Luocheng had to admit that this was how he¡¯d imagined her all along, this friend he¡¯d never once met in person. However, now that he¡¯d actually heard the sound of her voice, he couldn¡¯t help feeling that fantasy and reality might not be so far apart!


    ¡°Yeah, I hear you!¡± Yu Luocheng replied frantically, nodding as he spoke.


    ¡°Haha, it¡¯s good that you can hear me, but do you have to shout?¡± There was another peal of light-hearted laughter.


    Just the sound of it was driving him crazy!


    Yu Luocheng found it hard to believe that such incredible fortune could have found a hardcore geek like himself!


    ¡°I¡¯m just so excited to finally be able to hear your voice,¡± Yu Luocheng told her.


    ¡°If you like the sound of my voice that much, I could link you to some of my broadcasts.¡± She was still giggling away.


    Hearing her voice drifting to him through the aether, it was like sitting in a tranquil glade, and looking up when he thought he¡¯d heard the faint sound of laughter from deeper in the woods, like the tinkling of silver bells.


    It was a sound to pull him to his feet, overwhelmed by curiosity to go have a look and find out what kind of girl that laugh belonged to.


    ¡°Broadcasts?¡± Yu Luocheng asked, bewildered. Despite having known each other for so long, he honestly had no clue which field Snowfall worked in.


    What kind of broadcasting focused on one¡¯s voice¡ªespecially a sultry, captivating female voice?


    Was she a voice actress?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. There are always two people in front of the camera, typically one man and one woman, but sometimes a third person might join in. That kind of broadcast. I can send you a full series where I¡¯m the female lead. It¡¯s limited edition, you know.¡± Yi Qin spoke teasingly now, deliberately presenting her job in the most misleading way possible.


    What sort of show involved two people¡ªa man and a woman¡ªsometimes with a third person involved¡­ his thoughts were running wild!


    Yu Luocheng thought about it for a while, until understanding hit him like a lightning bolt!


    Oh my god! Was this a gift or a curse?


    ¡°Wanna see?¡± Yi Qin whispered in his ear. ¡°There are lots of lonely guys like you who subscribe to my channel. After you¡¯ve seen what I can do, maybe you¡¯ll become one of my fans, too.¡±


    He could clearly hear the laughter in her voice. Though she tried to conceal it, her voice was quivering with barely contained mirth.


    How could such an elegant, dignified voice speak so lasciviously? Yu Luocheng could feel his ears burning, his face red hot!


    Perhaps¡­ perhaps she truly was a part of that noble profession?


    It would be a lie to say that he¡¯d never had certain fantasies about Snowfall, the same as any man might¡­ but he¡¯d never once imagined that his dreams could be made manifest so soon¡ªand a full series, at that!


    And to think, countless others have been enjoying this privilege as well!


    In Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart, he¡¯d been keeping Snowfall as something pure, someone sacred to him, someone who was exclusively his. How could he bear the thought of sharing her with so many other losers?


    He was a saint in a corrupt world of sinners. Should he keep holding out, or just give in?


    ¡°Alright, send it to me!¡± In the end, Yu Luocheng became just another innocent soul ruined by cruel reality.


    ¡°You filth! I knew you couldn¡¯t be trusted!¡±


    Now that Yu Luocheng had bitten the hook, he was completely at Yi Qin¡¯s mercy.


    ¡°What is my guilt, here?¡± Yu Luocheng asked wryly.


    ¡°How would I know what guys like you are thinking about? Hmph, go find it yourself, in those sites you usually frequent! Make a recording of my voice, and compare it to each actress until you find a match. Maybe you¡¯ll be able to pick me out that way!¡±


    Yi Qin¡¯s tone was a little cold, there. Yu Luocheng was in grave danger, unless he could figure out what was really going on.


    ¡°So what do you really do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Take a guess.¡± Yi Qin decided to prolong the mystery. ¡°Enough about this. I¡¯ve been playing by myself the past few days, and I¡¯ve lost a lot of points. Hurry up and get me to 2,000.¡±


    ¡°I give you my word: With my power level increased through our voice communication, never mind 2,000¡­ even 2,200 or 2,300 won¡¯t be a problem!¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: In other words, they would move from Platinum to Diamond tier¡ªthe highest achievable tier at that time.)


    ¡°Who are you trying to kid? 2,200 to 2,300 is for pro-gamers. Don¡¯t tell me you happen to be one of those?¡± Yi Qin said.


    ¡°I¡¯m still in school, hee hee,¡± Yu Luocheng chortled bashfully.


    ¡°Did you think I couldn¡¯t tell, little boy?¡± Yi Qin laughed again.


    How odd. When she called him ¡®little boy¡¯ with that gorgeous voice of hers, he didn¡¯t feel put down at all. If anything, it had roused him right up!


    ***


    Long accustomed to working with each other, Yu Luocheng and Snowfall were already in perfect sync down in the Bottom lane, voice communication or no. Perhaps Yu Luocheng had always been playing as though he had someone precious by his side whom he needed to keep safe.


    He was still uncertain about his mastery over Thresh, which made it a risky choice at this level of play, so Yu Luocheng went with some of the more aggressive Support champions that he¡¯d played the most.


    The Support champions that Yu Luocheng usually played included:


    ¡®Blitzcrank, the Great Steam Golem¡¯, an excellent playmaker who set the pace for the whole team;


    ¡®Leona, the Radiant Dawn¡¯ and ¡®Taric, the Gem Knight¡¯¡ªchampions who could bully the Bottom lane early on, and then became impenetrable Tanks later in the game, with abilities to disrupt and disable the enemy;


    ¡®Alistar, the Minotaur¡¯ could work miracles and turn the tide in team fights;


    Or perhaps he could go with a different style of Support champion, like ¡®Zyra, Rise of the Thorns¡¯ or ¡®Elise, the Spider Queen¡¯¡­


    (Translator¡¯s Note: ¡®Elise Support¡¯ is a new concept for me, and I¡¯m given to doubt that it works without tremendous snowballing. Note that in modern League of Legends, Taric is instead titled ¡®the Shield of Valoran¡¯.)


    One thing all of Yu Luocheng¡¯s champions had in common was that they all possessed substantial offensive capabilities and control effects, allowing them to take control of the Bottom lane, and even the whole game.


    As for ¡®Nunu, the Yeti Rider¡¯, ¡®Lulu, the Fae Sorceress¡¯, ¡®Janna, the Storm¡¯s Fury¡¯, and ¡®Sona, Maven of the Strings¡¯¡­ Yu Luocheng was familiar with these popular Support champions, but he himself didn¡¯t play them as often.


    Essentially, he was a Support player by trade, but his heart held an unquenchable lust for blood!


    He¡¯d won the most games as Blitzcrank, followed by Leona and Zyra. Of course, not even your win rate at the highest levels of Ranked play was any true indicator of your odds of winning a real tournament. If all you did was blindly pick your own favorite champions, with no consideration of the team composition on either side, you were headed towards your own doom.


    For example, if the enemy¡¯s solo Top was Renekton, and they were fielding Kennen in the Mid lane, Alistar as Support, and their Jungler as Amumu or Hecarim¡­


    And you used Blitzcrank to play against such a team¡­


    In that case, the enemy team would likely be very grateful, and your own team might have a few things to say about it as well.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I¡¯m guessing what the author means is that if the enemy team is mostly made up of swarthy muscle-boys, Blitzcrank¡¯s signature ¡®Rocket Grab¡¯ will be more harm than help.)

 Chapter 25 - Awakened to Battle

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At the 2,000-point Ranked play, a Jungler was compulsory.


    If you don¡¯t mind a bit of a lecture, this is also a good time to explain why the 2-1-2 formation is less than optimal, and why having a Jungler is so important . 1


    A detailed discussion of each lane is beyond the scope of this lecture, but let¡¯s take the Top lane for instance:


    The first issue concerns finances.


    No matter how efficient they are at farming, there are only so many minions in the Top lane to be shared between two people.


    Players with some experience in the game should understand that when there are two people sharing one lane, one thing is for sure: both will have less gold!


    In that case, it might be better to let just one player take all the minions, in order to maximize that champion¡¯s gold income. (This is the governing principle in the Bottom lane.)


    Next, let¡¯s talk about Experience Points (XP).


    One person, alone in their lane, is guaranteed to accrue more XP than two, which means they¡¯ll get to Level 6 2 sooner.


    If you have one player up in the Top lane, going against two enemy champions, then even if they gain control over the minion waves, as long as you don¡¯t allow them to kill you off or chase you out of range to receive XP from their minions¡¯ deaths, then you¡¯ll eventually out-level the both of them.


    Meanwhile, you should have a Jungler on your team, freely farming XP and gold from the Jungle regions. With the aid of a Double Buff early on, your Jungler is certain to out-strip both the opponents in the Top lane, in no time at all.


    And then your Jungler can come to the assistance of your Solo Top by ganking the paired enemy Top-laners. (¡®Gank¡¯, in this case, refers to launching a surprise ambush on enemy players.)


    Your Solo Top should generally be higher level than the enemy¡¯s Duo Top, or at least equal. Meanwhile, your Jungler should definitely have overtaken the both of them, and early on it¡¯s likely that no one¡¯s gone back to base yet to spend their gold on better equipment.


    If both of your champions are one level higher than both of theirs, in addition to a Double Buff on one of you, this becomes a dire threat to the enemy players!


    Oftentimes, it could even mean a Double Kill!


    And that¡¯s just as far as the Top lane is concerned; a Jungler can visit the other lanes as well, regularly creating a situation where the enemy is outnumbered, and thereby gaining your teammates the upper hand.


    If you don¡¯t have a Jungler of your own, it¡¯ll be nearly impossible to keep up with such tactics. One loss will lead to another, an endless snowball to defeat.


    There are still more details one might consider, but the point is that going 2-1-1, with a Jungler, is far superior to the 2-1-2 formation.


    (Recently, I¡¯ve noticed that in some regions, the 2-1-2 formation is still very common in Ranked play.


    This is not a good sign and, although I don¡¯t want to confront this matter too directly, it suggests that there is still a general lack of MOBA games expertise, so I thought it might be helpful to occasionally provide an explanation like this for those players still getting to grips with this genre.)


    ***


    ¡°Welcome to Summoner¡¯s Rift!¡±


    ¡°Thirty seconds until minions spawn!¡±


    Yu Luocheng always heard this sharp, austere female voice at the beginning of every round.


    Except this time, it wasn¡¯t coming from the in-game announcer!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s lady friend was performing an exact imitation of those lines, overlaying the actual announcements with perfect timing!


    In fact, rather than calling it an imitation, it sounded as though Riot Inc. had actually used her voice!


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not a voice actress?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Keep guessing.¡± Still no answer out of her.


    Yu Luocheng was almost certain. ¡°Let¡¯s have a video chat some time. I can tell a person¡¯s profession by looking at their face.¡±


    ¡°You take me for a child!¡± Yi Qin laughed, seeing through his ploy.


    ¡°Eh? I think one of the enemy players knows you,¡± Yu Luocheng said, looking at the chat box. ¡°That SSS guy is trying to get your attention.¡±


    The chat box was full of red text 3 . Yu Luocheng had always firmly believed in one fact of life: When you were performing well, everyone liked you. You became a shining star, their brightest hope for victory!


    But to come across somebody who actually knew you, and wanted to say hi¡­ that was pure chance.


    ¡°Ms Snow! Fancy seeing you here,¡± the player named ¡®SSS¡¯ said.


    ¡°Hehe¡­ what luck, indeed!¡± Snowfall replied. ¡°Here you are, playing ADC. I trust you understand what you have to do?¡±


    SSS answered immediately. ¡°Of course! I shall present my head to your rifle, and protect your KDA 4 with my life!¡±


    This SSS dude was a hoot. To prostrate himself before the enemy so openly, wasn¡¯t he worried what his teammates might say?


    ¡°Enemy ADC is a chick?¡±


    ¡°Man, that one¡¯s a perfect ten, I tell you.¡±


    ¡°Hey babe, Bottom lane, right? I¡¯m coming over to your Tower right now. I¡¯m ready to let you have my first time!¡±


    ¡°Scram, you creep! It¡¯s called First Blood!¡±


    ***


    Watching this dialogue playing out, Yu Luocheng was dumbfounded.


    Some people here had spent several months fighting tooth-and-nail to achieve 2,000 points, using their own allowance money to buy Runes and Rune Pages 5 ¡­ but it was nothing compared to the authority of being a girl gamer!


    ¡°You know this SSS guy? Friend in real life?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen him a couple of times. Ah, we¡¯re not winning this game.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°How could we lose? They¡¯re all rushing over to feed you kills now, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just teasing me. What fool would believe them? I¡¯ll be lucky if they don¡¯t gang up to pick on me,¡± she said sourly.


    ¡°That guy, SSS¡­ he used to be a pro-gamer in DOTA: Asmodai, the ace of Team ¡®Daemons¡¯. He¡¯s switched over to LOL now, still playing professionally. What foul luck that we have to fight against him, damn it!¡±


    Asmodai? Yu Luocheng stared, thunderstruck. It was a name he knew very well.


    Charon, Belial, Mephistopheles, Hades, and Asmodai ¡­ 6 taking their names from various demons in folklore and mythology, these were the key players of the highly prestigious DOTA pro-gaming team, ¡®Daemons¡¯!


    Their achievements in DOTA were too numerous to list, both locally as well as abroad. The five members of Daemons had ascended to the level where the very sight of their names struck terror in the hearts of their enemies!


    More importantly, during Yu Luocheng¡¯s previous career as a pro-gamer himself, he¡¯d faced Team ¡®Daemons¡¯ during the final round of the national championship! His team had just barely managed to claw their way to victory, allowing them to take part in the following championship in London!


    Although Team ¡®Daemons¡¯ had lost to the team Yu Luocheng had been in, he very clearly understood that they were opponents to be respected and feared. Even now, his pulse pounded when he recalled that match against them!


    The memories of that tournament flashed through Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind. He vaguely remembered ¡®Asmodai¡¯ to be a young man of twenty years. After their defeat, he shook hands with Yu Luocheng, and gave him a thumbs up!


    It had been a gesture of respect.


    So now he was playing LoL? Now he was on the opposing side, once again? Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart was racing out of control.


    He¡¯d sworn never to return to the world of professional gaming, but he was a true gamer, nevertheless. Even if he stayed away from tournaments, he would never lose his passion for battle!


    He was like a master swordsman who¡¯d set aside his blade, until one day, when he crossed paths with another illustrious grandmaster. Unconsciously, he¡¯d fall into a combat stance, the carrot he¡¯d just bought at the market twisting in his grip!


    ¡°Asmodai? Awesome! Just¡­ awesome!¡± Even his fingertips felt like they were on fire! Every inch of his body was straining to get started!


    ¡°Nothing awesome about it. Casual gamers like us stand no chance against professionals like them. I just hope I¡¯ll still be able to walk after this¡­¡± His partner muttered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bet on that!¡± Yu Luocheng¡¯s blood was boiling!


    This wasn¡¯t DOTA¡ªthey were playing LoL now.


    Back then, they¡¯d fought with every fiber of their being, risking everything to rise to the top in DOTA.


    Now, they would meet once again on the field of battle, in LoL!


    Asmodai, do your worst!

 Chapter 26 - The Daemon Asmodai

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ugh. Seems you don¡¯t understand the difference between casuals and pros. Forget it¡ªyou¡¯re just gonna be their punching bag this game, unless someone on our team happens to be good enough to match them!¡± Yi Qin said, sort-of optimistically.


    As for Yu Luocheng, victory or defeat no longer mattered, this round. The only thing he wanted was to win in their Bottom lane!


    Snowfall 1 was playing ¡®Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover¡¯, while Yu Luocheng had selected ¡®Zyra, Rise of the Thorns¡¯.


    Playing Zyra as Support had been popular back during Season 2 1 , and she was rather well-rounded for that role.


    Her skills gave her robust damage potential, and the seeds she planted granted vision of that area, while helping to control an area¡ªespecially when used in tandem with her ultimate skill.


    Yu Luocheng loved playing Zyra for Support. Her skills had large areas of effect: a well-placed ¡®Grasping Roots¡¯ could catch two or three champions at once, and if he followed up with her ultimate-skill ¡®Stranglethorns¡¯, it would hold them in place long enough to kill them all off easily.


    It was even better with Snowfall¡¯s Caitlyn also contributing her own disabling skills. When Zyra caught somebody in her ¡®Grasping Roots¡¯, Caitlyn could immediately drop a trap right behind the enemy. If both skills hit, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether it was the Support or the ADC that had been caught, they¡¯d be dead all the same¡ªespecially considering the burst damage that Zyra could dish out.


    As usual, they first helped their Jungler to pick up the Raptors and the Red Buff, before actually going into their lane . 1


    When they arrived, one of the enemy¡¯s melee minions had already fallen, without bequeathing its XP to either of them. At higher levels of play, missing out on even one minion could spell the difference between victory or death if a fight broke out afterward.


    As long as their opponents could maintain their XP gain, and avoid any untoward mishaps, they should be the first to reach Level 2. The enemy Bottom-lane champions comprised ¡®Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer¡¯ and ¡®Thresh, the Chain Warden¡¯.


    Knowing that Thresh had a higher Armor rating, Yu Luocheng had also selected Zyra for her Magic Damage 1 , so that he¡¯d be able to keep up in damage against Thresh.


    The cost was that this made it more crucial than ever not to get hooked by Thresh. If either Caitlyn or Zyra got hooked by Thresh, it would mean losing a Flash¡ªor a life.


    Discussing champion match-ups, Caitlyn out-ranged Ezreal, allowing her to pressure him somewhat. However, Thresh could set up attacks on either Caitlyn or Zyra which could easily prove fatal.


    In terms of damage, Yu Luocheng and Snowfall had the upper hand. As long as Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t throw his skills wide during a fight, they should just be able to hold their own.


    At the start, both ADCs farmed steadily. Yu Luocheng kept a close eye on Asmodai¡¯s movements and positioning. There seemed to be no pattern to his movements. Even when going for the last hit on a minion, he would make sure not to expose himself to danger, never allowing Caitlyn or Zyra the chance to attempt any attacks on him.


    Well, that was minimum standards for a professional gamer.


    At Level 1, both sides were tied in Creep Score.


    At Level 2, Ezreal began pushing forward aggressively. At the same time, Yu Luocheng noticed Thresh moving through the brush!


    They were making a play!


    At Level 2, Ezreal received a slight power spike, giving him an advantage over a Caitlyn of the same level. More to the point, both Yu Luocheng and Snowfall were still one minion short of Level 2!


    They had to avoid this fight, at all costs!


    ¡°Snowy, fall back. They¡¯re gonna attack,¡± Yu Luocheng urged his partner.


    Yi Qin had also noticed their advance. She duly pulled Caitlyn back, forfeiting a minion kill.


    ¡°I would have you address me as ¡®Ms Snow¡¯!¡± she declared severely.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Yu Luocheng mumbled in reply, but he kept his eyes fixed on the screen.


    In this moment, he had no interest to exchange barbs with Snowfall. He had to make sure to deny the enemy any possible opening to attack!


    ***


    In a residential apartment in Shanghai, a young-looking man was handling a keyboard and mouse with lightning-quick movements!


    As a professional gamer, even if League of Legends generally didn¡¯t require a particularly high APM, he still had to keep his fingers lively, in order to ensure that he¡¯d be able to come out on top during critical moments . 1


    There was someone seated beside him, also roughly twenty years of age, with dyed hair and a carefree sort of air about himself.


    ¡°Those two have decent instincts,¡± said the one with hair dyed blonde.


    ¡°Yup.¡± Asmodai nodded in agreement. Between pros, an initial assessment could be made even during the first few levels.


    Caitlyn and Zyra had been wise to retreat, or else they would have likely suffered grievous harm, perhaps even death.


    A merry voice rose up behind them. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you guys, teaming up on people like this.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, just a game,¡± said the blonde youth playing Thresh.


    ¡°Come on, really. Stop picking on the 2,000-pointers. Against the two of you, paired up in Bot lane, how many people in China can hope to stand a fighting chance?¡± The one speaking was wearing a sports jersey.


    Asmodai and the blonde dude chuckled, but made no further reply.


    Indeed, there were few who could be their equal in the Bottom lane. Even at the 2,000-point level of Ranked play, it was not uncommon to see them winning the Bottom lane within the first ten minutes of a game . 1


    ¡°Finish up quickly. The coach is having a guest for dinner tonight, so we can¡¯t be late,¡± the sporty dude reminded the two of them.


    ¡°Relax, this will only take twenty minutes,¡± Blondie assured him with a laugh.


    ¡°And if the enemy refuses to surrender?¡± Sporty laughed back.


    Without looking away from his screen, Asmodai replied, ¡°At this level, the two of us might not even allow the enemy the chance to surrender.¡±


    The sporty guy relented at this. Patting them both on the shoulder, he hefted a towel and went off to take a shower.


    ¡°What are Asmodai and Osiris up to?¡± another guy asked, from elsewhere in the house.


    ¡°Bullying kids. They never seem to tire of it,¡± the guy with the sports jersey said this with a frown.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to make somebody cry.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes you¡¯ll meet other pros in Ranked.¡±


    ¡°Heh! But like you said, only sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes you¡¯ll lose! If that happens, you might as well delete that ID. You never know when some game-caster might be recording your game. If that replay starts getting around, your LoL career will end in disgrace.¡±

 Chapter 27 - Definitely A Pro

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°This guy is pissing me off. I just can¡¯t get a shot off on him!¡± Snowfall huffed.


    ¡°Relax. Take it easy. If you missed him then that¡¯s that,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Versus Ezreal, Caitlyn had the advantage of longer range, which normally meant that she should be able to farm more easily than him.


    However, Yi Qin hadn¡¯t found this to be the case so far. Instead, she¡¯d gotten hit a few times by Ezreal¡¯s Q-skill, ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯, leaving her feeling deeply frustrated!


    Yi Qin had a bad habit when playing MOBA games: If the enemy managed to score a few hits on her, she¡¯d feel obligated to get something back!


    After losing some health, Yi Qin¡¯s Caitlyn began playing more aggressively. Whenever her passive skill ¡®Headshot¡¯ was ready, she had to use it on Ezreal!


    Observing the flow of battle carefully, Yu Luocheng frowned when he noticed what was happening. It wasn¡¯t that he had a problem with playing Caitlyn aggressively¡ªif anything, that was how she was supposed to play, against Ezreal¡ªshe ought to make the most of her advantages.


    However, she was making herself too predictable¡ªafter every seventh shot, she would begin moving towards the enemy! If the enemy Thresh was cunning enough to keep track of Caitlyn¡¯s build-up towards her next Headshot, and Ezreal baited her in just a little¡­ if Caitlyn kept up this routine any longer, her odds of getting hooked would be extremely high ! 1


    Sure enough, Thresh began to move over, at exactly the same time that Caitlyn¡¯s Headshot became available!


    Meanwhile, Ezreal was backing away, deliberately leading Caitlyn away from her minions!


    It was exactly the play that Yu Luocheng had been anticipating!


    ¡°This Thresh is a pro!¡± That had been evidence enough for Yu Luocheng.


    Although Snowfall was nearly good enough for 2,000 points, she obviously wasn¡¯t aware that the enemy had learned her patterns, and moved to deliver the Headshot nevertheless!


    Doing this meant Caitlyn had left the safety of her minions. Although she was only a couple of steps out of position, it was more than enough for a professional-level opponent!


    Alarm bells rang in Yu Luocheng¡¯s head. Snowfall was looking at a 70% chance of getting hooked by that Thresh.


    Even through voice chat, it was too late to warn her of the danger. Yu Luocheng jammed his finger down on Q, bringing up ¡®Deadly Spines¡¯ in front of Caitlyn!


    ¡®Deadly Spines¡¯ had an effect delay of about half a second, during which time Yu Luocheng hit W twice, planting two Seeds within its area of effect!


    The Deadly Spines burst out from the ground in front of Caitlyn, hitting no one. However, the skill caused both Seeds to instantly sprout into Thorn Spitters!


    Just as Yu Luocheng completed this skill combo, Thresh sent his hook flying over!


    Based on their respective positions, the hook was flying towards Caitlyn at a 45-degree angle¡ªan ideal angle, not just for taking cute selfies, but also for landing deadly hooks!


    Yi Qin was caught by surprise. By the time she realized that she was in danger, the hook was already soaring towards her!


    The hooked chain slanted across her screen, and when Yi Qin instinctively moved backward, it only put her directly into the path of the skill shot!


    That was it¡ªthe hook was guaranteed to hit!


    Clang! The hook caught with a resounding metallic ring!


    ***


    ¡°And that¡¯s a kill.¡± The young man with the dyed blonde hair smiled, and moved Thresh to drag its quarry back with him. First, he¡¯d pull Caitlyn even further out into the open.


    Asmodai was already prepared to follow up with Ezreal, but just as he was about to move in, he saw it.


    ¡°Holy crap, what happened?¡± The blonde one gave a great yelp.


    Asmodai managed to keep his cool. ¡°You hooked a plant.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ what¡­¡± Blondie kept staring in shock.


    Indeed, he¡¯d caught something¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t Caitlyn, it was one of Zyra¡¯s Thorn Spitters!


    There were a pair of plants at Caitlyn¡¯s feet. Blondie wasn¡¯t even sure exactly when they¡¯d appeared!


    And their sudden appearance had saved Caitlyn from what should have been certain death!


    So¡­ Zyra¡¯s plants could block a hook? From what the blonde-haired youth had just seen, apparently they could!


    And yet, even knowing that it was possible, he had to wonder how many people could have planted a Seed and sprouted it to form a defensive barrier like that, in the heat of combat¡ªnot in their own defense, but to shield a teammate¡ªand quickly enough to block a sudden hook!


    ¡°That Zyra saw through our plan.¡± Asmodai¡¯s fingers flew over his keyboard. The look in his eyes had gone from nonchalant to serious!


    Calmly, he continued, ¡°Like us, he noticed Caitlyn¡¯s patterns¡ªand he even foresaw the trajectory of your hook!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not possible!¡± Blondie stared at his computer screen, nearly forgetting to control Thresh.


    ¡°Not at all. At first, I thought it strange that our opponent would select a slow-moving Zyra to go up against a hook-using champion. Now I understand: he was planning to block with the plants.


    ¡°Honestly, there aren¡¯t many in China who know about this trick. To be able to use it well enough to foil our attack, under those circumstances¡ªeven fewer,¡± Asmodai went on.


    The blonde-haired youth turned to him. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°This guy is definitely a pro!¡± Asmodai¡¯s usually serene eyes were alight with a blazing fire!


    He only displayed this kind of enthusiasm and focus during official tournaments. The blonde-haired youth could hardly believe the one-and-only Asmodai was getting into it just for something like this!


    ¡°Maybe he just got lucky?¡± The blonde youth still couldn¡¯t quite believe it.


    Sprouting a Seed to block an incoming hook, it was impossible unless he had been able to think several moves ahead. How could any normal player be able to perform that level of strategic calculation?


    Asmodai didn¡¯t respond. Deftly, he continued to cut down each minion as Ezreal, waiting for the next fight to begin.


    ***


    ¡°That was close.¡± Snowfall breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Careful with your positioning. Don¡¯t make it too easy for the enemy to predict your movements,¡± Yu Luocheng advised her soberly.


    ¡°Alright, I get it. But how did you know Thresh was going to make a move right then?¡±


    ¡°A man¡¯s instinct.¡± Yu Luocheng played it cool.


    ¡°A man?¡± Snowfall laughed. ¡°Surely you mean a boy?¡±


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t respond to this. Yi Qin opened her mouth, thinking to taunt him some more¡ªbut there was just something odd about him today. She¡¯d always thought of him as some kind of little pervert, so now that she was teasing him like this, how come she wasn¡¯t getting much of a response from him?


    Was he bashful because it was their first time on voice chat?


    Yi Qin didn¡¯t realize that Yu Luocheng had already begun his duel with Asmodai. Ever since he¡¯d made that beautiful save earlier, Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal had made several attempts to provoke Yu Luocheng himself!


    ¡®He¡¯s smelled me out!¡¯ Yu Luocheng guessed that Asmodai had sensed the presence of another pro player. This was obviously meant to be a direct challenge against him!


    It had been a long time since Yu Luocheng had played this seriously!


    Every hair was standing on end, every ounce of his attention devoted to the game. His fingers flickered over the keyboard, one moment quick as lightning, one moment still as stone. His eyes, usually bleary and half-asleep, were now keen and sharp. He was like a statue who¡¯d slumbered for centuries, now suddenly opening its eyes!


    ¡®You would challenge me, Asmodai? Then let us decide a victor!¡¯

 Chapter 28 - Frenzied Exchange

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At eight minutes, their Creep Scores were fifteen minions apart. Normally, it should be Caitlyn getting the upper hand over Ezreal, but instead it was the other way around.


    ¡°Your farming is a bit off today,¡± Yu Luocheng remarked.


    Being fifteen minions behind was equivalent to granting the enemy a champion kill. Once they¡¯d both bought some equipment back at base, Caitlyn would have little chance of prevailing against Ezreal in a duel.


    Sure enough, when both sides returned to the lane once more, Caitlyn was wielding a 1,550-gold B. F. Sword; Ezreal had one too, and a Vampiric Scepter as well ! 1


    With the Vampiric Scepter in hand, Ezreal began playing even more aggressively! However, rather than Caitlyn, he seemed to be aiming all his skills at Yu Luocheng¡¯s Zyra!


    Asmodai was a crack shot with Ezreal¡¯s Q-skill, ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯. Many times, even when Ezreal was hurling the bolt at him directly across the battlefield, there was no way for Zyra to dodge it.


    After suffering three hits from that skill, Zyra was already at half health! He hurriedly quaffed a Health Potion to restore his lost HP, for they would surely press to attack the moment their minions were cleared away.


    Yu Luocheng had Zyra pull back a little, and noticed that Asmodai was meanwhile moving Ezreal towards the brush along the side. Attacking as he moved, Ezreal collected a cannon minion for himself, and then slipped into one of the bushes.


    True masters of the champion Ezreal knew to move around while farming, scattering the minions apart so that he could take potshots at the enemy through the gaps.


    Asmodai was performing a first-class demonstration of this technique!


    It was obvious that he was positioning himself in the brush now in order to flank Caitlyn and Zyra with his Mystic Shot, now that both of them had run out of ways to recover their health.


    Knowing that Asmodai¡¯s real target was him, Yu Luocheng took cover behind two of his own ranged minions, which would help block Ezreal¡¯s shots.


    ¡®Huh? Something¡¯s wrong!¡¯ Yu Luocheng¡¯s danger sense was blaring!


    Normally, Ezreal would only hide in the brush for a moment before firing off his Mystic Shot, and then swiftly exit to resume farming.


    Asmodai had been in that bush for at least a second now!


    At the pro level, a split second was enough to decide between life and death. In that sense, Ezreal had vanished for close to an eternity.


    Whoosh!


    A vast golden crescent appeared, sweeping towards Yu Luocheng with frightening speed! It was Ezreal¡¯s ultimate skill: ¡®Trueshot Barrage¡¯!


    The two minions were no protection at all against a Trueshot Barrage, and disintegrated instantly as the energy wave swept through them. It then carried on without pause towards Zyra, a gleaming golden scythe blade intent on cutting her down like a stray weed!


    Even Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat in the face of this vicious aggression!


    Yu Luocheng had about sixty percent of his health left. If Ezreal¡¯s ultimate hit him now, he¡¯d be left with less than forty percent! After that, an A-Q- A 1 -Ignite combo would be more than enough to finish off a fragile champion like Zyra!


    ***


    Yi Qin had also been shocked by this sudden Ultimate. Was it really worth expending an ultimate skill just to wear down Zyra¡¯s health?


    From where she was standing, it seemed doubtful that Ezreal could really take Zyra down, what with them being a thousand units 1 apart at the moment. He¡¯d need to Flash twice to get within reach of Zyra!


    Thresh was over by the river, with some minions in his way, making it even more unlikely for him to do anything to Zyra.


    Yi Qin just couldn¡¯t understand what Asmodai was up to, but Yu Luocheng had some inkling of the strategy behind this savage assault!


    True enough, Ezreal was two Flashes away from being able to use a basic attack on him¡­


    ¡­ and Flashing twice was indeed something that Ezreal was able to do!


    ¡®Bamf!¡¯ Flash!


    Immediately after unleashing his Ultimate, Ezreal Flashed in!


    Even as he stepped out of the aether, a second halo of golden light rose up around him as he used his E-skill, ¡®Arcane Shift¡¯!


    And then he teleported forward again!


    This meant that even as the Trueshot Barrage reached Zyra¡ªso did Ezreal himself!


    Watching this display of grace and bravado, Yi Qin was dumbstruck with awe!


    Worse, the energy bolt released at the end of the Arcane Shift flew out and struck Zyra squarely. This left her on her last twenty percent of health!


    At this point, all it would take was two attacks from Ezreal, plus an Ignite, and Zyra would be down for the count!


    In the face of his imminent demise, Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind was on fire!


    Should he flee? He could use his own Flash to evade Ezreal¡¯s second basic attack. Even with that, however, he might yet be cut down by a longer-ranged Mystic Shot!


    There was about a seventy percent chance of him dying even after using Flash.


    If fleeing was not a viable option, then he would stand and fight!


    This was an outright challenge from Asmodai. That double-Flash had been proof of his determination to take down Zyra!


    Hadn¡¯t he been wanting a good scrap with this guy? Why talk about retreating, then?


    ***


    Yu Luocheng met the enemy¡¯s brutal onslaught without the slightest trace of panic, his eyes cold as ice!


    Hitting F on his keyboard, he applied Exhaust on Ezreal even as he appeared out of thin air. That would slow him down, and buy Zyra another precious moment of life!


    Next, he reached out and tapped E to bring out Zyra¡¯s disabling skill, ¡®Grasping Roots¡¯!


    Curling tendrils wound along the ground in a straight path, entwining around Ezreal¡¯s feet!


    His finger slid over W, and a Seed popped up beside Ezreal¡¯s feet which, upon contact with the Grasping Roots¡¯ effect, sprouted into a Vine Lasher with a Slowing attack!


    Playing Zyra was an intricate feat.


    Even as the Grasping Roots surged through the earth, Yu Luocheng hit Q next! Deadly Spines¡ªhe used his second Seed in conjunction with this skill!


    And then R, to finish: Zyra¡¯s ultimate magic, Stranglethorns!


    Executing this entire sequence of skills seamlessly, he produced Zyra¡¯s highest burst damage combo!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s health was rapidly evaporating even as he did all this, until the Ignite effect burned away his final Hit Point.


    In death, Zyra wilted into an enormous bud on the ground.


    ***


    Asmodai received three hundred gold for slaying Zyra.


    However, now Ezreal was rooted in place, unable to move!


    He¡¯d been caught by the Grasping Roots, and the Deadly Spines had shorn off quite a bit of his health, but most terrifying of all were the vines, like a writhing mass of snakes, spreading outwards in a massive circle. This final spell dealt tremendous damage to him, and then knocked him high up into the air, leaving him vulnerable the whole time!


    Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal was swiftly running out of health, himself¡ªand it wasn¡¯t over yet!


    Upon her death, Zyra could fire one last shot in revenge: a massive thorn which dealt a huge amount of True Damage ! 1


    Asmodai had defeated Yu Luocheng, but now he too was standing before death¡¯s door!

 Chapter 29 - First-Class Skills

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What a pest, he Exhausted me!¡± Yi Qin grumbled.


    When Asmodai pushed so far forwards with Ezreal, he naturally came within Caitlyn¡¯s attack range.


    Thanks to Yu Luocheng¡¯s Grasping Roots and Stranglethorns, he¡¯d been disabled for two to three seconds¡ªenough for Caitlyn to kill him off.


    However, the Exhaust spell drastically reduced Caitlyn¡¯s damage. Worse, Thresh had caught Caitlyn with his hook, preventing her from attacking at all!


    ¡°Now he¡¯s dead!¡±


    At last, Thresh¡¯s hook fell off, and Yi Qin hit Q to launch Caitlyn¡¯s ¡®Piltover Peacemaker¡¯ at Ezreal¡¯s face. He was on his very last shred of health, so this would be his end!


    That was when a ghostly green lantern soared over to Ezreal, sheathing him in an ethereal shield!


    With the addition of this shield, Ezreal¡¯s health just barely rose by one white bar 1 !


    The Piltover Peacemaker slashed across his body, shattering the shield at once.


    Still alive? That¡¯s alright, her next attack would be a Headshot¡ªthat would seal the deal!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng himself wasn¡¯t celebrating, even though it seemed that they were about to get a kill themselves. He still had a card to play: Zyra¡¯s retribution, the ¡®Rise of the Thorns¡¯!


    Ezreal was no more than four hundred units away from where Zyra fell. Even if Caitlyn didn¡¯t finish him with her Headshot, Yu Luocheng could hit a key and take the kill himself.


    In the end, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t fire the shot at Ezreal.


    With a flick of his mouse, he fired the extremely long-ranged spike shot at Thresh!


    Why Thresh? Yi Qin herself couldn¡¯t understand what Yu Luocheng was thinking. She supposed he was letting her have the kill.


    This thought brought a smile to her lips, and she fired the Headshot off at Ezreal.


    Die with grace, Asmodai!


    It seemed Yi Qin was about to get three hundred gold, herself.


    In that moment of imminent triumph, she was greeted with a horrifying shock: All of a sudden, Ezreal took flight!


    An eerie green light wreathed his body as the lantern pulled him back to Thresh¡ªand out of the reach of her attacks!


    Yi Qin could only watch as Ezreal was stolen away from her. She¡¯d never managed to get off that last shot, after all!


    She gaped, flabbergasted. How could she have forgotten that the new champion, Thresh, could do that?


    He was out of range, now. Even if she used Caitlyn¡¯s ultimate skill, Thresh would just move to intercept it. The moment she saw Ezreal being yanked away from her, she knew that he¡¯d managed to get away!


    ¡°Disgusting!¡± Yi Qin spat in frustration.


    Fwoosh!


    At that moment, a long wooden thorn sailed past! Although it had apparently been aimed at Thresh, to Yi Qin¡¯s surprise, it connected with Ezreal even as he was being pulled back to safety!


    It almost felt as though, after seeing that the lethal shot had gone astray, Ezreal had purposely dived into its way!


    ¡°Uwah!¡± Ezreal gave a startled yelp as the projectile impaled him clean through, and he crashed to the ground.


    A golden ¡®150¡¯ floated up from his body, and Yi Qin¡¯s Caitlyn was credited with an Assist.


    Yi Qin blinked, staring at the screen. Events had completely defied her imagination!


    Her prey had been about to get away, but his escape route had led it right smack into Yu Luocheng¡¯s attack. The emotional roller-coaster ride of the past minute finally culminated in a shower of fireworks!


    He¡¯d been slain! Ezreal had been slain!


    They¡¯d taken down Ezreal while he was being played by the best of the best, Asmodai!


    If Yu Luocheng had been sitting next to her just then, she¡¯d have given him a big kiss, what a precious boy he was!


    And if Yu Luocheng had known about Lady Yi Qin¡¯s feelings at that moment, he¡¯d have booked a flight down to the GTV hostels without hesitation, so she could kiss him as much as she liked.


    ***


    Seeing that Ezreal had fallen, Yu Luocheng relaxed a little, and his mouth curled with a tiny smile.


    Thank goodness he¡¯d had that momentary premonition, or else he¡¯d have fired the spike directly at Ezreal, and he could have dodged it by taking the lantern.


    He¡¯d been that close to letting him slip away.


    It was too bad that Yi Qin hadn¡¯t gotten the kill herself. That would have been even better.


    ***


    Asmodai and Osiris stared at their respective screens, their cocksure grins frozen in place.


    How could this have happened? Weren¡¯t they an invincible team?


    Ezreal had used a double-Flash to get in the enemy¡¯s face, and then after securing the kill, he¡¯d catch hold of the lantern and escape by the skin of his teeth!


    It was only because Azmodai had held absolute faith that Osiris would be able to withhold Caitlyn, and then toss the lantern over in time¡ªthat was why he¡¯d dared to make such a risky play for Zyra¡¯s life!


    Everything had been accounted for. Ezreal had even been waiting for Zyra to fire her last, spiteful spike, so that he could dodge aside via Thresh¡¯s lantern.


    He hadn¡¯t expected the enemy Zyra to throw her spike at Thresh, instead! That one move had cut off Ezreal¡¯s escape.


    If he hadn¡¯t taken the lantern, Caitlyn would have killed him with a Headshot.


    Take the lantern, and he¡¯d collide with Zyra¡¯s final thorn!


    Either way, he¡¯d have died!


    Asmodai stared at the ash-gray scene on-screen, his heart a roiling storm.


    The blonde-haired youth was silent for a long time, as well.


    At first, he hadn¡¯t believed Asmodai, but this last battle had proven it to him beyond the shadow of a doubt¡ªwhoever was playing Zyra, they were definitely a player of the highest caliber!


    In the face of Ezreal¡¯s vicious assault, Zyra had calmly retaliated. An entire series of reflexive motions, with neither pause nor error, at a speed worthy of the pro-level.


    Most spectacular of all had been that final shot!


    That perfectly calculated attack had trumped their flawless teamwork, and wrested a kill from them.


    Perhaps it shouldn¡¯t be a surprise that players at this level would be able to predict Ezreal¡¯s escape via lantern, and cut him off in advance. However, that last battle had been so fast, so furious, that anyone who¡¯d been able to demonstrate such deft gameplay, while reading their tactics so thoroughly in mere moments¡­


    Wasn¡¯t that what you called a pro?


    ¡°We¡¯ve underestimated them.¡± Waiting to respawn at their Fountain, Asmodai gave Osiris a wry smile.


    Osiris nodded gravely. ¡°You¡¯re right. This fellow¡¯s reflexes, precision, and tactical sense are all first-class. It¡¯s rare to come across someone like him in Ranked play.¡±


    ¡°That he is Yi Qin¡¯s partner already indicates he is no ordinary person. Must be some top player¡¯s alternate account.¡± Asmodai thought for a moment, but finally declared, ¡°However, if we fall by the hand of some random master playing boyfriend today, it will be the end of our careers as pro-gamers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give coach a call, tell him we¡¯ll be late.¡±

 Chapter 30 - Are You Blaming Me?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°You¡¯re amazing,¡± Snowfall whispered in admiration.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head. ¡°I ended up taking the kill, so we¡¯ve come out of that a little behind.¡±


    ¡°Still, we¡¯re doing great. Maybe you aren¡¯t aware what rank those two hold amongst the LoL players nationwide. There aren¡¯t many amateurs who could have scored a kill against them without a Jungler to help. You¡¯ve really outdone yourself.¡± Snowfall heaped the praise onto him.


    Yi Qin had always known that her gaming partner was rather skilled. Without him playing Support for her, she might not have been able to make it up to 2,000 points in Ranked play.


    But to think that, even against professional players, he¡¯d be able to remain calm and achieve such incredible results. If she wasn¡¯t so well-acquainted with him already, she¡¯d have trouble believing he was just some schoolboy.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Yu Luocheng grinned. Receiving compliments from Lady Yi Qin made him feel good all over.


    Yep, it looked like he hadn¡¯t lost his edge.


    Thinking back, however, Asmodai¡¯s assault had actually caught him off-guard. If he¡¯d been a heartbeat slower to react, he could have just been killed off without ever getting out a single skill!


    Through all the games of ¡®League of Legends¡¯ that he¡¯d played, it was the first time he¡¯d ever met such a brutal opponent!


    Asmodai had chosen his moment well. The minion wave had been pushing towards Yu Luocheng¡¯s side, so now that he¡¯d died and had to wait to respawn at the Fountain, Caitlyn would be hard-pressed to repel the onslaught. Thresh would take over for Ezreal and throttle the progress of the minion battles, so that Asmodai wouldn¡¯t have lost out on too much by the time he returned.


    Yu Luocheng was the Support player, so all he could really do with the gold he¡¯d been awarded from the champion kill was buy a few more Vision Wards to help control vision on the map.


    He took a look at how either side was doing. Ezreal had gotten himself a kill, had collected more minions than Caitlyn, and had the advantage in equipment.


    This was becoming a real headache for Yu Luocheng. If things carried on like this, the difference in items between the ADCs would only keep growing.


    ***


    Back to life, Yu Luocheng made his way back down the lane, mulling over ways to close the gap.


    Yi-yi-yi-ya-ya¡­ ya-ya-ya-yi-yi-yi ¡­


    It was a cute girlish voice, humming a little tune. It sounded like a self-recorded ringtone. Hearing it, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud.


    ¡°Snowy, what a cute ringtone you have there!¡±


    ¡°I got it from a little girl I met on the street,¡± Snowfall laughed as she replied. ¡°I thought it sounded nice, so I made a recording, and then set it as my ringtone.¡±


    And then, Yi Qin cast a glance down at her phone, beside her chair. When she saw who it was, an arched eyebrow rose.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting that?¡± Yu Luocheng wondered.


    ¡°I shan¡¯t. It¡¯s from a man who irks me.¡±


    ¡°An ex-boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°Rather, my ex-ex-ex-ex-boyfriend¡­¡± Seeing that had brought Yi Qin¡¯s mood down somewhat, but when she heard the worry in Yu Luocheng¡¯s voice, she found herself laughing again.


    Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t quite caught the exact number of exes, just now. His heart trembled with a spasm of terror. Surely Yi Qin didn¡¯t really have such a high turnover rate on boyfriends?


    Yi Qin wasn¡¯t picking up the call because it was from her father again, doubtless to harry her some more to pack up her things. She had no patience for him at the moment.


    Right now, she just wanted to enjoy this game.


    But the phone continued to ring, and Yi Qin grew more and more annoyed by it.


    ¡°Let me just get this, real quick.¡± Yi Qin brought Caitlyn over to wait somewhere safe.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yu Luocheng watched the minions, temptation gnawing at him.


    There were a dozen enemy minions in this wave. If Snowfall didn¡¯t take them, her Creep Score would fall by that much more, putting Ezreal even further out of her reach.


    Unless he did something incredible soon, there would be little hope to find victory against those two.


    ***


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you all packed yet? Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± a man¡¯s harsh voice barked over the phone.


    ¡°Talk, talk, talk¡ªand why do I have to listen to you? Since when have you ever really been a father to me?¡± Yi Qin snapped back in rage.


    ¡°How dare you speak like this¡ª¡±


    Without allowing him to finish, Yi Qin hung up, switched off the phone, and tossed it aside.


    ***


    She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and then looked at the computer screen. She didn¡¯t want Yu Luocheng to know about her leaving, so she¡¯d muted the headset microphone the whole time.


    She sat herself down before the computer once more, and gently switched the mic back on.


    ¡°All done?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ***


    ¡°We¡¯re falling behind,¡± Yu Luocheng pointed out.


    ¡°Mm.¡± Yi Qin nodded distractedly.


    ¡°Watch out, Thresh¡¯s hook!¡± Yu Luocheng yelled.


    ¡°Ah?¡± Yi Qin¡¯s thoughts were a mess. She didn¡¯t even notice herself walking out into danger!


    The hook caught squarely on Caitlyn. Yi Qin panicked, using both her Barrier and Flash the very instant the hook wore off.


    At the cost of both of her Summoner Spells, Yi Qin managed to escape with her life. Yu Luocheng unleashed a full skill combo on Thresh, but couldn¡¯t take off even half of his health.


    Yu Luocheng sighed audibly. Now that she¡¯d been caught once, the next time she made another mistake, it would be her death.


    Yi Qin was usually very focused when playing, and she truly loved this game. When she began her voice chat with Yu Luocheng, she¡¯d managed to completely forget about the bleak day awaiting her on the morrow.


    However, this last phone call from her father had snapped her back to reality. Now her enjoyment had abruptly faded away, replaced by the horrible realization that tomorrow¡­ tomorrow, she would be gone.


    Yi Qin¡¯s fingers tapped numbly across her keyboard, the light faded away from her dull eyes.


    ¡°Snowy, they¡¯re attacking,¡± Yu Luocheng alerted her.


    Then, he yelled, ¡°Snowy!¡±


    Yi Qin didn¡¯t reply, and remained where she was, woodenly farming minions.


    Suddenly, a third champion burst out from the bushes¡ªthe enemy Jungler!


    This was exactly what Yu Luocheng had been expecting, and why he¡¯d instructed Snowfall to get back. Yet although he¡¯d predicted the enemy¡¯s next move, and gave a warning to Snowfall, it seemed as though she hadn¡¯t heard him. First the Jungler locked her down, followed by Thresh doing the same¡­


    Then Ezreal was there, unleashing a flurry of attacks and skills upon Caitlyn, whose health fell like a rock. Her Flash and Barrier already expended, she was defenseless.


    Exasperated, Yu Luocheng stepped in and threw out everything he had, trying to buy Snowfall a chance to escape.


    However, none of their opponents were so careless as to allow Caitlyn to get away. She fell immediately, and Ezreal got the kill again.


    Yu Luocheng held down Tab to see what the score was now.


    Ezreal was now approximately three kills ahead. Their Bottom lane was now in desperate straits, and Yu Luocheng felt helpless to do anything about it . 1


    Yu Luocheng had a good sense of Snowfall¡¯s skill level. Although not quite at the pro level, she shouldn¡¯t be this bad.


    It had taken him great effort to stave off their elite opponents earlier, but although he was fighting tooth-and-nail in this game, it felt like his partner was completely out of it.


    It didn¡¯t seem fair.


    Yu Luocheng felt he had to say something to Snowfall, or else there would be no coming back from their assured defeat.


    ¡°Snowy, why didn¡¯t you fall back? Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t keep a hint of accusation from creeping into his voice.


    Didn¡¯t you hear me?


    Didn¡¯t you hear me!


    It felt like he¡¯d said it in exactly the same way as the last man who¡¯d been ordering her around. Yi Qin¡¯s heart was suddenly consumed by anguish and fury!


    ¡°Are you blaming me?¡± she snapped back, her voice frigid cold like ice.


    Yu Luocheng was taken aback by this. He¡¯d spoken sternly, solemnly, with the intention of conveying how important this fight was to him.


    ¡°No, I was just asking you to pay more attention,¡± he replied.


    ¡°That means you¡¯re blaming me!¡±

 Chapter 31 - Departure Without Farewell

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng was stumped. Snowfall had taken one call, and now she was like a completely different person.


    What had that phone call been about, to have spoiled her mood so completely? Could it actually have been an ex-boyfriend?


    He tried to recall exactly how he¡¯d spoken to her just now. He supposed he might have been mean to her.


    What was he to do? He¡¯d been cut off for so long, fooling around as an amateur for so long¡­ now he¡¯d finally met a pro-player who could give him a real challenge, but then Snowfall began playing so loosely. The truth was, he did blame her. Deep down in his heart, he remained a pro-gamer, and remained bitter over having been defeated.


    Yu Luocheng thought about it for a while. Perhaps he ought to apologize. In the past few battles, he¡¯d been expecting Snowfall to perform at the level of a pro¡ªbut saying too much could instead make your teammates play worse, and then everyone would be frustrated.


    ¡°Snowy, I was wrong. I was taking this too seriously.¡±


    ¡°Snowy? Please say something.¡±


    ¡°Ms Snowy¡­ Alright? I won¡¯t be too cozy with you. Don¡¯t be like this, I¡¯m saying sorry, here¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, hell¡ªwhen did our voice call end?¡± Despite all his sincerity, they were no longer connected.


    ¡®Snowfall has left the game!¡¯


    A line of glaring red text appeared on-screen.


    What had happened? Yu Luocheng hesitated for a moment, then went back out to his desktop to send a QQ message to her.


    ¡°Snowy, what¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked, frantic.


    ***


    In the apartment room, Yi Qin looked at the QQ notification.


    It was a cartoon cow with hearts for eyes, the very portrait of a skirt-chasing maniac.


    This profile picture had kept her company through many lonely nights, when no one else understood or cared.


    It had only been through text chat, but it had meant everything to her. Many times, she¡¯d keep going back to a line that he¡¯d written, laughing until she was short of breath.


    ¡®See you,¡¯ Yi Qin whispered in her heart. Without replying to him, she exited her QQ.


    ¡°Ah, dear child, are you still playing games? Your dad asked me to come over and help you pack your things. You¡¯re a full-grown adult now¡ªcan¡¯t you manage by yourself?¡± An elderly woman walked into Yi Qin¡¯s room.


    When she logged out of QQ, Yi Qin felt like all her friends had vanished. Classmates, colleagues, confidants, friends from her favorite games and websites, and this partner she¡¯d known for such a very long time¡­


    Unbidden, a tear sprang to her eye.


    ¡°There, there, Yi Qin. Don¡¯t cry.¡± Seeing the girl in tears, the woman hurried over to console her.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright. You¡¯ll get used to it in no time,¡± she cooed gently. ¡°You¡¯ll make new friends in America, and your uncles and cousins are there, too. You won¡¯t feel lonely¡ªthey¡¯ll take you to New York, to Washington, to Los Angeles¡­ you like video games¡ªthey have a state-of-the-art e-sports tournament hall there. If you can¡¯t leave it behind you, you could go there and have a look around¡­¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Yi Qin nodded.


    She could keep gaming in America, she told herself. She could still call up her friends for a chat, she just wouldn¡¯t be able to meet up with them in person.


    Anyway, it would only be for a couple of years¡ªand then she¡¯d be back, with all the e-sports stuff they needed! It would only be a short farewell!


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get packing,¡± the woman said. ¡°There¡¯s no need to rile up your father any more¡ªhe only wants what¡¯s best for you.¡±


    ***


    In a park in Lecheng, willow trees lined the lakeside, their delicate fronds swaying gently in the breeze, as though in a graceful dance.


    Passing beneath their boughs, watching fallen willow leaves bobbing upon ripples in the lakewater, Yu Luocheng¡¯s mood was anything but tranquil.


    What was going on with Snowy? Had he really made her that angry?


    He sat down upon a stone bench. His first voice chat with her, his long-awaited voice chat with her, and it had ended like that. What was he supposed to make of it?


    Thinking back, no matter how badly things were going, Snowfall had never once rage-quit from a game, nor had she ever logged off without saying goodbye.


    Something very peculiar was going on.


    ¡°I should have noticed sooner¡ªthe mood she was in.¡± Yu Luocheng shook his head with a pained smile.


    Asmodai¡¯s presence had caused him to be engrossed completely in proving himself better.


    Looking back, now that the battle was behind him, there had been moments when Snowfall had been trying to get his attention, to which he¡¯d only replied with things like, ¡®Mind your positioning,¡±They¡¯ll be attacking soon,¡±Watch out not to get hooked,¡¯ and other statements that had cut her off mid-way.


    Suddenly, Yu Luocheng was struck by a disquieting premonition.


    ¡°Never mind, maybe things will get better with time.¡± Consoling himself, Yu Luocheng trudged back towards home.


    Back in his room, he found he no longer had any mood to keep playing. Lying down in bed, he stared up at the ceiling, his mind in turmoil.


    ***


    There was a night market going on in Shanghai. The smell of beer and roasting meat filled the air.


    Although not particularly neat or tidy, it provided large crowds of people with cheap but satisfying delights.


    For the wealthy, one of life¡¯s little pleasures was whiling away an idle afternoon, nursing a cup of coffee to the sound of soothing music.


    For more ordinary people, surely it was sitting by the roadside, enjoying the night breeze with beer and sticks of meat!


    Everyone in Daemons knew that their coach was not exactly rolling in dough, so when he treated them to dinner, it wouldn¡¯t be at any fancy restaurant. It would usually be at crowded little eateries like this, or perhaps supper at one of those ramshackle stalls with tables set up beside a roast pit outdoors.


    The team members loved the sort of feeling that came from having trained hard the whole day, and finishing with a relaxing evening by the roadside with hearty food and drink.


    Asmodai and the blonde-haired Osiris were the last to arrive at the shop. All the other Daemons members were already present, making no more than eight people in total.


    ¡°Wow, the two of you really do work fast!¡± The man in the sports jersey greeted them cheerfully. ¡± Surrender at 20 1 ?¡±


    Asmodai and Osiris sat down and turned to their youthful coach. He was named Huang Kang, the founder of Team ¡®Daemons¡¯. Already twenty-eight, he was a former pro-gamer himself, but it was a young man¡¯s game. As his reactions continued to regress, he withdrew from competitions to become a coach instead.


    From player to coach, the process bore some similarity to being a national sports athlete, except that retired sports athletes had benefits¡ªretired pro-gamers had nothing.


    ¡°Coach, we encountered a first-class player just now,¡± Osiris blurted out.


    All eyes turned to him. Although he was their youngest member, he was well-known for being full of himself, and it was rare that he would acknowledge the skill of other players.


    For him to call someone a ¡®first-class player¡¯ suggested that he¡¯d been beaten pretty badly by that someone!


    ¡°Oh? Go on¡­¡± The coach¡¯s interest had been piqued.


    ¡°Let me tell him,¡± Asmodai cut in.


    He gave the coach an overall run-through of the game they¡¯d just played. He was able to relate events in great detail, what with his deep familiarity with LoL. Often, you had to actually face an elite player in battle to understand what made them so different.


    Asmodai had faced him, and had understood the true worth of that Support player.


    ¡°Unfortunately, we were only able to fight him during the laning phase, and then Yi Qin left the game for some reason, at which point he left as well. If we could have observed his performance in mid-game roaming and late-game team-fights¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you have a recording?¡± the coach asked.


    ¡°I do. Let¡¯s all watch it together later. He made some incredible plays,¡± Asmodai said. ¡°Mephistopheles, you should study it closely¡ªyou¡¯re a Support player, too.¡±


    Asmodai recorded every game that he played¡ªa practice the coach expected of all the members, so that they could better review their own performance.


    Huang Kang nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s all watch it after dinner.¡±


    The Daemons team was still in need of skilled players. Whenever they caught wind of a gifted individual with promising potential, Huang Kang was always eager to bring them into the world of professional gaming.

 Chapter 32 - Never to Return

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In the dormitory, the members of Team ¡®Daemons¡¯ crowded in around Asmodai¡¯s computer.


    It wasn¡¯t a particularly long recording, but the Daemons players watched with rapt attention. Even Asmodai, seeing it all again, found other moments of brilliance that he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier, when he was busy farming minions in-game.


    Watching the replay now, observing Zyra¡¯s every movement and action, it only re-affirmed their initial judgment!


    ¡°This guy certainly plays like a pro,¡± Kang agreed.


    As professional gamers themselves, they could easily spot one of their own from the slightest details. Coach Huang Kang was a canny analyst, and he was saying this even before the first fight had broken out.


    A pro-gamer possessed incredibly high APM, and unconsciously dodged aside from enemy skills. Although he might appear to be moving at random, each move was calculated, and no skill went to waste.


    That was what it meant to play like a pro.


    ¡°Whoa, that was awesome! He blocked your hook with a plant!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that was absolutely perfect!¡±


    When everyone saw Zyra doing that, they reacted with shock. Even the haughtier members of the team saw this with interest. After all, it wasn¡¯t every Support player who could see through their opponents¡¯ schemes and their teammates¡¯ vulnerabilities with such clarity.


    ¡°Ah, Asmodai, that was a reckless double-Flash¡ª¡± The coach shook his head when he saw Asmodai going all-in, but suddenly fell silent when he witnessed Zyra¡¯s response to it, his mouth hanging slightly ajar.


    ¡°He¡¯s fast¡­ he¡¯s so fast! He dropped that Exhaust on you even before your first basic attack reached him!¡± Coach Huang Kang exclaimed.


    A double-Flash constituted a very abrupt and startling assault, but the speed of that Exhaust on Asmodai, hitting him the very instant he came within reach, suggested that Zyra¡¯s player had seen it coming!


    Watching it as a spectator, one might chalk it up to an instinctive reaction perhaps¡ªbut Kang knew that there were even some pro-gamers who weren¡¯t this fast!


    Next came Zyra¡¯s devastating skill combo, concluding with that last, spectacularly prescient spike shot. Watching this, Huang Kang was beside himself. If this replay was made publicly available, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising to see it in some ¡®Top 10¡¯ list in the official game forums. It was simply incredible!


    Although the whole thing only lasted twenty minutes, and the average viewer might say it was just a player who had a lot of experience playing Zyra, Huang Kang could tell there was a lot more to it than that¡ªhe was certain that player had received professional training before!


    ¡°What do you think, coach?¡± Asmodai asked.


    When the coach didn¡¯t reply, Charon spoke first. ¡°I think this Zyra is extraordinary. We all know where Yi Qin¡¯s ability level is at¡ªit should have been a simple matter for the two of you to defeat them utterly. However, Zyra countered you at every turn, and made you pay dearly for every kill you got. It¡¯s a pity that Yi Qin was so clumsy here¡­ it¡¯s hard to say which way the fight would have gone, otherwise.¡±


    Coach Kang nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. Asmodai, have you added him as a Friend yet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve sent him a Friend Request, but he followed Yi Qin out of the game early. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s even seen it yet,¡± Asmodai replied.


    ¡°Right. Note down that ID. If possible, I¡¯ll try to meet up with him,¡± Coach Huang Kang said.


    ¡°Coach, perhaps we¡¯re being too hasty? It could just be that this player was in unusually good form that game. We¡¯ve only seen barely more than ten minutes of laning. It¡¯s hardly uncommon for us to come across skilled players in Ranked play.¡±


    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, this guy has the makings of a pro. If we develop his talent further, he¡¯ll be a real contender,¡± Coach Huang Kang declared earnestly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep a close eye on him!¡± Asmodai swore. Like the coach, he saw something truly special in that player, even in those brief ten minutes.


    For players of their caliber, ten minutes was enough to tell.


    ***


    The next few days, whenever Asmodai was playing on his alternate account, he¡¯d send another Friend Request to that player¡¯s ID.


    To his disappointment, the player didn¡¯t respond.


    Asmodai found it peculiar that a player of such ability would go several days in a row without logging on. He started up ¡®LoL Box¡¯ 1 so he could look up that player¡¯s match history.


    Sorting through the details, it appeared that this player mainly partnered with Yi Qin to play in Ranked games.


    Asmodai refused to give up, and fell into a habit of looking up that player¡¯s match history on a daily basis. Three weeks passed, and not a single new match.


    Asmodai even went as far as to seek out Yi Qin, but she¡¯d gone abroad, and likewise had never logged into the game since then. This discovery had left him with a certain sense of loss.


    ***


    True to Asmodai¡¯s research, Yu Luocheng really hadn¡¯t played a single game on that account in over three weeks.


    At first, Yu Luocheng had concluded that Snowfall had just been in a foul mood at the time. Things should be back to normal after a few days. However, this whole month, he¡¯d yet to see her again.


    She¡¯d neither logged into the game, nor her QQ. He didn¡¯t have her number, so calling her was out of the question.


    She¡¯d just vanished from his world, without any notice nor explanation.


    For the longest time, Yu Luocheng had made a point of logging on every week to chat with her for a bit, play a few games of Ranked, talk about the latest fads on the internet, and occasionally even share a few things from their own lives¡­ but although he¡¯d been curious, there had always been a certain line he¡¯d never dared to cross.


    When spending time in her company became a habit, became a reason to look forward to the weekends, Yu Luocheng had added her to a mental list of his most precious, cherished friends, long before he¡¯d ever been graced by the sound of her lovely, captivating voice.


    And then one day, she¡¯d disappeared under the most enigmatic circumstances, without any clue of what had happened. As the weeks went by, anticipation gave way to despair. He often thought he saw her name lighting up in QQ, but when he reached over to click on it, he found it still grayed out after all.


    He was worried, but he couldn¡¯t think of what to do. There was a gaping void in his heart where she used to be.


    Although it¡¯s said that knowledge is food for thought, and the truth can make you whole, Yu Luocheng had spent the entire month completely focused on nothing but his studies, but although his grades were rising, his heart was still in pieces on the floor, and his anxiety seemed to be mounting with each day.


    Two months, and still no reply.


    On the sixtieth day, the last sliver of hope died in Yu Luocheng. She was really gone.


    With her knowing, mesmerizing, elegant, gorgeous voice, she¡¯d set his youthful heart afire, such that he¡¯d wanted nothing more than to fly over to her and take her into his arms.


    And then, with an off-handed stroke of Alt-F4, she¡¯d severed the link between them. It was time for Yu Luocheng to stop denying it.


    Nevertheless, he¡¯d keep going on his QQ. He¡¯d maintain that game ID at exactly that score in Ranked, so that on the day Snowfall returned, he could still be her partner, and they could reach for the higher tiers side-by-side.


    Until she returned, he didn¡¯t have the heart to play on that ID anymore.


    ***


    ¡°Maybe she fell terminally ill or something, and that¡¯s why she left without saying goodbye.¡± Yu Luocheng continued to wonder what had happened to Snowfall No explanation he thought of was ever quite good enough.

 Chapter 33 - Thirty Seconds until Examiners Spawn

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Time flew by, and suddenly finals were around the corner!


    For most students, no matter how dull or difficult their time in high school might have been, the days stretching on like years¡ªas long as they could make it through their finals alright, then they could call it a Good Game.


    Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t really been playing games for more than three months now. Once in a while, he might join Yang Qianqian for a few games over the weekend, always resulting in a one-sided steamroller victory.


    Either Yang Qianqian was always getting trolled¡ªor always trolling¡ªbut ever since pairing up with Yu Luocheng, she always seemed to be doing well, and the world was her oyster. Sometimes, she¡¯d drag Yu Luocheng along for a couple of games even when it wasn¡¯t the weekend.


    It confounded Yu Luocheng to see how the girl always seemed to be playing around, and yet her grades were never less than tip-top, and every month her exam scores would somehow be ranked above his.


    ***


    It was a mild day in June, and the sky was overcast with gloom. Like a lustful harlot not quite managing to conceal her nature, all it¡¯d take was the slightest bit of excitement, and soon everything would be drenched.


    Yu Luocheng slung his messenger bag over one shoulder, adjusted it in place, and made ready to march to battle.


    Li Yun hurried out, muttering in exasperation. ¡°Dear boy, take an umbrella with you. What will you do if it starts to rain?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Yu Luocheng took the umbrella she¡¯d brought him.


    It was simply that he wasn¡¯t in the habit of carrying an umbrella, not because he didn¡¯t fear the rain, but because he shared the same problem as many young people¡ªif he left home with an umbrella, he would probably return without it.


    ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll call in to say I¡¯ll be late to work. Let me walk you there.¡± Li Yun couldn¡¯t help feeling worried. She ran back into the house to change into something presentable.


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t make a fuss.¡± Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t feel like going there with his mom.


    It was just his high school finals exam¡ªnot such a big deal.


    Li Yun went with him anyway.


    When they got to the ground floor, one of the neighbors was just passing by in a brand-new, glossy black Audi.


    The German car glided past in front of their apartment, and the window slid down with a stately grace.


    ¡°Madam Li Yun, would you be sending Yu Luocheng to the examination hall?¡± A middle-aged man looked out from within, and asked this with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Li Yun returned the smile.


    ¡°Here, get on. I¡¯m sending our Guijun there too. There¡¯s no playing around with the finals, but there¡¯s been some delay on the road ahead. It won¡¯t do to be late.¡±


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t know how to respond to this. There was still more than an hour until the test began, and it wouldn¡¯t take him half an hour to reach the place on foot. What was all this? Why the big show?


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you,¡± Li Yun said politely.


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. We¡¯re going the same way, right?¡± the man insisted.


    Well, no reason to say no to a free ride. Li Yun acceded.


    Inside the car, Zhang Guijun was found in the passenger seat. He was the quintessential prince from a wealthy family. He actually did alright academically, and wasn¡¯t a terrible character.


    Although they were neighbors, Yu Luocheng had never progressed beyond a nodding acquaintance with him.


    ¡°Guijun, Luocheng, the two of you must do your best,¡± Mr Zhang advised as he resumed driving. ¡°See how nervous your parents are for you.¡±


    Yu Luocheng and Guijun both grunted in reply.


    Relaxing in the comfy seats, Li Yun whispered to Yu Luocheng, ¡°Listen, child: These exams are of the utmost importance. If you can get into a good university, and find a good job, we¡¯ll be able to afford a nice car like Mr Zhang here, too.


    ¡°Think of your father, slaving away in the factory the whole week through, squeezing into that broken-down company bus to get home on Fridays. If he gets off work late, he might miss the bus, and have to suffer through the weekend on the factory¡¯s hard beds. You know he likes watching TV, but there are no televisions at the factory. A whole weekend stuck there, with nothing to do.¡±


    Li Yun sighed, peering around enviously at the clean and inviting interior of the car. ¡°With a car, your dad could come home anytime. He¡¯d have no need to stay at the factory hostel at all.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded for her to see, not knowing what else he could say.


    ¡°Your dad has it hard, too. You ran off to be a pro-gamer without his permission, and missed out on over a year¡¯s worth of schooling. You probably can¡¯t imagine how, the whole time, he had no appetite to eat, and he couldn¡¯t get a wink of sleep.


    ¡°Since you came back, he may be growling at you all day, but he¡¯s secretly been in a much better mood, and he¡¯s never breathed one word of regret over spending all that money to transfer you out of that dead-end school and into a first-class one. It¡¯s a good thing you¡¯ve actually been able to catch up, bit-by-bit¡ªah, alright, alright¡­ that¡¯s enough of this kind of talk.¡± Fearing that she was putting too much pressure on Yu Luocheng, Li Yun relented.


    Yu Luocheng had been listening to all this in silence, and now he nodded again. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°We know you¡¯re a sensible boy, more mature than other kids¡­¡± Li Yun¡¯s face creased into a kindly smile.


    Gazing out the window, Yu Luocheng suddenly saw a familiar figure flit past outside. ¡°Was that Dad? He was on a motorcycle.¡± He pressed up against the window to peer behind.


    ¡°He¡¯s at the factory. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d be around here¡ªand since when does he have a motorcycle?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Thinking about it, Yu Luocheng figured he must have been mistaken.


    ***


    As they arrived at the school, there was every kind of scene on display!


    Most high-schoolers tried to avoid going to school by family car, in this generation where affluence was persecuted.


    But on the day of the finals, there were all kinds of cars present, contesting for glory. Yu Luocheng noticed a silver car accented with blue, which felt familiar to him somehow.


    Oh, that¡¯s right. The only thing missing here were the words ¡®Armed Escort¡¯!


    There was no way for their car to actually make it to the school gates, so Yu Luocheng, Li Yun, and Zhang Guijun disembarked here and walked the rest of the way.


    This was where those families with motorcycles took the limelight!


    Whether you¡¯d come in a BMW, Mercedes Benz, or a security van, you could only hold back tears and watch as the bikes whizzed on ahead, leaving you choking on their dust!


    ¡°I¡¯m going now, okay?¡± Li Yun said. ¡°I¡¯ll come get you after the test is over.¡±


    ¡°No need. I can get home on my own.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Yu Luocheng took the side entrance through the garden to get into school. He greeted a few familiar faces along the way.


    It was normal for examination halls to be a scene of pandemonium. During rehearsals, Yu Luocheng had already found out which classroom he ought to report to, and made his way there at a leisurely stroll.


    The classroom was devoid of its usual cheer and laughter. Instead, a grim pallor shrouded the room.


    Even when someone made light conversation, it was obviously a forced effort, and the one speaking would himself glance at the wristwatch he¡¯d bought last year.


    Yu Luocheng found his seat. He didn¡¯t spot anyone he knew, so he settled down to wait in silence. It was almost time to begin.


    The examination invigilators walked past the windows outside, and Yu Luocheng thought he heard an austere female voice saying,


    ¡®Thirty seconds until examiners spawn!¡¯


    It was a joke he¡¯d seen on the internet, and it applied well to his current situation. Despite himself, a laugh escaped him, dispelling all the stress and tension.


    A shifty-eyed fellow seated nearby noticed Yu Luocheng snickering to himself, and his eyebrows climbed his forehead, as though he was thinking, ¡®A man who laughs alone by himself is the worst kind of fool! Copying from his test paper will do me no good!¡¯

 Chapter 34 - Sneaky Rascal

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Language ability is like an ADC¡¯s gold total: it depends on constant effort, built up slowly over time.


    During language tests, Yu Luocheng¡¯s pen danced along at an even pace, composing essays without difficulty or pause.


    He¡¯d always been more enthusiastic about languages, thanks to his father¡¯s influence throughout elementary and middle school. Even after throwing away over a year¡¯s worth of his education, language was still his best subject.


    Plagiarism was less viable where language papers 1 were concerned, so everyone just kept their heads down. Even when they looked up, it was only to check the time.


    ***


    Time!


    The shrill ringing of a bell announced the end of this language paper!


    Papers forward!


    Across the classroom, people rose to their feet. A few were still hunched over their desks, scribbling madly to complete their essays, until one of the invigilators gave them a sharp command, at which point they finally dropped their pens, defeated. Panicked sweat dripped off their brows and splashed upon the test paper, as though through sheer effort of will, they¡¯d manipulate the running ink to trace out those last few words.


    Students filed out of the examination venue, while teachers shuffled the papers.


    The sky couldn¡¯t hold back the clouds any longer, and rain began to fall. The students chattered as they went along. It sounded like the language test had been a bit of a challenge this time around.


    Meanwhile, others wailed about the rain.


    Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t had any difficulty. Contrary to the general mood about him, his heart was doing somersaults in joy!


    The main challenge in language was arranging one¡¯s thoughts. If you could arrange your thoughts so that they aligned with the examiner¡¯s, everything would basically be in the bag.


    He felt confident that he¡¯d managed to serve up something that would agree with their palate.


    ***


    Outside the classroom, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t immediately head downstairs. Instead, he followed the corridor to the far side of the block.


    Rounding the corner, he spotted a slender figure disappearing down the staircase there, shadowed uncertainly by seven furtive, lupine figures.


    Yu Luocheng rushed into the fray and asserted himself ferociously. Boldly, he announced his presence, ¡°Qianqian.¡±


    Yang Qianqian had her hair tied up today, the hairpin lying in front across her shoulder. It was an elegant and ladylike look, which delighted Yu Luocheng to see.


    Arched eyebrows, long lashes, dewy eyes¡­ and when she smiled, her eyes curled up in just that sort of way that sent an arrow right through one¡¯s heart.


    Such beauty¡­


    ¡°How was the paper?¡± Yang Qianqian slowed a little, allowing him to catch up.


    ¡°Piece of cake. Much like how we usually do in Bot-lane: total ownage!¡± Yu Luocheng declared with maximum swagger.


    Yang Qianqian pouted indignantly. ¡°I wonder why I had a little trouble with it, though?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s raining. Did you bring an umbrella?¡± Sensing danger, Yu Luocheng changed the subject.


    ¡°Of course I brought one.¡± Saying so, Yang Qianqian produced one from her bag.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    She rolled her eyes, and handed it to him¡ªtacit permission to share an umbrella together with her.


    Well, well. Did you really think Yu Luocheng eschewed his umbrella this morning out of forgetfulness?


    In truth, he was making a long play!


    Two people, chatting as they strolled along, sharing an umbrella between themselves. It was a portrait of intimacy.


    There were umbrella-equipped students all along the way. When they were spotted by people they knew, all sorts of cat-calls rose up.


    Well, everyone would be scattered to the four winds once the exams were over. Up until now, they¡¯d been careful to avoid rumor and gossip, but it no longer mattered much anymore.


    It wasn¡¯t a large umbrella, so it was a squeeze for two. Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t allow Yang Qianqian to get wet from the rain, so he walked close to her, his hand brushing against hers.


    Smooth, soft, firm, cool, and oh¡­ so lovely.


    This close to her, Yu Luocheng was once again able to catch a whiff of her sweet fragrance¡ªsome brand of shampoo, mingled together with her natural scent. He inhaled it discreetly, and it came in through his nostrils and dove straight into his lungs, warming his heart. If only he could get just a little bit closer¡­


    It was the first time Yu Luocheng had wished for school to go on a little longer, or perhaps even forever¡ªwhatever would allow him to keep on walking beside her like this. He hoped the rain wasn¡¯t going to stop anytime soon; if anything, he wished it would rain harder.


    ¡°My dad will be waiting for me at the entrance,¡± Yang Qianqian whispered, just as they were about to reach the school gates.


    ¡°Oh, him again.¡± It seemed that whenever Yu Luocheng was enjoying a moment together with Yang Qianqian, her father was bound to pop up.


    Yang Qianqian¡¯s meaning was obvious: She couldn¡¯t allow her father to see her sharing such a tender moment with some guy from school.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t want to push his luck, either. They were almost at the gates, now. Reluctantly, he reached into his bag and fished out his own umbrella.


    Opening it up and walking ahead of her, he looked back with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be off, then. My mom could be lying in wait, as well. See you later.¡±


    With that, Yu Luocheng sped away, leaving Yang Qianqian staring after his fleeing form in amazement.


    ¡°That bastard!¡± Yang Qianqian¡¯s knees shook with fury.


    That rascal was sneakier than Teemo himself!


    ***


    A multi-colored canopy of umbrellas hung in the air, beneath from which countless middle-aged people gazed out with anticipation and anxiety, rainwater and precipitation draining through the worn creases of their faces.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Yu Luocheng to pick his mother out from the crowd.


    Li Yun was wracked with sorrow. She¡¯d been determined to fetch him home in a car, but it wasn¡¯t to be.


    ¡°Let¡¯s walk, then. We can talk while we walk,¡± Yu Luocheng suggested, unconcerned.


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s good, too.¡±


    Naturally, Lilian had much to enquire about the test. Of course, Yu Luocheng assured her that it had gone well.


    He certainly felt that way, but it wasn¡¯t something he could say too confidently, for fear of raising expectations too high.


    ***


    Upon reaching home, Lilian got started cooking, while Yu Luocheng flipped half-heartedly through some books.


    About half an hour later, the door opened and a man ran in, drenched from head to toe.


    ¡°Dad, you¡¯re home?¡± Yu Luocheng was stunned. At this time, Yu Jing should be working at the factory.


    ¡°I went to school to get you, but I must have missed you.¡± Yu Jing wiped his face with a towel as he said this. There was a haggard, worn-out look about him¡ªhe looked bone-tired.


    Indeed, during the two days of high school finals examinations, the children took top priority.


    For those of you in your third year of high school, the finals are your ultimate trump card. Whatever it is you desire, sit your rump down at home and say, ¡°Forget those exams.¡± Just like that, nothing will be beyond your reach!


    Seeing how his father had braved the rain to see him, Yu Luocheng was lost for words.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t late for the test this morning, right?¡± Yu Jing asked.


    ¡°Not at all. I was forty minutes early.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good. As long as you made it, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    There was something odd about the way his father had said that.

 Chapter 35 - I’m Talking About You

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    By late afternoon, the rain relented in its predations over Lecheng.


    It was the height of summer in June, and a shower of rain was in truth a blessing¡ªespecially during a Maths test, when the cool breeze that followed a rain was like a Red Buff on all the exam candidates.


    To be honest, Yu Luocheng was experiencing some difficulty with the Mathematics test. Here and there he¡¯d come across a question which stumped him, so that he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it.


    Some questions were so mind-bogglingly convoluted that he didn¡¯t even have a clue where to begin. It felt like seeing that your opponent already had a full six items, while you yourself had barely just gotten the Boots of Speed.


    Across the examination hall, his own consternation was shared by the other candidates, all with scrunched brows and grim expressions.


    Against a foe like this, not even the combined powers of the Red Buff, Blue Buff, and Baron Buff would be enough to even the playing field. The only fate that lay ahead of you was utter devastation.


    When a test was hard, time hurtled by.


    When the invigilator announced that there were only a last few minutes remaining, a general panic arose in the hall, as though an enemy Master Yi was running amok inside their base.


    ***


    Time¡¯s up! The test had ended!


    Typically, both the candidates and the invigilators were expected to type out a friendly ¡®GG¡¯ (short for ¡®Good Game¡¯).


    Instead, two words were emblazoned in the mind of every student present: ¡®Game Over!¡¯


    ¡­ with particular emphasis on the ¡®Over!¡¯


    That hadn¡¯t gone well. It hadn¡¯t gone well at all.


    If it had only been a little tough, the students would be cursing and swearing on their way out the hall; but these questions had been so traumatizingly dreadful that the students only staggered out in silence, dazed and weary.


    ¡°No one had it easy. Sigh.¡± Surveying the prevailing mood, Yu Luocheng deduced that he wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d done miserably at Maths.


    Shaking his head in despair, Yu Luocheng followed the corridor to the end.


    Rounding the corner, he found that most of the students on this side had already left. There was only Yang Qianqian, pouting at the top of the staircase, clearly displeased.


    ¡°Waiting for me?¡± Yu Luocheng flashed her his pearly whites.


    ¡°Dream on. I was sending a message to my mom, letting her know that Maths was a bust.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t have a great time with it, either. It was nothing like the usual model papers.¡± Yu Luocheng fell into step beside her, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.


    ¡°Goddamned Maths. What if I don¡¯t make it into Zhejiang University?¡± Yang Qianqian sniffed, her eyes beginning to moisten.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright: I also left some questions unanswered. I figured you¡¯d screw up on your end, so I sabotaged myself. This way we¡¯ll stay evenly matched.¡±


    Just as she was descending into forlorn melancholy, this bit of nonsense from Yu Luocheng caused Yang Qianqian to shift gears.


    She harrumphed disapprovingly. He normally wasn¡¯t her equal in test grades to begin with. Who the hell asked him to go easy on her? What was wrong with this guy?


    Hold on¡­


    A thought suddenly occurred to her: Had they ever talked about going to the same university together?


    Only high school couples talked about attending the same university together¡ªand then they usually wouldn¡¯t both make it, instead separating to the opposite ends of the earth.


    As she thought about this, her misery was replaced by mischief.


    She turned and whispered to him, ¡°Yu Luocheng, if I end up getting horrible results, so bad that I can¡¯t even get into any of the good schools, and meanwhile you passed with flying colors¡­ would you go to an average university with me?¡±


    Having delivered this vile attack, she sneered inwardly. He was always picking on her so mercilessly¡ªthis time it was his turn on the fire!


    Yu Luocheng looked at Yang Qianqian, and his heart softened at the sight of her, shoulders weighed down with defeat and worry. With all earnestness, he replied, ¡°Of course not. This is my future we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°To hell with you!¡± In that moment, Yang Qianqian wished she had Annie¡¯s powers, so that she could drop a colossal bear bottom atop this fool beside her.


    ***


    Yang Qianqian was sputtering with rage. After hearing Yu Luocheng¡¯s response, she¡¯d lost all interest in speaking to him.


    Yu Luocheng knew he¡¯d committed a terrible foul, so he took the initiative to offer her a milk tea as his treat, to make it up to her.


    By the time the last drop of that milk tea had been finished, Yang Qianqian was all smiles again, all wrongdoings completely forgotten.


    Both the travails of the Maths test as well as his own indiscretions wiped clean from her mind, she chattered happily about LoL. It re-affirmed Yu Luocheng¡¯s assessment that Yang Qianqian wasn¡¯t the sort to hold a grudge, and was easily coaxed into a good mood.


    If he could really make this girl his own, Yu Luocheng felt like it would be the perfect dream come true.


    Though the test had ended, neither of their parents had come to pick them up. Sipping ice-cold milk teas, they made their way back together.


    Along the way, something caught Yang Qianqian¡¯s eye, and suddenly she¡¯d wandered off the route to begin a little shopping spree. Since it was still early in the day, Yu Luocheng had no objection to keeping her company.


    Doing badly on the Maths test could go on to affect their performance in further papers. A bit of a stroll and a chat, to regain their morale, would do them much good.


    ***


    ¡°How does this look?¡± Yang Qianqian turned, holding the tiny silver chain up to her ear.


    She had an exquisitely fair face, a portrait of innocence and purity, with the occasional display of feminine verve and appeal.


    As she tilted her head and looked up at Yu Luocheng, her overwhelming charisma struck him full-force. It was as though a profound chord had been struck in his heart, which now thrummed through his entire being. It left him with an indescribable sensation towards the girl, and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to look away from her.


    ¡°Hey, did you hear me? How does this look on me?¡± Yang Qianqian repeated.


    ¡°Looks great!¡± Yu Luocheng nodded with absolute sincerity.


    A smile bloomed across her face. ¡°Really? Should I buy it, then?¡±


    ¡°I was talking about you.¡± Yu Luocheng slipped this in as an addendum.


    Yang Qianqian was dumbstruck.


    Then she realized what he¡¯d just said, and a hint of pretty pink spread across her cheeks, like a freshly ripening peach.


    ¡°How¡­ how much for this?¡± Flustered, Yang Qianqian pretended not to have heard, and hurried off to speak with the shop owner.


    ¡°Five bucks,¡± came the reply.


    The shop owner was a young man too. As he answered her, he also surreptitiously gave a thumbs-up to Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Sweetheart, you haven¡¯t taken your change!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ right¡­¡± Yang Qianqian whipped around and bustled back again, taking the money and stuffing it into her tiny little schoolbag.


    ***


    Even as a man delivers flattery that he means with all his heart, the lady is likely to have her reservations.


    In the time that she¡¯d spent with him, Yang Qianqian had discovered that although Yu Luocheng was very serious when it came to playing games, he was otherwise callous, ambivalent, and lackadaisical about everything else.


    And yet, when he said that just now, she¡¯d heard that same kind of seriousness in his tone, without any trace of the usual playfulness or ridicule.

 Chapter 36 - The Coca-Cola Cup

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yang Qianqian strolled along absent-mindedly, Yu Luocheng¡¯s words still echoing in her head. Had he really meant what he¡¯d said? Why would he say something like that so sincerely, that idiot¡ªhow was she supposed to respond to that?


    She was just walking aimlessly now. Originally, she¡¯d wanted to buy a bunch of stuff, but now she was stuck in the sort of mood where she felt that she had to say something, but she couldn¡¯t think of what to say.


    As she was agonizing over this, a tall and powerfully built man appeared around the corner!


    Clad in heavy armor, a massive broadsword in hand, the very sight of him brought his signature words to mind: ¡°Hold fast!¡±


    The Might of Demacia, Garen!


    Yang Qianqian stared. Why was he here? Who¡¯d gone to the trouble of making such a huge ad?


    It wasn¡¯t exactly Garen himself that surprised Yang Qianqian, but rather the background behind him in the poster: Instead of a Tower, it was a towering Coke!


    Hold fast¡­ Coca-Cola!


    Yang Qianqian regarded this monumental advertisement for a while, and then lifted her gaze to read the words above.


    ¡°Organized by GTV, League of Legends players across the nation are invited to register to play for the Coca-Cola Cup! Are you a skilled player? Do you enjoy LoL? Then what are you waiting for? Let¡¯s have a real match!


    ¡°Sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company, with cyber caf¨¦s participating nation-wide, all Level-30 players are eligible to take part and fight for the glory and rich rewards!


    ¡°Registration open from the 1st to the 10th of June. Contest begins from the 11th of June. Format will be 5 vs. 5, Draft Pick 1 .¡±


    ***


    Yang Qianqian placed a finger to her lip, reading the contents of this advertisement aloud with all seriousness.


    Yu Luocheng was reading it alongside her. When he¡¯d spotted Garen and his ¡®Hold fast to your Coke!¡¯ slogan, he couldn¡¯t help being intrigued. Certainly, that Coke did look a bit like a Tower.


    ¡°A nation-wide LoL tournament, sponsored by Coca-Cola. This is big!¡± Yang Qianqian said delightedly.


    There had always been e-sports competitions going on across the country, but being able to snag a major sponsor like this was a rare thing.


    If Coca-Cola was behind this, both the funds as well as the reward money would be nothing to sneeze at. If GTV was running the show, there would probably be no chance of foul play¡ªthis wouldn¡¯t be some underground street fight!


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, it¡¯s a contest!¡± Yang Qianqian hopped about and tugged at his sleeve, eyes curled up in that pretty way of hers.


    ¡°League of Legends is all the craze these days. To think that even a cyber caf¨¦ tournament could go national¡ªonly Coca-Cola would have the wherewithal to pull off such a feat.¡± Yu Luocheng stroked his jaw, nodding to himself. ¡°Yup, well done, GTV. Good job getting Coca-Cola on board.¡±


    Of course, someone like Yu Luocheng would be no stranger to the world of competitive e-sports. Generally speaking, competitions of this sort fell into several categories:


    At the lowest level, a cyber caf¨¦ might hold a tournament by itself, and participants might be local patrons, a nearby campus, or perhaps it could be a corporate or regional event.


    This sort of thing wasn¡¯t likely to draw much attention, and occasionally the whole thing might just get canceled. There wasn¡¯t much in the way of rules-keeping¡ªit was mostly just for fun.


    A larger undertaking might be a ¡®Network Tournament¡¯ or a ¡®Town Championship¡¯.


    These typically involved a cyber caf¨¦ franchise partnering with other cyber caf¨¦s across the area to organize a big tournament, in order to drum up some excitement. This sort of thing would be carefully set up and managed, with clearly detailed prizes¡ªthe makings of a real tournament event.


    If you could do well in these kinds of competitions, you would be someone in the LoL community.


    Taking it one step further meant sponsored tournaments. These would at the very least be comparable to a city-wide tournament, and were based upon advertising partnerships and mutual gain.


    Sponsored tournaments offered lucrative prizes, and everything was done by-the-book. Registration, eligibility, adjudication, advancement, awards, spectators, publicity¡­ all of it would be covered. It would be a grand affair!


    Above that would be official tournaments, which derived capital from game companies and other investors, drawing upon diverse partnerships in order to create a major tournament event!


    A tournament of this level was no longer merely about advertising opportunities. It signified that the game had achieved widespread popularity, and official tournaments were a means towards expanding its prestige even further.


    For tournaments of this level, from the preliminaries to the finals, everything would be carefully scheduled, with all the necessary organizing staff at hand, and an incredible number of contestants taking part. In turn, there would definitely be a certain amount of media coverage, not to mention substantial prizes, and the opportunity to gain tremendous prestige¡ªcontestants might even be offered a place in the entertainment world!


    This ¡®Coca-Cola Cup¡¯ was¡ªwithout a doubt¡ªin this last category: a massive, official tournament!


    Speaking frankly, there weren¡¯t many games for which such a tournament could be held in China. For ¡®League of Legends¡¯ to have gained so much clout in a short few years, as well as the means to stage a tournament of this scale, it was an incredible achievement.


    As for Yang Qianqian, she wasn¡¯t that well-versed about this sort of thing. All she knew was that she was eager to see this tournament. Few people would be able to appreciate what Yu Luocheng saw in it¡ªthat this Coca-Cola Cup would be an undertaking of momentous proportions.


    ***


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Signing up!¡± Yang Qianqian announced earnestly.


    ¡°My lady Yang Qianqian, be serious now: you¡¯re barely Level 30,¡± said Yu Luocheng. ¡°Although it does say that any Level-30 player is eligible to take part, you will most certainly encounter a great number of elite players during the preliminaries alone. Don¡¯t throw yourself to the sharks like this.¡±


    A tournament was nothing like a fight between classes. Students didn¡¯t spend that much time playing games, and skilled players were rare among their number. Out there, there were people who spent all day playing games¡ªhow could you compare their gaming skills to that of students who had to spend all their days in school?


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not taking part¡ªyou are.¡± Yang Qianqian flashed him a peevish smile, and then she pulled him towards the cyber caf¨¦.


    Yu Luocheng was speechless.


    ¡®Who¡¯s taking part? We still have exams tomorrow, girl!¡¯


    He shook his head. ¡°No chance. I¡¯m painfully aware of where the players amongst our classmates are at.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you read the details? You can just sign up first, and then pull a team together later.¡± Yang Qianqian pointed at a line of fine print at the bottom of the poster.


    The contest organizers had taken into consideration that some of the strongest wolves usually hunted alone.


    For those who didn¡¯t already have their own team of five, solo entrants could also be assigned to a team which matched their level of ability.


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Yu Luocheng genuinely had no intention of taking part in this.


    Although this sort of thing was not as proper and regulated as a true pro-gaming tournament, past the district level of competition, it would take on the semblance of one. Nevertheless, Yu Luocheng had made a promise to his father not to get involved with such things anymore. If he took part in this tournament, and his father found out, it was likely he¡¯d never be allowed to play League of Legends at all.


    ¡°The registration fee is only ten bucks, and you¡¯ll even get a free bottle of Coke. Just join it for fun. I want to see how you¡¯d fare against pros.¡± Yang Qianqian looked at him with sparkling eyes.


    Yang Qianqian played with Yu Luocheng regularly, and she could tell that his skill was far beyond her own level. She was curious to see just how good he really was. A tournament like this was the ideal test.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting dark. Time for dinner.¡± Never actually setting foot into the cyber caf¨¦, Yu Luocheng turned on his heel and headed for home.


    Yang Qianqian was clearly upset by his adamant refusal to take part, but Yu Luocheng ignored her and went on his way.


    ***


    Yang Qianqian kept silent the whole way back, this time not because of complicated feelings, but because she was in a frightful temper. Her lips were pursed so high that they almost touched her nose, and whatever Yu Luocheng said to her, she replied with a sniff and a harrumph.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spend too long thinking about it. We¡¯ve still got tests tomorrow,¡± Yu Luocheng advised her.


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely wretched. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to risk your life in an actual battle.¡± At last, Yang Qianqian spoke up.


    ¡°It seems like a bother. I can¡¯t be bothered.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m bothersome too, yet you spend so much time with me.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of bothers, today¡¯s Maths paper was a real doozy, what a pain.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject!¡±

 Chapter 37 - : Forced Conscription

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When does one become an adult?


    In truth, it¡¯s when one¡¯s high school tests have been completed!


    After the conclusion of the final paper, English, it is an indescribable sensation to walk from the examination hall, and then inhale a deep breath. In that moment, you might find yourself looking kindly upon even your most hated enemies!


    Once the finals were over¡ªtruly over¡ªthe whole world just seemed so wonderful!


    As he left the room, Yu Luocheng had the urge to race over to the classroom down the corridor, seize Yang Qianqian up in his arms, and plant a huge kiss upon her round, pink cheeks!


    It would be nice to see Yang Qianqian running towards him, as well.


    The two of them would meet in the middle of the corridor, gazing at each other with profound meaning from across the distance. And then they would begin to run towards each other, each seeing no one but the other.


    At last, they would throw their arms around each other, and burst into anguished tears!


    How tragic that reality could be so different from imagination.


    With his heart in his throat, Yu Luocheng ran over to where Yang Qianqian was, but she hadn¡¯t been waiting for him at all. With a flick of her long, silken hair, she walked away with some other girl!


    Since she was already walking with somebody, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t very well sidle up to her.


    However, it was obvious that Yang Qianqian was still upset about what happened yesterday. Otherwise, the moment the finals were all over, she should have been running, running towards him¡­


    Never mind, Yang Qianqian wasn¡¯t the sort to stay mad for long. Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart was light, thinking about how he¡¯d be playing League of Legends throughout the holidays!


    ***


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, Yu Luocheng!¡±


    With a wide grin plastered across his face, Yu Luocheng had been on his way out the school gates when he heard an excited voice calling out his name.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Yu Luocheng turned to find Wang Qin behind him.


    ¡°Tournament¡ªthere¡¯s an LoL tournament!¡± Wang Qin exclaimed with delight.


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve all signed up for it. All that¡¯s left is for you to join us!¡±


    ¡°Nope, I ain¡¯t got the time.¡± Yu Luocheng shot down Wang Qin¡¯s invitation without hesitation.


    Yu Luocheng had faith in his own abilities, but League of Legends was the sort of game where, no matter how good you might be yourself, if you got stuck with a bunch of imbeciles, there would be no hope of victory.


    In his eyes, Wang Qin and company were said bunch of imbeciles. If he entered that tournament as a part of their team, they¡¯d all be eliminated in the first round¡ªa complete waste of time.


    ¡°Well, even if you¡¯re not going, we are! It should be worthwhile to see how the real pros play!¡± It was obvious that Wang Qin was really looking forward to it.


    ***


    Somehow, word about the Coca-Cola Cup spread like wildfire. On the street, Yu Luocheng kept overhearing people chattering excitedly about it. Many were those who¡¯d signed up for it, every one of them feeling good about their chances.


    Yu Luocheng thought it was mighty pretentious for a bunch of high-school kids to talk about what sort of placing they were hoping to get in that tournament.


    That night, there was a gathering for the whole class. This involved a combination of drinks, tearful embraces, heartfelt apologies, and hopeful confessions.


    By the end of it all, it had already gotten rather late, yet no one seemed in a hurry to say goodbye.


    Many of them had never experienced staying the night away from home before, and this was their big chance. Hence, the class splintered into groups, looking for a place to have a second round, or going to the karaoke, or even an all-night session at the cyber caf¨¦!


    Naturally, this last group comprised of the LoL players. They logged into the accounts that they would be using for the tournament, intent on getting in some practice before the real thing.


    Of course, Wang Qin was the pack leader for Class 8. Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t joining them, having already left much earlier in the evening.


    ***


    The moment he set foot on the bridge that would take him home, the phone in Yu Luocheng¡¯s pants pocket rang.


    The phone was a gift he¡¯d received from his mother barely a couple of days ago. She¡¯d said it was for him to use when he was in university. This was the very first day that Yu Luocheng was carrying it around on his person. So far, there was only one person he¡¯d given his number to.


    That meant it could only be none other than that person calling him now!


    ¡°Where are you?¡± a cold, feminine voice came over the line.


    ¡°I¡¯m on the way home now,¡± Yu Luocheng answered honestly.


    ¡°Stop by my place for a bit,¡± Yang Qianqian commanded.


    ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°One of my classmates is being a pest. He keeps hovering around, going on about how much he likes me. I¡¯ve told him a million times that I¡¯m not interested 1 .¡± Yang Qianqian did sound annoyed.


    ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll be there right away! Where are you?¡± Who was this damned fool, who dared to mess with his girl?


    The call over, Yu Luocheng became a demon of fury, and raced towards his destination with blazing speed.


    ***


    It hadn¡¯t been any big deal, really¡ªjust some guy who¡¯d had a little to drink, and that had given him the courage to make some moves on Yang Qianqian.


    Once Yu Luocheng had arrived on the scene, that guy lost his nerve and slinked away¡ªand here Yu Luocheng had come prepared for a fight.


    Yang Qianqian was particularly enchanting today. The tight-fitting sleeveless blouse she wore served to highlight the full curve of her bosom. A short denim skirt bared luscious, creamy white legs that inspired the imagination to run wild.


    In contrast to her long, straight legs, the sudden swell of her tight round butt was a distraction which could not be ignored.


    Small wonder that drunkard would gravitate towards her. Faced with a beauty like Yang Qianqian, was there anything one wouldn¡¯t do to win her over?


    ¡°Will you be going home tonight?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°What would I be doing, to the point of not going home?¡± Yang Qianqian snapped in reply.


    ¡°Oh, there are lots of possibilities¡­¡± He waggled his eyebrows.


    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m going home, bye!¡± Yang Qianqian spun around and walked away.


    Of course, there was no way Yu Luocheng could just let her go like that. Shamelessly, he gave chase.


    ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Yang Qianqian fumed, glaring at him.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who summoned me. Surely you don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get rid of me just like that?¡±


    ¡°You could have declined.¡± She turned away, refusing to even look at him.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not fight. It¡¯s not really that big a deal for me to enter that tournament.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± At this, Yang Qianqian whipped around to face him, her eyes lit up in the most adorable way.


    Yu Luocheng gaped. She changed faces so quickly¡­ was she Alt-Tabbing between screens?


    ¡°Sure, just for fun,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    What he was planning to do was simply join some random team and blunder through a couple of games. Without a strong team, he wouldn¡¯t make it very far anyway. It was all just for the sake of cheering up Yang Qianqian.


    ¡°You should have just listened to me from the start.¡± A smile danced upon her face, and it almost seemed as though two little horns had popped up from her head.


    Now that Yang Qianqian wasn¡¯t mad at him anymore, it was a lot more pleasant to walk home together. Neither was in a hurry for the walk to end, and they took several detours through the city, as well as a few parks along the way.


    To be honest, there were several times when they¡¯d passed by outside a hotel, and Yu Luocheng had wanted to gallantly invite her in with him. Unfortunately, each time, Yang Qianqian would glance over, and then make as though she wanted to step inside, but ultimately she would just continue down the street, leaving Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart careening in distress.


    In the end, Yu Luocheng escorted Yang Qianqian all the way back to her home, with all manner of clever pick-up lines remaining unused in his head.


    ***


    Yes, there was something in common between picking up chicks and playing League of Legends: the last step always involved a big push. The Towers, the Inhibitors, the enemy base itself¡­ the only way forward was through!


    At least tonight¡¯s walk through the city sort of counted as a date for the two of them.

 Chapter 38 - Greed is Good

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    (Translator¡¯s Note: The title is a cheat code from Warcraft 3. ;D)


    First thing next morning, Yu Luocheng took his first tentative steps back onto the Freljord server. Now that the finals had ended, he could play Ranked in peace, and he wanted to see just how far he could go.


    The Ranked score was a very real indicator of player ability. At 2,000 points and beyond, one could expect to encounter actual professional players.


    Only the best of the best made it to the range of 2,200 to 2,300. Their control, game sense, and teamwork were all the equal of anyone on the pro-gaming scene. A clash between players of that level was what really got Yu Luocheng¡¯s blood flowing!


    The only thing was that, for some reason, when he logged onto this account again, Yu Luocheng felt like something was missing.


    Seeing Snowfall¡¯s grayed-out name, Yu Luocheng brought up LoL Box to look up her recent game activity, wanting to see if she¡¯d played again ever since then.


    But the last game in her match history was still the one from that night, at around eight o¡¯clock.


    Shaking his head, Yu Luocheng logged out of the account once more, having suddenly lost his will to fight.


    It wasn¡¯t as though he only played on this account for her sake¡ªhis love for games went right down to his marrow. It was just that he still hadn¡¯t gotten over it. He needed to know why Snowfall had left without saying goodbye. This was his way of honoring the memory of a girl from the internet whom he¡¯d spent three years of his youth with.


    Although it might sound odd, that was the kind of person he was. No matter what, he had to hold on to his own inviolate principles.


    Simply put, it was a matter of integrity.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng spent the next couple of days playing with Yang Qianqian.


    She was improving quite rapidly. It seemed that she had a gift for this sort of thing. At any rate, Yu Luocheng judged her to be far better than the likes of Wang Qin.


    ¡°Gosh, I almost forgot¡­¡± Yang Qianqian said over the voice chat.


    ¡°What, did you forget to write your name on that last English paper?¡± Yu Luocheng quipped.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Didn¡¯t I sign you up for that tournament? Wang Qin Wong, Zhao Kesong, and the others have been spending all day training in the cyber caf¨¦. How can you afford to go on keeping me company like this?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have a team.¡± The truth was that he wasn¡¯t really that into it.


    Training up a brand-new account, Yu Luocheng had considered that he might not get the Support role, so he¡¯d been trying out other champions and roles. Of course, specializing in a specific role was the path to mastery over League of Legends. On the other hand, gaining a close familiarity with every champion in the game was not without its benefits.


    Having alternate accounts was not just about smurfing to bully noobs. It was also a means towards developing a comprehensive understanding of all the roles, and therefore of all the players in a game.


    Many players, upon reaching certain thresholds of achievement, found themselves at a bottleneck. For example, moving from 1,600 to 1,700, or 1,900 to 2,000, or 2,200 to 2,300¡­ these were all typical areas for a slowdown to occur. If one found themselves unable to advance further despite their best efforts, that meant it was time to start an alternate account and try out the other positions. There were always lessons to be learned, there.


    It was exactly for that reason that Yu Luocheng spent so much time on alternate accounts.


    Then again, having said all that, there was actually a simpler reason: If not for Yang Qianqian¡¯s coercion, Yu Luocheng would have zero interest in this level of competition.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have a team, go find one at the cyber caf¨¦. When I passed by yesterday, I saw a bunch of people yelling in there. Haha, it was just like rounding up some friends to go on a raid, it was too perfect!¡± The sound of Yang Qianqian¡¯s laughter made Yu Luocheng feel giddy inside.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go check it out tonight,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Yang Qianqian declared with another laugh.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to see her again. Heh, heh¡­ perhaps there might be another kind of breakthrough, tonight?


    ***


    After meeting up with Yang Qianqian on the bridge that evening, Yu Luocheng half-heartedly allowed her to drag him all the way to the Dragon Rising net caf¨¦.


    Why not just call it a cyber caf¨¦? Because these days, it seemed to be the trend to call any kind of halfway decent cyber caf¨¦ a ¡®net caf¨¦¡¯, alright?


    With a large staff at the Dragon Rising, it was one of the most prominent cyber caf¨¦s in Lecheng, rivaled only by the likes of Dawn, Aviator, EZ¡­


    ¡°Yu Luocheng! Yu Luocheng, check this out!¡± Yang Qianqian was pointing excitedly at a poster.


    Yu Luocheng surreptitiously checked Yang Qianqian out: the sensuous curvature of her figure in profile. Then he made a pretense of walking over to perform a serious examination of the poster she was indicating.


    ¡°Huh, the cyber caf¨¦ is offering a prize. That makes things interesting.¡± Yu Luocheng cracked a smile.


    With The Coca-Cola Company sponsoring this nation-wide League of Legends tournament, a large part of all the prizes and awards being offered were on their tab.


    This was called a sponsored award, or a tournament prize.


    If a participating cyber caf¨¦ was putting up its own reward, that was their way of contributing to the ongoing merriment.


    Between the prizes being offered in the tournament as well as by the cyber caf¨¦s, doing well in this competition could prove very lucrative.


    ¡®Contestants who register for the tournament at our Dragon Rising net caf¨¦: Anyone who can beat out the other net caf¨¦s, and go on to represent Lecheng in the tournament, will receive 10,000 RMB from the manager himself!¡¯


    ¡°Ten thousand bucks? That¡¯s two thousand bucks for each player!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and winning in the Lecheng district is already worth twenty thousand in prize money. In other words, the team that gets first place in our district stands to win thirty thousand bucks! That¡¯s six thousand smackers for each player on the team!¡± Several youths were discussing this matter nearby.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned! With that much money up for grabs, we¡¯ve got to get first place, no matter what! We¡¯re talking six thousand each!¡±


    ¡°Screw it, I¡¯m only Level 27. Watch, I¡¯m gonna get to 30 tonight, and then I¡¯m joining too. With six thousand bucks, I could spend several months in here!¡±


    The youths chattered away, occasionally stealing glances at Yang Qianqian.


    Yang Qianqian was going for a casual look today, with a tight-fitting pair of jeans hugging her shapely butt and thighs. It was a sight to captivate any man, including Yu Luocheng himself.


    ¡°You hear that, Yu Luocheng? Six thousand bucks!¡± Yang Qianqian gazed at Yu Luocheng with sparkling eyes.


    ¡°Do you know how many teams are competing in all of Lecheng? It¡¯s easier said than done,¡± Yu Luocheng muttered. ¡°That being said, they¡¯ve lost their minds, putting up so much money.¡±


    It was rare for a cyber caf¨¦ to offer a reward this substantial. The power of LoL was a fearsome thing to behold.


    What Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t aware of was that the advent of ¡®League of Legends¡¯ had saved an ailing cyber caf¨¦ industry.


    With a computer in every home nowadays, who still needed to run down to the cyber caf¨¦ to surf the net, or play games? Add to this the ubiquitous connectivity of modern phones, and it was easy to understand why the cyber caf¨¦ business was dying off.


    The one type of consumer that had yet to abandon them were the MOBA gamers. Was there a more enjoyable way to play with your team than sitting together in the cyber caf¨¦?


    It was a culture that might very well save cyber caf¨¦s from extinction, and so all the big cyber caf¨¦s were riding on LOL¡¯s burgeoning popularity to make a name for themselves, and hobnob it with the big boys.


    Yang Qianqian didn¡¯t seem to think that getting first place would be any trouble at all. Beaming at Yu Luocheng, she said, ¡°If you get that six thousand bucks, will you be taking me on a graduation trip? I¡¯d love to go to the beach some time, but it¡¯s all mountains around here. That really sucks.¡±


    ¡°Just the two of us?¡± Yu Luocheng raised his eyebrows at her with a sinister grin.


    Yang Qianqian immediately rolled her eyes at him. This horny side of him was the worst.


    And yet, there was something kind of cute about it, so that she couldn¡¯t really get mad at him.


    Gritting her teeth, she declared, ¡°If you manage to win first place, then we¡¯ll go¡ªjust the two of us! But then, can you really do that?¡± And then she thrust out her chest, fulsome and taut, a feast for the eyes.


    Just like that, Yu Luocheng nodded in agreement.


    But it really wouldn¡¯t be a small feat to win first place. Yu Luocheng had no allusions that his abilities alone would be enough to carry a team to victory against all of Lecheng.


    ¡°How about I take you there with my own money?¡± he suggested. He still had some savings left over from that time when he¡¯d gone pro. He¡¯d wanted to hand it all over to his family, but his father had adamantly refused to accept what he saw as ill-gotten gains.


    Up until now, Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t touched a cent of it. He used to joke about saving it as dowry for a wife.


    It seemed he was wiser than he¡¯d thought. Now that a potential wife had taken the field, it was time for him to put this card into play!


    ¡°Nope. Maybe if you win first place, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± This was the trial Yang Qianqian wished to set before Yu Luocheng¡ªonly if he got first place, would she go on a trip alone with him.


    Honestly, such an act would test the very limits of her propriety. It wasn¡¯t a proper thing for a lady to do.


    And yet, there was an eager sort of spark in her heart, a yearning to experience a couple¡¯s vacation: looking out the window of a train together, exploring the streets of an unfamiliar city together, sitting on the beach and looking out across the ocean together¡­


    Sadly, wisdom and caution ultimately won out in this internal struggle. Anyway, the odds of her giving in to such wild impulses were about as likely as Yu Luocheng¡¯s chances of triumphing against every other team in Lecheng.


    With this, Yang Qianqian had effectively shut down the prospect of them going off on that forbidden adventure together¡ªbut there was still that faint, impossibly tiny hope¡­


    As for the question of whether such a tenuous proposition would be enough to stoke the fires in a certain someone¡¯s heart¡­


    ¡­ Well, perhaps that might be best left unsaid.

 Chapter 39 - : Friendly Greeting

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Upon stepping into the cyber caf¨¦, a single glance revealed that more than half of the patrons were playing LoL!


    As a longtime cyber caf¨¦ denizen, he couldn¡¯t remember ever having seen such a thing since the days of that online game, ¡® Myth 1 ¡®.


    With countless games competing fiercely on the market these days, to be able to rise above the teeming crowd was an indicator of the appeal and popularity of LoL.


    In this day and age, if you¡¯d never even played League of Legends before, it was difficult to show your face in public, you know?


    When greeting someone on the street, it was no longer about saying ¡®Good morning!¡¯ or ¡®How are you?¡¯ Modern custom dictated that you thump a fist to your chest and declare, ¡®Demacia!¡¯ to which others would reply with the same.


    Can you see it now? How dignified, grand, and magnificent a sight that would be?


    A great many people in the cyber caf¨¦ were training for the tournament. They¡¯d taken over the gaming zone completely, hard at work.


    Some even had their own banners suspended over their computers, announcing the name of their team, as well as invitations for new recruits.


    It was always all-out pandemonium in the cyber caf¨¦, with everyone only interested in doing their own thing. To see so many groups having formed with such a level of organization, it really created a competitive atmosphere.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, which team are you interested in? It looks like a lot of them are recruiting: Dragon¡¯s Rage, Scarlet, Aphrodite¡­ ahaha, there¡¯s a bunch of jokers who¡¯ve formed a ¡®Theme Team¡¯!¡± Yang Qianqian¡¯s eyes were curled up with delight, an enchanting sight.


    ¡°Yang Qianqian, fancy seeing you here! Could it be that you¡¯re joining the tournament, too?¡± A fair-faced youth rose from his seat, greeting her with a smile.


    Yu Luocheng glanced at him. Wasn¡¯t that Lin Xu, of Class 3? It seemed that he was a part of one of these teams, except that instead of playing himself, he was watching from the side, like some sort of disciple.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who¡¯s joining¡ªit¡¯s him.¡± Yang Qianqian indicated Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Oho?¡± Noticing Yu Luocheng for the first time, Lin Xu¡¯s lips twitched with a little smile.


    Lin Xu wasn¡¯t actually pleased to see Yu Luocheng, especially by Yang Qianqian¡¯s side. He¡¯d been constantly hearing about how the two of them were quickly developing into a full-fledged couple¡ªa prospect which caused him no small amount of anxiety.


    Forcing himself to smile, Lin Xu greeted Yu Luocheng. ¡°You¡¯re taking part, too? Which team are you in? Maybe the Bone Dragon team?¡±


    ¡°What Bone Dragon team? It¡¯s just a bunch of kids who¡¯ve never even played Ranked before. I¡¯ve seen them training around here, total joke. A team like that, joining this tournament¡­ they¡¯re just looking to get their asses kicked.¡± A youth with dyed hair, chewing on a cigarette, glanced over at them as he nonchalantly continued playing his champion.


    Team ¡®Bone Dragon¡¯ would be Wang Qin¡¯s team. Yu Luocheng figured they were currently training hard in another section.


    It was likely there¡¯d already been a few skirmishes in the cyber caf¨¦, with Team ¡®Bone Dragon¡¯ getting wrecked at every turn. The mere mention of their name caused some of the senior players to smirk without comment.


    Lin Xu pointed at Yu Luocheng. ¡°Brother Mi, this is that expert Blitzcrank player I told you about, Yu Luocheng.¡±


    ¡°Oh? The best Blitzcrank player in Lecheng is sitting right across from me. You¡¯d better not let him catch wind of that.¡± Brother Mi took another drag from his cigarette as he pointed with a leisurely finger.


    ¡°The best Blitzcrank in Lecheng?¡± It seemed odd to Yang Qianqian that someone would dare to claim such a title.


    ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± Lin Xu stammered, ¡°I¡¯ve watched him play, he¡¯s really amazing. All kinds of hooks. How about it? I can introduce you to him. Right now, I¡¯d guess he¡¯s still waiting for a game to begin.¡±


    Yang Qianqian couldn¡¯t let this pass. Having played with Yu Luocheng all this while, she¡¯d never seen anyone who was better at Blitzcrank than him.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s have a look.¡± Taking the lead, she dragged Yu Luocheng along after her to go see if there was any truth behind the legend.


    Going around to the other side of that row of computers, they found a young man of about twenty years, his hair a little on the longer side, and a dark look upon his face which made him appear somewhat unapproachable.


    At the moment, he was leaning against the chair, staring at the keyboard. It was hard to tell what exactly he was up to.


    Seeing him in such a solemn mood, Lin Xu himself felt somewhat nervous about this.


    Wan Tong was a man of a particular standing. A veteran of games like Starcraft, Warcraft 3, DotA, and LoL, he¡¯d been famous across the cyber caf¨¦s of Lecheng since long ago.


    His skill at gaming was one thing, but he also had a reputation on the street, and was said to be unpredictable. Lin Xu had only exchanged a few words with him while under Brother Mi¡¯s patronage, bought him a few drinks¡­


    For some reason, every time Lin Xu saw him, he had the feeling that it would be difficult to get on his good side, and in fact Lin Xu was a little fearful of him.


    Seeing Wan Tong like this, Lin Xu¡¯s heart was racing, unsure of whether it would be okay to go up and talk to him right now.


    However, with Yang Qianqian right behind him, he couldn¡¯t lose heart now. Drawing upon all his courage, he offered Wan Tong a smile and a fine cigarette. ¡°Hey, Wan Tong. These are two friends from school. They¡¯re LoL players too, and they¡¯re interested in seeing how you play. Is that alright? We¡¯ll just watch from back here. We won¡¯t be any trouble.¡±


    Wan Tong didn¡¯t accept the cigarette, instead lighting up one of his own. He regarded Lin Xu¡¯s simpering expression, and hissed, ¡°I don¡¯t like people breathing down my neck while I play. If you want to watch, use one of the computers to join the game as an Observer.¡±


    This was a slap to the face for Lin Xu.


    ¡°This guy¡¯s kind of an ass,¡± Yang Qianqian whispered.


    Wan Tong had sharp hearing. Noticing Yang Qianqian¡¯s insult, he whipped around and glared at her, giving Yang Qianqian a nasty scare. Grabbing Yu Luocheng by the arm, she cowered behind him.


    Lin Xu knew this meant trouble. Yang Qianqian had pissed off someone she shouldn¡¯t have. Wan Tong was also known as the ¡®Mad Dog¡¯, and no one got away with angering him.


    ¡°I mean, she was just saying what a bad-ass you are, Wan Tong. Slip of the tongue, silly thing.¡± Lin Xu desperately brandished his brightest smile.


    Wan Tong ignored him, scowling deeply at Yang Qianqian.


    ¡°Mad Dog.¡± Yu Luocheng smiled in the face of Wan Tong¡¯s growing fury, ¡°Wipe that ugly look off your face. You¡¯re scaring my friend, here.¡±


    Hearing what Yu Luocheng had said, Lin Xu was in a high panic.


    Everyone knew he was called the Mad Dog, but hardly anyone dared to actually say it to his face.


    Was Yu Luocheng tired of being alive?


    With one word from Wan Tong, there could be a whole gang of people waiting outside the door inside of five minutes, allowing you no chance to escape.

 Chapter 40 - Team Scarlet

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As expected, Wan Tong rose from his seat and walked right up to Yu Luocheng. Raising up a fist, he struck it against Yu Luocheng¡¯s chest.


    Bam!


    This just about gave Yang Qianqian a heart attack. It was a moment before she realized that it had not quite been a real punch, meant to knock someone¡¯s lights out. If anything, it had been more like a friendly greeting between old chums. She didn¡¯t know what to make of it.


    ¡°If you¡¯d gone missing for much longer, we¡¯d think something had happened to you!¡± The gloom had been banished from Wan Tong¡¯s face, replaced by a wide grin.


    ¡°Ahah, I¡¯ve turned over a new leaf, you see. I can¡¯t be part of that world anymore,¡± Yu Luocheng laughed in reply.


    ¡°My ass. You¡¯re little more than a child¡ªyou¡¯ve seen nothing of the world,¡± Wan Tong chided him merrily.


    As he spoke, Wan Tong regarded Yang Qianqian once again, still hiding behind Yu Luocheng. With a friendly smile, he said, ¡°This your girl? Not bad, she¡¯s hot.¡±


    ¡°Not yet, she isn¡¯t.¡± Yu Luocheng turned and waggled his eyebrows at Yang Qianqian.


    Hearing this exchange between them, Yang Qianqian understood that they were already acquainted. That had been quite a scare for her, just now.


    In response to Yu Luocheng¡¯s remark of ¡®not yet,¡¯ Yang Qianqian made a big show of rolling her eyes disdainfully.


    Lin Xu was stunned speechless. Wan Tong hadn¡¯t lost his temper when someone called him Mad Dog? He couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. Could it be that this rascal Yu Luocheng was old friends with Wan Tong?


    No, it couldn¡¯t be. Yu Luocheng was just a student. When would he have come into contact with a seedy character like Wan Tong?


    ¡°You¡¯re a LoL player too, joining the tournament?¡± Wan Tong brought back the main issue.


    ¡°Something like that. My friend here invited me to watch Lecheng¡¯s Number One Blitzcrank in action, so that a noob like me could maybe learn a thing or two.¡±


    ¡°Learn a thing or two? Horse crap.¡± Wan Tong was a man of colorful words.


    ¡°Your game¡¯s starting.¡± Yu Luocheng pointed at the computer screen.


    ¡°Right, right.¡± Hurriedly sitting down and laying his hands upon the mouse and keyboard, Wan Tong said to Yu Luocheng, ¡°Commander Qin is over at Section C. Go pay him a visit, they¡¯re looking for people.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just gonna fool around, nothing too serious,¡± Yu Luocheng declared.


    ¡°You should still go and say hi. What a piece of work you are, running off without so much as a goodbye to everyone.¡± There was a hint of bitterness in his tone as Wan Tong said this.


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Yu Luocheng said wryly. He led Yang Qianqian off to Section C, and Lin Xu tagged along after them, still at a loss himself.


    After the three had left, Brother Mi poked his head over, watching Yu Luocheng curiously. ¡°Wan Tong, you know that kid?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. You were late onto the scene, so it¡¯s no surprise you don¡¯t know who he is.¡± Wan Tong didn¡¯t say more, engrossed with his game.


    Wan Tong elected not to tell Brother Mi that during his Starcraft days, he¡¯d spent a fair amount of time watching Yu Luocheng play, and learning from him.


    That was why, when Yu Luocheng made that joke about studying Wan Tong¡¯s Blitzcrank gameplay, it had riled him right up.


    He was just a child, but he was basically the one who¡¯d taught Wan Tong how to play Starcraft. It would be too embarrassing to be observed by him.


    ***


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, how do you know that guy? He looked kinda shady to me.¡± Yang Qianqian was pouting at Yu Luocheng, the accusation clear in her tone.


    ¡°We go way back. When he was still a student himself, he didn¡¯t much care for studying,¡± Yu Luocheng explained. ¡°He¡¯s not a bad guy, he¡¯s just always got that nasty look on his face.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, give it up,¡± Yang Qianqian sniffed. ¡°I know very well that you used to be a delinquent, yourself.¡±


    There had been a grave misunderstanding!


    Yu Luocheng used to hang out at the cyber caf¨¦ all the time, this was true, and he¡¯d made some friends of the slightly less distinguished kind. However, when everyone was playing the same games in the same cyber caf¨¦, of course they¡¯d get to know one another. It was only to be expected.


    Hold on, how did Yang Qianqian know anything about his past at all?


    ***


    Yu Luocheng found the ¡®Commander Qin 1 ¡® that Wan Tong had mentioned, over in Section C.


    His real name was Yin Qin, and he was the epitome of a time-worn cyber caf¨¦ dweller. He was always broke, not because he wasn¡¯t any good at finding money, but because he kept spending it all on his buddies.


    He used to run a gaming business, earning his keep as a coach-for-hire, and sometimes running large gaming events. His specialty was in online games.


    It was anybody¡¯s guess why he¡¯d suddenly taken an interest in MOBA games, and was even forming a team to compete in the upcoming tournament.


    If a professional gamer like Yin Qin was putting together a team, it should be a strong contender in this tournament. He would be running a tight ship¡ªthere¡¯d be no fooling around, here.


    Commander Qin was not some snot-nosed brat¡ªhe was already in his late twenties. He stood behind a row of computers, watching his team of five playing a Ranked game, frowning with concentration.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Commander Qin?¡± Lin Xu regarded him with awe.


    ¡°Who?¡± Yang Qianqian asked.


    ¡°All the hardcore gamers and cyber caf¨¦ regulars in Lecheng know Commander Qin. Word is, he even has shares in the Dragon Rising, although I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s actually true. He¡¯s a big name in the gaming circles around here, kind of like the head of a triad.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Yang Qianqian nodded, although it was unclear whether she really got it.


    Section C was only for VIP members. When Yu Luocheng set foot inside, one of the staff apologetically barred him entry. As such, he could only stand outside the glass door and shout, ¡°Hey, Qin!¡±


    Qin barely glanced over, thinking it was just some random dude saying hi to him, and nodded in acknowledgement. A moment later, he recognized Yu Luocheng¡¯s face, and his deep-set eyes lit up.


    ¡°You¡­ you little rascal, where have you been these last couple of years?¡± Qin bustled out from Section C.


    He had a booming voice, and everyone overheard him. Several heads turned to the door, curious to see who it was, to receive such a warm welcome from Commander Qin.


    ¡°Studying, studying¡­¡± Yu Luocheng answered with a wry smile.


    ¡°Studying?¡± Taken aback, it took a while for Yin Qin to collect himself. Now that he thought about it, it was true that Yu Luocheng was still rather young, and probably had better things to do than waste his time on such frivolous things all day long, the way he himself was doing.


    ¡°So, what¡­ you were bored, and came looking for a game of DotA?¡± Qin asked.


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯ve signed up for the LoL tournament, and I¡¯m looking for a team to join so I can sort of muddle around for a couple of games.¡±


    ¡®Muddle around¡¯¡­ The way Yu Luocheng kept saying things like that greatly vexed Yang Qianqian, and she quietly pinched his arm once or twice.


    How could he be so lacking in ambition? Wasn¡¯t he even going to try for first place? She¡¯d even offered him a couple¡¯s vacation with her!


    ¡°I¡¯m short a man, here.¡± Commander Qin said this with a hungry light in his eyes.


    Seeing Yu Luocheng¡¯s hesitation, he added, ¡°Not a single one of these oafs is willing to play Support, and it¡¯s too late to re-train anyone for the role. What few Support players I¡¯ve been able to find are only so-so, either lagging a step behind, or always out of sync¡ªit¡¯s maddening! I¡¯ve gotten rid of them all. The tournament¡¯s just around the corner, and I still haven¡¯t found a decent Support player.¡±


    ¡°Well, this guy¡¯s a Support player, and he¡¯s awesome at it.¡± Yang Qianqian scrambled to offer Yu Luocheng up. Although she didn¡¯t recognize this Commander Qin fellow, he seemed to be somebody of note in the Dragon Rising. If Yu Luocheng joined his team, perhaps he could stand a real chance of getting first place?


    Ah, why was she so eager to see him win? Yang Qianqian found she was having trouble sorting out her true feelings on the matter.

 Chapter 41 - Beyond Reach

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Sounds good. So, how about it? Wanna join our Team Scarlet?¡± Commander Qin jumped on Yang Qianqian¡¯s words.


    ¡°No, I shouldn¡¯t.¡± Yu Luocheng frantically waved off the suggestion. ¡°I can¡¯t actually take part in this kind of thing anymore. If my dad finds out, I¡¯m dead meat.¡±


    ¡°Just keep it quiet, then. No big deal. How¡¯s your dad gonna find out? Don¡¯t be a child, always doing what daddy says. Come on, join Team Scarlet. Our people might not be as good as what you¡¯re used to, but we won¡¯t hold you back.¡± Qin was burbling enthusiastically.


    Lin Xu couldn¡¯t believe his ears.


    Only a few days ago, Team Scarlet had wiped the floor with every other team in the Dragon Rising, many of the games ending before the twenty-minute mark. They were a class above the rest of the competition here.


    And yet, ¡®not as good as what you¡¯re used to,¡¯ he¡¯d said?


    Even more unbelievable, what sort of man was this descendant of the Yu family, to have a team of such prowess be worried about holding him back?


    ¡°Really, Commander, you¡¯re too much,¡± Yu Luocheng replied. ¡°I¡¯ve only just started playing LoL recently, and schoolwork has left me little time for gaming. I¡¯m nothing special, I¡¯m afraid¡­ it would be me holding you guys back. I just came by to see an old friend.¡±


    Yin Qin could see Yu Luocheng really wasn¡¯t interested in joining up, and he himself wasn¡¯t actually that confident his team would be able to keep up with a player of his caliber, so he let the matter drop.


    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s there to see. I¡¯m just a tired old man, struggling to feed a wife and kids, not to mention my old folks. There¡¯s a bunch of young men counting on me for their livelihood. They¡¯re still free from the sort of attachments I have to deal with at my age, worrying about money all the time¡­¡± Yin Qin lamented.


    ¡°There¡¯s good money in LoL, and that¡¯s why you¡¯ve taken an interest in MOBA gaming now?¡± Yu Luocheng inquired.


    ¡°Exactly. There¡¯s really no helping it. I hope these kids can put up a good showing, at least, or it¡¯ll all be for naught.¡±


    Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t seen Yin Qin in two years, give or take. He¡¯d been a more spirited man, back then. Even now, he couldn¡¯t be older than twenty-eight, but the hardships of life had really beaten down this once-proud figure.


    Worse, he¡¯d chosen to go down the treacherous path of professional gaming. No one else could truly understand the miseries that paved the way.


    It was only because he was an old friend, that was why Yin Qin had gotten so talkative, but he digressed, and brought Yu Luocheng in to introduce him to the members of Team Scarlet.


    Lin Xu had always remained in Section B, and could only meet advanced players like Wan Tong via an introduction from Michael. All of a sudden, he was about to stand before the elite players in the VIP area. He was beside himself with anticipation.


    Team Scarlet was expected to place within the Top 3 of Lecheng. If he could pick up some pointers from them, it could contribute to the next breakthrough in his own gaming skills.


    When it came to things like MOBA games, it was good to know more advanced players than yourself, not merely because they could carry you to victory in your games, but also because spending time in their company could greatly accelerate the development of your own skills and tactical expertise.


    Lin Xu was genuinely in love with League of Legends, and was always looking for ways to improve his gameplay. That was the reason why, although he had a computer at home, he nevertheless spent a lot of time at the cyber caf¨¦, hoping to make the acquaintance of various elite players.


    Of course, at first he¡¯d been showing off these contacts of his to Yu Luocheng and Yang Qianqian¡ªbut suddenly, it was now Yu Luocheng leading him around to meet the very best players in Lecheng.


    It was a turn of events that left him dumbfounded.


    Could Yu Luocheng himself be one of the elite?


    How else could he have become so friendly with these illustrious figures, so far beyond Lin Xu¡¯s own reach?


    ***


    After taking his leave of Commander Qin, Yu Luocheng walked a full circle around the whole cyber caf¨¦, but he just couldn¡¯t find a team that suited his tastes.


    Following along beside him, Yang Qianqian pouted with her cute little mouth, in a bit of a huff.


    The reason she was upset was because Yu Luocheng had turned down Yin Qin¡¯s invitation. It was obvious that they were his best hope for getting first place, and yet he¡¯d passed on them. Couldn¡¯t he see how eagerly Commander Qin had been to welcome him in?


    What¡¯s more, seeing the way those two renowned players had treated Yu Luocheng, it was obvious his true abilities were far beyond what she usually saw.


    And yet, he was just so frustratingly indifferent!


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, did you use to spend a lot of time at the Dragon Rising?¡± Having abandoned his usual disdain for Yu Luocheng, Lin Xu was now giving him his warmest, most amiable smile.


    ¡°Not really.¡± Yu Luocheng had no intention of revealing his dark past, especially with Yang Qianqian right here. Turning to look at her, he realized she was brooding over something, so he gave her some attention.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng Yu, I¡¯m not in the mood for your usual playfulness,¡± Yang Qianqian snapped. ¡°That man made you a sincere offer, and you could have gotten into a top-seeded team.¡±


    Was he really that disinterested in going on a trip alone with her?


    Victory was within his grasp, but he wouldn¡¯t even reach out for it?


    He was always leering at her with undisguised lust, but give him a real opportunity and here he was, dragging his feet and making excuses. It was insufferable!


    Ding ding, ding! Ding, ding, ding, ding¡­


    A piano melody began to play from within Yu Luocheng¡¯s pants pocket. He gave her an apologetic smile, fished out his handphone, and found that it was his mother calling.


    She probably just wanted to nag him to come home earlier. He answered the call.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, where are you? Get to the hospital right now!¡± Li Yun¡¯s voice was shrill with panic.


    ¡°I¡¯m out right now. What¡¯s happened?¡± Something was wrong.


    ¡°Your dad¡¯s been admitted into the hospital,¡± his mother whispered.


    Yu Luocheng stared at nothing. The half-hearted, absent-minded smile he usually wore had vanished completely.


    ¡°How serious is it?¡± Yu Luocheng asked frantically.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but he went there in an ambulance.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there right away. Which hospital is it?¡±


    ¡°Central Hospital.¡±


    ***


    As Yu Luocheng ended the call, Yang Qianqian could see that his expression had totally changed.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked with concern.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital.¡± That was all he said, before hurrying outside.


    She chased after him. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you.¡±


    ¡°Never mind. You can go home, or hang out with Jin and his crew.¡± Without waiting for her reply, Yu Luocheng ran downstairs.


    When he reached the street, there just happened to be a taxi passing by. Yu Luocheng hailed it down and got in.


    Yang Qianqian came out the door, only to see him already speeding off in the car, headed toward Central Hospital.

 Chapter 42 - Just Can’t Let Go

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng disliked hospitals. The air here was thick with the smell of formalin. There was a period of time when his father Yu Jing was hospitalized, and Yu Luocheng had to visit the hospital regularly. He¡¯d never gotten used to the smell.


    At the moment, he paid it no heed as he rushed to the ward to find Li Yun.


    She was out in the corridor, deep in discussion with a man in doctor¡¯s clothing. Seeing the forlorn look on her face, Yu Luocheng guessed that his father¡¯s condition was even worse than the last time.


    ¡°For now, just look after him,¡± the doctor was saying. ¡°When the head doctor arrives tomorrow, you can discuss this matter with him further. He told me the patient¡¯s condition has gotten worse. He should have been coming here for regular check-ups and treatment long before this.¡±


    And then the doctor was gone, leaving Li Yun alone in the corridor with a mask of distress, holding back a breath full of questions she didn¡¯t know how to ask.


    ¡°Mom.¡± Yu Luocheng walked up to her, and took a peek inside the ward. Inside, he saw his own father lying on a sterile white bed, hooked up to an IV drip. He didn¡¯t go in.


    ¡°How is he?¡± he asked.


    Yu Jing had been in poor health for a while now, something about his liver.


    The problem had been discovered some time ago, but Yu Jing kept insisting that he felt fine. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to his health after being discharged from the hospital, and went right back to work at the factory.


    It should just be his liver acting up again, but Yu Luocheng had a terrible feeling of foreboding, especially after hearing what the doctor had said.


    ¡°The doctor says his condition is severe, but we¡¯ll have to wait until the head doctor shows up tomorrow for us to get a definite idea of what¡¯s going on.¡± Li Yun¡¯s voice was heavy with worry.


    Yu Jing had been to the hospital several times on account of his liver, but it had never really been that big a deal. Certainly, it had never involved an ambulance.


    ¡°You look exhausted, Mom. I¡¯ll take over here, so you can go home for now.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be back later tonight.¡± Li Yun didn¡¯t object. After urging Yu Luocheng a few more times to look after Yu Jing, she hurried away.


    This left Yu Luocheng alone in the ward with Yu Jing, silently lying in bed.


    Yu Jing¡¯s face was the color of dark copper, his skin coarse and wrinkled. Perhaps he was in pain¡ªhis lips were drawn and pale.


    His thick eyebrows were set in a fierce expression, making him appear stern and unrelenting, even unconscious as he was.


    ***


    After an interminable amount of time, Yu Jing¡¯s brows knit together in an expression of discomfort. A fine sheen of sweat appeared across his forehead.


    Seeing him like this pained Yu Luocheng. He fetched a towel and wiped the sweat off his forehead for him, although that wouldn¡¯t do anything for the agony he was suffering.


    The pain seemed to have awakened Yu Jing. When he opened his eyes, they were morose and somber. He turned and looked at Yu Luocheng, unsmiling and sour as ever.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your mother?¡± he asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s gone home to rest. She¡¯ll be back later. Are you okay, Dad? It looks bad.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about it? Just something acting up again. Can¡¯t keep me down.¡±


    ¡°The doctor says it¡¯s really serious, this time.¡±


    ¡°Doctors always exaggerate.¡±


    With nothing more to add to this, Yu Luocheng fetched a cup of plain water and fed it to Yu Jing.


    ¡°When will your exam results come out?¡± Yu Jing inquired. No one was more concerned about this matter than him. Even lying in a hospital bed, it was the first thing on his mind.


    ¡°Not so soon. The 20th of June, at the earliest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve checked out a bunch of schools for you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t talk so much, you should get some rest.¡± Yu Luocheng cut him off, and made to lay him down in bed.


    ¡°I said I¡¯m fine!¡± Yu Jing snapped angrily.


    There was nothing for it, that was just the way his father was. However, Yu Luocheng often felt that his dad was much like a temperamental child, always insisting on being tiresome.


    ¡°Very well, say your piece, then¡ªbut my results haven¡¯t even come out yet, there¡¯s no hurry to find me a place to go.¡± Yu Luocheng acquiesced to Yu Jing¡¯s behavior. ¡°I¡¯d guess you¡¯ve only been looking at the best schools. If it turns out I¡¯ve only gotten second- or third-class grades, what a waste of time it¡¯ll all have been.¡±


    ¡°You screw up like that, it¡¯ll be my duty as your father to fix your wagon but good,¡± Yu Jing declared grumpily.


    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to fuss over such things. You¡¯re in a hospital now, you¡¯ve got to look after your own health. Sure, it¡¯s your own body, no one knows better than you how you¡¯re feeling right now¡ªbut you came here in an ambulance. Mom and I have been climbing the walls with fright this whole time.¡±


    Chastised so by his own son, Yu Jing fell silent.


    Yu Luocheng was done speaking, as well. It wouldn¡¯t do to make a habit of talking down to his old man. Disaster lay down that road. Much like chasing after Singed, it could quickly lead to the tables turning against yourself.


    At length, Yu Jing sighed. ¡°You just don¡¯t know what it was like, after I finished high school¡­¡±


    ¡°You had finals exams, back then?¡± Yu Luocheng cut in.


    ¡°Why not? They¡¯d just brought it back!¡± Yu Jing puffed himself up. ¡°You know, I was always top in my high school.¡±


    ¡°How many people even made it into high school, back in those days¡­¡± Yu Luocheng muttered.


    Yu Jing harrumphed at Yu Luocheng¡¯s contrary manner. ¡°In those days, getting into a university was a hundred times tougher than it is now. There were only a handful of options available.¡±


    Certainly, during the eighties, a university graduate was worth their weight in gold. It was a real feather in your cap.


    The university graduates from those days were now government officials, cabinet ministers, or captains of industry. Yu Luocheng had always wondered about this: His father was a university graduate from that era, himself¡ªhow was he still just a laborer in a factory?


    He¡¯d wondered about this for a long time. To this day, he still didn¡¯t have a clue¡ªso he asked.


    Yu Jing replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t make it. I failed by three points.¡±


    As they spoke, the door was gently pushed open.


    Li Yun walked in with an air of weariness, but she was clearly relieved to see that Yu Jing was up. She pulled up a chair to sit by the bedside.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, you can go home now. I¡¯ll stay here with your father,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Yu Luocheng replied. ¡°Not like there¡¯s school tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°All the same, everyone crowding in here will only make it hard for your father to relax. Go on, run along,¡± Li Yun insisted.


    On second thought, Yu Luocheng felt that might be the right idea. If Yu Jing started on this story about his past, it might take a while. Not to say he didn¡¯t want to hear it, but it wouldn¡¯t help him to recover any faster.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow morning, then.¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: The author mostly refers to Yu Luocheng¡¯s parents by name, rather than ¡®mother¡¯ or ¡®father¡¯, so I¡¯ve been following suit. I¡¯m not sure if that sounds unnatural to anyone.)


    ***


    Yu Luocheng left the ward, closing the door quietly behind himself. It was only when he¡¯d walked out of the hospital that he realized he¡¯d left his phone by the sick bed.


    Hence, he turned back.


    He heard Li Yun¡¯s voice when he returned to the ward. For some reason, his hand froze over the door handle.


    ¡°That brother of yours, some family he is. He¡¯s the elder brother, but he¡¯s making such a big fuss over lending us this tiny amount of money, even now that his own flesh and blood has been hospitalized.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    ¡°No big deal? I¡¯ve just spoken with the head doctor. He says they¡¯ll have to operate. There¡¯s no way Doctor Fong would lie about this sort of thing!¡±


    A silence fell over the ward.


    ¡°How much will that cost us?¡± Yu Jing asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll only know tomorrow. At least five figures, maybe more, they said¡­¡±


    ¡°Is Yu Yu having any problems?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s doing fine, don¡¯t worry about her.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ll also need to set aside some money for Yu Luocheng to go to university.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s months away. Put it aside for now,¡± Li Yun said.


    ¡°No! Put it aside? I¡¯m not putting it aside!¡± Yu Jing raised his voice.


    ¡°Your health takes priority. Our family isn¡¯t so helpless. In two or three months, we¡¯ll be able to raise enough money for his tuition fees. If he gets a scholarship, we¡¯ll barely have to pay for anything. Oh, look at you. What am I supposed to say? Look, times have changed, now. People have changed.¡±


    ¡°And if things don¡¯t go that smoothly?¡±


    ¡°You just can¡¯t let go of what happened to you.¡±


    Yu Jing made no reply to this.


    ¡°Money matters can be settled later. First, we¡¯ll see you cured. Let¡¯s have no more fuss out of you!¡± With that stern declaration, Li Yun decided the issue.


    ***


    Neither of them noticed the door quietly being closed shut, nor the faint footsteps disappearing down the corridor.

 Chapter 43 - Team Scarlet’s Support

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was already late in the night, but the Dragon Rising was still lit up brightly.


    What with all the people there who would be playing LOL overnight, there was a great lot of shouting and hollering going on even well past midnight.


    ¡°Hey, screw you! Always hooking me over!¡±


    ¡°Damn it, why didn¡¯t you attack!¡±


    ¡°Ulti, ulti, ulti!¡±


    Standing before the shopfront, Yu Luocheng¡¯s shadow stretched long across the street in the dim lamplight, falling across the poster for the Coca Cola Cup.


    Yu Luocheng lifted his head to read the details of the tournament.


    He could no longer remember how old he was when he first started loitering around cyber caf¨¦s. He¡¯d begun by watching others play from behind their shoulders, until he¡¯d eventually started playing himself. His string of achievements had earned him prestige, until he¡¯d finally gone professional.


    And then, suddenly, he¡¯d returned to being a student again, leaving behind the glitz and glamor of the pro-gaming world that few even knew about.


    ***


    Over in Section C, the members of Team Scarlet were training hard until daybreak, as always.


    Earlier that evening, Commander Qin had managed to recruit a decent Support player. With the tournament just around the corner, he¡¯d ordered all the members to assemble and work on their teamwork, especially with the new Support player on the team.


    ¡°How is it? Have I ever brought you anything but the best?¡± Huang Mi asked with a smile. ¡°Wu Kai is a regular Ranked player, and his actual skill is above his current placing. You know how hard it is for Support players to ascend through the ranks. His problem is that he doesn¡¯t have a good team to play with.¡±


    This was the ¡®Brother Mi¡¯ that Seth was always sucking up to. He had a strange name, and a strange character . 1


    Yin Qin nodded. ¡°Not bad. Let¡¯s put him in for now.¡±


    Typically, one¡¯s Ranked score was an indication of individual ability. However, there were players who were highly skilled, but had difficulty advancing further. There were many possible reasons, so Ranked score alone was not always enough to measure the worth of a player.


    Wu Kai turned around in his seat to join the conversation. ¡°Commander, I don¡¯t work for free. Recently, I¡¯ve found a girl, and she¡¯s burning a hole in my pocket. How much will you pay me to be a part of Team Scarlet?¡± Straight to the point.


    ¡°Pay will be on a monthly basis. Prize money is split evenly between the whole team,¡± Yin Qin answered.


    ¡°No way, I need cash right now. Relax, with Wu Kai on your side, victory is guaranteed. Dawn, Aviator, EZ¡­ I¡¯ll beat them all into a pulp for you. We¡¯ll win Bottom lane every time.¡±


    ¡°How much do you want?¡± Qin asked.


    ¡°Two thousand, to start with. For now, let¡¯s say two thousand as spending money.¡± That was the starting price.


    It was obvious that not only did Kai think very highly of his own skills, he also felt certain that Commander Qin couldn¡¯t refuse him.


    If he wasn¡¯t willing to pay, no matter. Wu Kai had received invitations from various capable teams¡ªhe still had other options.


    ¡°Alright, two thousand it is. But if you cut and run, you should know what I¡¯ll do.¡± Gritting his teeth, Yin Qin pulled out his wallet.


    ¡°Rest assured. Wu Kai¡¯s abilities are far beyond any mere Support player. Assign me to whichever lane you wish, and victory will always be the result.¡± His eyes were fixed eagerly on the sheaf of red notes in Qin¡¯s hand.


    Yin Qin counted out the money, gave Kai a look, and was just about to hand over the cash when someone else walked up to him.


    For a moment, he stared at the unfathomable young man who stood before him.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, my boy¡­ why haven¡¯t you left yet?¡±


    ¡°I need money.¡± Yu Luocheng fixed Commander Qin with a level gaze, his voice solemn.


    ¡°For what? How much?¡±


    ¡°My dad¡¯s ill. Thirty thousand.¡±


    Standing at the side, Huang Mi stared at Yu Luocheng, amazed at what a lunatic this schoolboy must be, demanding money from Commander Qin¡ªand thirty thousand, at that!


    Before Huang Mi had even finished that thought, Yin Qin put the two thousand down on the table, and pulled out a blue card from his wallet.


    ¡°The password is five 5s. There¡¯s only twenty thousand in there, but I¡¯ll get someone to pass you the remaining ten thousand tomorrow.¡± And then Yin Qin handed the card to Yu Luocheng.


    Huang Mi and Wu Kai were both dumbstruck, seeing this.


    Commander Qin had just given this kid a card with twenty thousand bucks in it, just like that?


    When Wu Kai had asked him for two thousand, Qin had hesitated for an eternity, uttering threats and warnings.


    This pip-squeak wandered over and said thirty thousand, and suddenly Yin Qin was pulling a card out of his wallet, and would even find someone to pass over the remaining ten thousand¡­


    ¡­ Commander Qin must be out of his mind!


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Yu Luocheng put the card away carefully, and then glanced at the money Yin Qin had placed on Wu Kai¡¯s table.


    He stepped forward, picked up the money, and placed it back into Commander Qin¡¯s hand, right in front of Wu Kai. Then he turned and strode off, leaving Huang Mi and Kai in a state of shock.


    ***


    ¡°Commander, that money was for me. Why did you take it back?¡± In view of this abrupt turn of events, Wu Kai frantically sought an explanation from Commander Qin.


    ¡°Team Scarlet has no vacancies at the moment,¡± Yin Qin replied.


    ¡°No vacancies? I thought you guys were looking someone to play Support!¡± Kai couldn¡¯t make sense of what was happening.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got someone.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°That one who just made off with my card,¡± Qin said.


    ¡°That schoolboy? He¡¯s going to be playing Support for Team Scarlet?¡± Huang Mi felt he must have heard wrong.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s still a student at the moment. Wu Kai, if there¡¯s nothing else, you can go now.¡±


    ¡°Are you asking me to leave?¡± Kai jabbed a fingertip against his own nose.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Commander Qin nodded.


    ¡°Commander, are you feeling alright? You can¡¯t seriously believe that kid is my equal at this game!¡± Wu Kai was losing his temper, pointing angrily at Qin. ¡°I offered my services to Team Scarlet because I¡¯d heard of your reputation.


    ¡°The truth is that I¡¯ve received other offers from elsewhere that were just as good, but I came all this way for you. I¡¯ve played in trial matches, answered your questions, jumped through all your hoops¡­ and then some kid shows up, no introduction, not a single test match, and you choose him over me!¡±


    The commander had appearances to consider. To have someone waving a finger in his face and accusing him of not being in the right mind, his expression turned dark, and he boomed, ¡°I¡¯m going to show you some mercy for Huang Mi¡¯s sake. You¡¯d better start running, right now!¡±


    If he hadn¡¯t kicked out their last Support in a fit of foul temper, Yin Qin wouldn¡¯t have been so desperate to find a replacement. Something about Wu Kai had rubbed him the wrong way the moment he¡¯d laid eyes on him, but with the tournament almost upon them, he¡¯d been forced to go along with it.


    Yin Qin¡¯s voice was thunderous. When he ordered Wu Kai to get lost, the whole cyber caf¨¦ heard it. Now, everyone was craning their heads to see who had pissed off Commander Qin.


    Wu Kai could feel his face burning, but he didn¡¯t dare to make any moves against Commander Qin. In a rage, he blustered, ¡°Alright¡­ alright, Mr Qin. Just you wait. I¡¯m going over to Team Dawn, and if we don¡¯t mash your Team Scarlet into the mud, I¡¯ll lick your feet!¡±


    ¡°Keep your filthy tongue to yourself.¡± Yin Qin turned away. It was clear that Wu Kai was no threat to him.

 Chapter 44 - : Defeat Is Not An Option!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Clad in a long white coat, Head Doctor Fong walked out of the ward, followed by a female intern who was making notes on a clipboard.


    Li Yun immediately came rushing up to him, her face creased with concern. ¡°Is it¡­ is it really that bad?¡± she asked.


    Seeing Li Yun¡¯s haunted expression, Doctor Fong spoke with some exasperation. ¡°Ah, you¡¯ll have to find the money somehow. First, we¡¯ll complete this operation. Anything else after that¡­ you¡¯ll have to figure it out yourselves.¡±


    ¡°How much will it cost this time?¡±


    ¡°The operation itself will cost quite a bit. Long-term care afterwards will incur many costs not covered by medical insurance. Old Jing¡¯s insurance records are a mess¡­ If he¡¯d been keeping up with all his payments, then this treatment wouldn¡¯t take more than twenty thousand. By the look of things, thirty or forty thousand may be needed instead.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. He was well aware that his liver was malfunctioning, so he should have known to settle these insurance matters ahead of time. What¡¯s worse, the antibiotics he was given previously aren¡¯t effective anymore, and the new medicines he needs aren¡¯t really covered. We can go back to the old stuff anyway, but I can¡¯t guarantee it¡¯ll work.¡± Doctor Fong didn¡¯t hide the scornful accusation in his voice.


    Doctor Fong and Yu Jing were well-acquainted by now. For some time now, he¡¯d been telling Yu Jing to look after his health, but his words had fallen on deaf ears, and now tragedy had struck after all!


    ¡°Earlier, you mentioned a transplant¡­¡± Li Yun¡¯s voice faltered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how this operation goes, first. Sigh, Miss Li¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter what you say. Your time would be better spent scraping together the money you need. It¡¯s always hard to say exactly how medical costs will turn out.¡±


    Li Yun nodded, and said nothing more.


    Returning to the ward, she saw Yu Jing lying in bed, appearing to be in excruciating agony. It was difficult to watch.


    She didn¡¯t have much experience with loaning money.


    Their household could neither be considered rich nor poor. They managed to get by. As their children grew, the costs multiplied. It was difficult to put any money away¡ªthey seemed to be constantly spending it all.


    It would have been fine if they could have kept on going like that, but when a real emergency cropped up, requiring any large sum of money, it could be a deathblow when they didn¡¯t have any great means to begin with.


    Li Yun had been content with her lot in life. Sometimes she saw certain relatives scrambling here and there to borrow money, and she felt sorry for them. She¡¯d have lent them some if she¡¯d had any to spare.


    She¡¯d never imagined that one day, it would be her turn!


    If she went before her friends and family to beg for the money she needed, how would they regard her? Yu Jing¡¯s attitude and temper had offended no small number of people. They might even rejoice to see him in dire straits now. One could never tell, with people.


    ***


    Leaving the hospital, Li Yun looked up into the glare of the sun, uncertain which way she should go first.


    Thirty or forty thousand¡­ it wasn¡¯t too much to ask for, but neither was it an inconsequential amount. She wasn¡¯t acquainted with many wealthy people, and even if they had the money, that didn¡¯t mean they would lend it to her. It was harder to get money from the rich than the poor.


    ¡°Li Yun!¡±


    As she stood there in a stupor, someone walked towards her.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t Mr Guan¡­¡± Li Yun saw who it was, and greeted him half-heartedly.


    ¡°I heard Yu Jing¡¯s sick. I¡¯m here to see him.¡±


    Mr Guan was a senior citizen in his golden years. Back when this area was covered in two-story houses, everyone knew each other. Now, everyone was crammed together in high-rise apartments, but they talked to one another a lot less often.


    ¡°Go ahead. He¡¯s in Ward 303,¡± Li Yun said.


    ¡°Um¡­ how are you doing, financially?¡± Mr Guan leaned in to whisper. ¡°I heard an operation might be necessary. That can¡¯t be cheap.¡±


    Li Yun forced a wan smile. ¡°We¡¯ll manage.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got forty thousand bucks, just lying around. If you need it, it¡¯s yours.¡±


    She froze, staring agape at Mr Guan¡¯s wrinkled, spotted face.


    Just as she was wondering where to get the money, Mr Guan was suddenly here to offer it to her?


    She didn¡¯t recall him to be a wealthy man, himself. How did he come to have forty thousand, ¡®just lying around¡¯?


    ¡°Heh, heh¡­ Take this card. The password is five 5s. Go on, take it. We¡¯re neighbors, after all. Don¡¯t sweat it. When my arthritis was acting up, wasn¡¯t it your little Yu Luocheng who carried me to the hospital? Otherwise, I¡¯d have bought the farm right there, in that shabby little room.¡± Mr Guan beamed from ear to ear.


    Li Yun took the card that was worth forty thousand, but didn¡¯t know what to say. Already, her vision was swimming with tears.


    ¡°Mr Guan, I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ don¡¯t know what I should say. Thank you¡­ thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no need to thank me. Really, it¡¯s nothing, no trouble at all. I¡¯m not in any urgent need of money, myself. You can take as long as you need to pay me back. I just remembered I have something to do, so I¡¯ll be off now.¡± Before Li Yun could thank him further, Mr Guan hurried off down another road.


    Li Yun stood there holding the card for a long time. The incredible timing of this windfall had left her stunned with disbelief, and speechless with joy!


    Honestly speaking, the thought of going to her relatives for help had been hard for her to stomach. With this, her troubles were greatly alleviated.


    Thrilled, Li Yun raced towards the bank. She wondered if this might be Mr Guan¡¯s idea of a prank, because as far as she knew, there was no way he could possibly have forty thousand to lend to her.


    ***


    After Li Yun had left, Yu Luocheng quietly stepped out from behind the advertisement panel of a nearby bus stop.


    Watching her depart, he recalled the sight of that look in her eyes. It felt like there was a palpable weight in his heart.


    Commander Qin was not a rich man. He¡¯d had to borrow that last ten thousand from somebody, so that he could go on to lend it to Yu Luocheng.


    A staggering sum of money like this could reduce a modest household like Yu Luocheng¡¯s to destitution¡ªwhat more a man like Yin Qin, with so many depending upon him for their survival?


    He had to return that money as soon as possible.


    Standing in the shadow behind the vertical panel, Yu Luocheng stared at his own hands for a long time.


    How was he going to pay it back? By getting a job?


    With a monthly salary of a thousand-odd bucks, what could he get done? He was barely a high-school graduate, with no skills to speak of.


    There was only one thing he was really good at, and for a period of time it had once been his goal in life, but his parents, his family, his teachers¡­ all had sneered upon it.


    Yu Luocheng wondered, if Yu Jing caught him in the cyber caf¨¦, training day and night at that accursed game, would the pain in his expression perhaps be worse than anything he¡¯d suffered because of his ailing liver?


    He was so determined to get Yu Luocheng into a university, that even on the sick bed, he was still talking about test results and places to go.


    He couldn¡¯t bear to disappoint his father anymore. Frankly, one could say that Yu Luocheng himself was a main cause for his deteriorating health. It had taken an exorbitant fee to transfer Yu Luocheng from a second-rate school to a top-tier one¡ªmoney that could have gone to his medical bills instead¡­


    It was his own delinquency that resulted in his father lying there in that hospital bed now, wracked with unspeakable torment. He couldn¡¯t be allowed to see Yu Luocheng doing that thing he hated the most.


    But just once more. Just this one more time.


    For no other reason whatsoever, other than that prize money!


    Defeat was not an option!

 Chapter 45 - The Tournament Begins!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The LoL tournament began with great fanfare and pageantry, starting with the mismatched battles of the preliminary rounds.


    Today was the 11th, and the major cyber caf¨¦s (or net caf¨¦s) across Lecheng might as well be on fire. It had been years since any of these places had seen such crowds and merriment¡ªto think that all this was thanks to some MOBA game¡­


    Today, the owner of the Dragon Rising Net Caf¨¦, Tang Nan, was present. How long had it been since he last saw a whole bunch of people gathered in anticipation before a bank of computers?


    The hundred-over computers in the net caf¨¦ were all occupied by LoL players. Anyone who had come here to play something else felt smothered by the atmosphere, as though not playing LoL made you some inferior class of person.


    ¡°I say,¡± Tang Nan remarked, ¡°Those contests we held in the past¡­ despite all our begging and pleading, we could barely draw in a handful of teams, and the event was basically a failure. I never imagined LoL would be this popular, with more than seventy teams taking part, along with such a massive number of spectators.¡± He was beaming widely.


    ¡°Exactly. So many people play this game, and with so much competitive spirit. If our Dragon Rising manages to become ¡®Lecheng¡¯s Number 1¡¯, where else will the LoL enthusiasts flock to?¡± Yin Qin said.


    Tang Nan¡¯s smile grew even wider. The cyber caf¨¦ business had been struggling these past few years, partly due to increased competition, but also because it was becoming ever more common for people to have a computer at home.


    Later on, once everyone had their own computers, what choice would they have but to close down the cyber caf¨¦?


    Therefore, developing the cyber caf¨¦ into a MOBA-gaming center seemed to be a very promising avenue to explore.


    ***


    The tournament matches would take place at the MOBA-gaming computers in Section B. There would be eight teams involved, which meant a total of four matches.


    The top ten teams in the Dragon Rising Net Caf¨¦ would all receive some sort of prize. The top three teams would go on to face off against the rest of the Lecheng region.


    By and large, it was already known which were the best teams in the Dragon Rising, and some people had already made their own predictive rankings.


    The first match began at ten in the morning. After drawing lots, the two teams that would be going first comprised a group of young men, under the team name ¡®Ghoul¡¯s Fang¡¯, and what looked like a bunch of newly graduated high-school students, who¡¯d formed the ¡®Jack of Hearts¡¯.


    When the members of the Ghoul¡¯s Fang saw the fresh-faced children they¡¯d been matched against, they grinned, confident that victory was already in the bag.


    The schoolboys, meanwhile, looked tense and high-strung. They followed the instructions from the cyber caf¨¦ staff to the letter, as though fearful that the slightest error might result in them being disqualified.


    The format was a typical Custom game, with one of the staff setting up a private game lobby.


    Inside the lobby were ten game accounts, each one fully levelled up, with a complete set of Runes¡ªthere was no need for players to bring out their own accounts. All they had to do was sit at their assigned places, and use the accounts provided to play.


    A placard had been placed above each computer, displaying the team name as well as the name of that team member.


    Although not exactly standard tournament practice, this way of doing things was simple and straightforward, and it was alright because it was still just the qualifying round¡ªeven this much already represented a step above what you¡¯d usually expect to see.


    The ¡®Ghoul¡¯s Fang¡¯ and ¡®Jack of Hearts¡¯ members found their places, as did the remaining six teams who would be competing first.


    ¡°Absolutely no substitutions will be allowed. Only registered contestants will be allowed to play. No last-minute changes!¡± Some official-sounding rules were being read aloud on the event floor.


    ¡°All the computers have been subjected to stringent inspection. There should be no technical issues. If any difficulties arise during the match, such as lag, frozen displays, disconnections and so on, the game will proceed regardless. As such, be sure that you don¡¯t kick the power plug loose in your excitement.


    ¡°We require all players to maintain civilized conduct. No cursing or insults against your opponents. Any violators will be instantly disqualified.¡±


    When the staff member had finished reading out these general guidelines, Ghoul¡¯s Fang and Jack of Hearts were the first to enter Champion Selection, starting with the Banning Phase.


    Obviously, the first teams to play attracted a huge swarm of spectators. Soon, there were countless people crowding in behind the ¡®Ghoul¡¯s Fang¡¯ and the ¡®Jack of Hearts¡¯ teams. Many among the audience seemed to be knowledgeable players themselves, squinting closely and rubbing their jaws, discussing both teams¡¯ choices.


    The Jack of Hearts¡¯ line-up wasn¡¯t even a real team composition. One could already tell the outcome of this match from the selection itself.


    Elsewhere, Team ¡®ATM¡¯ was also drawing comments over their own champion selections.


    ¡°Master Yi? Choosing Master Yi during a tournament¡­ are they hoping to sneak in a few towers 1 , or what?¡±


    ¡± AP Yi 1 . Probably Mid.¡±


    ¡°Haha, the other team straight-away chose Annie. She¡¯s gonna make Master Yi her bitch.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just kids. If you took Master Yi into Ranked, you¡¯d be laughed out of the room, but here they are¡­¡±


    ¡°The ATM players don¡¯t look that young. Why are they picking like noobs?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re university students on break. I rarely see them training in here, so they probably just play together from home. Once you saw them pick Master Yi, you could tell they¡¯re nothing to worry about.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Damn, six minutes and they¡¯ve already lost Mid. The Jack of Hearts Mid player doesn¡¯t even dare to come outside anymore.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Oh, ATM¡¯s Master Yi is going Jungler. Cool, so Annie will be facing Lux in Mid? I thought Lux was going Support.¡±


    ***


    ¡°What an unpredictable team. Surrender at 20.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Mike¡¯s team seems to have run into some pros. It¡¯s been a while now, and still no one¡¯s coming out ahead.¡±


    ***


    From ten in the morning until five in the afternoon, the players in the MOBA-gaming section rotated constantly. Many who¡¯d arrived in high spirits ended up leaving with their heads hanging glumly.


    Those teams which had been eliminated would still get a chance to play again, if they paid an additional fee of three hundred, allowing them another shot at the qualifiers.


    Should they meet with misfortune again, a further six hundred bucks would be needed to stay in the game.


    The cyber caf¨¦ management wouldn¡¯t be collecting these extra fees for their own gain¡ªrather, it would all go into the prize money for the top three teams.


    On the first day, there were numerous teams that refused to give up despite being eliminated. They paid the three hundred straight up, unwilling to call it quits until they¡¯d reached the semi-finals, at least.


    Other teams, having clearly seen what a far cry they were from the true experts, realized that paying any more money was only asking to have their asses handed to them again. Holding back tears, they departed that merciless field of death.


    The matches would resume from seven in the evening, all the way until around eleven at night.


    Throughout the first day of the tournament, the Dragon Rising was veritably packed full to bursting. On a hot day like this, the air-conditioning alone wasn¡¯t enough for everyone to keep cool, thus allowing the chilling effects of Coca-Cola to be inflicted upon many. In this way, the scorching heat of summer was kept under control, not to mention the fires of battle which raged across the competition floor.


    If the cyber caf¨¦s in every major city were seeing the same circumstances, the consumption of Coca-Cola this season would be without equal.


    Team Scarlet would be playing tonight.


    Many people were looking forward to that match. Some purposely stayed behind even after their own matches had concluded, curious to see if the Team Scarlet that everyone seemed to hold in such high regard was really all that. Just how badly could they beat their opponents¡ªand how would they go about it?


    ¡°I heard that Team Scarlet just picked up a new Support.¡±


    ¡°I saw him. I think he was training in Section C this afternoon. Looked like a schoolboy.¡±


    Already, word was spreading.


    ¡°That¡¯s because he is a schoolboy.¡±


    ¡°Is he good?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. That day, I saw Commander Qin in a quarrel with Wu Kai. Maybe he just couldn¡¯t find a suitable player, so he picked some random guy to fill the spot.¡±

 Chapter 46 - The New Kid

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Commander Qin.¡± A skinny-looking young man walked into Section C, intercepting Yin Qin.


    ¡°How is it? See any strong teams out there?¡± Yin Qin inquired.


    Yin Qin was not so arrogant as to believe that they could effortlessly take down every single team in the Dragon Rising. There were elite lone wolves wandering the place too¡ªif they formed into a team and played a few games together, it would be unwise to underestimate them.


    ¡°That ATM team is pretty good,¡± the skinny one replied.


    Nicknamed Kitten, he was the archetypal unemployed loafer, loitering around cyber caf¨¦s, sometimes working behind the counter to earn a bit of cash, occasionally assisting Yin Qin with something or other.


    ¡°Oh, that bunch of university students?¡± Yin Qin¡¯s eyebrows rose.


    It was essentially impossible to find elite players from amongst the ranks of high-school students, since they didn¡¯t have the time to play.


    University students were a different matter, especially the ones in their third or fourth year, who had all the time in the world to play LoL. Many of the top Ranked players were still in university.


    On that topic, a particular saying had been gaining some popularity: It was said that those university players who were most skilled at LoL, were also developing the knack to take their fortunes into their own hands.


    Ah, and Yu Luocheng was soon to join their proud number. He shouldn¡¯t be led astray.


    Kitten described Team ATM in exact detail, ¡°Right from the start, they picked Master Yi, to which Annie was the response. Later, it turned out that Master Yi would be Jungling with Teleport.


    ¡°Several times they won in Mid, with Yi either joining the fight or Teleporting somewhere, forcing 4v2 or 4v3 situations. Twice they dove the enemy¡¯s Tower to secure a kill, with Master Yi using Meditate to tank the Tower¡¯s attacks. Team Pride lost their Bottom lane completely.¡±


    Team ¡®Pride¡¯ was the one that Huang Mi was in. They should be among the top five teams in the Dragon Rising, but they¡¯d gotten their butts kicked by a bunch of university boys.


    Commander Qin nodded. ¡°Right, we¡¯ll have to keep a close eye on these ATM guys.¡±


    He¡¯d been sending people to gather information on the stronger teams in the Dragon Rising. It was critical to know one¡¯s enemies as well as oneself.


    ***


    ¡°Commander, isn¡¯t it our turn now?¡± The ADC of Team Scarlet smiled lazily at Yin Qin.


    Their ADC was nearly the same age as Yu Luocheng, a guy by the name of Xue Haiyang. He was also a university student on summer break. Usually, he spent his summers working for Qin to earn some spending money.


    ¡°Right. Speaking of which, why hasn¡¯t our Support player shown up yet?¡± the team leader Huang Yu asked. He himself played AP Solo Mid.


    ¡°No problem, it¡¯s just qualifiers. Even 4v5, we¡¯ll still get an easy win, hahaha!¡± their Jungler, Xiao Dao, declared.


    Xiao Dao had been with Commander Qin the longest, one of the original members farming online games in his workshop, now re-assigned to play League of Legends.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down,¡± Yin Qin said. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll definitely be here.¡± Even as he said this, he was already moving out, leading his four men of Team Scarlet to the MOBA-gaming computers in Section B.


    Yin Qin was a stickler for details. Since their team name was ¡®Scarlet¡¯, all the team members were wearing shirts the color of freshly spilled blood.


    Xue Haiyang, Xiao Dao, Huang Yu, and Xiao Tongtong had each made their names in the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦ long ago . 1 Each of them was undoubtedly an elite LoL player.


    When they entered behind Commander Qin, wearing those blood-red T-shirts, there was an aura about them that caused people in the aisle to move out of their way.


    ¡°Here comes Team Scarlet!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, scarlet uniforms! Why didn¡¯t I think of preparing a team uniform!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re so cool! That¡¯s what you call ¡®elite¡¯. When their enemies see them dressed like that, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they wet their pants!¡±


    A young man, caught in the frenetic action of his own game, turned when he heard that Team Scarlet had appeared, gazing in awe at these legendary players. When they were out of sight, he returned his attention to his own screen, where an angry text message had appeared in the chat window: ¡°What the hell kind of Support are you, damn it! You don¡¯t want to play anymore, so you die, AFK, and let them have a Tower? Are you trolling?¡±


    Face frozen, the young man didn¡¯t know how to explain himself.


    ***


    There were people all along the aisle in this section, but they hurried to get out of the way of the oncoming parade of scarlet uniforms. Of course, as regular patrons here in this cyber caf¨¦, they were friends with many of the audience, and they exchanged smiles and greetings as they walked past.


    ¡°So this is the strongest team in the Dragon Rising?¡± Amongst the crowd, a pretty girl with long, flowing hair whispered to the watchful man by her side.


    ¡°Exactly, exactly. Previously, during friendly matches within this cyber caf¨¦, Team Scarlet joined in the fighting, and wiped out pretty much everyone else!¡± Wang Qin gushed.


    As he spoke, he noticed Yin Qin looking their way. He nodded faintly at the long-haired beauty.


    ¡°Eh, Commander Qin knows you?¡± Wang Qin exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯ve met him once. It¡¯s actually Yu Luocheng who knows him,¡± Yang Qianqian replied.


    Back then, when Yu Luocheng brought Yang Qianqian to meet Yin Qin in Section C, the only thing she knew was that they were a strong team. She hadn¡¯t realized that they commanded such prestige within the Dragon Rising, the assumed champions-to-be.


    It was also only now that she was starting to understand what it had really meant, for Commander Qin to have extended an invitation for Yu Luocheng to join them.


    ¡°How would Yu Luocheng know Commander Qin?¡± Wang Qin¡¯s confusion had only deepened. However, he didn¡¯t dwell on the matter. Turning to Sun Yang, beside him, he said, ¡°You suck the most. Team Scarlet¡¯s match will be starting soon. Hurry up and go find a spot behind them, so you can watch how their pro Support plays. What are you still doing here?¡±


    Sun Yang cast a hapless look towards Yang Qianqian, reluctantly moving to enter the fray. It was fortunate that he was blessed with the natural advantage of height, so that even if he couldn¡¯t get that close, he could still see what was going on.


    ¡°Something¡¯s off, here.¡± Wang Qin counted the team members again. ¡°Commander Qin is the coach, so he shouldn¡¯t be playing. Does that mean Team Scarlet is only fielding four people for this game?¡±


    Others had noticed the same problem. Everyone had heard that Team Scarlet had found themselves a new Support player, but few had actually ever seen him.


    ¡°Commander Qin, why do you only have four players here?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s on his way,¡± Yin Qin answered shortly.


    ¡°Who¡¯s your new Support? I heard that it¡¯s Wu Kai?¡±


    ¡°Idiot, Wu Kai was given the boot by the commander, just the other day¡ªhow could it possibly be him?¡±


    ¡°Then who?¡±


    ¡°Someone amazing. Better than Wu Kai, even?¡±


    Under this deluge of questions, Yin Qin smiled without reply, effecting an air of mystery.


    Of course, in his heart he was grumbling, ¡®Screw this! When is that bum Yu Luocheng going to show up? Are we really going 4v5, here?¡¯


    He wasn¡¯t picking up his phone. This was a big damn joke he was playing, here!

 Chapter 47 - Wrong Seat?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At the Central Hospital, Yu Luocheng was carefully helping Yu Jing back into bed.


    He took out his handphone for a look. It was already eight.


    ¡°Oops.¡± He clapped a hand to his forehead. Looking after his dad had taken longer than he¡¯d expected.


    Yu Luocheng hurried out of the hospital, hailed a taxi cab, and sped towards the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦.


    Aboard the taxi, he frantically made a call to Commander Qin.


    A dozen missed calls, all from Qin. Yu Luocheng was in a panic.


    The call went through, and Yin Qin¡¯s voice came over the line. ¡°Hey, hey! What¡¯s up with you, kid? You didn¡¯t pick up your phone! The game¡¯s about the begin!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the taxi. I¡¯ll be there right away!¡± Yu Luocheng turned to the driver. ¡°Sir, please hurry.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ***


    Over at the Dragon Rising, Commander Qin held onto his easy smile in the face of a crowd of suspicious stares.


    Team Scarlet would be facing Team Pride.


    That was Huang Mi¡¯s team, which had lost to Team ATM earlier in the day. Naturally dissatisfied at being defeated, Huang Mi had immediately thrown down three hundred bucks to rejoin the tournament.


    After the match-ups were re-shuffled, Huang Mi and his four teammates were in despair¡ªthey¡¯d be up against Team Scarlet! Three hundred bucks, down the drain!


    Huang Mi¡¯s team was considered one of the strongest ones in this territory, and should have been a shoe-in for the semi-finals¡­ but after suffering a surprise defeat to the dark horse Team ATM, they would next have to fight against Commander Qin¡¯s Team Scarlet!


    If it hadn¡¯t been Huang Mi¡¯s own hand which had drawn that number, he¡¯d think the cyber caf¨¦ staff were out to get him.


    ¡°Brother Mi, it looks like something might have happened to their Support. He probably won¡¯t make it for the game. We¡¯ve still got a chance!¡± Lin Xu whispered to Huang Mi from behind.


    5v4. Huang Mi felt confident he could handle Team Scarlet, with those odds.


    Was their Support really not coming?


    ***


    Yu Luocheng raced for the Dragon Rising like his feet were on fire. Even at the stairs, he could already hear the commotion raging within, as though everyone had lost their minds.


    Inside, it was a thriving sea of people. It was hard to get through the press of bodies over in Section B.


    ¡°It¡¯s crazy in here¡­¡± Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t expected to see something like this. With a herculean effort, he managed to squeeze through the sweaty, smelly crowd until he reached the barrier.


    ¡°Stay back, stay back! Only contestants are allowed in here. All spectators must stay outside the barrier!¡± Noticing Yu Luocheng¡¯s advance, a staff member warned him off with a frown.


    Nearby, Zhao Kesong¡¯s sharp eyes spotted a familiar face near the edge of the crowd.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Yu Luocheng?¡± Zhao Kesong piped.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, Yu Luocheng! We¡¯re over here! Come over here and watch with us!¡± Wang Qin saw him too, and raised his voice to holler over the roar of the crowd.


    Sun Yang, Yang Qianqian, and Cao Sheng waved for him to see.


    Yu Luocheng laughed to see them. ¡°I¡¯m playing in the tournament.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you?¡± Wang Qin nodded, as though remembering something, and then asked, ¡°So which team are you on?¡±


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, play your best! You have to keep going! Team ¡®Bone Dragon¡¯ has been wiped out!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, all our hopes are on you. Fight in the name of Class 8!¡± Several of his classmates were cheering him on.


    ¡°By the way, if Yu Luocheng¡¯s playing right now, and that awesome Team Scarlet is also playing¡­ which game do we watch?¡± Sun Yang had happened upon a very good question indeed.


    It was four simultaneous games between eight teams. They watched as Yu Luocheng wandered between the rows of computers, as though unsure of which team he belonged to.


    ¡°Obviously we watch Team Scarlet,¡± Zhao Kesong said. ¡°Yu Luocheng¡¯s probably just joined up with any random team. No matter how well he plays, it¡¯ll be nothing compared to Team Scarlet vs. Team Pride.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s stay and watch Team Scarlet¡¯s game. It wasn¡¯t easy to get these front-row seats.¡±


    ¡°Yang Qianqian, what do you think?¡± Wang Qin turned to her, but she was already pushing her way through towards Yu Luocheng. There was no need to hear her reply.


    However, before she got very far, she saw Yu Luocheng coming right back again.


    Scratching his head in embarrassment, he hurried up to Yang Qianqian and the others, tittered awkwardly, and then sat down in the empty seat where Team Scarlet¡¯s Support player should be!


    Seeing this, Wang Qin was taken aback for a moment, and then he shouted, ¡°Yu Luocheng, you¡¯re in the wrong seat! That one¡¯s for the Team Scarlet Support!¡±


    Zhao Kesong, Cao Sheng, Fang Xiaomei, and Zhong Xiaoyun were also clamoring to inform him of his mistake.


    ¡°That idiot! Doesn¡¯t even know which team he¡¯s on, so he runs over to Team Scarlet and sits in one of their places. Does he really think he¡¯s that good?¡± Feng Xiaoqing of Class 3 was here as well. Seeing which seat Yu Luocheng had finally chosen, he immediately burst out laughing.


    Yang Qianqian¡¯s sharp ears caught this remark, and she turned to glare at him.


    ¡°Team Scarlet, are all your team members present?¡± one of the event coordinators asked.


    Commander Qin was on the phone. Just as he was about to reply ¡®Not yet,¡¯ he saw Yu Luocheng taking his place at the table. Hurriedly, he nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, everyone¡¯s here.¡±


    And then Yin Qin walked over to Yu Luocheng and clapped a hand down heavily upon his shoulder. ¡°You think you¡¯re an AP Master Yi, showing up at the last second like this? You scared me half to death.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sorry. I was held up at the hospital,¡± Yu Luocheng stammered in apology. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go.¡±


    ¡°Adjudicator, our Support player Yu Luocheng has arrived. We may begin!¡± Commander Qin called out to the coordinator.


    After he¡¯d spoken, a great hubbub arose from the surrounding spectators.


    ¡°He¡¯s that new Support for Team Scarlet?¡±


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s just a schoolboy. He isn¡¯t even wearing their uniform.¡±


    ¡°Where did this kid pop out from? I¡¯ve never seen him before.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like anything special. Maybe he¡¯s here to get carried 1 ?¡±


    As the crowd gabbled away, the spectators from Class 8¡ªZhao Kesong, Cao Sheng, Fang Xiaomei, Zhong Xiaoyun, and Wang Qin¡ªwere staring with eyes as wide as dinner plates!


    At length, Wang Qin swore vehemently. ¡°Hot damn, he got into Team Scarlet!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. How could he have made it into Team Scarlet? It¡¯s not possible!¡± Zhao Kesong screeched.


    ¡°Commander Wang, you instructed me to observe how the Team Scarlet Support player plays¡­ isn¡¯t that just Yu Luocheng, though?¡± Sun Yang said.


    Having just been sneering at Yu Luocheng a moment ago, Feng Xiaoqing was now in a state of utter shock.


    What in the world was going on, here? That¡­ that fool wasn¡¯t in the wrong place? He actually was the Team Scarlet Support?


    Feng Xiaoqing had recently been spending a lot of time in the cyber caf¨¦ as well, tagging along after Lin Xu, and he¡¯d gradually come to understand that the difference between squabbling schoolkids and the elite players of the Dragon Rising was the distance between heaven and earth.


    The team that he¡¯d been in, under Lin Xu, had been torn to pieces that afternoon by some second-rate contender. Feng Xiaoqing realized that meant his team was less than trash, in the pecking order of the Dragon Rising.


    It had been a painful lesson, to have been beaten so badly by some unremarkable team that had just been thrown together at the eleventh hour. How much further away were they from a top-tier team like Scarlet, which trained in the VIP area, and which had mopped the floor with every other team in the Dragon Rising?


    When he¡¯d caught sight of Yu Luocheng earlier, he¡¯d assumed that, at best, Yu Luocheng had found some second-rate team as well to take him on. He¡¯d been secretly hoping that they would go up against an elite team, someone who would give them a good, sound trashing. It would have been something like revenge.


    He¡¯d never once dreamed that Yu Luocheng would sit down right at Team Scarlet¡¯s table!


    After jeering loudly at Yu Luocheng in front of everybody the way he¡¯d just done, Feng Xiaoqing wanted nothing else at the moment but to crawl into a hole and die.

 Chapter 48 - I’ll Be Number One!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned!¡± The moment Lin Xu saw Yu Luocheng taking his place among the Team Scarlet players, directly opposite from Huang Mi, he swore outright without thinking!


    The adjudicator treated this as a verbal attack by Lin Xu, against Yu Luocheng. With a stern look, he said, ¡°Team Pride¡¯s private spectators may not insult or deride any players on the opposing team. First warning.¡±


    Huang Mi turned and gave Lin Xu a venomous look.


    Red-faced, Lin Xu pointed at Yu Luocheng. ¡°I know him. He¡¯s a schoolmate. We go to the same school, you see.¡±


    As he desperately tried to explain himself, his eyes wandered over to Yu Luocheng again, still cursing silently in his heart. ¡®God damn it, why did it have to be him!¡¯


    ¡°Lin Xu, you¡¯ve played a game against this guy before, right?¡± Huang Mi asked over his shoulder.


    ¡°Right.¡± Lin Xu nodded.


    Huang Mi had a grim look on his face. After that match between Class 8 and Class 3, Huang Mi had thumped his own chest in front of Lin Xu, saying that he¡¯d show Yu Luocheng what a real player looked like.


    And sure enough, the opportunity had now arrived. He was sitting right across from him, alongside Team Scarlet.


    5v4, Huang Mi felt sure he could have taken Team Scarlet.


    5v5, he didn¡¯t have a snowball¡¯s chance in hell!


    After this, another rematch would cost six hundred. It brought a painful twinge to his heart.


    ¡°Brother Mi, he¡¯s probably just there to fill an empty chair,¡± Lin Xu whispered. ¡°He¡¯ll definitely end up being a liability for Team Scarlet. If you guys can take advantage of this, and keep pressure on his Bottom lane until it breaks, that might be your chance for victory.¡±


    Huang Mi nodded.


    Certainly, they would have to win in one of the lanes to have any hope of beating Team Scarlet. Yu Luocheng was just some brat, and he was new to the team. Both his gameplay skills as well as his teamwork with the ADC would be lacking.


    A plan had begun to take form in Huang Mi¡¯s head.


    ***


    The match was underway. They were now in the Banning Phase.


    Team Scarlet had banned both of Huang Mi¡¯s favorite champions, along with the Spider Queen Elise.


    Banning Elise was probably because they feared the enemy might select her as Solo Top.


    If either side picked a short-ranged tank champion for their Top lane, he would be badly crushed by Elise, who was very powerful in this patch. 1


    Besides, there genuinely was an Elise specialist on Team Pride.


    For their part, they¡¯d banned off two ADC champions favored by Xue Haiyang: Miss Fortune and Ezreal.


    The last ban had been enemy team leader Huang Yu¡¯s best AP champion: Ryze, the Rune Mage.


    Both sides clearly each had their own targets to suppress, but banning off both of Haiyang¡¯s favorites was a bit of a peculiar move.


    There was less viciousness during the actual champion selection. There didn¡¯t seem to be any clash between both team¡¯s choices¡ªafter all, even if you snatched a champion for yourself, the question was whether you knew how to play them.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s AP Mid champion would be the Fallen Angel, Morgana. For their Jungler, they chose Kha¡¯Zix, the Voidreaver, which was hugely imba 1 in the current patch.


    Then they chose Malphite as Top, and Graves as ADC. As Support, Yu Luocheng chose Alistar, the Minotaur.


    Team Pride¡¯s composition was Katarina as AP Mid, Fiddlesticks as Jungler, Shen as Top, Varus as ADC, and Sona as Support.


    One thing was for sure: Both sides had lots of CC 1 .


    Team Scarlet¡¯s line-up would excel at starting team-fights, but Team Pride¡¯s champions would eventually become terrifyingly powerful.


    Both teams were also fielding assassin-type champions: Team Scarlet had Kha¡¯Zix, while Team Pride would be bringing Katarina.


    Neither team¡¯s composition presented any obvious advantages, so it would come down to strategy and player skill.


    A thirty-second countdown had appeared on the screen.


    This was when Commander Qin walked up behind Yu Luocheng and Xue Haiyang and whispered, ¡°The two of you watch out, down in Bottom lane.¡±


    Xue Haiyang was not that remarkable an ADC. For Team Pride to have banned both of his best champions made their intention quite obvious: They were going after Bottom lane.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, as long as this high-school boy doesn¡¯t trip me up.¡± Still wearing that easy-going smile, Xue Haiyang cast a sidelong glance at Yu Luocheng.


    Xue Haiyang had only played one game with Yu Luocheng before, and the outcome had been sort of ambivalent, so he had yet to see Yu Luocheng¡¯s true worth. So far, he¡¯d only gotten the impression that Yu Luocheng was distracted by something.


    Speaking frankly, the way Commander Qin had inexplicably brought in a freshly graduated high-school boy to be his Support, Xue Haiyang was still uncertain about it. He couldn¡¯t say that Yu Luocheng had ever let him down, but neither did he expect great things out of him.


    ¡°Do your best.¡± Qin didn¡¯t say any more than that.


    Yu Luocheng crossed his fingers behind his head.


    ¡°Nervous?¡± Xue Haiyang asked, making idle chatter. ¡°When you¡¯re playing at this level, you¡¯ve got to have nerves of steel. Maybe the commander was impressed by your skills, and that¡¯s why he brought you on board, but you haven¡¯t even been through a handful of games with us, and you¡¯ve got no experience in tournaments. When we really get down to the wire, your hands will tremble or go numb. That¡¯s the time when willpower really counts.¡±


    Xue Haiyang sounded like a real veteran.


    ¡°Trust me, my hands will be steady,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Hands trembling, shaking, going numb¡­ when he¡¯d first started playing professionally, that had indeed happened to Yu Luocheng¡ªbut that was years ago.


    Commander Qin hadn¡¯t had much to say, not because he thought the way Xue Haiyang did, but because he didn¡¯t feel qualified to teach anything to this boy who had once stood at the top of the pro-gaming world.


    Unfortunately, Xue Haiyang didn¡¯t know about any of this. He regarded Yu Luocheng, who still appeared calm enough for the moment, and said, ¡°Steady, eh? I hope so. Just don¡¯t drag me down, now.¡±


    They entered the loading screen. The contestants themselves remained still and serene. Rather, it was the crowd gathered all around them which was getting agitated to boiling point.


    As Yu Luocheng gazed at the loading screen, the handphone he¡¯d set aside gave a short little tone. He¡¯d received a message.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he picked it up for a look.


    ***


    ¡®Yang Qianqian: Hmph! That day, you turned down Commander Qin¡¯s offer. Why are you seated with them now? You¡¯re always so sneaky! You¡¯d better get first place, you horrid rascal.¡¯


    ***


    Reading this missive from Yang Qianqian, Yu Luocheng was a bit stupefied.


    He turned around, and found her just a couple of meters directly behind him, surrounded protectively by Wang Qin and company.


    She was as mesmerizing as always today. Just the sight of her made his heart beat faster.


    Her handphone was still clutched in her hand. When she saw Yu Luocheng turn to look at her, an almost imperceptible blush rose up upon her cheeks. She deliberately averted her eyes from him, as though to say that she wasn¡¯t the one who¡¯d sent that message. Ah, so cute.


    Yu Luocheng grinned at her, and felt his heart doing somersaults.


    He didn¡¯t say a thing to her, returning his eyes to the screen. His mind sharpened to a razor¡¯s edge. A quiet voice in his heart was saying,


    ¡®About that couple¡¯s trip with you¡­


    ¡®I hope you won¡¯t mind waiting for a little longer.


    ¡®I¡¯m going to be Number One¡ªbut not just in Lecheng!¡¯

 Chapter 49 - First Blood Within Three Minutes

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡®Welcome to Summoner¡¯s Rift!¡¯


    A skilled player shouldn¡¯t take more than five seconds to buy equipment at the Fountain, even if you were the Support, and had to buy a whole bunch of stuff before heading out.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s mouse whirled about at high speed, taking only two seconds to pick up a Faerie Charm, Vision Ward, two Stealth Wards, and two Health Potions.


    Thanks to his Masteries, he already had a Biscuit on him, along with a sixty-second Farsight Ward. Combined with the four other types of things he¡¯d just bought, this was a Support player¡¯s six-item full set¡ªhave no doubt of it!


    He¡¯d taken less time to buy all these things than the ADC beside him, who was only picking up a single Doran¡¯s Blade.


    Tragically, no one noticed this little bit of finesse. All he could do now was run Alistar around the Fountain for a couple of laps. He was a minotaur chieftain, after all, so he ought to demonstrate some sense of bravado and authority.


    Once everyone had gotten their starting items, they set out, with Alistar in the lead.


    Heading towards his lane? Of course not¡ªthis wasn¡¯t some Normal game!


    Children, no matter which role you¡¯re playing, if the first thing you do after leaving the Fountain at the start of the game is to run straight to your lane, you¡¯ve still got a very, very, very long road ahead of you!


    The jungle creeps would appear before the minions on either side met in the middle, which meant that you could clear out a camp before going into your lane, and it would cost you basically nothing to do so. Of course, if your teammates didn¡¯t know how to assist you with this, it was better to just go into your lane after all.


    Once you reached a certain level of play in ¡®League of Legends¡¯, it was essential for the whole team to stick together at the start of the game.


    When Team Scarlet decided on this particular array of champions, they¡¯d already been planning to jump the enemy team in the jungle straight away.


    Alistar learned his Q-skill ¡®Pulverize¡¯, one of the most valuable skills to have in a Level-1 team fight. In addition with Morgana¡¯s straight-line root skill, this gave them area-effect as well as long-ranged crowd control abilities, granting them tremendous advantages in the event of a rumble in the jungle!


    Yu Luocheng was using speed-boosting Masteries and Runes, so that early in the game, his Alistar was moving somewhat faster than everyone else.


    He barreled towards the enemy¡¯s jungle, and his four teammates followed close, spreading out behind him.


    The path that Yu Luocheng took led them past their Tower in the Mid lane, through the standing clump of brush in the river, and into the long patch of brush that sat along the inside of a curved section of wall.


    There was a particularly useful blind corner that they could make use of here, right beside the enemy¡¯s own Mid lane. When an enemy first stepped into this bush, they wouldn¡¯t immediately be able to see the whole thing. With his enhanced speed, he moved Alistar to lie in wait at that blind spot.


    While Alistar took the front, the rest of his team kept a slight distance away, so as not to all be clumped together. This wasn¡¯t because the minotaur chieftain was such a beefy hunk of muscle that he was taking up all the space around himself¡ªit was a precaution against the enemy¡¯s Shen leading in with a taunt skill, so that he wouldn¡¯t hit all five of them at once.


    This all proved to be a cunning move on the part of Team Scarlet.


    Not five seconds later, a pair of fulsome, perky tits poked through the tall grass, gently wending their way into the bush.


    No question about it, this could only be Sona! There weren¡¯t many ladies in the League of Legends who had E-cups like those!


    Sure enough, that magnificent bosom was followed by Sona¡¯s innocent, delicate features.


    Can you see it now?


    A pretty young thing like her, huge knockers spilling out of a sheer satin dress, cheerfully taking an idle stroll through the bush. As the grass parted, what greeted her was not the wonder of nature¡¯s beauty, but five sinister, burly figures!


    Four of them were already slinking through the grass, while a large pair of bull horns adorned the head of the enormous one nearest to her, his back turned to her at the moment¡ªbut from the way he was grinding fist into palm, it seemed he was just about to turn around!


    ¡°Hey, baby¡­ heh heh heh¡­ heh heh heh heh heh¡­¡± At the sound of their depraved cackling, all the color drained out of her face!


    Bamf! As Morgana hurled out her Dark Binding, Sona instantly Flashed through the wall to escape.


    On the other side of the wall, it seemed that those brutes would not be giving chase, and Sona gave a sigh of relief, patting a steadying hand upon her heaving bosom. She¡¯d just about wet herself back there¡ªshe¡¯d almost had her first blood violently taken from her.


    ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t you know to stick a ward in there before sticking your head in there?¡± Huang Mi was already snarling from down the row.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯d wanted to place a ward on their side of the river. I hadn¡¯t expected them to get here so quickly¡­¡± The one playing Sona was a man with a coarse, rumbling voice. (You shall just have to come to terms with any disappointed expectations.)


    ***


    Although they hadn¡¯t been able to get their Level-1 team fight, they¡¯d spooked the enemy team, and Sona had Flashed for them, too. This maneuver had been worth their while.


    At this point, it would make sense for their Mid and Bot champions to help Kha¡¯Zix steal the enemy¡¯s Blue buff. It would severely hamper the enemy¡¯s own Jungler, the scarecrow Fiddlesticks.


    After Kha¡¯Zix took the enemy¡¯s Blue, it ran straight over to its own Blue buff, in order to prevent it being stolen in return.


    However, the enemy was no fool. Immediately after Sona¡¯s indiscreet encounter with them in the brush, the enemy Jungler had proceeded directly to claim Team Scarlet¡¯s Blue buff for himself. This meant that both sides had merely traded the same buff to each other, and the only real loss was Sona¡¯s Flash 1 .


    ***


    Down in the Bottom lane, Graves was steadily farming minions.


    Yu Luocheng, meanwhile, had been on the aggressive from the start, applying tremendous pressure upon Varus and Sona.


    ¡°How can Alistar be so fast?¡± Team Pride¡¯s ADC, Yi Xing moaned.


    ¡°He¡¯s fully maxed out movement speed. Damn, he¡¯s insane!¡± This was from Zhang Zijian, the Support of Team Pride.


    The minotaur rushed this way and that, moving in a blur, which made it difficult for Yi Xing to concentrate on farming. Alistar seemed to present a constant threat of attack, always seeming as though it was about to charge!


    ***


    After cleaning up another wave of minions, both sides soon reached Level 2.


    Yu Luocheng immediately put the skill point into Alistar¡¯s W-skill ¡®Headbutt¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s fight,¡± he suggested to Xue Haiyang, beside him.


    Xue Haiyang frowned. ¡°You¡¯re being too¡ª¡± But before he could say ¡®aggressive¡¯, Alistar leapt forward with a Flash!


    Bamf!


    Just as Sona had been moving in to poke them with a chord, Alistar was suddenly looming right over her!


    Alistar gave her a wicked grin, raised up a pair of arms bound with steel chains, and slammed the ground with earth-shaking force!


    The very earth split beneath their feet!


    Caught by surprise, Sona was thrown high into the air! Her skirts billowed in the updraft, her panties easily in view.


    The ADC Xue Haiyang had been hesitating for a moment, but the sight of Sona¡¯s undergarments spurred him to action! Graves dashed forward with his E-skill, ¡®Quickdraw¡¯!


    Graves lunged in and unleashed his Q-skill, ¡® Buckshot 1 ¡®. Two out of the three pellets hit Sona directly, reducing her health nearly to zero!


    When Sona came back down to ground, Alistar had already moved behind her. With all his might, he rushed in and butted her with his horns.


    Sona was sent flying, sprawling, and tumbling, until she came to a stop right beneath the muzzle of Graves¡¯ shotgun.


    Graves fired once, tearing away her last remaining shred of health. With a final, sad refrain, Sona¡¯s lifeless body collapsed to the ground.


    ¡®First Blood!¡¯


    As Sona fell, the deafening announcement rang across the battlefield!


    First Blood! The first kill of the game had happened in the Bottom lane!


    First Blood, in less than three minutes!


    In the end, Sona had been unable to preserve her chastity, after all¡ªcaught between a beast-man and a beast of a man, she¡¯d been forced to give up a precious first to them!

 Chapter 50 - Five-Man Ambush

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Scarlet vs. Team Pride was the main highlight of the day. Even people who weren¡¯t taking part in the tournament were crowded outside, craning to see. Eagerly yearning to improve themselves, and curious to know how they compared to the best, the players couldn¡¯t resist the opportunity to witness the gameplay of elite players firsthand. It was a rare and thrilling spectacle.


    Where there¡¯s an audience, there¡¯ll be discussion.


    Naturally, the discussions surrounding this particular match were mostly centered around Team Scarlet¡¯s new Support player. He was a completely unknown element.


    As speculation raged about the worth of this new kid, he left everyone astounded with a sudden Flash and First Blood!


    Cool, decisive, powerful!


    Instantly, all eyes were on Yu Luocheng¡¯s Alistar!


    ¡°Uh¡­ Nice!¡± In the wake of that kill, Team Scarlet¡¯s ADC, Xue Haiyang, blurted out this word of praise. Recalling the moves with which his Support had secured that kill on Sona, he now had no trouble seeing his Support as an equal!


    Too aggressive? No, it was Xue Haiyang himself who had been too hesitant!


    Sona was well-known as a squishy champion. Paired with Varus, they had no hope of surviving a fight at Level 2 against a high-powered combo like Alistar and Graves.


    The reason his Support had gone for Sona instead of Varus was because he knew she¡¯d already wasted her Flash when she¡¯d walked into that ambush at the start of the game.


    Without Flash, it was mighty bold of a Level-2 Sona to come up and harass the enemy. Any skilled Alistar player would have definitely put paid to her!


    ***


    ¡°This Alistar is kind of a bull!¡± Team Pride¡¯s Support, Zhang Zijian, was aghast.


    ¡°Your ass he is. Everyone knows they¡¯d pick a fight at Level 2. You¡¯re just a retard!¡± Huang Mi berated him. ¡°Play safe over there, wait for us to come and help!¡±


    With Sona back at the Fountain, Varus had no choice but to withdraw from XP range. If Alistar shoved him up against a wall now, he¡¯d either lose his Flash¡ªor his life!


    At the four-minute mark, Graves was ten minions ahead of Varus. After clearing off another minion wave, he immediately returned to base for more items.


    ***


    Straight away, Graves bought himself a Vampiric Scepter. When he returned to the lane, Varus and Sona behaved themselves, keeping back a respectful distance.


    As before, Yu Luocheng stampeded all about, seeking a good angle to push Sona or Varus up against the nearby wall. Even if such an opportunity didn¡¯t present itself, no matter, he was pressuring them all the same. Sona was already flinching away with every step. Never mind trying to harass the enemy, she was just trying her best not to let Alistar get her again.


    Playing a control-type support champion, if you couldn¡¯t exert a certain amount of deterrence and psychological pressure on the enemy, you¡¯d be better off denying that you played League of Legends!


    ***


    As the game went on, Sona and Varus made no more mistakes. However, by the time they were Level 5, Varus had fallen a whole twenty minions behind Graves in Creep Score. Together with the First Blood bonus from earlier, this meant a difference of about seven hundred gold between them.


    ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s quite a gap. You can already see the difference between Team Scarlet and Team Pride.¡±


    ¡°Sona and Varus must be waiting for Level 6. At Level 6, both of them have powerful control ultis. At that point, if the rest of their team comes down to help them out, they could regain control of this game.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. That might be their only hope.¡±


    The spectators¡¯ discussion carried on.


    ***


    It was exactly as they¡¯d said: Yi Xing and Zhang Zijian, Team Pride¡¯s ADC and Support, were waiting on their levels to act.


    At last, they both attained Level 6. Meanwhile, Alistar and Graves had sent the minion wave in their direction, and then both had returned to base.


    Varus quickly cleared off the enemy minions, allowing his own minions to push back in the opposite direction. The two of them were also planning to return to their Fountain now, but then their Jungler, Gunther, called out to them: ¡°Don¡¯t go back yet. I¡¯m Level 6 now. No wards in the tri-bush, so I¡¯ll wait here behind the wall, and dive their Tower to get a kill.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ too reckless, surely,¡± Zhang Zijian remarked.


    ¡°No worries, I¡¯m here too.¡± Huang Mi brought Katarina down the river and through the tri-bush to join Fiddlesticks where he lay in wait.


    ¡°Sona, first you¡¯ll use your ulti to stun them under the Tower. Fiddle and I will both jump in with our ultis to insta-kill them. Once they¡¯re down, we¡¯ll immediately move to take the Dragon. You got all that?¡± Huang Mi said.


    Zhang Zijian felt himself perking up, a vindictive grin spreading across his face. Yi Xing nodded in assent, as well.


    ***


    ¡°Is Kata missing from Mid?¡± Xue Haiyang wondered.


    ¡°Probably went home to do some shopping. I saw her walking back that way,¡± Yu replied.


    Xue Haiyang nodded. A great wave of minions had arrived at their Tower, so Graves put it out of his mind and got to farming.


    Alistar was right behind him. Sona and Varus both had CC available now. If he ran off by himself now to go place a ward, Graves could very well be killed with a tower dive. It would be better to wait until this wave of minions had been cleared off first.


    Yu Luocheng glanced at the map, and noticed that Katarina hadn¡¯t returned to her lane yet, and Fiddlesticks also hadn¡¯t appeared in a while.


    He observed Sona and Varus. They continued to linger around, as though unafraid of being attacked. Yu Luocheng felt tempted to give it a try.


    ¡®Wait, they should be well aware that they can¡¯t win a fight against us, especially after we¡¯ve just picked up more items.¡¯


    It was a trap! Alarm bells rang in Yu Luocheng¡¯s head.


    Suddenly, Sona rushed in and unleashed her ultimate skill, ¡®Crescendo¡¯!


    Deep yellow waves of light washed over the surprised Alistar and Graves, stunning them senseless, so that they stood immobilized in place . 1


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Xue Haiyang yelled, not knowing why Sona would waste her ulti on them while they were being sheltered by their own Tower.


    He had no idea that Fiddlesticks had already been chanting his profane rituals behind the nearby wall for a full second now. Meanwhile, Katarina hurled a dagger over the wall!


    This attack immediately revealed her to the enemy¡ªalong with Fiddlesticks, right beside her, his ulti already fully charged!


    ¡®We¡¯re dead!¡¯ Xue Haiyang thought.


    Fiddlesticks¡¯s ultimate skill could already cause a lot of damage by itself. With Katarina¡¯s ulti on top of that, they¡¯d be dead before this stun effect wore off¡ªand right under their own Tower ! 1


    Xue Haiyang hadn¡¯t expected the enemy to stand in place so long for the sake of ambushing them!


    Suddenly, the minotaur beside him gave a mighty roar!


    Throwing his arms wide, as though tearing off the invisible fetters upon himself, he was now wreathed in a crimson aura!


    Unbreakable Will!


    Upon falling under Sona¡¯s spell, Yu Luocheng immediately responded by activating Alistar¡¯s own ultimate skill, which broke the stun effect.


    At the same time, Fiddlesticks arrived amidst a murder of crows, teleporting right up to the tower!


    The dark storm of crows swooped down upon Alistar and Graves!


    Eyes serene as a tranquil lake, his finger had already been waiting over the W key.


    Headbutt!

 Chapter 51 - The Great Escape

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As though he¡¯d been waiting to do it all along, the moment Fiddlesticks popped up in front of him, Alistar rammed into him with both horns!


    Ravenous crows swirling all about him, Fiddlesticks was knocked clean out of the range of the tower by the monumental force of that impact, and was also Stunned for a brief instant.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Team Pride¡¯s Jungler hollered in shock. He¡¯d been knocked away before he could use his other skills to apply Terror and Silence effects on them. The speed of Alistar¡¯s reactions were uncanny!


    Fiddlesticks¡¯s ultimate ability dealt damage in an area around himself. Having been knocked out of the way like that, he ended up dealing basically no damage at all.


    However, Alistar and Graves were not out of hot water yet!


    Katarina leapt into the fray, knives flying and whirling about as she pounced on Alistar. Without hesitation, she began her ultimate skill, ¡®Death Lotus¡¯!


    She whirled about in a deadly hurricane, raining blades upon her foes and dealing out a withering torrent of damage!


    Bam!


    Pulverize! Alistar slammed his massive fists into the ground. Katarina had barely managed to hurl out a volley or two before she was thrown up into the air!


    This disrupted her Death Lotus, cancelling it outright. Meanwhile, the other skills she¡¯d thrown out just before that had fallen upon an Alistar bolstered by the defensive buffs of his Unbreakable Will ultimate¡ªit was nowhere near enough damage to leave him in any jeopardy.


    Huang Mi was at a loss for a moment after his ultimate was interrupted, but then he yelled at Yi Xing, ¡°We need more damage! Varus, hurry up and use your ulti!¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± Varus shouted, and a mass of black tendrils erupted from his bow and snaked towards Alistar, the closer of the two enemy champions.


    Bamf!


    As Katarina tumbled through the air overhead, Alistar used his Flash to dodge aside, mainly because Fiddlesticks had Flashed in to use Terrify on him. Coincidentally, it had also been perfectly timed to evade the Rooting effect of Varus¡¯s ultimate skill!


    The black ribbons flew past, catching nothing, and then faded away uselessly.


    Fiddlesticks and Katarina chased madly after him, while Sona and Varus moved to join the pursuit. A blue protective barrier began to glow around Katarina¡ªeven Shen was joining the battle down in the Bottom lane!


    Without looking back, the wounded minotaur continued to flee up the road!


    Graves had been further away from the wall to begin with, and only Sona and Varus had really managed to hit him with their attacks. Both Fiddlesticks¡¯s Crowstorm and Katarina¡¯s Death Lotus had barely glanced him, not to mention he¡¯d thrown up his Barrier straight away.


    Xue Haiyang had not hesitated to use both Quickdraw and Flash to extract himself from danger, saving him from what would have been a lethal Terrify from Fiddlesticks!


    Now low on health himself, a frantic Graves scrambled to keep up with Alistar, and get himself away from that catastrophic ambush!


    With all his speed enhancements, Alistar was running like the wind. Graves himself already had a pair of upgraded Boots, and they ran for dear life from the five murderous ruffians right behind them. Right now, if either of them got hit by any kind of crowd-control effect, like a Slow or whatever, there could be no doubt about the outcome.


    It was just too bad that Shen, currently the closest to catching them, didn¡¯t have his Flash ready, so he had no hope of catching them with a Taunt!


    And then a wave of minions came down the road, and helped by intercepting the pursuers.


    At last, Alistar and Graves were able to get away with their lives, making it to the safety of their second-tier tower.


    They¡¯d gotten away by the skin of their teeth!


    There was silence for a moment. For the last few seconds, everyone had been holding their breath!


    Seeing that Alistar and Graves had made it to safety while clinging to the last bit of their health, the entire cyber caf¨¦ exploded in noise!


    ¡°Oh my word, they¡¯re still alive?¡± one of the elite players spectating exclaimed in disbelief.


    ¡°God¡­ god-like skill!¡±


    ¡°Ah, too brilliant! I¡¯ve gone blind!¡±


    ¡°Shen even used his ulti to jump down from Top lane. It was a five-man assault on Bot¡ªand it failed!¡±


    The cyber caf¨¦ echoed with slang and vulgar oaths, as the audience struggled to express the sensations they were experiencing.


    A Sona ulti under the tower!


    Fiddlesticks jumping in with ¡®Crowstorm¡¯!


    Katarina¡¯s whirling dance of death!


    Varus¡¯s ¡®Chain of Corruption¡¯!


    And finally, Shen teleporting in from across the map with his secret ninja technique, ¡®Stand United¡¯!


    Five incredibly powerful ultimate skills, activated one after another over a short couple of seconds. Death itself had come to claim them¡ªno one should have been able to walk out of that alive!


    And yet, there was no denying what they were seeing: Graves and Alistar were still standing!


    It was impossible¡ªit was a miracle!


    The crowd went wild!


    The members of Team Pride stared at their screens, thunderstruck!


    The members of Team Scarlet were equally dumbfounded!


    Xue Haiyang, Team Scarlet¡¯s ADC, turned to stare in amazement at the high-school boy beside him, his newly appointed Support.


    Having gone through the whole thing firsthand, no one understood better than him the dire peril they had been facing. At that moment, even he had lost himself to panic and given up, but Alistar had meanwhile demonstrated the pinnacle of calm judgement and perfect response!


    Even now, his eyes still swam with recollections of Alistar¡¯s graceful maneuvers, on the edge between life and death.


    Unbreakable Will, to instantly break free of Sona¡¯s stun. The speed of his response meant that he¡¯d already anticipated the impending attack!


    Headbutt, throwing back Fiddlesticks as he came swooping in for the kill! Being able to do so before Fiddlesticks disabled him with Terrify suggested that his mouse cursor had already been hovering over Fiddlesticks¡¯s point of arrival, in advance!


    Pulverize, to interrupt Katarina¡¯s ¡®Death Lotus¡¯ as soon as it began¡ªthis required lightning reflexes and judgement!


    And that last move, using Flash to dodge both Fiddlesticks¡¯s ¡®Terrify¡¯ and Varus¡¯s ¡®Chain of Corruption¡¯¡ªthat had probably been sheer luck, but after everything else that had happened, who would dare to say that it couldn¡¯t also have been the intuition of an elite player?


    Cool and decisive, with the tactical sense of a master, and superhuman grace!


    For most people, it might only have appeared as a confused jumble of characters and colored lights, oblivious to the true level of skill involved. But when Xue Haiyang analyzed everything that had just happened, he began to understand how extraordinary this young boy sitting beside him truly was, and he looked at Yu Luocheng with new eyes!


    ***


    ¡°Did you manage to catch what happened?¡± Zhao Kesong asked Wang Qin, looking around at the deafening commotion of the crowd.


    ¡°Not really,¡± Wang Qin replied, ¡°But being able to survive all that was kinda imba.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if Yu Luocheng might be the reincarnation of some legendary hero¡­¡± This thought had come from Zhong Xiaoyun.


    ¡°Whatever, the point is: he¡¯s awesome!¡± Fang Xiaomei squealed.


    Fang Xiaomei couldn¡¯t understand everything as clearly as a player of Xue Haiyang¡¯s level, but being able to escape a five-man ambush, and driving the crowd into such a state of exhilaration, it told Fang Xiaomei that the Yu Luocheng she saw out there¡ªcalm, composed, and in control, with his hands on mouse-and-keyboard, and his back turned to her¡ªwas the hottest guy she¡¯d ever laid eyes on, a fascinating enigma of a man!


    Yang Qianqian was also gazing out at Yu Luocheng with sparkling eyes.


    She herself was not a novice to the game. Although she wasn¡¯t going into hysterics like Fang Xiaomei was doing, it was evident that watching this latest play had left her somewhat breathless.


    Watching ¡®Top 10¡¯ replay videos and actually witnessing that kind of gameplay live were two different things¡ªnot to mention how the cyber caf¨¦ had descended into all-out pandemonium.


    It was like Fang Xiaomei had said: He¡¯s awesome!


    His serious expression, the sly tilt of his nose, the intensity in his eyes, that cocksure smirk upon his lips¡­


    A man was most irresistible when he was wholly focused on something¡ªeven if that something was gaming!


    Anyway, if you were to venture into that world yourself, you would understand that those split-second responses, seasoned tactical judgements, deft control, perfectly orchestrated teamwork, and the frenetic competition it creates¡­ perhaps you would come to understand how exhilarating and engaging it all can be.


    It was a competitive event as much as any other sport on this Earth¡ªif not, how could there be so many people gathered here, in such shared fervor?

 Chapter 52 - Lovely Headbutt

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Varus, are you an idiot? Why didn¡¯t you use your ulti sooner?¡± Huang Mi roared.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Yi Xing, who was playing Varus, didn¡¯t know what to say.


    He¡¯d seen that Sona had already used her ulti, so he¡¯d been thinking to conserve his own, since they should have essentially won the fight already. Who could have expected such an outcome instead?


    ¡°Hurry up and push their tower, and then take the Dragon!¡± Huang Mi was blustering with fury.


    All five of their team¡¯s members were clustered together down in the Bottom lane. They should have gotten two kills, a tower, and a Dragon. Instead, both of their prey had gotten away from them!


    Team Scarlet was already adapting to the situation. Since the enemy champions were all concentrated down in the Bottom lane, Kha¡¯Zix and Malphite had joined forces up in the Top lane, and were pressing the assault full-speed. Already, two towers had fallen before them.


    Morgana had also taken down the Mid-lane tower effortlessly.


    In exchange, Team Pride had merely won themselves a Bot-lane tower and one Dragon. Team Scarlet had already fully demolished three of their towers, and they were also ahead in gold.


    Finances were one thing, but to have lost a central tower, along with two towers in a side lane¡­ from a strategic standpoint, it could only be called a disaster. A large swathe of Team Pride¡¯s map vision was now shrouded in darkness!


    Even if Shen returned to his Top lane, it would be extremely dangerous for him to push the minion wave any amount of distance: it would be a long road back to safety, enough for him to get killed several times over!


    ***


    Team Scarlet¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix wasn¡¯t leaving. It was aggressively leading the onslaught down the Top lane, as though intent on breaking into the enemy base.


    Meanwhile, Malphite had transferred over to hold the Mid lane. With one enemy tower already reduced to rubble, Malphite was free to prowl through the area, looking for the chance to start a fight.


    Team Pride could sense that the enemy was hankering for a team fight. When they weren¡¯t holding off the enemy¡¯s minions, they huddled close together, determined not to lose another tower, nor for anyone to get picked off by themselves.


    Constrained in this way, with no vision in the center of the map and in constant fear of being forced into a team fight, they were on the back foot.


    In no time at all, the second Dragon was taken. Team Scarlet had managed to slay it for themselves while Team Pride remained oblivious, and the gap between them grew larger.


    ¡°We¡¯re pushing Bot.¡± Team Scarlet¡¯s leader Huang Yu saw that their minions in the Mid and Top lanes were already encroaching upon the enemy¡¯s base, and so he issued this order to his team.


    Immediately after their Dragon kill, the five members of Team Scarlet united to destroy the enemy¡¯s Bottom-lane tower.


    Team Pride responded swiftly. Varus, Sona, and Katarina had already been in position to defend that tower.


    ¡°They¡¯re outnumbered. Press the attack! Malphite, tank 1 the tower!¡± Huang Yu commanded.


    Xiao Tongtong grunted loudly in acknowledgement. He brought Malphite forward, within the reach of the enemy tower!


    Malphite had a Sunfire Cape, and had clearly chosen Masteries for besieging towers, so the tower wasn¡¯t doing that much damage to him.


    ¡°They¡¯re not retreating. Attack!¡± Yu yelled. Morgana already had Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, so he was spoiling for a fight.


    Throwing up a ¡®Black Shield¡¯ straight away, Yu then used his Flash to jump in, and activated Morgana¡¯s ultimate skill, ¡®Soul Shackles¡¯!


    If Morgana herself was charging in, what more the rest of them? Graves, Malphite, and Kha¡¯Zix all followed suit.


    Malphite opened with his own ultimate skill, hurtling in like a falling meteor, straight towards Varus!


    Pow!


    Varus didn¡¯t even have the chance to react, and then suddenly he was tossed high into the air!


    By now, Morgana¡¯s Soul Shackles had been tethered to Varus for over a second, and as he struggled to pull himself together after coming back down to ground, the ethereal shackles drew tight, stunning him again. He was as good as dead!


    Whumm!


    In response, Sona strummed a powerful chord across the strings of her instrument¡ªit was her ultimate skill, Crescendo!


    Shimmering golden waves of energy assailed Morgana, Malphite, and Graves.


    Thanks to her Black Shield, Morgana was unaffected by the spell. However, both Malphite and Graves were unable to continue the assault.


    Morgana had to remain within range of a target to apply the effects of her Soul Shackles. Displeased to see that Sona and Katarina were about to escape the spell¡¯s area of effect, Huang Yu noticed Alistar still pacing back and forth behind Morgana, and he snapped, ¡°Alistar, why don¡¯t you get in there? Use your combo 1 !¡±


    Obviously he was talking to Yu Luocheng, who had managed to sidestep Sona¡¯s ulti, but then held back, remaining at the center of the team¡¯s formation.


    Should he combo Sona, or Katarina?


    Yu Luocheng chose neither. Sure, he might be able to tie down one of them¡ªbut he¡¯d chosen Alistar not just for offense, but also to fulfil a more important duty.


    He continued to bide his time, using only his E-skill, ¡®Triumphant Roar¡¯, to provide that minuscule bit of healing to his team . 1


    Waaaaaagh!


    All of a sudden, the air was filled with ravenous crows! Popping out from behind the nearby wall, Fiddlesticks moved to envelop Kha¡¯Zix, Graves, Alistar, and Malphite with this dark swarm.


    ¡°Fiddlesticks!¡± Yu gasped. The Team Scarlet leader turned ashen.


    Using Fiddlesticks well was all about using his ultimate skill well. When he was able to find a good opportunity to pop up in the middle of a frenzied battle, he could deal obscene amounts of damage in a matter of moments. By the time the cawing of ravens finally died away, the battlefield would already have fallen into silence, the ground strewn with ravaged corpses!


    When Team Scarlet forced a fight like this, it caused them to be packed together tightly¡ªthe perfect situation for Fiddlesticks to unleash his ulti, which was exactly what he did!


    The appearance of Fiddlesticks always fills people with an inexplicable sense of dread and horror. The Team Scarlet champions scattered in all directions.


    Except Yu Luocheng, whose eyes remained clear and unafraid, fixed warily upon the nearby wall the whole time. As Team Scarlet broke apart in panic, Yu Luocheng¡¯s own eyes lit up instead!


    ¡®Don¡¯t you know¡­ I¡¯ve been waiting for you all day!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s finger had already been standing by over the ¡®W¡¯ key. The moment Fiddlesticks alighted in his vicinity, he hit it!


    Headbutt!


    Alistar charged forth, his enormous horns savagely picking up the frail scarecrow and sweeping it away.


    Fiddlesticks had made quite the dramatic entrance, brandishing his sickle menacingly, arms spread wide as though in readiness to begin a dark harvest of souls¡ª


    And then he got hit by a rampaging bull!


    Bam! Suddenly, Fiddlesticks was thrown right back against the wall! Barely a slip of a thing to begin with, now he was plastered across its surface like a comical poster.


    Waaaaaagh!


    Crowing ravens whirled terrifyingly about the scarecrow , 1 catching not so much as a single hair on an enemy champion.


    Just like that, the ulti had largely gone to waste!


    ¡°Hot damn, that was beautiful!¡± At that moment, Huang Yu could have kissed Alistar on both horns!


    In a team fight, Fiddlesticks was nothing without his ulti, and that one had been perfectly deployed. Even if it hadn¡¯t killed the Team Scarlet champions outright, it would have done the job most of the way, and the worst was yet to come¡­


    While they were running around on their last legs, Katarina would appear like the chorus of that Sugababes song: Round, round, baby, round, round, spinning out on me¡­


    Without a shadow of a doubt, it would have been a total party wipe!


    But with one lovely headbutt from Alistar, the ambush had been aborted.


    To think that Huang Yu had been urging Alistar to perform a skill combo. Looking back now, if Alistar had really done as he¡¯d asked, the consequences would have been unthinkable!

 Chapter 53 - Overwhelming Onslaught

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Zhao Shuxin, the J ungler 1 of Team Pride, looked like he was going to be sick.


    If you have any experience playing Fiddlesticks, you should know that in a team fight, if your ultimate skill fails to do much damage, Fiddlesticks will be a mewling lamb waiting to be slaughtered after that!


    ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m going to kill you no matter what!¡± In a rage, Zhao Shuxin unloaded his skills upon Alistar to Silence and Terrify him.


    Killing a Support was better than nothing!


    His ¡®Terrify¡¯ lasted for 2.5 seconds. Together with his ultimate skill and his health-stealing ¡®Drain¡¯, he was sure he¡¯d be able to take down a mere Support champion!


    However, the accursed cow still seemed to have something up his sleeve. The instant Terrify was laid upon him, he activated his own ultimate skill, Unbreakable Will, canceling both the Terrify 1 and Silence effects.


    Bam!


    Pulverize! It was Alistar¡¯s turn to apply some CC on Fiddlesticks. Then, with half his health left, he moved to escape from Crowstorm¡¯s area of effect. Ignoring Fiddlesticks altogether, he advanced forward to tank for his team.


    Very soon, Fiddlesticks¡¯s Crowstorm came to a close, and then Team Scarlet¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix pounced onto him, tearing him to shreds with a single skill combo!


    Fiddlesticks had gone straight for Rabadon¡¯s Cap. Without Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, the moment he was deprived of the power of his ultimate skill, he perished instantly under their focused fire!


    When Fiddlesticks fell, Kha¡¯Zix regained the use of his E-skill ¡®Leap¡¯, and with a great leap, it soared straight towards the inviting warmth of Sona¡¯s bosom!


    With a slash of its claws, it tore Sona¡¯s dress to tatters. With one vicious thrust, it impaled her slender body upon its talons.


    Sona had already lost a lot of health before this. At the end of this brutal assault, she was left broken and pitiful upon the ground.


    With Sona down, Kha¡¯Zix sailed through the air yet again. This time, his prey was the femme fatale named Katarina!


    Katarina hadn¡¯t taken much damage so far. After eating two skills from Kha¡¯Zix, she still had about half of her health remaining. Malphite joined in with a full skill combo, bringing her right up to death¡¯s door, and Katarina was forced to use her Flash to escape, fleeing as fast as her legs could carry her.


    Varus had been the very first one to fall, and his corpse had been trampled into the dirt by everyone running back and forth throughout the battle.


    Varus vanquished, Fiddlesticks broken, Sona destroyed, and Katarina departing the scene¡­ that left Shen, who¡¯d used his ulti to join the battle!


    He¡¯d used Katarina as the target for ¡®Stand United¡¯. Although he used his Taunt as soon as he arrived, by then most of his team were already down for the count.


    Katarina didn¡¯t look back, leaving Shen to die. His frustration evident even beneath his mask, the ninja was smacked this way and that by all the Team Scarlet champions!


    Shen was a tank, but not even he could hold out against four champions ganging up on him. The only thing he could do was find a soft spot to die in.


    Honorable to the end, he collapsed face-first on top of Sona.


    It was a trade of four kills for the price of one!


    Team Scarlet had only lost Morgana¡ªeveryone else was still alive and kicking!


    As for Team Pride, only Katarina had managed to survive. As for that, a Katarina who struggled to kill off enemy champions was of little consequence, and she could do absolutely nothing to prevent the four champions of Team Scarlet from busting through two outer towers down in the Bottom lane.


    The only outer tower Team Pride had left was in the Middle lane. With almost all of their outposts in ruins, the disparity between the teams was now nearly insurmountable.


    However, anything could happen in a serious game, especially considering Team Pride¡¯s champion composition, which created a very real potential to achieve a late-game turn-around.


    In a moment of carelessness, several of their champions could be disabled by Sona¡¯s paralyzing wave, surprised by Fiddlesticks¡¯s unannounced appearance, bogged down by Varus¡¯s ensnaring curse, or cut down by Katarina¡¯s whirling blades¡­ and then their whole team would fall in moments.


    ***


    ¡°Malphite, go farm. When your ulti¡¯s ready, come group up for another team fight.¡± Huang Yu issued instructions to their Solo Top, Xiao Tongtong.


    Malphite depended upon his ultimate skill even more than Fiddlesticks did. Without it, he might as well be one of the Krugs in the jungle¡ªa moving pile of rocks which spent its days waiting for champions to pass by and take a swing at it for gold and XP.


    Team Pride didn¡¯t seem eager to get into another team fight. They busied themselves with farming minions and jungle creeps.


    Team Scarlet was waiting on Malphite¡¯s ulti to start another brawl. Team Pride was similarly waiting out the cooldown on Fiddlesticks¡¯s ulti. Both of those skills were infamous for their exceptionally long cooldown times.


    Speaking of long skill cooldown times¡­ Shen quietly farmed where he could, careful not to venture too far.


    ***


    Team Scarlet used their advantage in towers to dominate the jungle regions, repeatedly forcing the enemy team to do battle with them in order to contest for the Dragon and Baron.


    Team Pride played with the utmost care, and didn¡¯t give Team Scarlet too many openings.


    Both teams circled around each other, through the jungle and around their towers. Morgana threw Dark Bindings constantly, hoping to score a lucky pick.


    Morgana¡¯s aim could be better, but Yu Luocheng was doing an excellent job providing vision across the map, and two-thirds of the entire map was now lit up for the blue side.


    With so much of an advantage on her side, Morgana¡¯s long-ranged skillshots were bound to catch something ! 1


    Sure enough, Katarina took a step in the wrong direction, and got snared by Morgana¡¯s spell. Another fight was about to break out!


    Once again, Team Scarlet¡¯s leader Huang Yu led the charge with Morgana, Flashing deep into the enemy¡¯s midst to unleash her ultimate skill, Soul Shackles!


    In a panic, Katarina used her ¡®Shunpo¡¯ and even her Flash to get away. If not for Malphite being slightly out of position, she would have met her demise right then and there!


    This was when Zhao Shuxin, Team Pride¡¯s Jungler, called out, ¡°We can fight them! I¡¯m in a good position!¡±


    Fiddlesticks was standing by beside their second-tier Mid tower. To be precise, that was the red-side tower (to the north-east), while the action was taking place in the narrow jungle paths just to the left of it.


    What this meant was that if Fiddlesticks jumped into a fight here, Alistar would have little hope of finding a suitable angle of attack in order to eject him from the fray. Furthermore, he was keeping a finger over his Flash¡ªeven if Alistar did somehow remove him from the battle, he would just Flash right back in!


    ¡°Then we fight!¡± Huang Mi glanced at his remaining health. Two-thirds left.


    This was advantageous terrain for them. If Sona performed a Flash-ulti here, victory would be within their grasp!


    The members of Team Pride gritted their teeth. It was time to roll the dice!


    Shen was the only tank on their team. Without hesitation, he charged fearlessly past Morgana, ignoring her Soul Shackles as he dove straight at the enemy team!


    Sona, who had been backpedaling away from the fight, suddenly Flashed in and let fly with her Crescendo!


    Surprised by her ferocity, everyone on Team Scarlet, besides Morgana, was caught in the area of effect!


    ¡°Sweet! Huang Mi, they¡¯re all yours!¡± the Jungler Zhao Shuxin yelled.


    Up until this point, Sona hadn¡¯t really been standing out, but while under the effect of Soul Shackles, she¡¯d managed to pull off a brilliant Flash-ulti ! 1


    Four enemies Stunned, and the only one who hadn¡¯t been caught in the effect was Morgana, who¡¯d already thrown herself into their arms, and had just now activated Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass. 1


    Beside their tower, Fiddlesticks had both arms extended, chanting a fell incantation!

 Chapter 54 - Spirit Breaker

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Scarlet was in a crisis. It hadn¡¯t been wise for them to start a team fight in this location. They¡¯d even allowed Sona to deal such a pivotal blow, which could very well turn the tables against them!


    Stunned as they were, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of the way before Fiddlesticks popped in, which meant they would all suffer grievous harm¡ªjust in time for Katarina to come in and finish them all off!


    As everyone was Stunned and in abject despair, good ol¡¯ Alistar gave a mighty roar! With his Unbreakable Will, he threw off the Stun effect!


    ¡°I¡¯ve got Zhonya¡¯s, now. I¡¯ll use it the moment I arrive. We¡¯ll see how you¡¯ll Headbutt me this time!¡± Zhao Shuxin chortled with glee.


    ¡®You think just because you¡¯ve got a mark on me, that means I¡¯ll be at your mercy forever? This time, you¡¯re all done for!¡¯ Zhao Shuxin¡¯s face was contorted into a manic expression.


    Bamf!


    Flash! Suddenly, Alistar¡¯s massive girth vanished from the cramped confines of the jungle path, and re-appeared on the other side of the wall, next to the tower!


    Headbutt!


    Bolstered by his Unbreakable Will, Alistar slammed into Fiddlesticks just before he vanished, driving his horns into his enemy with all his might!


    Fiddlesticks, right on the very cusp of starting his attack, was instead sent flying in the opposite direction, and came down skittering across the steps that led up to his base.


    Never even completing his spell, instead of a dark storm of black crows, his head was wreathed with the wheeling golden stars of a Stun effect for half a second!


    Fiddlesticks¡¯s ulti had been cut off while it had still been Channeling 1 !


    ¡°Oh, screw you!¡± Fiddlesticks¡¯s player Zhao Shuxin had slipped off the edge of sanity now. Slamming his hand on the table, he rose to his feet cursing 1 .


    During the previous couple of team fights, he¡¯d been knocked out of the park as soon as he arrived. Except for one instance during the game, when he¡¯d caught Kha¡¯Zix alone and killed him, he¡¯d basically never been allowed to bring his ulti to bear this whole game.


    Those past few times were one thing. It couldn¡¯t be helped if Alistar had been watching out for him.


    But this time, he¡¯d been interrupted right in the middle of casting! For someone playing as Fiddlesticks, there was no greater insult!


    The whole reason Zhao Shuxin enjoyed playing as Fiddlesticks was because, whenever he cast that spell, he would bring storm clouds and cawing ravens, death and darkness, terror and dread.


    Have you ever wondered what it would look like if the spell failed to finish being cast?


    One moment, Fiddlesticks would be chanting his sonorous incantation, a harbinger of the apocalypse to come¡ªand then suddenly, everything went awry, and his mind was left a complete blank. Looking up into a clear, untroubled sky, the only darkness to be found might be a single crow perhaps, swimming through the sky while squawking in mockery at what a fool he looked.


    What could possibly be more infuriating?


    In that moment when Alistar rammed into him, he could hear that damned crow squawking somewhere overhead, and in spite of himself, Fiddlesticks flung his sickle in a rage, hoping to strike it dead!


    ***


    ¡°Oh my stars and garters, another god-like play by Alistar!¡±


    ¡°Superhuman reflexes!¡±


    ¡°Poor Fiddlesticks¡­ he¡¯s all in tears!¡±


    Seeing that spectacular display, the cyber caf¨¦ was once again filled with cheers!


    Without a doubt, it was a marvelous thing to see an Alistar Flash into the enemy¡¯s ranks and catch their main damage-dealer with a Headbutt.


    But even better was Flashing straight through a wall and smacking away Fiddlesticks in mid-chant, leaving him looking like a bloody idiot. Surely there could be no cooler moment for Alistar.


    Indeed, the most crucial member of Team Pride¡¯s champion line-up was neither Varus nor Katarina¡ªit was actually Fiddlesticks who held the largest damage potential.


    If Fiddlesticks didn¡¯t bring down the enemy¡¯s health, how was Katarina to conduct her killing spree? This one move had caused their entire strategy to fall through!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s latest master-stroke of Alistar gameplay had not only left the audience blinded, it also inspired in the other Team Scarlet members an overwhelming urge to give him a big, wet kiss.


    This Support was out of this world!


    The other four Team Scarlet players generally disliked playing in the Support role, themselves, because they¡¯d always felt like Support champions didn¡¯t contribute that much to the game.


    Now that they¡¯d seen Yu Luocheng playing Alistar, they finally understood that a good Support player formed the heart of the team. No wonder so many famous teams were led by Support players!


    With the enemy formation broken and scattered, there was little suspense left in this latest team fight.


    Yu Luocheng circled around and came up on the enemy from behind, knocking both Katarina and Varus into the sky with a Pulverize. This finally allowed Malphite some breathing room, having been under chain CC 1 the whole time, and he immediately threw himself at Katarina and Varus with his ultimate skill.


    Kha¡¯Zix had positioned itself well, and managed to avoid getting tagged by Varus¡¯s ulti. With a well-executed Leap, it pounced between Katarina and Varus, teaming up with Alistar and Malphite to put them both into the dirt. Next, it went for the now-deranged Fiddlesticks, who didn¡¯t even bother activating his Hourglass, already consumed by despair.


    Meanwhile, Graves was locked in a duel with Shen. The pitiful amount of damage that Shen dealt was instantly regained through Graves¡¯ Lifesteal.


    As for Sona, there was little left to say, what with how she¡¯d served herself right up to the enemy in order to use her ulti to maximum effect. There was no hope of escape for her, and Graves finished her with one long-ranged blast of his own ultimate skill.


    In no time at all, four of the enemy champions had been eradicated, and they once again reprised the scene of Shen silently being beaten into oblivion by everyone.


    Perhaps his teammates were playing mahjong 1 at the Fountain now? If so, there would be no empty seat for Shen when it was his turn to join them.


    ***


    ¡°Let¡¯s surrender. I don¡¯t want to play anymore.¡± Team Pride¡¯s Jungler, Zhao Shuxin, simply took off his headphones after saying this.


    Gloomily, Huang Mi held down the Tab key, and saw that his Katarina had so far only claimed three contrived kills. He didn¡¯t have any hope left, either.


    He wasn¡¯t surprised to find that they were losing to Team Scarlet, but he hadn¡¯t expected that they would be losing so badly!


    ¡°Damn it, who was it that told us Team Scarlet¡¯s Support was just a seat-filler?¡± Their ADC Yi Xing roared in a foul temper.


    Huang Mi shot a look at Lin Xu, who looked absolutely wretched right then.


    Truth be told, Lin Xu was still having trouble believing that it was really Yu Luocheng Yu playing that Alistar. He was supposed to be a freshly graduated high-school boy, just like Lin Xu!


    Team Pride voted to surrender. GG!


    This highly anticipated match between Team Scarlet and Team Pride had ended with Team Scarlet gaining an insurmountable lead, ultimately taking the game!


    One could say that Flash-Headbutt from Alistar had been the last blow which utterly broke the enemy¡¯s will to keep fighting.


    With that, all matches had ended for the day!


    Putting down their headphones, Team Scarlet¡¯s ADC Ocean Shieh, team leader Huang Wong, Jungler Xiao Dao, and Top-Laner Xiao Tongtong rose from their seats, and then as one man they turned to regard Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Kid, you played that Alistar like a legend!¡± Huang Yu gave Yu Luocheng the thumbs-up.


    ¡°Haha, looks like Team Scarlet has picked up one hell of a Support,¡± Xiao Dao declared cheerfully. ¡°Those were imba clutch 1 plays.¡±


    Ocean¡¯s estimation of Yu Luocheng had been altered completely. Who could appreciate the worth of the Support better than the ADC himself?


    Given a Support like this, there was little Xue Haiyang could say. Although he¡¯d taken all the glory for himself, he couldn¡¯t help but admire the boy¡¯s gameplay skills and tactical sense!


    ¡°Team Scarlet have found themselves a truly incredible player!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The MVP of that game was Alistar, no doubt about it. There was that time when they escaped the five-man ambush, and then that unbelievable Headbutt at the end¡ªboth deserve to be featured in some ¡®Top 10¡¯ list on the official game website!¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, what did Commander Qin call that guy, just now?¡± The crowd was deep in heated discussion.


    ¡°Is he accepting any disciples? I¡¯m a Support player, myself. It¡¯d be great if he could take me under his wing,¡± whispered a petite little beauty.


    ¡°He¡¯s my friend! His name¡¯s Yu Luocheng¡ªwe¡¯re friends!¡± Capitalizing on the moment, Wang Qin turned to announce this to the crowd.


    That was when the Class 8 students saw Yu Luocheng rising from his chair, and they hurried up to him.


    Right now, being near Yu Luocheng was to catch a sliver of the spotlight!


    The Yu Luocheng they knew from school had typically appeared more dead than alive, always halfway nodding off to sleep. Who could have guessed that when he played League of Legends, he¡¯d be hot enough to burn you to a crisp!

 Chapter 55 - The International Player

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Team Scarlet have found themselves an extraordinary Support player. The other members were already strong enough to begin with¡ªlooks like no one will be able to stop them from taking the crown at the Dragon Rising,¡± a nameless expert declared.


    ¡°Never mind the Dragon Rising, they¡¯re definitely going all the way to the top of Lecheng!¡± Kitten exclaimed.


    ¡°Speaking too soon, perhaps. Dawn, EZ, Aviator¡­ those are all strong teams, and they¡¯ve been training for much longer.¡±


    ¡°I already can¡¯t wait for the Lecheng finals! It¡¯s gonna be insane! And with thirty thousand bucks up for grabs, winning the whole thing is really gonna pay off!¡±


    There were actually some other matches taking place after Team Scarlet vs. Team Pride, but after having seen a clash between titans, there was little interest in watching the rest of the small fry go at it.


    However, in the fourth group of contestants, there was the surprising appearance of a 2-1-2 1 formation in a competitive game. This piqued everyone¡¯s interest, and they flocked over to watch the game. When it turned out to be a bunch of middle-school students, there began a vigorous exercise in veiled mockery, sarcastic jabs, and disingenuous insinuations of every sort.


    As for Yu Luocheng, he left as soon as his game ended, ushered out by a throng of his fellow students.


    Commander Qin ordered the rest of Team Scarlet to resume their training, and they glumly complied.


    It was just one victory in the qualifier rounds¡ªa victory that had been firmly predicted in advance¡ªthere was nothing to be smug about. Commander Qin was the sort of leader who emphasized diligence and discipline.


    Of course, Yu Luocheng was a special exception.


    ¡°Not bad, Yin Qin. Where¡¯d you find a Support player of that caliber?¡± Tang Nan, owner of the Dragon Rising Net Caf¨¦, inquired with a chuckle.


    ¡°A friend from long ago. We¡¯ve had some good times together.¡± A smile touched Yin Qin¡¯s normally severe expression.


    ¡°Eh, where¡¯d he run off to? Team Scarlet has to keep training, right? Doesn¡¯t he need to practice, too?¡± Tang Nan craned his neck to look around, and spotted Yu Luocheng leaving with some other students.


    Yin Qin smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯ll let Kim handle it for now. Things aren¡¯t so simple, with this kid.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Tang Nan asked curiously. He seemed to be just some kid fresh out of high school¡­ what sort of complications could he present to Commander Qin?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember, a few years back, when someone from Lecheng caught the eye of Coach Lei? And then he was brought into Flash Entertainment?¡±


    ¡°Rings a bell, rings a bell¡­ I seem to recall it was a kid of fourteen or fifteen¡­¡± Tang Nan replied.


    Yin Qin turned his gaze in Yu Luocheng¡¯s direction.


    Tang Nan followed his gaze, although Yu Luocheng was already no longer in view. Realization struck him, and he blurted out, ¡°Holy crap, that was the kid?¡±


    ¡°Yup, that was him.¡±


    ¡°Yin Qin, this¡­ this is too much! You put a former international-level pro-gamer into your team?¡± Tang Nan gaped at him in shock.


    International tournaments were a long sight from cyber caf¨¦ competitions. They were broadcast live on TV, prestigious events where one faced off against the best gamers of other countries. All participants represented the very best of the best, the cream of the crop!


    Yin Qin continued, ¡°He¡¯s back to being a student now. He¡¯s quit the pro-gaming scene. It was only an unusual circumstance that brought him into my team.¡±


    ¡°Student? Load of crock. He¡¯s a world-class player, he should have no problem bringing in the dough!¡± Tang Nan sputtered.


    ¡°Being a pro-gamer isn¡¯t as clear-cut as you think,¡± Yin said. ¡°He¡¯s still young. If he really gambles everything on this right now, who can guarantee he¡¯ll be able to make a living from it for the rest of his life? You could say that pro-gaming depends on youthfulness even more than prostitution does. Once you¡¯re past twenty-five, no one will want you anymore.


    ¡°Why not study, get into a good school, find a decent job¡­ With pro-gaming, you can earn a bit of money and fame through tournaments, but if one day you can¡¯t find yourself a sponsor or a team, you¡¯ll be left with nothing.¡±


    Yin Qin spoke from long experience. Previously, he¡¯d been a drifter with no real job, wandering from one place to another, doing whatever it took just to scrape by every day.


    Now that he was an older man, Yin Qin looked back on his younger self and thought that he¡¯d been a damned fool. Never picking up any real skills, only knowing how to play games, whiling away his days in cyber caf¨¦s. The sweatshop he¡¯d assembled was barely holding together. His stake in the cyber caf¨¦ business, in view of the failing state of the industry, was worth crackers. The stress was mounting each day.


    Tang Nan fell silent on the matter. As the owner of a cyber caf¨¦, he had a steady income himself, but he didn¡¯t know that much about professional gaming.


    ¡°Well, now that he¡¯s in your team, your odds of getting first place are looking pretty good!¡± Tang Nan quipped.


    ¡°I have no doubts about his abilities. The problem is the rest of the team. Dawn, EZ, Aviator¡­ they formed a team and began training as soon as they caught wind of this tournament¡ªnothing like our Team Scarlet, one foot out the door and still putting our shoes on, those four guys still with so much room left to grow.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t DotA,¡± Yin Qin said, ¡°You can¡¯t carry an entire game on the shoulders of one extraordinary player. It¡¯s hard to say anything from here.¡±


    ¡°Hey, now¡­ Don¡¯t be such a wet blanket.¡± Tang Nan patted Yin Qin cheerfully on the shoulder.


    ***


    Outside the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦, Yu Luocheng was finally able to shake off Wang Qin, Zhong Xiaoyun, and the others after great effort.


    They¡¯d all gone raving mad, just short of falling on their knees before him in worship. It was just a game, there was no need to behave like he knew the secret of life, the universe, and everything.


    Wang Qin, Zhong Xiaoyun, Sun Yang, et al. seemed convinced that skill at LoL would get them the ladies. After all, wasn¡¯t their goddess Yang Qianqian completely stuck onto Yu Luocheng now? Wasn¡¯t it because he looked super-cool when playing LoL?


    So Wang Qin and his bunch of scrubs had made up their minds to hone their skills over the holidays, so that they could sweep the girls off their feet when they went on to university!


    Picking up chicks with your skill at League of Legends 1 ¡­


    Yu Luocheng thought they were off their rockers. Well, perhaps if you were good at using Shen.


    Going by statistics, out of ten ¡®League of Legends¡¯ players, one might be a girl. If you liked gaming, and hoped your girl might share your hobby with you, know that you¡¯d be bringing her within reach of as many as eight other players. This was before any questions as to whether that girl was a tomboy, goddess, know-it-all, or whatever other types you might care to list¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll walk you home.¡± Yu Luocheng turned and offered Yang Qianqian a winning smile.


    Yang Qianqian shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m going back with Fang Xiaomei.¡±


    ¡°Fang Xiaomei? She¡¯s long gone.¡± Yu Luocheng pointed towards the street corner, where the petite beauty had knowingly taken her leave of them.


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be wandering around on her own,¡± Yang Qianqian muttered.


    ¡°Zhong Xiaoyun¡¯s with her.¡±


    Yang Qianqian turned to look, and sure enough, there was Zhong Xiaoyun, creeping dubiously after Fang Xiaomei.


    Fang Xiaomei was an athlete. Don¡¯t be fooled by her modest frame¡ªwhen she got riled up, she was the equal of several men. If Zhong Xiaoyun fancied himself a bit of stalking, that was his own risk to take. If he got caught by Fang Xiaomei, he could always start over from the beginning¡ªthat is to say, if Fang Xiaomei suspected that he was up to anything fishy, he would soon be waiting to respawn at the Fountain.


    What¡¯s that you say: you¡¯re not familiar with the art of stalking?


    Stalking is an exciting game of cat-and-mouse, a supreme test of wit and skill, beloved by those who enjoyed a good chase. Attractive gamer girls are welcome to give it a try¡ªit¡¯s a lot of fun!


    There are all kinds of scenarios and instances that you might find deeply memorable. There could be a sort of ¡®tough on the outside, soft on the inside¡¯ romantic play going on, truly moving stuff. Be sure to bring your own tissues.

 Chapter 56 - Cyber Café Champions

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Yu Luocheng said to Yang Qianqian.


    ¡°Did Zhong Xiaoyun confess to Fang Xiaomei, on the night of our graduation?¡± Yang Qianqian hurried after Yu Luocheng, her tone adorable and curious.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Yu Luocheng vaguely recalled something like that happening.


    ¡°She turned him down?¡± Yang Qianqian asked on.


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°Does Zhong Xiaoyun really like Fang Xiaomei?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    Yang Qianqian pouted unhappily at Yu Luocheng. ¡°Can you say anything else besides, ¡®I think so¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Wasn¡¯t I awesome, back there?¡± Yu Luocheng chortled.


    ¡°So awesome. I even heard some cute girl talking about how she wanted to get to know you better.¡±


    ¡°I already have you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t kid around.¡± Yang Qianqian rolled her eyes at him, and then hurried to change the subject. ¡°That day, when you rushed off to the hospital¡­ was it someone in the family? How bad was it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright.¡± Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t say more.


    After a moment of silence, Yu Luocheng finally decided to add, ¡°I won¡¯t be playing with you for a while. I¡¯ve got stuff I have to do.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I can play Ranked, now. I¡¯ll start in a couple of days. How far do you think I¡¯ll be able to get, by myself?¡±


    ¡°1,300 at most.¡±


    ¡°1,300, really? You think I¡¯m that good?¡± Yang Qianqian asked jubilantly.


    Yu Luocheng found it odd to see her still smiling so cheerfully.


    Thinking about it, he realized that she probably wasn¡¯t aware that you started Ranked with 1,200 points.


    Alright, then there was no hurry to expose her to this cruel reality.


    ***


    His dad would still need someone to take care of him after his operation had been completed. His mom still needed to go to work, so most of the time this duty fell to Yu Luocheng.


    Commander Qin was aware that Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t have much time to spare for training, so he only contacted him when he was needed for a real game.


    ***


    The semi-finals took place on the fourth day.


    Over the past few days, the major cyber caf¨¦s had been bursting with activity. Drinks sales numbered in the tons. If business was this good all the time, the cyber cafes of Lecheng would be so happy they wouldn¡¯t know what to do.


    On the second day of the semi-finals, Team Scarlet entered their second match.


    It was a one-sided affair: they won in all three lanes. Their opponents were a far cry from Team Pride.


    ***


    Becoming the champions of a cyber caf¨¦ meant receiving a reward of over a thousand RMB for each player.


    The top eight teams each got a little something, even if it wasn¡¯t much¡ªbut every truly passionate player of ¡®League of Legends¡¯, after countless Normal and Ranked matches, would surely crave a real test of mettle like this. Who didn¡¯t dream of claiming victory before the eyes of countless LoL fans, to the sound of uproarious cheering and applause?


    Competitions within each of the participating cyber caf¨¦s would carry on for wholly twelve days.


    The summer sun burned fiercely, and its scorching heat was felt not just in the streets¡ªthe battles raging between the various teams within the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦ were reaching boiling point!


    In the blink of an eye, ten days of heated combat had already taken place.


    Yu Luocheng had spent most of this time in the hospital looking after his father, post-operation.


    Occasionally, he¡¯d also go to the cyber caf¨¦ to train with his teammates.


    As for actual competition games, he¡¯d played in four of those already.


    The first match, against Team Pride, had been pretty spectacular.


    As for the second match, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t even remember whom they¡¯d fought, since it hadn¡¯t been anyone worth remembering.


    The third match had been against Team Ancients, and what a dull game it had been. Yu Luocheng had played Soraka as Support, and he might as well have just spent the whole game eating popcorn in the brush, watching Xue Haiyang¡¯s Ezreal handle everything.


    Their fourth match put them up against a strong contender: Team ATM. It was that bunch of university students who¡¯d defeated Team Pride during the qualifiers.


    This team employed unorthodox strategies, but although their team composition looked to be a complete mess, they nevertheless were able to take the initiative in every team fight against Team Scarlet.


    This fourth match had been particularly crucial, because one of the teams would become the only one to win four games in a row in the Dragon Rising. The winner would also proceed directly into the cyber caf¨¦ finals.


    Team ATM played meticulously, and left no openings for Team Scarlet to find, despite their unfathomable array of champions. Over multiple team fights, Team Scarlet was unable to get ahead by any substantial degree.


    The game remained evenly matched for quite a while, but thanks to a spectacular play by Yu Luocheng, they were finally able to break the stalemate.


    For this match, Yu Luocheng had used one of his best Support champions, Zyra.


    Used to dominating vision control as Zyra, he¡¯d hidden her in a blind spot and waited until the enemy Ezreal came up to use his Q-skill on something, at which point he¡¯d thrown out Zyra¡¯s E-skill, Grasping Roots, and caught him.


    When the other four ATM players came rushing to Ezreal¡¯s rescue, Yu Luocheng had performed a Flash-ulti that knocked the entire enemy team up into the air!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s performance throughout that game had been mediocre and unremarkable, playing neither aggressively nor recklessly. However, just as everyone was thinking that Team Scarlet¡¯s star Support player was perhaps new to using Zyra, out came that marvelous ultimate which dazzled everyone blind.


    He¡¯d been holding back on purpose before dealing the true killing blow, disabling the entire enemy team. In that instant, when all five enemy champions were flung up into the air, the whole cyber caf¨¦ erupted in wild bellowing!


    After that day, no one would be able to forget that incredible full-team Stranglethorns knock-up.


    ***


    In a match against an equal adversary, losing a single team fight meant losing the whole game.


    Team ATM had exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations. It had been thought that Team Scarlet would be unchallenged in their rise to first place, but Team ATM had managed to fight them to a standstill.


    All the same, Team ATM had been defeated, in the end.


    The university students had taken their defeat graciously. After the game had ended, one of the players, with permed hair and purple highlights, had even risen to his feet to give Yu Luocheng a big thumbs up.


    Yu Luocheng had given him a friendly smile in return. Through battle, they had learned respect for one another.


    With Team ATM down, there was no one left who could stand against Team Scarlet.


    The best game isn¡¯t always in the finals. Everyone in the Dragon Rising considered Team Scarlet vs. Team ATM to be the most riveting match in the entire competition.


    On the twelfth day of the competition, Team Scarlet went up against Team ¡®Keyboard & Mouse¡¯, and it could hardly be called a real fight at all¡ªit wasn¡¯t even as good as Team Scarlet¡¯s first match, against Team Pride.


    And so, Team Scarlet became the champions of the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦!


    Scarlet, ATM, and Pride¡ªthese three teams were selected to represent the Dragon Rising in the tournament.


    In two days, they would have to face off against the top three teams from the other participating cyber caf¨¦s, in order to decide who was the best in Lecheng, and get that reward of thirty thousand bucks!


    Winning first place in Lecheng city was worth six thousand RMB to each player. This was a vital matter for Yu Luocheng.


    Through all the battles to come, he would settle for nothing less than victory!

 Chapter 57 - Yu Luochengs Little Sister

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At Lecheng Station, a double-decker bus slowly made its way into the city.


    These buses were typically packed with people, who would be getting off in a great bustle of luggage.


    This one had barely seven or eight passengers on board, all seated on the upper level, looking out through the windows at the city, at the crowds milling about the bus station. Their young faces bore a cast of arrogant disdain.


    ¡°Thanks, Uncle Peng. Making you come all the way out here, and holding everyone up for half an hour¡­ I truly apologize.¡± The bus doors swung open to reveal a fetching young lady, who was addressing the bus driver with impeccable politeness.


    The driver smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯re old acquaintances, after all. There¡¯s no need to stand on ceremony.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll be off, then.¡± She waved at the others in the bus, who were clad in fine branded sportswear.


    Seeing her, the youths turned away from the windows to smile in return, and a tall, dashing guy among their number said, ¡°Hurry back, now. Getting into a few major competitions will provide valuable experience for your own career. Be sure you don¡¯t miss out! Don¡¯t forget to visit the swimming pool for some solo training when you can spare the time, lest your body forgets the feel of the water.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to do that. See you, everyone.¡± With that, the girl took her luggage and got off the bus.


    The three sitting on the right side followed the nubile young beauty away with their eyes, full of longing.


    There were many female students in their campus, but the ones who were lovely both in figure as well as character were only so few, and even more so the ones who were still single. Watching her disappear from their sight, these young men felt anxiety rising in their hearts, worried that during this latest visit home, she might get picked up by someone.


    ¡°Rainie gets more beautiful each time I see her,¡± some guy in a polo shirt said. ¡°When she first came to our Aqua Academy as a mere slip of a girl, I¡¯d never imagined she¡¯d grow into such a vision.¡±


    ¡°Haha, wipe your drool. The instructors keep a tight watch. No one ever gets any.¡± This came from the tall guy who¡¯d spoken to her earlier.


    ¡°Who can say? When it comes to matters of the heart, if both are willing, what say do the instructors get?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your hurry? Cool your heels, she¡¯s already one of us. There¡¯ll be plenty of time to get close to her.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, do you know why she applied for leave to go home at this time?¡±


    ¡°Something about her dad not being well. Needs someone to look after him, something like that.¡±


    ¡°And on the topic of her family, based on the way she dresses and stuff, I guess she¡¯s not from any wealthy background?¡±


    ¡°Just average.¡±


    ¡°Heh, heh¡­ well, that makes things simpler.¡±


    As they talked, the bus began to move once more. Without entering the Lecheng city proper, it rejoined the highway and began to leave.


    After the bus had left, two female staff members looked out the window of their booth. One of them said in bewilderment, ¡°That¡¯s odd. Isn¡¯t it prohibited for buses to drop off passengers outside of designated areas here?¡±


    ¡°Idiot, didn¡¯t you see the label on the bus? That bus could have been full of national athletes!¡±


    ¡°I say, there were quite a few hunks on board.¡±


    ***


    The river flowed serenely through the mountains, spanned by a stone bridge connecting two sections of the city, which both combined to form an even skyline of apartment buildings.


    This was the scenery Yu Luocheng saw every morning. He often thought of it as looking at a painting, not because of its breathtaking splendor, but because after seeing it every day for a dozen years or so, it felt like it was always the same.


    Today, there was the rare appearance of a dark stormcloud over a distant mountain peak. When Yu Luocheng gave the view his usual cursory glance, he caught sight of it, and felt sure that it would rain that day¡ªand it would be a heavy rain!


    In July, a household without air-conditioning would be a roasting oven, the fan stirring up a maddening tempest of sweltering air.


    ¡°Ugh, can¡¯t stand this. Back to sleep.¡± Rinsing cup in hand, Yu Luocheng suddenly didn¡¯t feel like brushing his teeth.


    He¡¯d spent all last night training hard alongside the players of Team Scarlet. Having to get up this early was inhumane.


    Now that he thought about it, today would be his mother¡¯s turn at the hospital.


    Yes, it should be fine to go back to sleep, no need to crawl out of bed just yet. Lying back in bed, he found a particularly comfortable spot this time, and soon drifted off.


    Snoozing deeply, he was only vaguely aware of someone turning a key in the door. Probably mom had just forgotten to bring the soup that she¡¯d made this morning. Paying it no mind, he resumed slumbering.


    Shortly afterward, the door to his room was opened, and a sweet scent wafted over to him¡ªbut it was this pleasing hint of fragrance which gave him that last push he needed to enter unconsciousness.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s room wasn¡¯t particularly spacious. Two-thirds of the floor was occupied by a pair of beds. Yu Luocheng was currently dozing in the larger of the two, while a table fan creaked mechanically as it worked to send a breeze in his direction.


    The other bed was a little smaller, and there was nothing upon the bedframe. It had probably not been used in a while.


    What space remained was taken up by a large cupboard, a rectangular desk, and a computer. There was nothing else.


    The door stood open, a fair young maiden in the doorway.


    She wore loose running shorts and a white sports shirt, her hair tied up simply, a relaxed and refreshing sight.


    The contours of her perfect figure were easy to appreciate, even through a simple cotton shirt. Her face was fair and fetching, without a touch of make-up, pure and pleasing to the eye.


    Standing in the doorway, she carefully set her bag down.


    Her gaze was affixed upon Yu Luocheng¡¯s sleeping form, currently clad only in a pair of trousers. A sly twinkle danced in her eyes.


    Her things laid on the floor, she glided over to Yu Luocheng¡¯s side, leaning in close to his ear¡­


    She took a deep breath, heart pounding¡­


    ¡°Brother!¡± Her voice rang out, sharp and clear.


    In his dreams, Yu Luocheng had been performing all kinds of incredible maneuvers with Lee Sin. This sudden ambush struck him like a bolt of lightning out of a blue sky, leaving him dazed.


    Jolted awake, he opened his eyes groggily.


    Immediately, he was greeted with a fox-like smile. The girl smiling at him was pretty, young, adorable, and enchanting. However¡­


    ¡°Oh, hell!¡± Yu Luocheng swore.


    Rubbing his eyes to be sure he was really seeing her, he felt he finally understood the meaning behind that morning¡¯s stormcloud:


    It had been a dark omen!


    ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯m home!¡± the little vixen announced happily.


    The truth was that Yu Luocheng often thought of himself as an only child, because most of the time he was home alone, and he¡¯d gotten used to it.


    But that little bed beside him was a constant reminder of the existence of another child in the family¡ªthe epitome of a perfect child.


    ¡°Look at Yu Yu, she¡¯s always doing so well in her swimming classes.¡±


    ¡°Look at Yu Yu, she¡¯s been selected for the city team.¡±


    ¡°Look at Yu Yu, she¡¯s always such a well-behaved child¡ªwhy can¡¯t you just listen, for once?¡±


    The sort of kid whom, every time your parents see them, they can¡¯t resist telling you something about them.


    And she lived under the same roof as him, so his mom and dad were always going, ¡°Look at Yu Yu, look at Yu Yu!¡±


    What the heck was there to look at? She could very well go look at herself in a mirror!


    As long as she was here, Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t get any peace¡ªnone at all!


    ¡°Why¡­ why did you come back!¡± As the she-demon leaned even closer towards him, he hurriedly snatched up his shirt and put it on.


    ¡°Mom said Dad¡¯s fallen ill and needs someone to look after him, so I came back.¡± She scowled, upset.


    She¡¯d gone through so much trouble to come back home, and the first thing her idiot brother had to say to her was something so unwelcoming. He didn¡¯t look the least bit glad to see her here.


    Was she his little sister or not?


    In those Hong Kong and Korean dramas you see on TV, the older brother always welcomes his little sister home with a warm hug, tousling her hair and smiling his love for her.


    This was nothing at all like in the dramas!

 Chapter 58 - I’ve Got a Date

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Thinking about it, after winning first place in Lecheng, Yu Luocheng figured he¡¯d still have to head to the provincial capital to compete there. There¡¯d be no way for him to help look after his father, then. It was just as well that Yu Yu had come home, so that there¡¯d at least be someone to take care of Dad.


    Now that she¡¯d woken him up, she didn¡¯t appear to have any intention of letting him go back to sleep. She was chattering incessantly, with no end in sight.


    Yu Luocheng could barely get a word in edgewise.


    ¡°Did you stay up last night gaming again?¡± Yu Yu asked, examining Yu Luocheng¡¯s bleary eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡± Yu Luocheng muttered.


    ¡°Mom¡¯s at the hospital?¡±


    ¡°Yup. Why don¡¯t you go find her? You¡¯re disturbing my sleep.¡± He didn¡¯t hide the impatience in his voice.


    ¡°How can you be so vile? I¡¯ve finally come home, but you won¡¯t even spare a moment to talk with me!¡± Yu Yu was really losing her temper now.


    She¡¯d been smiling to herself the whole time on the bus, thinking about seeing her family again, including her always sullen brother.


    But to receive such ill-treatment from him had left her deeply displeased. At her academy, she was typically treated like the center of the universe.


    It had been a year since she last saw Yu Luocheng. She was rarely home, always training at her swimming academy. She studied at a boarding school far from home. This time around she¡¯d come home in a good mood, and had even planned to surprise him with a big hug, but instead she¡¯d found him fast asleep¡ªand as if that wasn¡¯t enough, he actually seemed displeased to see her home. He was the absolute worst!


    ¡°Tonight, you¡¯re coming with me to the hospital.¡± Yu Yu glared at Yu Luocheng as she said this.


    Zzz¡­


    Yu Luocheng had gone back to sleep. Yu Yu picked up a pillow and hurled it at him.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng slept from the morning until well past four in the afternoon. When he awoke, the smell of freshly cooked rice was coming from the kitchen.


    When he got out of bed, the first thing he did was take a shower, and only after that did he brush his teeth.


    He had a date with Yang Qianqian to go out on the town tonight. He couldn¡¯t allow himself to look too shabby.


    The one good thing about Yu Yu being home was that the girl could cook. Coming out of his long slumber, Yu Luocheng was dying of hunger. He sat down and started eating right away.


    When Yu Yu finished cooking and came out to see Yu Luocheng wolfing down all the food, her pretty features twisted into a frown.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat it all,¡± she admonished him, ¡°I¡¯m planning to bring some for mom and dad at the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded, and continued to gorge himself.


    When he was finished, he looked at the time, and decided to leave at sundown. Normally, at this hour, he¡¯d either be loafing around at the hospital, or else he¡¯d be training or playing in a tournament match. Yu Luocheng felt he was growing distant from Yang Qianqian.


    He genuinely did like her, and he suspected that she liked him too. Since the feeling was mutual, he wanted to make the best of it, and see how far they could go together.


    ¡°Where are you off to!¡± Seeing Yu Luocheng heading out the door, Yu Yu frantically called after him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a date,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Come with me to the hospital!¡± Yu Yu demanded.


    ¡°Just go by yourself. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know the way.¡±


    ¡°No way! You say you¡¯ve got a date¡ªI bet you¡¯re just going down to the cyber caf¨¦ to play games with that lot again!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, either way.¡±


    ***


    A pleasant river breeze blew over the bridge, teasing at her hair as it passed.


    The white dress she wore was embroidered with pink flower buds, and it did a good job of emphasizing her statuesque figure and feminine grace.


    Porcelain-white thighs swayed beneath the knee-length skirt, smooth as finest silk. Pedestrians on the bridge tended to turn back after they¡¯d passed her by¡ªeven drivers in passing cars, as though unconcerned about getting into an accident.


    Yang Qianqian leaned against the stone railing of the bridge, pouting in a huff over how late Yu Luocheng was.


    They¡¯d agreed to meet here, at this time. She¡¯d spent more than two hours carefully doing her make-up today . 1 She¡¯d tried on a dozen different outfits before finally settling on this white dress.


    Her hair had taken a while, too. It was a lucky thing that the wind wasn¡¯t too strong here, otherwise it might mess it all up again.


    Yang Qianqian looked across the bridge again, just as Yu Luocheng finally appeared. Seeing him, a faint hint of delight arose in her eyes.


    However, as he drew closer, her expression changed completely. Walking along beside him was a young lady of breathtaking, radiant beauty.


    The casual clothes she wore failed to conceal the lithe, nubile temptations which lay beneath. She had a pretty little face that any man would be captivated by.


    Yang Qianqian looked at Yu Luocheng, and then at this sensuous siren by his side.


    He¡¯d agreed to accompany her out to town tonight, but now a second woman had appeared¡­ what was the meaning of this!


    ¡°You¡¯re talking my ear off. Will you die if you go quiet for a minute?¡± Yu Luocheng was saying.


    ¡°You said you¡¯ve got a date. Heh, maybe it¡¯s that girl in the dress, up ahead?¡± the girl taunted him.


    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s her.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    The girl rolled her eyes. ¡°Who¡¯d believe you? You¡¯ve got no chance with a girl like her.¡±


    ¡°I say! And what do you mean by that?¡± Yu Luocheng lost his temper.


    No chance? Was he such a lowly being? He didn¡¯t have earth-shattering good looks, but he still drew a few surreptitious glances from innocent girls at school on occasion. What¡¯s more, his greatest appeal was what he had on the inside!


    Bickering with the girl like this, Yu Luocheng had already arrived before Yang Qianqian. Noticing her confusion, he stabbed a finger in the direction of the other girl. ¡°My little sister. She¡¯s back from studying elsewhere, and now she¡¯s following me around like a pest.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Oh¡­¡± Yang Qianqian nodded in acknowledgment. So she was his sister¡ªthat was alright.


    Yu Yu gaped at Yang Qianqian, then at Yu Luocheng, her mouth hanging open wide enough to stuff a chicken egg in there.


    She¡¯d just pointed her out at random, refusing to believe her brother was actually going on a date¡ªcertainly not with this dazzling vision of beauty!


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, how can your sister be such an adorable little thing?¡± Yang Qianqian remarked.


    ¡°Adorable?¡± Yu Luocheng turned to examine Yu Yu closely.

 Chapter 59 - Short-Handed

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng was in a good mood today, because Yang Qianqian¡¯s spellbinding appearance was earning him the envy and ire of everyone they passed on the street.


    In the past, he had been one of those jealous losers, too. Whenever he saw a beauty walking beside some undeserving beast, he would tremble with the injustice of it.


    Thanks to League of Legends, he¡¯d been able to come into his own, and now he was being accompanied by this hot babe¡ªone who didn¡¯t mind showing off her legs on the regular¡ªand his life was suddenly filled with meaning.


    He wished to thank GTV, AV, LoL¡­


    ***


    Strolling through the shopping district, it seemed Yang Qianqian had a fascination for accessories. Whenever she caught sight of a display of tiny little accessories, a smile of simple delight lit up her face.


    Yu Luocheng thought back to that evening, after the first day of their finals exams, when she¡¯d held up that fine silver chain to her ear, tilted her head to show it to him, and he¡¯d fallen head-over-heels for her.


    That scene had replayed any number of times in his dreams afterwards. So when Yang Qianqian went to try out each one of those accessories, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t feel the slightest trace of impatience at all, and just watched her with a goofy grin on his face, thinking, ¡®If I had the money, I¡¯d just buy everything in this shop and give it all to her!¡¯


    Yang Qianqian was thinking about something else. Though she appeared calm and cheerful on the surface, she was in truth deeply disturbed: ¡®He really is the worst, leering at me non-stop¡­ and with that creepy smile of his!¡¯


    ¡°Your phone¡¯s ringing!¡± Yang Qianqian looked at Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t noticed at all. Yang Qianqian was utterly mesmerizing today, and he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of her. His phone? Nuts to it!


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Yu Luocheng!¡± It was the shrill voice of his mother. Yu Luocheng froze.


    Normally, his mother only called his first name, and always with such gentle warmth. Hearing her invoke his full name like this, Yu Luocheng had a fell premonition.


    Surely everyone knows that when your mother calls you by your full name, you¡¯ve really ticked her off this time!


    Hold on, maybe it was nothing¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Mom?¡± Yu Luocheng inquired cautiously.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been picking on Yu Yu again, haven¡¯t you!¡± came the fierce accusation.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s expression soured instantly. That damned imp!


    She just couldn¡¯t stand him finding a girlfriend who was more mature and appealing than her!


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Yu Luocheng declared.


    ¡°You dare deny it! She¡¯s already in tears! Where are you right now? Get over here at once!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Yu Luocheng would dearly love to swear a vile oath, but considering that he was talking to his own mother, he swallowed it back down.


    ¡°I¡¯m busy with something. I¡¯ll come over later.¡±


    ¡°What could you be busy with? Get over here, right now!¡± His mother¡¯s harsh tone brooked no objections.


    ¡°Mom, I really do have something going on right now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll even defy your own mother, now?¡±


    As he hung up the phone, a hundred thousand curses wheeled through his mind.


    Li Yun was generally Yu Luocheng¡¯s real mother, but whenever that she-devil was around, she suddenly became his stepmother instead. Honestly, it was often unclear to him just who was the firstborn child.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look down.¡± Yang Qianqian had noticed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that my little sister is a nuisance. She¡¯s denounced me before my parents, and expects me to prostrate myself before her in apology.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your sister see you going out with me?¡± As she said this, Yang Qianqian felt herself become flustered, suddenly unable to look him straight in the eye.


    ¡°She¡¯s doing this on purpose.¡±


    ¡°I guess she¡¯s mad at you about something. Why don¡¯t you be nicer to her? She is your little sister. As her older brother, you¡¯re supposed to make some compromises for her. My brother would never dare to pick on me, for fear that I should tell on him to our parents.¡± Yang Qianqian said all this with an air of mischief.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s face grew longer. He now understood that all little sisters were equally vile.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out if Yu Yu¡¯s intention was simply to ruin his date, or if she really was upset about something. Thinking about it, it was true that he¡¯d provided too cold a welcome for his sister¡¯s rare homecoming. Perhaps he ought to go apologize, after all.


    Knowing that Yu Luocheng¡¯s dad was in the hospital, Yang Qianqian tagged along with him to go there, saying that he was the father of her friend from school, so she ought to pay him a visit, too.


    Yu Luocheng was overjoyed to see that Yang Qianqian was willing to introduce herself to his parents already.


    The hospital wasn¡¯t far from here. They could just walk there.


    As they arrived in the hospital lobby, a group of four or five people suddenly burst in, every one of them in a grim mood.


    They began to make a commotion in the hall. It was already late at night, so they couldn¡¯t take a number and there weren¡¯t any doctors immediately in sight. All they could do was shout for somebody¡¯s attention.


    Alarmed by their brusque behavior, Yang Qianqian took shelter behind Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng turned to them, and suddenly spotted Commander Qin in their midst.


    ¡°Oh, are they your teammates?¡± Looking closer, Yang Qianqian thought she recognized them as well.


    Suddenly sober, Yu Luocheng hurried over to them. When he reached them, he saw that the leader of Team Scarlet, Yu Wong, had his hand wrapped in a cloth, blood still seeping through it and dripping on the floor.


    ¡°What are you all shouting for? This is a hospital¡ªany more noise out of you, and I¡¯ll have the guards throw you all out!¡± A matron nurse bustled up, fuming with rage.


    Xiao Dao wore a mask of fury himself, and looked as though he was about to chew out the nurse. Commander Qin stopped him in time.


    ¡°Madam, my friend¡¯s hand has been injured,¡± Yin Qin addressed her calmly. ¡°Please hurry and have a look at it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s late at night. The doctors have all signed off for the day already,¡± the nurse replied.


    ¡°There must be¡­ some doctors still on duty?¡± Yin Qin ventured.


    ¡°Those doctors are in charge of emergency operations.¡±


    Yin Qin¡¯s brows knit together. He glanced at Yu Wong¡¯s hand, still bleeding all over the floor.


    ¡°God damn it, I swear I¡¯m going to lop off that scoundrel Wu Kai¡¯s hand!¡± Xiao Dao roared, and turned to storm out of the hospital.


    ¡°Xiao Dao, get your ass back here!¡± Qin bellowed.


    This sudden explosion from Commander Qin gave the matron nurse a fright. He¡¯d been perfectly civil just a moment ago¡ªhow had he suddenly become so savage?


    ¡°Nurse Wang, these are my friends. Could you dress that wound for them?¡± Yu Luocheng walked up to join the conversation.


    Nurse Wang was no fainting coward¡ªshe¡¯d seen it all. She took one look at Huang Yu¡¯s hand, and muttered, ¡°Heaven¡¯s sake, you people¡­ never working a real job, all you do is fight all day¡­


    ¡°Truth be told, we here at the hospital loathe taking in people like you, always rushing in here in a bloody great horde, never any rest for us doctors or nurses, think we¡¯ve got nothing better to do than look after a bunch of good-for-nothing louts like yourselves?¡±


    As she moaned and grumbled away, Nurse Wang led them inside. At the door, she turned and shot a look at Yin Qin. ¡°Well, why aren¡¯t you bringing him over here? Does he want any treatment or not?¡±


    Taken aback for a moment, Yin Qin hurriedly directed Xiao Dao and Xiao Tongtong to bring Huang Yu in.


    ¡°The rest of you stay out here. Just the sight of you drives me up the wall,¡± the nurse snapped. ¡°It¡¯s not like the whole thing came off.¡±


    Flustered, Yin Qin and company backed away, and found themselves a seat out in the hall.


    Yin Qin followed after them, surveying their morose expressions. Frantically, he asked, ¡°What happened? What¡¯s with his hand?¡±


    Commander Qin kept silent.


    Huang Yu was the ¡®Scarlet¡¯ team leader. The big Lecheng game was the day after tomorrow. If the wound was serious, he would be no use to them in the tournament anymore!


    Thirty thousand bucks. They¡¯d been training hard every day with that one goal in mind.


    When Yu Luocheng joined them, Commander Qin thought they would have a real chance at it. Never had he imagined that one of his own would get taken out like this!


    ¡°It must have been Wu Kai who did this. I saw his face!¡± Xiao Dao¡¯s face contorted with anger.


    ¡°Be quiet. Keep that damned temper of yours in check!¡± Commander Qin snapped coldly.

 Chapter 60 - No Reason to Lose

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After Commander Qin had related events to him, Yu Luocheng felt he roughly understood what had happened.


    When he wasn¡¯t training in the evenings, Huang Yu used to frequent various bars around the place.


    In a rare moment of free time, he¡¯d gone out for a drink like he used to do, and ran into the players of Aviator¡¯s top representative team.


    There were only four cyber caf¨¦s of note in Lecheng. Regular patrons were all acquainted with each other.


    Wu Kai had never forgotten about his humiliating dismissal by Commander Qin. When he saw Team Scarlet¡¯s leader Huang Yu at the bar, he pointed straight at him and told everyone just who he was.


    It turned out that some of the players had known Huang Yu since a while back, and they began taunting him about the time he¡¯d been rejected by some girl.


    It was still a sore spot for Huang Yu, and he didn¡¯t take kindly to being reminded of it. A shouting match soon led to an all-out brawl.


    The whole thing stank. One moment everyone was shouting and shoving each other, and then suddenly a beer bottle had been smashed and then driven into Huang Yu¡¯s hand.


    The way his hand had been injured, he would no longer be able to play as well as he used to.


    The intention was obvious: They wanted to prevent Huang Yu from playing in the big upcoming game!


    Everyone had their sights set on those thirty thousand bucks. With a veteran leader like Commander Qin at the helm, Team Scarlet stood a substantial chance of coming out on top. Team Aviator was doing this in the hopes that it would drop Team Scarlet out of the running!


    It was the most despicable kind of tactic. Yang Qianqian had been composing herself as a lady in their presence this whole time, but hearing all this, even she could think of a few choice words she ought not to say.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯d heard of underhanded methods between competing teams before the actual game, but to think that it would happen in a LoL tournament! No wonder Xiao Dao was hollering about chopping off someone¡¯s hands!


    Xiao Dao, Huang Yu, Xiao Tongtong, and Xue Haiyang had been in League of Legends since the beginning. Their passion for the game was real.


    At first, they¡¯d just played it casually, craving a game every so often. However, for the sake of this tournament, they¡¯d spent the past two months training ten hours each day in the cyber caf¨¦!


    Ten-hour daily training was tantamount to being a pro-gamer!


    Playing for fun and as a profession are two different things. Maybe you think playing ten hours of LoL every day for four or five days is no big deal. Try ten days of that, or several months on end, and it goes from being a fun game to an excruciating form of torture. All you¡¯ll think about is training, training, training¡­


    They¡¯d taken their carefree past-time and turned it into a serious endeavor, all for the sake of scoring the grand prize in Lecheng. Just as they were getting within sight of it, they¡¯d suddenly been hamstrung by this shameless act.


    Everyone knew Commander Qin made a living off of games. Most people would suffer if they missed a single month¡¯s pay¡ªwhat more Yin Qin, who¡¯d invested so much in Team Scarlet over the past two months?


    Qin sat on the bench, and several times he¡¯d taken out a cigarette, but then remembered that he was in a hospital, and so had put it away once more.


    Yang Qianqian made a whispered suggestion, ¡°Can you put in a temporary substitute for him?¡± There were quite a few skilled Solo Mid players in the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦. If they could be brought into Team Scarlet to take part in the tournament, they might still have a chance.


    Commander Qin shook his head. ¡°No substitutions allowed.¡±


    ¡°Commander, why don¡¯t you step out for a smoke, huh?¡± Yu Luocheng patted him on the shoulder.


    Yin Qin nodded. Leaving the others to wait outside the nurse¡¯s office, he went outside with Yu Luocheng.


    ***


    ¡°Commander Qin, how much money have you put into this?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    Yin Qin staggered. ¡°You¡¯ve figured me out.¡±


    ¡°A blind man could have seen through it. You¡¯re trying to expand into professional e-sports.¡±


    Providing room and board for his team members, paying them a salary, and setting a regular training schedule¡­ it was the beginnings of a pro-gaming team. Yu Luocheng had been in that line of work before¡ªhow could he miss the signs?


    Professional gamers and normal contestants were two entirely different species. Pro-gamers trained for long periods, worked in consistent teams with clear leadership, and might even have their own agency and sponsors.


    Normal contestants were skilled casual players who had banded together for the sake of a competition. While their individual skills might be considerable, there would nevertheless be an enormous difference from pro-gamers who trained regularly.


    It wasn¡¯t mere chance that led to Team Scarlet becoming the top team in the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦, nor was it solely due to Yu Luocheng¡¯s addition to the team¡ªit was because they¡¯d been training harder than any other team in there. Everyone knew this: they¡¯d all seen the Team Scarlet players training in Section C, day after day.


    ¡°I¡¯ve put in a sizeable amount. The value of online games keeps dropping every day. If I don¡¯t find a new source of revenue soon¡­¡± Yin Qin sighed.


    ¡°Getting into e-sports isn¡¯t that great an idea, either. Sure, it has low entry requirements: a few computers, a room, and some basic living expenses, and you can field your own team¡ªbut it¡¯s precisely because of this that the competition is so fierce.


    ¡°And there are only so few worthwhile e-sports events, with everyone waiting to pounce on them¡­ it¡¯s like a bunch of fish huddled together at the bottom of a dam, trying to squeeze through the gates¡ªsome actually do make it, sure; but the whole length of the river is littered with the corpses of those who were crushed to death in the attempt. Even if you make it through to the other side, that¡¯s no guarantee things will be any better.¡±


    ¡°You would know more about e-sports than I do, and you¡¯re one of those fish who actually made it through.¡± Yin Qin made a wry smile, and took a deep pull on his cigarette. ¡°But you¡¯re still young, and if you take a step down the wrong path, you can still turn back and pick a better one.¡±


    A step down the wrong path¡­


    Somehow, those words made Yu Luocheng feel like he¡¯d been stabbed in the heart. To tell the truth, even to this day, he still couldn¡¯t be sure if that had actually been a mistake.


    ¡°As for me, the years weigh heavy on my back,¡± Qin lamented bitterly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know any better back then. I thought that as long as I was enjoying myself, with some friends at my side, that would be enough.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m pushing thirty, and I don¡¯t know how to do anything besides play computer games. Those I called my brothers have scattered to the four winds, and few among them still keep in touch with me. I¡¯ll be glad if they still call me ¡®Commander Qin¡¯, though I really couldn¡¯t say what I¡¯ve done to deserve such accord.¡±


    Yu Luocheng offered no comment to all this.


    Looking at him, Yin Qin went on, ¡°Ice, Artifact, Mudcat¡­ You should know these names. When we swore to be brothers, you were right there with us, and we laughed about how you were still just a kid. Those guys were smart. They knew there was no future down this road, and broke off long ago.


    ¡°I was the only one stupid enough to keep going at it, and now I¡¯m stuck¡ªbut if you asked me to try something new, what else could I do, and how would I even get started at it? Sure, hire some people, do some business, I suppose I could manage¡­ but how could I inflict that misery on my wife and kids? You¡¯ve met Marianne before¡ªshe absolutely can¡¯t stand being looked down upon.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re branching into e-sports?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yup. LoL is red-hot now¡ªit¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen a game cause such a stir. A competition in a little town like ours, and the grand prize goes up to thirty thousand. More if you can keep on going¡­¡±


    He flicked the cigarette to the ground and crushed it underfoot, then looked up at Yu Luocheng. ¡°Kid, I think it¡¯s the right choice for you to get out of pro-gaming. This road is more treacherous than playing Ranked under 1,200 during the summer holidays. It¡¯s claimed a lot of lives . 1 ¡±


    ¡°At my age, I don¡¯t really have a choice in the matter.¡±


    ¡°I know how good you are. This time, I¡¯m really begging you to do your best for me. At least¡­ at the very least, we have to make it to the top of Lecheng! This is very important to me!¡± Yin Qin said this earnestly.


    Watching him bare his heart like this, it didn¡¯t sit right with Yu Luocheng.


    He knew there were many others out there who, like Commander Qin, relied on the games industry for a living. There was truly no turning back for them¡ªthey had no choice but to keep on going, for better or worse.


    Yin Qin had never had it easy, and yet he¡¯d shelled out a whole thirty thousand for his sake. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d ever express how grateful he felt.


    Now the leader of Team Scarlet was down with an injury, and Yin Qin had everything riding on this. If they failed to make a real name for themselves here, it would be a bleak road ahead for him.


    Yu Luocheng would not stand by and watch Commander Qin get beaten!


    Anyway, if he didn¡¯t win first place in Lecheng, where would he get the money to repay Qin¡¯s loan to him¡ªthe loan he¡¯d granted without a moment¡¯s hesitation.


    Being short a player was genuinely cause for some concern¡ªbut then again, how many Ranked games had he played in already, where he had to go 4v6, even 3v7?


    This was just 4v5. No big deal.


    And definitely no reason for them to lose!

 Chapter 61 - This Isn’t a Game

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The hand that got injured was Huang Yu¡¯s left one. The fingers were nearly paralyzed. After bandaging him up, Nurse Wang declared it would take at least one month for him to recover. With the damage he¡¯d suffered, it was a struggle just to close his hand around something.


    With the fragments of glass removed, some antiseptic applied, and a dressing placed around the wound, Huang Yu walked out to find Yin Qin and the others waiting for him. Full of regret, he was unable to speak.


    ¡°It¡¯s not serious. Just don¡¯t let that get wet.¡± Saying thus, the matron nurse bustled off to see to other matters.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Yin Qin didn¡¯t have much to say, either. Xiao Dao and Terrance moved to escort their team leader home.


    ¡°Commander¡­¡± Huang Yu stood there, his hand wrapped up thickly, holding in a breath full of words.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, commander. I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have lost control¡­¡± Huang Yu didn¡¯t dare to meet anyone¡¯s gaze.


    Team Scarlet was a team, one which Qin had poured no small amount of money into. And now, because of his own unbelievable stupidity, they were now up the creek without a paddle.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Take care of yourself for now. Did anyone say we¡¯re going to lose?¡± the commander replied.


    ¡°But¡­ but I can¡¯t even use a keyboard, now¡­¡± Huang Yu stared at his injured hand.


    ¡°You heal up first. Yu Luocheng will take your position at Mid for now.¡±


    Perplexed, Huang Yu turned to look at Yu Luocheng.


    All eyes were on Yu Luocheng now. Xiao Dao was the first to speak up: ¡°It¡¯s true that Yu Luocheng is an excellent Support, but playing Mid isn¡¯t such a simple matter¡ªit¡¯s a completely different pace and play-style¡­ anyway, if he goes Mid, won¡¯t we lose an amazing Support in him?¡±


    Everyone in Team Scarlet readily acknowledged Yu Luocheng as an elite player, a god-like Support. However, being good in the Support role didn¡¯t mean he could find the same success in other roles. In ¡®League of Legends¡¯, no one truly dared to call themselves an all-rounder, because such players tended to prove mediocre all-round.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to abandon the Support position. Our ADC will go into the Top lane solo, and our Solo Top will come down to face the enemy duo in the Bottom lane.¡± These were the new instructions from Commander Qin.


    ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re really going four against five?¡± Xiao Dao, Terrance, and Huang Yu were all stupefied.


    In Normal games, playing 4v5 was nothing to make a fuss about, since the distribution of player skill was hardly even. However, in a serious match, every team fight would involve all the players on both teams¡ªbeing short even one person would result in a total wipe-out.


    And that was about team-fighting during the later stages of a game; going 4v5 meant being short a person throughout the laning stage 1 ¡ªa marked disadvantage which would cause them to fall a long way behind the larger team. Going into team fights with inferior equipment as well as numbers¡­ was there even any point in playing?


    ¡°Commander, even 5v5 we would not be assured of victory¡ªto have to go 4v5¡­¡± Xiao Dao moaned.


    ¡°What, then? Shall we just give it all up? Throw away all your hard work for the past two months?¡± Commander Qin interjected. ¡°If we don¡¯t at least give it a try, we¡¯ll never know if we really couldn¡¯t have made it.¡±


    We¡¯ll never know if we could actually have made it.


    These words sent a tremor through Xiao Dao, Xue Haiyang, and Xiao Tongtong.


    After all, to surrender before the fight even started¡­ wasn¡¯t that exactly what those guys from the Aviator Cyber Caf¨¦ wanted to see them do?


    Going 4v5 was not utterly without hope: with a reasonable team composition, if you crippled the enemy before they had the opportunity to grow strong and surpass you, and then wasted no time pushing through their towers to end the game¡­ they¡¯d all done this before in Normal games!


    ¡°Damn it, let¡¯s fight, then!¡± Xiao Dao spat vehemently. ¡°We¡¯ll give those mangy curs a bloody good thrashing!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go four against five, if that¡¯s how it has to be. And if we beat Aviator anyway, they¡¯ll never be able to show their faces in public again!¡± Terrance declared.


    Seeing everyone like this, their team leader Huang Yu felt his heart hanging like a leaden weight. Quietly, he whispered, ¡°I¡¯m only half a player, right now. I¡¯ll play Support. Never mind everything else, I¡¯ll focus on setting wards and denying the enemy Jungler any chance to gank us. Setting wards is something I¡¯ll only need one hand to do!¡±


    That¡¯s right, it wasn¡¯t truly 4v5 as long as Huang Yu could still hold a mouse. A big part of playing Support was setting wards, anyway. If they could maintain a clear vision of the battlefield, winning was far from impossible!


    Xue Haiyang spoke up in agreement. ¡°Indeed, nothing is more crucial than good map vision.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we fight!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to training!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Team Scarlet was a hot-blooded bunch, never quick to throw in the towel! As one, they turned and left the hospital, heading for their home base and training ground, the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦.


    ***


    Yang Qianqian stood in the hospital¡¯s entrance hall, watching the players of Team Scarlet go.


    Honestly, she¡¯d always viewed the young men of Team Scarlet with some disdain¡ªbut when Huang Yu raised his severely bandaged hand, and volunteered to place wards for the team, it had touched her deeply.


    To them, this LOL tournament was not just some game. They worked tirelessly over it, and refused to back down in the face of any hardship. It was a matter of pride and livelihood.


    She tugged at Yu Luocheng¡¯s sleeve, looking up at him earnestly. ¡°Can you win?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Yu Luocheng shook his head.


    LoL is not DotA. As far as DotA demands flawless teamwork between players, LoL relies upon it even more. Although it didn¡¯t take the superhuman finesse required in DotA, Starcraft, or Warcraft, nor extremely high APM (Actions Per Minute), it did require the highest level of coordination and understanding between teammates.


    In DotA, Yu Luocheng could lead a second-rate team to victory against some professional teams, because it was possible to win a whole game as a one-man show.


    Not so with LoL: partly because he hadn¡¯t been playing it for that long, as much as he¡¯d played DotA; the rest of it was because the game was too delicately balanced to allow any one particular player or champion such an overwhelming advantage.


    As such, not even a former world-class pro-gamer like Yu Luocheng Yu could say with certainty that they¡¯d be able to win, four versus five.


    But it was just as Commander Qin had said: If you don¡¯t try, you¡¯ll never know.


    Four people still makes a team!


    ¡°I believe in you. I know you¡¯ll kick all their asses!¡± Yang Qianqian beamed, her eyes sparkling like diamonds.


    Gazing at that breathtaking countenance, Yu Luocheng smiled wanly in reply. ¡°How can you have so much faith in me? I¡¯m just some third-year boy, fresh out of high school. Any other game, I might have a chance¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say why¡­¡± Yang Qianqian said, ¡°I guess it¡¯s because, when you¡¯re playing LoL, you have different eyes from other people.¡±


    ¡°Do you think this is an anime? Eyes flashing with power, nostrils flaring with dreams¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    ¡°Ah, I guess you¡¯re trying to say that I look kinda cool when I¡¯m playing. Everyone tells me that,¡± Yu Luocheng said flippantly, lightening the mood.


    A smile twitched at the corners of her lips, but she didn¡¯t dispute the statement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Who was there to cheer you on when you were walking down the path of e-sports? To have Yang Qianqian here rooting for him, Yu Luocheng felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart.


    Such a good girl she was. If he didn¡¯t take her as his wife, he would never be able to forgive himself.

 Chapter 62 - The Lecheng Championship

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There were some differences between a competition in a cyber caf¨¦ and a town championship.


    Town championships were held in an event hall, in the heart of an electronics emporium. It had been decorated and set up as an indoors gaming arena many days in advance.


    The emporium would already be packed with people on normal days. With a big ¡®League of Legends¡¯ event being held here, it was currently full to bursting.


    You didn¡¯t have to buy tickets to get inside. When the event planners and organizers had first laid out all those seats, they¡¯d worried that it might look kind of depressing if no one showed up.


    The boss of the emporium had organized similar events in the past to try and stir up some merriment, but sometimes half the seats would remain empty, strongly implying that the whole thing was a flop.


    This event had once again defied expectations, but in the opposite direction: the thousand-over seats they¡¯d prepared had all been filled, while more people continued pouring in. Those who couldn¡¯t find a seat just stood around out in the open, and so the crowds gathered.


    ¡°Why does it look like we¡¯ve invited some famous celebrity to hold a concert here?¡± Huang Junjie, assistant manager of the electronics emporium, commented with amusement from backstage.


    What does an emporium most desire? Why, whole churning seas of people!


    Computer hardware was the equipment of gamers. Huang Junjie felt sure that the people who¡¯d come here to watch the games would also notice the mice, keyboards, headphones, microphones and other gaming paraphernalia strategically placed around the event venue¡­ and purchases would result.


    What¡¯s more, this championship would carry on for several days. Besides all the money rolling in, there would also be people who had never gone shopping in such an emporium before¡ªbut because they¡¯d visited this place to watch the games, they would probably come back the next time they had something they wanted to buy¡ªin other words, there would also be an increase in loyal customers.


    All this meant that business was soon to improve by leaps and bounds!


    ¡°Mr Huang, regarding the matter I mentioned to you earlier¡ªthe sponsorship of professional teams?¡± A man with cunning features broached this topic with a chuckle.


    ¡°Sponsorship is not a problem. Truth be told, I did not expect this game to command such popularity. If this helps our business to improve, the amount you¡¯re asking for will be a mere pittance by comparison.¡± Huang Junjie said this with some flamboyance.


    The other man¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits.


    If they could secure sponsorship from Lecheng¡¯s Grand Linca Electronics Emporium, it would be worth a sizeable amount¡­


    ¡°The players from our Aviator Cyber Caf¨¦ are the best. We hope to welcome your kind consideration,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Let us wait to discuss this after the conclusion of the championship,¡± Huang Junjie replied. ¡°Obviously, we would prefer to pledge our sponsorship to the team which becomes the grand champions of Lecheng.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, certainly¡­ however, one way or another, this championship already belongs to Aviator.¡± The man¡¯s face lit up with a sly grin.


    ***


    Qin looked up from the arena floor, observing Huang Junjie¡¯s conversation with the fox-faced man up on the second level.


    ¡°Commander, who are those two?¡± Yu Luocheng followed his gaze.


    ¡°The one on the left is the assistant manager of the Grand Linca Electronics Emporium. He¡¯s got stakes in roughly seventy percent of the businesses here,¡± Yin Qin explained.


    Standing beside them, Wang Qin gasped. ¡°Seventy percent!¡±


    The emporium spanned five floors. Besides the enormous exhibition hall that took up the center of the first floor, the rest of the space was all taken up by electronics shops¡ªhundreds and hundreds of them, selling every kind of gadget and device¡ªa technological cornucopia.


    It would be profitable enough just to be running one shop in here. Wang Qin hadn¡¯t imagined that there would be somebody who owned stakes in seventy percent of them. The annual dividends must run into astronomical figures!


    ¡°And who¡¯s that beside him?¡± Yu Luocheng paid no heed to the sort of things that awed a lowly peasant like Wang Qin.


    Wang Qin had tagged along with him brazenly, calling himself Team Scarlet¡¯s support staff, brewing tea and fetching water, and even performing back rubs and shoulder massages.


    Yin Qin grimaced and said, ¡°Lian Feng, an important person at the Aviator Cyber Caf¨¦, and also the coach of the Aviator team. If I¡¯m not mistaken, what happened to Huang Yu was most likely his idea. If not for his protection, that little weasel Wu Kai would never dare to touch any of my people.¡±


    Yu Luocheng nodded. That explained the hint of wrath in Commander Qin¡¯s eyes as he gazed up at them.


    Yin Qin glanced at Yu Luocheng, and added, ¡°This championship will decide who receives Grand Linca¡¯s sponsorship. With the assistant manager of the emporium Mr Huang as our patron, there could be many lucrative opportunities ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°Commander, that filth Lian Feng seems to be pretty cozy with Huang Junjie. Do you think this will be a matter of connections?¡± Xue Haiyang asked.


    Yin Qin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m familiar with Huang Junjie, as well. The only thing he cares about is profit¡ªrelations and connections mean nothing to him. As long as we win this championship, we won¡¯t have to go looking for him¡ªhe¡¯ll send someone to find us.¡±


    Everyone nodded. ¡°Right. Let that worm Lian Feng go simpering to him for a sponsorship. As for us, we¡¯re gonna make people beg us to let them be our sponsors!¡±


    As they were saying this, an MC walked onto the stage in the exhibition hall.


    Everyone in the emporium gradually fell silent as he spoke, ¡°This ¡®League of Legends¡¯ Lecheng Cyber Caf¨¦ Championship is jointly sponsored by the Grand Linca Electronics Emporium and the Lecheng division of the Coca-Cola Company. We thank you all for coming out here today. I have a bit of good news to share with everyone: During this event period, any purchase of the items displayed here will be at 20% off the usual price¡­


    ¡°Besides that, ladies and gentlemen, you will also receive points for your purchases, which you can present to our staff at the entrance, in order to exchange them for tickets to the grand finals of this Lecheng championship! These tickets are worth fifty bucks apiece! Rather than forking out the money for them, wouldn¡¯t you rather get that thing you¡¯ve always been wanting, which will give you an edge in all your games¡­¡±


    By the time the MC was done explaining all of the promotions going on in the Grand Linca, many people were already reaching for their wallets.


    Even today, there were already quite a few people standing around without a seat. It would only be worse on the day of the finals.


    To have your own ticket on that day, and therefore your own seat, sipping from a can of Coke, enjoying the spectacular events of the finals match¡­


    What a fine thing that would be!


    Mice, keyboards, and headsets would all break down one day, or perhaps you might find yourself ready for an upgrade?


    ¡°Well then, first let¡¯s welcome the champions of the four participating net caf¨¦s to come up on stage!


    ¡°They are¡­ Team ¡®Dawn¡¯, from the Dawn Net Caf¨¦!


    ¡°From the EZ Cyber Caf¨¦, Team ¡®EZ¡¯!


    ¡°From the Aviator Net Caf¨¦, Team ¡®Aviator¡¯!


    ¡°And from the Dragon Rising Net Caf¨¦, the Team ¡®Scarlet Dragon Rising¡¯!¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Sigh. It¡¯s like¡­ if your main character is the only one whose team isn¡¯t named after their home cyber caf¨¦, stick to your guns.)


    As the MC called out each team, the players stepped up onto the stage.


    The stage wasn¡¯t anything too fancy, just some wooden boards covered with carpeting. Arranged in two curved rows were ten high-spec gaming PCs, everything in black.


    An LCD projector displayed onto a massive screen in the middle, so that everyone would be able to spectate the game together.


    The teams representing each cyber caf¨¦ were lined up before the audience now. Their team uniforms bore the logo of their respective cyber caf¨¦s.


    As applause and cheering rose up from the crowd, the players felt a bit like stars in the spotlight!


    ***


    ¡°Hey, what happened to Team Scarlet¡¯s leader, Huang Yu? Why¡¯s there a bandage on his hand?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, I heard that he got his hand injured. I thought it was just a wild rumor, but I guess it was true.¡±


    ¡°Well, hell¡­ how¡¯s he gonna play with his hand injured?¡±


    Huang Yu¡¯s injury was immediately spotted by various people among the audience, and a buzz of speculation rose up straight away.

 Chapter 63 - War of Words

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The order of match-ups had already been determined ahead of time: The first game would be between the Dragon Rising¡¯s Team Scarlet versus Team Aviator.


    The team representing the Dragon Rising hadn¡¯t taken the cyber caf¨¦¡¯s name as their own, the true sign of a regular team who called that cyber caf¨¦ home.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for the earth-shaking games to begin!¡± the MC cried out. ¡°Teams, to your places!¡±


    Teams EZ and Dawn departed the stage, leaving Teams Aviator and Scarlet.


    The players of Team Aviator all wore deep blue clothes. Yu Luocheng saw Wu Kai standing proudly at the right-most end of their formation.


    This put him face-to-face with Yu Luocheng. Wu Kai sneered at him.


    Both teams were standing rather close to each other, and with the commotion going on all around, Wu Kai muttered surreptitiously, ¡°Schoolboy, don¡¯t piss your pants when you all lose.¡±


    ¡°Are you hoping for a taste of me?¡± Yu Luocheng shot back placidly.


    Kai harrumphed coldly at this.


    He immediately changed targets: ¡°Huang Yu, your hand feeling any better? I hope you usually use your right hand on yourself, otherwise it won¡¯t just be LoL that you¡¯ll no longer be able to play with anymore¡ªI recall you don¡¯t have a girl.¡±


    Huang Yu had a quick temper, and Wu Kai¡¯s words were dripping with venom. He wanted nothing more than to rip that grinning face to shreds!


    All of Team Scarlet was glaring at Wu Kai. They¡¯d surely do him in, given half the chance¡ªthis monster in human form!


    ¡°Are you hoping for a taste of him?¡± A quiet voice drifted through the still air. It was Yu Luocheng again.


    It was the same line as before. The first time he heard it, Wu Kai had just found it kind of annoying. When it hit him a second time, however, he winced visibly.


    Team Scarlet had been boiling with fury a moment ago, but this sharp jab from Yu Luocheng now had them all trembling with mirth, everyone imagining Wu Kai on his knees before Huang Yu¡­ oh hell, forget it, it was too disgusting . 1


    Seeing the contemptuous smirks on the faces of the Team Scarlet players, Wu Kai¡¯s face fell further.


    Just as he was about to snarl something in return, the MC walked over and instructed them to take their positions.


    Wu Kai was not known for his self-control, either. As he turned away, he stuck out his hand behind himself, and gave them the thumbs down.


    It was a seemingly nonchalant bit of provocation, but also a terribly obvious offence. Quite a few people in the crowd spotted it, and those in the front row began hissing and muttering.


    The MC saw it too, but he could only pretend that he hadn¡¯t.


    However, as both teams turned away towards the computers, Yu Luocheng remained standing in place.


    ¡°This contestant over here¡­ is something wrong?¡± the MC asked him.


    ¡°According to tournament rules, players are prohibited from presenting any insult or disrespect amongst each other. Someone just made a very offensive gesture in my direction.¡± Yu Luocheng spoke tersely.


    Everyone in Team Scarlet turned back to gape at Yu Luocheng.


    Little things like this were commonplace during competitions, and were typically just ignored. Neither Commander Qin nor Huang Yu had expected Yu Luocheng to be so sensitive towards such things.


    ¡°Did they?¡± the MC continued playing dumb.


    ¡°They all saw it.¡± Yu Luocheng swept a finger across the front row of the audience.


    And of course, the crowd likes nothing better than to help fan the flames and create a good bit of drama between opposing teams.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we all saw it. That player over there showed this to him.¡±


    ¡°I saw it too.¡±


    ¡°No mistaking it. Ask anyone here.¡±


    A trace of hesitation appeared in the MC¡¯s expression. One of the tournament organizers had already joined him on stage. The match was paused, and an inquiry was soon underway.


    Now that the game had been delayed, and event staff were swarming all over the place, it had become a serious issue. The players of Team Aviator were aghast, taken by surprise by this sudden move.


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s what you call a schoolboy, throwing a tantrum over such a petty little thing!¡± Wu Kai growled under his breath.


    ¡°Wu Kai, have you lost your mind?¡± his team leader Liu Qi snapped, frowning darkly.


    ¡°Yeah, would it have killed you not to do that?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got this game in the bag. Don¡¯t do anything stupid now!¡±


    One of the event staff approached them. He regarded them sternly, particularly Wu Kai. ¡°Contestant Wu Kai, due to your inappropriate actions against your opponent, you are being issued your first official warning, which will be recorded. If a second offense occurs, your team will be disqualified from this tournament with immediate effect.¡±


    The official appeared to be dead serious. It was a zero-tolerance matter. This was a town championship involving thousands of people¡ªif they didn¡¯t enforce the rules, it raised questions about authenticity.


    Wu Kai¡¯s face was unreadable. Everyone on Team Aviator was in a foul mood now, shooting murderous glares at Yu Luocheng where he stood cheerfully nearby.


    Their eyes burned with the promise of vengeance.


    ***


    Now that the little bit of fuss had been dealt with, the players took their seats.


    The thousands of spectators could feel the palpable hostility between Teams Aviator and Scarlet, not to mention the rumors about what had really caused Huang Yu¡¯s injury¡ªthat it had been done by the hand of one of Team Aviator¡¯s own players.


    ¡°Huang Yu, of Team ¡®Scarlet Dragon Rising¡¯¡­ What happened to your hand?¡± the MC inquired.


    The MC had to make conversation, after all. When nothing else came to mind, talk about the contestants.


    ¡°Bitten by a bunch of rabid dogs,¡± Huang Yu replied.


    ¡°Oh, I see. Must have been some filthy strays. You¡¯ve got to be more careful¡ªevery player ought to treasure their own two hands. On that note: Will you be able to use the keyboard, like that?¡± The MC thought this was particularly witty, especially when the entire hall burst into laughter.


    Yet at the same time, the MC felt a slight chill upon the back of his neck. Though he chalked it up to the air-conditioning being too strong, in truth it was the ice-cold glares that the players of Team Aviator were shooting his way!


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to,¡± Huang Yu replied shortly. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use the keyboard, but he knew what he had to do.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, Team Scarlet is basically short a man,¡± the MC exclaimed. ¡°Is this going to be four against five?¡±


    4v5! The moment the MC said this, the crowd began to roil.


    Many of the less-informed members of the audience had figured that the bandage on Huang Yu¡¯s hand was just for show, and when the game began, he¡¯d remove it with a flourish, unveiling his masterful hands¡ªsort of like how some assassins tended to wrap up their favorite swords, waiting for a major battle before they brought them out magnificently into the light.


    It turned out that he actually was injured¡ªand here they¡¯d been expecting something dramatic.


    ¡­ So if that was a real injury, did this really mean a 4v5 game?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear about this. I didn¡¯t know you had gotten injured. This is a truly distressing development, but I see Team Scarlet is competing in spite of this disadvantage. It¡¯s very inspiring. When playing Ranked in LoL, you hit the slightest setback and there¡¯ll be teammates hollering for Surrender, sneering down their noses like they know how the rest of the game is going to play out . 1


    ¡°I always want to say, if you can¡¯t play when the odds are against you, what are you doing in Ranked?¡±


    ¡°In e-sports as well, we must have sportsmanship. If you can¡¯t stand in the face of adversity, it¡¯s proof of your inferiority, and you have no place in a serious competition¡ªjust stick to Normal games. Ah, I apologize¡­ this seems to have become a little personal for me.¡±


    Although the MC¡¯s words ran the risk of offending certain quarters, Yu Luocheng found himself in full agreement.


    ¡°Alright, both teams are logged in and picking out their Runes. We¡¯ll soon be in the Banning phase!¡± The MC expertly disengaged from the subject.

 Chapter 64 - Twisted Fate

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was the age of LoL. On the street, one was liable to overhear a bunch of school children chattering about Demacian culture.


    In the cyber caf¨¦, more than half of the screens might be displaying the green fields of Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    Most astounding of all was how, in the world of women, where most such games could find no foothold, LoL had managed to win the hearts of many.


    In fact, in the literature libraries on the internet, the genre ¡®MOBA games¡¯ was dominated by several series about League of Legends, subtly implying that it was the only game worth writing about.


    It rolled in, like a typhoon!


    The exhibition hall was reverberating with noise. It felt like there was a concert going on in there. Huang Junjie, the assistant manager of Grand Linca Emporium, had both eyes squeezed shut with glee. As gaming reached more people, more people would buy gaming hardware. Prosperity was knocking on the door!


    Would people doing office work buy a Logitech mouse for greater sensitivity? Balderdash! Only gaming and e-sports could move such high-end items off the shelves!


    ¡°The grand prize for the Lecheng championship is thirty thousand this time?¡± Huang Junjie asked an event manager at his side.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± The manager nodded.


    ¡°Set our sponsorship at the same value, then. If we can make a name for ourselves in the provincial matches¡­¡± Huang Junjie felt this venture could prove lucrative.


    To the deputy manager of an electronics emporium spanning multiple floors, a five-figure sum was mere pocket change. Huang Junjie would not be shy about handing out a sponsorship, if this tiny investment had the potential of creating a hundred times its value in business returns.


    ***


    The noise from the crowd was growing with every moment.


    Each champion selection set off another hubbub of heated discussion. Knowledgeable players swiftly rattled off the individual worth of each champion, as well as what they could bring to the team composition.


    ¡°Team Scarlet¡¯s AP, Yu Luocheng, seems to be undecided between Lux, Zyra, or Ryze¡­ he cycling through them.¡±


    ¡°The enemy AP is Brand. He must be thinking about how to counter that champion. Twisted Fate¡­ wow, is this guy really thinking of picking the Card Master?¡±


    When Yu Luocheng chose Twisted Fate as his AP champion, the crowd broke into a great storm of murmuring.


    In a manner of speaking, the appearance of a champion like Twisted Fate was a promise that this would not be a boring, run-of-the-mill game. Twisted Fate was a harbinger of battle, able to start a fight anywhere at the drop of a hat!


    ¡°Locked in! Looks like Team Scarlet¡¯s AP player is very sure of himself, to be bringing Twisted Fate into this match! If they weren¡¯t a little short-handed just at the moment, I¡¯m certain this would be a hell of a game to watch!¡± the MC yelled.


    A 4v5 game. This championship was off to an odd start. If Team Scarlet could hold their own here, this would be a fight to remember; but if they stumbled and fell, it would just be a terrible disappointment.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s have a look at both team¡¯s line-ups:


    ¡°From the Aviator Cyber Caf¨¦, Team Aviator has Olaf the Berserker going Top. This is a high damage champion, and we¡¯ll see whether Aviator¡¯s Tian Hao will be able to put on a good show for us. Facing him will be Team Scarlet¡¯s Xiao Tongtong, who will be on the Butcher of the Sands, Renekton. In terms of bloodthirst and savagery, few are his equal within the League of Legends.


    Playing AP in the Mid-lane, Xiao Guangjun of Team Aviator has chosen Brand, the Burning Vengeance. This champion deals incredible burst damage, and those among you who know him should already be anticipating those delicious instant kills, I¡¯m sure. His opponent will be Yu Luocheng, Team Scarlet¡¯s AP player. His choice is the highly anticipated Twisted Fate, the Card Master.


    ¡°Aviator¡¯s Jungler, Li Sheng, has chosen Xin Zhao, the Seneschal of Demacia¡ªa man who pulled himself up out of misfortune! It¡¯s said that victory and defeat both depend upon Xin Zhao¡ªwe shall have to see how well Li Sheng can play this champion!


    ¡°Meanwhile, Team Scarlet¡¯s Jungler has snatched away Jarvan IV, the Exemplar of Demacia! Excelling at ganks as well as team fights, he may also have been selected to counter Olaf¡¯s mindless headlong charges. With his ultimate on, Olaf becomes an unstoppable juggernaut, and only the crater wall thrown up by Jarvan¡¯s Cataclysm can contain him.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s talk about the ADCs: Team Aviator¡¯s captain, Liu Qi, has taken Ashe, the Frost Archer¡ªand I must say, it¡¯s a sharp move. Team Scarlet¡¯s ADC has made a peculiar choice in Kayle, the Judicator. Whether or not Kayle can be used in the role of ADC has always been a contentious matter, but it looks like Team Scarlet¡¯s Xue Haiyang is going to show us how it¡¯s done.


    ¡°On Support, Team Aviator¡¯s Wu Kai has both excellent defense as well as offense in his choice of Leona, the Radiant Dawn. Huang Yu, playing Support for Team Scarlet, has made the mind-boggling choice of Evelynn, the Widowmaker.


    ¡°Truthfully, if not for Huang Yu¡¯s injury relegating him to the Support position, it would be a challenge for me to look at Team Scarlet¡¯s line-up and tell you who¡¯s the Support, who¡¯s the Jungler, and who¡¯s the AP¡­ This must be a special strategy by Team Scarlet, and who knows if they¡¯ll be able to make a miracle happen¡ªwe¡¯ll just have to watch and see!¡±


    ***


    The players on both teams had already put on their sound-dampening headphones. As cheers rose from the audience, the countdown went down and the loading screen came up!


    Players could neither hear the live commentary, nor see the massive screen over the stage, which would display the ongoing game from an Observer¡¯s point of view . 1


    Yu Luocheng had his full attention on the screen in front of him. As he bought his starting items and left the base, his gaze sharpened to a knife¡¯s point. Even should a buxom beauty wander past him¡­ well, alright, he¡¯d still chance a peek.


    Their starting items in hand, Team Scarlet moved out.


    Starting from the Blue side (the lower-left corner of the map), standard procedure was for the Bottom-lane duo¡ªthe Support and ADC¡ªto help their Jungler pick up the Red Buff without having to use Smite. However, if they did this now, it was guaranteed that the enemy team would ambush them with all five champions. Team Aviator was looking to take advantage of how one of Team Scarlet¡¯s players was currently unable to use his keyboard!


    As such, breaking from the usual pattern, the players of Team Scarlet scattered wide, with Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate going for the Blue Buff together with Jarvan and Kayle.


    Huang Yu moved Evelynn along the river. He¡¯d put his first skill point into her W-skill, ¡®Dark Frenzy¡¯, which could be used to speed up his movement, allowing him to swiftly reach the enemy¡¯s Raptors camp.


    Having escorted Evelynn there safely, the rest of the team immediately pulled back to their Blue Buff, while Evelynn remained there, unmoving.


    When the game timer reached 1:25, Huang Yu used his mouse pointer to manually select a Ward from his inventory panel, and then planted it in the patch of brush directly North of the enemy¡¯s Raptors. Having secured vision in this area, he turned and left without delay.


    Throughout those tense first two minutes of the game, neither team ran into each other. This suggested that the enemy Jungler had either been at his own Blue Buff, or else had been prowling around their Red. Both were on the right side of the map.


    Because of this, Huang Yu decisively planted his second ward at the intersection between their own Raptors camp and the river, lighting up Xin Zhao¡¯s likely path to gank the Middle lane.


    Yu Luocheng would be farming around the lower-right corner of the Mid-lane, and this second ward was meant to ensure his safety while doing so. Doubtless the enemy Jungler would have it out for their Twisted Fate.


    Huang Yu was well aware that Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate would be crucial in deciding the outcome of this match! Therefore, his first priority was the security of the Mid-lane. If the enemy team managed to gank Yu Luocheng even once, slowing down his progress, this game would basically be over for them!

 Chapter 65 - Lurking in the Brush

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Bringing Twisted Fate into the lane, Yu Luocheng immediately began shuffling cards. Each time, he selected the blue card, allowing him to keep his mana topped off.


    Swiftly achieving his second level from slaying minions, Yu Luocheng¡¯s next skill point went into his Q-skill, ¡®Wild Cards¡¯. Whenever it was off cooldown, Yu Luocheng would use it to hurl out another volley of cards.


    It was the same for his W-skill, ¡®Pick a Card¡¯¡ªas soon its cooldown was over, he¡¯d use it to pick out another blue card, so that his mana was constantly being replenished.


    Brand was not exactly slow at clearing minions, but he couldn¡¯t keep up with Twisted Fate spamming Q- and W-skills. Having started with Doran¡¯s Ring, as well as constantly flinging out blue cards, even if he was using his skills non-stop, he was just able to keep from running out of mana.


    By the time he was Level 3, the minion wave was clearly pushing towards his opponent¡¯s side. It was at this time that the ward Evelynn had placed earlier detected Xin Zhao sneaking in towards him from the side!


    ¡°Sure enough, Team Aviator¡¯s Jungler is out to get the enemy¡¯s Mid-laner. Let¡¯s watch this gank attempt. Twisted Fate is a squishy champion. During the early stages of the game, a high-damage champion like Xin Zhao can swiftly take him down¡ªeven without help from his own Mid-laner.


    ¡°Twisted Fate is falling back. He¡¯s obviously wise to Xin Zhao¡¯s ways.¡±


    When he saw Xin Zhao leaving, Yu Luocheng resumed pushing the lane.


    With prescient teamwork, Yu Wong came by from the left and planted a fresh ward on the Northern river bank, helping to guard Yu Luocheng from that side.


    With both sides covered, Yu Luocheng pushed even more aggressively.


    Vivid red, opulent gold, regal blue¡­ these three colors flipped constantly past the Card Master¡¯s deft fingertips.


    He cut the cards with expert precision, never letting the rotation reach a fourth card. Oftentimes the blue card was the first one he drew, and he¡¯d snatch it up without hesitation.


    Each blue card was followed by a fan of Wild Cards. Rather than aiming the cards at Brand, Yu Luocheng sought to slice them across as many minions as possible.


    In between shuffling, cutting, and flicking out cards, he used his basic attacks to pick off wounded minions without fail!


    ***


    ¡°Damn, something stinks about this Twisted Fate!¡± Team Aviator¡¯s Xiao Guangjun snarled in annoyance.


    His opponent was clearly just farming mindlessly. Brand was no slouch in this area either, with his W-skill ¡®Pillar of Flame¡¯ and E-skill ¡®Conflagration¡¯ dealing out tremendous area-effect damage¡ªbut his mana was in limited supply, so there was no way for him to spam his skills the way Twisted Fate was doing.


    Most relevant of all was that he¡¯d started the game with a pair of Boots of Speed, two Health Potions, and one Mana Potion¡­ his original intention had been to out-play Twisted Fate through superior mobility.


    Instead, the minion wave kept pushing against him, making him hesitant to spend his skills on Twisted Fate himself¡ªit was all he could do just to keep the enemy minions away from his tower. It was difficult for Brand to farm under the tower, especially when low on mana.


    ¡°Never mind, let him farm¡ªI¡¯ll fix him!¡± the Aviator Jungler, Li Sheng, declared.


    Bringing Xin Zhao through the jungle to the Red Buff on his side, he found only one pathetic little critter left in the creep camp¡ªJarvan had stolen it away from him.


    Xin Zhao himself had stolen the enemy¡¯s Red, and then gone back to take his own Blue. In other words, they¡¯d exchanged Red Buffs, an equal exchange.


    Li Sheng hurried to clear off the Gromps and Raptors, which brought him up to Level 4.


    He took a look at how things were going in the Top lane. The enemy had put Kayle there, played by Team Scarlet¡¯s ADC.


    Their strategy was based around swapping lanes: While Kayle fattened up in the Top lane, Renekton held off the Ashe and Leona duo down in the Bottom lane.


    After a moment¡¯s deliberation, Xin Zhao ultimately chose to go after Mid lane after all. Just now the right side had been warded, which meant the left side should be unguarded. Twisted Fate had moved too far forward¡ªhe was a sitting duck!


    Swiftly, he moved towards the river brush, West of the lane. ¡°Move up!¡± he ordered Xiao Guangjun.


    ¡°This guy is moving around a lot, I¡¯m not sure I can Stun him. You start,¡± Xiao Guangjun replied.


    Brand had essentially failed so far to do much damage to Twisted Fate, partly because he really was dodging around industriously, but also because he¡¯d mostly been using it to clear off the minions. What he really wanted to do was hit his opponent with E, and then follow it up with his Q-skill, ¡®Sear¡¯, causing a Stun¡ªbut his odds of pulling this off were low.


    ¡°Alright, get him!¡± Li Sheng¡¯s eyes flashed, and Xin Zhao came charging out of the brush, his spear gleaming with cold light as he raced towards Twisted Fate. He still needed to get closer¡­


    Flash!


    Xin Zhao used his Flash to close the distance, thrusting his spear at his target¡¯s face. He would use his E-skill, in combination with his Red Buff, to apply a double Slowing effect!


    ¡°A decisive Flash from Xin Zhao! If Twisted Fate gets Slowed down here, so far down the lane, not even a Flash might be enough to get him back to the safety of his tower! Twisted Fate is in mortal danger!¡± the MC¡¯s excited commentary rang out across the arena.


    Silence fell across the hall. All eyes were on Twisted Fate.


    To make things worse, Brand was charging in as well! He waved a hand wreathed in flame, and the ground beneath the Card Master¡¯s feet shook, sparks dancing in the air¡ªin a heartbeat, a towering pillar of ravenous fire would erupt from below!


    Cool as a cucumber, Yu Luocheng used his Flash to dodge both the Stun from Brand¡¯s ¡®Sear¡¯ as well as the high-damage ¡®Pillar of Flame¡¯.


    Strangely, rather than Flashing directly backwards, Twisted Fate instead teleported a short distance to the right. At the same time, a golden card appeared between his fingers!


    Clasped between his long, slender index and middle fingers, it seemed as though he¡¯d been keeping the gleaming golden Stun card up his sleeve the whole time, no shuffling required!


    With a flick of his hand, he flung the golden card, Stunning Xin Zhao in place before he could get within reach! This was followed by a basic attack and a fan of Wild Cards¡ªTwisted Fate had evaded Xin Zhao¡¯s deadly attack, but rather than retreating, he¡¯d unleashed a skill combo upon his aggressor!


    Just as everyone was watching this show of bravado in doubt, a flag was suddenly planted in the ground beside Xin Zhao¡¯s feet!


    It was a battle standard, followed swiftly by a spear!


    The crown prince of Demacia, Jarvan the 4th, had joined the battle!


    ¡°It¡¯s a counter-gank by Jarvan!¡± the MC roared, ¡°No wonder Twisted Fate stood his ground. Although he used his Flash to perform this ambush, it looks like Xin Zhao has bitten off more than he can chew!¡±

 Chapter 66 - Dark Omen

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Sigh. Now what will I do for Chapter 666¡­)


    Sure enough, as the Stun from Twisted Fate¡¯s golden card wore off, Jarvan came charging in from maximum range, slinging Xin Zhao up into the air.


    First a basic attack, and then his W-skill, ¡®Golden Aegis¡¯, to slow Xin Zhao down. Hit by multiple disabling effects in a row, now he was the one suffering a double Slow instead¡ªJarvan had the Red Buff, too.


    Twisted Fate and Jarvan continued with only their basic attacks. Having already expended a full skill combo, Brand could only watch helplessly as Xin Zhao was beaten into a bloody pulp.


    As his health dwindled away to nothing, Xin Zhao struggled desperately to get away.


    One last card¡ªthe red one¡ªflew from the Card Master¡¯s fingers, striking Xin Zhao right in the hollow at the back of his head!


    One final step away from the safety of his tower, this last, blood-red card from Twisted Fate cut him down in mid-retreat.


    A golden ¡®300¡¯ floated up into the air. Yu Luocheng accepted it graciously.


    Twisted Fate was the wild card of this game, and when he took the kill, the entire hall erupted into deafening cheers.


    The MC had been watching the whole thing, and his voice trembled as he exclaimed, ¡°Beautiful! A masterful demonstration of the art of counter-ganking! The Team Scarlet Mid-laner pushes his lane ferociously, exposing himself to danger¡ªand inviting the enemy Jungler to attempt a gank on him, since Twisted Fate has no mobility skills!


    ¡°Anticipating the ambush, his own Jungler lay in wait beside the Middle lane as well¡­ and when Xin Zhao made his move, they sprung the trap, catching him unprepared!


    ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t know if anyone noticed that particularly sweet move: Xin Zhao Flashed in with E, and Twisted Fate dodged with a Flash of his own¡ªand immediately pulled out a golden card!


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was an instant draw! I remember it vividly! I don¡¯t know if that was luck, or intimate familiarity with the champion, to be able to instantly draw a golden card while under such overwhelming pressure, and then team up with Jarvan to take down Xin Zhao!


    ¡°What a pity¡­ if that battle had happened ten seconds earlier, it could have been First Blood¡ªjust now, while we were watching the fight in Mid, Leona dove the tower down in Bot-lane, giving her life to take down Renekton.¡±


    The MC was obviously a skilled LoL player himself. After he¡¯d pointed out this particular detail, even more hooting and howling arose from the thousands-strong crowd.


    Instantly drawing a golden card! To many, it was proof of ultimate mastery over the champion!


    When playing Twisted Fate, one had to know the order of card rotations: red, yellow, blue, and then repeat. Selecting the card you wanted was a required fundamental.


    With a little more practice, you should be able to pick the right card within four rotations at most, even while under enemy attack.


    Neither of these techniques were thought to be particularly challenging, and were easily mastered through regular play.


    But the ¡®instant draw¡¯ demanded superhuman reflexes, because each card would only appear for half a second. In the alarming event of a gank upon yourself, it was a tall order . 1


    And yet, during the gank and counter-gank that had just occurred, Yu Luocheng had produced a golden card with an instant-draw, demonstrating the highest level of mastery over Twisted Fate.


    ¡°Hot damn, this guy plays AP like a god, too!¡± Wang Qin¡¯s admiration of Yu Luocheng had suddenly grown several times over!


    Seated amongst the audience, Yang Qianqian watched Yu Luocheng¡¯s puissant skill with AP champions with delight. For a moment, she wondered if asking him to play Support for her might be some sort of terrible injustice.


    ***


    That three-hundred gold bonus was a big deal to Yu Luocheng. Even better, killing Xin Zhao meant that he was now enjoying the benefits of a Blue Buff!


    This would allow him to use his skills even more profusely!


    Back at base, besides getting himself an 860g Blasting Wand, 1 he was also right upon the cusp of achieving Level 5. Combined with third-tier Wild Cards, the minions would be falling before him like wheat before a scythe.


    Previously, he hadn¡¯t bothered aiming any of his skills at Brand. No matter how confident he was in his juking, Brand had the advantage in any straight-up duel against him. If he managed to get off a single skill combo on Twisted Fate, a single Ignite might be enough to finish the job.


    Now, however, Yu Luocheng¡¯s magic damage had surpassed Brand¡¯s. With the Blue Buff in hand, there was no need to face him head-on¡ªas long as he kept pushing the minion wave in his face, Brand would soon be hurting for mana!


    ¡°Yu Wong, could you ward both sides for me?¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    Yu Wong¡¯s Evelynn was doing nothing else besides placing wards.


    At the moment, Evelynn was only Level 2, and even that was because he¡¯d gone down to absorb some Experience Points from the Bottom lane after Renekton had been slain.


    With a ward on either side, Yu Luocheng would be able to push his lane safely. He no longer had Flash on him, now.


    He returned to the lane just as a fresh wave of minions was approaching.


    Getting up to Level 5 easily, his new third-tier Wild Cards allowed him to clear off the minions handily. What¡¯s more, with the Blue Buff on his side, he could just select red cards to take down the minions even quicker . 1


    Brand had clearly run home to buy items. Sadly for him, by the time he returned, he had already lost out on a half-dozen minions, and had fallen behind by one whole level.


    Sha sha sha!


    The three Wild Cards spread out as they spiraled gracefully through the air, slashing a path through the minions, and nicking Brand as well . 1


    Each time he flung out his Wild Cards, Yu Luocheng tried to find a good shot to whittle away some of Brand¡¯s health.


    Brand was just using his skills entirely on the minions. A few times he¡¯d made to attack Twisted Fate, but the Card Master had cunningly maintained a cautious distance from him. Brand had managed to score a few glancing hits, but it was nothing compared to the damage he was taking from those Wild Cards.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the Creep Scores¡­¡± the MC decided to look at things from a financial perspective.


    ¡°Kayle¡¯s got 43 up Top, and has obviously been putting pressure on her opponent Olaf, who¡¯s only picked up 30 so far.


    ¡°Down in the Bottom lane, Renekton¡¯s only gotten 19 minions so far¡ªit¡¯s a sad sight. On the other side, Ashe has 45, putting her parallel with Kayle.


    ¡°As for Mid¡ªwow, this Twisted Fate knows his basics! The game is approaching its seventh minute now, and he¡¯s already got a Creep Score of 60! If I¡¯m not mistaken, there will only be a total of sixty minions down the Mid-lane by the seventh minute. Including the Raptors camp he cleared out earlier, this suggests that he hasn¡¯t missed more than a handful of minions so far!


    ¡°Although I¡¯m not absolutely certain I¡¯ve got the right numbers, we can see that Brand has only got 43 CS in comparison¡ªto be 17 minions ahead of Brand, just seven minutes into the game, it¡¯s astounding!¡±


    Many players don¡¯t pay much attention to the Creep Scores, nor do they keep track of expected tallies at various points in the game.


    The fact of the matter was that a lead of 17 minions was roughly equivalent to a champion kill. In addition to the kill Xin Zhao had given him not too long ago, even if neither one of the Mid-laners scored a kill against the other for a while, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate had already secured a tremendous economic advantage over the enemy Brand.


    ¡°And now, Twisted Fate has his ultimate skill. Perhaps he¡¯ll go help out one of the other lanes,¡± the MC suggested. ¡°Sigh, playing 4v5 is a real dilemma, otherwise he could casually stroll down to the Bottom lane and pick up a kill for himself; as it stands, all he¡¯s got to work with down there is a stunted runt of a crocodile.¡±


    ***


    At seven minutes and a half, Yu Luocheng kept eyeing the two-thirds of health Brand had remaining.


    Clearing off another wave of minions, Brand now moved to the right, and disappeared into the fog of war.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up, scanning the long, narrow path between the enemy¡¯s Blue Buff and their Mid tower.


    7:30. In truth, Yu Luocheng had been eagerly awaiting this point of the game! One could even say that the moment he selected Twisted Fate, he¡¯d prepared a card which bespoke the darkest omens!


    It was a card which would come into play between the seventh and eighth minute¡­


    ¡­ and spell the doom of the enemy¡¯s AP champion!

 Chapter 67 - All in the Cards

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Screw this, hurry up and get me the Blue Buff¡ªI¡¯m being choked to death out there!¡± Xiao Guangjun whined.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯ll be respawning soon,¡± Li Sheng replied. ¡°Your health is a little low. What if Twisted Fate jumps you with his ulti?¡±


    ¡°How would he dare? I¡¯d kill him the moment he comes within reach,¡± Xiao Guangjun declared self-assuredly.


    Li Sheng brought Xin Zhao over to their Blue Buff. At around the two-minute mark, he¡¯d stolen the enemy¡¯s Red Buff before taking his own Blue, so their Blue Buff would only be respawning a little after the seventh minute.


    Xin Zhao had bought a Phantom Dancer, but everything else was tank equipment. He wouldn¡¯t be able to deal that much damage at the moment, and the pace of his Jungling had slowed down as a result.


    ¡°Take it.¡± Xin Zhao had beaten the Ancient Golem to its last HP. From the other side of the wall, Brand tossed a ¡®Pillar of Flame¡¯ on it, acquiring this vital boon for himself . 1


    ¡°With this Blue, see if I don¡¯t clean his clock!¡± Xiao Guangjun had a score to settle.


    For any Mid player, it was humiliating to be forced to farm under their own tower¡ªespecially a powerhouse like Brand!


    With the aura of the Blue Buff radiating from beneath his feet, his dwindling mana bar quickly filled back up to full.


    And then a pair of glaring red eyes appeared in the sky overhead!


    Those menacing eyes looked down upon the entire battlefield, revealing the positions of all the champions on either side.


    ¡°Oh crap, Twisted Fate is using his ulti!¡± Brand wailed in alarm.


    A circle of shimmering cards spiraled into existence in a long patch of brush, North of Brand. The next moment, Twisted Fate was there! He rose up from the circle of cards, as though stepping out of a mystical portal, and strolled forth casually.


    The golden Stun card was already in his hand. He flung it, and it spun as it hurtled through the air, whistling with the promise of death!


    Clang!


    The golden card struck Brand resoundingly, rooting him in place and taking off another measure of his health!


    Wild Cards!


    Three razor-sharp cards spread out in a fan, the middle card slashing through Brand and lopping off yet another portion of his health bar!


    Ignite on top of a ¡®Stacked Deck¡¯ attack!


    The cards swirling around Twisted Fate folded together into a pile as he reached for another shot. Together with the damage boost from Sheen 1 , this empowered basic attack bit off another chunk of Brand¡¯s health!


    He¡¯d only had two-thirds of his health left to start with, and he¡¯d already finished all his Health Potions earlier. With this withering chain of attacks from Twisted Fate, along with the damage-over-time from the ¡®Ignite¡¯ spell, his health was swiftly reduced to nothing.


    Still holding on to life somehow, Brand began to retaliate with his own skills. However, panicked and flustered, he failed to hit Twisted Fate with his ¡®Sear¡¯ to Stun him. The Ignite effect still burning away, he was finally brought down with a couple more basic attacks.


    With a hoarse cry of defeat, Brand burned away to nothing as he collapsed, leaving only a smoldering silhouette upon the ground.


    Twisted Fate put away his cards with a flourish, his long coat billowing about him. He whisked away the Blue Buff from Brand¡¯s ashes, and then returned to his lane to continue farming.


    The kill had been smooth and effortless, a flawless demonstration of the artistry involved in using the mysterious powers of Twisted Fate to take a life.


    ¡°Oh! Calmly farming all this while, now Twisted Fate shines again with a solo kill against Brand! Rather than flying up Top to help out, or zipping down to Bottom for a gank, the first victim of his ultimate skill was none other than Brand!¡±


    Another round of applause greeted Yu Luocheng¡¯s kill on Brand.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, you may think that was nothing special just now¡ªanyone who plays Twisted Fate should know all about using his ulti to finish a kill¡ªbut playing LoL is not such a simple matter!


    ¡°Take this marvelous solo kill for example: Twisted Fate¡¯s player chose the perfect moment, just as Brand was getting the Blue Buff for himself. While in lane against each other, Twisted Fate had constantly been forcing Brand to use up his own mana, so that when the Blue Buff respawned on his side, Brand would naturally want to get it. It¡¯s a basic logical sequence.


    ¡°Add to that the damage that Brand had already suffered from Twisted Fate¡¯s attacks earlier, while also noting his lack of healing items¡­ therefore, when Brand went to collect the Blue Buff, Twisted Fate used his ulti to swoop in and take him down.


    ¡°You could all see it on the big screen: Team Aviator¡¯s ¡®Ancient Golem¡¯ camp had already been warded by Evelynn in advance, and Twisted Fate had waited until Brand had actually picked up the Blue Buff before making his move, rather than intercepting him along the way.


    ¡°This was all for the sake of taking the Blue Buff for himself, and also to catch Brand while his skills were on cooldown. Otherwise, if Twisted Fate had used Destiny 1 to perform a cold jump onto Brand, it¡¯s likely he would have eaten a full skill combo upon arrival.


    ¡°When playing LoL yourself, you might feel frustrated for getting caught in an ambush, although the same thing happens even at the highest level of play. Well, there actually is a difference, and you can see it in details like these. The one who killed you was always one step ahead of you¡ªperhaps even several steps.¡±


    It was an insightful bit of commentary from the MC: in a game like LOL, you really couldn¡¯t demonstrate too much of a difference purely through how well you controlled a champion, since there were only so many moves you could make . 1


    Did that make it a simple game to play?


    Each champion has four skills and one passive¡ªsome champions can switch modes, giving them a total of eight skills. Do you know all the ways to use every skill on every champion¡ªall the unspecified effect details and interactions?


    Which Summoner Spells you should choose, which ones your opponent has chosen¡ªas well as whether or not they¡¯ve used them recently, whether they currently have those Spells available¡­ have you gotten used to keeping track of these matters?


    What items your opponent has gotten, how much of your health they can take off with a full skill combo¡ªand the same calculations for yourself, against them¡­ are you proficient at performing these calculations?


    When the enemy Jungler isn¡¯t visible on the map, are they moving to gank you?


    When your opponent in lane is normally skittish, then suddenly moves in to attack, it¡¯s a clear sign that he¡¯s not alone!


    When the Blue Buff will respawn, and when the opponent will go to get it, whether you¡¯ll be able to lay an ambush for them¡­ these are also judgments you¡¯ll have to learn to make!


    ¡®League of Legends¡¯, rather than just being a test of teamwork and skill, is more a contest of wits.


    And so, never say that the one who killed you had just gotten lucky. Heh.


    ***


    Xiao Guangjun¡¯s face was as red as the flames that wreathed Brand¡¯s form!


    What was the most unbearable thing in LoL? Being outwitted.


    Against Twisted Fate, Brand should have had the advantage: he had superior burst damage, and he should be equal to Twisted Fate in terms of mana usage.


    And in most cases, Twisted Fate wouldn¡¯t dare to use his ultimate skill against Brand. Timing a ¡®Pillar of Flame¡¯ to greet his arrival through ¡®Destiny¡¯, and then immediately following that up with a ¡®Sear¡¯¡­ although Twisted Fate would still be able to throw out his golden card, he himself would be Stunned nevertheless.


    But Xiao Guangjun had never imagined that his opponent would jump him while his ¡®Pillar of Flame¡¯ was on cooldown!


    ¡°Evelynn must have warded the area!¡± This was the only thing Xin Zhao could say, as the Jungler watched helplessly from the other side of the wall while his teammate was slaughtered.


    ¡°What use is it telling me now?!¡± Xiao Guangjun bellowed in reply.

 Chapter 68 - Decisive Battle

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Quit bickering, take the Dragon!¡± Liu Qi, the team captain, snapped at Li Sheng and Xiao Guangjun.


    The enemy team was basically short a man, so there should be no way for Team Scarlet to contest side objectives like the Dragon.


    Respawning at the fountain, Brand rushed over to the dragon pit, and their four champions slew the Dragon without issue . 1


    ¡°Ah¡­ If Team Aviator goes for the Dragon, there¡¯s really nothing Team Scarlet can do about it,¡± the MC commented. ¡°I suppose Jarvan could try and steal it¡­ but Team Scarlet just let them have it, after all.¡±


    Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t bothered sending Jarvan to attempt a steal on the Dragon. It was a tremendous risk for very little reward. It couldn¡¯t be ignored that they were short-handed¡ªif anyone on their team fell now, the enemy could very well just bring the whole team to storm the Middle lane directly.


    Yu Luocheng coolly remained in his lane, throwing a constant barrage of blue cards at the enemy¡¯s first-tier tower. It had already been whittled down quite a bit, and Twisted Fate was a good champion for breaking towers in any case.


    The enemy had won themselves a Dragon, but Yu Luocheng had taken down an important tower.


    Next, Team Aviator sent three people down to the Bottom lane, where they ganged up on Renekton and killed him under the tower again.


    The enemy team was really bringing their numbers to bear now, roving around in packs of three or four. Jarvan was no longer able to roam freely, so he stayed in the Bottom lane to help protect Renekton, who otherwise would not be able to grow at all.


    Kayle was coming along well up in the Top lane. Olaf had made several attempts to bull rush her, and each time he¡¯d been thrown back with his tail tucked between his legs. Xin Zhao had also come by a few times to try to make a difference, but Twisted Fate could always spare the time to come and reinforce Kayle whenever that happened, thus preventing any disruption to her growth.


    ¡°Evelynn is just planting wards all over the place for Team Scarlet, so that Team Aviator can¡¯t make a move without them knowing about it. It completely foiled their Jungler¡¯s gank attempts during the early game,¡± the MC was saying.


    ¡°However, this won¡¯t be enough once all five members of Team Aviator have assembled their key items. With their numbers advantage, they can keep taking Dragons, maybe even the Baron, and perhaps just rush whichever tower they please. What can Team Scarlet do to stop them?¡±


    It was a full team of five people, after all. With how far Renekton had fallen behind, this 4v5 game was becoming more and more untenable.


    Each time Yu Luocheng used his ulti, it had been to get Brand or Xin Zhao. At the twelve-minute mark, his Twisted Fate already had four kills under his belt, and a Creep Score of 120!


    He had the ¡® Lich Bane 1 ¡® now, as well as a pair of ¡® Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes 2 ¡®. To have completed both these items before the fifteenth minute, he was doing very well for himself.


    This meant that if Brand made the slightest error, Yu Luocheng would smash him open like a cash register!


    As they neared the fourteenth minute of the game, Yu Luocheng scored another solo kill against Brand.


    It was proof that Brand had lost control of the Middle lane.


    Realizing at last that Twisted Fate had to be stopped, Team Aviator came up with a plan.


    ¡°How can you be losing this badly?¡± Team Aviator¡¯s captain, Liu Qi, hissed.


    ¡°This Twisted Fate is not without some skills¡ªand Xin Zhao hasn¡¯t been ganking for me.¡± Xiao Guangjun pushed the blame to his Jungler.


    ¡°Screw you!¡± Li Sheng returned fire. ¡°Mid-lane is littered with wards, and Jarvan is camping there.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, it¡¯s just Twisted Fate,¡± Kai Wu declared. ¡°I¡¯ll pounce right on his face later.¡±


    Leona was a powerhouse on the offense, and also Wu Kai¡¯s best Support champion. A low-mobility champion like Twisted Fate stood no chance against her if he got caught, so there was nothing to worry about.


    The team captain took a closer look at the Middle lane. His Ashe had just returned to base to get more items. The first-tier tower down in the Bottom lane already lay in ruins, so they were clear to switch over to the Middle lane and lay siege to the enemy¡¯s tower.


    ¡°Brand, I¡¯m sending an ulti down Mid-lane. Use it to kill Twisted Fate,¡± Liu Qi ordered.


    The terrifying thing about Ashe was her ability to send an ¡®Enchanted Crystal Arrow¡¯ hurtling out from the fog-of-war all of a sudden. Especially along the Middle lane, which ran in a straight line across the center of the map, it could easily hit an AP champion who wasn¡¯t on high alert, and then her teammates could swiftly finish the kill.


    Liu Qi, the captain of Team Aviator, drew back the shard of magical ice, and with a great ¡®whoosh¡¯, let fly!


    The Enchanted Crystal Arrow shot forth, sailing over the heads of the red side¡¯s minions!


    It left a trail of frost in its wake, hurtling at breakneck speed towards Twisted Fate, still farming in the Middle lane!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng was mowing down minions in the Middle lane, as always. When his ultimate skill wasn¡¯t ready, he¡¯d go clear out the Raptors and Wolves camps, maximizing his income.


    However, just as he was cleaning off another wave of minions, a massive bolt of ice came hurtling towards him, head-on¡ªa frightening sight!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s brow furrowed. The instant the Enchanted Crystal Arrow appeared within his sight, he immediately moved left to evade it.


    If he had Flash, a player with his speed and reflexes could easily avoid this attack¡ªhowever, he¡¯d just used it to get the kill on Brand, earlier.


    Although he tried to get out of its way, it was an undeniably well-placed shot, catching him while he was amongst the minions!


    Wham!


    The arrow slammed into him, showering fragments of ice everywhere, and Stunning him in place.


    After traveling such a long distance, the duration of the Stun effect from the Enchanted Crystal Arrow would be tremendous. Yu Luocheng watched as Brand came into view, and knew he was in a pinch this time.


    Fwoosh!


    Brand had envisioned this moment countless times, in fevered dreams. Flashing forward, he unleashed his full fury upon Twisted Fate!


    ¡°Shutdown!¡±


    His immaculate score of 5/0/0 had finally been marred with a death. His bounty had been worth five hundred gold, and with a combined Flash and Ignite, Brand had claimed it for himself!


    All of Team Scarlet¡¯s hopes were riding upon Yu Luocheng. When his Twisted Fate fell, so did the spirits of the crowd.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Xue Haiyang asked in alarm. Pre-occupied up in the Top lane, he hadn¡¯t noticed the fight down in the Middle lane at all.


    ¡°Ashe surprised him with an Arrow. Brand Flashed in and threw everything at him.¡± Knife recounted the moments leading up to the tragedy.


    The arrow seemed to have come out of nowhere. An average person wouldn¡¯t have been able to respond to it at all. Yu Luocheng could hardly be blamed for getting caught, either.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to gang up at Mid. Try to hold them off, but don¡¯t engage¡ªlet them have the first tower. Protect the second one, and wait for me to respawn.¡± Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t shaken by this unexpected death. Maintaining his composure, he directed his team¡¯s next moves.


    Sure enough, the moment Twisted Fate went down, all five members of Team Aviator gathered in the Middle lane.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s first-tier Mid tower, still at nearly perfect health, was soon toppled entirely. Kayle was forced to leave Top in order to help reinforce Mid, otherwise the second-tier tower might fall in a hurry next.


    ¡°That one Arrow from the Team Aviator captain Liu Qi seems to have turned the tide of this battle. Many of you must have been wondering about his choice to bring Ashe into this game. Does a fragile champion like her really belong in a serious competition?


    ¡°Honestly, yes, she does. Team Scarlet is obviously short-handed, and will be disadvantaged in team fights¡ªand Ashe is the greatest team-fight initiator in the game, with no equal in this respect!¡± Once again, the MC provided an expert-level analysis.


    Ashe was a champion with her strengths as well as weaknesses. Used properly, she could wreak utter devastation upon the enemy team.


    When the ADC and captain of Team Aviator selected Ashe, it was as she herself would say: ¡°We¡¯re on the right path.¡±


    The worth of her ¡®Enchanted Crystal Arrow¡¯ could not have been demonstrated better. From this point forward, it would represent the greatest threat to Team Scarlet!


    ¡°Team Scarlet is in trouble, now. Team Aviator can just keep using this tactic repeatedly: a five-man siege down Mid¡ªor any other lane¡ªand after a bit of skirmishing and harassment, Ashe can start a team fight with her ulti. Four against five, Team Scarlet might not be able to hold their towers, even while fighting right beside them.


    ¡°Their Twisted Fate has put on a good showing this game, but now that Team Aviator is grouping up all the way, there¡¯s nothing he can do,¡± the MC said with some regret.


    Four versus five. In the end, it was too great a stretch.


    Hearing this judgment from the MC, the people in the audience began to despair for Team Scarlet. No matter how many wards Evelynn placed, if the enemy team just rushed them all at once, map vision was a moot point.


    ¡°Ah, what the heck¡­ I got so excited just now, thinking Twisted Fate could save this game¡­¡± a university-age youth in the front row was saying.


    ¡°If they¡¯re just going to stick together all the way, there¡¯s nothing Twisted Fate can do about it. Maybe if they drag the game past twenty minutes, and Twisted Fate picks up some nice gear, there might still be a fight to be had¡ªbut Team Aviator isn¡¯t stupid: they know Twisted Fate is a threat, and they won¡¯t allow him to get any fatter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing this will be a surrender-at-20. Renekton¡¯s been beaten too badly down in the Bottom lane¡ªhe¡¯s died three times. Without a ¡®Sunfire Cape¡¯, he¡¯s basically worthless.¡±


    The crowd was abuzz with speculation, and most of them weren¡¯t holding out much hope for Team Scarlet.


    ***


    Yang Qianqian was seated among the spectators. Beside her, Wang Qin¡¯s face was as dark as a stormcloud.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I think the MC may be right,¡± he lamented.


    Yang Qianqian could feel doubt gnawing at her heart, too. After what she¡¯d seen in the hospital that night, she¡¯d hoped fervently for Team Scarlet to prove victorious¡ªbut the way things were going¡­


    ***


    ¡°Evelynn, go plant a ward in the dragon pit,¡± Yu Luocheng instructed Huang Yu.


    Huang Yu had been patrolling the jungle constantly, avoiding any conflict zones. Considering the level he was at, a simple Slow would mean his doom. Any one of the enemy champions could easily do him in.


    ¡°The dragon pit?¡± Huang Yu was befuddled by this. The enemy had five people besieging their second-tier tower. What good was a ward in the dragon pit going to be?


    Although doubtful, Huang Yu did it anyway. Slipping down to the dragon pit, he placed wards at several key locations.


    Yu Luocheng had returned to life, and was rushing down into the lane. With Twisted Fate entering the fray, his potent minion wave-clearing capability denied the enemy champions an easy assault against the tower. Their second-tier tower should be safe for the moment.


    Seeing that they wouldn¡¯t be able to bring down that tower after all, Team Aviator waffled about for a bit, then decided to pull back¡­ and then, sure enough, they headed for the dragon pit!


    Team Aviator had slain their first dragon at the ninth minute, after which it would respawn six minutes later. The game had reached its fifteenth minute now, which meant the next dragon had appeared.


    Having brought down one tower each from the Bottom and Middle lanes, as well as one Dragon, Team Aviator was enjoying a clear lead in overall finances. If they were allowed to take a second Dragon, they would pull even further ahead.


    Under this economic pressure, as well as the constant threat of being forced into an unfavorable team fight, when he saw the enemy team making for the Dragon, Yu Luocheng spoke solemnly to the other players of Team Scarlet, ¡°We have to fight for this Dragon¡ªand we have to win!¡±


    Xiao Dao, Xiao Tongtong, and Xue Haiyang all turned towards Yu Luocheng. They could feel it too: the fight for this Dragon would be a decisive battle!


    If they won, they could still hope to fight on.


    If they lost, they would lose all hope!

 Chapter 69 - Dancing with Death

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°From the way they¡¯re moving, it seems Team Scarlet is intent on a fight. They¡¯re going to have an honest-to-goodness contest of mettle with Team Aviator in the dragon pit!¡± The MC¡¯s voice boomed across the arena.


    Seeing four players from Team Scarlet bounding towards the dragon pit, the chattering in the crowd was quelled. All eyes were fixed on the main screen, unwilling to miss a single moment of this titanic clash.


    The mouth of the dragon pit was the tactical high ground. As they were entering the river, the members of Team Aviator looked back and saw Team Scarlet bearing down on them.


    There was no hurry to get the Dragon, so they began to dither about the area, drawing in their adversaries.


    ¡°They¡¯re picking a fight with us!¡± Li Sheng, the Jungler who was playing Xin Zhao, was beside himself with anticipation.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t get it. They should have straight-up forfeited this game,¡± Kai Wu crowed in mockery. ¡°Why bother to carry a physically and mentally retarded person through a championship game? They just don¡¯t know their place. They really think they can win 4v5 against us?¡±


    Wu Kai had not forgotten that time when Yin Qin embarrassed him in front of everyone in the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦. He could live without everything else, but he would get his dignity back no matter what.


    Doing in Huang Yu had been a bit of catharsis for him, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. In this public match, before a live audience of thousands, he¡¯d thoroughly humiliate Team Scarlet. The look he¡¯d see on Yin Qin¡¯s face!


    ¡°Olaf, go straight for Twisted Fate. Understand?¡± Liu Qi commanded.


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll grab him!¡± Wu Kai drawled. ¡°The rest of you just be sure to come in and finish him off.¡±


    ***


    Both teams met in the river outside the dragon pit.


    Ashe¡¯s ulti wasn¡¯t ready yet, so she couldn¡¯t force the fight to start on their terms. It was now a question of when Olaf would use his ulti, or whether Wu Kai would be able to grab somebody with Leona.


    Wu Kai knew all the tricks to playing Leona. He positioned her behind the circular walls of the dragon pit, waiting to catch someone from this blind spot.


    Twisted Fate was the main damage-dealer on Team Scarlet, so he¡¯d definitely move up to use his skills. Kai¡¯s eyes were locked unwaveringly onto him. One wrong step, and he¡¯d hit E on his keyboard!


    ***


    Razor-sharp Wild Cards whistled through the air, cutting through the brush to reveal Team Aviator¡¯s front-liners, Olaf and Xin Zhao!


    In truth, the Wild Cards flew rather slowly, allowing them to be easily dodged with even a modest bit of skill. But with all five members of Team Aviator jumbled together in this section of river, someone was bound to get hit, especially with the cunning trajectories that Yu Luocheng kept finding¡ªthere were times when they could clearly see the cards hurtling towards them, but somehow there was no way to get clear in time.


    Brand was likewise spamming his own skills, trying to wear down Renekton and Jarvan in front. Although his items were kind of pitiful, and Jarvan and Renekton had both been stocking up on tank equipment, so his damage was nothing compared to Twisted Fate¡¯s Wild Cards.


    At fifteen minutes, Twisted Fate had amassed a Lich Bane, a pair of Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes, a Blasting Wand, and a Doran¡¯s Ring. One might as well use ¡®extravagant¡¯ to describe the state of his equipment. He was out-damaging both Brand and Ashe combined.


    Team Aviator¡¯s captain Liu Qi found this rate of damage to be somewhat preposterous. He turned to Kai, beside him, and motioned for him to take action.


    Wu Kai was a little frustrated: Twisted Fate was juking around really well, denying him a clear shot. If anything, those Wild Cards had so far stripped him of one-third of his health!


    Since his team captain was ordering him to just get in there and mix it up, he couldn¡¯t dawdle around any longer.


    He ignored everyone except Twisted Fate, and when his target moved up for another shot, Kai hit the D key!


    Bamf!


    He used his Flash, so that Leona appeared out of thin air, resplendent in her gleaming golden armor!


    Solar Flare! With a great battle-cry, Leona raised her golden sword into the air!


    Instantly, a blazing beam of sunlight lanced through the river bed, with Twisted Fate right at its center!


    The ¡®Solar Flare¡¯ caused one of two disabling effects: getting struck by the narrow central beam meant being Stunned; getting caught anywhere else within its vast area of effect would drastically Slow down an enemy.


    Obviously, Wu Kai was aiming to Stun the enemy team¡¯s ace, Twisted Fate!


    ¡°Leona has forced a team fight! Twisted Fate is in danger!¡± the MC hollered.


    This roused everyone in the hall. Everyone was aware that Twisted Fate was the cornerstone of this 4v5 game. If he fell right at the start of a fight, Team Scarlet would have no hope against Team Aviator¡­ and if they lost this team fight, it would be the beginning of the end, essentially GG!


    The view on the screen snapped to Twisted Fate. Everyone watched as the Solar Flare went off right at his feet, almost setting his coat ablaze!


    Wu Kai had deployed his ultimate skill perfectly: he¡¯d deliberately placed it slightly behind Twisted Fate!


    This meant that if Twisted Fate instinctively pulled back, he¡¯d suffer a direct hit from the ultimate. If instead he continued forwards, that too was fine¡ªLeona was ready to catch him with her Zenith Blade, and pounce right onto him!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s very next step was critical. If he made the wrong move, the enemy would be on top of him immediately!


    Backward, or forward?


    It was a matter of life or death. Everyone watching had their heart in their throat!


    ***


    Twisted Fate stepped back, retreating towards his teammates!


    With this move, he dodged the Stun effect at the center, but there was simply no way for him to get clear of the whole area of effect¡ªhe was Slowed down!


    With neither Flash nor any mobility skills, being Slowed put him in mortal peril¡ªespecially with Leona brandishing her sword right in his face!


    A wicked leer spread across Kai¡¯s face. Twisted Fate was already done for.


    Zenith Blade!


    Leona thrust her radiant longsword forward, and a line of searing golden light shot forth, stabbing towards Twisted Fate!


    He¡¯d used the skill at point-blank range. For the average player to evade the Stun at the center of the ¡®Solar Flare¡¯ was a rare enough occurrence¡ªbut it was impossible to dodge this Zenith Blade now.


    As the lance of light cut through the air, Twisted Fate, having just taken a step backward, immediately followed with a step to the right!


    This moved him in a perpendicular direction away from the path of Leona¡¯s ¡®Zenith Blade¡¯, the most beautiful sidestep in all of the League of Legends!


    What does it mean to ¡®sidestep¡¯ something ? 1


    A ¡®sidestep¡¯ maneuver is best used against straight-line skillshots, such as Lux¡¯s ¡®Light Binding¡¯, Blitzcrank¡¯s ¡®Rocket Grab¡¯, Thresh¡¯s ¡®Death Sentence¡¯, Lee Sin¡¯s ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯, and so on.


    When an opponent uses such skills against you, advancing or retreating directly will result in you getting hit.


    But if instead you move sideways¡ªrelative to your attacker¡ªyou can dodge these kinds of skillshots completely with just a tiny step to the side!


    Becoming proficient at side-stepping requires tremendous amounts of practice, not to mention high-speed judgment in order to predict the probable path of an opponent¡¯s skills.


    Stepping smartly to the side, Twisted Fate dodged what would have been a fatal bit of crowd control from Leona!


    ¡°Beautiful control!¡± the MC howled. ¡°Twisted Fate has managed to evade both of Leona¡¯s debilitating crowd-control skills! Wow, do you see that? Even while dodging, Twisted Fate was also drawing a card!¡±


    Targeted by a vicious surprise attack, and Twisted Fate was still able to cut cards on the side¡­ it was skill beyond imagination!

 Chapter 70 - All-Out Brawl!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Oh, come on!¡± Seeing his skillshot go astray, Wu Kai snarled in frustration.


    And now, Twisted Fate was holding a red card, aglow with the damage boost from his ¡®Lich Bane¡¯!


    Whap!


    He flung the red card, which smacked Leona full-force in the face!


    Waves of red energy swirled around her, Slowing everyone it touched.


    Charging in to attack Twisted Fate, Xin Zhao was caught in the red card¡¯s area of effect, and faltered ever so slightly.


    ¡°A well-placed red card, impeding the enemy¡¯s impending attack! But look, Olaf has activated his ulti, and now he¡¯s charging in!¡± the MC yammered away at high speed.


    Olaf¡¯s ultimate skill rendered him immune to Slows and all forms of crowd control. His whole body sheathed in the crimson miasma of war, blood-streaked battle-axes clutched in each hand, he barreled hungrily towards Twisted Fate!


    Ghost!


    When Olaf used ¡®Ghost¡¯, he became like unto a raging bull, and now he was bearing down on Twisted Fate!


    ¡°Leona Flashed in to apply CC, Xin Zhao is rushing in too, and now Olaf has activated both his ulti and ¡®Ghost¡¯ to join the battle! What sort of grudge does Team Aviator have against Twisted Fate?¡± the MC exclaimed.


    Bull-rushed by three powerful dive champions 1 ¡­ with or without mobility skills, any champion would be dead meat!


    Renekton threw himself in front of Twisted Fate protectively, although it was little use against a rampaging Olaf. Terrance could feel distress clawing at his lungs¡ªTwisted Fate was moments away from getting caught by the enemy!


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    With an earth-shaking battle-cry, Jarvan leapt through the air and slammed his lance into the sodden earth of the river bed!


    Kaboom!


    The ground quaked, and mighty crags were thrown up all around Jarvan to form an enormous crater. He had surrounded himself with an impassable wall of boulders!


    Regardless of whatever tantrums Olaf threw, he wouldn¡¯t be able to break out of this circular stone prison!


    ¡°Well done! Jarvan has successfully trapped Olaf within the effect of his ulti, thus halting his mad charge! What¡¯s more, this has also put Xin Zhao in an awkward position, unable to reach the enemy¡¯s rear line! Meanwhile, Kayle is unleashing her full fury upon them! Note that this Kayle has already got ¡® Bork 1 ¡® and ¡®Berserker¡¯s Greaves¡¯, so her damage is nothing to sneeze at!¡±


    Kayle was going for Attack Damage (AD) items, even though she benefited more from Ability Power (AP), because she needed Physical Damage more, this game.


    She was currently under the effects of an ¡®Elixir of Brilliance¡¯, so her ¡®Righteous Fury¡¯ had hardly any cooldown to speak of, allowing her to just stand in place as she rained fire down upon her enemies.


    Twisted Fate had similarly taken shelter between his two teammates, which also put him right next to Kayle!


    In a team fight, it was optimal for the ADC and AP to be in the rear, near each other. That way, if an enemy broke through to attack them, they could both concentrate fire on him!


    Insta-drawing a card, and then unleashing all his skills onto Olaf, Yu Luocheng¡¯s strategy was simple: Neutralize the greatest threat, Olaf, as quickly as possible!


    Red card, a crimson hurricane!


    A basic attack enhanced with both ¡®Stacked Deck¡¯ and ¡®Lich Bane¡¯ could erase several notches from Olaf¡¯s health bar, followed by another round of ¡®Wild Cards¡¯¡­


    Olaf didn¡¯t have any Magic Resist items at all, and the thirty points of Magic Resist and Armor provided by his ultimate skill ¡® Ragnarok 1 ¡® hardly made any difference at all!


    Note that at barely fifteen minutes, Yu Luocheng already had five champion kills and 160 CS. He had the most sumptuous equipment, so that every one of his attacks that found Olaf¡ªwho so far had only picked up a Warmog¡¯s Armor¡ªdealt grievous harm indeed!


    Watching Olaf¡¯s health plummet down towards nothing, Xin Zhao couldn¡¯t bear to watch and do nothing, so he circled around Jarvan¡¯s crater wall, paying absolutely no heed to Renekton or Jarvan, and dove straight for Twisted Fate!


    ¡°Fall back!¡± Yu Luocheng pulled Twisted Fate away from the incoming threat, while calling for his teammates to follow.


    Xin Zhao closed the distance with ¡®Audacious Charge¡¯, damaging and Slowing Twisted Fate.


    Using Olaf as a springboard, Renekton shot forward with ¡®Slice & Dice¡¯ to reach Twisted Fate, and then used ¡®Ruthless Predator¡¯ to stun Xin Zhao.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s formation had become a little scattered as a result of Xin Zhao¡¯s charge, forcing Kayle to switch targets¡ªas she backpedaled away, she used all her damaging skills on Xin Zhao.


    Xin Zhao had only made mediocre gains so far. If he¡¯d managed to hit several champions with his ultimate skill, that might have provided a substantial boost to his defenses¡ªinstead, he¡¯d only caught Renekton with it, for minimum benefit.


    The way of the warrior is to charge headlong towards death!


    Stunned by Renekton, Slowed by Kayle¡¯s skills as well as her ¡®Blade of the Ruined King¡¯, Xin Zhao couldn¡¯t even knock somebody up with his third-tier ¡®Three Talon Strike¡¯, and he had already taken a truly staggering amount of damage!


    Realizing that he would neither be able to reach Twisted Fate nor Kayle, Xin Zhao¡¯s only choice was to attack the wounded Jarvan instead, and take Knife¡¯s champion out of commission.


    Jarvan IV was Knife¡¯s best champion. Since he dove in with his ulti to interrupt the enemy¡¯s pursuit, he hadn¡¯t yet used his ¡®Demacian Standard¡¯, since he couldn¡¯t knock up Olaf anyway. Even if he used it to penetrate to the enemy¡¯s rear line, his pitiful damage meant that he¡¯d just be giving them a free kill.


    Seeing that his health was dangerously low, Jarvan immediately used an EQ-combo to extract himself from the heated brawl ! 1


    He¡¯d just made it out with the very last shred of his health. Brand¡¯s equipment was pathetic, but the champion himself dealt formidable burst damage nevertheless. Even more fearsome was Ashe, who already had ¡®Infinity Edge¡¯. Despite all the armor he¡¯d built up, Jarvan still couldn¡¯t withstand their combined damage output.


    Sadly, after taking a share of the damage for Olaf, a fleeing Xin Zhao was able to deliver that last, fatal hit against Jarvan in passing.


    ¡°Urgh!¡± Jarvan fell tragically to the ground.


    The battle was so intense that Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t even notice His Majesty¡¯s demise. Seeing that the skill cooldown had elapsed, he hit W to Pick a Card again!


    Red again¡ªas the blue card flashed past, Yu Luocheng reached out and snatched up the red one!


    He flung the card, and Xin Zhao found himself at the center of another swirling vortex of vermillion mist, pulling at his feet!


    A volley of Wild Cards followed immediately after, slashing Xin Zhao right across the face!


    A basic attack, enhanced by ¡®Lich Bane¡¯!


    ¡°Twisted Fate keeps drawing red cards. Together with his Wild Cards, he¡¯s dealing a lot of AoE damage! Xin Zhao and Olaf were both tanking up, but now they¡¯re already on their last legs. It has to be said that the current situation is chaotic, exhilarating¡­ there¡¯s really no way to predict who¡¯s going to come out on top, besides watching this game to the end!¡±


    The fight had begun in the river outside the dragon pit, and now it had carried all the way over to the blue side¡¯s Raptors camp!


    Team Aviator¡¯s Xin Zhao had managed to get away with his last few HP. Because he¡¯d been taking some of the damage for Olaf, the Berserker had been able to mount a savage offensive, his thrown axes slowing Kayle down.


    At the same time, Leona attacked from the other side, hitting Kayle with a ¡®Zenith Blade¡¯ followed by a ¡®Shield of Daybreak¡¯ to Stun her!


    ¡°Leona with an excellent flank attack! Kayle is in trouble now!¡±


    The MC¡¯s commentary was immersive and spirited, and his words moved the audience watching the game. Through the commotion of the crowd, they could only hear the MC¡¯s voice, carrying them through this roller-coaster ride!

 Chapter 71 - : Last Man Standing

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Rar!¡± Olaf brought down his axe, and Kayle lost a third of her health to his terrifying True Damage attack!


    Ashe launched a Volley into the fight as well. Seeing that Kayle had been locked down and nearly destroyed, Xue Haiyang frantically hit R to activate her ¡®Intervention¡¯!


    This divine intervention gave her absolute invulnerability, which also meant she couldn¡¯t be Slowed.


    Speeding herself up with ¡®Divine Blessing¡¯, Kayle fled from the carnage with the last one-third of her health.


    ¡°Kayle ends up using her ulti on herself! It allows her to break away for now, but Team Aviator refuses to let her escape!¡±


    Sure enough, Olaf and Leona were both hot on her heels!


    When Olaf picked up the axes he threw, the cooldown between throws was next to nothing. The instant Kayle¡¯s ¡®Intervention¡¯ wore off, another axe was hurled to Slow her down again!


    That Slow meant the end for Kayle. After that, if Ashe slowed her again with her ¡®Volley¡¯, it would be the last nail in her coffin!


    As the enemy closed in on Kayle, a red card flew in from out of nowhere, catching both Olaf as well as Leona! Olaf¡¯s ulti had already ended, so when the red card hit him, the chase stumbled to a halt!


    ¡°Another red card, in the nick of time! That red card will allow Kayle to get away from Team Aviator after all!¡± the MC¡¯s commentary was blazing fast!


    A fan of ¡®Wild Cards¡¯ followed, raking over Olaf! Already very low on health, these two hits from Twisted Fate brought him to death¡¯s door.


    That was when Team Scarlet¡¯s Xiao Tongtong, fingers clattering across his keyboard, brought Renekton in to use ¡®Cull the Meek¡¯ and finish Olaf!


    Blood spattered everywhere as Olaf fell to Renekton¡¯s final strike, and he thudded to the ground at the intersection between the river and the Raptors.


    In the wake of Olaf¡¯s defeat, Renekton was slowed down by Ashe. With her excellent kiting capability, once Renekton got caught, there was basically no hope of escape for him.


    Already behind in this game, he wasn¡¯t likely to stand up to much punishment, either.


    And then Xiao Tongtong noticed how much health Brand had remaining.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, rather than flee, Renekton used ¡®Slice & Dice¡¯ to leap onto Brand, and gave him everything he had, including an Ignite spell.


    Brand had already lost two-fifths of his health to Twisted Fate. Although Renekton hadn¡¯t picked up any offensive gear, his burst damage was still considerable.


    Brand kept his cool, chaining ¡®Conflagration¡¯ and ¡®Sear¡¯ to stun Renekton. Ashe meanwhile unleashed a withering cascade of arrows upon him.


    Having spent the early game being bullied in the Bottom lane two-against-one, he was way behind in items, and couldn¡¯t hold out for long. His health swiftly dropped to zero.


    Yet Renekton doggedly continued to unload his skills onto Brand, bringing the mage down to critical health himself.


    Still burning from the Ignite, Brand finally succumbed to his wounds, and Renekton got his revenge.


    Knowing that his teammate had been sacrificed so he could escape, Xue Haiyang¡¯s heart was heavy.


    He turned back to finish off the wounded Leona, but then all of a sudden, Ashe drew back on her longbow, and a massive Enchanted Crystal Arrow was streaking towards him!


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just bad luck: Ashe¡¯s ultimate has just come off cooldown, and now Kayle takes it in the face! It¡¯s the end of the road for her!¡±


    As feared, Ashe immediately used Volley to apply a powerful Slow effect on the Stunned Kayle. Firing as she moved, Ashe¡¯s player controlled her deftly, so that Kayle had no chance at all to escape.


    Knowing her death was at hand, Kayle turned around and attacked Ashe with her angelic blade. Sadly, Ashe was basically still at full health, and those couple of attacks didn¡¯t do much to hurt her.


    Ultimately, Kayle perished beneath the hail of Ashe¡¯s frozen arrows.


    ¡°The captain of Team Aviator proves his worth with finely honed ADC gameplay! Renekton and Kayle have both fallen to Ashe!¡±


    Jarvan had been slain, Renekton had been killed in trade, and Kayle had been brought down. Three members of Team Scarlet had been eliminated, leaving only Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate. However, after all that fighting, Twisted Fate was almost completely out of mana. At most, he only had enough left for one more skill.


    Team Aviator had only lost Brand and Olaf so far. Xin Zhao and Leona were badly wounded, while Ashe remained largely unharmed.


    ¡°Team Scarlet tried their best in this team fight¡ªespecially Twisted Fate, who dealt such amazing AoE damage with both his red cards and Wild Cards,¡± the MC cried out. ¡°But it can¡¯t be ignored that they¡¯re fighting against superior numbers, and now that they¡¯ve traded three kills for two, Team Aviator is in control of this game.


    ¡°Is this how Team Scarlet goes down?¡±


    ***


    They¡¯d lost?


    Yin Qin stared at the screen, the light in his eyes slowly going out.


    As an old veteran in the gaming scene, losing this championship was a hair-raising thought. It felt like a reminder of how much he¡¯d failed in life. It was unbearable.


    Xue Haiyang, Xiao Dao, and Xiao Tongtong all stared at their grayed-out screens, in a daze.


    This team fight had been their last hope. There would be no coming back from a defeat, here. Right now, they¡¯d give anything to have a Revive and Teleport, so they could have another go with those sons of bitches from Team Aviator!


    But the gray screens, and the red-framed death notifications, allowed them nothing besides a feeling of failure and powerlessness.


    When they¡¯d first started playing LoL, they¡¯d never once thought about how much they might be falling in love with the game. They¡¯d never imagined that they could spend over two months slaving away at it for the sake of a competition, working their fingers to the bone every day.


    Most of all, it had never occurred to them that after thousands of victories and thousands of defeats, the thought of watching their Nexus shatter at the end of this game, followed by the red sign of ¡®Defeat¡¯, filled them with the overwhelming urge to smash their keyboard to pieces!


    They¡¯d done everything they could, worked themselves to exhaustion¡­ even when their captain Huang Yu got injured, they didn¡¯t give up on this match, even if they might very well be walking to their humiliation.


    And now they were going to lose anyway.


    ***


    The captain of Team Scarlet saw the despair of his teammates.


    So much guilt was pouring from his heart, he could have choked on it.


    If not for his own foolishness, his team would never have to suffer such an unjust disgrace.


    His Evelynn hadn¡¯t even reached Level 6 yet. The best he could do was take advantage of the commotion to push the Top lane.


    But what use was knocking down a single tower in the Top lane? It wasn¡¯t enough to reverse the whole team¡¯s downward slide towards defeat!


    A moment ago, everyone had been roaring for battle. Now, he was hearing nothing in his headphones. Everyone had fallen silent.


    It was irritating, maddening¡­ that restless sort of silence which drove one to insanity!


    ***


    ¡°Look! Twisted Fate is still hungry for a fight!¡± the MC exclaimed suddenly.


    ¡°His whole team lies dead, and there are still three enemies standing. Twisted Fate has one last skill left in him, and he¡¯s choosing to fight? This player has been keeping a cool head the entire time¡ªhas he finally lost his mind?¡±


    Everyone in Team Scarlet overheard the MC¡¯s commentary. All eyes fell upon Yu Luocheng, utterly confounded.


    Had he given up as well, and just wanted to go for one more kill?


    ***


    Yu Luocheng watched his screen with a focus he¡¯d never shown before.


    Had they lost? Far from it!


    So long as Twisted Fate was still standing¡­

 Chapter 72 - 1.5 Seconds Between Life and Death

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A blue glow radiated from Twisted Fate. When he¡¯d respawned at the Fountain earlier, Yu Luocheng had picked up an Elixir of Brilliance 1 , as well as a whole stack of Mana Potions.


    It was common knowledge that Twisted Fate couldn¡¯t get out too many skills without a Blue Buff. Yu Luocheng had remembered this, and had made preparations in advance.


    Even so, he¡¯d already used up all of his Mana Potions now.


    Glancing at Leona¡¯s current position, Yu Luocheng reached for a blue card!


    Shimmering like water, the blue card was flung out, and it struck squarely against Leona, emptying out her health bar.


    ¡°Twisted Fate draws a blue one, and lets fly¡­ oh, too bad¡ªthe Support still lives! I don¡¯t get what he¡¯s doing! Attacking Leona means putting himself within reach of Ashe!¡± the MC wailed.


    Everyone on Team Scarlet was staring at Yu Luocheng. Exchanging an AP champion¡¯s life just to get a Support, it wasn¡¯t any worthwhile kind of trade¡­ so Yu Luocheng had lost hope, too.


    ¡°Sure enough, Ashe launches an all-out attack! Twisted Fate is Slowed! Now there¡¯s no way for him to run!¡±


    Yu Luocheng frowned. He¡¯d thought that blue card would have been enough to finish Leona off.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Leona to get a pair of ¡®Mercury¡¯s Treads¡¯, and other Magic Resist items besides. It certainly explained how she had managed to survive against him for so long.


    This miscalculation meant Yu Luocheng was in a tough spot: Ashe was already Slowing him down; Leona had wisely moved out of his reach, and was now in full retreat, so that he had no hope even of getting a lucky hit on her with his ¡®Wild Cards¡¯ at maximum range.


    ¡°Twisted Fate is running out of health! A few more attacks and it¡¯ll be all over!¡± the MC¡¯s pronouncement of imminent doom rang out across the entire arena.


    ***


    One arrow! Two!


    A smirk teased at the corners of Liu Qi¡¯s lips. Another kill for the team captain of Aviator.


    Then Twisted Fate ducked nimbly into the bush behind the Lizard Elder. His line-of-sight to the target broken, he was unable to fire the next arrow.


    No matter, Twisted Fate had been Slowed¡ªhe couldn¡¯t escape.


    Ashe gave chase into the brush, glancing at the remaining cooldown on ¡®Volley¡¯. Almost ready¡­ no matter how Twisted Fate tried to dodge, he would still meet his end!


    Once inside the bush, he spotted Twisted Fate¡¯s retreating shadow right away. It was like standing over a badly crippled soldier as he tried to crawl feebly away. Arrow already nocked on the bowstring, Liu Qi knew that he had all the time in the world to choose his moment, and decide when to send his prey off to his eternal rest.


    And then Twisted Fate began to Pick a Card.


    Well, what good would that do him? Not even a golden card would save him now. It was a futile effort.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use¡­¡± The dismay in the MC¡¯s voice was clear. ¡°Even if he throws out a Stun, it¡¯ll only last for one brief second¡ªnot enough time for a Slowed Twisted Fate to escape the range of Ashe¡¯s ¡®Volley¡¯. With only that little bit of health left on him, the very next hit he takes will be the last one.


    ¡°Sure enough, there¡¯s the golden card!¡±


    Whap! The card smacked solidly against Ashe¡¯s face as she rushed in, and she was Stunned.


    Liu Qi chuckled with disdain. His Volley was ready now. Once the Stun time had elapsed, one press of W and this hunt would be over.


    Foom!


    Suddenly, a malicious red eye appeared in the air above Ashe¡¯s head!


    Startled, Liu Qi looked to Twisted Fate, and saw him bathed in the red light of ¡®Destiny¡¯. Rays of red light showered down over Twisted Fate, forming a profane pattern upon the ground!


    ¡°Destiny? Twisted Fate is using his Destiny, now?¡± The MC was utterly befuddled . 1


    That¡¯s right: Twisted Fate had chosen this moment to use his ultimate skill!


    It wasn¡¯t just the MC who was bewildered by this¡ªeveryone stared at the condemned Twisted Fate, unable to comprehend why he was throwing away his ulti when he was essentially already dead.


    When Liu Qi saw what was happening, realization hit him with a flash, and he began ramming his finger repeatedly on W!


    One second¡ªno, 1.5 seconds! That was how long the Stun effect lasted.


    That 1.5-second Stun would be enough time for Twisted Fate to follow up with ¡®Gate¡¯ and teleport away!


    Volley! A cluster of snow-white arrows fanned out, screaming as they raced towards Twisted Fate.


    But he was already gone. The arrows hit nothing but the brush.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Liu Qi cried, his expression equal parts shock and rage.


    He felt as though he¡¯d found a cute girl, stripped her of all her clothing, and just as he¡¯d cornered her, she suddenly sprouted a pair of wings and departed. It was as unbelievable as it was confounding ! 1


    Where did he go? Where had Twisted Fate gone?


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Suddenly, a cry of hot fury exploded nearby. It was Kai Wu!


    Wu Kai¡¯s Leona had been channeling a Recall 1 in what he¡¯d thought was a safe spot, while he panned his view over to watch Ashe.


    Then Twisted Fate had abruptly vanished.


    Before he could react, Wu Kai¡¯s screen had turned gray! He hadn¡¯t even been able to see how he¡¯d died!


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± the MC hollered.


    ¡°TF! TF!¡±


    ¡°Did you see that? Did you all see that? Lord have mercy! Twisted Fate pulled himself from the jaws of death with a golden card and his ulti¡ªand not only that, he even went and finished off Leona mid-Recall!¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable! What an unbelievable play!¡±


    A moment ago, everyone had been expecting to see Twisted Fate die. Now they all stared, wide-eyed, at the massive LCD screen in abject disbelief!


    Long coat billowing, covered in wounds all over, a bloodstained card held between his fingers¡­ Twisted Fate had failed to die, and instead now stood over Leona¡¯s fallen body!


    The crowd was going wild! No one had anticipated such an awe-inspiring, beyond god-like performance!


    Have you ever seen an audience, numbering in the thousands, rising to their feet in unison to give a standing ovation? Turn your eyes to the screen now. What a magnificent sight!


    ¡°A third-tier golden card Stuns for 1.5 seconds, and Twisted Fate¡¯s ¡®Destiny¡¯ into ¡®Gate¡¯ also requires 1.5 seconds in total! How ascended would this Twisted Fate player have to be to have performed such a judgment, pulled off such a play, in the face of certain death? My word¡­ oh, my word¡­¡± The MC seemed as though he might faint.

 Chapter 73 - Turning the Tables

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Escaping with ¡®Destiny¡¯ is one of the key techniques to mastering Twisted Fate. But when Twisted Fate ran into that bush just now, he was on his last HP. That golden card came out just in time¡ªhold on, hold on¡­ never mind that for now, it looks like Twisted Fate is still up to something.¡±


    The MC had been planning to go over Yu Luocheng¡¯s astounding escape-plus-kill again, but then he noticed that Twisted Fate was now forging through the enemy¡¯s jungle.


    Slipping out of the river, he snuck towards the bush near the enemy team¡¯s Ancient Golem¡­ but then he stopped short, some distance from it.


    He slung out a fan of multi-colored Wild Cards, which whistled sharply through the air as they disappeared into the brush.


    ¡°Argh!¡± A pained cry emerged from the tall grass!


    ¡°Double Kill!¡± A system notification suddenly rang out.


    Even the MC was stunned by this, as the view zoomed in on the spot where the incident had occurred. ¡°What happened? Was someone else hiding in there?¡±


    In all the chaos of that last battle, Xin Zhao had made it out just one step short of death. Most people hadn¡¯t bothered to keep track of him.


    ¡°Xin Zhao! It was Xin Zhao! Double Kill! With almost zero health and mana, Twisted Fate miraculously secures himself a Double Kill!¡±


    Still reeling from that brilliant escape which resulted in Leona¡¯s demise, this unexpected next kill had the crowd shouting at the top of their lungs!


    Team Scarlet hadn¡¯t had any wards in that particular bush, and when Yu Luocheng used Twisted Fate¡¯s ultimate skill a moment ago, he¡¯d immediately used it to teleport over to Leona¡ªXin Zhao¡¯s position would only have been revealed for a split-second.


    After slaying Leona, it had occurred to Yu Luocheng that Xin Zhao wasn¡¯t too far away from where he now was. It had been quite likely that Xin Zhao, having spotted the wounded Twisted Fate arriving nearby, would have tried to launch a surprise ambush from the brush, in the hope of taking his head.


    So it had been entirely on purpose that he¡¯d moved over and sliced a Wild Card across that patch of brush¡ªand sure enough, rather than Recalling back to base, Xin Zhao had been coming for him.


    ¡°No way, no way! Under such unimaginable pressure, using only his razor-sharp wits and lightning-fast skills, Twisted Fate has picked up two kills off of Team Aviator. Not a minute ago, he was running for his life from Ashe!


    ¡°With a golden card, an ulti, a Lich Bane attack, and a prescient throw of his Wild Cards, he¡¯s completely turned the tables on this fight!¡±


    ¡°Three deaths for four kills¡­ Team Scarlet are the winners of this team fight!¡± The MC¡¯s voice rang out through the hall. From the moment Yu Luocheng had managed to escape from Ashe, the crowd had started cheering non-stop¡ªnow they cheered even louder!


    On his last HP and with zero mana left, Twisted Fate hobbled off to safety. It felt like watching a decorated war hero returning home at last. Having witnessed his impossible feats of valor and prowess, the crowd looked upon him with eyes full of fervent admiration.


    Or, as Wang Qin would put it, ¡°So damned cool! He¡¯s way cooler than the gods!¡±


    ¡°Beautiful! Absolutely spectacular!¡± Yin Qin rose from his seat and roared this to the heavens.


    If you¡¯ve never known the taste of despair, it would be hard to understand the sheer elation inundating Yin Qin¡¯s whole body at this moment.


    At that time, when Yin Qin himself felt certain Team Scarlet had lost, he¡¯d sat slumped in his chair, all the color draining out of his world.


    But not a moment later, with just three skills and one basic attack, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate had created a miracle, reversing the state of the whole game!


    His head hanging in shame, Huang Yu looked up now, not daring to believe the change in the score.


    As an AP player himself, he¡¯d also tried his hand at Twisted Fate a time or two, but he¡¯d always felt that the champion¡¯s damage potential was sub-par, lackluster.


    And yet, after watching how Yu Luocheng had escaped death with a golden card and an ulti, and then followed that up with multiple kills, finally escaping to safety with two dead in his wake¡­ Huang Yu now felt like Twisted Fate could become one of his favorite champions!


    More than that, he was overcome with awe and admiration for the player controlling Twisted Fate right now!


    The way he vanquished enemy champions with Twisted Fate, it was like watching a performance art: graceful and serene, yet at the same time absolutely breath-taking!


    ¡°Yo, push, push! Huang Yu, hurry and push the lane!¡± Xiao Tongtong and Xiao Dao were shouting at him, jolting him from the daze he was in.


    The moment Kayle fell, Huang Yu had stopped playing, not knowing what to do with an Evelynn who hadn¡¯t even attained Level 6.


    However, now that the enemy team was down by four people, and Ashe was currently down in the Bottom lane, hunting in vain for Twisted Fate¡­ why, right now the Top lane was like a slut with her legs spread wide open, inviting Huang Yu into her forbidden depths!


    His hand was heating up and quivering on the mouse. This feeling was too much to contain!


    A 4v5 team fight ending in a four-for-three trade. Team Scarlet had come out one kill ahead.


    And now he could even take down two Top-lane towers in a row, granting them the economic lead!


    Huang Yu¡¯s mouse whizzed this way and that, firing off Evelynn¡¯s skills. His teammates Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, and Xue Haiyang would see their champions respawning in a moment, but the players themselves were already clicking their mice in anxiety.


    They¡¯d won the team fight, which meant that they hadn¡¯t lost the game yet!


    ¡°What sorcery is this! They¡¯re at a 4v5 disadvantage, but Team Scarlet is pulling ahead in gold!


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all well-aware that Evelynn¡¯s financial situation is a moot point, so we¡¯ll only consider the other four players of Team Scarlet. Most of the gold is concentrated on the main carries, Kayle and Twisted Fate, and with Evelynn pushing the lane and knocking down towers like this¡­ even four-against-five, Team Scarlet might not be the ones to fall, this game!¡±


    Four against five, and they weren¡¯t losing! When the MC said this, the entire hall roared with excitement!


    It was supposed to be a hopeless, one-sided game. No one had been expecting much. Certainly, no one had expected such a jaw-dropping sequence of events, such that a 4v5 victory was beginning to seem possible!


    If they really won, against those odds, this match would go down in history!


    Of course, the star of this show was none other than Twisted Fate.


    All eyes were on the screen now¡ªon Twisted Fate. Everyone was looking forward to seeing him do something even more incredible next. With a graceful flick of his cards, perhaps he¡¯d wreak even more carnage the next time!

 Chapter 74 - Pure Hatred

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Li Sheng, what are you doing? You were already near death, and yet you went after him? You gave him a free kill!¡± The ¡®Aviator¡¯ team captain, Liu Qi, was spitting with fury.


    All it would have taken was one more shot¡­ but against all odds, Twisted Fate had gotten away from him.


    And he¡¯d done more than just get away¡ªhe¡¯d even gotten two kills, as well. Now, they were suddenly the ones who needed to catch up.


    ¡°I thought I could get him¡­¡± Li Sheng whispered meekly, barely daring to speak.


    Five versus four, and they¡¯d somehow lost that team fight. Team Aviator was in the pits.


    ¡°Luck. It¡¯s just a lucky fluke.¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap. Everyone wake up!¡± Liu Qi snapped. ¡°Wu Kai, you¡¯d better stick hard to Twisted Fate. The rest of you stay away from him!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s the first to die!¡± Wu Kai swore.


    ¡°Oh, hell¡­ Twisted Fate has Lich Bane and a Rabadon¡¯s!¡± Holding down Tab to bring up the scoreboard, Liu Qi looked as though he was going to be sick!


    At nineteen minutes, Twisted Fate had a CS of 203 and seven champion kills. It hadn¡¯t even been twenty minutes yet, and he¡¯d already completed both ¡®Lich Bane¡¯ and ¡®Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap¡¯. That was in addition to a pair of ¡®Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes¡¯ and a ¡®Doran¡¯s Ring¡¯¡­ Twisted Fate now promised to deal truly monumental amounts of damage with his skills!


    ¡°Wu Kai, come with me. I¡¯m going to farm Bot,¡± Liu Qi declared, his expression like ice.


    ¡°Why?¡± Wu Kai didn¡¯t understand why Ashe needed him around when she went farming. Didn¡¯t he need to run around setting wards?


    ¡°Are you stupid? Can¡¯t you see what items Twisted Fate has bought? One combo from him and I¡¯m dead!¡± Liu Qi snarled in reply.


    Wu Kai resented being on the receiving end of such abuse, but he dared not talk back now. He followed Ashe down to the Bottom lane to farm some minions, and push 1 the wave towards the enemy¡¯s side.


    ***


    At around the nineteen-minute mark, a sort of ceasefire took place between both sides. Team Aviator scrambled to farm minions and jungle creeps, hesitant to get into another scrap with Team Scarlet.


    Team Scarlet did the same, with Evelynn handling map vision, including invasive wards deep within the enemy¡¯s side of the jungle. Most of Huang Yu¡¯s efforts were at Yu Luocheng¡¯s behest¡ªEvelynn was serving Twisted Fate as his eyes!


    As the game passed the twentieth minute, Huang Yu journeyed to the Baron pit. Usually, you¡¯d want wards here from twenty minutes onwards, but that wasn¡¯t what he was here for.


    He¡¯d already reached his maximum allotment of active wards setting up vision of several key areas in the enemy¡¯s jungles, allowing them to monitor the enemy champions¡¯ movements. If they tried to take the Baron on the sly, the wards would spot them all moving to gather over here.


    Evelynn had an ¡® Oracle¡¯s Elixir 1 ¡® active as she walked one round through the whole area, but found no enemy wards . 2


    ***


    Team Aviator¡¯ captain, Liu Qi, was farming industriously. Noticing that the Baron pit was all in darkness for them, he barked at Wu Kai, ¡°Go place a ward at the Baron pit. We don¡¯t want Baron being stolen!¡±


    Wu Kai nodded, heading down from their Lizard Elder camp. He inspected the enemy¡¯s positions, and saw that Jarvan was farming in the Bottom lane at the moment. This made it deeply unlikely that they were attempting a Baron steal right now.


    On the other hand, it could be that Jarvan was in the Bottom lane on purpose¡­ and while Kai¡¯s team had no vision of the Baron pit, Renekton could be tanking the Baron while Twisted Fate and Kayle brought it down¡ªa three-man Baron steal.


    Yes, having a ward there was prudent.


    Wu Kai moved with utmost caution, dropping a ward around every blind corner.


    When he saw that their Olaf and the enemy Jarvan had come to blows outside the Dragon pit, he relaxed his guard a little. The enemy team probably didn¡¯t have an ambush set up around here.


    Strolling casually the rest of the way, Wu Kai placed a Vision Ward with True Sight in the Baron pit, found no hidden enemy wards, and turned to leave.


    Just then, from within that tiny clump of brush he hadn¡¯t poked through, emerged the lithe figure of an enemy champion¡ªit was Evelynn, the Widowmaker!


    This gave Kai a nasty little start, but then an even nastier leer spread across his face. It was Huang Yu controlling Evelynn, right? The man with one hand?


    Wu Kai had nothing to fear: He¡¯d picked up a bunch of Magic Resist, so poor, pitiful Evelynn wouldn¡¯t even be able to scratch him!


    And Evelynn was only Level 7! She had hardly any health to speak of!


    Instead of fleeing, Wu Kai moved directly towards Evelynn, his heart alight with wicked delight.


    As they drew within reach of each other, Wu Kai hit Enter and swiftly typed out ¡® /t 1 ¡®!


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s going on over here¡­ while planting wards for their team, Evelynn and Leona have bumped into each other near the Baron pit. I don¡¯t expect a fight to break out, here¡ªneither one is very capable at solo combat¡­ Oh, what¡¯s this I see? Is Leona performing a Taunt?


    ¡°In ¡®League of Legends¡¯, typing ¡®/t¡¯ in the chat box will execute your champion¡¯s Taunt animation. Look at the utter disregard Team Aviator¡¯s Wu Kai is displaying towards Evelynn¡ªhe¡¯s just full of himself!¡±


    A smirk twisted Wu Kai¡¯s lips. No one could stop him!


    Tournament rules stated that players were prohibited from producing any disrespectful words or gestures¡ªbut the champions themselves were another matter. So he was Taunting Huang Yu to his heart¡¯s content.


    With his hand in that condition, Huang Yu had the gall to challenge him?


    Huang Yu winced when he saw Wu Kai¡¯s Leona performing the Taunt. It was as though the rascal¡¯s weaselly face had appeared on his screen, grinning mockingly right at him.


    It was all because of Wu Kai that his hand was disabled now. Huang Yu had been angry already, but this latest affront from Wu Kai had stoked the raging fires in his belly so that sparks seemed to be flying from his mouth!


    Using his mouse to click on one of Evelynn¡¯s skills, he started with the ultimate, right off the bat!


    Leona was Slowed. Huang Yu unleashed a flurry of skills upon the smugly smiling Kai.


    ¡°Truly an easily provoked mad dog.¡± Wu Kai grinned from ear to ear. Despite all that, he¡¯d hardly lost any health at all. His high Magic Resist allowed him to shrug off Evelynn¡¯s attacks. Wu Kai considered just staying there to duke it out with him.


    ¡°Come on, come get me! See how I¡¯ll crush you!¡± Wu Kai glanced towards Xin Zhao, who was just nearby, and his smile widened.


    Evelynn had already been killed by Xin Zhao twice, as a result of unfortunate run-ins in the jungle. She should still be worth over two hundred gold. Noticing the fight that was taking place, Xin Zhao hurried towards them.


    Foom!


    A multitude of blood-red eyes opened with torturous slowness, one hovering over each champion¡¯s head. Whenever these sinister eyes gazed down upon the battlefield, it was a harbinger of imminent disaster.


    It was the mark of Twisted Fate!


    Cards fanned out to form a disc, right between Evelynn and Leona.


    Immediately, a golden card struck Leona in the face, like a sharp slap across the cheek!


    Twisted Fate followed this up with a skill combo. Even without using ¡®Ignite¡¯, he¡¯d reduced Leona to one-fifth of her original health!


    If he threw in an Ignite and a couple of auto-attacks 1 now, Leona would basically have fallen to a single skill combo from Twisted Fate!


    ¡°It¡¯s Twisted Fate¡ªlook at that damage! It¡¯s horrifying! This is even with all that Magic Resist Leona picked up¡­ there¡¯s no way out for her now, and Xin Zhao is still too far away to be of any help.


    ¡°Eh, Twisted Fated stopped attacking? Leona is almost dead already, and with a Blue Buff on, Twisted Fate should have W and Q ready to fire again by now¡­ so why is he stopping?¡±


    ***


    Yu Luocheng turned to look at Huang Yu, seated beside him. ¡°Take the kill.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Huang Yu stammered.


    Twisted Fate was the AP Mid, and this whole game hinged upon him. If possible, everyone on Team Scarlet should allow him to finish every champion kill, maximizing his personal resources.


    Not to mention all the damage Leona had taken in this gank was entirely due to Twisted Fate. His Evelynn could barely scratch her. Yet here now was Yu Luocheng, leaving Leona with that last little shred of health, and telling him to take the kill.


    ¡°She¡¯s got no Flash. I¡¯ll hold off Xin Zhao. Hurry up and finish her 1 ,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    Saying so, Twisted Fate walked past the mortally wounded Leona, moving to intercept Xin Zhao as he came dashing in.


    Flabbergasted, Huang Yu watched Twisted Fate walking away.


    He must have seen Wu Kai¡¯s demeaning Taunt against him, and how it made him feel.


    This was an eye for an eye¡ªvengeance at last!


    ***


    This whole time, Huang Yu had been blaming himself.


    As the captain of Team Scarlet, not only had he failed to lead his team to victory, he¡¯d caused them to suffer such a staggering blow.


    If Team Scarlet dropped out of the running here, he¡¯d never be able to forgive himself, and would probably withdraw from the team.


    In fact, he¡¯d already decided that after they lost this game, he¡¯d take all his previous earnings from pro-gaming and distribute them to his teammates, then pack his things and leave.


    He¡¯d never thought that the newest addition to the team, Yu Luocheng, would become their savior. Even now, with all the pressure riding on him, he was thinking about Huang Yu¡¯s pride.


    Honestly, Twisted Fate¡¯s ultimate skill was not to be wasted on frivolous pursuits. Even if their Support got into trouble, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it for Twisted Fate to expend his ulti to rescue him¡ªwhat more his Level-7 Evelynn, not even a real Support.


    Twisted Fate had used his ulti to teleport over while in the middle of farming. He¡¯d used a skill combo to beat Leona within an inch of death. All so Huang Yu could have this kill.


    Huang Yu really didn¡¯t know what he ought to say.


    It was Team Scarlet¡¯s darkest hour, staring defeat in the face, and Yu Luocheng had brought them hope by cutting down the enemy, one after another!


    And then, in this desperate moment, when Huang Yu needed to settle a personal grudge, he¡¯d handed the kill over to him, a gesture of honor. Who could understand, in that moment when Wu Kai performed his Taunt, how much Huang Yu had yearned to take his wretched life!


    The kill itself would only be worth three hundred gold.


    Huang Yu took a deep breath. It tasted sour, and hot. He felt a gratitude he could never express in words.


    His eyes narrowed, and he clicked on a skill:


    Hate Spike!


    The Widowmaker threw out a line of thorns, tipped with a poison distilled from Huang Yu¡¯s pure hatred!

 Chapter 75 - Last Card

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°You have slain an enemy ! 1 ¡±


    The announcement rang out crisp and clear, and a green frame bearing two portraits appeared on the right side of the screen, declaring that Evelynn had killed Leona.


    ¡°Evelynn takes down Leona, what¡­ it looked like Twisted Fate deliberately ceded that kill¡ªcould it have been about that Taunt from just now?¡± the MC said.


    ¡°Speaking of which: My fellow LoL players, be careful not to get too full of yourself! He who plays with fire will eventually get burnt! That¡¯s exactly what happened to Leona, here: Slain by someone playing Evelynn with one hand.¡±


    It seemed that the MC didn¡¯t approve of such low-class behavior on the side of Team Aviator. It was no secret that Huang Yu was injured, and couldn¡¯t play at full capacity. To meet him alone and then show him a Taunt¡­ it was vile.


    Meanwhile, at Team Aviator¡¯s table, Wu Kai¡¯s face was melting right off.


    If Twisted Fate had been the one to kill him, that was nothing to shout about¡ªwhose fault was it that he was now walking around with such dominating gear?


    But he¡¯d stopped just short of the last hit, and allowed Huang Yu to do him in. It was the greatest possible humiliation.


    ¡°Wu Kai, what are you doing!¡± Liu Qi growled.


    ¡°I, er¡­ If Twisted Fate uses his ulti to gank me, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±


    ¡°If you run into Evelynn, just run! What were you preening about over there?¡± the captain snapped viciously.


    Wu Kai kept his mouth shut. All he could do now was watch the seconds tick by in limbo.


    ***


    Now that the enemy had been deprived of their Support player, Team Scarlet no longer needed to be as cautious. With the tide of battle down the Middle lane in their favor, they managed to pick themselves up a Dragon, and then right away they were laying siege to the enemy¡¯s second-tier Mid Tower.


    Twisted Fate was reaping minions like a combine harvester. As soon as a minion wave arrived, he¡¯d unleash a fan of Wild Cards, cutting them all down almost instantly!


    As the minion wave continued to push towards the enemy¡¯s side, Kayle and Twisted Fate took turns tearing away at the tower.


    With the absurd damage Twisted Fate was dealing, just a few cards was all it took to reduce Xin Zhao¡¯s health by one-third, and Olaf¡¯s by a quarter. Brand was worst off: with neither any Health Regeneration nor Spell Vamp 1 items, he didn¡¯t even have half his health remaining!


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, an Enchanted Crystal Arrow shot across the battlefield in a straight line of frozen air, directly towards Kayle, who was a bit too far in front!


    It came out of nowhere, too fast for Xue Haiyang to respond in time!


    Wham!


    The Enchanted Crystal Arrow slammed resoundingly into Kayle, and she was Stunned!


    ¡°Team Aviator wants to start a fight, and Ashe has landed a crucial ultimate against the enemy¡¯s ADC!¡± the MC whooped.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart sank. They were up against a truly skilled Ashe player, to be able to exploit such a minor error of positioning!


    Leona should have respawned by now, and was likely already charging in to join the fight. They wouldn¡¯t be able to disengage and avoid this team fight, not with a mad dog Olaf on the enemy team who could easily run them down as they fled all the way back up the length of the Middle lane!


    Since retreat wasn¡¯t an option, they would have to fight.


    Yu Luocheng quickly began to Pick a Card, drawing a golden one and holding it at the ready. Then he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Leona approaching from the side, clad all in golden armor.


    By now, Leona had come to hate Twisted Fate with every fiber of her being. Ignoring everyone else, her eyes saw only him.


    Yu Luocheng immediately drew back, maintaining a safe distance from the oncoming threat.


    Olaf activated his ulti, Xin Zhao charged in, and Leona brought down her ¡®Solar Flare¡¯ from long range to Stun. If even a single one of them managed to catch Twisted Fate and tie him down, he would be instantly slain by their combined assault.


    Yu Luocheng found it rather annoying that he just couldn¡¯t be allowed to deal his damage in peace. As for Kayle, who¡¯d already been surrounded by the enemy, without her Flash she was doomed¡ªwith or without her ultimate skill.


    As expected, a few seconds of invulnerability from ¡®Intervention¡¯ changed nothing. The enemy champions ganged up on her and she was instantly torn apart.


    Now that they¡¯d lost Kayle¡¯s sustained damage, there was no hope of winning this team fight.


    Renekton and Jarvan screened Twisted Fate protectively as they fought a retreating battle, but with the infinite Slowing capabilities of Ashe on the enemy¡¯s side, it was a futile hope that they¡¯d be able to make it all the way home from the enemy¡¯s second-tier tower.


    Ultimately, neither Renekton nor Jarvan were able to get away, and they were only able to take down Brand before they both fell.


    ¡°The most fearsome thing about Ashe is her ultimate skill. One good ulti can tilt the scales of power. After Team Aviator deleted Kayle, it was over for Team Scarlet, who came out with three deaths in exchange for just one kill!¡±


    Now that Team Scarlet had been gutted, Team Aviator wasted no time bringing down their second-tier Mid tower, and then immediately turned around to go for Baron!


    ¡°Team Aviator is moving to claim Baron Nashor!¡± the MC hollered. ¡°One-for-three in this latest team fight means that both sides are roughly even again, with Team Scarlet still holding on to a fighting chance. However, if Team Aviator takes the Baron, all bets are off¡ªthey would even be able to pick a team fight within Team Scarlet¡¯s own walls!¡±


    It was just as the MC had said: If Team Aviator managed to take the Baron, the situation would become all but hopeless for Team Scarlet. Even if they managed to avoid being dragged into another team fight, they were still guaranteed to lose all their outer towers.


    The Baron itself was worth 1,500 gold.


    There were two towers still standing in the Top lane, one in the Bottom lane: 2,250 gold for all three.


    With this move, the gold difference between the teams could increase by almost 4,000 gold!


    Team Scarlet was already one person short in every fight. If their opponents gained such a tremendous gold advantage over them, then as long as Team Aviator didn¡¯t make any more gross blunders, the odds would be virtually insurmountable!


    They had to be prevented from getting the Baron!


    Yu Luocheng examined the enemy champions¡¯ health: Olaf and Xin Zhao were at half; Leona was on her last one-third; Ashe remained unscathed.


    They would definitely have Xin Zhao or Olaf tank the damage. Against Baron Nashor¡¯s might, both of them would be reduced to very low health as a result, and wouldn¡¯t be able to join in if another fight broke out.


    The problem was Leona.


    Leona was far too capable at crowd control. If he got hit by her ¡®Zenith Blade¡¯, and everyone pounced on him, it would be over in a heartbeat.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind was afire, calculating whether it would be better to play defensively and fortify their base, or go out and disrupt their attempt to claim the Baron.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, I have my ulti!¡± Huang Yu had stopped farming, and was now rushing for the Baron pit!


    Taken aback, Yu Luocheng hurriedly brought up Evelynn¡¯s stats.


    Quietly, Evelynn had farmed her way up to Level 11¡ªwhich meant that she now had her second-tier ultimate skill!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up!


    Evelynn¡¯s ultimate skill was an area-effect Slow, which also took away a percentage of the target¡¯s current health. If she could land her ultimate on at least three champions at once, their enemies would lose quite a lot of health¡ªand with the Baron also attacking them in the meanwhile, it was certainly possible that they¡¯d be able to score a few kills in the Baron pit!

 Chapter 76 - Tango For Two

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Huang Yu was positively bristling with wards, and the pink eye of True Sight hung suspended over his head.


    He didn¡¯t just charge headlong into the Baron pit. At twenty minutes, no team could take down the Baron in a jiffy. If they wanted to win this fight, they had to allow Olaf and Xin Zhao to lose as much health as possible beforehand. Otherwise, if those two meatheads threw themselves in the way, Evelynn and Twisted Fate would have no hope of clearing them all out.


    Tracing the outer edge of the Baron pit, Huang Yu was investing every ounce of his concentration into controlling Evelynn with one hand. In all the time he¡¯d been playing ¡®League of Legends¡¯, he¡¯d never been this nervous before.


    At last, he reached the mouth of the pit¡ªand there was Ashe, firing off arrow after arrow.


    In front of her were Olaf, Leona, and Xin Zhao, all clustered tightly together, probably in the fear that Twisted Fate might pop in at any time with his ulti.


    Sticking together was effective for dealing with Twisted Fate¡¯s ultimate skill, so that everyone could work together to take him down as quickly as possible the moment he showed up.


    In any game where Twisted Fate posed a major threat, LoL players generally didn¡¯t stray away from their team¡ªnot even to find a safe spot to Recall. If Twisted Fate showed up at the last moment, you¡¯d return to your Fountain in a heap on the floor.


    Team Aviator was being very careful to stay close together, giving Twisted Fate no chance to catch any stragglers.


    ¡®This is my chance!¡¯ Huang Yu¡¯s heart sang.


    Anyone who plays Evelynn should understand that the more tightly packed the enemy champions are, the more effective her ultimate skill will be. Hitting them now would Slow them down by 50%!


    A 50% Slow would basically be a death sentence, especially under the constant stream of corrosive venom spewing from Baron Nashor!


    Huang Yu could feel his palm sweating, his fingers quivering!


    This whole game, he¡¯d done nothing but run around planting wards. Now three of their teammates were down for the count, and Twisted Fate was struggling to hold the fort on his own, but Huang Yu could still help him by setting up the perfect massacre.


    Although his health was meager, his damage was close to nil, and he had nothing but Sightstones on him¡­ if he could just land the perfect ulti here, he wouldn¡¯t have been a useless burden this game!


    Rather the using the mouse cursor to select the skill, he reached up and¡ªwith great difficulty¡ªhit R with his stiffly immobilized thumb!


    His thumb shook dangerously. With the veins and nerves on his hand damaged, the slightest exertion sent jolts of pain running up and down his arm, making it even worse.


    At last, he pressed down on the R key, and the aiming reticule for the skill appeared.


    Now!


    Already sped up with ¡®Dark Frenzy¡¯, Huang Yu willed his hands to keep steady as he moved in towards the four enemy champions!


    ¡°Evelynn! Everyone watch Evelynn! Is he trying to steal the Baron?¡± the MC exclaimed, as the view snapped over to Huang Yu¡¯s champion.


    Running at supernatural speed, Evelynn arrived at the mouth of the Baron pit, red skirt billowing fitfully as her invisible form raced towards her prey.


    Agony¡¯s Embrace!


    Know the touch of death. Huang Yu jammed down hard on R, fearful that this now-worthless hand of his might miss!


    Fwarr!


    Evelynn deployed her ultimate skill in a vivid splash of scarlet red!


    No one on Team Aviator had expected Evelynn to show up now. All four of their champions had gotten caught! They were drastically Slowed, and their health bars fell substantially!


    Besides Ashe, none of them had been sitting on much health when they got hit. Between Evelynn¡¯s ulti and Baron Nashor¡¯s attacks, Xin Zhao and Olaf were suddenly in mortal peril!


    ¡°Beautiful! A four-man ulti from Evelynn!¡± the MC howled.


    All four targets had been hit! Menacing red spikes ravaged the enemy champions, hobbling them grievously.


    ¡°Kill him! Kill him now!¡± The Team Aviator captain, Liu Qi, roared in fury.


    Wu Kai was the first to react, using an EQ combo from Leona to grab hold of the Evelynn who¡¯d come to die.


    Xin Zhao, Olaf and Ashe immediately changed targets from the Baron to Evelynn, intent on murdering her immediately.


    Witnessing the incensed wrath of his foes, a manic grin spread across Huang Yu¡¯s face.


    He hadn¡¯t come here expecting to walk away alive!


    Huang Yu marched Evelynn right into the Baron pit, luring all his enemies into its depths.


    One more effect of Evelynn¡¯s ultimate skill: For each champion hit, Evelynn would gain a damage shield worth 225 health!


    Hitting four champions with her ulti meant that Evelynn was now protected by a shield worth almost a thousand HP, on top of the health granted by her level, not to mention all those Sightstones. Without Brand contributing to their damage output, and considering how they¡¯d all just been badly Slowed, it would take a while for them to actually kill him.


    Huang Yu drove Evelynn into the heart of the Baron pit. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do much damage with his own skills, but the Baron¡¯s damage was something he could count on. With every moment he held the enemy here, their health would plummet ever lower, and then¡­


    As Evelynn¡¯s health dwindled away to nothing, Huang Yu was cackling in triumph!


    Bunch of idiots. Did they really think he was here to steal the Baron?


    ***


    For the sake of the team¡¯s victory, there always had to be someone who was willing to throw themselves onto the enemy¡¯s blades.


    Even as they fell, someone would come along and prove that their faith had not been misplaced¡­ by slaughtering the enemy wholesale!


    Huang Yu placed his faith in Yu Luocheng. Since Yu Luocheng fed him that kill, Huang Yu¡¯s conviction in him had become iron-clad!


    As such, even though Olaf¡¯s health was low enough to drop him with his ¡®Hate Spike¡¯, he didn¡¯t do so¡ªnor did he lash out in vengeful ire against his hated nemesis, Leona. All he was seeking to do was to sacrifice Evelynn in a way which would help them achieve victory!


    ***


    There¡¯s a special skin 1 in League of Legends for Evelynn and Twisted Fate.


    Elegant and intimidating, Twisted Fate is clad in a blood-red longcoat as he dances a passionate tango with Evelynn, cold and aloof.


    The tango is a dance which demands perfect timing and coordination between both partners, and the trust that when you lean backward past the point of losing balance, there will be a firm pair of hands there to hold you.


    ***


    A red card gleamed quietly in the darkness.


    Twisted Fate watched patiently, with cold eyes, as his dance partner Evelynn was brought down by the enemy¡¯s savage attacks.


    He¡¯d inscribed his thirst for blood in glistening crimson upon the card.


    Four enemy champions¡­ and so what?


    Once this card was dealt, all he¡¯d have to do was lean over and pluck his cards out from their corpses, so that he could wipe the blood off.


    ***


    ¡°Quadra-Kill!¡± It was an announcement, made with a voice of absolute authority. It meant four champions on the same team had just fallen together.


    You can¡¯t imagine the hysterical response from a crowd when a Quadra-Kill occurs during an official tournament match!


    It¡¯s not the slightest bit less thrilling than a penalty goal in soccer, or a buzzer-beater in basketball!


    Evelynn and Twisted Fate had left the battlefield soaked in blood, working together with the tranquil grace and cool precision of a masterful tango dance.

 Chapter 77 - Inferno

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Impossible!


    All five players of Team Aviator stared at their screens, dumbfounded.


    They¡¯d never even imagined it possible that Huang Yu, with his injured hand, would show up while they were taking Baron, and catch them all with Evelynn¡¯s ultimate skill.


    And they definitely hadn¡¯t expected that the moment they slew her, Twisted Fate would be waiting for them at the exit from the Baron pit!


    In that running battle from previously, they¡¯d used all of their Summoner Spells in order to bring down Jarvan and Renekton.


    When they were trapped in the Baron pit, there was no escape for any of them!


    One volley of ¡®Wild Cards¡¯, and both Olaf as well as Xin Zhao had been cut down!


    The red card hit both Leona and Ashe with its splash damage and effect, Slowing them both further.


    Leona was swiftly melted away into nothing by Baron Nashor¡¯s venom, and Twisted Fate could already kill Ashe with a single skill combo¡ªshe had no chance!


    With the toss of a card, Twisted Fate had effortlessly slaughtered them all, in the wake of Evelynn¡¯s death!


    A quadruple kill! In any Normal or Ranked game, such an event would already be worth a fair bit of excitement¡ªto say nothing of it happening in an official tournament match!


    Quadra-Kill!


    Quadra-Kill!


    Quadra-Kill!


    The crowd was losing their minds! An unsuspecting passer-by might think a bomb had gone off in the emporium!


    ***


    Yin Qin, Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, and Xue Haiyang felt as though there was a whole stampede of feral beasts roaring from within their souls!


    Huang Yu just sat there, his heavily bandaged hand shaking more and more.


    Quadra-Kill! Twisted Fate had actually done it!


    At first, Huang Yu just wanted to stop the enemy from getting the Baron, even if it cost him his life.


    If he¡¯d dared to hope for more, perhaps Twisted Fate could also pick up a couple of kills, to even things out. From there onwards, they could proceed cautiously, fight carefully, and with the lead that Twisted Fate had gained, they might even be able to win!


    It had never occurred to Huang Yu that Yu Luocheng would just kill all four of them!


    It had barely taken a moment: All Huang Yu saw was Twisted Fate throwing out a razor-sharp volley of Wild Cards, along with a blood-red card.


    The red card had Slowed them all to a standstill, and the Wild Cards had cut the tenuous threads connecting them to this mortal coil!


    ***


    ¡°Baron! Hurry, get the Baron!¡± Coming alive all of a sudden, Yin Qin frantically hollered orders at his team.


    Kayle, Renekton, and Jarvan had all respawned already. Kayle was so keen that she even bought the ¡®Homeguard¡¯ enhancement, and came flying out of the Fountain like a comet!


    The white flames roiling behind his wings were like a manifestation of Xue Haiyang¡¯s burning enthusiasm!


    Jarvan used an EQ combo, Renekton rolled across the floor, and Kayle beat her wings desperately. They absolutely had to use this chance to take the Baron for themselves!


    Racing helter-skelter until they arrived at the Baron pit, they trampled right over the corpses of their fallen enemies and began the assault on Baron Nashor without pre-amble!


    Kayle and Twisted Fate were doing plenty of damage. The Baron had soon been claimed by Team Scarlet!


    ¡°Huang Yu, hurry over there!¡± Seeing that Evelynn had respawned 1 as well, Yin Qin urged him on.


    Huang Yu looked over, and saw that all his teammates were waiting for him. For some reason, his vision wavered beneath a sheen of hot tears.


    He was a burden no longer!


    He¡¯d done his best for his team! He¡¯d done something for his team!


    With the lord as his witness, if they won this game, he¡¯d quit drinking!


    This he swore. For a habitual drinker like him, it was no trivial oath to make.


    But if you were Huang Yu, rising up from the depths of despair to find hope anew, you¡¯d be ready to forswear every manner of vice!


    If even a 4v5 game could be won, what was impossible in this life?


    His palms were sweating and shivering, not from nervousness this time, but with excitement!


    He was the only one on the team without the Baron Buff¡ªbut they only bore that violet aura upon themselves thanks to what he¡¯d done, and that was enough for him!


    Now, he just had to do it again. Throwing himself into the fray, if he could land another mass ulti, the enemy would break and scatter!


    ***


    After Evelynn had joined up with them, they surged up the Middle lane like a raging typhoon, until they were right outside the enemy base.


    Twisted Fate¡¯s ¡®Wild Cards¡¯ sloughed off great chunks of health with a touch, forcing the enemy to constantly retreat and recuperate.


    Each time the enemy champions fell back to heal, Team Scarlet would immediately divert to one of the side lanes, using Jarvan and Renekton to tank the damage while they took another tower down!


    With the Baron Buff, as well as the tremendous boost to morale from gaining a Quadra-Kill, whipped the players of Team Scarlet up into a scarlet storm of destruction which consumed all the enemy¡¯s outer towers!


    Each tower widened the financial gap further, and soon Team Scarlet had an average gold lead of over 5,000. The Baron Buff had yet to expire, which meant that if Team Aviator picked a fight with them now, they would be torn to smithereens!


    ¡°Recall and heal up, then all Mid¡ªwe¡¯re breaking into their base!¡± This was Yu Luocheng¡¯s command.


    ¡°Right!¡± Xiao Tongtong, Huang Yu, Xue Haiyang, and Xiao Dao all nodded in unison, their eyes flashing.


    ¡°Remember: When tanking the tower, Renekton and Jarvan mustn¡¯t venture in too deep,¡± Yu Luocheng instructed. ¡°Stay within 700 units of the tower, and don¡¯t chase after kills. If they retreat, we take their tower. If they attack, kill them!¡±


    Xiao Tongtong and Xiao Dao both nodded earnestly.


    Everyone on Team Scarlet understood that they were winning this 4v5 game mostly thanks to Yu Luocheng. Who said one person couldn¡¯t make a difference?


    Yu Luocheng had done just that, with his Twisted Fate!


    Those filthy blackguards on Team Aviator¡­ Hmph! They were about to get pushed all the way back to their Fountain!


    ***


    ¡°I feel like my whole body is on fire! Damn it, this is too much!¡± Wang Qin could feel the hairs growing on his chest.


    Yang Qianqian was also beside herself with excitement. Many times, she¡¯d had the overpowering urge to just squeal, like those girls up front were doing. When Yu Luocheng made that Quadra-Kill, she¡¯d just wanted to fly over there and give him a big kiss!


    Who cared about an awesome basketball slamdunk? Who cared about the melancholy guitarist? Nothing but the vanity of snotty little boys, compared to how their Yu Luocheng slaughtered his enemies with Twisted Fate!


    ***


    Victory was within reach. The players of Team Scarlet were at fever pitch!


    They could not be defeated¡ªnot with such passion, such spirit! No chance!

 Chapter 78 - Final Push

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that Team Scarlet holds the advantage now. They¡¯ve still got enough time on their Baron Buff to go for a team fight. They¡¯re really getting a lot of mileage out of this ¡®Hand of Baron¡¯.


    ¡°All the way up the Middle lane, the four players of Team Scarlet¡ªah, right, Evelynn¡¯s with them as well¡ªthe five players of Team Scarlet are right on the verge of breaking into Team Aviator¡¯s base. Are they hoping to force a team fight?¡±


    The MC¡¯s lightning-quick commentary had the audience transfixed upon the screen, exhilarated. After all, this was a 4v5 game: Most of the audience had already written it off as a loss for Team Scarlet; and yet, they¡¯d also been secretly hoping to see a miraculous triumph, against all odds¡­


    ¡­ And that¡¯s exactly what was happening!


    Even beneath the chill of powerful air-conditioning, the whole exhibition hall was heating up with the fervor of the LoL fans!


    ¡°Just one minute left, and here comes another wave of minions, crowding beneath the tower. If we¡¯re gonna have a team fight, now¡¯s the moment!¡± the MC shouted.


    As always, Yu Luocheng began with a fan of Wild Cards to wear down the enemy. He never threw them directly at his target, but instead sought to trap them between the cards, so that each volley always caught somebody!


    With the mind-boggling collection of equipment he¡¯d assembled at this point, it wasn¡¯t just low-health champions like Ashe and Brand that had to fear him¡ªeven Olaf and Xin Zhao, who¡¯d been picking up nothing but health items, would still feel every cut of his cards deeply.


    ***


    ¡°Positioning! Everyone watch your positioning!¡± Liu Qi, captain of Team Aviator, roared in annoyance.


    In the space of a single minute, Twisted Fate (who had a Blue Buff) had thrown out fifteen rounds of ¡®Wild Cards¡¯, for a total damage potential of perhaps five thousand HP. Even Olaf only had a maximum total health of around four thousand HP. These harassing attacks alone could already be enough to remove one of their meat shields from battle!


    Yu Luocheng observed their rapidly advancing minions, and turned to Xiao Dao, who was playing Jarvan. ¡°We can take them! Jarvan, get ready to start the fight! Evelynn, follow up with an ulti on Ashe and Brand, in the back!¡±


    Jarvan was excellent at forcing team fights. The enemy was obligated to come defend their tower. If he threw himself into their ranks with an EQ, followed by a ¡®Cataclysm¡¯, it would be mortal combat!


    Team Aviator could sense Team Scarlet¡¯s aggressive intentions, so both Ashe and Brand hung back a little¡ªbut Jarvan wasn¡¯t after them, anyway!


    ¡®Demacian Standard¡¯, and then ¡®Dragon Strike¡¯!


    Clad all in gleaming golden armor, Jarvan extended his lance, and then came sliding in, knocking both Xin Zhao and Olaf up into the air!


    Without a moment¡¯s pause, Xiao Dao used his ultimate skill, ¡®Cataclysm¡¯, trapping both men inside together with him!


    Renekton snarled, wreathed in a palpable aura of bloodlust as he grew in size and strength. Using ¡®Slice & Dice¡¯, he bounced off of Olaf and Xin Zhao, passing straight through Jarvan¡¯s Cataclysm crater as though it wasn¡¯t there, as he descended like a demon upon Brand and Ashe!


    Their first instinct had been to focus fire upon Jarvan as he made himself the tower¡¯s target, so that they could take him out as quickly as possible¡ªbut now Ashe and Brand had to use their skills on Renekton, instead!


    Brand had crap items. He¡¯d spent the early game being bullied out of his lane by Twisted Fate, not to mention getting hunted down for solo kills repeatedly. A full combo from him could still have some effect against a fragile champion¡ªbut against a Renekton with his ulti on, equipped with ¡®Warmog¡¯s Armor¡¯ and a ¡®Banner of Command¡¯, he could just stand there all day taking fire from Brand without breaking a sweat!


    The real threat was Ashe, who already had an ¡®Infinity Edge¡¯, ¡®Last Whisper¡¯, and ¡®Phantom Dancer¡¯, allowing her to really dish out the pain. Not even Renekton could survive under such withering fire for long.


    Fortunately, Ashe wasn¡¯t a burst-damage champion, so blow-for-blow, it could well be that Olaf and Xin Zhao would fall before Renekton and Jarvan!


    Nevertheless, the price for Renekton drawing away the attention of the back-line DPS 1 was that his health was now falling at an alarming rate.


    This was when Evelynn, slipping through the chaos of the battlefield, came dashing in towards Ashe and Brand!


    Agony¡¯s Embrace!


    Her ultimate skill caught the both of them, Slowing them by 50%!


    Renekton used this opening to hurriedly pull out with his now-refreshed E-skill, postponing his own death for a little longer.


    Both he and Evelynn had a simple task, which was to disrupt the enemy damage-dealers and keep them occupied, so that they wouldn¡¯t be able to bring their full might to bear effectively.


    ***


    While Renekton and Evelynn bravely held off the enemy, Twisted Fate and Kayle were steadily laying down the damage from the broad stone steps outside the enemy base.


    Foolishly, Leona presumed her ultimate skill would allow her to keep Twisted Fate in check long enough for Xin Zhao to Flash out and kill him.


    Noticing their seething hostility, Xue Haiyang laughed and laid Kayle¡¯s ¡®Intervention¡¯ upon Twisted Fate, and then activated ¡®Righteous Fury¡¯ to rain fire upon the enemy!


    Xin Zhao and Leona had picked up a lot of Magic Resist items in order to help deal with Twisted Fate, but Kayle meanwhile had been buying AD items exclusively. Now, she was dealing considerable damage to them.


    In fact, since she was only up against a Support and a Jungler, Kayle didn¡¯t even need to move from her spot. What little damage they were able to do to her was immediately regained through Lifesteal. Best of all, they¡¯d already wasted all of their crowd-control skills on Twisted Fate!


    With 2.5 seconds of invulnerability, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t have to move and inch from where he was, either. Shoulder-to-shoulder with Kayle, he performed an instant draw and dealt out another devastating attack against Xin Zhao.


    When the invulnerability wore off, Xin Zhao and Leona¡¯s combined attacks immediately brought him down to half-health, and all his skills were on cooldown.


    ¡°Twisted Fate refuses to budge. What bravado!¡± The MC said in awe, seeing how Twisted Fate wasn¡¯t even bothering to kite 1 his attackers!


    ***


    ¡°Kill him! Hurry up and kill him!¡± Seeing Twisted Fate¡¯s health dropping, Wu Kai was yelling in a mad frenzy. If they could just kill him, this team fight would be theirs. Now he wished he¡¯d instead gotten something like a Black Cleaver or a Last Whisper, the better to cut Twisted Fate down to size!


    Xin Zhao was attacking relentlessly as well. Seeing that Twisted Fate¡¯s health had already fallen down to its last one-third, he went on dealing blow after blow like a man possessed!


    Ding!


    From head to toe, Twisted Fate had suddenly transformed into a golden statue, frozen out of time!


    Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass!


    Another 2.5 seconds of invulnerability!


    ***


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Another invulnerability effect! Wu Kai and Li Sheng were flabbergasted.


    Those 2.5 seconds of ¡®Intervention¡¯ had already driven them to the ragged edge of insanity, and now here was Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass¡¯: the same thing for another 2.5 seconds.


    Twisted Fate had made himself untouchable for a total of five whole seconds. Wu Kai and Li Sheng were climbing the walls in frustration!

 Chapter 79 - The Legendary Twisted Fate!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I know my usage of quotation marks, as well as capitalization, has been somewhat inconsistent throughout the series. I¡¯m very sorry about that.)


    ¡®Intervention¡¯ for 2.5 seconds. ¡®Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass¡¯ for another 2.5 seconds. In all, five whole seconds of invulnerability!


    Although Kayle¡¯s ultimate skill negated all damage, Xin Zhao and Leona had otherwise been able to apply their crowd-control effects upon Twisted Fate.


    However, that just meant that they were holding him in place while his skills finished their cooldowns. Catching him meant nothing if they were unable to deal any damage to him, and meanwhile Twisted Fate was happily waiting for his skills to refresh!


    Since he¡¯d waited a moment before activating Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, Twisted Fate¡¯s skills were just about ready now!


    He threw down a red card: Xin Zhao and Leona were both Slowed!


    While Twisted Fate had been drawing all the enemy fire, Kayle had reduced the practically unarmored Xin Zhao to critical condition, and one volley of Wild Cards dropped him all the way to zero!


    Yu Luocheng paid no further heed to Xin Zhao, and turned instead to let Kai¡¯s Leona receive the full brunt of ¡®Lich Bane¡¯ and ¡®Stacked Deck¡¯.


    Leona¡¯s health bar melted away like butter under a hot knife! Faced with such overwhelming magic damage, Kai almost hurled his keyboard across the arena! Realizing that he had no hope of overcoming Twisted Fate and Kayle, he tried to retreat.


    Red card, Kayle¡¯s ¡®Reckoning¡¯, ¡®Blade of the Ruined King¡¯¡­ These Slowing effects were laid upon Leona one after another, so that each step back became monumentally difficult. Escape was impossible.


    A Jungler and a Support, no matter how many disabling skills they had, could not hope to bring down a Twisted Fate with such potent defensive abilities at his disposal ! 1


    Soon the both of them had fallen, their eyes still glaring with bitter defeat.


    With that matter settled, Yu Luocheng and Ocean both turned their wrath onto Olaf!


    With a golden card to Stun and a ¡®Reckoning¡¯ to Slow, Olaf had no hope of getting away, having activated his ultimate skill much too early, before!


    Kayle dealt sustained damage, while the burst damage from Twisted Fate¡¯s combos was titanic. Olaf simply couldn¡¯t stand up to it.


    At last, despite being built as a tank, it didn¡¯t take more than a couple of combos to bring Olaf down under a cascade of arcane cards and divine fire!


    With Olaf¡¯s demise, the battle was decided. With no front-line to cower behind, Ashe and Brand fell back straight-away.


    ¡°One for three!


    ¡°Absolutely spectacular! Team Scarlet took advantage of the last moments of their Baron Buff to send one more wave of empowered minions against the tower, and then they pushed right into the enemy base, using Renekton and Evelynn to split the enemy team!


    ¡°They succeeded in bringing down Team Aviator¡¯s front-line¡ªXin Zhao, Leona, and Olaf¡ªonce these three went down, neither Brand nor Ashe dared to continue the fight. One golden card from Twisted Fate would have¡ª¡±


    Ding!


    Before the MC could even finish that statement, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate Flashed forward, dodging Brand¡¯s long-ranged WQ attempt to Stun him, and then tagged him with a golden card, punishing his slow retreat!


    This one golden card knocked off half of Brand¡¯s health! The audience gave a collective gasp when they witnessed that staggering damage.


    A fan of Wild Cards followed by a basic attack, and Brand was down¡ªruthlessly slain in the blink of an eye, right beneath his own tower!


    Godlike!


    Godlike!


    ¡°That¡¯s his seventh kill in a row! Twisted Fate is Godlike! My word, it actually looks like he could even get to Legendary!


    ¡°Whether it was going up against a strong lane-bullying champion like Brand, or dealing with Xin Zhao¡¯s endless gank attempts, or even continuing the fight on his own after all his teammates had fallen, and what about the miracle in the Baron pit¡­ is there no one who can stop Twisted Fate from going all the way to Legendary?¡± the MC hollered, his voice raw with feeling.


    Who could have predicted that this 4v5 game would turn out to be Team Scarlet trampling all over Team Aviator?


    Everyone was well-aware that all the magnificent upsets which had taken place throughout this game were thanks to that unbelievable Twisted Fate and his awe-inspiring plays. His cards were weapons of mass destruction, and each flick of the hand was a work of art!


    It had already been seven kills in a row. Starting from the double-kill during the fight over the Dragon, plus the quadruple-kill in the Baron pit, and now deleting Brand too¡­ that made seven kills in total.


    One more kill, and Twisted Fate would be Legendary!


    To achieve Legendary status in a serious match like this¡­ it was unthinkable!


    At some point, a chant had begun amongst the spectating crowd:


    ¡°Legendary! Legendary! Legendary! Twisted Fate, go Legendary!¡±


    From his seat amongst the audience, Jin Wong had a moment¡¯s urge to strip off his shirt, bite off one finger, and write that same thing in blood: ¡®Legendary Twisted Fate!¡¯ Then he could stand in front and use that banner to lead the chant!


    Seeing that Ashe was the only one still standing on Team Aviator, the MC said, ¡°Twisted Fate doesn¡¯t have much health left, and Ashe is too far out of reach. I guess he won¡¯t be getting this last kill.¡±


    The MC himself honestly wanted to see Twisted Fate go Legendary, too. It didn¡¯t seem likely, though: They didn¡¯t have enough minions to continue pushing in past the twin Nexus towers.


    Foom¡­


    Suddenly, a sinister red eye appeared over Ashe¡¯s head!


    It was Twisted Fate¡¯s ¡®Destiny¡¯. Wherever those baleful eyes appeared, it was a promise of Death¡¯s imminent arrival, stepping out from behind you to snatch your soul away!


    ¡°Twisted Fate is using his ulti! He wants Ashe! The timing really couldn¡¯t be any more perfect, catching Ashe just as she¡¯s reaching the Fountain!


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious now that Twisted Fate had just been waiting for all his skills to cooldown¡ªat which point he¡¯d go after Ashe as well! 1.5 seconds¡­ will Team Aviator captain Liu Qi be able to get away from the deadly grasp of Twisted Fate?¡±


    The entire hall was screaming ¡®Legendary!¡¯ As though granting their wish, Yu Luocheng used his ultimate skill to teleport over to the steps outside the enemy¡¯s Fountain, intercepting Ashe as she fled for its shelter!


    ¡°¡®Pick a Card¡¯, at the last moment! My god, Twisted Fate is drawing a card during the 1.5 seconds of casting his ultimate. If he doesn¡¯t get the golden card, he¡¯ll be the one who gets killed!¡±


    Blue!


    Red!


    Yellow!


    Cycling every 0.8 seconds, the golden card only appeared on the third round¡ªbut when Twisted Fate appeared before Ashe, sure enough, he had the golden card firmly clutched in his hand!


    Ding!


    That was the Stun, and even though Ashe managed to get out a ¡®Volley¡¯ to Slow him down, there was no avoiding that golden card!


    ¡®Lich Bane¡¯ triggered. ¡®Wild Cards¡¯ flew. The two-thirds of health Ashe had remaining was all gone in an instant!


    This one single combo had ended Ashe¡¯s life, just like that!


    Instant kill! Another flawlessly executed instant kill!


    L¡­ Legendary!


    Legendary!


    Legendary!


    He really did it! Twisted Fate actually went all the way to Legendary! The system announcement reverberated through the entire hall!


    Even at the edge of the enemy¡¯s Fountain, even with both their Nexus towers still standing, this teleport-kill with his ultimate skill had taken Ashe¡¯s life away in the most casual manner, and he¡¯d achieved ¡®Legendary¡¯ status!


    Everyone was cheering in unison, echoing the system announcement in their own bellowing voices: ¡°Legendary!¡±


    Seeing it happen in this match felt even better, even more exciting, than getting to ¡®Legendary¡¯ yourself in a Ranked game!


    ¡°Legendary Twisted Fate! This whole game might as well be a one-man show for him! Such doubtless gameplay, it¡¯s positively breath-taking!¡±


    ***


    After having just been Aced so that Twisted Fate could become Legendary, the five players of Team Aviator appeared to be thunderstruck!


    The looks on their faces were hideous, twitching and wincing, shifting and fidgeting, one step away from succumbing to hysterical madness!


    They were five, but they couldn¡¯t defeat four¡­ and they were losing so badly, they were being slaughtered like beasts in trapped cages¡ªan enemy player had even achieved ¡®Legendary¡¯ status!


    There were¡­ over thousands of people watching this game right now!


    Would they ever suffer a greater humiliation for the rest of their lives?

 Chapter 80 - Hot Tears of Triumph!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Will one wave be enough? Kayle¡¯s attack speed is hurricane-fast, and Twisted Fate¡¯s blue cards are hitting the tower like boulders from a catapult. Those minions just have to hold out a little longer.


    ¡°Here comes a siege minion! It¡¯s all coming up roses for Team Scarlet. Looks like there¡¯ll be enough time¡­ Team Scarlet is about to win this game!¡±


    Xue Haiyang and Xiao Dao could feel their hands shaking violently!


    They were really winning! They had almost won already!


    When the enemy Nexus was down to half-health, Xin Zhao respawned! With the ¡®Homeguard¡¯ enhancement on, he came charging at Kayle like a rabid hound!


    Xue Haiyang ignored him completely, and continued to attack the Nexus!


    Leona was next to come back to life. Kai¡¯s fingers clattered across his keyboard as he moved to disable Twisted Fate!


    ¡°Wu Kai, are you retarded? Use your CC on Kayle! Why are you going for Twisted Fate?¡± Team Aviator¡¯s captain, Liu Qi, very nearly cracked his keyboard against Kai¡¯s skull!


    Wu Kai must have had the wits knocked out of him by all the recent beatings he¡¯d taken. If he¡¯d gone for Kayle instead, they might have had some slim hope of preserving the Nexus and staying in the game, what with all the minions spawning in on their side, and the rest of their champions moments away from rejoining the fight¡­


    ¡­ but because of this wrong move on his part, they¡¯d lost their very last remaining hope!


    One last attack from Kayle, and suddenly everyone was frozen in place!


    Overriding all controls, the view automatically panned over to the Red Nexus, surrounded by an enormous crowd of red minions, along with Xin Zhao and Leona.


    With a great explosion of scarlet light, the titanic Nexus shattered apart, and all they could do was watch with disbelieving eyes as the fragments rained down all around them!


    They¡¯d expected this scene to be happening in the enemy¡¯s base, instead. They¡¯d thought it was a sure thing.


    But instead, it had happened here, to their own Nexus. The stern announcement of ¡®Defeat!¡¯ rang out, and all five of them slumped in their seats.


    Despair, disbelief, denial¡­ and deranged fury!


    ¡°How stupid can you be? Obviously you should have gone for Kayle!¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s my fault? Why don¡¯t you say something about Mid?¡± Wu Kai roared. ¡°That idiot fed Twisted Fate up nice and fat!¡±


    ¡°Then we should have just abandoned the Mid lane! Why did you all have to keep fighting over it?¡±


    The moment Team Aviator lost the game, their members immediately turned on one another ! 1


    They¡¯d lost, despite a 5v4 advantage¡ªand that meant losing out on the six thousand RMB prize. Put into the same situation, anyone else would also be losing their composure right now, showing the ugliest and most laughable sides of themselves.


    ***


    Meanwhile, on the side of Team Scarlet, Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, Xue Haiyang, and Huang Yu were still staring at their screens in numb disbelief of everything that had just happened.


    They¡¯d won?


    They¡¯d really won?


    Holy crap, they¡¯d actually managed to win!


    After all the hardships and tribulations they¡¯d endured up to this point, the euphoric rush of victory engulfed them like a blazing fire!


    Then the four of them sprang from their seats, seized by some sort of mania, and let out all their welled-up emotions like floodwater from a burst dam. They roared triumphantly, from the depths of their hearts, shedding all the stress they¡¯d been straining under all this while. Even the veins were bulging upon their faces!


    Yin Qin had already drawn everyone into a heartfelt embrace, all the teammates exchanging long looks with each other, and then shouting into each other¡¯s faces like a bunch of loonies.


    In no time at all, their plague of jubilant madness was turned towards Yu Luocheng!


    Yu Luocheng himself was still sitting there in a happy little daze, when suddenly five burly adult men pounced on him and smothered him with boisterous hugs!


    No one was more emotional at this moment than Yin Qin and Huang Yu!


    This match had meant more to him than just a shot at glory¡ªhe¡¯d been betting his life on it.


    If they¡¯d lost, he¡¯d have lost everything.


    Now that they¡¯d won, then at the very least, he could still go on.


    Back then, when Huang Yu had gotten injured, and had nearly dropped out of the match¡­ who could understand how this man¡ªtwenty-seven going on twenty-eight and still stuck in the world of gaming, all his eggs in one basket¡ªwho could understand the dread and despair he¡¯d been feeling?


    He¡¯d shared these insecurities of his with Yu Luocheng, a boy ten years his junior.


    And somehow, Yu Luocheng had made it all work out!


    This kid¡­ Yin Qin wiped at the hot tears running down his cheeks. Alright, kid. You just wait¡ªmy daughter is growing up fast already!


    Yin Qin was in the grip of sincere emotion. Huang Yu, meanwhile, was on the verge of tears! Given the situation, there was no way for him to keep his cool. He¡¯d made up his mind about all sorts of things he¡¯d do, after they lost this game.


    The truth was, though: He really hadn¡¯t wanted to leave.


    He¡¯d grown so close to these men, they were like brothers he¡¯d share his trousers with. Even if he dropped his soap on the floor in front of them, he¡¯d bend right over and pick it up without the slightest ounce of worry . 1


    Could he really pack up and leave just like that¡­ wander off to a far-away city and start over again from the beginning?


    The very thought filled him with abject terror.


    And so, in the wake of their victory, his eyes were brimming with hot tears.


    The tears had already spilled out, but he was still trying desperately to hide it, before a crowd of thousands.


    No words of gratitude could ever be enough. That was the day Huang Yu swore that if anyone ever caused trouble for Yu Luocheng Yu, he would defend him with his life!


    Yu Luocheng hugged everyone in Team Scarlet. Even Wang Qin, who¡¯d done basically nothing to contribute, came running over to join in, as though being re-united with long-lost family.


    Yu Luocheng pushed him away with disgust, his eyes locked on the small, pretty face of Yang Qianqian, now flushed with joy. Having just been so brutally molested by these meat-headed lummoxes, Yu Luocheng decided that he would be able to get over it as long as this contagious atmosphere made Yang Qianqian want to get a piece of him for herself, too.


    He opened his arms wide, ready to receive her warm caresses.


    And yet, the ravishing beauty stood her ground, unmoving. It was obvious that her heart was overflowing, but she refused to do anything to show it. At length, she simply gave him a thumbs-up.


    What was this?


    Yu Luocheng was all rehearsed and ready for this scene to play, but Yang Qianqian wasn¡¯t plunging into his arms?


    He refused to give up. Throwing a big smile across his face, he shouted, ¡°Yeah, we won!¡± Unabashedly, he skipped up to Yang Qianqian and pulled her into a great bear hug.


    How soft, how sweet, how smooth, how springy¡­


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± When Yu Luocheng had had his fill, he let go and turned right back around to go hug his fellow Team Scarlet players once more, even though they¡¯d already calmed down by now. They regarded his delayed celebration with some bewilderment.


    Wang Qin watched the whole thing with wide eyes.


    Good gracious, he¡¯d never seen such shamelessness before in his life!


    Yang Qianqian had been caught by surprise when Yu Luocheng suddenly came up and hugged her. She stood there stupefied for a long moment, but when she saw his theatrics immediately afterward, she was so stomping mad, squealing, ¡°That rascal!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Twisted Fate! Twisted Fate! Twisted Fate!¡±


    Suddenly, a tremendous cheer began to rise from the crowd. They were calling for Twisted Fate, the undeniable MVP of this game!


    Everyone had seen his calm, composed play-style, his jaw-dropping skill, and that unbelievable quadra-kill!


    This game, Yu Luocheng had shown off the champion Twisted Fate to the very pinnacle of player prowess. Thinking of his cards, he¡¯d been as cool as the blue card, as glorious as the golden card, and as brutal as the red card!


    It might still be too soon to say whether this game would linger in everyone¡¯s memory as an unforgettable victory against the odds, but listening to the chanting of the audience, it was a safe bet that Twisted Fate would become a favorite champion of countless LoL players from now on, as they tried to re-create the graceful steps of the deadly dance that they saw this day!

 Chapter 81 - Sponsorship Worth Thirty Thousand

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Cheering for Twisted Fate resonated throughout the entire Electronic Emporium.


    ¡®This is such a familiar feeling.¡¯


    He could vividly sense the enthusiasm and excitement pouring toward him from the crowd as he enjoyed the applause of being the brightest star in the arena.


    How many people who couldn¡¯t even gain attention in a classroom dream of being admired by thousands of people like at this very moment?


    Yu Luocheng was overwhelmed at first but quickly calmed himself down.


    ¡®Whatever. This should be a one-time experience after all.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Mouse! What is the brand name of the mouse that was selling like crazy recently?¡± Near the viewing platform on the second floor, Huang Junjie asked his subordinate eagerly after seeing the feverish atmosphere that engulfed the spectators.


    ¡°Are you talking about the chromatic mouse manufactured by Leopard?¡± The supervisor replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Draft an advertisement board for it immediately. You have two days,¡± Huang Junjie ordered.


    The supervisor was a bright-minded man himself. He instantly realized his superior¡¯s intention, which was to promote the chromatic mouse with the help of the outstanding performance displayed by Twisted Fate.


    The chromatic mouse from Leopard was already a hot product in the market. If it was promoted along with such an interesting competition, it would be able to persuade those still hesitating to fork out the money for it.


    The sales of a product could certainly be enhanced if it was weaved with a beautiful tale such as this.


    ¡°That being said, why not splurge a few more bucks and invite the player of Twisted Fate to advertise for us? I bet it would stir up more news,¡± The supervisor suggested.


    ¡°That will not be necessary.¡± Huang Junjie shook his head.


    The supervisor was baffled. ¡®If we ask the player to promote the mouse for us, the outcome would be amplified by several folds. A big gun like Huang Junjie wouldn¡¯t mind that tiny bit of expense, would he?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°What a thrilling battle we have just witnessed! Congratulations to Team Scarlet for their victory. They have booked a direct ticket to the Grand Finals at Lecheng!¡± The host announced the result with a large grin on his face while walking toward Team ¡®Scarlet¡¯.


    At the same time, five ladies wearing blue-white cheongsams walked up to the stage accompanied by the symphony. With polite smiles on their faces, they presented the five players from the victorious team with a wreath made of fresh flowers.


    ¡°Now, let us welcome the deputy general manager of our Grand Linca Emporium to congratulate the winning team!¡± The host looked to his side and invited the VIP to the stage.


    Huang Junjie, wearing a white shirt, walked up jauntily with his potbelly to address the crowd smilingly.


    ¡°Manager Huang, well¡­ This is an unexpected defeat for Team Aviator¡­ Regarding the sponsorship¡­¡± The manager of Team Aviator, Lian Feng, approached Huang Junjie with a forced smile as he was walking up the stage.


    Huang Junjie only replied to the man out of courtesy and ignored him afterward as he walked straight toward the winning team, Team Scarlet.


    The disdain on his face delivered a clear message. ¡®Are you crazy? After losing a 5 vs. 4 so embarrassingly, you still dare to ask me for a sponsorship?¡¯


    Lian Feng immediately became grim-faced. He glared at Liu Qi, Wu Kai, and the other players from his team furiously.


    ¡®Such a disgrace! What a group of rubbish!¡¯


    ***


    From his spot on the other side, Yin Qin smugly took notice of how Lian Feng was given the cold shoulder by Huang Junjie and felt great for being able to relieve the resentment in his gut.


    ¡®What did you get after all those ploys and getting my player injured? You still get kicked to the corner like a beaten dog! Tsk!¡¯


    ¡°Boss Qin! Haha. We go way back.¡± Huang Junjie walked up to him cheerfully and shook his hand warmly.


    ¡°I would not dare to be called a boss in front of you, Manager Huang,¡± Yin Qin replied politely.


    ¡°Now, now, cut the formalities. Congratulations to you and your team for winning this battle. You have a good band of players,¡± Huang Junjie complimented as he eye-signaled the host.


    The host reacted quickly and spoke through his microphone, ¡°Allow me introduce the deputy general manager of Grand Linca Emporium, Mr. Huang Junjie!¡±


    ¡°As a sign of gratitude toward the support given by players and E-sport lovers to Grand Linca, the Electronic Emporium will launch a large scale event in line with the League of Legends tournament two days from now. Do expect a great discount on electronic devices and lucrative gifts during the period. Moreover, as long as you can prove that you are a LoL player, the Emporium will offer you redeemable coupons of a random value!¡±


    ¡°Also, to show our relentless support to the LoL E-sport, Mr. Huang Junjie has agreed to sponsor thirty thousand RMB under the name Grand Linca to the team that wins the Lecheng Grand Final!¡±


    Everyone from Team Scarlet was stunned at first which was quickly followed by their faces lighting up!


    The prize given by The Coca-Cola Company to the champion of the Lecheng Tournament was exactly thirty thousand RMB. In the past, some of the regional or even national E-competitions also only offered a prize of about the same range. The fact that this competition of a second-tier city was giving out a thirty thousand RMB reward was a shock.


    Now, after adding the thirty thousand RMB sponsor from Grand Linca, the top prize totaled at sixty thousand RMB!


    ¡®My goodness!¡¯ Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, Xue Haiyang, and Huang Yu had never seen such a huge sum of money in their lives. They were closer to it now more than ever, with only one victory left on their path to wealth.


    Yin Qin was the most excited among them. The investment of such a huge amount of money signified that League of Legends was going to have a bright future. He believed E-sports was going to reach new heights because of this game. ¡®My decision to join LoL was right!¡¯


    ***


    A total of sixty thousand RMB that was within reach had just slipped through their fingers. The few players from Team Aviator were irked after hearing the announcement.


    Without a doubt, they would fight among themselves back at their home base and their team spirit would crumble on its own without Yin Qin having to take revenge on them.


    ***


    ¡°Damn! I have never felt so great in all my life!¡± Xiao Tongtong bellowed in excitement.


    ¡°Hell yeah! Did you see Wu Kai¡¯s face just now? God damn! This feeling is greater than if I f*cked his wife in front of him! Hahaha!¡± Xiao Dao exclaimed coarsely.


    ¡°Ahem. Language, my friend, we have a lady with us,¡± Xue Haiyang faked a cough and pretended to be a gentleman. Unfortunately, like Xiao Dao, he had failed to conceal his excitement in imagining sleeping with another man¡¯s wife.


    ¡°We almost lost the chance to get sixty thousand¡­¡±


    ¡°There is still some time before the Grand Finals. By then, Huang Yu¡¯s hand should have recovered. Only one match is left in front of us, all of you should not get overexcited. We must learn and not forget anything from this incident!¡± Yin Qin urged them solemnly.


    ¡°Roger that, Brother Qin! We promise we will do our best!¡± The few mischievous teenagers immediately quieted down and listened to Yin obediently.


    ¡°However, today¡¯s victory is worth a big celebration so it¡¯s my treat tonight! I will let you all choose the place.¡± Yin Qin¡¯s serious face suddenly eased up into a smile.


    ¡°Hooray!¡± The players of Team Scarlet jumped around in excitement once again.


    ¡°Alright, go back and have a good rest. Keep in touch about tonight!¡±


    ¡°Okay, we will call you tonight!¡±


    ***


    The members of Team Scarlet went their separate ways after the dismissal while Wang Qin was dragged away by Xiao Tongtong


    ¡®Yu Luocheng is attached. You should not be their third wheel even if you are his classmate!¡±


    Hence, only Yu Luocheng and Yang Qianqian were left behind right outside the entrance of the Grand Linca Emporium.


    Perhaps Yang Qianqian was still dwelling on their awkward hug seeing as her cheeks were still blushing red and she refused to speak first.


    ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t the handsome guy over there the player who was using Twisted Fate?¡±


    ¡°Ah? Yes, that¡¯s him. I did not get to see very clearly because we were so far but actually, he is quite good looking.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get his contact number from him so that he can carry us next time?¡±


    Three trendy girls who were walking past them immediately recognized Yu Luocheng and started twittering amongst themselves like a small group of sparrows.


    Yang Qianqian could no longer stand the girls that were coming after her boyfriend and glared at them angrily, pulling Yu Luocheng away from them.


    ¡°His girlfriend is getting jealous. Look at how desperate you both look,¡± The girl with short hair spoke cynically to the other two.


    ¡°Who is more desperate? You are the one who got all pumped up after seeing how handsome he is,¡± The girl in the suspender skirt refuted.


    The giggles from the bubbly girls behind them did not cease.


    Yang Qianqian was getting angrier by the second listening to their conversation. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with girls nowadays? Don¡¯t they have any restraint? How could they approach a guy so blatantly? Moral degeneration is getting worse every day!¡¯


    ¡°Hmph! What are you laughing at? It was just in the heat of the moment, please don¡¯t think that they are actually into you,¡± Yang Qianqian said grumpily after seeing the wide smile plastered on Yu Luocheng¡¯s face.


    ¡°I am laughing at you. You looked just like¡­¡± The smile on Yu Luocheng¡¯s face became wider as he let his words trail off.


    ¡°What did I look like?¡± Yang Qianqian looked at him puzzled.


    ¡°Did you know puppies are equipped with a special kind of instinct when it comes to eating. They will deduce any living creatures in their vicinity as hostile by default and show their fierce traits automatically. Such an instinct is called food protection.¡±


    Yang Qianqian frowned as she slowly processed what he has said and yelled his name one syllable after another, ¡°Yu! Luo! Cheng!¡±


    How she wished she was a puppy right now so she could bite Yu Luocheng to death.

 Chapter 82 - The Queen of Swimming

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The sunlight spilling through the window slit was bright as usual. The delicious smell of breakfast wafted into the room through the door seam.


    Yu Luocheng would usually skip breakfast as his father worked in the factory from Monday to Friday and his mother always went to work early. It was unlikely that she would make him breakfast in the morning.


    The scent of cooked porridge meant only one thing¡ªThe other woman in his family had returned home and though she was at times pretty annoying, he couldn¡¯t deny that she was extremely hard working and good at doing housework.


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s good that my baby Yu Yu has come home, I feel so relieved. It¡¯s not easy to handle your father and brother when I am alone. Go wake your brother up for breakfast and then you should ask him to bring you around. After coming back he has been so busy going between home and the hospital¡­¡± His mother¡¯s voice reached his ears from the living room.


    Yu Luocheng was half awake and vaguely heard the conversation between his mother Li Yan, and his sister, Yu Yu.


    ¡°Wake up!¡± A moment later, Yu Luocheng heard Yu Yu¡¯s seething voice.


    He was still a little dizzy due to the alcohol from last night¡¯s celebration with Team Scarlet.


    ¡°Lazy pig, time to wake up and have breakfast.¡¯ Yu Yu grabbed his shoulders and shook him forcefully.


    Yu Luocheng cracked his eyes open slightly and through his blurry vision, he saw a pretty and energetic girl dressed in a revealing suspender skirt beside his bed.


    The suspender skirt must have been bought from a while back as the straps were a little loose, allowing Yu Luocheng a glimpse of the seductive cleavage right below the girl¡¯s snowy neck that was exposed when she bent down.


    ¡®It¡¯s not as deep as Yang Qianqian¡¯s, but this will do too.¡¯


    Suddenly, he realized it was extremely weird to have such a thought, especially about his own sister.


    ¡°Get up now!¡± Yu Yu pulled Yu Luocheng¡¯s shoulder and forcefully dragged him out of bed.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll get up by myself.¡±


    Usually, he wouldn¡¯t budge no matter who tried to wake him up from his sleep, not even his own mother could do anything about it.


    But Yu Luocheng could not go against Yu Yu. If you dared to disobey her, you would get a punishment ten times worse from the little lady.


    ¡°Where were you last night? Why did you come back so late reeking of booze?¡± Yu Yu¡¯s face drew closer as she interrogated him.


    ¡°I was just chatting with a few of my friends. Wait, where are my pants?¡±


    ¡°In the washing machine. It was full of liquor.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­?! I remembered I still had it on yesterday night when I went to bed¡­¡± Yu Luocheng scratched his head.


    Yu Yu took a pair of jeans from Yu Luocheng¡¯s closet swiftly and threw it to him.


    Yu Luocheng caught it and pouted lightly feeling slightly disturbed.


    First of all, someone must have undressed him yesterday night, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be sleeping with only his underwear on. Secondly, he thought that his sister was a little unconstrained. ¡®Can you please not stare at a man wearing only his underwear and just wait outside for him to get dressed?¡¯


    ¡°I want to go to the swimming pool today. It¡¯s been a while since I last went to a public pool, so you¡¯d better accompany me.¡± Yu Yu, realizing Yu Luocheng¡¯s closet was a huge mess started tidying it up casually.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you go by yourself?¡± After Yu Luocheng got dressed, he went straight into the bathroom to wash his face.


    After he was done brushing his teeth, Yu Yu appeared in front of him again outside the bathroom door.


    ¡°I already got your swimwear, goggles, and cap prepared,¡± she said.


    ¡°Wait, did I say I¡¯m going to swim?¡±


    ¡°Your bones must have gone rigid after sitting in front of the computer all day. Are you going to die from a little exercise?¡± Yu Yu scowled at him looking rather crestfallen.


    ¡°I am not going.¡± Yu Luocheng insisted firmly.


    ¡®Only a crazy person would go swimming with you.¡¯


    Yu Yu was currently studying in a swim academy and had most probably become a member of the province reserve team. Despite her small and delicate build which was that of a typical teenage girl, she moved dominantly like a queen on the chessboard once she entered the pool. Yu Luocheng was a good swimmer himself but he would never challenge his sister in the water¡­


    Yu Luocheng chewed on his breakfast mindlessly, enjoying the silence after Yu Yu had stopped bugging him.


    After he had finished half of his porridge, Yu Yu, who was sitting beside him still had not uttered a single word. Feeling a little uneasy, Yu Luocheng glanced at his sister and found her with her head lowered and tears clinging to the edge of her lashes threatening to spill over.


    She had not tied her hair into a ponytail today, letting it flow down to frame her small face, making her look more breathtaking than usual.


    ¡°What now?¡± Yu Luocheng looked at her worriedly.


    ¡°You always do this to me! It¡¯s not easy for me to get a holiday to come home,¡± Yu Yu sniffled, close to breaking into tears any minute now. ¡°I¡¯m going back to the academy soon and it¡¯s hard to find someone to talk to due to the hectic training. Whenever I call you, you hang up on me after just a few lines and when I¡¯m home, you find me bothersome¡­¡±


    Seeing that the waterworks were about to be let loose, Yu Luocheng quickly consoled her, ¡°Okay, okay¡­ I promise, I¡¯ll go swimming with you for as long as you like, even until my skin peels off. Please don¡¯t cry, okay, my beloved sister?¡±


    ¡°But how is there enough time for us to go swimming now? I still need to go and buy some clothes later at night,¡± Yu Yu said, still looking rather downcast.


    ¡°Leave that to me too, we can go together.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded decisively.


    Yu Yu finally raised her head after hearing Yu Luocheng¡¯s promise. She wiped away the tears near her eyes and smiled mischievously, ¡°Now, that¡¯s how we get things done!¡±


    Yu Luocheng looked at her devilish smile in disbelief with his mouth agape.


    ¡®After all these years, I still fall for the same trick over and over again¡­¡¯


    ¡°There will be lots of beautiful ladies with good body figures at the swimming pool,¡± Yu Yu tried to comfort Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Can I bring along a beautiful lady?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Are you talking about me?¡± The corner of Yu Yu¡¯s mouth could not go any higher from her smug smile.


    ¡°No, I mean another one.¡± Yu Luocheng immediately replied, pouring cold water over her self-indulgence.


    ¡°You mean the one who was wearing the long skirt the other day?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Yu Yu immediately straightened her face.


    She was confident that none of the other ladies in the swimming pool was going to be prettier than her and their body figures would not be comparable to hers as well.


    However, it was hard to say the same about the girl that she had bumped into near the bridge that day.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng had been searching high and low for a good excuse to invite Yang Qianqian out for a date despite the hot weather.


    Going on a date at the swimming pool seemed like a brilliant choice. Countless men would drool over her long, beautiful legs, not to mention, if she exposed them with her swimming suit on¡­ He could even picture her bouncy buttocks wrapped by the tight,sexy swimwear.


    Just thinking about it got him so close to drooling.


    ¡°Is she really your girlfriend?¡± Yu Yu asked.


    To be honest, Yu Yu understood her brother¡¯s behavior the most, but she was rather dubious as to how a loser like her brother could hook up with such a beautiful lady.


    ¡°Not yet, but very likely,¡± Yu Luocheng claimed confidently.


    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t think she really likes you. I guess she just finds you quite interesting for now¡­¡± Yu Yu tried to dampen his confidence.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be jealous.¡±


    ¡°Why should I be? I am at least on par with her.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say, you are still just an underdeveloped¡­¡±


    ¡°Yu Luocheng Yu!¡± Yu Yu was infuriated. She pointed at Yu Luocheng and said, ¡°Ask her to come to the swimming pool!¡±

 Chapter 83 - Solo

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    Just as Yu Yu was pointing her finger at Yu Luocheng while raising her chest to protest, the ¡°Demacia¡± ringtone defused the tense situation in time.


    ¡°Message, message.¡± Yu Luocheng took his phone out from his pocket and discovered that it was Yang Qianqian who had messaged him.


    ¡®She read my mind!¡¯ Yu Luocheng was secretly ecstatic. He quickly opened up the message to view the content sent by his lovely goddess.


    ¡°Are you awake? Log in now!¡±


    ¡°Yes. In a minute!¡± Yu Luocheng replied swiftly.


    He scrambled to finish his porridge and once he had polished it off, with a mouthful of pastries, he dashed back to his room to quickly turn on his computer.


    Yu Yu knew immediately who the sender was judging by her brother¡¯s overeager smile and she cleaned up the table discontentedly upon his departure.


    ***


    A few green sprouts that grew across the windowsill dropped haphazardly upon a clean wooden floor. On the floor were a few pairs of slippers that were left rather disorganized.


    Asides from that, there were no other signs of untidiness found in the room¡ªit was clean, neat, warm, and a little cute.


    Beside the window sat a Sony laptop, whose biggest selling point was its outlook, which attracted the heart of most ladies.


    A dainty pair of hands danced on the laptop keyboard agilely whilst the owner of the hands appeared to be a little excited.


    ¡°I want to challenge you, solo!¡± The little hands typed out the message rapidly and attached a smiley emoticon to the end of the message.


    There was a brief pause from the other side before a line popped up, ¡°You¡¯re not entirely awake, right?¡±


    Yang Qianqian¡¯s cheeks puffed as she read the line.


    ¡°Tell him you just want to practice new hero and there¡¯s no need to be too serious,¡± the tall teenager sitting beside Yang Qianqian said, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t smoke in my room!¡± Yang Qianqian glared at the boy as she scolded him.


    Yang Ying grudgingly put the cigarette back into his pocket and grumbled. ¡°Let¡¯s be real. How could this guy be more skillful than your brother? Don¡¯t you know I am the president of my university¡¯s E-sport club? Our team has won a lot of competitions and we¡¯ve even fought with a lot of professional players before!¡±


    ¡°So what? I still think that you are not as good as him.¡± Yang Qianqian pouted. After confirming that Yu Luocheng had created the solo room, Yang Qianqian stood up and gave her seat to her unconvinced brother.


    ¡°Hmph. How do you think Team Dawn has managed to reach this far? This is not a game that you can play well simply by training every day. You still need the talent and IQ to master it. If it weren¡¯t for Laowu and I, I don¡¯t think Team Dawn could have ever reached the finals. Let me show you how I destroy him in a solo game,¡± Yang Ying sat down abruptly and clicked on the keyboard and mouse skillfully.


    Feeling a little unaccustomed, he grumbled again, ¡°I am not used to playing using a laptop. Whatever. Consider this a little handicap in his favor.¡±


    Yang Qianqian rolled her eyes and said, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be saying this if you had watched his match the other day.¡±


    ¡°What was so special about that match? In a 4 vs. 5 game, it¡¯s quite common to see a lane collapse entirely which allows the stronger player to attain Legendary. After all, there are not many skilled players in Lecheng cyber cafes. You will know what¡¯s the difference once you have watched the pro players from those professional teams play,¡± Yang Ying responded while adjusting the sensitivity of the mouse.


    Once he was done, his expression changed slightly as he read the newly typed line that had popped up in the chatbox.


    ¡°He invited you to go swimming together,¡± Yang Ying snorted as he informed his sister.


    Yang Ying was Yang Qianqian¡¯s actual brother after all. He knew his sister was never short of harassment and he had kicked those flies butts for god knows how many times.


    Yang Ying was a guy himself and it was like an unspoken fact. Bringing a girl on a date to the swimming pool alone in the university was second only to having sex after a movie!


    ¡®You must have a death wish for setting your sights on my sister!¡¯


    Yang Qianqian pretended to ignore the message but internally, she was scolding Yu Luocheng.


    ¡®Idiot! Why send me the invitation now? Besides, who wants to go to the swimming pool with you? You pervert!¡¯


    Yang Qianqian felt her face heat up as she imagined herself wearing a revealing swimsuit in front of Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Let¡¯s AP duel in mid,¡± Yang Ying said.


    Yang Qianqian was still thinking about how to reject Yu Luocheng¡¯s invitation and did not pay attention to her brother.


    Soon, the game screen turned into the loading interface. Yang Ying picked up his cigarette again out of habit but quickly put it back after he saw Yang Qianqian¡¯s expression. He smiled, trying to divert her attention.


    ¡°Let me tell you, I¡¯ve fought Xiao Guangjun, the AP from Team Aviator before, and for his level, maybe he could still bully those rookie players. But against a real pro, he is nothing but shit. If he is on the same lane as me, I would have crushed him without even needing any help from the jungler, so it¡¯s normal to see him get destroyed in the mid lane. Eh, he chose Lux after I picked Fizz! He¡¯s going to lose for sure now,¡± Yang Ying exclaimed confidently.


    ¡°Why? Is Fizz very effective against Lux?¡± Yang Qianqian asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°Not only is he effective, but this hero is going to roll over his again and again!¡± Yang Ying said arrogantly.


    ¡°Please stop bragging. Lux has a greater skill range. Fizz, on the other hand, is a melee champion. How is it possible for him to overpower the opponent so easily?¡± Yang Qianqian rebutted.


    ¡°There is only one reason for those who have failed to play Fizz well in their lanes, and that reason is cowardice!¡¯ Yang Ying had completed his item purchase while explaining everything to Yang Qianqian.


    Since it was a solo duel, both of them naturally went toward the mid lane.


    Yang Ying, who was using Yang Qianqian¡¯s account, guided Fizz steadily, and once his champion had reached his intended position, the first thing he saw was Yu Luocheng¡¯s Lux standing in the middle of the lane dancing leisurely.


    Yang Ying chuckled when he saw the taunt from his opponent. Yu Luocheng never would have guessed that it was not Yang Qianqian, but her brother, that was dueling him now.


    ¡®You can dance as much as you like now! If you dare to take me lightly, I am going to kill you once every minute!¡¯


    ¡°I seldom see Fizz being used in-game. Is this champion really very powerful?¡± Yang Qianqian asked once again.


    ¡°This champion is more than powerful. It can basically counter all mid-lane APs except Diana and Annie¡­ Hmph. If my opponent is clever enough, he would stay close under the tower, otherwise, you will get to see how I slaughter him. Look at your friend here, he must be thinking that my melee Fizz will surely be oppressed by his Lux. If he still dares to come out for creep strikes on the lane after I reach level 3, it will be a sure-kill if he does not Flash away in time.¡± Yang Ying replied, giving Yang Qianqian the details to fully comprehend the situation.


    ¡°I see.¡± Yang Qianqian found Yang Ying¡¯s explanations very convincing.


    To be honest, Yang Qianqian was a little worried that Yu Luocheng might not be able to defeat her brother.


    She knew better than anyone about her brother¡¯s capability and skills as a LoL player because Yang Ying was none other than the captain of Team Dawn.


    He was not a gangster that loitered in cyber cafes, rather, he was an elite student from a famous high school.


    The original Team Dawn had long been disbanded after an overwhelming defeat to Yang Ying¡¯s team in an internal competition held by the cafe. The owner of Dawn Cyber Cafe had no choice but to sponsor Yang Ying¡¯s team and allowed them to participate in the tournament under his cafe¡¯s name. If he had not done so, Dawn Cyber Cafe¡¯s name would have been tainted and he would have lost face in the E-sport world.

 Chapter 84 - First Blood

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The winner of a solo duel was usually determined by three kills or two towers, whichever came first.


    However, the official rule for a solo duel was slightly different¡ªEither be the first to reach 100 CS, destroy one defense tower, or obtain a solo kill.


    Yang Qianqian had never heard about these rules, thus, her brother explained the details to her while he was playing.


    On the other side, Yu Luocheng¡¯s champion still stood in the middle of the lane taunting Fizz blatantly.


    For a brief moment, Yu Luocheng had wanted to start the game with Doran¡¯s Blade.


    ¡®AD Lux seems like she would be an interesting combination¡­¡¯


    But he immediately gave up on the idea. ¡®I¡¯d better not take my goddess too lightly. Karma is a bitch¡­¡¯


    He spent his 475 gold and did not hesitate in leaving the Spawn with Doran¡¯s Ring.


    Normally, the first thing Yu Luocheng would do when laning was to check his opponent¡¯s item. However, there was no need to be so cautious since he was only facing a Fizz controlled by Yang Qianqian. The items she had bought made no difference in this solo duel judging by their huge disparity in skill level.


    ¡°Yang Qianqian, please feel free to attack first.¡± Yu Luocheng typed out the line languidly and hit send.


    ¡°No need to!¡± Yang Ying smirked as he read it.


    Minions from both sides had quickly reached the middle line and Yu Luocheng was playing aggressively from the start, bullying the melee AP Fizz mercilessly by using Lux¡¯s ranged auto-attack.


    In fact, Yu Luocheng was well aware that Lux held no advantage against Fizz in the mid lane. Other than the first two levels where he could still manage to harass the Tidal Trickster, he would need to stay low and play it safe from Level 3.


    Still, he was pretty certain that Yang Qianqian would be ignorant to this fact, thus he playfully teased Fizz with his basic attack while catching his CS at the same time.


    ¡°See! You are already seven creeps behind him!¡± Yang Qianqian intervened.


    ¡°This guy¡¯s CS timing is rather precise,¡± Yang Ying muttered to himself.


    It is usually quite difficult for Lux to score creeps in the early stages, however, in the first wave alone, Fizz was only able to score five minions while Lux was able to last hit all twelve. More impressively, this was done with Lux crossing the minion line a few times to disrupt Yang Ying¡¯s Fizz.


    ¡°I told you, he is extremely skilled,¡± Yang Qianqian grinned gleefully while Yang Ying clicked his tongue in impatience.


    After a while, Yang Ying glanced at his experience bar while also taking notice of the minion wave that had just entered his tower.


    ¡°Believe it or not, his AP is going to be killed soon,¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. How is that possible?¡± Yang Qianqian replied in disbelief.


    The Fizz controlled by Yang Ying only had half of his HP left, while Lux¡¯s HP bar was still full¡ªFizz was obviously at a disadvantage here.


    ¡°Watch me!¡± Fizz poked and scored one of the creeps that were under the tower, which brought him up to Level 3.


    Yang Ying upgraded his ability W using the hotkey smoothly, making no delay in releasing the skill.


    Fizz¡¯s trident instantly lit up and the champion dashed directly through the few Caster Minions that were in front of him.


    Urchin Strike!


    Fizz dragged its harpoon across the ground and made a bee-line for the careless Lux.


    Urchin Strike would deal physical damage on top of a bonus magic damage. Simultaneously, it would also trigger the on-hit effect of the W-skill, Seastone Trident, and apply damage over time to the target.


    But it seemed that the sudden ambush by Fizz did not reduce much of Lux¡¯s HP.


    Nevertheless, the confident smile still lingered on Yang Ying¡¯s face. He guided Fizz to stay close to Lux and auto-attacked her continuously.


    Indeed, Fizz¡¯s W-Q combo would not draw much blood from the enemy at first, however, Fizz¡¯s auto attack power was unparalleled to any other AP.


    Lux¡¯s HP drained insanely quick following Fizz¡¯s auto-attack and her HP was halved after only a few hits.


    ¡°Still refusing to Flash? Then die!¡± Yang Ying¡¯s smirk grew as he decisively placed his Ignite on Lux.


    That was when Lux finally realized that this was a fight she could not win. The champion threw out her Light Binding and decided to retreat.


    Yang Ying was apparently a very experienced player and he had anticipated the opponent¡¯s action, hastily pressing the E key.


    Fizz vaulted in response and made a timely evasion of Lux¡¯s binding ability.


    Bash!!!


    A fishtail splashed down deliberately and produced a blue shockwave that hit Lux¡¯s face and further reduced her HP.


    Poof!


    Flash!!


    The dying Lux finally cast her Flash spell.


    Yang Ying sneered and used Flash at almost the same instant as his opponent. He then gave Lux another attack armed with the Seastone Trident¡¯s passive effect.


    Another quarter of Lux¡¯s HP evaporated after the attack and after completing the attack, Yang Ying confidently turned his champion around.


    Ignite and bleeding effects were both activated on Lux simultaneously, needless to say, Lux¡¯s death was all but certain.


    One second, two seconds¡­


    Lux fell to the ground after a pitiful shriek.


    First Blood!


    ***


    Yang Qianqian opened her small mouth slightly and couldn¡¯t take her eyes away from the laptop screen.


    ¡®Yu Luocheng was killed first? It played out exactly how Yang Ying said it would. It was like everything happened according to a plot written by him beforehand. Every one of Yu Luocheng¡¯s movements is well within his grasp.¡±


    No doubt, Yu Luocheng was the most proficient player Yang Qianqian had ever met. ¡®Does this mean that my brother is really better than Yu Luocheng?¡¯


    ***


    After clearing the creep wave, Yang Ying cheerfully pressed down on the Recall key.


    This was when he turned his head sideways to face Yang Qianqian and flaunted his first kill. ¡°Now, did you see?¡±


    Yang Qianqian pouted unhappily. Although Yang Ying was her own brother, she wished from the bottom of her heart that Yu Luocheng could defeat this narcissistic brother of hers.


    Who would have guessed that Yu Luocheng was solo-killed this early at Level 3?


    ¡°This game is not as simple as it appears to be. A true pro knows that it is all about calculation. The calculation of one¡¯s champion¡¯s level, HP, skill cooldown, damage, in addition to the opponent¡¯s level, HP, etcetera¡­ Perhaps your classmate is good with control and technique, but he will never go on to the bigger stage if he does not master all that I just mentioned. At best, he would only be able to wear the crown at a small place like Lecheng,¡± Yang Ying boasted.


    His words were especially resounding as he had just successfully solo-killed Lux. After all, he had achieved such a feat while only having half of his HP left. This was enough to demonstrate the difference between the two players.


    Of course, Yang Ying was not going to deny that selecting the more powerful Fizz played a big part in his dominant display, but if the opponent could not comprehend such a simple fact, then he was not going to be a worthy LoL player.


    Yang Qianqian, who was still refused to admit defeat, defended Yu Luocheng. ¡°He is careless only because you are playing against him using my account.¡±


    Yang Ying knew his sister was not going to be convinced easily. He carried on to say, ¡°From now on, he can only CS with his skills. He will die if he tries to leave the turret.¡±


    ***


    ¡°D*mn! I was tricked!¡± Yu Luocheng¡¯s seething voice was heard from his room that was rarely this tidy.


    Unmistakably, although the opponent¡¯s ID was Skydancer, it was definitely not played by Yang Qianqian.


    Yu Luocheng spat the chicken claw that was in his mouth into the dustbin and put his legs down. Next, he wiped away the oil on his fingers and finally placed his left hand on the keyboard.

 Chapter 85 - To Defend His Tiny Dignity

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng had actually executed Flash when Fizz used its E-skill to assault his champion, but since he had pressed it with his knuckle, he had accidentally hit on both F and G keys.


    ¡°Who is this person? He or she is good.¡± Yu Luocheng purchased the Null-Magic Mantle before guiding his resurrected Lux back onto the mid lane.


    Obviously, the opponent had a thorough comprehension of Fizz¡¯s ability since he or she dared to fight his Lux with only half of his HP left. An ordinary player would be too scared to leave the tower under those circumstances.


    In fact, the opponent¡¯s decision was absolutely spot on. Fizz has no need to fear a confrontation with any AP, especially against Lux, who only had skillshot abilities. As long as the player was confident enough, Fizz could even fight an unharmed Lux with minimal HP.


    ***


    ¡°Yang Ying, there¡¯s someone here looking for you!¡± The voice of a middle-aged lady came from downstairs.


    ¡°Okay, be there in a minute!¡± Yang Ying stood up from his chair and handed the mouse to Yang Qianqian. ¡°I guess it¡¯s the people from Team Dawn. I¡¯m leaving now, you take over from here.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t leave first, you still haven¡¯t finished the match!¡± Yang Qianqian was reluctant to see Yang Ying leave just like that. She was hoping that Yu Luocheng could retaliate and defeat her brother at least once or twice, otherwise, Yang Ying would surely brag about how good he was all day from that point onwards.


    ¡°There is no point in continuing. He has lost this battle. At level 4 or 5, he may be able to survive if he played passively, but once we reach level 6, it would be no problem to kill him even if he turtles¡­¡± Yang Ying walked out of his sister¡¯s room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to lie to me.¡± Yang Qianqian remained dissatisfied.


    ¡°He is the AP from Team Scarlet, right? After we defeat Team EZ, I will be his opponent in the mid-lane during the final. I don¡¯t mind if you inform him beforehand, you¡¯d better ask him to go back to his support role. The match is going to be dull if such an important role like the mid-lane AP gets crushed from the beginning.¡± Yang Ying flipped his hair slightly and left with a lit cigarette.


    Yang Qianqian felt utterly annoyed seeing her brother¡¯s delighted face.


    ¡®Yu Luocheng, you big idiot! Where has your usual prowess gone? This is so frustrating!¡¯


    Yang Qianqian returned to her seat and took over Yang Ying¡¯s Fizz. She wanted to vent her anger on Yu Luocheng.


    In the end, however, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that Yang Qianqian¡¯s Fizz was completely destroyed by Yu Luocheng.


    The infuriated Yang Qianqian shut down the game directly and sent an angry emoji to Yu Luocheng¡¯s QQ expressing how mad she was.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng scratched his head and looked at the final score (1 death and 5 kills) ¡­


    ¡°Perhaps it was just a coincidence?¡± Yu Luocheng mused.


    ***


    In the afternoon, Yu Luocheng fulfilled his promise and accompanied Yu Yu to the swimming pool.


    The Lecheng swimming center was rather pricey so Yu Luocheng usually opted for other public pools when he wanted to go for a swim.


    Yu Yu, on the other hand, was more particular. First of all, being a girl, she did not like to be looked at by perverts especially after she had gone through puberty.


    Furthermore, being a professional swimmer, her swimming routine would be obstructed in public pools as they were usually jam-packed with people.


    Although the swimming center was also open to the public, it was at least more hygienic and less crowded.


    More importantly, some of the pools inside the center were exclusively for the members of the province swimming team, hence, Yu Yu could use the pool for free and avoid any disturbances simply by flashing her swimming academy ID.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng changed into his swimsuit as soon as they arrived at the swimming center.


    It had been ages since he last exercised. ¡®It¡¯s good to stretch my body once in a while.¡¯


    ¡®Of course, the presence of pretty ladies in a bikini would be the icing on the cake.¡¯


    While Yu Luocheng was warming up, he suddenly noticed a slim and sexy silhouette that appeared behind the plastic curtain of the ladies¡¯ changing room.


    ¡®Wow! Here comes a hot lady!¡¯ Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up in excitement and anticipation.


    His eyes began its journey from a long pair of legs that were attractively fit, slowly moving upwards toward the dark blue swim pants that hugged her figure snugly, showcasing her body¡¯s softness and suppleness.


    Further up, a deep cleavage took form between her ample breasts which lured people to looked further in subconsciously.


    Yu Luocheng wiped away his drool, secretly pleased to see that the lady was headed in his direction after coming out from behind the curtain.


    He pretended to continue his warm-ups, but his line of sight never left the lady¡¯s figure.


    Normal clothes worn by a lady were usually a little loose, so men could only roughly guess the lady¡¯s figure. However, a lady in a swimsuit would exhibit her truest self¡ªher breasts, small waist, hips, and that alluring pair of legs¡­


    Moreover, a tight swimsuit would not expose everything; It was akin to a breath-taking preview of a sensual movie, in which its purpose was to seduce a man even more.


    Yu Luocheng was much more content in the presence of the curvaceous lady. ¡®It seems that coming to the pool with my evil little sister won¡¯t be that boring after all. Wait a minute¡­¡¯


    After a few hesitant peeks, Yu Luocheng finally lifted his head to look at the lady¡¯s face and his expression took on a 180-degree turn when he saw a familiar face looking back at him.


    ¡®MY GOODNESS!


    ¡®It¡¯s my evil little sister! How is this possible? Since when did she have such an amazing figure?¡¯


    Yu Luocheng could still vividly remember the last time he had seen Yu Yu, but her chest had been as flat as his mouse pad at that time!


    ¡®Who would have thought that the little girl that could easily be compared to the loli Annie all this while could transform so drastically into a full-grown woman like the sexy Janna?!¡¯


    Disbelief, surprise, and a little elation were the expressions that were plastered upon Yu Luocheng¡¯s face, which basically summed up his emotions perfectly.


    ***


    Yu Yu threw her towel on Yu Luocheng¡¯s face and asked irritably, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Yu Luocheng swallowed back his drool, mind full of exclamation points. He could show such a face in front of Yang Qianqian, but he was not going to be embarrassed in front of his own sister.


    He faked a cough and turned his gaze elsewhere.


    Quite frankly, Yu Luocheng had not met his sister for a very long time as Yu Yu had been scouted by a swimming coach at a very young age. The coach had decided to recruit her into the swimming team there and then even before she had completed her studies.


    She usually only came home twice a year and when he entered high school, the chance for them to meet became even slimmer after he began pursuing professional gaming.


    That being said, the last time they had actually met was more than two years ago, which was why in Yu Luocheng¡¯s memory, Yu Yu was still the devilish little sister that was flat-chested, clingy, and a busybody.


    Well, of course, it¡¯s completely logical for a teenage girl to transform so drastically in the span of two years. ¡®Who asked her to be a swimmer? After all, that was the best sport to develop a lady¡¯s breasts!¡¯


    Still, he felt a little dazed that such a thing could happen to him and he found it extremely hard to adapt!


    Then again, he was more than willing to accept the truth seeing as he could not deny that fact forever.He had to learn to face reality like a grown man, no matter how unlikely it may seem.


    ¡®That¡¯s right. When we get home later, I should confirm with mum once again whether Yu Yu was adopted¡­.¡¯


    ***


    At the age of 7, naive little Yu Luocheng was absolutely certain that Yu Yu must have been brought home by his parents to be his servant.


    He had gotten the idea from all the soap operas he had been watching, where little girls were forced to do all the house chores after being adopted by a family. She would then be bullied by her foster siblings and even molested as she grows up.


    But a few years later, Yu Luocheng finally realized he had been duped by those dramas on TV!


    There were no house chores for the little girl and she was definitely not a pitiful servant. Any relative or visitor that came to their house would believe wholeheartedly that she was, without a doubt, his parents¡¯ biological daughter, while he was actually the adopted one who was there to serve the princess!


    ***


    Though they were family, related by blood, he still looked the same as he always had, but Yu Yu was getting prettier as the days flew by.


    ¡®Look at her face, her attractive figure, and the prestigious status as an official province swimmer. She is most likely going to be a ace swimmer in the future.¡¯


    On the other hand, there was Yu Luocheng¡­


    Beach shorts, an aged T-shirt, sandals, and an obsession toward video games¡ªThe complete starter pack for a loser.


    To be honest, Yu Luocheng did not despise his sister, rather, he was jealous and reluctant to accept the truth.


    That was why the more Yu Yu tried to get attached, the more nonchalant Yu Luocheng was. In his own, twisted little way, he was actually trying to defend what was left of his dignity, like a sore loser.


    In reality, Yu Yu could be pretty annoying at times too. Even though she was younger than him, Yu Yu always acted like she was the elder sister and would lecture him in the most righteous manner which was what irritated Yu Luocheng the most.


    In the past, he could still rebut her and say that she was just an immature little girl that knew nothing.


    But now, what else could he pick on?


    ¡®You¡¯re a brainless busty girl? That¡¯s a f*cking compliment!¡¯

 Chapter 86 - The Grand Final

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Since it was still early, there weren¡¯t many people at the swimming center.


    Yu Yu entered the water after completing her warm-ups but she did not immediately start to do her strokes, rather choosing to stay rested on the ladder at the side of the pool. She appeared to be enjoying the moment as if she was taking a dip in the bathtub.


    Whenever she was in a bad mood, she liked to float peacefully, as opposed to when she was in a good mood, she would then propel her limber waist and swim as gracefully as a little mermaid.


    Most of the memories Yu Luocheng had about Yu Yu revolved around water.


    Ever since she was a kid, Yu Yu loved water and was extremely fond of being wrapped by the cool and gentle liquid. When she wanted to escape from the hustle and bustle surrounding her, she would submerge herself into the water allowing the world around her to be instantly muted.


    ¡°Brother, which university do you plan on going to?¡± Yu Yu asked with a grin.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaning toward Shanghai University. I will probably go there if I can make it through the exams,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Shanghai was a huge metropolitan city that was unparalleled to a small city like Lecheng.


    ¡°You are going there again?¡± Yu Yu muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m going there to study this time,¡± Yu Luocheng answered.


    ¡°Great! It¡¯s bad to be so addicted to gaming.¡±


    Yu Luocheng was too lazy to argue with her, so he changed the subject. ¡°When are you going back to the academy?¡±


    ¡°In a few days¡­ My coach has asked me to participate in some pre-qualifiers.¡± Yu Yu scooped up a handful of water and let it pour down her face slowly.


    The sparkling water streamed down her supple skin and trickled down from her face to her long neck, down to her collarbone and into the crevice of her breasts. It was a sight that made it near impossible to tear your eyes away from.


    ¡°Are you graduating soon?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    Yu Yu had been in training for several years now, and her coach was finally ready to release her into the real world.


    To be honest, Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t sure how far she could reach once she¡¯d set foot into the competitive world. Perhaps, in the distant future, he could even watch reports of her on television.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Yu Yu responded with a smile.


    All of a sudden, a myriad of thoughts came flooding into Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind.


    Before he had realized it, Yu Yu had dunked herself into the pool irritably. The last thing Yu Luocheng saw was a pair of slim legs splashing the water heavily, similar to how a little mermaid would cheekily splash water, onto his face.


    After paddling a considerable distance away, Yu Yu reemerged through the water surface, laughing at Yu Luocheng, who was busy wiping his face. Sticking her tongue out at him, she quickly dived back into the water when she caught Yu Luocheng glaring at her.


    While she swam underwater, Yu Luocheng could see her beautiful figure through the crystal clear water as she glided through the water with practiced agility and elegance. The well-balanced curves of her body made her swimming posture a sight to behold.


    Yu Luocheng lay in the same spot, pillowing his head with his arm as he watched his little sister glide freely in the ¡°sky¡± that belonged to her.


    It was hard to blame his parents for treating her as one of their own. She was more obedient, thoughtful, and also an admired student of a famous swimming coach. She had a bright future laid out in front of her.


    ¡®In contrast, I am nothing. Even if I enrolled in a good university, Yu Luocheng would still be a nobody. An insignificant existence among the sea of people.¡¯


    Yu Luocheng immersed his head under the water, and just as Yu Yu said, the entire world quieted down, leaving him alone; just him and his thoughts.


    ¡®But why is this supposed silence filled with chanting and screaming? Why is my name being called? Why do I see a lot of crying faces whenever I close my eyes? There is also another person in there, pointing at me and accused me of being a runaway¡­¡¯


    ¡®I wanted to apologize. I wanted to know if they were doing well¡­¡¯


    ***


    Splash!!!


    A wave of water suddenly surged toward Yu Luocheng, disrupting his ¡°meditation¡±.


    As he surfaced, he saw a pretty face drizzled with water droplets slowly sneaking away again after pranking him for the second time. He forced a smile on his face and threw himself into the pool behind her.


    ***


    Throughout the following days, Yu Luocheng continued to visit the Rising Dragon to train with Team Scarlet, but only during the night.


    Today, they finished their training at around 1-2 a.m., like they usually did, and Yu Luocheng returned home after having supper with the crew.


    His parents were fast asleep by the time he had reached home.


    Yu Jing was recovering well after the surgery. He had come home yesterday after being discharged from the hospital which had charged them a ridiculously expensive fee.


    After taking a hot bath, he went back to his room, pausing slightly before he pushed the room door open lightly.


    A sliver of light entered the room, falling upon the smaller bed where Yu Yu was sleeping.


    Yu Luocheng prepared himself for bed cautiously, so as to not wake his slumbering sister, and lay down on his own bedding.


    ¡°Bro,¡± Yu Yu¡¯s voice drifted from the smaller bed.


    ¡°Why are you still awake at this hour?¡± Yu Luocheng asked in response.


    ¡°My bus leaves at ten o¡¯clock tomorrow,¡± Yu Yu replied.


    ¡°You are leaving so fast?¡± Yu Luocheng was mildly surprised.


    ¡°Hmph, how many times have I told you?!¡±


    ¡°Well then, you¡¯d better sleep early.¡± Yu Luocheng was exhausted. He hugged his cold pillow and closed his eyes.


    ¡°My coach told me that if I won a few medals¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, right¡­¡± Yu Luocheng could barely hear what Yu Yu was saying and just agreed mindlessly.


    ¡°I can choose to¡­ then¡­ I can meet you more frequently. Are you looking forward to it?¡±


    Zzz~Zzz~


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s snoring was the only response that Yu Yu got.


    Yu Yu¡¯s voice instantly turned from gentle to high-pitched.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a heartless worm! How dare you fall asleep when I¡¯m talking to you?!¡± She threw her pillow at Yu Luocheng with all her might.


    After tossing and turning for a bit, Yu Yu felt uncomfortable without her pillow, forcing her to remain wide awake. Finally, she gave up and crawled toward Yu Luocheng¡¯s bed to retrieve it.


    ***


    The cloudy weather always brought along an age-old problem to the guys¡ªShould I effing bring an umbrella with me?


    This was a problem that had riddled men for decades¡­


    In the end, Yu Luocheng opted against it.


    He was convinced that Yang Qianqian would bring one, so there would be chances of intimacy between them on their way back.


    The Grand Finals of the Lecheng Tournament was set to begin at ten o¡¯clock. The crowd had gradually built up after eight o¡¯clock and many e-sport lovers were seen heading into the Grand Linca Emporium one after the other.


    The viewing hall was fully occupied before the match officially began, obviously owed to the successful publicity campaign launched relentlessly by the emporium management team through all channels.


    The viewing hall was not very spacious to begin with. The management had initially believed that one hall would be enough to accommodate all the LoL enthusiasts, but to their immense surprise, the place was rapidly filling up so much so that they had to direct the latecomers to the upper floors and free up the zones near the circular edge as a temporary auditorium.


    As a result, the first and second floor of the electronic emporium was crowded by a few hundred audiences. This might very well be the busiest event Grand Linca Emporium has ever experienced.


    Looking at the relatively huge crowd, Jacky Wong couldn¡¯t hold back his laughter. ¡®What a golden business opportunity!¡¯


    There was a lot of testing to be done before the finals began. All players were required to get to their seats beforehand. By nine o¡¯clock, Yu Luocheng and the members of Team Scarlet were already prepared to take the stage.


    Yu Luocheng was talking to Yin Qin when his phone rang and he picked it up without paying much attention to it.


    ¡°Where are you!?¡± Yu Yu¡¯s fuming tone could immediately be heard from the other end of the phone.


    ¡°Oh hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I leave at ten!¡± Yu Yu¡¯s voice was cold.


    ¡°I¡¯m kinda busy over here. Take good care of yourself,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, I hate you!¡±


    Du¡­ Du¡­


    Yu Yu¡¯s voice resonated loudly ever after she hung up.


    Everyone in the team looked at Yu Luocheng curiously including Yang Qianqian.


    ¡°It¡¯s my sister,¡± Yu Luocheng, embarrassed, explained as quickly and straight to the point as he could.

 Chapter 87 - AP is Not My Best Position

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    On one side of the players¡¯ bench sat the members of Team Dawn. Unlike other teams, Team Dawn did not have a coach. The owner of Dawn Cafe settled down in one corner and watched the proceedings quietly.


    Yang Ying was the leader and coach of this team as well as the president of his university¡¯s E-sport club. He had been to big scenes such as this frequently, and were it not for the huge prize being offered, he would not have been interested in such a small scale tournament.


    Yang Ying peeked over to the other side and saw Yang Qianqian standing by Team Scarlet. He muttered, ¡°How heartless of you for not supporting your own brother. If I won, I was going to give you some pocket money so that you could get some nice clothes. What¡¯s so good about that brat?¡±


    ¡°Yang Ying, I am counting on you. Other than the 30,000 yuan prize, Grand Linca is going to top up another 30,000 yuan sponsor fee. This means that each of you would be getting at least 10,000 yuan!¡± The owner of Dawn Cafe told Yang Ying.


    Ten thousand yuan was a huge sum even by Yang Ying¡¯s standard.


    Although his family never had a lack of money, his father had placed a financial constraint on him. This, however, did not apply to Yang Qianqian, who was allowed to spend as much as she wanted.


    ¡®What does a high school girl needs so much money for, anyway?¡¯


    Yang Ying had a lot of friends at his university, which meant tonnes of parties, which led to him needing money to entertain the ladies. If he managed to get his hands on the 10,000 yuan reward, he would be able to live luxuriously for the rest of the following semester.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, I had a solo battle with Team Scarlet¡¯s AP a few days ago,¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°You did? How was the match? Did you win?¡± The other members of Team Dawn clamored around him eagerly.


    Yang Ying had not been there when Team Scarlet had taken on Team Aviator, however, other members from Team Dawn had witnessed the match and unanimously agreed that the opponent¡¯s AP was going to be their biggest obstacle in winning the competition.


    Team Dawn relied heavily on Yang Ying¡¯s skill as the AP and Wu, who took on the Jungler role. Their skills were way more superior in comparison to the other members by a considerable margin.


    ¡°The victory was mine, of course. He was solo killed by me as soon as I hit level 3,¡± Yang Ying proclaimed proudly.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hua Laowu questioned him, ¡°The AP from Team Scarlet is rather slick with the Card Master, Twisted Fate.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no point even if we keep talking about it. You will see it during the game. Wu, take care of the other lanes more and leave the mid-lane to me,¡± Yang Ying answered stoutly.


    Thanks to their ace¡¯s extraordinary confidence, the morale of Team Dawn was greatly boosted.


    ***


    Ten computers had been separated and arranged into two opposing rows. The two rows slanted toward a giant LCD screen that was hung in the middle of the hall and above the LCD screen were two other projectors set up for the viewing of those on the first floor.


    Many people had gathered around the two projector screens. The viewing hall on the ground floor was even livelier as the number of audiences had reached its peak, and though the air conditioners were on at full blast, the atmosphere was undeniably feverish.


    Unlike the previous match, the Grand Finals of the Lecheng Tournament was far more impressive. Even the corporate owner of the Grand Linca was invited to give a short speech on stage.


    Right after, Huang Junjie was once again welcomed to the stage by the host.


    He was as straightforward as usual, purposely emphasizing the reward yet again. ¡°The winner of this final match will be directly awarded 30,000 yuan by Grand Linca!¡±


    ¡°Now, without further adieu, let¡¯s put our hands together to welcome the two best LoL teams of Lecheng, Team Scarlet and Team Dawn!¡± The host bellowed.


    A couple of scantily-clad promotional ladies led the way as they walked gracefully up to the arena, escorting the players from both teams to their places.


    Cheers and applause soon engulfed the arena once the players were seated.


    It was apparent that both Team Scarlet and Team Dawn had garnered their own respective fan bases after standing out from other teams throughout the tournament.


    Playing LoL at a cafe was vastly different from playing LoL alone at home. A competitive game such as this required such a vibe to be more enthralling, thus, allowing the game to be more than just a game; It would showcase an individual¡¯s passion, motivation, and ability to enrapture others.


    More than half the audience present had used to play LoL in cyber cafes and the faces of the ten qualified players was not a foreign sight whenever they stepped into one. There was an urban legend that said you would perform better in a ranked battle if you were to look up upon them before the match.


    Among all the players, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate had left behind the most memorable performance to those who had watched the match that day. Thus, when the host introduced Yu Luocheng, the cheering from the audience escalated to a whole different level.


    ¡°Damn it. One day it will be my turn!¡± Looking at the popularity received by Yu Luocheng, Wang Qin muttered sulkily but with conviction that he too, would one day reach that same level of applause.


    Meanwhile, Yang Qianqian observed Yu Luocheng quietly from the front seat. In all honesty, she found it strange how Yu Luocheng could maintain his cool in front of such thunderous applause¡­


    He, like her, was just a student in high school. Yang Qianqian still remembered the first time she had faced a great audience such as this. It was during a piano performance and due to her nervousness, she had made a lot of mistakes.


    In contrast, the calm and carefree expression exhibited on Yu Luocheng¡¯s face showed how unaffected he was by the scale of the audience. ¡®Was he born with an iron mentality or was he was already used to this type of big events in his past?¡¯


    ¡°Say, Yang Qianqian, are you really not going to tell Yu Luocheng that the guy opposing him is your brother?¡± Fang Xiaomei approached Yang Qianqian and whispered to her.


    Yang Qianqian hesitated.


    She remembered how unwilling Yu Luocheng had been to participate in such a competition at first.


    She was not stupid and after accompanying him to visit his father, she had immediately understood the main reason why Yu Luocheng was now sitting up there on the stage. She was convinced that Yu Luocheng was going after the prize to relieve his family¡¯s financial tension.


    If that was the case, she wished with all her heart that Yu Luocheng would win this final match no matter what.


    Moreover, Yu Luocheng¡¯s current opponent was her brother, Yang Ying. Her brother was never short of money and even if he did win it, he was just going to waste it meaninglessly. Yang Qianqian pondered over it and finally picked up the phone. ¡®I am betraying my brother for a good deed.¡¯


    Yang Qianqian quickly dialed Yu Luocheng¡¯s number. She could only contact him through the phone as the players were not allowed to leave the stage once they were seated.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s phone was in silent mode and when he felt the vibration, he thought it was a call from the upset Rainie. He was about to ignore it, but guilt gnawed at him for not giving his sister a proper goodbye.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Yu Luocheng was surprised. He was definitely not expecting Yang Qianqian¡¯s call. ¡®Why the sudden urgency? Why didn¡¯t you tell me just now if you had something important to say?¡¯


    ¡°The captain of Team Dawn, Yang Ying, is actually my elder brother.¡±


    ¡°Your brother?¡± Yu Luocheng was surprised.


    ¡°Yes. He is the president of the Shanghai University E-sport Club. He has participated in LoL University League before and his team was ranked as one of the top 10 in the competition. He had also taken part in several professional tournaments before. According to him, some of the professional players were not even worthy of being his match. His League Points is above 2000 as well, I believe¡­ Oh, and before I forget, his favorite champions are Fizz, Ryze, Morgana, Annie, Ahri, and Zed,¡± Yang Qianqian blurted out everything in one go.


    Yu Luocheng did not respond while Yang Qianqian fed him that large amount of shocking intel.


    ¡°Hey, are you listening?¡± Yang Qianqian asked nervously.


    ¡°Yes I am,¡± Yu Luocheng answered back.


    ¡°Then¡­ Do you think you can beat him in mid-lane?¡± Yang Qianqian asked cautiously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. AP is not my best position,¡± Yu Luocheng slowly explained.


    Yang Qianqian was dumbfounded.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate play was top-notch during the match against Team Aviator¡­


    ¡®And yet here he is telling me that AP is not his best position?!¡¯

 Chapter 88 - National Top 10 University Player

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Yin Qin noticed Yu Luocheng¡¯s troubled look and voiced out his concern.


    ¡°I dare say there are two semi-pro players on the opposing team,¡± Yu Luocheng said solemnly.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s time in LoL was relatively short and despite matching up evenly with a few pro players before, this was not a game that could be won single-handedly.


    Putting Yang Ying¡¯s prowess aside, Team Dawn still had a very difficult jungler to deal with.


    The jungler could be said to be the main pacemaker of a team. If the opponent jungler was allowed to ravage the other two lanes, Yu Luocheng would be irrelevant no matter how strong his personal skill was.


    Yu Luocheng was well aware of Team Scarlet¡¯s true power. Sure, they were above average among normal players, however, they were still far from being considered as pro players.


    ¡°Are semi-pro players¡­ really good?¡± Xiao Tongtong asked.


    Yu Luocheng repeated the information Yang Qianqian had just divulged to him.


    For a long time now, the members of Team Scarlet had planned to step onto the path of being a professional. However, they were still miles behind and could not grasp the actual definition of the power gap between teams.


    ¡°Top 10 among national universities!? That¡¯s absurd!¡± Xue Haiyang exclaimed.


    ¡°How so? They are just students, right? How good could they be?¡± Xiao Dao asked rhetorically.


    ¡°You are way too naive.¡± Xue Haiyang was a university student too and although he had been expelled for a substantial period, he was still rather familiar with the gaming environment in universities. ¡°I used to participate in LoL University League with some of my seniors before. My skills were considered below average among my teammates. Do you know what position my team placed?¡±


    Yin Qin, Xiao Dao, Xiao Tongtong, and Huang Yu looked at Xue Haiyang blankly.


    Xue Haiyang smiled bitterly. ¡°At that time, there were seven teams from my university. After the qualification rounds, my team was the only one left standing while others were sent packing. However, at the province stage, we were completely crushed by Fujian Normal University and yielded before twenty minutes had even passed.¡±


    ¡°How did your team fare that time based on your judgment?¡± Yin Qin probed curiously.


    ¡°It was several months ago. I am not entirely sure myself but I would say the team from Fujian Normal University that destroyed us was perhaps slightly stronger than Team Aviator, I guess¡­¡± Xue Haiyang said dubiously.


    ¡°I think Fujian Normal University ranked quite high in the University League. They were at least in the top 20 if I remember correctly,¡± Huang Yu chipped in.


    Yin Qin nodded. ¡®If that¡¯s the case, we are not too far away.¡¯


    The skill level of the other three players of Team Dawn should be equivalent to those from Team Aviator. With only two players from a top 10 team, they should be able to overcome the differences factored in.


    Xue Haiyang shook his head and continued, ¡°I would not be this anxious if that was all.¡±


    ¡°Why? Do you not have faith in us?¡±


    ¡°Xue Haiyang, you need to have more confidence in yourself. You have trained with the team for two months straight now. You most definitely have improved a lot.¡± Yin tried to encourage him with more positivity.


    Xue Haiyang glumly refuted Yin Qin, ¡°I was pretty optimistic at first, thinking that getting destroyed by a top 20 team is not something I should feel ashamed about. However, I got a reality check when I found out that the team that finished us off was actually the second reserve team from Fujian Normal University¡­¡±


    Yin Qin, Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, and Huang Yu were all flabbergasted.


    ¡°Second¡­ reserve?¡±


    Xue Haiyang looked at his teammates and nodded miserably.


    He had the same look that they had on their faces when he had first comprehended the cruel truth.


    ¡°Xue Haiyang, please tell me that you are just kidding. Are we really that weak?¡± Xiao Dao asked in disbelief.


    ¡°Do you think I still have the mood for jokes at this point? I am serious. I think our team is equivalent to the second reserve team of Fujian Normal University. Maybe slightly better, but no way are we near the top. By the University League standard, I can definitely say that we are out of the top 100,¡± Xue Haiyang concluded.


    ¡®Below the top 100?!¡¯


    If this claim came from other people and not their own teammate, Yu, Xiao Dao, and Xiao Tongtong would have certainly laughed it off.


    Yin Qin¡¯s face had also turned gloomy. He opened his mouth after a long pause. ¡°I think Xue Haiyang may be right. Just look at our miserable League Points in the Team Ranked match¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ You said there were two top 10 players in the opponent team. How¡¯s that possible? When did Team Dawn recruit such powerful players?¡± Xiao Dao asked.


    ¡°The original Team Dawn was eliminated in a closed-door competition,¡± Yu Luocheng explained.


    He knew this through Yang Qianqian as well.


    ¡°Eliminated?! But their team was formed way earlier than us right?¡± Yu yelped.


    Everybody¡¯s mood was further dampened.


    Team Aviator, Team Dawn, Team EZ, and Team Scarlet¡ªthese four teams were similar in strength if there weren¡¯t any external forces in play.


    The defeat of the expected winning team, Team EZ, at the hands of Team Dawn had come as a surprise to many. However, what was even more shocking was that the real Team Dawn had actually been kicked out via an internal competitive match long before the tournament had started.


    Thus, they were facing a completely different Team Dawn now! Two of them were even players from a top 10 team in the National University League!


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us something so important earlier?¡± Xiao Dao finally understood how scary the caliber of the two top 10 players were after the clear-cut comparison.


    ¡°I just found out myself¡­¡± Yu Luocheng said weakly as he turned to Yang Qianqian and gave her a miserable smile.


    Yang Qianqian gaped slightly, finding it hard to believe what she had just heard. She had never believed her brother to be such a formidable opponent. ¡®So he was not bluffing when he told me how skillful he was?¡¯


    ¡°I¡­ I should have told you earlier¡­ Also, the Fizz you fought against the other day was him too,¡± Yang Qianqian admitted hastily.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Just as I thought.¡± Yu Luocheng had been too busy chewing on his chicken feet then. He remembered clearly how he was first-blooded after a careless move.


    ***


    ¡°The game is starting. Just do your best.¡± Yin Qin tapped their shoulders, trying to raise their motivation level.


    ¡°¡­We were better off not knowing this. What a way to kill our morale before the final match,¡± Xiao Tongtong grumbled.


    Yin overheard him and shook his head.


    ¡®This piece of information was very important to us¡¯. Otherwise, they would still be in the dark and might have been complacent, which could have led to them being demolished easily by their opponent. At least now they could do something to counter the opponent and prevent a humiliating defeat.


    ¡°Can you carry the team, Luocheng?¡± Yin Qin asked Yu Luocheng discreetly when the other members had gone back to their seats.


    ¡°I am not sure. I am playing as support. Playmaking and dictating the rhythm is way beyond my capability,¡± Yu Luocheng replied honestly.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you switch roles with Huang Yu. Let him play support while you go up against the mid-laner?¡± Yin Qin suggested.


    Yu Luocheng rejected the idea. ¡°I don¡¯t think my AP skill is more superior to that guy over there. If I can¡¯t dominate him in mid-lane, then this match is over. Don¡¯t forget, they still have an excellent jungler too. Just let Huang Yu stay as our AP and I will try my best to take over the bottom lane which I am more comfortable and confident in. Make sure you ask Huang Yu to play safe.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yin Qin said nothing further after that.

 Chapter 89 - Yu Luocheng’s Lux as Support

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Alright. The players are now seated. We shall enter the banning phase!¡± The host announced energetically.


    Seeing as the match had officially started, the crowd quieted down cooperatively and the atmosphere inside the hall immediately became solemn.


    ¡°And, the first ban from Team Dawn is on Twisted Fate!¡± The host¡¯s voice went up several notches.


    Dejected sighs were immediately heard from the crowd as they saw the ban decision made by Team Dawn.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate had completely dominated the battlefield in the previous match against Team Aviator. Anyone who had watched that match would most certainly be fearful of that hero.


    ¡°Such a waste. I bet a lot of us were looking forward to witnessing his magnificent card tricks again¡­ However, this clearly indicates that even Team Dawn has recognized that the AP player from Team Scarlet is indeed their biggest threat in becoming the champions of this tournament,¡± The host continued.


    Team Scarlet, in contrast, were not bothered much by this ban. This was because their AP position this time would not be Yu Luocheng, but Yu, who had almost fully recovered from his hand injury.


    For their side, they banned an early-game hero, Lee Sin, and two AP champions which Yang Ying was good at to limit his impact on the game as much as possible.


    After the banning phase, both teams began the champion selection process.


    Xiao Dao was the first to pick and he snatched up Jarvan without any hesitation.


    Jarvan was the jungler that Xiao Dao was most familiar with. The champion had decent all-around abilities¡ªHe was extremely agile, equipped with good control skills, great ganking abilities, and was essential in a team fight. This hero was a must pick if he was not banned.


    After Xiao Dao had selected Jarvan, the opponent immediately picked Varus.


    In this Season 3 patch, the two most powerful ADCs were none other than Caitlyn and Varus. It was not because these two heroes were buffed up in the patch, but rather, the other ADCs had been ridiculously nerfed. For example, Ezreal, who used to appear frequently before, was barely seen in big games nowadays.


    Following the Varus pick, Team Dawn wasted no time in selecting Volibear.


    Volibear, the Thunder¡¯s Roar, was a jungling champion, though at times, he was also used as a support.


    In actual fact, Volibear was not a very good choice of support. The development of the ADC at the bottom lane requires the flexibility to advance and retreat swiftly. Once Volibear charges toward an enemy with Rolling Thunder, it seldom ends well. More importantly, Volibear is a melee hero and can barely intercept the enemy¡¯s attack efficiently as support.


    This particular champion is not usually picked this early, however, it seemed like the jungler from Team Dawn was very confident.


    After the Varus and Volibear picks, it was Team Scarlet¡¯s turn to select a champion.


    Huang Yu was a little hesitant on his solo-mid pick. In the end, however, he wound up choosing Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow.


    This was one of Yu¡¯s best mid champions. Although it was not the best decision to have Jayce in mid-lane when the opponent¡¯s jungler was a Volibear, Huang Yu still clicked the confirm button.


    Subsequently, it was Xiao Tongtong¡¯s turn to choose and he selected Singed, the Mad Chemist.


    ¡°Jayce and Singed. I wonder what strategy Team Scarlet is using with this formation. Let¡¯s see their next pick.¡±


    ¡°Alright. The two final champions picked by Team Dawn are Taric and Fizz. If I remember correctly, the AP from Team Dawn is Yang Ying. He played well using Kha¡¯Zix in the last match by demonstrating a perfect kill to put an end to the game. This time, he has chosen a rather unique AP¡ªFizz, the Tidal Trickster. Do stay tuned for his excellent performance.¡±


    Seeing how the opponent had chosen a mid-lane Fizz, Yu from Team Scarlet was stunned.


    He had seldom faced Fizz in the mid-lane before plus Jayce had very little advantage against Fizz in a solo skirmish. This was because the EQ-combo by Jayce could be easily dodged by Fizz¡¯s E-skill, Playful, and Trickster.


    ¡°We should have banned Fizz just now. His assault ability is too powerful to counter,¡± Yu said sonorously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will give you vision so he won¡¯t have many chances to come from the side,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    Fizz was weak in terms of a team fight. This was the main reason that this champion did not emerge much in major tournaments. Then again, recently, Fizz¡¯s playstyle was being re-innovated and people had started to use this hero a little bit more again.


    It was Team Scarlet¡¯s turn again. Yu Luocheng, who was the fourth pick did not hesitate and clicked straightaway on Lux, the Lady of Luminosity.


    ¡°Wait¡­ Lux should be the support role, right? That pick is a little odd.¡±


    The pick for Lux was even more startling than the Fizz pick.


    Lux could indeed fill in the support role, however, this champion was not a very conventional support in the sense that her importance was only more prevalent in a late-game team fight.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a switch! From Lux to Zyra¡­ I agree, Zyra is definitely a better support than Lux. Wait, he switches it back. It¡¯s Lux again! It¡¯s confirmed!¡±


    ¡°As everybody knows, Lux requires the player to have very good foresight. This is because all her skills are of the skill shot range. This champion is definitely hard to master and to play it well, the player needs to master quite a few things at the same time. I wonder to what extent can Huang Yu execute Lux as a support.¡±


    After the ban and pick phases were done, both teams were basically set and the final 30 seconds countdown started to tick.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the Grand Final of the Lecheng Coca-Cola Cup officially starts now! I believe all the LoL enthusiasts present today are deeply engrossed in this game. Let¡¯s wait and see what kind of excitement these ten players will bring to us today!¡±


    The host was definitely great at firing up the atmosphere. The entire emporium was immediately filled by the audiences¡¯ excited cheers to back up and support their favorite teams.


    It was hard to gauge how many LoL fans were in a city to begin with. But one thing for sure, the ten players sitting on the stage now were definitely the current ten best LoL players in Lecheng and their clash, without a doubt, had become the main gossip topic in the gaming society of this city.


    Plus, all the LoL fans were eager to know which team was going to nab the grand prize totaled at sixty thousand RMB and the honor of being the top team in Lecheng.


    ***


    ¡°Okay, now that we are in the loading screen, let me introduce the lineup of both teams once again.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! I did not see this coming. The Jayce at mid-lane is not controlled by Yu Luocheng!¡±


    ¡°He is playing as Lux!¡±


    ¡°Lux is carrying Exhaust as her Summoner spell which means that Yu Luocheng, who made spectacular plays with Twisted Fate in the last game, is not playing the vital AP position. He is playing as the support today!¡±


    ¡°This¡­ This is a little unreal!¡±


    The host was thrown off by this fact, as were the audience.


    The heroic play displayed by Yu Luocheng the last time around had blown a lot of people¡¯s minds away. ¡®Such a wonderful AP player has given up the mid-lane to play as a support instead? What a huge waste of talent!¡¯

 Chapter 90 - He is Asking for It

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The way Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate eliminated his enemy could only be described with one word¡ªArtistic.


    A lot of people had bought tickets to the grand finals because of Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate. They had even purchased the chromatic mouse used by Yu Luocheng without a second thought.


    Alas, just as they were anticipating another wonderful magic show by the Card Master, Team Dawn had immediately banned the hero in the first phase.


    Though slightly frustrated, they were not too disappointed by the ban. After all, they could witness another wonderful performance by a different champion at his hands this time around.


    Much to everyone¡¯s surprise, however, Yu Luocheng was playing as a support.


    This caused an uproar among the audiences. They sighed and cursed out of utter disappointment.


    Support was the least coveted position in the history of LoL. The following conversations were often heard in a ranked match.


    ¡°Why are you running? Fight!¡±


    ¡°The opponents outnumber us! It is a 2 vs 3 situation!¡±


    ¡°F*ck! There are only two champs and one support. Support does not count!¡±


    There was no doubt that most players had a tendency to neglect the support player.


    Then again, putting too much emphasis on a support would usually lose you the game.


    ***


    Regardless of how dissatisfied the crowd was, Yu Luocheng was indeed playing the position that was basically deemed useless other than placing wards.


    The disappointment the crowd felt was clearly reflected in the host¡¯s tone. He, too, had been looking forward to Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate, but he was not in a position to judge, so he explained vaguely, ¡°Support is quite an important position. A lot of captains of the professional teams actually play this role. Usually, these players do not take away the farm from the core and still make a huge contribution. Let¡¯s hope that Yu Luocheng can shine in the support role. After all, he is playing Lux¡ªa champion that demands a lot of micro-maneuvering.¡±


    In terms of team formation, let¡¯s begin with Team Scarlet!


    Top-lane Xiao Tongtong: Singed, the Mad Chemist;


    Mid-lane Huang Yu: Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow;


    Jungler Xiao Dao: Jarvan IV, the Exemplar of Demacia;


    ADC Xue Haiyang: Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover;


    Support Yu Luocheng: Luxanna Crownguard, the Lady of Luminosity.


    ¡°The team composition for Team Scarlet has a formation that is good at poking and initiating fights. It¡¯s still too early to give their team strategy a thorough definition, however,¡± the host continued.


    Team Dawn didn¡¯t exactly select a formation that synergized well in a team fight either.


    Top-lane Huang Xiangcao: Riven, the Exile;


    Mid-lane Yang Ying: Fizz, the Tidal Trickster;


    Jungler Lin Laowu: Volibear, the Thunder¡¯s Roar;


    ADC Tao Fang: Varus, the Arrow of Retribution;


    Support Zhong He: Taric, the Gem Knight.


    The host continued to comment on the team¡¯s formation. ¡°This team composition is a riddle to me. They seem to have picked the heroes randomly. But who knows, it could be pretty strong in a team fight.¡±


    After the host had re-introduced both teams, the countdown came to an end and the champions from both sides were seen spawning from their respective Fountains.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Mastery was the AP Bonus. In terms of Runes, he had selected the Gold Income Rune for Quintessence (3 gold per 10 seconds), Armor Rune for Seal, Magic Penetration Rune for Mark, and Mana Regeneration Rune for Glyph.


    His starting items were two Vision Wards and three Stealth Wards, a basic choice.


    After he had purchased the items, Yu Luocheng was the first to exit the Fountain and head straight down the mid-lane.


    Judging by the opponent¡¯s team selection, with Taric¡¯s stun and Volibear¡¯s charge, it was quite likely that they were going for a team fight at level 1.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s Spawn was placed up at the Red Spawn (top right position of the map).


    The first defense ward Yu Luocheng placed was at the cross junction between the river and the opponent¡¯s Raptor camp. Not long after the ward had been placed, it soon revealed the opponent team¡¯s Taric passing by.


    Yu Luocheng was lightning quick in buying his items, for without the few seconds he saved from being the first to rush out from the Fountain, Yu Luocheng would not have dared to place a ward at such a dangerous position.


    After setting down his protective ward, he immediately headed back to the bottom lane.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, this support from Team Scarlet is very professional. He first used Lux¡¯s E-skill to expand his vision, and only then did he place the ward at the tribush of the bottom lane.¡±


    Perhaps Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate had made such a big impact thus causing the camera to be unconsciously focused on him from time to time.


    ¡°Do take note of these two ward positions. There is a lot of careful consideration behind it. If you are spawning from the red side, then you only need to place a ward between the Raptor¡¯s camp and the river, thereafter placing another ward at the tribush near bottom lane. This single action has fulfilled several objectives all at once.¡±


    ¡°Why did I say that? First of all, this ward can prevent the opponent from coming up to the Red side¡¯s blue buff zone and initiating war as early as level 1.¡±


    ¡°Secondly, the ward would last for 180 seconds, which was basically three minutes. To a certain extent, the first ward that he placed in the cross junction would allow the mid-solo champion to farm safely as it could prevent the opponent jungler from ganking the mid-lane right after taking his red buff. A champion like Volibear was good at ganking as soon as he reached level 2. One mistake could cost the mid-lane champion to be first blood easily.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, if the opponent jungler had intended to gank the bottom lane through the river, Volibear would first have to pass through the juncture where the ward has been placed. If the mid and bottom heroes decided to sandwich him, then he might as well have gone for wool and come home shorn . 1 ¡±


    ¡°Which brings us to the second ward at the bottom lane¡¯s tribush. This completely seals off any possibility of the enemy jungler sneaking through their jungle to gank the bottom lane.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s safe to say that his ward placement has completely blocked off the two obligatory ganking routes. If the jungler had plans to make something happen at the bottom lane during the early phase, then I have only one thing to say, and that is NO WAY.¡±


    The skill level of a support player could easily be seen by his warding choices.


    There were not a lot of pro players among the audience and they were not especially fascinated by Yu Luocheng¡¯s warding at first. But upon listening to the host¡¯s explanation, everyone came to realize the brilliance of those two wards in protecting the red side¡¯s bottom lane.


    ***


    Team Dawn had attempted to infiltrate Team Scarlet¡¯s jungle from the start but after patrolling the area and finding no one, they decided to retreat back to their red buff zone.


    The first ninty seconds of the game passed peacefully. All players, except the junglers, were present on their respective lanes.


    ¡°Everyone, please pay attention to the mid-lane. Team Dawn¡¯s Volibear has just appeared beside the ward. Indeed, he wanted to gank mid-lane right after taking down the red buff. Without the ward, Jayce would definitely have needed to surrender his Flash if he had been caught out of position.¡±


    Volibear had been there for only three seconds when he realized that his cover must have been blown. He immediately walked back into his blue buff region to continue levelling.


    Xiao Dao also saw Volibear but he was reluctant to fight him for the blue buff. Volibear was a very powerful champion during the early phase and it would be extremely unwise to invade the beast¡¯s jungle now.


    ***


    ¡°The mid-laner is not the Twisted Fate from the previous game,¡± Laowu conversed with Yang Ying as he secured the blue buff.


    ¡°I think my sister is the snitch. Hehe. How wise of him to play as the support instead¡­ However, why Lux? He is asking for some, and he will definitely get some,¡± Yang Ying said complacently.


    During their solo battle, Yang Ying had been using Fizz while Yu Luocheng had used Lux. In the end, Yang Ying had managed to kill him at level 3. Now in the official match, they were once again using the same heroes they had used in their solo battle.


    This time however, Yu Luocheng was a support, which posed little to no threat toward Yang Ying¡¯s mid-lane Fizz. Worse yet, Lux might even become Fizz¡¯s ATM for the rest of the game!

 Chapter 91 - A Beast with Killer Instinct

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Nothing much is happening in the two side lanes for now while on the other hand, Fizz and Jayce have been confronting each other rather frequently in the mid-lane.¡±


    ¡°Fizz got out from the Fountain with Mana and Health Potions. Logically speaking, Jayce would be the better Champion at Level 2 and 3 since he has six abilities to his expense. However, Jayce has failed to establish an advantage here due to Fizz¡¯s larger regenerative supply as compared to his.¡±


    In the mid-lane, Yang Ying¡¯s Fizz farmed aggressively and confidently, never once backing down from the frequent exchanges with Jayce at Level 2 to 3.


    Though Fizz had lost most of the early clashes, he was able to hold his own weight thanks to his sufficient supply of regenerative potions. Jayce, who had bought a Long Sword and only two Health Potions was unable to do much more than sustain himself.


    ***


    The bottom-lane was rather quiet as both sides carried on with their CS peacefully with minimal contact between champions.


    The support player was the only one free enough to take note of what was happening in the other lanes. When Yu Luocheng saw his teammate¡¯s icon on the left-hand side of his screen beaming with the red attack signal, he knew a fight must have been broken out in the mid-lane.


    ¡°FIRST BLOOD!!!¡±


    Soon, the first kill of the game was announced!


    The champion icon that appeared on his screen was green, meaning it was his teammate that had obtained the first kill.


    Yang Ying was taken down by Yu. Fizz had been over-aggressive and when he had overstepped his safe boundaries, he had gotten caught by Xiao Dao¡¯s Jarvan who had come out from the fog.


    As soon as Fizz was struck by the red buff, he knew his fate was sealed and gave up resisting. Yang Ying didn¡¯t even bother to pop his Flash.


    ¡°Excellent play! Team Scarlet has obtained first blood! The 400 gold earned will be extremely important for Jayce¡¯s development. Fizz from Team Dawn was a bit too careless in this play.¡±


    Since Jayce had already bought a Long Sword at the beginning of the game, he could now upgrade it to a Brutalizer with the 400 gold once he returned to the base. The item would give Jayce a bigger advantage in battling Fizz.


    ¡°That¡¯s not all. Let me gank him one more time and that Fizz is basically done for,¡± Xiao Dao said confidently.


    If Fizz was oppressed during the early game and failed to get any kills until mid-game, this Champion was basically useless during late-game. Xiao Dao knew the opponent team¡¯s AP was extremely skilled, so he decided to keep ganking him.


    Yu Luocheng pressed the Tab key to check the CS count between the two teams when he heard what Xiao Dao had just said and immediately frowned upon seeing the scores.


    ¡®Fizz¡¯s CS is five more than Jayce¡¯s?¡¯


    Now, Fizz is a melee hero. By right, the difficulty for a melee champion to CS is much higher as compared to a ranged champion like Jayce. Fizz had managed to surpass Jayce even though the disruption by the latter was considered quite effective.


    It was hard to tell who would come out on top when a kill happened without warning during the laning phase. This would heavily influence both the jungler as well as the opponent champions¡¯ early-game advantage. If a player still managed to stay ahead in CS despite the unfavorable circumstances, it spoke volumes about the player¡¯s true strength.


    ¡°Yu, be mindful of your CS,¡± Yu Luocheng reminded Huang Yu.


    Huang Yu¡¯s CS was currently ten creeps behind his team¡¯s ADC. Normally, the solo player at mid-lane should have more CS than the bottom-lane¡¯s ADC. The fact that he was now behind could mean only one thing¡ªHis farm had actually been greatly affected by Fizz.


    ***


    The bottom was still pretty quiet. Other than the first two wards, Yu Luocheng had not done much warding after that.


    This was not because he was intentionally putting the bottom-lane at risk. On the contrary, he knew that unless Volibear tried to go round them from behind, they were well protected by the two early wards.


    Lux¡¯s Q-Light Binding and Caitlyn¡¯s E-90 Caliber Net were good enough to hinder the Volibear¡¯s ambush.


    With less emphasis on warding, Yu Luocheng would be able to buy the Philosopher¡¯s Stone earlier than the opponent¡¯s support.


    For his next item, Yu Luocheng quickly decided on Spellthief¡¯s Edge. No matter what, his priority with Lux as a support was to buy these two farming items as quickly as possible.


    Aside from the extra income, these two items actually suited Lux in other aspects too. The Philosopher¡¯s Stone improved her mana regeneration while Spellthief¡¯s Edge boosted her ability power and this provided Lux with more laning capability and slightly better burst damage.


    It was best not to underestimate Lux¡¯s damage even if she was just a support at the bottom-lane. A standard Lux combo could easily halve the HP of opponent¡¯s ADC after all.


    ***


    Xue Haiyang took advantage of the absence of Taric¡¯s ability from his cooldown and pressed his skill keys hastily. That was when blood was spilled once again in the mid-lane.


    Yu Luocheng immediately switched his vision to the mid-lane.


    ¡°DOUBLE KILL!!¡±


    As soon as his camera focused on the mid-lane, the system immediately announced that Fizz had just achieved a double-kill!


    Yu Luocheng furrowed his brows. From their positioning, he was quite sure that this must have been the result of a counter-gank by the opponent¡¯s Volibear when Jarvan had attempted to take down Fizz for a second time.


    Volibear was a very good champion for counter-ganking and his teammates must have released their skills or spells way too early, which subsequently allowed the bear to tank the damage from both of them and then counter-pursue them with Fizz.


    The enemy jungler was rather smart too in giving both kills to Fizz. The double-kill at level 6 had immediately brought Fizz¡¯s net worth up by a great margin.


    Yu Luocheng took another peek at the CS count and realized Fizz¡¯s score was still tied with Jayce. In other words, his team¡¯s mid-lane would be playing from behind from this point onward.


    ***


    The unfavorable development did not cease there and in less than half a minute, Xiao Tongtong at the top-lane was the next to fall, this time, slain by Riven and again, Volibear. The kill count had changed from 1 : 0 to 1 : 3 in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°Team Dawn¡¯s jungler is playing extremely well. He has created three kills for his team in under one minute. This is a Bear with great killer instinct!¡± The host exclaimed.


    Xiao Tongtong could only watch helplessly as a large mob of minions advanced under his tower.


    ¡°D*mn, I thought he was going to recall and didn¡¯t see this coming. How absurd for him to come top and gank me with that small bit of HP left,¡± Xiao Tongtong muttered.


    The jungler from Team Dawn had lost over two thirds of his HP after the mid-lane clash. Normally, any jungler would recall instantly to the Fountain to replenish and stock up on items after a successful kill. Not in this case though, as his sudden appearance at the top-lane caught Xiao Tongtong by surprise.


    Volibear¡¯s passive regeneration was equivalent to 1/3 of his maximum HP. Added to his remaining 1/3 HP, that would leave him with 2/3 HP. Thus, the jungler had no need to recall.


    Xiao Tongtong had failed to anticipate that. Credit must be given to the enemy¡¯s jungler as well, judging by how well he understood Volibear¡¯s limit as well as his accurate decision to gank top regardless of his champion¡¯s relatively low HP.


    ***


    ¡°Xue Haiyang, let find an opening at level 6. Our target is to take down Taric quickly. Be careful not to be rooted by Varus,¡± Yu Luocheng instructed.


    ¡°Alright, but please make sure that you can root Taric first,¡± Xue Haiyang replied.


    Yu Luocheng nodded.


    Up to this point, Yu Luocheng had not really used his Q-Light Binding. It was not because he had no confidence, but a successful binding before he had even obtained his ultimate skill would not lead to any meaningful development.


    Things were different after level 6, though. Lux¡¯s burst damage after level 6 was rather terrifying. True, Taric was a strong tank, however, his tankiness came from his armor that had minimal magic resistance.


    Xue Haiyang quietly trimmed down Taric¡¯s HP knowing that Lux would be targeting him.


    Yu Luocheng purposely faked a missed-positioning when he felt that the timing was right.


    As predicted, Taric was unable to resist the temptation, and being an attack-type support, he walked out from the bush to directly cast a stunning skill on Yu Luocheng¡¯s Lux.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the bottom-lane¡­ Lux from Team Scarlet has just made a mistake in her positioning¡­¡± The host immediately dragged the screen to bottom lane.


    Instantly, everyone in the viewing hall perked up.


    The bottom-lane had been too quiet throughout the game. A lot of people had begun to wonder if the godlike Twisted Fate player was really playing in this grand final.


    Their eyes were burned with excitement, eager to witness the fight that was imminent at the bottom-lane.

 Chapter 92 - It Sounds Like a Different Game

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Light Binding!


    With a swift twist of the wand in her hand, a pearly white radiance flew straight toward Taric, the Gem Knight.


    Taric had been walking straight toward Yu Luocheng¡¯s Lux and it was impossible to evade the attack at such a short distance.


    Taric did not show any intention of evading anyway as the damage of the spell was insignificant to the champion¡¯s high HP.


    ¡°Finish him!¡± Zhong He, the support from Team Dawn yelled.


    Root, unlike stun, only disabled a champion from moving or relocating. A stun like Taric¡¯s however, could still be executed even when the champion was rooted.


    Zhong He¡¯s decision to dash out from the bush meant that he was going straight in for the kill.


    Taric released his skill, Dazzle, and a white, glittering powder immediately flew across the air in a perfect arc toward Lux.


    As Taric¡¯s ability had a visible projection, Yu Luocheng calmly pressed down on his R key when he saw his opponent releasing the stun spell.


    Final Spark!


    Light magic danced radiantly in front of Lux.


    The light particles concentrated and shot forward, parallel to the flat ground. A few seconds later, the ray of light penetrated the air from the bush straight toward the opposite tower.


    Though Taric¡¯s Dazzle did hit Lux, Yu Luocheng had still managed to release Final Spark in time. The ultimate skill, following Lux¡¯s gentle shout, landed precisely on the Gem Knight¡¯s armor plate.


    Taric¡¯s HP dropped drastically after he sustained the shockingly high burst damage.


    Clap!


    A Snap Trap had been placed quickly under Taric¡¯s feet. Ocean had been prepared to follow up as the main source of damage, and Caitlyn moved forward boldly to ensure that she could get the highest damage output.


    Taric had wanted to further reduce Lux¡¯s Armor with Shatter. However, the Snap Trap placed right on time by Caitlyn had him rooted once again!


    ¡°Shit!!¡± The support from Team Dawn cursed in irritation.


    The close to four seconds he had spent immobilised coupled with Lux¡¯s horrifying burst damage had taken away most of his HP. Zhong He lost all his courage to march forward and quickly surrendered his Flash in an attempt to flee.


    But, almost as if it had been rehearsed beforehand, just as the depleted Taric Flashed away, Lux¡¯s Lucent Singularity and Caitlyn¡¯s Piltover Peacemaker¡ªtwo super long-ranged abilities¡ªhit him simultaneously!


    The two followed-up skills erased Taric¡¯s last hope of getting out alive.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡±


    After a painful shriek, Taric was shattered by Caitlyn¡¯s Pacifier and fell to the ground covered in blood.


    ***


    Tao Fang¡¯s Varus pushed forward after witnessing the death of his teammate. He hoped to at least take out Lux, who was equally low in health points.


    The shield on Lux was going to vanish soon so she would definitely be killed with another two basic attacks by Varus.


    Yu Luocheng did not use Flash immediately. Instead, he controlled his champion to walk back into the bush so as to conceal Lux from Varus¡¯s vision.


    Varus still had a lot of HP left and he chased after Lux without much hesitation, trying to block off her path back to the tower.


    However, when he entered the edge of the bush, he realized Lux was running in the opposite direction instead and was about to reach the bush on their side.


    ¡®It¡¯s too far away!¡¯


    Tao Fang held no reservations and used Flash to garner a sure-kill.


    In spite of that, Yu Luocheng must have foreseen this when he chose that particular escape route, for he too used his Flash at the same time as Varus. He re-appeared right on the edge outside the attack range of the opponent¡¯s tower.


    The ADC from Team Dawn sneered.


    ¡®Lux has no room to escape now. She is going to be killed for sure once my Q-skill cooldown is up.¡±


    Clap!


    Suddenly, the sounds of snapping metal came from under Varus¡¯s feet.


    ¡®Snap Trap?! D*mn, it¡¯s that f*cking Sheriff¡¯s trap!¡¯


    Varus had been too obsessed with Lux, not noticing the trap that had been placed near the edge of the bush.


    The deadly trap had Tao Fang in full panic!


    ¡®Get off now! Just one more hit on Lux!¡¯


    Bang!


    Out of nowhere, a headshot by Caitlyn put Varus to the ground for good before he was able to escape the trap.


    ¡°DOUBLE KILL!!!¡±


    Double kill!


    In the end, Varus was unable to land the final hit.


    Tao Fang¡¯s face completely changed when he was killed.


    He had done the calculation beforehand. He could have taken down Lux and still escape with sufficient HP.


    Unfortunately, he had forgotten about Caitlyn¡¯s Snap Trap.


    He had thrown all of his abilities and even his Summoner spell. That clash in the bottom lane should have gotten at least one head in return. The 0 to 2 score was unacceptable and would turn the bottom-lane heavily in Team Scarlet¡¯s favor.


    ¡°Such beautiful coordination!¡± The host yelled in excitement.


    When the audience witnessed how Lux had survived with that timely Flash to the most extreme position near the enemy tower, the crowd burst into exuberant applause.


    ¡°The stronger combination of Varus and Taric was supposed to have dominated this fight. I think a lot of the audience must be wondering how Team Scarlet was able to execute such a beautiful double-kill at the bottom lane. I am going to analyze and explain the fight from the start. To be honest, I am getting more and more impressed by Yu Luocheng from Team Scarlet,¡± the host carried on, unable to reign in his enthusiasm.


    ¡®Eh, isn¡¯t this all thanks to Caitlyn¡¯s foresight for placing the trap strategically? Why is the host more impressed by the support? Besides, it was the Caitlyn who scored the double-kill!¡¯


    A lot of people were confused by the host¡¯s claim. They wondered what kind of high-level play could they have missed in that previous fight.


    ¡°Alright, videographer, please give us a replay of that fight!¡±


    The replay rolled all the way back to Yu Luocheng¡¯s supposed positioning error.


    ¡°I think at first, almost all of us would think that this is an error. However, look at Lux¡¯s subsequent action.¡±


    ¡°This is clearly a bait. Lux immediately cast Light Binding as soon as Taric walked up to her.¡±


    ¡°This is the most classic scene. Everyone, please pay close attention here.¡±


    In the replay scene, Lux followed up her Q-Binding skill directly with her ultimate.


    ¡°I bet most of you are confused over this move. Lux¡¯s standard combo should be E-skill after Q-Binding, and only then, her ultimate, right?¡±


    ¡°Look over here. Taric¡¯s stun was already out. If she had applied the standard combo at this point, she would not have been able to get her ultimate out in time. More importantly, this player actually utilized a very classic technique, which was to cancel the effect of the stun with Lux¡¯s ultimate,¡± The host said animatedly.


    ¡®What? Lux¡¯s ultimate can be used to cancel a stun?¡¯


    To most viewers, the host¡¯s explanation made no sense.


    In the front seats, Wang Qin looked at Yang Qianqian, puzzled.


    For her part, Yang Qianqian did not understand a single word either.


    ¡°This actually requires very meticulous control. See here, Lux¡¯s ultimate was released at the exact moment she was hit by Taric¡¯s Dazzle.¡±


    ¡°As you are all aware, Lux¡¯s ultimate is like Ezreal¡¯s ulti. There is a swing back motion before they release the skill. Once this motion occurs, the ulti can not be broken unless the champion is killed!¡±


    ¡°In other words, this player has made use of the stun from his opponent to release Lux¡¯s ultimate. Since it could not be broken, his champion kept the cast motion going even after she was stunned, so this indirectly defused one second of the stun period and rendered Taric¡¯s Dazzle useless.¡±


    ¡®Unbreakable ulti?! Timing the ultimate right so that the cast motion could not be stopped? The hell¡­¡¯


    The viewing hall suddenly fell silent after the host finished his sentence.


    ¡®F*ck! Is that even possible?¡¯


    At that moment, a lot of players began to wonder if Yu Luocheng was actually playing a completely different game than theirs.

 Chapter 93 - Deceiving Tactics

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t underestimate this small detail. If he didn¡¯t have the skill to get that one second timed right, Varus would have gotten the kill instead.¡±


    The host was definitely also an experienced player to be able to grasp such details. Yu Luocheng himself had only learned this tactic recently during a fight against Ezreal.


    If an ADC player were to use Ezreal against champions like Vayne or Varus, he would definitely have problems upon reaching level 6. The reason being, Ezreal required time to channel his ulti, and the chance of his ulti missing the target was also high.


    So, how could an Ezreal fight against Vayne or Varus?


    Simply put, if Ezreal¡¯s ulti could first hit Vayne and subsequently four creeps behind her, this would fully stack his attack speed passive. Then, by throwing and landing his E and Q skills, all while avoiding getting Condemned into the wall, there was a possibility for him to win that solo fight.


    Another way is that if you were Ezreal, and you realized that you were going to be Condemned into the wall, unless you have Flash, just throw an ulti straight at her, much like how Lux had managed to use her ulti while under the effects of Taric¡¯s Dazzle.


    Of course, the skills required for this sort of maneuver was high.


    Back to the topic at hand, the host continued to narrate and analyze the 2 vs 2 at the bottom lane.


    ¡°Everyone, please direct your attention to Lux¡¯s escape route.¡±


    ¡°After the immobilizing effect from Varus¡¯ ulti wore off, the Lux player chose to run in the opposite direction, instead of running toward his own base. This is because he knew that he would not be able to outrun Varus. Even if he had used Flash, Varus could have easily done the same.¡±


    ¡°Heading into the bushes and putting some distance between them, he let Varus use Flash to close that distance. He then immediately Flashed into a strategic angle, which he knew that in order for Varus to get to him, Varus would need to step onto Caitlyn¡¯s Snap Trap.¡±


    ¡°Experienced players can calculate and utilize their surroundings in the shortest amount of time needed. Varus walking into Caitlyn¡¯s trap was definitely not a fluke, it was all calculated while the player was planning his escape. This is why I¡¯m getting more impressed by this player¡¯s skill! There aren¡¯t many who can deduce strategies calmly under the pressure of this kind of situation!¡±


    The audience was shocked after listening to the host¡¯s run-through.


    ¡®For real? Stepping into Caitlyn¡¯s trap was also calculated? And it was planned while running for his life?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Qin cursed.


    At the beginning, Wang Qin had thought that Yu Luocheng was just a player with slightly more experience than him. But after a few more games, he¡¯d finally realized that if Yu Luocheng was a god, then he was just a mere mortal. In short, they weren¡¯t even on the same level!


    Bottom lane¡¯s beautiful double kill brought the scores back to 3 : 3, and the audience who were previously watching Yu Luocheng¡¯s performance in resentment couldn¡¯t help but be awed by the level of skill displayed by him.


    Now that Caitlyn had gotten two kills, Varus and Taric were feeling pressured at the bottom lane. The crowd began to anticipate what other kind of brilliant strategies Yu Luocheng¡¯s Lux would bring out.


    Returning to base, Yu Luocheng bought two passive gold items and three wards. The reason he bought three wards in one go was because he knew that Fizz and Volibear would start visiting the bottom lane frequently after this. His placement of wards for vision control was on point, sealing all entry points at the bottom lane. This would help them avoid ambushes from the jungler as well as the mid-laner.


    Ocean continued to farm creeps, whilst the opponent Varus was being more cautious as to avoid Caitlyn¡¯s passive¡ªHeadshot. Receiving a Headshot from Caitlyn now when she was already in possession of a B.F. Sword would demolish his health bar substantially.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, Taric has used a Vision Ward to clear the ward from the tribush, meaning Lux doesn¡¯t have any more Vision Wards in her inventory.¡±


    ¡°Lux and Caitlyn have started to back away a little! This is a good strategy.¡±


    ¡°You have to be alert when you are playing at the bottom lane. If your opponent has not been clearing your wards, and suddenly they start to do so, this means either the mid lane or jungler are planning to make an appearance sometime soon!¡±


    The host elaborated on his observation, letting the audience know some basic laning strategy for the bottom lane.


    ***


    ¡°Should I head in and check?¡±


    Seeing that Fizz was not in the mid lane, Yu Luocheng grew more alert. Looking at the bush in which he had lost vision, he was almost certain that Fizz was in it. He only couldn¡¯t be sure whether Volibear was also inside with Fizz. Hesitating for a moment, he couldn¡¯t decide on how to proceed. After a few more moments of debating, Huang Yu made the decision for them.


    ¡°Both of you retreat; I¡¯ll push the middle lane tower.¡±


    Xiao Dao¡¯s Jarvan was still rounding at the top lane, meaning he wouldn¡¯t make it to middle lane in time to help with pushing. Yu Luocheng nodded, retreating back under the tower.


    Suddenly, there was a loud commotion in the middle lane!


    When Huang Yu¡¯s Jayce was nearing the middle tower along with the minion wave, Fizz and Volibear had appeared from the side bush and caught him, slaughtering him in an instance.


    ¡°What¡ª¡±


    Huang Yu was speechless. They weren¡¯t at the bottom lane, they had been lying in wait at mid lane all the while! Team Dawn¡¯s strategy had really managed to deceive them all. Once Jayce was down, Fizz, Volibear and the bottom lane duo would surely go for the nearest objective¡ªDragon.


    Sure enough, the four mentioned players made a beeline towards the dragon pit, claiming the objective within seconds. Yu Luocheng furrowed his brow. The Dragon had always been an important objective to control, as it gave global experience and was a way to get an advantage in gold gained for the team.


    By using this deceptive tactic to make their opponents drop their guard which in turn allowed them to claim their objective, Team Dawn had really lived up to their reputation as one of the top ten among national universities. It looked like Team Dawn really had an outstanding command of strategies in the game!

 Chapter 94 - Demolished Mid Lane

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After claiming the Dragon, Fizz became even fatter, easily overpowering Jayce in the mid lane. Each time Fizz managed to kill Jayce, he would circle and dance on top of his opponent¡¯s body, clearly showing off how easy he thought it was.


    ¡°This guy is getting out of control,¡± Huang Yu muttered darkly.


    To counter Fizz, it would be best to build up on magic resistance, but if Jayce were to head toward that build, his skills would be rendered useless. For now, he could only use his E and Q skills to farm under his tower. Even if Jarvan came to gank the mid lane, Volibear would surely appear and they would lose the fight, trading one head after another. Fizz and Volibear didn¡¯t seem too concerned about the bottom lane, but they seemed intent on crushing the middle lane.


    Twenty minutes into the game, Jayce only had a Last Whisper in his inventory. Although the last tier of Last Whisper had armor piercing, it wouldn¡¯t deal much damage even with his E-Q combo with Jayce¡¯s basic damage being so low to begin with.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s bottom lane seemed to have a great advantage for now, but even with that, it wouldn¡¯t be able to make up for their mid lane and jungler¡¯s low gold income.


    Huang Yu decided to play it safe and farm with his skills under tower, seeing as Fizz had dominated the lane and he couldn¡¯t do much.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re safe under the tower, don¡¯t you?¡± Team Dawn¡¯s captain¡ªYang Ying, laughed.


    Once his minion wave had reached Team Scarlet¡¯s tower, Yang Ying farmed leisurely, waiting for his opportunity. When Jayce took a step forward to last hit the cannon minion, Fizz grasped the chance and threw out his ulti!


    ¡°Feeding time!¡±


    A bright, green fish flew towards Jayce, accurately hitting and circling him as a big dotted circle appeared underneath him, morphing into a pool of water. A big shadow slowly appeared beneath, followed by a gigantic white shark with an open jaw full of razor-sharp teeth which snapped shut around Jayce, as though to snap him right in half!


    Seastone Trident! Urchin Strike!


    Fizz dashed forward, landing a burst of damage on Jayce which reduced his health drastically. Huang Yu was quick to switch back to Hammer Stance to knock Fizz back, however, Fizz countered with Playful to avoid the strike!


    Fizz continued his relentless assault against Jayce, and Jayce could only receive damage without being able to retaliate. Jayce led Fizz under the tower, hoping that the tower shots would be enough to end Fizz. After a few more rounds of attack from Fizz¡¯s Seastone Trident effect which gave him bonus magic damage, he then Ignited Jayce and retreated confidently.


    ¡°With the amount of health Jayce has left, Ignite probably wouldn¡¯t be able to finish him off!¡± The host said into his microphone, watching as Fizz walked away. ¡°Is Fizz letting him go just like that?¡±


    1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds¡­


    Jayce¡¯s remaining health dwindled down to zero once it hit the five-second mark, falling to the ground with a pitiful moan. He was killed by the damage over time on-hit effect of Fizz¡¯s Seastone Trident!


    ¡°Oh, I forgot that Fizz¡¯s W skill has a bleeding effect. Yang Ying really has a great grasp and calculation on Fizz¡¯s actual damage from the passive!¡± The host continued, looking at the screen where Jayce¡¯s lifeless body lay.


    Killed under his own tower, with no way to retaliate.


    Huang Yu kicked his leg out in anger, his face turning a furious shade of red.


    ***


    His screen blacked out suddenly after that, and he turned to look under his table in panic. Only then did he realize that in his anger, he had kicked out his computer¡¯s cable from its socket!


    This cyber cafe was newly built; hence the cables were not properly hidden yet. He remembered that the employees had cautioned them about this matter. Huang Yu had not expected himself to be so careless as to forget that fact and made such a mistake in his anger.


    The referee was quick to react, announcing a pause in the game as soon as he noticed. The screen paused and the audience let out a disappointed groan.


    ¡°We appear to have run into some technical issues.¡± The host was quick to follow up with an explanation. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take too long to rectify, we do ask for your patience for a little while.¡±


    To avoid the dwindling of the audiences¡¯ excitement, the host continued. ¡°While we have this little break, why don¡¯t we analyze what has gone on in the match so far.¡±


    ¡°At the top lane, Riven had lane dominance over Singed in the early stage. Now, twenty minutes in, Singed finally started to level out the gold earned. His value in a team fight was probably slightly higher than Riven now, but Riven could peel for her team easily too. They are probably even now.¡±


    ¡°At middle lane, the confrontation between Jayce and Fizz had already started since the beginning of the game. Apart from the first gank by Jarvan at mid which gave them first blood, Volibear and Fizz have been snowballing the lane and gaining the upper hand. Subsequent to that, Fizz¡¯s last tower dive kill has effectively crippled the middle lane.¡±


    ¡°Team Dawn¡¯s captain obviously has a great understanding and in-depth knowledge of Fizz¡¯s overall skills and mechanics. You can see it in the way he utilizes his skill shots to the fullest, overpowering Team Scarlet¡¯s captain at the middle lane.¡±


    The host paused for a moment and then hurried to add. ¡°We have just received some information moments ago, Team Dawn¡¯s captain, Yang Ying, is placed top ten in the country. In simpler terms, his level is comparable to that of some professional players!¡±


    Tenth place in the whole national universities division! The entire audience was in awe after the host made that spectacular announcement. There were about 2,000 universities in the country, and each of the universities had big groups of e-sport enthusiasts. For those playing games the whole day in their dormitories, who would have thought a god-like player would appear from there?


    To be ranked tenth among the 2,000 universities, that described how terrifying his abilities were.


    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder his Fizz could overpower Jayce.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s already got such a strong performance with that kill under the tower. His skill is really on a whole other level.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say, I was wondering how Team Dawn got so strong. So it¡¯s actually because they managed to recruit a god-like player.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, what placement did our Lecheng University get?¡±


    Lecheng, while quite famous, was not yet a 211 university.


    ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s definitely not within the top ten.¡±


    At this point, there were a few youths that lowered their heads, face flushed with embarrassment. These were clearly Lecheng University students.


    In fact, Xue Haiyang was also a Lecheng University student. After he had been defeated by Fujian University¡¯s third team, the taste of defeat could be described like those popular stories on the internet:


    Your girlfriend sent you a text message asking to break up. When you haven¡¯t even had the time to grieve, she suddenly sends you a follow-up message ¡°Sorry, wrong person.¡±.


    Xue Haiyang knew that it was Fujian University¡¯s third team that had brought them down, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel the same kind of feeling as when you read the part ¡°Sorry, wrong person.¡±

 Chapter 95 - Minions Have Reached the Tower

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There was a thought all along that LoL matches should also have a half-time. This was to alleviate the tension from both teams in these matches, while also giving them time to regroup with the team and discuss further strategies for the match.


    However, there wasn¡¯t any rules for a break in the game, so they made it themselves¡ªmanual pause.


    That¡¯s to say, players would do things like kick out the internet cable, scream that the computer was lagging or that the screen froze midway, press R and state that their Q is not working¡­ the list goes on.


    The bottom line was, Huang Yu had made a great choice unknowingly, which was accidentally kicking the cable out of anger once he had gotten thrashed at mid lane. This allowed a short reprieve from the opponent¡¯s constant barrage of attacks which had been snow-balling the lane.


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everyone,¡± Huang Yu said dejectedly.


    In this tournament, he had already messed up and let his team endure a 4 vs 5 in the first match. Now in the final match, although he was the team¡¯s captain, he kept getting wrecked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t blame you, that Fizz is really too good.¡± Yin Qin replied calmly.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head in agreement. From the moment Fizz had started farming, he could already tell that this player was so much better than Huang Yu in terms of skills. Not only was he skilled, he also had the support of a great jungler. Huang Yu was basically forced to face two semi-pro players in this match up alone.


    Also, due to Xiao Dao¡¯s Jarvan being killed the few times he chose to gank, he was already behind in terms of gold earned. He had no choice but to give up on mid lane and help out more at the top and bottom lanes. Even by doing so, he was still lagging behind in items as compared to the opponent jungler.


    ¡°The host had also revealed the opponent mid-laner¡¯s information just now. He really is one of the top ten in the LoL University League.¡± Yin Qin recapped.


    ¡°How can they be so good? They aren¡¯t even professionals but we¡¯re being pressured until there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± Huang Yu said helplessly.


    Huang Yu Wong rarely met such good adversaries, especially ones that could retaliate so strongly even after he had gained the advantage of first blood. He was even killed under his own tower! Was this what players from the top ten in the LoL University League were capable of?


    Team Scarlet¡¯s goal was to be professional players aiming to join the LPL tournament. But now, a semi-pro player from the University League was already giving them such a problem and this was a huge blow to their confidence. How were they supposed to win this match?


    ¡°Maybe you can try to force a team fight. Before Fizz returns to the mid lane, their team should be slightly weaker.¡± Yin Qin suggested.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t.¡±


    In terms of team fighting, Jayce¡¯s crowd control was better than Fizz. Without his items however, it would not be enough. If they initiated a team fight, all Volibear had to do was just stand in front and take the damage and Jayce would be rendered useless. More importantly, their top lane Singed was not developed enough yet. Forcing a team fight too early would make Singed¡¯s use in a team fight lower.


    ¡°Xiao Tongtong, play your Singed a bit more unconventionally.¡± Yu Luocheng said. ¡°Try to attract their jungler¡¯s attention as much as you can. Best if you go for Proxy Farming.¡±


    ¡°Proxy farming? Are you sure?¡± Xiao Tongtong asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Even if you get caught and die, you won¡¯t lose out on that much gold. Basically you need to hurry back to your lane and give Riven and Volibear some kills. It¡¯s better than letting them demolish it the whole way.¡±


    ***


    After Huang Yu¡¯s computer cable was reconnected, the players returned to their seats. As the big screen entered into a countdown, the players got ready to re-enter the match. As per Yu Luocheng¡¯s suggested strategy of playing unconventionally, Xiao Tongtong tried to attract Fizz and Volibear¡¯s attention.


    What is proxy farming?


    It requires a champion to run past the opponent¡¯s first tower, killing all the minions in between the first and second tower. This tactic is similar to dangling a piece of meat in front of a bunch of hungry dogs.


    In short¡ªasking for it!


    Xiao Tongtong¡¯s play with Singed had the audience pointing and murmuring about it. If this had been done during normal matches or qualifying matches, it was usually by egoistic men who put on airs to show off!


    ***


    ¡°Yang Ying, the Singed is Proxy Farming. Should we chase after him? Mid lane¡¯s Jayce is not worth much now anyway.¡± Lin Laowu asked.


    ¡°No, let him be,¡± Yang Ying said carelessly. ¡°We¡¯ll go to the bottom lane and pressure them instead.¡±


    ***


    Singed had almost broken through, and yet there was no one who cared to stop him at the top lane. From the map, you could see that Fizz and Volibear had gone down to the bottom lane a few times, and had even invaded their jungle area.


    ¡°They¡¯re not taking the bait¡­¡± Xiao Tongtong said, a little worried. He was basically stripteasing next to the tower, and still, no one bothered about him. Was this really a good strategy?


    ¡°They¡¯re smart. They¡¯ve already planned on forcing us into a team fight.¡± Yu Luocheng stated, frowning.


    If they forced a team fight, the top lane wouldn¡¯t be able to assist them. Jayce¡¯s items were still incomplete, Jarvan didn¡¯t have enough health to tank, this would result in a complete loss!


    ***


    ¡°Shit, they¡¯re going to tower dive!¡± Xue Haiyang exclaimed loudly.


    Fizz and Volibear had made their way to the bottom lane, cutting off Yu Luocheng and Xue Haiyang¡¯s escape route from the back. This effectively trapped them under their own tower.


    There were wolves in front and tigers at the back!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Lux and Xue Haiyang¡¯s Caitlyn were stranded under the tower and were suddenly having to face four of the opposing champions. A cannon minion was nearing their tower, and they would definitely use the time when the tower was focusing on the cannon minion to launch their attack.


    The minions had reached the tower, and four of the opponents had the tower surrounded. There was only Lux and Caitlyn to defend the tower.


    ¡°Xiao Dao, Huang Yu, don¡¯t bother coming over! Just focus on pushing their mid lane tower!¡± Yu Luocheng instructed the rest of the team.


    Even if the two of them came down to assist, they wouldn¡¯t make it on time. Furthermore, as their items were not completed, they would just come to die at the bottom lane. The bush behind the tower had a ward which revealed Fizz and Volibear inside.


    Fizz was already holding up his trident, waiting to dash out at any time to claim the heads of Lux and Caitlyn. Volibear was grinning and rubbing his paws together, eyes gleaming with beastly excitement. He clearly couldn¡¯t wait to smash the two female champions that were trapped under the tower.


    ¡°Xue Haiyang, when I count to three, Flash and use your E to run. Keep running and don¡¯t look back!¡± Yu Luocheng said solemnly.


    ¡°But what about you?¡±


    ¡°Three!¡± Yu Luocheng ignored him, starting his count.


    ¡°Two!¡±


    ¡°One!¡±

 Chapter 96 - The End of Fizz

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°The ADC has managed to Flash away, but they don¡¯t seem to have any intention to chase him. Now, Lux is the only one left defending the tower, and the probability of her surviving this does not look high.¡± The host commented. ¡°No, let me rephrase that. I should say that she is definitely not surviving this, even if she has Flash.¡±


    As the minions reached the tower, Yu Luocheng clearly saw Fizz starting to make his move. Yang Ying was confident, he was going to be the first to tank the tower for the kill. There wasn¡¯t much to this tower dive, all Fizz had to do was throw out a few skills, hop out from under the tower and Lux would die to the other three champions.


    Even if the ADC or jungler were here to assist her, they would all still die under the tower.


    ***


    There was nowhere to run, and Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t planning on running at all. His eyes were fixed firmly on Fizz. Fizz did not release his ulti, instead choosing to use his E¡ªPlayful upon approaching Lux. The Tidal Trickster soared into the air, easily bypassing the wave of minions in front of him and slammed down right in front of Lux!


    ¡°Heh, killing you this time will be a lot easier than the previous solo kill I got on you.¡± Yang Ying laughed confidently.


    He knew it was Yu Luocheng behind the Lux, and that this was the guy his sister was forever bragging about how great a player he was. Sigh, using these easy tactics to trick a girl like Yang Qianqian, it was just too bad he had to go against Yang Ying.


    It wasn¡¯t only in Lecheng, but even in Shengcheng, there were only a few players who could withstand Yang Ying¡¯s skills. This would be the second time he killed him, and Yang Ying wished that his three teammates weren¡¯t around. This four on one under tower kill would not reflect his talent in utilizing Fizz¡¯s techniques.


    ***


    It hit! Fizz¡¯s skill reduced one-third of Lux¡¯s health bar, proving how high the damage inflicted was. It was no wonder that Fizz wouldn¡¯t even bother using his ulti.


    Seastone Trident! Urchin Strike!


    Yang Ying smoothly unleashed his combo, using E to close the gap under the tower, taking advantage of the close proximity to land his skill shots onto Lux. Right after his barrage of attacks, he used his Q to retreat from the tower¡¯s range to avoid getting hit.


    After receiving all that damage, Lux had less than one-third of her health bar left. Yang Ying didn¡¯t bother following up on that last bit of health, leaving it to his teammates. The kill could go to his ADC, his items were lacking anyway.


    Ting!


    A silver trail of light flew towards Fizz. It was Lux¡¯s Light Binding! He still refused to die quietly and was shooting his skills? Yang Ying smirked, moving his Fizz to avoid the skill.


    What!?


    That angle!


    Yang Ying had already moved to avoid it, but he was still caught and rooted to the ground, right at the edge of the enemy¡¯s tower range!


    Ding! Ding!


    The tower continuously shot at Fizz, and his health dwindled quickly. Lux¡¯s bind lasted for two seconds, and by Yang Ying¡¯s estimation, he would receive at least three more hits from the tower by the time the snare effect had worn off!


    Lux¡¯s full combo could shave off half of his health bar, and with the tower¡¯s third hit, he would barely have half of his health left!


    Yang Ying frowned, instructing Zhong He immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t let him release any of his skills!¡±


    Taric¡¯s Dazzle was already in mid-air, and if it was in slow motion, you could clearly see Lux lighting up right before the prismatic sphere was about to hit her!


    Lucent Singularity! Final Spark!


    Lux unleashed her skills accurately. You could see the sparkling white discs crackling with lightning land on Fizz, who remained rooted on the spot, followed by the mass gathering of energy in front of her chest.


    If you could confidently cast all of Lux¡¯s spells, it could all be unleashed in just a second.


    Taric¡¯s stun was unable to stop Lux from casting her combo. Volibear still had a bit of distance before he could reach Lux, and Varus needed time to channel the arrow that could kill her.


    ¡°DEMACIA!¡±


    With that final shout, a beam of light which blazed past the walls and grass shot out from under the tower, slamming right through Fizz. As the beam shot through Fizz, the disc which crackled with lighting burst outwards, adding more dazzling sparkles to this already magical display.


    Fizz was left with a minuscule amount of health after this magical light show!


    ¡°F*ck! Why is the damage so high!¡± Yang Ying angrily shouted, his confident smile no longer in place.


    Yu Luocheng smirked, watching as the tower continued to bring down Fizz¡¯s remaining health.


    ¡°Thanks for the gold, you can die now.¡±


    Ding!


    Fizz, who had used his E earlier was unable to dodge the last tower hit, and even if he had Flash, it would be useless¡­


    ***


    You have been slain!


    The system was quick to announce, and it was followed by an even louder exclamation.


    SHUT DOWN!


    Claiming Fizz¡¯s bounty, that was 500 gold in hand!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng smirked. ¡®Idiot, you think you¡¯re the only one who can play well?¡¯


    When Fizz was the first to come forward and tank the tower hits, Yu Luocheng was already laughing to himself. He had not expected Fizz to use his E to initiate the fight. He thought that the most he could do was bring the Taric down with him.


    I only wanted Zhang Ziyi, but you gave me Maggie Cheung in a super short miniskirt instead!


    (Translator¡¯s note: These two are famous Hong Kong actresses)


    ***


    After that final system announcement, Yang Ying¡¯s face darkened in anger. His bounty was worth 500 gold, and the assisted kill on the opponent¡¯s Support was not even 450 gold. Exchanging the mid AP for a Support was not worth it at all!


    ¡°Yang Ying, why were you so impatient? You should have let me tank the tower first.¡± Lin Laowu cut in, voicing his displeasure.


    ¡°I was impatient. No matter, it was just a Support.¡± Yang Ying said calmly. ¡°Let him have the extra gold, I¡¯ll recover twice that amount from him later.¡±


    ¡°Double of that would mean 1,000 gold. You would have to kill him four to five times to get back that amount.¡± Lin Laowu pointed out.


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Yang Ying asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°No, hahaha.¡± Lin Laowu laughed. ¡°Since you said it, then that Lux will be your personal ATM.¡±

 Chapter 97 - Pride of a Professional Player, Mejai’s Soutstealer

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ugh, Fizz was too impatient in that fight.¡± The host stated. ¡°It was supposed to be a straightforward kill, pushing the tower and then going to get the Dragon, but Lux managed to seize the chance and got a one for one.¡±


    A four on one, a dead end with no escape mechanism. And yet, Yu Luocheng had managed to calmly grasp at their flaws, exchanging a Support for a Carry with a 500 gold bounty. It was worth it.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Team Scarlet¡¯s Yu Luocheng has once again demonstrated his talent. In LoL, the difference is normally between 1 and 0 second. If you can hold out for 5 seconds, you will get a completely different result!¡±


    ***


    Team Dawn finally decided to go all out for team fights at the 25-minute mark of the game.


    The Riven on the opposing team had a high damage output. In the few times that they had fought, it was Fizz that had wrecked them, not giving Team Scarlet a chance to retaliate.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s composition was more towards the poke and siege kind, but Jayce¡¯s items were severely lacking even at this point in time. If Fizz, Volibear, and Riven, which were the engage type of champions, baited them into a fight, they would surely lose horribly. They were also behind by seven kills, as well as Dragon kills, which lead to lower gold gained.


    ¡°Sigh, if only they had Twisted Fate.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t understand why he chose to play Support and not Mid. It¡¯s such an important role, and it¡¯s hard to make a come back once mid lane goes down.¡±


    ¡°Although Lux can disengage for the team, she can¡¯t do much other than that. Her damage count is too low.¡±


    The murmurs of the crowd debating on the latest development could be heard throughout the stadium. For those who had spectated Team Scarlet¡¯s previous game, they were certain that Yu Luocheng was way better than Huang Yu, especially as his Twisted Fate plays had thoroughly impressed them all.


    But Team Scarlet had picked him to play as their Support instead.


    Not to say that he played badly at the bottom lane, it was just that Caitlyn¡¯s items could not compare to Riven and Fizz. It was evident in the few fights that they had, seeing how quickly Caitlyn was disposed of. You¡¯d have to admit that Team Dawn¡¯s captain was good, being able to kill Caitlyn a few times when she was not paying attention to her surroundings.


    Once the ADC was dealt with, the whole team would lose its main damage output in a teamfight.


    ***


    ¡°I think they¡¯re taking Baron.¡± Xiao Tongtong said. ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me get some vision.¡±


    Before Yu Luocheng could finish his sentence, Xiao Tongtong decided to walk right into the Baron Pit. Before Singed could walk into the bush at the deepest part of the river, five shadows appeared from the shrubs, giving Xiao Tongtong a fright.


    ¡°Ambush!¡±


    Xiao Tongtong activated Ghost and ran as fast as he could, but with Volibear¡¯s toss, Riven and Taric¡¯s stun and even Varus¡¯ root, Singed may very well have not had a chance to escape even with his substantial health.


    Walking through the river without any caution or awareness, you were really asking for this.


    Receiving an assault from all five of the opposing champions, Singed was unable to escape from their clutches.


    ¡°What the hell, Xiao Tongtong!¡± Xiao Dao said angrily. ¡°Yu Luocheng already said to wait for him to gain vision, why did you face check?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ how would I know they were there?¡± Xiao Tongtong said defensively.


    Yu Luocheng frowned. Their opponent¡¯s strategy of taking advantage of his team¡¯s lack of vision was on point. After killing Singed, Team Dawn would surely go for Dragon and the tower. As expected, they gathered at mid and started pushing the lane. Team Scarlet could not defend under the tower and slowly move backward, using their ranged skills to defend the tower from afar.


    ¡°It¡¯s not looking great for Team Scarlet. Team Dawn just needs to push, teamfight, repeat again, and victory would easily be in their hands.¡± The host said. ¡°In the last match, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate had managed to turn the match around and save them, but he¡¯s a Support now. Their team composition can¡¯t really do much here, and this seems like the end for them.¡±


    Yu, Xiao Tongtong, Xue Haiyang, and Xiao Dao were also feeling depressed with the situation.


    During the fight with Team Aviator, even if it was a 4 vs 5, they had not felt this helpless, they always had that sliver of hope left. However, this time during the match against Team Dawn, they felt as if they were being led around by their noses. Team Dawn was clearly experienced, tactically sound, aggressive and their movements were calculated and precise. It was hard to find any flaws to grasp at.


    This was a Herculean task compared to the match against Team Aviator.


    As their disadvantage kept rising, the words that Xue Haiyang told them kept echoing in their heads. That a player ranked top ten in the country was exceptional, and they really couldn¡¯t find any way to retaliate against his plays.


    Thinking about the huge amount of prize money, the glory of victory that must be won, and the future of e-sports, Team Scarlet was carrying a tremendous burden on their shoulders. Feeling the strong continuous pressure as their computer screens kept graying out, indicating their deaths, Team Scarlet fell into a grim sense of despair and hopelessness.


    ¡°What the hell, Xiao Dao!¡± Xiao Tongtong shouted in frustration. ¡°Why did you also trap me inside?!¡±


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t do it, Caitlyn would have died.¡±


    ¡°I could have killed Fizz!¡±


    ¡°So what if you did kill him! Our back line is dead!¡±


    ***


    Team Scarlet¡¯s movements were getting increasingly uncoordinated, and their frustrated shouts were filling up the area. Yu Luocheng remained silent as he tuned out his team¡¯s progressively loud arguments. He would rather remain calm and ignore them as it would only break his concentration.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t blame his teammates for hurling accusations against each other; they were under immense pressure right now, and getting repeatedly killed was not helping the situation.


    ¡°Vision! Why don¡¯t we have better vision control!¡±


    ¡°F*ck! What kind of item are you buying? They already have vision control over us, why are you making a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer?¡± Xiao Tongtong¡¯s eyes widened as he realized that Yu Luocheng had sold his Sightstone for a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer instead.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Xiao Dao exclaimed.


    A Support buying Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer?


    Now that they were getting wrecked repeatedly, being able to defend the tower was already a tough feat in itself, don¡¯t even dream about wasting the opponents. And now, a Support actually dared to buy a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer? It was normal to buy a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer when things were looking good, as the stacks were built up based on the number of kills and assists.


    But¡­


    With the situation they were in now, even a mid lane AP wouldn¡¯t buy a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, what¡¯s more to say about a Support. It was really an idiotic move at this time.


    ¡°Hey, make your Sightstone and sell that Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve already lost our vision control everywhere.¡±


    Xiao Dao and Xiao Tongtong were unhappy with Yu Luocheng¡¯s attitude. They knew he was a good player, but that didn¡¯t excuse him from making rash decisions like this.


    ¡°Shut up you two,¡± Huang Yu said gravely. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that Yu Luocheng has switched off party voice chat?¡±


    Huang Yu had become the captain of this team not because he had the best skills, but because he had the highest prestige among the four of them. He was also the only one who could control Xiao Dao and Xiao Tongtong.


    The two of them faltered for a moment at his words. It was true, Yu Luocheng had switched off party chat¡­


    ***


    Yin Qin who had been standing behind the players had taken note of the happenings in the team, and his face showed obvious changes.


    Looking at Yu Luocheng¡¯s back, he felt somewhat ashamed. Yu Luocheng had done well, gaining great advantage for the bottom lane. Although they were players that he himself had trained, they were still too weak in the end. Compared to Yang Ying, who was on par with professional players, the difference was too great.


    Yin Qin knew that it was them who was dragging Yu Luocheng down. Their arguments and accusations were surely making him feel disappointed in the team he had hand picked. When he closed the party voice chat, it proved that he had given up on his team and this match. Buying a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, it might be because he refused to lose without dignity!


    ***


    Yin Qin sighed, looking at Yu Luocheng again. He used to be a top professional player, there must be some pride left in him, refusing to lose a worthless loss.

 Chapter 98 - Where is the Surrender Key?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When Yu Luocheng bought the Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, he also chose to switch off the game music and sound effects. His headphones muted the rest of the surrounding noises.


    And finally, he turned off the party voice chat.


    At this moment, he felt like he had submerged in water. No matter how deafening the sound in the emporium was, how tense the atmosphere had become, his world and heart was silent and calm.


    ***


    Walking out from the base, the fog of war had covered the area outside of the walls. Behind the arc of the walls, the Inhibitor Towers stood alone, guarding the Inhibitors behind it. Their opponent¡¯s objective this time would be to take down the mid lane Inhibitor, paving the first important step towards their victory!


    Switching the party voice chat off, Yu Luocheng finally had some peace from his teammates arguments and accusations. They watched sullenly as their opponents stepped over the ruined towers, inching closer to their Inhibitor Tower.


    How were they going to defend this? How could they resist against such a fierce assault?


    Their killing intent coupled with the Baron Buff were enough to shake the walls of their base before they even reached.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming,¡± Xue Haiyang said, his voice wavering.


    It was a foreboding feeling as they were followed by a big wave of minions with Volibear leading them at the front. The mighty Thunder¡¯s Roar was terrifying, his claws gleaming under the light, and you could see it crackling with lightning from time to time. Then you could see the Tidal Trickster¡ªFizz, his explosive damage had easily razed Team Scarlet and left them feeling defenseless in the battles they had been through.


    The players behind these two champions were Yang Ying and Lin Laowu. They were ranked top ten in the LoL University League, and were on par with professional players. These two were the ones giving tremendous pressure to Team Scarlet, causing the team who was usually calm to fall into disarray which sparked internal conflicts.


    It could be said that they had managed to completely crush Team Scarlet¡¯s spirit.


    In the 4 vs 5 with Team Aviator, they still had the confidence that they would obtain victory no matter what. Now in the finals against Team Dawn, they were beaten so soundly until they didn¡¯t have the strength to retaliate.


    What a difference in skill gap! This was the real thing. This game made them realize how incredibly weak they were compared to the real professionals.


    Calming themselves down, they stole a few glances at Yu Luocheng. During the match against Team Aviator, it was Yu Luocheng¡¯s Twisted Fate that had saved them when all seemed lost. But he had given up on them this time, choosing to go alone and buying a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer for a Support.


    Forget it. They didn¡¯t have the power to win this.


    ¡®Let¡¯s surrender.¡¯


    Xiao Tongtong didn¡¯t have any more fight left in him, and he typed out the surrender command.


    The voting options popped out at the bottom right of their screens, indicating that green was yes, and red was no. Xiao Dao and Xue Haiyang chose ¡®yes¡¯ immediately. If even Yu Luocheng had given up, where was their chance of victory?


    With three votes for surrender, three striking green line occupied the voting screen.


    ***


    Huang Yu had not voted, instead turning his gaze to look at Yu Luocheng. Yu Luocheng¡¯s screen displayed the surrender dialog, but he looked as though he had not seen it at all. Seeing this, Huang Yu couldn¡¯t decide.


    No.


    Huang Yu decided to take the bit between his teeth, and voted against surrendering.


    Surrender vote failed for ally team 3/1.


    ***


    At that point, Yu Luocheng finally raised his head, his gaze flickered toward Yu. He knew Huang Yu was the only possible person to have voted against the surrender vote.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng shifted his attention back to the screen calmly, his eyes sharpening, and suddenly filled with fierce determination. If all four of them had voted to surrender, he would have left his seat without a word. They wouldn¡¯t have deserved to be professional players and he would have advised Qin Ying to train another group of players.


    But since someone had voted ¡®no¡¯ in the surrender vote, this match would continue. Yu Luocheng would continue¡­


    Regardless of the outcome, he would do his best to show them the strength of a real professional player!


    He didn¡¯t even bother choosing ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯ in the surrender vote. In his heart, there was no concept of surrendering in e-sports.


    Surrender?


    Sorry, even after playing LoL for so long, he didn¡¯t even know where the surrender key was!


    ***


    ¡°Xue Haiyang, be more aware of your positioning.¡± Yu Luocheng pointed out, directing his teammate.


    Looking at the words that Yu Luocheng had typed in the chat, Xue Haiyang faltered for a split second. He knew that his positioning as an ADC was inadequate, and it was only due to his Support¡¯s sacrifice that he had avoided death a few times. A Support needed to have the heart to always take the bullet for the ADC.


    Yu Luocheng had demonstrated this well from the start, though this didn¡¯t change the fact that they were playing a losing game.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Xue Haiyang replied. He would take Yu Luocheng¡¯s advice seriously.


    Yu Luocheng nodded, then sneered as he directed his gaze to Fizz and Volibear instead. These were the two champions that could easily rush in and close the distance gap during fights.


    In this match, Lux had died a total of four times.


    The first was under the tower, when the four of them had killed him. The second was during a teamfight. The third and fourth time, he died protecting the ADC.


    He sneered, because his death would be fixed at four. No matter how strong the rush was, don¡¯t even think about touching the hem of his clothes!


    ***


    A wave of minions pressed forward, Volibear and Riven following alongside. They clearly wanted to push hard at mid lane toward the inside of the base!


    Keeping his gaze fixed on Riven, Yu Luocheng knew that it would be impossible to kill Fizz, who had too many repositioning skills and escape mechanisms. The only one he could possibly kill fast enough was the Exile¡ªRiven.


    Lux¡¯s skill shots required accurate predictions and calculations on where the opponent would move toward, especially if you wanted to target a specific opponent in the middle of a chaotic teamfight. Standing just slightly out of sight, Yu Luocheng could see Riven¡¯s eagerness to move.


    Bamf!


    Suddenly, someone Flashed.


    The opponent¡¯s Support¡ªTaric was quick to Flash, throwing a stun at Jayce. It was obvious they had wanted Taric to initiate the teamfight, forcing Team Scarlet to focus on him first. Jarven and Singed reacted immediately, jumping into the fray to help Jayce.


    The fight started and skill shots were being thrown at every second. Among the chaos however, Yu Luocheng remained indifferent to the fight that was happening. His attention was fully focused on the Riven, who had not made a single move. He needed to ensure that the first round of his burst damage was able to bring Riven down.


    There was no room for mistakes! Absolutely not!

 Chapter 99 - Life and Death in 0.4 seconds

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Riven finally moved!


    Yu Luocheng clearly remembered that Riven had already used her Flash, hence she would use her E to enter the fight. He slammed the Q key confidently, and Lux threw her magic wand forward, her light binding flying true.


    Ranged minions, melee minions, and champions, the light flew across the chaotic battlefield, heading straight toward Riven.


    Ting!


    Riven was the first target that the Light Binding hit, hitting Volibear subsequently. The root duration for Light Binding was two seconds and Yu Luocheng ignored the fact that his bind had also hit Volibear. He instead followed up with his E and R immediately.


    Lucent Singularity!


    The sparkling disc fell on Riven, who was still rooted, emitting a shrill crackling of electricity as it vibrated violently.


    ¡°DEMACIA!¡±


    A woman¡¯s scream echoed out, as though releasing her pent up frustration from within herself. You could see the mass of energy gathering in front of Lux¡¯s chest, forming that blinding white vortex. From within the vortex, a long beam of light shot out, striking through some ranged minions, Riven, Volibear and further beyond the wall!


    Final Spark!


    The display of this devastating light show left a row of dead minions and Riven¡¯s life was down to half!


    Yu Luocheng had already built a Frost Queen¡¯s Claim, Athena¡¯s Unholy Grail and Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer. Such items could definitely shave off a huge amount of health from Riven, who had no way to retaliate or defend against her attacks.


    ¡°Waste Riven! Waste her!¡± Xiao Dao shouted.


    Huang Yu was calm and knowing that his Jayce didn¡¯t have any chances or survival, he made a split-second decision to switch into Hammer Stance, throwing an E-Q combo on Riven, deciding to get a life for a life. That burst damage from Jayce wasn¡¯t small either, and it brought Riven¡¯s health down to zero!


    Shut Down!


    Although Jayce was soon killed by the opponent¡¯s ADC, he had managed to claim the bounty of 500 gold on Riven. 300 gold against 500 gold, including the Baron buff, this exchange was goddamned worth it!


    ***


    Suddenly, the fight had become a 4 vs 4. Jarvan and Singed took a step back and stood in front of Caitlyn, determined to protect their backline. Lux was just a Support, and she was standing way at the back where no one was marking her.


    Volibear and Fizz had tower-dived and killed Caitlyn, and so, Yu Luocheng turned his attention toward Varus. Taric was tanking the tower damage, but his health was dwindling fast; he needed to leave the tower range soon. Just as Taric stepped out of the tower range, Varus, who had been following the rest of his teammates, had also stepped into the tower range!


    ¡°Chance!¡±


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up with glee. He immediately launched a Prismatic Barrier, rushing forward to fight against Varus.


    A Support against an ADC?


    A professional should know, a Support should always utilize themselves as much as possible. With Lux rushing toward Varus, there was only one objective, which was to let the opponent¡¯s ADC focus his fire on her while giving his teammates the chance to crush the others.


    But as Yu Luocheng had switched off the voice chat, was he really doing it for the team?


    Light Binding!


    Varus saw Lux coming toward him, and was anticipating a fast kill. However, Yu Luocheng launched his skills the instant it cooled down, rooting Varus instead. Two seconds of root with the addition of the tower¡¯s damage and Singed¡¯s poison damage over time, Varus¡¯ health was down to half in an instant.


    ***


    ¡°D*mn it! You dare?!¡± Team Dawn¡¯s ADC exclaimed furiously.


    Once the root effect wore off, Lux saw the blood lust on Varus¡¯ face and retreated promptly. Varus couldn¡¯t afford to waste any time on a Support, so he angrily abandoned that thought and turned to follow his teammates to dispose of the Singed instead.


    ***


    Once again, the entire fight ignored Lux.


    Rounding back to the tower, Lux now shifted her attention to the Taric, who had less than half his health left. Taric had started to run the moment he saw Lux¡¯s approach.


    ¡°Juking?¡± Yu Luocheng smirked.


    The way to counter juking was to limit your skill shots and basic attacks and just focus on trying to get closer to the opponent. Yu Luocheng¡¯s Light Binding was still on cooldown anyway, he headed toward Taric only to scare him off, to avoid him from jumping back into the fray.


    Lucent Singularity!


    Yu Luocheng launched his E skill. No matter how you run, you wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid the range of Lucent Singularity. Pressing his E once more, Taric¡¯s health was now less than 200, and if he could just land a Light Binding, Taric would be dead.


    With a few more steps, as the distance between them was shortened, Taric made a sudden turn.


    Yu Luocheng Flashed. He had been waiting for this moment when Taric would turn back!


    Q, launch a Light Binding!


    The moment Taric turned, he threw a stun. The white hammer flew in an arc and it crossed paths with Yu Luocheng¡¯s Light Binding. The light turned into a cylindrical cage, effectively trapping Taric within its confines.


    One stunned and the other immobilized by bind, both champions stood at a standstill.


    They both had minimal health left. Whoever made the first move would kill the other. It had suddenly become a struggle between Supports!


    Taric was already ready to execute his skill. The moment the root effect wore off, he would launch his hammer at Lux, claiming the kill and her bounty. Lux also needed to just hit one basic attack which could trigger her passive¡ªIllumination, and she would be able to wreck his worthless hide!


    No one knew what the outcome would be, they¡¯d have to wait and see who could move first.


    But did you know?


    Lux¡¯s root effect from Light Binding at just the first level was 2 seconds.


    Taric¡¯s Dazzle, even at full level was only 1.6 seconds.


    In short, Yu Luocheng only needed to be faster than the opponent by 0.4 seconds!


    Without wasting a single moment, Yu Luocheng moved to land a basic attack!


    Swoosh!


    Taric turned to run in a panic, but the attack landed, and he died while still in the confines of Light Binding.


    ***


    ¡®If I didn¡¯t have the confidence, how would I have killed you?


    ¡®Your life will be engraved in my Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer.¡¯


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s finger hovered over the W key, staring at Taric¡¯s body on screen and then glancing at the Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer in his inventory.


    Three stacks.

 Chapter 100 - Mejai’s Soulstealer, Six Stacks!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Using his Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, Fizz dodged Jarvan¡¯s fatal E Q combo, and he used Playful to escape the fight! He managed to kill Caitlyn under the Second Tier Tower and escaped with his life, it was a well executed move!¡±


    ¡°Volibear has cornered Jarvan, and followed by Varus¡¯ attack, Team Scarlet¡¯s Jarvan has been ended!¡±


    ¡°Singed¡­There¡¯s just a Singed left!¡±


    ¡°Singed doesn¡¯t have much health left, but he¡¯s heading towards Varus, probably trying to bring him down together¡­¡±


    ¡°A one for one! Singed has brought Varus down with him. That was definitely a sensible decision. If the ADC were still alive, he could have brought down the towers and won the game!¡±


    The host was explaining the byplay of the game quickly, trying to keep up with the rapid pace, and the audience¡¯s eyes were glued to the screen.


    The battle was fierce, with Team Dawn having the Baron Buff, they became more aggressive and had taken out Jayce, Caitlyn, Jarvan and Singed.


    ¡°Team Scarlet has been totally wrecked¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, Team Scarlet¡¯s Lux is still alive!¡± The host recovered quickly.


    It wasn¡¯t the host¡¯s fault for the slip. In a teamfight, no one pays much attention to the Support. Also, even if the Support survives, it doesn¡¯t make much of a difference as they wouldn¡¯t have the damage to do anything.


    On the opponent¡¯s side, Volibear and Fizz were still alive. After killing the rest of Team Scarlet, they were retreating. They didn¡¯t have much health left after tanking the tower for the kills.


    Lux didn¡¯t have the intention of letting them go so easily, throwing out her skills after them. Fizz easily repositioned himself, avoiding the hit from her. Volibear had enough health left and her skill were not enough to kill him.


    ***


    ¡°Tch, come a bit closer and you¡¯re f*cked.¡± Yang Ying laughed coldly as Lux continued to harass him.


    Lux¡¯s health was dangerously low, all he needed was a few hits and she was dead. If she wasn¡¯t a Support, Yang Ying would have killed her during the teamfight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, let¡¯s Recall.¡± Lin Laowu said, reminding him of their objective.


    Yang Ying nodded, guiding Fizz down to a corner, he pressed the Recall key.


    Suddenly, an anomaly of twisted light flew through the wall, hitting the ground beneath Fizz!


    ¡°That was beautiful! Team Scarlet¡¯s Lux managed to guess where Fizz was Recalling!¡± The host stated excitedly. ¡°Sadly, Fizz managed to avoid her attack with his E¡ªPlayful. If that had managed to hit, Fizz may have died!¡±


    ¡°This guy¡­ his instincts aren¡¯t bad.¡± Lin Laowu snorted as he watched his teammate¡¯s close call.


    Fizz was standing at a blind spot, he had not expected Lux to give chase outside and had even managed to pinpoint his location. Yang Ying exhaled slowly, he was lucky his reaction time was fast and had managed to slam the key down, or he¡¯d be dead now.


    Wait.


    Something wasn¡¯t right. Yang Ying clicked on his mouse rapidly, trying to move Fizz.


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    A piercing scream sounded, and you could see a sparkling beam of light rushing out from the wall, directly into the path that Fizz was moving towards. The narrow path was completely lit up by the beam of light, Fizz had nowhere to run!


    ¡°Wah!¡±


    Burnt by the light, Fizz let out a miserable croak, resembling a grilled fish, before flopping down to the ground on his stomach.


    ¡°F*ck!¡±


    Yang Ying screamed in anger. The light came out too suddenly, and even if Yang Ying could react, he couldn¡¯t dodge from the angle he was at. More importantly, his opponent was sly, knowing that he was recalling, she purposely threw another skill, forcing him to use his E before launching her ulti.


    Shut Down!


    It was a shutdown, 500 gold again!


    Fizz had died a total of 3 times, the first was when he was first blooded.


    The second was when he killed Lux under the tower, exchanging his life for hers.


    The third was now, an ulti outside of the opponent¡¯s base.


    ***


    ¡°Nice!¡±


    ¡°For all Lux players, you would know that the cooldown on her ulti is very short. She can easily ulti twice in a teamfight.¡± The host¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement. ¡°Her ulti landed directly on Fizz, who was just about to reach Godlike!¡±


    A Support is just a Support, but completely ignoring their existence was also a painful price to pay!


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot!¡±


    The host exclaimed loudly, startling the audience, making them wonder what had happened.


    ¡°Look everyone, this player who had used Twisted Fate to conquer the field previously, has actually made a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer on his Support Lux!¡± The host continued, his voice growing louder.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a Mejai¡¯s!¡±


    Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer?


    At the host¡¯s reminder, the whole emporium¡¯s gaze switched, finally realising that there was a white Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer in Lux¡¯s inventory. More importantly, after just now¡¯s teamfight and shutdown, the stacks were now at six!


    Assist on Riven, one stack.


    Kill on Taric, two stacks.


    Assist on Varus, one stack.


    Shutdown on Fizz, two stacks.


    With that, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer was at 6 stacks!


    There was no easier way to explain the Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer. That is to say, as the Support was easily overlooked during the battle, she had managed to engrave the blood of her enemies into its pages, bringing her Ability Power up to even greater heights!


    6 stacks gives an additional 48 Ability Power, whereas a Blasting Wand which costs 860 gold only gives 40 Ability Power!


    300 gold on the Taric, 500 gold on Fizz¡¯s shutdown, including the gold inflation and gold from the assists as well as from the Killer¡¯s Book, there were almost 1,000 gold worth there. Unknowingly, by being ignored, Yu Luocheng had gained almost 2,000 gold from the battle!


    2,000 gold.


    Why would a Support need so much gold? Buying items that would benefit the team? All eyes fell on Yu Luocheng, clearly anticipating what items he would go for next.


    Void Staff!


    Including the gold that he had on hand previously, he bought a Void Staff. This item was an essential item for any AP champions, and Yu Luocheng, who was playing a Support had bought it!


    He didn¡¯t buy Aegis Shield, or a Shurelya¡¯s Reverie, not even any of the support base items. He even sold his Sightstone¡­he was going for a damage build, a build meant for a mid lane AP! Was he planning to use a Support Lux and rely on his Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer to turn the tides?


    This was a Tournament match, not a regular or even a ranked match. With this kind of blind confidence, was he not afraid of being condemned?


    Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer with six stacks.


    Nearly 2,000 people in and outside of the emporium, their face filled with doubt and not understanding what was going on in Yu Luocheng¡¯s head. At the same time, there was a feeling of great anticipation, hoping that Lux would use the blood of her enemies to fully stack the Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer!


    Audiences have always loved seeing something different. If Team Dawn won the match after the few crushing teamfights, that would be an expected outcome. However, with the appearance of the Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, especially now that it is at 6 stacks, it has taken the crowd by a storm.

 Chapter 101 - Kiting Three Champions I

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Awesome! It was a 4 for 4, we didn¡¯t completely lose out.¡± Huang Yu exclaimed excitedly. ¡°We also managed to defend our tower!¡±


    The most important thing now was to ensure that the towers did not fall. No matter how badly you lose in the teamfights, as long as your tower still stands, there was hope.


    Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, and Xue Haiyang¡¯s faces didn¡¯t look as dejected as it did before now. They wanted to say some words of praise, but remembering that Yu Luocheng had switched off his voice chat, they were at a loss on how to express their feelings.


    ¡°Xiao Dao, get some Wards,¡± Huang Yu said.


    You couldn¡¯t afford to lose vision control at any time. Huang Yu knew that Yu Luocheng had used all of his gold on damage items, and he wouldn¡¯t have any to spare for Wards.


    ¡°Roger!¡±


    Yu didn¡¯t have enough gold to buy any items for himself. Naturally, he would then help Yu Luocheng on vision control instead. With the Wards in place, they followed the minion wave.


    After that brutal assault with Baron Buff from their opponent, Team Scarlet finally had some breathing space. Jayce¡¯s item was slowly getting completed, he had a Manamune, Last Whisper, and a Black Cleaver. He just needed a Bloodthirster and he wouldn¡¯t be too far behind anymore.


    ***


    Team Dawn would not give Team Scarlet too much time to recover, and a new wave of attacks was sure to come soon. On their part, Team Scarlet didn¡¯t dare to overstay their time in the jungle even with Wards. If any of them got caught outside of the tower range, there would be no way to defeat Team Dawn who was further ahead in items compared to them.


    The top lane¡¯s tower had yet to be destroyed and Team Dawn was heading there. Team Scarlet couldn¡¯t defend the First Tier Tower without much minions so they gave that away. They couldn¡¯t afford to let go of the Second Tier Tower, or it would give Team Dawn too much advantage in terms of gold income.


    The four opponent champions¡ªVolibear, Fizz, Taric, and Varus lead a big wave of minions toward the tower. Volibear¡¯s health was over 5,000 and coupled with his armor, magic resist and his passive, he was an invincible existence. No one had claimed the bounty of 500 gold on him until this point.


    Varus, who had not been having a good game before this, had, after a few victorious team fights, items that were now comparable to Caitlyn¡¯s. More importantly, Varus would not feel threatened in a teamfight because he would be able to maintain a safe distance and attack, unlike Caitlyn, who had to deal with Fizz.


    ¡°Damn it, that bear is disgusting!¡± Huang Yu grumbled.


    Volibear was doing well, always ready to defend his team by taking hits from Jayce¡¯s E Q combo. His health and armor were incredibly high, and adding on the fact that he had the Baron Buff, the pokes didn¡¯t do anything to him at all.


    ¡°Riven is coming down the mid lane,¡± Xiao Dao said suddenly.


    Riven wasn¡¯t pushing the top lane with her other teammates, instead she was already at their mid lane tower. The tower didn¡¯t have much health left, and it was rapidly declining from her assault. Team Scarlet immediately switched their focus to the mid lane instead.


    ***


    They were going to break the mid lane!


    Using four of them to distract Team Scarlet at the top lane had given Riven the chance to rush down the mid lane to obtain the objective. Team Dawn¡¯s tactics were thoroughly thought out.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart sank, the time needed to reach the mid lane Inhibitor Tower was roughly the same for both sides. Even if they reached the tower, it would easily be demolished with Riven¡¯s damage. And if they were to defend the mid Inhibitor, they would surely need to go for a teamfight again. Without the tower¡¯s help, Team Scarlet had a snowball¡¯s chance in hell to win that fight.


    ¡®We can¡¯t give it to them, we have to fight!¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought to himself.


    Managing to catch a glimpse of Varus from the corner of his eye, Yu Luocheng made a split decision and threw out a Light Binding towards his direction. The beam of light shot past the thick wall and fell into the area covered by the Fog Of War.


    He had taken a shot in the dark and it was hard to tell if it had landed or not. However, Yu Luocheng followed up with his E and R skills regardless. It was Lux¡¯s standard combo. With Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, you had to have this confidence!


    Lux¡¯s Final Spark and Lucent Singularity gave temporary vision when shot into a shrouded area. When the area was revealed, Team Scarlet found that Varus had been hit and was now rooted behind the wall!


    ¡°DEMACIA!¡±


    The bright light shot out from in front of Lux, straight into Varus. Not only that, Fizz, Volibear, and Taric were also caught in her ulti!


    ¡°That was beautiful! Lux¡¯s ulti actually managed to hit all four of Team Dawn¡¯s champions! Most importantly, their ADC is still rooted!¡±


    With the damage from Athena¡¯s Unholy Grail, Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, and magic penetration from the Void Staff as well as Sorcerer¡¯s Boots, he had easily shaved off two thirds of their health.


    ¡°What high damage, is this really still a Support?¡±


    It was hard to believe that one combo had taken two-thirds of their health, basically rendering the ADC useless in the fight.


    ¡°Wreck him! Wreck Varus!¡±


    Team Scarlet was heading towards the mid lane for defense, but seeing Varus¡¯ health so dangerously low, their eyes gleamed with bloodlust. Without further delay, Jayce shouldered his hammer, switching to Mercury Cannon stance. Singed activated his ulti, Jarvan threw out his flag and dashed forward with his E Q combo, and Caitlyn used her basic attack.


    Taric tried to protect Varus, but Team Scarlet¡¯s attacks slammed right into him, instantly disposing of the ADC. Even if Varus had managed to Flash across the wall, he would have had a hard time running away. Finally, it was Xiao Tongtong who claimed the bounty.


    ***


    ¡°Back! Back!¡± Yang Ying shouted. ¡°F*ck, why are we out of position?!¡±


    Once the ADC was dead, they couldn¡¯t be sure that they would win a teamfight now. But even if they wanted to retreat, Team Scarlet wasn¡¯t going to let them go easily. Once the fight broke out in the jungle, Singed was the first to jump into the fray, knowing that no one had a higher damage than Varus now. He was invincible!


    ¡°Tongtong, don¡¯t forget to protect our back line!¡± Huang Yu reminded him with a shout.


    Just as his voice rang out, Fizz, who had been retreating, made a sharp turn and threw his ulti at Caitlyn!


    ¡°Shark!¡±


    With that, Caitlyn¡¯s health was down to half. With another Q and Ignite, Xue Haiyang barely had time to react and Caitlyn was already dead at the hands of Fizz.


    ¡°That was a beautiful turn by Fizz! With Varus down, and now Caitlyn, the outcome of this fight is hard to determine!¡± The host said excitedly.


    The fight was fierce and chaotic, all you could see on the screen were flashes of lights indicating skills were being thrown everywhere. Team Scarlet had five people, and the opponent¡¯s ADC had already been taken down at the beginning of the fight. Even with Fizz bursting down Caitlyn in the middle of the chaos, the situation remained at 4 v 3.


    Volibear and Fizz had good items, and soon, Jarvan and Jayce would not have enough health to sustain anymore.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    A burst of wind forming an arc came through from the side of the wall, cutting into Jarvan. Originally, Jarvan was planning to run, but he still got caught in the end.


    It was Riven, and it looked like she had arrived at the battle once again!


    Only with the advantage in numbers did Team Scarlet manage to go head to head with Team Dawn, but now they had a high burst damage opponent returning to the field. Her burst damage was quite terrifying, it was practically a one-hit kill!


    As expected, Riven heaved her shimmering sword in her hands and dove straight into the middle of the battle. After killing Jarvan, her sight was set on Jayce. Jayce had two-thirds of his health left, but Riven only needed a few hits and his head was hers. That described how horrifying her damage was.


    However, the double kill was unable to satisfy Riven¡¯s bloodlust, as she then turned her gaze toward Lux next.


    ¡°Will this be a triple kill?¡± The host shouted along with the crowd as they watched Riven advance on Lux.


    Riven only needed a couple of slashes and Lux would be dead, as long as she could get close enough!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s face twisted, even by taking out the ADC early, the fight still went south. Riven was inching closer to him, and he glanced at his Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, which had 8 stacks.


    ¡®You want to kill me?


    ¡®Let¡¯s see if you can even touch the edge of my sleeves!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s skills were all spent. He noted that Riven¡¯s health was slowly being eaten away by Singed¡¯s poison fog, whilst Volibear and Fizz had not much health left either. At this point, they were serving themselves on a silver platter to him!


    No one in their right mind would chase a full health Singed, so they had all turned their target to him instead.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes sharpened.


    ¡®So they¡¯ve come!


    ¡®Your lives will be engraved into my Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer!¡¯

 Chapter 102 - : Kiting Three Champions II

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°F*ck, you dare to make a Mejai¡¯s! I¡¯ll kill you until your stacks are back to one!¡± Riven said.


    Whoever builds a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer would always be the biggest target, even more so when you were a Support.


    Team Dawn could push the tower as they had three of them, but seeing Lux¡¯s items weren¡¯t bad, they decided that killing her first would take priority. Singed would not be able to defend the tower alone anyway.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t head back to the base, knowing that if he did, it would be easier for his opponents to surround and kill him, so he headed toward the river instead. The three champions chasing him all had great repositioning skills waiting to be used. Even just based on movement speed, they would definitely be able to catch up to him.


    Now it all depended on how Yu Luocheng would use Lux¡¯s skills to kite them.


    Yu Luocheng clearly remembered that Fizz, Volibear and Riven had used their Flash. Watching as Riven got closer, he slammed the Q key down.


    Light Binding!


    A sphere of light landed on and passed Riven, hitting Volibear who was standing behind her. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t bother to hit Riven with a basic attack to trigger his passive¡ªIllumination. He knew what little damage his passive would have would not affect Riven much, and if he did turn around, they might catch up to him.


    ***


    ¡°Lux is running in the opposite direction, she¡¯s clearly buying some time for her teammates to revive!¡± The host observed.


    During a team fight, if majority of your teammates have died, the best move would be to lead the opponents on a wild goose chase around the map. This would give time for your teammates to revive, as well as lengthen the time needed for your opponents to destroy the tower.


    Team Scarlet had a good opening for this team fight, bringing down their opponent¡¯s ADC in the beginning. However, the clear difference in their items and levels were obvious in the middle of the fight. Their opponent had three champions left, while Team Scarlet only had a Singed who needed to run when his health declined, and a cornered Lux.


    ¡°Fizz has managed to catch up!¡± The host excitedly said. ¡°There¡¯s just a bit more distance, is he going to use his Q?¡±


    With the anticipation building up, the audience was also on the edge of their seats, quivering in excitement. Lux had a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, and it was already at 8 stacks. If he could bring it up to 20 stacks, Lux would be on par with an AP champion.


    But she was being chased by three champions, and she couldn¡¯t shake off the Fizz. To summarize how good Fizz¡¯s items were, with one W Q combo, he could shave off two-thirds of Lux¡¯s health. As long as Fizz could touch her, Lux would definitely die at his hands!


    ¡°800 yards, this distance should be 800 yards. If I remember correctly, Fizz¡¯s Q can cover up to 700 yards in distance.¡± The host said. ¡°If Lux makes the slightest mistake, she will be killed by Fizz in an instance!¡±


    Despite the tense atmosphere, Yu Luocheng remained calm. He didn¡¯t turn back to unleash any skills, as he knew the moment he did, Fizz would be able to close the distance between them. Fizz was also clever, he didn¡¯t use his E to close the gap. He knew that if he got caught in any of Lux¡¯s skills, he would also die as he didn¡¯t have much health left.


    Yu Luocheng refused to use any of his skills, aiming to run as far as possible.


    Suddenly, Yu Luocheng turned and launched a skill!


    He didn¡¯t unleash Q¡ªLight Binding, but rather an E¡ªLucent Singularity!


    ¡°Die!¡±¡® Yang Ying¡¯s mouth curved into a smile.


    By turning around, Lux had fallen within Fizz¡¯s range, and Yang Ying¡¯s fingers were already on the Q key. But just as he was about to press it, Lux scrambled into a nearby brush, resulting in Fizz losing vision of her. Once the vision was lost, no matter how close she was, Fizz couldn¡¯t launch his attack.


    Yang Ying let out a frustrated sigh, as Fizz walked right into the tangle of lights that came from Lux. The area detonated quickly, but Yang Ying didn¡¯t use his E to avoid the damage. He needed to save it to dodge Lux¡¯s ulti later on.


    Yang Ying wasn¡¯t giving up on the chase. He still had all his skills, and the confidence to dodge all of Lux¡¯s skills, that would easily claim her life.


    Continue the chase!


    Yang Ying stepped into the brush.


    Ching!


    A sphere of light shot through Fizz, who had just taken a step into the brush. Yang Ying immediately slammed his E key to avoid the bind, but the sphere was shot at such a close distance and Fizz was unable to avoid it!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s bind cooldown was over!


    Yang Ying¡¯s face changed immediately. Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t run away, but was hiding in the brush instead!


    ¡°DEMACIA!¡±


    A swirling white vortex gathered in front of Lux¡¯s chest, shooting a beam of light straight into Fizz¡¯s frightened face.


    With the two seconds bind, Fizz was not getting out of this no matter what.


    ¡°Wah!¡±


    The Tidal Trickster didn¡¯t even manage to use any of his skills before being brutally killed, falling to the ground face first. Yang Ying was dumbfounded.


    ¡°Very nice!¡± The host exclaimed loudly. ¡°Everybody knows, for Lux to land her skills on Fizz is hard. Under normal circumstances, Lux would be dead with nowhere to run. But the player Yu Luocheng is very skillful, taking advantage of the brush to throw a bind in Fizz¡¯s face and ulti-ing him, nicely disposing of the Fizz. This should be the third time that Support Lux has killed Fizz!¡±


    Fizz was Lux¡¯s nemesis, whether it was laning or a team fight. With all her skills unleashed in a straight line, for Fizz to avoid it and take her life was easy. Because of this fact, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t bother throwing his skills until he had reached the brush, so that his opponent wouldn¡¯t have the chance to avoid it!


    In this match, Lux had successfully claimed Fizz¡¯s head three times!


    At the beginning of the match, Yang Ying had declared that Lux would be his personal ATM. Now, he had died four times, and three of the times were by Lux¡¯s hand, whether directly or not directly. He had already contributed 1,300 gold to his opponents!


    Yang Ying¡¯s face turned black, and Wu Hua, who was sitting beside him gave him a strange look.


    ¡°What the hell are you looking at, just kill him already!¡± Yang Ying said angrily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely help you take revenge.¡± Lin Laowu snorted. ¡°My charge is almost ready!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Ten stacks! Lux¡¯s Mejai¡¯s has ten stacks already!¡± The host shouted, bringing everyone¡¯s attention back to the screen. There were rarely any chances to see a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, even in normal matches. Even better, it was a Support who had bought it.


    The audience was skeptical about even getting five stacks, and now, Yu Luocheng had gotten ten stacks!


    ***


    However, the Riven was closing in rapidly into the battle. The question was, could Lux get out of this situation?


    You must know that once you die, the stacks will be reduced by one third.

 Chapter 103 - Trail of Blood

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Roar!


    Volibear let out a loud roar, running toward the river on all four paws, full of energy. He was closing in on Lux, and if she got caught, she would surely die.


    ¡°She¡¯s a goner! At this distance, Volibear will definitely reach her,¡± the host said. ¡°Lux still needs at least five seconds for her skill to cooldown.¡±


    Lux emerged from the brush and ran toward the mid lane. With her Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes, she had an additional 15 Movement Speed. However, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to outrun Volibear¡¯s added Movement Speed from Rolling Thunder.


    As expected, the distance between them was shortened to 500 yards, which could easily be overcome by Volibear. Everyone could already guess the outcome of this chase. As long as Volibear could reach Lux and flip her behind him, Riven could claim her head easily, marking the end of Lux.


    How would she avoid this?


    Lux didn¡¯t have any skills nor Flash, she couldn¡¯t go against two bruiser champions. Lux would die, and the stacks for Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer would be reduced by one third. It was just a fact of life.


    Swoosh!


    A swirl of red light surrounded Volibear, slowing him down significantly. All eyes turned back to Lux, their eyes glittering with excitement as Volibear slowed down.


    ¡°It¡¯s an Exhaust! Lux still had Exhaust at her disposal!¡±


    Damn, how could they have forgotten about her Summoner¡¯s Skill¡ªExhaust.


    Even without the host stating the obvious, the audience who had been watching the scene unfold was already aware of this. Her second Summoner¡¯s Skill was Exhaust, which was effective for 2.5 seconds. This would give her sufficient time to make her escape from Volibear¡¯s clutches.


    This was a life-saving Summoner¡¯s Skill!


    ¡°Did Yu Luocheng calculate that the Exhaust would save him at this distance from the time he was in the brush?¡± The host wondered out loud.


    When Lux disposed of Fizz, everyone thought that she would be exchanging her life for his, as Volibear would definitely be able to catch up to her after that kill. However, with the 2.5 seconds of Exhaust, this precise calculation was too accurate. The extra 15 movement speed also helped, as Volibear couldn¡¯t keep up anymore.


    ¡°Her skills are ready, dodge it!¡± Yang Ying reminded Lin Laowu hurriedly.


    Volibear had no magic resistance at all, and with Lux having magic penetration from the Void Staff and Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes, she would definitely be able to wound Volibear significantly. With that little bit of health left, it would be hard to say whether he would die from that or not.


    ¡°I know!¡± Lin Laowu shouted back. ¡°I¡¯m running!¡±


    As predicted, Lux raised her hand. Lin Laowu turned immediately, intending to dodge any of her incoming skills.


    ¡°Idiot!¡± Yang Ying growled out. ¡°That¡¯s just her Prismatic Barrier!¡±


    Lin Laowu hesitated, but sure enough, Lux had thrown out her wand which harmlessly passed him, lighting herself up with a glowing barrier. But as Lin Laowu stood there with no reaction, she launched a Light Binding at him, effectively hitting him and confining him into a shimmering cage. Following up with a basic attack, she then unleashed a Lucent Singularity which lingered for a while before detonating with Riven in range, slowing her down.


    Bang!


    The light explosion took the remainder of Volibear¡¯s health.


    Shut Down!


    Volibear, who had not been killed the entire match, finally fell to Lux¡¯s kiting. He had been taking tons of damage during all the team fights and still stood strong, resembling a rock for Team Dawn. Lin Laowu never imagined that he would be taken down by a Support. From the start of the chase, his health was slowly chipped away by Lux¡¯s skill. He had the confidence to kill her, but suddenly, due to the Exhaust, he was killed instead.


    Lin Laowu was bewildered. He had died, and that death had given 500 gold to his enemy. Volibear and Fizz were kited to death by a Support! He felt like two tigers fighting for a rabbit, but in the end, both tigers had perished from slamming into a stone wall instead.


    He couldn¡¯t stand the embarrassment.


    ¡°I told you to be careful!¡± Yang Ying yelled.


    ¡°Damn it, how could I know that she would pull a feint on me.¡±


    Feinting. This is a crucial technique in high-ranking games, where before attempting to disable an enemy, you first throw out a less important skill¡ªforcing them to dodge¡ªand then follow it up with a crowd-control skill on the target.


    ***


    ¡°He was killed! Team Scarlet has managed to shut down Volibear!¡± The host exclaimed, the disbelief clear in his voice.


    Three big shots that were alive, all kited to death by a Support. What an embarrassment to say that they were playing League of Legends!


    Just as Riven was closing the distance between them, her prey within reach, a man carrying a tank of poison water appeared. His hand shot out to grab her, using his Fling to toss her a few hundred yards away from Lux.


    ¡°It¡¯s Team Scarlet¡¯s Singed!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! He reached just in the nick of time!¡±


    Unconsciously, it seemed as though the host was on Yu Luocheng¡¯s side, breathing a sigh of relief together with Team Scarlet. After all, it was rare to have a Support doing the counter attacks. Singed, who had returned to base, had utilised Homeguard to rush toward Lux and had reached her just in time. With the damage from his Poison Trail, Riven¡¯s health declined rapidly. With that, Terrance had delivered Riven¡¯s head to Lux, granting her a Triple Kill!


    The top laner gave his kill to a Support? This was the first time it had ever happened.


    After seeing how Lux had managed to kill two champions with her kiting, none of Team Scarlet¡¯s players would hesitate to give him any of the kills.


    From the time Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer had made an appearance.


    From killing and getting shutdowns, and the recent beautiful performance by kiting, it could be said that she had left a trail of blood in her wake!


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± The host couldn¡¯t contain his excitement as he bellowed into the microphone. ¡°Fourteen stacks! Mejai¡¯s has fourteen stacks already!¡±


    If you could read the host¡¯s mind, as an e-sports fan, he was definitely thinking, ¡®This is f*cking exciting!¡¯.


    This was a tournament, not a normal or ranked match, how many times have you seen a Support buying Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer? And more importantly, this was a completely unbelievable match with her reaching fourteen stacks!


    ***


    The audience was watching with rapt attention, if Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer could reach twenty stacks, then Team Scarlet would basically have an additional AP on their team. Lux late-game was terrifying, if her ulti were to hit all five of their opponents, the damage dealt to their health would be huge!


    This Support¡­ was bloody incredible!


    ¡°Twenty stacks! Twenty stacks! Twenty stacks!¡±


    Just like the match with Twisted Fate, Yu Luocheng had once again captured the hearts of the audience as they chanted for him. Following the normal meta was boring, and no one could have anticipated a match where a Lux with twenty stacks in Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer would appear. This impossible plot was happening right in front of their eyes.


    She had fourteen stacks, twenty stacks didn¡¯t seem that far off!

 Chapter 104 - It’s Over

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°With that Triple Kill and Glory from Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer, Lux has a sum of gold now,¡± the host stated. ¡°Now let¡¯s see what she¡¯ll buy with it.¡±


    All eyes were on Lux, eagerly anticipating what other things she would come up with.


    ¡°Athena¡¯s Unholy Grail, a 14-stack Mejai¡¯s, Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes, Void Staff, and a Needlessly Large Rod!¡± The host exclaimed. ¡°Oh, this isn¡¯t any different to a normal mid lane AP build!¡±


    From a Support to an AP, what¡¯s more, in an official tournament. You really had to see it to believe it!


    ***


    From the last two teamfights, Lux had become fed. Team Scarlet once again had some breathing space, and Team Dawn had yet to force their way into their base in the previous two fights.


    Team Dawn had always been rigorous in their teamfights, controlling most of the vision on the map. Following the timer, the Baron should be respawning soon. This time, the Baron would be the most important objective because this was the chance for Team Dawn to widen the gap of gold earned between them and Team Scarlet.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s mid lane Inhibitor Tower didn¡¯t have much health left, and this brought doubt as to whether they could hold the Inhibitor there now. It wasn¡¯t looking great for them, and it was obvious Team Dawn still had the advantage in the game.


    ***


    Team Scarlet didn¡¯t contest for the Baron and this was a sound strategy. In the jungle, Team Scarlet wouldn¡¯t be able to win over Team Dawn, and they wouldn¡¯t be so lucky each time as to be able to dispose of the ADC early, like in the previous fight.


    Also, as Yu Luocheng had turned from a Support to an AP, they had limited vision control which was a big problem at present. If they were to aim for the Baron, they could very well be walking into their own deaths.


    The Baron Pit was still shrouded in darkness from the Fog of War.


    Lux walked cautiously forward, launching her Final Spark into the pit. The beam of light shot through the walls and into the Baron Pit, lighting up the surroundings. You could clearly see the five opponents inside!


    The five champions from Team Dawn had been hit, bringing down their health. The ADC had the worst damage, shaving his health down by one third. This was not the kind of damage a Support could do!


    ¡°Is Lux assisting them with the Baron?¡± The host joked lightly, trying to ease the tensed atmosphere.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s move this time was simple, he was merely testing the damage from his recent build. It was obvious that it wasn¡¯t a burst yet, and he was using what Yang Qianqian had used before. Their opponents took down the Baron and recovered their health quickly, not even recalling back to their base, but joining the minion wave and heading toward the mid lane.


    It was going to be another wave of assaults, filled with thunderous roars and splashing waves! Team Scarlet had already positioned themselves under the tower. With the Baron Buff, their opponents ignored the tower hits and demolished it easily without losing much health. This time, Team Dawn didn¡¯t tank the tower or dive in, they merely chased Team Scarlet from beneath the tower and went straight for the Inhibitor.


    Team Scarlet didn¡¯t dare to retaliate and could only hand over their Inhibitor without any fight. A Baron Buff plus an Inhibitor Tower that added on Super Minions once their Inhibitor was down, things were not looking good. Following their minion wave, Team Dawn moved toward the other lanes towers instead of going for a teamfight.


    Team Scarlet had no way to fight the Baron Buff, but they knew, as they watched the bot lane¡¯s Inhibitor Tower¡¯s health rapidly reduce, they had to go for a teamfight. If bot lane¡¯s tower were to go down, they would definitely lose this match!


    Xiao Tongtong bit his lip, and moving Singed toward the fray, he activated his ulti and headed straight for Riven, intending to take her out. Just as they thought Team Dawn would stand firm and retaliate, they retreated out of the tower¡¯s range instead.


    Xiao Tongtong was already rushing in and he didn¡¯t pull back, but continued the chase instead. His other teammates followed, knowing that if Singed were to die, they wouldn¡¯t have a chance in this fight at all.


    The fight had started!


    The opponent¡¯s jungler was indeed a great player. His reflex as Singed rushed in was quick, running over to block the path to Riven. He was followed up by Taric, and the Mad Chemist lost a lot of health from this maneuver.


    It was once again a chaotic fight, and Yu Luocheng furrowed his brows. This fight was not in their favor, they had left the tower range and under normal circumstances, they wouldn¡¯t have a chance in winning a teamfight at all, what more with Baron Buff on their opponent¡¯s side.


    Having said that, he couldn¡¯t blame Xiao Tongtong for being so impulsive and rushing in. If they didn¡¯t start the fight, bot lane would have been lost either way and the game would have ended.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, they¡¯ve exhausted all their options.¡± The host let out a disappointed sigh.


    Singed couldn¡¯t beat the gap of their items and fell in the aggressive teamfight. Meanwhile, Jarvan who had been protecting the backline was taken out by Varus, who could maintain a safe distance while launching his attacks. Lastly, Caitlyn, Jayce, and Lux were expected to be completely obliterated by Fizz.


    The first to die was Jayce. Fizz launched an ulti and a Q, and Huang Yu was instantly dead. The amount of damage was still a sight to behold. Next, Caitlyn was cut down by Riven. However, Riven went a bit over, and was rooted to the ground by Lux¡¯s Light Binding. The tower did its job and Riven was killed. Team Scarlet had only managed to kill Riven, and once again, the four of them were dead.


    While Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t die, it wasn¡¯t because his control over the champion was spectacular, but rather because Lux wasn¡¯t easy to kill in a teamfight. It was a 1 for 4, leaving the Support to defend to the death. This fight had clearly shown that in LoL, it was impossible to win by relying on just one person. Team Scarlet was counting down their revive time.


    They had lost.


    It was a complete loss this time. Even with Lux changing her items to AP ones, they were unable to turn the tides in this game. The gap between their items, the players¡¯ skills, the teamfights, and their awareness, were just too big. The opponent¡¯s Fizz could easily sweep their backline without much damage to himself, and the Volibear took all the damage that they threw effortlessly. Even if they could retain 40% of their health, the ADC Varus could follow up and snipe them down without needing to come close to the fight.


    With that type of combination, how could they win?


    Their eyes crinkled with despair and Xiao Tongtong even took off his headphones.


    ¡°Sixteen stacks.¡± The host¡¯s voice was heavy. ¡°Such a pity, it looks like this is the end.¡±


    The host had once again unconsciously placed himself in Team Scarlet¡¯s position. More accurately, siding with Yu Luocheng in this match. Team Scarlet¡¯s performance in the previous two fights was unbelievable¡ªkilling Riven, having just a 0.4-second difference in the fight with Taric, ending Fizz¡¯s unstoppable spree, disposing of Varus at the beginning of a teamfight, kiting three champions to death and taking a Triple Kill.


    He had already made an outstanding contribution to Team Scarlet who had given up, letting everyone see the pride of a professional player in E-sports.


    But he was unable to turn the tide.


    Their opponent was not going to give him the chance to kite them down this time, because they had gone for the tower instead. Once the Super Minions reached the mid lane, Team Dawn would easily take the game.

 Chapter 105 - A Comeback or Defeat?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Team Scarlet¡¯s members have stood up from their seats.¡± The host¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve admitted defeat.¡±


    The audience had regretful expressions on their faces, it looked like they wouldn¡¯t be able to see a Support Lux with Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer at 20 stacks after all. Even though she had reached 16 stacks, they had still lost the game.


    It was such a pity.


    ¡°Oh? Look here, Lux is still resisting!¡± The host said suddenly.


    The audience glanced at the big screen, and sure enough, they could see Lux still moving, flinging her skills toward her opponents.


    ¡°Is there any use?¡± The host wondered out loud. ¡°Team Dawn is ignoring her existence and going straight for the tower.¡±


    Light Binding!


    Prismatic Barrier!


    Lucent Singularity!


    The light burst from her wand as she launched her skills, her slim figure constantly on the move. She was facing four full health opponents after all.


    Xiao Dao, Huang Yu, Xiao Tongtong, and Xue Haiyang from Team Scarlet were almost out of their seats. However, when they saw Yu Luocheng still seated and playing, they were filled with doubt.


    Was there any use in resisting?


    The enemy team had already managed to break past the walls of their base and a huge wave of Super Minions were at their door. The skills that he was launching wouldn¡¯t be able to defend against them at all.


    On the other side, Yang Qianqian was also looking at Yu Luocheng, her face full of doubt. She couldn¡¯t see his face very well due to the glass panel in front of the players and she couldn¡¯t make out the expressions on his face. Even if anyone could see his face, they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what he was thinking at all.


    Wasn¡¯t it time to admit defeat?


    When other players were playing, their eyes always show freedom, entertainment or indifference, but when Yu Luocheng was playing, his eyes were never serious. Yang Qianqian had known Yu Luocheng for a few months, and he always gave off the vibe that he was casual about everything.


    He was a lazy person, no different than most otaku. On one hand, he had refused to participate in this E-sports tournament. On the other hand, he kept coming back to it, more persistent and serious about it than anyone else on the team.


    It was already a lost game, but he was still resisting.


    His hands were flying over the keyboard, fingers clicking on the mouse rapidly, eyes unmoving and focused on the screen. Yang Qianqian felt that it wasn¡¯t about the tournament prize, rather, it was ingrained in his bones that he had never lost on screen before.


    This was not temporary stubbornness, it was a deeply rooted belief from long ago!


    ***


    Your tower has been destroyed!


    Your tower has been destroyed!


    Your tower has been destroyed!


    The announcements came one after another, their towers were being destroyed. The Nexus was finally at the mercy of their opponent. The Super Minions were climbing up the path to the Nexus, and they were only left with a few melee and ranged minions to defend the crystal building.


    ¡°Lux has returned to the well, looks like they have to give in. We still have to salute Team Scarlet for getting¡­ Oh wait a second, Lux is coming back out!¡± The host¡¯s voice changed from solemnness to excitement within a split second. ¡°She¡¯s running out fast with Homeguard in effect!¡±


    ¡°This really is a persistent player! Oh, beautiful, that bind has successfully rooted Team Dawn¡¯s key champions, Fizz and Varus!¡±


    Light Binding!


    It had caught Fizz and Varus!


    Lucent Singularity!


    Followed up by an ulti¡ªFinal Spark!


    Fizz and Varus who were focused on attacking the Nexus could not avoid her skills, and their health was reduced by two thirds. Yu Luocheng had grasped this chance and managed to momentarily halt their movements.


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    A long beam of light shot out from Lux¡¯s chest, shooting straight at Fizz and Varus¡¯ face. They had quite a substantial amount of health, but Lux¡¯s damage was unexpectedly high, and their health bar was emptied!


    Double Kill !


    It was a double kill! Both Fizz and Varus weren¡¯t able to react, and they died to the sudden assault from Lux!


    ¡°This is terrifying, this Lux¡­ it¡¯s Rabadon¡¯s!¡± The host bellowed. ¡°Lux had bought a Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap!¡±


    When the announcement for the double kill appeared, the audience were stunned. Instantly killing the opponent¡¯s AP and ADC, the two main damage dealers. Was she even a Support?


    After getting the two kills, her Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer was now at twenty stacks!


    20 stacks were equivalent to an additional 160 AP!


    A Void Staff with Athena¡¯s Unholy Grail had 130 AP, including Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap of 120 AP and the Deathcap¡¯s additional overall 30% AP, Lux had about 650 AP. With 650 AP together with the magic penetration effects, it wasn¡¯t surprising that she could instantly kill Fizz, what more that he wasn¡¯t at full health.


    Nobody knew when Yu Luocheng had bought a Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap, but with the Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap and Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer stack at 20, this wasn¡¯t a Support anymore. She was a terrifying existence in the game now, surpassing even Fizz¡¯s damage!


    ***


    Yang Ying and his teammates stared at the screen, dumbfounded.


    ¡®What the fuck, is this a Support?¡¯


    That burst had changed Yang Ying¡¯s perception toward this player. Noting that Volibear and Taric were still alive, he also noted that their health was not as high as he previously saw.


    This was not good.


    With Lux¡¯s stats right now, once she threw up a Prismatic Barrier, Volibear and Taric wouldn¡¯t deal much damage to her. That is to say, if they didn¡¯t retreat now, they might actually be killed by Lux!


    Yang Ying¡¯s face twisted, looking again at their health bar. It wasn¡¯t even half, it was lower than that!


    ¡°Just hurry and hit the Nexus! Ignore Lux! Hurry up!¡± Yang Ying hurriedly ordered.


    Lin Laowu noticed how the situation with Lux was, and he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate, bashing his keyboard to attack the Nexus. As long as the Nexus fell, they would win this game!


    ***


    ¡°Oh my god! With these items, you really can¡¯t look away!¡± The host exclaimed, and the audience stood up from their seats.


    The Nexus had less than half a health bar left.


    Lux had twenty stacks on her Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer and a Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap. With these two items, it was enough to dispose of Taric and Volibear, who had less than half a health bar left too.


    Now it was a race against time to see if Lux would manage to kill the two champions, or would the two champions manage to destroy the Nexus first.


    They only needed about ten more basic attacks!


    ¡°It¡¯s almost time for Team Scarlet to revive!¡±


    ¡°Team Dawn¡¯s Volibear and Taric doesn¡¯t intend to retreat, they need to bring down the Nexus in the next few seconds!¡±


    ¡°But if Lux manages to defend the Nexus, Team Dawn will be completely annihilated.¡¯ The host announced hurriedly. ¡°If that happens, the full members of Team Scarlet will likely be able to counter attack all the way to their base!¡±


    There was no way anyone could keep calm and silent in this situation.


    Team Dawn had underestimated the damage from Lux. Facing her destructive skills, they only had the option of destroying the Nexus at all costs.


    As for Team Scarlet, as long as they could hold their ground this time with one champion defending the base and the others pushing straight into Team Dawn¡¯s base, with Singed and Jarvan¡¯s health as well as Jayce¡¯s E to speed everyone up, combo-ed with their attack speed, it was possible to go all the way!


    It was hard to believe that just a moment ago it was confirmed to be Team Dawn¡¯s victory, and yet now, they were fighting in a life or death situation.


    Will it be Team Dawn¡¯s close call victory, or Team Scarlet¡¯s comeback? This would all be determined in the next few seconds.


    The audience held their breath, hearts beating furiously in their chests. Yin Qin¡¯s nails were digging into his palm as he clenched his fist. Yang Qianqian and Wang Qin were also standing, and they didn¡¯t dare to even blink as they watched the screen.


    No one had expected that Yu Luocheng¡¯s determination and stubbornness to give them a show that would make everyone¡¯s heart feel as if it were about to jump out from their throats! The arena lapsed into a tense silence, and a knife could have cut through the tension in the air. Everyone was concentrated on the screen before them.


    Light Binding!


    Lucent Singularity!


    The white lights were bursting, and she resembled a pure, innocent woman with her skills. However, as a Demacian Senior Cadet, she had another side to her. She would use her holy skills to bind enemies, attacking them with blasts of light and protecting her team with a shield, destroying everything with a beam of light.


    She was an aggressive, battle-hardened warrior on the field!


    Even without her ulti¡ªFinal Spark, the burst damage from her other skills could easily deal a devastating blow to her opponents.


    Their Nexus was left with only a few drops of health, and it felt like it would collapse with just a touch. Yu Luocheng calmly controlled Lux¡¯s movements.


    An exhaust reduced the damage by Taric.


    A skill extinguished Volibear.


    The Nexus stood with that last bit of health left, no further damage to it.


    It wasn¡¯t destroyed! It held!


    The announcement of the quadruple kill came suddenly in the background.


    Quadra Kill!


    The announcement sent everyone watching the screen into stunned amazement. In the previous match, Yu Luocheng and Huang Yu with Twisted Fate and Evelynn respectively had put on a performance in the Baron Pit that had claimed a quadruple kill that was hard to forget.


    And in this round, Yu Luocheng was a Support and his Lux had clearly expressed what an unyielding force she was. Even when the tower was destroyed, he didn¡¯t give up, and had even claimed a shocking quadruple kill instead.


    Not forgetting that she had killed Riven previously, it was actually a pentakill.


    A solo pentakill.


    There were no words to describe this Support.


    ***


    The five players from Team Dawn all had both eyes wide open, their faces filled with disbelief. Ian was faring the worst of them.


    How could this happen?


    How did it happen?


    It was clearly a victory for them.


    He had had a solo match with Lux before the tournament, and his skills were nothing at that time. But in this match, his moves and knowledge left Ian feeling like he was playing against someone better than a professional player! More importantly, he wasn¡¯t even playing AP, he was just a Support who had no way to earn a high gold income!


    What was worse than that?


    ***


    A thundering applause rang out through the arena, followed by shouts of ¡®Oh my god!¡¯ as the audience¡¯s excitement boiled over.


    This was an outcome that no one had expected!


    A Support Lux had turned the tides!


    He wasn¡¯t using Twisted Fate, but his determination and perseverance on Lux had touched everyone¡¯s heart and left an unforgettable impression on them.


    ***


    Team Scarlet was also in shock.


    Aced!


    They had aced their opponents!


    This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! Xiao Tongtong, Xue Haiyang, Xiao Dao, and Huang Yu sat down immediately, not even bothering to wear their headphones. Their champions were going to be revived.


    Break!


    They had to push and break Team Dawn¡¯s base!


    They were going to win!


    However, just as the four of them sat down, Yu Luocheng took off his headphones and stood up from his seat. The audience was silent as they watched Yu Luocheng. Why was he standing, the match was not over yet, they had to push Team Dawn¡¯s base and finish it.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Yu Luocheng turned slowly, uttering those words.


    Lost?


    The remaining of his teammates could not comprehend his words. Their opponent was dead, how could they lose, doesn¡¯t that mean they had won?


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t explain, the corner of his lips quirked up, a bitter smile on his face.


    ***


    At the same time on screen, three Super Minions raised their hammers in unison, waving it above their heads together. The four members of Team Scarlet watched with wide eyes.


    Super Minions!


    They slammed their hammer downwards, crushing the crystal and taking away the last of their Nexus¡¯ health.


    The screen froze.


    Then crystal exploded outwards, just as Yu Luocheng smiled bitterly.

 Chapter 106 - : Reignited Passion

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    They¡¯d lost.


    Team Scarlet didn¡¯t even have time to recover from their sudden comeback, and now it was as if a cold bucket of water had been poured on them, and they were unable to snap back to reality. The host who had been so excited a moment ago was also speechless, unable to utter anything. The audience that hyped up previously also quieted down, not knowing what to do, rendering the whole arena silent.


    Super Minions.


    After Yu Luocheng had taken the four kills at the mid lane, the Super Minions had destroyed the Nexus without showing any mercy. The hammer¡¯s fall was heavy, as though hammering straight into their hearts.


    How could this have happened?


    It was a comeback!


    How could this have happened?


    Lux had all twenty stacks on her Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer. If she had just a second more, she could have defended, and their opponent¡¯s base would have fallen instead.


    How could this have happened?


    Everyone had been with Lux through her journey of switching from a Support to an AP, how could the outcome still be so unexpected!


    It was really unbelievable.


    No one could have expected Team Scarlet¡¯s Lux to secure a comeback, to amaze the audience so much and yet now, the Super Minions had destroyed that greatly anticipated scene.


    It was over.


    The Nexus was destroyed, Team Scarlet had the red words of ¡®Defeat¡¯ floating on their screens. Many of them could not take their eyes off it and all 2,000 people in the arena were silent.


    From defending alone due to sheer stubbornness and perseverance, to the astonishing five kills, and finally when the Nexus was close to being destroyed, everyone had held their breaths. Just as it was reaching the peak, it had all came to an abrupt close. This was such a heart-wrenching battle that no one really knew how to react or what to say.


    ***


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity, really such a pity.¡±


    After a long moment of silence, the host finally spoke.


    ¡°Just a little more, and Team Scarlet would have completely turned the tides.¡±


    ¡°But it was just that little more.¡±


    The host¡¯s voice echoed in everyone¡¯s ears, and Team Dawn was still fixated on the screen. Their feelings were all over the place, similar to Team Scarlet¡¯s. Even during their moment of victory, they didn¡¯t feel the joy that came with it. All they felt was the cold sweat running down their necks.


    Just like the host had said, it was just a little more.


    It was supposed to be a match that they would win for sure, and it became a close call instead. Their Super Minions had become Winions, letting them claim victory for this match after such a bump in the road. However, there was no victory shout, just them sitting in a daze, their hearts full of lingering fear.


    That was the only way to describe their feelings right now¡ªa lingering fear.


    They never expected a Support Lux to be able to take them all out. If it wasn¡¯t for the last few Super Minions¡­


    It was frightening to think about it.


    Yang Ying and Lin Laowu had analyzed many professional players in the past, they had seen countless masters of the game, but not many could be described as frightening. They had met an adversary who made their hands tremble and the cold feel wash down their backs. He was just a Support, equipped with a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer and he had almost destroyed the victory that they had thought was easy to gain.


    It felt like a sudden knife stabbing their hearts while they were celebrating a victory, and even if the knife did not land on its target, the cold still seeped into their hearts, making it beat painfully for the longest time.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that no other match will beat the excitement of this one. It is truly regrettable, although the player Yu Luocheng has once again shown us another type of LoL fighting spirit. Not surrendering, not giving up and not accepting defeat.¡±


    ¡°Or should I say, his luck was just a little bad, as he has missed the championship by a hair¡¯s breadth.¡±


    ¡°But no matter what, we are still very thankful to this player for giving such a thrilling game to all the present LoL fans. I¡¯m sure everyone was like me in those last few seconds of the game, not even daring to take a breath for fear that I would miss something.¡±


    The host¡¯s euphemistic way of describing Team Scarlet¡¯s defeat was sinking into everyone as they slowly came to accept the fact.


    ¡°There is no doubt that Team Dawn¡¯s strength is still better, their two LoL players who ranked in the top ten in the University League have fully demonstrated their outstanding skills and cooperation.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations Team Dawn, for obtaining the championship in the Lecheng Tournament!¡±


    ***


    The spotlight flashed on Team Dawn, and the light that shone previously on Team Scarlet dimmed. Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao, Huang Yu, and Xue Haiyang stood up, their faces twisted in an ugly expression. But more than that, they didn¡¯t dare to look into Yu Luocheng¡¯s expressionless eyes.


    If they had resisted just a bit more, just a few more seconds, they may have just won this tournament match.


    Qin Ying walked to Yu Luocheng¡¯s side, patting his shoulder lightly. He knew that Yu Luocheng was a person who could not bear his own defeat. No matter whether it was a competitive or a regular match, as long as he put his heart into it, he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to lose.


    This time, he had really put his all into the game, and even when his team had given up, he continued to put up a fight without a word, and had even managed to create a great opportunity for Team Scarlet.


    ¡°Sonny.¡±


    Qin Ying grasped Yu Luocheng¡¯s shoulder, but he couldn¡¯t find the words to say even if you had given him the whole day. Yu Luocheng sighed deeply, internally adjusting his emotions and gave him a forced smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. A loss is a loss, they had semi-pro players after all.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Huang stood in front of Yu Luocheng, unsure of how to express his feelings. ¡°We¡­ we¡­¡±


    At that moment, Huang Yu, Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao and Xue Haiyang knew that they were the burden on Yu Luocheng¡¯s back in this match. Only when you face a master could you demonstrate the strength of a player. They had felt the pressure from such a strong opponent, and even with a strong teammate, they had lost.


    They had even left their seats while he faced them all alone.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Yu Luocheng waved their concerns away with his hand.


    Not saying anything else, he walked toward the back, grabbing a water bottle and chugging it down.


    He wasn¡¯t thirsty, he just wanted to smother the burning fire within him.


    He chugged down half the bottle and internally chided himself. He had to, and it wasn¡¯t because of the match that he had lost this time. It was because he had used his own hands to smother that fire inside him, but it was now coming alive again.


    This tournament match was for the money.


    It was just an amateur game, why was he feeling this heart-wrenching disappointment?


    Such annoyance!


    Yang Qianqian watched from a distance as Yu Luocheng drank his water, his eyes expressing a variety of emotions. As she watched him, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bitterness swelling in her throat.


    What was he doing?


    Why must he put on a nonchalant expression? Anyone with eyes could see that he was beating himself up because of this tournament. Also, the bitter smile he gave before, it was a familiar feeling.


    Where had she felt it before?


    Yang Qianqian was confused, had she seen him in a competition before? Showing that same expression?


    Where was it? Where in the world was it?


    Yang Qianqian was furiously trying to remember, but nothing came to mind.


    ***


    ¡°Manager Huang, look there¡­¡± The supervisor said in a low voice to the man beside him who was deep in thought.


    Huang Junjie rubbed his chin absent-mindedly, his eyes lingering on the darkened part of the stage.


    ¡°Let Team Dawn with the sponsorship of thirty thousand yuan continue to advance into the provincial competitions. After that, call Qin Ying over, I want to talk to him about a long term sponsorship arrangement,¡± Huang Junjie said.


    ¡°Why not an arrangement with Team Dawn instead?¡±


    ¡°Team Dawn¡¯s main two players are already in university. They also informed me beforehand that they were not going for pro competitions. LoL is a game that is hot right now, and Qin Ying has the intention of going pro. This would be good for our promotions and it will be more beneficial for us in the coming years.¡±


    ¡°The boss really has an eye for this!¡± The supervisor said in a flattering tone.

 Chapter 107 - Product Endorsement

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The tournament ended with Team Dawn as the champions.


    Team Scarlet left the stage with their heads hanging in regret. Meanwhile, the audience leaving the emporium was having heated discussions about the last few seconds of the match and about the Super Minions who had broken the base.


    Yu Luocheng was having mixed feelings. He didn¡¯t stay long after in Grand Linca, taking a public bus and leaving. Yang Qianqian made it just in time to catch up with him. Although they had lost the match, it was obvious that Yu Luocheng had made a huge contribution to his team.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad,¡± Yang Qianqian said in a small voice, trying to be comforting.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get the money, how could I not be sad?¡± Yu Luocheng retorted.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be such a thing. Didn¡¯t Manager Huang say he wanted to have a long term sponsorship arrangement with Team Scarlet, and it wouldn¡¯t be a small sum of money either?¡± Yang Qianqian replied.


    They had lost the tournament, but Yu Luocheng¡¯s performance had won Team Scarlet a beneficial sponsorship instead. More importantly, Team Scarlet¡¯s reputation would definitely rise after this tournament. The audience who was leaving the emporium were all discussing about Team Scarlet and there was barely any mention about the champions¡ªTeam Dawn.


    ¡°Ah, that,¡± Yu Luocheng said. ¡°There won¡¯t be any share for me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Yang Qianqian didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a pro player. Commander Qin will definitely find a new Support player now,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    The furious beating of his heart from the match had finally calmed down. Come to think of it, losing this match wasn¡¯t all that surprising. Team Scarlet¡¯s members were all still young and inexperienced. Don¡¯t talk about pro players, they couldn¡¯t even beat Yang Ying and Lin Laowu who were just university league players. With that type of strength, even if they had managed to get into the provisionals, the first match would likely be impossible to win.


    ¡°What about you then? Are you really going to stop? You know, my brother wanted to meet you. He said you were very skilled and if there was any tournament next time, he would want you in the team. You would definitely be able to take home the prize,¡± Yang Qianqian said.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head, it was better to stop while he could. If he made this a regular occurence and accidentally returned to his previous occupation, he would definitely be beaten by his old man.


    ¡°But really, how are you so good at this?¡± Yang Qianqian opened her eyes wide, resembling a curious child as she asked the question.


    Yu Luocheng had used the champion Lux to kill all five of the opponent¡¯s champions and Yang Qianqian was still amazed at his feat. Among the others who had played LoL in Class 3, the best would only be at Lin Xu¡¯s level. Yu Luocheng¡¯s skills were astonishing to the point that he was even better than the semi-pro players like Ian and Lin Laowu, almost killing them using just a Support!


    If you were to make a comparison, wouldn¡¯t Yu Luocheng be at the level of a professional player?


    If you gave him stronger teammates, would he be able to lead them into the provincial tournaments, maybe even the World Championships?


    ¡°Playing games is just a talent. When I was younger, I was particularly good at playing house.¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Yang Qianqian stared blankly at Yu Luocheng. What did being good at playing house when you were younger have anything to do with your LoL skills right now?


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about this anymore. Our exam results will be out soon, right?¡± Yu Luocheng said, smoothly switching the topic.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Yang Qianqian said, her face showing that she had forgotten about this fact.


    ¡°Whoever gets the higher results treats the other?¡± Yu Luocheng suggested.


    ¡°No way!¡± Yang Qianqian objected immediately.


    There was no need to say it, she would definitely get better results than Yu Luocheng. You should know that now, a student¡¯s grades and LoL ranking do not match up at all.


    ***


    Speaking to Yang Qianqian made Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart lighter, and they passed a few stops just like that. The bus was already filled to the brim with people from Grand Linca, but after a few more stops, the bus became even more packed.


    Yu Luocheng and Yang Qianqian moved closer to each other during this time, and eventually, Yang Qianqian didn¡¯t feel like talking to him anymore. This was because the moment she opened her mouth, she could feel his intense stare on her every movement.


    A slim waist and firm bottom, Yang Qianqian had amazing curves on her body. A few months ago, Yu Luocheng could only fantasize about her. Now, in a bus crowded with people, he finally had a chance to touch her, even if it was just the back of his arm due to the crowd of people around him.


    It was a rare chance that he was able to be this close to Yang Qianqian. He wasn¡¯t sure whether it was due to the heat or embarrassment of being close, but her face was as red as a tomato. It was really tempting to take the chance to land a kiss on her beautiful face.


    ¡®Aw, would there ever be a chance to kiss her at all?¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought to himself.


    ***


    That night, Qin Ying made a call to Yu Luocheng, describing the after-match happenings to him. It turned out that the deputy general manager of Grand Linca Electronic Emporium had decided to have a long term sponsorship arrangement with Team Scarlet and the amount to be given was rather high.


    Qin Ying was well on his way to embarking on his E-sports journey that he was aiming for. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t expect that by losing the game, they had gotten an even better sponsorship offer than the prize given. He was happy for Qin Ying although he was wistful over the fact that LoL had opened up a lot of opportunities for people involved in E-sports.


    ¡°Sonny, we couldn¡¯t have gotten this sponsorship without your help,¡± Qin Ying said. ¡°Give me your bank account number, I will remit your share to you.¡±


    ¡°Commander Qin, I still owe you a lot of money.¡± Yu Luocheng protested.


    ¡°That sum can¡¯t compare to the sponsorship we have gotten. Actually, I know you have no plans on going pro, but one of the conditions for sponsoring us was that you would cooperate with them for some of the marketing campaigns.¡± Qin Ying explained.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he use Yang from Team Dawn instead?¡± Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t understand the logic.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Qin Ying said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your popularity is way higher than that brat right now. Didn¡¯t you hear all the discussions about you?¡± Qin Ying said in a serious tone.


    ¡°No, I completely didn¡¯t notice.¡± Yu Luocheng chuckled lightly.


    ¡°Anyone can see that your skills were far better than theirs. Enough about that, let¡¯s talk about business. Huang Junjie has launched a number of electronic devices which were designed after LoL players. These electronics are considered to be mid-range, but the amount manufactured is high. If they can get the popular players to promote the products, this would greatly help their sales.¡± Qin Ying explained.


    ¡°He intends to have you make a few endorsements in our Lecheng electronic shop and a few other well-known electronic shops. You¡¯re on summer break right now, aren¡¯t you? I assume you would have the time and coincidentally, it is also the sales season now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just let me know what to do.¡± Yu Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    Still having debts, Yu Luocheng knew that Qin Ying definitely needed to embark on this journey into E-sports. Since Jacky has given Qin Ying the means to do so, Yu Luocheng would give his full cooperation, intending to return the sum of 30,000 yuan as soon as possible.


    ¡°Manager Huang intends to invest heavily this time, if you can obtain it all, we will definitely be able to make a lot of money!¡± Qin Ying said, laughing heartily.


    They had lost the tournament, but Qin Ying had gotten what he wanted the most. Yu Luocheng also breathed a sigh of relief, otherwise he would feel guilty as he had borrowed a large sum of money from him.


    It was just as well that he had no plans for the remaining half of his summer break apart from his homework.


    An endorsement.


    Now that was something to brag about.

 Chapter 108 - Master Yourself

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A few days after Yu Luocheng became the spokesperson of the Grand Linca, the results of NCEE 1 was announced at last.


    Yu Luocheng himself cared little about the score. Instead, it was his old man, Yu Jing, who sat persistently in front of the television, waiting for the results to be revealed.


    As soon as the NCEE scores were available for checking, he immediately dialed the hotline to inquire about his son¡¯s results.


    Yu Luocheng happened to return home the moment Yu Jing¡¯s phone conversation ended. His face was a little tanned after constant exposure to the sunlight.


    He removed his shoes and walked in. He peeked at Li Yun and Yu Jing who had just put down the phone.


    ¡°Do I need to get you a bat?¡± Yu Luocheng joked.


    To be honest, he did not have much confidence over his NCEE results. In case he screwed up¡­


    All in all, students nowadays cared more about their ranking points rather than exam scores. Yu Luocheng was basically one of them.


    ¡°I am going to the market to prepare extra dishes for tonight!¡± Li Yun smiled.


    Yu Jing, who always had a straight face, also gave Yu Luocheng a wide and satisfied grin.


    ¡°Not bad. Your overall results are commendable, especially in Mathematics!¡± Yu Jing laughed happily.


    Yu Luocheng swore he had not seen his father laugh this happily ever since he had gotten addicted to video games. Even when Yu Yu was handpicked by a renowned coach and selected to be in the province reserve team, Yu Jing had never expressed such joy.


    Yu Luocheng was more familiar with his father¡¯s solemn face, his disgruntled scolding, and his constant look of doubt, wondering whether he was indeed his own son. Recently, the old man¡¯s face had been even more dreadful to look at after it was ravaged by illness.


    Finally, finally, he laughed. Yu Luocheng had almost forgotten how his father¡¯s elated expression looked like.


    Yu Luocheng smiled along and said, ¡°You can choose any course you like but I am going to decide which city to go to.¡±


    Yu Luocheng knew that he did not need to worry about the course selection. His father most probably had already done the research and made the decision for him.


    ¡°Shanghai.¡± Yu Luocheng named the city he wished to go to without much hesitation.


    Yu Jing frowned as soon as Yu Luocheng pinpointed the city.


    Shanghai, the exact city Yu Jing greatly despised.


    This was where his good-for-nothing son had once left the house for nearly two years.


    But since he had now qualified for college, Yu Jing believed his son would no longer act recklessly like before.


    Besides, Yu Luocheng had been behaving well recently. He was not going to do things that would bring disgrace to the family anymore.


    After some internal conflict, Yu Jing finally nodded. ¡°Okay. There are quite a lot of good colleges around Shanghai anyway. Your results would not be good enough for Fudan University though. But I think it is adequate to at least get you into a few other universities that are under Project 211 1 . I have been closely following the employment rate and current financial development in our country these past few months. According to several experts, robotic, electronic, data management, and multimedia remain to be the few industries with great potential. I am going to select a course related to these fields for you, any comments?¡±


    ¡°Whatever,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Yu Jing turned serious and criticized his son¡¯s attitude. ¡°Don¡¯t whatever me. This is your future we are talking about.¡±


    ¡®My future?


    ¡®Right¡­ Science stream students are said to be so desperate that they are often misunderstood. Whenever they buy something as simple as a pair of gloves, people would assume that they are buying clothes for their imaginary girlfriends.¡¯


    Yu Luocheng had simply selected a course that might have more female classmates in it. He actually didn¡¯t even consider much and knew nothing about the field he had chosen¡­¡¯Whenever you don¡¯t know which one to choose between A, B, C, or D, always go for B!¡¯


    ¡°By the way, you seem rather occupied recently. I hardly see you at home,¡± Yu Jing questioned Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°I worked part-time¡­ At the computer store,¡± Yu Luocheng answered.


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s good. At least it¡¯s better than crouching in front of the computer all day playing that stupid game. I also heard from your mum that you frequently went out with the girl that came to the hospital the other day. Are you in a relationship?¡± Yu Jing asked him straightforwardly.


    ¡°I am not. We are just very close friends,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°She is really pretty. However, don¡¯t you get too involved, you hear me? Better not get into any relationships before you graduate from university. You should prioritize your studies,¡± Yu Jing warned him.


    ¡°Your nagging is more unbearable than Mom¡¯s, you know that?¡± Yu Luocheng went back to his room after he washed his face. He was sick of his father¡¯s textbook lecture.


    ¡®No relationship before graduation?


    ¡®No wonder so many guys in the science courses are unable to get a girlfriend. Obviously it¡¯s not that they are inadequate in any way. They are simply following their fathers¡¯ old school teaching with unmoving obedience. Girlfriend after finishing my studies¡­ Pfft¡­¡¯


    My dear nerds, you¡¯ve got to try your best to keep lying to yourself and numb yourself into believing these lies. When you are truly beyond the reach of mortal concerns¡­ Well, by then you have to cherish your own two hands. In the words of Lee Sin¡ªMaster yourself.


    He closed the door and blocked off Yu Jing¡¯s annoying voice.


    Suddenly, Yu Luocheng came to realize a very important matter.


    ¡®Have I f*cking forgotten to ask about my own score?¡¯


    ***


    He had no activities to attend in the afternoon so he could play as many rounds of LOL as he pleased.


    Yu Luocheng launched the game and first checked the battle history. He instinctively clicked on Snowfall¡¯s ID.


    ¡®She was online! She was in yesterday!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng immediately sat upright. His eyes were beaming with excitement.


    ¡®How many months have passed since she last appeared?¡¯ Yu Luocheng was depressed for a long period of time after she vanished suddenly without a word.


    When he finally found her trace again, the flame in his heart was reignited and burned brightly.


    Till now, Yu Luocheng still vividly remembered her mature yet sexy voice. When he thought that he would never get to meet her again, that person he dreamed of day and night re-emerged again just yesterday night.


    She had played only one normal game as an ADC.


    Yu Luocheng hastily logged into his account in the Freljord region and hoped that she had left him a message there.


    ¡®No message? Why didn¡¯t you leave me any words?¡¯


    Yu Luocheng checked his QQ account next carrying the same hope. No new message there either.


    ¡®Damn it! I don¡¯t understand!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng frowned. He wondered why Snowfall came online briefly only to leave without saying a word.


    He contemplated quietly for a while, then clicked on a category he hadn¡¯t touched for a long time in his QQ contact list.


    ¡°Dong, help me out.¡± Yu Luocheng sent a message to one of the contacts with a grayed-out avatar under that category.


    That person was not online at first. The avatar lit up not long after.


    ¡°Wow! Am I dreaming? My big bro is sending me a message!!¡± That person replied to Yu Luocheng with an exaggerated emoticon.


    ¡°Help me check the IP address of this QQ account. I think she logged in yesterday. Let me know in which city this account was last active at,¡± Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t beat around the bush and jumped straight to the favor he wanted from him.


    ¡°Bro, I don¡¯t think I can be of any help. I have stopped doing illegal stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°Bullshit! Give it to me tomorrow or I will kick your butt when I am in Shanghai!¡± Yu Luocheng scolded him harshly.


    ¡°Bro, are you coming to Shanghai??¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°!!! Oh my god! You¡¯ve finally decided to return?!!!¡±


    ¡°Return your ass. I am going there to attend college.¡±


    ¡°Bro, I am literally shitting myself right now. Finally, I am going to meet you again!¡±


    ¡°Stop the nonsense and get going with the IP. Hush.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already done.¡±


    Yu Luocheng was stunned. ¡®That was quick!¡¯


    ¡°The IP address appears to be from an overseas server. She logged in from a foreign country.¡±


    ¡°Overseas???¡± Yu Luocheng was again stunned.


    ¡®The girl whom I¡¯ve chatted, gamed, and joked around with for the past few years is actually a foreigner? You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!¡±


    ¡°I have also checked her previous log-in record. Guess which city is that?¡±


    ¡°Spill!¡±


    ¡°Shanghai. I do know the exact location, too¡­¡±


    ¡°Spit it out!¡±


    ¡°I will tell you when you¡¯ve really arrived in Shanghai like you said. Speaking of which, you have been chatting with her quite frequently. Don¡¯t tell me you two still have never actually met in person¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me the exact location.¡±


    ¡°I will tell you when you are here in Shanghai.¡±


    ¡°You son of a bitch!¡±

 Chapter 109 - Shit U!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The summer holidays ended swiftly. Other than routinely helping out at Grand Linca to promote their gaming products, Yu Luocheng spent most of his spare time honing his game skills.


    He had heard that the Ionia Region was occupied by stronger players so he had purposely created a new ID in that region.


    Since his house subscribed to dual networks, Yu Luocheng could freely switch between regions in the Netcom or Telecom servers as he liked.


    When Yang Qianqian was online, he would enter the Iron Solari and mainly focus on familiarizing himself with the champion and playstyle using that account. Most of the time though, he was fulfilling the supporting duty as requested by Yang Qianqian.


    Every few days, Yu Luocheng would make all kinds of excuses to date Yang Qianqian as he strived to improve their relationship.


    Unfortunately, Yang Qianqian went on a vacation with her family for an extended period after that. This left Yu Luocheng to practice alone.


    ***


    Qin Ying had finally established his own professional team. He had recruited a new Support player to fill in the void left by Yu Luocheng.


    Qin Ying knew Yu Luocheng¡¯s prowess well so he often invited Yu Luocheng to be Team Scarlet¡¯s part-time coach.


    After all, Yu Luocheng was once an international professional player and his experience in the professional scene was extremely invaluable. Qin Ying acknowledged that fact and would not let go of such a good opportunity to utilize Yu Luocheng¡¯s vast experience.


    As a result, Yu Luocheng changed his role from an ex-player into Team Scarlet¡¯s coach. He attended their practice sessions and instructed them from time to time.


    The ranking system in LoL was very efficient. They need not worry about the lack of sparring opponents.


    Yu Luocheng requested for them to play additional team and individual ranked games persistently on top of their routine practice matches.


    His first target for them was to achieve personal League Points above 2000.


    From Yu Luocheng¡¯s perspective, 2000 points was the minimum requirement if a gamer wished to play professionally.


    One should not blame his or her teammates if they were unable to climb the ranks in a pub game. If a professional player was unable to stand out from the mass, then that player should reflect on his or her own inadequacy.


    ***


    After working for more than a month under Huang Junjie, Yu Luocheng was paid 8,000 yuan as his endorsement fees. Qin Ying had paid him for being his team¡¯s part-time coach too. 2000 yuan for two months. This totalled his income to 10,000 yuan.


    Meanwhile, being a runner-up at the Lecheng Grand Final, Yu Luocheng had also obtained 3,000 yuan prize money and not only that, Qin Ying had decided to give Yu Luocheng 6,000 yuan out of the sponsorship fees given to Team Scarlet.


    The total sponsorship that Qin Ying had received from Huang Junjie was 10,000 yuan. This was the initial fee while the remaining sponsorship would be fulfilled later on.


    This sponsorship was basically wrestled back by Yu Luocheng¡¯s outstanding performance, so the other team members did not object when Qin Ying decided to give Yu Luocheng the largest share.


    This way, Yu Luocheng managed to gather 20,000 yuan and cleared the debt he owed Qin Ying.


    Earning 20,000 yuan in two months was a fairy tale to most freshly graduated high school students.


    However, Yu Luocheng understood that this was only possible if competitions or sponsorships were readily available.


    When he was a professional player, he had once obtained a single paycheck worth 30,000 yuan.


    Unfortunately, he gained nothing after that for a whole year. 30,000 yuan as an annual salary was a joke in Shanghai, in which the lowest salary is also at least 4,000 yuan per month.


    This was the norm in E-sports. Sometimes you gain a large fortune, while for the most part, you were living in poverty.


    Hopefully, LoL would be able to change that.


    ***


    In the end, Yu Jing selected Shanghai University for Yu Luocheng, which was abbreviated as S. U.


    To be honest, when he first heard about the acronym, the first thing Yu Luocheng thought of was Shit U.


    Yu Luocheng had received the offer letter a while ago but he paid no attention to it. All he cared to know was that classes would start on the 1st of September.


    Yang Qianqian was enrolled at Zhejiang University as she wished.


    Zhejiang University was in Hangzhou and it was only an hour¡¯s drive from Shanghai. Thanks to the convenience of motor cars, Yu Luocheng was glad that he could still meet Yang Qianqian from time to time even though they were now studying in two different cities.


    Two months passed by quickly and September came knocking in the blink of an eye.


    Initially, Yu Luocheng had promised Yang Qianqian that they would go to Hangzhou together by train, then only would he travel to Shanghai from there.


    Too bad, Yang Qianqian was going to be sent to Zhejiang University personally by her father.


    Yu Luocheng did not ask his family members to escort him as this was not the first time he was going to Shanghai.


    His mother needed to work while his father had also returned to the workplace after his recovery. Yu Luocheng was expecting to travel to Shanghai alone.


    ***


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, have you bought your train ticket?¡± Yang Qianqian¡¯s sweet voice came from the other end of the phone.


    Yu Luocheng was half awake when he picked up the call.


    ¡°I am asking you a question!¡± Yang Qianqian yelled.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Not yet,¡± Yu Luocheng answered hurriedly.


    ¡°I will ask my brother to help you buy a ticket then. He will be going with you,¡± Yang Qianqian said happily.


    ¡°Your brother? Yang Ying?¡± Yu Luocheng was still not fully awake.


    ¡°Yea. He is the one who offered first,¡± Yang Qianqian said smilingly.


    ¡°Why is he being so kind?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Idiot! Have you forgotten which uni my brother attends?¡± Yang Qianqian reminded him.


    Yu Luocheng thought hard and vaguely remembered Yang Qianqian had mentioned once that her brother is a student at Shanghai University¡­


    ¡®Gosh!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng was wide awake now. ¡®This means that Yang Ying is my senior!!¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve asked him to take good care of you,¡± Yang Qianqian, still smiling, said.


    This was when Ian¡¯s voice came through from a distance, ¡°Worry not, your brother is going to keep a close eye on him and prevent him from flirting around¡­¡±


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s face darkened after he heard him¡­


    ¡®Great. I am under surveillance even before I step into university.¡¯


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? I¡¯m asking you to take care of him and help him out. Who cares whether he is flirting around in the campus. Humph!!¡± Yang Qianqian immediately rebutted.


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise. But you too¡­¡± Yu Luocheng immediately declared.


    ¡°What about me?¡± Yang Qianqian questioned back seriously.


    ¡°Do not flirt with other guys!¡± Yu Luocheng answered solemnly.


    ¡°You are not my brother. Who are you to dictate what I should or shouldn¡¯t do?!¡± Yang Qianqian asked arrogantly.


    Beside her, Yang Ying smiled bitterly.


    ¡®Even I, your actual brother, do not dare to dictate your decision.¡¯


    Yang Ying considerately walked away as he heard the two lovebirds begin to tease each other.

 Chapter 110 - LPL, The Most Prestigious Competition

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng did not reject his soon-to-be brother-in-law¡¯s courteous offer. Yang Ying was the first hurdle he needed to get through if he wanted to win Yang Qianqian¡¯s heart.


    ¡®Luckily my team lost to his during the Grand Final. If we had proceeded to win the game after I demolished them with my Lux, my brother-in-law might feel embarrassed and hold a grudge.¡¯


    Would you believe it if you were told that losing the finals was actually Yu Luocheng¡¯s investment in the future?


    ***


    Yu Luocheng was sent to the train station by his parents, Yu Jing and Li Yun.


    Yang Ying arrived after Yu Luocheng had boarded the train and he walked up and sat on the seat right next to Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng took a deep breath and gave Yang Ying a dazzling smile that he had practised numerous times in the mirror.


    His future happiness was largely dependent on this man¡¯s hand, and Yu Luocheng would try anything, anything at all, to convince Yang Ying that he was definitely an ideal brother-in-law candidate.


    Just as Yu Luocheng was about to start the conservation with a polite greeting, Yang Ying tapped his shoulder cheerfully and spoke first with a wide grin on his face, ¡°I finally get to meet you. Damn! Luckily Yang Qianqian told me that you were also going to Shanghai University, otherwise I would not be able to purchase the tickets last minute and miss meeting you!¡±


    Yu Luocheng was a little startled as Yang Ying seemed to be friendlier than he thought.


    ¡°Let me tell you. You made a wise choice by choosing Shanghai University. I am the president of the E-Sports Club and you will be immediately promoted to be our core member once you are in. With me guiding you into the tougher competitions, I think we will be able to achieve greater heights together,¡± Yang Ying said excitedly.


    ¡°Actually, I only play the game casually¡­¡± Yu Luocheng hurriedly explained.


    ¡°Stop acting. Stop it! Don¡¯t think I am not able to tell the difference.¡± Yang Ying glared at him and said, ¡°Based on your Lux¡¯s performance in the Grand Final alone, you are already besting most of the top players in our university. If Team Scarlet had another player close to your level, or if you were playing a core position instead of a support, our team would not have stood a chance in that game.¡±


    ¡°I am not as good as you think, it just so happened that I play rather well in the support position,¡± Yu Luocheng said humbly.


    ¡°Laowu and I almost pissed ourselves when we saw how a support almost toppled the match,¡± Yang Ying responded.


    After that, Yang Ying excitedly briefed him through the history of the E-Sports Club, talking extensively about the establishment and recent achievements of the club under his leadership. He even shared the club¡¯s future plan with Yu Luocheng and mentioned some of the professional tournaments that he wished to participate in. Yu Luocheng did not once see his mouth zipped throughout their journey to the university.


    His intention was immensely clear¡ªto entice Yu Luocheng into joining his E-Sports Club. Whenever Yu Luocheng showed the slightest sign of hesitation, Yang Ying would offer him the expensive snacks that he had initially brought for his roommate.


    Yu Luocheng was speechless. Not long ago, he was still nervously plotting on how to impress his future brother-in-law, but the outcome had turned out to be way better than his expectations.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that your skills are on par with some of the professional players. After the Coca Cola Cup ends, we could try to qualify for next year¡¯s LPL. That¡¯s where all the national professional teams gather at and even if we are unable to make a name for ourselves in the competition, to be able to participate in itself is already an honor!¡± Yang Ying said enthusiastically.


    ¡°To be frank, I refuse to join any professional tournament.¡± Yu Luocheng shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I am asking you to turn professional, we are just joining the professional tournament as public players,¡± Yang Ying continued to persuade him.


    LPL is the acronym of LoL Professional League.


    (Author¡¯s note: LPL is the most prestigious competition in China. This is a fact that those who play LoL in China must recognize. For clarification, this story would try to retain most of the actual system adopted by LoL competition, such as LPL, S1, S2, S3, and other professional terms, though sometimes the rule and narratives might be altered in line with the story development. To have a clearer picture of the league rules and system, readers are encouraged to keep track of the actual LPL. Indeed, my main goal is to present a story about LoL E-Sport. Nevertheless, I am not going to deviate too far from the real-life LoL framework. After all, many LoL players are still unaware of the development of E-competitions in this country. I am going to slowly inject more details as the story progresses so that E-sport enthusiasts can understand more about the gaming environment in this country.)


    This top-tier competition is organized by Tencent and it was worth multi-millions yuan. It was one of the most prestigious LoL professional tournaments in the country, second only to international competitions.


    Even competitions like the national cyber caf¨¦ League which were sponsored by conglomerates like Coca-Cola was a rank or two lower than LPL.


    As a fan of the game, not recognizing the LPL or S International League was akin to a basketball fan never having heard of the NBA.


    Yu Luocheng clearly knew what Yang Ying meant when he brought up LPL. That was the arena that only the most elite players of the game could enter. LoL teams that could qualify for LPL were some of the best in the country, a newly formed team like Team Scarlet was no way near such level of fierce competition.


    A true professional team was often backed by a well-known E-Sports club. They would have access to a reliable sponsorship, permanent coach, manager, spokesperson, media coverage, and so forth.


    For instance, Team Daemon which Yu Luocheng was familiar with was backed by the DF Club. They covered several competitive video games such as Counter Strike, Starcraft, Warcraft III, and more. The trophies and honors that they attained in this area came continuously, and only teams with such backing could stand firm and compete at the highest level. After all, the grand prize of the LPL was as lucrative as 500,000 yuan!


    The number of pro players aiming for the crown was beyond count!


    ¡°LPL¡­ I think it¡¯s a little far-fetched for me.¡± Yu Luocheng shook his head once again, determinedly.


    He really was just a casual player and he intended to be just that for the foreseeable future. At best, he was only willing to participate in second-tier competitions such as the Cyber Caf¨¦ League. Serious competitions like the LPL was definitely out of the question. On one hand, he had promised not to go back into the professional scene, and on the other hand, LPL was simply too competitive. Only a selected few were qualified for such a distinguished tournament.


    Yang Ying could already be considered as a very skillful player. However, from the way he spoke, it was obvious that even he was yet to reach the national standard to join the LPL.


    ¡°I will join your club and I¡¯m fine with any competitions held at university level as well. However, LPL is way beyond my league and I am not signing up for that,¡± Yu Luocheng told him bluntly.


    ¡°Sigh, I am just saying.¡± Yang Ying himself recognized that it was extremely tough to qualify for the LPL. ¡°Speaking of which, the Coca Cola Cup does provide an alternative route to join the LPL.¡±


    ¡°Stop kidding. To qualify, you need to be at the top 3.¡±


    Do you know how many LoL players and cyber caf¨¦s across the whole China there were? Yu Luocheng¡¯s Team Scarlet had lost as early as the city final of the competition. This was enough to demonstrate just how tough it might get at the province level, let alone the next stage¡ªThe National League, where the entire nation¡¯s best pub players would be brought together to decide the top 3 teams. These were the teams that would be given a direct invite to the LPL.


    That¡¯s how prominent the LPL was.


    ¡®So it¡¯s not something we should daydream about,¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought in silence.

 Chapter 111 - First Day, E-Sport Club

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Shanghai City was best known for its gigantic scale, it was no doubt a G-cup among all cities.


    After getting off the train, they went straight to the university through the subway. Guided by his future brother-in-law, Yu Luocheng was saved from the trouble of looking for seniors that awaited new students at the train station.


    S.U. was situated at the Baoshan District. When they reached the university, Yu Luocheng was welcomed by a youthful and heart-throbbing scene. Camisoles, deep V¡¯s, backless tops, hot pants, tight skirts, one-step skirts¡­ One after another, the thin fabric danced wildly in front of Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes.


    How does the saying go? I am willing to turn into a stone bridge, suffer from the wind blowing for 500 years; a downpour for 500 years; and exposed to the sun for 500 years; so that a pretty lady in a beautiful dress would walk above me¡­ 1


    ¡°Tell you what. There are many pretty girls here at Shanghai University, let me introduce some good-looking seniors to you when we have the opportunity. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. The few of them will not be able to stop talking about a handsome newcomer like you,¡± Yang Ying tapped Yu Luocheng¡¯s shoulder and said candidly.


    ¡°Cool. I am looking forward to getting to know more beautiful girls too.¡± Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes shone with anticipation.


    Yang Ying¡¯s face changed immediately as he said, ¡°I am just saying that for fun. Wait a minute¡­ Are you planning to cheat on my sister?¡±


    Yu Luocheng was speechless. ¡®This b*stard is setting up a trap for me to jump into!¡¯


    ¡°I am just saying that for fun too,¡± Yu Luocheng defended himself calmly.


    ¡°Sigh. Don¡¯t be so serious. My sister is not around here in Shanghai., she wouldn¡¯t know what you are up to,¡± Yang Ying¡¯s serious face relaxed instantly as he laughed out loud while grabbing onto Yu Luocheng¡¯s shoulder.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s face turned grim. ¡®This b*stard is as cunning as Littlefinger in Game of Thrones 1 .¡¯


    ***


    Electronic and Information Engineering.


    Alright, through the name alone, you could easily guess that this was a place where only a bunch of male losers or creepy perverts would gather.


    Yang Ying told Yu Luocheng directly that this course was heavily ¡°undersupplied¡±, meaning, it was one of the few unique courses in Shanghai University that were dominated by single males.


    ¡°A rabbit doesn¡¯t foul its own hole. Ambitious men would always aim for girls from other courses. You don¡¯t need to feel dejected,¡± Yang Ying comforted Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°I am here to pursue knowledge, this kind of thing does not bother me,¡± Yu Luocheng declared.


    Yang Ying who was walking in front of him stopped abruptly and turned back toward him with rounded eyes.


    ¡®Such a shameless guy. If so, take your eyes away from those scantily dressed girls!¡¯


    ***


    Yang Ying was a typical rebel. Instead of bringing Yu Luocheng for his registration, he first led him to visit his E-Sports Club.


    In the past, the E-Sports Club at Shanghai University had been at the bottom of the pecking order. It received little to no attention from the university as well as the students.


    But ever since LoL was launched and the E-Sports Club members had achieved the top ten placement in the National College Competition, the E-Sports Club had begun to turn more eyes, and Yang Ying as the club president naturally gained the fame and respect he yearned for.


    The most awesome part about this club was that it had its own E-Sports hub.


    The E-Sports hub was none other than a computer room. This computer room was first set up for the students¡¯ convenience after class, but due to some unknown reason, the E-Sports Club had managed to claim it for their own use. They decorated it with trendy posters as well as eye-catching lightings which suited their own taste.


    Inside the hub, there was a small stage and fifty high spec computers specialized for LoL gaming. According to Yang Ying, all they lacked now was a LoL competition server.


    The game server is fairly important. Nowadays, players are scattered all around different regions under different data providers (Telecom and Netcom). It becomes increasingly difficult to match up with real-life players from another region because level, masteries, runes, and champions can¡¯t be transferred across different regions.


    With the server, players could be matched up much easier, regardless of which region you are at.


    ¡°Most of our accounts are placed in Telecom 1 Ionia Region. We have accounts in some other regions too and some are shared accounts which can be used freely by E-Sport Club members. This enables players from different regions to exchange skills and experience,¡± Yang Ying explained.


    ¡°How many members are there again?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°I think around 500, more or less, though core members and committee members are only around thirty people. Members from the club can walk in freely and use the computers here without charge,¡± Yang Ying said while walking toward the thirty computers placed at the back of the room.


    Fifty-six computers were lined up neatly in the room. Thirty of them were opened to all members, so in other words, the hub served as a free cyber caf¨¦ for all members of the club.


    The remaining twenty-six computers were private computers and were available only to the thirty core members mentioned by Yang Ying. Most of the time, they would assemble here whenever they were free.


    The front-most eleven computers out of the twenty six were of competition-grade specs.


    One of the eleven computers was connected to a projector. Onlookers would be able to spectate the game through the Observer Mode by using this computer, so this basically resembled a miniature competition stage.


    To be able to own such an exclusive space equipped with all the high spec equipment just for themselves was really rare for a university E-Sports Club. It appeared that Yang Ying was not bragging after all.


    ¡°In our club, almost 75% of the members are playing LoL while the rest are also elites in other games,¡± Yang Ying told Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Are there many strong players in the club?¡± Yu Luocheng continued to ask.


    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Ten of us have league points above 2000. Some of them are very good too but lack the time to gain points. Also, even though I am the president of E-Sports Club, I am not the best player here,¡± Yang Ying clarified.


    ¡°Oh, there is someone better than you?¡± Yu Luocheng¡¯s curiosity was piqued.


    Yang Ying¡¯s skill was acknowledgeable and Yu Luocheng regarded him to be at least on par with a semi-professional player.


    If someone was better than him, then his or her skills were definitely comparable to a professional player. This person must be a true LoL powerhouse.


    ¡°He¡¯s not here right now. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll certainly have the opportunity to know and play with him. Moreover, our club is about to get another player better than me!¡± Yang Ying said in high spirits.


    ¡°You mean¡­?¡± Yu Luocheng let his question trail off.


    ¡°Oh. What I meant is that for sure some of the new recruits are going to play better than me. We can only know for sure when they play their first game here,¡± Yang Ying responded allusively.


    Yu Luocheng rolled his eyes inwardly. ¡®Damn you. Is it so hard for you to just admit that I am the one who is better than you?¡¯


    ***


    Yang Ying guided Yu Luocheng to the registration venue after they had finished their little tour around the E-Sports hub. Rather than following Yu Luocheng to the registration, he passed him over to a female senior from Electronic and Information Engineering.


    The senior, who coincidentally had a nice figure, was wearing a student top paired with a short skirt, and she kindly welcomed Yu Luocheng. Yu Luocheng, in return, asked for her phone number politely before she left.


    ¡®It¡¯s a basic courtesy to treat my senior to a meal or even a movie after she has helped me out.¡¯


    After everything had been done, Yu Luocheng felt good about his first day at the university. After having his lunch at the canteen, he decided to take a nap in his hostel, where he dreamed that he had become a stone bridge.


    When he woke up, he cursed the person who had invented safety shorts.


    ¡®Skirts with safety shorts are not considered skirts!¡¯

 Chapter 112 - Team Wings in the Past

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Luocheng, brother! Are you here in Shanghai yet?¡±


    ¡°Yea.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°University.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    ¡°Shanghai University.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not too far away from us, I¡¯m going there to look for you now!¡±


    Yu Luocheng hung up and mumbled, ¡°Who is this guy?¡±


    An unknown number, a stranger¡¯s voice who called him brother. Yu Luocheng was too sleep-logged to ask who the caller was¡­


    ***


    After having dinner with his five other roommates, the six males from Block 11 Room 502 strolled through the university leisurely to get a taste of the university atmosphere. The building blocks had aged well and it seemed that no matter which university you were at, there had to be a stylish library in it.


    Just as they were about to set foot in the library to admire the university¡¯s artistic culture, Yu Luocheng¡¯s phone rang again.


    ¡°Luocheng, I am here at the university entrance,¡± The person from the other end said.


    ¡°Oh. Alright,¡± Yu Luocheng ended the call and mumbled to himself.


    ¡®Who the hell is this?¡¯


    Yu Luocheng ushered his roommates to move on. ¡°I¡¯m going to meet a friend, you all go on ahead first.¡±


    His hostel was a six-person shared room. Yu Luocheng had been the earliest and he had picked the bed closest to the balcony. His five other roommates had arrived successively and only one of them stood out in terms of appearance while the other five looked average.


    ¡°Hey. Wait. Which direction is the university entrance again?¡± Yu Luocheng hastily called out to the five guys who were now entering the library.


    They obviously did not hear the call from Yu Luocheng who had no sense of direction. It was the two pretty girls beside him instead that covered their mouths and laughed in response to his comical question.


    Yu Luocheng peeked at them, embarrassed, but decided to approach them anyway.


    ¡°Senior, may I know which direction is the university entrance?¡±


    ¡°Do you see the big tree over there?¡± The girl with a ponytail pointed toward a giant tree while laughing.


    ¡°Yea.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    ¡°You notice the building behind the tree?¡±


    ¡°Yea.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. The entrance is right over there.¡±


    ¡°Great. Thanks!¡±


    ***


    Ten minutes later, Yu Luocheng reached an unfamiliar place. He scanned the giant green shade and the buildings around him but found no sign of the entrance.


    Yu Luocheng was infuriated after he questioned the gardener who had happened to be there.


    ¡®F*ck, that girl pointed me to the exact opposite direction!¡¯


    ¡°You better hope that I don¡¯t see you again!¡± Yu Luocheng walked away furiously and rushed to the entry gate.


    ***


    When he reached the entrance, there were still a great number of newbies coming through the gate with huge luggage bags.


    Some pampered students were directly driven in by their parents while the losers who came by foot could only eat the car dust enviously.


    ¡°Luocheng, hey, Luocheng!!¡± A skinny teenager of medium height ran up to him.


    Yu Luocheng looked at him and couldn¡¯t recognize him at first although he did sense some familiarity. After walking closer, he finally realized who it was.


    Yu Luocheng had been a member of Team Wings when he was a professional player. The team was under Sky Club and at that time, a teenager would always sneak into the club and run errands voluntarily for them.


    The young man was actually a worker at a snack shop nearby the club and he was obsessed with video games, so he always mixed with the team trying to learn from them while doing his job of delivering takeaways and snacks.


    Normally, everyone in the team would call him Xiao Bei but nobody seemed to know his full name.


    ¡°It¡¯s you, Xiao Bei! It¡¯s been a while!¡± Yu Luocheng said, smiling at the boy.


    He couldn¡¯t help but wistfully recall his former comrades when he saw Xiao Bei. He wondered what they were up to now as it had been a while since he¡¯d last contacted them.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng! Finally, my idol!¡± Xiao Bei was thrilled.


    Xiao Bei was a very skinny young man with a face full of freckles. With his small nose and even smaller eyes, his outlook could hardly be linked to the word ¡®handsome¡¯.


    In Yu Luocheng¡¯s memory, he was a typical attendant of Team Wings. Members of Team Wings were happy to let him do the chores on their behalf when they were lazy and he did all the work willingly and never once complained. Over time, everyone just naturally accepted him as their errand boy.


    Yu Luocheng was curious about how Xiao Bei had found out that he was in Shanghai and why did he intentionally come all the way here just to see him.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Yu Luocheng asked dubiously.


    ¡°I always come to this area to pick up goods. Bro, you are indeed brilliant to be enrolled in Shanghai University, one of the best colleges in the country. You really are my idol.¡± Xiao Bei said while throwing Yu Luocheng an admiring glance.


    ¡°So-so. Speaking of which, how did you know that I was here?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°I got the news from Brother Dong,¡± Xiao Bei replied.


    ¡°Oh, him¡­¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    He was still annoyed at Old Dong after the latter had refused to tell him Snowfall¡¯s address unless he went to meet him personally. Yu Luocheng would not have the time to visit him as the new semester has just begun but he could not stop thinking about it.


    ¡°So are you planning to return to the pro scene now that you are back in Shanghai?¡± Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes shone eagerly as he said that.


    ¡°Return to the pro scene?¡± Yu Luocheng was dumbfounded by the question.


    ¡°I am talking about the MOBA tournament! Don¡¯t you know about that hit game that has gotten really popular recently? The prize money is a few times larger than those offered by DotA. If everyone from Team Wings regroups and conquers all the competitions, then you would no longer need to worry about the lack of financial support,¡± Xiao Bei explained hastily.


    ¡°You are talking about LoL, right?¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Xiao Bei nodded quickly. ¡°I have been watching the games and training every day. I am looking forward to joining a professional team. By the way, if Team Wings is reformed, I am definitely going to join Team Wings. Hawk, Blood Eagle, Sky Swan, Gale Crane, and Lone Gull. These names are still highly praised in the DotA world until this day, even after Team Wings disbanded a year ago.¡±


    ¡°Hawk, Blood Eagle, Sky Swan, Gale Crane, and Lone Gull¡­¡± Yu Luocheng murmured.


    ¡®How familiar. Why do I feel like it was in a long-distance past though, when in fact, it had just been a year ago?¡¯


    ¡°No doubt, DotA is an excellent MOBA. However, a lot of its systems are imperfect in this country, thus rendering it from establishing a proper framework for the professional gamers. Unlike DotA, the emergence of LoL has brought along a more complete system. A lot of old DotA teams have switched to LoL and made a name for themselves. Yu Luocheng, I believe you are here to recruit everyone again. I have all their contacts but they would not listen to me. If you are the one who calls, for sure they would answer and gather again without a second thought. I think most of them are playing LoL as well. Next year LPL is going to be held in March, so the team will still have six months to practice if we start now. We could definitely make it back into the E-Sports pro scene with a bang and surprise our old rivals then!¡± Xiao Bei spoke excitedly.


    Yu Luocheng looked at him calmly. Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes were full of expectations, much like his when he first entered professional gaming.


    ¡°What do you think, Yu Luocheng? Wait, I even forgot to ask, do you play?¡± Xiao Bei asked.


    ¡°I do, but I am just playing casually,¡± Yu Luocheng answered.


    ¡°Stop being so humble. Last time, you also claimed that you were only playing Starcraft and WAR3 for fun. In the end, you defeated the so-called best of the Human Race player, JKK, from the States. Do you know that after JKK learned that you were in fact a pro DotA player who only played WAR3 casually, he was so depressed to the point that he almost quit WAR3 pro gaming? Can¡¯t blame him though, a player with three years of professional experience in WAR3 was defeated by a casual player. I would also be too ashamed to stay if I was him.¡±


    Yu Luocheng had almost forgotten about this if Xiao Bei had not mentioned it. JJK had simply been too cocky at the time.


    ¡°Bro, trust me on this, LoL is full of opportunities! If everyone returns, I am sure Team Wings will soar high in the competition again. We will be able to attract a large group of sponsors this time and form our own club. This way, we no longer need to suffer under the Sky Club¡¯s oppression¡­¡± Xiao Bei continued animatedly.


    ¡°Forget it. I am not going back,¡± Yu Luocheng shook his head.


    He was puzzled. Xiao Bei was not even a part of Team Wings, at best, he was just a fanatic fan that trailed behind them all the time.


    ¡®Why does he cling on to this topic so eagerly and passionately?¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t give up! You need to know that the future of Team Wings lies in your hand. No need to worry about the trivial stuff, I am going to settle those things for you. You and the other team members only need to focus on training¡­¡± Xiao Bei was growing anxious.


    Yu Luocheng was having a headache. ¡®This young kid is too much¡­¡¯


    Team Wings had long disbanded. It was easier said than done to reform the group. To form a professional team was easy. You only needed a room and a few computers, but to walk this path through to the end, there were way too many obstacles along the way.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s idea was premature and lacked consideration. Just as Yu Luocheng was contemplating about how to persuade Xiao Bei to give up on his naive idea, Xiao Bei¡¯s phone rang in his pocket. From its crooked sound, Yu Luocheng could tell that it was a knockoff phone.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, where the hell have you been! You better be here in a minute to load the truck. I will break your legs if you are late for even a second! Wasted all my money just to raise you up into a lazy bastard.¡±


    A man¡¯s bellow could be heard from the phone. It was extremely unpleasant to the ears, like a drake¡¯s quack.


    ¡°Uncle, I am on my way. My stomach¡­¡± Xiao Bei said in a low voice.


    ¡°Rubbish!¡±


    Xiao Bei hung up and looked at Yu Luocheng, embarrassed.


    Yu Luocheng looked back at him and said nothing. Yu Luocheng was no stranger to that howling for Xiao Bei had been treated the same way by his uncle back in the days when he stayed behind Team Wings.


    It was funny how quickly things had taken a turn.


    A moment ago, Xiao Bei had still been painting a wonderful dream spiritedly, but after the roar from his uncle had interrupted him, the dreamland had shattered instantly and in the next second, it had left behind a messy reality with plenty of bricks to be loaded into the truck.


    ¡°Bro, please give it some thought. I need to head back to work now. I will call you out again when I have the chance.¡± Xiao Bei was not going to give up so easily.


    He left in a hurry after leaving those words, and Yu Luocheng could only nod and say nothing.

 Chapter 113 - The Person Asmodai was Looking For

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Luocheng, where are you? I want to introduce you to a skilled player,¡± Yang Ying said through the phone.


    ¡°Oh, alright,¡± Yu Luocheng replied. ¡°Where are you?¡±


    ¡°In the E-Sports Club.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way.¡±


    Yu Luocheng walked into the university compound, looking around to see greenery, flower beds, and university buildings. He grimaced as he glanced around again.


    Damn it, how could he have forgotten how to get to the club?


    ¡°Senior, how do I get to the E-Sports Club?¡± Yu Luocheng inquired directly to a girl nearby him.


    ¡°Pass the building over that side.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re sure it¡¯s that side?¡±


    ¡°Why would I lie to you about that?¡± The senior responded, her tone obviously unhappy with his doubt.


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­there was another senior who directed me to the total opposite direction of the entrance just now, so¡­¡± Yu Luocheng hastily tried to explain.


    The girl wearing a plaid skirt giggled a little at his explanation and smiled in amusement.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big sister won¡¯t lie to you. Should I give you my number so that you can scold me if the directions are wrong?¡±


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head quickly. Unexpectedly, by asking for directions, he had chosen a senior who was dressed delightfully cool and pretty looking. What he didn¡¯t expect was for her to offer him her number without him asking.


    ¡®Ah, you can¡¯t help it when you are handsome.¡¯ Yu Luocheng mused, rubbing his chin.


    The directions given this time was right, as Yu Luocheng successfully reached the club. Thinking for a while, Yu Luocheng dialed the number he was given previously, wanting to express his gratitude to the senior. Perhaps inviting her to a meal or movie as a courtesy would be good.


    ¡°Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service¡­¡±


    Listening to the message he got, Yu Luocheng scowled again.


    D*mn it! Did he look like the type of person who would fake getting lost just to get a girl¡¯s number?!


    ***


    There were already three people present in the club as Yu Luocheng walked in, and they seemed to be Year 3 students like Yang Ying.


    ¡°This is Yu Luocheng, my future brother-in-law, and a highly-skilled player!¡± Yang Ying boasted as he introduced Yu Luocheng.


    Apart from Yang Ying, there was another boy and a girl. The boy was fairly tall with his hair sleeked back, wearing a pink shirt and a tie around his neck. Overall his presentation was good. The girl was dressed more casually with a plain shirt. Her looks were average, with a small button nose and plump lips.


    ¡°These two are the vice presidents of the club, Xiao Jia and Zheng Xia,¡± Yang Ying explained. ¡°Xiao Jia¡¯s rank points is 2,190 points, which is the highest in our Shanghai University right now. He¡¯s the highly skilled player that I was talking about on the train.¡±


    The corner of Xiao Jia¡¯s mouth curved upwards, seemingly proud of this achievement. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t have much time to increase his rank before the term started, so his rank points in the Ionia server was just 1,900 points.


    There were a lot of highly skilled players in the Ionia server, and their strength in other servers would be around the same. Having above 2,100 points in the Ionia server really proves that you are very skilled at the game!


    ¡°I met Yu Luocheng through a tournament match as opponents, he was playing Support,¡± Yang Ying said, patting Yu Luocheng¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That was supposed to be an easy match to win, but he almost turned the game around and damn, that match really gave me the chills.¡±


    In the last few seconds of the Lecheng Tournament match, Yang Ying was freaking out. Even playing in the LoL National University League wasn¡¯t as stressful nor as scary as that particular game.


    ¡°Hahaha.¡± Xiao Jia laughed haughtily but said nothing.


    Yu Luocheng ignored Xiao Jia¡¯s arrogance. He was wearing branded clothing, so you could tell that he was from a well-off family background. Having a little bit of skill was something he would be proud of.


    ¡°Zheng Xia, enroll him into our club as a new member,¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°He has to pass the initial training first,¡± Zheng Xia replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, just put his name down first. This guy¡¯s a bit lazy, can¡¯t let him get away.¡± Yang Ying retorted.


    Yu Luocheng smiled bitterly, he had already decided not to participate in the professional leagues, yet he still couldn¡¯t escape from this kind of university club. Attending university was to experience fulfilling student life, and many said that attending it was not to attend classes, but to attend to more pressing desires. Heh, in order to advance, you would definitely need to participate in some activities outside of classes!


    ***


    After that short meeting, Yu Luocheng returned to his dormitory while the president and two vice presidents of the E-Sports Club remained in the club room. Zheng Xia spared a glance at Yang Ying.


    ¡°You¡¯re giving a spot to a freshman who just played a little during summer break. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too hasty?¡±


    The E-Sports Club was a hot topic in the university right now, having about 500 members and enjoying a lot of privileges. For example, they could use the internet and computers here during the day for free. The configurations and environment were good. Normally you would need to pay about three to four yuan in an internet cafe outside and you would spend about twenty yuan a day to play games.


    Freshmen were not allowed to bring their own laptops so most of them liked to frequent the club to play E-Sports. More importantly, the atmosphere here was good, unlike the internet cafes outside which were noisy and messy.


    ¡°That kid is talented. We won¡¯t regret letting him in.¡± Yang Ying replied.


    ¡°Oh, and here I thought it was just because he is your future brother-in-law,¡± Xiao Jia said as he raked his hand through his hair.


    ¡°Please, do I look like that kind of person? Ah, just trust me that he can play well. You will see in the future.¡± Yang Ying said confidently.


    ¡°Da Qing is switching to Liberal Arts this year so there¡¯s an empty spot on the reserve team,¡± Zheng Xia said. ¡°We¡¯ll let him fill that spot then.¡±


    ¡°Reserve team?¡± Yang Ying snorted. ¡°He has enough skills to join the starter team!¡±


    ¡°Yang Ying, we don¡¯t even know his strength. He¡¯s a freshman, and joining the reserve team will already raise questions. We have to take it one step at a time.¡± Zheng Xia explained patiently. ¡°Also, the starter team has permanent members already, or do you want to kick Gu Ding out?¡±


    Yang Ying thought about the logic behind her words, knowing that it was true. With only his words to rely on, Xiao Jia and Zheng Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to believe that Yu Luocheng was such a skilled player. No matter, they would see for themselves later on.


    But letting Yu Luocheng join the reserve team would be such a waste. To be honest, Yang Ying was looking forward to having such an unbelievable Support on his team. It would feel even better than the tournament match the other day!


    ¡°Oh right, can you guess who I met during summer vacation?¡± Xiao Jia recalled suddenly, his smile widening.


    ¡°Who?¡± Yang Ying asked.


    ¡°Take a guess,¡± Xiao Jia replied, smiling mysteriously.


    ¡°Shit, how would I know!¡±


    ¡°Which is the team that we admire the most?¡± Xiao Jia hinted.


    Both Zheng Xia and Yang Ying faltered, thinking that it couldn¡¯t be. Shanghai University¡¯s LoL team was not a professional team. The majority of their play styles were modeled after some of the top domestic professional teams, including their lineups, routines, and pace making.


    The team by DF Club that was the top team in the country¡ªTeam Daemon!


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s Asmodai!¡± Xiao Jia revealed.


    Zheng Xia and Yang Ying¡¯s mouths were wide open, and it was big enough to stuff a watermelon in it!


    ¡°As you both know, the internet at my house is Netcom. When I was ranking in Server 3, I met his smurf and he accepted my friend request. We even talked a little.¡± Xiao Jia explained.


    ¡°Are you for real! You actually had such a stroke of luck!¡± Yang Ying exclaimed.


    ¡°Why would I lie to you? I can even show you,¡± Xiao Jia said.


    It was difficult to add a professional team member. Even if you did, although it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that you would play together, you could still spectate their games, and you could learn a lot by using that function!


    ¡°What did the both of you talk about?¡± Zheng Xia asked excitedly.


    DF team had always been an idol team admired by Shanghai University¡¯s E-Sports Club and they had always wanted to meet them in person, but they had always been such a mysterious and elusive team. Even if they were found, it was not certain that they could become good friends.


    This is why, for Xiao Jia to be able to add Asmodai as a friend, it was something to brag about!


    ¡°He said that you can still find the highest number of skilled players in Server 1, but there are also many in other regions.¡± Xiao Jia said. ¡°He also said I played well, haha!¡±


    ¡°Does he play often with that account?¡± Yang Ying asked.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it. He said he was looking for somebody online that day but he couldn¡¯t find him. He was bored so he played a few games. My luck was good, once I saw his few matches, I knew that that was his smurf, so I added him immediately.¡± Xiao Jia elaborated.


    ¡°Man, this is great news for us. If you have the chance, make sure you invite him to come to our university. That would be awesome! Oh, who was the person he was looking for anyway?¡± Yang Ying paused in his excitement, curiosity in his voice.


    ¡°A few months back when he was playing in Server 3 with Anubis in a premade team, he met a Support player who was great. He wanted to get to know him, but the person didn¡¯t accept his friend request for the longest time.¡± Xiao Jia said. ¡°He noticed that this person was online recently from his profile, so he thought he would wait a few days to see if he would come back on. But after waiting for those few days, he didn¡¯t have any luck. He suspects it¡¯s another professional player¡¯s smurf account.¡±

 Chapter 114 - This Is My Registration Fee

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There was nothing to do even if he returned to the dormitory as he had arrived earlier than the others and had already unpacked and cleaned his room. His roommates would be busy arranging and cleaning their own space, so Yu Luocheng decided to explore the campus after leaving the club room.


    He noticed a multimedia center and walked in to check it out. Do you remember, cyber caf¨¦s are no longer called that, they have changed the name to net caf¨¦s which have a higher-end atmosphere? Looking at this room again, doesn¡¯t a multimedia center sound more suited for something you would expect in a university?


    What the hell, wasn¡¯t it just another cybercaf¨¦?!


    The modern culture didn¡¯t make sense nowadays, some things have fallen from grace, and some have an elaborated name based on appearances only.


    There used to be an innuendo wherein if someone caught your eye in a bar, you would buy the person a drink with a hint of aphrodisiac in it. If the person accepts your advances, they would lift the glass of wine and daintily sip on it. That would be the signal for you to adjust your tie, smile faintly, and head over to their side.


    And now, everyone would know what the hell you want if you threw a bar of soap on the ground. Just watch to see if anyone dares to pick it up!


    The most important thing about the soap was that it didn¡¯t matter which gender it was!


    How low has society fallen?


    ***


    The multimedia center was in fact a cybercaf¨¦, specially opened within the university compound. Its decoration was simple and fashionable. There were hundreds of computers and the place was spacious and new.


    As the place was fairly new, there were not many people inside. Although Yu Luocheng was hopeless at directions, as long as he got a whiff of computers, he could make his way to the place. You could even call this a talent. Some people could sniff out girls while some could sniff out their own computer¡­but that was most likely the motherboard burning.


    Knowing that he would most likely frequent this place a lot in the future, Yu Luocheng hurriedly went to register a membership, intending to play a few games. Just as he had signed in, his goddess sent a smiley emoticon to him. Seeing this emoticon, Yu Luocheng could imagine the glow in her eyes and how captivating she looked.


    After chatting with her for about an hour, Yu Luocheng returned to the dormitory. All five of his roommates were in the dorm when he reached. Three of them were unpacking, while the other two were in a heated discussion.


    ¡°F*ck, then I¡¯ll go to your region, you have to bring me there!¡± Qiu Jingtai said.


    Qiu Jingtai was the second person to reach, a very passionate person that did not give a bad feeling to people, just slightly below average in the looks department. Even though society teaches us that we shouldn¡¯t judge a book by its cover, you can¡¯t stop people from stating facts. As Luxun had said regarding this hypocrisy, yes, this child will die, and he is ugly.


    Qiu Jingtai and Wang Qin¡¯s looks were both flawed, but they were different types of flaws. Wang Qin¡¯s was that his face was weather-beaten while Qiu Jingtai was hatchet-faced. The one speaking to Qiu Jingtai had an unconventional name¡ªJiang Jiu. He was unnaturally tall and muscular, the type of person to look like he was all brawn and no brains. It was a wonder he was accepted into Shanghai University.


    These two people had just gotten to know each other today and they were already talking like friends who had known each other for years. And they were talking about LoL, the hottest topic recently. Other than good wine and LoL, there was nothing else that could create bonds between two guys so fast.


    ¡°I heard from a senior just now¡­¡± Qiu Jingtai squinted his already narrowed eyes. ¡°In the university, there is a club with a lot of highly skilled players and they can use the internet for free. The computers they use are also very high end.¡±


    ¡°That good?¡± Jiang Jiu said, his eyes bright.


    To use the internet nowadays, it costs about three to four yuan an hour, some were even five yuan. Just a day of playing would cost tens of yuan and students that were not very well-off wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it.


    ¡°Yeah, I asked a senior how does one get in.¡± Qiu Jingtai continued. ¡°That senior said that entering the club was easy, just register and pay the club fee and you¡¯re done, but a normal member¡¯s privileges aren¡¯t that great, unless you show some great talent. Only an officer or core members are the ones that get the privilege of using those awesome computers.¡±


    ¡°How do you become an officer or a core member then?¡± Jiang Jiu asked.


    ¡°After the mandatory military training, they will select officers from the pool of members that joined. I heard that out of hundreds of members, only about ten would be selected. A core member is easier, just pay a huge sum of money and you¡¯re one. It¡¯s just basically a VIP status.¡± Qiu Jingtai replied.


    ¡°D*mn, I don¡¯t have that kind of money,¡± Jiang Jiu said.


    ¡°Then we can only wait for the selection process. I hope we get it, that way we get to play for free and also play with those highly skilled players.¡± Qiu Jingtai said in excitement. ¡°Back home, my classmates all said I was shit, wait till I get some training and go back and trash them!¡±


    As the two were talking, they saw Yu Luocheng entering the room. They just smiled at him and continued their discussion about LoL. Yu Luocheng was still texting Yang Qianqian on his phone so he didn¡¯t bother joining the discussion. However, he was listening to their discussion and realized that being an officer was actually something not to be taken lightly. Ian had really opened a good door for him.


    ¡°Did you participate in the cyber caf¨¦ competition?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we took third place,¡± Jiang Jiu replied.


    ¡°Sh*t, that¡¯s embarrassing. You need to bring me there, I only started playing after I graduated. During the competition, I wasn¡¯t even level thirty yet,¡± Qiu Jingtai said.


    ¡°Relax.¡± Jiang Jiu laughed. His laugh was evil, and Yu Luocheng could imagine Jiang Jiu holding a whip and beating Qiu Jingtai.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, do you play?¡± Qiu Jingtai asked, turning to him instead.


    ¡°LoL? Yeah, I do.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded, his fingers still on his phone.


    Yu Luocheng and Yang Qianqian were still flirting with each other via text, and he felt that he would soon break through that stage. The longer they talked, the deeper their topics became. He sometimes felt like just giving her a call and confessing to her directly.


    ¡°Which region and what level are you?¡± Qiu Jingtai asked.


    ¡°Iron Solari, somewhere above Level 30,¡± Yu Luocheng replied distractedly. After he spoke, he lowered his head and his focus was on his phone again.


    Some people couldn¡¯t lie to save their lives, and Yu Luocheng was a good actor by saying it so nonchalantly.


    ¡°You¡¯re in the same region as Jiang Jiu, and shit, thirty plus¡­ Wait, what do you mean thirty plus, the maximum level is only thirty!¡± Qiu Jingtai exclaimed.


    ¡°Have you ranked?¡± Jiang Jiu asked, his eyes bright as he walked over to him.


    ¡°Nope, not with this account,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    His Iron Solari account was mainly used to play with Yang Qianqian and sometimes Wang Qin and the rest. He hadn¡¯t used this account to play rank.


    ¡°Let¡¯s play some premade when we¡¯re free then,¡± Jiang Jiu suggested. ¡°Qiu Jingtai was planning to make a new account in this region, so we have three already.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I found an internet caf¨¦ on my way back here. I registered to be a member, it seems like there¡¯s a promotion now that no matter how much you top up you get an extra half free.¡±


    Startled, Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu¡¯s gaze snapped toward Yu Luocheng. This was the same person, definitely the same person who was a road idiot that couldn¡¯t even find the caf¨¦teria, and somehow he had managed to find some secret organization and register as a member!


    ***


    There was a hero who was covered in blood on the verge of dying, and he was being held in the arms of his teammates who were crying at the state he was in. The hero reached into his breast pocket, his arms trembling with effort as he groped around, searching for something. He pulled out a stack of notes, all covered in blood.


    ¡°This¡­is my party funds. Give it to the party¡­¡± The hero closed his eyes as he choked out those words, the horn of victory echoed in his ears as the strong wind pulled the papers from his hands and scattered them around the party. His teammates cries became a melody of despair.


    The scene was now converted into a modern drama¡ªa university student, starved, thin, and haggard-looking, surrounded by his roommates, all calling out to him in concerned voices. This student reached into his breast pocket, his arms trembling with effort as he pulled out a wad of cash.


    ¡°This¡­is my registration fee. Help me to register as a member¡­There¡¯s a promotion for the next few days¡­top up one hundred¡­and get fifty free¡­¡± After saying this, the student collapsed, his eyes rolling upward. His roommates screams echoed in the entire dormitory.

 Chapter 115 - Misunderstanding with a Girl

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The next day¡¯s meeting was nothing out of the ordinary. A bunch of ugly guys gathering together¡ªobviously the topic would be about which girl was the prettiest.


    ¡°Come on Luocheng, aren¡¯t you done texting? Who are you texting anyway?¡± Qiu Jingtai said, walking over to him with his face curved up in a lecherous smile.


    ¡°Nobody,¡± Yu Luocheng replied. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Who do you think is prettier, Bai Feifei or Zhou Meizi?¡± Qiu Jingtai asked.


    Yu Luocheng hesitated, wondering how he even knew their names. Then again, there weren¡¯t many girls in the engineering class, and there were only two girls who were eye-catching enough to stand out. Those two must be the ones that Qiu Jingtai had just mentioned. Yu Luocheng had been busy texting so he didn¡¯t really pay much attention to it, but it looked like the main topic was about the two girls.


    ¡°Come on, who is better?¡± Qiu Jingtai asked again.


    Yu Luocheng had only caught a glimpse of the girls the last time they had gathered, and he couldn¡¯t remember who was who in the first place.


    ¡°Zhou Meizi, I guess.¡± He answered, choosing one of the names randomly, and then turned his attention back to his phone, wondering how to reply to his goddess on the other end instead.


    In the past few days, they had been texting frequently. It was as though they needed to text a few sentences every other hour, and if they were free, their response rate would be faster. Or maybe the topic they were on was easy to talk about.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Qiu Jingtai nodded, laughing lightly.


    Yu Luocheng frowned as he realized that Qiu Jingtai and several other of his roommates were laughing, and he was confused.


    ¡°Feifei, let¡¯s change places. Sitting by the window would be better.¡± A voice came from behind him.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Another soft voice answered coldly.


    You could hear the two girls moving behind, judging from the sounds he heard. Yu Luocheng turned his head quickly, seeing that the girls had already switched positions, and the other girl beside her was shooting a glare at him.


    His face darkened. A few of the guys were laughing, unable to hold back, while some of them patted his shoulder in sympathy. A few even gave him a thumbs up.


    ¡°F*ck, you couldn¡¯t have told me they were behind me?¡± Yu Luocheng said angrily.


    ¡°We all knew they were behind us, you were the only one too busy texting,¡± Qiu Jingtai said. ¡°How were we to know that you would say Zhou Meizi?¡±


    ¡°F*ck off!¡± Yu Luocheng growled, kicking out his foot toward Qiu Jingtai¡¯s.


    It was said that once roommates got to know each other well enough, they would start all kinds of trouble for you. For someone who had only just gotten to know each other for two days, he still dared to pull this kind of trick.


    ***


    Meanwhile, the girl who donned a blue sleeveless dress gazed out the window¡ªlooking at the surroundings of the campus.


    ¡°These guys really have nothing better to do.¡± The girl who was wearing a pink hairband seated beside her said.


    ¡°Agreed.¡± Bai Feifei nodded her head.


    ¡°That guy really doesn¡¯t have any taste. Just dressing like this and he said that this is better? I still think you look so much better,¡± the girl continued.


    Zhou Meizi had arrived earlier and had already familiarized herself with the guys. Bai Feifei had arrived later, and while she was stunning, it was such a pity that she didn¡¯t like to socialize much. There were already a few brave guys who had approached her, but she had merely given them some polite responses.


    ¡°Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,¡± Bai Feifei replied instead.


    The other girl was obviously biased against Zhou Meizi, even from her observation, Bai Feifei was able to tell.


    ***


    The lecturer spoke a few words and then the students began their self-introduction. Yu Luocheng was still busy texting his goddess so he ignored the introductions around him.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, it¡¯s almost your turn. What¡¯s with you, man, aren¡¯t you done texting?¡± Qiu Jingtai nudged him. ¡°With whom?¡±


    Yu Luocheng stowed his phone away upon the reminder. Everyone was busy wondering what to say in the self-introduction but he was thinking about the last text his goddess had sent to him. Did she want to go to Hangzhou in October alone, or didn¡¯t she?


    Walking up to the podium, he faced the students of about two hundred in numbers. Yu Luocheng was used to standing in front of crowds so he casually said a few words calmly and then walked down.


    ¡°That guy¡¯s name is Yu Luocheng, remember it,¡± the girl wearing the pink hairband said.


    Bai Feifei spared Yu Luocheng a glance, her expression indifferent. After Yu Luocheng¡¯s introduction, it wasn¡¯t long before it was Zhou Meizi¡¯s turn. She was popular and highly sought after. She also seemed to have quite a bit of experience addressing crowds. Her words were clear and concise, her smile filled with confidence, and even the lecturers were nodding their heads in approval of her speech. It was obvious who was going to be the class representative.


    Yu Luocheng also stared at the beautiful girl, thinking that she was not bad. However, Yu Luocheng felt that the other girl was better. Bai Feifei¡¯s beauty was purer, her skin fair like snow, and her figure definitely had more curves. There was also no makeup on her face. Zhou Meizi¡¯s beauty was basically painted on with make-up whilst her body was nothing to look at compared to her.


    ***


    Once orientation was done, everyone went back to their own dormitories. On the way back, there were some who were still laughing at Yu Luocheng¡¯s misfortune. Yu Luocheng was silent on the matter and he continued his texting.


    Just as he arrived in his room, his phone rang. Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart skipped, thinking that it was surely his goddess that was calling. She had something that she had to say to him, and he had something he definitely had to tell her too!


    ¡°Brother!¡± A feminine voice came through the phone.


    Yu Luocheng felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him, the joyous feeling evaporating instantly.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you,¡± Yu Luocheng said dejectedly. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°You sound like you¡¯re disappointed to hear my voice, I¡¯ll just hang up now,¡± Yu Yu said, pouting.


    ¡°Yeah, sleep early.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded in agreement.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± Yu Yu exclaimed.


    ¡°I¡¯m joking.¡± Yu Luocheng hurriedly said. ¡°Can¡¯t take a joke anymore now that you¡¯re grown up?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s university?¡± Yu Yu asked instead, her tone softening.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just my luck to have some asshole roommates.¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re in the dorm already.¡±


    ¡°What about you, done with your competition?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I got first place!¡± Yu Yu said happily.


    ¡°How many were competing?¡±


    ¡°What are you implying?! I competed in the nationals youth category in the competition!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Congratulations.¡±

 Chapter 116 - The Leader of Team Wings

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°There¡¯s a special privilege for getting first place, can you guess what it is?¡± Yu Yu asked.


    ¡°How would I know¡ªare they recruiting you into the national team?¡± Yu Luocheng retorted.


    ¡®Admitting her into the national team would be a little over the top,¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought.


    ¡°The coach said I have a lot of potential, but that¡¯s not what the privilege is¡­ Nevermind, you¡¯ll see,¡± Yu Yu replied.


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s almost 1, don¡¯t you need to sleep? Don¡¯t stay up too late,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    Yu Luocheng actually heard the sound of incoming messages and it was obviously Yang Qianqian who was texting him, so he didn¡¯t have much desire to continue a conversation with his sister.


    ¡°No way, the competition is over and I don¡¯t have practice as much anymore,¡± Yu Yu replied. ¡°Talk with me a little more.¡±


    ¡°I have things to do.¡±


    ¡°What things?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Yu Yu continued chatting about random things and more than half an hour flew by with her endless chatter. Yu Luocheng finally managed to get her off the phone and he hurriedly opened his text messages. Yang Qianqian had only sent a message to say goodnight and nothing else, so Yu Luocheng rushed to reply the same to her. Yang Qianqian had been making his heart beat faster these past few days, and he felt like taking a train straight to Hangzhou to see her.


    ***


    ¡°Hey, did you know that the National Cyber Cafe competition is going to be held in Shanghai?¡± Qiu Jingtai asked, walking over to Yu Luocheng. ¡°Should we go?¡±


    ¡°Really, I didn¡¯t know!¡± Jiang Jiu¡¯s eyes lit up at the information.


    Jiang Jiu had participated before in a cybercafe competition near his place and had even placed first. He was very interested in it but there were limited competitions in his area. After the provisional matches, he could only continue learning from the GTV website and reports.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, are you going? We can also explore Shanghai.¡± Qiu Jingtai turned toward him.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    There were still a few days left for club training and the freshmen were free to move around as they pleased. Taking time to watch the finals seemed like a good plan and he wondered if Yang Qianqian would go too.


    ***


    The final match of the National Cyber Cafe competition was to be held in the Shanghai Electronic Exhibition Hall. The Coca Cola Company did not spare any expenses for this competition, as it could be seen in the fact that they had even booked such an expensive exhibition hall that charged by the minutes.


    Needless to say, the cybercafe competition organized by GTV this time was really successful. From individual cyber cafes to cyber cafe chains, and to cyber cafe competitions in major cities, followed by outstanding provincial matches, and now, national cyber cafe competitions. It was as though the whole summer break was burning with LoL.


    Yu Luocheng paid less attention to these in the later part, but it didn¡¯t mean that these high reward competitions had cooled down. On the contrary, following the continuous elimination and fights, the teams that were selected now had made a name among all the LoL players. Even the game¡¯s homepage had made announcements on the teams.


    On the second day of Yu Luocheng¡¯s enrollment, the match between Liaoning and Shandong had officially ended. Team Liaoning would go up against Team Shanghai in the semifinals on the 7th of September.


    Team Shanghai and Team Liaoning were both strong teams, and some information had leaked, stating that they were all professional players. The prize of twenty million yuan had fired up many professional teams, and it would seem that many LPL professional players would appear in this National Cyber Cafe competition.


    Of course, there were still a few restrictions in the cyber cafe competition. The well known professional players were obviously not taking part and even if they did, they were to be split into different teams.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng and Jiang Jiu were woken up early in the morning by Qiu Jingtai. This guy wasn¡¯t that great in LoL but he was good at this type of thing and it seemed like there was nothing he didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°The semi-finals are in the afternoon, let¡¯s hurry up and go. We have a long ride ahead of us.¡± Qiu Jingtai explained.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going, I have something to do,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going? Are you serious!¡± Qiu Jingtai exclaimed.


    ***


    Walking out of the campus with Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu, the boys took a train to town. Yu Luocheng checked the route toward the address that Lin Dong had given him and he was surprised to find that it was the same destination as the exhibition hall.


    ¡°Damn it, didn¡¯t you say you had something to do?¡± Qiu Jingtai glared slightly at Yu Luocheng as they reached the stage for the semifinals.


    ¡°I¡¯m meeting an old friend, I didn¡¯t expect him to be living around this area either,¡± Yu Luocheng replied calmly. ¡°Just as well, it looks like I won¡¯t need to miss the match. Why don¡¯t you guys head in first, I¡¯ll look for him.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu went ahead as agreed.


    ***


    In the backstage area of the exhibition hall, a series of intricate cables were buried under the table and it looked messy. A young man wearing a black shirt was in the middle of the cables, and he looked to be familiar with it, changing the plugs swiftly as he went along.


    ¡°Is this fine, Lin Dong? Isn¡¯t it a bit dangerous?¡± A man that looked to be in his thirties asked, his voice laced with concern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Manager He,¡± Lin Dong said confidently. ¡°All of these are fine-tuned by myself, it definitely won¡¯t be discovered. Just need to make sure that guy doesn¡¯t show up!¡±


    ¡°I¡­I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± Manager He said, even though doubt was written all over his face.


    Lin Dong checked the wires again, clapping his hands in satisfaction after confirming that there were no issues. As he did, he felt the vibration in his pocket, signaling there was an incoming call, and he picked it up.


    ¡°I¡¯ve reached, where are you?¡± A lazy voice came through. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the exhibition hall where the semi-finals of the cyber cafe competition is being held? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re actually a participant?¡±


    ¡°My technique has deteriorated badly. Xiao Bei¡¯s doing good though, he¡¯s pushing through to get first place.¡± Lin Dong laughed. ¡°You¡¯re here at a good time, let me show you my masterpiece.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re messing with those things again, don¡¯t kid with me.¡± The voice replied. ¡°Just give me the information that I asked before regarding QQ.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Lin Dong gave in. ¡°Just go to the seventh floor of the exhibition hall, there¡¯s an office there. Xiao Bei and a few others are already there. I¡¯ll be there soon, I¡¯m just wrapping some things up.¡±


    Lin Dong hung up once the call was done. The man in his thirties looked at Lin Dong¡ªhis expression obviously unhappy.


    ¡°This is a secret matter, why are you calling an outsider, who was he anyway?¡±


    ¡°Oh, he was originally our team¡¯s captain,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    Manager He faltered at that information. He was a businessman in the E-Sports scene, and he had been in the scene for a good few years. It was only natural that he knew Lin Dong¡¯s predecessor, who was a member of the well known DotA team, Team Wings¡ªHawk!


    ¡°The original captain of your Team Wings?¡± The amazement on his face was unmistakable as he exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s really the Fighting Hawk that trounced all the top teams in the country and managed to enter the British International Competition?¡±


    Being in the scene of E-Sports in the past few years, who didn¡¯t know the ID Fighting Hawk?


    Manager He couldn¡¯t forget that it was Hawk who had led Team Wings to defeat the strongest team¡ªTeam Daemon, in that thrilling DotA match! That match was truly an eye-opener for all foreign players on how DotA was really played.


    Lin Dong noted the expression on the man¡¯s face and could only laugh lightly at it.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s him.¡±


    The age of E-Sports changed quickly and at a fast pace¡ªa player who was rising and great could be forgotten in just a few months what with all the other uprising players. Lin Dong couldn¡¯t help but sigh, knowing that in the past two years, the only player that had left such a deep impression on everyone could only be him.

 Chapter 117 - Sky Swan from Team Wings

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The exhibition hall was luxurious, the smooth marble floor reflecting the multicolored LED lights, and the upbeat music was enough to make your blood boil with excitement. The seats in the hall were not a lot, and the audience in attendance only came up to about a few hundred. This was not because the match was not popular, rather, it was because there were limited admissions. One person per seat, and there was no standing area. This made the place more spacious and clear as well as easier to manage.


    For the live broadcast, GTV and Shanghai E-Sports were already on the major online platforms, and the match would be broadcasted through these platforms. In other words, apart from the hundreds in the hall, fans who loved LoL across the whole country would also be watching the match online through the internet.


    Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu only found out when they reached the entrance that they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the hall, and that there was no way to purchase a ticket. They were dumbfounded at this information and even with money, you wouldn¡¯t be able to buy an admission ticket now.


    Watching as others entered the hall one by one and girls who were dressed up in glamorous clothes, Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu could only watch dejectedly without a word.


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng you asshole, where are you? Hurry up and come here!¡± Qiu Jingtai¡¯s voice came through the phone in Yu Luocheng¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What the hell, what happened?¡± Yu Luocheng replied, pulling the phone away from his ear slightly, his voice suspicious.


    ¡°We found a way to sneak in, hurry up or we¡¯ll leave you behind,¡± Qiu Jingtai replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, you go on ahead,¡± Yu Luocheng said instead.


    Ending the call, Yu Luocheng pressed the button for the elevator, heading up to the seventh floor. Walking toward the room that Lin Dong had told him about, he knocked on the door. The door was wrenched open quickly and the person who had answered the door in such a hurry was Xiao Bei.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, you¡¯re here!¡± Xiao Bei said happily.


    ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡± Yu Luocheng questioned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, Brother Dong called me here,¡± came the reply.


    The office was a small one, akin to an observation room as there were mounds of cables inside, including internet cables, twisted together like snakes. There was a computer in the corner of the room and it was quite a good computer. A youth wearing a blue shirt was in the seat, looking as though he was in the midst of tinkering with something.


    ¡°It¡¯s connected, Lin Dong really has talent,¡± The youth muttered. He lifted his head and frowned when he noticed Yu Luocheng. ¡°And who is this?¡±


    Before Xiao Bei could introduce him, the door opened once again and three guys walked in. One of them was wearing a baseball cap on his head. The same guy walked over quickly, a smile stretched upon his face as he opened his arms for a bear hug.


    ¡°Boss! Finally we get to see you!¡±


    Yu Luocheng could only smile as he looked at the familiar face. The guy wearing a baseball cap was Lin Dong, and ever since he was a teenager, he had already displayed amazing talent in handling computers. He liked to experiment with the strangest things in regards to computers and technologies. He was also a top E-Sports player, a DOTA geek whose opponents couldn¡¯t lay a finger on¡ªSky Swan.


    ¡°Let me introduce you, this is He Jin, CT pro-gaming team¡¯s manager. He is also the leader of Team Shanghai, who¡¯s placed in the top four in this time¡¯s national cyber cafe competition.¡± Lin Dong pointed at the man beside him, who was a bit on the chubby side and looked to be in his thirties.


    He Jin was smiling widely, his plump hands coming out in a hurry to shake.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯ve heard so much about you. Can¡¯t believe I have the chance to meet you here.¡±


    The young man in the blue shirt glanced at He Jin warily, and then at Yu Luocheng, wondering why He Jin would treat a student with such politeness.


    ¡°And this is?¡± The youth standing behind He Jin asked.


    The youth was wearing a team uniform with sponsors logos, he had to be one of the members of Team Shanghai.


    ¡°Shenping, this was our leader in Team Wings,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    Xiao Bei nodded eagerly. ¡°You should know his ID, he was a DotA world-class master!¡±


    ¡°The leader of Team Wings? You don¡¯t mean Fighting Hawk?!¡± Qiu Shenping exclaimed, his eyes focused on Yu Luocheng, looking carefully at him now.


    ¡°Yes, that one.¡± Xiao Bei was fast in replying, not letting Yu Luocheng get a word in.


    Qiu Shenping was also quick to raise his hand for a handshake, his eagerness obvious on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the video of your match, I¡¯m a big fan!¡± Qiu Shenping said. ¡°Oh, let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Qiu Shenping, one of the Challengers in the Korean server. I¡¯m playing for the CT pro-gaming team now as the ADC.¡±


    A Challenger?


    This was the first time Yu Luocheng had heard someone speak of his title. Yu Luocheng had kept up with this, that instead of ranking points, it was now rank titles. The titles were Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Challenger.


    Each server¡¯s top fifty to hundred players were called Challengers, and those who could place within it were absolutely godlike players. It was said that the recent ranking system would be changed soon, but it seemed like the Korean server was faster and had already done so. To be able to obtain the Challenger title, this was a real accomplishment!


    ¡°Come now, I don¡¯t even know how your Challenger title came about,¡± Lin Dong said bluntly. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for you to get going, the competition is about to start.¡±


    Qiu Shenping¡¯s face grimaced and he hurriedly bid Yu Luocheng farewell before leaving the room.


    ¡°Any problems?¡± The manager asked Lin Dong quietly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll head down first, I¡¯ll come back later,¡± He Jin said. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, bro.¡±


    Patting Lin Dong¡¯s shoulder, he too left the room in a hurry. The youth wearing the blue shirt also stood and followed He Jin.


    ***


    In the elevator, the youth in the blue shirt still had doubt written all over his face. He eyed He Jin and asked, ¡°Manager, who was that kid? Why do you and Steven respect him so much?¡±


    ¡°You just came into the scene so it¡¯s understandable that you don¡¯t know him. He is Fighting Hawk, and the team he led¡ªTeam Wings, was the only team in our country that was able to participate in the International DOTA Summit, and they even placed high up in the rankings.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± The youth replied nonchalantly.


    He Jin eyed the youth¡ªLiu Zhangming, then he shook his head and didn¡¯t bother to explain any further. Only the people who had walked the journey at that time would understand what the ID Fighting Hawk symbolized. He Jin was a businessman who had made money through E-Sports. He rarely admired any of the professional players, but in the international competition where they had played against the US National Team and Korean National Team, that match had made He Jin¡¯s blood boil with excitement, and that match was really a fight for glory for all the Chinese people!


    Liu Zhangming had not been in the E-Sports scene for long, hence, he wouldn¡¯t know how badly the Chinese were being oppressed by the other countries in regards to the E-Sports scene. He wouldn¡¯t be able to understand the brilliant implications of being able to enter an international competition.


    ¡°DOTA wasn¡¯t perfect and it¡¯s useless even if you can play well,¡± Liu Zhangming said.


    He Jin nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s true, such a strong team eventually retired. It would seem they had some complicated relationships with the other pro-gaming teams.¡±


    As they spoke, they had reached the floor of the exhibition hall where the competition was being held. At this point, the players were still being introduced. They were on the stage and would soon be entering the participants¡¯ rooms to await the final arrangements.

 Chapter 118 - Coca Cola Cup – National Semifinals

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Translator Note: The author wrote quarter-final but in the text it was mentioned that only four teams were left in the tournament. So it has been changed to semifinals.


    ¡°Gosh, it¡¯s Cat Eye from Team CT!¡± Jiang Jiu exclaimed out of the blue.


    Qiu Jingtai turned his head hastily and spied a youth who was being accompanied by a chubby, middle-aged man on his way up to the competition stage.


    The audience burst into a loud cheer as the small-sized player took his seat. This player was apparently well celebrated.


    There were roughly three hundred seats inside the event hall. The distribution between male and female audience was rather even, with no shortage of beautiful ladies in sexy black stockings.


    Qiu Jingtai was envious seeing how the crowd (especially the ladies) applauded the CT player like he was a superstar. ¡®I never thought that E-Sports players are so highly regarded. That player from CT does not look that different as compared to me¡­¡¯


    ¡°By the way, who is that guy? Is he any good?¡± Qiu Jingtai questioned.


    ¡°He is the ADC of Team CT, their core player. I heard that he recently earned the Challenger title in the Korean server and a lot of the pro players in LoL sing his praises,¡± Jiang Jiu explained.


    ¡°How strong is that?¡± Qiu Jingtai was not very knowledgeable in such matters.


    ¡°I guess he is at least one of the top ten best ADCs in our country. In short, his skill as a player is beyond the grasp of people like you and me,¡± Jiang Jiu concluded.


    As they were conversing, the audience began cheering excitedly once again. The two of them turned to the stage and realized a pretty lady had appeared without them knowing and was now seated on the commentator¡¯s seat with a microphone in her hand.


    ¡°Wow, what a gorgeous lady,¡± Qiu Jingtai was astounded.


    Wearing a white V-necked tight business suit, her hair was waist length and her fair skin and ample bosom drew many eyes. Her eyes were catty and cutely rounded at the same time, while her pink lips were sexy and always accompanied by a faint smile when she talked.


    She was indeed a vision in addition to her voice being sweet but not too theatrical whilst bearing a thick Beijing accent.


    ¡°My God! That¡¯s Qi Qiao!¡± Jiang Jiu was astonished.


    The audience around Jiang Jiu were no different and their eyes shone with great admiration!


    The crowd made a thundering cheer to welcome the commentator, this time with a teasing hint. The hall with only hundreds of audiences instantly sounded like it held a thousand people.


    ¡°Who is she? She seems popular,¡± Qiu Jingtai asked straightaway.


    ¡°She is a popular game analyst from GTV named Qi Qiao. I always watch her commentary videos. She¡¯s famous for her cute and sweet voice which won her a lot of supporters in LoL. I almost forgot that this Coca Cola Cup is organized by GTV so it shouldn¡¯t be surprising that such a heavyweight person would be in charge of hosting a game of this degree¡­ Wait, at this rate, Miss Qin might be the commentator of the Grand Final. It would be a dream come true if she is!¡± Jiang Jiu described to Qiu Jingtai enthusiastically.


    Professional stage, professional computer, professional commentator, coupled with a nationwide live broadcast by a professional TV station¡ªThis was going to be one hell of a match!


    ¡°Who is this Miss Qin? Is she prettier than Qi Qiao?¡± Qiu Jingtai asked again.


    Jiang Jiu looked at him in disdain and sneered at the ill-informed rookie. ¡°How dare you not have a clue on who Miss Qin is¡­¡±


    ¡°I seldom watch playbacks,¡± Qiu Jingtai, embarrassed, defended himself.


    ¡°Miss Qin is also a commentator under GTV and she is an absolute beauty. Mature, sexy, angelic, all while retaining her glamorous side. She is the indisputable number one goddess of most of the nerds who play LoL. All of her videos have easily reached millions of views at a record-breaking rate. She is Qi Qiao¡¯s superior and the reason why Qi Qiao is so popular now. Unfortunately, she suddenly stopped commentating a few months ago and did not release any videos since. Sigh. I like her so much but it¡¯s just like Ai Iijima, she now lives only in my memory and computer hard drive¡­¡± Jiang Jiu elaborated, sounding almost intoxicated.


    ¡°This Qi Qiao is not too bad either,¡± Qiu Jingtai replied.


    ¡°Yea, yea. Just that it would be perfect if I got to see Miss Qin in person.¡± Jiang Jiu said, the wishfulness ringing clear in his voice.


    ***


    ¡°Dear audience, welcome to the semifinals of the National Coca Cola Cup. I am Qi Qiao from GTV and it is my honor today to be your commentator on this important match.¡±


    ¡°Today marks the third month since the Coca Cola Cup has commenced from last June. Throughout these three months, players have gone through regional, city, province and now, the national stage. Only four teams remain following the fierce and merciless qualifying rounds. These four teams are Cyclone Internet Cafe from Liaoning, Sunlight Internet Cafe from Shanghai, First Internet Cafe from Guangdong, and Godsent Internet Cafe from Beijing.¡±


    These four teams must have received a huge sum of sponsorship from those loaded internet cafe chains. No wonder a lot of professional players originally in the LPL were seen in this competition. Sponsorship was no doubt the most important source of income for E-Sports players.


    The combined total of the sponsorship supplied by the internet cafe added to the prize money given by the Coca Cola company would turn a player¡¯s fortune around overnight if they managed to secure the top spot.


    ¡°The players are now seated and have logged in to the game. We will be entering the banning phase anytime now,¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s gentle voice filled the hall.


    ¡°We will soon find out what formation Team Shanghai will be going for in this semi-final match. My guess is that they will, for sure, revolve around Cat Eye, the ADC of the team. He is the captain of the well-known Team CT and whether this team can qualify for the next round will be highly dependent on the ADC performance today.¡±


    The camera was focused on Cat Eye as Qi Qiao introduced him.


    Cat Eye¡¯s real name was Qiu Shenping and he was quite famous in the LoL pro scene due to his exceptional skills as an ADC.


    Almost everyone who queued for a high-end ranked game on the Telecom 1 server recognized his ID, Cat Eye. Normally, when his ID appeared, the opponent team would immediately ban his favorite hero¡ªVayne, the Night Hunter.


    Recently, it was rumored that he had even taken down the Challenger Title in the Korean server which further flamed his reputation and more LoL players had begun to pay closer attention to him.


    ¡°Cat Eye looks a little nervous today with both of his hands on the keyboard¡­¡± Qi Qiao continued to relate the ongoing events.


    Qiu Shenping sat rigidly upright during the selection phase. Indeed, he did appear to be rather anxious.


    Every professional player needs to go through this process and overcome stage fright. Although Qiu Shenping was a regular player in this game, he did not have a lot of experience in an official tournament, hence, it was entirely normal for him to feel anxious at the beginning. He would be more relaxed once he got deeper into the game.


    ¡°Eh? What a surprise! Liaoning Cyclone Internet Cafe has decided to ignore Vayne!¡±


    ¡°The extraordinary performance of Cat Eye¡¯s Vayne in the past is no joke. Everybody knows that. And yet, Team Liaoning has chosen not to ban the hero. This is obviously a challenge to the Shanghai team. Do you dare to pick Vayne?¡±


    Players who had considerable experience in LoL would be well aware that Vayne was a controversial champion. She was violent and powerful enough to carry a team single-handedly, however, this champion also had its glaring weakness. Picking her could drag the entire team down to hell if she was not played properly.


    Seeing as a team success would be solely dependent on Vayne, the reason Team Liaoning decided against banning this champion must be that they had enough confidence to nullify the star player of Team CT, Cat Eye.


    ¡°Will Team Shanghai select Vayne¡­?¡±


    Vayne could not possibly be the first pick. That would just be plain trolling.


    Team Shanghai¡¯s first pick was Jax, Grandmaster of Arms. This champion was great in mid to late-game. All he needed was a little extra farm during the early game and he would shine brilliantly as the game progresses.


    The champions pick proceeded speedily and soon, the champions at the earlier sequences for both teams had been decided.


    This time, the camera once again focused on Qiu Shenping. The greatest suspense of this match so far was whether Qiu Shenping would go for his favorite champion after being openly challenged by the opposing team.


    Sweat droplets started to bead Qiu Shenping¡¯s forehead. He was still awfully nervous. His hand was on the mouse and moved purposefully but the pointer on the computer screen did not shift as much.


    Ding!!


    After the hum, the portrait of Vayne appeared abruptly on the big screen!


    ¡°He has selected Vayne! Qiu Shenping goes for his strongest hero without a doubt. Team Shanghai is not backing down from Team Liaoning¡¯s provocation, as they say, challenge accepted! Now we have the chance to watch the hero that made Cat Eye famous, live in-action, with our very own eyes!¡± Qi Qiao said and smiled.


    This match that combined viewers from various platforms¡ªincluding internet streaming, TV broadcasts, and smartphone live feeds¡ªcould easily hit millions. The moment Qiu Shenping selected Vayne, countless LoL enthusiasts who had been glued to the screen were astonished by the bold selection, and their eyes opened wide.


    Certainly, a great number of professional players were also taking note of such a cut-throat match. Those elite ADC players who would only bring out their best in a major competition (like LPL) must be sporting a delighted grin right about now. For instance, Asmodai from Team Daemon, who was watching the live stream in his team¡¯s training base.


    ¡± As 1 , this Cat Eye is trying to show off his Vayne in front of the true master, hahaha!¡± Zheng Bin, his head full of yellow hair said, laughing.


    ¡°He has what it takes. This player named Cat Eye is pretty skillful and deserves all the hype,¡± Asmodai replied.


    ¡°Really? Then I should spar with him sometime in the future.¡±


    ¡°That will only happen if he manages to enter the LPL,¡± Asmodai retorted.


    ¡°True that, hahaha. By the way, someone was on the phone looking for you just now. Have you replied?¡± Anubis interjected.


    ¡°Done that.¡±


    ¡°Who was on the phone?¡±


    ¡°A student from Shanghai University. She invited me to visit their university¡¯s E-Sports Club.¡±


    ¡°How strong could a group of university students possibly be? Boring.¡±


    ¡°I have accepted the invitation.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious!? You must be thinking it¡¯s a date. What a jerk.¡±

 Chapter 119 - Hacker, Ghost-gamer

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°By the way, aren¡¯t you two going down to watch the semi-final match?¡± Yu Luocheng pointed downwards and asked.


    ¡°That game is not as interesting as Xiao Bei¡¯s,¡± Lin Dong turned his cap and said cheerfully.


    Yu Luocheng looked at him and noticed the unusual smile on his face. ¡®What nonsense is he up to this time?¡¯


    Xiao Bei turned back and gave them a genuine smile.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, are you playing a ranked game?¡± Yu Luocheng took a glance at Xiao Bei¡¯s computer screen and asked.


    ¡°I am not. This is¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Lin Dong interjected and answered for him, ¡°He¡¯s playing an internal custom game with some pro players.¡±


    ¡°I see. Lin Dong told me that you were good with Vayne and you¡¯re aiming to become the top Vayne player in the national server, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    The national top player of Vayne. This in itself was a tremendous honor. A player this skilled was basically strong enough to be recruited into a top-tier professional team. Xiao Bei was definitely just a pub player but his achievement was enough to put some professional players to shame.


    ¡°Hehe. This is owing to my relentless training night after night¡­ Yu Luocheng, my game has just started, let¡¯s talk later,¡± Xiao Bei answered Yu Luocheng in a panicked tone. Upon saying that, he turned back to the screen and controlled his champion, Vayne, with full concentration.


    Yu Luocheng had nothing else to do so he stayed beside Xiao Bei and watched him play. He had done substantial practice using Vayne during the summer holidays too and majority of his 1900 League Points were gained through this champion.


    Yu Luocheng regularly played at the bottom lane. Both SP and ADC were his favorite positions and among all the ADCs, Vayne required the most control and this was how Yu Luocheng preferred it to be.


    Coincidentally, Xiao Bei had selected Vayne in this custom match as well.


    Yu Luocheng wanted to watch to see just how good Xiao Bei was. Someone who was capable of pursuing the top spot would certainly have some quality and playstyle that he could learn from.


    ¡°This game seems like a rather high-end one,¡± Yu Luocheng expressed his opinion after he had watched for a while.


    Whether a game is of high or low standards could be easily identified from the opening stage.


    The execution of a level 1 team fight, attacking formation, defensive formation, as well as the placement of wards¡ªall these little details would decide how effective the laning and champion rotations were going to be later in the game.


    This custom match that Xiao Bei was currently playing was no doubt a game close to the level of professionals. Players from both sides were extremely careful and didn¡¯t make the slightest mistake, lingering between attack and defense cautiously. The few wards being placed were impeccable too.


    ¡°Bro, are you playing this game as well?¡± Lin Dong drew closer and asked.


    ¡°Yeah, but I am just playing for fun.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    Lin Dong looked at him scornfully. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, if you¡¯re playing, it means you are very good at it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t deny that I am very fond of Vayne too. My hands itched when I saw Xiao Bei selecting this champion,¡± Yu Luocheng did not refute Lin Dong and replied with a grin on his face.


    As they were talking, a continuous ringing came abruptly from Xiao Bei¡¯s pocket. Xiao Bei¡¯s face froze and he hastily took out his mobile.


    ¡°Dog sh*t, where the hell are you this time?! Get your ass back and clean up the store!¡± The howling came through like a giant wave that sounded coarse and awful to listen to.


    ¡°Uncle, I promise I¡¯ll be back, just give me two hours,¡± Xiao Bei pleaded in a low voice.


    ¡°What else do you know how to do other than slack off? Prepare to be punished if you do not come back immediately!¡± The voice bellowed.


    ¡°I¡­ I will be back¡­¡±


    The person¡¯s raging roar still echoed loudly inside the room and Xiao Bei¡¯s face turned grim as he looked at Lin Dong helplessly.


    ¡°Forget about that scum, just focus on the game,¡± Lin Dong ordered.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Bei nodded.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, I think you¡¯d better go back now. Your uncle is like a mad dog and he is going to beat you really hard if you do not do as you¡¯re told,¡± Yu Luocheng advised.


    Yu Luocheng had met with Xiao Bei¡¯s uncle before and he was really insane. Xiao Bei had been tortured by him almost every day ever since he was still a toddler.


    Sometimes, he could not bear to see Xiao Bei suffer such a predicament. Xiao Bei had gotten used to the beatings and never knew how to retaliate.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind being beaten. This match is very important to me, I have to finish it first,¡± Xiao Bei said determinedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a custom match. You can play another one at any time,¡± Yu Luocheng persuaded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, this match matters a lot¡­¡± Xiao Bei explained and purposefully glanced at Lin Dong.


    ¡°You guys¡­ made a bet?¡± Yu Luocheng tried to guess.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it¡­¡± Xiao Bei was not a good liar and he looked at Lin Dong nervously.


    ¡°It¡¯s a custom match, it wouldn¡¯t be nice if someone suddenly left the game,¡± Lin Dong came to Xiao Bei rescue.


    Yu Luocheng stared at Lin Dong in disbelief and dragged him aside. ¡°You know how terrible Xiao Bei¡¯s uncle is, are you happy to see Xiao Bei sporting a swollen face?¡±


    ¡°But he can¡¯t quit now. We have no choice,¡± Lin Dong tried to explain.


    ¡°What do you mean by he can¡¯t quit? This is just a game,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s uncle was indeed a lunatic. Yu Luocheng had even seen him beat up Xiao Bei once with an iron rod. He had been the one to send the heavily injured Xiao Bei to the hospital that day.


    Xiao Bei was an honest kid and never did he once try to fight back against his uncle¡¯s cruelty. Yu Luocheng sometimes felt sorry for him, being adopted by such a heartless relative.


    ¡°Just a game?¡± Lin Dong looked at Yu Luocheng accusingly and his tone changed drastically,startling Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°I remember someone who tortured the entire team from another country just because of those three words. It¡¯s a game?¡± Lin Dong laughed sarcastically. ¡°It¡¯s a war. You said this to them then, right?¡±


    Lin Dong¡¯s sudden change of tone silenced Yu Luocheng.


    ¡®Those are things in the past¡­¡¯


    Suddenly, the time in the room seemed to have stopped moving.


    Lin Dong looked straight into Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes but the latter maintained his calm and usual steadiness. Xiao Bei was the only busy one in the room, sneakily peeking at the two old members of Team Wings, who had suddenly brought up a very depressing topic. These few moments of lost concentration cost him a few CS in the ongoing match.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, get up,¡± Finally, Lin Dong spoke again.


    ¡°What?¡± Xiao Bei looked at Lin Dong with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Your uncle is mad. You¡¯d better get back now. Let this big bro over here do the job for you,¡± Lin Dong turned his hat and grinned widely again.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng is gonna play on behalf of me?¡± Xiao Bei was confused at first, but gradually, his eyes beamed with enthusiasm and delight.


    Xiao Bei idolized Yu Luocheng the most. He and Lin Dong had refused to believe that Yu Luocheng was just playing LoL for fun. He was overpowered in whichever video game he played, his talent in this field was simply sensational!


    ¡°Bail Xiao Bei out this time. You have to save him from being reported,¡± Lin Dong¡¯s friendly smile quickly wiped away the dreadful conversation like it had never taken place.


    Yu Luocheng took it as a sign to change the subject and agreed without thinking much, ¡°Sure.¡±


    He sat on Xiao Bei¡¯s seat right after.


    ***


    Xiao Bei walked to Lin Dong after he gave the seat to Yu Luocheng.


    He was restless and whispered to Lin Dong, ¡°Brother Dong, is this¡­ really going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°I thought you were eager to find out whether he has really given up on E-Sports?¡± Lin Dong replied in a low voice.


    ¡°Luocheng would never give up! He is so talented and has so much passion for the game¡­¡± Xiao Bei answered confidently.


    ¡°We will find out after this game,¡± Lin Dong gave him a cunning grin.


    Xiao Bei was stunned at first, but upon understanding Lin Dong¡¯s true intention, he gave him a big thumbs up.


    ***


    On the stage, Qi Qiao noticed something odd and she pointed it out to the audience. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Vayne has remained immobile under the tower but Cat Eye¡¯s gestures do not show any indications that his computer is having any issues.¡±


    On the player¡¯s seat, Cat Eye aka Qiu Shenping was perspiring profusely. He cursed silently, ¡®What¡¯s Lin Dong doing? He promised me that everything was going to work perfectly fine!¡¯


    ¡°Oh, now she¡¯s moving again.¡±


    ¡°I think he was trying to customize certain keys. Vayne is now back in position to CS¡­¡±


    The audience was relieved. It would be a shame if the computer had broken down during such an important match.


    ***


    Behind the scenes, He Jin furrowed his brows slightly. He walked down the backstage with a small sense of insecurity irking his mind. After exiting the hall, he went straight to the seventh floor. He prayed hard that nothing was going wrong, otherwise, not only would they would lose the game, but it would be game over for the CT Club¡¯s reputation as well.

 Chapter 120 - Ghost-gamer of Ghost-gamer

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Chubby He, what the hell is happening?¡± Just before he could escape from the backstage, He Jin got held back by a lady who looked to be in her twenties.


    ¡°Aijing, what brings you here?¡± He Jin was startled to see the lady in high heels who stood out with her light yellow dyed hair.


    Zhang Aijing was the head of both CT and 71 Clubs. Simultaneously, she also assumed the role of the strategy analyst for both clubs. Besides that, she also appeared frequently on a gaming channel known as E-Sports Storm as an invited adviser. Her name was rather well known in the gaming world which earned her the chance to work as a Tencent official commentator on several occasions.


    Zhang Aijing was basically He Jin¡¯s superior. Glancing meaningfully toward Cat Eye on the stage, she sneered, ¡°Did you really think that I was unaware of Cat Eye¡¯s sudden and unexplainable rise? What is going on?¡±


    Team 71 was one of the top teams in the country whilst Team CT could only be considered, at best, as second tier.


    Prior to this, Zhang Aijing had gone through all the matches held at the province stage and found out that Team CT¡¯s ADC was unbelievably powerful. Based on her previous scouting, she knew that Cat Eye¡¯s ADC skill had yet to reach the point where he was able to fully dominate the opponent with exceptional control and insight.


    With that doubt in mind, Zhang Aijing had come to the match to see for herself whether Team CT was staging a ghost-gamer for the sake of the prize money, not expecting to see Qiu Shenping on the player seat. However, she was not convinced and hence, the confrontation with He Jin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare try to hide it. I can tell Cat Eye was not the one in the pilot seat during the last few matches,¡± Zhang Aijing crossed her arms, her voice cold and accusing.


    ¡°Erm¡­¡± He Jin smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to react.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Who is this ghost-gamer? You should know that all the well-known ADCs in the country have their own unique playstyle and habits. This match is broadcast live nationwide, not only on TV, but also on the internet and the Tencent official site. The viewer count could easily reach a few million. An ordinary player may not be able to tell, but the professionals and analysts from the other teams are as sharp as hawks. Do you really think you can hide the truth from them? They will instantly realize who the Vayne player actually is and if they decide to relay this to Tencent and rewind the playback from other matches, CT Club will be condemned by the entire gaming society and the blame for the club¡¯s tainted reputation will be yours!¡± Zhang Aijing reprimanded him angrily.


    Ghost-gaming was a norm in casual ranked games as it did little harm in non-official matches, however, it was strictly prohibited in an official match such as this. Doing so was no different to digging one¡¯s own grave.


    He Jin laughed nervously and pulled Zhang Aijing to a corner, trying to convince her in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, the one playing in Cat Eye¡¯s place is not a professional, but a pub player. I don¡¯t think anyone would recognize him.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zhang Aijing asked.


    After viewing the replays, Zhang Aijing had discovered that the real ADC behind Cat Eye was a well-developed LoL player. If he could coordinate better with the SP, Team CT would not lose to any tier 2 or even some of the tier 1 teams.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve heard of him. His name is Xiao Bei¡­ Let me bring you to him,¡± He Jin said.


    Liu Zhangming had been there when they walked out of the hall and he followed them swiftly into the lift. The three of them hurried to the little office room on the seventh floor after exiting the lift.


    There were three people in the room¡ªXiao Bei, Lin Dong, and Yu Luocheng.


    When He Jin pushed open the door, his face was still full of smiles, trying to please Zhang Aijing. However, that smile vanished the instant he saw Xiao Bei, who was supposed to be playing, standing instead of sitting in front of the computer.


    Both Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were standing behind the seat on both sides, watching the game with great focus. Most shockingly, it was the university student Yu Luochengthat was playing Vayne at that moment.


    ¡®What the f*ck is going on!¡¯


    He Jin¡¯s face darkened and Liu Zhangming who was behind him also looked dumbfounded. He looked from their ghost-gamer Xiao Bei to Yu Luocheng and back to Xiao Bei and a look of rage rapidly covered his face.


    ¡°What¡­ What are you all doing?! Why is he in the player seat? Don¡¯t you know how important this match is?!¡± Liu Zhangming pointed accusingly at Xiao Bei and said in a panic, ¡°Quick, get back on it!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, calm down!¡± Xiao Bei tried to soothe Liu Zhangming¡¯s anger.


    ¡°Calm your ass down! I was wondering why there were two unnecessary deaths within ten minutes. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve been paid!¡± Liu Zhangming bellowed.


    The bottom lane was heavily disfavored at the moment. Vayne¡¯s CS had been suppressed by more than twenty and the ADC had already been killed twice, resulting in the Varus from the opposing team to be absurdly well-farmed now.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s performance today had greatly troubled Liu Zhangming. Usually, the ghost-gamer could still maintain a steady development even in the most disadvantageous circumstances. Now he knew why. This Vayne was not played by Xiao Bei but the guy who called himself the Fighting Hawk!


    This fellow had long retired from the pro scene, and being good in DotA did not guarantee that he would be just as good in LoL. At the very least, Liu Zhangming did not think highly of this Fighting Hawk.


    This was the semifinals of the Coca Cola Cup. Team Shanghai would be playing in the finals if they won this match. The finals were worth a solid 200,000 yuan prize money and Liu Zhangming, as the person in charge of Team Shanghai, could not allow any mishaps. God knows how much energy and money they had poured in to reach this stage!


    You have been slain!


    As Liu Zhangming objected irritably, Vayne was once again killed by the opponent¡¯s Jungle player at the bottom lane, and the screen immediately turned black and white. Yu Luocheng frowned and tapped the mouse lightly with his finger while waiting for Vayne to respawn.


    ¡°Sh*t, the bottom lane has completely collapsed!¡±


    Zero kills three deaths and zero assists. Fifteen minutes in and this performance could only be described with one word¡ªDisaster!


    ¡°Lin Dong, I¡¯m warning you, if we lose this match, you¡¯d better vomit back everything you took before this¡­¡± Liu Zhangming said tersely, pointing his finger at Lin Dong¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Cut the crap, just stand aside and watch,¡± Lin Dong cut Liu Zhangming¡¯s non-stop babbling off impatiently.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Liu Zhangming was infuriated.


    It was 200,000 yuan! For months, they had fought hard for it, and yet, Lin Dong had thrown in some John Doe in the middle of a live or die match.


    ¡®He is obviously playing us!¡¯


    ¡°Liu Zhangming, shut it,¡± He Jin took a hold of Liu Zhangming¡¯s head to stop his ranting.


    It took everything in Liu Zhangming to rein in his temper, but the hatred in his eyes was enough to portray his resentment, as if he was saying, ¡®You¡¯d better not lose this, or else¡­¡¯


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside.¡± He Jin gestured toward Lin Dong and Xiao Bei, and they nodded, following him out of the room.


    Yu Luocheng turned back and looked at them. He mumbled, ¡°Why the commotion? It¡¯s just a custom match, why are they treating it like a life or death matter¡­?¡±


    Speaking of which, the difficulty of this custom game was beyond Yu Luocheng¡¯s imagination.


    Regardless of the opponents or teammates, their prowess was undeniably high. It was him that had had a cold hand in the early game and had wound up feeding several times.


    Nevertheless, Yu Luocheng was still in high spirits. For a champion like Vayne, having three or four deaths at the beginning of the match was not the end of the world. As long as he kept up his CS and got his items out at the appropriate timing, Vayne would still be untouchable in a team fight.


    Ring¡­ Ring¡­


    Suddenly, a mobile phone on the table rang and vibrated.


    Yu Luocheng glanced at it and picked up the phone while his other hand was busy controlling Vayne. ¡°Hello. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I am not going down. I¡¯m playing a high-rank custom match here, you two carry on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an interesting match? What, the Vayne is a noob? Don¡¯t judge so soon. Vayne is usually weaker during the early game, it¡¯s totally normal. Tell you what, I¡¯m also playing Vayne over here. I, too, was terrible early game¡­¡±


    He Jin¡¯s chubby face contorted as he saw Yu Luocheng talking on the phone leisurely while playing.


    ¡®For god¡¯s sake! Do you know the semifinals you are playing dictates our chance on the 200,000 yuan final prize? My lord, my dear lord, can you put down the d*mned phone and concentrate on the game first? The terrible Vayne your friend is talking about is none other than you ! 1 Over a few million viewers from the entire country have been witnessing you feed Vayne to the opponent!¡¯

 Chapter 121 - Can You F*cking Play More Seriously!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Zhang Aijing looked at them with a lot of question marks on her face.


    He Jin restrained his urge to hit the wall and introduced Xiao Bei, ¡°Aijing, this is Xiao Bei. He is the talented ADC player I told you before, which I found out inadvertently. He is the one who helped earn Cat Eye¡¯s Challenger Title. He was also the players behind the scene in previous rounds.¡±


    ¡°So you are Xiao Bei. I had watched your previous play. You are no doubt very talented. If you don¡¯t mind, you can join 71 Club and start with the reserve team. You will be promoted to the main team if you do well¡­ Wait a minute¡­¡± After Zhang Aijing blurted out the words subconsciously, she noticed something was not right and glanced inside the room. She pointed and asked, ¡°If you are the ghost, who is the one currently playing then?¡±


    He Jin was embarrassed and answered, ¡°That¡¯s the captain of Team Wings¡ªFighting Hawk.¡±


    ¡°Fighting Hawk? That Fighting Hawk?¡± Zhang Aijing asked puzzlingly.


    ¡°Yes. The well-known DOTA world-class player. He had retired for close to a year now,¡± He Jin explained.


    Zhang Aijing was baffled. She opened her mouth slightly out of surprise.


    ¡°He¡­ He is Fighting Hawk??¡± Zhang Aijing had joined this field for two years now. Fighting Hawk was at his peak when she started her gaming career.


    ¡°What is so great about him. He is being crushed at the bottom lane. World-class player? Bullshit.¡± Liu Zhangming said spitefully.


    ¡°Brother Yu Luocheng just happened to have cold hands. He is very good. Definitely way better than I am,¡± Xiao Bei said faithfully.


    ¡°Humph. Three deaths and zero kills. He is really some professional player,¡± Liu Zhangming took a jab at Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°I say, Lin Dong, this is inappropriate. We know that Fighting Hawk is your previous team captain. He might be a legend in the E-Sports world but that¡¯s in the past. Since he had left for more than a year, I think it¡¯s better to let Xiao Bei take over from here. Other lanes are still holding fine so it still isn¡¯t too late to switch¡­¡± Chubby He persuaded patiently and didn¡¯t talked impulsively like Liu Zhangming.


    ¡°Manager He, do you believe in me?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°Of course I do. I won¡¯t allow you to do this if I have no confidence in you. This is related to our club¡¯s reputation¡­¡± He Jin said firmly.


    ¡°If you believe me, then you have to trust our ex-leader. I guess he is too used to low-rank games and couldn¡¯t immediately grasp the tempo of such high-level play. Besides, he admitted that he seldom focuses on Vayne¡¯s laning. He would be fine once the team fight starts to take place more frequently.¡± Lin Dong defended Yu Luocheng.


    Xiao Bei nodded vigorously. His admiration for Yu Luocheng was absolute. No matter how bad Yu Luocheng plays, he would convince himself that his idol was just having a bad day.


    He Jin didn¡¯t know what to say. He could only concede since Lin Dong had said so.


    But when He Jin thought about how unprofessional Yu Luocheng in treating this game, he visualized the twenty thousand yuan within grasp being splashed into the river.


    ¡°One more thing. This bro of mine made a pact. Do not let him know that this is a national stage semifinal. He promised not to participate in any official competition,¡± Lin Dong reminded.


    Zhang Aijing opened her mouth again.


    ¡®That explains why he approached this game so casually. He has no idea about the weight of this game at all.¡¯


    Zhang Aijing still didn¡¯t understand why the once glorious Fighting Hawk had decided to withdraw from the pro scene during his peak.


    ¡°I still stand by my words. You gotta return the money you have received so far if we lose this game,¡± Liu Zhangming said without any expression.


    ¡°Let¡¯s concentrate on the match.¡± Zhang Aijing had an eager smile on her face.


    To be honest, Zhang Aijing was no stranger to the name of Fighting Hawk. She wished to see how Fighting Hawk, who had vowed not to join a professional competition, would fare in this high-rank national game.


    Obviously, he had a rough game up to this point. This must be due to his lack of urgency.


    The high-rank game has a different rhythm as compared to a pub game. The play level at this stage is close to those of the professionals. A player would be pinned down cruelly if he or she is not paying enough attention. This is because the enemies are all ferocious wolves ready to jump on you at any opportunity.


    ¡°The main reason for his poor play is the constant pressure by Team Liaoning. Our team depends greatly on Vayne to have a shot in this game. So four players from the opposing teams had taken turns to harass brother Yu Luocheng. Even I may not be played as well as he did up to this point,¡± Xiao Bei explained to them humbly and sincerely.


    Xiao Bei did not leave. No matter how angry was his uncle¡¯s howling, he wanted to watch this game through the end, because Yu Luocheng Yu is the person he idolized the most.


    ***


    Five of them returned to the room with different expressions on their face.


    Yu Luocheng turned back and looked at them. Just as he wanted to say something, Chubby He face froze and stopped him. ¡°Pay attention to the game. We just wanted to watch.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I am getting bored with CS over here. Lin Dong, get me a can of Coca Cola. I am a little thirsty,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    The outer tower had gone down. The SP player had moved to other lanes rescue after he placed a ward for Yu Luocheng. He went on to farm alone without worry at the bottom lane.


    His teammates were highly dependable. They held on courageously even though they were being outnumbered 4 against 5 all this while. This provided enough window and space for Yu Luocheng to catch up in terms of item.


    ¡°Let me do it, let me do it. You just stick to the game,¡± Chubby He said hurriedly.


    ¡°Thanks! That¡¯s a lot to ask,¡± Yu Luocheng was not used to trouble other people.


    Chubby He almost cried. ¡®Could you play with more urgency? Stick your eyes back to the screen now. This is killing me.¡¯


    The manager went in a flash to prevent Yu Luocheng from turning his head again.


    ***


    After Chubby He left, Yu Luocheng continued his solo play and farmed without much pressure. ¡°Xiao Bei, your friends are really pro.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are quite good¡­¡± Xiao Bei answered sheepishly.


    Liu Zhangming at the side snorted. It¡¯s getting more and more difficult for him to hold back his expletives.


    ¡®This is the best team out of several ten thousand cybercaf¨¦s in the Liaoning province. For sure they are pro! You are a f*cking idiot to think that this is just a normal custom match. Son of a b*tch!¡¯


    Zhang Aijing stood at the other side of the computer with great interest. She did not utter a word and fixed her eyes on the screen quietly.


    Unlike Liu Zhangming who only emphasized on the outcome, Zhang Aijing watched the game from an expert¡¯s perspective. Yu Luocheng¡¯s fundamental skills were excellent. His current form was due to his playful attitude during the early game, as well as the persistent ganking by Team Liaoning.


    ***


    Vayne farmed happily at the bottom lane while the other four players from Team Shanghai were busy skirmishing from top to mid lane.


    Yu Luocheng ignored what his teammates were doing and focusing solely on lane pressing. He went straight for the inner tower at the bottom lane and recalled decisively after dismantled two turrets. All four other members from Team Shanghai were killed at the same time while Team Liaoning still had two champions left. They also took down two turrets from top lane. Overall, Team Liaoning still held a major advantage.


    ¡°This Vayne is a fluke. He goes solo at the bottom lane for way too long. Even a newbie who never plays ranked game like me know he should be joining team fight by now,¡± Qiu Jingtai boasted.


    Jiang Jiu also furrowed his brows.


    He was in serious doubt. Judging by Cat Eye previous record, he was not supposed to troll his teammates this hard.


    Solo farm at the bottom lane was rarely seen in a team-oriented game. ¡®Is this still a professional LOL match?¡¯


    ¡°Apparently, Team Sunlight from Shanghai was sacrificing the team financially in Vayne favors. The performance of Cat Eye today is indeed a little off. We shall see whether this champion could still carry late in the team fight. If he remains in current form¡­¡± Qi Qiao explained.


    Qiu Jingtai questioned Qi Qiao¡¯s words, ¡°What does she mean? Why sacrifice the team in Vayne¡¯s favor? This Vayne is so noob and has died numerous times in the early game. Moreover, he did not join any earlier team fight at all. Twenty minutes in and I still don¡¯t see why he was known as a Challenger ADC.¡±


    ¡°I think this is a kind of strategy¡­ Vayne was heavily harassed early in the game. This makes her item build simply too weak to have an impact on a team fight right now. Thus, he decided to ditch the team and focus on farming and pressing lane instead. The consequence of this is his team always fought in a 4 vs. 5 situations. Despite losing constantly, they managed to retain most of their turrets. If the game dragged on to thirty minutes and Vayne is allowed to develop into the full build, they could still win a late game 5 vs. 5 team fight. That could be Team Shanghai last straw to win the game,¡± Jiang Jiu said.


    ¡°Are you sure? I feel that this Vayne is below average. He had done nothing other than CS from the beginning. She died every time whenever someone ambushed her. See, she is being ganked again. Another death for sure,¡± Qiu Jingtai pointed on the screen and said.


    Two hungry wolves were seen closing in fast to corner Vayne at the bottom lane bush. Jiang Jiu frowned again. ¡®What a feeder. You should play safe by now. It¡¯s unwise to farm without vision!¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Vayne is daydreaming again. She has no route to escape while her teammates are too far to provide reinforcement. Sigh, Cat Eye seems a little overconfident today,¡± Qi Qiao sighed and said.

 Chapter 122 - You Are Not A Predator, You Are My Prey

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Vayne, who had been CS-ing mindlessly was once again caught out by the enemy team, and this raised the eyebrows of a lot of people in the hall.


    Usually, all team members would play the game cautiously, worrying that even the smallest mistake might cost them the entire game. This sort of awareness reflected the professionalism of a player toward an official match.


    The player who controlled Vayne was the only exception in this case. His style of play was out of place and contrasted the tightly contested game. He played without any urgency and made several fatal mistakes throughout the game.


    Team Shanghai was sacrificing the entire team¡¯s economy to buy time for Vayne, but many began to wonder whether Vayne, who was constantly caught alone, really deserved such special treatment?


    All the pressure was on Vayne¡¯s shoulder now, however, the real pressure was not on the actual player, but on Qiu Shenping.


    Qiu Shenping was the one who had taken the player seat. Everyone had their eyes on him now and they were all expecting something special from him in the late game.


    Unfortunately, he was just an outsider and had nothing to do with the match, merely clicking the keyboard and mouse for show. The Vayne on the computer screen was entirely beyond his control.


    To tell the truth, Qiu Shenping was doubtful whether Xiao Bei was really the one piloting Vayne at all!


    ¡®What a shitty performance. Even I could play better than this!¡¯


    ***


    Two ferocious wolves closed in gradually, and Vayne, who had been CS-ing at the bottom lane had no place to flee. The audience watched on as Vayne continued to CS without realizing the impending danger.


    Other members of Team Sunlight were rushing toward Vayne, but being a fragile champion, Vayne had a very small chance of survival after being surrounded by two utterly aggressive heroes¡ªOrianna and Nocturne.


    ***


    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Liu Zhangming was on the verge of a meltdown.


    ¡®You call yourself a world-class player and yet you have made such a glaring mistake. Are you a primary school student?¡¯


    In a professional game where the tempo was extremely rapid, the death of an ADC could lead directly to a total defeat. Yu Luocheng was still busy repositioning Vayne and took the last-hit on a creep before controlling his champion to slowly approach the bush at the sidewall.


    After he had scored that last creep, Yu Luocheng controlled the mouse with one hand while he picked up the Coca-Cola near his keyboard with the other. The chilling refreshment flowed down his dry throat, and Yu Luocheng burped for three long seconds without even looking at the screen.


    He Jin¡¯s face could not be darker. Liu Zhangming was like a volcano about to erupt. He dearly wished that he could pick up the can and smash it on Yu Luocheng¡¯s head.


    ¡®Drink your f*cking coke!? My 200,000, my 200,000 is gone!¡¯


    ¡°Xiao Bei¡­¡± He Jin was at his limit too.


    If Vayne died this time, he would put Xiao Bei back into the seat no matter what, his heart could not bear the torment any longer.


    Yu Luocheng put his can of coke down and placed his left hand back onto the keyboard. In an instant, his sight sharpened and the mood around him changed from slack and leisurely into stern and focused.


    The Night Hunter with her Wristbolt Launcher on her hands stayed still and listened closely. Her unflinching sight penetrated through the bushes and gazed calmly upon the incoming Orianna and Nocturne.


    One of Vayne¡¯s hands was supporting the Wristbolt, while her other hand held tight to the trigger, her ears following the enemy¡¯s footsteps carefully.


    ¡®Is that the mechanical sound made by Orianna¡¯s clockwork, or is it the unusual breeze caused by Nocturne¡¯s gliding?¡¯


    It was the Eternal Nightmare, Nocturne, that entered the bush first!


    Surround and conquer the Night Hunter? Filthy idiots!


    She was the hunter and they were her prey!


    Poof!!!


    The ordinary launcher transformed into a frosty silver crossbow amid a light whirr and the grass danced wildly as an imposing aura instantly filled the entire bush.


    ¡°Cleansing blood with silver!¡±


    Her arrogance came with a sense of hate and mockery. The Night Hunter Vayne launched her ultimate the second Nocturne entered the bush¡ªFinal Hour!


    Tumble!


    Casting Tumble during the Final Hour granted Vayne invisibility for 1 second. Vayne rolled sideways dexterously and ignored Nocturne. Her primary target was Orianna at the back line!


    Nocturne did not see anything when he entered the bush. He automatically assumed that Vayne must have escaped to the bush at the other edge and decided to charge on, never once guessing that Vayne was actually advancing in the opposite direction toward the Lady of Clockwork, Orianna.


    The Invisibility ended after 1 second and Vayne, with her silver launcher in tow, appeared abruptly in front of Orianna.


    First arrow!


    The critical effects that were a result from the ambush and Phantom Dancer were triggered simultaneously and Orianna¡¯s HP was instantly depleted by a quarter.


    E-Skill, Condemn!


    The knockback arrow flew out at a wind-breaking speed and hit Orianna directly!


    The Ball of the Lady of Clockwork still remained on Nocturne, and she was sent flying before she had a chance to summon her weapon back.


    Orianna¡¯s slim body slid backward on the ground, making a screechy clanking noise.


    Bang!!!


    Her body slid all the way back to hit the remains of the outer turret and she was pinned there due to the effect of Condemn.


    The second arrow, Silver Bolt!!


    The fierce Silver Bolt pierced mercilessly through Orianna¡¯s body, instantly dealing a great burst of damage. Three arrows later, more than half of Orianna¡¯s HP was gone.


    The skill combo was executed in a decisive and precise manner. Orianna had half of her HP evaporated within seconds and she couldn¡¯t react in time to cast Barrier. This chain of events had the entire audience in awe.


    This was when Nocturne finally realized that he had been tricked by Vayne¡¯s slick timing and remarkable usage of her Invisibility inside the bush. He immediately released a raging howl!


    Paranoia!!!


    The sky darkened as Nocturne made no delay and cast his ultimate from the middle of the bush. The Nearsight effect of the timely ultimate robbed Vayne¡¯s vision and prevented her from piling up more damage against the stunned Orianna.


    Following the roar, Nocturne transformed into a ghostly blade that slashed open the surrounding grass, dashing forward violently along the ground straight toward Vayne.


    Orianna wasted no time in casting Barrier on Nocturne after the stun effect was ended and subsequently unleashed her ultimate as well.


    Shockwave!


    This was like planting a ton of dynamite on the fast-approaching Nocturne in his ultimate form, creating a very deadly combo between Orianna and Nocturne.


    Moreover, after being sucked in by The Ball, Nocturne would follow up by tethering to the enemy by using his skill, Unspeakable Horror. The victim would be instantly killed before he or she could deal any further damage.


    Everyone¡¯s heart stopped momentarily, this was truly a life or death situation.


    The Ball swirled beneath Nocturne and formed a shockwave to pull Vayne in, however, Vayne managed to escape beautifully by using her Flash!


    The horrible Shockwave missed Vayne¡¯s feet by just a few inches. At that moment, almost everyone had thought that Vayne was going to be killed straight away.


    ¡°What a tremendous Flash!! Orianna has just missed her ultimate, this is such a wonderful reflex from Vayne!!¡± Cheryl couldn¡¯t curb her excitement and her voice went up several decibels.


    But that was not the end of it. The Flash used by Vayne to evade Orianna¡¯s ultimate was indeed, superb, but Nocturne¡¯s lightning-quick follow-up Flash and Unspeakable Horror was equally stunning. Although Vayne had survived the first deadly assault, the pursuit by Nocturne was equally fatal, and a champion as fragile as Vayne would not be able to stand being disabled for two seconds.

 Chapter 123 - One against Three

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Vayne Tumbled!


    Avoiding the attack from Orianna¡¯s ball, Vayne¡¯s Silver Bolts once again landed on the Lady of Clockwork.


    First arrow!


    Second arrow!


    Orianna only had less than one fourth of her health left! If the last arrow managed to crit, together with the effect of her W, Orianna would definitely die. At this critical moment in time, Nocturne¡¯s Unspeakable Horror finally took effect and feared Vayne!


    Everyone knew that a champion who was under the effect of fear would move aimlessly and would be unable to attack. The fear effect from Fiddlestick, Hecarim, and Nocturne was really a life saving skill.


    Two seconds of fear!


    During these two seconds, Orianna would be able to kill Vayne!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng smirked confidently as he sat in front of the computer, his fingers already hovering over the F key. The moment the effect appeared, his fingers pressed down on it immediately.


    Cleanse!


    Instant release!


    Perhaps instant release was not good enough to describe this maneuver, because nobody had time to even see the fear effect appearing on top of Vayne before Cleanse took effect and dispelled it. The speed of that reaction was amazing! To be more precise, this had nothing to do with reaction speed, but rather a sense of judgement!


    A qualified ADC must be able to determine the timing of when an opponent would release a skill, and when you have Cleanse or Mercury Sash, you need to use your judgement to determine when to use it, and only then could you reach this instant-release reaction speed!


    Nocturne¡¯s skills were easy to predict and it wasn¡¯t that difficult to pull off this type of maneuver. However, it was hard to maintain a calm mind in such a tense atmosphere.


    Tumble!


    Another gorgeous roll, and the Night Hunter once again avoided Orianna¡¯s ball!


    Tumble, Silver Bolt, Phantom Dancer¡­


    Three bonus effects triggered at the same time!


    Thunk!


    The arrow flew and nailed Orianna straight in her chest, shattering the core of her body!


    ¡°Ouuu¡­¡±


    The Lady of Clockwork let out a pitiful scream, and her life ended in those few short seconds. High burst damage and quick repositioning skills, Orianna was hunted down without further delay. More importantly, none of her skills actually touched Vayne at all! Whether it was her ulti, her magic attack passing through, or the electric pulse from her ball, Vayne had avoided all of it beautifully.


    Orianna had played into Vayne¡¯s hand completely, fully playing the role of impure fools the Night Hunter talked about!


    Behind Yu Luocheng, Zhang Aijing, He Jin, and Liu Zhangming all had their eyes wide open, staring at the screen in disbelief. The fight was not over yet, there was still Nocturne who was keeping close to him. After killing Orianna, Yu Luocheng skillfully maneuvered Vayne with his mouse and keyboard.


    One arrow, dodge!


    Second arrow, dodge!


    Third arrow, dodged another attack¡­


    Tumble had refreshed!


    Continuing to shoot arrow after arrow, Silver Bolt!


    Nocturne resembled a cow being led by its nose, and he was stunned by Vayne¡¯s arrows. A total of 8 arrows and Nocturne was down by half health. By the ninth shot, Nocturne was down to less than half of his health!


    Finally realizing that it was impossible to kill the Night Hunter, Nocturne started to pull back toward his teammate¡ªRenekton.


    As a hunter, how could she let her prey go?


    Nobody had escaped Vayne¡¯s clutches before, and even if it was the Eternal Nightmare, she wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    Tumble, and then she gave chase!


    One arrow, and Tumble was refreshed.


    Another arrow!


    Silver Bolt!


    Almost there!


    Another arrow, and Tumble was ready again.


    The bonus physical damage from Tumble triggered together with her Silver Bolt, resulting in a huge sum of damage!


    Thunk!


    Nocturne seemed to have wanted to escape Vayne¡¯s attack using the Dusk Trail from Duskbringer, but his health was reduced to nothing within that one second!


    Double Kill!


    The stun effect from Renekton¡¯s Ruthless Predator had come too late, and it had failed to stop the final arrow from hitting his teammate. Nocturne fell to the arrow that was right in front of him!


    ¡°Nice! Nice!¡± The host, Qi Qiao shouted twice.


    From being hunted to being the hunter, Vayne¡¯s skills and maneuver brightened everyone¡¯s eyes. Among all the ADCs in LOL, who else could 1 v 2 with such a disadvantage in items, not to mention, it was against a combination of Orianna and Nocturne!


    Only Vayne, the Night Hunter!


    That high output of damage, strong posture, and ruthless pursuit.


    A silver bolt, a leather cloak, and she was the coldest and most powerful Night Hunter!


    The double kill sent the exhibition hall into a stunned silence, but everyone¡¯s heart was definitely captured by Vayne¡¯s stunning performance!


    ¡°Oh my god, Vayne¡¯s not backing it yet! Does she still want to kill Renekton with her health at less than one third?¡± Qi Qiao announced, her pitch rising suddenly.


    It wasn¡¯t over yet, and facing Renekton who could possibly take her life with a few of his skill shots, Vayne pushed forward fearlessly, engaging Renekton in a fight.


    One arrow and another, Tumble and another arrow!


    Renekton¡¯s health dropped instantly.


    ¡°Woah!¡±


    The hundreds of spectators in the hall went wild, that crazy champion had already killed two champions, and now, she wasn¡¯t even letting Renekton escape!


    ¡°Renekton has quite a sum of health and the amount of armor he has is also quite high. Even if you activate your ulti, Renekton is a giant crocodile, and Vayne, who only had one third health left, wants to kill him?¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed in excitement, and the crowd, captivated by her melodic voice, easily succumbed to the atmosphere of excitement along with her.


    More importantly, the game was being broadcast live nationwide, and there were countless LoL fans watching this match. The male otakus watching the broadcast were getting excited just listening to Qi Qiao¡¯s lulling soprano. Vayne was really going to kill Renekton!


    Instead of Night Hunter, Vayne should have been called the Bloody Hunter, even taking down Renekton who had better items than her. Before attempting that, she had already stepped on the bloody corpse of two other champions, dyeing her silver bolts red.


    Killing those two champions was already considered a godlike play, and it had captivated the crowd within the hall. People were thinking that that was enough in their hearts, as Renekton¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t something to be underestimated.


    However, seeing the continuous assault from Vayne who only had a third of her health left, arrow after arrow flying from her bow, coupled with the tumbles and skillful positioning¡­


    To be honest, although they would advise Vayne to retreat, they were also looking forward to seeing Vayne kill three champions in a row!


    One champion picking off three champions!


    This was a play that only Vayne would be able to pull off!

 Chapter 124 - A Shocking Triple Kill

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Renekton¡¯s E-skill was avoidable, but the stun effect from his W landed after she had released her arrow, so Vayne couldn¡¯t deal much damage during the time that she was stunned.


    Using life steal, Vayne was able to recover some of her health and she now had one-third of health, and Renekton who was pure tank couldn¡¯t possibly kill Vayne now. Every third arrow shot from her bow gave an additional eight percent true damage of the target¡¯s maximum health, and even Renekton who had a lot of health would eventually die without Randuin¡¯s Omen.


    Vayne chased Renekton from the bottom brush all the way to the Dragon¡¯s Pit, and he was now left with a third of his health. Going against a Vayne who had her essential items, being a meat tank was basically useless. With one-third of her health bar remaining, all Vayne needed was two shots of Silver Bolts¡¯ bonus true damage, and the gigantic crocodile could only die there and then.


    ¡°Renekton doesn¡¯t have much health left,¡± Qi Qiao observed. ¡°Looks like this is it for him.¡±


    Just as Qi Qiao said that, Renekton turned and launched himself in Vayne¡¯s direction. Renekton¡¯s sudden turn shocked the crowd, he was obviously just buying time before this, waiting for Vayne to let her guard down and for his skills to cool down before launching a counter-attack.


    Renekton¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t to be underestimated, even if he was a pure tank, his damage was still high.


    Growl!


    However, just as Renekton turned around, Vayne flipped her cloak gracefully, easily avoiding the lunge from Renekton as she Tumbled sideways. It seemed like Renekton¡¯s massive teeth only managed to graze Vayne¡¯s cloak, as she didn¡¯t sustain any damage at all, and needless to say, she avoided the dash from the second part of his E too!


    Not being able to touch Vayne, Renekton¡¯s damage was useless and he was left hanging. Vayne¡¯s follow up on her attack was fast, and if you were to look closely, it would seem like she had not stopped attacking at all. Every time she launched an arrow, she would reposition herself using her Tumble, and each time, she was looking for a better position.


    ¡°Vayne¡¯s movements are very smooth, especially the repositioning after each hit. It is precise and calculated, and she doesn¡¯t waste a single movement, at the same time finding a better position to attack Renekton!¡± Qi Qiao said.


    Being able to explain the play proved that Qi Qiao was also a highly skilled player in LoL. In her opinion, the kiting ability of the player using Vayne was great, and Renekton couldn¡¯t touch her at all from the beginning to the end.


    Meanwhile, in the other room, Zhang Aijing, who was in charge of Team 71 was watching Yu Luocheng¡¯s play with wide eyes. ADC was a position that required precise movement controls and they had the highest APM 1 among all the roles. Don¡¯t even talk about the shocking maneuver he had previously done, the one he was doing right now was enough to amaze her with the amount of skill he was displaying.


    Zhang Aijing was an analyst, a coach, and a trainer responsible for professional teams. Her own strength was on par with other professional players, but sadly, women seem to be naturally weaker than men in terms of E-Sports. That was the reason she was an analyst and manager instead of a player.


    As an analyst, she was required to have keen eyes, to be able to quickly and accurately pinpoint a player¡¯s movement style, awareness, reaction time, and fundamental skills. What amazed her was not how Yu Luocheng was moving the champion, but the fact that his fundamental skills in the game were just too perfect. The fundamental requirement of an ADC was positioning, but more importantly, was the ability to Animation Cancel.


    What is Animation Canceling?


    Every champion has a basic set of moves¡ªraising their hands, launching an attack, and lowering their hands after the attack. Every action mentioned needs an amount of time for the animation to be carried out, and to increase your attack speed would mean to reduce the time needed for this.


    Animation Canceling was a technique to end a basic attack or ability earlier than it would if you allow the whole animation of it to play through. You would click your mouse for an ability or basic attack just as the champion shoots. This was so they would move immediately once they were done with shooting, canceling the animation of lowering their hands, being able to immediately launch another attack or move to reposition themselves during the time the champion was supposed to finish its animation.


    Zhang Aijing noted that when Yu Luocheng controlled Vayne, she had never stopped once, continuously raising, shooting, moving, raising, shooting, raising, shooting, Tumble¡­


    There were no pauses in between, even when she avoided Renekton¡¯s attacks, you could see shots being fired by Vayne!


    You have to understand that in LoL, the champions can only accept commands. Right-click the ground and the champion will move towards it. Right-click the creep, the champion will move and attack it. There were no short cuts for you to move the way he was moving.


    You would have to right-click every time your champion is about to shoot, and then use the A key or right-click again to attack your target.


    One, two, three arrows¡­Seeing the arrows fly looked like something normal, but every time a single arrow flew, a highly skilled player would have to click two to three times to command, and the most important thing was to not allow your opponent to reach you, finding a more suitable angle to attack him!


    If Vayne¡¯s attack speed was 0.9 seconds, the player would have to click a command again in 0.6 seconds. And after that, if every attack was 0.9 seconds¡­


    When playing as the ADC, they were expected to know how to Animation Cancel, but to reach this level of skill? It required a perfect hand-eye coordination! And the Vayne had not made a single mistake at all!


    Zhang Aijing could tell that normally, an ADC player would start making a mistake at Animation Canceling around the 0.2 second mark, but watching Yu Luocheng play against Renekton, there was not a single mistake when he was performing Animation Canceling!


    This felt like someone walking on a tightrope, and beneath it was a gigantic crocodile snapping its jaws, but the person walking did not falter at all with his steps and confidently reached the end of the rope with no mistakes!


    TRIPLE KILL!


    The announcement came suddenly, snapping Zhang Aijing out of her daze. Amazement was clear on her face as she took in the words.


    Triple Kill! Vayne really got a triple kill!


    From being ambushed by Orianna and Nocturne, to chasing Renekton into the river, one versus three, it was an extraordinary killing spree!


    In the first twenty minutes, Vayne had still been struggling against the odds. But with this bot lane one against three, she had turned the tides around and become a hunter that no one would consider going against! He Jin¡¯s face which had been twisted into an ugly expression from anger now cleared, lighting up with hope and relief instead after witnessing that solo triple kill.


    Damn, as expected of Fighting Hawk to pull off such a brilliant play!


    This was the semi-finals of the cyber cafe competition, and this type of play with one going against three would normally only be seen in normal or ranked matches. And here you have Vayne, who seemed to have no hope at all, having no kills and relying on pure farming to close the gap of gold gained. This weak ADC actually managed to secure a triple kill without any help from her teammates, it really was brilliant!


    Liu Zhangming, who had been the most bias one against Yu Luocheng watched with his eyes almost bulging out from their sockets too. The more he looked at Yu Luocheng, the more resentment he had for him, but he couldn¡¯t overcome the amazement inside on the triple kill that Yu Luocheng had just gotten. Don¡¯t talk about amateurs, even a professional player may not have been able to pull off the same manoeuvre of this level!

 Chapter 125 - You’re a F*cking ADC!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°How is it?¡± Lin Dong asked quietly, nudging Xiao Bei¡¯s side.


    Xiao Bei couldn¡¯t tear his eyes away from the screen, his mind in a daze. Lin Dong nudged him again, and his eyes snapped toward him instead.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing, as expected of Luocheng to be able to pull that off!¡±


    ¡°And compared to you?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    During the day, Xiao Bei would be busy helping out that bastard of an uncle with errands, but during the night, his time was spent practising his ADC skills. Lin Dong knew that with Xiao Bei¡¯s skills now, he could easily get invited into certain teams.


    Lin Dong himself didn¡¯t play much anymore, so he could only use Xiao Bei as a comparison to know Yu Luocheng¡¯s level.


    ¡°Luocheng¡¯s laning is a bit weak, but once he obtained his items, his control and movements were way stronger than me. If it was me against Orianna and Nocturne, most likely I would have still been able to kill them. However, I wouldn¡¯t have engaged Renekton later on because a single mistake would instantly mean my death.¡± Xiao Bei said, his face solemn. ¡°I didn¡¯t for one second imagine that Yu Luocheng would be able to kill all three of them, that was really something!¡±


    Touching the edge of his cap, Lin Dong¡¯s face broke out into a smile. As he thought, even if Yu Luocheng was only playing for fun, he really had a terrifying strength!


    Only, what would it take to make him return to the scene of E-Sports?


    Lin Dong glanced at Yu Luocheng, noting that he was more calm and composed as compared to last time. It didn¡¯t look like it was possible to get him back into the scene.


    ***


    ¡°Damn, this Vayne was baiting, wasn¡¯t he!¡± Qiu Jingtai exclaimed, looking at the screen.


    The Vayne that he had been insulting not too long ago had made a complete turnaround, shocking everyone in the crowd by securing that triple kill. Who would be able to get a triple kill in a competition such as this?


    ¡°This is how Vayne is. After she gets her items, she¡¯s basically unbeatable.¡± Jiang Jiu said. ¡°But Cat Eye really is something, he really is a Challenger Vayne!¡±


    The sweet melodic voice of Qi Qiao explained the details of Vayne¡¯s play as the screen replayed the scene of the fight, and the crowd cheered wildly.


    Backstage, a worker asked. ¡°Have you saved the clip of the fight?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s saved. Do you want to use it?¡± A programmer asked in response.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a one against three! It¡¯ll definitely be in the official top ten!¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course!¡± The programmer said hurriedly.


    ***


    Varus and Sona from the opposing team only reached after Renekton had been slaughtered. Even though Vayne only had a quarter of her health left, Varus and Sona didn¡¯t dare to get closer to engage. She had just killed three of their teammates and broken their momentum after all.


    Not long after, the rest of Team Shanghai arrived. Looking at the three bodies on the ground, other than disbelief, they were much more amazed at the scene.


    The members of Team Shanghai were all present, and their opponent only had two champions alive. Taking advantage of the opportunity that Vayne had made, they mowed down the mid lane, almost breaking the Inhibitor. The income from breaking the three mid lane towers was massive, and more importantly, Team Shanghai had set the pace for the game with that play.


    Meanwhile on Team Liaoning, the players¡¯ faces were grim. Who knew that letting Vayne obtain her items from farming a little would be so terrifying. If they couldn¡¯t take her down fast enough in a fight, the teamfights would be difficult to win.


    ***


    As he sipped on his coke, Yu Luocheng¡¯s thoughts on Vayne drifted through his mind. With the items at hand, Vayne¡¯s damage output was extremely high!


    Team Shanghai¡¯s members were now surrounding Vayne, for as long as Vayne had enough peel 1 , this match was in the bag. Of course, Team Liaoning wouldn¡¯t take this lying down either. Nocturne had revived and his role was to now focus on Vayne, adding on to the fact that Renekton had a ton of health¡­


    Just as Qi Qiao had said, both sides could only settle things in a teamfight. The income gap between them was just too big, and now, you could only wait to see if Vayne could triumph in teamfights.


    ***


    After the one on three that Team Liaoning had lost to, the pressure on them was heavier. They didn¡¯t dare to engage Team Shanghai. Yu Luocheng thought that Vayne still lacked one more defense item, so while it was peaceful with no teamfights, he went up to the top lane to farm and managed to build a Banshee¡¯s Veil for magic resistance.


    Orianna¡¯s damage was terrifying, and in the chaos of a teamfight, the threat towards Vayne who had very little resistance was big. She needed a Banshee¡¯s Veil for some defense, also to prevent Sona or Varus from limiting her movements.


    ***


    Team Liaoning was smart and they deliberately pretended to farm on their own. With the advantage of vision control, they ambushed Team Shanghai at the mid lane. The ability of Nocturne to initiate a fight was alarming, and Team Shanghai¡¯s jungler was caught off guard.


    The teamwork of a professional team was said to be seamless. As long as they observed the minimap and realized that a teamfight was about to happen, they could all come together to the area and assist each other.


    When Team Shanghai saw their jungler getting caught, Thresh, Diana and Jax immediately went to assist.


    ¡°Vayne, come on, it¡¯s starting!¡± The jungler from Team Shanghai¡ªHu Wei exclaimed.


    Cat Eye smiled bitterly, and could only watch Vayne, who was still farming.


    ¡®D*mn it! They are starting a teamfight, why won¡¯t you head over to assist!¡¯


    Finally, Vayne started to move toward the mid lane. Even though Team Shanghai knew they needed to wait for Vayne to engage, they were forced to start the fight without her. 4v5, and the outcome was already predicted. Elise was sacrificed without any further delay.


    Diana, who had rushed into the fray, took down Sona with the help of her Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass and shield, and then retreated through the river with very low health. Jax had decent damage, but he couldn¡¯t win against Varus.


    ¡°Vayne¡¯s reaction to assist in the teamfight is slow, and things look bleak for their side. Team Shanghai will probably need to give up a tower and the Dragon.¡± Qi Qiao observed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back and defend that wave,¡± Qiu Shenping said helplessly to his teammates.


    Thresh and Diana who were still alive, nodded in agreement and started to retreat.


    ¡°Are we engaging?¡± Thresh suddenly asked.


    ¡°How the heck are we supposed to engage, they have four¡­ What the f*ck!¡± Qiu Shenping cursed loudly mid sentence.


    You couldn¡¯t blame Qiu Shenping for cursing, because the Vayne clearly didn¡¯t treat this as a competition. After the sacrifice of two teammates and one heavily injured teammate, she had still activated her ulti and dove straight into the opponent¡¯s team which had four champions left!


    You¡¯re a f*cking ADC, not an Assassin!

 Chapter 126 - This Vayne Is Not Human!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Oh my god, what is Vayne doing? Serving her head on a platter?¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed, her breathless voice echoing through the hall.


    Vayne was alone, diving right into their opponents, using her invisibility and stealth effects. She Tumbled to the side just as Orianna¡¯s ball came at her, avoiding Orianna¡¯s QW combo. Orianna, Nocturne, Renekton, and Varus lost their target in that one second of invisibility, not knowing where to aim for Vayne.


    Suddenly, a cold chill swept through the air and a pair of eyes glimmered in the dark, and Vayne appeared at Varus¡¯ side!


    Thunk!


    An arrow shot out, and Varus who only had one-third of his health remaining looked like he was a goner!


    Another arrow!


    Orianna launched a shield on Varus just in time to absorb the damage!


    Breaking the shield, another arrow!


    Even with the shield, Varus was shot down with the last arrow which had triggered critical damage!


    One kill!


    Going straight through the opponents, avoiding Orianna¡¯s abilities, and taking Varus¡¯ life, it was as easy as pie!


    Roar!


    Renekton raised his butcher knife in the air, rushing toward Vayne while activating his terrifying abilities. Vayne was completely caught up in the opponent¡¯s line of sight, and Orianna¡¯s damage was nothing to laugh about. As long as she could land a hit on Vayne, Vayne would be in danger.


    Yu Luocheng was calmly navigating Vayne, avoiding the swipes and you could see Nocturne¡¯s health decreasing little by little.


    Thunk!


    Condemn!


    The silver arrow flew toward Renekton, knocking him back and nailing him to the nearby wall. Ignoring Renekton completely, Vayne avoided Orianna¡¯s ball gracefully¡ªheading toward Nocturne instead!


    One arrow, reposition, another arrow, reposition, another arrow, Tumble!


    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!


    Every arrow released a clear sound, fast and rhythmic. Nocturne couldn¡¯t withstand the assault and his health was declining rapidly!


    One against four!


    At that moment, the screen was focused on Vayne, who was in an all-out attack against the four opponents! With every crisp sound of an arrow being released, Nocturne¡¯s health was reduced significantly. Renekton waved his knife clumsily around, looking as though he was moving in slow-motion, as he tried to catch up with Vayne.


    Orianna was launching her abilities, seemingly frustrated, but every time she released a QW combo, Vayne easily evaded it!


    Every ADC had to learn how to kite, but who would have thought to see an ADC who could claim the opponent¡¯s ADC¡¯s life and kite against three other champions?


    There was almost no pause in every shot she took, every arrow was precise and wasted no movement, all landing on Nocturne. Vayne looked as though she was dancing under her enemies¡¯ blade with a silver bow in her hand!


    The sound of her boots crunching on the leaves scattered on the ground and the sound of her bow releasing the arrows rang through the silent night, as though she was dancing in a festival of death.


    Calm and elegantly deadly.


    Nocturne had not thought that Vayne could be so arrogant, thus, he had not taken note of his health and finally fell under another volley of arrows from her Silver Bolts!


    This was the second time that Nocturne had died to Vayne.


    This time he fell in front of his two other teammates and he didn¡¯t have the power to retaliate against Vayne at all, resembling a helpless child.


    Double kill!


    Two lives claimed!


    This felt like an assassin under the cover of the night, following the flow of the wind and slaughtering the general, pinning him on a door for all to see. This assassin, who looked to be fragile enough so much so you would think she would die easily to a blade. And yet, no one could even touch the edge of her cloak, and they could only watch as she ruthlessly pulled the trigger.


    If the exhibition hall was a stage, then the spotlight would be on Vayne, be it enemies or allies, they were all riveted by her cold, brilliant performance!


    Unknowingly, the exhibition hall had become so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Qi Qiao, as the host, had also forgotten that she needed to speak, as she could only watch Vayne¡¯s dancing which left a bloody trail behind her!


    Even the people watching the broadcast through television and the internet were shocked to silent. Could you imagine the odds of one against four?


    Killing Varus, disabling Renekton, avoiding Orianna¡¯s terrifying magic attacks and kiting Nocturne to death¡­The choice of who to kill first followed by who to stun, Tumble and attack, you really couldn¡¯t imagine the accuracy in movement and judgment which was what made everyone, regardless of where they were, shocked beyond belief!


    The previous hype from the one on three had yet to die down, and here Vayne was, rounding up yet another terrifyingly great play again.


    ¡°Damn it, is this guy really human?¡± Qiu Jingtai couldn¡¯t hold in his disbelief and exclaimed loudly.


    Vayne, who had been useless in the early game had suddenly become a terrifying existence mid-game, which simply proved the outstanding skills that he possessed!


    Jiang Jiu had been playing LoL for a while now, and he knew the evolution of Vayne in the game. But he had never seen a Vayne who was crazy enough to single-handedly go against four champions in a game before! In the previous one on three, it was considered to be a consecutive kill, just that Renekton had come a bit late. This time however, he was completely alone and against four champions at the same time. Was he planning to kill champions worth 6,300 f*cking IP like they were just creeps?


    ***


    Orianna was going crazy!


    Her abilities had a very short cool-down period, but her area of damage was wide, so even if someone managed to dodge her Q, the electric pulse from her W would be able to hit the champion. Judging from Orianna¡¯s damage output, taking Vayne¡¯s life would have been easy. However, ever since Vayne had broken into the middle of their team, not once had her abilities hit her at all!


    The timing for Orianna¡¯s cooldown and Vayne¡¯s Tumble were roughly the same, but each time she launched her ball, Vayne had always managed to avoid it. Wang Jing had been using Orianna for a very long time, but not once had he been through this situation before!


    This Vayne was like the opposite side of a magnet, wherever her ball flew, Vayne would move in the opposite direction immediately. How could someone have such godlike reactions to avoid the ball?

 Chapter 127 - What is Trampling?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With Phantom Dancer and Berserker¡¯s Greaves, Vayne¡¯s movement speed was nimble and agile, once again ignoring the huge lump of meat which was Renekton. This time, her sight was set on Orianna.


    Tumble!


    Vayne once again smoothly avoided Orianna¡¯s ball by Tumbling to the side.


    ¡°Another miss! Up till now, Orianna has yet to land a hit on Vayne!¡± Qi Qiao announced in delight. ¡°Vayne¡¯s movements are really resembling a god¡¯s dance!¡±


    The Lady of Clockwork was a big threat to the Night Hunter, because in late game, she could easily burst Vayne down with a single skill. For a top-notch Vayne, as long as Orianna did not have her ulti, avoiding the rest of her skills would be completely possible.


    Yu Luocheng had also used Orianna before, and he clearly remembered her abilities and cool down timing. He also understood how a skilled Orianna player would choose to control her ball and which abilities they would launch.


    Obviously, this player¡¯s skills were average, he didn¡¯t even position his ball based on the situation or his judgment. With this type of control, it was easy enough to avoid it. Finally, Orianna¡¯s ball managed to hit Vayne when it flew to protect herself, and the damage to Vayne¡¯s health was crippling.


    The more alarming part was that even then, Vayne still didn¡¯t have the intention to retreat. Instead, she rushed towards Orianna, who had more than half of her health left, with a barrier to boot!


    Fearing the worst, Orianna immediately pressed her W, using Dissonance to speed herself up.


    Oh!


    She ran!


    Orianna, who had more than half her health and a barrier actually ran!


    The whole hall was bewildered!


    Even if Orianna had not played in a professional match before, she was still a top tier LoL player chosen from the entire Liaoning province. How could she run from a Vayne with such low health? Was this the rumored aura?


    ¡°What the hell, why did you run!¡± The Renekton player¡ªLian Manyan shouted in anger. ¡°Just toss a skill at him and he would¡¯ve died!¡±


    In that situation, all you needed to do was unleash all your skills. That had been a great chance to kill Vayne, and yet this guy had decided to flee by increasing his movement speed.


    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Wang Jing was also speechless, not knowing how to respond.


    After the triple kill and misses that he kept making, Wang Jing didn¡¯t have the confidence in playing Orianna anymore. If he had unleashed his skills, Vayne would have died as she did not have Tumble. The previous mistakes he went through had made him doubt the accuracy of his skills instead, and now he had missed the best chance for them to kill Vayne!


    After Orianna¡¯s escape, Renekton¡¯s chances were not looking too great. As a champion who had been ignored during the fight, for Renekton to not use his E was a bit stupid. Once Vayne turned her sights on him, even his thick hide would not be able to withstand her assault which had true damage!


    Like the previous fight, Renekton had no chance to reach Vayne while she was kiting.


    Roar!


    Finally, Renekton couldn¡¯t endure it anymore, and with increased movement speed from Orianna¡¯s Dissonance, he pressed the E key! Dashing forward and repositioning himself, he found himself directly in front of Vayne. Opening his mouth and bringing his jaws down, he also brought down the knife brutally on her.


    This time, Vayne¡¯s health dropped dangerously low, and Orianna came forward to release her ball. But Vayne rolled to the side, all bloodied, and managed to land an arrow on Orianna¡¯s body!


    Condemn!


    A powerful arrow shot through the air, slamming into Orianna, knocking her backward. While Orianna was being pushed back, Vayne used this chance and shot her third arrow which triggered her Silver Bolt effect. Two out of three arrows had crit damage, and Orianna¡¯s shield had already been used, so her health dropped nearly to zero, almost getting instantly killed by the three arrows!


    The three arrows were shot in less than a second, and when he saw that he only had 60 health left, Wang Jing felt the cold sweat on his hands. Orianna stopped in front of the destroyed tower, if the Condemn had pinned her to the rubble instead, the impact from that would have demolished her 60 health immediately!


    He didn¡¯t die, it just lacks one more arrow!


    Renekton took the chance and ignited Vayne, launching a basic attack right after, taking away Vayne¡¯s life.


    Shut Down!


    Vayne was finally killed! Looking at the bodies of Nocturne and Varus, and Orianna who escaped death by a hair¡¯s breadth, Team Cyclone breathed a sigh of relief. It really felt as if the four of them had gone against a Boss in a game which was Vayne, and they were almost annihilated!


    If even Orianna had been killed right then by Vayne¡¯s skill, she most likely could have killed Renekton as well!


    ¡°Damn it, I did say to ban Vayne¡­¡±


    After a while, Team Cyclone managed to recover from the terrifying aura, but they couldn¡¯t take their mind off this. All the members in Team Cyclone were regretting the decision to not ban Vayne during the champion selection.


    The Vayne had been useless in the early stages, but after getting her essential items, she had become a nightmare. They had never seen anyone capable of making Vayne such a terrifying existence!


    Shut Down!


    A bright flash on the ground shot up in the shape of a crescent moon from behind the wall suddenly, slamming right into Orianna. Orianna had been recalling back to base, and this light took away her last remaining 100 health.


    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Wang Jing stood up from his chair, clearly in shock.


    Diana!


    He had completely forgotten about Diana who had been left with very low health. Team Cyclone had been too engrossed in Vayne¡¯s assault that they had overlooked Diana who was still nearby. Wang Jing¡¯s face was red with anger.


    Not dying to Vayne¡¯s last arrow, but getting killed by Diana! In the end, Team Cyclone only had Renekton left alive to defend!


    ***


    Although the aggressive, sharp, and ferocious Vayne had failed to complete her one on four challenge, she had still managed to kill two champions with the help of her teammates. By crippling them so horribly, to a certain extent, Team Cyclone was completely trampled on beneath Vayne¡¯s leather boots.


    What was trampling?


    First it was a one on three, then a one on four. Although Vayne¡¯s arrogance and horrifying existence had ended, she had basically trampled on Team Cyclone¡¯s dignity and fighting spirit.

 Chapter 128 - So You Wanted to Win?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I get it now!¡± All of a sudden, Xiao Bei exclaimed enthusiastically.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lin Dong turned to him with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng played like that on purpose,¡± Xiao Bei claimed.


    In the past, Xiao Bei had always squatted behind Yu Luocheng to watch him play. His playstyle had never been this wild and non-cooperative.


    Yu Luocheng had named himself Fighting Hawk and his gaming style was just like his nickname¡ªferocious, courageous yet retaining his wits, cautiousness, and the sharpness befitting a ruler of the sky.


    However, in this game, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne was nothing like that. He was savage and solitary. It was an individualistic performance. He seldom teamed up with the group and often created his own position to attack without relying on his teammates.


    Only Xiao Bei realized that he was not doing it to show off his personal skills.


    In Team Liaoning¡¯s lineup, Nocturne was the jungler, Renekton was in charge of securing the top lane, Orianna was at mid, while the bottom lane was covered by the ADC Varus and SP Sona. Among these heroes, three had large area-of-effect control skills and two had targeted disabling skills.


    A great player could easily predict and estimate the cast-range of these skills, nevertheless, if Orianna, Sona, and Varus were to use their ultimates together with Flash, it would be difficult to nullify this much hard crowd control 1 with the limited use of Cleanse.


    The hatred toward Vayne was definitely the most potent in a team fight, and even Xiao Bei had no confidence to evade every hard CC and survive the battle if the opponents were to focus everything on Vayne.


    Thus it was entirely reasonable for Vayne to stay uninvolved in a team fight until these hard CCs were used. Yu Luocheng¡¯s decision to arrive late for the team fight was to lure the enemy into releasing all of their CC skills when they believed that they had the advantage of numbers.


    Once these skills went on cooldown, these heroes were no longer a threat to Vayne, signaling that this was the best time for Vayne to intervene in the battle. With invisibility during Final Hour, Vayne could go straight to the backline and easily finish off the opponent¡¯s main damage dealer.


    Then, Vayne could proceed to throw punches at the other enemy champions, only needing to be cautious of Orianna¡¯s skill. If it was executed properly, Vayne would be close to unstoppable.


    ¡°Are you saying that he¡¯s attempting a new playstyle?¡± Lin Dong found it rather unconvincing.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Vayne is beyond capable of being a finisher. In certain situations, she can be even more horrific than the heroes that can instantly refresh their skills, because without any CC available, even a tank is fragile in front of her.¡± Xiao Bei voiced his opinion.


    Listening to Xiao Bei¡¯s analysis, Zhang Aijing fell into her own train of thought.


    She glanced at Yu Luocheng who had his headset on and murmured in a low voice, ¡°We did try this strategy before but it was extremely difficult to make it work. Utilizing the ADC to wrap up a tight team fight halfway is unpredictable and dangerous. First off, the ADC might be accidentally killed in the process, and secondly, initiating a team fight without the ADC might lead to insufficient damage output, causing the team to be wiped out before the ADC is even in position. Take the previous fight for example. Vayne¡¯s entrance was too late, as four of the opponents were still alive. Team Shanghai might have lost the game at that point if it weren¡¯t for his perfect maneuver.¡±


    Zhang Aijing was an analyst herself, and the way she saw it, such a strategy was too good to be true. Not only did they need a god-like Vayne player, but the other members in the team also had to be resilient enough to survive a 4 vs 5 situation regularly. The slightest error would result in a disastrous defeat.


    ¡°That¡¯s why he is still experimenting¡­ Don¡¯t forget, Yu Luocheng has no clue that this is a professional game.¡± Xiao Bei replied sheepishly.


    Zhang Aijing was stunned. Indeed, Yu Luocheng might just be practicing a novel playstyle as he didn¡¯t have the slightest idea that this was actually a national semifinal!


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out soon enough,¡± Lin Dong said.


    The match was far from over, but if Yu Luocheng was trying something different, he would definitely play like a lone ranger again in the subsequent team fights.


    Zhang Aijing nodded, her interest in this unique player growing stronger.


    On the contrary, He Jin and Liu Zhangming who had been listening to them speak still found it hard to agree with what was going on. It was hard to blame them seeing as this game that was worth 200,000 yuan was being used as an experimental training ground by some random guy. Anyone would have felt the same.


    ¡®This is too much for our delicate hearts to take!¡¯


    ***


    In a balanced match, the Baron¡¯s canyon was where most skirmishes often took place. If an SP was caught warding carelessly here, the opposing team would definitely carry on defeating the Baron and subsequently take down all the outer towers.


    Sneaking into the pit and dancing with the monster risked getting caught at the scene, and that was a rather unwise option as well.


    Warding, counter-warding, Sona¡¯s disruption, Diana¡¯s provocation, Thresh¡¯s blind hook, Renekton¡¯s baiting¡ªboth teams played it safe and dared not make the first move recklessly. They were both looking for the perfect initiation.


    The atmosphere was extremely tense.


    However, one person always found himself contradicting the stressful situation.


    While the other nine players were camping around the Baron, preparing for the impending clash, he cheerfully pressed the mid-lane and almost arrived at the opponent¡¯s high ground.


    This was akin to two knights fighting mightily to turn a princess¡¯s head, only to realize that the stableman was already holding the princess¡¯s waist and stripping her of her crystal girdle.


    Such a disgraceful act was even more unforgivable than Master Yi stealing the Nexus.


    Team Liaoning was not about to allow Vayne to destroy the Nexus Tower freely. They were forced to fall back to defend the base seeing as they were unable to find a satisfactory opening.


    ¡°Team Shanghai is now using a four-one split strategy. Four players are controlling the Baron¡¯s area, while Vayne is given the space to push the minions into the opponent¡¯s base. Team Liaoning can only play passively for the time being,¡± Qi Qiao pointed out what was going on to the audience.


    As Qiu Jingtai was a rookie player, naturally, he did not understand such a complex strategy. He quickly asked Jiang Jiu, ¡°Why is Team Liaoning being so passive now? Can¡¯t they just ignore Vayne and go straight for the Baron?¡±


    ¡°The Nexus Tower might be destroyed if they go for the Baron now. Giving up the inner turret in exchange for the Baron is not entirely justifiable,¡± Jiang Jiu responded to his question.


    ¡°Then why not fight the other four players from Team Shanghai? Without Vayne, they should be able to win the team fight,¡± Qiu Jingtai queried further.


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case. Team Shanghai might retreat immediately if Team Liaoning tries to force a fight, and by doing so, Vayne would be given more time to take down the turrets. Besides, I don¡¯t think Team Liaoning would be able to wipe out the entire Team Shanghai since the latter have Thresh in the SP position. At best, they could probably only kill one or two of them.¡± Jiang Jiu explained patiently.


    ¡°Okay. Then they should send one player back to the base for defense while the others fight them 4 vs 4,¡± Qiu Jingtai blurted out his thoughts.


    ¡°Send one player back?¡± Jiang Jiu laughed incredulously.


    Qiu Jingtai was confused at first, but then, he immediately realized how stupid that suggestion sounded. Vayne had been able to fight four heroes all at once before this, sending one player back was no different than feeding her an easy prey.


    Quite frankly, judging by Vayne¡¯s horrifying display of power, even two or three champions might not be sufficient to take her down. Worse still, the game would be done for if they continued to be counter-killed by the formidable ADC. Besides, the other four members of Team Shanghai were no ordinary players.


    Now, if two people were chosen to go back and defend the base, Team Shanghai would still have Jax¡¯s high damage output and Elise¡¯s damage by percentage. They could either swiftly put down the Baron, or a 4 vs 3 team fight would work in their favor too.


    More importantly, the two people that were sent back might also be slain by the brazen Vayne. One glorious Ace and the game would end in a flash.


    Team Liaoning was clearly in a huge dilemma now.


    ¡°This is how a high-end game looks like. Even if you play solo, as long as your skill is convincing enough, the other four players will willingly follow your footsteps. They will control the map, divide the enemies, and ultimately, create an opening where you can outmaneuver the opponent¡¯s team,¡± Jiang Jiu continued to explain the strategies.


    Qiu Jingtai was not a slow learner, he now realized why Team Shanghai was ready to sacrifice their economy in Vayne¡¯s favor even though Cat Eye was playing awfully at first. He also finally understood why nobody in the team blamed Vayne for his solitary playstyle.


    Though this seemed like Vayne¡¯s solo performance from the surface, the entire Team Shanghai was accounted for by setting up the stage for her. As long as they could win, the other four didn¡¯t mind to play the sidekick role.


    This was the true spirit of a team!


    A good player did not require long-winded explanations, they would instantly understand you and have faith in you.


    Everybody could tell how dreadful Vayne was in the early game. The other four members of Team Shanghai knew full well that Cat Eye was not the actual player. Of course, they did have their doubts as to whether the ghost-gamer could be depended upon or not. In spite of that, they did not hesitate for even a second when the team decided to give up their own economy to nurture Vayne. This was because they shared a common understanding¡ªTo win this match, they needed a well-farmed Vayne.


    ***


    During the Lecheng Grand Finals, the reason Yu Luocheng had shut off the voice chat was due to Team Scarlet¡¯s ignorance toward the importance of team spirit. They had begun to point fingers at each other the minute the game became unpleasant.


    In this current match however, although Yu Luocheng was unaware that this was an official game, he could tell that his teammates were true LoL players, owing to their prompt coordination with him despite his unpredictable and unconventional solo play.


    They had shown no sign of frustration at any point in the game, instead, using their actions to tell Yu Luocheng that they were fine being the lesser ones. They were happy to contribute from the dark corner where the spotlights would never shine on them, and where the audiences would never notice them.


    All they asked for was a victory. Whether they stood out in the process did not bother them at all, so if Vayne was performing a stunning solo dance, they didn¡¯t mind being her escort behind the scenes! Yu Luocheng could recognize his teammates¡¯ strong desire to win through their actions even though they had not conversed much.


    ¡®So you wanted to win this bad? Then allow my Vayne to pave the road to victory for you! We shall hunt the vicious enemies down and turn them into frightened prey!¡¯


    ***

 Chapter 129 - Zero or Hero

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Liaoning began to retreat, and in response, the other four members of Team Shanghai decided to go for the Baron Nashor decisively. But just as Team Liaoning vanished into the fog, the sky suddenly darkened.


    Boom!


    The sound of thunder rumbling came with a shade that robbed away Team Shanghai¡¯s vision, and a pitch-black creature with a pair of sharp wings was seen gliding through the darkness and it struck right into the heart of the four members of Team Shanghai.


    It was Nocturne who had charged in imposingly with his ultimate, and at the same time, all the members of Team Liaoning turned back abruptly. Instead of retreating, they were now lunging toward the pit assisted by the bonus speed granted by Shurelya¡¯s Reverie.


    ¡°Team Liaoning is very cunning. They first pretended to retreat, but then used Nocturne¡¯s ulti to force a team fight! Once again, they are at the 5 vs 4 number advantage!¡±


    Team Liaoning¡¯s sudden change of tactic staggered Team Shanghai and the latter retreated quickly. Unfortunately, Diana¡¯s speed was not up to par, and she was caught and tethered by Nocturne¡¯s Unspeakable Horror. Team Liaoning was also moving unbelievably fast thanks to Shurelya¡¯s Reverie and Orianna¡¯s Dissonance. This sudden ambush had caught Team Shanghai completely off guard.


    ¡°Fight!!¡± Just as Team Shanghai was caught in a predicament and couldn¡¯t decide whether to fight or run, a simple sentence appeared on the chat window, sent out by none other than their ADC, Vayne, the Night Hunter!


    ¡°Then we fight!¡±


    The other members of Team Shanghai answered his call with no hesitation. After the Flee effect on Diana had ended, she immediately released Pale Cascade.


    Three spheres appeared abruptly, orbiting around Diana¡¯s waist, turning her into a dangerous charging force! Diana swung her Crescent Moonblade and pulled out a symbolic radiance that was aimed at the opponent¡¯s core hero, Orianna.


    Lunar Rush!


    Just as she was about to be stunned by Renekton, Diana, Scorn of the Moon, transformed into a lunar bolt and flew straight at Orianna. She was gorgeous and deadly at the same time. The heavily wounded champion turned into a ferocious beast and she used her last breath to launch one final retaliation.


    Moonfall!


    Dazzling silver lights turned into a light disc that pulled everyone nearby toward Diana. The blade in her hand struck out and triggered her innate skill, Moonsilver Blade, hitting three targets¡ªOrianna, Varus, and Sona¡ªall at once.


    Following the CC and attack, Diana soon became the main target of the enemies¡¯ firepower. However, it was impossible that a developed Diana did not have Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass with her, and the overwhelming item allowed the melee sorcerer to quickly turn into gold¡ªuntouchable, with the drawback of being fixated on the spot.


    By chance, Varus¡¯s ulti, Chain of Corruption, managed to be evaded by Diana¡¯s timely Stasis. The series of actions executed by Diana was impeccably smooth and as soon as the opponent¡¯s positions were scrambled, Jax joined the fight with his weapon, Brass Lamppost.


    The Grandmaster at Arms flashed a deadly stare from under the brim of his hat and Leap Strike-ed directly onto Diana¡¯s spot. Jax¡¯s Counter Strike took effect after 2 seconds, forcing Orianna and Sona to Flash away, but Varus was hit directly as his Summoner spell was still on cooldown.


    The perfect counter orchestrated by Diana and Jax successfully shocked the enemy team. The battle had suddenly turned rather chaotic.


    ***


    ¡®Great, all their ultis are gone now.¡¯ A smile spread over Yu Luocheng¡¯s face.


    Varus¡¯s ulti had missed Diana thanks to the stasis; Orianna¡¯s ulti had been used to stop Jax from killing Varus; Sona¡¯s ulti had been cast on Elise and Diana; while Nocturne¡¯s ulti had been used much earlier to initiate the fight.


    ¡®Now that all the ulti¡¯s that could have threatened my Vayne is on cooldown, it¡¯s time to showcase my real skills. Wait¡­ More precisely, it¡¯s time to hunt those strangled by the night!¡¯


    He smoothly guided Vayne to rush toward the Baron¡¯s canyon from the enemy¡¯s high ground. This time, he had started moving earlier than the previous fight, relocating as soon as Nocturne had released his ultimate.


    Vayne ran forward and used Tumble, aimed at a creep, Tumble was refreshed, she used it again, aimed once more at neutral units, Tumble was refreshed¡­


    Vayne gained additional movement speed when she was near an enemy champion, and once her innate skill was triggered, it meant that the Night Hunter had legitimately entered the battlefield.


    ¡®A Sona with Oracle¡¯s Elixir? Great, you¡¯re first!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng slid into the chaotic scene from from the side. One arrow, two arrows, Tumble, and then another arrow! Three arrow stacks brought out the Silver Bolts effect which instantly killed Sona with who had 2/5 of her HP left.


    Vayne had focused her build on attack speed, but her attack power upon activating Final Hour was not to be looked down upon.


    A third level ultimate provided her with an additional 55 attack power which was equivalent to the attack of a B. F. Sword and Long Sword combined. In other words, she possessed a skill that was comparable to a pure attack item worth 2000 golds.


    A full level Tumble also gave her 50% bonus damage. If it was triggered along with her W-Skill, Silver Bolt, which granted 8% true damage, the damage dealt by her would be ridiculously high!


    Sona was an SP champion and thus, did not have any extra defense after buying Shurelya¡¯s Reverie. As expected, three arrows took her life with ease.


    She stepped past Sona¡¯s body like a cold-blooded assassin, not bothering to look at the deceased champion, and had her eyes secured on the next target¡ªVarus.


    Varus without his ulti was no match for Vayne. Renekton and Nocturne who were supposed to protect Varus were too busy attacking Jax, leaving the ADC vulnerable.


    Flash!


    Yu Luocheng used his Flash to avoid Orianna¡¯s QW-combo gracefully and subsequently found a good spot to pin Varus down.


    One arrow! Condemn! Varus was nailed to the wall. Tumble! Yet another arrow!


    Varus¡¯s HP dropped insanely quick and he was unable to fend off Vayne¡¯s devastating attack even with his Barrier on. After being stunned for 1.5 seconds, Varus lost his will to fight and used Flash to escape with the tiny bit of his HP left.


    Yu Luocheng decided to let Varus escape and moved on to his next target. Vayne turned her gaze upon Orianna, with the silver Wristbolt Launcher on her hand buzzing with a thirst for blood.


    Orianna had been truly traumatized by Vayne and she gave up immediately, falling back as soon as Vayne began to rush toward her. In her panic, her skills were cast without properly aiming.


    ¡°How savage!!! Vayne is like an ultimate boss that charges into a bunch of neutral monsters. She has crushed the initially high spirits of Team Liaoning and turned them into fleeing rats. I reckon Team Liaoning must be kicking themselves now for not banning Vayne!¡± Qi Qiao announced excitedly.


    ADCs would normally follow the team closely and join the battle from the start, not during the middle of a disorganized fight.


    But at that moment, the audiences were looking at an unorthodox Vayne who jumped into the fray late with her ulti. It was as if a dragon had landed on a pack of wolves and stampeded through them with ease!


    ***


    Zhang Aijing, Xiao Bei, and Lin Dong looked each other in the eyes, and then glanced back at the bloodthirsty Vayne on the screen.


    Indeed, this fellow was taking this match into his own hands. A Vayne that danced on the edge of death.


    He had first let his teammates bear the brunt of the opponents¡¯ ultis and most of their damage, in which the enemies had also lost a lot of blood amidst the chaos. Only when his teammates had successfully shattered the enemies positioning did he take part in the chaos with his terrifying control and run over the enemies!


    As an in-game analyst herself, Zhang Aijing had concluded that this strategy had a lot of flaws and was theoretically unsuitable to be used in an actual match.


    But the ex-DOTA world-class player had shown Zhang Aijing a novel ADC perspective by using Vayne¡ªAn ADC that played the role of a death-defying finisher! It could only have been made possible with top-class mastery of the champion. Besides, while he might appear to be playing independently apart from his teammates, the fact was that this playstyle demanded a lot of trust from the team!


    ***


    Players who excelled in the bottom lane knew this¡ªa strong SP must also be a strong ADC.


    A bottom lane Vayne happened to be one of the few strongest champions ever played by Yu Luocheng. He couldn¡¯t deny that such a playstyle did not end particularly well on certain occasions. Bad teammates and operational errors were inevitable at times.


    Nevertheless, this was the thrill he had been looking for when he was playing Vayne. Either you die as a zero, or farm long enough to be the hero!

 Chapter 130 - Baron Nashor’s Deadly Venom

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Those who had played Vayne before understood one simple truth¡ªFrom the moment you choose this champion, you have to be prepared for the enemies¡¯ grave resentment, which was probably second only to that against the Swift Scout, Teemo.


    How deep did the hatred for Teemo run, you ask? Read the following examples:


    ¡°Kayle has used her ultimate, switch target to Teemo and kill him. Well-played!¡±


    ¡°Morgana¡¯s Black Shield is on. Alright, change the target to Teemo. Put him down. Nice!¡±


    ¡°Aatrox passive is triggered. Let¡¯s switch to Teemo and finish him off. Great job guys!¡±


    ¡°Vayne has escaped with Final Hour. Ok, Teemo¡¯s next. Wonderful! Well done bringing him down!¡±


    ¡°Teemo is trying to escape with Move Quick. Keep up the pursuit, we must hunt him down. Alright, nice kill!¡±


    In the eyes of Team Liaoning¡¯s players, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne was like a Vayne in Teemo¡¯s hat. Their hatred against this champion had gone off the charts to the point that Nocturne had even given up on his dying targets (Elise and Thresh) and turned back to hunt Vayne.


    Renekton jumped on Vayne like a madman as well while Orianna had also regained herself and charged forward instead of running away. The player who controlled Orianna seemed determined to slaughter Vayne in an attempt to avenge his earlier insult of missing an ulti on her.


    Luckily, Yu Luocheng had first taken out Sona who carried the Oracle¡¯s Elixir, otherwise, her invisibility during Final Hour would be rendered useless.


    Vayne could have waded through this mess easily by kiting the enemy heroes one by one. After all, these three heroes did not have any handy hard CC skills. Even if she was being controlled, Yu Luocheng could easily dispel it with Quicksilver Sash. However, if she was trapped by three heroes simultaneously, it would be fortunate enough just to stay alive, let alone massacre the enemy.


    Yu Luocheng guided Vayne to tumble sideways as she was pursuing Orianna. He had found a great position to finish Orianna off at first, but suddenly, he found that his champion was being sandwiched by both Renekton and Nocturne who had turned around unexpectedly.


    ¡°This Nocturne is insane, he¡¯s ditched the two dying heroes and has decided to kill Vayne at all costs!¡± Xiao Bei yelled.


    Under normal circumstances, Nocturne would take the two kills first, and only then, switch to the ADC. Surprisingly, he seemed as though he couldn¡¯t care less and went straight toward Vayne, creating a triple-team situation.


    ¡°Renekton¡¯s stun, Orianna¡¯s 40% speed reduction, and the burst damage with Nocturne¡¯s Horror is still available. This time, Vayne would not be able to escape!¡±


    High risk, high return. Vayne¡¯s living-on-the-edge style came with a huge risk to begin with. She would be completely helpless if the enemy decided to gank her all at once, much like what was happening at that very moment.


    Of course Team Liaoning was careful in doing so. They understood very well that to completely deflate Team Shanghai, they only needed to kill one champion¡ªVayne.


    Yu Luocheng had used his Flash earlier on and Condemn had also been used on Varus. His current escape options were only Cleanse, the Quicksilver Sash¡¯s active, and invisible Tumble for one last time. It was highly unlikely for him to escape the enemies¡¯ ambush this time.


    ¡®If I can¡¯t run, then I kill!¡¯


    Yu Luocheng immediately targeted Orianna, releasing all of Vayne¡¯s bolts toward the Lady of Clockwork! This time however, Orianna did not back down. His opponents were desperate to kill Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne no matter what.


    With such strong determination, Orianna¡¯s QW-combo finally found its target this time. Her terrifying damage instantly depleted 40% of Vayne¡¯s HP.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne had enhanced her magic defense which was being buffed up by the Quicksilver Sash, and yet, one QW-combo easily removed that much HP from her. This made it clear that the powerful Vayne was, at the same time, an extremely vulnerable ADC.


    Cleanse!


    With the speed reduction debuff removed, Yu Luocheng decisively controlled Vayne to release another three quick arrows on Orianna. Orianna¡¯s HP was already low following Diana¡¯s assault and she was on the brink of death after taking another three successive arrows from Vayne even with her Barrier on.


    ¡°Your champion is going to die if you don¡¯t retreat now!¡± Zhang Aijing couldn¡¯t help but remind Yu Luocheng.


    Vayne¡¯s performance in this match was like walking on a tightrope. One misstep would send her spiraling down into the abyss.


    He Jin no longer knew how to describe his current state of mind. The last time he was this restless was when his wife was having difficult labor and had almost departed this life along with his child.


    Yu Luocheng glanced at Thresh¡¯s position and Orianna¡¯s remaining HP.


    ¡®Two more arrows and Orianna will be gone.¡¯


    However, Renekton was too close to Vayne and she only had enough time to release one more arrow.


    ¡®One arrow¡­ A critical strike please!¡¯ Yu Luocheng prayed quietly that this last attack would be a critical strike, otherwise, Orianna would live with a remainder of 70 HP.


    Phantom Dancer¡¯s critical chance was 30%, and that was the probability this last shot had to bury Orianna.


    ¡®I always go to the temple to burn the joss stick on the first day of the month 1 , so God, please be good to me and answer my prayer!¡¯ Yu Luocheng pled sincerely in his mind.


    The trigger clicked and the bolt flew straight toward Orianna.


    Poof!!!


    A string of red-colored numbers popped up and¡­


    ¡°F*ck, that didn¡¯t kill her!¡± Yu Luocheng was pissed. He clicked his tongue and cursed.


    ¡®No critical hit¡­¡¯


    Yu Luocheng did not have the time to release another arrow.


    He swiftly guided Vayne to perform a sideways Tumble up the cliff where a dull greyish-green Soul Lantern was waiting for her. The Night Hunter looked at Orianna¡¯s minimal HP grimly and grabbed the lantern. She then slid down reluctantly as if she was on a zip line, and a moment later, Vayne landed elegantly in front of Thresh.


    ¡°It¡¯s Thresh¡¯s Dark Passage!¡±


    ¡°What a nice team play. This is a commendable understanding and awareness between teammates. It would be perfect if Vayne could finish off Orianna earlier!¡± The commentator, Qi Qiao, was getting more and more animated.


    Vayne was triple-teamed but had managed to escape with Thresh¡¯s timely help. The calmness and composure displayed were very pleasing to the audience¡¯s eyes.


    Thwack!!!


    Just as the audience was commending the team play, Vayne foolishly fired an arrow at Baron Nashor. The dozing Baron was awoken by the sudden arrow and immediately transformed into a furious serpent.


    Thresh did not have much HP left and seeing that Vayne had woken the Baron up by accident, he quickly escaped the canyon as he swore on Yu Luocheng¡¯s carelessness.


    Vayne was assaulted by Baron too, but she agilely tumbled forward and fled away speedily from Baron¡¯s attack range.


    Seeing her amusing play, Qi Qiao laughed and spoke, ¡°Vayne, oh Vayne¡­ What a mistake to clumsily evoke Baron. Her HP was wasted for nothing¡­¡±


    But she stopped talking mid-way because the next thing that happened on the big screen rendered her speechless!


    Vayne had hastily moved away from the area after she had shocked the Baron Nashor from its sleep, and as the raging Baron lost sight of Vayne, it soon vented its anger on the next nearest target, Orianna!


    Splash!!!


    Baron Nashor directly spat a mouthful of venom toward the cliff, which splashed directly onto Orianna, who had been celebrating her close escape.


    Her final drop of HP¡­


    Orianna¡¯s remaining HP had been taken away by the Baron!


    The Lady of Clockwork shrieked miserably right before her body lost all its power and collapsed to the ground like a pile of lifeless mechanical parts.


    Double Kill!


    The death of Orianna, who was killed by Baron Nashor, was counted on Vayne. It was settled, Orianna had been killed by Vayne after all!!


    The entire hall went silent upon seeing this.


    Everyone in front of their TV and computers watching the live broadcast was equally stunned too. They had just witnessed a miracle unfold in front of their very own eyes!


    Xiao Bei, Zhang Aijing, Liu Zhangming, He Jin, and Lin Dong, who had been standing behind Yu Luocheng, could not hold their jaws in place.


    Oh my god!


    Baron Nashor was programmed to attack the nearest champion when provoked, and the spot where Orianna happened to be had a ward planted by Thresh earlier.


    In other words, Vayne had not woken the Baron by accident, Yu Luocheng had simply used the provoked Baron to finish the job that his Vayne couldn¡¯t accomplish in time.


    The problem was, how could a normal person think of such a method and execute it so calmly at that perilous moment?


    ¡®Making use of the Baron¡¯s attack¡­ Is¡­ is¡­ is this guy even human?¡¯

 Chapter 131 - : This Vayne is not Cat Eye

    Chapter 131: This Vayne is not Cat Eye


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°This is¡­ As¡­¡± Zheng ¡°Anubis¡± Bin watched the screen in disbelief.


    Anubis is a professional player that began his career from the American server. Although he was aware that it is entirely possible to use Baron Nashor to attack the enemy¡¯s champion, he was still baffled by the player¡¯s extraordinary vision in using the Baron¡¯s venom to finish off Orianna under this situation.


    Asmodai was focusing on the screen too. His fiery eyes didn¡¯t move away after a long while.


    ¡°As, say something.¡± Anubis urged him.


    For a player to execute such technique, not only he/she needs to have a great foundation and outstanding awareness but they are also required to have a thorough understanding of the in-game environment as well as unparalleled talent in MOBA game!


    ¡°This Vayne is not played by Cat Eye.¡± Finally, Asmodai gave his opinion assuredly.


    ¡°Not Cat Eye?¡± Ben Zheng was baffled.


    ¡®How could it be? Cat Eye Qiu Shenping is indeed sitting on the player seat!¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s gotta be it. I had met Cat Eye in the Korean server before. No doubt, his Vayne is quick and dexterous. He has a good sense of positioning, too, and is extremely hard to catch. Nevertheless, he still lacks the killer instinct,¡± Asmodai explained patiently, ¡°As compared to this Vayne, they are two completely different playstyles. This Vayne is a toothless cat in the early game. There was no notable strength aside for his or her CS fundamentals. However, once the item build began to take shape, this Vayne immediately transformed into a ferocious tiger. Untouchable, cruel, and intimidating.¡±


    Anubis nodded affirmatively. ¡°You are right. A person¡¯s playstyle and understanding toward a hero is usually fixated. The contrast is too extreme¡­¡±


    ¡°The change in playstyle takes time to develop. In my opinion, Cat Eye¡¯s inadequate skills and talents are his limiting factors. At best he would only be a tier-2 or -3 player. However, Bin, from your perspective, what tier is this Vayne at? From the 1-vs-3 maneuver, the failed 1-vs-4 yet a tide-turning battle, to this team fight where Vayne vigilantly intercepted the backline and killed Orianna with Baron¡¯s help¡­¡± Asmodai raised his point.


    ¡°During the early game laning phase, this fella played like an amateur. His mid-game maneuver shows that he might a tier 2 or 3 professional ADC. In a late-game team fight, regardless of the strategy workability, his timing to intervene, champion control, and extraordinary vision would list him or her among the top tier in our country,¡± Anubis answered.


    Asmodai agreed and said, ¡°Laning phase is not entirely vital since it is improvable through practice. The main reason that hinders Cat Eye from entering higher tier is his insufficient commitment during late-game fights and his lack of natural talent in competitive MOBA. Thus, I am certain that this game is not played by Cat Eye.¡±


    ¡°Then, who do you think it might be? Besides, isn¡¯t it too risky to use a ghost-gamer in the national semifinal? Aren¡¯t they afraid to be found out later?¡± Zheng Bin asked.


    Asmodai shook his head. Right now, he was still unable to identify who was the actual player behind Vayne in this match.


    By right, not many players within China could play Vayne to this extent. Unfortunately, Asmodai failed to find any resemblance after he looked up for several elite ADC players within the country.


    ***


    The auditorium had boiled over for quite a while!


    Previous moments where Vayne was being triple-team and quadruple-team were not as buzzing as the current scene.


    The commentator, Qi Qiao, was at a loss. She couldn¡¯t find a word to describe her amazement. ¡®How could anyone think of this? Uses Baron to secure kill?¡¯


    The impostor, Qiu Shenping, almost had his eyes popped out.


    ¡°Have you downloaded it? Have you downloaded it??¡± The in-game director at the backstage howled excitedly at the programmer by his side.


    The programmed nodded energetically, ¡°I have!¡±


    ¡°This is definitely one of the top ten best plays, potentially the first place!¡±


    ***


    Wang Jing from Team Liaoning was dumbstruck. The rage of being humiliated in terms of skill and the shame of being outsmarted made him wanted to smash his keyboard.


    ¡®Is this match still playable?¡¯


    Most probably, this game would leave him a great phobia toward Vayne. For the rest of his life, he probably would ban Vayne without a second thought, regardless of whether there is any player good with Vayne in the opponent team.


    Team Liaoning was strong. This was evident from their few decisive war initiations before this. Their coordination was slightly superior to that of Team Shanghai.


    Nonetheless, a Vayne who played solo managed to crush their strategy and shatter their formation every single time.


    ***


    After Orianna¡¯s death, Elise cleverly sacrificed herself and allowed Vayne to take down Renekton and Nocturne under Thresh¡¯s protection. Team Shanghai then went straight for the mid-lane Nexus Tower.


    The survived Varus was unable to stop them. She could only press the other lane and use the minion wave to slightly slow down Team Shanghai push.


    Once the mid-lane was conquered, Team Shanghai used the creep line advantage and killed off Baron Nashor effortlessly.


    With Hand of Baron, Team Shanghai no longer needed to employ the split-push strategy. Team Liaoning could no longer match them in a head-on clash.


    The high-end game like this one progressed rather rapidly. Often, a team fight would shift the momentum entirely to the victors and put the game into garbage time.


    Team Liaoning had nothing left in the tank. After all their three lanes had fallen, the game ended swiftly¡­


    ¡°What a tremendous semifinal! Congratulations to Team Sunlight from Shanghai for winning the ticket to the Grand Final! All of us were anticipating a good game from Vayne during the banning phase and I think nobody would disagree with me when I say Cat Eye has duly delivered a top-class performance! I am pretty sure that Cat Eye¡¯s popularity would go to a new height after this game and perhaps he could be seen in the LPL very soon!¡±


    ¡°For Team Liaoning, you guys definitely deserved the praise too. The strategy of oppressing Vayne during the early game worked out well, although it did not last. Please don¡¯t feel disappointed about missing the Grand Final. I believe those who had given your best on this stage would not go unnoticed. You will be able to find your next home in rising or established professional teams. We hope to see you again in LPL!¡± Qi Qiao gave her final verdict to conclude the match.


    Inside the auditorium, the audience was not entirely satisfied.


    This was a truly remarkable LoL match. Every time Vayne barged into a battle, their heartbeats raced together with the champion¡¯s dancing on the razor¡¯s edge playstyle.


    To be honest, they sincerely hoped that the match went on longer so that they could continue to watch Vayne¡¯s magnificent performance.


    ¡°Cat Eye!!! Cat Eye!!!¡±


    ¡°Invincible! Cat Eye¡¯s Vayne is invincible!¡±


    ¡°Best Vayne! Best Vayne!¡±


    A lot of Cat Eye supporters inside the hall raised their self-made banner and began chanting. Many female audiences also threw him an admiring gaze.


    Soon, the small-sized Qiu Shenping was surrounded by a large group of passionate supporters.


    Qiu Shenping smiled sheepishly. He knew well that the people in front of him were actually cheering for someone else.


    Still, being surrounded by ladies in perfume and enthusiastic fans greatly fascinated him.


    Indeed, a player usually faces the computer alone in E-sports. However, when the player had given everything and created a perfect, astonishing play in a game, who doesn¡¯t want to be adored like a celebrated pianist?


    In school, the teacher always gives their attention to those with good grades. In society, pretty ladies only follow those with good looks, high position, and wealthy.


    But in E-sports, none of those matters!


    You can gain anything you want here as long as you are stronger than your opponent!


    At this very moment, Qiu Shenping greatly enjoyed the attention he had never experienced in the past. Before this, girls with long hair and oval face in short trendy skirts would never look at him so admirably like now.


    ¡°If only¡­ If only I am really that good in playing Vayne,¡± Qiu Shenping murmured in his mind.

 Chapter 132 - Ghost-gamer was Exposed

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The audience was gifted with mouse pads as a token of appreciation, and Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai who had sneaked in illegally without a ticket were bold enough to take the gift and asked for Qiu Shenping¡¯s signature. Qiu Shenping, laughing while being surrounded and asked for autographs, carelessly forgot about a very important matter.


    After obtaining Cat Eye¡¯s autograph, Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai boldly approached Qi Qiao. They both knew that in their course, there had to be a lot of LoL enthusiasts as well, and if they were able to get a signature and photograph with Qi Qiao, they would be the envy of all the losers in their class.


    Just as they were walking toward Qi Qiao, someone called out to her and she walked quickly toward the backstage. Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai could only gaze at her retreating back in grave disappointment.


    ***


    ¡°Mr. Wang, may I know why you wanted to see me urgently?¡± Qi Qiao patted her hair down neatly and spoke to the man in front of her politely, maintaining a courteous smile. This man, Mr. Wang, was none other than the Publicity Manager from the Coca Cola Company, and he was the main reason this competition was able to receive a huge sum of sponsorship money from the company.


    The man in question had a square-ish, stern face, and he looked more like an army officer rather than a gold collar. It was easy to discern his unsmiling personality from the expression on his face.


    ¡°Ask one of your GTV programmers to check the computer used by Qiu Shenping,¡± Mr. Wang ordered in a low voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qi Qiao asked, visibly puzzled.


    ¡°Just do as I say,¡± Mr. Wang refused to explain further.


    Qi Qiao dared not question his authority and immediately did as she was told as soon as she got back into the auditorium. The autograph session inside the auditorium was about to end when she walked back into the hall. Almost all the audience had left the hall, and nobody paid attention to the programmer who was busy scrutinizing the computer.


    Not long after, the programmer walked back to Qi Qiao with a grim face and whispered something to her, handing a USB disk retrieved from Qiu Shenping¡¯s computer over to Qi Qiao. Qi Qiao was rather surprised hearing the news, but she was more disgusted than shocked by the unsportsmanlike behavior that she had just discovered.


    Mr. Wang knew exactly what was going on as soon as he saw Qi Qiao¡¯s expression. He did not say anything and instead, turned back toward the meeting room beside the auditorium hall.


    ***


    The meeting room was luxuriously decorated in a classic western style. There were wall paintings, a magnificent chandelier, a luxurious carpet, and an elegant fireplace.


    Artificial fire danced violently inside the fireplace, and the light that shone from it illuminated a lady that was sat gracefully on a chair beside it. She had long dark hair and was wearing a plain dress, her snowy-white arms hung lightly on the armrest.


    Next to her sat another lady in office attire holding an expensive laptop in her lap. The screen of the laptop was facing toward the long-haired lady seated on the chair.


    ¡°Miss, how did you know Qiu Shenping was an impostor?¡± Mr. Wang asked her in a serious tone.


    ¡°The signal source did not match. Someone must have installed malware and allowed the computer to be controlled externally,¡± The lady with dark hair explained.


    ¡°How dare he collaborate with a hacker and find himself a ghost-gamer,¡± Mr. Wang admonished angrily, ¡°The framework of E-sports has yet to be stabilized and this type of misconduct is already in place. How pathetic.¡±


    ¡°They are too eager for quick success,¡± The lady with black hair said calmly.


    ¡°How do we deal with this?¡± Mr. Wang asked.


    ¡°Disqualify Team Sunlight but keep the reason discreet.¡±


    ¡°Discreet?¡±


    The lady with black hair said nothing. It was the lady in office wear who responded, clicking on the computer and showing Mr. Wang Qiu Shenping¡¯s profile. She read, ¡°The profile here states that Qiu Shenping has never skipped practice last year, spending a total of 12 hours daily to hone his skills. If we reveal the reason, no team would ever accept him again. It would be too harsh to hinder the teenager¡¯s effort thus far all because of a single offense. Right, my lady?¡±


    The black-haired lady nodded lightly.


    ¡°Do you want me to look for the hacker?¡±


    ¡°No. I already know his identity.¡±


    ¡°How about the ghost-gamer?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    The lady in the office wear expressed a glimpse of pleasure in her eyes. ¡®You little brats. Don¡¯t you ever try to play tricks in front of me and my boss again. Do you know how many hackers in China would piss themselves just by hearing our names?¡¯


    Well, Cat Eye and his accomplices were a little unfortunate. The two ladies had only been here by chance, and now, they had exposed the rigged game.


    ***


    After he took off his earphones, Yu Luocheng smiled, seemingly satisfied. He felt that he had played well today. At the very least, he had not been immediately killed after charging into the enemy¡¯s group, as he had experienced in some of his previous high-rank games.


    Although Vayne was fully capable of rounding in from the backline, the opponent¡¯s lineup had to be taken into consideration as well. In this match, the opponent¡¯s top and jungle champions had a short attack range, while their AP only had Skillshot abilities, thus, the chance of success had been rather high.


    ¡°Your friends are pretty skillful. Please bring me along if you have another custom game like this in the future,¡± Yu Luocheng said to Xiao Bei.


    Liu Zhangming and He Jin nodded immediately after hearing him say that and replied, ¡°Sure, sure!¡±


    ¡®Such an amazing Vayne!¡¯ He Jin and Liu Zhangming would certainly like him to play for them again in the finals as well. 200,000 yuan was at stake, normal people might never see this huge sum of money even after working for years.


    Moreover, sponsors would definitely come knocking on their doors after they had won the tournament. This was an endless wealth that would be brought to them by the national champion title!


    Yu Luocheng was baffled, looking over at He Jin and Liu Zhangming oddly.


    ¡®Are you two crazy or what? I was talking to Xiao Bei, why did the two of you answer so eagerly?¡¯


    ¡°Lin Dong, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiao Bei looked at Lin Dong¡¯s troubled face and asked.


    Lin Dong shook his head and said, ¡°Xiao Bei, bring Yu Luocheng downstairs. I will be there in a minute.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Yu Luocheng peeked at Lin Dong who was acting oddly, but he didn¡¯t give it much thought, knowing that Lin Dong was a hacker with a lot of secrets.


    He Jin and Liu Zhangming had already left, most probably to join their team in celebrating the victory. Irene passed a name card to Yu Luocheng and Xiao Bei, asking them to keep in touch with her and left the room, trailing behind He Jin and Liu Zhangming.


    ***


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Yu Luocheng told Xiao Bei.


    Xiao Bei nodded, gushing on and on about the moment Yu Luocheng had killed Orianna with Baron Nashor¡¯s venom, his eyes full of admiration. Yu Luocheng, on the other hand, ignored his ceaseless ramble and walked toward the lift. It was at this moment that two gorgeous ladies came into his view from the opposite direction.


    ¡®A white office suit with a black collar, an office skirt, curly orange hair, a long pair of legs, and a busty chest¡ªThis is an enchanting beauty in attractive office wear!¡¯


    ¡®Let¡¯s see the other one. A plain dress. Her appearance stands out from the other dull-looking workers and supervisors all around this place. She walks like a gorgeous butterfly, her steps quick, yet elegant. What a babe!¡¯


    The two ladies seemed to brush by them quickly, but they did glance at Yu Luocheng furtively. Yu Luocheng sensed the attention of the two ladies and felt a little curious, but his narcissistic instincts won. ¡®My good looks will never escape the instincts and vision of pretty ladies.¡¯


    Yu Luocheng and Xiao Bei entered the lift after that short encounter, and the two ladies halted and looked at the closed elevator¡¯s door.


    ¡°My lady, do you know him?¡± The office-style lady asked.


    ¡°He looks familiar. Unfortunately, I just can¡¯t recall where I have seen him before.¡±

 Chapter 133 - From Black Swan to Sky Swan

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The door creaked open, and a pair of eyes peeked out. Lin Dong let out a breath of relief as soon as he had confirmed that the two ladies had left.


    ¡°What the heck, why is Missus here?¡±


    Lin Dong was an old time black hat hacker, and he had disrupted the internet back in the days. Before he joined E-Sports, there were quite a few hackers who were on par with him too. Those hackers were not like the other rookie hackers who used small trojans and viruses for hacking, they were the ones who could inject viruses which crashed servers.


    A few years ago, they were running rampant in the domestic net. Apart from organizations with exceptionally strong firewalls, they were able to access any other network.


    Later when the country went through a network reformation, all the hackers had been rounded up by the cyber police, and that included Lin Dong. He had a record with the Network Public Security Bureau, and as long as he used his hacking skills for illegal means, he would be prosecuted.


    The rumored leader of the group that had gone against the black hat hackers was a young girl nicknamed Missus, an unparalleled computer genius. She was a white hat hacker acting with the capacity of an official, responsible for overseeing the repeated offenders of hacking like them. He continued to peek through the door, and the two ladies suddenly stopped right in front of it, their eyes looking into the room sharply.


    ¡°Black Swan, come on out, even if you altered the IP to look like it came from the first floor computer, the signal source is from this room.¡± The lady wearing the office suit said coldly, looking around the room Lin Dong was hiding in. ¡°Did you think you could trick us?¡±


    Lin Dong cursed inwardly, thinking that he had managed to escape. Hearing the voice of the female inspector, his face paled immediately. Cutting the connection immediately, he forced a smile on his face as he walked out into the room.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t Missus and Miss Inspector, what a coincidence.¡±


    ¡®Missus¡¯ and ¡®Miss Inspector¡¯ were the nicknames of the two female computer geniuses given by the black and white hat hackers, and Lin Dong was among one of the few black hat hackers who had ever met them face to face before.


    ¡°A coincidence indeed.¡± Miss Inspector continued in a cold tone. ¡°We were just walking by, watching this boring match, and who would have expected us to grab your poisonous insect hide.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a technician here.¡± Lin Dong smiled and said.


    The match had already ended, and Lin Dong had hurriedly wiped all evidence of his tampering. Even they wouldn¡¯t be able to drag any trail out.


    ¡°Still suspicious.¡± The lady inspector pulled out a USB drive from her pocket. ¡°Do you want me to hand this over to the Bureau?¡±


    Seeing the USB drive in her hand, Lin Dong¡¯s expression changed, raging internally. Qiu Shenping, that asshole! He had told him to make sure to take the USB drive away and he dared to forget!


    ¡°Your fingerprints will definitely be on it. I don¡¯t even need to check the computer used in the competition, your signature virus ¡®Black Swan¡¯ will definitely be on it.¡± The lady said, smiling lightly. ¡°Would you still like to deny it?¡±


    Beads of sweat were forming on Lin Dong¡¯s forehead, his hands shaking slightly.


    ¡°Before this, being underaged let you escaped the cyber crimes you were previously involved in, but now that you¡¯re above 18 years old, the penalty for this time would exceed one thousand yuan.¡± The lady continued. ¡°With the successful cyber crime you¡¯ve committed this time, you can enjoy the country¡¯s hospitality which provides you with free accommodation and food for three years.¡±


    Lin Dong¡¯s face twitched. Three years of prison time was deadly to him, not only would he lose his most youthful years, this would also have a huge impact on his future prospects!


    He didn¡¯t want to go to prison!


    Eyeing the two ladies in front of him, they would seem like unparalleled beauties to others, but to him, they were as horrifying as monsters. With just one word from them, he would be sent to prison immediately!


    If that happened, how disappointed would his parents would be, and how would his friends look at him? And after he served his prison sentence, how would people look at him when he got out?


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Missus said, turning around and walking toward the elevator.


    Miss Inspector frowned, but then smiled again, turning to leave. Lin Dong¡¯s legs were shaking from fear, but he refused to plead with the very person who had destroyed his path in hacking.


    The two were getting farther and farther away, and they finally reached the elevator. Lin Dong knew that if he didn¡¯t change their minds, once they entered the elevator, his three years in prison would be set in stone.


    Lin Dong clenched his fist tightly, grinding his teeth until it felt like they would fall out. Even so, he didn¡¯t budge as he watched them press the elevator button. When the door slid open, the ladies walked in, and as the lady inspector walked in, she threw the USB drive which was in a protective bag into the dustbin outside the elevator.


    Slender fingers pushed the button for the first floor, and she adjusted the silver-rimmed glasses sitting on her face with the same hand. Her eyes were bright and focused, like a cat watching its prey, and her gaze was directed at Lin Dong, who was still standing frozen in the hallway.


    Her eyes were always calm, her demeanor composed, and you could feel her noble aura. Lin Dong could only continue to stare at the two of them as the door slid shut slowly.


    ***


    After what seemed like an eternity, Lin Dong finally let out a long breath and rushed toward the bin.


    ***


    Outside the exhibition hall, Yu Luocheng and Xiao Bei had been waiting for Lin Dong. Although there were many drink stalls and coffee shops where they could have sat and waited comfortably, not to mention the many pretty girls that served as eye candy, these wastages were not something Yu Luocheng and Xiao Bei could afford to waste money on.


    They had waited for more than half an hour and Lin Dong still had not turned up. Xiao Bei had been restless about the match before this, and Yu Luocheng had long since gotten used to the hero-worship.


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, I don¡¯t understand why Lin Dong is only a technician. He¡¯s great at computers.¡± Xiao Bei wondered.


    ¡°He¡­¡±


    Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but remember Lin Dong¡¯s situation after that question. Lin Dong was the same as him, coming from an average family. Lin Dong had shown a remarkable talent for computers from an early time, whether it was hacking or competitive gaming. His whole life had revolved around computers, and his future was either becoming a great hacker or a professional player in E-Sports.


    He remembered once when Lin Dong was drunk, he had mentioned that he used to be a black hat hacker before he became a professional player. He had been involved in the national cyber crime which was a threat to the economy back then. His path as a black hat hacker had been destroyed and the people who had taught him the skills were sent to prison, and they were still serving time.


    Although he had contributed to the largest cyber crime, he had been underaged at that point in time, and so, he had managed to dodge being imprisoned. However he was put on heavy surveillance, and unless he was willing to be an official, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use his hacking skills at all.


    Lin Dong was a proud person, and he carried a deep respect for the man who had taught him how to hack, thus refusing to be a white hat hacker. So after being persuaded by his family and the heavy surveillance from the police, he finally gave up on being a hacker, opting to become a professional player instead.


    From a Black Swan, he had become a Sky Swan!

 Chapter 134 - Leader of LPL Runner Up Team

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Finally after a long wait, Lin Dong finally emerged from the building, still dressed in overalls of a technician of the competition. A technician was actually the lowest occupation, and the salary was low. You could feed and dress yourself with the amount you earn, but to support your family with that amount would be difficult.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yu Luocheng asked in concern, seeing that Lin Dong¡¯s face was rather pale.


    ¡°I just ran into two lady inspectors,¡± Lin Dong replied, forcing a smile on his face to wave away his friend¡¯s concern.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry. I just didn¡¯t expect them to have any interest in LoL.¡± Lin Dong replied. ¡°Then again, how could geniuses like them not know how to play computer games?¡±


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, Lin Dong, I have to run. My uncle will kill me if I don¡¯t get going,¡± Xiao Bei said.


    ¡°You should have left earlier.¡±


    Xiao Bei smiled lightly, seeing such a wonderful match, especially one where Yu Luocheng was playing Vayne, was worth getting the scolding or beating he was sure to get.


    Once Xiao Bei had left, only Lin Dong and Yu Luocheng were left. Lin Dong was still caught up in the previous incident, feeling slightly depressed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s walk along the river,¡± Lin Dong suggested.


    This was not the first time Yu Luocheng had come to Shanghai. When they were feeling despondent, they would usually walk along the river to raise their spirits. In reality, every time you walked along the Huangpu River and looked out toward the flowery scenery, the heavy feeling in your chest would increase.


    ***


    The wind was blowing, accompanied by the sounds of flutes on the boats. The river was not very clear with some sand piles around. When he was about sixteen or seventeen years old, Yu Luocheng would often leave footprints on those sand piles. Cutting classes, running away from home, squatting in Shanghai, living in a flat which only had a few beds and computers together with the few enthusiastic friends he had¡­


    It had only been a year since he had returned to his normal life, and yet, Yu Luocheng felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. It just went to show how he had matured.


    ¡°How are the others?¡± Yu Luocheng asked quietly, breaking the silence.


    ¡°Zhou Yan is working as a salesman in a home appliance company, he¡¯s gotten quite a tan now. He¡¯s in Shanghai but sometimes he has to go to other towns. He¡¯s so busy that I rarely see him in person.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    Zhou Yan was around the same age as Yu Luocheng and had also joined the professional league when he had been about sixteen years old. The difference was that he didn¡¯t have parents who were against him, because his parents had passed away at an early age.


    ¡°Da Luo is even busier. During the day, he works in a private company, and on weekends, he¡¯s studying in college, and at nights, he¡¯s working for some extra money.¡± Lin Dong continued. ¡°I heard he got himself a girlfriend, but I¡¯ve never met her.¡±


    Yu Luocheng nodded as he listened, Da Luo was a very playful person, he liked fooling around even in the professional practices they used to have. Listening to Lin Dong, it seemed like he had finally become a bit more mature, probably due to the influence of his girlfriend. Boys were like that, they normally needed a girl they really liked to appear before they could reign in their playful nature, becoming more serious in finding work.


    ¡°What about Tinghua? Is he still holding a grudge against me?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Heh, who doesn¡¯t hold a grudge against you?¡± Lin Dong scoffed. ¡°He¡¯s the only one among the five of us who hasn¡¯t given up. Guess where he is now?¡±


    ¡°How the heck would I know?¡± Yu Luocheng snorted in reply.


    The five members of Team Wings were not that old, and they were supposed to have graduated from school into college and universities. There were only three who had dropped out of school, including Yu Luocheng.


    After playing professionally for one or two years, their education knowledge had not been enough to get back into school, and they could only go out into society early due to that. With no diploma or background, it was difficult to find a proper job in the city. Although Lin Dong did not clearly state what Zhou Yan and Da Luo were doing, Yu Luocheng could guess that their jobs weren¡¯t that great either.


    Lin Dong was younger than Yu Luocheng, and after he had left the E-Sports professional scene, he could have chosen to return to school. However, his situation was also more complicated than Yu Luocheng, and the school didn¡¯t want him. He had no choice but to enter society early while he waited for his five years of probation to finish.


    A group of misguided teenagers would probably be the best way to describe them.


    Choosing the wrong path at the peak of your youthful life would make your future difficult. Even if you could get a high achievement in the field you entered, the people surrounding you would still look down on you, and this is what they call a misguided path.


    ¡°Just tell me, where¡¯s Tinghua now?¡± Yu Luocheng asked again.


    ¡°He¡¯s in Team Sky,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Team Sky?¡± Yu Luocheng furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.


    Team Wings used to be under the Sky Club, and Team Sky was their main E-Sports team. Everyone hated the Sky Club, why would Zhao Tinghua work for them?


    ¡°Team Sky was last season¡¯s LPL runner up team, getting into the S League and later on, the WCG. Zhao Tinghua is the leader of Team Sky and they¡¯re quite famous in LoL. I guess he¡¯s doing the best out of all of us now.¡± Lin Dong laughed.


    Listening to Lin Dong, Yu Luocheng faltered. Leader of the LPL runner up team! The glory of that was a bit shocking.


    Cybercafe championships promised a lucrative pay-off similar to an LPL regional tournament. The reason the LPL pro-gamers stayed out of it was because this was where the big agencies scouted for new talent.


    Any player who performed exceptionally well during cyber cafe championships would be headhunted by the major internet clubs and would join the following year LPL as fresh blood, whereas Team Scarlet which Yu Luocheng joined had already lost in a small city competition.


    After city championships, it was the provincial championships, and then national championships. Only by placing within the top three at the national level could one make it into the LPL.


    To surmount to such impossible odds, to overcome such incredible trials, and to climb all the way to the summit just to see that you¡¯ve only reached the LPL. Because of this, within the League of Legends, the LPL was held in the highest regard. Amidst such fierce competition, they¡¯d managed to obtain second place!


    It was practically like being a god in the world of LoL!


    Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t imagine how many obstacles Team Scarlet would have to overcome before they could even reach the bottom of that mountain.


    He never imagined that his old teammate would be able to be the leader to such a godlike team. From a normal player¡¯s point of view, getting second place in the LPL seemed like nothing. However, for Yu Luocheng who had once tread the path of a professional player, he knew better than anyone the sacrifices and effort needed to attain this title.


    ¡°His ID is Blood Eagle,¡± Lin Dong said quietly.


    ¡°He¡¯s more determined than me, he deserves the results that he has gotten now.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded as he spoke. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, I should get back to the university.¡±


    Lin Dong looked as though he had more to say, but seeing Yu Luocheng turn around to leave, he swallowed his words. Watching as Yu Luocheng left his footprints in the sand, looking like an eagle who had lost his spirit, Lin Dong couldn¡¯t help the dejected feeling that was growing in his chest.


    He took off his hat, letting the wind ruffle his hair as he watched Yu Luocheng walk further away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand the reason why Tinghua didn¡¯t change his ID at all?¡± Lin Dong laughed gloomily, muttering to himself.

 Chapter 135 - Two Different Teams

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As Lin Dong walked alone along the river, the phone in his pocket started to vibrate. He groaned when he realized the person calling him was none other than He Jin.


    Since the USB drive had been found by the two inspectors, his stunt in hacking would have been found out. Team Shanghai and Cat Eye would definitely be reprimanded and he didn¡¯t feel like getting chewed out by He Jin at this point in time.


    Furthermore, the fault didn¡¯t lie with Lin Dong after all. He had already informed Qiu Shenping to remove the USB drive after the match, so even if it was found out, no one would have any evidence. Who knew that once Qiu Shenping was worked up, he had completely forgotten this important task.


    Not long after the vibration stopped, it started again. This continued on for a while, and Lin Dong finally gave in and picked up.


    ¡°Team Shanghai won, but they were disqualified from the final round.¡± The voice on the other end came through.


    ¡°I know,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Xiao Bei was not the one playing Vayne,¡± the voice continued.


    ¡°Yeah, it was Boss.¡± Lin Dong nodded.


    The person on the other side was silent for a while.


    ¡°I thought that he really wouldn¡¯t touch E-Sports anymore. His Vayne was good, there are already a few teams looking to recruit him.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t play professionally anymore,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°I know, he said so in England already.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s more mature now than before. I was thinking of ways to convince him to come back, but after what I¡¯ve seen, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°What about your team, do you still intend to go ahead with it?¡± The voice on the other side asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lin Dong said solemnly. ¡°I intend to call Da Luo and Zhou Yan back into it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only three though.¡± The person pointed out.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Lin Dong shot back. ¡°If I could convince him to come back, would you be willing to throw away what you have now and come back to our small team?¡±


    ¡°As I said before, I won¡¯t ever be on the same team with him again. If you can convince him to come back, that¡¯s great for you. We¡¯ll see each other in LPL then.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Practice while you can, at the level you are at, you¡¯re just slightly better than an amateur. Even the professional reserve teams would be able to take you down easily.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really going to make us your enemy?¡± Lin Dong asked, disbelief clear in his voice. ¡°You know that a big reason for me to form this team is because I want to take down the Sky Club, they owe us too much.¡±


    ¡°Do they really? Then someone else owes us so much more. Don¡¯t just talk big, the few of you have not played in the E-Sports professional scene for a while, do you really think it¡¯s that easy? Get qualified into the LPL and then we¡¯ll talk. Even if you make it into the LPL, don¡¯t forget, I¡¯ll crush him and your team into dust!¡± Zhao Tinghua said heatedly.


    Lin Dong was stunned into silence when he heard that.


    Zhao Tinghua hadn¡¯t given up on professional E-Sports. After a long road of hard work, he had finally become a dazzling star in LoL. Meanwhile, the others had entered society in a haze of despair and disappointment, their passion for E-Sports completely burnt out.


    Zhou Yan was busy running the business, often running between cities, getting darker and darker from the sun.


    Da Luo had become a hard-working person, not daring to waste a single minute in an effort to find ways to earn more money to provide his girlfriend a better lifestyle.


    Lin Dong knew that they too played LoL, and their skills were nothing to scoff at either. Only, Lin Dong didn¡¯t have the confidence that he would be able to get them to come back to the scene, especially when it came to Yu Luocheng. He used to be able to easily see the enthusiasm and adrenaline that made him passionate about E-Sports.


    Now, he couldn¡¯t even feel a speck of that anymore, which made Lin Dong lose any hope he had.


    ***


    Ending the call, Lin Dong dialed another number immediately.


    ¡°Brother Dong¡­¡± Xiao Bei¡¯s voice was low and course on the other end.


    Listening to his voice, Lin Dong could tell that Xiao Bei¡¯s face was most likely swollen right now.


    ¡°We¡¯re the only two on the team right now,¡± Lin Dong said instead.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Xiao Bei nodded in acknowledgment.


    ¡°With your skills right now, you could consider accepting the offer from Team 71 or Team Night. Their offer isn¡¯t bad. I can always find other people.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Lin Dong, I only want to team up with you and Yu Luocheng,¡± Xiao Bei said stubbornly.


    Lin Dong remained quiet after that, and Xiao Bei didn¡¯t say anything else either. Seeing that Lin Dong wasn¡¯t about to continue, Xiao Bei whispered, ¡°I¡¯m going to work first.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Alright.¡±


    ***


    The campus was cozy and beautiful, and the occasional laughter from the female students was heartwarming to listen to.


    The weather was great as Yu Luocheng walked into Shanghai University, and he stopped at the gate, leaning against the stone wall as he looked around the university.


    ¡®That¡¯s weird, I seem to have forgotten a very important matter,¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought to himself, frowning.


    He continued to walk on the cobblestone path, passing the green boulevard and finally reaching his dormitory door before he remembered.


    D*mn, he had forgotten to ask Lin Dong about Snowfall!


    ¡°Hey, hurry up and give me the information that I asked for!¡± Yu Luocheng swiftly made a call to Lin Dong.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be visiting Zhou Yan soon, why don¡¯t we go together?¡± Lin Dong asked instead.


    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Yu Luocheng agreed. ¡°But you¡¯d better give me the information on that person.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you in person,¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°I¡¯ve compiled a report, and writing text messages wouldn¡¯t be good anyway.¡±


    ¡°F*ck.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I want to let you know something,¡± Lin Dong said, his tone becoming serious.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Yu Luocheng asked, hesitating at the change of tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m forming a team with Xiao Bei.¡±


    ¡°A professional team?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°The two of you?¡±


    ¡°For now.¡±


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t play professionally anymore because of your old man.¡± Lin Dong continued. ¡°You don¡¯t have to enter any competitions, just play some premade matches with us, practice against us and give us some training and the likes. That wouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that,¡± Yu Luocheng said. ¡°Have you found anyone else?¡±


    Yu Luocheng understood that Lin Dong was not forming a team for just casual playing. He knew that Lin Dong would be serious and strict when looking for teammates, and don¡¯t even mention how far the team could go, they would probably need a whole lot of effort to even train up the team to be a team.


    ¡°I already said it¡¯s only Xiao Bei and me now. Actually, I intend to be the analyst and coach of the team, so there¡¯s really only Xiao Bei at the moment. There cannot only be five people on the team¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. How is Xiao Bei¡¯s level? I¡¯ve never seen him play before.¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Heh, you can check the ranking list, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see his name there.¡± Lin Dong chuckled.


    The ranking list?


    You have to understand that there are millions of LoL players in the country, and the players who could enter the top one hundred are absolutely godlike existences!


    Similar to the national university entrance exam, there were one hundred million candidates. If Xiao Bei was ranked in the top one hundred, that was equivalent to being a provincial or city top scorer, being able to go to any famous universities!


    You couldn¡¯t imagine someone who used to stand behind him all day and fanning his ego could become someone like that.


    All the big professional teams were definitely fighting over each other to recruit the top one hundred players. For someone with such skills, the club would pay big bucks for him.


    Yu Luocheng felt it was a bit strange¡ªXiao Bei could turn his life around if he had chosen to join any of those teams.

 Chapter 136 - A Blessing or a Curse?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°That was really awesome. I want to buy Vayne now, I will definitely train hard with Vayne!¡±


    ¡°Vayne is hard to train, you¡¯d have to play countless games with her before you even get the hang of it.¡±


    ¡°How much IP does she cost?¡±


    ¡°About 4,800 IP.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve almost got enough to get her then,¡± Qiu Jingtai said, unable to contain his excitement.


    ¡°How much do you need?¡± Jiang Jiu asked.


    ¡°About 4,000 IP,¡± Qiu Jingtai replied.


    ¡°What the f*ck?¡±


    After watching the semi-finals, Qiu Jingtai felt like he had found the champion that was meant for him.


    That¡¯s right, it was Vayne.


    One on three, one on four even!


    In comparing items, naturally the one with more items would crush the one with lesser items. However, Vayne only had a few general items and had still managed to deal a devastating blow to the enemies!


    Qiu Jingtai was already imagining a future where he would train hard for six months and return to his hometown to wreck those classmates who made fun of him and called him an idiot. Oh, to see the surprise on their faces!


    Jiang Jiu had nothing to say, in no mood to pay attention to this crazy dude. Walking to stand beside Yu Luocheng, he patted the other for his attention. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t react, and Jiang Jiu took a glance to see who it was that Yu Luocheng was texting to the point that he was lost in his own world.


    The message on his phone read: ¡°Yang Qianqian, I was playing a custom game with some other skilled players and I was using Vayne, so I didn¡¯t have time to reply to your text.¡±


    After sending the message, Yu Luocheng realized that Jiang Jiu¡¯s face was right beside him, and it startled him.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Yu Luocheng shouted in surprise.


    ¡°I was wondering where you ran off to, but it looks like you just went somewhere to play LoL. Really, you won¡¯t watch a national cyber cafe competition, instead going off to play your own game, what is the meaning of this. And you even dare to say that you used Vayne.¡± Jiang Jiu sat on top of Yu Luocheng¡¯s desk, crossing his leg. ¡°If you had seen Cat Eye¡¯s performance with Vayne, you wouldn¡¯t have the face to say that you were playing Vayne!¡±


    ¡°Huh, was he that good?¡± Yu Luocheng said, raising an eyebrow.


    Yu Luocheng had met Cat Eye before, and he had even said that he was a fan of Yu Luocheng. For someone to obtain Challenger in the Korean server, his skills should not be too bad. Yu Luocheng would watch the replays when he had the chance.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t see how awesome he was! Vayne was being slaughtered in the early game, but once he managed to farm up to almost the same level as the opponent¡¯s ADC and got his items, he went bot lane and there was a one on three¡­¡±


    Jiang Jiu was enthusiastically describing the byplay to Yu Luocheng, and the more Yu Luocheng listened, the more confused he got.


    ¡°And in the Baron pit, he was practically a god in there, I tell you!¡± Jiang Jiu said excitedly, his eyes sparkling as he clapped Yu Luocheng on the shoulder. ¡°He only needed one more arrow to kill Orianna, guess how he did it?¡±


    Yu Luocheng raised an eyebrow again, silently contemplating. Finally, he asked tentatively, ¡°Could he have provoked the Baron and used its attack to kill her?¡±


    Jiang Jiu¡¯s mouth opened in surprise, looking like a goldfish as he gaped at Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°How did you know that? Yes, he used Baron to kill Orianna!¡±


    As Jiang Jiu talked excitedly, Yu Luocheng¡¯s face paled as he felt the dread in the pit of his stomach.


    ¡®How do I know?


    ¡®How do I know?


    ¡®You idiot, weren¡¯t you describing the Vayne plays that I was playing?¡¯


    ¡°I just remembered I had something to do, I¡¯m leaving first,¡± Yu Luocheng said as he rushed out of the room and headed toward the club room. He didn¡¯t have time to listen to Jiang Jiu¡¯s nonsense anymore.


    Seeing Yu Luocheng leave in a hurry, Jiang Jiu smiled brightly. Look at him run away after listening to his stories, hadn¡¯t he already said that Yu Luocheng would not have the face to boast about himself playing Vayne after this!


    Renekton and Orianna also ran away with their tails between their legs when they saw Vayne running toward them!


    ***


    There weren¡¯t many people in the club when he reached the room, they were probably all members. The projector was on when Yu Luocheng came in, and Yang Ying waved at him once he noticed him.


    ¡°Hurry up and come in, I¡¯ll show you some awesome Vayne plays.¡±


    The match had been broadcasted live, so it was obvious that the club members were watching a replay of the match. Yu Luocheng found a place to sit and leaned back to watch. The others didn¡¯t pay much attention to Yu Luocheng, their focus was on observing the video in front of them as they watched with rapt attention.


    ¡°Yang Ying, you¡¯re sure this is the semi-finals?¡± Yu Luocheng asked quietly once he was beside Yang Ying after a few minutes.


    ¡°I was there in person, of course it is. This match is worth analyzing, once I came back, I called everyone to gather. They should seriously observe the match properly¡­we¡¯ll talk later, the interesting part is coming!¡± Yang Ying cut off, focusing on the match instead.


    Yu Luocheng lifted his gaze to the projector screen once again, and his expression became conflicted as he watched the Vayne pin Orianna against the tower from the bot lane brush.


    ¡°Holy shit, one on three!¡± A senior with dyed hair sitting in the front row couldn¡¯t hold back his exclamation.


    ¡°That¡¯s a godlike Vayne!¡±


    ¡°This is too unreal, even Renekton couldn¡¯t touch him at all!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this. If my Vayne was even one-tenth of that, I¡¯d be invincible!¡±


    After the triple kill, the small room was filled with excited chatter. These were all skilled LOL players, and also addicts. It was natural to see such excitement when one watched such a wonderful performance.


    ¡°Told you all to go see it live, but you guys didn¡¯t want to, seriously!¡± Yang Ying said coldly, clearly unhappy. ¡°This is not even the best part, keep watching.¡±


    ¡°Damn, what a waste that we didn¡¯t see it live,¡± Zheng Xia said.


    Yu Luocheng was shaking, cold sweat forming on his forehead.


    Lin Dong!


    This guy really had the guts!


    He even dared to hack into the nationals semi-finals, and he had let himself get tricked into playing!


    He was wondering why the players were so skilled in a custom game, no wonder He Jin had been so unhappy about him playing, and no wonder Liu Zhangming had made such a big fuss. He had been playing in the national semi-finals!


    ¡°Hey, Yu Luocheng, what¡¯s wrong? Is it a heat stroke, you don¡¯t look so good?¡± Zheng Xia said in concern as she looked at Yu Luocheng, whose face was red, looking out of focus and sweating a lot.


    Yu Luocheng was close to screaming, of course he didn¡¯t look so good!


    This feeling was similar to a monk who was suddenly told that the male junior he had just slept with was actually a woman in disguise!


    At this time, you really couldn¡¯t tell whether it was a blessing or a curse!

 Chapter 137 - Meeting Bai Feifei

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The days flew by quickly and before long, it was time for military education training. Alright, Yu Luocheng could admit that his physical strength wasn¡¯t that great, but it was known that e-sports addicts had hidden talents somewhere in their bodies . 1


    There were a lot of people who were bitterly complaining about the training and Yu Luocheng was dying on the inside, but on the outside, he was smiling lightly. He couldn¡¯t let the girls see his bitter face now could he?


    ***


    There was a warning for the freshman on the internet, stating that you shouldn¡¯t wish for rain during the military training. Do you know how many people were praying for high sun for you, could your prayers compare to the sophomores, juniors, and seniors?


    True, you could see sophomores and juniors enjoy the greenery during their free time, shaking their legs and enjoying a cool drink. Some even took advantage of the time to be lovey dovey, like crazy people. Going through military training during the day, singing songs at night, and the songs were all weird songs, making them feel bored.


    Of course, not everyone felt bored. Taking advantage of the song singing session, already there were some unsavory things starting to unveil. There were also some of the more perverted guys who were waiting for opportunities to make moves on the girls.


    A group of people was flocking around Jasmine, as she could sing and dance well, and it was elegant, graceful and attractive sight.


    At the same time, there were some guys who thought they were being gentlemen and trying their luck to attract the ice queen Bai Feifei.


    Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t dance or sing, and although he wished he could do it to impress the girls, he had nothing up his sleeves. So he would rather just be humble and continue texting his goddess.


    Alright, there was no reply.


    It had already been half an hour and Yu Luocheng bitterly realized that Yang Qianqian had not replied to him.


    Then again, Yang Qianqian would now be in a similar situation as Jasmine and Bai Feifei, surrounded by proud and persistent guys. When he thought about the fact that Yang Qianqian was surrounded by handsome and perverted guys, he felt his heart constrict and his annoyance grew. Maybe being surrounded by a bunch of pretty girls could ease his mood.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m getting out of here.¡±


    It was late and full of boring chatter, so he decided to leave early. It wasn¡¯t that far from the e-sports club, and he saw that there were still lights on, so he risked getting caught sneaking out and headed towards it.


    The club was livelier than Yu Luocheng imagined, all the computers were occupied by seniors, both male and female. Yu Luocheng had thought he could rank a few rounds, but there were no available computers for him. He was an officer, but he didn¡¯t feel good about making a senior who was so high and into the game move from their seat.


    He thought of going to the network club instead and left the club room. As he neared the stairs, he heard someone shout from inside the club room.


    ¡°Oh my god, Team Shanghai was disqualified from the finals, what the hell happened?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they win, why would they be disqualified?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I heard from another pro player, the Vayne was not actually played by Cat Eye at all!¡±


    Yu Luocheng stopped at the stairs, his heart jumping wildly in his chest. It had actually been found out, it looked like Steven was in for a rough ride.


    He didn¡¯t stop for long, continuing on his way to the network club. He would never admit to this matter after all.


    ***


    The network club was located inside the library, so it was more quiet and clean than the internet cafes outside. It was also a nonsmoking zone to maintain the fresh smell of books in the library.


    As Yu Luocheng stepped through the entrance, there was a sexy girl wearing a white dress walking in his direction. While Yu Luocheng was appraising the girl secretly inside, the girl was also giving him a suspicious look.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    Yu Luocheng snapped back to reality, not really knowing what to say as he had just gotten caught staring. Bai Feifei was also staring at him, wondering why this guy looked so familiar to her.


    Ah, it was that guy.


    ¡°What a coincidence, you also skipped out?¡± Yu Luocheng blurted out, struggling to find a topic to talk about.


    ¡°I got permission from the facilitator to leave,¡± Bai Feifei replied.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Yu Luocheng had nothing to say, and as he walked towards the library stairs, he thought it would be awkward if he didn¡¯t say anything. Glancing sideways at her, he asked, ¡°Are you heading to the multimedia center too?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a book,¡± Bai Feifei replied, her beautiful eyes boring into him. She seemed to be reading his soul like an open window and judging what kind of person he was¡­


    A bad student who liked to skip class to go on the internet!


    There were a thousand books in the library, but he only had eyes for the multimedia room!


    She actually came to the library to read books, okay!


    Yu Luocheng was frustrated that he had easily exposed his intentions, thinking that he could have looked for a book together with her and sat down to chat. Then he would have been able to be the first guy in the whole division to have made a breakthrough with Bai Feifei.


    Ah, a loser was a loser in the end. Just from this short exchange, he could already tell the difference between a goddess and a loser.


    There were a lot of opportunities placed in front of a loser, but because of the hermit loser¡¯s short-sightedness, the impatient eagerness would chase away the opportunities instead.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng walked into his beloved multimedia center, his thumb pressing the button to boot up the computer. As he listened to the machine sound indicating it was starting up, all thoughts of Bai Feifei flew out of his mind.


    A computer was really the lifeline of a loser. While waiting for the computer to boot up, Yu Luocheng listlessly glanced around the room and took in the decorations.


    Simple white denim jeans, pastel-colored sleeveless t-shirt, a pair of smooth arms which left a lot of room for imagination¡­


    Bai Feifei?


    Yu Luocheng was confused. Wasn¡¯t she heading up to the second floor of the library to find a book? Why would she be in the multimedia center? Maybe she was a loser too?


    Bai Feifei stood in front of the counter, a somewhat confused look on her face. She glanced around, finding Yu Luocheng¡¯s face who was looking at her within the sea of computers.


    She really had a pair of beautiful eyes, like a painting decorated with beautiful frames. Yu Luocheng could tell from her expression that she wanted to ask him something, but she didn¡¯t have the courage to come forward.


    Thinking that he should play the gentleman, he stood up from his beloved wife and headed toward her.


    ¡°I thought you were looking for a book?¡± Yu Luocheng asked once he reached her.


    ¡°I need a student ID,¡± Bai Feifei replied.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    Freshmen had yet to be issued a student card, and the other rooms needed the card to be accessed.


    ¡°How do I access the internet from here?¡± Bai Feifei asked, looking like someone who had never been in an internet cafe or the likes before.


    ¡°You just need to pay a fee to register as a member, and then key in the member password into any of the unused computers,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Bai Feifei nodded and took out the money, paying at the counter and waited for the person to register her. As Yu Luocheng watched Bai Feifei pull out ten yuan, he hesitated for a long time before swallowing the words he wanted to say to her about the promotion that was ongoing: where if you top up one hundred points, you could get fifty points free.


    ¡®Don¡¯t compare the value of a loser like yourself against a goddess like her.¡¯

 Chapter 138 - Yu Luocheng Solo Top

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng politely helped Bai Feifei to switch on her computer, and only then did he turn around to play his ranked games.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s ranking in the Ionia Region was ¡°merely¡± 1900 points. Noticeably, opponents in this region were generally tougher than those in Freljord. Players who had around 1900 points here were usually as good as those in the range of 2000 points.


    Yu Luocheng clicked on login and keyed in his password swiftly. He peeked to the side while waiting for the game to load. Bai Feifei was typing on the keyboard dexterously, her long and white fingers moved gracefully like it was dancing on a piano. Seeing the softness of her touch, Yu Luocheng wondered whether she could get anything typed if she was on one of those aged keyboards of old-time cyber cafes.


    Bai Feifei did not turn on her QQ app, instead, she was searching for something through Baidu. By now, Yu Luocheng¡¯s computer screen had entered the game interface and he clicked on the solo queue. He was paired not long later and someone from his team hastily announced. ¡°First floor ADC.¡±


    ¡°Fifth floor SP.¡±


    ¡°Hi, TTYL and TTYA. It¡¯s you two again.¡± The third floor player with the ID Sitcom typed.


    ¡°Hey, what a coincidence,¡± TTYL replied.


    ¡°Look like this is going to be a free win.¡± Sitcom typed again.


    Yu Luocheng would usually pick the bottom lane in a ranked game but he couldn¡¯t do anything since someone had snatched his favorite positions first.


    He was sequenced at the fourth position. The only lane left for him was the top.


    According to their chat, TTYL and TTYA must have covered the bottom lane regularly. They had to be two of the top guns at this tier too since the other person had confidently declared the win.


    ¡°Fourth floor, are you confident in taking on Renekton? The opposing team¡¯s player is known as the Mayor.¡± Sitcom signaled Yu Luocheng.


    Renekton was the first floor on the other side and he was obviously Yu Luocheng¡¯s top lane¡¯s opponent. He reckoned the player should have around 2000 League Points. This value was usually the minimum requirement set by clubs and professional teams in recruiting new players.


    ¡°Who is this Mayor?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°He is the solo top player from Waterscar,¡± The guy nicknamed Sitcom said.


    It¡¯s common bumping into an acquaintance in such high-end ranked games. Some of them added each other when they were being assigned to the same team during solo queue. That meant that in the future, if the acquaintance was appointed to the opposite team, one could easily guess who that player was even when the ID was masked.


    More so, when you were at this level, often your teammates would remind you which hero to ban if he or she recognized an in-game friend from the opposite team to help boost the team¡¯s winning probability.


    ¡°Ah, then it might be a little tough. I don¡¯t usually play well at the top,¡± Yu Luocheng confessed.


    ¡°If so, stay low and wait for support.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Yu Luocheng had selected Kennen. He didn¡¯t have much confidence in other solo top champions. Renekton was a formidable champion at the top lane and not many powerful champions could match him there.


    Kennen was considered one of the few that would not be intimidated by Renekton. After all, this champion was a ranged hero and would not be over-pressed as long as he was careful with his positioning.


    During the early game, Kennen had no problem fighting like an ADC with Doran¡¯s Blade as the starting item. He could adequately harass the opponent with his skill and defend the top lane until reinforcement arrived.


    He reached the lane early and immediately checked Renekton¡¯s item using the TAB key.


    ¡®Out with Elixir of Fortitude? What a confident Renekton. This is such a bold selection of starting items against Kennen!¡¯


    ***


    At the Bluedream Studio in Beijing, a guy with spectacles who was wearing an oversized T-shirt was focusing on the computer screen single-mindedly. As a professional top lane player, he understood that gaining experience during the early game was essential. This was because leading in level meant a better chance at first kill and subsequent suppression.


    ¡°How rude. You will taste the consequences later.¡± The guy in spectacles snorted, seeing how Kennen kept auto-attacking him presumptuously.


    A level 1 Renekton vs a level 1 Kennen¡ªThis confrontation certainly favored the latter. Basic attacks from the ranged hero alone could sufficiently pin down Renekton.


    Renekton backed up a little, only focusing on his CS and recovered using his HP potion. He was patiently biding his time until he reached level 2, which after looking at the number of minions, he realized his champion would soon reach it.


    When the Mayor was laning against a player that had less than 1700 League Points, he could usually draw first blood already at this point which would then snowball his advantage from here on out; while against players with skills worthy of 2000 League Points or beyond, he would still usually come out on top even though he would be unable to finish off the opponent.


    Kennen using a Doran¡¯s Blade was suicidal in the Mayor¡¯s perspective. This was because Renekton could easily force the opponent champion to travel back to the fountain, providing that he or she could first survive his flurry of skills.


    Mayor had already rehearsed how he was going to destroy Kennen in his mind¡ªLevel 2, instant upgrade of his E-skill, dash over, gulp the Elixir, basic attack, bite, second-time E-dash, basic attack. The enemy would be fleeing with limited HP by now, so all he needed to do was pursue him a little further and land another basic slash. The opponent would most likely Flash to escape. He would instantly Flash with him and connect another basic attack. This series of actions were usually sufficient to put down most solo top champions.


    He only needed one more minion to be promoted to level 2. The guy in spectacles grinned. ¡®Pfft, this Kennen still refuses to retreat. Then allow me to send you back home!¡¯


    Level 2!!


    He instantly upgraded Renekton¡¯s E-skill, Slice and Dice, with a shortcut key.


    Roar!!


    Renekton dashed sideways and lunged toward Kennen¡¯s face. However, as if the latter had predicted the turn of events, Kennen¡¯s small body immediately transformed into an electrical ball and fizzled back behind the minion¡¯s line.


    Renekton was unable to catch up even after he yielded Dice, the second sequence of E-skill.


    ¡®This b*stard had upgraded his E-skill, Lightning Rush, first! What a witty opponent!¡¯


    Battling in LoL was like a sword fight. Most of the time, one simple action was enough to tell whether the opponent was the real deal or just a fluke. The guy in the spectacles knew well enough to compliment this Kennen¡¯s player.


    First of all, he or she too was highly aware of both champions¡¯ experience bar. A great solo top player not only needed to calculate their own experience, but also had to pay close attention to the opponent¡¯s leveling timing. Seven minions were required for a solo champion to reach level 2, and this Kennen¡¯s player had obviously kept count on when his Renekton would reach the second level.


    Secondly, he had never stopped harassing Renekton¡¯s HP at level 1, but he had immediately retreated as soon as Renekton reached level 2.


    ¡®He knew I was bringing an Elixir of Fortitude so he foresaw my plans to charge in and yet, he did not back down when my Renekton was close to level 2. Instead, he kept up the pressure and retreated precisely on time. That¡¯s how he managed to lure me into casting Ignite on him¡­¡¯


    Ignite grants five extra attack points to a champion and Mayor was over-confident as he believed his assault plan was going to work out perfectly. Thus, he had chosen to cast Ignite first, but he had never expected Kennen to be able to flee in time. Not only that, but he had also failed to take away much of Kennen¡¯s HP.


    Damage from a level 2 Ignite was nothing as it could easily be recovered by Doran¡¯s Blade.


    ***


    Inside the multimedia center, Yu Luocheng¡¯s lips curved up.


    ¡®Hehe, it¡¯s your turn to suffer without Ignite and dash now.¡¯


    Renekton without his E-skill, Slice and Dice, was no different from a shark stranded on a beach. Yu Luocheng attacked Renekton relentlessly, taking advantage of his skill being on cooldown, and soon, Renekton had finished his two bottles of healing potion.


    Without recovery potions, Renekton had an even more difficult time enduring the attacks. An accurate Q-skill, Thundering Shuriken, triggered the third stack stun effect of Kennen¡¯s Mark of the Storm. Yu Luocheng then decisively placed Ignite on Renekton.


    One, two, three shurikens¡­


    Realizing his champion¡¯s HP was going to deplete soon, Renekton hurriedly gulped the Elixir of Fortitude and used Flash to escape. Yu Luocheng had accurately counted the damage and Flashed right along with Renekton, connecting an auto-attack and immediately turning into a bolt of lightning to chase Renekton right under the tower.


    Kennen sustained the attack from the tower and threw another shuriken at Renekton, turning away graciously while the shuriken was still in midair.


    ¡®He is going to die for sure.¡¯


    You have slain an enemy!


    As expected, the kill announcement was sounded. The damage from Ignite and Kennen¡¯s final auto-attack was enough to remove Renekton¡¯s last drop of HP. Yu Luocheng¡¯s damage estimation was extremely precise.


    ***


    The guy called Mayor looked at his grayed screen and suddenly had the urge to go AFK. There was a risk of carrying the Elixir of Fortitude over other items, which was, if you failed to oppress the enemy in time, the tide would completely turn once the Elixir¡¯s effect had expired.


    Worse, not only he had failed to kill the enemy, but he had been annihilated with the Elixir of Fortitude in effect. Could you imagine, a situation in which you had eagerly tidied yourself and taken an aphrodisiac, ready to have fun, only to realize that the one baiting you is a man?


    Such a feeling¡­ Sigh, it was simply an unexplainable agony.


    True, admitting defeat was cowardice, but continuing to play would only gratify the opponent¡¯s excitement!

 Chapter 139 - A Gritty Opponent!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Every LoL champion possessed a total of seven abilities including the innate and Summoner spell. Who wouldn¡¯t know how to use these seven skills?


    A few games in and anyone would be familiar with the spell effects. Yet, why was the opponent often more superior to you while your ranking was forever stuck at the lower tiers?


    Take the solo top position for example. Do you always check your opponent¡¯s item? Do you know how to keep count of the opponent¡¯s as well as your own experience? Are you aware of when your champion is stronger and when your opponent is weaker? Do you follow the opponent¡¯s champion¡¯s cooldown closely and be vigilant about the enemy¡¯s jungler position at all times?


    This was a game that challenged the IQ, thus, if you were killed, please try not to be an annoyance by doing something like the following:


    ¡°My gosh, just a little more. I forgot about Ignite.¡±


    ¡°D*mn, he Flashed away!¡±


    ¡°Sh*t, why is the opponent¡¯s jungler hidden here?¡±


    Instead of complaining or playing the blame-game, you should mark down these instances and keep it close to your mind. That way, you would certainly improve beyond the naysayers. Maybe you would linger around the lower tier at first, but for certain, your efforts would pull you into the higher ranks after some consistent practice.


    ***


    To be honest, the top lane was not Yu Luocheng¡¯s turf. He only had a few select champions that were suitable for solo play, such as Kennen, that had a playstyle similar to an ADC. Coincidentally, Renekton was a champion that an ADC often needed to face and this made him extremely familiar with Renekton¡¯s skills and combos.


    After he had successfully executed the kill on Mayor, Yu Luocheng recalled to the Fountain decisively. The opponent¡¯s jungler was sure to be sniffing around while his own team¡¯s jungler was camping at mid-lane. It would be too greedy to CS the remaining minions on the lane in such a situation.


    ¡°Well played, top lane. You have taken down that famous Mayor!¡± The guy nicknamed Sitcom at mid-lane complimented.


    ¡°Just some dumb luck,¡± Yu Luocheng replied humbly.


    Yu Luocheng bought another Doran¡¯s Blade and equipped Kennen with the Amplifying Tome. Once he was done, he cheerfully guided Kennen back to the top lane.


    Renekton, in contrast, was at the start of a nightmare. He only had Cloth Armor and three health potions with him at the moment, which was worse than his starting build.


    ***


    Double Kill!


    All of a sudden, a double kill erupted at the bottom lane. Hearing the notification, Yu Luocheng hastily dragged his camera to the bottom right corner of the map. When his vision reached the bottom lane, two corpses were seen on the ground, and the bodies were those TTYA¡¯s Sona and TTYL¡¯s Ezreal.


    ¡®What? I thought they were good? How come they were both killed?¡¯ Yu Luocheng rebuked them silently.


    Their laning opponents were Caitlyn and Soraka, and both of their HPs were rather low at the moment. Jax from Yu Luocheng¡¯s team had rounded from behind with a double buff and had intended to force the kills under the opponent¡¯s tower!


    ¡®Alright, a double kill for Jax.¡¯


    Jax was strong at tower-diving since this champion¡¯s E-skill, Counter Strike, was effective against the turret as well. Caitlyn and Soraka would most probably yield their lives there.


    Triple Kill!


    Abruptly, the announcement shook the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    Caitlyn and Soraka were still alive, and instead, Jax had surrendered his double buff and knelt before Caitlyn¡¯s short skirt.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Yu Luocheng¡¯s camera was maintained at the bottom lane so he had witnessed the entire process.


    A snap trap! An outrageously precise snap trap had kept Jax tamed under the tower. Caitlyn had then used her Caliber Net to recoil behind the minion wave and auto-attacked Jax to death!


    Yu Luocheng was a high-end player himself and his prediction was certain deaths for both Caitlyn and Soraka. He had however miscalculated the fact that the enemy¡¯s Caitlyn was exceptionally skilled.


    She showed accurate prediction and calm control while utilizing the environment brilliantly to her utmost advantage. The snap trap was used to seal Jax¡¯s positioning; the brush was used to blind their vision; while the minion wave was used as her barrier.


    After buying enough time, Soraka¡¯s healing spell bathed on her right on time, and the courageous assault by Caitlyn had Jax completely twisted around her little finger.


    Three kills in addition to double buffs¡­


    ¡®Alright, the bottom lane can really go AFK now!¡¯


    ¡°Kennen, push the top lane and rotate to the bottom lane once you reach level 6. We have to take down the Dragon first, otherwise we will have no chance in this game,¡± Sitcom at mid-lane commanded.


    ¡°Ok. We are going to turtle first, this Caitlyn is very good.¡± TTYA typed.


    ¡°Okay. Jungler, get your farm up. Don¡¯t worry about me, top lane is still manageable,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen had surpassed his opponent¡¯s Renekton by almost two levels. If the enemy team¡¯s jungler dared to intercept him at the top lane, Yu Luocheng would gladly take the double kills. Indeed, he didn¡¯t need any help from his jungler.


    Jax had just lost his double buff at bottom lane and his economy was not looking good at the moment. If he could not secure the next gank, this champion would basically be useless for the rest of the game.


    ***


    The opponents played well afterward as their jungler cleverly avoided the top lane where Kennen was now level 6. A level 4 Renekton and a level 5 jungler Shyvana were basically presenting their necks to Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen if they dared to lay a finger on him.


    After pushing the minions across the river, Yu Luocheng directly recalled back to Fountain. He fused one of Zhonya¡¯s recipes, Seeker¡¯s Armguard, and added Master Boot to his build. Then, he made no delay and headed hastily toward the bottom lane.


    TTYL and TTYA at the bottom lane were being miserably oppressed by Caitlyn. Seven minutes had passed and their CS total was only fifteen. That was an absurd stat.


    ¡°This Caitlyn is effing fierce. She directly uses her body to block me from my CS,¡± Ezreal complained.


    With Soraka as her support and her item dominance, Caitlyn fearlessly blocked Ezreal¡¯s Mystic Shot with her own body and hindered the latter from scoring creeps. Having played so many ranked games at this tier in the Ionia region, TTYL and TTYA had never been this mediocre and miserable.


    Right now, the Sheriff of Piltover was like a sniping queen, her imposing aura spread beyond her 650 range, forcing Ezreal and Sona to back down by at least 800 ranges. They had a huge problem in gaining experience, let alone being able to last-hit the minions.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way, get ready.¡± Yu Luocheng signaled the bottom lane.


    ¡°Ok! Both of them are out of Flash.¡±


    Sona had her Song of Celerity ready while waiting for Kennen to arrive. As Kennen got into position, Sona Flashed forward decisively and landed her Power Chord with the slow effect on Caitlyn, proceeding to hide in the brush right after. Yu Luocheng charged up immediately by releasing Kennen¡¯s E-skill, Electrical Surge!


    Once the enemy was within shooting distance, Yu Luocheng made no delay and activated Kennen¡¯s ulti, Slicing Maelstrom.


    Thousands of rumbling thunderbolts reached out with Kennen as the eye of the storm. These thunders formed a roaring shuriken storm and it ravaged everything in its path as it headed toward Caitlyn and Soraka!


    Bang!


    Amidst the sudden entrance of Kennen, Caitlyn managed to maintain her composure, first casting her 90 Caliber Net to slow down Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen while leaping back to evade the thundering ulti.


    Mark of the Storm!


    Despite her best efforts, Caitlyn was still stunned by Kennen¡¯s innate at the edge of the shuriken storm. This was when Ezreal and Sona followed up tacitly to harass Caitlyn.


    Meanwhile, Soraka silenced Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen immediately to prevent him from releasing any further spells. The period of the stun was neither long nor short. After Caitlyn was freed, she showed no intention to retreat, and moving sideways, the Sheriff nimbly evaded Yu Luocheng¡¯s Thundering Shuriken and swiftly connected a critical strike on Kennen. This instantly removed a huge chunk of Kennen¡¯s HP.


    Yu Luocheng was shocked to see his plummeting HP and he could only retreat without any skills available. If he had stayed, he would have been killed by Caitlyn as her damage was tremendously high.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s champion was left with only a quarter of HP after he retreated from the warzone. Caitlyn¡¯s damage was truly terrifying given that Kennen actually had a Seeker¡¯s Armguard with him!


    ***


    Sona and Ezreal pushed forth trying to deliver the kill on the ADC. Soraka had used her body to shield Caitlyn from Ezreal¡¯s spell, and Caitlyn had entered the brush to make use of her stealth to auto-attack Sona with three quick bullets.


    Sona was planning to cast Exhaust on Caitlyn but decided to fall back as her HP was decreasing incredibly fast. Alas, she was finished off by Caitlyn¡¯s Q-skill, the Piltover Peacemaker on her way out.


    Caitlyn¡¯s innate skill granted her a critical strike every 3-4 attacks when hiding in the brush. After taking care of Sona who was unable to unleash Exhaust in time, Caitlyn¡¯s subsequent critical strike hit Ezreal head-on mercilessly, and his HP bar was instantly shortened by a huge margin.


    The cornered Ezreal had no other choice but to exchange hits with Caitlyn. The latter only had 200 HP left while Ezreal had around 600. However, the HP difference was deemed meaningless once Sonaka placed Exhaust on Ezreal. He was now simply a moving dummy to the sniping queen.


    Double Kill!


    Ezreal, even with his life point advantage was easily killed after a few shots. Everything happened in a flash.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s earlier decision to back off was to avoid being killed by Caitlyn while conveniently letting the under-farmed Ezreal bag the kill. He¡¯d never expected that the two of them would be killed by Caitlyn instead. Yu Luocheng was speechless, looking at his teammates corpses.


    ¡®She killed two champions even after getting hit by my ulti¡­ That¡¯s remarkable¡­¡¯


    Although he may have made a mistake in this scenario, it was undeniable that this Caitlyn¡¯s prowess was pretty unreal.


    ***


    ¡®Wow, you want to claim my head too?!¡¯ Yu Luocheng frowned as he saw Caitlyn walking toward him hungrily after her double kill.


    Caitlyn began to hit Yu Luocheng confidently even though her HP bar was just barely hanging by a thread.


    ¡®Let¡¯s do it!¡¯ Yu Luocheng turned serious and decided to fight Caitlyn to the death.


    Ding~


    Out of nowhere, Soraka raised her arm and unleashed Astral Infusion to heal Caitlyn¡¯s HP. The edges of Yu Luocheng¡¯s mouth twitched after he saw Caitlyn¡¯s recovered HP.


    ¡®Forget it, I will let you go this time.¡¯


    Bam!!


    A fiery bullet flew in, traveling along a curved projectile, and struck hard on Kennen. Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen dashed away like a frightened deer.


    ¡®Sh*t, what a tough nut to crack. Luckily I bought the Seeker¡¯s Armguard or else she would have claimed another triple kill!¡¯


    Overwhelmed, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen fled back to the base with 30 HP left.

 Chapter 140 - Team Up

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡®Caitlyn, you¡¯ve won!¡¯


    After he had a taste of Caitlyn¡¯s ferocity at Level 6, Yu Luocheng decided to ignore other champions and focused solely on nuking Caitlyn during the mid-game team fight.


    But this Caitlyn was truly versatile. The player had utilized Caitlyn¡¯s longer attack range than other champions to its perfection. Her attacking position and timings were simply flawless.


    Kennen¡¯s Flash-Ulti combo had little effect on Caitlyn because by then, he would already be too far away from his teammates. Depending on his own damage to finish Caitlyn off was even more unrealistic. After all, Caitlyn¡¯s SP was a healer¡ªSoraka.


    Two of their earlier losses (once, a triple kill and double buffs, another time, a double kill when Yu Luocheng had tried to gank at level 6) had turned the opponent¡¯s Caitlyn into an unstoppable force. She was like an ultimate boss that conquered the towers and Baron Nashor freely without much resistance. None of Yu Luocheng¡¯s teammates could match or sustain her merciless shots now.


    Most importantly, this Caitlyn had not made a single error in her positioning and control. Yu Luocheng being the better-farmed top lane was also unable to limit Caitlyn¡¯s growth effectively.


    They stood no chance to make a comeback in this game after two of their high grounds were breached so badly. Yu Luocheng bitterly discovered that Caitlyn had not died at all so far.


    ¡°F*ck it. This must be a subsidiary account of a top tier ADC. She must be having fun bullying us,¡± TTYA said resentfully.


    ¡°This ID looks familiar, I must have seen it somewhere¡­¡± Sitcom chipped in.


    They had basically lost this match. The opponent¡¯s team was gearing to end the game with the Hand of Baron. It looked like his teammates had already thrown in the white towel.


    ¡°Oh, which team is that player in?¡± TTYA asked.


    Yu Luocheng checked the ID of Caitlyn¡¯s player and figured this person might be a she as the ID was named Shallow Dream 1 .


    ¡®What an elegant ID. Still, the in-game Caitlyn feels more like a nightmare rather than a dream. I wonder what kind of ugly pervert is hiding behind this beautiful nickname.¡¯


    ¡°She is not from any teams but I may have heard some senior players mentioning her before,¡± Sitcom said.


    TTYL and TTYA were speechless. They felt humiliated after being trashed by a player that wasn¡¯t even in a professional team. While they were lamenting, the opponent team had swiftly reached their front door after taking down the Baron.


    Yu Luocheng was on a mission. He saw that Soraka had left Caitlyn¡¯s side so he decided to intercept her from the side, and finally, Kennen managed to shut down Caitlyn for the first time in this game.


    Of course, her death had little impact on the game at this point. Caitlyn had already dealt enough damage to his team and killing her made no difference to the outcome.


    Defeat!


    ¡®Sigh, a loss. Ten points deducted. It seems that I need a couple more days before I can reach 2000 League Points.¡¯


    The problem was, he would not have much time to spend on LoL once military training 1 began next week. Yu Luocheng looked at the time. It was only 9 pm so he clicked continue and queued for another game.


    High tier ranked games usually took a while to assign players. Yu Luocheng peeked at Bai Feifei who was sat beside him as he waited in boredom. Bai Feifei had never moved her eyes away from her own screen, paying no attention to Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Yu Luocheng asked casually.


    ¡°I¡¯m searching for information regarding the postgraduate exams,¡± Bai Feifei replied.


    ¡°¡­¡± Yu Luocheng did not know what to say.


    ¡®Gosh, you have only just gotten into university, the military training has not even started yet, and you are already checking for the postgraduate exams? What a freak!!!¡¯


    She had come to the lab for real-world knowledge, while he was here to promote virtual-world ranking. Yu Luocheng instantly felt inferior as a result of their stark contrast.


    After a brief moment of introspection and reflection, Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened up as if he had just made a new resolution. He solemnly typed in a line of words to motivate himself¡ª¡±Fourth floor, request for bottom lane!!!¡±


    ¡®D*mn! I am not going to give up the bottom lane this time. I don¡¯t want to lose another game because of someone¡¯s incompetence.¡±


    ¡°First floor, ban Brand. Second floor on the opposite team is the number three Brand in the national server,¡± The player with the ID ¡°Seal¡± reminded.


    After the first floor player had banned Brand and two other META 1 champions, the player instantly picked the Sheriff of Piltover.


    Caitlyn was no doubt the popular ADC this season. It was not because she was overpowering in this patch, but rather, the other ADCs had been nerfed ridiculously.


    Since the ADC role had been taken by the first floor, Yu Luocheng had no other choice but to play the SP role. Yu Luocheng was more than happy to take on that position anyway.


    ¡®After all, I might switch to a carry build halfway, hehe!¡¯


    ¡°First floor, which support champion do you prefer? I don¡¯t play passive support,¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Up to you,¡± The player from the first floor answered.


    ¡°Then I will go with Thresh¡­¡± Just as he wanted to key in those words, his hands suddenly came to a halt. His eyes stared closely at the ID of the player on the first floor.


    ¡®Shallow Dream!! Isn¡¯t this the charming Caitlyn who tortured my entire team single-handedly in the last game?¡¯


    ¡®We are assigned to the same team this round!¡¯


    It was common to encounter the same player in a high-end ranked game. In just a single night, one might bump into the same person three times or more. Sometimes they might be your teammate, and sometimes, they might be the opponent. This was also another reason why you could tell who was in the opponent team easily from the start.


    ¡°First floor, your Caitlyn was pretty daunting,¡± Yu Luocheng greeted with a grievous tone.


    ¡°Yea,¡± Shallow Dream replied coldly.


    ¡°Are you a professional ADC? Your playstyle doesn¡¯t look like those of a pub player,¡± Yu Luocheng continued to question.


    Shallow Dream was definitely a brilliant player. At least her Caitlyn was way better than his.


    ¡°Just for fun.¡± It appeared that Shallow Dream was not a talker. All her replies were short and straightforward.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡®Just for fun? You thought you are me?¡¯


    He or she must be an ADC from a Tier 1 professional team unlike what Sitcom had claimed in the last game. There was no other plausible explanation for his or her supremacy in the game otherwise.


    However, this time they were both on the same team and were even paired at the bottom lane. Yu Luocheng naturally fancied teaming up with a pro player and he hoped he could cooperate smoothly with Shallow Dream.


    The bottom was a dual-champion lane and personal skills could only go so far. They would still lose out if they were unable to work seamlessly with each other.


    ***


    The Caitlyn-Thresh tag team was quite commonly seen at the bottom lane nowadays. An effective combo would be Caitlyn putting a snap trap behind the enemy champion once he or she is caught by Thresh¡¯s Death Sentence. This was usually enough to force the captured enemy to escape with Flash.


    ¡°Which team are you in?¡± Yu Luocheng asked automatically.


    To be frank, Yu Luocheng did not think highly of many players. Even the ADC from Team Liaoning in the semifinals of the national stage did not pose much of a threat to him. Yu Luocheng was determined to get an answer since they were now on the same team.


    Shallow Dream ignored Yu Luocheng and returned to the lane after she had retrieved the red buff. Yu Luocheng, unhappy with the negligence decided to threaten her. ¡°I am going to feed brainlessly if you don¡¯t tell me.¡±


    Shallow Dream merely continued to CS calmly and did not miss a single minion, her foundation was solid.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to start feeding now!!¡±


    ¡°Bottom lane, stop fooling around, be serious.¡± The jungler tried to defuse the situation.


    ¡°But this ADC is ignoring my existence,¡± Yu Luocheng whined.


    ¡°D*mn, are you a 3-year-old kid?¡±


    ***


    ¡°The opponent jungler is around, fall back.¡± Yu Luocheng put a signal on the tri-bush.


    ¡®Humph, I know you are there even without having to place a ward!¡¯


    Caitlyn retreated quickly after she killed a minion. As usual, she ignored Yu Luocheng¡¯s warning and did not reply to a single word.

 Chapter 141 - A Crisp Slap to The Face

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Inside a two-and-a-half-story condominium of Shengyuan Residence near Zijingang, Hangzhou, more than ten teenagers who appeared to be university students stood behind two computers that had been purposely placed in the center of the living room¡ªthe scene resembled a tutorial class.


    There were males and females among the students. They were all peering at the computer screen half astonished, half restrained.


    All fourteen of them were members of the Zhejiang University E-Sports Club.


    Zhejiang E-Sports Club was established a long time ago. From the initial Red Alert, Ragnarok, Starcraft, 3C, to nowadays QQ Speed, DOTA, Dynasty Warrior, and LOL, this club had come a long way.


    As LOL rose to fame, the E-Sports Club from Zhejiang University hitched a ride on the trend and made LOL their main focus. It had been quite a success as they had managed to secure third place in last year¡¯s national university competition.


    The main reason they were able to attain such a good result was owing to their close proximity to this apartment in the Zijingang area. This apartment was none other than the training base of the well-known Revelation Club.


    Revelation Club was one of the E-Sports pioneers in this country and this club owned a well-organized E-Sports structure.


    They had direct liaison with popular websites such as Sina, Tudou, and Youku. Their presence was also often seen in renowned internet game companies such as Duowan, 37games, and 17173 sites.


    This club encompassed MMORPG, Flash games, MOBA, mobile games, and a few others. After Team Revelation obtained outstanding results in several national professional LOL competitions, the club¡¯s influence had become even more widespread and they had now become one of the five most dominant E-Sports clubs in the country.


    The president of Zhejiang University E-Sports Club was a Year 4 student named He Jianbang and he happened to be an official member of Revelation¡¯s youth team. Given the chance to observe and learn from the pro, the LOL team from Zhejiang University barely faced any trouble in the national competition under He Jianbang¡¯s lead. They had defeated numerous great rivals from other universities along the way and managed to finish in the top three.


    To emerge as one of the top three teams among the whole nation was a great honor.


    The university was neither encouraging nor repulsive toward E-Sports. They were ready to recognize and compliment any accomplishments as long as it boosted the university¡¯s image¡ªAttaining top three in a national competition happened to be such a feat.


    ¡°Pay close attention to how James and Bond tackle the bottom lane!¡± Ke Shaoying, the vice president of Zhejiang University E-Sports Club, turned around and told the club members who had come to watch and learn from the pros.


    University students were usually good at MOBA as they had more free time to study the strategy and immerse themselves into the game. Certain university teams were even more powerful than a professional team. For instance, Fudan University, last year¡¯s national champion, was given the wild card to join the LPL qualifier round.


    Ke Shaoying was only a member of the university reserve team and his duty was mainly to manage the club.


    Meanwhile, James and Bond were two very famous bottom lane players from Revelation¡¯s youth team and their partnership was well known across the country. A lot of analysts had said the following, ¡°With proper training and more experience, these two are going to be the future superstars in LOL!¡±


    James was a chubby guy with curly hair. He turned his head and took the opportunity to scan a pair of fair legs that peeked out from under a lady¡¯s short skirt. He then said pretentiously, ¡°We usually practice in the American server. We didn¡¯t play in the national server that much.¡±


    Bond was a teenager in his twenties that looked a little slow-witted but his expression of eagerness had betrayed him. It was easy to tell that he was looking forward to talking to all the sexy girls around him.


    ¡°I will explain to you what to take note of at the bottom lane in a high-end game while playing.¡± James waved his audiences to come closer.


    Five to six ladies immediately closed in,the scent of their perfume immediately wafting around the two computers. This swayed James and Bond¡¯s minds and hearts as they had never really been this close to any female before.


    ¡®These female university students smelled so good, how intoxicating!¡¯


    ¡°The opponent is a Thresh-Caitlyn tag team. Their strength is on their longer attack range. Besides, never underestimate Thresh¡¯s damage. You can totally regard him as an ADC in the early game. Some players in overseas go as far as to attach attack-type Runes or Masteries on Thresh. This champion is annoying as he will come forth constantly to disrupt your CS rhythm,¡± James said composedly.


    Under normal circumstances, Thresh would hide behind the minion wave and harass the opponent with basic attacks. The opponent would not dare to come close as long as he did not yield his control skill first.


    ¡°This Thresh is clever for not hitting my champion,¡± James grinned lightly and said while controlling his champion, Draven.


    Draven, the Glorious Executioner, was an unconventional ADC. However, players who excelled in using Draven were always able to produce astounding damage.


    Draven ranked first among champions which Thresh dared not disturb recklessly.


    ¡°When using Draven, it¡¯s not necessary to turtle when facing harassment from the opponent¡¯s SP. You can exchange hits and empty his health potion. After that, the SP would be tamed. I have to hand it to this Thresh for not provoking me,¡± James played confidently. He maintained his CS while repositioning his champion constantly to catch the returning ax.


    Draven¡¯s Q-skill was Spinning Axe. He could catch it again after throwing it out and reapply the skill for no cost in his next attack.


    Spinning Axe¡¯s damage was sufficiently high in the early game and was very useful in oppressing the opponent¡¯s ADC.


    ¡°Caitlyn has a very long range, which makes it very difficult to reach her. How are you supposed to counter her in this situation? You can¡¯t allow her to free hit you and do nothing, right? This Caitlyn seems strong. Could you match her?¡± A girl at Gold rank asked.


    ¡°James was recognized as the number one Draven player in the national server last season. There was no ADC that he couldn¡¯t overcome. The current top Draven of the China Server might also not be as good as him,¡± Ke Shaoying explained.


    ¡°He is¡­ the number one Draven in the national server?!¡± A fashionable girl with long and curly dark blonde hair exclaimed in astonishment.


    The guys at the back were equally surprised. ¡®So HE is the best Draven in the national server!¡¯


    The commotion and soft cheer from the ladies had further brightened up James¡¯s proud and joyful expression!


    ¡°Caitlyn is not that scary, to be honest,¡± James continued to narrate as he controlled Draven to receive the returning axes leisurely, ¡°She will definitely draw near to harass when you try to last hit creeps. This is when you should pretend to retreat. When Caitlyn charges forward to get another hit, you can abruptly shorten the distance. The Caitlyn will lose out once Draven is close enough. Let me show you¡­¡±


    As he spoke, the opponent¡¯s Caitlyn did exactly as James had just said. She drew nearer to hit James¡¯s Draven as the latter tried to CS a dying minion.


    James smiled victoriously. The superior one during the laning phase was definitely not Caitlyn, but the champion he was controlling¡ªDraven.


    A juke and Caitlyn was lured in! James was indeed adept at controlling Draven.


    Out of nowhere, Draven turned back and retaliated. The Glorious Executioner raised his arm, ready to throw the Spinning Axe at Caitlyn!


    To his surprise, Caitlyn moved dexterously and retreated almost at the same time as Draven turned around.


    Pew!


    A bullet hit Draven¡¯s head accurately. Not only had Draven missed his target but was instead attacked.


    Draven did not give up and took another step forward. He wanted to land a hit on Caitlyn at all costs, however, Caitlyn had retreated wisely.


    When Draven finally gave up on pursuing her, Caitlyn once again turned around and fired another shot!


    Two shots in quick succession!


    James was enraged. He couldn¡¯t believe his Draven was hit twice by Caitlyn for free.


    ¡®I am not tolerating this!¡¯


    Immediately, Draven turned back once again and executed W-Blood Rush!


    Pew!


    Caitlyn had fired the third shot!


    As if she knew Draven was going to charge in beforehand, Caitlyn released Caliber Net and Peacemaker as soon as Draven got near. This was Caitlyn¡¯s famous EQ-combo!


    Both skills hit Draven and heavily decelerated his rush. A large amount of his life points was reduced too and he was now only left with half of his HP.


    ¡°Urgh¡­¡±


    Ke Shaoying was stunned as he looked at the screen.


    The eagerness on the students¡¯ faces had also changed drastically.


    Suddenly, the entire living room had turned quiet.


    ¡®I thought we were going to see how you counter Caitlyn? Why is your HP halved instead before you even touched her?¡¯


    The expression on James¡¯s face was beyond embarrassed.


    What a crisp slap on his arrogant face!


    ¡°This¡­ This Caitlyn¡­ Well-played¡­ Haha¡­¡± James smiled awkwardly trying to cover his own error.


    Under his smile, there were numerous ¡®what the f*ck¡±s going through his mind.

 Chapter 142 - Unwilling to be the Enemy

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Inside the computer laboratory in Shanghai University, the relaxed Yu Luocheng had suddenly turned serious. His eyes were fixated on Caitlyn, or to be more precise, the player named Shallow Dream.


    Caitlyn¡¯s shooting range was 650 while Draven¡¯s attack range was 550. The former had made use of this 100 range difference to the maximum precision. Not only had she shot the opponent three times, but she had also forcefully ceased Draven¡¯s Blood Rush with her EQ-combo.


    That was an outstanding maneuver. Even Yu Luocheng might not be as adept in playing Caitlyn.


    ¡®This player named Shallow Dream is very strong!¡¯


    Bottom line, this Caitlyn was the most prominent that Luocheng had ever seen. Perhaps, she was even the best ADC he had ever come across!


    ***


    Draven only had half of his HP left. This was good timing to force the fight.


    Yu Luocheng guided Thresh to walk nearer to the minion wave to collect souls but his eyes were following Draven¡¯s position closely.


    Draven was subdued after he had failed his earlier assault. He went back to CS contentedly with his Spinning Axe. Yu Luocheng¡¯s Thresh fell back a little after collecting the souls and he positioned himself in a straight line with Draven and another dying minion in between them both.


    If you were using Thresh or Blitzcrank while your opponent was a Draven, the most important thing you needed to pay attention to would be the location where Draven¡¯s ax is boomeranged back to. This is because almost all Draven players would move obsessively to catch the ax.


    By grasping this instance and timing the hook properly, most of the time, the compulsive Draven would be caught.


    James¡¯s Draven moved rather well behind the creep line. He refused to re-catch his ax at several risky positions. However, this did not mean that Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t find an opening.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn moved a step forward to last hit the minion further back.


    This micro-move made by Caitlyn amazed Yu Luocheng. He now thought even more highly of her.


    ¡®Great!¡¯ Yu Luocheng complimented in his mind and pressed the Q key before Caitlyn made the shot.


    Death Sentence!


    His scythe flew out in a straight line. Just as it was about to be blocked by the minion, Caitlyn¡¯s bullet arrived right on time to kill the creep. This allowed the scythe to fly straight on toward the landing spot of Draven¡¯s ax.


    Draven had moved there mindlessly to catch his ax but it seemed more like he was being pulled there involuntarily by the scythe of death! The scythe latched right onto his chest and Draven was hooked and subsequently pulled back slightly by the skill.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn had already pressed forward. Almost as if she had anticipated the enemy would Flash away, she did not lay down any Snap Traps and focused solely on attacking while continuing her forward charge.


    Luocheng swiftly activated the second cast of his Q-skill and Thresh immediately dashed toward the Glorious Executioner as well.


    Draven¡¯s Summoner spell was Ignite and not Barrier, and his HP plummeted insanely without the extra protection.


    James¡¯s Draven used Flash clumsily, almost simultaneous to the moment that Thresh began to dash forward. The Executioner1 was going to be killed by the Warden2 if he still refused to flee.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Yu Luocheng laughed confidently.


    ¡®You are not the only one with Flash!¡¯ Yu Luocheng did not use his E-skill the moment he jumped in. He reflexively clicked on Flash after Draven had done so.


    ¡®Flay! Come back to papa!¡¯


    Thresh¡¯s chain swept out and pulled Draven back once again. The only thing missing now was Caitlyn¡¯s final touch and Draven would be dead for sure then.


    The opponent¡¯s SP was not a decoration. A timely Exhaust and hard CC were cast to hinder Caitlyn from making the final shot.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn remained composed as she instantly removed the debuff with Cleanse and lit Thresh¡¯s Soul Lantern afterward.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Dark Passage led Caitlyn to the most comfortable attacking spot.


    Watching Caitlyn fly away, Bond, the SP, could only watch helplessly as the two of them pinned down Draven mercilessly.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡± After a horrible shriek, Draven dropped awkwardly onto the ground with both of his axes scattered at his sides.


    After taking down Draven, Caitlyn did not seem satisfied and she began to pursue Nami, the enemy¡¯s support champion.


    A Snap Trap was used to seal Nami¡¯s straight line escape route and she had no choice but to flee with Flash.


    Caitlyn had traveled a long distance thanks to Thresh¡¯s Dark Passage and Nami was still well within Caitlyn¡¯s attack range even after using her Flash.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn continued to chase Nami all the way into the tower.


    ¡°Damn! Why are you are still chasing? It¡¯s the tower!¡± Yu Luocheng exclaimed after seeing Caitlyn¡¯s ruthlessness.


    It was unrealistic to ask Luocheng dive in now. Thresh was never going to catch up to the speedy Nami. Caitlyn was also able to shorten the gap only after she had used Flash.


    ¡®Come back you lunatic! This Caitlyn must be out of her mind! Why did she act so impulsively?¡¯ Luocheng was a little confused with Shallow Dream¡¯s decision. Nami actually still had 2/5 of her HP left!


    Pew!!


    Headshot!


    Caitlyn¡¯s innate was triggered. A bullet empowered by rage and fire was shot out and hit Nami.


    Poof!


    It was the Caliber Net! A yellow net expanded from Caitlyn¡¯s gun point and landed accurately on Nami.


    Helped by the recoil, Caitlyn reversed valiantly out from the Tower¡¯s range.


    She planted her boots on the muddy ground and swung her long hair. Caitlyn then flexed her body elegantly and pointed her Peacemaker directly at the sluggish Nami!


    Boom!


    A fiery bird flew out from her gun and burst through the air with a loud bang!


    Nami had been extremely slowed down, and despite trying her best to evade, she could only watch as the flaming bullet closed in and tore her apart.


    Caitlyn walked away coolly, leaving behind Bond¡¯s Nami with only her ruthless shadow.


    The Peacemaker flew by and took away Nami final drop of HP¡­


    Double Kill!


    Calm, glorious, and sophisticated!


    A precise calculation on Caitlyn¡¯s critical timing; on Nami HP; on Caitlyn¡¯s skill damage; in addition to her seamless control¡­


    The series of Caitlyn¡¯s flawless actions had Yu Luocheng stunned as he looked at the computer screen.


    Only an SP had the right to judge an ADC!


    No doubt, the Draven kill was counted on Yu Luocheng¡¯s brilliance for landing the hook accurately and his clever placement of the Soul Lantern.


    But the process in which Nami was killed had really gotten Yu Luocheng dumbstruck.


    Once again, Shallow Dream had just soared higher in Yu Luocheng¡¯s appraisal!


    A pro among the pros. A truly magnificent player!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng was very fond of video games. He had always yearned for a worthy opponent, strong enough to draw out his inner competitiveness.


    Just like when he had last met Asmodai at the bottom lane. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself, his competitive nature was still easily lured out by the opponent¡¯s simple provocation.


    But do you know? The person who could enthuse an E-Sports player the most was not a mighty foe, but rather, a teammate so dominant that you would never wish to be their enemy!


    For Yu Luocheng, only a limited few fell into that category. His ex-teammate, Thane, the Blood Eagle was one. The ace of Team Daemon, Hades, was another one, along with a few others from foreign countries.


    Somehow, after only two games, one as teammates and one as opponents¡­ Yu Luocheng felt that he would never want to go against this Caitlyn player known as Shallow Dream.


    He was once at the pinnacle of E-Sports. His arrogance of being the best (which he attempted to conceal) was not something that could be easily swayed by the so-called LOL professionals who had merely played thousands of LOL matches.


    Maybe some of the popular ADC¡¯s within the country could have executed the same kind of calculation and maneuver like what Shallow Dream had just done. However, Yu Luocheng possessed great insight when it came to E-Sports.


    His unique judgement told him that the player behind the scene possessed the decisiveness and flair that belonged only to those of the elite few!


    Translator Note: Draven is also known as ¡°The Glorious Executioner1¡± while Thresh is known as ¡°The Chain Warden2¡±.

 Chapter 143 - This is to Fight

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The atmosphere in the living room had been reduced to pin-drop silence. The sound of ¡°Enemy Double Kill¡± still resonated in everyone¡¯s ears.


    The atmosphere had taken a drastic turn, and James and Bond blushed in embarrassment. Their earlier confidence had completely evaporated.


    Ding dong!


    The doorbell rang just in the nick of time and slightly soothed the mood.


    A young man sporting a trendy hairstyle walked in from outside the door with a bag of fruits.


    He looked around taking note of the crowd inside the room. He immediately put on a warm smile. ¡°You all are from Zhejiang University, right?¡±


    Everyone turned their gaze toward the young man. The few pretty ladies were in awe, almost as if a popular artist had just appeared in front of their starstruck eyes.


    As for the gents, they couldn¡¯t hold in their excitement and admiration either.


    ¡®It¡¯s Bai Feng!¡¯


    Students that were enthusiastic about e-sports must have heard of him before, but they never would have expected to meet him, the star ADC of Team Revelation, in person at this training base.


    He was the centre of Team Revelation, also known as the most handsome and elite ADC in the country!


    Bai Feng was a natural eye-catcher. Both his appearance and attire spoke volumes about his stardom.


    After Team Revelation had attained victory in numerous large competitions, Bai Feng had risen to stardom with his outstanding ADC performance and handsome outlook, especially among the female fans!


    The youth team usually served as the reserve team in a professional game club. The main team and reserve team often trained with each other, however, the prowess and status of the two teams differed greatly. This was because the main team was always given the media coverage and had the most opportunity to participate in prestigious tournaments.


    Bai Feng¡¯s charm was unparalleled, and the students who surrounded the computer earlier instantly encircled Bai Feng. They were all eager and excited to see him, including the vice president, Ke Shaoying.


    ¡°James and Bond are demonstrating the bottom lane playstyle, aren¡¯t they?¡± Bai Feng kept his friendly smile and pointed toward the computer screens.


    ¡°Hi, Bai Feng. You¡¯ve come at the right time. It seems we have bumped into some professional players. Can you recognize whose subsidiary account this is?¡± James asked hastily.


    It was common to be thrashed by certain professional player¡¯s second account in a ranked game. More so, some professional bottom lane tag-teams had also experienced total defeat in the hands of pub players before.


    Thus, Bai Feng did not mind too much. He coolly walked closer to the computers and said, ¡°You two proceed, I will do the narration.¡±


    Bai Feng had been invited by E-Sports Storm as a guest analyst numerous times in the past for his presence always boosted the program¡¯s viewership. The students from Zhejiang University had only witnessed Bai Feng¡¯s commentary through the live stream previously. It was incredibly lucky for them to be able to listen to his voice at such a close distance. The few female students that were obsessed with Bai Feng couldn¡¯t help but drool over his charm.


    ¡°Caitlyn has two headcounts in kills and is leading by twenty CS. It¡¯s not looking good,¡± Bai Feng scanned their stats and said calmly.


    Not looking good was an understatement. The bottom lane was akin to a devastating defeat.


    Caitlyn immediately bought Berserker¡¯s Greaves and a B.F. Sword after she had returned to the Fountain. She was currently pushing aggressively against Nami and Draven at the bottom lane.


    Draven could only rely on Health Potions to recover and CS inconsistently. After he had used up the potions, Draven had no other choice but to Recall as Nami¡¯s heal was unable to recover his lost HP in time.


    ***


    ¡°Your E-skill is on cooldown, you should retreat now. Sigh, it¡¯s too late.¡± Bai Feng shook his head in disappointment as he looked at Nami and Draven¡¯s positions.


    True to his prediction, Thresh intruded forcefully from the side and ran straight up to block off Nami and Draven¡¯s escape route.


    The scythe in his hand swung out and Death Sentence was unleashed straight toward Draven!


    ¡°What a tricky angle!¡± Bai Feng exclaimed.


    When a hook comes from the flank, an experienced player would usually take a step backward to evade the incoming hook.


    However, more experienced Thresh or Blitzcrank¡¯s could often find an angle so artful that no matter how the enemy moved, they would still fall within the hook¡¯s range.


    The timing and angle of this Thresh¡¯s hook was impeccable. Bai Feng could easily tell that the opponent player must be an experienced veteran.


    Bai Feng then looked at Nami and Draven¡¯s positions again. He knew they would be unable to escape this assault.


    Sure enough, Draven, who had used up his Flash, was hooked yet again. He was forcefully dragged back a few steps.


    With Draven under control, Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn followed up swiftly and she was just as skillful. With a juke, Caitlyn evaded Nami¡¯s CC spell with ease.


    Bond¡¯s Nami did not panic, however. Knowing that Thresh was going to rush in through the chain, he switched his target to the SP after he had failed to contain Caitlyn.


    Yah!!!


    The Tidecaller Staff on Nami¡¯s hand was raised she summoned a Tidal Wave out of thin air!


    The wave rushed on and surged ferociously right onto Thresh¡¯s path.


    Thresh had transformed into a ghastly creature and had been in mid-air when the wave hit. It caught Thresh by surprise and knocked him up into the air in the middle of his path, which stopped him promptly before he could make the full distance, as his skill had been interrupted.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Bai Feng complimented.


    The students behind him were astonished, watching the play.


    The situation had been rather dire just now. If Thresh had reached Draven, he could have controlled the latter without having to use any mobility skills for a long period, only needing to use his ultimate and E-skill, Flay.


    Judging by Caitlyn¡¯s current damage output, Draven would unquestionably be killed if he was trapped. The fragile Nami would not have had much chance to survive too. This might have been another double kill for Caitlyn.


    Bond¡¯s Nami had used her ulti to deliberately intercept Thresh¡¯s rush. He had dissolved the incoming crisis with a clean, poised move. An average player would never have done that.


    ***


    ¡®Woah, not bad!¡¯ Yu Luocheng was dazed as well after his assault was halted abruptly.


    ¡®Not many people know that Nami¡¯s ulti, Tidal Wave, can be used to stop Thresh¡¯s second cast. This player is pretty experienced!¡¯


    Just as Yu Luocheng hesitated as to whether they should continue the fight, a glowing blue armor suddenly appeared on Draven, indicating that someone was about to arrive from the other side of the map!


    It was Shen!


    ¡®This fellow has used his ultimate to come to their rescue.¡¯


    Shen was a very much despised champion as his ultimate allowed him to instantly travel to his teammate.


    When you were winning a 2 vs 2 skirmish, the arrival of a Shen would instantly put off your desire to fight. Furthermore, now you had to pray that they wouldn¡¯t reverse the stance instead.


    James¡¯s Draven reacted instantly. Seeing that their reinforcement was arriving, he charged toward Yu Luocheng¡¯s Thresh courageously.


    They were going for the counter-attack!


    Yu Luocheng had just charged out from the side, meaning that his positioning was a little overshot.


    If he was taunted by the landing Shen, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Thresh would have no way to escape.


    ***


    Since it was rare to come across such a powerful ADC teammate, Yu Luocheng could not bear himself giving a mediocre performance.


    He pressed on the G key without delay.


    Against the arriving Shen, and against three enemies, Yu Luocheng did not press the V key. Instead, he sent the G key to Caitlyn.


    ¡°V¡± stands for retreat, beware.


    While ¡°G¡± stands for attack, assault.


    Yu Luocheng wanted to fight!

 Chapter 144 - Bottom Lane 2 vs. 3

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ulti, Stand United!


    Shen, the Eye of Twilight, arrived at the bottom lane via his ulti. They were advancing forward, owing to the 3 vs 2 number advantage.


    Taunt upon landing is the most common combo sequence used by Shen.


    Yu Luocheng guided Thresh to move toward Caitlyn but his eyes never moved away from the Shen who had just landed in front of them!


    This Shen was rather experienced. He did not use Shadow Dash to taunt Luocheng immediately after he landed. Instead, he moved forward a few steps, hoping to lure Thresh into using Flay.


    Luocheng did not panic. He instantly cast Thresh¡¯s R-ulti, The Box, to prevent the three enemy champions from focusing their fire on him.


    Five spectral walls appeared abruptly under Thresh feet. If Shen still refused to use taunt now, he would not have another chance to do so as the skill would slow him tremendously.


    Shen finally released Shadow Dash. His body lunged forward aggressively toward Thresh, carrying the scarlet taunting radiance.


    The control effect of taunt was relatively long. It would even cause the target to move back involuntarily by a few steps. If Luocheng¡¯s Thresh was taunted, he was not going to come out alive from this.


    Luocheng was extremely calm amidst the pressing taunt and he calmly hit the E key.


    As soon as Shen began to move, his Thresh turned around swiftly and flung the chain in his hand steadily forward.


    Flay!!!


    Shen was midway through his dash and was about to taunt Thresh. This was when the chain hit Shen¡¯s face and pulled his dash to a halt. Shen stopped short, like how a 100-meter sprinter would after being slapped on the face. His taunt had been interrupted directly by Thresh¡¯s skill.


    ¡°D*mn!!¡± Bond couldn¡¯t help but shout.


    Shen¡¯s taunt had been denied!


    Bai Feng was enthused. ¡®What witty play. He managed to cancel Shen¡¯s taunt with his Flay. This Thresh is better than I thought!¡¯


    Thresh breaking Shen¡¯s taunt with Flay worked the same way as to how Nami had broken Thresh¡¯s Q-dash recast. Both foiled the opponent¡¯s skills by forcing them back with a displacement spell.


    Janna¡¯s Gale; Thresh¡¯s Flay; Draven¡¯s Stand Aside; and Nami¡¯s ulti¡ªThese were the skills capable of intercepting an enemy¡¯s forward jump/dash, and grounded them.


    The technique used by Thresh to disrupt Shen¡¯s CC was commonly known as ¡°counter¡±.


    Taunting after landing was the most common practice for players using Shen. This Shen¡¯s player was considered cautious as compared to the others. He reckoned Thresh might counter him so he had decided to make a hesitant move and released the dash only when the opponent was least suspecting.


    To his surprise, his opponent had been more wary than he thought. He was forced into using his taunt as Thresh surrendered his ulti to slow him down.


    The duration of Shen¡¯s dash was probably 0.5 seconds or less. The same went for Flay as it also has a 0.5 second delayed motion. In other words, to successfully counter Shen¡¯s taunt, the opponent must first predict the timing of Shadow dash!


    The logic behind it was easy to grasp, but it was an entirely different matter to materialize the move. ¡°Counter¡± was truly a difficult technique to master.


    The students behind James and Bond were just casual players. All of them stared with rounded eyes as they witnessed Thresh deny Shen¡¯s taunt with Flay.


    They were not aware of such a trick called counter and were deeply amazed. ¡®Dear me! Thresh can be played this way?¡¯


    They had learned something extraordinary as such a maneuver seldom occurred in common games.


    ¡°They are forcing the fight!¡± Bai Feng reminded as everyone was still bewildered.


    ¡®Forcing the fight?? Are they nuts? It¡¯s a 2 vs 3 situation!¡¯


    Boom!


    An enraged peacemaker flew out in response to the pressed trigger and plowed away a huge chunk of HP from Draven.


    Pew!! Pew!!


    The heart-wrenching gun sounds ravaged the three champions who were pursuing Thresh mercilessly. Draven¡¯s HP was immediately halved!


    ***


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes beamed in delight as he saw Caitlyn fearlessly pushing forward.


    Shen without his taunt was no different than a melee minion. Shallow Dream ignored Shen and attacked Draven fervently!


    An innate Headshot had further trimmed Draven¡¯s already low HP and the latter retreated out of fear.


    Luocheng¡¯s Thresh was equally aggressive. In contrast to being pursued, he now ran voluntarily after the three enemies and fearlessly cast Exhaust on Draven.


    Thresh then threw his Soul Lantern backward. Caitlyn tacitly lit the lantern and flew toward Thresh¡¯s position, which was more favorable for her to shoot down Draven.


    Nami had yielded her Exhaust in the previous fight and her Q-skill was once again evaded by Caitlyn through Thresh¡¯s Dark Passage. The speed boost and heal provided by Nami could no longer bail them out of this mess.


    Thresh and Caitlyn had a common target¡ªTo take down Draven first.


    Draven fled clumsily relying on Nami¡¯s speed boost after seeing his insufficient HP.


    Poof!


    A Caliber Net expanded from the tip of Caitlyn¡¯s rifle and landed accurately on Shen. Shen¡¯s speed was further reduced on top of the initial slow by Thresh¡¯s ulti. His Spirit Blade had been mistakenly thrown at the tanky Thresh, causing only insignificant damage.


    The recoil from the Caliber Net had conveniently pushed Caitlyn nearer to the fleeing Draven.


    Pew!!


    Another bullet, another segment of his HP gone.


    Boom!


    The Peacemaker flew out and sealed off all potential escape routes of Draven.


    The enemy has been slain!


    After she had finished off Draven, Caitlyn focused all her bullets on Nami.


    Nami sped up and escaped through the enemy¡¯s brush.


    Caitlyn¡¯s damage was outrageously high now. She only needed a few shots to bring down the vulnerable Nami. Nami had made a wise decision to flee in the opposite direction.


    Clank!


    Suddenly, a metal sound clicked!


    Nami¡¯s position in the brush was exposed as she had stepped on a Snap Trap.


    She had no vision over the brush. Despite being aware of the Snap Trap when it was placed earlier, she had totally forgotten about it while escaping in haste.


    Caitlyn continued to pick on Nami and reduce her HP to below 1/3.


    Nami fled rapidly downward to get away from Caitlyn¡¯s attack range after the CC ended.


    Caitlyn gave up on her pursuit and switched to the tank¡ªShen.


    Bond was relieved after seeing Caitlyn change targets and wanted to take a detour to escape through the tri brush.


    ¡°Stay in the brush!¡± Bai Feng suddenly yelled at Bond.


    His warning came too late however. Nami had exited the brush under Bond¡¯s control.


    Stepping out of the brush gave instant vision to Caitlyn.


    Click!


    As if the sound of Caitlyn calibrating her sniper was heard, a tangerine line appeared out of nowhere and aimed straight at Nami¡¯s heart.


    Bang!


    A bullet wrapped in fire broke through the air and shot straight toward Nami!


    The blasting sound sucked out the air from Bond¡¯s lung!


    A single shot was all it took to empty Nami¡¯s remaining HP.


    ¡®Had she foreseen this? Is this why she gave up on pursuing just now? She must have calculated that her ulti would be enough to finish off my Nami!¡¯


    Looking at his champion¡¯s remains, Bond was left speechless for a long while.


    Double Kill!


    Nami was unable to escape after Draven was killed.


    ¡°Shen is going to die too. Thresh¡¯s skills are all up,¡± Bai Feng suddenly announced in a deep tone.


    Indeed, not long after, ¡°Triple Kill¡± was heard, resonating throughout the living room.


    Shen¡¯s support play was known to instantly outnumber the opponent and provide an unmatchable advantage to his teammates. Who would have thought that all three of them would be wiped out even in such a favorable situation, while Thresh and Caitlyn remained safe and sound?


    ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡± Ke Shaoying stuttered as he fought to find the right words.


    The students watching at the back were equally dumbstruck too.


    ¡®What¡¯s going on here? This is not what we came for!¡¯


    They were here to witness how James and Bond were to supposedly conquer the bottom lane. Instead, it seemed as if the opponent Thresh and Caitlyn were giving them a lesson of their lifetime.

 Chapter 145 - Player with 20 Win-Streak!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    James and Bond couldn¡¯t be more upset.


    Usually, they were the ones tormenting pub players in a ranked game and getting bored with the one-sided game.


    It was rare to have so many university students come visiting like today and they had even dressed up nicely¡­


    The ideal scenario was supposed to be as follows: The two of them would be standing gallantly on a cliff as they looked down on two noisy challengers. They would smile calmly and turn back to their disciples to say the following, ¡°Let us show you what it means to be truly skilled¡­¡±


    The reality was that they had jumped down the cliff and were tripped on the way down. Subsequently, the two not-so-handsome ¡°masters¡± had been beaten up mercilessly by the arrogant enemies, leaving the disciples stunned above the cliff¡­


    ¡®Why does this embarrassing defeat have to occur today?¡¯


    Well, what can you do when fate has decided to play a prank on you?


    ***


    Two kills previously and three kills this turn, Caitlyn¡¯s kill lead had just extended to five headcounts.


    Shen peered at Nami and Draven helplessly after they had all revived together in the fountain. The Shen¡¯s player probably had the urge to exit the game immediately using Alt-Tab.


    ¡°Bai Feng, these two are very good. They are no ordinary players,¡± One of the youth team members observing at the back had spoken.


    ¡°Yes, I can tell,¡± Bai Feng nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s their ID? Let me check their past results,¡± The youth team member named Huang Kong asked.


    ¡°Thresh¡¯s ID is F-Hawk, while Caitlyn¡¯s is Shallow Dream,¡± James answered.


    Watching the sudden turn of events, the students also began to converse in a low voice.


    ¡°Shaoying, you are also among the top-class in the Ionia region, right? Have you seen these two IDs before?¡± A girl asked.


    Ke Shaoying shook his head.


    ¡°Could they be secondary accounts of players from some famous team?¡±


    ¡°I bet they are, judging from how excellent they have played so far.¡±


    They had witnessed the strength of James and Bond before, who shouldn¡¯t have crumbled like this no matter how subpar their performances were today.


    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s weird¡­¡± As everyone was busy gossiping, Huang Kong interjected in a voice full of doubt.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Bai Feng asked.


    ¡°Bai Feng, come over here. They did not queue for this game together!¡± Huang Kong pointed to his own computer. It was currently showing the battle history and past results of the two players.


    Bai Feng walked up and was surprised to find that Thresh and Caitlyn were actually opponents in the match before this one.


    ¡°They did not queue together?¡± James and Bond¡¯s eyes almost popped out from their socket.


    ¡®Bullshit! This is absurd!¡¯


    This discovery was like spraying salt on their bleeding wounds.


    Impromptu and long term co-op at the bottom lane were the ends of two extremes. Once, a group of analysts had pitted ADCs and SPs from separate professional teams against weaker opponents that had been paired up for a longer time. As a result, the former group had lost miserably¡­


    This proved that tacit understanding and long term cooperation between the SP and ADC played a vital role in dominance at the bottom lane.


    James had teamed up with Bond at the bottom lane for a very long time. Hence, both of them had assumed that the opponents must have been the subsidiary accounts that belonged to players from a first-class team. To their shock, F-Hawk and Shallow Dream were not even in-game friends. In other words, they had been raped by two pub players that were working together for the very first time!!


    Bai Feng¡¯s expression finally turned solemn.


    ¡°Gosh, this Shallow Dream is unreal!!¡± Suddenly, Huang Kong who had been checking the battle history exclaimed.


    His voice echoed around the small room for a few minutes and the students couldn¡¯t help but rush over to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? What have you found?¡± James and Bond had given up on the game entirely. They, too, left their computer seats and approached Huang Kong.


    ¡°Check this out!¡± Huang Kong pulled out the LOL box. In it was every game Shallow Dream had played recently.


    Normally, players who had reached 2000 League Points took thousands of matches. Only accounts that reached 2000 points within hundreds of games could potentially be a subsidiary account.


    However, this player named Shallow Dream had only played twenty games in total.


    Twenty games with all of them undefeated!


    There were only two pages of ranked games and the results were all in green, meaning that she had won every game so far.


    The entire room was in awe!


    ¡°How¡­ How is this possible?!¡±


    ¡°Twenty games to reach 2000 points? Is she cheating?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. How are you going to cheat the LOL system?¡±


    Huang Kong, James, and Bond peered at the screen closely for a long time. They had nothing to say upon seeing the two pages full of green outcomes.


    Solo queue twenty win-streak. It was close to impossible in the Ionia region at this stage.


    This was because even professional gamers could not avoid meeting feeders, AFK teammates, or trolls. Moreover, the entire Ionia region was occupied by boosters, subsidiary accounts or even official accounts of pro players. The competition in this region was pretty steep, thus, to have a long win-streak here not only required overpowering skills, but also unthinkable fortune!


    ¡°Bai Feng¡­¡± Huang Kong, James, and Bond stared at Bai Feng.


    The other students were also looking at the professional ADC. They wished to know whether it was really possible to reach 2000 League Points after only twenty games.


    Bai Feng fell into his own train of thought and did not say anything. He finally opened his mouth when he realized everyone was staring at him looking for an explanation, ¡°For a brand new account, each win would grant 40 points. Besides, a win-streak itself also gives extra points. Although I have not tested this theory before, I did hear that 2000 points are attainable if one is unbeaten for twenty straight games. To be precise, it actually sums up to 2100 points.¡±


    Bai Feng¡¯s words blew everyone¡¯s minds.


    ¡®Twenty games to reach 2100 points!! That¡¯s unbelievable! How many LOL fanatics could only dream about 2000 points even after a few thousand ranked games? Now you are telling me that a mere 20 games are enough to exceed 2000 points?¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s the player¡¯s favorite champions?¡± Bai Feng asked.


    ¡°ADC. Sometimes SP. Caitlyn was the most picked,¡± Huang Kong recollected himself and answered.


    Bai Feng turned silent once again. Someone of her caliber should not have gone under his club¡¯s radar.


    ¡°Shallow Dream¡­ Shallow Dream¡­¡± Bai Feng muttered and seemed to have suddenly recalled something. His expression was clearly astounded by his own realization.


    ¡°SD*! It¡¯s her! It has to be!¡± Bai Feng exclaimed.


    ¡°SD??¡± Seeing Bai Feng¡¯s expression, everyone in the room looked at each other, clearly puzzled. Apparently, they had not heard of this ID before.


    ¡°Bai Feng, who is this SD, or Shallow Dream? Is she a player from a famous international team?¡± Ke Shaoying asked quickly.


    The other students were equally curious too. From the look on Bai Feng¡¯s face, this Shallow Dream must be a remarkable player!


    ¡°This is interesting. I never would have thought that Shallow Dream is actually a Chinese player. I always took her as an American.¡± Bai Feng sounded like he had just unveiled a great secret.


    ¡°Bai Feng, is this Shallow Dream really SD?¡± James, aside from being dazed, was a little relieved at the same time. This was because losing to her was entirely justifiable.


    According to the rumors, even numerous first-class or second-class overseas professional players had succumbed miserably in her hands before.


    Intriguingly, SD was actually a Chinese, and had now emerged out of nowhere in one of China ¡®s servers, Ionia.


    This news was going to send the national gaming world into a frenzy once the local scouts and professional players found out about her presence.


    ¡°SD is not a pro player,¡± Bai Feng said enthusiastically.


    He had long heard about her glorious history. Since she was a Chinese player, Bai Feng was confident that he would have the opportunity to have a match with her one day!


    For some unknown reason, Bai Feng could feel his blood vessels dilating after he had guessed the true identity of Shallow Dream. It had been a while since he had last felt so feverish and longing for a battle!

 Chapter 146 - Why So Serious?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What about Thresh?¡± James queried.


    The player who played Thresh was equally exceptional. His timing of charging in, hook¡¯s angle, and lantern¡¯s position were all well on point. He set the pace of the two skirmishes perfectly and helped Caitlyn build her enormous advantage with five early kills. His counter had also been executed precisely to bury Shen and topple the three champions¡¯s retaliation.


    ¡°This player has only played about 100 games. His winning rate is quite high as well,¡± Huang Kong said.


    ¡®Only a hundred games¡­ Luckily he is not as scary as Shallow Dream¡¯s 20 win-streak.¡¯


    Of course, 100 games became relatively acceptable when compared to Shallow Dream¡¯s absurd record. Actually, reaching 2000 League Points within 100 games was extremely difficult too in this competitive Ionia region.


    ¡°I have checked his records roughly. This Thresh did play other positions from time to time. His favorite is still the bottom lane. For f*cks sake¡­¡± Huang Kong cursed again as he scrolled through F-Hawk¡¯s record.


    ¡°What now?¡± Bai Feng asked.


    ¡°His win rate at the bottom lane is extraordinary! Other than Vayne, most of his bottom lane champions have a win rate of 90% and above. Among them, Ezreal and Blitzcrank have a perfect record!¡± Huang Kong reported.


    LOL box could be used to check a player¡¯s recent match record. Huang Kong discovered that judging by the bottom lane¡¯s record alone, this player¡¯s win rate was startlingly high!


    A 20 win-streak required a lot of luck on top of great skills. On the other hand, a player who could maintain such a high win rate after so many games did not rely on luck but more on his or her tested skills.


    ***


    Bai Feng walked toward the computer and opened the chat box to type.


    ¡°SD, I know it¡¯s you. I am Bai Feng. My LOL ID is Storm. I have been watching the game and recognize your playstyle and ID. I never thought that you were also a Chinese player.¡± Bai Feng typed.


    Team Revelation often trained in the American server, thus, Bai Feng was familiar with the LOL pro gamers over there.


    The chatbox became very lively after Bai Feng sent out the message.


    ¡°Yes.¡± As always, Shallow Dream answered straightforwardly. She then continued to break through the bottom lane with her Caitlyn.


    Since the opponent team¡¯s bottom lane players had gone AFK, Luocheng¡¯s Thresh no longer joined the push. He just stood aside while watching Caitlyn leisurely.


    ¡°As I have guessed, you really are a professional player. Someone managed to recognize you even though you kept denying it!¡± Luocheng teased.


    ¡°Thresh, you are an idiot. SD is not a professional player! Don¡¯t you know anything about international LOL at all?¡± The mid player replied. He must have played in the American Server before so he knew a thing or two about Shallow Dream.


    ¡®What? Not a professional player?¡¯ Luocheng was flabbergasted.


    Other than himself, who else could reach such a level while playing only pub games? Luocheng was getting more and more intrigued by this player named Shallow Dream.


    ¡°The opponent has sent you a friend invite!¡± Yu Luocheng typed rapidly.


    Shallow Dream continued to tear down the tower. She didn¡¯t seem to have accepted Bai Feng¡¯s request. Similarly, she ignored Yu Luocheng¡¯s invitation as well.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be so arrogant. My Thresh has done all the dirty work for you! Warding, surrendering the farm to you, protecting you in the lane, and helping you secure kill after kill. It¡¯s fine if you do not accept that guy named Bai Feng but I treated you like a princess and yet you still refuse to add me as your friend? Don¡¯t you know that¡¯s very impolite of you? Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s quite common to get a teammate that purposely AFKs or feeds?¡± Luocheng did not give up and continued to persuade.


    Perhaps Shallow Dream had hidden the chat window for she did not reply and continued to tear down the Nexus tower single-mindedly.


    The opponent had given up on resistance and requested for mid-push to end the game quickly.


    The game ended earlier and easier than expected. However, Yu Luocheng was still utterly dissatisfied as Shallow Dream refused to add him.


    They finished the game swiftly and secured the easy win. If every game went as smooth as this one, 2300 or 2400 League Points would be achieved in no time.


    Shallow Dream ignored Bai Feng¡¯s friend request and left the room quickly as soon as the screen turned to the end-game summary.


    ***


    Bai Feng clicked on the ¡°+¡± symbol beside Caitlyn to send the request once again.


    However, he did not receive any response from her.


    ¡°She¡­ seems to have no interest,¡± James said.


    Bai Feng was rather popular within the country and seldom initiated a friend invite. Nevertheless, Shallow Dream did not seem to care and directly exited the chat room.


    Bai Feng frowned as he was irritated at being ignored so blatantly.


    ¡°Do you want to add Thresh?¡± James asked.


    Before Bai Feng could answer, James had clicked the ¡°+¡± button by reflex.


    As a result, to no one¡¯s surprise, Thresh too ignored the request.


    This put them in an awkward position. They had also just proven a simple fact¡ªGood players were usually arrogant players too.


    ***


    After Luocheng rejected James¡¯s request, he tried to add Shallow Dream one last time.


    A moment later, Shallow Dream¡¯s avatar appeared on Luocheng¡¯s friend list.


    Yu Luocheng was pleased. ¡®She is just like a typical lady. Sharp tongued but a softie on the inside.¡¯


    ¡°Let¡¯s double queue,¡± Yu Luocheng sent her a message.


    ¡°I am quitting now,¡± Shallow Dream replied.


    ¡°¡­ Then let¡¯s play together next time?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°I will add you if we meet again in the future,¡± Shallow Dream answered.


    ¡®I thought we had already become friends in LOL. Why would you still need to add me?¡¯


    Before Luocheng could respond, Shallow Dream¡¯s avatar suddenly disappeared from the list.


    Luocheng quickly searched the offline list and realized Shallow Dream¡¯s ID was not there too.


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Luocheng¡¯s face turned gloomy.


    Bai Feifei who was sitting beside Yu Luocheng turned to him. Her clear eyes peered at Luocheng who had just cursed out randomly.


    Luocheng was greatly upset. ¡®How could she delete me just like that?¡¯


    Luocheng was a teenager with high principles and dignity, and he could not allow himself to be fooled this way.


    ¡®Brilliant! So what if you have more points? If it wasn¡¯t because of military training, my League Points would have long surpassed yours! Stupid Shallow Dream. You better hope you won¡¯t meet me on the opposite team next time or else you will know who¡¯s boss! What an arrogant b*tch! That¡¯s it! If we are on the same team next time, I will say nothing and immediately go AFK! If you are my enemy, then I will teach you a thing or two about respect!¡¯


    Fuming, Yu Luocheng quit the game and pulled out the LOL box to check Shallow Dream¡¯s past result.


    ¡°F*ck this!¡± Luocheng cursed again.


    Bai Feifei looked at him again, this time with clear disdain. She had never met a guy with such crappy behavior. ¡®How could he swear successively out of nowhere in such a short time?¡¯


    Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t care less about Feifei¡¯s opinion toward him now. His whole mind had just been numbed by Shadow Dream¡¯s record¡ª20 games, 20 victories!


    This was the first time Luocheng had seen such a formidable record, and he was not entirely sure about how he was feeling at that very moment¡­


    ¡®Actually¡­ If we do meet again, let¡¯s be friends. Well, you know, sometimes we should be forgiving and just let bygones be bygones¡­ Why so serious?¡¯

 Chapter 147 - You Would Die with Dignity

    Chapter 147: You Would Die with Dignity


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°It¡¯s still early. Let¡¯s go play two rounds of LOL.¡± At the entrance of the computer laboratory, Qiu Jingtai was seen dragging Jiang Jiu in excitedly.


    The ¡°singing competition¡± had finally come to an end and the two of them had rushed over to the building immediately after that. The computer laboratory closed at 11.30 pm. It was only 9 pm at the moment so they did have enough time to complete two games.


    As they were picking their seats, the two of them suddenly noticed a familiar figure.


    ¡°Damn! Luocheng, you sneaky b*stard!¡± Qiu Jingtai walked over with a wide grin as soon as he recognized his roommate.


    Jiang Jiu¡¯s palm had also fallen on Yu Luocheng¡¯s shoulder as he smiled curiously at him.


    Bai Feifei heard the two guys and turned her head toward them, peering at them but saying nothing.


    Her hair slid down from her smooth forehead and fell in front of her breasts. Feifei¡¯s beautiful side profile had Jiang Jiu and Jingtai¡¯s mouth both simultaneously turned into an ¡®O¡¯ shape.


    ¡°Ba¡­ Bai Feifei!¡± Jingtai and Jiang Jiu yelled almost at the same time. They looked at Luocheng and Feifei in absolute disbelief.


    ¡®How is it possible? The two of them¡­ are having a fling?¡¯


    ¡®How and when did Luocheng manage to win the goddess¡¯s heart without anyone noticing?¡¯


    If those playboys who had failed repeatedly to approach Bai Feifei found out that Luocheng had obtained the ¡°first blood¡±, they would surely go mad!


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± Bai Feifei said lightly.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    She stood up, and her perfect curves that were visible under her form-fitting white jeans immediately caught the eyes of Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai.


    ¡°Idiot, get up and walk her back!¡± Jiang Jiu pulled Luocheng up forcefully and whispered (more like yelled) into his ear.


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± Luocheng, who had still been clinging on to his thoughts of Shallow Dream, only then realized how rude he was for letting the lady walk back alone in the dark after Bai Feifei had walked out of the room.


    ¡°Help me pay the fees, I am leaving first.¡± Luocheng had lost the mood to play anyway so he decided to return to the dorm. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to play any non-challenging games with newbies like Jiang Jiu and Jingtai.


    Not long after Luocheng had left, Jingtai completely ignored the ¡°fees¡± part and sat in Luocheng¡¯s seat decisively. He started to play around with the computer, not forgetting to refer to Luocheng as a ¡°son of a b*tch¡± and a ¡°lucky b*stard¡±.


    ¡°Eh, he was playing LOL just now. He forgot to log out of his account,¡± Jingtai said.


    ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me he was here to accompany our course¡¯s goddess to play LOL?¡± Jiang Jiu mused.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Bai Feifei was playing. Let me check this loser¡¯s result. Hehe. Maybe he has a lower rank compared to me,¡± Jingtai clicked on Luocheng¡¯s profile picture on the top left corner, intending to check out Luocheng¡¯s level.


    ¡°F-Hawk. What a lame ID. Is he trying to be a westerner?¡± Jingtai laughed crassly as the rank status of the ID was revealed. His smile faded the instant it came up however.


    Jiang Jiu moved closer to the screen upon seeing the expression on Jingtai¡¯s face and he too was startled when he saw that F-Hawk had recorded 1962 League Points!


    ***


    Luocheng caught up to Bai Feifei¡¯s and said with a sincere smile, ¡°Let me escort you back to the dorm.¡±


    ¡°There will not be necessary.¡± Bai Feifei was as unfriendly as always.


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you alone. Unescorted girls like you will easily attract attention from those narcissistic men. Needless to say, they must be a nuisance to you,¡± Luocheng spoke righteously.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you one of the many narcissistic men?¡± Bai Feifei quipped rhetorically.


    ¡°¡­¡± Yu Luocheng felt as if he had just dropped a stone on his own foot.


    As a gentleman, you can surrender your dignity; your rationale; but you must always be wary of sarcasm.


    Despite the ironic statement made by Bai Feifei, Yu Luocheng still walked with her cheerfully, feeling good about himself.


    After all, he had to walk in the same direction anyway. Their dorms were just next to each other, where else would he go? Besides, as a professional SP, how could he resist staying close to a pretty girl like Bai Feifei and being ready to sacrifice himself at anytime just to protect the goddess?


    ***


    They did not speak again along the way back. Bai Feifei continued to maintain a considerable distance from Yu Luocheng, almost as if he was a threat. Perhaps that was just her character. She seemed a little introverted and disliked talking to strangers.


    Yu Luocheng was busy texting and did not mind the silence. He turned and walked away immediately once Bai Feifei had entered the female dormitory building.


    ¡°Eh, that guy seems familiar. Fei, where did the both of you go?¡± Her roommate happened to be near the staircase and began to interrogate her.


    ***


    After he got back to the dormitory, Yu Luocheng was still busy discussing something very important with Yang Qianqian through texts.


    They were talking about the long holiday during National Day. They were still deciding whether Yu Luocheng should go to Hangzhou to find Yang Qianqian and enjoy the scenery of Jiangnan, or should Qianqian come to Shanghai and explore the urban culture together with him.


    The holiday fell right after military training. The reason they still couldn¡¯t reach an agreement was thanks to Yang Qianqian¡ªThe indecisive lady was having a dilemma between strolling the West Lake in Hangzhou and shopping at the Shanghai Zhongshan Road.


    Bang!!


    The dormitory door was kicked open violently without any warning. It was almost time for lights-off and Yu Luocheng saw Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai dash in hurriedly. Interestingly enough, they were looking at him with fire in their eyes.


    ¡°Nothing happened between us!¡± Yu Luocheng hastily confessed first.


    ¡°We can talk about that later¡­ Master, please teach me how to play ADC!¡± Qiu Jingtai fell next his bedside exaggeratingly. He almost wanted to kneel down and call him ¡°sensei¡±! Jiang Jiu himself was equally keen.


    In the eyes of Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai, Yu Luocheng was already a godlike player for having almost 2000 League Points in the Ionia region. After a heated discussion, they had decided to be Yu Luocheng¡¯s loyal apprentices in their next four years of undergraduate study!


    ¡°I played a game using Ashe just now. After farming for 30 minutes at the bottom lane, I was chased down by Vayne with her R-ulti active. No matter how desperately I tried to get away, she still managed to pin me down. Please teach me how to overcome Vayne!¡± Jiang Jiu pleaded.


    ¡°Yes, yes. Teach us!¡± Qiu Jingtai nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Ashe, you say? If you had met Vayne alone in the wild after 30 minutes into the game, there¡¯s no use of running. How is it possible that Ashe could outrun Vayne?¡± Yu Luocheng lectured patiently.


    Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu nodded in agreement. Indeed, Ashe could never move as fast as Vayne.


    ¡°The best option is to turn back and fight. If you have your ulti, use it. If you have Volley, use that too. Exchange hits with her and fight for as long as you can.¡±


    ¡°Is this the method for Ashe to beat Vayne?¡± Jiang Jiu asked. From the look in his eyes, he was really eager to know the answer.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head and replied coolly, ¡°No, but at least you will die with dignity.¡±

 Chapter 148 - Luckily We Still Have Yu Yu

    Chapter 148: Luckily We Still Have Yu Yu


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Hey Lin Dong, does your team still need people?¡± Yu Luocheng had called Lin Dong¡¯s phone.


    ¡°Yes. Are you interested?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°Not me. I met a great player during a ranked game. She is not in any professional team yet. Let me try to persuade her,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    ¡°Your instincts are often right. By the way, when is your military training going to end? I need you to go to Da Luo¡¯s place with me,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Soon.¡±


    After he hung up, Luocheng leaned on the chair in the balcony and watched the dark sky quietly.


    The lights of the dormitory had been switched off. His face was dimly lit by a nearby lamp post and his black eyes were less vibrant as compared to before. Scenes from the past continuously flashed back in his mind.


    ***


    Ten expensive computers were placed on a grand stage, bathed in blazing neon lights.


    At that moment, Hawk, Eagle, Swan, and Crane, had all fallen. A lone Gull was seen surviving in the jungle. He drew the attention from four opponents and kited them dexterously. His tremendous counter kill on three opponents had bought his teammates enough time to revive.


    That was the game which had made Lone Gull famous in the e-sports world. It was owing to him that Team Wings had been able to avoid the sure defeat and had managed to qualify from the group stage.


    His IGN was Lone Gull but his teammates usually called him Da Luo.


    He was a lazy person and hated long hours of training. He was fond of inventing novel and unorthodox strategies as well as showcasing his personal skills. Though he often fed unnecessarily, it was exactly his risky and wild playstyle that had saved the team from the brink of elimination in that vital game!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng felt relieved, knowing that Lin Dong was going to recruit them back into the team.


    ¡®That¡¯s true. They shouldn¡¯t have to give up the things that they love just because I have.¡±


    He put out his cigarette, the puff of smoke still lingering around him.


    Yu Luocheng seldom smoked. He only lit one every now and again. The cigarette smoke soothed him and allowed him to enjoy the silence all by himself.


    Of course, he could still hear the creepy laughter from Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu who were stalking pretty girls via their phones. He would filter them off in times like this and focus on his distant memory.


    ¡°Wow. This girl is coming to our university. Perhaps we will meet by chance on the road one day.¡±


    ¡°Yup. I like this type the most. Innocent face with a great body,¡± Qiu Jingtai responded.


    ***


    Dazzling sun, shady greens, and rows of green caps¡­


    That was military training.


    After the final march, the torturous military training had finally come to an end.


    Yu Luocheng did not get much chances to sneak out and play ranked games during this period.


    He did check on Shallow Dream¡¯s record from time to time when he was free.


    Her formidable win-streak had finally came to an end. It had been terminated by an AFK teammate.


    Regardless, her supremacy remained undeniable. She had reached 2350 points within a short span of time. Most probably, she wouldn¡¯t need long before being crowned the best Caitlyn in the National server.


    ¡®I need to put in more effort. Otherwise, I will never meet her in the game again, let alone adding her as a friend.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, are you coming back for the long holiday?¡± Li Yun called and asked.


    Li Yun would call Yu Luocheng twice a week but they didn¡¯t talk much. Basically, it was Li Yun who asked him all sorts of questions.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Yang Qianqian had decided to come to Shanghai. Besides, it was too early to return home after being away for just one month. This was not the first time he had been far away from his family. It was still too early for him to feel homesick.


    ¡°Okay. The seasons are changing, remember to put on more clothes.¡±


    ¡°Shanghai tends to be warmer. How is father doing?¡±


    ¡°We are still waiting for the hospital report.¡±


    ¡®Hospital report?¡¯


    Yu Luocheng was puzzled. Yu Jing had long done his surgery. ¡®By right, he should have fully recovered and doesn¡¯t need any further treatment. Or does he?¡¯


    ¡°What report?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Just some follow up checks, he is doing well right now. Just concentrate on your studies. Once he has less worries, then he will be fine.¡± Li Yun comforted Luocheng.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    Speaking about the matter, Luocheng had a deep regrets.


    Despite never bringing it up, Yu Luocheng knew full well that his father¡¯s liver disease must have worsened due to the delayed treatment as a result of his abrupt departure.


    ¡°Yu Yu has won another competition, did you know?¡± Li Yun changed the subject and announced jubilantly.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great¡­¡± Yu Luocheng had no idea. He still remembered the last time she had showed off to him had been before he had started the semester.


    ¡°You should care more about your little sister,¡± Li Yun reproached Yu Luocheng gently.


    ¡°I¡¯m busy with military training recently,¡± Yu Luocheng began to defend himself.


    ¡°Be more attentive. You should remember that she is now an official sportswoman. The country will supply numerous subsidies and foundation money to our family thanks to her. Moreover, she might be allocated a house in the future too¡­¡±


    ¡®Mom is right, luckily our home has adopted a more successful kid than me. At least she can make mum and dad happy and also improve their lives. If they rely on me who had previously run away and is still struggling in university, I wonder how many years they still need to suffer.¡¯


    After all, their family¡¯s limited income had slowly been outrun by the inflation of the current society.


    Their house was an aged employee house. All the furniture had been used for more than ten years. They had never renewed their home appliances all these years too. Other than the desktop in his room, nothing in the house fit the modern scene.


    Living in such a condition was still far better than living in poverty. However, when you see everyone around you begin to abandon such a lifestyle for a better one while your own family was still stuck in the past, the disappointment and depression would slowly creep in and consumed you. In the whirlpool of self-blame, one would easily admit defeat and accept that they were indeed inferior to the others.


    Humans were social beings. Their lives always came down to the family unit as a whole. When other families moved forward while yours remained stagnant, you would eventually succumb to the pressure around you regardless of how positive your mindset was.


    Li Yun liked to tell Yu Luocheng about their neighbors¡¯ trivial matters. She was actually indirectly hinting for Luocheng to study hard so that he could turn their family fortune around.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t like Li Yun¡¯s nagging because he knew what she was trying to say. He just didn¡¯t know how he could help his family achieve a better life.


    Luckily, unlike the slacking Luocheng, Li Yun had nurtured Yu Yu into a hardworking teenager.


    Recently, Yu Luocheng was convinced that his parents must have made a mistake. He was actually the adopted one in the family rather than his sister. In his younger days, he always did as he pleased and never considered his family¡¯s feelings. His irresponsibility in the past had greatly hurt his mother¡¯s heart and his father¡¯s health. He was no doubt a burden to the family.


    ¡®Luckily we have Yu Yu. At least she would bring honor to the family.¡¯

 Chapter 149 - Qianqian in Shanghai

    Chapter 149: Qianqian in Shanghai


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The university was decorated with numerous red banners in lieu of National Day. The school compound was a little different from usual with the presence of many colorful balloons. They were ready to celebrate the glorious day.


    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t need me at the station?¡± Yu Luocheng was baffled, holding his cell phone.


    ¡°Someone will pick me up,¡± Yang Qianqian said smilingly.


    ¡°Who? Is it a guy or a girl?¡± Yu Luocheng was not very happy about it.


    He had been looking forward to meeting her after being separated for almost a month. Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t wait another second to meet his dream girl, especially after their relationship had vastly improved thanks to the non-stop texting and chatting in the previous weeks.


    ¡°It¡¯s a guy. I am here to meet him and will only drop by your place later on,¡± Yang Qianqian said.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s face reddened in anger. ¡®This is unacceptable!¡¯


    After a long silence, Yang Qianqian burst into laughter. ¡°I am talking about my brother!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Oh! I see. I thought so,¡± Luocheng replied, trying to sound nonchalant.


    ¡°Hmph¡­¡± Yang Qianqian responded with a cute snort.


    ***


    She called Yang Ying afterward. Upon learning that his sister was coming for a visit, Yang Ying¡¯s tone changed drastically. He was rather worried that his evil sister might discover his rebellious behavior at the university.


    Finally, Yang Ying decided to pass the errand to Luocheng who fit the bill perfectly. That was what Luocheng was looking for when he made the call.


    At the station, Luocheng stood proudly at the arrival passage wearing the shirt he felt most confident in.


    Heads began to emerge from the underground passage and a large crowd surged out from the gate promptly. The passageway was immediately occupied.


    Luocheng looked hard for Qianqian¡¯s sexy figure among the crowd.


    He saw a scantily clad lady in a short skirt walking toward him. After confirming that she was not Yang Qianqian, Yu Luocheng did not refrain from watching her.


    ¡°Is she that pretty?¡± A rather cold voice came from his side.


    Luocheng was startled but he immediately put up his usual lazy smile. His eyes turned and he measured the beautiful girl in front of him boldly.


    She had tied her ebony black hair up. The fringe on her forehead adequately adorned her pretty face and her lips that were pouting out of dissatisfaction only made her all the more attractive to look at.


    Her fitting dress revealed her beautiful curves. She was refreshing and gorgeous at the same time. It took Yu Luocheng a great deal of effort to prevent himself from wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her senseless.


    ¡®How seductive!¡±


    ¡®Sigh. If only she had said yes after I¡¯d hinted several times over the phone. If she had said yes, I can hug her now and not just be standing here acting like a moron!¡±


    ¡°Not as pretty as you are.¡± Luocheng smiled sincerely and gallantly took the baggage from Qianqian¡¯s hands. ¡°By the way, I thought you are only here for a couple of days. Why the big luggage?¡±


    ¡°Most of them are just clothes¡­¡± Qianqian¡¯s attention had been successfully diverted by Luocheng.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡®Well, why are these clothes are made of to be this heavy?¡¯


    ¡°Are you tired?¡± Luocheng asked concernedly.


    ¡°I slept rather late last night. My roommates kept asking me to play cards with them,¡± Qianqian rubbed her eyes, looking rather drowsy.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to your brother¡¯s place first?¡± Luocheng suggested.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Qianqian was really sleepy. She purred like a kitten throughout the ride and fast asleep, her head leaned unintentionally on Luocheng¡¯s shoulder.


    Her scent sent Luocheng¡¯s virgin heart racing wildly. He contemplatively stuck out his arm and wrapped it around Qianqian¡¯s shoulder, peering out the windows while pretending he was doing nothing out of place.


    Qianqian had no idea that she was being hugged by Luocheng. She often moved around to find a more comfortable position and Luocheng was secretly delighted even though his hand was getting more weary with every passing minute.


    Even though there was nothing to be excited about, to be able to hug your dream girl during a long bus ride was precious to the likes of Luocheng, who usually spent his days in front of the computer. This experience even beat going to bed with a random woman.


    ***


    Yang Ying was a Year 4 student. He had extra cash to spend so he had rented an apartment near the university. It served as a love nest for him and his girl.


    After his girlfriend had returned home for the holidays, next came his sister. He had to clear up the inappropriate stuff that was lying around the house while Luocheng was picking up Qianqian. Qianqian would live in that apartment while he went back to his dorm not too willingly during this period.


    Seeing this, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but lament, ¡®Why does every brother turn into a coward in front of their sister?¡¯


    The apartment looked neat and hygienic. Yang Ying¡¯s girlfriend would be a good housewife in the future. Qianqian went to bed immediately after taking a quick bath.


    Luocheng was mildly upset. He had wanted to hang out with Qianqian but since she was not in the mood, Luocheng had nothing else to do other than to play computer games.


    ***


    ¡°Hey, where are you?¡± Lin Dong called and asked.


    ¡°My university. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Luocheng moved to the balcony.


    ¡°Gosh, I thought we had agreed to go and meet with Da Luo?¡± Lin Dong reminded him.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Luocheng tapped his forehead for forgetting about the matter. ¡°Well¡­ I¡­ My girlfriend has just arrived from Hangzhou, I am not free today.¡±


    ¡°Girlfriend? How is that even possible? Cut the crap. Meet me at the square now!¡± Lin Dong ordered, leaving no room for argument.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Lin Dong had hung up before he could rebut.


    ¡®How dare you look down on me? What do you mean by ¡°how is that possible¡±? She is now sleeping right by my side. Furthermore, she is breathtakingly beautiful!¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qianqian flipped away the thin blanket and looked at Luocheng in a daze.


    ¡°I need to meet an old friend of mine. Why don¡¯t you go shopping with your brother today?¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°I thought you had promised to accompany me all day if I come to Shanghai. This is only the first day and you have already eaten your own words,¡± Qianqian grumbled.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ We had scheduled this meeting a while ago, it¡¯s just that I was too happy and totally forgot about it due to your arrival,¡± Luocheng explained carefully.


    ¡°Hmph! Is this friend a he or a she?¡± Qianqian questioned curiously.


    ¡°Take a guess¡­ Ah, don¡¯t be mad¡­ A guy of course.¡±


    ¡°He lives around here?¡± Qianqian questioned yet again.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go together. I don¡¯t mind where we go as long as it¡¯s within Shanghai.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ You¡¯re done sleeping?¡± Luocheng thought about it and figured it was not entirely a bad idea. Since Lin Dong refused to believe that he had a girlfriend, then bringing Qianqian along would certainly make him envious.


    ¡°I have slept enough. Let¡¯s go. Is he your old schoolmate?¡± Qianqian stretched her arms. She was as gorgeous as a painting.


    ¡°More or less¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°He is an old friend of mine.¡±


    ¡°How come you have an old friend in Shanghai. I thought this was your first time here?¡± Qianqian sure had a lot of questions.


    Luocheng hesitated and finally decided against telling Qianqian that this old friend of his was actually his teammate in the past¡ªLone Gull.

 Chapter 150 - A Glorified Dream

    Chapter 150: A Glorified Dream


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng spotted Lin Dong standing in the middle of the square.


    Xiao Bei was not with him. Yu Luocheng figured he must be busy moving stocks around. Xiao Bei was always occupied in the morning and trained only during the night.


    Since Xiao Bei and Lin Dong had decided to take the professional route, they could not skip training. A professional player had to maintain the swiftest response and the most precise control at all times. The reflex of the fingers would regress without proper and constant training.


    Lin Dong turned his hat around. He looked at Yu Luocheng and the pretty lady beside him in utter disbelief.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Lin Dong was stunned by Yang Qianqian¡¯s beauty.


    ¡°Who do you think?¡± Yu Luocheng asked back playfully.


    ¡°Your sister?¡± Lin Dong remembered Yu Luocheng had mentioned something about his sister before.


    ¡°Eff you!¡± Yu Luocheng bellowed.


    Lin Dong must be jealous. Every otaku would use their friend¡¯s girlfriend as a measuring stick. They would be consoled if their friend remained single but would become oblivious to the fact when said friend found a lovely girlfriend.


    ¡°We are just classmates,¡± Yang Qianqian couldn¡¯t stand their weird exchange and explained.


    However, her shy expression only further clarified Lin Dong¡¯s doubt. The latter smiled bitterly and accepted the cruel fact.


    After both of them introduced themselves, Lin Dong was still envious and he approached Yu Luocheng¡¯s ear to whisper, ¡°Woman and e-sports are like oil and water. One day, she will definitely fight with you over LOL.¡±


    In the university, a lot of girls hated LOL more than ¡°the other woman¡±. This was because LOL had dominated their other half and turned them inconsiderate, colder, or even into a liar.


    Once, a trendy post had mentioned that a girl had complained that her boyfriend was too obsessed with LOL and often ignored her. Hence, she had deleted all 18 of her boyfriend¡¯s Rune Pages out of anger and caused her boyfriend¡¯s League Points to drop from 2200 to 1600. To her shock, her boyfriend had actually broken up with her just because of that!


    Someone had commented, ¡°You are lucky that your boyfriend did not kill you instead.¡±


    This was an absurd statement to girls who had never played the game. How was it lucky when your boyfriend had actually broken up with you for things that are not even real?


    Yu Luocheng was a rational man but he did sympathize with the person in the story¡­¡¯What kind of crazy woman would do that? Does she know how expensive a Rune Page was and how much one set of Runes cost?¡¯


    While being indignant, Yu Luocheng was thankful that he had found a girl that was also fond of LOL, otherwise, life would be meaningless without MOBA.


    When Lin Dong found out that Yang Qianqian also played LOL, he refused to speak another word after they boarded the public bus.


    ¡®Life is so unfair!¡¯


    ***


    The moment they got down from the bus, the three of them suddenly felt as if they had reached a rural area that did not belong to Shanghai.


    Rows of terrace houses were crowded together akin to a group of refugees that had gathered around to warm each other up. The streets were a little dirty while pedestrians were mostly dispirited old folks. The place looked ancient as it was full of old lamp posts and rusted advertisement boards.


    The faded paint color, overflowing dustbins, aged houses, and cracked roads¡­


    Yu Luocheng turned back to peek at the other side of the bridge. On the other side, he saw skyscrapers, service apartments, green gardens, people in suits and dresses as well as women who wore high heels¡­


    Though it was just a bridge and a busy road away, the two places looked like settings from two distant eras. Even the sky color at this side felt dimmer. The entire place felt grey and depressed.


    The word ¡°Demolition¡± was seen on almost every remaining building. This put Yu Luocheng into deep thought, rendering him speechless.


    ¡°This is a famous holdout. Despite being close to the city, this place is no different than a rural zone. The rental here is still considered affordable,¡± Lin Dong explained.


    Lin Dong lived in a room provided by his employer. Though it was small, the room was still much better than this shithole.


    This was the first time Yu Luocheng had come here. He had never expected Da Luo to live in such a miserable place. What was even more infuriating was the glaring Shanghai metropolitan lifestyle just across the road, as if it was mocking the mediocrity of this poor area.


    An unknown sadness arose and lingered in Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart.


    ***


    Nobody answered after Lin Dong knocked on the door a few times.


    Lin Dong had informed Da Luo beforehand that he was coming over today.


    Da Luo has assured him that he would be at home all day long so Lin Dong could come anytime he wished. Luckily, his small place was not too hard to find.


    ¡°Da Luo, we are here!¡± Lin Dong pounded on the door and shouted through the iron window.


    ¡°Yes¡­ In a minute!¡± Da Luo was heard running clumsily and the door was unlocked not long after.


    ¡°Come in by yourself, I¡¯m a little busy,¡± Da Luo vanished immediately after he said those words, leaving Yu Luocheng and the others in confusion.


    The house was clean which surprised both Lin Dong and Yu Luocheng. They both knew how sloppy Da Luo was in the old days.


    ¡°What are you doing. It¡¯s not every day we come to pay you a visit. Guess who have I brought to see you.¡± Lin Dong put up his slippers and walked into the room. He realized Da Luo was fully concentrated on the computer screen.


    ¡°Who else would you bring? Pfft¡­¡± Da Luo did not seem to care and tapped on the keyboard agilely.


    Yu Luocheng stood at the front door and looked at Da Luo¡¯s back.


    He had given up his long hair and he must have grown slightly. Though he was still rather slim, he looked tougher now.


    ¡°He is playing LOL.¡± Yang Qianqian laughed with her mouth covered.


    Yu Luocheng smiled as well. ¡®Indeed, none of Team Wings members have given up on E-Sports.¡¯


    ¡°Da Luo, are you sure you don¡¯t want to turn around and meet the mysterious visitor?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°I am busy. My ranked game win-streak has just been broken by another person. I am mad now! That record was worth a total of 2000 RMB. I can¡¯t survive without that money!¡± Da Luo hollered.


    But he still looked around after sensing the oddity in Lin Dong¡¯s tone and he happened to glimpse Yu Luocheng who was walking in.


    Da Luo face froze in an expression of unhappiness.


    He stared at Yu Luocheng and did not move.


    Da Luo vividly remembered the last time he had seen Yu Luocheng. It was at the international airport and they had just come back from England. All Da Luo saw was Yu Luocheng¡¯s lonely figure disappearing into the crowd.


    He had not even bothered to go back to their base to say goodbye. He had just gone straight back to his home in the south the minute they had landed and completely lost contact with everyone.


    Team Wings immediately faced an existential crisis after their captain had left, moreover, none of them was willing to serve the cunning Sky Club anymore.


    Not long after that, Da Luo had also decided to leave the team. Da Luo only had 100 RMB with him when he left, as most of his money was used to pay the compensation fee of breaching the contract.


    He had survived aimlessly with that 100 RMB in Shanghai for almost two years now. Every time he tried to recall what he had done in these past two years, his mind always flashed back to the moment that person had vanished into the crowd, whose departure had taken away the soul of Team Wings.


    ***


    The atmosphere inside the room seemed to have frozen. Lin Dong did not speak and neither did Da Luo. Yu Luocheng did not know what to say either. Yang Qianqian was baffled by the sudden silence. The only sound in the room came from the ongoing game.


    Da Luo was having mixed emotions. He didn¡¯t know which one he wanted to do more¡ªPunch Yu Luocheng in the face or give him a heartwarming hug after not seeing him for so long.


    Da Luo was just another lazy and ordinary person. He would have led an insignificant life if it hadn¡¯t been for Yu Luocheng, the very person who had guided him to the biggest stage of e-sports. The moment he had set foot on the WCG stage and received the cheers from the enormous audiences under the stage, he had felt that his life actually held some purpose for the first time.


    However, just as he had begun to believe that his life would change forever, everything had gone down the drain in a split second. It was just a glorified, sugar-coated dream after all. He had woken up and once again found himself back into the swamp he had been in before. He was busy living but didn¡¯t know what he was busy with. He had lost his purpose once again¡­


    Da Luo continued to stare at them blankly, not saying anything.


    Lin Dong, realizing that Da Luo was going to lose control, broke the silence. ¡°Da Luo, we are here to invite you to join our team.¡±


    ¡°Team?¡± Da Luo looked at Lin Dong.


    ¡°I am establishing a LOL professional team. I hope you can join us.¡± Lin Dong invited earnestly.


    ¡°I thought he has sworn not to participate in any professional competitions?¡± Da Luo said, pointing at Yu Luocheng but looking at Lin Dong.


    ¡°He is not part of the team. The current roster only has me and Xiao Bei in it. I have gotten the nod from Jake too. Thane is not coming back though. So, with you in, we still need to fill in another roster spot and the team is good to go,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°If he is not in, why bother? Do you think you can lead a team?¡± Da Luo gave Lin Dong the cold shoulder.


    He returned to his desk after saying that. He was playing at the top lane using Darius, the Hand of Noxus.


    Lin Dong was a little embarrassed.


    Yu Luocheng was saddened by Da Luo¡¯s attitude too. This was because up till this point, he still refused to address him directly.


    ¡®After two years, he still holds a deep grudge¡­¡¯


    ***


    Yang Qianqian looked at Yu Luocheng puzzled. She suddenly felt as if she had never truly understood him.


    ¡®Swore not to join any professional games? You mean he was a professional player in the past?¡¯

 Chapter 151 - : Putting His Name Down In The Team

    Chapter 151: Putting His Name Down In The Team


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t bother to prepare a long speech. If he needed to have a long flowery speech when convincing an ex-teammate, then a lot of other teams would have succeeded in recruiting Da Luo for his strength already.


    Lin Dong had already expressed his intentions, and Yu Luocheng had met him in person. So, instead of overstaying their welcome, they chose to leave.


    ***


    The door closed slowly and Da Luo¡¯s eyes were still on the screen, not even standing up to see them out. On the screen, Nocturn was heading toward the opposite tower and the chat was filled with the other¡¯s scolding.


    Da Luo snapped out of it after a while, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be controlling the champion. He hurriedly typed in an apology.


    Finally, he stood up and walked toward the window. You could see the street from here and he watched Yu Luocheng¡¯s back as he walked further away, his expression changing from time to time.


    His phone on the table vibrated for a while before Da Luo reacted, rushing toward it to pick it up.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going, have you managed?¡± A voice on the other end said.


    ¡°Not yet, my luck was not good.¡± Da Luo replied.


    ¡°Your luck wasn¡¯t good? Why don¡¯t you just admit that you don¡¯t have the skills for it then? Other people were lucky enough to get a 25 consecutive win-streak, and you, retrained for half a month, and the most you can get is a 19 consecutive win-streak? How do you expect me to explain that to the club?¡± The person on the other end was clearly annoyed by the tone of their voice.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already tried my best.¡± Da Luo said wearily.


    ¡°Then hurry it up. I¡¯ll give you a few more days, if you don¡¯t break a new record, don¡¯t expect to get the money.¡± The voice said angrily.


    Da Luo hung up the call, his heart heavy. The person who had just called him was a club manager who had set up a Taobao store to sell LOL accounts. The maximum level of each region was level thirty, and each region had multiple types of consecutive streaks. There were highest win rates, highest fight contributions, and even the highest winning streaks.


    The longest winning streak was the treasure of his Taobao store, because if he owned a unique winning streak account, that would mean that his store¡¯s value was higher than the other stores, and he could attract more customers, as well as highly skilled players.


    Da Luo worked during the day, and boosted others at night. The list of players he got was also from the same person. He hated the guy so much because he always talked as though he was a commander and a boss, but this was the only store that gave the most money¡­


    Especially for the longest winning streak account, as long as he could keep the record, he could get an extra 600 yuan every month.


    Buzz!


    Not long after, his phone went off again. Da Luo glanced at his phone, his face expressionless. Once he saw the caller¡¯s ID though, his lips lifted up into a smile.


    ¡°Da Luo¡­¡± A voice said in a sing-song voice.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here.¡± Da Luo replied, his smile growing wider.


    ¡°I want to go shopping, will you go with me?¡± The voice asked.


    ¡°This¡­.¡±


    If it was any other time, Da Luo would have agreed immediately. He had to break that record in the next few days, or he would have less income this month. If he didn¡¯t succeed, the club manager probably wouldn¡¯t give him such a high rate the next time.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, are you not willing? Other people¡¯s boyfriends take them out for a holiday during the National Day and even go to another province for a holiday. You¡¯re not even willing to go shopping with me when I ask?¡± The voice on the other end was clearly disappointed.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Da Luo said hurriedly. ¡°Where are you, I¡¯ll come find you.¡±


    ¡°Come to Zhongshan Road.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come now.¡±


    ***


    The flowers on Zhongshang Road were beautiful and dazzling, it was really a place which could represent Shanghai. However, it seemed like every city had their own Zhongshang Road for the purpose of attracting tourists.


    Yu Luocheng, Qianqian and Lin Dong headed toward Zhongshang Road once they left Da Luo¡¯s place. Since Qianqian had accompanied him to meet his old friend, the least he could do was to accompany her for shopping.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Da Luo got himself a girlfriend.¡± Lin Dong said out of the blue.


    ¡°Have you met her?¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Once. How do I put it¡­I don¡¯t think she really suits him.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Qianqian, who was walking beside them, asked curiously.


    ¡°I can¡¯t put my finger on it, but I think that once you see it you¡¯d say the same.¡± Lin Dong didn¡¯t elaborate too much, choosing to instead glance at Qianqian and Yu Luocheng, his face breaking out into a smile. ¡°But I feel you both go well together.¡±


    Hearing that, Qianqian turned her head to the side, avoiding both Lin Dong and Yu Luocheng¡¯s suspicious smiles and said, ¡°How can you say he¡¯s suitable for me, heh!¡±


    ¡°What Lin Dong meant was that we are suitable as friends.¡± Yu Luocheng laughed. ¡°What did you think he meant?¡±


    Lin Dong nodded his head in agreement. ¡± Yeah, I meant as friends.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Qianqian resisted the urge to hit them on their heads with her bag, choosing to ignore these two idiots instead. To emphasize her mood, she walked in front of them, choosing to look at the things she was interested in.


    Yu Luocheng and Lin Dong lagged behind a little bit, their mood reverted back to being solemn after that small episode of laughter.


    ¡°Da Luo is still angry with you.¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°When I asked him previously, although he didn¡¯t express that he wanted to play, I can tell he actually wanted to join the professional leagues. His current salary is not enough.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can see that.¡± Yu Luocheng replied, nodding his head.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t want to join, but he didn¡¯t want Team Wings to disband just because he had left the team. The rise of LOL was a chance to rebuild Team Wings and Basil had also showed amazing talent in the game. Yu Luocheng was hoping to help Lin Dong build the team.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you join the team first, as an analyst or a coach¡­As long as your name is somewhere in the team, Da Luo will definitely come back.¡± Lin Dong suggested tentatively.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Yu Luocheng was hesitant.


    As an analyst or a coach, it was the same as joining the e-sports scene either way. His old man¡¯s intention had been to make him sever all ties with the e-sports industry, and Yu Luocheng was afraid that he didn¡¯t have enough self control. If he was not careful, he would once again embark on that road and piss off his old man royally once again.


    ¡°You just have to put your name in, and you have more freedom while you¡¯re in university anyway.¡± Lin Dong continued. ¡°When you¡¯re free, you could come watch our practice sessions, practice with us or something. We¡¯ll be fine on our own in official matches. Anyway, I wouldn¡¯t let you participate in official matches if you don¡¯t practise consistently.¡±


    A professional team needed to go through a long period of bonding. For example, a solo professional player would often be beaten in a solo queue and pressured until he didn¡¯t dare to leave the base.


    However, once he¡¯s in a team and has bonded with his teammates and has a feeling of belonging in the team, he will overcome this and surpass the players who were pressuring him in the first place.


    If Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t gotten along and bonded with his teammates, his personal strength, no matter how strong, wouldn¡¯t have been able to help him perform well in competitions. Lin Dong¡¯s objective in building this team was to aim for LPL, not just those cyber cafe competitions!

 Chapter 152 - Zhongshang Road

    Chapter 152: Zhongshang Road


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Gorgeous counters, women wearing exquisite high heels, busty women in short skirts walking down the streets of smooth marble floor. The prices of the goods sold here were expensive, even a small bottle of moisturizer could cost a few hundred, even going up to a few thousand. Men couldn¡¯t understand how women could buy these things.


    In fact, the more outrageous the price was, the more people would want to buy it. Fashionable women, urban beauties, rich ladies, and high class aunties all wanted to own branded items. Some people wouldn¡¯t know how to buy or even discuss about these items.


    ¡°There¡¯s a National Day discount, I¡¯ve always wanted to buy some new cosmetics!¡± A girl in an off-shoulder short green dress said. ¡°My classmate has the full set, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Her skin looks so good all year round no matter the season.¡±


    Looking at the cosmetics in front of her, her eyes sparkled in delight, excitedly taking in the sights. Da Luo walked beside her, watching her hair sway and her excited smile. How he wished he was the owner of the building so that he could let her choose and take all that she wanted.


    ¡°Miss, this is the most famous perfume from France, moisturizing and very fragrant.¡± The salesgirl said, smiling as she explained. ¡°The smell is very unique, and only people who are close to you will be able to smell it. It is very suitable for couples who are exceptionally close to each other, please have a sample.¡±


    ¡°So, in other words, it¡¯s a couple fragrance?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°Yes, you may spray some on yourself and let the gentlemen beside you have a whiff.¡± The salesgirl replied, still smiling.


    ¡°Alright.¡± The girl said, spritzing the bottle toward her arm and neck, turning to Da Luo after that. ¡°Come smell it.¡±


    Da Luo scratched his head, glancing around hesitantly at the people around them.


    ¡°Sir, you need to get a bit closer.¡± The salesgirl said encouragingly.


    ¡°Oh, alright.¡± Da Luo said, leaning in toward the girl.


    ¡°Closer!¡± The girl said crossly.


    Da Luo¡¯s face was already red. Even though Shui Mo had agreed to be his girlfriend, he had not really touched her before, let alone lean into her neck to smell the perfume. Shui Mo was wearing an off-shoulder dress, if he leaned in any further, he would practically be pressing his face against her pale neck!


    ¡°How does it smell?¡± Shui Mo asked excitedly.


    ¡°Oh, let me smell it again.¡± Da Luo replied distractedly.


    ¡°Are you doing this on purpose?¡± Shui Mo said crossly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more chance!¡±


    Da Luo laughed nervously, and he leaned in to smell it properly this time. Girls have a naturally unique smell on their bodies which you can smell if you leaned close. Leaning closer, Da Luo could smell an intoxicating fragrance, making him feel as if he had sunk into a soft, fragrant ocean. He could feel an unexplainable excitement building up within him.


    It was too perfect. Da Luo had not had a good feeling about this luxurious perfume at the beginning. It was just a little smell that cost a lot of money. However, when he personally smelled it, especially on the girl that he liked, it felt as though he owned her completely.


    The salesgirl was smart, and seeing that Da Luo didn¡¯t know how to proceed further with their relationship, she leaned in and whispered, ¡°The scent is not that outstanding, but you should understand the real meaning behind it?¡±


    Da Luo nodded solemnly, he had been thinking for the longest time on how to be more intimate with Shui Mo, but at a more natural speed rather than making her dislike physical contact. He had never imagined that a small bottle of perfume would help him achieve this fact.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this then?¡± Shui Mo said, her eyes sparkling as she looked toward Da Luo.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Da Luo nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± Shui Mo exclaimed, hugging him tightly.


    Da Luo laughed in happiness. It was a bit expensive, but it was no matter. He just needed to sleep a little less, get more orders, and he could earn it back.


    ***


    Da Luo took out his credit card to make the payment.


    ¡°Sorry sir, it seems there¡¯s insufficient funds on this card.¡± The salesgirl said with an apologetic smile.


    ¡°What, there should be about 3,000 in there¡­¡± Da Luo said, faltering slightly.


    Shui Mo looked at Da Luo from the side with some hesitation. Da Luo was beginning to panic a little and took the card back saying, ¡°Maybe they forgot to bank it in to this card, let me give them a call.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go look around some more.¡± Shui Mo nodded.


    Da Luo walked a bit further away, dialing the number for the Taobao store owner swiftly.


    ¡°Hey Boss Zheng, my commission from last month, you haven¡¯t banked it in yet?¡± Da Luo asked.


    The payment normally came in at the end of each month, but Da Luo had been busy trying to break the record these past few days that he didn¡¯t pay much attention as to whether the money had come in or not.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll bank it in a bit later. I haven¡¯t received the money on my end either.¡± Boss Zheng replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of in a pinch and need it right now, could you transfer it now?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°And I¡¯m not in a pinch? Somebody decided to disappoint me and I¡¯m finding it hard to get orders now. Hurry up and break that record or we¡¯re done!¡± Boss Zheng replied.


    ¡°Boss Zheng, a 25 win streak is not that easy to beat. Even if you were to get a professional player to do it, it might not be possible for them either. From a 17 win streak onward, the opponents are highly skilled, if your teammates are careless, it would become a 4 vs 6 and the game is basically done¡­¡± Da Luo explained.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the technicalities. Wasn¡¯t your nickname Passerby Killer? If you can¡¯t break this record, then your commission will be the same as the other players.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­then just transfer my previous month¡¯s commission first, I really need the money right now.¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°After National Day, my other store is shipping things and I don¡¯t have the money now.¡±


    Boss Zheng hung up right after, not giving Da Luo any time to respond. Da Luo¡¯s face was red with anger and frustration. With such a big store in Taobao, he didn¡¯t believe that the latter couldn¡¯t transfer out one or two thousand!


    Da Luo didn¡¯t have any choice, however. There were many players who were willing to be boosters, and Boss Zheng was using this fact to deliberately lower the amount of commission promised to him. As expected from a profiteer!


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± Shui Mo asked in a small voice. ¡°If not, let¡¯s forget it and look at other things?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re having some problems with the finances. Don¡¯t worry, I just need to make another call.¡± Da Luo smiled to reassure her.


    Da Luo walked away again, contemplating about who else he could call. Working during the day and being a booster at night, he had been living this lifestyle for so long and he couldn¡¯t think of any friends who were willing to lend him any money now. Besides, it was highly doubtful that they would go to the bank on National Day to transfer funds to him.


    ***


    ¡°Here, your juice.¡± Luocheng passed the drink to Qianqian.


    Qianqian¡¯s eyes lit up as she smiled, drinking the juice. Even just drinking juice, she looked cute, Luocheng thought, and wondered what flavor her lips would taste like.


    ¡°Lin Dong, this is yours.¡± Luocheng passed a Coke to him.


    Setting down his phone, Lin Dong eyed Luocheng.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Luocheng asked, looking at the phone.


    ¡°It¡¯s Da Luo. He asked me to lend him 1,500 yuan, he needs it urgently.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Then transfer it to him.¡± Luocheng said matter of factly.


    ¡°I¡¯m using my phone to make the transfer. Such a backwater guy, he doesn¡¯t even know that we can use our phones to do a transfer, expecting me to fly to the bank.¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s on Zhongshan Road, the front part.¡±


    ¡°We could head over.¡± Luocheng said. ¡°We can also inform him that I¡¯ll be putting my name into the team.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±

 Chapter 153 - F*ck Off

    Chapter 153: F*ck Off


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As they reached Sulwhasoo, they saw Da Luo walk out with a girl in an off-shoulder green dress. The girl had a smile on her face, holding Da Luo¡¯s hand and looking intimate, but there seemed to be a big difference between them as compared to other normal couples. Of course, that was still more than what Luocheng had as he had never held hands with Qianqian before.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite pricey.¡± Qianqian said pointing at the cosmetics on display, not noticing the two of them.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said, not suitable at all¡­¡± Lin Dong muttered, shrugging his shoulders. Having said that, he smiled as he walked toward Da Luo.


    When Lin Dong and Da Luo had been in the same team, they often fought and insulted each other, but their relationship was still good. Otherwise, Da Luo wouldn¡¯t have thought of Lin Dong when he needed help with money.


    Da Luo looked like a big boy who was floating on cloud nine, the smile on his face could barely be contained. Luocheng gave Da Luo¡¯s girlfriend a few more glances, noting that she had make up on her face which was natural looking, not too heavy or thick. She not only looked beautiful, but the sexy short dress she wore was also very attractive. It was hard to fault Da Luo for having such a smitten look on his face when he had managed to land a girlfriend that beautiful. The five of them found a place to sit once they had met up.


    ¡°Shui Mo, this is Lin Dong, you¡¯ve met before¡­¡± Da Luo said, introducing them to Shui Mo.


    ¡°Yeah, the computer expert.¡± Shui Mo said, smiling and nodding. ¡°And these two are?¡±


    Da Luo gave Luocheng an unimpressed look and said, ¡°Luocheng, he used to be the leader of our team back then. He¡¯s now a student in Shanghai University.¡±


    ¡°Leader? What team was this?¡± Shui Mo asked, curious.


    She wasn¡¯t the only curious one, Qianqian was also feeling the same, her eyes were wide, staring at Luocheng, as though she had suddenly stumbled upon a secret.


    ¡°Oh, it wasn¡¯t anything big. Just an e-sports team playing some games.¡± Da Luo said nonchalantly, not seeming to want to elaborate on their past.


    ¡°Yeah, I came this time was to recruit Da Luo into our LOL team.¡± Lin Dong interrupted.


    ¡°What is LOL?¡± Shui Mo asked.


    ¡°This¡­it¡¯s a game that¡¯s hot right now in the e-sports scene.¡± Da Luo explained.


    ¡°What does it mean to recruit Da Luo into the team?¡± She asked.


    Lin Dong scratched his forehead. For a girl who didn¡¯t even know what LOL was, how should he explain and give a comparison? Did you know what accessory made the most perfect girl in the eyes of a geek?


    Of course, it was the confidence in one sentence, ¡°Miss Rank 1,800!¡±


    ¡°It means making a career in e-sports, participating in city, province, nationals or world competitions.¡± Lin Dong explained in the simplest way he could think of.


    Once Lin Dong had finished speaking, Qianqian¡¯s face lit up like a lightbulb being switched on. Grabbing onto Luocheng¡¯s sleeves, she said, ¡°You¡¯re going to make a professional team?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just putting my name down.¡± Luocheng answered.


    Lin Dong glared at Luocheng, but the latter only shrugged nonchalantly.


    ¡°That said, isn¡¯t e-sports computer games?¡± Shui Mo said.


    ¡°If you want to put it that way, then yeah.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Gaming as work?¡± Shui Mo looked from Lin Dong to Da Luo, clearly not being able to comprehend such a thing.


    Shui Mo¡¯s words hit deep in their guts for Lin Dong, Da Luo and Luocheng. Just two or three years ago, gaming had been their life.


    ¡°That¡¯s not all there is to it. The team we set up will eventually become a company and a club. There will be managers, coaches, businessmen, and media.¡± Lin Dong explained further. ¡°If Da Luo joins us, he will become a core member of the team.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like that?¡± Shui Mo said, looking at Da Luo.


    Da Luo was startled at Lin Dong¡¯s explanation and he laughed nervously when she turned to him.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the rough idea. Come on Lin Dong, let¡¯s get some snacks for them.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lin Dong understood what Da Luo meant and stood up, walking away with the latter toward the stores.


    Luocheng watched them leave and assumed that they wanted to discuss about the team matter privately, so he didn¡¯t get up to follow. Qianqian and Shui Mo were discussing something about cosmetics, and Shui Mo was delighted to share the wonders of the perfume that she had been looking at previously.


    Qianqian already smelled wonderful and didn¡¯t need any perfume, was Luocheng¡¯s thought as he listened.


    Buzz!


    Da Luo¡¯s phone which was on the table vibrated. Luocheng glanced at the girls who were still chatting and he took the phone, standing up and heading toward the stalls.


    Buzz!


    Halfway toward the stalls, Luocheng was worried that the caller may hang up, so he picked up the call.


    ¡°Hello, Da Luo is¡­¡± Luocheng was about to explain, but an angry voice came through, cutting him off.


    ¡°What did you mean with that text message! I¡¯m telling you, there are a lot of people who can play LOL right now, and there are a lot of people who are willing to be boosters! Don¡¯t think you¡¯re all that just because your rank is high. You can¡¯t even beat the 24 win streak, you¡¯re just f*cking trash!¡±


    ¡°You think yourself a god in e-sports? Get off your high horse and ask who still remembers your bird shit Team Wings? If it wasn¡¯t for Zhao Tinghua, do you think I¡¯d offer you such a high rate? You dare to scold me, I can make it so that you will never get another order! What the f*ck do you think you¡¯re playing at! Just f*ck off from my store!¡±


    As the harsh words kept coming, Luocheng was silent as he listened to the unpleasant words, his face becoming darker. After telling Da Luo to f*ck off, the person hung up the call. Luocheng glanced at the caller ID and his eyes burned with anger.


    Zheng Shanjia¡­


    Wasn¡¯t he one of the suppliers in the Sky Club?


    Luocheng could still recall the guy¡¯s hateful face and greasy fake smile when he was pleased!


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Dong and Da Luo asked in concern, walking to stand beside Luocheng as they noticed his blackened face. Da Luo noticed his phone in Luocheng¡¯s hands.


    Luocheng handed over the phone, and said, ¡°Zheng Shanjia just asked you to f*ck off from his store.¡±


    Hearing that, Da Luo¡¯s face twisted and he growled in frustration. ¡°Damn it! That piece of shit!¡±


    Zheng Shanjia used to be a supplier for Sky Club and he later on opened a Taobao store. When the store had first opened, Da Luo had been helping him with the orders all the while, sometimes even playing through the night to complete them.


    Thanks to the 24 win streak that he had, they had managed to recruit a lot of business and highly skilled players. What Da Luo didn¡¯t expect was that when this bastard succeeded in his business, he would turn around and kick Da Luo out just because of a few harsh words he let loose in chasing for his money!


    ¡°What¡¯s with the 24 win streak?¡± Luocheng asked Da Luo.


    ¡°There are a lot of booster players for LOL in Taobao stores nowadays. If you want to stand out from those, you¡¯d have to have something unique. This consecutive win streak is a record in the country, and it¡¯s basically the treasure of the store. It proves that the store is great and it has a lot of highly skilled players.¡± Da Luo said angrily. ¡°Half a month ago, another player broke my record with a 25 win streak, just one f*cking game more. Using this as an excuse, that dog Zheng Shanjia wants to lower the rate that he promised me.¡±


    ¡°25 win streak? Could it be Shallow Dream from the Ionia Server?¡± Luocheng asked hurriedly.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s her!¡± Da Luo exclaimed. ¡°You know her?¡±


    Luocheng laughed bitterly. ¡°I matched with her, once against her, and once with her.¡±


    ¡°Is she good?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°Extremely good. If I was at the bottom lane instead of the top lane in the match against her, I might have beaten her during her 21 win streak. But it¡¯s hard to say, maybe I would have been in a standstill with her, it would have depended on the Support¡­¡± Luocheng said.

 Chapter 154 - Still Just The Two Of Us

    Chapter 154: Still Just The Two Of Us


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°This Zheng Shanjia, always pretending to be nice in front of us. Now he¡¯s shown his true colors after being successful in LOL. F*ck, there are a lot of other booster stores that is on par with his.¡± Da Luo was extremely angry, not only did he not transfer the money to him on time, he was even so rude about it. He had never met anyone more thick-faced than this before.


    ¡°Wait a while, I need to get back what he owes me. I¡¯m making a call.¡± Da Luo continued, his tone still taut with anger.


    As Da Luo walked away with the phone to his ear, you could see that he was already in a heated debate with the person on the other end.


    ¡°So, did he agree?¡± Yu Luocheng asked, glancing at Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong shook his head. ¡°He mentioned that he might get a promotion soon in his job. If he gets that promotion and just boosts at night, his life will be fine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will happen.¡± Yu Luocheng looked backed at the expensive perfume box that Shui Mo was holding.


    ¡°You can see it too.¡± Lin Dong said quietly. ¡°I¡¯ll show you something when we get back later.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yu Luocheng asked, curious.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it. Coming back to that, that consecutive win streak is important to him. His income now isn¡¯t that high, so much so to the point that he is even using half of his nights to boost accounts. If he had that record, he could get higher rates from the stores and he would also get a record holder prize each month.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Breaking the record for a 25 win streak, that is going to be damn hard, especially in the Ionia Server¡­¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    In 25 matches, having teammates that might lose their lanes would likely happen at least once or twice. Don¡¯t think about how you play, your own team would be at each others neck. This was common in ranked matches and you might even face off with the smurf account of highly skilled players, boosters, or even some professional players in a solo or duo queue. You may be able to force your way through the first 17 matches, but after those matches, your opponents would most definitely be veterans. It was impossible to maintain a 100% win rate at that point.


    ¡°Yeah, if Da Luo is not willing to join, then I¡¯ll have to look for other people.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Not going to push your luck and try again?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard. When there¡¯s a girl involved, it becomes harder.¡±


    ¡°True. At least he looks happy.¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ***


    As the five of them continued their chat, the topic never went any deeper. After having dinner together, they returned to their respective destinations. While in the washroom, Lin Dong took the chance and asked Da Luo once more.


    ¡°Da Luo, this time it¡¯s a team that¡¯s made on our own. There¡¯s no club involved, the full amount of the prize money, sponsorship and advertising endorsement will be ours. Won¡¯t you reconsider?¡±


    ¡°I know that you can make money with LOL, but you also saw, Shui Mo doesn¡¯t want me to become a professional player. Having a more stable job is better.¡± Da Luo said. ¡°Also, why don¡¯t you convince him to join first?¡±


    ¡°Boss left the scene because of his old man¡¯s sickness. Have you forgotten that three days before the England competition, he came out of the washroom with red eyes? I was washing my clothes nearby and I heard a woman crying, it might have been his mother on the line.¡± Lin Dong said quietly. ¡°Oh, and you didn¡¯t know that he had run away from home at that time. It must have been maybe a year or two that he had not been in contact with his family.¡±


    Da Luo was shocked, he had never known this part of the story!


    ¡°Why would he run away from home? Was it because his family disapproved of him playing professionally?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°Haha, which family would allow a high school kid to drop out and play professionally?¡± Lin Dong laughed bitterly. ¡°Especially his old man. I secretly searched up his background, his father has had it rough.¡±


    Da Luo was listening with rapt attention to Lin Dong¡¯s words. Even though it had been so long, Da Luo didn¡¯t know anything about Yu Luocheng apart from the time when he had been involved in e-sports. Yu Luocheng himself had never said anything either. In fact, Yu Luocheng had not been in contact with any of them after he had left Team Wings. It was Lin Dong that had found him through his hacking.


    After listening to this, Da Luo frowned and said, ¡°So he really won¡¯t dare to participate professionally anymore.¡±


    ¡°His old man plays the biggest role, but I feel that he himself doesn¡¯t want to go professional in e-sports anymore.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡± Da Luo replied.


    ¡°Ai, it¡¯s not like he made the wrong decision. Being able to get into a university, it is already an achievement by itself. Smoothly graduating, getting a good job, earning a stable salary each year¡­not like us who don¡¯t even have any papers, if we want to find a job, it¡¯s hard, and working for other people would get us scolded harshly everyday.¡± Lin Dong said, sighing out loud.


    Da Luo could sympathize with that. Without any papers, it was hard to find a job. The jobs he could find were ones that would work you like a dog, and those which were easier didn¡¯t have good returns¡­


    ***


    After dinner, they dispersed. Yu Luocheng accompanied Yang Qianqian to shop in the Shanghai Market, and it was also nine at night when he reached back to the university.


    On the way back, Yang Qianqian started to interrogate Yu Luocheng. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t feel comfortable talking about his rebellious stage where he had run away from home, so he tried all sorts of ways to deflect the topic. This made Yang Qianqian frustrated and upon reaching her apartment, she didn¡¯t talk to him.


    ¡°Go back to your dorm.¡± Yang Qianqian closed the door to her apartment, not giving him a chance to enter at all.


    ¡°I need to use the computer¡­ Hey, hey¡­¡± Knocking the door a few times but Yang Qianqian still refused to open it, Yu Luocheng was left speechless.


    He really didn¡¯t have any other intentions but to use computer. Yang Qianqian was also another one, always thinking weirdly, were all girls like this?


    Shutting the door, Yang Qianqian lay down and stretched out on the bed. If Yu Luocheng were to see her, his blood would definitely be boiling at the sight presented to him right now. Yang Qianqian¡¯s heart was thumping in her chest, hesitating on whether to call Yu Luocheng back and let him in. After all, leaving him out and refusing him entry like that was bad right?


    However, a girl and a guy alone in a room, such an awkward situation, she didn¡¯t feel like that would be good either¡­


    ***


    After Yu Luocheng had been denied entry, he sighed and left, walking toward the cyber cafe outside of the university. He didn¡¯t head to the multimedia room because the cyber cafe outside was opened overnight.


    ***


    On the other side, Lin Dong had returned to his own dorm and Xiao Bei phoned him in a hurry.


    ¡°It¡¯s still just the two of us.¡± Lin Dong said dejectedly.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Xiao Bei didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    Lin Dong forced a laugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t you join another team first? I heard there¡¯s a line of teams that have already sent you invitations?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t promise them anything. Lin Dong, it¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll take it slow.¡± Xiao Bei said. ¡°There¡¯ll be people, I believe in you.¡±


    Lin Dong nodded, his heart warming at the words. The team only had the two of them, don¡¯t talk about a full team, they didn¡¯t even have funds and he couldn¡¯t get anybody. While he was in the bus on the way back, he had been confused and lost.


    It was great to know that Xiao Bei still supported him all along.

 Chapter 155 - Impending Confession

    Chapter 155: Impending Confession


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was bright and early in the morning when a figure walked up the clean path toward the university gates.


    ¡°Hello, yeah, I don¡¯t know where to find any delicious breakfast. Let¡¯s just go to the cafeteria.¡± Yu Luocheng said. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to the dorm for a while, you just need to follow the path from the gates into the university.¡±


    ¡°Where did you go if you¡¯re not in the dorm so early in the morning?¡± Yang Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Morning practice¡­¡±


    When a geek says that he went for morning practice on his own, that usually gave rise to a lot of questions.


    ***


    After breakfast, Yang Qianqian took a small notebook out from her bag. She turned to Yu Luocheng and said happily, ¡°I¡¯ve already noted down Shanghai¡¯s great places to play and eat. Let¡¯s go there today and eat some anchovies, alright?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded in agreement.


    Sitting in the car, you could note the distinct difference between Shanghai and Lecheng. Lecheng was clean and quiet, running along the river which flowed to the east. Shanghai was prosperous, crowded, and noisy, giving people a feeling of overpopulation.


    People loved to have fun, and where the crowds were, there they would go, especially during National Day. In the subway when you see the crowds, you would secretly hate on the fact as to why LOL wasn¡¯t popular a generation earlier. If it had been, the population of this era could have been effectively controlled.


    How, you ask?


    This could be seen from a rich point of view. In the last era, men and women who had nothing to do at night would indulge in shameful things!


    ¡°Follow me and don¡¯t get lost. There¡¯s so many people, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to find you.¡± Yu Luocheng said to Yang Qianqian who was beside him.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yang Qianqian¡¯s fingers held Yu Luocheng¡¯s sleeves. She wasn¡¯t used to such a big crowd which made you feel like you were in a can of sardines.


    Yu Luocheng eyed the stairway which was filled with men, women and children, and then glanced behind to see another large crowd of people. The feeling of being in the middle of such a crowd made him uncomfortable. Feeling a slight push from behind, Yu Luocheng frowned and grabbed Yang Qianqian¡¯s hand which had been hanging onto his sleeves.


    Yang Qianqian jumped slightly when she felt it, her face turning red as she sneaked a peek at Yu Luocheng¡¯s face, and she hurriedly lowered her head. There really was a lot of people around them and it felt as if they were being surrounded by waves in the ocean. The waves could come anytime and crash into them, and the feeling of that on top of being surrounded by strangers was unnerving to a girl.


    Yang Qianqian was starting to regret coming here, there were too many people, and the mood to play was also ruined. She was also aware of a few well-dressed men inching closer to her, and in fear that she would lose sight of Yu Luocheng, her hands came up to grasp his sleeves.


    What she didn¡¯t expect was for Yu Luocheng to grab her hands instead. The moment his skin touched hers, Yang Qianqian felt a current running up her hands, shocking her and making her heart beat faster in her chest.


    After that electric shock, her heart warmed because the touch let her feel more secure amidst a sea of people. It felt like the crowd had disappeared¡­


    Because of the effect from this small action by Yu Luocheng, it was able to cover up his previous wrongdoings , as this guy had the most unscrupulous behaviour.


    Walking into the subway, Yang Qianqian was unable to speak, her face as red as a tomato. She didn¡¯t know whether it was due to the heat or embarrassment. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t say anything either, he wasn¡¯t really thinking much when he held her hands either. He had grabbed her hand with thoughts on protecting the girl beside him, and now, he wondered if he would dare to continue with this after they had emerged out from the subway.


    Thinking about it, Yang Qianqian¡¯s hands were really smooth and soft¡­


    Once they exited the subway, they let go of each others hand not really knowing why. It wasn¡¯t that Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t want to hold her hands, but you couldn¡¯t expect a geek to be able to form comprehensive sentences when holding onto a goddess¡¯ hand. Being able to keep his cool was already a feat itself!


    ***


    Today¡¯s journey, where they went, what they ate, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t remember anything of it. He only remembered that he had held Yang Qianqian¡¯s smooth and soft hands in the subway, and that was the highlight of his day. Even though they had let go when they reached a less populated area, wasn¡¯t this considered a major breakthrough?


    In Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind, today was a day of great achievement. He would definitely remember this day forever.


    ***


    After they got back, Yang Qianqian still refused to let Yu Luocheng into her apartment to look around. Watching as Yang Qianqian swayed her hips and walked into the apartment, Yu Luocheng felt a jolt of disappointment. He felt that he should find an appropriate time to confess to her, the time was ripe already.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a few more days, I should cultivate more of the atmosphere like during the subway incident today.¡± Yu Luocheng muttered to himself, taking a deep breath to calm his mind. ¡°Yeah, I have to keep it together.¡±


    Yu Luocheng had already decided to confess within the next few days that Yang Qianqian was still in Shanghai. He had already been studying in university for a month, and a big portion of his time was invested in texting Yang Qianqian. Every night after they finished talking, he would read the texts again and again, looking for any clues that could lead to his success.


    Yu Luocheng was very sure that he liked her a lot.


    It wasn¡¯t because she was a C-cup nor the fact that she had a sexy and curvy waist. Since he had entered university, he would dream of her beautiful smile every night, and the adorable pout she made when she was angry only made her all the more attractive to him.


    ***


    After losing his beloved competition, Yu Luocheng had been lost for a very long time, he had been lazy and unmotivated to find a new path. After meeting Yang Qianqian, he had felt his heart starting to beat again, and it was the kind of beat that signified joy and hopefulness.


    Wasn¡¯t this damn feeling love?


    His confession had to succeed no matter what! The sexual welfare of the lower part of his body and his happiness in life would depend on these few days!


    ***


    Back in the dorm, Yu Luocheng was thinking about how to handle his confession. Not even a few minutes into this, his snores filled the empty dorm.


    What kind of mental preparation, what was to come, what kind of confession, he didn¡¯t know where to start.


    No matter, he was just too sleepy to think about it now.

 Chapter 156 - A Touching Feeling

    Chapter 156: A Touching Feeling


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    They visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the World Expo Museum, walked along the Dajiang River, and even experienced Shanghai¡¯s touristic arts and crafts enclave¡ªTianzifang.


    Honesty speaking, Yu Luocheng had been in Shanghai for two years and he had never gone to so many places before!


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, you look tired?¡± Yang Qianqian asked Yu Luocheng who was sitting beside her with his eyes closed.


    Fuu¡­Fuu¡­


    Soft snores came from Yu Luocheng and Yang Qianqian blinked. She hadn¡¯t expected Yu Luocheng to fall asleep in the car. This was the fourth day Yang Qianqian had been in Shanghai, and although Yu Luocheng had been with her the whole time, she felt that he was rather gloomy.


    ¡°This guy¡­what do you do at night, really!¡± Yang Qianqian stepped on his foot with the bottom of her heels.


    ***


    ¡°We¡¯re here, you lazy pig, get up!¡± Yang Qianqian said, shaking Yu Luocheng awake.


    He was deep in slumber and Yang Qianqian had tried to wake him up by calling his name, but it hadn¡¯t worked and she could only shake him then.


    ¡°What? We¡¯re here?¡± Yu Luocheng opened his eyes, hurriedly rubbing the drool from his mouth. Looking around, he said, ¡°I thought we were heading to the river, why are we back at the university?¡±


    Yang Qianqian paid the fare, her face clearly unhappy as she said, ¡°Seeing your unenthusiastic face, I didn¡¯t feel like going and asked the driver to bring us back here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    ¡°Fine your head! Just go back and sleep if you like sleeping so much!¡± Yang Qianqian was angry this time.


    This guy had been like this for the past few days, it wasn¡¯t easy to make a trip to Shanghai, and yet he¡­


    Yang Qianqian walked toward the apartment once she had said that, resolving not to talk to Yu Luocheng anymore. Watching as Yang Qianqian walked away angrily, Yu Luocheng¡¯s vision suddenly cleared up and he realized that this was not going the way he wanted to. He hurriedly chased after her.


    ¡°Qian, I¡­I didn¡¯t mean it, I promise I won¡¯t sleep anymore!¡± Yu Luocheng grasped her hand, not letting her leave.


    Yang Qianqian glared at this pervert, pursing her lips together. She was adamant in keeping the promise to herself that she wouldn¡¯t talk to him.


    Yu Luocheng, on the other hand, didn¡¯t care whether she spoke or not, and followed her to the apartment as they were.


    ¡°Qianqian, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Yu Luocheng said, bowing his head.


    ¡°Is it really that boring to be with me?¡± Yang Qianqian shot back.


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Yu Luocheng said, hanging his head in shame. The fact that he had fallen asleep a lot over the past few days had crossed the line, and he felt guilty toward Yang Qianqian.


    ¡°Then tell me honestly, what have you been doing at night?¡± Yang Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Nothing, I just sleep¡­Hey, don¡¯t go! I¡¯ll say it!¡±


    ¡°Then say it now! I¡¯ll blacklist you if you don¡¯t tell me honestly!¡±


    Yu Luocheng had thought that his body could keep up, that was why he hadn¡¯t told Yang Qianqian about it. Also he felt that if he had told her, she would be unhappy about it. After all, Yang Qianqian came to Shanghai to meet her brother but she had only met up with him once, and had been spending the rest of her time with him. It was obvious what that meant.


    ¡°It¡¯s Da Luo.¡± Yu Luocheng confessed.


    ¡°What about him?¡± Yang Qianqian could already take a guess.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t join Lin Dong¡¯s team and he intends to live a normal life. Lin Dong and I know that his day job doesn¡¯t give him enough and a big portion of his income comes from boosting people during the night. You¡¯ve seen the place he lives in, it¡¯s bad.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Yang Qianqian said, nodding her head.


    ¡°The girlfriend he has now, she¡¯s high maintenance. Even if he works day and night, he may not be able to maintain a sufficient income. And the other day in Amoi Yatsen Road, I picked up a phone call for him¡­¡± Yu Luocheng explained the call details to her.


    ¡°So you¡¯re helping him?¡± Yang Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Yeah, and the day after tomorrow is his birthday, I was intending to give him a more meaningful present. It¡¯s an account that needs to have a 26 consecutive win streak in it.¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    ¡°A 26 consecutive win streak? What¡¯s the point in that title?¡± Yang Qianqian asked, not understanding the significance.


    ¡°Those Taobao stores which boosts accounts need to have a unique treasure in their store to stand out and attract business and skilled players.¡± Yu Luocheng explained. ¡°If he can maintain this record, Da Luo could get close to a thousand RMB each month. The previous record of the 24 consecutive win streak that he held was broken, and in the past half month, he has been unable to surpass the 25 win streak that broke his record¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re helping him break this record?¡± Yang Qianqian eyed Yu Luocheng, her expression calmer as compared to the few minutes before.


    Yu Luocheng nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah, Lin Dong and I are working together. During the day, he will find a way to get to about 12 or 13 win streaks, and I¡¯d take over during the night.¡±


    ¡°That¡­isn¡¯t that hard?¡± Yang Qianqian was now at 1,400 points, and to obtain a consecutive win streak in solo queue ranked matches were very hard. One slight misjudgement or losing a lane, and the game was over.


    ¡°Yeah, before the 12 or 13 win streak, it¡¯s easier. If you have enough strength, you can dominate completely and the later games become harder. At the seventeenth win streak comes the difference.¡± Yu Luocheng explained. ¡°Two days ago, I lost after the seventeenth win and it was the same for the day before yesterday. Yesterday we managed to get to a 23 win streak, but we lost in the end too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been playing for three days straight?¡± Yang Qianqian asked in shock, looking at Yu Luocheng again.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in charge of the night shift, Lin Dong will take over at six in the morning. It¡¯s a pity but after so many matches, we still have yet to break the record.¡± Yu Luocheng said in frustration.


    Yang Qianqian was suddenly speechless. She looked at him, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes and her lips quivered. When Yu Luocheng saw her about to cry, he panicked for a moment and hurriedly grasped both of her hands.


    ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t cry. Da Luo is an ex-teammate of ours, and it was because I left the team that he had to let go of the one thing he was most passionate about. I really feel guilty about that, and seeing that his life is so difficult right now, that¡¯s why I¡¯m trying my best to help him. Giving him a meaningful present for his birthday¡­I¡­I¡¯ll try just one more time today, and if I don¡¯t make it, I¡¯ll accompany you properly after that, alright? You still have two days before you have to go back right?¡±


    Seeing his panicked and apologetic face, Yang Qianqian¡¯s heart twisted in her chest. She felt like crying, not because it seemed like Yu Luocheng had not shown any interest in spending time with her, but rather because he had been working through the night for the past three days¡­


    During the day, he would accompany her from early morning to nightfall. In other words, he had not gotten any sleep at all for the past three days. Thinking about how exhausted he was as he came out from the cyber cafe every morning, and how he needed to muster the strength to accompany her to explore throughout the whole day, and how he was always falling asleep due to exhaustion in the car¡­


    Yang Qianqian could only feel her heart twist more in her chest, and strangely enough, she felt touched.


    Why didn¡¯t he tell her about this?

 Chapter 157 - I Like You!

    Chapter 157: I Like You!


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Come on in.¡± Yang Qianqian said, pulling Yu Luocheng into the apartment.


    There was a faintly pleasant scent wafting through the room, unlike the first time he was here. As expected, girls would always keep the place they stayed at clean and nice smelling. As the scent hit him, he felt his fatigue grow, especially when he saw the soft bed in front of him.


    ¡°Hurry up and sleep, you¡¯re going to ruin your health.¡± Yang Qianqian said as she pushed Yu Luocheng towards the bed.


    ¡°You¡¯re not angry?¡± Yu Luocheng asked, surprised.


    Yang Qianqian shook her head, a dazzling smile appearing on her face.


    ¡°Rest a while, don¡¯t you have to win later at night?¡±


    Looking at Yang Qianqian¡¯s smile, Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart felt as if a weight had been lifted. He then realized that he had been holding Yang Qianqian¡¯s smooth hand in his, including the fact that they were both sitting on the bed. Yu Luocheng swore to God that this time, he really hadn¡¯t planned this. Everything was just happening naturally.


    Seeing that Yang Qianqian still had misty eyes and he was still holding her hand, something snapped in him¡ªthe opportunity for a confession was here!


    A girl and a guy, alone in a room, if he didn¡¯t do anything¡­wouldn¡¯t that mean he was destined to be gay?


    Thinking of the impending confession, his heart started to beat faster as he slowly panicked.


    ¡°Qianqian, I¡­Um¡­That¡­¡±


    Can you understand that feeling where it feels as if something will burst out of your chest, but the words you want to use to express yourself somehow had gotten stuck in your throat, unable to come out. He had never felt this apprehensive before, not even in the international arena. Even then, he had always managed to calm himself after the initial fright.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yang Qianqian asked.


    Have courage and be brave!


    Taking a deep breath and grasping her hands tighter in his, afraid that he would frighten her away, he said, ¡°I¡­I like you.¡±


    Yu Luocheng had planned to confess to Yang Qianqian starting with how he first felt when he met her and how his feelings had slowly built up all the way till now with elaborate and poetic words, intending to let her know how deep his feelings for her was. However, in that moment, he could only manage to form a few coherent words in his mind.


    Since he could only manage to form those few words, he said the most important words that he had wanted to¡ªI like you.


    After he had uttered those words, he stared at Yang Qianqian earnestly. It wasn¡¯t because he had heard that people who confessed needed to plaster a serious look on their faces, but rather, because he wanted to see her immediate reaction, whether she was happy or troubled, excited or emotionless¡­


    At this time, however, no matter what expression her dainty face exposed, Yu Luocheng would not be able to decipher it. On Yang Qianqian¡¯s end, she was shocked at the sudden confession.


    She hadn¡¯t expected Yu Luocheng to lay his heart bare at this time.


    But after the initial shock, his words seemed to have a magical effect, flowing into her flustered heart, reassuring her and giving her a sense of indescribable feeling.


    Her pale cheeks flamed up quickly and her breath caught in her throat, she could even feel static from the hands that held hers which hadn¡¯t been there previously.


    How was she to answer him?


    I like you too?


    Why was this guy so cunning, not even giving her any time to prepare her heart for this sudden confession?


    Yang Qianqian was in a panic. She couldn¡¯t form any words and her brain was suddenly empty. It was because she didn¡¯t know what to say that her mind was filled with different emotions. She was afraid that her silent panic would lead to a misunderstanding with Yu Luocheng as they said that guys were extremely vulnerable during confessions, and anything the other person did would be rooted deeply in their hearts¡­


    ¡°Qianqian, I really like you.¡± Yu Luocheng felt that the power behind his first confession was not enough, and decided to say it again, in the same solemn voice as he did before.


    LOL taught us a lot of logic, for example; when it was time to go, you shouldn¡¯t retreat!


    Yu Luocheng firmly believed in that saying!


    ¡®I really like you,¡¯ Yang Qianqian heard the words clearly this time. Rather than it being as sudden as it was previously, this time, she had some time to prepare her heart.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Finally, Yang Qianqian replied softly, not daring to say anything else.


    Inside, she was berating herself. She had watched a lot of romance dramas, so why, when it came to herself, didn¡¯t she know what to say. What was wrong with her?


    She felt that her reaction was embarrassing, but to Yu Luocheng, this was the best reaction that she could have given him. He excitedly grasped both her hands in his and said, ¡°Then¡­will you be my girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Yang Qianqian replied in the same soft voice, her face as red as a tomato as she nodded her head.


    She didn¡¯t know when she had started falling for this guy. His lazy smile and the face of concentration he made during competitions made her think that just maybe, her mind had always been filled with his mischievous laughter, and over time, she had just naturally fallen for him¡­


    Seeing Yang Qianqian nod her head, Yu Luocheng felt like bursting with happiness.


    She said yes!


    He had a girlfriend!


    Who was the one that said geeks needed to only rely on themselves to create their future, which guy had said that geeks were destined to be forever alone, and finally, only rot and become another guy¡¯s play-thing!


    Hadn¡¯t he just gotten a girlfriend, and to top it all off, it was a long-legged beauty that played LOL as well!


    You couldn¡¯t imagine how proud Yu Luocheng was at this moment, and even more so, you couldn¡¯t imagine the countless times he had dreamed of accomplishing this in reality¡­Other than feeling a bit sleepy, everything was just peachy!


    ¡°You should get some sleep.¡± Yang Qianqian said. She was still concerned about him, anybody would feel the strain of not sleeping for three days and three nights.


    ¡°I¡¯m not tired, not at all!¡± Yu Luocheng felt as if he had a Baron Buff on himself.


    ¡°Just lie down, you¡¯re not allowed to talk!¡± Yang Qianqian huffed.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not sleepy, we can still talk a bit more. And¡­¡± Yu Luocheng actually wanted to take this chance to embrace her.


    ¡°No. Get some sleep, or I¡¯ll take it back.¡± Yang Qianqian replied firmly.


    ¡°You can still take it back?¡± Yu Luocheng was dumbfounded.


    He had never heard about this before?


    What was this?


    ¡°I can break up with you.¡± Yang Qianqian said, grinning.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Alright, you win. This relationship has just started and you¡¯re already talking about breaking up.


    Not daring to say anything else anymore, Yu Luocheng hurriedly threw himself onto the bed to sleep. Initially, he had thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep due to the excitement and happiness. As it turned out, however, he was really tired and before he could even invite her to lay down with him, the moment his head hit the pillow, he was already in dreamland, soft snores emitting from him.


    Yang Qianqian gently withdrew her hand from his, sitting beside the bed and gazing at Yu Luocheng who was deep in slumber. She couldn¡¯t help but think back to the indescribable feelings just now. Taking a shower and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Yang Qianqian also felt tired from being out the whole day and lay down in the bed beside him.


    Although they had confirmed their relationship, her shyness and restrain made her keep some distance with Yu Luocheng. As she closed her eyes, she thought, ¡®A person who has fallen asleep wouldn¡¯t do any bad things to her, right?¡¯


    In fact, there were many girls who had become women overnight because of such an innocent appearance¡­


    Don¡¯t underestimate the nature of men, thank you.

 Chapter 158 - The Last Four Rounds!

    Chapter 158: The Last Four Rounds!


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Wake up, wake up.¡± A soft melodious voice called out.


    Luocheng opened his eyes, seeing a beautiful face in front of him. A pair of bright eyes like the moon were looking right back at him. He could feel the breath from her lips.


    Luocheng¡¯s heart jumped in his chest, her plump lips were so close, he could easily close the distance¡­


    ¡°What?¡± Qianqian asked, panicking a little when she saw Luocheng¡¯s smirk as he stared at her.


    ¡°Give me a kiss, won¡¯t you?¡± Luocheng said, his smile stretching wider.


    ¡°No, you have morning breath!¡± Qianqian said, glaring at him.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go brush my teeth.¡± Luocheng said, rolling off the bed in a hurry and flying toward the bathroom.


    There was already a new toothbrush set inside. He didn¡¯t think much as he tore it open and started to meticulously clean his teeth, washing his face at the same time to wash away his tiredness completely.


    Well, there was also his hair, why not style it handsomely!


    Aiya, might as well just take a shower and change into the clothes that he had just bought. Luocheng flew back into the room, grabbing the clothes that he had bought when he was out with Qianqian and ran back into the bathroom.


    Going back in, Luocheng realised that¡­they were a couple alone in a room. After showering, it wasn¡¯t necessary to wear clothes straight away as you might need to take them off later¡­


    Alright, he hadn¡¯t even gotten past first base and he was already thinking about the homerun.


    No need to rush, take it slow, don¡¯t scare people off.


    ***


    After showering, he felt refreshed, coupled with the euphoria of starting a relationship, his energy was refilled unbelievably faster than usual. Looking around the apartment for the beautiful Qianqian, he found her sitting quietly in front of the computer, watching a commentary video on LOL.


    Qianqian had been through Luocheng¡¯s training and passed, her strength now was not that weak. She could now overpower a majority of the lower ranks in ranked matches and this made Luocheng exceptionally proud.


    ¡°Here, I went out and packed some food, eat some.¡± Qianqian pushed a bowl of hot noodles toward him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business first.¡± Luocheng said instead.


    ¡°What business?¡± Qianqian said, confused.


    ¡°Give me a kiss, I¡¯ve brushed my teeth already. I even took a shower.¡±


    Qianqian¡¯s face flushed immediately as she muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t promise you anything.¡±


    ¡°¡­How could¡­¡± Luocheng¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°You assumed it all on your own.¡± Qianqian continued.


    Of course Luocheng wasn¡¯t about to give up. Just as he was deciding on how he was going to counter this, his phone which was on the bed rang. Luocheng was dissatisfied and he had half a mind not to pick up the phone.


    ¡°Pick up your phone, you pervert!¡± Qianqian glared at him.


    Luocheng went to pick up his phone grudgingly and realised it was Lin Dong who was calling.


    ¡°Boss! Xiao Bei managed to get a 22 win streak!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed.


    ¡°A 22 win streak!¡± Luocheng was shocked.


    ¡°Yeah, I played until I got to a 17 win streak and Xiao Bei took over. In higher elo games, playing as an ADC has more carry power, and once Xiao Bei took over, he managed to consecutively win 5 matches and brought us to a 22 win streak.¡± Lin Dong excitedly explained. ¡°He doesn¡¯t dare to continue playing in case he loses. There¡¯s only 4 more rounds to go, we¡¯ll leave it to you!¡±


    Just 4 more rounds!


    Getting a 22 win streak was not an easy feat, if you didn¡¯t agree, you could very well try it out yourself.


    And to get the last 4 consecutive wins, the pressure and difficulty couldn¡¯t be compared to the previous 22 win streak, it could be even harder than that. This was because in the last 4 rounds, you could be matched up against the top national players, city champions, Challengers, or even top professional candidate players.


    No matter how strong a player you were, there would be times where you would be beaten without a doubt. When Luocheng was playing Vayne, he had also been beaten in a middle tier game.


    An ADC¡¯s carry power in a higher tier game was even more extreme because your teammates would know how to let you obtain your farm and protect you. They would also know to give you time to develop and to be more understanding.


    You should only be afraid of any early mistakes which could lead to internal team fighting, having that happen would lead to a confirmed lost match.


    Xiao Bei did not play the last 4 rounds because he knew that the probability of him winning the matches were only about 60% with his level of capability. Furthermore, as he had been on a win streak, statistically speaking, the probability for him to continue with the win streak was very low. Changing the player would be similar to changing a person¡¯s luck, they might even be able to hit 26 consecutive win streak like this!


    Xiao Bei, Lin Dong and Luocheng were clear on this, a 26 win streak was really really hard to obtain. Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were ready to pass the baton to Luocheng without any hesitation.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take over, give me the ID and password!¡± Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    After using a few accounts, they had decided to just buy accounts which were already level 30 but have never ranked before. These accounts cost about thirty to forty RMB on Taobao. When the time comes, they could just buy a name change when they gave this account to Da Luo on his twentieth birthday. He would definitely be touched by this gesture!


    ¡°Where are you, we¡¯ll come over and watch you play.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°I¡¯m in an apartment beside the university, there¡¯s a high end computer installed here.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m at Xiao Bei¡¯s place, it¡¯s not that far off from your place. We¡¯ll come over¡­uh, is it convenient if we come over?¡± Lin Dong asked, hesitating.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not a problem. Come on over.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Ending the call, Luocheng¡¯s mood lifted once again.


    There were only 4 more rounds before they reached the 26 consecutive win streak!


    Sitting in front of the computer, Luocheng took some time to calm his racing heart. He knew that every member of Team Wings carried a deep hatred for him. Not only did he give up on his dreams, he had even shattered their ideals. It was just one loss in England, he could have started over¡­


    After one or two years, Luocheng thought that Da Luo had put it behind him. In reality, Da Luo had been unable to move on from that time. He intended to use the thing that he was most passionate about to earn a living and to win the favor of his girlfriend. In Luocheng¡¯s eyes, this was a cruel and helpless reality.


    Da Luo had amazing talent, one that wouldn¡¯t lose out to himself.


    He had clearly been swayed when Lin Dong had spoken to him, he could see that he still wanted to play. He definitely still wanted to stand on the stage where countless people would cheer for his heroic solo plays which had made him known as the Lone Gull!


    It was a pity he hadn¡¯t agreed in the end.


    Luocheng did not want his departure from e-sports to affect Da Luo, forcing the latter to also leave a world which made his adrenaline pump fast. He had too much talent which could assist him in reaching the top, letting the world appreciate and worship him!


    This 26 consecutive win streak was not only a birthday present. Taking a step back, this would also be a top up on his monthly income¡­


    However, the true meaning of this present was to reignite Da Luo¡¯s passion for e-sports, letting him reawaken as the Lone Gull in this turbulent world of e-sports!

 Chapter 159 - The Great Steam Golem, Once Again!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong reached the apartment not long after they had ended the call.


    ¡°Luocheng.¡± Xiao Bei greeted, his face breaking out into a smile, giving off a child-like aura.


    Luocheng nodded, ushering them into the room.


    Stepping into the room, Xiao Bei noticed a girl with beautiful long legs wearing hot pants sitting beside the computer. She turned, smiling politely at him, her eyes bright and seemingly having the skill to charm anything with it.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s face flushed red immediately, his mouth moving but nothing came out, frozen in spot, not daring to greet her at all. Qianqian gave a confused look toward Luocheng and Lin Dong.


    ¡°Oh, he doesn¡¯t dare to speak to pretty girls. You just need to get used to it.¡± Lin Dong replied to her unasked question.


    Luocheng laughed as he watched Xiao Bei¡¯s struggle and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t gotten rid of this fear of yours.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡±


    This was the first time Qianqian had met someone who didn¡¯t dare to speak to a girl and she couldn¡¯t help but giggle.


    ¡°Sis¡­Big sis.¡± Xiao Bei stuttered, gathering his courage.


    The moment the words came out, it was Qianqian¡¯s turn to flush. Not knowing how to respond, she turned her glare toward Luocheng instead.


    ¡°Type in the password. This computer is a gaming computer with high specs, the sensitivity and speed of the mouse and keyboard is also high. The computers in the cyber cafe the other day weren¡¯t that good.¡± Luocheng said to Lin Dong.


    The last four rounds, they had to win it all tonight. After all, this was also related to the team that Lin Dong had set up to enter the LPL!


    Lin Dong keyed in the password quickly, bringing them to Ionia Server One.


    Luocheng sat down in the chair and selected the solo rank, putting him in queue.


    ¡°Luocheng, which lane are you going for?¡± Xiao Bei asked.


    ¡°Bottom lane.¡± Luocheng replied.


    At this moment in time, Luocheng had no confidence to be able to defeat the opponents, so the best chance he had of winning was to pick the bottom lane.


    Ting!


    The screen changed and entered the banning phase of the match.


    ¡°5th level¡­what the¡­¡±


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong both were startled. Being on the 5th floor meant that it would be hard to get any of the main carry positions, in the worst case scenario, he would be stuck with Support.


    ¡°This is better.¡± Luocheng said and smiled, seeing that he was on the 5th floor.


    The floor you get during a ranked match depended on how high your ranking points were. Luocheng getting the 5th floor would mean that his rank was the lowest in his team.


    This was actually a good thing as it meant that his teammates were all ranked above him, and his own personal account was above this current account¡¯s rank. With this arrangement, the possibility of winning the match was above 50%.


    ¡°The positions are all taken, you can only be Support.¡± Lin Dong said, frowning.


    ¡°First floor is ADC, I can play Support.¡± Luocheng replied.


    In a high elo game, the bottom lane¡¯s ADC on both sides wouldn¡¯t have much difference in terms of strength. Half of the game of the ADC would depend on the Support¡¯s performance, the fundamental skills were the same, but depending on how well the Support could cooperate, they could claim a kill or even double kill.


    ¡°It¡¯s Sona and Miss Fortune on the other side.¡± Xiao Bei said.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t hesitate for even a moment and picked The Great Steam Golem¡ªBlitzcrank. After Blitzcrank had been nerfed, he appeared less in the bigger competitions. Firstly, his mana consumption was too heavy. Secondly, with other Support champions excelling, even if Blitzcrank managed to land a hook, it was not confirmed that they would be able to win the fight.


    The reason Luocheng would choose Blitzcrank regardless, was because he had confidence in himself! The ADC on his team was a Vayne, that is to say, as long as Luocheng was able to use Blitzcrank to reel in the opponent and Vayne followed up with Condemn to pin them to the wall, the opponent¡¯s head was basically theirs.


    When Qianqian saw Luocheng had picked Blitzcrank, her heart jumped in her chest. She recalled the time when he was playing LOL and had carried the whole team with his Blitzcrank, defeating the bullies from Class 3.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that ID of 36D before, I think it¡¯s a professional Support.¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her play any other position before.¡±


    Blitzcrank was a bad match up for Sona, and this fact made Luocheng confident that they more or less had the game in the bag.


    ¡°Oh yeah, who is 36D anyway?¡± Qianqian asked softly, suddenly recalling something. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the name somewhere.¡±


    Xiao Bei still didn¡¯t dare to talk and Lin Dong didn¡¯t seem to be able to answer the question either. As Luocheng guided Blitzcrank out of the base, he said, ¡°Sona.¡±


    ¡°Sona, then her english abbreviation is 36D? Similar to Vayne¡¯s VN, Ezreal¡¯s EZ?¡± Qianqian queried. ¡°Why is hers in numbers then?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­Something like that.¡± Luocheng replied vaguely.


    Aih, these people who play LOL are also too much, giving Sona a nickname was fine and all, but why did they choose to give her a nickname based on the measurements of certain body parts. It really was embarrassing. If that was the case, wouldn¡¯t Annie be 20A? Please, she was still just a child.


    At level one there was no teamfight, the other side had good early game champions¡ªJax and Shen. Even if they had fought, it most likely wouldn¡¯t be worth it. Helping his jungler take the buff, Blitzcrank and Vayne hurriedly made their way to the bottom lane. Luocheng purposely let Vayne obtain the full experience from the first two creeps, intending to let her reach level two faster.


    The trend now was to learn E once Vayne had reached level two, especially since the Support was a Blitzcrank. If Vayne could reach level two faster, they could do the combo play (combo, meaning to sync their abilities together).


    Qianqian waited and saw that once Vayne had reached level two, Luocheng started to find opportunities to hook.


    Sona¡¯s ward had already been cleared by him using the True Sight Ward and the creep wave was pushing in his direction. The moment the creep wave came further in, Sona would definitely use this chance to plant another ward in the brush and clear his. Luocheng was waiting for that chance.


    Judging from the time Sona was harassing Vayne when they were level one, she was obviously confident with her skills. The more confident they were, the easier it would be to bring them down!


    Luocheng watched Sona carefully, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hook 36D once she placed the wards. Everyone who plays Support knew that you should be more aware of hooks when you are planting wards, this tactic was used in mid tier games and would obviously be seen through easily.


    If you wanted to land the hook, it must be during the time the creep wave presses forward, the moment when your opponent plans to head over to the brush!


    Ping!


    Luocheng pressed the the G key, pinging for Vayne to start their attack. Vayne continued to farm, not repositioning to where he pinged. It was obvious that Vayne didn¡¯t think Blitzcrank could really land the hook.


    Rocket Grab!


    The yellow hook flew out, even if it stretched till the end, the distance to Sona was still about a hundred yards! However, Sona was still moving forward!


    When the hook reached the farthest distance, Sona hit the hook head on! The hook retracted, dragging Sona back with it, violently slamming her under Blitzcrank¡¯s body!


    As expected, the Vayne was a highly skilled player. Her reaction was immediate and she Tumbled to the side, throwing out her Condemn which landed right on Sona!


    If Sona didn¡¯t Flash out on time, her first time would be taken right here!

 Chapter 160 - 23 Consecutive Win Streak!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As expected, Sona Flashed. This Flash helped her to narrowly escape the deadly pin by Vayne, for if it had connected, then nothing could have saved Sona from certain death. After escaping, cold sweat formed on Sona. It was obvious that she now felt the powerful pressure from the opponent robot.


    For some people that used Blitzcrank, he turned out to be a cumbersome machine, mainly for tanking damage. However, there were a few who were able to make him a strong presence in the battlefield!


    The ones who really knew how to play would position themselves at just one spot, and even if they didn¡¯t move, their presence would be like a mountain. This would make the opponent¡¯s ADC unable to farm consistently. Sona was a pro Support, thus, she could definitely feel the strong presence of Blitzcrank!


    ***


    The creep wave was pushing toward their tower and Vayne was aware of the situation. Knowing that Sona no longer had Flash, she froze the lane nearer to her own tower. If the Jungler came to gank or if Blitzcrank managed to land a hook, Vayne didn¡¯t necessarily need to Condemn her to the wall for her to get a kill!


    Since he was playing Blitzcrank, he needed to take advantage of the creep wave. It was best if he could continuously control the vision so that he could land a hook, that way, he would have an eighty to ninety percent chance of winning the match.


    Luocheng continued to keep an eye on Sona, she didn¡¯t even dare to come forward to poke, only watching from a safe distance as Vayne continued to farm.


    At the same time, the creep wave started to push forward.


    While Luocheng still had a few ranged minions, he clicked on the G key!


    The G key signified an attack signal!


    This time, Vayne had more confidence in this Support and she repositioned herself forward. The huge yellow mechanical golem seem to be clumsy and awkward, but in the hands of Luocheng, it had become unusually flexible.


    A Flash, and then, a Rocket Grab!


    The claws which were crackling with electricity flew past Sona¡¯s defense, smashing into her and dragging her back to where Blitzcrank stood. One hit from Blitzcrank sent her flying up high into the air, and her health bar dropped drastically. The explosive damage of Blitzcrank in early games was hard to ignore, one skill shot combined with three arrows from Vayne and Sona¡¯s head was taken off directly.


    Before breathing her last breath, Sona cast Exhaust on Vayne, but this final struggle didn¡¯t make any sense at all and it would instead be a disadvantage to Sona when she came back to the lane without it for the next fight.


    Top lane had already claimed first blood, thus, Sona¡¯s bounty gave Vayne three hundred gold. This was a huge advantage for Vayne, who was weaker in the early game.


    ¡°Awesome!¡± Lin Dong cheered, a smile breaking out on his face.


    Xiao Bei was looking at Luocheng in adoration, he never imagined that Luocheng could play as a Support so effectively. Qianqian had witnessed how awesome Luocheng could be with Blitzcrank, when he played with her in the lower tier games, there was rarely a time when his Blitzcrank missed his hook!


    Twice he threw his hook, and twice it landed. It could be said that the moment Luocheng opened his eyes, it had always been for the purpose of creating a trap for Sona. When the time came, Sona would jump into the trap by herself.


    After Sona died, Miss Fortune retreated further behind the creep wave, not even daring to farm. This made the gold income difference bigger, not only due to the three hundred gold that Vayne had claimed the bounty from.


    ***


    After returning to the base and buying items, he once again returned to the bottom lane. Luocheng quickly typed in the chat to Vayne, ¡°You can be aggressive in the next round, I still have Exhaust. We¡¯ll aim for Sona.¡±


    At level four, Luocheng chose to increase his W skill. As long as the number of creeps didn¡¯t go beyond six, getting the creep aggro-ed wasn¡¯t a problem at all. Due to the plays before this, Vayne now had a high level of trust in her Support.


    It was better to have a good control on vision first because the Jungler may choose this time to come down. To be aggressive, Luocheng made sure his vision covered a wider area. Planting wards in a narrower view or a wider view made a lot of difference. If it was a narrow view, even if you could see the opponent Jungler coming, you would be unable to escape.


    Sona may have requested help from their Jungler, otherwise, they were just sitting ducks without Exhaust and Flash.


    ***


    ¡°The opponent¡¯s Jungler has appeared at mid lane!¡± Lin Dong pointed out to Luocheng.


    Luocheng nodded, pressing W to activate Overdrive for the bonus movement speed, speeding past the creeps. Miss Fortune was smart, she didn¡¯t immediately try to escape but instead, stood her ground and fired at him. Sona was also experienced, turning around to attack him.


    These two champions combined, their damage output was high. If he didn¡¯t cast Exhaust on Miss Fortune at the right time, his health would have dropped by half almost immediately. At that point, even if he managed to drag someone back to him, he most likely would not have beaten them.


    Rocket Grab!


    His claws flew out, and the champion he caught was still Sona.


    Why Sona?


    Normally for Blitzcrank players, once they see the opponent ADC in front of them, they would happily hook the ADC over. However, at this point, there was no purpose in pulling Miss Fortune, and you could be killed instead if you did.


    Miss Fortune still had Flash, so even if you hooked her, she could Flash out and with Sona positioned in a ¡®X¡¯ shape continuously attacking, Luocheng might be killed instead. It was impossible to ignore the damage Sona and Miss Fortune could put forth together.


    Hence, throwing an Exhaust on Miss Fortune and decreasing her damage, getting rid of Sona, and then focusing on Miss Fortune; With that, the fight was in the bag.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Sona screamed, dying once again!


    Miss Fortune glanced at Blitzcrank who only had two thirds of his health left, but she didn¡¯t dare to give chase. If she had, don¡¯t even talk about Blitzcrank killing her, she would definitely die to Vayne. However, when Miss Fortune tried to make her escape, she made a blunder and was pinned to the wall by Vayne.


    Looking at her health, Miss Fortune had no choice but to use Barrier and managed to retreat back to her tower. With two kills, Vayne returned to base and bought a Bilgewater Cutlass. With this, Vayne¡¯s basic attack was higher than Miss Fortune and she also had a slow effect from the item!


    ***


    With two kills and the amount of farm Vayne had, they had basically dominated the opponent in the bottom lane already. Their own Jungler was extremely smart, knowing that the opponent¡¯s Jungler would definitely head toward the bottom lane to assist, he came down to the bot lane for a counter.


    Highly skilled players were always very alert and Luocheng felt extremely thankful toward them. It looked as though the chances of winning this match was very high now!


    Their Jungler¡¯s intuition was not wrong, the opponent Jungler really did appear. He was smart about it though, not walking through the tribush from the river side, but instead, hiding in a blind spot, waiting for Luocheng to come forward and hook, planning to ambush them.


    However, he wasn¡¯t expecting that behind the Blitzcrank and Vayne, there was, in fact, another champion lying in wait! The fight started when Luocheng landed a hook on Miss Fortune. It was obvious that Miss Fortune had used her Flash to deceive them as there was another champion waiting behind her.


    Luocheng had it all calculated, choosing to knock her high up into the air once he got her, because he had a trump card behind him as well!


    ***


    The fight ended with a double kill announcement for Vayne, and Luocheng had succumbed to his injuries. However, all three opponent champions had met their end at the bottom lane. One by the Jungler, and the other two by Vayne. This further solidified their victory in this match!


    ***


    During mid game, Luocheng furiously planted wards and dewarded, completely controlling the vision field. Their opponents didn¡¯t have any vision, getting hooked a lot due to their arrogance and they couldn¡¯t retaliate due to that.


    Thanks to that, the match was easily wrapped up in twenty minutes!


    ***


    Victory!


    The blue words floated across his screen and Luocheng¡¯s face broke out into a wide smile.


    23 consecutive win streaks!


    The last time, Luocheng had lost at his twenty-third win streak. No matter what, he needed to take the next step!

 Chapter 161 - Another Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Xiao Jia, are you ranking?¡± Yang Ying asked as he walked into the club room, noticing Xiao Jia at the first glance.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, your girlfriend¡¯s not around so you¡¯ve come to fish some other juniors?¡± Xiao Jia laughed. ¡°You have good taste though, snatching up such a beauty.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the girl who ate dinner with me?¡± Yang Ying asked.


    ¡°Who else?¡± Xiao Jia replied.


    ¡°That was my sister.¡± Yang Ying snorted.


    ¡°Sure, if you say so.¡± Xiao Jia said nonchalantly. ¡°Using that kind of reasoning would leave the girl unable to deny you.¡±


    ¡°My blood sister, Yang Qianqian.¡± Yang Ying said, glaring at Xiao Jia. ¡°She came from Hangzhou for some sightseeing.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xiao Jia was stunned, and his eyes glinted after recovering from the shock. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that someone like you would have such a delicate flower as your sister. Introduce me, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°She has a boyfriend already, it¡¯s Luocheng.¡± Yang Ying replied, moving a chair over to sit beside him, turning on the computer.


    ¡°Che.¡± Xiao Jia tsked, obviously unhappy.


    While they were talking, the rank match had started.


    ¡°I have to get above 2,200 points this time!¡± Xiao Jia said determinedly.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll watch you play a round.¡± Yang Ying said.


    When Xiao Jia ranked, he had a habit of checking his teammates records before the match started. If he encountered someone who had a losing streak or someone unreliable, he would dodge the match willingly to avoid losing any points. As he casually checked the IDs from first pick to fifth pick, there was a teammate whose ID was a number.


    ¡°This guy has been on a winning streak.¡± Xiao Jia said, smirking.


    Xiao Jia clicked into the tab to see more match history, and when a whole page of green appeared on the screen, Xiao Jia and Yang Ying were both shocked.


    ¡°Ten consecutive wins, this guy is not bad.¡± Yang Ying said.


    Xiao Jia nodded, pressing on the next page. On the next page, it was all green too, indicating all ten wins! This time, the both of them were unable to tear their eyes away from the screen.


    ¡°Wow, whose record is this, it¡¯s all wins!¡± Zheng Xia poked her head over, the amazement clear in her voice.


    Yang Ying and Xiao Jia looked at each other, and finally clicked on the win rate and rank points of the player.


    Rank: 2,150!


    Win rate: 100%!


    Yang Ying and Xiao Jia¡¯s mouth opened and almost touched the ground, they had never seen such a shocking record before in all their time!


    2,150 points and 100% win rate! If this was screenshot and posted online, how many eyes would light up!


    ¡°What even¡­!¡± Yang Ying said in shock.


    Yang Ying¡¯s shout attracted a few of the other club members who crowded around them.


    ¡°This has to be a f*cking hack!¡± Someone from behind said.


    ¡°It¡¯s an error, it has to be!¡±


    The people in the room started to get agitated, Ionia Server really had some monsters hidden in it. This type of 100% win rate player could also appear and he only had 23 matches in his record!


    Even if some people went against AI, they wouldn¡¯t play so many games, and 23 matches actually reached such a high segment of 2,100 points!


    ¡°Fifth pick is bound to be some godlike player, give him ADC, I¡¯ll Support.¡± Xiao Jia said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a main Support, don¡¯t deny other people their choice.¡± Yang Ying sighed.


    While they were in the midst of amazement, both champions were locked in, going into the final thirty seconds of waiting. Xiao Jia had chosen Support, and the guy with the consecutive win streaks was using Graves.


    At one point, Graves had been a popular choice for ADC. With so many nerfs thrown on him, however, the champion became less popular, but he still possessed strength in many aspects.


    ***


    The match soon entered the game, and the opponent¡¯s ADC was a blue Ezreal. The so-called blue Ezreal referred to getting the Blade of the Ruined King, Iceborn Gauntlet and Manamune as his essential items.


    With these items, blue Ezreal¡¯s kiting abilities and mana consumption at the late game would be super effective. However, in the early game, he would be very weak so much so he may even lose any confrontations with the opponent ADC at the bot lane. The opponent Ezreal was considered to be more experienced as he focused on farming in the beginning.


    However, when the creeps and the pacing were under control, no matter how passive you were, there would be chances to seize!


    Xiao Jia was certain that this single digit player was the most domineering Graves he had ever seen! Seeing that the first item by Ezreal was the Tear of the Goddess, Graves used Quickdraw immediately. Defending against creeps would also force Ezreal to fight with him, and every time, he managed to win.


    Violent, wild and fierce!


    Sometimes when Xiao Jia went to plant wards, he noticed that once Graves had stacked up enough of his passive, he would shoot at the two opposing champions. Even though he didn¡¯t kill Ezreal, he had managed to suppress him and control the lane, and his farm was also faster.


    ¡°This Graves is really aggressive!¡± Zheng Xia said.


    In the range of 2,200 points, who didn¡¯t understand an ADC, and who hasn¡¯t played countless matches as an ADC?


    Being able to completely dominate the opponent, this proved how terrifying his skills were!


    Ezreal didn¡¯t have any breathing space. The pace of the game had quickly turned into the pushing tower phase and he lacked the fire power on his end. After dying once, the opponent had also given up on struggling, gathering with his team at mid lane to push instead.


    The top lane in this match was also playing aggressively and Graves at bot lane was the same. The opponent didn¡¯t have a chance to retaliate or make a turnaround at all.


    The match ended fast this round, and the single digit player gave an eye opening game to the club members present, showing them how a master ADC should be. Even though he died a few times, it was still in a masterful style!


    ***


    ¡°Hurry up and add him as a friend, he is definitely some big shot player, he has 24 consecutive wins already!¡± Yang Ying reminded Xiao Jia.


    Xiao Jia hurriedly clicked on the option but didn¡¯t expect an immediate rejection as the player immediately queued for another rank match.


    ¡°Not accepting a friend request, he is definitely a smurf account of some professional player!¡± Zheng Xia exclaimed.


    ¡°He plays a lot of ADC, could it be Team 71¡¯s Four? I heard they like to use numbers as their ID.¡± Someone said from behind.


    ¡°It could also be White Wind, I don¡¯t think there are many ADCs in the country that are so outstanding!¡±


    ¡°Maybe it could even be Asmodai from Team Daemon¡­¡±


    The few club members present had already listed down the ADCs they knew within the country, and the ones who could play like that were only those few.


    Of course, they couldn¡¯t imagine that the player behind the Graves was actually someone from their university, playing in the apartment next door, and was even a member of their club.


    He rejected their friend request and instead chose solo que, moving on to the next match¡­


    The 25th match!


    At this moment, Luocheng¡¯s hand had started to sweat a little. Once he won this match, the score would be the same as Shallow Dream. His luck in the previous two games were not bad, his opponents weren¡¯t outrageously strong, and his teammates were reliable.


    It was, however, hard to guarantee that he would win the following matches as there were too many uncertain factors. The most important was that LOL was a team-based game, there was a limit to how much one person could influence the outcome, and it was difficult to completely control the final result.


    But no matter what, Luocheng would obtain the win with all his might, tilting the win more to his side!

 Chapter 162 - : A Big Comeback!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In the twenty fifth match, it was not certain who Lady Luck had gone off on a date with, but she was definitely not with Yu Luocheng anymore.


    This was reality, and it was a fact that when you ranked, you wouldn¡¯t always be able to meet reliable teammates. There were times when you would meet teammates who were tilted or teammates who couldn¡¯t farm properly¡­


    They had already lost three kills at level one, and the three kills were taken by the opponent¡¯s Mid, Top and ADC.


    The person who got the initial advantage would most likely be able to snowball, and if they were not careful, that would set the pace for a losing game for them.


    At top lane, the opponent was Lee Sin against Xin Zhao. After getting three hundred gold from the assist kills, he had bought an Elixir of Fortitude immediately and had managed to pressure Xin Zhao. Xin Zhao couldn¡¯t even retaliate and if he wasn¡¯t careful, he would give a double kill to Lee Sin.


    Luckily, this Xin Zhao was smart and he was building defense and tank items. At this rate he would still be useful in late game fights.


    At the mid lane, Orianna had been pressured by the opponent Syndra to the point that she didn¡¯t dare to leave the tower. Syndra had claimed first blood and once she hit level six, as long as she could land a stun, she would definitely be able to kill Orianna with one combo.


    Orianna had also been careless, already having been solo-killed twice, and she was heading toward a downward spiral.


    Following the gap which continued to widen between the teams, the atmosphere in the house became heavier. Xiao Bei, Lin Dong and Yang Qianqian didn¡¯t dare to open their mouths to speak at all.


    Bottom lane wasn¡¯t doing too well either, even with Luocheng using Graves. With the other lanes lost, the opponent Jungler kept roaming at the bottom lane, constricting Graves¡¯ growth. Although the Support had been warding for vision control, they were still unable to do much when four of the opponents came to the bot to push and kill.


    The score was now three against twelve, with the top lane tower destroyed and the mid lane tower almost down. There was a heavy sense of foreboding and helplessness when they were only fifteen minutes into the game and they had already suffered such heavy losses.


    ¡°I¡¯m going for a smoke¡­¡± Lin Dong said heavily.


    ¡°Me¡­me too.¡± Xiao Bei said, following him out.


    Xiao Bei didn¡¯t smoke, but watching how the bot lane kept getting ganked and pressured, he couldn¡¯t breath through the heavy pressure.


    If it was just a small gap, it would be fine, but the difference right now was just too great.


    Surrender at twenty, his teammates had already written in the chat.


    Was this how they would lose the twenty-fifth match?


    They had been playing non-stop these few days and Luocheng had not slept for three days to break this twenty five consecutive win record. It looked like God didn¡¯t really care for him, letting him face such a bad match on the twenty-fifth match. To turn it around was really, really hard.


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong walked out to the walkway and Lin Dong shook his head.


    ¡°This is some bad luck¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Luocheng was doing really well¡­¡± Xiao Bei replied.


    Lighting a cigarette, Lin Dong leaned against the balcony as he pulled his cap down. Looking into the distance, seeing the university and the students coming in and out of it, Lindon smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Hey Xiao Bei, have you ever thought about studying in a university?¡±


    ¡°Lin Dong, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I didn¡¯t even complete my secondary school education, how would I be able to study in a university?¡± Xiao Bei said.


    ¡°Just hypothetically, if you could choose? Would you rather be a professional e-sports player, or would you prefer to be a university student with a brighter future?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d still prefer to be a professional e-sports player.¡± Xiao Bei replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a tough road to take. Just like how Luocheng is fighting in this match, even if you tried harder, it will be hard to save you from this.¡±


    ¡°Luocheng will turn it around.¡± Xiao Bei said confidently.


    Lin Dong shook his head, Xiao Bei had always had this unwavering confidence in Luocheng and worshipped him unrelentlessly. This match was most definitely a loss and it was hard to change anything about it.


    ***


    Qianqian sat at the side as she watched the scores on the screen, her heart beating faster in panic. Luocheng was concentrating on the match, his demeanor different than his usual carefree and laid back attitude. He had had this same look during the LeCheng final match, but he had still lost in the end.


    She didn¡¯t really understand why but at that moment when he had stood from his chair, taking off his headphones and smiling bitterly, her chest had tightened uncontrollably.


    If the effort of the past few days were to crumble because of this game, she would definitely cry for Luocheng¡¯s desperate struggle that had only led to a loss. They had been suffering for three days and three nights, and they were only lacking two more matches, life really was cruel.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A scream echoed out, when Janna went to ward the Baron, she was hit by two ultis and instantly killed.


    It was a completely heart-wrenching sight to see.


    ***


    ¡°Go for the Baron, they don¡¯t have their ultis!¡± Luocheng typed in swiftly, informing his teammates.


    Two ultis from the opponent team had been used to kill their Support and they were also taking the Baron, this was a great opportunity to turn this game around. As long as Orianna could pull off a beautiful ulti¡ªShockwave!


    It seemed their thoughts were the same, and Orianna threw a shield on Xin Zhao as soon as she saw that their opponents were standing quite close to one another.


    Xin Zhao was a meat tank and he didn¡¯t hesitate to rush in, right into the fray!


    Magic Ball, Shockwave!


    Xin Zhao became the best mobile enabler for Orianna. You could see the sharp rotation from the Magic Ball, forcing their opponents who had been hitting the Baron to be pulled in!


    Luocheng¡¯s reaction was faster, he clearly had confidence that Orianna and Xin Zhao could pull off this move. When Xin Zhao rushed in, he immediately activated Quickdraw and released his ulti once Orianna had pulled the three opponents in!


    Buckshot!


    Bang!


    The three bullets slammed right into the opponents faces, spraying blood everywhere!


    Collateral Damage!


    Bang bang!


    The bursting red bullet shot out from the barrel, impacting the opponents with a terrifying explosion, stunning the entire area!


    Graves¡¯ damage was endless, he had the best items out of the entire team!


    With Orianna and Graves¡¯ skills shots, they instantly managed to take out the opponent ADC and AP in the commotion!


    The ADC and AP were the core of the team, and with them out of the picture, the opponents fell into disarray!


    Double Kill!


    Triple Kill!


    Quadra Kill!


    The system announcement of the quadra kill was powerful, filled with madness and enveloped the entire arena!


    Ace!


    The entire team was wiped out!


    Their opponents were dead and they had even gotten the Baron in one fell swoop! Their income was stabilized and the best thing was they had gotten their momentum back!


    Xin Zhao¡¯s decisive assault, Orianna¡¯s shield and her ulti, and Graves¡¯ damage and final assault was really the perfect combo. Even the opponent¡¯s team typed ¡®LOL¡¯ in the all-chat, expressing their surprise.


    Qianqian¡¯s face immediately broke out into a bright smile when she saw the turnaround. Looking at Luocheng¡¯s face which had eased into a more relaxed expression, she felt the strength and dominance he displayed gave off a different kind of charm which fascinated her.

 Chapter 163 - Fearless Rush!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    This was how League of Legends worked, no matter how bad the lane was losing, as long as you could win the teamfights, you could turn the situation around.


    Graves, who had obtained gold from the quadra kill, Baron and a tower, had gotten Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer and Bilgewater Cutlass just twenty minutes into the match! His items were definitely a big threat to their opponents right now!


    ¡°Support, Jungler, protect Graves! We still have a chance!¡±


    His teammates saw the light at the end of the tunnel, each one of them slowly getting hyped up. It wasn¡¯t only the Support and Jungler who were trying their best to protect Graves, even Orianna¡¯s shield was constantly on Graves.


    With such protection from his teammates, Yu Luocheng could afford to be even bolder when rushing forward! Throwing caution to the wind, Yu Luocheng activated Quickdraw and moved into a dead angle, A-Q-A together with an ulti, instantly killing the most threatening champion on the opposing team¡ªSyndra!


    Syndra¡¯s skills had also hit Graves head-on, and usually, she would be able to kill him with it. However, with Orianna¡¯s shield on him coupled with Janna¡¯s shield and the Barrier which Yu Luocheng had activated, Graves would still have about half of his health left even if Syndra had managed to launch all of her skills at him!


    Flashing out of the dangerous position that he was in, Yu Luocheng quickly returned to the rear. Janna threw out a beautiful ulti, pushing back all the opponent champions who were trying to kill Yu Luocheng.


    Adjust their formation, continue to fight!


    Xin Zhao who was a meat tank didn¡¯t have to face the threat of the opponent¡¯s AP, managing to tank the damage without any problems and giving both Orianna and Graves enough time to attack. This fight ended with Yu Luocheng dying and Orianna getting three kills, managing to ace the other side.


    ***


    As long as one person was alive, this fight was won!


    Orianna¡¯s basic attack was not low and her ability to clear the lane was fast. After getting an ace and taking down a middle tower, their gold income would have stabilised!


    Yang Qianqian who had been watching the whole byplay couldn¡¯t help but get excited at this moment. Turning around a game was something that could move your emotions, and right now, Graves¡¯ every step was pulling on her heartstrings, making her heart beat faster.


    At the same time, his teammates every action was also very stressful. Worrying that they might get caught, worrying that they may get careless at any moment, worrying that they may make an obvious mistake¡­


    For them, this was just another Ranked match, but to Yu Luocheng, this was a crucial match!


    Twenty five consecutive wins¡­


    Twenty five consecutive wins!


    It was so close!


    ***


    The fight entered into the middle stage, both sides clashed at mid lane, Baron Pit, Red and Blue Buff¡ªall the objective areas. They always kept a safe distance after poking each other with some of their skill shots.


    This felt like a match between masters, where nobody dared to make any careless moves, always cautious of the other side. This attitude was called if you are serious, then you will lose.


    There was also another saying, where if you make the first move, then you lose!


    Highly skilled players understood this logic so they wouldn¡¯t dare to carelessly make any moves.


    Finally, the opponent Lee Sin managed to grasp a chance as his Sonic Wave managed to hit Orianna and he flew over immediately!


    The handsome blind monk threw a kick from the enemies creep wave, his moves smooth and skillful. Once the Sonic Wave came out, he followed up with Resonating Kick, planting a ward right before his kick reached Orianna¡­


    Next, he jumped to the ward and made a beautiful round!


    ¡°Hiyak!¡±


    Lee Sin let out a shout, landing his kick heavily on Orianna! Orianna stumbled hard into the opponent¡¯s creep wave, and her welcoming committee were the four champions who were out for her blood.


    Orianna hurriedly Flashed away, retreating back into their base. Yu Luocheng frowned, she should have Flashed at the moment Lee Sin had landed the kick on her, not wait until she had been in such a dangerous position to Flash.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Xin Zhao and Orianna were obviously a duo queue, as Xin Zhao Flashed forward to save Orianna, bravely rushing into the enemy lines by himself! His spear resembled a dragon, sweeping out a ferocious storm, knocking back their opponents and scattering their formation.


    With her teammates in front, Orianna quickly snapped back to attention and threw her Magic Ball onto Xin Zhao to shield him. Xin Zhao didn¡¯t retreat, rushing forward to the highest damage carry¡ªSyndra.


    Syndra, who had been aiming for Orianna¡¯s head previously, had not expected that she would have to use Flash to avoid Orianna¡¯s stun. As she was moving forward to close the distance, Xin Zhao¡¯s spear came right at her!


    Syndra had already been marked by Xin Zhao and she was the only one not swept away by his sweep. Although Xin Zhao¡¯s damage output was not very high, his level was high enough that his attacks were hard to ignore.


    Orianna was still holding back, not using her ulti at this time. As expected, when Syndra was slowed due to Orianna¡¯s Magic Ball effect, she immediately Flashed out. If Orianna had used her ulti just now, it would have just been a waste.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng stared at the screen intently, Orianna still had her ulti, they could still do this!


    Slamming down on the G key repeatedly, Yu Luocheng ignored Lee Sin who had exhausted all of his skills and Orianna¡¯s position, facing the other opponent champions instead.


    With Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, Last Whisper and the Blade of the Ruined King, Graves¡¯ damage was extremely high. The opponent Jungler wouldn¡¯t be able to tank the attacks either.


    In fact, they didn¡¯t have enough front liners. Lee Sin was building Bruiser items, and after his previous combo, his damage was basically halved and he could only flank Graves while trying to find an opportunity.


    Graves could easily bring down the Jungler¡¯s health by half in just a few seconds. At this time, a white thunder wave suddenly appeared from the fog, imprinting a mark on his body!


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Lee Sin jumped into view, intending to claim Graves¡¯ head!


    Yu Luocheng calmly guided Graves to the side¡­


    Don¡¯t underestimate Graves and think he was just some weakling, his passive and resistance were much higher than the other ADCs! The Jungler didn¡¯t have much damage and the higher damage was from Lee Sin. Facing these two champions, Graves moved from side to side, luring them to stand in a straight line!


    Buckshot!


    Collateral Damage!


    The two skills came consecutively and slammed into Lee Sin and Jarvan. Yu Luocheng¡¯s attack didn¡¯t stop there and the life steal effects from his items made his health consistently recover.


    For a time, there was an obvious two-sided face-off. On one side, Orianna, Xin Zhao, and Shyvanna were against Syndra, Caitlyn and Lulu. On the other side, Lee Sin and the Jungler were up against Yu Luocheng, while Janna had already been killed when she made that careless move earlier.


    That is to say, from the time Lee Sin flew over, Yu Luocheng had been consistently rushing toward the two champions. First, it was Jarvan, then, it was Lee Sin!


    Looking at Graves who was unprotected and his rapidly declining health, Yang Qianqian clenched her fist nervously as she watched on. Majority of the damage in the team came from Graves, and if Graves went down, the whole fight was as good as gone.


    Yang Qianqian couldn¡¯t help but resent his teammates. Even as an amateur player herself, she knew that they should be protecting the ADC. How could these be players who were over 2,000 points when not a single one even turned back to protect Graves!

 Chapter 164 - The Great Fated Battle!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Jarvan used EQ together, and this combo was deadly if Lee Sin could follow up with his own combo. They could definitely take away at least one-third of Graves¡¯ health!


    Flash and avoided!


    Luocheng had Flashed toward the wall. As long as there was something blocking, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see without a ward.


    Lee Sin and Jarvan both lost sight of Graves, and Graves used this opportunity to attack twice!


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Once Lee Sin regained vision, he immediately sent out a Shock Wave! The white wave flew true and straight, carrying Lee Sin¡¯s powerful inner strength!


    Luocheng smirked, knowing that the kick was coming. His fingers slammed on the E key, activating Quickdraw. Graves¡¯ cloak flew up, and he sidestepped smoothly. Shock Wave grazed his shoulder slightly.


    It missed!


    Lee Sin had been confident that his Shock Wave would hit and had already prepared to follow up with Resonating Kick, but instead, ended up immobilized at the spot where he stood.


    While he was stuck, Graves¡¯ assault came and was followed up by Collateral Damage, taking away the last bit of health from Lee Sin.


    Godlike!


    Once Jarvan saw Lee Sin had been killed, his face became black. Most of the damage came from Lee Sin, and Jarvan¡¯s attack on Graves could easily be recovered by Graves¡¯ lifesteal!


    Jarvan felt something was wrong and decided to retreat. Graves had yet to activate his Blade of the Ruined King as he had been keeping it in case Lee Sin landed a kick. Once he activated it, Jarvan¡¯s movement speed slowed down.


    Graves eagerly hurried to follow up with an assault, several critical hits landing on Jarvan¡¯s body.


    Bang!


    Once Quickdraw¡¯s cooldown refreshed, his speed increased and Graves¡¯ assault became more terrifying. Jarvan¡¯s defense couldn¡¯t withstand it!


    Bang!


    The rifle in his hand came up, three bullets fired out. While the bullets flew through the air, Luocheng had already turned back.


    He didn¡¯t need to look, the bullets would definitely hit and Jarvan would die.


    Legendary!


    Following the system announcement, Jarvan could only watch as Graves¡¯ cloak swayed with the wind as he stepped over Lee Sin¡¯s body and headed toward his teammates to regroup.


    Even with the two of them, they couldn¡¯t kill Graves. They were definitely losing this fight already.


    At this moment, Graves was like a harvesting boss. It was initially supposed to be an easy fight, but the moment Graves stepped foot into it, the tides were immediately turned!


    ***


    ¡°Ace! It¡¯s an Ace!¡±


    Qianqian¡¯s face was red with excitement as she shouted, unable to hold it in.


    A mad rifle, a leather trench coat, and tousled hair, the Outlaw Graves gave off an arrogant and domineering aura, unstoppable!


    Ping! Ping! Ping!


    His teammates were pinging the Baron Pit like mad. His own team only had three champions still alive and the fight happened near Baron Pit. They could take it!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t head towards Baron, instead rushing toward mid lane, typing out, ¡°Let¡¯s go all in.¡±


    All in, all the way to the Nexus?


    His teammates immediately protested.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t enough time.¡± Orianna said.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough, trust me.¡± Luocheng replied.


    In a normal game, once your teammates were against your directions and you were just a mediocre player, then it was impossible to get the trust of your teammates. Everyone has their own way of thinking and their own judgement, as long as your ability was above theirs, only then would you be able to get them to listen to you!


    Luocheng was already Legendary and he had gained the trust of his teammates!


    ¡°Alright, all in!¡± Orianna and Xin Zhao followed Luocheng into the opponent¡¯s base¡­


    There was a creep wave already heading toward the inner part of the base. With Graves¡¯ speed, adding on Quickdraw¡¯s speed effect, it would take just a few seconds to dispose of the inner tower.


    Bang!


    The inner tower was down, straight to the Inhibitor!


    Bang!


    The Inhibitor crumbled and the creep wave continued their march toward the second inner tower. Orianna, Xin Zhao, and Graves took down the towers fast, and the last two inner tower were about to go down!


    ¡°They¡­They¡¯re resurrecting soon.¡± Qianqian said from the side, her heart beating fast in her chest.


    When everyone was playing, they definitely felt this kind of feeling when turning the game around. The feeling of being overly concerned by the resurrection of the opponent champions.


    Because once they had resurrected and you still hadn¡¯t taken down the towers, they could easily overpower and kill you, and it was possible that they could instead go all in and make it to your base!


    His teammates were all looking at the countdown of the opponent champions. Luocheng didn¡¯t even use Tab to check, just concentrating on hitting the tower.


    His teammates were counting down in the chat.


    ¡°Seven seconds!¡±


    ¡°Six seconds!¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t make it, we can still leave!¡±


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    His teammates were pinging him like crazy to retreat and the sounds of the pings made Qianqian panic even more. Was this going to be like the LeCheng final match?


    Luocheng on his Lux Support had pentakilled the whole opposing team but due to the Super Minions destroying the Nexus in the end, it had shattered their chances of turning the game around.


    And this time, Luocheng was in the opponent¡¯s base and they were resurrecting in a few seconds. Would he fail once again?


    This panicked feeling almost stopped her heart, and something felt stuck in her throat. Luocheng¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change however, and he totally ignored his teammates ping for retreat. Even when Orianna and Xin Zhao showed signs of obvious hesitation, he still concentrated on hitting the opponent¡¯s Nexus.


    Resurrected!


    With Homeguard, the opponent champions rushed out from the fountain.


    Orianna and Xin Zhao knew they couldn¡¯t escape anymore, so they were determined to at least land a few more hits on the Nexus.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    With every bullet released, Luocheng moved consistently, and using the opponent Nexus as an obstacle, he managed to obtain a few moments more!


    ***


    Lee Sin was alive again!


    Lee Sin still had his ulti and he sent Luocheng flying with one kick!


    Bang!


    One shot.


    Bang!


    Another shot.


    Two more opponent champions resurrected!


    Reposition with Quickdraw!


    Bang! Bang!


    Attack speed increased, Graves stepped over Orianna and Xin Zhao¡¯s dead bodies to attack!


    One last time!


    But Lee Sin was already in front of Graves!


    One strong kick came his way!


    ¡°Hiyak!¡±


    Lee Sin let out a shout, angrily launching a kick at Graves, intending to stop him from that last hit.


    Bang!


    A bullet flew out from Graves¡¯ rifle just as the kick landed on him and sent him flying. The bullet flew toward the Nexus as Graves flew in the opposite direction, and this felt like it was happening in slow motion¡­


    Suddenly everything halted, only Graves who had some health left was still flying out! The Nexus let out a long screech and after the whirlwind settled down, it broke into pieces!


    The pieces of Nexus momentarily filled everywhere¡­


    ***


    Victory!


    Victory!


    A thrilling victory!


    ***


    Orianna and Xin Zhao shouldn¡¯t have doubted him¡­However, luckily they won!


    Luocheng¡¯s heart, face and whole body tension melted away, finally relaxing.


    ¡°You won! You won!¡±


    Qianqian who had been a nervous wreck was finally able to let loose the tension, joyfully embracing Luocheng from behind. Luocheng felt like he was on cloud nine, turning around to look at Qianqian whose face was flushed with excitement.


    Her small face was so close to his, and the small puff of breath coming from her mouth was enticing to him. Gathering the courage brought by the victory game, he leaned forward when she didn¡¯t notice and took her first kiss.


    It was wet, slippery and soft all at the same time.


    It didn¡¯t taste so bad, but he couldn¡¯t really tell so he did it again. Qianqian was red all the way to her ears, how could this naughty boy steal away her first kiss¡­at least wait till her eyes were closed!


    ***


    Outside, Lin Dong who was still smoking and having doubts in his heart heard the excited shout from Qianqian.


    ¡°Did you hear something?¡±


    ¡°I think I heard something about winning¡­¡± Xiao Bei replied.


    The two of them halted in their tracks, it wasn¡¯t possible¡­


    Did Luocheng really make a comeback in that last game?


    Xiao Bei snapped out of it first, exclaiming, ¡°I told you, Luocheng will definitely make it!¡±


    Lin Dong put out the cigarette he was holding, rushing into the apartment with Xiao Bei. They ran toward the apartment unit, throwing open the main door¡­


    While they were expecting a joyous picture, another scene instead greeted them. Luocheng was still sitting in the chair while Qianqian was licking his neck. Their faces were almost plastered together and they were kissing clumsily, forgetting where they were.


    The whole room seemed to be filled with a sweet fragrant smell and behind the couple who were ignoring the world, the sign of victory still floated on the screen.


    It seemed like it wasn¡¯t just a celebration of the twenty fifth victory, but also a celebration for Luocheng who had managed to obtain the first kiss from his goddess!


    ***


    After a long moment, the two finally separated, but the sweet scene was not over yet. Only, once they found the two wide eyed people staring at them, Qianqian¡¯s face heated up further all the way to her neck.


    ¡°Er¡­she had something in her eyes, I was helping her to get it out.¡± Luocheng said, also embarrassed.


    He had completely forgotten about the two outside. Really, couldn¡¯t they come a bit later, he hadn¡¯t even gone past first base yet!


    Qianqian felt embarrassed as hell, running out of the room like a deer caught in the headlights. Her first time kissing a boy and she had been seen by other people, ah, she needed a place to hide immediately!


    ¡°How about we smoke a few more sticks outside?¡± Lin Dong said, smiling cheekily.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already spoiled the mood.¡± Luocheng sighed. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m going to queue for the next match. My hands are itching to play now.¡±


    The lingering taste of Qianqian¡¯s lips were still on his, and this was the magic of love, he felt like he was full of power. The next match was the twenty sixth match and also the last one. He would win the twenty sixth match with a bang!


    Lin Dong nodded his head solemnly. Boss was boss, thinking back about the times when he lead Team Wings and obtained all the victories in the games that everyone thought was impossible?


    The twenty sixth match, he would win, he could do this!


    There was only one person in the world who could stop Battle Hawk from achieving victory. However, that person was in England. In this country there was no one else, what more in LoL.


    ***


    Starting the queue for next match!


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to rest for a while?¡± Lin Dong asked nervously.


    ¡°Nope.¡± Luocheng said, determination in his voice.


    Higher elo matchmaking took a longer time, about five minutes, and only after the queue would you enter the ban phase.


    It seemed like his teammates knew each other as they were chatting like good friends during the ban phase.


    Luocheng was on fourth pick this round and he decided to play ADC. The opponent¡¯s first pick was confident, locking in Vayne immediately.


    ¡°Wow, he actually picked Vayne in front of our Luocheng!¡± Xiao Bei laughed when he saw that the opponent first pick had locked in Vayne.


    Lin Dong also nodded, knowing how great Luocheng was on Vayne, he would also be the most familiar and know the weakness of the champion. The lineup for both sides were reasonable, there was crowd control, initiation, and late-game champions. It was basically a national team composition.


    There wasn¡¯t much difference in the pros and cons in the line up, so the game would depend on both side¡¯s cooperation, speed, awareness, and the bond of their own team.


    Thirty seconds left before entering the twenty-sixth match. Not knowing why and thinking about how crucial this last match was, Lin Dong and Xiao Bei started to get nervous when it entered the loading screen.


    If this match was lost, the previous elation they felt would be shattered in a moment.


    It really was a situation where you couldn¡¯t calm down no matter what.


    ***


    The screen changed and entered into the loading screen. Ten champion portraits appeared on the screen, their player IDs beneath them.


    Xiao Bei scrutinized the opponents IDs, trying to identify if there were any high ranking players from the Ionia Server. His eyes swept across the screen, and while all the names were familiar, he couldn¡¯t tell exactly who it was.


    However, there was an unfamiliar ID which was also the first pick from the opponent¡¯s side.


    ¡°Lin Dong, do you recognize Shallow Dream?¡± Xiao Bei asked.


    Lin Dong was silent and so was Luocheng. The silence that enveloped the room was quite sudden, and Xiao Bei was startled. Did he say anything wrong?


    ***


    Lin Dong looked at Luocheng solemnly and the latter nodded his head. He knew what Lin Dong was asking without saying it.


    ¡°It¡¯s him.¡±


    At this point, Qianqian had calmed herself down and come out from the room. She thought the tense atmosphere was weird and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°The opponent¡¯s first pick is Shallow Dream,¡± Luocheng said, his voice heavy.


    ¡°Shallow Dream? Who is that?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°He was the one holding the record of twenty-five consecutive wins.¡± Lin Dong¡¯s voice was heavy as well.


    Qianqian opened her mouth but no words came out.


    ¡°He also played straight on only one account to get the streak, not like us who used multiple accounts,¡± Luocheng said somberly.


    ¡°Luocheng, it¡¯s most likely that his luck was good. To be able to win twenty-five matches consecutively, you have to depend on some luck too.¡± Xiao Bei reasoned. ¡°There are so many people playing and some of them must have better luck than others, so it¡¯s not certain that his skills are great.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the records don¡¯t represent their skills, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous.¡± Qianqian comforted him.


    Luocheng shook his head and his face didn¡¯t appear any more relaxed than before.


    ¡°I¡¯ve played against him before, he brought down my bot lane. I was solo top then and we lost that match pretty badly.¡±


    ¡°The second match, we were on the same team at bot lane together. I could see his control during the match clearly¡­¡±


    Pausing for a moment, he continued, ¡°He really is strong, he¡¯s by far the strongest ADC I have ever met!¡±


    The room was plunged into an uncomfortable silence once more. Lin Dong was Luocheng¡¯s friend, and he understood him at a deeper level. In E-sports, it was rare for Luocheng to consider anyone a threat to him.


    His failure, although only once, had been an extremely fatal failure.


    There were only a few that he felt jealousy and awe toward, and in this country, it was only Hades as the other one was out of the country.


    Even though Luocheng was not playing professionally, his heart was that of an E-sports king of the world and it wasn¡¯t easily shaken.


    How strong was this Shallow Dream to be able to make Luocheng feel awe and dread about?


    ***


    Deep breaths.


    Before this, Luocheng had been hoping that he would once again meet Shallow Dream in hopes that he would be able to make a dream team with him once more. Perhaps even have a match against him to decide who was the better player, but he never once thought that he would meet him again in such a crucial match which was his twenty-sixth match.


    It felt like the heavens had arranged this¡­


    ***


    The screen changed and entered into Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    Luocheng bought his items and headed into the jungle, typing a message quickly into the chat.


    ¡°Shallow Dream, we meet again. I was the Thresh previously, F-Hawk, do you remember?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± A short reply came back.


    Waiting for another ten seconds or so, Shallow Dream typed out another sentence which made Luocheng freeze.


    ***


    ¡°Why not use Fighting Hawk as your ID? Nevertheless, I¡¯m happy to be able to play against you again even if it¡¯s not DOTA.¡±


    F-Hawk was the name that Luocheng had used as his ID in the past. It was taken from his Chinese ID¡ªFighting Hawk, the F representing Fighting!


    Luocheng only used this ID in the World Championship because they required an English ID. However, he didn¡¯t expect Shallow Dream to recognize him!


    Who?


    Who is Shallow Dream?!


    How did he know that he was Fighting Hawk?!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes widened and he couldn¡¯t help but stare at the chatbox on the screen¡­


    Why did the message give him such a familiar feeling, as though he should know the person, and it was one of those that gave him such a feeling of dread!


    The only person who could speak Chinese was only Hades from Team Daemon! However, Team Daemon¡¯s ADC was Asmodai¡­


    ***


    ¡°Boss, he¡­he actually knows you.¡± Lin Dong said, his face also looked shocked.


    Luocheng¡¯s heart grew heavier as the moments passed. The last time he met Shallow Dream, and now he had met him again.


    He knew that he was Fighting Hawk, and Luocheng was certain that he was one of the people that he feared the most.


    He was coincidentally also an opponent in the twenty-sixth match!


    It really felt like heaven had arranged this match up.


    Shallow Dream had chosen Vayne, and Luocheng had chosen Ezreal. These two champions were once the leading champions in LoL¡¯s ADC era, and they were also fated to be enemies in LoL.


    ¡®So it¡¯s a fated battle huh?¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought to himself.


    Although¡­


    How long has it been since he had felt like this?


    Nervousness, excitement, and the racing of his heart which was anticipating a good challenge, coupled together with awe from the depth of his soul. All of these feelings made his hands start to tremble and his blood boil with anticipation!


    These feelings were only felt when he was on the world¡¯s stage, and he felt nostalgic and somewhat sorrowful.


    Asking for a fight?


    That¡¯s great, he couldn¡¯t ask for more!

 Chapter 165 - World-Class Challenger

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The hawk, soaring high above upon mighty wings, sees things with the sharpest vision.


    In the skies, its superiority is uncontested. It can tear its opponents to shreds in an instant. It has the agility to slip through a fierce hail of bullets. It is skilled at toying with its prey. In all things, it is all-seeing and all-knowing!


    Lin Dong stood quietly by Yu Luocheng¡¯s side. He¡¯d noticed the intensity in Luocheng¡¯s eyes¡ªlike a hawk locking eyes with an enemy!


    He was handling his mouse and keyboard with deft precision. To borrow the words of that MC from the international match: His wings were spread, ready to take to the sky and annihilate his rivals!


    For some reason, when he saw Luocheng in such a state of focused determination, Lin Dong could feel his own heart beginning to race.


    He¡¯d assumed that university life would have robbed him of a professional player¡¯s instincts, as a result of a growing indifference towards gaming.


    Now he understood that Luocheng had just been keeping his true passions hidden, buried away deep down inside.


    But when a world-class player appeared before him and issued him a challenge, there was no need for anyone to rouse him¡ªhe was already in full combat mode!


    ***


    While Lin Dong sorted through these thoughts of his, Xiao Bei could hardly contain his excitement!


    Xiao Bei was a village bumpkin who¡¯d come to Shanghai to work at a regular job. He had no hobbies to speak of, nor was he particularly close to anyone. After a hard day¡¯s work in his uncle¡¯s store, the only amusement he could find was peering over the shoulders of the ¡®Wings¡¯ members as they played. At first, he¡¯d had no idea what he was looking at, but slowly he¡¯d progressed to playing the game himself.


    Gaming was his one diversion, and he never tired of it. In his youthful heart, Yu Luocheng was someone he looked up to above all others. Thinking back to how he¡¯d carried the hopes of China in a duel against the elite players of the United States, the sight of Luocheng¡¯s triumphant smile had shaken Xiao Bei right to his core!


    This ¡®Shallow Dream¡¯ had to be a world-class player herself, to have issued the challenge despite knowing he was F-Hawk. During the solo matches of the World Cyber Games, it had been a rule that only other international-level players were allowed to challenge F-Hawk.


    It was a tremendous honor, demonstrating that Luocheng¡¯s skills had received worldwide recognition. To this day, no other MOBA pro-gamer from China had been awarded this exclusive privilege!


    He couldn¡¯t wait¡­ he couldn¡¯t wait!


    ***


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were trembling with anticipation, but Yang Qianqian remained deeply apprehensive.


    She¡¯d watched Yu Luocheng play in numerous matches now. Whenever he got serious, he exuded an aura like nothing else.


    This time, something was different from before: Did he appear determined? Focused? No¡­ it was a sensation that Qianqian couldn¡¯t quite describe¡ªbut she was absolutely certain that it wasn¡¯t the same as usual.


    He was just looking at a computer screen. He was only playing a game. Why did it feel like he was standing at the precipice of a hellish battlefield, battle drums thundering deafeningly all around?


    Da Luo called Luocheng ¡®captain¡¯. Lin Dong called him ¡®boss¡¯. They¡¯d mentioned that they used to be in a team, together with him.


    During the cyber caf¨¦ championship, she remembered that he¡¯d seemed to be under some sort of prohibition, so that he¡¯d refused to play.


    She was officially going steady with him now, but Qianqian was coming to realize that she¡¯d barely lifted a corner of the veil over this man¡¯s identity.


    ¡°Lin Dong, Lin Dong¡­¡± she whispered, ¡°Tell me about the team you all formed together, back then.¡±


    Taken aback, Lin Dong replied, ¡°You¡¯ve never heard about it?¡± Since she was Luocheng¡¯s girlfriend, Lin Dong had assumed that she was aware of his pro-gaming past.


    Qianqian shook her head. Luocheng never talked about his past.


    ¡°Luocheng and Lin Dong were part of a team called ¡®Wings¡¯, which was affiliated with Sky Club,¡± Xiao Bei told her enthusiastically. ¡°Back then, DOTA was all the rage, and Team Wings was at the head of the pack!¡± His eyes shone as he spoke, as though he shared in their former glory.


    ¡°Wings pro-gaming team? The one currently ranked second place in League of Legends?¡± Qianqian asked, startled.


    She was acquainted with Sky Club. It was a pretty big name these days, owing to the success of their sponsored team in LOL. She¡¯d even looked them up on Wikipedia before.


    What surprised her was the knowledge that Luocheng had once fought in the name of one of the dominant powers in the pro-gaming scene!


    ¡°The prestige that Team Wings enjoys is mainly thanks to Luocheng. They couldn¡¯t be where they are today, if not for him!¡± Xiao Bei declared with fervent conviction. ¡°Luocheng led Team Wings all the way to international gaming tournaments, earning himself the highest honors in national pro-gaming history, and then those jackals in Sky Club¡ª¡±


    ¡°Xiao Bei.¡± Lin Dong frowned, shaking his head at Xiao Bei. This fellow¡­ Typically, he couldn¡¯t even speak up in the presence of a pretty girl. Somehow, this topic had him all riled up, and it was like he just couldn¡¯t shut his trap.


    Although there was still more he wanted to say, Xiao Bei clapped his mouth shut and decided to digress. All the same, Qianqian was in shock after hearing this much. Xiao Bei had already said plenty!


    Nowadays, there were professional LOL teams all over the place, all squabbling for a piece of the pie. However, there were only two teams deserving of being considered world-class: Team Wings, and Team Daemons.


    Although Team Wings came behind Team Daemons, Sky Club possessed a trophy from an international tournament, which allowed them to command more prestige and fame than the group behind Team Daemons, Pandemonium Entertainment!


    Even though Qianqian wasn¡¯t that well-versed in the pro-gaming scene, she could appreciate what it meant to be number one: Attracting major sponsors and mainstream publicity!


    And that trophy which was the source of their glory, virtually unattainable and practically unsurpassable¡­ to think that it had been won by a team under Luocheng¡¯s command!


    Incredible! To Qianqian, this revelation was overwhelming!


    Goodness¡­ this was the same guy who¡¯d just confessed to her, earlier today, and stolen away her first kiss¡­


    She¡¯d accepted him as her boyfriend, but now she was coming to understand what an imba boyfriend he really was!


    No wonder¡­ This explained that extended period of time when Qianqian had been at her aunt¡¯s place, but had never been able to see Luocheng¡ªit was because, at the time, he¡¯d been competing in an international pro-gaming tournament!


    If something like that had been happening today, during the heyday of ¡®League of Legends¡¯ and the rise of the pro-gaming scene¡­ just how high up would he be, in this world?


    So why was it that when Lin Dong invited him to join their team, he¡¯d refused?


    He was obviously good enough!


    ***


    When Qianqian had managed to regain some of her composure, she made another hushed inquiry: ¡°So who¡¯s this Shallow Dream?¡±


    ¡°Probably some professional player who recently got recognized at the international level. I¡¯m not clear on her identity yet,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Then¡­ then¡­ between the two of them, who¡¯s better?¡± This information was making Qianqian even more anxious.


    ¡°Hard to say¡­¡± Lin Dong muttered. ¡°If his opponent is still active as a pro-gamer, and has been maintaining her skills at peak condition, then she shouldn¡¯t be taken lightly. The boss hasn¡¯t been formally trained in LOL, so he might not be able to keep up with her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Qianqian didn¡¯t know what else to say. Her nerves were even more strained now than during the last game!


    It was nothing less than a duel between two world-class players!

 Chapter 166 - One Must Fall

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The latest patch had completely altered Ezreal¡¯s value as an ADC. This was chiefly due to the changes to his W-skill, which meant he¡¯d lost a significant edge in combat.


    Despite this, Luocheng had the highest winning rate on Ezreal out of all his champions. He¡¯d gotten used to the idea that securing Ezreal for himself meant securing victory.


    That was just how well he understood this champion.


    He¡¯d looked through Shallow Dream¡¯s match history, previously. Among the champions she¡¯d been using, Vayne appeared no small number of times.


    Of course, there was no way any mainline ADC player would not be familiar with Vayne, just as every Jungler had to know how to play Lee Sin. The difference was individual tendencies, play-style, and tactics.


    ***


    Luocheng didn¡¯t know who Shallow Dream was, nor did he much care at the moment.


    He began by helping his Jungler take Blue, contributing four auto-attacks. Then he returned to his lane directly, by way of the river.


    When playing against truly skilled opponents, missing out on even a single minion¡¯s worth of Experience Points could become an insurmountable setback. Luocheng couldn¡¯t afford a single mistake, here.


    As though thinking the exact same thing, as Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal reached the brush just southeast of the Dragon pit, Vayne suddenly appeared, brandishing her silver crossbow!


    It was the fastest route back to the lane, after leashing for her team¡¯s Jungler. Just leave after dealing four hits, and neither would be missing out on any XP.


    It was clear that Luocheng and Shallow Dream were both well-versed in these matters. The competition was off to a fierce start, right from Level 1!


    The Support players on both sides were still helping out their Junglers, so the two ADCs were alone with each other in the lane.


    They circled around, trading attacks.


    Each evasive maneuver meant the loss of a couple of minions. Looking at the team compositions on both sides, whoever got to Level 2 first would enjoy a slight advantage.


    Luocheng grimaced faintly.


    He was on the red side. Backing off would lose him more than just a couple of minion kills¡­


    He had to fight!


    Shallow Dream was of the same mind. As they approached the line of warring minions, violence broke out immediately!


    Both champions attacked each other at the same time!


    Bolts of magic and silvered steel criss-crossed the battlefield!


    Sidestep, and then teleport!


    Since he was fighting on the red side, this meant Luocheng was a little closer to the brush along the corner.


    As his 1st-level duel with Shallow Dream carried on, he continued to inch towards the nearest bush. With the concealment it would provide him, coupled with a few more basic attacks, he might be able to get First Blood on Vayne!


    Shallow Dream had evidently seen through Luocheng¡¯s strategy, and she was edging towards the brush herself. They were both vying for a tactical edge!


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Qianqian, Xiao Bei, and Lin Dong gaped at the vicious fight that had broken out right away!


    At barely a minute and a half into the game, there was no way either of their Supports would be able to make it there in time, since they were still assisting their Junglers in acquiring their starting Buffs.


    As they fought, both ADCs were losing health rapidly, yet neither made to withdraw. They were determined to settle this at Level 1!


    With these two champions, it was hard to say who had the upper hand at 1st level!


    The atmosphere had suddenly become incredibly tense!


    They were still at Level 1, but Luocheng and Shallow Dream were already locked in a duel to the death! Although they only had one skill each, it felt like a titanic clash of epic proportions!


    ¡°At its first level, Vayne¡¯s Q-skill ¡®Tumble¡¯ has a cooldown of six seconds, but it¡¯s the same for Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯! It all comes down to their next skill!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed.


    Lin Dong was an ADC main himself. He had a deep familiarity with both of those champions. If they fought each other at Level 1, it could really go either way¡ªit would depend on who used their skills better, to see who would get First Blood!


    ¡°No, Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯ will have a cooldown of five seconds,¡± Xiao Bei suddenly corrected him.


    ¡°Five seconds?¡± Lin Dong spluttered. After a moment¡¯s thought, he understood: Mystic Shot had an additional effect, reducing all cooldowns by one second if it successfully hit an enemy.


    When the fight began, both champions had used their starting skills at the same time, both aiming to get out as many shots as possible!


    This additional effect on Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯ allowed him to get out another one before Vayne¡¯s ¡®Tumble¡¯ was ready again!


    That difference of one second would be crucial to victory!


    ***


    Sure enough, after five seconds, Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯ was ready again!


    Looking at Vayne¡¯s current health, one more hit and Luocheng would be the victor of this duel!


    With First Blood imminent, Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, and Qianqian watched as Ezreal¡¯s summoned a glowing bolt of magical energy to hand, and then hurled it forth like a shooting star!


    At this distance, with this positioning, there was no way Vayne would be able to dodge it!


    In spite of themselves, the three spectators could feel their hearts pounding!


    Whistling through the air, the Mystic Shot streaked unerringly towards Vayne!


    Bamf!


    Suddenly, Vayne vanished in a cloud of light!


    Flash!


    With a Flash to the side, Vayne had evaded what would have been a fatal Mystic Shot!


    ***


    She¡¯d dodged it!


    Shallow Dream had managed to dodge it with a Flash!


    Seeing what had happened, Xiao Bei¡¯s heart was doing flip-flops!


    Versus Ezreal, skilled players were able to dodge a skillshot with Flash.


    However, scrambling to gain vision through the brush meant that Vayne was hardly an arm¡¯s length away from Ezreal. In these circumstances, whatever your reaction speed, it was impossible to dodge a Mystic Shot at point-blank range!


    That meant Shallow Dream had already been keeping her finger over the key to use her Flash, and had been counting down the time on Ezreal¡¯s skill cooldown. The moment Ezreal¡¯s hand lit up to fire his Mystic Shot, she¡¯d hit Flash!


    She¡¯d been keeping track of Luocheng¡¯s skill cooldowns the whole time¡ªincluding the skill¡¯s additional cooldown-reduction effect!


    Even an expert player like Lin Dong had been under the impression that Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯ had a cooldown time of six seconds!


    Locked in pitched combat against Ezreal, she¡¯d been counting down the seconds while dodging and attacking constantly, and had even been able to take such a fine detail into account!


    Five seconds!


    She¡¯d figured out that his cooldown time would only be five seconds!


    Realizing the depth of her skill, a chill ran through Xiao Bei¡¯s entire body!


    She was a truly fearsome adversary!


    To be able to make such cool judgements in the heat of battle¡ªsuch precise calculations amid the tumbling chaos¡ªit was nothing short of frightening!


    ***


    Luocheng¡¯s instincts had been right!


    Shallow Dream was the highest grade of player¡ªthe sort who inspired both awe and abject terror!


    And yet, deep down in his bones, something called out in response!

 Chapter 167 - Duel Between Masters

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When fighting at Level 1, if Ezreal misses a single shot on Vayne, he¡¯s already lost.


    A moment later, Vayne¡¯s ¡®Tumble¡¯ was ready again.


    Another crossbow bolt flew out, and then Vayne immediately rolled forward, firing again!


    This early in the game, neither champion had that much attack speed, so that there was more than a second between each attack. Vayne¡¯s ¡®Tumble¡¯ skill had the additional property of resetting her attack cooldown, which was especially crucial at this stage of the game, compounding the rate at which she dealt out damage.


    Although his Mystic Shot had missed, Luocheng didn¡¯t panic. He was likewise keeping track of Vayne¡¯s skill cooldowns, and fired off a basic attack just before she used Tumble again.


    Bamf! Flash!


    Using Flash to interrupt his own attack animation, he withdrew beyond Vayne¡¯s attack range of 550 units!


    Vayne considered giving chase, since she had a speed boost from her passive skill, but Ezreal was retreating towards his own minions, and if she followed him that way, it was hard to say who would live and who would die.


    Both ADCs were at critical health now, and they withdrew behind their own minions, neither daring to stick their necks out.


    In fact, they each still had their Barrier spells¡ªbut in this situation, it was clear that the first champion who was forced to use their Barrier would be the one to fall. With their level of ability, the Barriers would certainly become an equal trade.


    ***


    The Level-1 duel had come to a stalemate. Both combatants even had the same percentage of health remaining.


    Now that both Support players had arrived, they played more cautiously. One mistake could lead to them getting caught by the enemy Support, and that would mean losing their Barrier¡ªor perhaps their life.


    A clash of such intensity was quite the nerve-wracking thing!


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s clever,¡± Qianqian spoke up. ¡°The enemy Support is playing Sona, so from Level 2 onwards, Vayne¡¯s health will gradually recover.¡±


    Lin Dong shook his head. ¡°That remains to be seen: Our Zyra has formidable harassment capabilities. A skilled Zyra player can shave off as much health as Sona can heal¡ªand while Zyra is poking them, the boss can benefit from the Lifesteal on Doran¡¯s Blade.¡±


    ¡°Luocheng¡¯s got a Lifesteal Quintessence on, so he should be able to get back some health pretty rapidly,¡± Xiao Bei added. ¡°The question is how well this Zyra can play.¡±


    As an ADC specialist himself, Xiao Bei could assess Luocheng¡¯s Runes at a glance. Evenly matched blow-for-blow, they could reduce each other to their last few Hit Points, and he would still be alright.


    ***


    Both sides simultaneously began attacking the minions to regain their health. Normally, the minions would be allowed to keep on whacking each other, while the champions waited to deliver the killing blow, so that they could be sure of striking at exactly the right moment.


    Lifesteal healing was a different thing, and appeared on the surface to have more in common with random farming instead. Of course, it was actually an advanced technique: While constantly attacking the minions, the ADC had to gauge the intervals between their own attacks, and the damage that could be dealt by themselves as well as their allied minions¡­ all so that they wouldn¡¯t miss that crucial last hit.


    Farming in this way, it was easy to miss a few minions. During the early game, there was a second or more between each of a champion¡¯s attacks. Placing a priority on attacking constantly to maximize health regeneration meant that some enemy minions might fall to your own minions before your next attack was ready. This also led to an increased sense of pressure which made it more likely to miss a killing blow by attacking too early.


    It was completely different from the frantic exchange that had been taking place earlier. Now both ADCs were using Doran¡¯s Blade to bring their health back up, and there was hardly any pause in their attacks. It was as though they had switched over to a different kind of contest.


    ¡°What flawless farming¡­ he hasn¡¯t missed a single one!¡± As Luocheng held down the Tab key, Qianqian saw the Creep Scores on either side.


    12! 12!


    Using Lifesteal off of two waves of minions, he hadn¡¯t failed to kill a single one of them!


    Xiao Bei always got worked up when it came to discussing Luocheng¡¯s farming skills. Luocheng had already excelled at this since his earlier days playing DOTA, where farming was even harder than it was in LOL, since opponents could deny you the minion kills.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: In DOTA, you can manually attack your own minions and even towers, preventing your opponent from gaining any gold for it. This is referred to as performing a ¡®deny¡¯.)


    In solo competitions, Luocheng had used his skills at both farming as well as denying to completely dominate the so-called top duelists of America.


    Xiao Bei firmly believed that when it came to farming, there was simply no one who could best Luocheng!


    25! 24!


    And yet, although it had already been a minute and a half, Shallow Dream was still managing to keep up. She¡¯d only missed one minion at all because her partner Sona had taken it by accident.


    In other words, if not for the odd mistake from a Support partner, they were both able to farm perfectly, even while healing through Lifesteal!


    Even when farming normally, most people would still miss a minion here and there¡ªto say nothing of when attacking continuously!


    ¡°They both have solid basics!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed.


    Qianqian nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s getting hard to tell them apart.¡±


    ¡°But if they continue to keep apace of each other like this, the boss is gonna lose out,¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°Vayne has a stronger mid-to-late game than Ezreal, whether one-on-one or in team fights.¡±


    Lin Dong had stated an indisputable fact: No one could beat Vayne in the late game. Given the opportunity to bring to bear her withering damage output, even the tankiest champions could be brought down with a few rounds of Silver Bolts!


    Ezreal meanwhile proved inferior in the late game, with no hope of matching Vayne¡¯s damage. If they both continued to develop at the same rate, Ezreal would end up falling behind.


    If Lin Dong knew this, so would Luocheng.


    Sure enough, as health was recovered and skill points were spent, Luocheng resumed hostilities anew!


    The combination of Ezreal and Zyra boasted tremendous offensive capability. If they deployed their skills well, Sona could do little to mitigate it.


    As it happened, the player controlling Zyra was quite an experienced one. Each time he fired off a skill, Sona would lose some health.


    Sona¡¯s W-skill, the ¡®Aria of Perseverance¡¯, allowed her to simultaneously heal herself along with another champion. If the harassment was unfocused between Vayne and Sona, she could just heal them both up in short order.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Sona can¡¯t actually heal that much¡­ especially against Zyra¡¯s sort of damage.)


    If the damage was concentrated on Sona alone, each use of her W-skill would only be for herself. In that way, both her health and mana would soon dwindle away to nothing.


    Once Sona was low on health, Zyra and Ezreal would be able to attack more boldly, applying enough pressure to force Vayne to miss a few minions!


    ***


    ¡°Huh!¡± Zyra turned suddenly, vines extending from her arm towards the ground, where they snaked along through the grass with alarming speed, like a mass of pythons!


    With skillshots like these, the best way to hit an opponent you were facing head-on was to do something unexpected.


    Zyra¡¯s ¡®Grasping Roots¡¯ came out too abruptly this time, catching Sona by surprise, the vines wrapping around her slender thighs.


    This was a good chance!


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up. With the damage he was dealing now, a skill combo and two basic attacks should be able to finish Sona off! She¡¯d already used her healing skill a moment ago!


    The truth was that Luocheng had judged that Sona would be successfully Rooted by that shot, so he was already prepared to strike.


    To be the best, you had to be able to see the moves ahead of time, not just wait until an ally¡¯s skill lands before you realize you should be moving to attack. If a hit was likely, you had to be ready to take advantage of it!


    Arcane Shift!


    Ezreal¡¯s E-skill didn¡¯t just teleport him a short distance, it also fired off a shot upon arrival, which immediately hit Sona!


    A basic attack, then a Mystic Shot! Now, just one more basic attack¡­


    ¡®Whap!¡¯


    Ezreal¡¯s hand had already been raised to fire off the final shot, but then Vayne¡¯s ¡®Condemn¡¯ hit him squarely in the chest! This sent him flying back, and then pinned him against the wall, so that he never managed to get off that last attack.


    ¡°That¡­ that¡­ now, that¡¯s just a crying shame!¡± Lin Dong was distraught.


    It had been so close! Just a little more, and Sona would have been down for the count!


    Shallow Dream¡¯s reflexes were really much too fast!


    Ezreal¡¯s attack speed was already being boosted by his passive skill by three or four stacks, so that there was not even a full second in between his attacks. With Luocheng¡¯s APM, that combo of Arcane Shift, basic attack, Mystic Shot, and then another basic attack should have taken barely more than a second to carry out.


    And in this less than a second¡¯s worth of time, Vayne had reacted to throw Ezreal back, foiling his bid for First Blood!


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay¡­ Sona thought she was done for, so she used her Flash,¡± Xiao Bei burbled frantically.


    Sona had actually performed that Flash too late. When the teams clashed at the start of the game, both Supports used their Exhaust spells. There was still some time before Exhaust would be ready again, and Sona¡¯s delayed reaction to Flash wouldn¡¯t have saved her from Luocheng¡¯s finishing blow. She was still alive now only because of how Vayne had used her ¡®Condemn¡¯ skill.


    Of course, it was nice that Sona had lost her Flash, so if she got caught out by Zyra again, it would be her doom.


    This also made for an excellent time to summon their Jungler down to gank the Bottom lane.


    Even if they failed to catch Shallow Dream, what with her uncanny skills and intuition, they could still wipe out Sona.


    Deprived of her Support, Shallow Dream would be hard-pressed to keep up with Luocheng!


    ***


    ¡°Jungler, both Sona and Vayne have lost their Flash. Come down to Bot and make a play. This Vayne¡¯s dangerous¡­ we have to keep her from getting fat.¡± This was the text chat from the Support player.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I must inform you that in the original text, Sona was referred to here as ¡¯36 D¡¯¡ªthough I can¡¯t imagine what that means¡­)


    Zyra had a good sense for these things. Having seen the Level-1 duel earlier, as well as the way things were going so far, she was absolutely sure that the one behind Vayne was an elite player, and necessitated every precaution.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a bad-ass down there with you? What would you still need my help for?¡± the Jungler replied.


    ¡°You mean Ezreal?¡± said Zyra.


    ¡°That¡¯s the one. Last game, he fought against me as Graves. At the start, we had a lead of fourteen kills over three, and then that Graves went Legendary and turned the whole game around. It left me speechless,¡± Jarvan declared.


    So the Jarvan on their team was the same Jarvan from the last game. Luocheng honestly hadn¡¯t noticed.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve already noticed that Ezreal¡¯s pretty great, himself¡­¡± the Support conceded, ¡°But come pay us a visit, anyway: Both ladies are unable to Flash, we can¡¯t miss this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Although their Jungler was coming down for a gank, Luocheng didn¡¯t consider it an interruption to his duel with Shallow Dream.


    By its very nature, League of Legends was a team game. Doing well in your own lane was important, but so was knowing how best to draw upon your teammates to achieve victory¡ªthat was the way of a true master!

 Chapter 168 - Team Fight at Six Minutes

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I¡¯m here, bro. If this gank succeeds, add me as a Friend, cool?¡± Jarvan quipped cheekily.


    ¡°Be careful of a counter-gank by the enemy Jungler. This Vayne is really something else.¡± Luocheng hastily typed this in reply as his minions pushed in towards the enemy¡¯s side.


    ¡°Should we wait until Level 6, instead?¡± Zyra wondered.


    ¡°We can take them. It¡¯ll be harder at Level 6,¡± Luocheng said.


    Jarvan slipped into the brush along the side, where their Support had confirmed there were no enemy wards. It was the perfect hiding spot!


    As the minion wave pushed back towards them, it seemed that Jarvan had arrived at just the right time. Hidden behind enemy lines, one wrong step by Sona or Vayne, and Jarvan would pounce on them with an EQ-combo. Even if he didn¡¯t knock them up, Slowing them down would also be enough to secure a kill!


    Playing as the Jungler meant being decisive, yet also patient. As the minions marched past him, Jarvan marshalled his resolve, lying in wait like a cold-blooded killer for Sona to come within his reach.


    She would likely come by any moment to plant a ward. That was precisely what he was waiting for.


    Sure enough, here came Sona now, leading the way with those majestic twin peaks of hers!


    Hefting his spear, Jarvan brought down his battle standard right at her feet!


    Dragon Strike!


    It was a solid EQ-combo, and the Crown Prince of Demacia surged out like a raging dragon, laying waste to everything in his path!


    Caught completely by surprise, Sona was tossed high into the air, skirts billowing!


    Zyra and Ezreal had already been waiting to move in. They dove in now, throwing all their skills onto Sona, intent on taking her down in one move.


    Suddenly, there was a great, bellowing roar from behind Sona!


    The enemy Jungler, Lee Sin, came flying in out of nowhere, soaring over to Sona and covering her in a shimmering shield!


    Tempest! Cripple!


    Slamming his palm into the ground, Lee Sin sent out a golden wave of energy, nauseating Jarvan and Zyra, and reducing both their movement and attack speed!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Sonic Wave!


    With a kick, Lee Sin sent out a rippling line of discordance, turning the ambush against Jarvan!


    Finding her feet once more, Sona unleashed a skill combo of her own, then threw out an Exhaust and backed away. She¡¯d successfully baited them in. The rest would be up to Lee Sin and Vayne. For now, she¡¯d just heal from the back, while preparing another Power Chord.


    Sona¡¯s combo had inflicted quite a bit of damage upon Jarvan. When Lee Sin and Vayne joined in, compounding his wounds, he had no choice but to Flash out of the fight.


    ¡°Oh, crap. That¡¯s a counter-gank!¡± Xiao Bei wailed.


    Lee Sin was a particularly good champion for counter-ganking. With his ¡®Resonating Strike¡¯, sometimes not even a Flash could get you away from him.


    Jarvan could see that he¡¯d lost, and immediately fell back, leaving Zyra to fend for herself.


    Zyra was a squishy champion herself, and had no hope of surviving long against a combined assault from both Lee Sin and Vayne. She too was forced to use her Flash to get away.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: For some reason, I¡¯ve been avoiding this term until now, but fragile champions with low health and defences are referred to as ¡®squishy¡¯¡ªthe opposite of being ¡®tanky¡¯. For your amusement, here in Asia, other synonyms for ¡®squishy¡¯ include ¡®tofu¡¯ and ¡®paper¡¯, used as adjectives.)


    But the enemy Lee Sin was unbelievably cunning. Pretending to give up and turn away, he suddenly whipped back around with another Sonic Wave, catching Zyra as she fled.


    Resonating Strike!


    Lee Sin sailed through the air, delivering a flying kick across the distance until he reached Zyra!


    ¡®Crack!¡¯ It was the sound of bones breaking. That emptied away the last of Zyra¡¯s health.


    With a pained cry, Zyra withered away to become a large, venomous blossom. As her last, bitter act of retribution, she shot a massive thorn at Lee Sin.


    Smooth as silk, Lee Sin used his W-skill ¡®Safeguard¡¯ to dodge this spike of true damage, and then withdrew to safety.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re screwed!¡± Lin Dong was aghast. He hadn¡¯t expected the enemy Lee Sin to be this sharp, even managing to anticipate Jarvan¡¯s gank in the Bottom lane.


    It had been a brilliant counter-gank. It had to be said that high-level play meant coming across all kinds of remarkable players.


    ¡®Fwoosh!¡¯


    As the battle descended into all-out chaos, one of the red minions froze in place, eldritch winds swirling wildly around it. The melee minion was being used as an anchor for a Teleport spell. Ryze was coming over from the Mid-lane!


    ¡°Ryze is coming!¡± The three spectators exclaimed with glee. He couldn¡¯t be doing it at a better time. The destination of his arrival would cut off Lee Sin and Vayne¡¯s escape, now that they had both run so far ahead!


    As Ryze appeared, he threw out Overload, Rune Prison, Spell Flux, another Overload¡­ a cascade of runic magic assaulted Lee Sin, snuffing out his life quickly and cleanly¡ªa show of devastating power!


    After killing Lee Sin, Ryze set his sights on Vayne. If he could land another Rune Prison on her before she made it back to her tower, that would be a Double Kill!


    The sudden addition of Ryze had turned the tables yet again. Although low on health, Jarvan¡¯s player saw that his skills were ready once more, so he charged in from behind with heedless courage!


    EQ-combo, Dragon Strike!


    Shallow Dream reacted with inhuman speed. One hand on the ground, long coat billowing, she threw herself aside with ¡®Tumble¡¯, avoiding the interception attempt as she fired off a shot in return!


    Condemn! A crossbow bolt nailed him to the wall!


    One more shot, and the extra damage from ¡®Silver Bolts¡¯ kicked in, cleaning off what little health Jarvan had been holding on to!


    Impaled to the rough stone wall, blood pouring from his wounds, his body slowly went slack, staring in disbelief even as his eyes glazed over.


    Although he¡¯d allowed Vayne to claim his life, one couldn¡¯t say Jarvan¡¯s actions had all been in vain¡ªbecause she¡¯d paused to attack him, it had bought Ryze precious time for his skills to cool down.


    After killing Jarvan, Vayne began kiting backwards, continuing to attack as she retreated towards her tower.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Without warning, a melancholy last refrain played out behind Vayne. Already low on health from earlier, Sona collapsed to the ground, dead by Ezreal¡¯s hand!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Original text suggests that Sona cried out, but¡­ she¡¯s mute.)


    As with Jarvan from a moment ago, Sona had died without even knowing what hit her, still trying to get some healing onto Vayne.


    It wasn¡¯t just Sona, either¡ªXiao Bei, Lin Dong, and Qianqian all gaped at Luocheng¡¯s screen, utterly baffled!


    Exactly when did Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal get behind the enemy?


    He¡¯d struck Sona down as suddenly as a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky!


    ***


    Coming around from behind, Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal worked with Ryze to perform a pincer attack against Shallow Dream¡¯s Vayne!


    When she saw Ezreal appearing behind her, Shallow Dream immediately gave up on retreating to her tower, and headed for the brush along the side instead.


    Ryze was ready to cast ¡®Rune Prison¡¯ again. Though Shallow Dream was kiting towards the cover of the brush, she was cornered this time, with no escape!


    Rune Prison, Overload, Spell Flux! A battery of spells thundered down on Vayne.


    Rooted to the spot, her health rapidly dwindling down to nothing, Ezreal only had to hit Vayne a couple more times to secure the kill!


    The three spectators behind Luocheng watched with bated breath!


    If he got a Double Kill here, it would be a huge advantage!


    Whoom!


    But life has a way of defying expectations.


    A halo of violet light fell over Vayne, forming a protective shield which blunted what should have been a fatal blow. Vayne took advantage of this extended lease on life to keep attacking Ryze, whose health had dropped all the way down to the last one-third now!


    Whoosh! The halo faded away. Shen, the Eye of Twilight, had arrived at Vayne¡¯s side!


    This Shen had most definitely come flying over as soon as he hit Level 6¡ªRyze was only a couple of minions away from Level 6 himself!


    Taunt! Flash!


    The player was skilled at using Shen. As he rushed in to land a Taunt on Ryze, he also used Flash at the last instant, catching Ezreal in the effect as well, and thus preventing him from getting out any attacks at all!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: There are many champion skills where a well-timed Flash in the middle of its execution can reposition you just before the effect is actually released. Such techniques are very common at the highest level of play, where games are decided in split seconds and inches.)


    At the threshold of death¡¯s door, Vayne had been spared for another four or five seconds, allowing her to finish off the last remainder of Ryze¡¯s health!


    His spellbook tumbled out of his limp fingers. Ryze glared at Vayne, who by all rights should have been dead by now, yet had somehow survived to kill him instead!


    ¡°How¡­ how can this be happening?¡± Qianqian cried in frustration.


    It should have been three kills for their side, but thanks to Shen¡¯s sudden ulti upon his promotion to Level 6, everything had gone awry!


    It was just one twist after another!


    Coming out of the Taunt, Luocheng immediately pulled back, not because he¡¯d lost interest in sending Shallow Dream the rest of the way to the dark beyond, but because the enemy¡¯s Orianna had also arrived on the scene!


    Orianna, Shen, and a badly wounded Vayne¡­ Luocheng knew that if he continued the pursuit into the brush, he¡¯d pay for it with his life, so he wisely chose to fall back for now, kiting Shen and Orianna.


    ¡°You should retreat. You¡¯re out of mana,¡± Lin Dong pointed out to Luocheng.


    It had been a good move for Ryze to Teleport in, putting the odds in their favor¡­ but Shen¡¯s response with his own ultimate skill had been just as marvelous, buying Vayne the time she needed to get another kill.


    From Jarvan¡¯s gank attempt, to Sona¡¯s baiting, to the arrival of their Mid as well as the enemy¡¯s Top¡ªand now, finally, with Orianna joining the fray¡­ After all that, Luocheng¡¯s side was one kill behind.


    What¡¯s more, Vayne had gotten herself two champion kills.


    It seemed that Luocheng still wasn¡¯t done. As Shen chased after him, he continued to attack while kiting backward¡ªnot quite a full retreat.


    Waging a running battle in this manner, Luocheng led Orianna and Shen from the Bottom lane towards the Dragon pit.


    ***


    Ezreal had lost quite a bit of health already, and he was all out of mana. It was just a question of when Shen¡¯s next Taunt would be ready.


    Qianqian wanted to chew her nails off with anxiety. Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal couldn¡¯t be allowed to die. It would be too great a setback if Ezreal was lost here as well, and they¡¯d lose the Dragon too.


    She just couldn¡¯t figure out why, even though he clearly had no hope of winning this fight anymore¡­ Why was Ezreal still kiting the enemy champions? Doing so was putting himself in grave danger.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: In case you missed it last time, to ¡®kite¡¯ enemies is to attack while moving constantly. Because you have to stop moving, at least briefly, with each attack, this means you will move slower than if you weren¡¯t attacking at all ¨C making it easier for enemies to catch up to you.)


    Was it that he just couldn¡¯t admit defeat?


    No way, he wasn¡¯t the sort to lose his head like that!


    Luocheng panned the view on his screen forward. Somebody popped into the Dragon pit with a Flash, and then promptly pounced onto Shen, still hot on Ezreal¡¯s heels!


    ¡°It¡¯s Riven!¡± Qianqian nearly squealed in glee.


    All the way from the jungle between their Top and Mid lanes, Riven had come running down to the Bottom lane to lend her aid!


    Across the disparate lanes of the Summoner¡¯s Rift, all ten champions in the game had broken away from their farming to join in what should have been a minor skirmish in the Bottom lane. It was a full-scale team fight, barely six minutes into the game!


    The question was: Who would end up having the last laugh?

 Chapter 169 - Shot in the Dark

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The most epic battles are the ones where your opponents astound you, while your teammates surpass your expectations!


    Up in the Top lane, Riven seemed to have sensed that the fight going on down in the Bottom lane might get out of control, and so had made the prescient decision to hurry over there and help out.


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t withdrawn, even though he¡¯d run out of mana, because he¡¯d noticed Riven¡¯s portrait tearing across the minimap in the corner of his screen!


    Once Shen had successfully been lured into the Dragon pit, Riven decisively activated her ultimate skill and Flashed in to join the fray, charging headlong directly at Shen!


    At Level 6, Riven¡¯s ulti granted her tremendous burst damage potential. Already reduced to half health, Shen was instantly slain before he could get out any skills of his own!


    Following right behind him, Orianna also took grievous damage from Riven¡¯s runic blade. When she witnessed how quickly Shen fell, she was frightened out of her wits. Throwing down a ¡®Command: Dissonance¡¯ to speed herself up, she turned tail and fled.


    ***


    It had been a back-and-forth battle, and it had been impossible to judge which side would be the victor until the very last moment.


    The 5v5 team fight in the Bottom lane which broke out at the sixth minute, lasting nearly a full minute in itself, had at last come to an end when Shen was abruptly vanquished by Riven.


    It was hard to imagine that the 2v2 match-up in the Bottom lane could suddenly explode into a frenzied 5v5 team fight, the like of which you¡¯d only expect to see in the late game!


    There had been a whole series of startling arrivals, each one at exactly the right time. On both sides, everyone¡¯s teamwork had been superb.


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but admit that he¡¯d encountered a remarkable assortment of players this round. The fight had left Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, and Qianqian speechless in awe. It had been a rollercoaster ride, alternating non-stop between dismay and glee¡ªand not just as a result of the duel between Luocheng and Shallow Dream, but also because of these random players they¡¯d been teamed up with!


    They weren¡¯t even ten minutes into the game, and already there had been a battle so intense and nerve-wracking that, at various times, one could have cried out in raw emotion!


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, aren¡¯t you going to Recall yet?¡± Xiao Bei inquired.


    The battle had ended, but Ezreal still hadn¡¯t returned to base. Rather, he went back to his lane.


    ¡°Just checking things out,¡± Luocheng answered with a smile. A few minions later, and he¡¯d made it to Level 6.


    Immediately, he put a skill point into his ultimate, and hit R!


    ¡°Haaah!¡±


    Aglow with magical power, Ezreal formed a broad crescent of blinding golden light before his outstretched hands!


    With a great shout, he released it, and the teeming mass of stars swept forward at speed, racing along the Bottom lane and past the enemy tower, keening with lethal promise!


    The view followed along with that wave of magical energy. The three spectators behind Luocheng watched in bewilderment. What was he up to, firing his ulti at nothing?


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Of course, even a Bronze-tier player should know what¡¯s up. Just go with it. We¡¯re trying to tell a story, here.)


    In the midst of their confusion, a lone figure appeared in the path of the attack!


    It was Vayne!


    She was channeling to Recall, with just one second left!


    Whoosh!


    The Trueshot Barrage sliced clean through her unsuspecting form.


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong stared with eyes as wide as dinner plates. They¡¯d never suspected that Vayne would have been hanging around all this while. Certainly, Luocheng had never caught sight of her before this¡ªhow could he have known that she¡¯d be in the middle of a Recall, and at this spot?


    Like the name of the skill, the shot had found true, catching Vayne before she could make it back to safety!


    Shallow Dream had pinnacle-tier reflexes. In the last instant before Ezreal¡¯s ultimate skill stole away that final scrap of her health, a Barrier was thrown up around her!


    That Barrier absorbed almost the entirety of the damage from Ezreal¡¯s perfectly deployed ulti, leaving behind a nearly imperceptible sliver of health.


    Vayne had just barely managed to survive!


    A chill ran down her spine. That ulti had very nearly caught her by surprise, and even an expert player like Shallow Dream had almost failed to react in time. If not for her having kept that card up her sleeve this whole time, Ezreal would have ended her life right then and there.


    ¡°Holy crap! She¡¯s still got her Barrier?¡± Lin Dong nearly fainted dead on the spot!


    Ezreal had used his ultimate skill with flawless precision, and still it had failed to kill Vayne!


    Even more incredible was that, during the fierce battle earlier, where Vayne had quite nearly been slain by Ryze, she¡¯d still held on to her Barrier. Surely no one could be that thrifty with their resources!


    Earlier, Luocheng had spotted Vayne on his minimap. Perhaps she¡¯d still needed just that little bit more gold so she could get something, and that was why she¡¯d farmed a few more minions before disappearing back to her side of the map.


    Coming away from the fight, Luocheng had half-guessed, half-deduced where Vayne might have retreated to before beginning to Recall. With the mana he¡¯d restored through leveling up, he¡¯d been able to fire off his ultimate skill¡­


    ¡­ and it had hit¡ªbut it hadn¡¯t killed her.


    He watched as Vayne began to Recall again, untroubled. He had Ezreal do the same.


    It took eight seconds to finish performing a Recall. Luocheng continued to watch Vayne the whole time, the ghost of a smile upon his lips.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Er¡­ but how can he still have vision of Vayne for eight whole seconds, behind enemy lines¡­)


    He¡¯d more or less figured out who she was.


    With the two chance encounters they¡¯d had previously, as well as this duel face-to-face, Luocheng had been able to observe her ADC play-style and tendencies. The final clue, which had allowed him to arrive at this conclusion, had been that Barrier at the end.


    That level of discipline and precision, which allowed her to retain her cards until the last possible moment¡­ it reminded him of a certain someone.


    ***


    After picking up some items back at base, Luocheng brought Ezreal back to lane. At that moment, Vayne should be doing the same.


    He¡¯d managed to strip Vayne of her Barrier at the end of their first battle. Would their next one also be a fast and frenetic all-out brawl?


    Even Luocheng couldn¡¯t wait to find out!


    In all the time he¡¯d been playing LOL, this was the first time he¡¯d felt his fingers positively quivering with excitement!


    ¡°That style distinctly reminds me of somebody¡­¡± As he returned to his lane, he murmured this thought aloud.


    ¡°You know who that is?¡± Lin Dong gasped.


    There could only be a handful of people who were able to fight Luocheng to a standstill like this. Furthermore, based on what she¡¯d said, she was probably a pro-gamer of some international acclaim, since she¡¯d stated that she was entitled to challenge Hawk to a duel.


    Lin Dong and Xiao Bei had been wracking their brains trying to figure out the true identity of the player called Shallow Dream.


    It had to be a professional player who¡¯d switched from DOTA to LOL, but they couldn¡¯t think of anyone whose username had anything to do with a ¡®Shallow Dream¡¯, and famous pro players generally never changed their IDs.


    ¡°I¡¯m mostly certain, but let me observe a while longer¡­¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t actually provide a name, because the person he was thinking of was quite a special case.

 Chapter 170 - The Calm Before the Storm!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng was going for a build for Ezreal that focused on mana. That meant he wouldn¡¯t be able to pose too much of a threat during the early-game laning phase. It would be up to Zyra¡¯s long-ranged skills, as well as Ezreal¡¯s superior mana supply, in order to keep the pressure on Vayne and Sona.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I presume a mana-focused build for Ezreal involves getting a ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯ straight away, which bolsters mana capacity tremendously, but otherwise does nothing to help directly with an ADC¡¯s main function of dealing damage¡­


    ¡­ at least until later, when it¡¯s used to assemble a Manamune / Muramana. Gotta love those puns. It¡¯s even funnier when you consider that the base weapon is a pick-axe.)


    As before, the main idea was to focus their harassment on a single target. Even if he got a clear shot to hit Vayne with his Mystic Shot, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t take it¡ªit would obviously just be a waste of mana.


    ¡°Why¡¯s he building Ezreal for mana?¡± Charlene wondered aloud. ¡°Won¡¯t that leave him on the back foot?¡±


    Even she was aware that a mana-focused Ezreal couldn¡¯t really hold up well against other ADCs. By investing in items not directly related to dealing damage, even if Ezreal had managed to gain the upper hand early on, he might end up losing out anyway.


    The seven hundred gold he¡¯d spent on a ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯, with just a little more cash, could have gotten him a Pickaxe instead. That would have given him a further twenty-five points of attack damage, which would be a far greater boon to him in this duel.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that going for a mana build makes Ezreal weaker at the outset, which means he won¡¯t be able to do much to hamper Vayne¡¯s growth. However, considering the events of the battle earlier, trying to hold back Shallow Dream is probably a long shot in any case. She¡¯s already picked up two champion kills.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say Ezreal goes for attack-damage items the whole way: He might be able to deny her a couple of minions early on, but after the twenty-minute mark, Ezreal himself will fall way behind Vayne¡ªand then the game will be lost.¡± This was Lin Dong¡¯s explanation.


    Xiao Bei nodded in fervid agreement. When the topic was about advanced-level considerations in League of Legends, even he would forget to stammer in the presence of a feminine beauty. ¡°Vayne¡¯s strength is in her startling rate of damage during the late game, allowing her to melt away tanks and front-liners,¡± he added.


    ¡°Similarly, a mana build for Ezreal truly shines in the late game, with unlimited poking and kiting potential. Luocheng is probably thinking that since he doesn¡¯t have much hope of holding down Shallow Dream during the early game, it¡¯ll ultimately have to come down to who¡¯s more effective in a team fight.¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: To ¡®poke¡¯ somebody is to intermittently throw out ranged skills in an attempt to wear down the health of enemy champions. This is a crucial tactic when laning, or while skirmishing before a team fight actually begins. It is usually carried out by mages like Zyra, but Ezreal is also considered a hybrid mage-marksman.)


    A mana-focused Ezreal really came into his own during the late game, when his poking and kiting abilities could drive his enemies up the wall.


    Rather than going purely for attack damage in order to apply what would be an insignificant amount of pressure throughout the early to mid-game, perhaps it would be better to allow the both of them to each develop to their fullest. During the team-fighting later, she could brandish that appalling damage potential of hers¡ªbut he¡¯d have his own considerable strengths as well!


    That was what Luocheng was going for!


    (Author¡¯s explanation: The events in this series take place during Season 3, and as the story progresses, we¡¯ll move into the new patch updates. Although the mana build described here for Ezreal has been rendered obsolete now, there¡¯s no reason to abandon the memory of its legacy.)


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Of course, building Ezreal for mana remains popular to this day. From what I can gather, the changes in Season 4 meant that Ezreal could no longer do as much with AP items and AOE damage, and so became more purely focused as an ADC. He still plays like a mage though, and mana is still important to him.)


    ***


    Since his item build would revolve around a ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯, Luocheng began to poke his enemies more frequently, while not really trying for an actual champion kill.


    A lot of people couldn¡¯t do well with a mana-focused Ezreal, mainly because they kept trying too hard to get kills¡ªone of the cardinal sins in ¡®League of Legends¡¯.


    Going for this kind of equipment made it especially necessary to have a precise understanding of your own damage potential. Rushing into a fight without absolute certainty that you could get a kill, against an opponent with DPS far superior to your own¡­ although initially it might seem like you have the advantage in health, in the blink of an eye, you¡¯ve given the enemy a Double Kill instead.


    Focus on farming. Poke and harass as the opportunity presents itself. If the enemy presses for a fight, fall back immediately. If you¡¯re building Ezreal for mana, but you can¡¯t bear to play like a coward during the early game, then you can forget about becoming an all-powerful, one-versus-many Superman during the late game.


    ***


    The true masters are able not only to adapt their build to the circumstances, but also to mold their tactics to fit their teammates¡¯ builds.


    Seeing that Ezreal had gotten himself a ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯, Jarvan understood that he basically wouldn¡¯t be needed to gank the Bottom lane anymore.


    This wasn¡¯t because they couldn¡¯t get anything done in a 3v2 situation, but if the Bottom lane was always in turmoil and danger, it would be difficult to charge up the ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯, and that would severely cripple Ezreal. Most importantly, going down there would likely result in another counter-gank, which could be devastating for their side.


    The Jungler set the pace of the whole game. From this point forward, Jarvan would be bringing the action to the Top lane, Middle lane, and jungle. In this way, he could afford Ezreal some peace and quiet to farm as much as he needed to, until the promise of this particular item build could come to fruition.


    On the opponents¡¯ side, Lee Sin had quietly arrived at the same conclusion as Jarvan: Their Vayne had to be allowed to grow, as well. If Jarvan could keep his unwelcome protrusions away from the Bottom lane, then Lee Sin would also spare them his blind fumbling. For now, there would only be two lanes in the Summoner¡¯s Rift for either of them, and the Dragons would only be sought out with the utmost of caution.


    ***


    And so, in the wake of that 5v5 team fight at the sixth minute, tranquility descended over the Bottom lane.


    There were a number of tense moments, but Luocheng always fled from them without reservation, holding himself firmly to these words: He could become any man the situation required!


    And so, peace held in the Bottom lane, despite the occasional tremor. Meanwhile, in the other lanes, their teammates were battling like cats and dogs.


    System announcements kept ringing out non-stop, announcing one kill after another!


    And yet, it was as though there was an unspoken agreement between both sides, down in the Bottom lane. No matter how vicious the fighting was elsewhere, no matter how loudly the cries of battle and agony echoed through the Summoner¡¯s Rift, it was as though all that was happening in another world.


    It was as though Ezreal and Vayne were seated across from each other at a caf¨¦ table. Perhaps Ezreal might be sipping calmly from a cup of hot tea, making such comments as, ¡°Aha, not bad! You¡¯ve got 170 CS now¡ªyou¡¯ve almost caught up to my own 173!¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: If they¡¯ve reached 170 CS just by farming in the Bottom lane, this game has been going on for a really long time¡­)


    Meanwhile, the sounds of battle happening elsewhere continue to drone on in the background, the fresh lifeblood of champions sometimes splattering across the stone walls lining the Bottom lane.


    And then Vayne might take a sip from her own cup, glance with disinterest at the bloodstains nearby, and remark, ¡°Mm, this tea is¡­ truly delightful.¡±


    If their teammates had been any less understanding, the sight of them just minding their own business down in the Bottom lane might already have caused some to leave the game in a huff!


    Charlene herself had yet to reach such heights of strategic wisdom, so the whole thing looked profoundly absurd to her. The first six minutes had been filled with violence and ferocity. The fourteen minutes after that had been comparatively serene, almost courteous.


    To be playing a mere game with such strict discipline and forethought, they¡¯d made it into something else entirely!


    Charlene was still a player of modest ability, so she only saw what was happening on the surface.


    To Xiao Bei and Lin Dong, however, this was the weird calm before what promised to be a cataclysmic storm!


    Indeed, the longer this seeming tranquility dragged on, the more brutal the inevitable clash would be!


    In truth, the duel had been going on this whole time, neither opponent ever once stopping to take a break!


    After all the havoc at the start of the game, they¡¯d both realized that they were evenly matched against one another, neither one able to come out ahead right away. As such, they were both working instead to build up as much power as possible, for when the team fights later would decide everything!


    The first battle had already passed.


    The second battle was now ending.


    Now, the curtains were rising on the third battle. Both Lin Dong and Xiao Bei could already smell the acrid smoke, hear the desperate chaos of mortal combat!

 Chapter 171 - Tempest

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Over twenty minutes had passed, but the first tower still stood for either side, down in the Bottom lane. With the rapid pace of high-level games, this was a rather uncommon sight.


    The Bottom-lane pairs of both teams could no longer remain farming in their lane. Part of this was because they had reached the point where whole-team assaults on enemy towers would be the key to victory, but another reason was the need to be ready to contest for Baron Nashor, which precluded the ADC from remaining in the Bottom lane.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Baron Nashor is located in the Northwestern part of the map, while the Bottom lane spans the Southeastern corner, i.e. the opposite end of the map.


    During the late game, when the time is ripe to slay Baron Nashor and claim his hearty boon, the presence of enemy champions down in the Bottom lane suggests that they won¡¯t be able to make it in time to join a team fight in Baron Nashor¡¯s pit¡ªa mis-step which the opposing team is likely to take advantage of.)


    Sure enough, a terrific storm was impending¡ªjust as Xiao Bei and Lin Dong had foreseen!


    This game, both teams were full of formidable players. Independent of the clash between those two pinnacle-tier professionals, the fighting between both sides was incredibly fierce, while at the same time racing neck-and-neck for financial supremacy.


    It felt for all the world like an honest-to-goodness tournament match¡ªnot just some Ranked game between random players.


    At this tier of ability, everyone carried themselves with doubtless confidence, as though defeat was unthinkable. Ever since that battle at the sixth minute, all of Summoner¡¯s Rift had been steeped in the non-stop carnage between these ten complete strangers.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Actually, noobs are neither known for humility nor lack of self-esteem, either.)


    Whatever their backgrounds in real life: students, salarymen, merchants, white-collar workers, business owners¡­ all that was inconsequential here. Here in the Summoner¡¯s Rift, they were the greatest champions, the mightiest warriors, the best of the best in the whole game!


    Scouting, baiting, skirmishing, retreating, retaliating, and unleashing a whole variety of skills¡­ with hardly a word to one another, they all knew exactly what each of them was supposed to do in order to bring their team victory!


    Besieging the towers with their minions, finding blind spots from which to spring ambushes, and using the Baron Nashor and the Dragons to force a team fight¡­ elite players don¡¯t let themselves get dragged into a team fight over careless happenstance. Every move was planned and calculated.


    On the red side, the mana-based equipment set had been completed for Ezreal. He would now be able to poke his enemies relentlessly!


    Logan was exceedingly accurate with his Q-skill, ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯. As long as he scored a hit on anyone, it would take barely over a second to cool down. If he could use it to score a couple of hits on Orianna, Sona, or Vayne before a team fight began, it would improve his team¡¯s chances of coming out on top.


    The enemy¡¯s strategy was similarly straightforward: Don¡¯t let Ezreal poke them down¡ªforce the team fight as quickly as possible.


    ***


    The enemy had an expert player on Shen. This had been evident from that moment, early in the game, when he¡¯d used his ultimate skill to come to Vayne¡¯s aid, opening with a Flash-Taunt the instant he arrived.


    Once again, Shen used his Flash-Taunt technique, this time catching both Jarvan and Ryze.


    Because Ryze had spent a lot of the game roaming around the map, his ¡®Archangel¡¯s Staff¡¯ was not yet fully charged, and he didn¡¯t have that much health on him just at that moment.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Earlier, there was a lot of talk about a ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯, a mana-enhancing item which becomes progressively more powerful with each skill used by its owner. Even before the ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯ is fully charged, it can be assembled into either a ¡®Manamune¡¯ or an ¡®Archangel¡¯s Staff¡¯.


    Besides boosting its owner¡¯s mana and Ability Power, once the ¡®Tear of the Goddess¡¯ component is fully charged up, an ¡®Archangel¡¯s Staff¡¯ transforms into a ¡®Seraph¡¯s Embrace¡¯, which grants its wielder the ability to occasionally throw up a brief but powerful shield, helping them to survive moments of dire peril.)


    If they could insta-kill the enemy mage straight off the bat, it would be an ideal way to start off a team fight!


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Orianna activated her ultimate skill just as the duration of Shen¡¯s Taunt came to an end. The resulting Shockwave yanked Jarvan and Ryze back into the center of its effect. They were going for the kill on Ryze!


    Although they were being subjected to this chain-CC, neither of them panicked like a common player might have done. If a team fight was to begin right now, then they would fight!


    Using the momentum from the Shockwave, Jarvan brought down his battle standard and immediately followed up with a savage Dragon Strike, throwing himself into the enemies¡¯ midst before Sona could continue the combo with her ulti. Three enemy champions were thrown up into the air!


    Ryze, too, reacted with startling dexterity. Flashing to the side to avoid being disabled by Sona¡¯s ¡®Crescendo¡¯, as well as to put him out of reach of some of the enemy champions, he activated his own ultimate skill straight away. Arcane runes flickered rapidly along his arms, and brilliant arcs of electricity danced wildly amongst his foes.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Nowadays, Ryze is well-known for an iconic ultimate skill, ¡®Realm Warp¡¯, which can swiftly teleport even his entire team across the battlefield. However, previously his ultimate skill was a momentary self-buff called ¡®Desperate Power¡¯, which gave him a huge burst of movement speed, and allowed his spells to deal damage across an area while also restoring health to him.)


    His ultimate skill included a Spell Vamp effect, so that this sudden burst of AoE damage also raised his health back up considerably!


    For him to still be standing after taking so much punishment, this was why Ryze was considered a tank among mages, with astounding damage potential to boot!


    Their team hadn¡¯t been thrown into disarray despite the enemy¡¯s skillful first strike. Now that Jarvan and Ryze had drawn out a round of the enemy¡¯s control and damage skills, Riven dove into the fray with her ulti blazing, intent on cutting down none other than Vayne!


    ¡°Demacia!¡± Seeing Riven¡¯s determined assault, Jarvan didn¡¯t hesitate to pounce upon Vayne with his ulti as well, trapping her within a circle of stone!


    Right away, Riven Flashed through the crater wall and into the killing zone, her mighty blade hurtling towards Vayne!


    Riven was another champion who excelled at speedily dispatching foes. After the Flash, if Vayne got Stunned by her ¡®Ki Burst¡¯, a single skill combo would easily put paid to her.


    However, Sona had wisely held on to her ulti, and unleashed it now upon Riven as she charged in for the kill, incapacitating both Riven and Jarvan together, and halting their bull-rush attack!


    Two seconds, and Vayne¡¯s ¡®Tumble¡¯ was ready again. With a deft somersault, she broke out of Jarvan¡¯s ¡®Cataclysm¡¯ and made her escape, all the while firing her Silver Bolts at Riven!


    One, two, three hits! The interval between each shot was miniscule now, and Riven¡¯s health had dipped below the halfway point already.


    Now that the perfect opportunity had gone to waste, Riven understood that if she mindlessly continued to give chase, Vayne would effortlessly kite her to death. It didn¡¯t escape her that Vayne had yet to use her ¡®Condemn¡¯ skill: it would no longer be possible to get within reach of her again!


    Since she couldn¡¯t follow through, she opted to cut her way back out. Driving Vayne back was also a crucial service to her team, especially with Jarvan holding the front with a ¡®Randuin¡¯s Omen¡¯!


    Riven turned and unleashed a flurry of skills upon Lee Sin and Shen. Together with Ryze, Ezreal, and Zyra, they rained damage down upon these two enemy front-liners.


    The sustained damage coming out of Ryze was clearly greater than Ezreal¡¯s burst potential. The only problem was that he was taking more damage than he could withstand, so he was forced to retreat while the others tried to draw some fire away from him.


    Unfortunately, that was when he got hit by Lee Sin¡¯s ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯, which was followed immediately by a flying kick and a Dragon¡¯s Rage ulti. That was the end of Ryze, who had already been at critical health.


    And so, Ryze was the first to fall in this team fight.


    True, Ryze mainly dealt sustained damage, but that brutal burst of damage he¡¯d unleashed earlier had done substantial area-effect damage to the enemy team, and he¡¯d also absorbed quite a bit of their firepower, which his teammates would otherwise have had to suffer. Hence, his demise at this point did not signify that the team fight had been lost.


    He¡¯d already done plenty¡ªthe rest would be up to his other four teammates!

 Chapter 172 - After So Long

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Shen was a bull of a man. After his Taunt came out, he didn¡¯t appear as a champion so much as a super-soldier.


    Riven didn¡¯t waste her burst damage on Shen, and went instead for Lee Sin, who was streaking wildly across the battlefield.


    In fact, everyone was attacking Lee Sin, who soon followed Ryze into oblivion. Shen advanced fearlessly, pushing deep into their ranks while enduring an appalling amount of damage.


    The blue team had a high-damage champion like Vayne, with Shallow Dream controlling her, no less. The longer Shen could draw the enemy¡¯s attention, the more devastation Vayne could lay down. Once Jarvan was defeated, the red team¡¯s formation would be broken.


    Both Xiao Bei and Lin Dong frowned in dismay. Things were going poorly. At the rate that Vayne was busting out the pain, Jarvan would be the next corpse to hit the ground, but Shen meanwhile seemed like he¡¯d be able to remain on his feet for a while yet. Concentrating their fire on Shen was a bad idea.


    Another Mystic Shot streaked past Shen, striking Orianna as she moved to take down Riven.


    Luocheng was fighting with an ¡®Iceborn Gauntlet¡¯ in hand, so when the Mystic Shot collided against Orianna, frigid mist poured down over her mechanical body, slowing her to a standstill!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Typically, the Iceborn Gauntlet only enhances basic attacks immediately following the use of a skill ¨C not the skill itself. However, Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯ is one of those skills that can apply the same effects as a basic attack, which is especially useful because Mystic Shot has a longer range than his basic attacks.


    Whether you consider 30% Slow to be a ¡®standstill¡¯ depends on the situation, I guess.)


    Nice Slow!


    Seeing an opportunity, Riven immediately turned and pounced upon Orianna, her blade whistling through the air.


    This, along with Ezreal¡¯s damage output and Slowing effect, meant that Orianna had no hope of escape, and ended up getting taken down instead.


    ¡°Gah!¡± Before Riven and Ezreal could begin to smile about eliminating the enemy APC, they heard Jarvan¡¯s pained cry from nearby, and when they looked over, his body already lay in pieces on the floor.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Sorry if I¡¯ve already explained this before, but ADC stands for ¡®Attack Damage Carry¡¯, while APC refers to an ¡®Ability Power Carry¡¯. The lion¡¯s share of the glory generally falls to the one with the most kills, who often puts on airs about ¡®carrying¡¯ the rest of the team.


    ADC specifically refers to the champion in the traditional Marksman position, even if there are other Attack Damage-based sustained-damage champions in the team.


    APC, on the other hand, can refer to any Mage or Assassin in the team ¨C even one in the Support position, like Zyra or Lux, who are occasionally also referred to as SPC, meaning ¡®Support Carry¡¯.


    And no, Jarvan generally doesn¡¯t burst into giblets when killed.)


    While Shen was tanking the full might of three champions, Jarvan had fallen to the pairing of Vayne and Sona alone. Yet, he had been the first to go down¡ªa testament to Vayne¡¯s terrifying damage output!


    Vayne was still in excellent condition, and she had Sona by her side providing support. If she was allowed to rejoin Shen, they would all fall before her in short order!


    Luocheng hurriedly brought Ezreal up to high ground, so that he had vantage to intercept Vayne, Sona, and Shen as they moved to regroup.


    A mana-focused Ezreal had little hope of standing toe-to-toe against Vayne, so Luocheng made sure to keep a safe distance away, while he unleashed a barrage of Mystic Shots against Sona and Vayne.


    Thanks to the Iceborn Gauntlet, Sona and Vayne both found their movements greatly hampered by Ezreal¡¯s unceasing harassment. After several direct hits from Mystic Shot, Sona¡¯s health was now dangerously low!


    Seeing that his teammates were in danger, Shen turned back, clearly intent on catching Ezreal with a Taunt.


    Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Arcane Shift¡¯ was still on cooldown. He couldn¡¯t dodge it, and the duration of the Taunt effect allowed Vayne to get within reach of him!


    In truth, a mana-based Ezreal couldn¡¯t prevail in a face-to-face duel against any other ADC. Seeing Shallow Dream¡¯s expertly played Vayne now in range to attack Ezreal, the three spectators behind Luocheng sucked in a sharp breath, eyes glued to the screen. It was the feeling of finding yourself before a ruthless, unfeeling huntress, raising her crossbow to point it straight at your throat!


    Were they finally going to duke it out again?


    From Lin Dong¡¯s perspective, a team fight of this magnitude could only end with heavy losses on both sides. They would have to fight to the end!


    Xiao Bei saw things differently. If his estimations were correct, even with only half her health remaining, Vayne could nevertheless easily win a straight-up fight against Ezreal, although he was still at two-thirds himself.


    The Iceborn Gauntlet activated yet again, this time at Shen¡¯s expense. A frigid mist rose up around him, catching Vayne in its effect as well, just as she hit Ezreal with her second shot.


    With his opponents Slowed down, Ezreal hastily backed away.


    Duel?


    The point of a mana-based Ezreal was to kite his enemies, whittling away their health before they ever got within striking distance of him. If Shen and Vayne were determined to give chase, that was exactly what he wanted!


    Mystic Shot, another area-effect Slow, cooldown reduced by one second, and then 1.4 seconds later Mystic Shot was ready to fire again. He wasn¡¯t even using his basic attacks here, but he was already dealing tremendous damage and disruption to both Shen as well as Vayne!


    Slowed, Slowed, and then Slowed yet again¡­ whenever they got close, he¡¯d use Arcane Shift to slip away once more, and then resumed the onslaught of Mystic Shots and basic attacks. Besides dealing damage and Slowing down his enemies, each hit with the Mystic Shot also sped up the cooldown on his E-skill, Arcane Shift. This was the fundamental concept behind a mana-based Ezreal!


    They sought to catch him? Dream on!


    Shen led the chase, pursuing him doggedly. However, he couldn¡¯t even catch hold of the hem of Ezreal¡¯s jacket, to say nothing about securing a kill.


    Vayne followed behind Shen. Patient as a hunting panther, she could see that this would not be easy prey, and she was already scanning for alternate targets.


    However, she was careful to keep her true intentions hidden. Playing the part of the fool, she bumbled after Ezreal along with Shen.


    Snap! That was Ezreal¡¯s Iceborn Gauntlet again. Another cloud of freezing mist billowed outwards from Shen, catching Vayne in its effect, the frigid air pulling at her movements.


    This was the moment when a dashing female warrior suddenly appeared, blade in hand!


    It was Riven, the Exile!


    Her gaze was locked onto Vayne. In this moment of weakness, she would vanquish their hated foe!


    As Riven approached, Vayne dropped her fa?ade at last, her eyes flaring with cold light!


    Turning to face Riven with neither alarm nor panic, but rather the quietly savage air of one who has caught their prey in a trap!


    Foom! The power of the ¡®Blade of the Ruined King¡¯ had been unleashed! It raked across Riven¡¯s skin, and the cursed blade drank deeply of her life essence, transferring it to Vayne!


    Now her enemy had been Slowed down, while she herself regained her normal speed. With the Blade of the Ruined King in hand, it was like Vayne had five skills at her disposal¡ªit was like adding wings to what was already a fearsome beast!


    ¡°Huh!¡± Vayne tumbled out of the way of the last stroke from Riven¡¯s ¡®Broken Wings¡¯ combo. She launched a bolt, and then another, and then a third bolt to seal the curse of her Silver Bolts!


    Never known for prodigious health in the first place, Riven was cut down below half health in one fell swoop!


    Never in a thousand years would Riven have predicted that, so far into the team fight, Vayne had still yet to use her Blade of the Ruined King!


    Slowed as she was, Riven could no longer disengage. It was fight or die, and she desperately used her skills to close in on Vayne.


    Thwap! Condemn!


    With that Knockback bolt throwing Riven back, after all her efforts to reach Vayne, she¡¯d lost all hope of being able to win this fight.


    With all her skills expended, Riven could only watch helplessly as Vayne, always with another ace up her sleeve, fired the final crossbow bolt at her!


    Resistance was futile. Riven let her weapon fall to the ground. Even if she was to die, she would die with honor, looking her opponent straight in the eye!


    The silver quarrel pierced through Riven¡¯s heart. As blood gushed down her breast, she sank gently to her knees.


    Shutdown!


    Her kill-streak had ended. Riven had put on an exceptional performance throughout this battle, but she¡¯d met with misfortune in the end. It should have been her triumphant defeat of Vayne, but the Blade of the Ruined King had turned the tables, and ultimately spelled her doom.


    Still kiting Shen, not far away, Luocheng saw what had transpired, and his expression became even more severe.


    Riven couldn¡¯t have timed that attack any better. It was just bad luck that she hadn¡¯t accounted for Vayne¡¯s trump card.


    Furthermore, Luocheng knew for a fact that the Blade of the Ruined King had not been the last card Vayne had to play!


    She still had her Flash and Barrier!


    Witnessing Riven¡¯s hapless demise, as well as the cold manner in which Vayne wrenched the crossbow quarrel out from the still-spurting wound, Luocheng¡¯s heart began to hammer with excitement.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Whether or not Vayne actually does that sort of thing in the game is a question of imagination.)


    He had a pretty good idea, now, of who Shallow Dream really was.


    During the international invitational, there had been an amateur player who had risen to fame in the world of DOTA. Their style of gameplay combined flawless precision with uncanny predictions, as well as the discipline to always retain another card to play, another avenue to escape from danger.


    Many a vain-glorious challenger had tried to add to their own fame by getting close and taking that player down, but after straining themselves to the limit just to get through one layer of their defenses, as they were standing upon the verge of triumph, that player would calmly use something completely ordinary to utterly foil their attempt, and in the end they¡¯d be nothing more than the latest one to fall before the upstart.


    When Luocheng won first place in the solo demonstration event of the invitational, that player had been his greatest rival.


    However, as Luocheng prepared himself for a decisive showdown against that player during the final round of the event, his opponent had chosen to forfeit, ending the highly anticipated duel with a disappointing anti-climax!


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t recognized the player right away because everyone had been using English IDs during that global tournament, as standard for the World Cyber Games.


    Everyone has their regrets in life. For Luocheng, his greatest regret was missing out on this monumental duel, back when he was at the height of his skill, for all the world to see!


    After taking down a whole slew of world-class players, why had that player given up at the end?


    Had they judged themself unable to win, or had they been leaving the professional gamers some last shred of dignity? After all, this was an amateur contender who¡¯d just humiliated the pre-eminent pro-gamers of the world!


    This sense of disappointment had remained coiled around Luocheng¡¯s heart for far too long, now. On the day that he walked out of the world of professional gaming, he¡¯d sighed inwardly, thinking he¡¯d never get another chance to face off against that player.


    And yet, after so long¡ªafter he¡¯d quit being a pro-gamer to be a university student instead¡ªduring this crucial attempt to gain a twenty-sixth consecutive victory in Ranked, he¡¯d come across this player again, who¡¯d once left him in such confusion and regret.


    He was fully awake now, overcome with a glee he couldn¡¯t contain!


    ***


    ¡®Excellent. Wonderful. Simply brilliant!


    ¡®I recognize you, though I still don¡¯t know who you are.


    ¡®What I want is to find out which one of us is better, and I¡¯m going to get an answer during this twenty-sixth game!¡¯


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes were no longer calm and focused. Instead, they were blazing with a fire that arose from the depths of his soul, tinged with the manic gleam of a man who could no longer be dissuaded.


    Let¡¯s decide this!


    The duel they missed, more than two years ago¡­ they¡¯d finally settle it today!

 Chapter 173 - Unfinished Business

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng kept a close eye on Shen¡¯s energy bar.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: No, we¡¯re not talking about food here¡ªmaybe later. Different champions use different resources, e.g. Shen uses Energy instead of Mana.


    Energy recharges very rapidly, but is only ever available in a limited amount, so that Energy-based champions can only use their skills in short bursts, but they don¡¯t have to worry about long-term sustainability.


    In that sense, perhaps Energy is like chocolate, while Mana is a ham-and-cheese sandwich.)


    Shen¡¯s Taunt skill, ¡®Shadow Dash¡¯, should have finished its cooldown by now¡ªit was just that he didn¡¯t have enough Energy to use it.


    As Shen¡¯s energy reached a total of 120, Luocheng hit E!


    Here came the Taunt!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: ¡°You fight like a dairy farmer!¡± ¡°How appropriate: You fight like a cow!¡±)


    Luocheng was well aware that if Shen caught him with his Taunt, Vayne would follow up immediately with a skill combo, and that would be the end of him!


    He couldn¡¯t let himself fall victim to Shen¡¯s Taunting!


    The instant he had 120 Energy points, Shen would definitely bust out that Taunt, especially because Luocheng had deliberately allowed him to get within range, so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist!


    Whoosh! It was the fabled art of ninjutsu. Shen lunged in, his powerful physique drawing a long shadow through the air!


    It was exactly what Luocheng had been waiting for. As a split-second response, he hit E!


    Arcane Shift!


    Even as Shen¡¯s shadow passed over him, Ezreal stepped through that door between dimensions, vanishing and then re-appearing to the side!


    The ¡®Arcane Shift¡¯ skill additionally fired off a shot from Ezreal¡¯s exit point, which struck Shen squarely in the face. Luocheng used this moment to unleash a full combo on him as well!


    He had his Muramana active. Although he was running low on mana, in order to ensure that he could finish Shen off right now, he had to burn his mana to enhance his attack damage!


    In order to dish out a substantial amount of damage, a mana-based Ezreal relied on this property of Muramana!


    As the incoming damage ramped up, Shen didn¡¯t have enough Energy to throw up any kind of protection. When the vicious onslaught finally subsided, Shen was already collapsing indignantly through an icy mist, onto the frozen ground beneath him.


    ***


    Riven¡¯s corpse lay slumped against the wall. As Vayne plucked the bloodied crossbow bolt from her lifeless body and turned back around, she found that Shen had fallen to his knees before Ezreal.


    The broad southern stretch of the river was now littered with bodies everywhere, including the two Support champions who¡¯d ended up killing each other.


    And now, standing just beyond the Dragon pit, the only ones left were Yu Luocheng and Shallow Dream.


    From this battle, it could be seen that all ten players were highly skilled, but ultimately it came down to the two of them to decide the outcome of this game: Bitter rivals all along, now it would be Vayne the ¡®Night Hunter¡¯ vs. Ezreal the ¡®Prodigal Explorer¡¯.


    She, who moved through the shadows of Valoran, cold and haughty, hunting the wretched monsters that lurked in the darkness¡­ a black knight keeping the order within her territory.


    He, who braved the perilous places of Valoran, hot-blooded and courageous¡­ an adventurer upholding his own sense of justice and discovery!


    When two champions, both of whom have been named the mightiest of ADCs, were facing off against each other, treading over the fallen forms of allies and enemies alike as they stared daggers at one another, it somehow created the impression of two contenders for the throne, on the brink of all-out battle. The tension could be felt across all of Summoner¡¯s Rift!


    The mysterious huntress Vayne, or the cunning explorer Ezreal¡­ who was the true power in Valoran?


    And as for the two players behind them, they too had once faced off against one another like this, during a solo competition before the whole world!


    But that time, she¡¯d inexplicably chosen to forfeit.


    Some people had been of the opinion that she didn¡¯t consider herself the equal of F-Hawk, and had opted to spare herself the humiliation. After all, at the time, F-Hawk had achieved worldwide renown, and there were many elite players around the globe who held him in the highest regard.


    Others believed that she might have been leaving the professional gaming scene one last scrap of dignity, for if an amateur challenger defeated all these professional players, the whole industry would be in utter disgrace!


    Whether one subscribed to the former or the latter, all anyone could really do was guess.


    Eventually, it became a thing of the past, and only the most venerable gaming journals still carried the story in their archives.


    Most likely, hardly anyone today would be aware of that unfinished duel in the history of international pro-gaming tournaments.


    It didn¡¯t matter if everyone else had forgotten.


    Luocheng still remembered.


    And this time, he was facing Shallow Dream as an amateur player himself!


    This time, Shallow Dream would neither withdraw nor forfeit. She watched Luocheng intently. Perhaps she too felt the same regret over what had happened, and that was why this game she¡¯d been playing so spiritedly, almost ravenously!


    The inconsequential side characters were out of the way. Now it was just the two of them left to fight this savage battle.


    Without a doubt, someone was about to see an Ace!


    ***


    The air was frozen solid. Ezreal clutched an arc of magical energy in his hand. Vayne raised her own enchanted silver crossbow as well.


    Fhwoosh! Mystic Shot!


    With a range of 1,150 units, Ezreal could strike at Vayne without the latter being able to return fire.


    Up close, Ezreal would have no chance. Before Vayne could close the distance to him, Luocheng had to take full advantage of his superior attack range!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Fully leveled up, Vayne¡¯s ¡®Tumble¡¯ has a base cooldown time of two seconds, compared to thirteen seconds on Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Arcane Shift¡¯. So yes, together with ¡®Night Hunter¡¯, she actually could close the gap to him¡­ at the cost of not dodging his shots.)


    With staggered steps, Vayne evaded this Mystic Shot from Ezreal! Then she closed in. Vayne¡¯s passive skill ¡®Night Hunter¡¯ increased her movement speed when advancing toward enemies. Ezreal had only just used his Arcane Shift. Now they were 800 units apart¡ªanother 250 units closer, and she¡¯d be within range to attack Ezreal!


    ¡°Huh!¡± Vayne exclaimed brazenly, using Tumble to gain even more ground, which finally brought her close enough!


    A crossbow quarrel was launched towards Ezreal, but he didn¡¯t retreat right away, instead allowing Vayne to hit him twice!


    Luocheng had been keeping Ezreal¡¯s own passive ability ¡®Rising Spell Force¡¯ at its maximum of five stacks. Although he¡¯d missed with that last Mystic Shot, he¡¯d used his W-skill ¡®Essence Flux¡¯ to keep his attack speed up.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: ¡®Rising Spell Force¡¯ temporarily increases Ezreal¡¯s attack speed each time he hits something with his skills, to a maximum of five ¡®stacks¡¯, i.e. five cumulative instances of the same bonus.


    I¡¯m given to understand that the author is still talking about the older version of Essence Flux, which was a straight-line AoE which could deal direct damage to enemy champions. Regardless, the new Essence Flux also counts for stacking Rising Spell Force.)


    This brought his attack speed almost on par with Vayne¡¯s. After exchanging two basic attacks, Ezreal didn¡¯t allow her to land a third Silver Bolt, using Flash to get away!


    Vayne didn¡¯t use her own Flash to keep up with him, because Luocheng had chosen an excellent spot to Flash away, taking him across the walls of the Dragon pit. If Vayne used her Flash now, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get past the wall herself¡ªshe¡¯d just be stuck on the outside.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: If you use Flash while standing next to a section of wall, or some other obstacle which the short range of Flash shouldn¡¯t actually be able to get you across of, you¡¯ll be shunted towards the nearest empty space from that point (since you can¡¯t be left standing inside the wall). Often this takes you the rest of the way to the other side, effectively giving you a slight boost in Flash travel distance.)


    With no wards over on that side, she lost sight of him.


    A good Ezreal player had to know how to seek concealment like this, and then continue to apply damage while his enemies scrambled to regain line-of-sight on him.


    Vayne was in hot pursuit, coming around the entrance to the pit. She¡¯d enjoy a tremendous advantage in here, partly because Ezreal¡¯s shots might get blocked by the Dragon itself, and also because it would be too easy for her to impale him against the wall with Condemn.


    ¡°Hah!¡± A bolt of brilliant blue energy streaked out and struck Vayne just as she appeared at the mouth of the pit.


    The additional effect from Iceborn Gauntlet threw up a cloud of frost in the area, slowing Vayne down.


    Poof! Arcane Shift was ready again, and Ezreal used it to blink out the far side of the Dragon pit, never giving Vayne another shot at him.


    Augh! Just then, the Dragon awoke in a storm of wings, roused from its restful slumber, and unleashed its wrath upon the hapless Vayne!


    ¡°Wow¡­ beautiful!¡± Xiao Bei couldn¡¯t help exclaiming in admiration.


    He¡¯d lured Vayne into the Dragon pit after him, locked her down at the entrance with an Iceborn Mystic Shot, and then hit the Dragon once to incite its fury. Then he¡¯d used his newly cooled-down Arcane Shift to hop right back out of the Dragon pit once more, while the Dragon helped him to deal that much more damage to Vayne!


    It ought to be pointed out that the Dragon¡¯s fiery breath not only did a substantial amount of damage, it also slowed down the victim¡¯s attack speed. In a manner of speaking, it was as though Luocheng had hit Vayne with an extra skill!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Dragons have changed dramatically in recent years. It¡¯s one of the most interesting ways in which Riot Games continuously evolves the game.)


    It was the second time Xiao Bei was witnessing Luocheng¡¯s use of wild monsters in combat!


    The first time had been during the cyber caf¨¦ quarter-finals, when he¡¯d employed the Baron Nashor to take off one last bit of health from Orianna!


    This time he was using the Dragon not only to hurt Vayne, but also reduce her attack speed as well!


    Luocheng seized this moment to hit Vayne a couple more times, and then promptly withdrew, denying Vayne any opportunity to retaliate!


    ***


    ¡°OP!!!!!¡± Seeing Luocheng¡¯s trick with the Dragon, Jarvan¡¯s player unloaded a whole string of exclamation marks in chat.


    All eight of the defeated players were watching the duel between their ADCs. When they saw this particularly brilliant play, they immediately filled up the chat box with their excitement.


    With all the damage she¡¯d taken, Vayne¡¯s health was now lower than Ezreal¡¯s!


    However, Shallow Dream didn¡¯t retreat. If she did, Ezreal would chase her down, and her doom would be assured!


    Even with Tumble, Vayne wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Ezreal to deliver a shot. Instead, she let the Dragon have it, even as she got clear of the monster, her Tumble immediately becoming ready again.


    Ezreal was fighting a retreating battle as always. At the moment, they were perhaps 700 units apart. The Iceborn Gauntlet required two seconds to cool down between each use, so the next Mystic Shot didn¡¯t carry any Slowing effect. It was actually quite easy for Vayne to catch up, across such a short distance.


    Luocheng continued to run until they reached the brush in the corner of the Bottom lane¡ªthe place where they¡¯d had their opening duel at Level 1.


    If he ducked into the brush as Vayne reached him, she¡¯d lose sight of him again, making it impossible to chain three hits on him!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: You probably already know, but each time Vayne lands three consecutive hits on the same target, she causes a great deal of additional damage to them.


    When they¡¯re playing as Vayne, less-experienced players have an amusing propensity to dive into any kind of danger in order to land those all-important third hits. This can be exploited to hilarious effect.)


    If he could just bring her health a little lower, Luocheng would be able to simply duke it out with her face-to-face!


    But not quite yet¡ªhe remembered that she still had her Barrier. Even if they both used their Barrier spells, Ezreal would still come out of it the loser!


    ***


    ¡°If Vayne keeps up this chase, she¡¯s done for,¡± Lin Dong remarked, watching as Luocheng made for the brush.


    ¡°Right,¡± Xiao Bei agreed. ¡°Luocheng has his ulti now. If he fires it the moment he enters the bush, Vayne will be caught by surprise. By the time she has eyes on Ezreal, she¡¯ll be weak enough to go down in one combo!¡±


    Lin Dong nodded. Luocheng¡¯s mastery of Ezreal was impeccable. Even against a late-game terror like Vayne, he was putting on a dominating display. What¡¯s more, that Vayne hadn¡¯t died a single time this whole game¡ªshe was undeniably an incredible player herself!

 Chapter 174 - The Real F-Hawk!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Things were coming to a head!


    Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal slipped into the brush, breaking Vayne¡¯s line-of-sight to him. While the brush remained in total darkness to her, Ezreal was already firing up his ulti!


    Launching his ultimate skill from the concealment of the brush was one of the techniques to playing Ezreal. Firstly, it prevented the enemy from attacking him during the extravagant one-second spellcasting animation. Secondly, it lent the attack an element of surprise, giving the enemy little chance to dodge aside!


    There was no way for Vayne to see that Ezreal was unleashing his ultimate skill right at that very moment. The instant he¡¯d stepped into the bush, Luocheng had initiated the firing sequence for Ezreal¡¯s ¡®Trueshot Barrage¡¯, and meanwhile Shallow Dream was still charging blindly towards him!


    The skill was fully charged now. Ezreal held an enormous mass of energy with both hands, and drew it into a long golden crescent!


    Once Vayne had eaten this ulti, she wouldn¡¯t have enough health left to survive the next skill combo from Ezreal, with or without her Barrier. She wouldn¡¯t be able to get away from him with Flash, either!


    Luocheng was going to get this kill¡ªof this, he was certain!


    Fully formed, the Trueshot Barrage burst from the tall grass with a whistling howl. Suddenly, Luocheng¡¯s eyes widened.


    Shunk! A ward popped up, at the edge of the brush. Seeing through the vision it now granted her, a hint of fright flashed through Vayne¡¯s eyes!


    Fwoosh! The blazing golden blade hurtled towards Vayne, almost from point-blank range!


    Vayne recovered instantly from her shock, regaining her nerve in the split-second that it took for the Trueshot Barrage to fly 600 units towards her!


    Bamf! Flash!


    In the instant just before the Trueshot Barrage hit her, Vayne vanished from the spot.


    And then Shallow Dream¡¯s Vayne was standing right in front of Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal!


    ¡°She Flashed through it!¡± Xiao Bei gasped.


    The chatbox scrolled wildly with the deranged ravings of the dead.


    If the dead could speak, their fallen comrades would be screaming their heads off right then.


    My word, she Flashed right through it!


    Vayne had actually dodged the Trueshot Barrage by Flashing through it!


    And as a result, she was now in the perfect position to deliver her counter-attack against him!


    To ¡®Flash through¡¯ an attack meant to use the teleportation property of the Flash spell to pass unharmed through an incoming skillshot projectile ! 1


    That was what Shallow Dream had just done: In that instant right before the Trueshot Barrage hit her, she¡¯d used Flash to get behind it!


    Often, Flash was used to get a champion across a wall¡ªbut what if that wall was a high-speed energy wave, traveling at thousands of units per second?


    You can imagine how difficult this maneuver must be, especially when you consider how close Shallow Dream was when the ultimate was launched. With a bit of time to see the attack coming, it¡¯s not actually that big a deal for an expert player to pull off this sort of move¡ªbut Shallow Dream had only an instant after placing that ward to see Luocheng using his ulti, and then react to it.


    This level of dexterity and reflexes was simply mind-boggling!


    Now that she¡¯d dodged what should have been a lethal ulti, was the fight over? Shallow Dream could just as well have dodged to the side¡ªwhy had she gambled on being able to Flash through it instead?


    There was only one reason: Because now she was in the ideal position to attack!


    She opened fire!


    Vayne¡¯s crossbow bolts punched into Ezreal point-blank!


    No sooner had the first shot hit him than a mighty bolt of Condemnation followed immediately after, slamming into his chest!


    Bam! Ezreal was thrown back, through the brush, and up against the solid stone wall behind him!


    Wham! He hit the stones hard, and the crossbow bolt impaled him there against the wall!


    Rooted and Stunned, Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal was unable to make a single move, and could only watch as Vayne fired bolt after bolt into him!


    Perforated by crossbow quarrels, even with his Barrier up, Ezreal¡¯s health was rapidly falling away to nothing.


    1.5 seconds later, his health was critically low, but the light had yet to leave his eyes!


    Arcane Shift! Mystic Shot!


    His brow deeply furrowed, Luocheng pushed for one final exchange with Shallow Dream!


    Vayne remained right where she was standing, as though she¡¯d already precisely calculated Ezreal¡¯s death by the end of the next chain of Silver Bolts!


    The last bolt, coated with the holy water of final judgment, flew unerringly towards Ezreal¡¯s heart!


    It struck him with a resounding note, piercing through his breast and causing blood to gush out profusely.


    Just a little bit more¡­ If only he could break through Vayne¡¯s Barrier somehow, he¡¯d be able to finish off that last little bit of health she had remaining.


    But his life was slipping away, and he gradually sagged to the ground, as his legs gave out beneath him.


    ¡°Shutdown!¡± The announcement rang through Summoner¡¯s Rift, declaring the final outcome of their duel!


    ¡°Ace!¡± Ezreal¡¯s defeat meant that everyone on the red team had been wiped out, leaving the entirety of Summoner¡¯s Rift uncontested. For the time being, the creep camps in the jungles, the minions in the lanes, even the towers themselves were all ripe for the picking!


    ***


    The chatbox was all abuzz!


    Ezreal had performed an incredible maneuver through the Dragon pit in order to gain the advantage in health difference. When he used his ulti from the brush against Vayne, by every right it should have been his victory.


    Then Shallow Dream had shocked everyone by Flashing through it, at the same time putting herself in position to nail Luocheng¡¯s champion to the wall.


    Both ADCs had managed to last through the chaotic team fight, and then they¡¯d engaged each other in a duel to the death.


    In the end, Shallow Dream¡¯s Vayne had slain Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal!


    The battle had been decided, and not even Luocheng himself had foreseen this turn of events.


    Some Vayne players had a habit of always carrying a ward with them, and Shallow Dream was one of those.


    To have planted that ward and spotted out his ulti, and then to have immediately responded by Flashing straight through it¡­ even Luocheng was left speechless. There couldn¡¯t be more than a handful of players in the whole world who wielded such a level of precision and reflex, and that was considering the astronomical number of gamers in the world today!


    Watching his screen fade into monochrome, Vayne standing over his fallen form, Luocheng could only wear a bitter grimace.


    So, in the end, he¡¯d met with the same fate as all those other elite players who¡¯d been defeated by Shallow Dream: Just as victory seemed to be within his grasp, she¡¯d pulled an ace out from her sleeve in a breathtaking play that left his delusions in pieces on the floor.


    Small wonder that the entire pro-gaming world had been completely at her mercy. She truly lived up to her reputation!


    ¡°How could this have happened¡­¡± a voice whispered behind him. Qianqian beheld the devastation of the red team, aghast.


    From Luocheng¡¯s behavior, as well as all that Lin Dong and Xiao Bei had said, Qianqian realized that Shallow Dream represented some sort of unresolved regret for Luocheng, an adversary he¡¯d always been longing to face in combat . 1


    At times, you can gauge the depth of a person¡¯s desires just by watching their eyes.


    From the moment this game began, Luocheng¡¯s dark eyes had been blazing wildly without reservation. Qianqian had fervently wished for his victory, because she could sense that he really, really wanted to win this.


    How had this happened again¡­ he¡¯d clearly done his very best, but he¡¯d still met with failure in the end. She could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes.


    Luocheng had to be feeling terrible right now. Forgetting everyone else around them, she reached out and laid a hand over his.


    His hands remained in place over the mouse and keyboard, but there was nothing for him to do¡ªhis champion was dead.


    Luocheng turned his head to find Qianqian watching him with heartfelt concern. Her eyes were red, as though she shared his pain in defeat.


    Indeed, who wouldn¡¯t be devastated by such a loss, especially after pouring all your heart and soul into it.


    But looking upon Qianqian brought warmth to Luocheng¡¯s heart, and the frustration eased from his features, replaced by a smile.


    ¡°Luocheng.¡± ¡°Boss.¡± Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were similarly crestfallen. It had been an unexpected blow to them as well.


    Luocheng was a former champion of the solo demonstration competition, during an international tournament. Widely regarded to be the greatest solo player in the world, it was difficult to imagine the existence of a better player than him, whether in DOTA or LOL.


    At last, their unfinished duel had been brought to a conclusion. After all these years, it was hard to say whether anyone else still cared.


    He¡¯d finally been able to resolve this matter.


    That was what Luocheng told himself.


    ***


    Squeezing Qianqian¡¯s hand gently, Luocheng kept up his smile. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, this game isn¡¯t over yet.¡±


    Of course, they all knew that. But with both sides so evenly matched, now that the red team had suffered a total wipe-out, did they still have any real hope of making a comeback?


    There were good players on both sides, good enough that it was unlikely any of them would make any overt mistakes, good enough that even the slightest advantage would be enough for them to take control of the rest of the game.


    As a result of them losing this team fight, the enemy team had free run of the lane minions, they had more champion kills in total, and they managed to bring down one tower. Despite being at critical health, Vayne effortlessly brought down the Dragon all by herself. The gold difference between the two teams had suddenly grown to two thousand . 1


    Their financial disadvantage wasn¡¯t even their biggest problem¡ªin terms of morale, Luocheng¡¯s team was now down in the dumps.


    ¡°There¡¯s no call for all this doom and gloom.¡± Luocheng addressed the collective ennui with soothing words. ¡°The full measure of a player must be considered from all angles. True, this Vayne is a beast in solo combat¡­¡± At this, a fresh smile lifted up one corner of his lips.


    League of Legends is a team game, always fraught with twists and turns. Certainly, winning a team fight would skew the odds in your favor, but one lost fight over Baron Nashor, and all that you¡¯ve gained could be undone¡­ it could even cost you the game.


    If she couldn¡¯t win a solo duel, playing as Vayne against Ezreal during the late game, Shallow Dream would hardly have any claim to being the one who¡¯d brought the entire pro-gaming world to its knees.


    It was merely a difference of one champion, but that team fight had ended with five deaths in exchange for four kills, after all¡ªnot quite enough to decide this game, one way or the other!


    For the sake of a twenty-sixth straight win, Luocheng¡¯s priority was to take the game. So what if he got killed once? Even if he died a dozen more times, as long as they got the enemy Nexus in the end, the ultimate victory would still be his!


    Luocheng had never held himself to be the most skilled player in existence. In fact, he was aware of several players superior to him, who hadn¡¯t been present at that invitational event.


    His greatest strength, what he was truly admired for, was his talent at leading a team to triumph!


    Good, good. As Ezreal often said: ¡°Time for a true display of skill!¡±


    The awe-inspiring skill that Shallow Dream was displaying had truly awakened Luocheng¡¯s long-dormant abilities¡ªand it was about time, too!


    ¡°Trust in me. We can win this!¡± Luocheng patted Qianqian¡¯s hand as he said this with calm assurance.


    Qianqian was taken aback at seeing such a positive response from Luocheng. She didn¡¯t know why, but it felt like the most natural thing in the world to put all her faith in him.


    Slowly, she took her hand away from his. The last few seconds counted down on the respawn timer.


    It was time for Luocheng to return to the battlefield!


    ***


    They could win. They would win. Xiao Bei and Lin Dong had no trouble believing this, either¡­


    ¡­ Because they could see that the true F-Hawk was about to take flight!

 Chapter 175 - Assassin ADC

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    To excel at League of Legends is not merely a matter of individual players pulling off plays of blinding brilliance, nor is it about sitting pretty in your own lane, promising your team that you¡¯ll definitely win your lane.


    So what if you win your lane? If your equipment doesn¡¯t complement your team¡¯s strategy, whatever you gained in the early game will be lost in the mid to late game.


    Those who fail to understand this are likely to never rise above 1,600 LP, while blaming their teammates for their lack of success. Even if their individual skill might be on par with players at the 2,000 LP tier, what¡¯s measured in the end is their value to the team overall.


    Remember: Ultimately, victory in this game depends upon breaking through the enemy¡¯s defenses to demolish their Nexus!


    In the pursuit of this goal, no matter how many times you¡¯ve been Aced, no matter how many times your corpse has adorned the scenery, no matter how flamboyantly your enemies may dance about beneath their towers¡­ nothing else will matter in the end!


    Seize victory, at any cost!


    ***


    Leaving aside for now Vayne¡¯s overpowering late-game dominance in single combat, although Luocheng had fallen short of the mark in his duel against Shallow Dream, he wasn¡¯t going to throw a hissy tantrum over that.


    If anything, this had stoked the dying embers of his competitive spirit!


    His opponent had proven superior to him in terms of individual skill, yet he continued to weigh heavily upon the balance of power in this game. Didn¡¯t that suggest he might have some advantage in terms of teamwork?


    ***


    Once again, both teams were on the verge of another team fight. This time, it was for the sake of defending their second-tier tower in the Middle Lane.


    Making use of a large wave of their minions, Shallow Dream¡¯s blue team was pushing hard up the lane. With minion waves advancing on multiple fronts, they were applying tremendous pressure upon the red team!


    As the situation was coming to a standstill, the enemy Lee Sin made a misstep 1 , and red team¡¯s Jarvan immediately seized upon it!


    Since Lee Sin had just used his ¡®Safeguard¡¯ skill, if they could lock him down here, it was probable his life would be ended then and there. Between Ryze, Riven, and Ezreal, there was no shortage of burst damage at their disposal!


    Lee Sin¡¯s blunder caused the fires of war to surge anew!


    Runic spells, magical chords, energy bolts, living vines, and an enchanted clockwork Ball¡­ skills raged across the battlefield, ordered within the chaos, precise and calculated!


    Ten champions met once again in another titanic clash, the earth thundering beneath their feet, while their battle cries shook the heavens!


    Ezreal stood amidst the battlefield, his gaze piercing through all the smoke and explosions, to where Vayne was similarly watching from behind the rest of her team.


    Luocheng recalled that the last time he¡¯d met a pinnacle-tier opponent like this was during his final year of high school, back when he was still playing Ranked games alongside Snowfall, and they happened to meet Asmodai.


    At the time, Asmodai had undeniably awakened Luocheng¡¯s thirst for victory¡ªbut that had been nothing compared to this!


    It felt like his pounding heart was spewing gouts of flame, his boiling blood like liquid fire in his veins!


    No one would understand just how deeply Yu Luocheng loved games, to the point that he could feel it in every beat of his own heart!


    It was like this too for all the most passionate gamers. They spent their days blending in with the rest of society, aimless and unfeeling, more dead than alive¡­ but when their heart was set to racing like this, it reminded them of what it felt like to be alive!


    Come! Let¡¯s fight with all we¡¯ve got, until death!


    It had been a long time since he¡¯d cared so much about winning a match. He yearned to know that feeling once more, after winning a game like this¡ªto feel like he¡¯d proven the worth of his existence!


    ***


    In a typical team-fighting formation, the ADC should remain in the back, out of harm¡¯s way, while still being able to deal out their damage.


    But Luocheng knew that Vayne did not have to be constrained by these standard conventions. She had a knack for prevailing in combat in spite of terrible injuries.


    Ezreal had his own means to excel, too. It was the trump card which had so far allowed him to remain undefeated with Ezreal in the Ionia server!


    And it was time to play that card. Observe!


    ***


    As soon as the fighting had begun, Shen and Lee Sin had been ardently searching for Ezreal. As front-liners, their primary duty was to disable the enemy APC and ADC.


    Shen¡¯s main role in a team fight was to absorb enemy fire. Since Lee Sin was occupying Ryze¡¯s attention, Shen moved in to engage Ezreal!


    After being kited to death by him previously, Shen had been stocking up on armor: a Sunfire Cape, a Randuin¡¯s Omen, and one more Chain Vest. Now Shen was so tanky that any ADC besides Vayne would be clawing the walls in frustration . 1


    Shen advanced through all the commotion to reach the enemy¡¯s rear line. He seemed to be thinking something along the lines of, ¡®I¡¯m wearing chain mail, plate armor, a cloak¡­ I¡¯ve even put on a pair of long johns. Let¡¯s see what that damned Ezreal can do to me now! Beat me, scratch me, throw everything you¡¯ve got at me¡ªI¡¯ve made up my mind to render you completely irrelevant in this battle!¡¯


    And yet¡­ where had Ezreal gone off to?


    Had he gone off to farm, instead of joining the team fight?


    That couldn¡¯t be¡­ he¡¯d clearly seen him poking at them earlier. There was no way he¡¯d go missing now that the team fight was in full swing. Knowing how skilled this Ezreal player was, it was impossible that he¡¯d make such a noob mistake!


    Weathering a non-stop barrage of skills, he pushed deep into the enemy¡¯s ranks, but Ezreal really wasn¡¯t there, in the back!


    ¡°Argh!¡± A cry of agony rang out from the far side of the battle! Shen whipped around to look, and was shocked to find that Orianna had fallen apart in a heap of mechanical parts, her life force mysteriously snuffed out!


    They¡¯d lost Orianna? How had this happened?


    Riven and Jarvan were still busy trying to take down Lee Sin. Ryze was maneuvering to flank Vayne. Who else among their enemies could possibly have struck down Orianna where she hid at the back of their formation?


    Just then, a dashing figure with blonde hair darted past Orianna¡¯s wreck, one hand glowing with a frosty blue aura! It was the prey he¡¯d been hunting for, Ezreal!


    Shen¡¯s eyes were close to popping out of his eye sockets!


    You¡¯re an ADC, you should be attacking from behind the protection of your allies! What in blazes are you doing over there? Who in hell plays ADC this way?


    Shen was veritably frothing at the mouth!


    He¡¯d put on his finest armor. He¡¯d been working out. All for the sake of getting Ezreal¡¯s attention¡ªbut the moment this team fight started, Ezreal had immediately disappeared off to goodness-knows-where, and the next time he showed up, he¡¯d done something unspeakable to poor Orianna!


    Ezreal had gotten himself an Infinity Edge, and he had Muramana active, so he could dish out an obscene amount of damage in a hurry. Orianna had first been Slowed down by the effect of his Iceborn Gauntlet, and then Jarvan had tossed her salad with an EQ-combo. Basically, the Lady of Clockwork had taken a licking, and then stopped ticking.


    Orianna was the Mid-lane APC, as essential to them as their ADC champion. For her to be slain right at the start of the team fight meant that it could well be their turn to get Aced, this time!


    Whereas Luocheng typically played Vayne by dancing upon death¡¯s doorstep, he played Ezreal as an assassin ADC on the battlefield!


    By employing Ezreal¡¯s agility, he would slink out of sight when a team fight began, and look for the perfect moment to pounce upon the enemy APC or ADC!


    When an APC or ADC was busy doing their thing, their concentration was typically focused entirely on the team fight itself. If a burst-damage ADC suddenly jumped in out of nowhere, it was hard to react in any adequate fashion before they found themselves biting the dust!


    Playing like this was extremely risky. When Luocheng first started practicing to fight this way, he¡¯d even dropped from 2,000 LP all the way down to 1,500 LP. After screwing up countless games, he¡¯d finally formulated a genuinely viable modus operandi!


    Inspecting how both teams were doing, paying particular attention to the health and armor of the APC, gauging the enemy¡¯s skill cooldowns, checking whether they still had Flash available¡­


    And then, once a mana-based Ezreal with Muramana has also picked up Infinity Edge, that¡¯s when they have the highest odds of pulling off a successful assassination! It was thanks to this unique play-style that Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal had a 100% winning rate in Ranked play on the Ionia server!


    Not by accident, and certainly not by luck¡ªit was a success born from countless failures!


    ***


    Without the slightest warning, Luocheng had slipped up to Orianna and taken her out. Behind him, Xiao Bei and Lin Dong stared in amazement. They¡¯d never known that Ezreal could be played this way!


    This had caused them to think back to the 5v5 team fight at six minutes, down in the Bottom lane, when Luocheng¡¯s Ezreal had slipped behind the enemy unnoticed and killed off a wounded Sona, while at the same time cutting off Vayne¡¯s escape!


    Meanwhile, this sneak attack in the middle of a frenzied battle was some advanced-level stuff! Ask yourself how many ADC champions you feel would be able to pull off something similar¡ªit could only be Ezreal, the most mobile of ADCs!


    ***


    ¡°Kill Ezreal! We can¡¯t miss this chance to kill Ezreal!¡±


    In the wake of Orianna¡¯s sudden demise, the blue team was at a loss for a moment, but then they realized that Ezreal was now right beside them¡ªand easily within striking distance!


    Vayne went into her ulti without hesitation, vanishing from sight as she dove across the ground, abandoning her attacks on Jarvan to go after Ezreal instead!


    Lee Sin had also noticed this beautiful opportunity. He threw down a ward and dashed over to it, closing the distance rapidly ! 1


    ¡°Hah!¡± Lee Sin threw out a Sonic Wave, but Ezreal deftly side-stepped it!


    A frost-wreathed Mystic Bolt flew out from Ezreal¡¯s fingertip, hitting Vayne. The icy mist spread out all around her, Slowing down both her as well as Lee Sin . 1


    He¡¯d gotten the kill he¡¯d come for. Luocheng wasted no time getting out of there. If Vayne and Lee Sin really had such a hankering for him, they were welcome to follow after!


    With his mana-focused build on Ezreal, never mind the two of them, the whole enemy team could come after him if they liked. He could kite them all day long, drag them all the way across the map!

 Chapter 176 - This Time, I Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Vayne was no fool. Seeing Ezreal in full retreat, she immediately gave up the chase, and turned instead to Jarvan and Riven.


    Of course, even Shallow Dream had been startled! Not even she had been able to detect him before he was already right on top of Orianna.


    What if he¡¯d used that sneaky, unfathomable assassination technique of his on the ADC, who¡¯d been likewise occupied at the time?


    The ADC champion is constantly being threatened by the enemy front-liners. If she¡¯d somehow been caught by CC for a moment, and Ezreal attacked her with Muramana and Infinity Edge in either hand, she¡¯d have been instantly deleted with no chance to respond!


    With Orianna out of play for the time being, Vayne was now the sole damage-dealer on blue team. Sona, Lee Sin, and Shen only had limited offensive capabilities¡ªnot to mention that Shen now had to extract himself from the enemy team¡¯s midst, after which his main priority would be ensuring Vayne¡¯s safety.


    ***


    You¡¯ve come all this way here¡ªwhat¡¯s your hurry to leave?


    Ryze naturally hated to let Shen go. All that armor was well and good, but Ryze primarily dealt out magical damage. He unloaded his skills upon Shen: Overload, Rune Prison, Spell Flux¡­ one after another, like a rapid-fire pulse cannon, and Shen¡¯s health was rapidly melting away beneath the onslaught.


    Jarvan¡¯s life expectancy had improved somewhat, as a result of Orianna¡¯s removal from the field. Meanwhile, Sona and a badly wounded Lee Sin were not going to be nearly enough protection for Vayne.


    Riven was the greatest threat to her.


    With her ulti already active, Riven flashed across the battlefield, her sights dead-set on Vayne!


    With a great shout, she raised her blade high, and a palpable wave of energy burst outwards from Riven, Stunning all the enemies around her!


    The effect would only hold for a very brief moment, but Riven knew that Vayne didn¡¯t have Flash ready just then. Flashing in to attack her like this, she intended to take her down right away!


    Strum! A chord reverberated through the air, as Sona played her ultimate skill ¡®Crescendo¡¯. All who heard it became momentarily disoriented, robbed of all their faculties. Jarvan and Riven, caught in a stupor, inexplicably began to dance . 1


    Crack! The crossbow instantly transformed, radiating holy power!


    ¡°Purge with silver!¡± Vayne coldly activated her ultimate skill, ¡®Final Hour¡¯!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I went back and checked the previous chapter. No mistake in translation.)


    Attack damage, movement speed, and agility were dramatically improved! The bolts that flew from Vayne¡¯s crossbow now struck with even more force, punching straight through what scant little armor Riven wore!


    Over the duration of Crescendo, Vayne with her ulti on could inflict a truly terrifying amount of damage. Choosing to ignore Jarvan for now, the blessed silver bolts flew from her crossbow, perforating Riven thoroughly.


    As Riven came out of the daze, before she had the chance to use ¡®Valor¡¯ to shield herself, Vayne hit her with Condemn, impaling her against a wall, completely helpless!


    More crossbow bolts slammed into Riven, who hadn¡¯t been allowed to make even a single attack!


    In the end, Riven only managed a final ¡®Wind Slash¡¯ before she perished.


    With her current equipment, Vayne¡¯s might was overwhelming. Never mind Riven, who hadn¡¯t gotten any tank items; even Jarvan, who¡¯d gone full tank, was by no means safe from her.


    Ding! Ding! Ding! Attack pings 1 rang incessantly. Everyone on red team was anxious to see Vayne destroyed. Otherwise, with the sort of heat she was packing, she could very well wipe them all out¡ªwith or without Orianna.


    Riven fell, accomplishing hardly anything at all. On the bright side, because it had been imperative for Vayne to impale and kill her off as quickly as possible, she¡¯d now put herself in a bit of a precarious position:


    With a bellowing battle cry, Jarvan finally used the ulti he¡¯d been holding onto all this while!


    Cataclysm!


    Taking advantage of Vayne having ventured a bit too far in front, he trapped her inside the Cataclysm crater with him, allowing the rest of the team to close in and surround her.


    Having just used Tumble, Vayne would be stuck in here for at least two seconds ! 1


    Abandoning his fight with Shen, Ryze hurried this way. Everyone on the team understood that if Vayne wasn¡¯t taken out soon, they¡¯d lose this team fight. The two best people to get the job done were Riven and Ryze.


    Riven was feeding the worms now, which meant that it fell to Ryze!


    Ryze had purposefully been saving up a Rune Prison. Replete with movement speed-enhancing Runes, he rapidly moved up to the front!


    Overload, Rune Prison, Spell Flux, Overload¡­ With adept motions, Ryze unloaded a torrent of magic damage upon Vayne.


    While Vayne continued to focus her attacks on Jarvan, she also brought out her Barrier to absorb some of the damage.


    A combo like this from Ryze was especially hard for a squishy champion to take. Even with her Barrier, Vayne¡¯s health was swiftly brought down to about one-third. A little more, and it would be curtains for her.


    Once Vayne went down, this team fight would be over!


    However, the moment the Rune Prison wore off, Vayne Tumbled out of the crater, turning invisible as she did so!


    The next moment, she reappeared beside Jarvan, positioning herself at a right angle from Ryze.


    An unbroken flurry of silver bolts tore through Jarvan, and his health plummeted away toward nothing. Whatever your defenses, however plentiful your health¡­ it was all just a laugh to Vayne!


    One last chain of Silver Bolts, and the Exemplar of Demacia succumbed to the silver quarrels riddling his body, his fearsome Dragon Lance tumbling out from limp fingers.


    Double Kill!


    Clad in the finest equipment, Vayne had made short work of two champions.


    Now, Ryze was the one in a pinch. Behind him, Shen with his Taunt; in front of him, Sona with her Slow and harassment¡ªand between them, Vayne with her touch of death!


    ¡°Hah!¡± At long last, Zyra deployed her own ultimate skill! This whole time, she¡¯d been zoned off by Shen, and only now was she able to lend a hand to her team.


    Thick vines undulated like pythons underfoot, rapidly interweaving together into a deadly web!


    Shen and Sona had been caught by Zyra¡¯s vines, and had no hope of escaping the area of effect of her ulti now. Vayne meanwhile Tumbled nimbly away, vanishing yet again!


    At the edge of the Stranglethorns, Vayne re-appeared with a flutter of her coat. She opened fire on Zyra, each bolt tearing through her vital organs!


    As death approached, Zyra Flashed away, beyond Vayne¡¯s attack range!


    Ruthless as ever, Vayne had no intention of allowing her to escape. She turned her Blade of the Ruined King on Ryze, and before he could lock her down with another Rune Prison, she used the speed she¡¯d stolen with the Blade, along with another Tumble, to catch up to the fleeing Zyra!


    The next shot was the last one!


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± With a pained moan, Zyra folded up into a venomous bloom, alluring and deadly.


    Her last, Vengeful Thorn flew wide. It was no easy task, trying to hit Vayne.


    Triple Kill!


    Three bodies now lay scattered about the vicinity, all done in by Vayne¡¯s Silver Bolts!


    For clarity¡¯s sake, Orianna hadn¡¯t managed to do much of anything before Ezreal had snuffed her out. That meant these three kills were entirely Vayne¡¯s own handiwork.


    Three kills in one fell swoop. Vayne was like a boss monster right now.


    Just as they¡¯d thought, failing to kill her had meant their total demise!


    ***


    Ryze was in a rage! This team fight had gone worse than he¡¯d thought possible. He watched Vayne, only 600 units away from himself, and wished he could speed up the cooldown timer on his Flash by thirty-odd seconds, so he could blink over there and finish her off with one combo.


    Without Flash, not even his movement Runes would allow him to catch up to a Vayne with Night Hunter and Phantom Dancer, especially with Shen Taunting him, and Sona Slowing him down . 1


    Glancing at Sona¡¯s health bar, Ryze couldn¡¯t hold himself back any longer. He¡¯d start with whoever was within easy reach, then!


    Having taken exception to Sona now, Ryze was just about to let her have a few choice spells when suddenly, from just nearby, an energy bolt swept along the wall, catching Vayne as she fled!


    An icy mist enveloped her, freezing her limbs, and drastically Slowing her down!


    It was Ezreal, with a beautiful Mystic Shot!


    One moment, Ryze had been fuming at Ezreal¡¯s inexplicable departure. Now, he was so happy to see him he almost cried out in joy!


    Running for all he was worth, Ryze charged towards the Slowed Vayne!


    With such little health left to her, if he could just get within 550 units of her, she was dead meat!


    ¡°Hoo!¡± It was a Taunt from Shen, catching Ryze just in time!


    The player controlling Ryze very nearly hurled his mouse to the floor!


    Shen¡¯s ¡®Shadow Dash¡¯ had just come off cooldown, at this most critical of moments!


    He was a Mage, but now he was forced to tangle with a ninja fully clad in armor. It was a frustration to make him rip his hair out by the roots!


    ¡®Whoosh!¡¯ A dashing figure swept past them.


    Ignoring the muscle-tower that was Shen, he was heading straight for Vayne. With an Arcane Shift, he was suddenly standing directly before her, calmly regarding her badly wounded condition.


    Vayne¡¯s Triple Kill had been an impressive feat, but she was on her last drop of health, now. Ezreal, meanwhile, was essentially still full up. Even if it was Shallow Dream at the controls, she was at his mercy all the same.


    ¡®Now I¡¯ve got you!¡¯ Ezreal didn¡¯t actually say this out loud, but the smirk upon his lips pronounced it clearly enough.


    Slowed as she was by the frost cloud, Vayne had no hope of escaping. Hugging her wounds, she remained where she was, as cold and haughty as she ever had been.


    ***


    He who knows how to make the fullest use of his own team, only he will be laughing to the end.


    Vayne had fought valiantly, and had slain many foes. She had been magnificent, terrifying¡­ and so what?


    Luocheng had allowed his team to weasel out every last one of her cards from her. No matter how skilled she was, she was naught but a sitting duck now.


    ¡®This time, I win!¡¯

 Chapter 177 - Four-Man Pursuit!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Tumble, Night Hunter, Silver Bolts, Condemn¡­


    To the last breath, Vayne continued to attack, dealing as much damage as she possibly could in that final moment!


    At last, a ray of light streaked through, exploding against her chest.


    Vayne¡¯s coat flew open, her hair streaming through the air as she toppled backwards, disappearing into the snow-white fog.


    Ezreal watched her fall. He¡¯d basically just showed up at the last moment to deal her the final blow, but he didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of guilt over it.


    Using Ezreal to take Vayne on in a solo duel during the late game was the definition of pointlessness. Shallow Dream wouldn¡¯t be who she was if she could lose in such a match-up!


    Yu Luocheng had no allusions of being invincible. Even when he¡¯d stood at the top of the DOTA community, he¡¯d recognized that everyone had their specialties. Being able to make the most of their individual strengths in order to help their team find victory, that was the only way to go!


    How did LOL become so popular? What makes it both so loved and so hated?


    It¡¯s because it represents a quintessential truth in life, from which no one is exempted. And so, in our glory, arrogance, and pretentions, we slowly learn to find perspective, patience, and wisdom.


    We say that these games aren¡¯t real, but are they not being played by every kind of person in society ? 1


    ***


    Looking upon Vayne¡¯s fallen form, hearing her last breath leave her, Luocheng was finally able to smile.


    He could feel warm blood coursing through his veins, his heart buoyed by a sense of jubilant accomplishment that would be hard to find out in the chaotic, maddening real world.


    Truly, there were no words to describe these emotions.


    ¡°Ace!¡±


    After Ryze finished off Sona, who¡¯d never stood a chance, red team secured their own team fight victory. Three kills for five, with Ryze and Ezreal as the only people still standing. It had been a hard-fought victory, with both sides proceeding neck-and-neck throughout the whole game.


    Vayne¡¯s perfect record of zero deaths had been broken at last, lifting the crushing weight of despair from Luocheng¡¯s team.


    ¡°We won a fight! Yeah!¡± Xiao Bei was grinning from ear to ear.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t consider himself to be unbeatable, but that was how Xiao Bei saw him. No one was better than him, and no one could stand against him when he had control of the game¡­ besides that person¡ªabsolutely no one!


    Qianqian¡¯s smile was dazzling. Seeing Luocheng¡¯s unexpected smile had her all aflutter. It made her feel irresistibly drawn towards him. Perhaps, yes¡­ once they were alone together, perhaps she¡¯d let him have another kiss? Qianqian thought about it in secret.


    Eventually, she came to a decision: If he won this game, she¡¯d give him a quick peck on the cheek, just to tide over his insatiable urges for a moment.


    ***


    Winning a team fight in the late game was a huge step towards winning the whole round. High-level champions took forever to respawn.


    Two towers fell in quick succession, and now the enemy base had been broken open through Mid lane. Taking the Inhibitor Tower was of particular importance, because once it went down, breaking the Inhibitor behind it wouldn¡¯t have to wait for another team fight victory¡ªa single champion falling would be enough.


    Or, if you were careless, you could simply lose it anytime.


    If they won the next team fight, this game would basically be in the bag. Luocheng had faith in himself, in his team!


    The economic difference swung back in their favor, albeit not by that much.


    It all came down to which side could win the next team fight.


    Everyone on red team had returned to action. In the final moments before the situation reset, Luocheng had easily secured that Inhibitor tower, as well as both Red and Blue buffs.


    Back at base, he got himself a ¡®Last Whisper¡¯, and then bounded back out into the field . 1


    At this stage of the game, either you struck whichever objectives the enemy left unguarded, or else you stuck close to your team. When pushing a lane, at most you might clear off one wave of minions, and then it¡¯s time to hurry back to your teammates. Being caught and killed would undermine whatever advantages you¡¯ve managed to gain, and could even lead straight to GG!


    There was a simple reason behind why he was only getting Last Whisper now: He had no interest in wasting his skills on Shen, that hunk of meat and leather. To optimize his assassin play-style, he¡¯d first gone for Infinity Edge.


    Infinity Edge had been serving him well so far, greatly enhancing his burst-damage capability. Along with Muramana, he¡¯d easily taken down Orianna.


    Once the blue team had regrouped, no one had any buffs on them, but they were just in time for the Dragon, so everyone hurried over to the Dragon pit. While Luocheng was returning to base, they would try to claw back some of the gold difference.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Some confusion in the original here, over which team is doing what, but I¡¯ve tried to sort it out.)


    Luocheng observed Zyra¡¯s position. She had four hundred saved up, and was just now making for Baron Nashor. The whole way, she encountered no enemy wards¡ªnot even in the Baron pit itself.


    The enemy Support hadn¡¯t rushed over to ward Baron immediately upon respawning?


    Sensing opportunity, Ezreal shot towards the Baron pit, typing into the chat bar, ¡°Steal the Baron! Zyra, Jarvan, distract them at Mid. The rest of us will take Baron!¡±


    As Luocheng sent this message to the team, everyone was on their way to the Dragon too. As expert players one and all, they immediately understood that if the enemy team didn¡¯t respond quickly enough, they actually could take Baron Nashor for themselves while their opponents were busy on the other side of the map!


    With airtight teamwork, Zyra and Jarvan headed for the Dragon, making a big show of wanting to contest the objective, but dawdling about while waiting for the rest of their team to arrive.


    The truth was that no one would be coming, but by doing this, they hoped to fool the enemy into thinking that the whole team was currently headed their way.


    With all the gear they had, slaying the Dragon was but the work of a moment. As the two players from red team closed in, Lee Sin performed an extravagant flourish, using Smite to finish off the Dragon just before Jarvan got within reach of it.


    Seeing Lee Sin expend his Smite, Jarvan could have laughed out loud!


    They¡¯d as good as given up Baron, now: Without Smite, even if they rushed over there now, they¡¯d still have no hope of stealing it away . 1


    ¡°I think they¡¯ve noticed,¡± Qianqian remarked.


    Their opponents weren¡¯t novices, either. They could naturally see through certain ruses. Sensing something amiss, the Support champion immediately activated ¡®Shurelya¡¯s Reverie¡¯, and they raced towards the Baron pit with all haste.


    Jarvan and Zyra were already on the way there, hurrying to regroup with the rest of their team.


    The blue team players were cunning. Now that they knew that the Baron Nashor was in the process of being taken, they overtook Jarvan and Zyra to cut them off. Even if the red team managed to slay the Baron Nashor, they wouldn¡¯t be allowed to get away with their lives!


    It was a canny move. Even if Luocheng¡¯s team had seized control of the Baron pit, if these two champions could be held back here, the rest of the team would be outnumbered in the pit!


    It was too great a distance for Jarvan and Zyra to run. Now, there was no way for them to join up with their team. They could only watch in chagrin as the enemy team surrounded the Baron pit.


    Jarvan was beginning to panic. As tanky as he was, it should be possible for him to charge the enemy formation and break the siege¡­ but the three champions down in the pit were taking quite a lot of damage from the Baron!


    Ryze had only half his health left, and Riven was much the same. Ezreal had taken some damage as well. If a team fight began while they were in this condition, defeat would be all but assured. Riven, Ryze, and Ezreal were their main damage-dealers!


    Klung! Klung! Klung!


    The ¡®danger¡¯ ping was ringing non-stop in the Baron pit. Once the three of them were done ravishing the Baron Nashor, there would be five bloodthirsty lummoxes waiting outside for them!


    Lee Sin fired off a ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯, finding a hit onto Ryze, which was swiftly followed with a flying kick. Then he slammed both palms into the ground for a ¡®Tempest¡¯ and ¡®Cripple¡¯ combo, simultaneously Slowing down all three foes!


    Lin Dong¡¯s face fell. ¡°Oh no, they¡¯re done for!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hopeless. We¡¯re about to get Aced. ¡± 1


    All their DPS champions were already half dead. They were headed straight for a complete and terrible defeat!


    Striking down the Baron, Luocheng withdrew across the river, retreating into the enemy¡¯s side of the jungle.


    Ryze and Riven also responded well. Seeing that their enemies were closing in on all sides, they immediately broke and fled in separate directions.


    Lunging and somersaulting, Riven fled towards the enemy¡¯s side of the Top lane. Ryze Flashed away before Lee Sin could knock him about with a ¡®Dragon¡¯s Rage¡¯, running for the tri-bush to the north.


    It was easy to see that they all had the finely honed instincts of grizzled veterans. Scattering wide at the drop of a hat, they fled with a speed that almost gave them flight, no confusion at all as each found their own escape route.


    Even if the enemy wanted to give chase, there was no way to catch all three of them.


    Ezreal was quick and nimble. Even as he wound through the jungle, he flung attacks in the face of his pursuing enemies.


    Chasing Riven was also an ultimately futile endeavor. A highly agile champion herself, there weren¡¯t many who could keep up with her when she was determined to get away.


    Ryze was the most vulnerable of the three, but the minion waves were moving in their favor along the Top lane. If they continued to chase after Ryze, that meant Ezreal and Riven could simply return to base in the meanwhile, and then meet up with Ryze at their nearest tower to defeat any further pursuit¡ªa feat easily accomplished with a Homeguard enhancement.


    ***


    All of a sudden, it had become a game of hide-and-seek in the jungle.


    Ezreal made for the enemy¡¯s Blue buff, passing through on his way towards the middle lane. He was taking this roundabout route so that he wouldn¡¯t bump into Riven, and end up getting locked down together with her.


    Riven was already leading their minions down the lane, as though she intended to bring down a tower before anyone could catch and kill her.


    They had to keep the enemy team occupied by any means possible, or else their own towers might be in danger.


    As Riven walked through the rubble of the enemy¡¯s first-tier tower along the Top lane, she looked back to see just how many were coming after her.


    What the¡ªsurely they were underestimating this dame, here!


    Riven was miffed to see that there was just one enemy champion in pursuit. It was Vayne!


    Perhaps Vayne thought too highly of her own abilities. Riven was at least her equal, one-on-one. Either one of them could very well prevail against the other!


    Speaking of which, if only Vayne had come this way, then who were the others going after?


    Panning her view briefly across the map, she found to her shock that everyone else was going after Ezreal!


    They were all being sped up via Orianna¡¯s ¡®Dissonance¡¯ and Sona¡¯s ¡®Song of Celerity¡¯. Lee Sin was leap-frogging ahead via wards and jungle creeps. Shen was using his Shadow Dash to pass directly through the terrain.


    ¡­ What sort of grudge did they all have against him?


    Riven placed a hand over her heart, silently offering her condolences to Ezreal.


    It had to be said that Ezreal had been playing spectacularly well. Considering the astounding skill of the player behind the enemy Vayne, if not for the flawless gameplay of their own Ezreal, they¡¯d have lost this game long ago.


    Sending four people to do him in¡­ Ezreal might as well be Teemo!

 Chapter 178 - On the Knife’s Edge

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Running for dear life, Luocheng was at a complete loss for words.


    He¡¯d daresay this was all Shallow Dream¡¯s doing. With this arrangement, she could guarantee his demise, with Riven soon to follow.


    With the two of them out of the way, the enemy could break right into their base, easily making up for the loss of the Baron.


    If it were him playing Vayne, he¡¯d also choose to go after Riven alone, while the rest of his team combed through the jungle for the enemy¡¯s pesky ADC!


    ¡®This Shallow Dream must be a woman,¡¯ Qianqian thought to herself.


    To send four people after Yu Luocheng¡¯s head¡­ only a woman could hold so great a grudge, could be so cruel in her vengeance.


    Luocheng was being hemmed in on all sides. His pursuers were all elite players, skilled at cutting off an escape. Rather than just chasing after his tail like a bunch of fools, they first moved to seal off every route, and then began to draw the net tight.


    At first, Luocheng had been hoping to break through Sona¡¯s position, but saw to his annoyance that she was with Orianna. If Sona paired her ultimate skill with a full skill combo from Orianna, they could casually take him out of commission.


    Lee Sin was already biting at his heels, while Shen was pacing about with Randuin¡¯s Omen at the ready. He was trapped in hell, with no escape!


    ¡®They¡¯re about to take our tower, along with my life!¡¯ Luocheng was getting desperate.


    If the enemy team laid siege to their towers, he¡¯d take nearly a minute to respawn at his current level. That one minute would be more than enough time for them to take back control of this game.


    No way! They¡¯d fought too hard to give it all up now!


    Eyeing the Red and Blue buffs he had on, he knew it was time to play this mana-based Ezreal to the limit!


    The jungle was where Ezreal could kite the best. All the conditions were in his favor¡ªthe four pursuers were about to become his prey!


    Yu Luocheng had zero intention of giving up a tower without a fight. It was time to take things to the extreme¡ªtime to dance upon the knife¡¯s edge!


    This would be the most jaw-dropping, breath-taking display of kiting anyone had ever witnessed before!


    Lee Sin was a pretty good shot. His Sonic Wave found its mark, and he followed it with an intrepid Resonating Strike which carried him across the distance. Pressing E twice, he sent out an orange-tinged shockwave which Slowed Ezreal down.


    Luocheng noted Shen¡¯s location. It would take a moment for him to join the fight¡­ unless he still had his Flash.


    It was hard to dodge Shen¡¯s Flash-Taunt, and if he got caught by it, that would basically be the end of the chase.


    Bolstered by the Blue buff, Ezreal activated his Muramana and let Lee Sin have it! Together with the incredible damage boost from Infinity Edge, a few bursts from him were enough to ruin the Blind Monk¡¯s day.


    He¡¯d come flying in confidently to deliver Ezreal his beating, but a volley of skills and basic attacks had suddenly knocked off almost half of his health, since Lee Sin had been going for a team-fighting build.


    A late-game Vayne was a damage powerhouse, but an Ezreal with this kind of gear was no slouch either. Even a full Tank like Shen might not be able to long withstand a focused barrage from him.


    Luocheng attacked on the move. Seeing that Lee Sin was maneuvering for a good angle to use Dragon Rage on him, he immediately responded with an Arcane Shift, changing the direction of the knockback. Lee Sin¡¯s ultimate skill instead ended up helping Ezreal to get further away from him and Shen.


    With his Taunt skill, as well as the Slowing effect of Randuin¡¯s Omen, not to mention being a hard-to-kill Tank champion, Shen represented the greatest threat to a kiting play-style. He could not be allowed to get within reach of Ezreal.


    ***


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    As Ezreal fought for his life through the jungle, he continuously issued pings to his team, instructing them to push the Top lane and apply more pressure there.


    His teammates caught on quickly enough. Jarvan, Zyra and Ryze weren¡¯t just sitting around watching the show. While Ezreal was keeping everyone occupied, forcing them to spread out to contain him, the van of the army was advancing down the Top lane.


    The enemy team had no vision up there, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to spot this incoming attack. Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up. With luck, they could use this one wave to push all the way to victory. He just needed to keep the enemy champions on him long enough, and poke them hard enough!


    ***


    Mystic Shot, another frost cloud. 1.4 seconds later, another Mystic Shot issued from the darkness. Then, Ezreal somehow vanished from sight again.


    Ding-ding!


    Lee Sin pinged his teammates frantically, indicating that Ezreal was running towards the western Wolves camp.


    Shen closed in from the north. Orianna and Sona were holding the junction where the Wolves camp led out to the Middle lane.


    Soon, all four of them met up at the Wolves camp, storming in to see what was there. All they found was one big wolf and two smaller ones snarling and snapping amongst themselves, but there was no sign of Ezreal!


    Pew!


    A Mystic Shot streaked in from the long corridor west of the Wolves¡¯ cave, striking the already badly wounded Lee Sin.


    Ice-cold mist billowed outwards from him, removing yet more health. Lee Sin grimaced even worse than usual.


    This Ezreal was too sharp. He seemed to have a clairvoyant sense of when people would gain or lose sight of an area.


    Ezreal had just used his Arcane Shift not long ago. Mindful of his flagging health, Lee Sin hadn¡¯t chased after him as aggressively as before, but he¡¯d clearly seen Ezreal rounding the corner towards the Wolves.


    To think that he¡¯d immediately jumped away the moment Lee Sin lost sight of him, circling back around from the Blue buff and slipping into another passageway entirely!


    To pull off such deceptive tactics, leading enemies astray by causing them to misjudge your position, required a deep understanding of vision mechanics in the game.


    Lee Sin had little health left. If he charged towards Ezreal now, it would only end with his death. He was already trapped, anyway¡ªthere was no reason to let him get a kill on the Jungler.


    Shen used Shadow Dash to pass straight through the wall, and found Ezreal standing right in front of him.


    Orianna acted immediately, sending her Ball to Shen to project a shield. The moment Shen used Randuin¡¯s Omen to Slow Ezreal down, she¡¯d unleash her ultimate skill to yank him back towards them!


    Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, and Qianqian were in a panic now. There was still one second remaining on Arcane Shift¡¯s cooldown. If Orianna got off a skill combo on him, along with a few hits from Shen, it would be the end of the line for Ezreal!


    As Shen rushed heroically towards him, Ezreal stayed as cool as a cucumber. Letting Orianna have a Mystic Shot as well meant his Arcane Shift became available right away.


    In the instant before Orianna used her ulti to pull him in, Ezreal slipped through a dimensional rift, disappearing from the spot.


    Next moment, 600 units away, Ezreal stepped out from another portal, crouching slightly upon touchdown, and watched as Orianna¡¯s ulti activated uselessly around the corner. His eyes danced with mirth.

 Chapter 179 - The Perfect Kite

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With double buffs on, Ezreal might as well be a different champion.


    With the Red buff inflicting a Slow effect and True Damage, and the Blue buff reducing skill cooldowns and replenishing mana, Ezreal was able to use his skills to much greater effect than normal.


    For instance, regarding the most crucial kiting skill, Arcane Shift:


    At the highest skill tier, Arcane Shift had a base cooldown time of eleven seconds. The maximum cooldown reduction you could get was up to 40%, which was how much he had now, meaning his Arcane Shift had an actual cooldown time of about seven seconds. Every 1.4 seconds, hitting something with Mystic Shot would reduce all other skill cooldowns by one second. That meant Arcane Shift could be used every four to five seconds!


    Being able to emulate Flash every four to five seconds, in addition to an actual Flash spell for emergencies¡­ who could hope to pin down a fleeting phantom like him?


    This was the ultimate level of kiting with Ezreal!


    ***


    Even though Shen had Randuin¡¯s Omen, Ezreal was nevertheless easily able to maintain the ideal distance from him, leading him around by the nose.


    He led Shen down the corridor and up to the walls of his own base. With the combination of Muramana and Last Whisper, he was dealing tremendous damage to Shen. Since Ezreal also had some Lifesteal going on, whatever harm Shen had managed to do to him was also being healed back by his own blistering attacks.


    At the moment, Ezreal was still sitting on roughly two-thirds of his health. With no hope of taking him down himself, Shen could only keep up the pursuit while waiting for his next Shadow Dash, as well as the help of his teammates.


    When he reached the base perimeter, Lee Sin hopped over with a ward, ready to lend aid to Shen.


    Luocheng spotted Orianna and Sona¡ªthey were almost upon him, too. So he used Arcane Shift to jump across the wall, into the enemy¡¯s base!


    Although he was unable to see them now, Ezreal continued to fire Mystic Shot blindly, wasting no opportunity to wear down their health bars.


    Shen was losing his patience. He¡¯d waited an agonizing eternity for his next use of ¡®Shadow Dash¡¯, and had been preparing to Taunt Ezreal just as Orianna caught up to them, so that she could finish him in one go.


    The problem was that this Ezreal was too cunning, sticking close to the wall, then jumping over when he saw Orianna closing in. For a moment, Shen couldn¡¯t decide whether to use that Shadow Dash or not.


    If he used it now, he¡¯d just be passing through the wall to chase after Ezreal some more. Otherwise, he¡¯d have to take the long way around, entering via the Top lane¡ªa most frustrating, infuriating way of doing things.


    ***


    Luocheng had been flying this kite for some distance, now: Coming ashore from the river, he¡¯d led his pursuers on a merry chase through the woods until they¡¯d arrived outside the enemy base¡ªand now he was trespassing brazenly across their home ground!


    It was a kite that was leading his enemies to insanity!


    Unable to touch him, or catch him, all their skills and attacks were useless. All they could do was let him lead them around like an ox, while taking all kinds of damage in the process.


    Teasing, insulting, humiliating¡­ the art of kiting was also a form of psychological warfare. At this point, Orianna, Sona, Shen, and Lee Sin were all having their sanity tested by Ezreal.


    When they thought he was going Top, he¡¯d be heading for Mid instead. They¡¯d move to surround him at the Wolves camp, but then he¡¯d turn out to be in the corridor beside it. Just as they¡¯d thought that they had him in the bag, he¡¯d stepped right into their own base, sneering down at the lot of them.


    This feeling of being toyed around with was inexplicably rage-inducing. When they finally caught that scamp, they¡¯d chop him up into itty-bitty pieces!


    Shen was foaming at the mouth. Dashing through the wall after Ezreal, he lunged with his blade outstretched!


    Just then, Sona got her Flash back, and she used it to dive into the base as well, unleashing her Crescendo upon Ezreal!


    Both sides had used plenty of Summoner Spells during that last team fight, so Sona was the only one who could Flash, and only because it had just come off cooldown.


    Watching Sona descend upon him like a woman possessed, Luocheng knew it was not the time to be stingy with his skills. He hurriedly Flashed to the side, avoiding what would otherwise have been certain death.


    Something as useful as Flash had to be held on to, only to be used in the most critical moments, when it could even turn the tables completely. An ADC like Shallow Dream used every one of her skills flawlessly, and held onto every trump card until the last possible moment. Unless you ganged up on her with three or four champions, you would have no idea what else she still had up her sleeve.


    Ezreal had Flashed directly backwards. Against Sona, Shen, and Lee Sin, staying still would be very bad for his health. Retreating to a safer position, he relied exclusively on Mystic Shots to Slow the whole bunch down.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got nowhere to run!¡± His three pursuers had found some measure of calm now. Ezreal was trapped within their base: If he moved any deeper inside, he¡¯d be cornered against the Nexus Towers and the Fountain. For him to have blundered into this death-trap on his own, it filled them with the gleeful anticipation of imminent vindication.


    ***


    ¡°Ah, he¡¯s trapped¡­¡± Qianqian beheld the enemy Nexus, and the twin towers looming over it.


    The damage from these towers was no laughing matter. With the amount of health Ezreal had remaining, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive four shots from them. What¡¯s more, it was the enemy¡¯s Fountain behind them¡ªand yet Ezreal continued to flee in that direction. It was as though he was running straight towards his own doom.


    Brilliant blue bolts continued to fly from his fingertips, and he teleported as much as he ran, leaving a trail of swirling blizzards in his wake. Even now, Ezreal was still attacking.


    He backpedaled until he was between the Top-lane inhibitor and the Nexus. The Nexus Tower on the left had already begun to attack him.


    Ezreal¡¯s health plummeted as he took two shots from the tower, but now he was right between the Nexus and the Fountain.


    At first glance, one might make the mistake of thinking he was on his way back to his Fountain to recuperate. In truth, he was now surrounded by enemy towers, caught in a no-man¡¯s-land with little hope of making it back out alive!


    Skirting around the edge, when he was between the Nexus and the Fountain steps, he wouldn¡¯t get attacked by the towers anymore. But then he kept going, making a full circle and coming out on the right side of the Nexus!


    Circling around their Nexus?


    The four pursuers on the opposing team didn¡¯t know what to make of it!


    The key to this maneuver was that all the pursuers simultaneously concluded that Ezreal was trying to get a free Execution in their Fountain, so they all scrambled madly after him. Moreover, they were all hurting for health and mana, so they instinctively gravitated back towards the Fountain . 1


    Mystic Shots continued to fly, Slowing down the pursuit, while at the same time expediting the cooldown on Ezreal¡¯s Arcane Shift!


    Flitting through the shadow of the enemy¡¯s Nexus Towers, Arcane Shift became available once more just as Ezreal moved past the massive Nexus crystal.


    He looked at his health. Almost all gone, now.


    He had to make sure to keep out of reach of the tower on the left. Though he¡¯d have to enter the attack range of the right-side tower, he¡¯d use Arcane Shift to escape the hazard immediately!


    ***


    Was there anything more thrilling, more heart-pounding, than kiting enemy champions around their own Nexus? Four at once, at that!


    This death-defying waltz upon the razor¡¯s edge had the spectating Qianqian, Lin Dong, and Xiao Bei all short of breath!


    After a long, desperate flight across half of Summoner¡¯s Rift, no one could have predicted that Luocheng would choose to lead his pursuers over here!


    Fleeing into the enemy¡¯s base was already irrational enough. To be circling the Nexus like this¡­ he was really going round the bend!


    Who else would do something like this, besides Luocheng?


    ***


    Arcane Shift!


    Ezreal stepped through another pair of linked portals, but the travel distance was very limited. It felt like trying to get across a fathomless chasm even though you knew you couldn¡¯t jump that far. If you screwed up, there would be no retries!


    Holding his breath, he passed through. A moment later, he alighted near the way out to the Bottom lane, holding out a hand to catch himself as he came to ground.


    There were some differences between Arcane Shift and Flash. When performing an Arcane Shift, he needed a split-second to step through the dimensional rift, and then another brief moment to recover upon his exit.


    As such, when Ezreal fell on one knee before the looming Nexus Towers, all three spectators¡ªand even Luocheng himself¡ªcould feel their hearts hammering behind their eyes, as though straining to burst out from their throats!


    Would one final burst of light erupt from the tower, bringing Ezreal low at last¡­ or would he actually be able to make it out of this dire peril?


    All eyes were glued to the tip of the scepter held aloft by that monumental stone statue, already imagining the deathly glow that might appear there any moment.


    An instant stretched on for an eternity.


    Though they could see it vividly in their imaginations, ultimately the tower didn¡¯t fire after all.


    Ezreal wasn¡¯t in its range! He¡¯d used Arcane Shift to put himself just beyond the reach of its attacks, just toeing the line of fire. If he wobbled even slightly in the wrong direction, the tower would instantly blast him into oblivion!


    There were several long sighs behind him. Even Luocheng himself could feel his fingers trembling ever so slightly.


    It could clearly be seen from Qianqian, Xiao Bei, and Lin Dong¡¯s expressions: That ordeal had very nearly given everyone a heart attack!


    ***


    This¡­ how¡­ what¡­


    Just a moment ago, Shen, Orianna, Sona, and Lee Sin had been sure that Ezreal had finally been cornered. And yet, right before their very eyes, he¡¯d gotten away from the tower, and was presently making his departure from their base by way of the Bottom lane!


    As he fled, Ezreal hurled his Mystic Shot at the newly spawned minions¡ªhe was still industriously whittling away the cooldown on Arcane Shift!


    Orianna was currently the closest to catching him, and she pushed herself to the limit. Sadly, she¡¯d made the same mistake as her teammates a moment earlier: When she noticed Riven¡¯s duel with Vayne, she decided to go over there instead, since Ezreal was done for anyway.


    Furious at herself, Orianna charged towards the Bottom-lane Inhibitor, zoning Ezreal off so that he wouldn¡¯t dare to leave the base simply by jumping over the wall.


    As long as she kept him from doing that, Ezreal would be forced to go out through the exit, whereupon the Inhibitor Tower would put an end to him.


    Ezreal hit Orianna with another long shot, Slowing her down. However, he continued to follow the wall towards the opening.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re going to get killed, that way¡­¡± Qianqian whispered in despair. After such a magnificent display of kiting, even looping around the enemy¡¯s Nexus and making fools of his pursuers¡­ in the end, he was being forced to his death beneath another tower.


    ¡°I won¡¯t die, sweetheart.¡± Luocheng gave her a confident smile.


    Another Mystic Shot onto the minions behind him, and he¡¯d shaved a good two seconds off of Arcane Shift¡¯s cooldown.


    With the pressure from Orianna, he couldn¡¯t stop for a single moment. He continued to move towards the Bottom-lane tower.


    The imposing tower flared with light, and a burst of energy arced downwards, homing in unerringly upon Ezreal!


    He really didn¡¯t have much health left. One shot from the tower should be enough to take him down.


    Just before the shot hit him, a shimmering yellow sphere of energy enveloped him!


    His Barrier absorbed the damage from the tower. He wasn¡¯t dead!


    The Barrier spell only held for two seconds. In order to make sure that he could survive passing under the tower, he waited until just before the shot hit him before activating his Barrier, buying himself as much time as possible.


    Over two seconds, the Barrier absorbed a total of two shots from the tower, and Ezreal was able to get away with his life. Then Arcane Shot finished its cooldown, and he calmly blinked out of the tower¡¯s reach before a third attack was fired.


    There was a brief instant when the tower lit up again, a fine red line leading to Ezreal¡­ but when he stepped out of its range, that last, fatal shot was cancelled.


    Holding on to his last few points of health, Ezreal had successfully escaped!


    Out from the Baron pit and all through the jungle, pitting his wits and reflexes against his pursuers, then taking the ultimate risk of passing through the enemy¡¯s base, circling around their Nexus, and finally deploying his Barrier with infinitely precise timing¡­ This might have been the longest-running pursuit in the entire history of the game, with the most unbelievable getaways ever witnessed!


    Maybe it was thanks to a few mistakes by Lee Sin, a few missed shots towards the end. Maybe if Sona had been a little faster with that Flash-ulti, or if Orianna had moved around the other side of the Nexus to trap Ezreal in between¡­ but it was also because they¡¯d done what they did, that Ezreal was able to pull off this whole series of breath-taking escape maneuvers!

 Chapter 180 - Twenty-Six Consecutive Victories

    Chapter 180: Twenty-Six Consecutive Victories


    The feelings of those four players on blue team could not be described. All they could do was watch as Ezreal disappeared into the distance.


    Then, another piece of bad news: Vayne had been slain.


    Shallow Dream had been chasing after Riven, but Riven had been able to make use of her agility to hold her own against Vayne. Although Vayne could have prevailed in that duel, she¡¯d been caught completely by surprise when Jarvan Flashed in behind her and launched an EQ-combo, followed by his ulti.


    This skill combo from Jarvan had been truly decisive: Not only had it preserved Riven¡¯s life, it had also ensured Vayne¡¯s demise.


    After Vayne went down, Jarvan, Riven, Ryze, and Zyra used their Baron buff to assault the Top-lane Inhibitor Tower.


    At that time, Ezreal had just run the other four enemy champions around their Nexus after him. Blue team was caught completely unawares, unable to mount a defense before the tower was toppled.


    As the tower came crashing down, Zyra caught a careless Orianna with her ¡®Grasping Roots¡¯. Orianna didn¡¯t have any time to respond before she was instantly torn apart by a brutal torrent of skills.


    With only three defenders remaining, the Inhibitor was broken without any trouble.


    The minions continued to swarm into the base. With Jarvan leading the way, the four attacking champions pushed straight for the Nexus!


    It was like trying to hold back an avalanche. Overmatched in terms of morale, manpower, and buffs, blue team was in complete disarray. Even though they were on full defense now, they could only gape helplessly as Luocheng¡¯s teammates, wreathed in the menacing aura of the Baron buff, advanced upon their Nexus.


    And the playwright behind this entire scenario was presently watching from a distance, grinning as his teammates tore down the final two towers.


    That bit of kiting had really succeeded in holding everyone¡¯s attention, Shallow Dream included.


    While Ezreal was running them ragged, his four teammates played their parts perfectly, making a show of leaving him to his fate as they all closed in around Vayne instead.


    Vayne represented at least half of the enemy team¡¯s power. With the Baron buff on their side, they abruptly breached the base via the Top lane, shattering the Inhibitor immediately, and then proceeding to tear down the twin Nexus Towers before destroying the Nexus itself.


    It was a strategy that had to be played by ear, based on the developing situation, but the basic idea could not be more obvious.


    When high-level teams were evenly matched in terms of skills, abilities, game sense, and teamwork, the ultimate deciding factor was how well they worked together and supported each other.


    As the Nexus finally shattered under one last strike from Riven, everyone on Luocheng¡¯s team let out a long sigh of relief, wearing the smiles of people who had suffered through the most hellish ordeals until they found satisfaction in the end.


    This Ranked game had been packed with far too many memorable moments. Although it was said that randomly match-made teams couldn¡¯t hold a candle to a properly organized one, even if the latter saw differences in members¡¯ individual ratings of as much as three to four hundred¡­


    ¡­ Nevertheless, one could easily see that every player in this game, on both sides, had demonstrated the highest level of individual ability as well as cooperative teamwork, on par with the strongest pre-made teams out there.


    Both ADCs, especially, were undoubtedly the very best of the best. It had been awe-inspiring to watch them play.


    The screen blacked out, and then they were looking at the scores. Amusingly, not a single one among the ten players left the room straight away, and instead everyone hung around in the post-game chatroom.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: That¡¯s right. The trash talk continues after the game.)


    It was the feeling of having formed bonds through battle. The chat scrolled rapidly, and Friends were made.


    ¡°You¡¯ve won.¡± Shallow Dream made a short, simple statement.


    ¡°Yeah. It was a tough game, really,¡± Luocheng replied. ¡°If possible, we should team up¡ªI¡¯m better at playing Support.¡±


    Shallow Dream¡¯s Vayne had genuinely given Luocheng a hard time. If he had been any less familiar with the champion he¡¯d been playing, he¡¯d have had no hope of winning.


    ¡°Right. Bye.¡± And with that, Shallow Dream left the room.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t go running after her. The next time he was on his main account, he¡¯d send her a Friend Request. This time, she wouldn¡¯t reject or blacklist him.


    If anything, more than this thrilling, exhilarating, long-awaited duel between old rivals¡­ Luocheng wanted to be friends with her.


    ***


    Closing down the game client, Luocheng turned around slowly to face the three spectators, who were straining to contain their glee.


    ¡°Twenty-six consecutive victories!¡± Luocheng gave them a wide smile, simple and pure.


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were too moved to speak. They surged forward to smother him in a heartfelt embrace.


    Twenty-six! They¡¯d actually managed twenty-six straight wins!


    Lin Dong could already imagine the look on Da Luo¡¯s face when he checked on this account. It should be equal parts surprise and delight, and then he¡¯d be the one giving Luocheng a big bear hug.


    They¡¯d previously been close as teammates, but they were torn apart by cruel reality. Lin Dong believed, however, that this gift would make it all water under the bridge, and everything would go back to the way things had been before. With or without Team Wings, the bond between them still remained!


    ¡°Luocheng, I knew you could do it! Nothing¡¯s out of reach for you! Amazing, this is simply amazing!¡± Xiao Bei gushed with emotion.


    Lin Dong had been struggling to put a team together. It had been an uphill battle, where he kept giving his all only to have his hopes dashed, time and time again¡­


    Xiao Bei had seen it all. He hoped with all his heart that Lin Dong would really be able to recover all the past members of Team Wings, so that everyone could give their all for their beloved game again.


    This was just one small step forward, but some day they¡¯d all be together again. It was a certainty!


    ¡°Da Luo¡¯s birthday is the day after tomorrow. He¡¯s asked us all to join him for dinner. Let¡¯s give this to him then,¡± Lin Dong suggested.


    Luocheng nodded. ¡°Alright, the two of you get some rest. We¡¯ll meet up on that day.¡± The pang of unease in his heart was fading away at the thought of Da Luo¡¯s return.


    ¡°Yeah, alright. We¡¯ll be off first, then. Leave you to yourselves.¡± Grinning, Lin Dong shot Xiao Bei a look.


    Xiao Bei still wanted to chat with Luocheng some more, about how to play Ezreal and stuff. So Lin Dong grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out the door.


    Seriously, what a clueless young man. There was no point in explaining. Away with you.


    ***


    Luocheng saw them out, and then closed the door behind them.


    Qianqian gave him her usual enchanting smile, that little hint of parted lips driving him wild just looking at her.


    How could she be so mesmerizing, with those eyes, that pretty little face, that petite little mouth¡­


    He walked up to her, his heart a wellspring of affection that flooded his entire being with a profound sense of joy, excitement, and intoxication.


    This time, he didn¡¯t have to steal any kisses.


    Taking her by the hand directly, he leaned over her, and as she blushed and closed her eyes, he carefully bent close to taste those warm, alluring lips¡­


    Their lips made contact, and then their tongues found their way to each other. The touch of that slick, delicate thing seemed to jolt him with electricity, coursing through every inch of his body. It felt good. It woke him up. He felt like he was flying.


    They kissed long and passionately. Although Luocheng was aware that there were many other parts of Qianqian that were supremely tantalizing, for example that slim waist, that fulsome cleavage, those well-rounded buttocks, and those legs he¡¯d been lusting over since high school¡­ but Luocheng was new to such things, and he didn¡¯t dare to take things too quickly.


    Little by little, step by step¡­ He was a beast, and no mistake¡ªbut he would be a patient hunter, taking his time to savor and explore. If he wolfed it all down in a hurry, he would miss out on all the sublime pleasures gained from slowly building up the heat, and roving around in anticipation.


    Very well, after all of this, you should ultimately be made aware of the following: Although some were more than willing, Qianqian herself was not.


    If it pleases you, he was allowed to cuddle her ravishing body to sleep.


    ***


    A ray of afternoon sunlight lanced through the window, but after meeting the thin curtains, it fell in a scattering of half-light across the bedroom floor.


    Yu Luocheng opened his eyes blearily.


    Just for a moment, he thought he was in his own apartment, and last night¡¯s confession and cuddling had all just been a dream.


    After a moment of unnamed terror, Luocheng thought hard, searching for evidence of what was real¡ªthen he caught sight of Yang Qianqian sitting by the bedside, quietly reading a book, and he realized that a beautiful dream had come true for him. His heart began doing somersaults.


    She sat there serenely, her long, straight legs slanted in a way that was maddeningly arousing. Her head was lowered towards the book upon her lap, stray strands of hair hanging down her face. In this light, every perfect detail of her exquisite features inspired a whispered longing in one¡¯s heart.


    How good it was to finally have a girlfriend.


    He watched her a few moments more, then rolled over contentedly, returning to blissful slumber.


    ***


    Luocheng slept until nearly evening. That was how tired he was after playing Ranked games several long nights in a row. It had taken an immense toll on him, and he needed a certain period of sleep to get himself back on his feet.


    As he rose, for the sake of appearing his most dashing for Qianqian, he immediately took a shower, cleaning himself up good and tidy.


    Just because Qianqian had come to Shanghai didn¡¯t mean she was eager to see the sights. What she wanted most was to spend some time with Luocheng. As night fell, he took her on a stroll through the university campus.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: The best thing about Shanghai is the food, anyway. Xiao Long Bao. Learn to say it. It¡¯s cheap there. Don¡¯t burn your tongue or spill it on your clothes ¨C it¡¯s full of hot soup. You¡¯ll want every drop of it.)


    It made for a more romantic setting than Shanghai¡¯s uptown streets, shopping malls, or chain stores.


    Having just passed through the gateway into romance, there was a lot to talk about, so they found someplace quiet to sit down and talk: about what things were like back when they were in school together¡­ how things were going now, in their respective universities¡­ then a discussion about plans for the future.


    ¡°Speaking of which, Lin Dong and the others are forming a team. Aren¡¯t you going to be a part of that?¡± Qianqian inquired.


    ¡°No thanks. I¡¯m busy with my studies. How else am I gonna look after you,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Hmph. Like I¡¯ll need you to look after me.¡±


    ¡°Right, then you can take care of me.¡±


    ¡°Who would want to? If you misbehave in the future, and squander all of my favor, I¡¯ll trade you off for better.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d do the same.¡±


    A stranger chuckled nearby. Hurriedly, Luocheng added, ¡°What I mean is, I¡¯d take my own leave of you, in that case.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Qianqian had already clenched her fists.


    Luocheng nodded to himself, deeply grateful for his own quick wit.

 Chapter 181 - Marriage Proposal

    Chapter 181: Marriage Proposal


    Qingfu Street was an industrial area. Before work ended for the day, the whole place felt largely deserted.


    All along the street were warehouses full of furniture, building materials, lighting fixtures, doors¡­ Many of these places looked grand and resplendent, but cold and quiet all the same.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be off then. Thanks, boss.¡± A young man in work clothes emerged from one of the construction materials wholesalers, turning to give his thanks to the manager within.


    ¡°Go on, go on. It¡¯s your birthday, right?¡± The manager smiled cheerfully. ¡°Half an hour early won¡¯t make any difference.¡±


    Da Luo nodded, and then hurried for the stairs leading down to the subway.


    He had to leave work early today, because he¡¯d made plans with Shui Mo to have dinner together.


    He took the train to Century Avenue, and the vista was filled with towering skyscrapers, at once awe-inspiring yet morose.


    He found his way to a building bristling with foreign franchises. It was his first time here. He hadn¡¯t imagined that Shui Mo worked somewhere so fancy.


    The main lobby was a magnificent place. Across the gleaming marble floor, there stood flower vases taller than a person, and various rare potted plants. Men and women walked by in the latest fashions and the finest office wear, leather shoes and high heels clacking upon the floor, creating the atmosphere of a busy workplace in a big metropolis, fast-paced and glamorous.


    For some reason, Da Luo felt intimidated, coming in here.


    He felt out of place here. Looking down at what he himself was wearing, at the gray pallor of his skin, it was like the first time when he¡¯d stood before the whole world, uncertain and ill at ease.


    But that time, he¡¯d been up there to play games, which was something he was good at, and proud of it. He¡¯d believed in himself enough to take on the whole world. Not this time. Not here.


    He had to keep it together. There was no reason for him to be ashamed over matters of career, social status, clothing, or background. He had to remember his own achievements, and regain his composure. But when you walked into a place where everyone was so much cleaner and brighter than you, that you felt like you were standing out with your drab, even wretched appearance¡­ it was hard to bear.


    It wasn¡¯t about other people looking at you with suspicion or derision. It was that the very environment you found yourself in made it hard for you to hold your own head high.


    Da Luo regretted coming in here.


    ¡°Sir, is there anything I can help you with?¡± A young lady in a white blouse with a ribbon inquired with a smile.


    ¡°Ah, uh, erm¡­ I¡¯m waiting for somebody.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still another ten minutes before work ends. Why don¡¯t you wait on the sofa? If you¡¯d like a drink of water, just let me know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, um¡­ alright. I mean¡­ thanks.¡± Da Luo nodded, and took a seat in the waiting area as she¡¯d indicated.


    Seated nearby were two men in white shirts, as well as a babe with long legs clad in black silk stockings, all engaged in a whispered discussion about something. The woman was cheerful and easy on the eyes, and Da Luo couldn¡¯t help stealing another glance at her.


    Ten minutes later, people began to emerge from the lifts and the stairs. Everyone was punching out, and more leather shoes and high heels criss-crossed the grand hall in an interwoven dance.


    When would he be able to work at a place like this? Da Luo wondered to himself.


    Pulling out his phone, he called Shui Mo.


    ¡°Da Luo?¡± A delicate voice answered.


    ¡°Shui Mo, I¡¯m waiting for you in the lobby right now.¡± Hearing her voice steadied his wavering heart.


    Never mind. Even if he didn¡¯t work here, he had an amazing girlfriend who did.


    On the way here via the subway, Da Luo had been thinking happily about how he¡¯d met Shui Mo by helping her out. Because he¡¯d asked so sincerely, she¡¯d even agreed to become his girlfriend.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m on my way down,¡± she replied.


    Not long afterwards, Da Luo caught sight of Shui Mo. She was wearing a black blouse and short skirt, with no need for sheer stockings to highlight the graceful contours of her delectable legs. She waved at Da Luo with a big smile, still holding her phone in her hand.


    The sight of her warmed his heart.


    He¡¯d been worrying that she might not like him ambushing her here like this, but she looked overjoyed to see him. It seemed like he¡¯d been overthinking things, selling himself a little short.


    There were a lot of things that couldn¡¯t be valued in terms of money or prestige. She liked an honest guy like him, rather than all these fancy lads strewn about the place.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: No one¡¯s been bringing him down or anything, but here he is¡­)


    Strutting on high heels, Shui Mo came over to his side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She put her hand in his, sweet as honey.


    This set Da Luo¡¯s heart all a-quiver. So she didn¡¯t mind being with him at all, to the point that she¡¯d even go for such an affectionate display, right here in front of everyone, as though proclaiming him as her boyfriend.


    Da Luo felt as though everything he¡¯d done up to this point had been worth it.


    ¡°Ah, Shui Mo!¡± Just as they were leaving, the guys who¡¯d been sitting nearby, chatting with the girl in the black stockings, called out to Shui Mo with a smile.


    ¡°Manager Xu, so you were here? I¡¯m so sorry for not noticing you earlier!¡± Shui Mo laughed apologetically.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. This is your boyfriend?¡± He was young for a manager.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Ooh. Seems like quite a guy.¡± Mr Xu nodded casually.


    Shui Mo kept up her smile as she pulled Da Luo towards the door.


    They¡¯d barely made it a few steps when the youthful Manager Xu spoke up again. ¡°Oh, yeah: That perfume you¡¯ve been wearing lately, where did you get it from? It¡¯s great stuff, I¡¯d like to get the same for my fianc¨¦e as well.¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Woo, that was pretty creepy. The hairs on my neck stood right up.)


    Taken aback for a moment, Shui Mo finally decided to pretend she hadn¡¯t heard anything, and hurried outside.


    Watching Shui Mo drag Da Luo away with her, the smile slowly faded from Mr Xu¡¯s face, replaced by a cold sneer.


    ¡°Some girl you haven¡¯t caught yet?¡± The black-stockinged woman asked cheerily.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ***


    By the time they were out of the lobby, the joy and contentment had long melted away from Da Luo¡¯s expression.


    That last thing the handsome young man had said earlier¡­ he kept turning it over in his head.


    Shui Mo was still smiling, asking him where they should go for dinner, and what he¡¯d like to do for his birthday. Nothing seemed out of place with her.


    Da Luo answered her absent-mindedly, his mind still on the line, ¡®That perfume you¡¯ve been wearing lately, where did you get it from?¡¯


    These past few days, Shui Mo had been wearing the special lovers¡¯ fragrance he¡¯d bought her on National Day.


    It was called a ¡®lovers¡¯ fragrance¡¯ because you could get a whiff of it only if you got really close to her. In his case, he practically had to press his nose against her skin in order to detect it at all.


    Even with Shui Mo wrapped around his arm right now, Da Luo couldn¡¯t smell it.


    How could that guy know about her perfume, unless he¡¯d been intimately close to her, at some point within these past few days?


    He recalled that the day before yesterday, he¡¯d made a call to Shui Mo, and she¡¯d told him that she had to work overtime. His heart began to sink into his shoes.


    ¡°That Mr Xu from earlier¡­ is he an ex-boyfriend or something?¡± At last, Da Luo blurted out an inquiry.


    He knew that before he¡¯d come along, Shui Mo had gotten into some complicated circumstances with a previous boyfriend. Many times, she¡¯d asked him out just to be a shoulder for her to cry on.


    During these times, Da Luo always tried his best to bring back her smile, and turn her thoughts away from the person who caused her such misery.


    The truth was that even after Shui Mo had become his girlfriend, Da Luo knew that she¡¯d still been in contact with her ex, and even met up with him on occasion. All this while, he¡¯d been giving her the benefit of the doubt.


    That was until¡­ until that last thing Manager Xu had said, which had struck Da Luo like a thunderbolt.


    How could he have known anything about Shui Mo¡¯s perfume? It was such a subtle fragrance, so faint that you¡¯d need to press right up to her and inhale deeply to make it out. You¡¯d have to be as close to her as a lover.


    ¡°We¡¯re not talking about this,¡± Shui Mo curtly declared.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always refrained from asking, but now I need to know: Are you through with him or not?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re through.¡± Shui Mo was getting upset, because of the tone Da Luo was using with her.


    ¡°Then how could he know about the perfume?¡± Da Luo was straightforward by nature, never good at keeping his thoughts concealed. He just wanted the truth. He hoped Shui Mo would be able to explain this to him.


    Shui Mo frowned deeply with her carefully sculpted eyebrows, glaring at him.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say something?¡± Da Luo pressed.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to say. If you trust me, you won¡¯t need to ask.¡± That was Shui Mo¡¯s evenly measured reply.


    Da Luo winced in exasperation. Why did women always resort to this tactic?


    ***


    There had been a long, cold silence.


    Da Luo reached into his pocket, and carefully retrieved a tiny little box.


    Looking at Shui Mo¡¯s unreadable expression, he opened up the box, got down on one kn, and presented her with the ring.


    Shui Mo froze. She¡¯d never imagined an act like this from Da Luo, all of a sudden.


    They were still in the street outside her company building. Countless people were walking past, including some of her own colleagues.


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t ask. I like you, enough to marry you. Although I¡¯m only twenty, with nothing to my name¡­ although I¡¯m such a na?ve and insecure guy¡­ I hope you¡¯ll be willing to marry me.¡±


    Da Luo said this with all sincerity, and just a trace of hopelessness.


    To think that on the momentous, memorable day when he proposed to her, a scoundrel like that Mr Xu would rear his ugly head, and he¡¯d find out that the two of them had met up just recently, perhaps even intimately.


    Nevertheless, he had to do this. Even though he hadn¡¯t yet reached the legal age for marriage. Even with a heart heavy with doubt.


    Shui Mo looked at Da Luo, this full-grown man-child who was several years her junior.


    She¡¯d been caught completely off guard, and she had zero idea what she should do. It felt like everyone was looking this way. She could feel cold, mocking eyes looking out through the glass walls behind her!


    ¡°Da Luo¡­ won¡¯t you please get up? Let¡¯s take our time and talk about this,¡± Shui Mo stammered anxiously.


    Da Luo raised his head. ¡°Is that a yes?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Her mind was a complete blank, right now. In her time together with him, she¡¯d genuinely considered spending the rest of her life by his side¡ªbut now that he was actually on one knee before her, asking for her hand in marriage, she was hesitating for some reason.


    ¡°Your heart knows the answer. Tell me what it is,¡± Da Luo said earnestly.


    He no longer cared if other people were watching. The only thing he needed right now was Shui Mo¡¯s reply:


    Whether it was a nod, or a shake of her head.

 Chapter 182 - Lone Gull Is Back!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Kneeling beside the sea of people, leaving himself open to ridicule in this miserable, cruel city¡­


    Da Luo was okay with not knowing about whatever had happened before. He didn¡¯t really want to know if Shui Mo and her ex-boyfriend had gotten together at some point over the past few days¡­


    He only cared about now, and forever.


    He watched Shui Mo, looking for any hint or clue in her expression. How he hoped that look of surprise would gradually turn to delight, and then she would accept him.


    However, he couldn¡¯t find anything besides panic and consternation.


    Suddenly, she turned and fled.


    Making short steps on high heels, she vanished into the crowd right away, so that he couldn¡¯t even watch her go.


    Da Luo was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected this.


    People continued to stream past, giving him looks of pity or amusement. He felt foolish kneeling in front of nobody, now that Shui Mo was gone.


    ***


    Da Luo hadn¡¯t noticed himself wandering off, but before he knew it, he was getting on the subway train, on his way back to where he belonged.


    Inside his pocket, his handphone began to ring. A flicker of hope lit up his heart, and he hurried to answer it.


    ¡°Da Luo¡­¡± Shui Mo¡¯s voice was subdued, pitiful to hear.


    ¡°Ah, was I too sudden with that? I guess you didn¡¯t know how to respond,¡± Da Luo said, by way of apology.


    ¡°No, no¡­ I was really moved by that¡ªreally. No one¡¯s ever been so genuine, so kind to me, like you have¡­ and you even proposed to me with all your heart.¡±


    ¡°What, then?¡± Hearing her tone, Da Luo felt an awful premonition welling up inside him. The next thing she was about to tell him would leave him utterly devastated. He wanted to hang up before he had to hear it.


    Was he about to receive the legendary ¡®That¡¯s so sweet, but no¡¯?


    He used to joke about it, but now it was his turn.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seriously thought about marrying you. It¡¯s just, I don¡¯t know why¡­ when I saw you getting down on one knee in front of me, it was too much for me. I¡¯ve had some time to collect my thoughts, now. Maybe I¡¯m a bit too frivolous a woman¡­ there are so many things I want, to the point that, well¡­ I could even betray my own heart, for a petty bit of gain.¡±


    Shui Mo was chewing on her lip as she said this. It was such a difficult thing to talk about, especially to someone who liked her¡ªsomeone she held very dear to her heart.


    For her to be saying it anyway, it suggested that the person she was telling this to would soon no longer be a part of her world.


    Da Luo wasn¡¯t stupid, just young and inexperienced with love. He just tried his best to do whatever he believed was right.


    With Shui Mo, it had been love at first sight. When she was being harassed on the subway, he¡¯d chased him away in a fury that was uncharacteristic of him.


    After getting her number, he racked his brain for something to talk about, some reason to meet up.


    It was obvious that she was used to a lifestyle that was vastly different from his own. One bottle of perfume for her cost him more than half a month¡¯s salary. Shouldn¡¯t he know well enough to keep away from her?


    Heh¡­ If he couldn¡¯t give a little more for the sake of the girl he liked, if he didn¡¯t dare to get involved in her life, wasn¡¯t prepared to give her the life she expected, wasn¡¯t able to fulfill her needs¡­ then how would he ever earn her favor?


    Da Luo had been doing his best. If it still wasn¡¯t good enough, then there was nothing to be sorry about.


    Still, thinking back on this past year, all the times he¡¯d spent together with Shui Mo¡ªtimes filled with excitement, anticipation, and happiness¡ªit caused his stomach to churn with searing acid. It seized his heart, caught in his throat, and brought tears to his eyes.


    He didn¡¯t pay much attention to the rest of what Shui Mo had to say. She was basically just trying to console him.


    In short, it was stuff like: She thought he was a good man, but she didn¡¯t feel she herself was good enough for him.


    She said she preferred men with ambition, not guys like him who toiled all day but didn¡¯t seem to be getting anywhere.


    Indeed, after hearing that last one, Da Luo realized he didn¡¯t really have a clue what he was doing here, in this city.


    ¡°No matter what, I truly appreciate everything you¡¯ve done for me. The problem lies with me. Maybe I should have told you this sort of thing earlier, but the truth is that sometimes I can¡¯t sort out my own feelings towards you¡ªthat is, until you proposed to me. So¡­ goodbye.¡±


    And with that, Shui Mo ended the call.


    ***


    Da Luo slipped the handphone back into his pocket. He didn¡¯t notice when the train arrived at his station.


    Like a walking corpse, he followed the crowd out of the subway, and was greeted by the dying light of the setting sun.


    Looking out across the pot-holed streets and crumbling buildings, he remembered the opulent lobbies and soaring skyscrapers of Century Avenue. Over here, people mostly wore the plainest sort of clothing; back there, it had been brand-name stuff all the way down to the socks.


    ¡®I prefer guys with ambition. Maybe you¡¯ve been so busy that it¡¯s kept you from looking further, finding a real goal for yourself.¡¯ These words kept banging around in his head, leaving bruises everywhere.


    Had all his hard work been so meaningless?


    Toiling endlessly day after day, then training long into the night, all for the sake of being able to see her on the weekends¡ªtreat her to a meal, take her out on the town, have some fun¡­


    ¡°Da Luo. Da Luo?¡± Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder, and he heard a familiar voice.


    He stood there for a long while before noticing he was in the presence of three people. He regarded them placidly, without any trace of feeling.


    ¡°Da Luo, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Dong sounded anxious.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ nothing. I just want a moment to myself.¡± He looked at Lin Dong and Yu Luocheng, but didn¡¯t say anymore, and continued with heavy, plodding steps back to his small, simple house.


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Neither Lin Dong nor Luocheng were finished with him, but Da Luo had already gone inside and shut the door, cutting himself off from the rest of the world.


    ***


    Luocheng stood staring at the tightly shut door. ¡°Did something happen with Shui Mo?¡±


    ¡°Most likely. Who knows how badly Da Luo¡¯s been hurt, this time. I¡¯ve checked up on Shui Mo¡¯s background and residential records. She¡¯s not exactly an unsullied angel. I thought that she really liked Da Luo, but then¡­¡± Lin Dong shook his head and sighed.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I think in China even visitors to your hotel room will have to submit their passports and full identification to the reception counter. Even so, it¡¯s kinda creepy that Lin Dong can access such information on Da Luo¡¯s girlfriend¡­)


    ¡°Da Luo is probably aware of it himself, but he still resolved to keep working hard, re-invent himself, and make her his,¡± Qianqian said quietly, ¡°Rather than just giving up over something like that.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Lin Dong wondered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait here,¡± Luocheng suggested.


    ***


    There was dead silence in the house.


    Da Luo sat on a chair, staring aimlessly at his computer screen.


    He liked computers, and gaming.


    When he quit pro-gaming, his heart had died, and nothing excited him anymore.


    When Shui Mo came into his life, he¡¯d come alive again. He¡¯d found a real purpose, something to look forward to. She was what had pulled him up from his lackadaisical ways, and motivated him to work as hard as he could.


    He¡¯d considered that he might find disappointment in the end, just like this. But now that it had really happened, the feeling was unbearable. He was crushed. Each breath he drew was excruciating.


    He felt like he had nothing left, now. He thought of the dull and dreary labor ahead of him, and the gentle, playful voice he¡¯d never hear again¡­


    ***


    For a very, very long time, Da Luo remained lost in his thoughts.


    He slowly lifted up a hand to look at it¡ªthis hand, worn coarse from moving construction materials all day.


    He was still clutching a slip of paper.


    His head swam with confusion. Thinking back, he vaguely remembered Lin Dong stuffing this into his hand, wanting him to look at it.


    What was there to see?


    Da Luo laughed bitterly. That man had done the same as Shui Mo, utterly laying waste to his hopes and dreams. He crumpled the paper up, and tossed it into the bin.


    Unbidden, the memories of the past began to return to him.


    A simple bungalow, five shirtless men banging away hard at their mice and keyboards. Together, they wolfed down the food Xiao Bei got them. Together, they took their first ever flight out of the country. They stood on stage before the whole world, beneath a deafening storm of cheering.


    In particular, he remembered countless fans crying out for the Lone Gull. It had been an unimaginable honor, a crowning moment of glory he¡¯d never forget all his life long.


    As the reverie continued, Da Luo inexplicably stirred, and retrieved the piece of paper he¡¯d just thrown away. Slowly, he unfolded it.


    It contained two strings of numbers, and the name of a region: It was an account number and password, in the Ionia server.


    His computer was already on. Bewildered, Da Luo summoned up the login screen, and entered the listed credentials.


    Ka-foom!


    Selecting ¡®Ionia¡¯ caused the logo to flare, and there was a resounding boom that somehow caused the heart to quicken, as though his dying heart had received a powerful shock from a pair of chest paddles.


    He was logged into the account now, but he still didn¡¯t understand what was going on. It looked like a perfectly ordinary account.


    He laughed at himself and reached over to close the client window, but on a sudden impulse, he opened up the Match History instead.


    Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer. Win Rate: 100%


    Kennen, the Heart of the Tempest. Win Rate: 100%


    Vayne, the Night Hunter. Win Rate: 100%


    In bright green text: Victory!


    Victory!


    Victory!


    Ranked: 2,260 LP!


    Wins: 26!


    Da Luo took in these unbelievable records, absolutely confounded.


    Twenty-six consecutive victories¡­ This was an account with twenty-six straight wins!


    The highest record of consecutive victories in Ionia was twenty-five.


    A flash of realization hit Da Luo like a lightning bolt.


    He was quite aware of how unbelievably difficult it had to have been to win twenty-six games in a row.


    There were so many elite ¡®League of Legends¡¯ players across the nation, but this was the first time anyone had ever achieved such a feat¡ªand it had been accomplished barely a few days ago, around the time that he¡¯d told someone about it.


    They¡¯d done this for him: Twenty-six consecutive victories, in just a handful of days.


    Just a moment ago, he¡¯d been remembering all the laughter and tears from those days when he used to play professionally. He¡¯d thought that those feelings would fade, as time passed.


    But when he discovered the truth of this account, the indescribable emotions that welled up inside him moved him uncontrollably to tears.


    When Shui Mo turned him down, he¡¯d still been able to hold back his tears.


    When Shui Mo revealed those harsh realities to him, he didn¡¯t cry, he¡¯d held on.


    But this tiny little game account had burst the dam wide open. He was weeping openly now, sobbing big blubbering tears that converged into twin rivers pouring down his face!


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Yeah, bros before Mo, and all that. Although I¡¯ve taken any number of jabs at this author, he managed to turn the handing over of a free game account into such a dramatic event. Proof of a master.)


    ***


    The door suddenly opened.


    Da Luo stood in the doorway, looking at Luocheng and Lin Dong with damp eyes. The black circles under their eyes were still clearly visible, evidence of having slaved away for several days and nights over this account.


    ¡°Da Luo¡­¡± Lin Dong began. Luocheng was looking at him as well.


    Da Luo suddenly threw his arms wide, and caught Luocheng in a fierce hug.


    ¡°Captain. I¡­ ah¡­ This is Da Luo, and¡­¡± His words were all in a jumble, sniffling like a child. ¡°No¡ªThis is Lone Gull, and I¡¯m back in the team!¡±


    Lone Gull was back!


    ***


    He didn¡¯t lack purpose or direction.


    She just had no idea of how he¡¯d once had the whole world at his feet!

 Chapter 183 - : Unforgiven

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The seagull is meant to soar over wind and waves, high above the ocean!


    ***


    As he returned Da Luo¡¯s hug, Yu Luocheng felt a sudden rush of emotion surging into him, setting his usually calm heart racing.


    He felt like he¡¯d instantly died and come back to life again.


    Maybe one day it would happen to him too: After having been held down for so long, to be taken by the uncontrollable urge to spread his wings and fly.


    ***


    Da Luo did things decisively. Now that he¡¯d made up his mind, he immediately severed all other commitments, leaving himself no room for retreat.


    In a few days, he¡¯d quit his job at the construction materials company, move out of this shabby little house he was renting, and begin the search for a suitable base of operations for his team.


    Back when they were first starting out, they¡¯d stayed in a cramped little house in a residential district. The living room contained nothing but computers, and the rest of the house was clogged with beds.


    Zhou Yan had tidied up the place regularly, so that everything was still clean and hospitable enough.


    Speaking of Zhou Yan, Luocheng anxiously asked Lin Dong about him.


    ¡°Surely you don¡¯t have to ask, with that guy?¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Erm, I¡¯m just worried about¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. He¡¯s still the same old Zhou Yan. Since today is Da Luo¡¯s birthday¡ªlet¡¯s go, we¡¯re gonna call on him to join us for the festivities.¡±


    Da Luo nodded. ¡°It¡¯s been a while for me too. I¡¯ve been wanting to see him again.¡±


    ***


    Zhou Yan was a carry for Team Wings, bearing the ID ¡®Gale Crane¡¯.


    Nimble yet graceful, the crane was untouchable in flight.


    Inscrutable in its ways, unpredictable in its thinking.


    In real life, Zhou Yan was completely different from what he was like in-game.


    A man of few words, he was always quiet, composed, sure, disciplined, and reserved with his expressions.


    He was the eldest among them, and the most reliable. He was obsessively neat. When they first began training in that wretched little house in Shanghai, it had fallen completely to Zhou Yan to keep things organized and hygienic. The others had often made fun of him, calling him a good housewife given male form.


    Indeed, he was a dark-faced, masculine fellow.


    According to Lin Dong, Zhou Yan was currently in the sales business. It sounded like grunt work.


    Following the address Zhou Yan provided them, they made a beeline towards his present location.


    His workplace looked ordinary enough, if perhaps a little out of the way.


    Lin Dong gave him a call. ¡°Hey Zhou, we¡¯re waiting for you downstairs. It¡¯s this late already, and you¡¯re still working overtime? Guess who¡¯s here with me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s been a lot going on. Who¡¯s with you?¡± Zhou Yan¡¯s voice was a flat monotone.


    ¡°Have you forgotten what day it is?¡± Lin Dong asked with a laugh, eyeing Da Luo.


    That woke him up. ¡°Oh, right. Da Luo¡¯s birthday. I totally forgot, sorry. Just wait there, I¡¯ll be right down.¡±


    ***


    In the office, a deeply tanned man rose from his chair.


    He turned to the manager behind him, who was wearing a tie. ¡°Manager, I¡¯m heading downstairs for a bit. I¡¯ve got some friends calling on me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, sure. Hurry back, we¡¯ve still got work to do.¡± The bespectacled manager nodded.


    With great strides, Zhou Yan stepped out through the door. The manager watched him go, muttering to himself, ¡°Slacking off as usual. As lazy as he¡¯s stupid. Not a single deal closed after so many days¡ªhe¡¯s got some guts to still expect a salary!¡±


    Overhearing this, the colleagues nearby sniffed with contempt at the manager. Zhou Yan had been doing great so far, generating substantial value for the company. It was hard to imagine why this manager had taken exception to him.


    ***


    The moment he came out, Zhou Yan immediately caught sight of Lin Dong and Da Luo. He¡¯d seen them on and off over the years, and was still readily able to recognize them.


    But when he saw Yu Luocheng with them, that threw him off balance a little. His eyes widened as he gaped at Luocheng.


    Yang Qianqian found it difficult to comprehend why whenever they encountered one of Luocheng¡¯s old acquaintances, they would always spend a moment staring at him as if they couldn¡¯t believe their own eyes.


    What had happened between them all in the past?


    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Zhou Yan¡¯s reaction was much more restrained than Da Luo¡¯s had been. His tone was warm and friendly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Luocheng nodded.


    ¡°It seems like I¡¯m being summoned for more than just a meal?¡± Zhou Yan could sense that something was afoot.


    ¡°It¡¯s like this: We¡¯re putting a team together, to play League of Legends in the LPL,¡± Lin Dong explained. ¡°Right now, we¡¯ve got me, Xiao Bei, and Da Luo.¡±


    Zhou Yan turned to Luocheng again. ¡°You¡¯re not joining?¡±


    ¡°Er, only in a nominal capacity.¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t go into detail.


    The truth was that Luocheng didn¡¯t really have to explain anything to him. Before he left pro-gaming behind, he¡¯d said something to Zhou Yan.


    Out of everyone, he should be the most able to understand and forgive what he¡¯d done.


    Sure enough, Zhou Yan didn¡¯t pursue the matter further. Turning to regard both Da Luo and Lin Dong, he asked, ¡°Are you serious about this?¡±


    Lin Dong nodded. ¡°For real. Are you with us?¡±


    Zhou Yan frowned slightly.


    Luocheng and Da Luo didn¡¯t add anything to this. They were familiar with Zhou Yan¡¯s character: If he¡¯d been willing, he would have said so right away, without beating around the bush.


    However, seeing Zhou Yan with his brow furrowed in hesitation¡­


    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ve still got some stuff to take care of.¡± With that sudden declaration, he disappeared back into the office building.


    ***


    In the wake of his sudden departure, the other three guys were lost for words.


    Zhou Yan was a tough nut to crack. If he said no, and declined to rejoin their team, there would be no changing his mind.


    Lin Dong and Da Luo had been expecting Zhou Yan to agree immediately. They certainly hadn¡¯t been counting on him turning his back on them and going straight back to work.


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll be joining the team?¡± Qianqian whispered, tugging on Luocheng¡¯s sleeve.


    Luocheng shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°That could be tricky. Once he¡¯s made a decision, it¡¯s very hard to persuade him otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but I¡¯ve been talking with Zhou Yan, and he¡¯s been playing LOL all this while, and mainly as a Jungler,¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, he¡¯s really good, one of the top players in the Bilgewater server. It¡¯s just that he rarely mixes with others. If Zhou Yan came back to us, our team would basically be complete¡ªit¡¯s just that I have no idea how he feels about it.¡±


    As he spoke, someone emerged from the building. Face burnt to a dark tan by the scorching sun, tall and powerfully built¡­ it was Zhou Yan!


    At present, Zhou Yan was carrying his usual bag. It seemed to be stuffed with quite a few things.


    He walked up to the four of them, his expression somber as always.


    No sooner had he stepped out the door when another man came chasing after him, spectacles on his nose and a tie around his neck. Pointing after Zhou Yan, he bellowed, ¡°Son of a bitch, you¡¯re gonna quit, just like that, with so much work left unfinished? Listen here: You walk away now, don¡¯t expect to collect a single cent of last month¡¯s pay!¡±


    It was loud enough to be heard up and down the whole street. Luocheng, Lin Dong, Da Luo, and Qianqian all stood frozen in shock!


    Paying no heed to the manager, Zhou Yan calmly addressed the four of them: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Er, but¡­¡± Da Luo didn¡¯t even know what to say about this.


    Lin Dong gave Zhou Yan the thumbs-up.


    None of them had expected that Zhou Yan was going back inside just to resign straight away, even throwing away a whole month¡¯s hard work!


    How many people had hesitated at quitting their jobs because their pay was still being withheld? It hadn¡¯t been five minutes since Zhou Yan came downstairs and clapped eyes on Luocheng and the others for the first time this evening. They¡¯d hardly exchanged a couple of words, so far.


    Lin Dong hadn¡¯t even gotten to describing his vision for the team¡¯s future, but Zhou Yan had promptly dumped his job to come join them.


    At this point, they had to do something to return this demonstration of faith!


    ¡°Idiot!¡± In unison, Lin Dong, Luocheng, and Da Luo flipped the bird at the manager who¡¯d come chasing after Zhou Yan.


    For a moment, the manager looked like he was going to march up to them. Then Zhou Yan paused in mid-stride, his face darkening, his eyes growing cold. And then the manager thought better of it.


    Ignoring that fool, the five of them departed down the street.


    No one among them was more worked up than Lin Dong. It had been his idea to get everyone back together. After various trials, the four of them had all been gathered in one place again.


    Perhaps none of them had forgotten the camaraderie from those days.


    Luocheng could feel it too, that sense of contentment.


    It felt nice to be with everyone again.


    ¡°What about Zhao Tinghua?¡± Da Luo inquired.


    F-Hawk, Sky Swan, Lone Gull, Gale Crane. Everyone had assembled, save for Blood Eagle.


    Once glorious beyond compare, Team Wings was really about to be restored, so that they could make their mark in League of Legends!


    The question was: Would Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle, be returning to the team as well?


    ¡°I¡¯ve told him the plan already. He¡¯s not interested.¡± Lin Dong looked at Luocheng as he announced this.


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan turned to him as well. Qianqian wondered if something had happened in the past, to have everyone watching Luocheng inquisitively after this revelation.


    Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Lin Dong were all certain that the matter of whether or not Zhao Tinghua came back to the team was entirely up to Luocheng.


    The two of them were the true pillars of Team Wings, and they were each the closest to the other. Even from the moment they¡¯d first met, they¡¯d come together like long-lost brothers, and the bond between them had only grown stronger with each battle.


    They were very similar to one another in terms of their talent and passion for gaming, and Tinghua was considered the equal of Luocheng, whose prestige as F-Hawk was otherwise unrivaled.


    In the game of DOTA, the nation¡¯s most illustrious champions were none other than the two of them. When they had both been on the same team, their exploits were the stuff of legend, and they¡¯d risen to the top of the world!


    If Luocheng couldn¡¯t fully commit to their tournament games, then they still needed another ace they could rely upon, and Zhao Tinghua was the best candidate.


    But could they actually get him to join them?


    Neither Da Luo, Zhou Yan, nor Lin Dong had forgotten that when Luocheng abruptly quit pro-gaming without a word of farewell to anyone, Zhao Tinghua had smashed every one of Luocheng¡¯s remaining possessions in their base¡ªincluding the trophy for the international solo event.


    Roaring and cursing furiously, he¡¯d named Luocheng a deserter, and had sworn never to forgive him.


    Even this recently, Lin Dong had still heard that enmity and rage in Tinghua¡¯s tone of voice.


    The Blood Eagle would not return.


    If anything, he would sooner be an enemy!

 Chapter 184 - Reach For the Stars!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was a long street, filled with crowded tables.


    Vendors, cooks, drunkards, songbirds, courtesans, and bustling waiters.


    It was always this hectic at this hour, and the smell of roasting meat filled the whole street.


    Not far behind them, skyscrapers soared towards the clouds, some shrouded in shadow, some coruscant with light. The cold solitude of their towering reach stood in stark contrast with the cheerful commotion of this cramped little street.


    ***


    ¡°Da Luo, take it easy, there.¡± Lin Dong admonished, catching hold of Da Luo¡¯s beer bottle.


    ¡°What are you talking about? This is a rare gathering between us all! Come, I¡¯ll pour you a glass. Let¡¯s drink!¡± Swaying and tottering, he maneuvered the bottle towards Lin Dong¡¯s own glass.


    His face was red as a boiled lobster. His eyes were unfocused, and his words were slurred.


    Da Luo was totally wasted, which had probably been his intention all along.


    With the roller-coaster ride that today had been for him, he wanted the overpowering aroma of wine to ease the pain and anxiety that had built up in his heart.


    Sadly, such methods were of no use.


    Having been filled in on Da Luo¡¯s travails by Lin Dong, Zhou Yan had no comment to make. Every young man had to go through something like this, in order to grow and mature.


    Zhou Yan turned to Luocheng. ¡°Luocheng, am I to take it that you won¡¯t be playing in any more tournaments?¡±


    Luocheng nodded. ¡°Yeah. But I¡¯ll train with you guys, and help out anywhere I can.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Then who¡¯s going to be the team captain?¡±


    ¡°Zhou, old buddy¡­ How about you do it?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Zhou Yan cast an eye towards Lin Dong, as well as the inebriated Da Luo.


    Lin Dong expressed no objections. Da Luo blinked at Luocheng and said, ¡°You¡­ You¡¯ve already done it before. Why¡­ Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re scared to go again? You¡¯re a man, why can¡¯t you¡­ how could you¡­¡±


    Lin Dong hurriedly caught ahold of Da Luo. The alcohol was causing him to lose his marbles now. Lin Dong helped him over to the washroom. They were in the presence of a lady, here.


    When they had left, Zhou Yan picked up where Da Luo had left off. ¡°Is it too hard to get back into the game?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the difficulty of the game,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re in university now. You don¡¯t have to sacrifice your own future for the sake of these old regrets.¡± Zhou Yan added with a nod, ¡°By the way, do you still remember Wu Sen?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that guy.¡±


    ¡°He used to be on Team TC, but left after some disagreements. Now he¡¯s wandering around unemployed. If you¡¯re not going to be a regular player, we¡¯ll be short a man. How do you feel about bringing him in? He¡¯s a professional Support and ADC, and he¡¯s been playing LOL since it started in America.¡±


    Wu Sen was someone Yu Luocheng had known, back in the old Team Wings. In those days, he¡¯d been on the second roster for Team Sky. He¡¯d been a talented and hard-working player.


    After the dissolution of Team Wings, Wu Sen could have taken over as the captain of the first team, but Sky Club¡¯s tyranny and lack of integrity had moved him to leave with everyone else.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Team TC pretty famous?¡± Qianqian spoke up, recognizing the name.


    Zhou Yan turned to regard Qianqian, surprised that this girl was so familiar with League of Legends as well.


    ¡°She¡¯s a gamer. Warcraft, Starcraft, Crossfire, LOL¡­ she¡¯s played it all. Only casually, though,¡± Luocheng explained with a laugh.


    Qianqian glared daggers at Luocheng.


    Her brother played all sorts of games. Originally, it had been none of her business¡ªbut then she got sick one day, and was stuck at home. Seeing her bored with nothing to do, Yang Ying had taught her to play his games¡ªall of them.


    ¡°Team TC was one of the top eight teams during the last LPL,¡± Zhou Yan confirmed. ¡°Their members are all exceptionally skilled, but perhaps they¡¯re still hot-blooded and full of themselves¡­ Put them in a team together, and during the most crucial matches of a tournament, the cracks in their teamwork will show¡ªthey¡¯re no match for the more seasoned teams, so they couldn¡¯t make it into the semi-finals.¡±


    He¡¯d been keeping a close eye on developments in LOL. Although normally tight-lipped, when the topic was about the professional gaming scene, he could go on and on. It was evident where he placed his true passions, his true self.


    ¡°To be placed among the top eight teams in the nation, that¡¯s already rather impressive!¡± Qianqian declared.


    Nowadays, there were more professional LOL teams in China than you could shake a stick at. Qianqian knew that currently the most well-known team in Lecheng was the one that Luocheng had been in formerly, Team Scarlet.


    If every town was home to a group which made their living playing League of Legends, and there were thousands upon thousands of towns across China, being able to fight your way into the top eight of the LPL was, without a doubt, a highly remarkable achievement!


    ¡°Essentially, we¡¯ve got enough members to go on for now,¡± said Zhou Yan. ¡°Next, we should prepare to take part in some serious competitions. We have to get ready for the Regional Qualifiers as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a qualifier?¡± Finding herself in unfamiliar waters, Qianqian asked in eager curiosity.


    ¡°The ¡®LOL Pro League¡¯ (LPL) is the most prestigious pro-gaming tournament in the nation, because it¡¯s the only path by which you can reach the international-level ¡®League Worlds¡¯ tournament.¡±


    Qianqian knew this much already. It was the main reason why the LPL was unquestionably the premier tournament in the region.


    The LPL Regional Qualifiers were a series of elimination matches to select worthy competitors. Those teams that made it through to the LPL proper were considered first-class teams.


    Those that failed to make the cut would only be seen as second- or third-class professional teams, at best. This comprised pro-gaming teams which had managed to get first or second place in cyber caf¨¦ contests, campus championships, G-League tournaments, and similar.


    ***


    To put it simply, making the LPL was the ultimate aspiration, the highest tier in competitive gaming.


    The top two seeds from the LPL would automatically be eligible for the world tournament, and everyone vied for that honor. To make it into the LPL was to stand among the best of the best.


    The LPL Regional Qualifiers were an example of a second-tier professional tournament. This comprised of three separate events: The Champions War, the Media War, and the Server War.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Similar to how other regions have Spring and Summer Play-Offs, Regional Qualifiers, etc. League of Legends in China seems to have multiple official tournaments throughout the year, with fancy names as shown. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to put up with a best-guess translation, here.)


    The top two teams from each of these events would compete in a pre-season tournament starting in January, also known as the LPL World Championship Regional Qualifiers!


    Teams taking part in the Regional Qualifiers could be considered second-class pro-gaming teams, at the very least.


    The remainder could still take part in various nation-wide competitions, which drew no small number of professional players as well. There were cyber caf¨¦ competitions, campus championships, and so on: sponsored by major corporations, with coverage and promotions handled by specialized e-sports media outlets.


    It was the best place for unknown teams to make a name for themselves. Before a team gained enough recognition to participate in first- or second-tier tournaments, they went for this sort of thing instead. There was cash to be won, experience to be accrued!


    Even if you did well in these kinds of tournaments, you were still only considered a third-class team.


    Otherwise, all manner of regional competitions, even if they were sponsored by Mengniu, Yili, Lucky, Tencent, 37 Wan, Youku, 9U, and so on¡­ those were lower than third-class.


    Competitions at this level were aimed at ordinary players. Although more time-consuming, there were nevertheless substantial rewards to be had.


    Gaming teams of third-class or better should have other, more important tournaments to prepare for, so they generally didn¡¯t take part in such mainstream events.


    ***


    Now that a team had been formed, they had to set a clear aim for themselves.


    Would they squabble over amateur competitions, drifting loosely from one event to another, hoping to snatch up those lucrative sponsored prizes¡­ or would they reach for the stars, preparing to overcome the fiercest opponents the world had to offer?


    ¡°Shall we start with the mainstream stuff, or head straight for the big leagues?¡± Da Luo¡¯s head was feeling a lot clearer, now that he¡¯d had a moment to take a breather.


    ¡°Getting into the LPL is easier said than done,¡± Lin Dong declared frankly. ¡°We used to have amazing teamwork together, but it¡¯s been a while. The main problem is that there are a whole lot more teams to compete against in LOL, compared to our DOTA days. It¡¯s like everyone and their dog is an elite player nowadays.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t settle for the small-time. No one will respect us!¡± Da Luo whined.


    If their once-glorious Team Wings couldn¡¯t even make it as a third-class team, they would become the joke of the century!


    Zhou Yan spoke up. ¡°Lin Dong, getting the team back together was your idea. I suppose you¡¯ve already figured out some kind of plan for us?¡±


    Lin Dong nodded and replied, ¡°We definitely can¡¯t muck around with the mainstream competitions¡ªthat would just wear us out. We have to make some real progress in the professional scene, and win one of the pre-season tournaments!¡±


    ¡°I seem to recall that there are three ways to become eligible for the LPL Qualifiers,¡± Da Luo said. ¡°The Inter-City Champions War, or the Media War between various corporations, and finally the Server War.¡±


    Qianqian felt like she might have been mistaken about something. She asked in a whisper, ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that being the top few teams in the Coca-Cola Cup would be enough to get a place in the LPL?¡±


    Lin Dong shook his head with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s just an urban legend. The Coca-Cola Cup was just a third-class tournament. Getting into the LPL to become one of the country¡¯s top eight teams could hardly be that simple!¡±


    Qianqian opened and closed her mouth, like a goldfish.


    Even a nation-wide tournament like the Coca-Cola Cup was still at least two levels away from the first-class LPL tournament!


    But the teams that had fought during the finals of the Coca-Cola Cup had already seemed as good as anyone could ever hope to get¡­ so how much better were the second- and first-class teams, exactly?


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Hopefully, good enough to live up to the expectations of the seasoned tacticians who comment on this series.)


    It was a mind-boggling thought!


    At present, the team Qianqian was most familiar with was Team Scarlet¡ªbut with all that she had learned today, it turned out that Team Scarlet wasn¡¯t even good enough to be considered a third-class team. In fact, they might very well be far short of the mark!


    And even at a tournament of that level, Luocheng had suffered the occasional defeat. If they faced off against opponents stronger than Team Scarlet¡ªperhaps a great many times stronger¡ªwould they really be able to get anywhere?


    No matter how much faith she had in Yu Luocheng, Yang Qianqian couldn¡¯t help but begin to worry about the future of this fledgling team.

 Chapter 185 - The Birth Of Team LM!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I know of a shortcut that can allow us to directly enter the second seed and participate in the pre-season. As long as we participate in the pre-season, I have confidence that we can enter the LPL.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the shortcut?¡± everyone asked, looking at Lin Dong.


    Professional leagues definitely had their rules and regulations as well as ladders to climb. The team that Lin Dong formed was just one of the thousands of teams out there, how could they stand out from the crowd?


    The only way was to participate in various competitions. Professional leagues have thresholds, including some third seed competitions. However, if they were to begin from non-professional competitions, it would take a long time before they were able to enter a third seed professional competition.


    LPL would start in March of the following year, and out of all the teams in the whole country, only eight teams would be qualified to enter.


    The second seed team would amount to about thirty or forty teams, and the third seed teams would be in the hundreds. Non-professional teams would easily amount to thousands.


    If their newly formed team wanted to climb step by step, it would require a lot of time. It may not even be possible for them to enter LPL as one of the eight teams next year.


    They were different than the other professional teams who needed to climb step by step, they had more experience in big competitions as compared to them. They had the strength and confidence in taking part in world competitions which the others didn¡¯t have, the only thing they lacked was the stepping stone that would allow them to take a short cut up the stairs.


    Lin Dong believed that with their skills, they only needed to train two or three months before they would be able to compete with those long term third seed professional teams. Once they reached a certain understanding, they could even compete against second rate teams easily.


    They couldn¡¯t be wasting time in the non-professional games, their training time was already so little. It couldn¡¯t be wasted in some non-professional competition, not even third seed competitions.


    ¡°What I mean is, we have the experience in competitions. We don¡¯t have to go through those competitions to gain experience again. We just have to train hard and go directly into a second seed competition and stand out from the inside. It will give a massive shock to the audience,¡± Lin Dong explained.


    Da Luo nodded his head in agreement, the few of them had managed to obtain the highest recognition in the E-sports industry before, making their way successfully onto the world¡¯s stage. The competitions within the country weren¡¯t anything to be compared with, there wouldn¡¯t be any stage fright or playing below par in those situations.


    In that case, they would forgo the small competitions, using the time to engage in more practice sessions and head directly toward the more heavy-weight competitions!


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be too complacent, thinking like that?¡± Zhou Yan asked. ¡°If possible, we could use some of the competition matches to feel out the strength of the LOL professional teams and measure our own strength. Wouldn¡¯t it be arrogance and ignorance by thinking we own the sky?¡±


    Zhou Yan was a person who was more cautious in nature and he also pondered more in situations like this.


    ¡°Zhou, I¡¯m not dismissing what you say, but the funds that we have pooled together are only so much and we can only choose from these two roads in front of us. One is that we start with competitions that offer prize money to win some funds to stabilize the development of our team, but then we definitely won¡¯t make it in time for the coming LPL.¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°The other is that we rely on our current funds, go straight into pre-season in December, and play our way into LPL. Once we get into LPL, we should have sponsorships and that would solve all our problems.¡±


    ¡°I feel like the step by step is not necessary and the fast route is better.¡± Da Luo said. ¡°After all, we¡¯re not some half-baked team formed by newbies or rookies.¡±


    If you didn¡¯t have confidence after making it to the world championship, how would you qualify to go against the strong professional teams which were in the current E-sports circle?


    You must understand that Team Daemon who had stood at the same placement as their Team Wings in their country were also now the leading team in LOL and they were basically the strongest right now!


    Their ex-teammate¡ªZhao Tinghua was the captain of Team Sky, and their ranking had consistently been in the top three in the country. That being said, it would be hard for them if they were to lower themselves too much!


    ¡°I think we can go for the fast route and forgo the slow climb.¡± Luocheng said, as he believed in the strength of his team.


    Since it was Luocheng who had spoken, the rest of them agreed unanimously. The remaining time would be used for training and they would directly enter the pre-season, shocking the nation by heading straight into the spotlight!


    ¡°If we don¡¯t participate in any competitions, we won¡¯t qualify to enter the pre-season, are we at least participating in the pre-seasonal qualifiers?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    ¡°The pre-seasonal qualifiers won¡¯t take up much of our time, just take it as a warm up session.¡± Lin Dong replied. ¡°It should happen around November, so we have one month of practice to shine in the qualifiers.¡±


    ¡°Lin Dong, didn¡¯t you say there was a short cut?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a bit of a risk, so I think we¡¯d better forget about it. We¡¯re entering the pre-seasonal qualifiers in November and after that, we¡¯ll resume practice.¡± Lin Dong explained. ¡°We¡¯ll then participate in the knockout rounds into the finals, win the finals, and get the qualification to enter LPL as a first seed team.¡±


    ¡°Well, that sounds like a plan. It¡¯s not too late to start either, so we should get started as soon as possible.¡± Zhou Yan said. ¡°Will there be any problems on Xiao Bei¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°There won¡¯t be.¡± Lin Dong replied. ¡°He¡¯ll come over as soon as everyone has gathered.¡±


    ¡°What about Wu Sen?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°He¡¯ll come any time when he¡¯s called, he¡¯s unemployed now anyway.¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    A lot of professional teams usually chose to participate in some competitions to increase their experience and also to increase their fame and funds.


    It would look ridiculous to outsiders if they saw what this team was doing, choosing to directly participate in second seed pre-season competitions. However, as long as it could produce results, this would definitely silence those people!


    ¡°We¡¯re not even sure if we can still play up to the world¡¯s stage¡­¡± Zhou Yan said solemnly.


    The world¡¯s stage?


    Everyone in Team Wings would never forget the scene which had happened on the world¡¯s stage. Representing the Chinese, representing the highest honor and reputation, competing with the top E-sports masters of various countries. The cruel society could not comprehend the insult and hot-blooded feelings they had felt.


    Everyone also fell silent after hearing Zhou Yan speak those words.


    The world¡¯s stage¡­


    In the past two years, none of them had ever imagined that they would return to this scene which was full of countless cheers and support in their dreams.


    However, they had wasted away for more than a year. LOL had a lot of strong competitors, could they really stand out from the countless teams and head toward the world¡¯s stage?


    They knew that it would be a difficult road.


    More importantly, the two strongest players of Team Wings were not in this team. Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua was the sharpest knife in their team, he had killed countless of powerful opponents with his powerful strength!


    Fighting Hawk Luocheng was the soul of the team, using his most creative playstyle and shocking techniques to defeat the teams that were thought to be unbeatable.


    Without them, could they really enter into the world¡¯s stage?


    Looking at Luocheng, they wished he would return to the team. Let him lead this reformed team toward the LPL and toward the world. They were well aware that only the Fighting Hawk Luocheng had the strength to let them stand again on the world¡¯s stage.


    However, if even Zhao Tinghua had refused to return to the team, even vowing to stand against Luocheng, wouldn¡¯t Luocheng be the hardest person to persuade back into the team?


    Was it the failure he had experienced in England that made him lose his confidence in conquering the world¡¯s E-sports, or his family¡¯s embarrassment and his current status in the university that prevented him from taking this step forward?


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo and Lin Dong didn¡¯t understand. Luocheng was their leader. There were a lot of times they were unable to understand the deeper things in Luocheng¡¯s heart, and the only one who could¡ªTinghua, was against him to the bitter end.


    Unknowingly, this had become an infinite loop.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be an issue, Xiao Bei plays really well.¡± Luocheng smiled reassuringly. ¡°He¡¯s not that much different from me, I can vouch for that.¡±


    Luocheng had met Xiao Bei, and his ADC was as big a threat as Luocheng was. There weren¡¯t many who could pose a threat to him, and for Xiao Bei to be able to do so was a testimony of how good his skills were. It was no wonder that first-rate teams were offering to take him in!


    Luocheng had the confidence that Xiao Bei could become the team¡¯s core!


    ***


    ¡°Oh right, so what¡¯s your team name going to be?¡± Qianqian asked. ¡°Will it still be Team Wings?¡±


    This question halted everybody in their thoughts.


    In fact, they had been discussing for so long but they had never touched on the name of their team at all!


    Team Wings was in the past, how could they still use the same name?


    The four of them fell into a deep silence, and Lin Dong¡¯s smile said that he had forgotten the most crucial thing.


    ¡°Boss, why don¡¯t you pick.¡± Da Luo and Lin Dong said.


    Zhou Yan nodded his head, agreeing with them, indicating that Luocheng should pick the name of their team.


    Luocheng contemplated for a while, thinking hard.


    ¡°LM, let¡¯s call it Team LM.¡±


    ¡°LM?¡± Everyone parroted. ¡°Is there a meaning behind it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I just thought of these two letters.¡± Luocheng said with a straight face.


    ¡°LM¡­¡±


    ¡°LM doesn¡¯t sound too bad, let¡¯s go with Team LM then!¡±


    Luocheng was their leader, and the name they chose didn¡¯t have to have a specific meaning after all. They agreed with him out of habit, because only by following his leadership had they managed to step foot into the world¡¯s stage. That was their intuition and they felt that the name Team LM would surely resound throughout the country in the future!

 Chapter 186 - Unable to Differentiate Between Dreams and Reality

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was dark, Qianqian and Luocheng sat side by side at a pond near a forest path. They sat in comfortable silence, watching the leaves and the reflection of the pond in the faint moonlight.


    ¡°Do you feel a little bit better now?¡± Qianqian asked in concern.


    Luocheng drank quite a bit today and had fallen asleep on the car ride just now. The cool breeze blew and Luocheng felt more awake, and with Qianqian by his side, he felt a little comforted. He had the urge to embrace her, but he worried that the smell of alcohol would stick to her and thus, refrained from taking any action.


    ¡°Yeah, I feel so much better now.¡± Luocheng nodded his head.


    ¡°Would you tell me about it?¡± Qianqian asked lightly. ¡°The time when you left home, and about why you¡¯re adamant about not joining the professional leagues.¡±


    You could say that the past few days had tested all of Qianqian¡¯s knowledge about Luocheng¡¯s person. She knew that he was good at E-sports, but she never imagined that he had once stood on the highest glory in the field of E-sports before.


    But why did he decide to quit?


    You could see that Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Xiao Bei all had a love and passion for e-sports that was hard to be understood by ordinary people. They must have an immeasurable amount of tears and laughter in the field of e-sports when they were still in it.


    Luocheng remained silent.


    Qianqian didn¡¯t press further, quietly sitting beside him. The area was silent and you could hear the ripples on the water.


    ¡°I left home two years ago¡­¡± Luocheng said slowly, his soft voice piercing through the night¡¯s silence. His eyes were on the water as he spoke. ¡°I should have been in Year 1 at that time¡­¡±


    ¡°In those two years, I never contacted home once. They didn¡¯t know whether I was dead or alive, and they didn¡¯t even know where I was¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why I was so numb at that time, with only the computer in my mind. I didn¡¯t even want to communicate with others, I just wanted the mouse and keyboard to win.¡±


    ¡°After I lost that match, it felt like I had awakened from a long dream. At that time I realized that I had nothing left, and all I wanted to do was to go home.¡±


    Luocheng fell silent again when he reached this point. He struggled to find the words to express the feelings he had felt at that time even though he could recall it vividly in his mind. The moment he had stepped down from the airplane, the feeling of lifelessness, no blood running through his veins, and no heartbeat.


    He admitted that he had been completely obsessed with E-sports and had been unable to tear himself away from it. Even with the consistent victories and surpassing his own limits, the empty void in his heart could not be filled.


    However, that one failure had sent his whole world collapsing. He had regarded the game as his belief and religion, taking it as a pillar of support¡­ and he had nearly fallen into a state of madness and despair.


    A few days before the big competition in England, he had received a call from his mother¡ªLi Yun, who had not contacted him in two years. Luocheng didn¡¯t know how she had gotten his contact in England, but the reason behind the call had made him shed tears.


    He had thought that he could survive without the support of his family and relatives, but the moment he heard her voice and spoke to her, he felt all the inner turmoil and feelings that he had suppressed for the past two years rushing out. His mind was filled with the images of his mother and father, as well as the gentleness of his sister¡ªYu Yu.


    He had left home for two years, but he had lived with them for more than ten years, how could this type of familial relationship be so easily forgotten?


    Listening to his mother¡¯s advice, he, who had been immersed completely in the world of computers, finally woke up.


    A person who only held passion and extreme love for e-sports and nothing else was basically a living dead, living in a dream!


    ¡°At that time, I couldn¡¯t sleep. My mind was full of illusions of the game. Once my eyes moved toward the computer screen, I could see nothing else.¡±


    When a person lives in a dream, it was actually a terrifying ordeal.


    ¡°When I received medical examinations abroad, my mental state was already abnormal. Whenever I saw Da Luo or Lin Dong and the rest of them, I even felt like we were strangers.¡± Luocheng admitted bitterly.


    ¡°How could it be?¡± Qianqian asked, startled.


    ¡°It was an obsession, in simple terms. Just like how youngsters would get addicted to games, I was in a deep dark pit. I was in too deep and I couldn¡¯t get myself out of the pit that I had dug.¡±


    ¡°So you chose to return home?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°How about now?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t anything like that now.¡±


    E-sports was like a slow-acting poison, chipping away at your spirit.


    Luocheng had been very young at the time, he had not formed the correct perception of E-sports. With his extraordinary talent and skills, he had immersed himself completely in it, relying on the constant victories to try and satisfy his desires.


    ¡°So the reason you lost in England¡­ was it because you wanted to go home?¡± Qianqian asked.


    Luocheng shook his head.


    ¡°I really put my all into that match but that person was just too strong. After losing, I took the chance to leave and never told them why because I didn¡¯t want them to know that I couldn¡¯t tell the difference between dreams and reality anymore. I didn¡¯t want to tell them that if I had continued, I probably would have gone mad.¡±


    ¡°I only found out later that my father was bedridden when I got home, the liver disease had reached a critical phase.¡± Luocheng smiled sadly.


    ¡°It had only appeared during the two years I had left. His liver was never in good shape and my departure just made it worse. He had really high hopes for me.¡± Luocheng explained. ¡°I took a double score in primary school, I also took the trophy in junior high school, getting excellent results to get into high school. He checked on me every day, asking me about my studies every time¡­¡±


    From the way Luocheng described it, Qianqian could imagine the expectations and pride of a father toward a son.


    You could also then understand how angry and disappointed his father had felt when he realized that Luocheng had left home to pursue E-sports.


    ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s in the past,¡± Luocheng said, shaking his head and feeling much more awake now.


    He didn¡¯t feel like thinking about it anymore. He was unlike Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan and Xiao Bei who didn¡¯t have these bonds. They didn¡¯t have such a responsible father who had given them unconditional love which in return, had used the same affection to make him feel guilty for everything. That was the reason that after he had lost, he had told that British player that he wouldn¡¯t touch DOTA ever again. At the same time, he also promised his father who forgave him that he would never touch professional E-sports again.


    Luocheng knew himself very well, that if he were to touch professional E-sports, he would very likely spiral downward into the dream world once again like a madman.


    He needed his family, and he needed to live a normal life to get rid of this creeping shadow and leave the dream entirely.


    ¡°Will you start again once you can control yourself?¡± Qianqian asked instead.


    Luocheng shook his head.


    Even if he could control his mental state to differentiate between dreams and reality, diving back into professional E-sports would be no different than taking a knife to his father¡¯s abdomen. It would be like the final nail in the coffin to his father. He couldn¡¯t be so selfish, thinking of how his father had been working so hard, and now bedridden in pain.


    Luocheng had already done a great wrong and he refused to hurt his father any further.


    He just wanted to follow what his father¡ªYu Jing had once said, to smoothly graduate from university and find a stable job, slowly taking over the burden of the family from his parents.


    ¡°They will help me complete the things I could not, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Luocheng smiled reassuringly.


    ¡°I know, but I just feel that it¡¯s such a waste. You¡¯re so talented, yet you¡¯re not joining the professional leagues.¡± Qianqian replied.


    ¡°Just a bit, but I¡¯ll still be practicing with them, helping them to get to a higher place than before.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Qianqian said as she nodded her head in agreement.


    ¡°Hehe, will you give me the cold shoulder now that you know I used to have some mental health issues?¡± Luocheng jokingly said.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault, you were still so young, you definitely would have had problems.¡± Qianqian retorted. ¡°Nowadays the children are all kinds of rebellious, suicidal and lonely. Although you were obsessed with the game and couldn¡¯t tear yourself away, you managed to obtain a high glory for the country. That is so amazing, I really didn¡¯t know you were so great.¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s good.¡± Luocheng smiled brightly.


    After talking it out with Qianqian, Luocheng felt the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. He had only ever told Zhou Yan about the fact with his detrimental mental state and now, Qianqian was the second person he had told. Luocheng felt blessed that both of them were able to understand him.


    Although he had healed slightly from that time, he had to take his family into consideration. Luocheng didn¡¯t have any intention to ever step foot into professional leagues ever again.


    He would silently watch over the newly established Team LM as they walked the highest honor of the glorious era of E-sports!


    ¡®Good luck, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, Da Lui, Zhou Yan.


    ¡®Even without me, you will definitely be able to step into the peak of the summit. Take that regret and once again conquer the world championship!¡¯

 Chapter 187 - Skipping Class to Play Games

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    On the seventh, Qianqian had to return to her own university. She would leave in the afternoon as it only took an hour to get from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Luocheng walked her to the station, reluctant to let her go.


    Ai, how many times had Luocheng gone to Hangzhou on the same train. He was annoyed at himself for not faring better in his results and obtaining more points. If he had gotten admitted into the Hangzhou University, he would have been able to see Qianqian every day.


    Forget it, he¡¯d just have to go to Hangzhou the next holiday or whatever to find her.


    ***


    It was the last day of the holidays and the student body was slowly returning to the campus.


    Yang Ying reclaimed his apartment and nudged Luocheng, saying, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything to my sister, right?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t have the time.¡± Luocheng replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°Shit, as a friend, I¡¯m telling you, if you did anything to my sister¡­¡± Yang Ying allowed his sentence to trail off meaningfully.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m fortunate if she doesn¡¯t run off with someone else.¡± Luocheng smiled bitterly.


    Qianqian had the looks and the body, somewhat short-tempered, but also gentle. It was hard to find this type of girl, and even if you did, she was probably a goddess to a lot of people too. To be honest, Luocheng was worried that once she went back to her university, she would be taken in by some other better-looking guy there.


    ¡°You can rest assured that you are the only one I recognize as my brother-in-law. All the guys that were after her during high school were sent flying by me. Damn, a bunch of noobs that never even played a single ranked match before and yet they dare to chase my sister!¡± Yang Ying snorted.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Luocheng was speechless, Yang Ying chose his brother-in-law based on the strength in LOL as a standard.


    ¡°Oh yeah, did you know that the National University League has already begun?¡± Yang Ying asked.


    ¡°Has it?¡± Luocheng wasn¡¯t overly concerned about this news.


    ¡°Of course it has, it started when you were still in your military training.¡± Yang Ying said. ¡°Shanghai University is one of the top ten in the National University League and can directly enter the semi-finals. I wanted you to come and be our team¡¯s Support but Xiao Jia didn¡¯t agree because he still doesn¡¯t understand your strength.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean I have to show off a little?¡± Luocheng asked.


    The National E-Sports University League was a third seed competition. You shouldn¡¯t underestimate the strength of university students, many of their teams were on par with some professional teams. It was said that a team member of Shanghai Fudan University had the skills to enter the nation¡¯s rank of top ten players.


    Many students started playing E-sports when they were in junior high school and they each had a certain strength of their own. After entering university, a lot of them became those students who just sit inside their rooms and played games day in and day out. The time they spent on E-sports was definitely not any less than those professional players.


    Initially, the professional competitions didn¡¯t include the National University Leagues, but with the emergence of outstanding players from universities, the National University League was somehow classified as professional, especially the winner of the previous championship¡ªFudan University.


    That particular university seemed to be aiming to produce professional players, as their teams were formed in the professional circle and trounced experienced professional teams. Apart from the eight teams that qualified for LPL, Fudan University¡¯s team was one that had caught the interest of the crowd!


    Shanghai University ranked tenth place, and by their standards, that was quite high. Yang Ying¡¯s goal for this time¡¯s National University League was to enter the top eight. The university had started to pay attention to E-sports, and they promised that if they could enter the top eight, they would not only add credits to their results, but also receive incentives from the university as well as upgrade the equipment for the E-sports club.


    The E-sports club was managed by Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Zheng Jia. The club was well on its way to being the first in trending.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, there were so many people who were interested in LOL to the point that a huge scandal had happened in the university because of it. A lecturer had asked a student to boost him out from Elo hell, and in return, the student would never score below sixty points in the subject taught by that lecturer.


    Seriously, such a shameful act!


    ***


    Lin Dong had already begun his search for a place to stay, and they could start training once he had moved all the computer equipment. University activities had picked up and kept Luocheng busy for the moment, making it difficult for him to get a chance to meet the others.


    Those guys really knew how to choose a place. It was a small community area which was walking distance from Shanghai University. Luocheng could easily walk over when he had time to spare.


    Luocheng had always thought that there weren¡¯t that many courses in university. The fact was that in your first year, you had a lot of classes and it wasn¡¯t much different than high school.


    Four classes in the morning, three classes in the afternoon. The only difference was that you didn¡¯t have homework at night.


    They said that if your heart didn¡¯t have class, then there wasn¡¯t any class.


    The meaning of this saying was that university classes weren¡¯t as little as you thought it was, if you wanted it to be less, the easiest way was to skip classes.


    There were also tactics to skipping classes, you needed to know which classes you can skip and which classes you needed to attend and pay attention to. This was how you could obtain the maximum amount of free time in university.


    Of course, this was just a saying.


    Since Luocheng had decided to turn over a new leaf, he wouldn¡¯t easily give in to the temptation of skipping classes, unless the E-sports club had something urgent and called him¡­ hehe.


    Today, Luocheng was thinking about his classes, it was basically a kind of torture to attend these. If you had to compare, it was like being in Summoner¡¯s Rift and the three lanes had been lost in early game. Then you have to deal with the opponents, and at the same time, you can¡¯t help but feel frustrated and think to yourself, ¡®Damn, how come I can only surrender at ten minutes and not earlier.¡¯


    Luocheng sprawled on his desk in boredom, listening to the lecturer¡¯s words. The group of boys behind him seemed to have found a common topic and had been whispering to each other.


    ¡°I joined the E-sports club yesterday, there were a lot of LOL gamers who were pretty girls. There were so many eye candies around.¡± A guy said, seemingly slightly perverted.


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m a skilled player. Once I showed them what I was capable of, they took me in as a member and I don¡¯t have to pay the club fees.¡± A triumphant voice said.


    ¡°Shit, for real? How many points are you?¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± The guy merely laughed and said nothing, wanting to keep his secret.


    ¡°In other words, you can join the club as a member as long as you pay the fees. Being a facilitator is better, you can use the equipment for free, and you periodically receive Q coins to buy skins. Most importantly, you can have direct contact with the beautiful seniors.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, do you remember the goddess senior who was recruiting members and facilitators the other day?¡±


    ¡°The one wearing a short skirt with a 36C bust and red hair?¡± Jingtai immediately asked.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, she¡¯s the vice president of the club, I heard she¡¯s at 1,900 rank points. It¡¯s like she really is¡­¡±


    ¡°A goddess, a real goddess! No further explanation needed!¡±


    For a period of time, the topic shifted from the E-sports club to the beautiful red-headed girl. Luocheng yawned and thought hard, wondering why hadn¡¯t he seen this person around before?


    Buzz! Buzz!


    Luocheng¡¯s phone vibrated and his attention turned to it instead.


    ¡°Luocheng, come to the club room.¡± Yang Ying said as soon as he picked up.


    ¡°I¡¯m in class right now,¡± Luocheng said quietly into the receiver, his head tucked between his arms to cover the fact that he was on the phone.


    ¡°Forget class, just tell the lecturer, he¡¯ll let you go. They already said in the assembly that they¡¯ll let the E-sports club train freely!¡± Yang Ying said impatiently.


    ¡°Are you serious? The university is actually allowing us to skip class to play games?¡± Luocheng was surprised.


    What the flying f*ck, when he was in high school and he skipped class to train in E-sports, it was a big offense. Teachers would scold him, classmates would judge him, and his parents would twist his ears¡­


    How come when he had come to university, he could be ordered to skip class to play games!


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know, E-sports competitions have already been labeled to be our country¡¯s ninety-ninth official competitive sports competition. In the future, E-sports may make an appearance in even more influential competitive events.¡± Ying Yang said. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, every university except for those more toward academic achievements view sports development projects as a priority. For example, basketball, football, swimming, track¡­if the nation¡¯s universities can obtain rankings in these events, that¡¯s the same as obtaining glory for the universities, you know? Otherwise, why would the universities make such special enrollments?¡±


    ¡°E-sports have started gaining more weight, it¡¯s the nation¡¯s ninety-ninth official competitive sports. All the universities have started paying attention to it and if we have the capability to rank in the top five or top three, even if you don¡¯t take any of the exams in the four years in university, they will still let you graduate with honors.¡±


    ¡°Are you for real?¡± Luocheng said in shock.


    Even if you don¡¯t pass the exam, you could still graduate with honors!


    Luocheng recalled that if you wanted to graduate with honors, your results needed to be in the top ten!


    ¡°Don¡¯t be retarded, hurry up and come over. If your lecturer doesn¡¯t let you out, I¡¯ll come over and talk to him.¡± Yang Ying said, irritation starting to seep into his voice.


    ¡°¡­Alright, I¡¯m coming.¡± Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    ***


    For courtesy¡¯s sake, Luocheng raised his hands, resembling a model student wanting to ask questions on doubts that he had had for a long time.


    ¡°Yes, do you have any questions regarding the topic that we¡¯re on right now?¡± The lecturer¡ªSi Xiu, was about thirty years old, and he pushed his glasses up as he asked.


    Luocheng stood up and found all eyes of his classmates on him, this made him feel a little embarrassed, and he was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Actually, the E-sports club president called me to go over saying that there¡¯s something important. May I be excused to go?¡± Luocheng said after a brief pause.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Si Xiu raised his eyebrows and said casually, ¡°Are you a facilitator from the E-sports club? As I recall, the results of the screening and interview of the facilitators will only be out on the fifteenth of this month?¡±


    ¡°I was recruited as a facilitator during the military training by the president himself.¡± Luocheng explained.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯ve got someone on the inside. Alright, then you may leave. Class representative, please take notes for this class to pass to him later.¡± Si Xiu said gently.


    Feifei, who was sitting in front, turned to look at Luocheng. She was the class representative and she was puzzled, this guy was skipping class, and yet she needed to take notes for him?


    ¡°Okay, thank you, sir.¡± Luocheng couldn¡¯t take the attention from his classmates anymore and hurriedly left the classroom.


    ***


    Once Luocheng had left, the class burst out in excitement and a lot of chattering started. The excitement came from the group of boys who were previously discussing the E-sports club. Their wide eyes followed Luocheng¡¯s back as he left the room, if they weren¡¯t in class, they would be swearing up a storm right now!


    F*ck, this kid actually had someone on the inside!


    These people had gone through multiple screenings and interviews, and they barely met the requirements to pass!


    Our red-haired goddess!

 Chapter 188 - National E-Sports Competition

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In class, there were a few other high ranking players, but they were only able to join the club as a member for free at most. No one expected someone like Luocheng, who was quiet, to be recruited into the E-sports club from the inside!


    They definitely needed to interrogate this guy after class, he was too much, they couldn¡¯t let him ruin their red-haired goddess!


    ***


    Once Luocheng had reached the club room, he immediately knew something was different. Normally there were a bunch of people being rowdy while playing, and you could hear the occasional shouts. This time, the club room was silent, everyone sat in a line, and the atmosphere was heavy.


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Zheng Xia all stood underneath the projector screen.


    The three club members were familiar faces to Luocheng, but the other two beside them were not. It was a beauty with hair that mirrored a crimson waterfall on her head and a more dull-looking guy.


    He hadn¡¯t seen the red-headed senior around before but recalled his classmates talking about her. Looking at her carefully, he found her to be quite an amazing beauty.


    The long crimson hair, a fair white face, wearing the same outfit as the other girls but managing to look extraordinarily different¡ªgorgeous and refined.


    This made Luocheng think of those 2D beauties from comics and he thought that this girl must frequently cosplay as she exuded an aura just like those beauties in the comics.


    No wonder those animals kept talking about her, indeed there were a lot of materials worth digging and researching.


    ¡°Luocheng, just pick a place and sit down.¡± Yang Ying said.


    Luocheng nodded, it was obvious that a meeting for core members of the club was about to begin and there was nothing funny about it.


    ¡°He¡¯s the newbie facilitator that was recruited?¡± The beautiful senior asked.


    Her voice was soft and sounded lazy, like someone who had just woken up from bed, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but feel mesmerized by it.


    ¡°Yeah, his skills as a Support is outstanding.¡± Yang Ying nodded as he said, seemingly used to her mesmerizing voice.


    ¡°Everyone here knows that with the arrival of new students, facilitators will either be promoted to assistant manager or withdraw from the E-sports management. Of course it would be best to become an assistant manager, otherwise you will become a senior member. Considering the new recruits won¡¯t know the rules of our club, it¡¯s up to you senior members to lay down the rules and teach them well.¡± Yang Ying started.


    Luocheng was not familiar with the E-sports club system and culture, he only knew that Yang Ying was the president of the club, and Xiao Jia and Zheng Jia were vice presidents.


    The red-haired beauty and the dull guy were standing together with Xiao Jia and Zheng Jia, so he would assume that they were also vice presidents. Under the vice presidents would be the management members of the E-sports club, also known as facilitators.


    A retired facilitator or a loyal member of the club would become senior members.


    At today¡¯s meeting, the president, vice presidents, facilitators, and senior members were all present. It looked like the most important meeting since the beginning of the term.


    This was an excusable reason to skip class.


    At the assembly, the principal had made an emphasis on this matter. In addition to academic improvement, all major entertainment competitive competitions must be grasped tightly.


    The four major subjects were basketball, football, swimming, and E-sports. These were the key items to winning glory for the university.


    Badminton, ping pong, track, and other sports in Shanghai University were not very satisfactory. These items didn¡¯t even enter the top fifty, and the principal, knowing that the university¡¯s team in these events were not very good, did not mention them at all.


    E-sports was listed as a priority training item in the university this time, one of the reasons being that the E-sports club had achieved outstanding results in the last National University Competition. The other reason was that the country now recognized E-sports as an official competitive sport and would arrange for competitions for this industry.


    The Universiade would include E-sports, using the National University League as the rankings and would have the same incentives as the other major items.


    Meaning if they could achieve excellent results in the field of E-sports, then Shanghai University would definitely climb up at the Universiade meeting!


    That was also the reason why the principal placed special emphasis on this industry.


    On the academic side, it had slowed down and even reached a bottleneck. The only way to compete with other universities was via these sports competitions, improving their ranking. Only then would the university receive more funding from the state.


    As Yang Ying explained these, Luocheng found himself getting more and more surprised.


    During the time he had been playing DOTA, E-sports was described as just playing games. Parents, teachers, and everyone else looked at it with contempt and anger, even treating it like drugs. It was more of a forbidden thing that the children were not to touch.


    Who knew that E-sports would eventually gain more recognition over the years and spring had come to universities with an open mind!


    Could you ever imagine that a video game would become one of the most important sports to promote the ranking of universities?


    This made Luocheng feel slightly elated.


    ¡°The secretary of our Student Union has said it before, if we can obtain top five in the next competition, the team members can directly obtain the title of an outstanding graduate. The first tier team members need to be fully engaged in training and academics can come later.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t many classes going on anyway so I¡¯m okay with it.¡± The student wearing glasses sitting beside Luocheng said.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay too, I was worried that I wouldn¡¯t be able to get my diploma or degree certificate. Didn¡¯t expect this good luck to happen. What about the competition prizes, are we keeping it for ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, in addition to that, there will be school awards. There are also companies like Mobile, China Unicom, Telecom, China Netcom, Mengniu, Yili and other companies that are waiting to talk about sponsorships with us. Some of these sponsorships will flow into the university but most of them will be used to fund our E-sports club.¡± Yang Ying explained further.


    Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and China Netcom were the companies that dealt most frequently with universities, you could see their banners and logos all over the campus in the beginning of the term.


    The best contribution to their brand marketing would of course be E-sports which had been appearing frequently on the internet.


    The number of sponsors toward the university wouldn¡¯t be low either, and Luocheng initially thought that E-sports in university would merely be casual playing. Listening to Yang Ying¡¯s explanation, he realized that for Shanghai University who had managed to get into the top ten ranking, they were actually no less than a professional team who was somewhat famous in China!


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about Ah Si first then, are you sure you want to take a postgraduate degree?¡± Yang Ying asked, looking at the handsome student sitting in front of Luocheng.


    The boy nodded his head.


    ¡°When I was in Year 1 and Year 2, I could still play casually, but it won¡¯t put food on the table. I¡¯m already in Year 3 and I¡¯ll be preparing for my postgraduate studies. I will be going abroad after that so I won¡¯t be able to train with everyone.¡±


    ¡°I think everyone more or less knows about Ah Si¡¯s situation, so now, our first tier team has an opening. We will be picking someone from the second or third-tier team to replace him. I was thinking about letting Jian Feng join.¡± Xiao Jia said.


    The student named Jian Feng¡¯s face brightened, his eyes sparkling. He had already been hungering for that position early on.


    He didn¡¯t have much interest in academics, instead, he saw a future in earning money through the sponsors who kept appearing in E-sports.


    Everyone could clearly see that E-sports was very profitable. Jian Feng was already short on money, and he believed that with the fame of being in the first tier team, he would definitely have a windfall!


    ¡°I was actually thinking of Qin Ting due to his better compatibility with our first-tier team¡­¡± The dull vice president said.


    Qin Ting was sitting on Luocheng¡¯s left side, and although he didn¡¯t seem as enthusiastic as Jian Feng, you could see that he was eager to join the team as well.


    There was a clear difference in strength between the first and second-tier teams, even the treatment toward them was as clear as night and day. No one would pass off this opportunity!


    ¡°President, what do you think?¡± The red-haired senior asked awkwardly.


    ¡°Luocheng, no explanation needed.¡± Yang Ying said matter-of-factly.


    Yang Ying had already intended for Luocheng to replace Ah Si from the beginning. He had also already informed the few vice presidents of his intention, but they were skeptical about allowing a freshman to take on such a big role.


    When Yang Ying spoke Luocheng¡¯s name, all thirty students in attendance turned their attention to him.


    Letting a freshman serve as a first tier member?


    Yang Ying¡¯s mind must have encountered some problems after the summer vacation.


    Didn¡¯t this guy understand how much attention the university was paying to their E-sports club? If they couldn¡¯t even maintain their position in the top ten, they would be better off disbanded!


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a vote then?¡± Zheng Xia said lightly.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s vote on it.¡±


    ¡°Vote.¡±


    ¡°Vote on what, how many times must I say it, Luocheng¡¯s skills are very strong. He won¡¯t have a problem in the first tier team, I¡¯ve personally played against him before, are you saying that I don¡¯t know his skills?¡± Yang Ying was getting peeved.


    As the president, he had certain rights he could exercise, but these vice presidents had their own agenda and wouldn¡¯t cooperate with him.


    Vote?


    Nonsense, the moment they consented to vote, they would definitely vote for someone who normally could hold their own that they all agreed among themselves on.


    What they needed in the E-sports club now was strong candidates to join, otherwise, how would they be able to compete with other universities?


    Yang Ying knew that Luocheng was the most suitable person to join them!


    ¡°Aiyah, President, don¡¯t be angry.¡± The red-haired beauty said softly. ¡°You say he is good, but we¡¯ve never seen his skills¡­¡±


    ¡°A freshman and he¡¯s played over the summer vacation, even if he is good, if you play badly in a big competition, who will take the responsibility?¡± Xiao Jia said.


    ¡°Well, Fudan University will be having a friendly match with us soon. How about we let Luocheng play one match and let everyone see his skills?¡± Zheng Xia suggested.


    ¡°Why not let Jian Feng play instead?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know Jian Feng¡¯s skills, since the president has said Luocheng is good, let him play and we can judge for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I don¡¯t have a problem with that.¡± The dull vice president said as he nodded.


    ¡°Little junior, you¡¯d better perform well then.¡± The red-haired beauty gave Luocheng a wink, startling him from his seat. That was damn surprising!


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Luocheng, do you have a problem with that?¡± Yang Ying asked, looking at him.


    Luocheng did, in fact, have a problem with it.


    ¡°Actually, you guys didn¡¯t even get my opinion on this¡­I didn¡¯t say I wanted to join the first tier team.¡±


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡±


    ¡°Go die!¡±


    ¡°Throw him out!¡±


    The entire meeting which had been in the state of a heavy atmosphere was broken by the swearing of the students. The red-haired beauty started giggling, unable to hold in her laughter.


    ¡°What a cute little junior.¡±

 Chapter 189 - Assault on Fudan University

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The National University E-sports competition had certain ties to the professional field, and Luocheng was highly reluctant to participate in it.


    However, when he thought about being able to obtain the title of an outstanding graduate, his family may be pleased with it. Luocheng felt that putting aside using his academic strength to get it, even graduating by itself may be a problem.


    Since it was recognized and encouraged by the university, Luocheng figured it was a more justifiable reason to do so. Thus, he promised Yang Ying that he would play in the upcoming friendly match with Fudan University.


    After the meeting, it was already dinner time. Yang Ying didn¡¯t need to accompany his girlfriend, so he took Luocheng to the cafeteria to eat. He also took the time to explain more in detail about the strength of the other universities to him.


    Currently, the strongest was Fudan University. This was already seen in the previous competitions. Fudan University¡¯s top team also participated in many professional leagues and had obtained high glories, they weren¡¯t a normal bunch of university students.


    The second was Hangzhou University. Their strength was on par with third seed professional teams and may even be toeing the line into being on par with second seed professional teams.


    The third was Hong Kong University, it was said that they had special training for the students and their strength was similar to Guangdong Zhongshan University.


    Yang Ying explained all of this to Luocheng as they ate, and he admitted that although Shanghai University had managed to rank in the top ten, the difference in their strength with the top three teams was very big.


    Yang Ying estimated that their own team could probably be on par with third seed professional teams, but if they were to play against them, they would probably still have many places to improve on.


    ¡°Hangzhou University is actually Revelation club¡¯s second and third seed teams. They are located nearby Revelation¡¯s apartment and they improve their tactics and plays by watching, learning, and explaining. Since they have such a close relation with Revalation¡¯s main team who are also a LPL team, how can they not be strong? If there were any professional teams nearby our Shanghai University, we could also enter into the top three.¡± Yang Ying sighed as he ended his explanation.


    Other teams had professional analysts in them, and they could point out loopholes and inadequacy during their practice matches. They would also have a person who specialized in tactics and had an overall comprehensive understanding of the entire battle, which would then could come up with better tactics to cover all the shortcomings of the team.


    With this kind of teaching, analysing, and urging, naturally the team¡¯s strength would increase too.


    One of the troublesome problems that they had in Shanghai University was that they didn¡¯t have any of the above mentioned specialists. They didn¡¯t even have a strong team who could teach or mentor them.


    Guidance and advice were highly important, and it was something that would allow them to directly enter into the lower level professionals. It would also give them a better advantage when going against the professional teams, rather than just feeling powerless every time.


    ¡°There¡¯s a team beside our school too.¡± Luocheng said.


    Yang Ying¡¯s eyes widened, hurriedly asking, ¡°A team? Which one?¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown.¡±


    ¡°Skycrown?¡± Yang Ying furrowed his brows as he thought hard, going through every single team he knew in his mind. There was no such team name he knew that rang a bell.


    ¡°Er¡­it was formed a few days ago.¡± Luocheng added on after a period of silence.


    ¡°Are you f*cking kidding me?¡± Yang Ying was this close to taking his plate and slamming it into Luocheng¡¯s head.


    It was undeniable that Team Skycrown¡¯s bond was weak right now, between Lin Dong, Da Luo, Xiao Bei, Zhou Yan, and their newest member, Wu Sen. Individually, they were strong, and they wouldn¡¯t feel any pressure going against these professional players.


    However, if they were to play as a team, it was possible that they would have problems even with the lower level professional teams. The most important aspect of a team was not only based on individual strength, but on the depth of bond and understanding each other without any words.


    ¡°If we have the chance, let¡¯s have a friendly match against them. They¡¯re quite strong.¡± Luocheng said instead.


    ¡°Luocheng, our team isn¡¯t some second rate noob team, and there are some teams in the professional circle that can¡¯t even match us! And here you are, asking us to play against some newly formed team, you¡¯re really asking for a beating on them!¡± Yang Ying said arrogantly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just give it a try, we need to get in as much practice against strong teams when we can anyway, right?¡± Luocheng said, not bothered to push too much.


    ¡°Ugh, fine. If they¡¯re too weak, we won¡¯t play against them. Also, I¡¯ve been pushing for you to join our best team and you freaking can¡¯t just be grateful and join? Putting on airs like that in front of them, I¡¯m telling you, if you embarrass me in the match against Fudan University, I¡¯ll tell my sister to break up with you!¡± Yang Ying said.


    Luocheng¡¯s face darkened, this a*shole!


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll make sure I play properly.¡± Luocheng said, his face not betraying his anger. ¡°What role will I be playing?¡±


    ¡°Support. Going against Fudan University isn¡¯t a joke, we can¡¯t give any other important roles to you.¡± Yang Ying replied without missing a beat.


    ¡°No problem, I like playing Support,¡± Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    Why did he like to play Support?


    People always looked down on Supports, if so, wouldn¡¯t the wow factor be bigger if you could use that role to carry the whole game?


    ¡°There¡¯s only about two months left so you¡¯d better train well.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to show up for all the practices.¡± Luocheng shot back.


    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re still like that¡­¡±


    ***


    The fact that Fudan University had invited Shanghai University for a friendly match was basically a warm up before the competitions. The student council took this event seriously, sending a lecturer who was familiar with electronics to chaperone the team, even preparing the university¡¯s bus to bring them to Fudan University.


    With a lecturer to chaperone, a student who was responsible to distribute water or tea, and also members of their second team, a total of twenty people from the E-sports club entered Fudan University for the friendly match event.


    ¡°Fudan University is strong, we¡¯re here this time more to observe and investigate their tactics and play, whether or not we can win is another matter. The main thing is to maintain a good attitude, don¡¯t lose confidence.¡± The lecturer gave them a pep talk on the bus, wanting everyone to be on the same page.


    The lecturer was actually the head of department of Luocheng¡¯s department. He not only had outstanding academic and management skills, but also a deep understanding and knowledge of LOL.


    ¡°Mr. Fang, they¡¯ll definitely beat us into the ground!¡± Not sure who shouted that.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you not be so boneless!¡±


    ¡°Ai, it can¡¯t be helped, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know Fudan University¡¯s strength. Even the eight LPL qualifying teams had to give it their all when going against them¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lose confidence like that, just play a good match. With this match, we can judge the distance between our team and the stronger ones. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Mr. Fang said, trying to reassure them.

 Chapter 190 - Don’t Dream of Graduating If You Lose!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Reaching Handan Road, you could see the gate of Fudan University which had historical heritage. The bus entered the compound slowly and you could already see someone waiting, guiding them into the campus.


    You could see many young energetic beauties reading books under the shade of the trees once you came down from the bus and they were indifferent to the people who walked past them. The people who passed them however, always took a few more glances backward.


    ¡°Mr. Fang, our people are still getting things ready.¡± The Fudan University student said. ¡°Why don¡¯t I bring you all for a short tour of our campus first?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Since they were here, they would follow their queue.


    ¡°Hey, look at that¡­one o¡¯clock direction.¡± Yang Ying nudged Luocheng¡¯s shoulder, his eyebrow cocking up as he spoke.


    Luocheng understood and immediately glanced toward the direction indicated. A girl wearing a long skirt was sitting on the green grass under the shade of the tree. Her pose was elegant and on her legs was a science and engineering book, quietly enjoying herself in her own little world.


    The girl was refined and it felt like nothing could interrupt her little world. Everyone who saw her felt like walking into her world. Luocheng was also checking her out, but from the side. He didn¡¯t understand why, but looking at the girl made his heart skip a beat.


    Shaking his head, he hurriedly banished all thoughts of the girl from his mind. He already had a girlfriend, this feeling was just an appreciation of an elegant and beautiful person, nothing more.


    ¡°She¡¯s a goddess to countless people in our university.¡± The student guiding them said, smiling lightly.


    The guide had clearly noticed where all their attention was directed at now.


    ¡°Tell us more then.¡± Yang Ying said unashamedly.


    The others were also interested, their faces lit up when they heard that. They also wanted to know more about the goddess of Fudan University.


    ¡°Ehem, why don¡¯t you let me get her contact information for you then?¡± A soft voice came through, and the only one who could voice it like that was their club member¡ªLi Meiqi.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright, no need.¡± Zhong Ren hurriedly shook his head, not daring to offend her.


    All the E-sports club members were very aware of Meiqi¡¯s temper. If they dared to praise other girls¡¯ beauty in front of her, they were not far from being aced.


    ***


    Somehow, as though the girl realized that she was in the spotlight, she slowly raised her head slightly, awakening from her little world¡­


    And she noticed the students from Shanghai University who were wearing their sports shirts. Not too sure if he was thinking too much, Luocheng felt that she only glanced past the other members whilst her eyes lingered on him slightly longer.


    Luocheng looked at her¡­


    And he felt a strange feeling, like he had seen her somewhere before.


    With his mind filled with questions, he followed the others as they walked toward Fudan University¡¯s E-sports club room.


    ***


    ¡°Good day, I¡¯m Huang Lin, president of Fudan University¡¯s E-Sports club.¡± A student who was wearing glasses said as they entered.


    ¡°Huang Lin was the one who invited us, he¡¯s also a friend.¡± Xiao Jia elaborated, smiling. ¡°This is Mr. Fang, and this is our president¡ªYang Ying, this is Li Meiqi¡­¡±


    Huang Lin nodded his head as he was introduced, channeling that unique confidence of a university student, and said, ¡°Welcome to our Fudan University E-sports club. Why don¡¯t we take a short break before we officially start our match.¡±


    The E-sports club here was clearly more luxurious than their own, every cubicle was even separated by glass. The room was spacious and bright, ten computers were placed at the front of the room to form a simple yet trendy E-sports stage. They even had a big screen dedicated to the display of the matches.


    You must understand, Shanghai University E-sports club used a projector screen instead, and the gap between them was very obvious. It really made people envious about the facilities they had.


    ¡°You may all rest here, our people are having a meeting elsewhere at the moment, but they will be back soon.¡± Huang Lin said. ¡°Oh, Xiao Jia, could you come with me for a moment.¡±


    Xiao Jia nodded and followed Huang Lin out. For a time, only Luosheng and a few others were left in the luxurious E-sports club room. They couldn¡¯t help but start exploring their surroundings.


    ¡°If only our university had this same treatment¡­¡± Jian Feng sighed loudly.


    ¡°Yeah, all these computers are top-notch. The dividers between the tables are glass, it reminds you of some high-class office. Unlike ours that looks like a cyber cafe, once a lot of people gather, it gets so noisy that it annoys us¡­¡±


    ¡°That big screen looks great too, our projector always gets blurry and gives a lot of problems.¡±


    From the perspective of the environment alone, you could see that it couldn¡¯t compare to their own Shanghai University. This left Mr. Fang in an awkward position.


    ¡°If you manage to get a higher ranking, I will apply for more funds from the management. I¡¯ll also speak to the sponsors to get more funds so that you can invest for the club to get better equipment.¡± Mr. Fang said.


    After that, Xiao Jia came back from outside. His facial expression was a bit strange, and looking at him, they knew that something had happened.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Xiao Jia?¡± Mr. Fang asked.


    Xiao Jia¡¯s face darkened, looking like he wanted to scold somebody.


    ¡°Damn it, they¡¯re actually letting their second rate team play against us!¡± Xiao Jia exclaimed angrily.


    ¡°Their reserve team?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say they would let their top team play against us?¡±


    ¡°F*ck, letting their second team go against us, they¡¯re really looking down on us! We¡¯re still in the top ten ranks you know!¡±


    The whole team started to get agitated and began shouting angrily.


    ¡°Just shut up, all of you.¡± Yang Ying glared at those who were making so much noise, and turned to Xiao Jia. ¡°Explain to me what exactly happened.¡±


    ¡°When they extended the invite to me, they didn¡¯t say whether it would be their top team or their second team. They only said it would be a warm up before the competitions. Under normal circumstances, even without discussing anything, it would be the top team against top team, reserve team against reserve team. I¡¯d already told them we¡¯ll be bringing our starter team over and Huang Lin told me that their starter team is busy with something, leaving only their reserve team free to play against us.¡± Xiao Jia explained.


    ¡°Nonsense, they¡¯re saying that we¡¯re not good enough to play against their starter team?¡± Meiqi¡¯s voice was not loud, but a cold whisper.


    ¡°We admit that their starter team is strong but they shouldn¡¯t be blatantly insulting our strength either, it¡¯s too much!¡± Mr. Fang was also peeved.


    Although these types of internal matches between universities were private, eventually, it would somehow leak to the public¡¯s ears. With Shanghai University bringing their honor to come here, they didn¡¯t expect that their honor would be insulted even before the match began. It was unbearable!


    ¡°We¡¯ll use our reserve team too then, since everyone is here anyway.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°We can¡¯t. Our victory rate against them is low, that is an undeniable fact. We¡¯re already being humiliated, if you lose here, would you be satisfied? Since they¡¯re using their reserve team against us, that¡¯s great, we¡¯ll teach them a lesson and beat them soundly. They¡¯re treating this like a game, so will we. When we win, we will announce the result of our internal match. Shanghai University won, it doesn¡¯t matter whether it was the starter team or the reserve team, let them explain themselves.¡± Mr. Fang said indignantly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s no need to be vulgar, we can¡¯t lose!¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°Yang Ying, you¡¯re the president of our club and also the first team¡¯s leader so you won¡¯t play. If we lose, we can still say that that wasn¡¯t our full strength, and if we win, they won¡¯t have anywhere to put their face.¡± Mr. Fang said.


    ¡°Okay that makes sense, we¡¯ll let Wang Jun take mid then.¡± Yang Ying nodded in agreement.


    Everyone present also agreed with Mr. Fang¡¯s strategy.


    ¡°They think that our Shanghai University E-sports club is an easy target to bully. Listen up you little pricks, if you win this round, I¡¯ll give you eighty marks even if you don¡¯t turn up for my class even once! I¡¯m so damn f*cking angry right now!¡± Mr. Fang growled.


    The E-sports club members were stunned once Mr. Fang finished his rant, and it wasn¡¯t because he was giving them the marks, but rather, in the later half of his rant, he had actually used profanities.


    This was the lecturer that everyone respected and loved!


    Mr. Fang could feel all eyes on him and he scolded them again, ¡°What are you looking at? If you lose this round, go and repeat a year, don¡¯t even dream about graduating!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Fang, you¡¯re really cute¡­¡± Meiqi laughed in amusement.


    Looking at Mr. Fang who was normally gentle, lose his cool over this matter, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well.


    This lecturer was really interesting.


    Coming back to reality however, Fudan University was really looking down on them. As a member of Shanghai University¡¯s E-sports club, Luocheng couldn¡¯t take this insult to his university lying down.


    The good mood he had had when he saw the goddess earlier had evaporated, ruined by this matter. He was going to beat the sissy Fudan University team!


    ¡°Jian Feng, you¡¯ll be Support.¡± Xiao Jia said.


    ¡°Okay, sure!¡± Jian Feng nodded hurriedly, this was his chance to shine!


    ¡°F*ck, didn¡¯t we agree that Luocheng would play?¡± Yang Ying said unhappily.


    ¡°This is an important match and it concerns our honor. Jian Feng is someone who¡¯s proven himself, let him have this round.¡± Mr. Fang said, looking at Luocheng after. ¡°You don¡¯t have any objections, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Luocheng actually wanted to play as it concerned the university¡¯s honor. But since they had already decided on Jian Feng, he might as well just let him play.


    ¡°Best two out of three, one person each round then.¡± Yang Ying said persistently.


    ¡°That works too.¡± Mr Fang nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 191 - Just Need to Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After that discussion, the Shanghai University students were calmer and they couldn¡¯t wait to claim victory.


    Not long after, Fudan University¡¯s students entered the club room. On the surface, they were courteous, having smiles on their faces as they talked in a friendly fashion to them. But it seemed that everyone snickered when Huang Lin said ¡®Friendship comes first before competitions¡¯.


    Huang Lin himself was a starter team member, and after some short introductions of their own members, both teams sat at their own seats.


    ¡°Come to think of it, how come we¡¯ve not seen your club president?¡± Yang Ying asked.


    ¡°Our president comes and goes, apart from me and a few other vice presidents, even the facilitators have not seen him before.¡± Huang Lin explained.


    ¡°Such a mystery.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really mysterious, it¡¯s just that she doesn¡¯t really care much about the management of the club and leaves it up to me.¡± Huang Lin said.


    ¡°How about letting us know which players are playing what roles then?¡± Yang Ying said, changing the topic.


    ¡°Sure, from left to right, our Top, Jungler, Mid, ADC and Support¡­¡± Huang Lin said, smiling lightly, confidently introducing their second team positions.


    ***


    ¡°How is it?¡± Mr. Fang asked Yang Ying.


    ¡°Shit, their reserve team seems very OP.¡± Yang Ying said, frustrated.


    ¡°How so?¡± questioned Zheng Xia.


    ¡°All their individual rankings are above 2,200 points and their team ranking in the Ionia server is in the top ten!¡± Yang Ying replied.


    ¡°The players¡¯ strength in the Ionia server and the Bilgewater server is not that different, to rank in the top ten, they must be damn strong!¡±


    The top-ranking teams on the official site had basically been recruited by professional teams and it was harder than ever to enter for non-professional teams.


    What the hell was wrong with Fudan University, their first team could hold their own against LPL professional teams, and their second team was also crazy. Weren¡¯t they university students, could they not be so godlike when it came to games?


    Luocheng was also puzzled, Fudan University was supposed to be leading in the academic field, but why were they so good in the E-sports field too?


    Luocheng had seen Shanghai University¡¯s starter team play before, and Yang Ying¡¯s performance was better than the time at the cyber cafe competition. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t play with others much and was instead pacing himself with his teammates.


    For someone who¡¯s individual strength couldn¡¯t really be displayed, he carried the team as a core member.


    Only, without his leadership, the odds of winning this match was unsure.


    ***


    Both parties had entered the ban phase. With limited information, both sides would ban champions that were strong by themselves.


    In picks, Shanghai University followed the national team line up, top was Shen, jungler was Elise, mid was Ryze and bot was Zyra and Caitlin.


    Fudan University¡¯s top was Zac, jungler was Lee Sin, mid was Ahri, and the bot is Ezreal and Sona.


    Jian Feng was playing this round, so Luocheng could only stand at the side and watch.


    Come to think of it, if Jian Feng won this round, then he wouldn¡¯t need to come out in the next round. But if he lost, would he then be able to shine?


    Forget it, don¡¯t daydream.


    ***


    Once the game started, both sides didn¡¯t meet in the jungle but in the mid lane, clashing for quite a while.


    Shen started off with a flashy entrance, Flashing in and casting his Taunt, taking their mid lane¡¯s head. They got first blood before the creep line came out, and this was good news for Shanghai University.


    Fudan University¡¯s side was quieter, and they didn¡¯t even flinch at the first blood that they lost.


    As the match went into six minutes, both sides had still not gotten any more kills, all was peaceful. However, judging by the expressions on their faces, they were quite aware of each other¡¯s positions, and every exchange made their hearts pound in excitement.


    Bzz! Bzz!


    As Luocheng was focused on the match, his phone vibrated.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a call.¡± Luocheng told Yang Ying as he exited the room.


    Initially, Luocheng thought it was Qianqian who had called. This girl would always update him on her whereabouts during the weekend. Presumably she had bought some cute accessories and wanted to let him know.


    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t her.


    ¡°Brother!¡± A melodious voice came through.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± Luocheng replied.


    Yu Yu hadn¡¯t been harassing him for a while, listening to her voice, Luocheng could imagine her beautiful slim face, and of course, the seemingly angelic smile that was hiding a devil behind it.


    ¡°Where are you?¡± Yu Yu asked.


    ¡°In Fudan University.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Ah? Why are you there?¡± Yu Yu didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Club activities.¡±


    Luocheng definitely couldn¡¯t tell her that it was the E-sports club, if she reported it to their parents, Luocheng would get into trouble. Moreover, Yu Yu had doubts about Luocheng¡¯s involvement in E-sports. If he told her, Yu Yu could be more overbearing than his mother and he didn¡¯t dare to just put down the call.


    ¡°I¡¯m bored, chat with me for a while.¡± Yu Yu pouted.


    The only one who could describe boredom as an affliction was this little devil.


    ¡°I¡¯m not free right now.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Not free but you picked up the phone? I don¡¯t care, you have to chat with me.¡± Yu Yu said, her tone angry and persistent, not giving him any leeway.


    ¡°Alright¡­just for a bit.¡± Luocheng gave in. Since he wasn¡¯t the one playing this match, it didn¡¯t really matter anyway.


    ¡°Brother is the best!¡± Yu Yu¡¯s tone changed immediately, making a kissing sound through the phone.


    ¡°Training for your competition is done?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Right before National Day, Luocheng remembered his mother mentioning that this girl seemed to have won another prize, and it was quite a significant amount. He didn¡¯t know the details about the story though.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s over. There will be fewer competitions in the winter, so our training is not as strict as before which is good. We trained and trained every day last time, and now after the competition, we finally get some rest and space.¡± Yu Yu said, laughing lightly.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a bit overwhelming, isn¡¯t it?¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Of course it was!¡± Yu Yu nodded her head, although he couldn¡¯t see it.


    Yu Yu¡¯s training had started when she was young, and to be honest, his physical contact with his sister was minimal and mostly through phone calls. Many times she would call in the middle of the night, crying and saying that she wanted to go home, not wanting to train anymore.


    Luocheng would comfort her, talk to her, and after talking, she would continue her training the next day. Her hellish training was finally over, and she had entered into the world of sports now, even gaining some fame. If she could win a more established competition, she would probably climb the ladder to being a star.


    It was an envious thought.


    ***


    ¡°Brother, have you found a girlfriend at your university?¡± Yu Yu changed topics really fast.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already met her, haven¡¯t you?¡± Luocheng said.


    Yu Yu was silent for a while, and Luocheng knew she wasn¡¯t happy anymore.


    ¡°The one called Yang Qianqian? She¡¯s in Shanghai University?¡± Yu Yu asked.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s in Hangzhou University.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re official?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me?¡±


    ¡°Ask you for what?¡± Luocheng said, startled. It wasn¡¯t as if he needed to ask her permission to find a girlfriend?


    To be fair, if Yu Yu were to find a boyfriend, he would definitely need to go through Luocheng first!


    ¡°I don¡¯t like her!¡± Yu Yu said directly.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Whatever Luocheng wanted to say flew out the window, and before he could retaliate, Yang Ying came out from the room, his face black as he beckoned to him.


    Luocheng nodded his head, and from the expression on Yang Ying¡¯s face, they had probably lost.


    In reality, Luocheng had already predicted the outcome of this match. The difference in both sides was obvious, and if they couldn¡¯t use the first blood advantage to snowball, you could see the tilt within the next fifteen minutes.


    Ahri, Lee Sin, and Zac, could easily set the pace of the game that wouldn¡¯t give Ryze and Caitlin any chance to farm and build items.


    ¡°The president is calling for me, I have to go.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t want to call you again.¡± Yu Yu snapped out, ending the call unhappily.


    To be honest, it was harder to deal with his sister than his girlfriend, she really had an unstable attitude.


    If she wanted to be angry, let her be angry.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t pay much mind to it and he walked back into the club room.


    What surprised him was that the match was already over!


    The students from both sides were in their own groups, seemingly talking about strategies. He was on call with Yu Yu for only about twenty minutes, that meant that the match had only been about twenty six minutes. Presumably they had gone all in and demolished the lane, and Shanghai University hadn¡¯t had any hope of a comeback. In order to not bring down the morale further, they had probably also surrendered.


    ***


    Luocheng walked toward his own team. Jian Feng and Xiao Jia glanced at him, disapproval clearly on their faces.


    ¡°While we were playing, where did you run off to?¡± Xiao Jia as the vice president said coldly, glaring at Luocheng.


    ¡°Even though it wasn¡¯t a match that you were playing, you should have watched the entire thing. This way, you would have some inkling on their strengths, only then would you know how to counter them. Going missing in that last twenty minutes was just not appropriate.¡± Lecturer Fang was also unhappy with Luocheng.


    ¡°Or did you think that you¡¯re so great, that you have no need to watch the match. I lost this round and the next round will be you. I gave you a chance to scout the opponent but you ran off to take a call, not to mention spending such a long time talking?¡± Jian Feng glared at him.


    ¡°Freshies will be freshies, they just don¡¯t follow the rules. Forget it, I¡¯ll take the next round. If we were to lose two rounds, then we really have no face already.¡± Qin Ting said.


    Losing a match, of course nobody was happy and Luocheng could understand that very well. Only, why the f*ck did they push all the blame to him?


    It wasn¡¯t even him that had lost the game!


    This got Luocheng increasingly annoyed.


    What newbie!


    Did being a freshie mean you were a noob?


    That thing called Jian Feng, your chicken-ass techniques were not worth watching, even my grandmother could play better than you!


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no need for him to play, he¡¯s so undisciplined. Imagine if he were to play in competitions, for sure he will also¡­¡± Xiao Jia was just about to speak his mind.


    Luocheng who was already extremely annoyed cut him off and said, ¡°Stop your yapping, all I need to do is win, right.¡±


    Xiao Jia¡¯s mouth was still open, and he didn¡¯t have any retort to Luocheng¡¯s words. All the other members were also staring at Luocheng in shock.


    This new student really didn¡¯t value his life, he even dared to go against the vice president!

 Chapter 192 - Aggressive Morgana

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Who do you think you are, you think you¡¯re so good after just playing some competitions in the cyber cafe league? Yang Ying, what kind of person have you recruited!¡± Xiao Jia said angrily.


    Already having lost the first match, he was extremely unsatisfied, not to mention he had never imagined that he would be defied by a freshman. Xiao Jia was so tempted to kick him out of the club right now!


    ¡°Okay, stop it. Don¡¯t you know you shouldn¡¯t fight among each other?¡± Mr Fang interjected.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s just win this thing first and we can talk later. The rest can be settled after we go back.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°Luocheng, you said you could win this.¡± Meiqi said, her eyes shining brightly.


    The beauty looked calmer than the others, and it seemed she wasn¡¯t just all looks.


    ¡°As long as the team doesn¡¯t make any big mistakes, we won¡¯t lose.¡± Luocheng said confidently.


    I wanted to be low-key, but you guys have forced me to stand up and prove myself!


    ¡°What the f*ck do you mean by that!¡± Xiao Jia flared up, wasn¡¯t this freshman obviously talking about him!


    Since he didn¡¯t hold back, Luocheng himself didn¡¯t bother being courteous with him. He had already shown so much dissatisfaction and contempt toward Luocheng, and all this time, Luocheng had been the bigger man and ignored it. However, he had gone too far this time!


    ¡°Okay, okay. Xiao Jia, those high ranking players all have their egos. Since our little junior has already said that he can win, then let him try. Jian Feng and Qin Ting¡¯s strength don¡¯t differ much, even if Qin Ting plays, the outcome won¡¯t be much different.¡± Meiqi said, smiling.


    Being advised by a gentle beauty like her, your anger was bound to evaporate. Xiao Jia bit back his dissatisfaction and said, ¡°Fine. Let him play, I want to see what kind of ability this kid has. Since I have never paired with him at Bot before, if he plays Support, I won¡¯t play ADC.¡±


    ¡°No problem, you can Jungle. I intended to let you Jungle so you can set the pace anyway.¡± Yang Ying said.


    Xiao Jia was competent in a lot of positions. Jungle, Support, ADC, Mid, whichever role you gave him, he could excel. Therefore, any player change wouldn¡¯t affect this team much.


    ¡°Luocheng, which Supports do you play?¡± The vice president who usually didn¡¯t talk much, asked.


    Jinbei was their main ADC, and Jungle second. During the last match, his Jungle pacing had been too slow, allowing Lee Sin to be in control.


    He was a steady player and much more suited to play ADC instead.


    ¡°More toward offensive Support.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Not Sona, Soraka, Lulu, or Janna. Luocheng wouldn¡¯t use any of those characters and he always controlled the bot lane pace, no matter if he was playing Support or ADC.


    ¡°Their ADC is strong in countering, don¡¯t be too aggressive.¡± Jinbei said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Luocheng replied, nodding his head.


    ***


    After both sides had finished their strategy meeting, they returned to the match and started the second match.


    ¡°Little junior, good luck. If you win, I promise to go on a date with you and maybe even a movie.¡± Meiqi exclaimed, and the whole club was captivated by her enchanting voice.


    Yang Ying, Jinbei, Xiao Jia and even Lecturer Fang were internally screaming.


    Could you not be so bold, didn¡¯t you see that the Fudan University¡¯s students who were present were all guys. And why did only Luocheng get this kind of special treatment!


    Luocheng awkwardly smiled at his beautiful senior, wouldn¡¯t the others hate him more for this?


    Needless to say, with Meiqi making such a declaration, Fudan University¡¯s team would also tunnel vision him more at bot, clearly not wanting him to get such a benefit!


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too aggressive, wait for my support.¡± Xiao Jia said, looking at Luocheng calmly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡± Luocheng had his own playstyle and he couldn¡¯t simply just wait for the Jungler.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing this on purpose, aren¡¯t you?¡± Xiao Jia said.


    ¡°Not really, and it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve never paired up at Bot before.¡± Luocheng said lightly.


    Xiao Jia was taken aback, not understanding what he meant. He didn¡¯t know that when Luocheng had been fighting for the last four wins, he had matched with him during one of the matches.


    Luocheng had recognized him as he was in the club, how could he not know Xiao Jia¡¯s ID. Luocheng had been using another account so it was only natural that Xiao Jia didn¡¯t know it was him.


    ***


    Going into picks, Xiao Jia managed to grab Lee Sin. This time, he needed to set the pace for the whole game and carry his team!


    Their opponent picked Jarvan. Jarvan was an all rounder, he had damage, repositioning skills, CC and was the best choice for them. After Jungler, it was Top pick. Renekton was banned and the Shanghai University team picked Zac.


    The Secret Weapon¡ªZac had been popular recently, and he was the best champion for Top and Jungler. It was a pity that he had been nerfed and they could foresee that he would eventually be phased out.


    Fudan University picked Diana, and their opponents picked Fizz. Bot picks for their opponents were the classic pick of Ezreal and Blitzcrank, whilst Jinbei picked Caitlyn and the last pick would be their Support.


    ¡°Pick Thresh since he won¡¯t have to fear Blitzcrank¡¯s hook.¡± Jinbei said.


    Luocheng glanced at their opponent¡¯s line up again and felt that using Thresh wouldn¡¯t be of much value in this game.


    Thinking further on it, he decided that he should focus on countering the bottom lane.


    Luocheng kept switching between Thresh, Alistair, and Taric. At the last moment, he suddenly chose a champion that made everyone¡¯s eyes widen¡ªMorgana!


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Xiao Jia couldn¡¯t hold back his anger.


    We asked you to pick Leona or Thresh but you go and f*cking pick Morgana instead!


    ¡°Hurry up and change it¡­¡± before Xiao Jia could finish his sentence, Luocheng had already locked in the champion.


    ¡°Argh¡­¡± Xiao Jia wanted to puke blood. This damn kid was pushing his luck, he had to be!


    ¡°Oh, Morgana is fine too, she can counter Blitzcrank.¡± Yang Ying said, trying to diffuse the situation.


    On the inside, he was wondering why Luocheng was being so troublesome and strange. Then he thought about it, Luocheng had used Lux before this, and he had become a terrifying AP carry. Maybe with Morgana this time, he would be able to grab it in the bag as well?


    Thinking like that, Yang Ying hurriedly assured his teammates.


    ¡°Hehe, this pick is very interesting.¡± Huang Lin said, smiling toward Yang Ying.


    ***


    Every one had locked in, and although there were some dissatisfactions among those in Fudan University¡¯s team, they could only continue grudgingly.


    Jinbei who was paired up with Luocheng didn¡¯t say anything. Morgana could easily counter Blitzcrank, as long as her Black Shield came up in time, Jinbei didn¡¯t need to worry about the hook.


    Before the first wave had even spawned, the Support¡ªLuocheng had already run to the top lane and planted a ward in the brush.


    ¡°You¡­what are you doing so far out!¡± Xiao Jia exclaimed angrily.


    ¡°Xiao Jia, control yourself.¡± Jinbei said,


    ¡°He¡¯s checking to see if they switch lanes.¡± Their Top¡ªZhang Wenbin said.


    Xiao Jia quieted down after listening to their explanation. That¡¯s right, if their Top and Bot switched lanes, then the Morgana pick wouldn¡¯t be of much value.


    Luocheng¡¯s foresight made the others feel more trust in his pick of Morgana, as none of them had actually considered the possibility of their opponent switching lanes. He had actually taken it into account and also thought of a countermeasure, it was a good call.


    Sure enough, their opponents had switched lanes. His deep ward managed to catch sight of their ADC and Support at the top lane.


    ¡°We¡¯re going up top.¡± Luocheng said to Jinbei.


    If they wanted to change lanes, we will also change lanes!


    ***


    At the top lane, Blitzcrank and Ezreal were laughing to themselves, thinking that they would surprise their opponents with the switch. However, Morgana and Caitlyn¡¯s appearance at the top lane startled them instead.


    F*ck, how did these noobs know they had switched lanes?


    Countering from the get go, this made the Fudan University students laugh in delight.


    ¡°Your Support¡¯s awareness is good.¡± Huang Lin said, smiling at Yang Ying as he spoke.


    Yang Ying also laughed lightly.


    Awareness?


    Luocheng¡¯s Support was crazy, Yang Ying hadn¡¯t forgotten that this guy had managed to get twenty stacks on Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer and had almost made an epic comeback in that match!


    If you underestimated him, you¡¯d might as well just wait to be eaten!


    To be honest, Yang Ying was looking forward to see if Luocheng would build a Mejai¡¯s on Morgana!


    If they won with that build, that would be f*cking awesome!


    ***


    Buzz!


    A current ran through Blitzcrank and his powerful arm suddenly shot out from the brush. His target was not Caitlyn who was hiding behind the creep line, but Morgana, who was standing in front of him.


    Black Shield!


    The moment they saw Blitzcrank¡¯s arm shoot out, everyone shouted that in their hearts at Luocheng.


    However, Luocheng didn¡¯t bother to use the shield, instead neatly side-stepping the hook confidently, throwing out a Q in retaliation. Both parties had used their Q skill and Luocheng had avoided it without having to use his shield. However, Blitzcrank pulled back after that miss and had walked right into Morgana¡¯s Dark Binding.


    Auto attack again and again!


    Chase him and continue to auto attack!


    Morgana was in a frenzy, dashing through the creeps to chase after Blitzcrank. Without his hook, Blitzcrank could only retreat, his health dropping until there was only one third left.


    Ezreal couldn¡¯t continue watching, this Support, or rather AP Support, coming forward to attack the opponent brazenly was not normal!


    Ezreal chose this moment to throw a combo at Morgana and Luocheng used Black Shield, blocking Ezreal¡¯s E¡ªMystic Shot, retreating to the back of the wave immediately.


    Caitlyn took advantage of the distance and poked him. Luocheng lost about one third of his health, but their opponents had lost much more than him!


    ***


    ¡°Damn, this Morgana is so aggressive!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, get the Jungler to come. Since they¡¯re aggressive and pushing so hard, they will definitely die.¡± The one playing Blitzcrank said.

 Chapter 193 - The Fallen Angel, Soul Shackles!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Q¡ªRocket Grab!


    The claw which crackled with electricity flew out at an angle from the brush, heading toward the creep wave!


    A ranged creep died right at that moment and the claw flew over its bloody body, landing on Caitlyn. The Q was so sudden that Jinbei didn¡¯t have time to react, and his movements were a confirmation of that fact.


    Whoosh!


    A deep bluish purple shield appeared and surrounded Caitlyn, just at the exact moment the terrifying hook landed on her. The player for Blitzcrank huffed, his face clearly showing his disappointment that the hook had not connected as he¡¯d planned!


    ¡°That was some fast reaction time!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she has managed to dodge or shield every single hook. Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s Morgana or Caitlyn, that shield is blocking all of the hooks!¡±


    A small discussion broke out from that comment.


    Blitzcrank¡¯s hooks were always sudden, and he constantly took advantage of the moment a creep just died to send out a hook from an angle. No matter what angle he sent the hook from, whether he tried from the brush, or launched Overdrive to move forward, or even make a sudden turn to hook, it was all thwarted by Morgana.


    Originally, it was already hard for Blitzcrank to land a hook. And now he was being thwarted to this extent¡­


    He was really upset!


    Luocheng was playing at his own pace, as long as Blitzcrank didn¡¯t have his hook or he had his shield, he would advance forward. Ezreal was afraid of Morgana¡¯s Dark Binding and simply said, ¡°Bro, I think you¡¯d better stop trying to hook.¡±


    Once Blitzcrank stopped attempting to hook, a cannon minion came up. Once they started pushing, Ezreal¡¯s farm went up by twenty CS, and that was amounting to about one kill already.


    Looking at their opponents Ezreal and Blitzcrank who were getting more enthusiastic, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but laugh to himself.


    You dared to show off with Blitzcrank in front of him?


    Luocheng knew exactly when this idiot would send out a hook!


    Luocheng was a genius to the point that he could use Zyra¡¯s plants to block a Blitzcrank¡¯s hook, compared to that, there was absolutely no difficulty in using Morgana¡¯s shield which could instantly block it!


    Of course, using Zyra¡¯s plants to block a hook required precise judgement beforehand, and you had to predict where the hook was coming from. This required some luck mixed with skills.


    After a few fast reactions that had left everyone in shock, Jinbei had more confidence in the Support that Luocheng was.


    In his eyes, Blitzcrank was no more than a melee creep right now, and he could ignore him to control the creep wave and pressure Ezreal. As long as he could control the farm and pace of the lane,it was not necessary to go in for a kill just yet.


    ***


    Ezreal and Blitzcrank couldn¡¯t take the pressure anymore and chose to switch lanes again.


    If you want to switch, we will also switch!


    ¡°F*ck, if they keep switching together with us, we won¡¯t get any farm and experience!¡± Ezreal was angry and once he had reached the bottom lane, he decided to go back to the top lane!


    The both of them walked back up to the top lane, but Luocheng and Jinbei chose not to switch, remaining at the bottom lane. After farming for a while at top, Ezreal and Blitzcrank realized that Dragon had been taken!


    One Dragon gave 190 gold to each champion, and that was equivalent to half of a kill per person. The income for Fudan University¡¯s team had suddenly increased.


    With that, Caitlyn was able to buy a B.F Sword, and her pokes hurt. Their opponent Zac who was in a 1v2 situation at the bottom lane could only hide under the turret, not daring to come out to gain experience at all.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was scared, but after getting snared by Morgana¡¯s Q twice, Zac¡¯s health wasn¡¯t able to take much so he retreated under the turret. Zac was, in fact, quite upset as he cowered under the turret. This Fallen had always been a pain in the ass for a lot of people.


    Her skill shots were sudden and unexpected, you knew that a Q was coming and you would sidestep, but somehow, you would still get binded.


    The chosen angles, the release timing, and all kinds of juking¡­


    It was all a type of superior knowledge and heavy pressure, it was hard to imagine that a Support champion like Morgana could exert so much harassment and damage to this extent.


    ***


    Clang!


    A flag pole suddenly stabbed into the ground from the shadows, right at Morgana¡¯s feet!


    It was Jarvan!


    Once the flag pole hit the ground, Dragon Strike was sure to follow immediately. A qualified Jarvan¡¯s EQ must be fast or it would be easy to avoid!


    This Jarvan¡¯s EQ was extremely fast, as though the instant the flag pole was slammed into the ground, he came flying to it, and the target was Morgana!


    Whoosh!


    A deep dark purple shield which looked as if it were covered in blood veins appeared!


    Jarvan had wanted to slam into Morgana and fling her up into the air with the momentum, but he slammed right into Morgana¡¯s shield instead!


    Airborne failed!


    Morgana¡¯s shield blocked magic damage and nullified CC effects from skill shots!


    Jarvan¡¯s sudden EQ combo had not managed to control Morgana at all!


    This reaction speed¡­


    Whether it was Fudan University or Shanghai University students, their mouths were all wide open at the display!


    If you say that Morgana was able to avoid getting hooked by Blitzcrank because she had vision and could predict where it was coming from, then what about this Jarvan¡¯s EQ which was sudden and from the shadows which didn¡¯t give her any preparation time at all!


    Which was to say, Morgana made an extremely fast response in the few seconds that Jarvan slammed the Demacian Standard and Dragon Strike! This reaction speed surprised everyone watching, including Huang Lin!


    ¡°Your Support, he¡¯s quite strong.¡± Huang Lin wasn¡¯t just giving lip service, but he still maintained his polite smile while saying it.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a new recruit.¡± Yang Ying said, nodding his head, all smiles.


    ¡°A newbie?¡± Huang Lin asked in astonishment with his mouth agape.


    ¡°Yeah, a freshman. He hasn¡¯t been with us long.¡± Yang Ying replied, somewhat boastfully.


    ¡°Oh¡­I see.¡± Huang Lin was rendered speechless.


    What the hell, a freshman and he was already at this level? Are you for real?


    The reason university students could be as good as they were was because they had a lot of free time during the semester to train, and of course, those who were great were already seniors in Year 3 or Year 4. A freshman would have time during summer vacation to train, and if he ranked above 2,000 points, then that was also counted as him being super talented already.


    ***


    Jarvan¡¯s gank didn¡¯t make it, and instead, caused Zac to die. Once Zac had seen Jarvan going in and casting his ulti on Morgana, he too activated his Elastic Slingshot and jumped in.


    As a result, Morgana had not run away in fear, but had chosen to directly activate her ulti, rooting the both of them inside.


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t even bothered to Flash, after absorbing a certain amount of damage, he calmly walked into the brushes. When Zac had been released from the root, he threw out a Q.


    Zac was stunned alive until his death, splitting into five uncontrollable bloblets that started to move toward his final location. Jarvan didn¡¯t dare to give chase knowing that Morgana hadn¡¯t used her Flash, and should he chase her, he would probably get poked to death by Caitlyn.


    ***


    Giving Caitlyn a double kill was not a suitable option either, and thus, Jarvan could only apologize to Zac.


    Got a kill, push the lane!


    Bot lane turret was crushed, and Shanghai University took the lead once again. As the Dragon respawn time grew closer, Ezreal and Blitzcrank didn¡¯t dare to waste time at the top lane again, hurrying back to the bot lane.


    ***


    A Blitzcrank who couldn¡¯t hook anyone and an under-farmed Ezreal, even if they were to 2v2, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to overpower a Caitlyn who had better items and a coy Morgana.


    Once the Q had landed on Ezreal, she Flashed in and ultied, Soul Shackles!


    Once Ezreal could move, he cast his E to move out of the way, but instead, died to a Head Shot by Caitlyn.


    Blitzcrank managed to escape with just a sliver of health left, but since the bot lane 2v2 had been lost, the Dragon also got taken again at the 6 minute mark.


    Shanghai team was once again leading, and the income gap was almost at 5,000 gold! And the most surprising thing was that as a Support, Luocheng had built Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass right away!


    ***


    The Support had enough gold to build a Zhonya¡¯s.


    Huang Lin¡¯s face showed his unhappiness clearly.


    The most embarrassing thing was that their Support¡¯s item build was almost on par with his own team¡¯s AP¡¯s items¡­


    Once she had her Zhonya¡¯s, Morgana¡¯s damage was not insignificant. If you were to be hit by one Dark Binding and a Tormented Shadow, you would lose quite a lot of health from that.


    Fudan University¡¯s team pacing had been completely disrupted by the bottom lane duo, and they had to try to initiate team fights.


    ***


    All champions were entangled in the mid lane, both sides not daring to engage carelessly.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Someone called out.


    You could see Blitzcrank using Overdrive to accelerate forward suddenly, and his target was Lee Sin, who had accidentally positioned himself wrongly!


    Xiao Jia had already used Safeguard three seconds ago, so even if he wanted to use it to avoid this incoming hook, it was impossible.


    More importantly, he didn¡¯t even have Flash.


    Blitzcrank had been playing quite well recently, his few hooks were quite threatening and close calls. From the look of this hook, it was obvious that it would land this time, especially since Lee Sin didn¡¯t have his W to reposition himself!


    Xiao Jia¡¯s face pinched, and he glanced at Morgana in expectation.


    Shield!


    Give me a shield!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t activate his shield, but he was instead walking toward Lee Sin.


    Blitzcrank released his hook, sending it flying toward Lee Sin¡¯s position!


    Morgana didn¡¯t use her shield, but dashed toward Blitzcrank¡¯s hook instead!


    Once Morgana had reached Lee Sin, the claw opened and grabbed onto her, pulling her straight into the middle of all their opponents.


    This¡­


    This was the first time Blitzcrank had managed to grab Morgana!


    Blitzcrank was elated, he had wanted to grab Lee Sin, but he had gotten the Morgana instead, making him feel accomplished¡­


    Only, why didn¡¯t Morgana activate her Black Shield to avoid the hook?


    This was not good!


    Blitzcrank got a foreboding feeling.


    Huang Lin, who was watching, frowned.


    This idiotic Blitzcrank! Why the hell would you hook the Morgana!


    Luocheng smiled at Blitzcrank, and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Black Shield, to avoid the CC.


    Flash, to avoid the first wave of damage.


    ***


    Heading deeper into the enemy camp, taking a breath of stale air¡­


    Let the world suffer from my fall and share my torment, enjoy this heart-piercing Soul Shackles from hell!


    ***


    The crimson shackles burst forth from her body, latching on to the five champions and making them moan in pain from the damage!

 Chapter 194 - Fudan University’s Top Team!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Could you empathize with Blitzcrank¡¯s team¡¯s feelings, his hook pulling in a grenade?


    Every one¡¯s face was black, and the most important thing was that Morgana was in the middle of them all, opening an ulti that managed to catch all five of them inside!


    ¡°F*cking kill her already!¡±


    Not sure who was the one who had shouted, but in that moment, all of their skills were thrown at Morgana immediately!


    The Support¡¯s health was already low, and with their combined skills, they could easily kill her to break the shackles that were latched onto them before it could complete it¡¯s binding.


    However, Fudan University¡¯s team had made a very foolish and reckless decision in this case.


    Ting!


    Morgana¡¯s body stood petrified where she was, encased in a beautiful gold crystallized form.


    All of the skill shots went through and over her, and the Fallen didn¡¯t receive any damage at all.


    Zhonya¡¯s!


    At that point, the whole Fudan University¡¯s team was stunned.


    They had forgotten that this Support had a Zhonya¡¯s!


    The bomb was about to detonate, and the five of them were trying hard to escape in a hurry, using their Flash and ultis to get out. Those without repositioning skills were rooted to the spot by Morgana¡¯s Soul Shackles!


    Pong!


    The binding was completed and Blitzcrank, the Jungler, and Top were rooted to the spot by the shackles, and you could see that they didn¡¯t have much health left.


    Although Morgana hadn¡¯t managed to shackle all five of the champions, her aggressive ulti had wasted most of their opponents ultis and had also fully broken up their formations.


    Shanghai University¡¯s team followed up immediately, and the battlefield turned into a slaughter ground!


    Blitzcrank who had been caught by the shackles was the first to be killed. The opponent Jungler was also caught again by another round of CC, and an ulti killed him. The next to die was the Top who had managed to run a distance after getting caught by Morgana¡¯s shackles.


    Three for none!


    They had won this fight without much hassle!


    Looking at the momentum that Shanghai University had gained, the whole club room was silent, but then it was broken by the cheering from their own team!


    ¡°Great ulti!¡±


    ¡°That was awesome!¡±


    ¡°I was thinking that he could have opened his shield all this time, why didn¡¯t he open it when he got caught by Blitzcrank. So actually, he was already planning to use Blitzcrank¡¯s hook and his own Flash to activate his ulti right in the middle of all of them, trying to catch all five together!¡± Qin Ting babbled, full of excitement. ¡°If their ADC and AP hadn¡¯t used their Flash and ulti, he could have caught all five!¡±


    Yang Ying had already broken out into a smile. As expected, this kid didn¡¯t disappoint him. Luocheng was really something, exploiting Blitzcrank¡¯s hook to assist him in releasing such a beautiful ulti.


    Haih, Blitzcrank was probably getting scolded by his own teammates. Really, the champions that he shouldn¡¯t hook were only a few, Amumu, Karthus, Wukong, and a Morgana who had a Zhonya¡¯s!


    Yang Ying let his gaze sweep over the Fudan University¡¯s team members that were playing, and sure enough, the Support was getting an earful from them.


    This let out Yang Ying¡¯s inner demon, cackling in glee.


    ¡°Little junior, you¡¯re making me fall in love with you.¡± Meiqi exclaimed loudly, almost knocking down everyone present in the room.


    Can you calm down, beautiful?


    Luocheng¡¯s face flushed red once he heard that, hurriedly coughing to hide his embarrassment.


    Ugh¡­say that privately to him, would you?


    ¡°Your Support is a newbie?¡± Huang Lin couldn¡¯t help but burst out.


    Damn it, this Support was like a professional player that had been invited in, he totally did not play like a newbie at all.


    ¡°Yeah, he was just recruited. This is his first time on stage, so maybe he¡¯s a bit nervous. It¡¯s a bit hard to fault him, him being a newbie and all¡­¡± Yang Ying laughed slightly and said.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Huang Lin laughed together with him, but on the inside he was thinking, ¡®Nervous? You¡¯re f*cking kidding me!¡¯


    Instantly shielding was not the game breaker, a twenty minutes Zhonya¡¯s, THAT was the mind blowing ulti!


    Damn it, if their team had such a Morgana as their Support, Huang Lin would be the one laughing instead.


    To be honest, this whole game was Morgana¡¯s stage.


    Both top lane and mid lane were more or less equal in strength, even their Junglers were on par with each other. The downfall came when the income gap grew, and they had even lost the Dragon and the turrets.


    Not to mention the mid lane teamfight in which Morgana had purposely gotten herself hooked in only to activate her ulti right in the middle of them¡­


    This really was a match that was being carried by the Support!


    Supports who could normally pace the game were champions like Alistair, Blitzcrank, Thresh, or Leona. Compared to Morgana, that this unconventional Support could actually pace and carry the game to such a surprising extent, this was a first for Huang Lin!


    ***


    This match, the game was won without much hassle.


    Just as Luocheng had said, he just needed to win this, right!


    Now, no one could point fingers to blame Luocheng for going out to take a call. Instead, they should be asking him whether he had finished his call, and if he hadn¡¯t, he should use the break time of ten minutes to hurry up and finish up the call. Who needed a strategy meeting, it wasn¡¯t necessary at all now!


    ¡°That was great!¡± Yang Ying said, slapping Luocheng on the back.


    ¡°Little junior, do you have a girlfriend. Our Zheng Xia said she wants¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you minx!¡± Zheng Xia hurriedly covered Meiqi¡¯s mouth with her hands.


    Watching the two beautiful seniors squabble, Luocheng felt a little bad.


    ¡°The Support role for the first team is yours, I can¡¯t match up to you.¡± Qin Ting said.


    Jian Feng pursed his lips and glared at Luocheng, but sighed and nonchalantly said, ¡°Shit, if you were that good, you should have played first.¡±


    This match, they had only changed their Support, and had switched between the ADC and Jungler. However, it was obvious that the glory had been taken by Luocheng, the Support, and the match had ended before it had even reached thirty minutes.


    ¡°Do you want to change to AP? I remember Yang Ying said that your AP was great too, in the cyber cafe competition, you were able to win a 4v5.¡± Mr Fang said, looking at Luocheng.


    They had finally managed to recruit a promising freshman, looks like there was still hope for the university to reach a higher rank!


    ¡°My AP is merely mediocre, not really that stable. I¡¯m still better at Support.¡± Luocheng said, shaking his head.


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t bothered to invest too much time to train his AP and top lane positions. Since he only had so much time for LOL, he focused more on bot lane.


    Of course, Luocheng liked to play Jungler too, he liked setting the pace for the game. It¡¯s just that using a Jungler to pace and carry the game was not as satisfying as using a Support to do it!


    ***


    After the ten minute break, both sides were getting ready to enter into their third match. Just as they were about to sit down, a group of people entered the club room.


    These few people were wearing a white uniform, and on the chest area there was an E-sports eagle and Fudan University¡¯s logo entangled together, as though hiding some meaning behind it.


    There were four of them, and when they walked in, a bunch of students followed them in, and it looked as though they were welcoming some celebrities.


    There were about fifty to sixty of them, and most of them were girls. Yang Ying and Xiao Jia¡¯s faces were twisted into a grimace.


    ¡°They are¡­¡± Mr Fang asked, as he watched the four popular people walk in.


    ¡°It¡¯s Fudan University¡¯s first team.¡± Yang Ying said, his voice somber.


    After the four of them had entered the room, the club members surrounded them, and it was obvious that the Fudan University E-sports club was centered around them. You could clearly see the worship in the eyes of the male students, and the admiration in the girl students around them.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t expect that after E-sports, it was possible to eventually gain such a solid position in the university, especially in this era where everyone could play LOL. People who could play well would definitely be supported!


    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Huang Lin said, a slight relief in his voice which gave back his usual confidence.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The blonde handsome boy in the group said, nodding his head slightly.


    He glanced over at the Shanghai University students and walked over with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Who is this?¡± Mr Fang asked.


    Yang Ying¡¯s expression was strained, and he whispered, ¡°It¡¯s their top team¡¯s leader¡ªLin Siyong!


    ¡°He¡¯s the top player in university E-sports, not bad looking too.¡± Meiqi interjected quietly.


    Lin Siyong, Fudan University top team¡¯s leader. In the national E-sports competition, this player had shocked all the universities in the country with his outstanding performance, leaving the old engineering universities that were always good at E-sports behind in the dust, claiming the championship without breaking a sweat!


    Moreover, when playing in the LPL quarterfinals, Fudan University had won two games out of five, forcing them to play the fifth match.


    After the release of the matches, the entire E-sports circle was astonished! A university team had actually managed to hold their own against the top eight teams?


    If you didn¡¯t see it with your own eyes, you wouldn¡¯t have believed such an outlandish story!


    Luocheng had also had his eye on this outstanding team at that point of time.


    Apart from the top eight LPL teams, Fudan University¡¯s team was one with the highest support on the internet. Even as students, sometimes their popularity even surpassed those professional players, making those first seed teams feel embarrassed.


    More importantly, if Lin Dong and Team Skycrown were to enter into the LPL, then Fudan University¡¯s team would be the most powerful competitor for the placing!


    Only by defeating Fudan University would Team Skycrown be able to shock the world.


    Since they were already here, he could test their strength himself.


    ***


    Luocheng had put his name down as the coach for Team Skycrown, and if he had the chance to hit a big obstacle roadblock like this, he was willing to kick it to see how hard it was for the team!

 Chapter 195 - This Support is a Skilled Player!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There was no need for introductions.


    In the last National University E-Sports Competition, Shanghai University had played against Fudan University and their dream of entering the top eight had been completely shattered by them.


    The match had been best two out of three, and Shanghai University hadn¡¯t even stood a chance, let alone remain standing for twenty-five minutes.


    Yang Ying had felt completely powerless for the first time at that moment, as their opponents were too strong and he had had no idea how to go up against that.


    It was like playing against A.I¡­


    The top ten teams in the national universities were absolutely top-notch in the entire LOL field, but in the game, they were like A.I.¡¯s against Fudan, and that was a reality that was hard to swallow¡­


    This time, it was said that Fudan University had invited the top ten teams for friendly matches before the competition, and this was a shock to all the universities.


    The first university they invited was also in Shanghai, Shanghai University. Hence, Yang Ying and Xiao Jia had accepted.


    Initially they had thought that after a year, their strength would have grown significantly, and they had enough confidence to go against such a strong team. However, just by seeing the team leader, Lin Siyong, and seeing their white crisp uniforms, an inexplicable feeling of panic and frustration overwhelmed them.


    They hadn¡¯t even started, and they had already lost.


    ¡°We had something going on just now, I¡¯m sorry we¡¯re late. Let¡¯s continue the match, we¡¯ll be going all out,¡± Siyong said to Yang Ying, smiling politely at him.


    Yang Ying could only nod. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡±


    It was obvious that their top team would be playing now. Yang Ying as the team leader had to play too, or he couldn¡¯t guarantee if his team would be able to manage.


    If they lost before they could even hit the surrender mark, then their morale would be completely crushed. What right would they have to try for the national university E-sports competition?


    ¡°Luocheng, I leave it to you.¡± Yang Ying said solemnly, clapping Luocheng on the shoulder.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, why so serious?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°The last time we fought, we lost both rounds. They only died twice, and one of them was executed by the turret.¡± Yang Ying said, his voice heavy.


    These were facts that were hard to swallow and tell.


    They were both teams from universities, how could they surpass and completely oppress the people who had worked and trained so hard until there wasn¡¯t even space to breathe. They were clearly the same segment, but how come they had to struggle so hard not to claim victory, but to just hit the twenty-minute mark to save a little face?


    Yang Ying wanted to win, but he was very clear on the difference in their abilities, and there was no chance in hell they could win.


    He only hoped that Luocheng could hold the bot lane, giving some comfort to Shanghai University when they lost.


    ¡°I¡¯ll play seriously,¡± Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    You could tell that Fudan University¡¯s top team was the strongest that Luocheng had ever met.


    Even the National Cyber Cafe Competition semifinals teams were a far cry from Fudan University¡¯s team. Since it was a team that Team Skycrown needed to beat in the future, he needed to go all out here!


    ***


    ¡°Leader, their Support is not bad. His skills are very high.¡± Huang Lin said quietly to Siyong once all of their members were seated.


    ¡°Really? Well, since I¡¯m at the bot lane, I¡¯ll see for myself.¡± Siyong said.


    ¡°This Support knows how to pace and carry the game, in the last one, his Morgana managed to scatter our second team¡¯s pacing and formation. In my estimation, he could probably pass as a second seed professional player.¡± Huang Lin further elaborated.


    ¡°A Support carrying? Hmm, interesting.¡± Siyong replied.


    On par with a second seed professional player huh?


    In Siyong¡¯s view, that was nothing much really, since Fudan University¡¯s top team were all around that standard. Unless all the members of Shanghai University¡¯s team were at the same standard, there was nothing to worry about.


    ***


    Everyone was seated, and not knowing why, with the appearance of Fudan University¡¯s top team, the club room was plunged into a tensed atmosphere. More accurately, Shanghai University¡¯s members were all sobered up.


    Fudan University¡¯s members were still brimming with the same confidence, you could even see most of them having expressions of glee on their faces.


    From the proud glint in their eyes, you could tell what they were thinking, ¡®We¡¯ve let you win and be arrogant for that one round. Now with our top team here, you¡¯re gonna get it.¡¯


    ***


    Entering the ban phase, Yang Ying was the first pick. He immediately banned Ezreal and Varus without any hesitation. These two champions were Siyong¡¯s strongest ADC, especially Varus.


    Someone had calculated the statistics before, once Siyong got Varus, he had never lost a single competition. He had a 100% win rate on this champion. Even when LPL teams were playing against them, they definitely banned Varus.


    Yang Ying didn¡¯t dare to risk letting the Varus be free, and he also banned Ezreal for which Siyong also had a high win rate with. You could tell that the ban was mainly to counter him.


    Whereas Fudan University was more casual, banning the champions that would threaten their line up instead of a specific focus.


    ***


    Surprisingly, Siyong chose Ashe as his champion!


    When he locked in the champion, the girls who were watching the display started cheering.


    Ashe!


    How much confidence must you have to pick Ashe?


    Ashe was a champion with no escape mechanism, in a higher elo, she was not really suitable for this kind of battlefield. Even if she was used in official competitions, the probability of losing with her was high.


    Siyong choosing this champion was completely unexpected, but you could also feel the madness from this guy!


    ¡°So what if you ban my ADC, choosing this half-ass ADC, I can still win.¡±


    That¡¯s right, he said this right after he locked in Ashe!


    ***


    Jinbei could feel the extreme pressure, and he was also unhappy about it. The champion he chose was still Caitlyn, and Luocheng picked Zyra.


    Zyra was a Support that Luocheng usually used, and this time, he wasn¡¯t planning on hiding much of his abilities. Only, Luocheng felt that the pick for Caitlyn wasn¡¯t that suitable. During the early game, Caitlyn might not be able to do much against Ashe, and in a direct fight, Caitlyn might not even be able to beat her.


    The opponent¡¯s Support was Thresh. For Ashe who didn¡¯t have many movement skills, pairing her with a Thresh was the smartest move as she could maximize her kiting abilities. Also, Thresh could easily throw a lantern to her to pull her back, and with her frost abilities, that would make her even more threatening.


    This pairing was seen quite often by Luocheng, and he knew some people could play very smoothly with this combination. He just didn¡¯t know how well Siyong and his Support could sync together.


    At mid, Yang Ying had managed to pick Orianna, and the opponent was a Lux.


    The probability of picking Lux in a competition wasn¡¯t that high either, and their line up picks of champions didn¡¯t really make sense to them. It was as if they didn¡¯t follow any specific combination at all.


    ***


    Entering the rift, the match had officially started.


    They met at the river at level one. Thresh¡¯s hook sparked the fuse and they started a fierce exchange.


    Four for three and lacking one kill, but luckily, Shanghai University team still got the kills, and it wasn¡¯t such a big gap.


    Pressing the Tab key, Yang Ying realized that Ashe had gotten two kills, his brows furrowed immediately.


    ¡°Bot lane, be careful, Siyong has gotten two kills.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Jinbei replied.


    From the expression on his face, his heart had felt the pressure once more. Fudan University team was already scary to begin with, now from the get go, he had already gotten two kills, this would be even harder to play against.


    ***


    The first half of the game was intense, both teams Junglers could only get one buff on their own side, then the three lanes continued to farm at their respective lanes to not lose out on experience gain.


    Because their opponents were strong, Luocheng wasn¡¯t so casual about his plays. He clearly remembered that Ashe had used her Flash in the first fight, and Thresh¡¯s Exhaust and Flash were also down. This meant that in their hands, they only had a Barrier left.


    On his end, he had Exhaust, but the remaining Summoner Skills were all used.


    With Exhaust, if you ignored Ashe once you reached level two, you could all in Thresh. Luocheng already had a plan in mind before the laning phase had even started, and counting his experience bar, he knew they would reach level two before their opponents.


    Luocheng used only basic attacks on the creeps, trying to get to level two as fast as possible.


    ¡°One more wave.¡±


    Just needing one more wave, Luocheng spoke up and reminded Jinbei. Jinbei was startled, and for a moment, he wanted to tell Luocheng not to be aggressive, but Luocheng stepped forward and hemmed Ashe just as she was last hitting a creep.


    Hemming in an enemy worked by firing a straight-line skillshot at a slight angle away from the enemy so that if they retreated instinctively, they would intersect with the path of the skillshot, increasing the chances of them getting hit.


    Luocheng¡¯s hemming was sudden, and it was also during the time when Ashe was getting the last hit on the creep¡­


    At first, Siyong just smirked and ignored Zyra¡¯s position because he had the confidence that he could escape whatever she was planning. However, when he saw that after Zyra hemmed him, they had hit level two, Siyong was startled for real.


    Both sides didn¡¯t have Flash, if they were to engage now, someone would definitely die!


    Two level two¡¯s against two level one¡¯s, it was obvious which side would win!


    Recalling the last match they had had with Shanghai University, Siyong had been calm mentally from the beginning to the end.


    This time, less than four minutes into the match, he already felt the pressure brought on by the opponent¡¯s Support!


    This Support¡­


    Was a skilled player!

 Chapter 196 - Because of Their Support

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The surge of vines tumbled along the ground, pulling up waves of earth as it did.


    What surprised people was that the vines weren¡¯t going toward Ashe, but instead, toward Thresh who had been about to launch his scythe.


    Side step and avoid Thresh¡¯s scythe.


    Luocheng was confident in his ability to side step because for these kind of champions that hooked, he was able to accurately predict where it would come from and where it would go!


    Just as Ashe moved back and forth to juke Luocheng¡¯s skill shots, who knew Luocheng would actually turn and launch his Grasping Roots toward Thresh instead, completely ignoring Ashe.


    This completely threw Ashe and Thresh off.


    The vines shuffled over Thresh¡¯s feet, wrapping the lower part of his body and rooting him in place.


    A poisonous flower emerged like a sharp tongue from the earth, spitting at Thresh which applied a slow effect on him.


    Jinbei had originally intended to shoot Ashe, but once he saw that Luocheng had rooted Thresh, he switched targets immediately!


    With her long range, Caitlyn had no problems in shooting Thresh even if she didn¡¯t cross the creep wave. Thresh had yet to consume a lot of souls, so his armor was not any higher than usual.


    One Head Shot and Thresh¡¯s health was down to two thirds, eating a Q¡ªPiltover Peacemaker and then his life was down to less than half.


    ¡°Chase him, I have Exhaust!¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t hesitate, using his auto-attacks on Thresh.


    Thresh¡¯s health was dropping rapidly and Jinbei saw that there was an opportunity to kill. Turning around and using E to propel himself forward, he advanced a distance toward Thresh who had his movement impaired.


    Thresh turned tail and ran toward the turret. As Exhaust had been thrown on Ashe, she wasn¡¯t dealing much damage. The two of them pressed forward, passing the creep wave and going all in with their assault.


    Just a little more¡­


    There wasn¡¯t much distance, but a fresh wave of creep reached, Luocheng and Jinbei then lost the chance to kill Thresh.


    Ashe, who had been Exhausted, didn¡¯t have much health left and was forced to retreat under the turret. Being forced to back up at level one or two, it was no different than dying. You would have lost only a little farm, but the gap in experience gain would be the downfall.


    You must understand that Luocheng had managed to use a champion like Morgana to pressure the opponent, and now, Zyra who had more harassing abilities gave an even higher pressure!


    ¡°Luocheng is so aggressive!¡± Jian Feng exclaimed in shock, watching the display.


    Fudan University¡¯s top team was notoriously strong, and they were the ones normally oppressing the lanes until there was no room left to breath. They had never expected to be the ones being pressured instead, and forced to go back to base!


    This was somewhat unbelievable, as Fudan University¡¯s top team bot pair were on par with the top professional players. How could their rigorous defense be so easily toppled by a freshman?


    Was it because he was underestimated?


    Or was Luocheng a godlike arrogant as*hole?


    ¡°Damn, there¡¯s a feeling of unrest here.¡± Someone said in a low voice.


    Shanghai University¡¯s students could only nod in agreement.


    The last experience had made them unable to lift their heads from the shame, all three lanes had collapsed. If Fudan University¡¯s team had picked up their pace, they probably would have struggled to even last twenty minutes.


    For them, if they could get even one kill against this strong team, it was a victory for them.


    This time, Luocheng and Jinbei hadn¡¯t managed to get a kill, but not even four minutes into the game, they had already managed to force them to back. This really boosted their morale!


    ***


    On Fudan University¡¯s side, Huang Lin glanced at Siyong from the corner of his eye. Siyong looked calm, not looking concerned about the fact that he was just forced to back.


    ¡°I underestimated them,¡± Siyong said, his voice light.


    Counting experience at the bottom lane was a bit harder than the other solo lanes, and Zyra had accurately estimated the difference between one or two creeps when she engaged. She had also made good use of the Exhaust in her skill set¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s play more seriously then.¡± His Support¡ªLei Qingyi said.


    Throwing his lantern backward, he pulled Ashe toward him from the fountain. They continued to hurry back to their lane. The lane had been pushed to their turret, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to farm nor gain experience from this wave. They would have to farm fast to catch up so that the difference between them was not too big.


    Thresh and Ashe had bought a few red pots, they could tell that Zyra was good at harassing. Without the red pots, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. With the difference in levels, even if Thresh landed a hook, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fight.


    Finally, once Zyra ran out of mana, Ashe and Thresh could finally breathe easier. Their level and farm slowly came up, Siyong¡¯s fundamental abilities were solid, even in this situation, the difference in CS was only about twelve creeps.


    The gap in CS of twelve was obvious in the early game, but in the later game, this kind of small gap was insignificant.


    Once Ashe got her Vampiric Scepter, she wouldn¡¯t need to be so afraid of attacks as she could lifesteal back by farming the creeps. It was also obvious that Jinbei¡¯s CS was not as good as Siyong¡¯s.


    ***


    They returned to the base to buy items and get wards.


    Unfortunately, a 3v3 fight broke out between Top, Mid and Jungler on both sides. Yang Ying, Xiao Jia and the top lane¡¯s corpse lay on the ground, while only the opponent Jungler was sacrificed.


    Getting killed was a trivial matter, the problem was the experience lost at the middle lane. Top and mid lane matchup outcomes were normally determined by whoever had the higher level!


    Luocheng had paid attention to the 3v3 when it happened, it was clear that the three from Fudan University team had fast reaction, good support timing, and spreading of damage taken better than Shanghai University¡¯s team.


    This 3v3 in this five-minute match, Luocheng could clearly see the difference between the strength, cooperation, and map awareness between the two teams.


    You could say that this was a lost cause, not because of the difference in score, but from the battles he had seen so far. It could be understood that the later teamfights would still give the same outcome. Even if their items were more or less equal, their chances of winning wouldn¡¯t be any higher.


    Nevertheless, Shanghai University¡¯s strength was beyond Luocheng¡¯s imagination. When he was fighting against Yang Ying in the cyber cafe competition, Yang Ying had given him the impression that he was a player with a ranking that was above 2,000 points.


    After watching their training in the E-sports club, Luocheng realized that the team under Yang Ying¡¯s command was very professional. They could basically be on par with the third rate professional teams, and this was something difficult to achieve with a university team.


    If Team Scarlet had gone against Shanghai University¡¯s team, it was very likely that they would have lost before the twenty minute mark.


    Shanghai University¡¯s strength actually surprised Luocheng, and the fierceness of Fudan University surprised him even more.


    In such a match, it was impossible to save the game with a Support.


    Also¡­


    Apart from forcing Ashe and Thresh to return back to the base in the beginning, bottom lane couldn¡¯t get another advantage over them anymore.


    ***


    In the later half of the game, Luocheng as a Support felt more powerless. Hunting at the bottom lane, invading their jungle, stealing the Dragon right under their noses, pushing the lane together as a team¡­


    After seven minutes, the game was controlled completely by Fudan University. With the collapse of the other lanes, even the bottom lane was not spared.


    The most ridiculous part was that, with a score of ten against two, one of the kills was actually taken by Luocheng who was a Support.


    Although the match lasted for twenty minutes, there was no need to continue anymore. Yang Ying pressed the button for surrender, because even if they continued to fight, it was just letting their opponents trample on their self-esteem again and again.


    You just had to admit defeat when you know you¡¯re inferior to them.


    ***


    Luocheng didn¡¯t have the habit of surrendering, and he had already predicted how the match would go in the first five minutes of the game. Even if he lost, he didn¡¯t feel much. He had already given his ADC a lot of opportunities at the bottom lane to widen the gap between them, there was nothing else he could do if they still lost.


    And it wasn¡¯t like Luocheng hadn¡¯t gained anything from this match.


    At the very least, he was able to experience the strength of a truly strong team. This experience would be the best baptism for Lin Dong¡¯s Team Skycrown.


    ***


    Yang Ying stood up, clapping Luocheng on the shoulder. As the ADC, Jinbei now had a whole new view of Luocheng¡¯s abilities.


    Luocheng had formed a lot of opportunities for him to take Thresh¡¯s life, but he couldn¡¯t find the courage to take that chance given¡­


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, facing Siyong¡¯s Ashe, he could feel a tremendous pressure weighing him down. He couldn¡¯t even perform at his usual level.


    He was thinking that if they didn¡¯t have Luocheng¡¯s skills, the bottom lane would have easily collapsed like the other lanes.


    This defeat was in everyone¡¯s expectation, but when it really happens, your heart would definitely still feel it strongly.


    Fudan University¡¯s members also stood up, launching into a tactical discussion immediately. Luocheng thought that both sides would glare at each other like enemies wanting revenge, but after Yang Ying¡¯s shameless tactics to pull the female analysts into their discussions, all the shameless guys from Fudan University started surrounding Meiqi as well.


    There was no deep hatred between the universities. If you lost, then you lost. It wasn¡¯t such a bad exchange, especially since they got to build some more relations between the guys and girls.


    ¡°Your Support was not bad,¡± Siyong said, standing in front of Luocheng and sticking his hand out.


    ¡°Main Support,¡± Luocheng said, not bothering to be humble as he shook the hand offered to him.


    Siyong¡¯s Ashe was good, and it was the best that Luocheng had seen so far. His kiting abilities and the use of his W had Luocheng rethinking his perception of the champion.


    ¡°It seems that one of the top eight teams will be kicked out in this year¡¯s university competition,¡± Siyong said, his voice still as light as ever.


    Huang Lin was taken aback from where he stood beside him, only understanding Siyong¡¯s meaning later.


    Luocheng was pulled away by a girl from Fudan University after a while, for in fact, they had never seen a Support who was able to hold their own against Siyong, as well as pressure his farm.


    ***


    ¡°President, you¡¯re saying that Shanghai University will be able to enter the top eight this year?¡± Huang Lin asked in a low voice.


    ¡°If nothing goes wrong, they should be able to,¡± Siyong replied.


    ¡°Is it because of their Support?¡± Huang Lin asked, watching Luocheng as he was surrounded by the Fudan University girls.


    Siyong only nodded his head.

 Chapter 197 - Visit by Asmodai

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After they had returned to the university, Luocheng did not go back immediately to train with his club members. Instead, he headed toward the Paradise Residence near the university compound.


    Paradise Residence was packed with low-story terrace houses, and the streets and alleys were cleaner compared to Da Luo¡¯s old place.


    Luocheng found Lin Dong and the others sitting earnestly in the middle of the living room, their eyes uniformly concentrating on the computer screen.


    Luocheng nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡®Great! It¡¯s good to watch game replays as a team this early.¡¯


    Professional players were expected to complement their plays by learning from other professional gamers. It was advisable to analyze the tactics of professional teams from both inside and outside the country. Only through systematic analysis of other teams¡¯ strategy and rhythm control could a team further elevate their performance in the game.


    A lot of teams only worked obsessively on their own training and never studied the playstyle of better teams. This would somehow limit their potential and bar them from becoming a true competitor.


    Almost everyone in Team Skycrown except Xiao Bei had had a taste of major tournaments before. They knew well what a professional player needed to do to achieve new heights, and one of the approaches was to watch and analyze game replays as a team, like what they were doing at the moment.


    Ah~~~ Ah~~~ Oh~~~


    ¡®Wait, is this the soft moan of Ahri being killed? It doesn¡¯t sound right¡­¡¯


    Luocheng walked slowly into the living room and realized their expressions were a little different from his expectations.


    ¡®Why the desperate horny faces? You guys are only watching a LOL replay, right?¡¯


    Ah~~~ Oh ah~~~


    ¡®What the f*ck!¡¯


    Luocheng was completely speechless.


    ¡®Study replay? Analyze strategies? Scrutinize playstyles? F*ck all that! They are watching porno! In broad daylight!¡¯


    Luocheng deduced that his members were completely shameless when he saw a naked male entwined with a female appear across the screen.


    ¡°Hey, our boss is here, give him a place,¡± Lin Dong said immediately after he saw Luocheng.


    Xiao Bei stood up reluctantly and surrendered the best seat to Luocheng.


    Luocheng did not know how to react. ¡®I am no longer a single man. There is no need for me to find consolation through this type of movie¡­¡¯


    ¡°I have something to say.¡± Luocheng coughed. ¡°I said¡­ I have something to tell you all!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright! But let us finish this episode first.¡± Luocheng was utterly defeated by the five of them.


    ***


    Five players in the team¡ªLin Dong, Xiao Bei, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen. These were the official members of Team Skycrown. Although they had commenced their journey as a team by watching porno, this did not mean that they were not passionate and eager about their upcoming challenge.


    Wu Sen was their long-time acquaintance, in the past, he had often trained with them in Shanghai, and all of them appreciated Wu Sen¡¯s skill as a MOBA player.


    Furthermore, as Wu Sen had never retreated from the pro scene, his current strength might even be greater than Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo, who were still working hard to regain their grooves.


    Wu Sen¡¯s playstyle fit the bill perfectly, he was good, but humble. When Zhou Yan had approached him to join their reformation, Wu Sen had immediately cut ties with his former team and joined Lin Dong¡¯s side despite the lack of resources.


    Lin Dong had made it clear that the maximum stipend he could provide for now was one thousand yuan per month, he had no budget for more.


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan had never cared about the money, and Wu Sen had also accepted it benevolently and said that he had no problem as long as the money was enough to cover his meals.


    The living expenses around universities were usually low, which was the reason why Lin Dong had set up their base camp beside Shanghai University.


    All in all, they had to suffer for at least two months, and hopefully, their lives would take a better turn once they began to join competitions and obtain monetary rewards.


    ***


    ¡°Our team¡¯s gaming computers seem to be below par.¡± Luocheng had a quick check on their computer equipment.


    Lin Dong nodded. ¡°This is a real concern. Most of our computers are close to being an antique, we definitely have to upgrade them. Da Luo¡¯s computer basically lags whenever he runs LOL and QQ together, and Zhou Yan¡¯s processing speed is too slow. He often has to wait for more than ten seconds before entering a game. These ten seconds of delay is extremely fatal.¡±


    Wu Sen¡¯s computer was in better shape for he had kept its hardware up to date since this was his means of living.


    ¡°How much would it cost to change all the hardware?¡± Luocheng questioned.


    ¡°Roughly 20,000 yuan plus we have to get you one too,¡± Lin Dong answered.


    ¡°I can settle mine by myself,¡± Luocheng said.


    The prize money of the National University Tournament should be quite lucrative and Luocheng reckoned he would be able to buy himself a new computer if his university team was able to finish among the top positions.


    He planned to give the rest to the team, provided he had any extra left.


    Though the team didn¡¯t mind the hardship, Luocheng and Lin Dong wished to improve the team¡¯s condition wherever possible. At the very least, Luocheng was not entirely satisfied with the rented place. This place was a far cry from Yang Ying¡¯s comfortable love house.


    ¡°By the way, I played a friendly game with the team from Fudan University today,¡± Luocheng brought up the matter.


    ¡°Their main team? I heard that they are pretty strong. This team is going to be one of the toughest hurdles in our path to LPL,¡± Lin Dong lamented.


    ¡°True. Their captain is exceptionally good, his maneuvers and timings are close to Xiao Bei¡¯s level. We might be even in terms of personal skill, but they certainly have better chemistry. Their team play is way better than ours judging by the current form.¡±


    The probability of losing was equally high if Team Skycrown were to battle against Fudan University now. Team Skycrown¡¯s teamwork might be even worse than that of Team Shanghai.


    This was why Luocheng wanted the match between Team Skycrown and Team Shanghai to be held quickly. He wanted the members from Skycrown to get familiarized with the team fight in LOL as soon as possible.


    ¡°You have set up a date with your university team, right?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°Yep. Let¡¯s have a match during one of the next few days,¡± Luocheng answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, feel free to pick a time, we are going to be around anyway. Oh, so will you be our opponent?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°Probably. I am now the main team¡¯s SP,¡± Luocheng said.


    University E-Sports events were arranged by the college so it was entirely justifiable for Luocheng to participate in it. Of course, Luocheng was solely eyeing the designation of Distinctive Graduate, getting the title would definitely please his father.


    The time was set for next week on Wednesday. Team Skycrown vs. Shanghai University¡¯s first team.


    Team Shanghai was going to be Team Skycrown¡¯s first formal opponent. Honestly, Luocheng was a little worried. He was unsure whether the newly formed Team Skycrown could put up a fight against Team Shanghai that had been working together for more than a year now.


    ***


    Inside the club room, Xiao Jia, Yang Ying, and the rest, had immersed themselves in training.


    After losing to Fudan University, the despair of total defeat did not break their spirit. In contrast, they were now more eager than ever to improve their skills through pub ranked-games.


    ¡°Xiao Jia, your phone is ringing.¡± Zheng Xia alerted him.


    Xiao Jia did not plan to answer the call. To do that in the middle of a game was no different than turning his back on his teammates.


    ¡°Xiao Jia, you have to answer this,¡± Zheng Xia said solemnly.


    Xiao Jia was slightly irritated, however, his expression completely changed when he saw who the caller was.


    ¡°You guys carry on, I have to get this.¡±


    Xiao Jia jumped up almost instantly and ran out of the room.


    Yang Ying¡¯s line of sight followed Xiao Jia¡¯s figure out of the room and he silently cursed, ¡®Feeder!¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Hi, this is Xiao Jia speaking,¡± Xiao Jia sounded friendlier than usual.


    ¡°I am Asmodai, I have received your message. Our tournament happened to end within these few days.¡± The voice of a young man was heard from the other side.


    ¡°Does that mean you are going to be free?¡± Xiao Jia¡¯s eyes were beaming with expectation.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Great! We really hope that you can come over and pay our E-Sports Club at Shanghai University a visit.¡± Xiao Jia exclaimed with great enthusiasm.


    ¡°Let me know the time. I will be coming with my friend,¡± Asmodai replied.


    ¡°How about Wednesday? Wednesday evening. We are going to have a match with another team, we hope that you can provide us with some professional advice then,¡± Xiao Jia said hastily.


    ¡°Okay, Wednesday evening it is. Keep in touch.¡±


    ¡°Okay. See you!¡±


    After he hung up, Xiao Jia face was lit up in a bright smile!


    ¡®How unbelievable¡­ Asmodai has agreed to pay us a visit!¡¯


    Xiao Jia could almost foresee their instant improvement under the guidance of the pro player. More importantly, Asmodai was Xiao Jia¡¯s most admired player in the E-Sports world!


    ***


    Back in the club room, Xiao Jia had completely lost his interest in continuing the ranked game.


    ¡°Haha, let me tell you all some great news!!¡± Xiao Jia stood directly in front of the projector and said with a face that was reddened in excitement.


    ¡°Damn! Are you insane? Get back to your seat, we are going to lose this game!¡± Yang Ying bellowed.


    ¡°Do you remember I once said that I had bumped into Asmodai in Server 3?¡± Xiao Jia ignored Yang Ying and continued.


    ¡°So?¡± Meiqi blinked her eyes and looked at Xiao Jia.


    ¡°Next Wednesday evening, Asmodai is coming to this very room!¡± Xiao Jia finally dropped the bombshell.


    The entire room erupted in excitement as soon as Xiao Jia finished his sentence.


    ¡°For God¡¯s sake, are you serious?! Asmodai from Team Daemons? The best ADC in this country?¡±


    ¡°Asmodai from the best China team? He is my idol! I don¡¯t care, none of you shall stop me from begging him to be my master on that day!¡±


    Yang Ying had stood up subconsciously from his seat. He asked Xiao Jia with a serious face, ¡°Are you sure that the one coming is Asmodai?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I am joking?¡±


    ¡°Gosh! This is unreal!¡± Yang Ying couldn¡¯t help but exclaim.


    At the moment, Team Shanghai had hit a wall and they were finding it difficult to advance to the next level.


    Perhaps, with some advice from Asmodai of Team Daemons, his team would be able to find a breakthrough. After all, Hangzhou University did not become the second-best team in the national competition all by themselves. It was largely attributed to their close relation with Team Revelation!

 Chapter 198 - The Glorious Era of E-Sports

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At last, it was Wednesday. After afternoon class had ended, Luocheng saw Feifei walking toward him as he was leaving to get his lunch.


    Feifei was as cold as always, you could literally feel the temperature around you plummet whenever she approached.


    ¡°These are my notes, make a copy and return it to me later.¡± Feifei handed an elegant notebook over to Luocheng.


    To be frank, Luocheng had never made any notes during the lecture, merely listening closely. As for spending time after class to do revisions and reviews, he could only apologize, as the Summoner¡¯s Rift called for him all the time¡­


    Nevertheless, Luocheng could not reject her kindness blatantly, so he took the notebook and thanked her.


    ¡°By the way, the Students¡¯ Union is going to your E-Sports Club today,¡± Feifei informed him.


    ¡°Students¡¯ Union?¡± Luocheng asked, puzzled.


    Jingtai who was beside Luocheng chipped in and snorted. ¡°Idiot! Students¡¯ Union is the organization that manages the administrative and members of other clubs in the university. Feifei is now one of the Union members. You being a committee member in the E-Sports Club is nothing compared to her. Simply put, she is now your direct superior!¡±


    Students¡¯ Union was right under the Student Representative Council(SRC) and all other clubs were classified under the Union. Administrators from clubs were usually not members of the SRC.


    ¡°I see. But why? Does the Students¡¯ Union have an interest in video games?¡± Luocheng asked.


    It seemed that Feifei was only tasked to deliver the notice, not bothering to provide any further explanation.


    Luocheng was still baffled after seeing Feifei leave in all her frostiness. ¡®What¡¯s with the eye roll and look of disdain on her face before she left? Pfft¡­¡¯


    ¡°Hey, how is it going for the two of you?¡± Jingtai raised his eyebrow, his expression enough to show his yearning for any sort of new development.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself. Perhaps other than class notes, there are numerous lines of love poems expressing her affection toward me in this notebook,¡± Luocheng said emotionlessly.


    ¡®Are you insane? What do I have to do with Feifei? We are from two completely different dimensions. As for this elegant notebook¡­ I am not going to be bound by such trivial matters when there are still lots of enemies left in the Summoner¡¯s Rift waiting to be exterminated¡­¡¯


    ***


    Luocheng arrived at the club room after he had had his meal.


    Today was the day the main team of the E-Sports Club would go against Team Skycrown.


    This was going to be the first official game ever since Team Skycrown had been established, and Luocheng prayed hard that the five people who watched porno in broad daylight would at least put up a proper fight.


    ¡®Wait, why is the room so well-decorated today? Are we going to collaborate with another club that has a lot of female members? Good¡­ Good¡­ It would definitely be more satisfying if there was a large group of female audiences chanting behind me when I get a triple kill or quadruple kill later.¡¯


    Zheng Xia was continuously commanding the members to put up the adornments, and a few girls that Luocheng was close with had even dressed up in cosplay costumes.


    Could you imagine that pair of fair legs of Caitlyn, strutting right before your very eyes?


    A senior in a super short skirt was sitting on the table, holding a cowboy gun and blinking her attractive eyes.


    ¡°Luocheng, come over, am I good looking?¡± The senior called out to Luocheng.


    Ever since Meiqi had publicly flirted with Luocheng, other female members in the club had picked up the same habit and this deeply troubled Luocheng.


    Of course, he did not deny that those long pair of legs were quite soothing to the eye at most times.


    ¡°Arh-woo~~~¡± Suddenly, the club room was filled with a series of howling!


    Luocheng turned around and immediately saw Katarina walking through the door¡ªA sexy black top that exposed her cleavage, tight leather pants, and a head of long, scarlet hair.


    She was cruel and seductive at the same time, her fierceness deterring, but her sexiness appealing.


    Toying with the two blades in her hands, Katarina walked into the room in style. The pretentious coldness on her face immediately morphed into embarrassment amidst the endless whistling and commotion in the room.


    Luocheng was stunned as well, Lee Meiqi was indeed born for cosplay. The moment she had walked in, it was as if Katarina had materialized out from the monitor screen.


    The seductive outfit alone was enough to turn those otakus especially fond of cosplay into starving beasts.


    As usual, after saying hi to everyone else, Meiqi air-kissed Luocheng. This signified that she had teased him today.


    Meiqi flirting with Luocheng was basically her daily task now. Even when Luocheng was not attending club activities, she would still send over a message of temptation. For instance, last Sunday, she had messaged Luocheng the following: I am waiting for you in room 304, Hotel XX outside the campus.


    Luocheng had initially planned to rush over, seeing that his senior was in dire need of help. Turned out such a hotel had never existed around the campus.


    ***


    ¡°Xiao Jia and Yang Ying have already gone out to pick up our guests, get ready,¡± Zheng Xia told the club members.


    There were four cosplay characters¡ªKatarina, Caitlyn, Miss Fortune, and LeBlanc¡ªAll cosplayed by the prettiest members in the club.


    The entire club room was also full of Demacia-themed decorations. It was quite inspirational especially to a LOL enthusiast.


    Seeing the efforts they had poured in, Luocheng mumbled, ¡®Do we seriously need to be this grand? I thought we were only receiving members from the SRC?¡¯


    ¡®Could it be that Feifei is holding an extremely influential position in the SRC or Students¡¯ Union?¡¯


    While he was pondering, someone rushed in and reported, ¡°They are downstairs now, everyone, be prepared!¡±


    Luocheng still did not understand who they were trying to impress. As the others got into their positions, Luocheng could only stand aside and watch on.


    All of a sudden, the light was dimmed.


    The entire room was unusually quiet and they could hear the footsteps pacing toward them and Xiao Jia¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t there any light?¡± The voice of a young man was heard.


    ¡°I guess the fuse has tripped.¡±


    With the illumination from another building, the people inside the room saw Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and a handsome man walk through the door.


    Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!


    A series of metallic sounds suddenly rang inside the room, its rhythm was somehow synchronized with the frequency of their heartbeats.


    The rhythm sped up and a familiar sound was immediately heard. The blitz was exactly like the notification heard after one had selected the server in LOL. This always excited the player.


    Suddenly, a metal song filled the entire room, instantly igniting the brewing emotions brought about by the earlier rhythm.


    A spotlight lit the dark room up and revealed a lady in the middle of the stage. Her low neckline leather clothes and pants perfectly revealed her sexy curves, and the long red hair made her all the more attractive to look at.


    ¡°Long live Noxus!!¡± Her voice was cruel and authoritative!


    The metal song immediately surged to its climax and Katarina spun under the spotlight, turning into a gorgeous yet deadly lotus!


    ***


    Asmodai stood in front of the door and was stunned looking at the captivating scene.


    Every individual who loved MOBA was definitely secretly passionate about an in-game champion, just like how young kids idolized Superman and Spiderman.


    When the virtual character that he was in contact with every day suddenly transformed into a reality, his heart thumped along with the girl who danced wildly as the rock song played on.


    He was not fascinated by the good figure of the girl who cosplayed Katarina, but rather, he was amazed by the overall decorations made by the club members.


    In their hands, the small room had turned into an enchanting stage. They had merged the in-game setting, which was once thought to be just a fake reality, into the real world. To him, this was comparable to a magnificent stage-play in Europe, luring people to immerse themselves involuntarily into the half-real, half-imaginary fantasy.


    Asmodai just stood there and watched their performance in awe. He initially thought this would merely be a simple exchange with university students, little did he expect that they were going to bring him such a touching surprise.


    He remembered that just a few years ago, the E-Sports culture had been limited only to the virtual world. It was once a deserted place, embraced only by lonely losers who wanted to escape the harsh reality.


    Ironically, people were now trying to bring that fantasy into reality.


    ***


    Asmodai was not the only one touched by the display. In a corner where the light did not reach, Luocheng was leaning against the wall, his eyes never straying away from the mini stage¡­


    The stage occupied by the deadly lotus was blazing, blinding, devilish, and captivating.


    The choreography made Katarina¡¯s presence and imposing aura very, very real.


    Suddenly, Luocheng felt like all this was a joke to him.


    A few years ago, he had been constantly told to differentiate the real world from the game world. He had to understand what it meant by living a life¡­


    Yet now, people were attempting to emulate the game world into the real world, and the blazing scene pricked his eyes.


    ¡®What in the world?¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t remember how many times in the past the game scene had been projected subconsciously by his brain onto the walls, other people¡¯s faces, glass windows¡­ He had only been thinking about MOBA then, regardless if he was walking, sleeping, or eating.


    All of that had vanished ever since he began to lead his current ¡°normal¡± life. Just when he thought that he had shaken them off for good, these scenes suddenly took form in front of him once again, thus, he was as mournful as he was amazed.


    ¡®Did I leave the pro scene too early?¡¯


    When nobody had cared about E-Sports, Luocheng had given up everything he had had for the sake of a self-consoling honor.


    However, when E-Sports began to storm the world, his heart was as dead as a pool of still water. He could only laugh in irony while watching the era that he had chosen to abandon take the main stage.


    ***


    Asmodai did not notice Luocheng who had hid in the dark corner, and Luocheng himself did not know that the man who stood at the entrance was none other than Asmodai.


    They had come through the same era of E-Sports, nobody else on the scene could have felt what they were going through at that very moment.


    Yet, while Asmodai was feeling fortunate that the E-Sports culture had finally found its place in the society, Luocheng could only feel sorry for himself for missing out on the late-arriving glorious era of E-Sports.

 Chapter 199 - The Reign of E-Sports

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I had not expected such a spectacular welcome. Thank you very much,¡± Asmodai expressed his gratitude to the members after he had walked in with Yang Ying and Xiao Jia.


    Everyone finally got to see Asmodai¡¯s appearance after the room was lit.


    Asmodai was only in his twenties, his face was fair and clean. He looked decent and respectable, sporting a pair of spectacles.


    Asmodai was popular not only because of his admirable in-game skills, but also due to his handsome outlook that had attracted a lot of female fans.


    At first, a lot of the veteran gamers in the club were eager to ask Asmodai some game-related questions, but in the end, they were pushed aside and could only watch on as their idol was surrounded by the excited ladies.


    The members from the Students¡¯ Union had also arrived before the performance had started. They did not interrupt the welcoming party and only picked a spot to observe in silence.


    Feifei was one of them. Puzzled, she sat quietly beside Luocheng.


    ¡°What do you want to ask?¡± Luocheng knew that Feifei was not a talker, so he opened his mouth first, seeing that she kept peeking at him with curiosity written all over her face.


    ¡°Who is he? He seems popular,¡± Feifei questioned.


    ¡°Asmodai. He is a professional LOL player,¡± Luocheng answered.


    Asmodai!!!


    Truth to be told, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t believe it himself that Asmodai was indeed visiting his university¡¯s E-Sports club. When he saw him walking in, all the past scenes of their final battle in Shanghai came gushing back to his mind.


    Team DF and Team Wings were long-time bitter rivals in the old days, they were once the yardstick of MOBA supremacy in the country.


    In Luocheng¡¯s memory, Asmodai did not wear spectacles and he looked younger, less handsome then.


    Two years later, Luocheng could tell that Asmodai¡¯s temperament had completely transformed to the point that he almost couldn¡¯t recognize him.


    ¡°LOL? Is it the game that you played the other day?¡± Feifei asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Luocheng nodded.


    ¡°Why is someone willing to go professional for a video game?¡± Feifei asked again.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t football and basketball also respective professional leagues?¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Those are internationally acknowledged sports,¡± Feifei retorted.


    ¡°True, but twenty years ago, weren¡¯t those sports also once regarded as useless hobbies, just like video games?¡± Luocheng countered.


    Feifei opened her mouth slightly but couldn¡¯t immediately find a valid point to rebut Luocheng¡¯s words.


    ¡°But it¡¯s still video game. It¡¯s a made-up sport after all. Overplaying it is not good for your health, isn¡¯t it?¡± Feifei finally found a reason.


    ¡°Those sportsmen needed proper rest after strenuous training too, right? Fundamentally, real sports and E-Sports are the same,¡± Luocheng said again.


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t explain it himself. In the past, when he came across such people who did not understand E-Sports, he would just laugh it off. However, Feifei¡¯s eyes had triggered him to defend E-Sports. He wanted to persuade a girl like her, who only know about studies and good grades her entire life, to accept the E-Sports world.


    ¡°So you mean you have to face the computer all day after graduating? Staying home day and night playing only this game¡­¡± Feifei was equally stubborn. She had had a biased perception of this profession from the start and found it hard to accept their life choice.


    Feifei vividly remembered how several of her cousins had dropped out of school due to video game addictions and to this day, they had no passion for work and cared only about their fictitious games. This was why her family had continually warned her to stay away from the influence of the internet.


    Since the beginning of the semester, Luocheng had consistently skipped lectures, and every time during his absence, the lecturer would ask her to help him jot down the important notes.


    Feifei could not comprehend why this person was willing to skip several essential syllabi in succession just because of a game. Was he not going to enrich himself in the university?


    Some people didn¡¯t even have adequate time to absorb the apparently bottomless knowledge, yet, some were willing to waste their time on a useless video game. Did these people really have the ability to establish and support a family in the future?


    Since her dorm mates had discovered she had been escorted back by Luocheng once during the night, the girls had never stopped teasing her. The rumors intensified recently as Feifei had been tasked to help him take notes for class.


    Feifei had actually had a good impression on Luocheng. She found him quite charming and had a good sense of humor like a boy-next-door. The only downside was his seemingly passive attitude.


    ¡°So, do you think this type of job is shameful?¡± Luocheng suddenly threw her that question.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡±


    Feifei didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    Both of them were reduced to silence, their contrasting opinions were bound to clash at some point. Feifei was a cold and introverted individual, clearly the type that was dedicated and determined to excel in academics.


    Contrastingly, Luocheng had entered the university only to fulfill his parents¡¯ expectations. Simply put, he didn¡¯t have the slightest interest in academic curriculums.


    Luocheng had known Feifei for close to two months now. As classmates, they had chatted several times after class, but never once had they reached such a state where neither of them had anything else to say. In this context, the two of them were like strangers that had never crossed paths with each other, and the atmosphere between them was tensed and awkwardly quiet¡­


    ¡°Luocheng, why are you sitting over there? Come over here. Is the team you arranged ready to go? Let me first introduce you to a popular figure in LOL. You are very lucky. It¡¯s not every day a newbie can meet a pro as soon as they join the club. If you behave well, maybe he is willing to take you as his apprentice!¡± Yang Ying walked over and realized Luocheng was seated beside a charming lady.


    Luocheng stood up and approached Asmodai.


    ¡°Asmodai, this is our main SP, Luocheng.¡± Yang Ying dragged Luocheng to the front of Asmodai and introduced him. ¡°Our schedule is to fight a team known as Skycrown later. My suggestion is to have you play the ADC position and take the bottom lane together with our support, Luocheng. That way, we will be able to witness the prowess of a world-class ADC!¡± Yang Ying said with a hearty laugh.


    He nudged Luocheng¡¯s shoulder and continued. ¡°Luocheng, don¡¯t be nervous. This is your first time assisting a pro player, please try not to be a drag¡­¡±


    Yang Ying was so busy talking that he only came to realize Asmodai and Luocheng were staring into each other¡¯s eyes a little later. Yang Ying stopped abruptly sensing the tension. Xiao Jia, Zheng Xia, and Jinbei were equally dumbstruck.


    ¡®Did they know each other?¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Asmodai?¡± Xiao Jia came up and asked cautiously. He even stared at Luocheng accusingly, thinking that the newbie might have done something impolite that had annoyed their VIP guest. It took a lot of effort from him to get Asmodai to visit them, if this meeting was screwed up by Luocheng, he would not hesitate to kick Luocheng out of the E-Sports Club!


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Finally, Asmodai broke the silence as he asked with a stern expression, as if he was interrogating Luocheng.


    Just a while ago, he was still all smiles facing the club members that were full of adoration for him. However, as soon as he had seen Luocheng, his joy was replaced by shock.


    He was surprised, happy, doubtful, and in disbelief, all at the same time. All these mixed emotions mashed into one single question¡ªWhy are you here!? Fighting Hawk, the man he had admired the most and been proud of, the man who had vanished completely from the E-Sports scene overnight.


    ¡®Where has he been all these years? Why is the once imposing figure in MOBA not seen trending in LOL?¡¯


    ¡®His teammate, Blood Eagle, has reached my level now. But why has the renowned Fighting Hawk still refused to emerge?¡¯


    Asmodai had many questions to ask, but the most pressing one that he needed an answer to right now was what Fighting Hawk was doing in a University E-Sports Club.


    ¡°I am a student here,¡± Luocheng said with a bitter smile.


    In light of Asmodai¡¯s questioning eyes, Luocheng didn¡¯t know how to explain himself.


    ¡°Student? You¡¯re an undergraduate student?¡± Asmodai was baffled.


    ¡°I just got in not long ago.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°My leader has been looking for you all this while. We veteran players have never stopped anticipating your reappearance, we always believed that you would make a comeback. This is unexpected¡­¡± Asmodai said.


    The others in the room listened to their conversation closely and were left baffled.


    Obviously, Asmodai knew Luocheng. But how, and why?


    Luocheng was just a new recruit!


    Moreover, it seemed that Hades from Team Daemons, the heart and soul of China E-Sports, was also looking for Luocheng. ¡®Why did the best team in China, the one that had represented them to challenge the Los Angeles Tournament, have anything to do with Luocheng, an ordinary year 1 student?¡¯


    All of a sudden, everyone was struck speechless and they looked at both Luocheng and Asmodai in great confusion.


    ***


    ¡°Fight me.¡± Asmodai challenged him abruptly.


    There was no point in talking, a game was all that he needed to see if Luocheng had really given up on E-Sports.


    If someone like Fighting Hawk, who had stepped on the highest altar, also turned away from E-Sports, then Team Daemons would gladly take over Team Wings¡¯ place and march on.


    Even if LOL was to decline one day in the future, Team Daemons would never back down.


    ***


    Asmodai¡¯s emotions were inexplicably pumped.


    ¡®Fighting Hawk, if you have decided as such, then pass on the baton. Let Team Daemons be the deserving vanguard of China¡¯s MOBA!¡¯


    Asmodai appreciated Luocheng¡¯s E-Sports honorable achievement at the international stage, nonetheless, he was equally disappointed over his decision to surrender it.


    He may not be as gifted as the Fighting Hawk, but he had a heart that never says die.


    ¡®Come, fight me! If you lose, hand over the reign of E-Sports to me!¡¯

 Chapter 200 - Fighting Hawk, Yu Luocheng!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xiao Jia looked at Luocheng and Asmodai in bewilderment.


    ¡®Asmodai is challenging Luocheng to a game??¡¯


    The tension in the club room intensified and everyone looked at Luocheng trying to figure out his past that was hidden under his innocent face.


    ¡°Asmodai, why? He is just a year 1 newbie from our university¡­¡± Xiao Jia chipped in.


    ¡°True, that¡¯s his identity now, but do any of you know about his past?¡± Asmodai pointed at Luocheng.


    Luocheng frowned slightly. ¡®Is Asmodai going to expose me here?¡¯


    ¡®Not like it¡¯s going to change anything, nobody would recognize me anyway.¡¯ Other than the ¡°old folks¡± like Asmodai, who had gotten into E-Sports since the very beginning, no one cared about those long-forgotten histories.


    When they had won, nobody had cared, let alone the fact that they had lost¡­


    He no longer belonged to that era, it was now Team Daemon¡¯s time to shine. Luocheng had started a new life and didn¡¯t wish to speak of the past.


    ¡°You all should be aware that Team Daemon had obtained first place in the previous LPL, so we were practically the top team in China last year and were given a ticket to join the international tournament¡­¡± Asmodai raised his voice a little.


    As the top team of LPL, Team Daemon¡¯s name had long spread across the entire continent. This was largely due to their ability to battle at the largest stage, as well as the full support and publicity given by the government.


    Right now, their popularity was unprecedentedly huge and Asmodai had also become one of the superstars in the E-Sports scene.


    However, was Team Daemon content with such achievements?


    The answer was an absolute no!


    This was because they still hadn¡¯t topped the achievement of Team Wing. It was a place they could only fantasize about, and the reason they were so popular right now was not that they were a better team, but rather, a consequence of the changed era.


    ¡°Though we are at the international stage, fighting the best teams of LOL from other countries, our results are nothing to be proud of. We couldn¡¯t even manage to qualify from the group stage¡­¡± Asmodai continued.


    At the international tournament, Team Daemon had lost a vital match and had been sent packing as early as the group stage.


    Team Sky¡¯s performance had been even worse. They had only managed to register one win throughout the entire tournament.


    It was a disgrace for not having a single Chinese team in the quarter-finals. Dominance inside the country meant nothing when it came to the grandest arena.


    ¡°Asmodai, you guys are not to be blamed. You have done your best. LOL was introduced late in our country and the whole E-Sports system here was not as perfected as the other countries¡­¡± Xiao Jia tried to comfort Asmodai and sooth the gloomy conversation.


    Asmodai shook his head and said, ¡°That should not be an excuse, because two years ago, someone else managed to enter the international stage when the entire E-Sports system in this country was just a mess. They were the scariest underdogs in the history of E-Sports.¡±


    ¡°Not only did they defeat the traditional powerhouse Korean team, but they even played several European teams into their hands and even brought down the mighty American team.¡±


    ¡°They went all the way into the finals, the finals of an international game¡­¡± Asmodai smiled bitterly.


    Team Daemon had not even survived the group stage, and Asmodai understood very well how far Team Daemon was from the final throne.


    Yet, the once-in-a-decade genius of E-Sports, the man who had won almost every available honor in the China E-Sports scene¡­


    He had chosen to return to the life of a university student, learning knowledge that even those educators didn¡¯t know how to apply in real life. ¡®This is how he has chosen to crush his own gift?¡¯


    ¡®Is E-Sports something not worth hanging onto? Then, what are we, Team Daemon, fighting for?¡¯


    They had worked extremely hard trying to win back a world-class honor for their country, training like crazy day and night for recognition in the world stage. However, would they wind up like Fighting Hawk? Was it their ultimate fate to admit defeat one day and bow down to this sick society?


    ***


    ¡°Someone in our country had stepped into the finals at the world stage before?¡± Xiao Jia asked, seemingly puzzled.


    Almost everyone in this room was passionate about E-Sports. Nevertheless, their memory of E-Sports began with the rise of LOL and they knew nothing about the E-Sports circle in the country before that.


    ¡°I think I¡¯d heard about this before when I was still playing DOTA. There was indeed a team in the international finals before,¡± Jian Feng spoke up.


    He had been a DOTA player in the past and he had played enough to be informed about such news¡­


    However, he had no idea about the name of the team as well as the members in it¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s f*cking awesome!¡± Yang Ying exclaimed in awe.


    Team Daemon which Asmodai was in couldn¡¯t get out of the group stage alive, Yang Ying could only imagine how strong the other team was for being able to enter the finals.


    Then again, why was such a powerful team not known by the public?


    ¡°I found it! I found it!¡± Zheng Xia had been on her phone verifying the news with the Baidu search engine. She began to read out the results, ¡°The highest honor a China team has ever obtained in E-Sports was DOTA. Two years ago, Team Wing under the Sky Club beat the more complete E-Sports team from Korea and marched into the finals to face off one of the world¡¯s best teams, England.¡±


    All the eyes in the room were now fixed on Zheng Xia and they listened quietly to her narration on this little-known history of E-Sports.


    ¡°The members of Team Wing are ¡°Sky Swan¡± Lin Dong, ¡°Lone Gull¡± Luo Qing, ¡°Gale Crane¡± Zhou Yan, ¡°Blood Eagle¡± Zhao Tinghua¡­¡±


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua!!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he the captain of Team Sky?¡±


    The name Blood Eagle was well known in LOL now, and his fame was even greater than Asmodai. Only Hades of Team Daemon and Brandon of Team Revelation had a better reputation than him inside the country right now.


    Without Zheng Xia¡¯s reiteration, they would not have known that Blood Eagle had actually achieved such a great feat in the past.


    ¡°Wait¡­ You have only mentioned four members. Who was the last one?¡± Yang Ying drew closer to Zheng Xia and looked at her phone display.


    His facial expression changed to mimic Zheng Xia¡¯s when he too read the last line.


    Both of them were flabbergasted and they doubted whether there was some mistake in the article.


    However, the information on the page was fact-checked and couldn¡¯t be more truthful.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Read it out!¡± Xiao Jia urged impatiently.


    After being told of the story by Asmodai, the people inside the room were eager to know who was the final person that managed to acquire such a groundbreaking glory.


    Zheng Xia raised his head and looked at Luocheng in bewilderment. She announced tremblingly, ¡°Captain of Team Wing, Fighting Hawk¡ªLuocheng!¡±


    Fighting Hawk, Yu Luocheng!


    Yu Luocheng!


    ¡®It¡¯s him! How is that possible?!¡¯


    Suddenly, the entire room was reduced to a pin-drop silence.


    The only expression seen on their faces was utter disbelief, and this included Feifei¡¯s. She opened her mouth slightly in surprise and stared at Luocheng¡¯s back with a thousand thoughts racing through her mind.


    ***


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Jinbei, Zheng Xia, and Meiqi had thought that they had grown to know Luocheng better after these few months. They thought of the freshman more highly after his exceptional performance against Fudan University, nonetheless, they were not prepared for such striking news. This freshman had actually attained the honor that even the current strongest Team Daemon could only dream of!

 Chapter 201 - : Unqualified to Challenge

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng was lost for words amidst the attention.


    He didn¡¯t understand why Asmodai was bringing up the old tales in front of the club members. Was Asmodai doing it on purpose to isolate him from his current circle?


    ¡°Come! Let¡¯s have a game, just you and me!¡± Asmodai challenged. If this was two years ago, Asmodai would be overestimating himself for saying these words, and he was well aware of that.


    But it was a completely different situation now. Team Wings was long gone, and the responsibility of carrying the national pride in the E-Sports arena was now on Team Daemons¡¯s shoulder. Their target was nothing less than the world champion, and to get to that stage, he must first surpass Fighting Hawk. Maybe Luocheng was insignificant in today¡¯s E-Sports scene, but Asmodai knew he had to beat him to move forward.


    ¡°We already have,¡± Luocheng said in a calm voice.


    ¡°We did? When?¡± Asmodai asked.


    ¡°Server 3. The person you had sent invitations to persistently,¡± Luocheng answered.


    Asmodai was stunned. ¡®So that was you!¡¯ He laughed bitterly.


    He knew well about the strength of Snowfall. If Luocheng was able to contain him and Anubis while protecting a non-professional female player, this already somehow showed that he had outperformed the two of them.


    Till now, Asmodai could not forget how his Zyra had instinctively blocked Thresh¡¯s hook in advance by using Thorn Spitters.


    MOBA was similar to chess. Normal players would only think about the current situation; higher ranked players would think a step ahead; while professional players were often two to three sequences in advance.


    Somehow, a small group of gifted players had an unparalleled vision and could even see beyond what a professional player was capable of. That game had explicitly demonstrated Luocheng¡¯s superiority over Anubis at the SP position¡­


    He still distinctly recalled the kind of hopelessness he had experienced when playing against Luocheng in DOTA. Anyhow, Asmodai was not going to back down. Asmodai admitted Luocheng was definitely better in terms of laning and personal skills, but what about team fights?


    He had been out of the pro scene for such a long time, Asmodai was confident that he no longer boasted the swagger of the Fighting Hawk in the past. Victory in LOL relied heavily on team fights rather than individual performance.


    ¡°If you want an official challenge, that¡¯s fine, but it seems as though you have forgotten something very important,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Asmodai asked.


    Luocheng did not elaborate and Asmodai frowned and thought hard.


    He recalled it fairly quickly, his face turning disappointed, but he smiled quickly, trying to hide it.


    He had indeed forgotten about a vital rule.


    Other than the glory in the world competition, Fighting Hawk had also been crowned champion at the international all-star game. To challenge him, the challenger must also hold a title of a similar status, otherwise, it would be considered disrespectful.


    Players of such status within the country were within finger-counting, more importantly, despite having set foot on the international stage, Asmodai had not obtained any recognizable prize just yet.


    In other words, he was under-qualified to challenge Luocheng!


    ¡°Alright, I was indeed too full of myself. Before I get enough recognition, I do not have the right to challenge you,¡± Asmodai recollected himself and said determinedly, ¡°But rest assured, I am going to get what I set out to reach!¡±


    Asmodai¡¯s claim shocked the entire room!


    ¡®¡­don¡¯t have the right to challenge¡­¡¯


    Asmodai is one of the members of the strongest LOL team in the country, if he was not qualified to challenge Luocheng, then who in this country was?


    ¡®Is Luocheng really a first-year freshman?¡¯ Xiao Jia, Zheng Xia, and Jian Feng were speechless. They¡¯d been in doubt when Yang Ying had brought him into the club.


    If Asmodai had not come over and revealed his past, they would still regard him as a newbie that was pretty talented in LOL.


    It took Xiao Jia enormous effort to finally have Asmodai visit their E-Sports club and they had even put in a lot of sweat for the opening performance.


    In Xiao Jia¡¯s perspective, Asmodai was among the top guys on the altar, but as it turned out, the strongest ADC in his eyes had someone he was unqualified to challenge. Moreover, that person was just a low-rank committee in their club. They had even argued over whether it was appropriate to include him in the first team before.


    Xiao Jia no longer knew what to believe in anymore.


    ¡°Sky Swan, Lone Gull, and Gale Crane are planning to attempt the LPL. They had come together and formed Team Skycrown not long ago,¡± Luocheng informed Asmodai.


    ¡°They are coming back? Team Skycrown?¡± Asmodai¡¯s eyes brightened up.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Luocheng nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! Great stuff!!¡± Asmodai laughed joyfully. ¡°You know what? Losing to you guys in the national final was an unhealable scar in our hearts. After that game, we decided that we were going to surpass whatever achievements Team Wings had gotten at the international stage. I can¡¯t wait to see Team Skycrown return to their past glory. I believe my captain is equally looking forward to fighting them again.¡±


    ¡°It is a private team established by Lin Dong and the others, they haven¡¯t qualified for anything yet and are still only an amateur team. But ultimately, they want to compete in the LPL.¡± Luocheng clarified.


    ¡°That would require a very good pre-season performance. Team Daemons is going to wait for Team Skycrown at the LPL as the defending champion. We are going to hammer them with our greatest strength and show you the difference between us after two years. We are going to take away the baton from Team Wings once and for all!¡± Asmodai boasted confidently.


    There was nothing more encouraging than an opportunity to redeem past regrets.


    Even though numerous teams had mushroomed in LOL and Team Daemons had overcome both old and new forces along the way¡­ Team Wings remained the only team that they wanted to defeat the most!


    The LPL!


    Asmodai wanted it to start as soon as possible more than ever, and he wished for Team Daemons and Team Wings to be listed under the same group and fight their hearts out for the qualification.


    Asmodai greatly anticipated the event. The LPL next year would surely be an entertaining one. He could almost see the excitement on his captain and coach Huang Kang¡¯s faces when he brought this news to them. The entire team would definitely be enthused and train harder within this period.


    ***


    ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t Team Skycrown the team we are going to fight today?¡± Jian Feng asked sheepishly.


    ¡°Er¡­ I think so.¡± Yang Ying¡¯s face had frozen too.


    Xiao Jia clicked his tongue out of dissatisfaction. ¡®Damn you Luocheng! This is a set up! We¡¯re going against a team that had once entered the international final? This is such a one-sided humiliation!¡¯


    Their confidence was extremely low after the defeat to Fudan University. At first, they had thought Luocheng was bringing them a new team to help them regain confidence, but it seemed that it was the other way round.


    ¡®We are not your toy, I don¡¯t care, I am not going to play a sure-loss game.¡¯ Yang Ying was the first to protest.


    They were gearing up for the national university tournament, and Yang Ying doubted that getting beat up consecutively would do them any good in securing a top 10 spot.


    Speaking of which, Yang Ying remembered Luocheng had told him that Team Skycrown¡¯s base was just beside the university compound.


    Didn¡¯t this mean that their E-Sports Club was now having some sort of connection with a past runner-up of the international tournament?


    Hangzhou University was where they were today because of their close proximity to Team Revelation. Although Team Revelation had a rich history as a MOBA team, they had not won a lot and were not even close to being on the international stage.


    Their best result last year was only as good as a quarter-finalist in the LPL. Hangzhou University had managed to secure second place at the national tournament with the help from such a moderate team. In comparison, Shanghai University was right next to the previous second-best team in the world¡­


    ¡®Gosh! The lady luck is smiling upon us!¡¯ Yang Ying was relieved as he thought those through.


    ¡®So, handing Qianqian to Luocheng paid off after all. This brother-in-law is one hell of a guy!¡¯


    Thinking back, Qianqian had once told Yang Ying through the phone that Luocheng was actually a great player. He¡¯d thought she had just been exaggerating because of blind admiration, but now, he realized she had been telling the truth all this while!


    ¡°Luocheng, I think maybe we should just cancel the game, I am unwilling to see our team get humiliated again. Why don¡¯t you ask your friends to come over when they are free and give us a proper lesson¡­?¡± Xiao Jia asked in embarrassment.


    Xiao Jia¡¯s emotions were all mixed up now. He was still transitioning from looking down on Luocheng to accepting the fact that he was once the god of DOTA.


    ¡°Cancel? Seriously?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°F*ck! You expect us to play? I am more willing to take on Fudan University again rather than fight with Team Skycrown!¡± Even the more passive Jinbei could no longer hold back.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that serious, they¡¯ve only played the game sporadically before this, they are no longer the peak Team Wings. We still stand a chance as their chemistry is not as good as ours,¡± Luocheng explained.


    ¡®Sigh. Why did Asmodai choose to expose me in front of everyone?¡¯


    He had been hoping to use Shanghai University as Team Skycrown¡¯s sandbag at this stage, but Asmodai¡¯s words had greatly terrified them to the point that they were now refusing to play. Where was Luocheng going to find another ideal prey like Shanghai University next?


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, I am not playing.¡± Yang Ying had decided to give up.


    ¡°Count me out, you guys go ahead and have fun.¡± Xiao Jia, too.


    ¡°¡­¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Asmodai was in a great mood at the moment and tried to ease the situation. ¡°Can I give a suggestion? Why don¡¯t we play as initially planned? I will team up with Luocheng and take the bottom lane. With me and Fighting Hawk covering the bottom, I think we will be able to play against them evenly, right?¡±


    Xiao Jia, Yang Ying, and Jinbei looked at each other¡­


    ¡°Sigh, alright, alright. But let us make it clear, please do not blame us if we feed hard,¡± Yang Ying said with a bitter smile.


    To be honest, Yang Ying was reluctant to play against such a prestigious team even though it was a thing of the past. This was going to be so demotivating.


    Bottom line, it was comforting to have Asmodai and Luocheng in their team. At least they wouldn¡¯t lose too miserably with the help of the two pro players.


    ***


    ¡°So, who is going to be our opponents at the bottom lane? Is it Sky Swan or Lone Gull?¡± Asmodai asked.


    Luocheng shook his head and said, ¡°It will be Xiao Bei and Wu Sen.¡±


    ¡°Wu Sen? He¡¯s in Team Skycrown?¡± Asmodai was stunned.


    Wu Sen was a top talent and a proven SP player. Asmodai had heard about his departure from his old club but it was surprising to learn that he had joined Team Skycrown.


    ¡®So the laning phase is not going to be easy in this game.¡¯


    This was the first time he had ever partnered with Fighting Hawk. Although he was more eager to go against him, teaming up with him would no less be an exciting experience!


    This was a man that he was destined to challenge and beat, and he vowed to put in his 110% effort into this game.

 Chapter 202 - Asmodai VS Xiao Bei

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Voice chat was initiated through the club¡¯s YY account. The account was intended to enable the communication between club members as well as the opponents for today.


    After adding Lin Dong and the others into the channel, Xiao Bei¡¯s voice was immediately heard. ¡°Luocheng, are we good to go?¡±


    ¡°Boss, we are ready. The only thing left is to put your little friends on the chopping board,¡± Da Luo said.


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Jinbei¡¯s faces darkened.


    ¡®F*ck! Luocheng was indeed treating us as sparring dummies. If Asmodai did not expose him earlier on, we would have been trashed, knowing nothing about the newly formed team.


    ¡°Hey boys, the speakers are on over here. Behave.¡± Luocheng could feel the burning glares on his back and shushed those from the other end.


    ¡°Oh¡­ My bad,¡± Da Luo immediately apologized.


    Team Skycrown had only trained through public ranked games thus far, and this was the first time they would play against a proper team. Lin Dong and the others couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin. Add my account,¡± Luocheng said.


    After creating a private custom game, Luocheng pulled in the players from both teams into the room.


    A lot of teams had now consensually stayed in the Ionia server, and conveniently, both teams had accounts on this server.


    On the left, the players¡¯ IDs were standardized and initialized by SHU¡ªthe abbreviation of Shanghai University.


    On the right, the IDs were all messed up, having yet to include ¡°Skycrown¡± in it.


    Normally, a team would become a laughing stock in the competition when the names of the members were not aligned.


    ¡°We still haven¡¯t gotten the rename card, hehe,¡± Lin Dong laughed sheepishly and explained.


    Both teams were in position and began to rearrange their Runes and Masteries.


    Xiao Jia, Yang Ying, and Jinbei were using their own accounts so they didn¡¯t need to change much. They had regained their confidence slightly after seeing the inconsistent IDs.


    ¡°Please crush their bottom lane, otherwise, we are not going to be able to hold,¡± Yang Ying pled.


    Asmodai was the ADC of the strongest team in this country. He alone could basically destroy the bottom lane, furthermore, he was now aided by Luocheng, a fantastic Support player. On paper, this line-up at the bottom lane was close to invincible within the country.


    Asmodai was a bit more serious after entering the game, wanting to give his best since his partner was none other than the famous Fighting Hawk.


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be that simple.¡± Asmodai shook his head.


    ¡°Why? Wu Sen and Xiao Bei¡­ They are not previous members of Team Wings, right?¡± Zheng Xia asked.


    ¡°Wu Sen was Team Galaxy¡¯s Support and alternative ADC. He is an LPL-level player. I have met him several times before and seldom gained an advantage against him,¡± Asmodai explained.


    The other four players of Team Skycrown might be well-known pub players in LOL but Wu Sen was an established professional player. He had sufficient experience in LPL and his current worth and fame were definitely the highest in the team. After all, the strength of a team could also be measured by its members¡¯ mileage in professional competitions.


    Nobody cared about Team Wings¡¯s past, their reformation had to start from scratch.


    ***


    The game had now entered the champion selection phase and it was being projected onto the white screen. Others sat on their seats and were eager to watch the game that was going to be carried by two brilliant gamers, Asmodai and Luocheng.


    SHU had chosen a conventional formation that focused on the late game.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s selection, on the other hand, was a little unorthodox. It was hard to tell their overall strategy based on the non-ordinary choice of champions.


    Nevertheless, from a professional perspective, Team Skycrown did not pick their champions based on randomness. Team Skycrown¡¯s line-up would dominate earlier, smaller-scale team fights. Any careless mistake might cost SHU the game before they could develop and manifest their advantages in the late game.


    ***


    For the bottom lane, Asmodai had picked Twitch, the Plague Rat, while as the Support, Luocheng had selected Alistar, which was getting more unpopular as the days rolled by.


    Alistar was picked in a competition only to counter specific champions such as Kennen, Fiddlestick, and Karthus, which would usually barge directly into the crowd during a team fight.


    Da Luo had picked none other than Kennen. Considering his bizarre playstyle, team SHU would be in great trouble if Kennen charged into a fight like a suicide bomber, hence, Luocheng had specifically selected Alistar as his Support to neutralize Da Luo¡¯s Kennen.


    Xiao Bei and Wu Sen had picked the combination of Leona and Graves.


    Luocheng selected Alistar after Wu Sen had picked Leona. Other than being anti-Kennen, Leona was another champion that Alistar was not afraid of, rather, he even preferred to compete against her.


    Both the Twitch-Alistar and Leona-Graves combo were aggressive picks for the bottom lane, and any clashes would definitely result in death. The team selections told enough of their fighting spirit and determination in chasing the win for their first clash.


    ***


    Asmodai moved Twitch to the lane. He could feel his blood circulate faster than usual, the excitement within was a result of the adrenaline rush that made his fingers move with more dexterity than usual.


    Normally, he needed a brief warm-up to have such an excellent touch, but today, he was in tip-top condition right from the start.


    Luocheng must be the reason why. When you were sitting beside a great player that you have dreamed to surpass one day, your hidden potential would be fully stimulated.


    ***


    While Asmodai was hyped, Xiao Bei and Wu Sen were equally pumped and nervous.


    Xiao Bei had been looking up to Luocheng since the first day he had come into contact with the E-Sports world, and the admiration was rooted deep within his heart.


    He had been astonished watching the last fight between Luocheng and Shallow Dream, and he yearned for such an intense battle one day in the future.


    And today, he had gotten his chance. This was the first time he had faced the person he deeply admired as an opponent, and he was enthused and at the same time, worried that his nervousness might affect his performance.


    He had trained hard for a very long time and had received lucrative invitations from numerous teams along the way, but despite the constant recognition, Luocheng remained to be the only person Xiao Bei wished to get acknowledgment from. A simple compliment from Luocheng would boost his confidence by several folds.


    No matter what, he wished to do his best in this important match.


    Xiao Bei wanted to let Luocheng understand that it was okay to struggle with real life. He was going to carry his regret and work even harder to conquer the world stage in his place.


    For far too long, he had hidden in the shadows and fought for other¡¯s glory. Very few people knew about his Challenger title in the Korean and American servers.


    Although today was just a friendly match against a modest university team, this was still a day worth remembering. Competing with Asmodai and Luocheng marked the first step into the LOL pro scene that Xiao Bei took with his own feet.


    He was not going to let Luocheng down.


    ***


    The ADCs from both teams had steady CS counts and there weren¡¯t any apparent CS mistakes. They even managed to effectively disrupt the opponent¡¯s champions during the interval.


    Supports from both teams were using great positioning skills to tempt the opponents, so much so that it looked like a combat between two Tai Chi masters. It may look passive from the outside, but any slip up would instantly lead to a relentless attack from the other side.


    Every time a Jungler would walk nearby, the advantageous team would use that opportunity to lure the opponent. Better still, they would pretend that reinforcement was coming and forced the opponent to retreat.


    Skirmishes erupted every now and then, and the damage burst from the ADC and Support of both teams were equally baffling. Yet, there was no kill thus far as four players at the bottom lane often survived with a last-ditch magnificent maneuver.


    ***


    Yet another clash ended abruptly without any deaths and Luocheng¡¯s Alistar was left with only 50 HP.


    Leona had also retreated with her Flash and strolled around the brush.


    Twitch and Graves both had roughly 100 HP left and they backed off simultaneously, using the minion line as cover.


    ¡°What an extreme and brutal exchange!¡± Qin Ting exclaimed.


    All four players had showcased an unbelievable precision over the HP count. Several times when the audience had thought they were going to witness the First Blood, the players had managed to disperse with minimal HP. The game had the spectators sitting on the edge of their seats.


    Boom!


    All of a sudden, Xiao Bei¡¯s Graves fired an Explosive Shell toward the empty air.


    ¡®A miss?¡¯


    As the onlookers looked on, puzzled, a yellow shield unexpectedly revealed the position where the Explosive Shell had just landed.


    Inside the shield, a rat-like figure gradually emerged, venomous arrows shot out from his hand toward the dying Graves.


    Graves also summoned his Barrier and returned fire. Suddenly, Twitch and Graves were seen attacking each other frantically at the bottom lane.


    ¡°Argh~~~~¡±


    Asmodai¡¯s Twitch moaned and fell to the ground after suffering several gunshots.


    Similarly, Graves¡¯ remaining HP was emptied by Twitch¡¯s venom after his Barrier had disappeared, and he too, crumbled one second later.


    It was an equivalent swap of ADCs!


    The fight had broken out without any warning. The viewers initially thought that both sides had retreated after the deadly fight and would CS peacefully, but unexpectedly, both dying ADCs had suddenly erupted into a fight and swapped lives as a result!


    ¡°The opponent¡¯s ADC is rather good, he¡¯s managed to fight Asmodai¡¯s Twitch evenly,¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. He had no vision just now but still decisively used his Q-skill. He predicted Twitch¡¯s action solely based on his instinct, what an insightful player!¡±


    Only LPL-level players could have matched Asmodai¡¯s skill. The audience was certain about Asmodai and Luocheng¡¯s dominance before the game had begun. To their surprise, the two Bot players of Team Skycrown could match Luocheng and Asmodai in every aspect¡ªBe it the fundamental skills, CS precision, hand speed, and reflex.


    Asmodai stared at the gray screen and hesitated about his next item purchase.


    Looking over at Luocheng, he asked, ¡°Where did you dig this ADC from?¡±


    ¡°He is known as Xiao Bei. He has always followed Team Wings in the past. His DOTA skills sucked but he was great at LOL. He is famous in the Korean server and has gained the Challenger title over there.¡±


    ¡°I thought Swan, Gull, and Crane, would be the tougher opponents in this team, but it turns out you guys have found such a talented ADC. His insight was excellent and his decision making was courageous. He saw through my disguise and pretended otherwise. I almost fumbled,¡± Asmodai said.


    Asmodai had used the brush to camouflage his intent. Common people would not be able to react in time, and he reckoned he could claim the kill without the opponent noticing, but in the end, he had been attacked first. Luckily he had managed to open his Barrier in time, otherwise, he would have gone for wool but come back shorn.


    ¡®Luckily he is an elite player, otherwise, my first-time team-up with Hawk would be meaningless!¡¯

 Chapter 203 - Formidable Team LM

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    This was the first time Luocheng had faced off against Xiao Bei as well. He had heard from Lin Dong about how strong Xiao Bei was before, and Xiao Bei¡¯s pub performances had attracted a great deal of interest from many professional teams to the point of offering him a position.


    It seemed that the innocent errand boy had mastered the art of MOBA while Luocheng had been absent. Even a top player like Asmodai was unable to overthrow him easily.


    Wu Sen¡¯s vigilance also left Luocheng with less attacking options. More so, Luocheng felt that Xiao Bei and Wu Sen formed a slightly better tag-team than the two bottom lane players from Fudan University.


    The skirmishes that broke out in the first 9 minutes were minor fights, resulting only in the equivalent exchange of champions. Both sides merely lost some minor experience from the lane. In the early phase, the mid-laner and Jungler from both teams acted as though they had made a pact to not meddle with the bottom lane. They had tacitly decided to let the players there sort things out by themselves.


    Nonetheless, that changed when Zhou Yan, who was using Lee Sin, began to infiltrate the Dragon¡¯s pit. Team fights erupted more frequently at the bottom lane after the fifteen-minute mark.


    It was a 4v4 team fight excluding the top-lane players. Entangled by the Dragon, Luocheng¡¯s Alistar and Wu Sen¡¯s Leona were in a tug of war to obtain better vision.


    Theoretically, Luocheng, with an extra Vision Ward, would have granted Team SHU more control over the imminent fight. However, Xiao Jia¡¯s jungling champion, Xin Zhao, had made a deadly mistake and wasted the advantage. Wu Sen jumped forth without hesitation and initiated a control skill on him. Focused attacks from Team Skycrown soon landed on Xin Zhao mercilessly.


    Judging by Ahri and Graves¡¯s burst damage, Xin Zhao could very well be killed before he could muster any damage.


    Hence, Luocheng charged in decisively, Flashing right in between Ahri and Xin Zhao.


    He shielded Xin Zhao from Ahri¡¯s Charm and instantly cast Alistar¡¯s ulti. After the control effects were cleansed, Alistar released his infamous WQ combo¡ªHeadbutt followed by Pulverize.


    Alistar¡¯s WQ combo was like a smaller scale form of his ulti, Unstoppable Force. The Minotaur slammed the ground violently after he dashed into the enemy crowd.


    Bam!!!


    The ground shattered like an epicenter, the quaking energy knocked all enemies into the air and stunned them briefly.


    The three backlines¡ªAhri, Graves, and Lee Sin were all controlled by Alistar¡¯s skill, and they faced grave danger as high-damage skills might instantly wipe them out.


    Unfortunately, Yang Ying responded a tad slower as he was surprised by Alistar¡¯s sudden charge. He cast Protect and hastily activated Orianna¡¯s Shockwave as soon as the Ball reached Alistar.


    The Shockwave spun inward and tried to pull the three champions under control toward the Ball¡­


    However, the three players reacted inhumanly fast. The players, as well as the audience, soon witnessed an unbelievable scene.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s Graves escaped just in time. He executed Flash before Orianna¡¯s Shockwave touched him once he regained control of his champion. This was followed by Lee Sin, who fled alongside Graves using Safeguard.


    Similarly, Ahri dashed sideways using Spirit Rush and continued to harass Xin Zhao after distancing herself from the pulling force.


    Yang Ying¡¯s ulti had failed to retain anyone in the end!


    Earlier on, Luocheng¡¯s WQ combo had perfectly intercepted the three champions, and this showed that the three of them were being caught out by Luocheng for being too focused on Xin Zhao.


    Yang Ying¡¯s reaction was adequately quick. Though slightly late, he did unleash Protect and had clicked on the R key afterward without much delay. It looked slick and the skill was perfectly placed as the Ball was on Alistar, the center point of the three champions. The ideal development was to trap the three enemy champions and a set of high damage combos would win them this fight.


    Yet, the three targets had escaped at the final second with exceptional reflexes. It gave a false impression that the three of them had come together on purpose and dismissed instantly once Orianna¡¯s ulti had reached them.


    If they had planned to embarrass Orianna, then they had succeeded. Yang Ying could feel his face turn red for missing such a fabulous opportunity. Their hand speed and reaction time was truly terrific.


    Luocheng was deep within the heart of the enemy siege, but who cared about a full HP Alistar that had used most of his skills? The Minotaur was no different than a melee minion in Team Skycrown¡¯s eyes now. They ignored the Support and focused fire on Xin Zhao.


    Luocheng cast Exhaust on Xiao Bei¡¯s Graves trying to deter him, but Xiao Bei didn¡¯t panic and continued to auto-attack while waiting patiently for the debuff to end.


    ¡®Well played, kid!¡¯


    Luocheng held Xiao Bei in higher regard now. His calm response amidst the Exhaust showed that he totally deserved the Challenger title.


    As for Xin Zhao, Luocheng had run out of options to help him. The Jungler¡¯s positioning mistake was truly fatal in such a high paced game.


    Xin Zhao tried to retaliate by attacking Ahri but to no avail. He was quickly put down by Graves¡¯ ulti when trying to Flash away.


    After they were done with the first target, Ahri and Lee Sin soon began to pursue Orianna and Twitch.


    Yang Ying instantly sped up and retreated along with Twitch, who sneaked away in camouflage. Alistar was definitely not of the enemies¡¯ interest. As a result, the pitiful Orianna that was within sight became the pursuers¡¯ next prey.


    ***


    Boom!


    Suddenly, the gigantic ¡°minion¡± was enraged.


    After his skills cooldown was completed, Alistar instantly turned from a 1350 ¡°minion¡± into a 6300 ferocious monster. His Pulverize once again knocked up the three main attackers from Team Skycrown.


    Alistar¡¯s Q was a rather demanding skill. He needed to be at the exact center point of all his targets to have the maximum impact.


    Luocheng¡¯s mastery of this skill was impeccable. How the hell had he managed to stun three champions simultaneously under the circumstances?


    ¡°F*ck it. I almost forgot this fellow was born to play Minotaurs. He was close to invincible using Minotaur back in the days when we played Warcraft 3C!¡± Lin Dong bellowed and watched helplessly as his Ahri was thrown up in midair while Orianna was getting further away.


    Warcraft 3C was the pioneer map of DOTA. Other than dominating the DOTA world, Luocheng had equally excelled in 3C gameplay. He was especially good at using Minotaur from the dark side back then.


    Both Minotaur in LOL and 3C shared a similar skillset, so to Luocheng, finding the precise circle center of Pulverize was a piece of cake.


    He he he!


    Suddenly, a sly laugh was heard coming from behind Alistar.


    Twitch¡¯s transparent figure emerged out of nowhere. He had been hiding in the brush and was already assaulting the enemy champions with his ulti, Spray and Pray!


    Leona was the first to fall. The champion was pierced by Twitch¡¯s venomous arrow and died before she could react in time.


    Twitch did not use its camouflage to run away, instead, he lingered around the brush and rounded the enemies safely thanks to a nearby Vision Ward to reunite with Alistar.


    By forecasting Alistar¡¯s CC skill timing, Twitch had cast his ulti implicitly and had successfully ambushed their pursuers from the back.


    When the enemies finally realized his presence, it was all too late. Alistar had successfully thrown them up and provided Twitch with enough time to land the final blow.


    In fact, Leona did discover Twitch¡¯s whereabouts, however, she was killed before Wu Sen could even hit the Flash key.


    A great gamer should be able to predict not only the enemy¡¯s skill, but also his teammate¡¯s skill instance.


    If Asmodai had launched his assault only after Luocheng had unleashed his CC skill, the available interval for the attack would then be cut short greatly. Asmodai had made the right call to attack a second earlier.


    Attacking before Alistar¡¯s stun was vital. Pulverise would stun the enemy for 1.5 seconds, meaning that Twitch would get 2.5 seconds to attack without disruption. If he had followed up only after the stun, then Twitch might only have gotten a single second to deal damage, which wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill anyone. Worse, he might put his champion in a sticky situation for being too greedy.


    The understanding between great players sometimes came naturally, and Asmodai had had unexplainable confidence that Luocheng could definitely provide him with the window he needed.


    Nevertheless, Asmodai was still shocked to see Luocheng once again catch all three champions in a single swoop. It was normal to see a Malphite miss-time his ulti, yet, Luocheng had been able to CC all three players at once with an adept maneuver. He was truly a world-class player in the past.


    The ample time allowed Twitch to keep up the pressure on Graves after killing Leona. Graves was forced to retreat while Lee Sin, who had more health, charged in courageously.


    Asmodai backed off a little while maintaining his pokes. Alistar always guarded ahead of Twitch even when they were retreating. The Minotaur was like a moving fortress and forbade Lee Sin any opportunity to approach Twitch.


    After being kited for a few seconds, Lee Sin was forced to give up and Safeguard to a nearby ward to retreat.


    One kill for one kill. The 4v4 skirmish near the Dragon¡¯s pit ended with Xin Zhao and Leona¡¯s deaths. Since both sides were in bad shape, neither of them was interested in getting the Dragon now.


    The only thing that annoyed the SHU students during the 4v4 fight was Kennen¡¯s outrageous play at the top lane.


    He blatantly crossed the inner tower and freely harvested the minions as soon as they exited the high ground.


    Xiao Jia had tried to intercept him several times but after gifting a double kill to Da Luo, the Jungler had given up on attempting and ignored the top lane altogether.


    ***


    While purchasing items at the fountain, Asmodai looked at the well-farmed Kennen and couldn¡¯t help but rub his forehead.


    The Top-solo Kennen had developed into a big headache, if he joined the fight, Team SHU basically had zero chances of winning.


    ¡°Can you counter this Kennen?¡± Asmodai asked Luocheng.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say,¡± Luocheng replied a little helplessly.


    Da Luo¡¯s individual skill was definitely respectable, otherwise, he would not have reached the long win streak all by himself. Luocheng couldn¡¯t be 100% sure that his Alistar was going to be able to stop Kennen judging by the current state.


    ¡°By the way, are you sure they have just come together recently?¡± Asmodai raised another question.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Luocheng nodded.


    From this match, Team Skycrown had played cohesively and didn¡¯t appear to be an amateur team.


    It seemed that they did not only watch porno during the day after all. The team must have trained hard during this period.


    On the other hand, members from the University E-Sports club were left speechless after watching the display so far.


    Team Skycrown was just a fresh team formed half-a-month ago, and Team SHU was even being aided by Asmodai and Luocheng¡ªtwo renowned MOBA players. Without them, they might have already been killed twenty times over and surrendered by now!


    Come on! Team SHU should be a team that could at least fight evenly against a third-tier professional team! In other words, Team Skycrown was indeed formidable, despite being a young LOL team!

 Chapter 204 - Disastrous Team Fight at the Baron’s Pit

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At the twenty-minute mark, both teams skirmished near the mid lane inner tower at Team SHU¡¯s side.


    Team SHU had given up hope on getting the Dragon, since their own red and blue buff had been conquered by Team Skycrown.


    This was inevitable as the balance had shifted heavily toward Team Skycrown once Kennen began to take part in the team fights.


    Finally, Team Skycrown was ready to go all out.


    Taking advantage of their high-pressing minion line, Team Skycrown was going to tower dive.


    This team fight was initiated by a successful charm from Ahri on Orianna. Orianna returned to safety using Flash just in time, but Team Skycrown charged directly under the tower like a group of madmen, and Orianna could only bolt out of fear.


    Xin Zhao had no choice but to come forward, using his ulti to push the enemies back. That didn¡¯t hold them back for long and he soon became the target of the enemies¡¯ firepower.


    Ahri¡¯s damage was completely devastating at the moment, and Xin Zhao, with low magic defense, was left with only half of his HP after he sustained a chain of skills from Ahri. Kennen, with his magic build, could finish him off at any time now.


    The trend for Xin Zhao now was to focus on a tank build, otherwise, he would not survive long enough to have an impact in a team fight.


    Xiao Jia was rather confident with this jungling champion. He was often the foundation of his team when playing Xin Zhao and had no problem tanking damage from several champions at the same time.


    However, in this match, he had failed most of his earlier ganks and did not develop well due to Lee Sin¡¯s counter-farm. He was still rather fragile despite the tank build and in most of the fights, he was, by default, the first to get killed.


    Xiao Jia¡¯s individual skill was supposed to be above that of Yang Ying¡¯s, but he ended up as the worst feeder in this game, and this greatly upset him.


    Following a painful shriek, Xin Zhao couldn¡¯t escape his fate and was killed by Ahri.


    Team Skycrown became more daring after the frontline of Team SHU collapsed.


    Da Luo saw his opportunity and directed Kennen to rush in with his ulti activated.


    Kennen sparkled as the fierce Shuriken Storm began to surround his body. It carried a demolishing aura that was going to engulf and destroy anything it crossed paths with.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s formation crumbled when they saw Kennen charge in with his horrifying ulti. Leona seized the opportunity and Flashed in to retain the four champions busy dodging Kennen with her ulti. This blocked their escape route and stripped away Team SHU¡¯s last straw of hope.


    Asmodai was seen furrowing his eyebrows. The combo play made by Leona and Kennen was executed close to perfection, and the four of them were most probably going to be buried under the tower.


    Luocheng was their only hope left. Whether they could survive this calamity relied heavily on Alistar¡¯s next move.


    Asmodai glanced at Alistar¡¯s position and realized he was pacing forward, his target none other than their greatest threat, Kennen.


    Asmodai nodded as he and Fighting Hawk were on the same page.


    This team fight was still salvageable if Alistar could knock Kennen back and keep him at bay.


    Alistar led the line and charged fearlessly toward Kennen, who was covered by the Shuriken Storm.


    Headbutt!


    Alistar flew in with his monstrous figure and pointed its horn right at the relatively tiny Kennen.


    Undaunted, Kennen ran straight into Alistar¡¯s Headbutt.


    Flash!


    Kennen suddenly disappeared from the original path right before the moment of impact.


    Alistar could only catch Kennen¡¯s shadow, and at the very next moment, Kennen reappeared far behind Alistar and continued to jump on Team SHU¡¯s main attackers.


    Luocheng watched in awe and was at a loss. Da Luo had known Luocheng was going to target him, so he had prepared to evade the skill using such an elegant way.


    Da Luo¡¯s maneuver impressed everyone inside the club room.


    It was common to see Kennen use Flash to instantly jump into the crowd after activating his ulti, but this was the first time they had witnessed how Kennen had used the Summoner Spell so precisely to evade the enemy¡¯s assault while still advancing toward the right direction.


    ¡®This guy named Da Luo is one hell of a player!¡¯


    ***


    Letting Kennen through meant they no longer had any hope to win this fight.


    Other than Asmodai who had escaped through the wall using Flash, the other Team SHU members were killed shortly, including Alistar.


    Twitch made use of his camouflage and conveniently brought down Lee Sin, who had been bearing the tower damage for his teammates, but after that, he could only sneak away and watch from afar as Team Skycrown took down the mid-lane inhibitor tower.


    After the inhibitor turret had collapsed, Team Skycrown moved back and looted the entire jungle next.


    Judging by the situation, a comeback for Team SHU was most probably not going to happen.


    ***


    Asmodai continued to clear the minion line at the bottom lane while Luocheng persisted in establishing vision for the team.


    Someone had to push back the minion waves after the mid lane was breached, otherwise, the other lanes would tumble easily as well.


    Asmodai peered at Luocheng. Sensing the attention, Luocheng said with a bitter smile, ¡°My bad, Da Luo is a clever guy.¡±


    Da Luo¡¯s timing of Flash had caught Luocheng off guard, and there was nothing he could do about it.


    The good news was, for the next five minutes, Kennen would be out of Flash. However, their chances of winning the next team fight in their current state was still rather slim, with or without Kennen in the mix.


    ¡°They have someone pushing the bottom lane. Follow me,¡± Asmodai said to Luocheng.


    Luocheng looked over at Twitch¡¯s position and immediately understood his intention.


    They took to the bottom lane and hid inside a small brush near the inner tower.


    It was a classic spot to set up an ambush. A lot of players would neglect the underlying danger here when pushing lanes, and this was exactly the mistake Xiao Bei was making now.


    Due to the advantage they had, Xiao Bei had carelessly marched into a deeper region, hoping to lure Team SHU out into defending the bottom lane while his team could divert and attack the Baron.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was for Twitch and Alistar to already be in position before him, and they stared coldly at his champion through the long blades of grass.


    Camouflage!


    Twitch walked silently up to Graves.


    Alistar was just at the edge of the brush, waiting for the moment when Graves would come within his range and¡­


    Headbutt, Pulverize!


    It was the classic WQ combo again. The Minotaur emerged from the grass and pinned on Graves¡¯ chest with his horn.


    Before Graves was knocked away, Pulverize hit first and forcefully knocked him up into the air.


    Twitch had begun to attack before Alistar had made his move, and the 1.5 second CC time was more than enough for him to land a great deal of damage.


    Graves was obviously panicked as he threw every skill he had clumsily, and in the end, Asmodai finished him off with little obstruction.


    ¡°To the Baron!¡± Luocheng and Asmodai said to the other three SHU members, almost at the same time.


    Great players often think alike. The successful ambush and instant target diversion to Baron Nashor had slightly tilted the balance of the game back to Team SHU¡¯s favor.


    Everyone in the game, including Team Skycrown that had lost their ADC, swiftly gathered near the Baron¡¯s pit.


    Baron Nashor was the only chance that Team SHU had now. If they could hold firm to it, then Asmodai and Luocheng would have saved them from the edge of an embarrassing defeat.


    The onlookers were keen to witness such a development.


    They were no doubt, godlike players. Their actions always brought a light of hope, even when all seemed lost.


    ***


    Luocheng began to counter the opponent¡¯s ward while his teammates took on Baron Nashor, but he was infuriated when he realized Zhou Yan had planted a long row of wards along the cliff. He had to walk up the dangerous cliff if he wished to deny them all.


    Firstly, this would stall him and reduce his time in guarding his team against the Baron; secondly, Ahri and Kennen could exhaust his HP as much as possible while he denied a ward. Hence, he gave up and fought the Baron with his team under broad daylight.


    Kennen was still without his Flash making it difficult for him to control a few heroes simultaneously like the last time.


    Twitch was well farmed, although the entire game disfavored team SHU, he had only died once but killed seven. On top of that, his CS was the highest among all players at 250. Hence, their speed at harvesting the Baron was faster than expected.


    With the Baron¡¯s health getting lower and lower, Team Skycrown could no longer stand aside and rounded toward the entrance of Baron¡¯s pit.


    Kennen was again at the forefront with his ulti equipped. He must have seen Alistar charge out, so he activated Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass before he entered the pit. His sole purpose was to seal off the pit entrance.


    Suddenly, Lee Sin jumped down from the rear of the pit. He went straight toward Twitch after landing but found that Twitch had agilely hidden behind Xin Zhao.


    Without many options, he turned to the nearest target and kicked Orianna toward Kennen¡¯s raging Shuriken Storm.


    The kick was executed brilliantly, not only did it send Orianna flying, it also knocked Xin Zhao and Alistar away before Orianna fell into Kennen¡¯s ulti range.


    Yang Ying had not had enough farm to build Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, and could only watch in silence as Orianna was helplessly kicked away and then electrocuted by Kennen¡¯s outrageously high damage.


    Kennen was blockading the entrance; Leona had called upon the Solar Flare into the pit; while Ahri stayed safely behind Kennen and continued to pile up damage on Team SHU. In that instance, Team SHU felt like they were being harassed behind a closed door, and Luocheng¡¯s Alistar was powerless in such a situation.


    Twitch moved relentlessly and used his high damage to kill Lee Sin quickly, but just as he began to aim at Kennen, most of his comrades were already on the verge of death.


    As Graves reached in time to put on the final touch, the team war in the Baron Pit concluded with Team SHU being wiped out.


    ¡®What a disastrous ending!¡¯


    The one-sided ¡°manslaughter¡± was unbearable to watch.


    Obviously, even Asmodai and Luocheng were unable to salvage this huge disparity in strength.


    Xiao Jia, Yang Ying, and Jinbei stared at their grayed screen blankly. They didn¡¯t know how to face Asmodai and Luocheng, who had created chance after chance for the team even when they fed so hard.


    They resignedly clicked on the surrender button.


    ¡®Next game. We are going to come back stronger next game.¡¯


    Four players clicked on ¡®agree¡¯ and the game ended with Team SHU admitting defeat.


    It was a regrettable result, they were simply overwhelmed by Team Skycrown¡¯s prowess.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just try to play better in the next game,¡± Asmodai maintained his composure and consoled the three of them.


    They nodded and swore not to fail in the same way again during the next game.

 Chapter 205 - Massacre, Asmodais True Colors I

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After some slight adjustments, they entered the second game.


    In the second match, Xiao Bei had chosen his favorite champion¡ªVayne, the Night Hunter.


    Every ADC player in LOL had a soft spot for Vayne in their hearts. Luocheng¡¯s Vayne loved to dance on the razor¡¯s edge; Shallow Dream¡¯s Vayne was sharp and tranquil; what would Xiao Bei, the strongest Vayne in the national server¡¯s style be then?


    Asmodai immediately picked Caitlyn, which was an obvious counter pick to face off Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne.


    Luocheng had chosen Thresh. This champion was now one of his polished heroes, and his win ratio using Thresh was about to surpass that of Blitzcrank.


    Wu Sen took Zyra after that, which was a rather standard pick.


    After the opening wards had been placed, Asmodai realized that Team Skycrown¡¯s Jax was at the top lane and signaled Luocheng. ¡°They may have switched lanes.¡±


    Luocheng bore the same opinion, so he purposely sneaked to the top lane and placed another ward there.


    As expected, Zhou Yan had started the game at the red buff zone. Vayne and Zyra were there to help him secure the buff.


    Xiao Bei and Wu Sen were baffled when they found Luocheng and Asmodai at the top lane just like them.


    Ultimately, a Thresh-Caitlyn tag team was definitely the stronger team during the laning phase, making it difficult for Vayne to develop properly now as their plan to switch lanes had been seen through.


    ***


    In this match, Asmodai had used Caitlyn to show them all why he was considered one of the top ADCs in this country, and Xiao Bei didn¡¯t stand a chance under his ruthlessness.


    Six minutes in, Caitlyn was already leading by more than twenty creeps without much help from Thresh. Most of the time, Vayne couldn¡¯t even get near to gain experience, let alone CS.


    Luocheng had witnessed how Shallow Dream played Caitlyn before. Her Caitlyn was more unpredictable, sometimes she was tranquil like dead water, but sometimes, it was as if she might strike anytime like a bolt of lightning. You would always be a step slower when you tried to initiate an attack on her.


    Asmodai¡¯s Caitlyn was a little different. He would utilize every single opportunity to crush the enemy, playing more aggressively and leaving no breathing room for his opponent.


    In terms of Caitlyn, Luocheng couldn¡¯t tell who had mastered the champion better, be it Asmodai or Shallow Dream.


    In this match, Wu Sen and Xiao Bei were completely shadowed by Asmodai¡¯s outstanding play, Xiao Bei already having died twice at the early stage.


    Xiao Bei was forced to call upon Zhou Yan¡¯s assistance in the face of Asmodai¡¯s supremacy, but the huge advantage built had rendered Zhou Yan¡¯s gank largely ineffective. Whenever they thought they had Asmodai cornered, Luocheng would bail his teammate out through his stellar use of the Dark Passage.


    Luocheng and Asmodai played even more in sync in this second round.


    Lin Dong and Zhou Yan had tried several times to gank the top lane, regretfully, none of the attempts had turned out positive. As a result, not only was Xiao Bei¡¯s farm continuously stalled, but the mid and bottom lanes had its outer turret demolished by Team SHU as well.


    Luocheng and Asmodai¡¯s objective in this game was clear. They pressured Xiao Bei and Wu Sen relentlessly so that Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid and Jungler had to rally to the top lane more frequently. They made use of their outstanding skill and finesse to draw the enemies¡¯ grudge onto them and survived every gank coming their way. This created a lot of space for their teammates to destroy the other two lanes, which snowballed into a vast economic advantage.


    ¡°Asmodai is absurdly strong. Despite the constant pressings and ganks by four enemies, Asmodai¡¯s CS is still way above Vayne¡¯s!¡± Jian Feng exclaimed after he saw Asmodai¡¯s farm.


    No matter how Lin Dong and Zhou Yan had tried to pin down Asmodai and Luocheng, Asmodai was still able to retain a consistent CS rate. They did not lose a single tower, had not been killed, were not afraid of 2v3 situations, and always looked to be the more dominant side in a 2v2 situation.


    In this second match, Asmodai had finally exhibited his convincing skills as a top-notch professional ADC in this country. He was like a duck to water when aided by such a masterful SP like Luocheng. A 3 to 4 person gank was never going to stop Asmodai at his best.


    ***


    After switching lanes, Jinbei had gone solo at the bottom lane, and with some help from Xiao Jia, Jinbei was able to maintain a healthy development and did not flop like the last match.


    He pushed up the lane steadily after seeing his opponent, Riven, had gone back to replenish her supply. He planned to grind down the inner tower using this opening.


    The minions had reached the tower and Riven was still nowhere to be seen. Jinbei had no fear of Riven now, thus, he moved forward bravely to attack the tower.


    But Riven still did not surface even after the inner tower¡¯s HP had been halved, and Jinbei suddenly realized the possible reason and hurriedly signaled the two top lane players to retreat.


    ¡®Sh*t! Riven is probably at the top lane!¡¯


    ¡°Riven is missing! Be careful!¡± Jinbei shouted to his teammates.


    Luocheng and Asmodai were still fighting hard to defend the top lane turret with low HP levels. They both frowned when they heard Jinbei¡¯s warning.


    ¡®Da Luo¡¯s Riven is hidden behind the wall, we are surrounded!¡¯


    Brand was not at the mid lane and Elise had disappeared from the map for quite a while. They did not have any vision at the moment, completely surrounded by total darkness at the top lane¡¯s outer turret.


    Even though they saw no sign of the enemy, Asmodai and Luocheng could sense the imminent danger!


    They were cornered and had no way to escape.


    ¡®How hated are we to have five of them coming at us?¡¯


    Luocheng¡¯s face darkened. He knew Team Skycrown was hiding in the shadows and they were waiting patiently for the minions to enter the tower. They would mercilessly claim their heads and the tower, and then march all the way to the high ground.


    Asmodai¡¯s situation was not looking too good as well. Teaming up with Luocheng, they were destined to become the opponent¡¯s primary targets. They could hold back three enemies, maybe even survive four, but taking on the entire team? Even Asmodai, despite his sky-high confidence, didn¡¯t think they could escape a five-man siege unscathed with just the two of them.


    The minion wave would be reaching soon and they had no place to run and would die either way. Their teammates had realized the ambush too late and wouldn¡¯t be able to come to their rescue in time. Moreover, they wouldn¡¯t be of any help even if they were here, for Team Skycrown had taken a more strategic positioning.


    Asmodai glanced at Luocheng asking him silently for an escape plan. Both of them did not have Flash at the moment.


    Luocheng appeared to be a little enraged¡­


    It was hard to blame him, anyone would be infuriated if they were being treated this way by their old comrades.


    ***


    Da Luo smirked in the dark, the Runic Blade in Riven¡¯s hand was eager to taste blood.


    The reason why Riven had not charged yet was to wait for the minions and his teammates to be in place. As Elise and Zyra had cut off the retreat route, now, they were only waiting for Brand to press in from the lane.


    ¡®Okay, it¡¯s time to take action!¡¯


    Da Luo already had his finger on the D key. He was going to Flash inside the tower at the very next second to secure the two swift kills.


    Schwaff!


    All of a sudden, a scythe appeared abruptly and hooked Riven accurately.


    Da Luo was stunned, never expecting Luocheng to find his hideout when there was no vision available.


    But the successful hook changed nothing, Asmodai and Luocheng were still being sieged by team Skycrown¡ªTwo approaching from the front, two from the back, and Da Luo from behind the wall!


    At the next moment, Thresh let loose a ghastly cry and turned into a phantom, his ghostly figure sliding through the wall along the chain of his scythe and landed right in front of Riven.


    The smile on Da Luo¡¯s face immediately froze. He instantly grasped what Luocheng was up to and shouted to his teammates, ¡°Do not siege the tower, come to me.! They¡¯re trying to escape through here!¡±


    Just as he finished yelling, Thresh threw his Soul Lantern backward and passaged Caitlyn safely out from the death trap. Fray was then cast and Riven was pushed backward by it.


    Luocheng was insanely quick, first using Thresh¡¯s ulti to delay the pursuers from the back, and then casting Exhaust on Riven to slow her down before she could react in time.


    For his part, Asmodai also made no delay, commanding Caitlyn to recoil further with her E-90 Caliber Net and hastily dashing away through the route above the Baron¡¯s pit.


    Riven tried to catch up to Caitlyn with her Flash despite the Exhaust debuff, however, his effort was neutralized by the shield placed on Caitlyn by Yang Ying¡¯s Morgana.


    ¡°Damn! Mission abort! Fall back, fall back!¡± Da Luo bellowed as he clumsily evaded Morgana¡¯s binding and retreated quickly.


    Lin Dong, Wu Sen, Xiao Bei, and Zhou Yan were rushing to Lin Dong by that time, only to realize that Luocheng and Asmodai had reunited with their teammates.


    Looking at the turret with a tiny bit of HP left, the five members of Team Skycrown peered at each other, not knowing what to say.


    They had messed up the sure kill. Apart from feeling resigned for missing a golden opportunity, the five members of Team Skycrown were more amazed by how Luocheng had orchestrated the escape.


    A lot of people only knew how to use Thresh¡¯s Death Sentence during an attack, as this champion often used it to bring along a teammate after a successful hook to speed up the kill.


    Who would have thought that this skill could also be used to flee? Not only did he masterfully escape the surrounded tower, but he had also saved Caitlyn from a checkmate situation.


    They had been Luocheng¡¯s teammates in the past, but even to this day, they were still often baffled by their ex-captain¡¯s wit and grit in the face of danger. He was as capable as ever in achieving the impossible!


    ***


    The atmosphere inside the club room had long boiled over!


    It was an eye-popping display of skill. Normal people would have given up resisting and yet, Luocheng had found the lifeline and safely escaped what initially seemed to be an unavoidable gank.


    He first passed through the wall by tethering on Riven without any vision; then passaged his team¡¯s ADC into safety; followed by Exhaust on Riven; and finally, his ulti to delay the pursuer. These series of actions were carried out flawlessly by him within such a short span of time.


    This SP was simply breathtaking!


    Luocheng¡¯s in-game performance as an SP prior to this was nothing extraordinary. He was merely complementing Asmodai¡¯s moves.


    But after the previous scene, the people inside the room finally understood why this person had been able to reach the pinnacle of MOBA. His mind did not perceive things like how a normal person was wired to. How could he think of such a mind-blowing method when he was confronted by five players?


    Asmodai couldn¡¯t help but give Luocheng a big thumbs up too. This wonderful escape was more thrilling than obtaining a Penta Kill!


    Right now, Asmodai¡¯s eyes shone with a greater flare! Fighting Hawk had demonstrated his poise to him, now, it was time for him to return the favor.


    ¡®There are five of them? Be my guest! With such a powerful SP by my side, I am going to fight them all!¡¯


    Asmodai did not focus on running, instead, he began to open fire frantically at Riven, utilizing Caitlyn¡¯s range and the high ground advantage. He was clearly going for retaliation even though there were four of them!

 Chapter 206 - Massacre, Asmodais True Colors II

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Thanks to Caitlyn¡¯s super long range, the wall was not a hindrance, but a natural shelter to her. The gap between the walls had also been shut tight by her teammates, and such a sniping position was the most comfortable one an ADC could ever dream of.


    As Yang Ying dived toward Team Skycrown using Morgana¡¯s ulti, Asmodai leaned behind the wall and attacked Riven with a flurry of shots. Riven in turn tried to escape, but was detained by Elise.


    Right after he had snapped out of Elise¡¯s stun, Thresh¡¯s Death Sentence arrived next. Riven had just gotten out desperately from Morgana¡¯s Soul Shackles, only to be dragged right back into the skill range.


    The non-stop CC made Riven¡¯s resistance futile, and she quickly succumbed to Caitlyn¡¯s Headshot!


    ***


    Morgana¡¯s Soul Shackles did not catch a lot of targets as Team Skycrown always managed to disengage appropriately when struck by such an AoE CC skill.


    When the 2.5-second invincibility granted by Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass ended, she immediately became the main aim of Team Skycrown. Zyra¡¯s Grasping Roots, Vayne¡¯s ulti, and Brand¡¯s skills with burst damage were all thrown at Morgana.


    Yang Ying had placed Morgana in an awful position, and after giving up her Soul Shackles and stasis, Morgana¡¯s death was inevitable.


    Luocheng frowned after Morgana died in such a rapid fashion. He had not done much other than retaining the opponent¡¯s jungler and the dead Riven.


    Yang Ying had timed his charge and Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass activation way too early making his death a little worthless, since his courageous attack had not even forced out Zyra¡¯s ulti.


    After Morgana had been killed, only Thresh, Elise, and Caitlyn, were left in the jungle.


    Luocheng did not move forward recklessly as his remaining HP was not going to hold up against Team Skycrown¡¯s high damage.


    Xiao Jia was wiser too, this time, he did not charge forward but remained alongside Asmodai like Luocheng. This ensured Asmodai¡¯s safety and allowed him to attack without worries.


    Thresh and Elise¡¯s control skills would create enough space for Caitlyn to deliver her maximum damage.


    The four members from Team Skycrown began to close in on Team SHU after Morgana was killed. The first that rushed in was Jax, and he planned to break Team SHU apart with Counter Strike.


    He was followed by Vayne, Brand, and Zyra that still possessed Stranglethorns. Thresh slid to the side the first time.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Stranglethorns!


    The vines intertwined like numerous mambas were twitching their bodies, and the thorns spread out and would knock any enemy they came into contact with up into the air.


    Caitlyn immediately cast Protect and switched between attacking and moving proficiently, not stopping her barrage of attacks on Jax while evading the vines that reeled ferociously toward her. If Caitlyn was hit and stunned, Jax¡¯s damage would be enough to take her life before she regained consciousness.


    Nevertheless, she was fearless amidst the emerging vines and stood firm, maintaining her offense on Jax.


    The Stranglethorns finally broke through the ground and Caitlyn lit the Soul Lantern at the final second and glided away from Zyra¡¯s thorns as graceful as a spirit.


    She landed beside Thresh once again and even across the wall, Caitlyn had not loosened up her attacks on Jax.


    Jax had run out of options and could only save himself by casting another round of Counter Strike and retreated behind his comrades.


    Caitlyn did not advance further as Brand was coming in quickly. However, she was not daunted by Brand, a well-known nemesis of ADCs. Ordinary ADC players would have backed off a long time ago when they saw Brand with a full arsenal lurching toward them.


    Locked in behind the wall, Asmodai clicked on Brand furiously. Brand did not flinch despite the heavy fire, ignoring Thresh who walked past him and focused his skill on Caitlyn behind the wall.


    The Pillar of Flame began to muster beneath Caitlyn and she used Caitlyn¡¯s E-90 Caliber Net reflectively to evade yet another deadly skill from Team Skycrown.


    The fiery Peacemaker coming out from Caitlyn¡¯s gun penetrated Brand¡¯s body, the latter instantly losing half of his HP.


    Lin Dong looked at Caitlyn¡¯s HP, which only had about a third left. He still had two skills available, so if Caitlyn dared to come forward, he could easily put the Sheriff down.


    He marched on despite Brand being slowed, however, after two steps forward, Thresh¡¯s Scythe suddenly flew in from the sidewall and hooked him right on his chest.


    Lin Dong was startled at first, but then he grinned.


    ¡®F*ck if I care! I don¡¯t believe Asmodai has the guts to come out from hiding!¡¯


    Pew! Pew!


    A headshot sandwiched by two normal hits pounded on Brand¡¯s face. Lin Dong¡¯s expression froze and he cursed, ¡°How dare he!¡±


    After those three hits, Brand was left with only a quarter of his HP.


    Lin Dong pressed on the E-key nonstop, trying to cast Ignite on Caitlyn the moment Thresh¡¯s CC time was up.


    After securing the three hits, Caitlyn retreated to safety hastily. Brand chased after her but just as he was about to reach her, the cunning Sheriff made a sharp turn and stepped into the fog!


    Nothing was more exasperating than this. She had disappeared from Brand¡¯s sight just when he thought that he had gotten her with his lock-on skill.


    What was even more annoying was that he had then been repelled backward by Thresh¡¯s Fray, and not only that, he had been slowed once again. Before he could attempt to take his revenge, Thresh had long rushed back into the brush.


    ¡°Calibrating¡­ Target marked.¡±


    From a shade not too far away, a red aiming line suddenly pointed at Brand¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Lin Dong couldn¡¯t help but bawl.


    A second later, a bullet wrapped in raging flames was fired out from the dark spot, exploding right on Brand¡¯s body.


    Boom!


    The clean shot snatched away Brand¡¯s final bar of HP, and he turned into a pile of ash that floated miserably to the ground.


    Thresh emerged from the brush and strolled above Brand¡¯s burnt corpse with a HP amount that could have easily been emptied if Brand had still been alive.


    Thresh purposely paused in front of Brand¡¯s corpse and taunted him by swaying his Scythe, clearly mocking Lin Dong¡¯s naivety.


    Imagining the satisfaction on Luocheng¡¯s face, while Lin Dong¡¯s face turned gloomy and mumbled, ¡®I should have thrown all my skills at your f*cking face, you son of a b*tch!¡¯


    ***


    Brand had been equipped with a blue buff, and after the buff had been transferred to Caitlyn due to the kill, she became even more daunting!


    Suddenly, Caitlyn raised her hand and the Piltover Peacemaker was fired out from her shotgun without warning.


    The Peacemaker whistled through the air, and while everyone was still questioning why she had released a random shot, the DOUBLE KILL announcement shocked everyone inside the room!


    It was Jax!


    Even when being threatened by the aggressive Brand, Caitlyn had not missed Jax¡¯s movement, who had planned to sneak up from the flank.


    His insight and prediction on the skill projectile was masterclass, and Luocheng, who was looking over at Jax¡¯s remains, couldn¡¯t hold back his smile.


    Zhou Yan, just like Lin Dong, had underestimated Asmodai. They should not have tried to apply a bully¡¯s tactic that was effective only against the commoners, on a true professional like Asmodai.


    Watching Jax fall to Caitlyn, Lin Dong took off his earphones and gestured a thumbs down to Zhou Yan who was seated one seat away.


    Zhou Yan could only respond with a bitter laugh. ¡®This Asmodai is scarily observant. He definitely had no vision over me just now but he must have guessed my intention when I passed by Elise who had just been killed not too long ago.¡¯


    He had been planning to sacrifice himself so that when Xiao Bei and Wu Sen arrived, Vayne could harvest the kill easily¡­


    ¡®Well, I am too na?ve.¡¯


    ¡°Xiao Bei, Wu Sen, we¡¯re counting on the two of you,¡± Zhou Yan said.


    Xiao Bei nodded, he was approaching the warzone fast after they had exterminated Elise.


    Vayne was in a relatively healthy condition now, brimming with the confidence to defeat Caitlyn if they fought head-on.


    Zyra led the way and they bumped into the heavily wounded Thresh first.


    Flash!


    Zyra was decisive, using Grasping Roots immediately as soon as he got close to Thresh.


    Thresh was unable to juke himself away from the skill as the whole area had been infested by Zyra¡¯s Stranglethorns.


    ¡®That¡¯s too much. You didn¡¯t have to use Flash to kill me!¡¯ Luocheng could only watch helplessly as Vayne came forth and ended his overdue survival.


    Pew! Pew!


    Caitlyn didn¡¯t have much HP left but she still attacked valiantly. Zyra¡¯s HP dropped insanely quickly within the short time frame that Thresh had been holding her at bay.


    Wu Sen hastily dragged Zyra back to hide behind Vayne. He reckoned Asmodai would not be bold enough to move forward. After all, Vayne could have easily finished her off judging by Caitlyn¡¯s limited HP. Unexpectedly, Asmodai was fiercer than he¡¯d thought, ignoring the approaching Vayne and firing one last shot at Zyra.


    ¡®Phew¡­ That was close¡­¡¯


    But his luck did not last long, as the true damage from the red buff eventually reduced Zyra¡¯s HP to zero.


    ¡°Argh~¡±


    Zyra turned into a bud after letting out a painful shriek.


    ¡°Damn it! You two have gifted him double buffs!¡± Wu Sen scolded his teammates with great dissatisfaction.


    The blue buff was from Lin Dong while the red buff had been given by Jax, and the double buffs had turned Caitlyn into a brutal killing machine. Asmodai was simply unstoppable!


    Zhou Yan and Lin Dong immediately pretended that they were busy choosing equipment and didn¡¯t hear or see Wu Sen¡¯s angry expression.


    TRIPLE KILL!


    From being cornered to garnering a triple kill, Asmodai had completed an unimaginable comeback!


    In fact, the kill on Riven also belonged to Asmodai, but it was not counted in the streak, as she was killed a tad earlier.


    So theoretically, Asmodai had amassed a quadra kill!


    Not to forget this was done in a 4v5 situation.


    Asmodai¡¯s strength as a top ADC in the country was laid bare in this match, and even the members of Team Skycrown with incredible personal skills had fallen one after another under his Caitlyn¡¯s gunpoint.


    Such was Asmodai¡¯s true colors under his gentle appearance. He was showcasing a massacre here!

 Chapter 207 - Stick to the SP’s Rhythm

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Caitlyn¡¯s E-90 Caliber Net now had a shorter cooldown thanks to the blue buff.


    After he had bagged the kill on Zyra, Asmodai skilfully recoiled with Caitlyn¡¯s E to instantly distance his champion away from Vayne.


    Xiao Bei was clearly displeased to see Caitlyn duck back into the turret safely. He closed in rapidly, relying on the champion¡¯s innate effect, Night Hunter.


    Caitlyn stepped back slightly and used her Snap Trap to hinder Vayne¡¯s march.


    Vayne rounded the trap and Tumbled forward into an attacking position, firing a standard sequence of Vayne¡¯s QEA combo on Caitlyn.


    The passive effect of Silver Bolts was triggered and that finally terminated the terrifying Caitlyn¡¯s life.


    Caitlyn refused to go down without a fight. She had fired at least three shots on Vayne before succumbing to death, and the slow effect provided by the red buff detained Vayne inside the tower¡¯s range for a couple more seconds.


    The turret attacked Vayne brutally despite his enormous effort to get out of its range.


    Although he had managed to kill Caitlyn, Vayne¡¯s HP didn¡¯t seem to be enough to withstand the tower¡¯s assault.


    Finally, just when he was about to escape the tower¡¯s periphery, one last destructive ray came crashing down on her.


    QUADRAKILL!!


    The majestic announcement immediately shook the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    This signified the ultimate closure of the heart-clenching fight. The Snap Trap block and red buff slow by Caitlyn had made sure that Vayne didn¡¯t get to escape the turret in time. Xiao Bei had become the fourth victim under Asmodai¡¯s remarkable play.


    To be more precise, Riven¡¯s life had also been taken by Asmodai. This would be a glorious Pentakill if the system had not ruled Riven¡¯s death out of the killing streak.


    His status as the top ADC in the country was on full display here, he had declared his authority with a jaw-dropping performance.


    At the bottom lane, Jinbei continued his solo push.


    He had chosen not to take part in the fight because he reckoned his arrival may at best help his team get one more kill, hence, he was better off taking down a turret instead.


    But he never would have seen this coming. He was astonished at how the team fight ended, with Asmodai completely annihilating the entire opponent team.


    This opened up the bottom lane for him, and he did not waste the opportunity given and pushed all the way into the high ground. There was a good chance that he would be able to demolish the inhibitor tower as well.


    Team Skycrown was distraught watching their inhibitor tower being dismantled, the previous team fight had been devastating for them. The fight itself and the loss of the inhibitor tower might be trivial in comparison to the overall picture, but their greatest concern was on the five kills captured single-handedly by Asmodai.


    The upcoming team fights would be tough if Asmodai was not dealt with first.


    ¡°Do you think you can kill him instantly?¡± Lin Dong asked Da Luo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask such a stupid question, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know how strong Asmodai is. This sucker is possibly the most disgusting ADC I have ever faced. His positioning, juking, and ability to find cover is out of this world. Maybe, just maybe, it could be possible if I have Flash, but without that¡­ Pfft¡­¡± Da Luo grumbled.


    Da Luo had come across Asmodai in the Ionia serve before, so he clearly understood what Asmodai was best at.


    ¡°We still have Zhou Yan. I can¡¯t believe the two of you couldn¡¯t kill a single ADC.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Do you think Luocheng¡¯s Thresh is a decorative piece?¡± Da Luo rebuked.


    Lin Dong and Xiao Bei knew Luocheng better as an ADC, and they seldom saw him in the SP position like in these two games.


    They had definitely seen enough, though. Judging by his Alistar¡¯s performance in the last game and Thresh¡¯s superiority in the current game, killing the ADC was close to impossible as long as he was still alive.


    Jax had been repelled by Thresh¡¯s Fray the last time he had tried to jump on Caitlyn. Thresh had multiple skills to exploit, such as Exhaust, Fray, Scythe hook, and The Box. To be frank, even if Jax and Riven had tried to storm in on Caitlyn forcefully together, they still wouldn¡¯t have the confidence to kill the ADC who was under Thresh¡¯s protection.


    Furthermore, this was a tip-top ADC they were talking about here.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try setting up another fight. If we lose that too, then it¡¯s time to ask for a mid-end,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ***


    The next fight showed that Luocheng was indeed more abominable than Zhou Yan and Da Luo had imagined.


    After Da Luo and Zhou Yan had spent all of their efforts to go through Thresh¡¯s series of skills, and finally reached Caitlyn, Thresh¡¯s magical lantern had managed to get Caitlyn out from the sticky situation yet again.


    Meanwhile, the two of them were like two rabbits that had accidentally fallen into the lion¡¯s lair as Morgana and Elise¡¯s control skills fell upon them immediately. One Support player, namely Luocheng, was troublesome enough. Turned out the Jungler and Mid of Team SHU had also changed their roles into Support and were now protecting Caitlyn¡­


    Almost the entire Team SHU was playing the Support role now!


    After Da Luo and Zhou Yan were killed pathetically, Luocheng once again swayed Thresh¡¯s Scythe arrogantly in front of their champions¡¯ dead bodies, leaving a bad taste in Zhou Yan and Da Luo¡¯s mouth.


    The team fight ended without much suspense and Team SHU went all the way into the high ground through the mid lane.


    Team Skycrown had given up on resisting and allowed their opponents to destroy the nexus freely.


    The second game went to Team SHU.


    Luocheng and Asmodai had carried their team all the way to victory in this match, deliberately making themselves the opponents¡¯ main target, so that their teammates had enough time and space to sweep the middle and bottom lanes.


    Asmodai had kept his economy the highest throughout the game despite the oppression, and the Pentakill had made him unbeatable for the rest of the game.


    In subsequent team fights, Luocheng had blatantly gone with the three Supports strategy and completely crushed Team Skycrown¡¯s plan to assassinate Asmodai.


    After the defeat, Team Skycrown concluded the game with two lessons learned.


    Firstly, Asmodai was insanely strong. He was difficult to press against and unbelievably powerful when farmed. Asmodai was going to be a horrifying rival that would haunt their professional journey in LOL.


    Secondly, Luocheng was as great a Support as he was an ADC. He was such a big headache to the opposing team. If you tried to kill him, the ADC behind him would have enough time to return the favor. If you left him alone, he would use all sorts of tactics to harass you and even take your life in the process. He had mastered the art of using a Support while only having to do limited farming. His firm stance as a supportive player had successfully drawn out the full power of a talented ADC like Asmodai.


    Team Skycrown would have defeated Team SHU with ease if it hadn¡¯t been for the two of them. They had raised the bar of the game by several folds.


    ¡°Damn you, Luocheng! Come fight me at the top lane if you have balls! I will beat the hell out of you!¡± Da Luo yelled through the QQ voice chat, obviously furious and wanting revenge on Luocheng.


    ¡°Hehe, I would never play solo-top.¡± Luocheng ignored his provocation.


    ¡®Fighting Da Luo at the top lane?¡¯


    Da Luo¡¯s skills and experiences as a top lane player were perhaps greater than most professional gamers, and while Luocheng may have been able to bully normal players at the top lane, against Da Luo¡­ That was just suicidal¡­


    Team Skycrown actually knew Luocheng very well. Behind Luocheng¡¯s inspiring story as a legendary MOBA player, deep down he was actually a terrible man. It was rumored that once, a prideful international player had smashed his keyboard after being verbally abused by their shameless captain.


    Sometimes, it was really hard to regard Luocheng as a MOBA player with good sportsmanship. He was willing to do all kinds of immoral conduct, such as mocking, spamming, harassing, and farm hogging, just to provoke the person he disliked. Team Skycrown had seen this guy through thoroughly.


    Today was one such example. They had played into Luocheng¡¯s hands and were frequently distracted at the top lane.


    Truth to be told, if Team Skycrown had played following the script and had conquered the other two lanes first, the game would have been hardly recoverable for Team SHU even with Luocheng and Asmodai¡¯s help.


    ¡°Third round. Let¡¯s start quickly!¡± Da Luo was unsatisfied, it tormented him mentally for allowing Luocheng to get away through his Riven.


    ¡°There is not going to be a third round,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°F*ck! What type of match ends in two games? It¡¯s either the best of 3 or the best of 5. Let¡¯s play one more to decide the winner,¡± Da Luo bellowed.


    ¡°This is just a friendly match, we will stop here,¡± Luocheng said decisively.


    He was not going to play the third match no matter what.


    The reason was simple. No matter which lane he and Asmodai chose, they would be ganked brainlessly in the next game.


    During the second game, although they were also being constantly outnumbered, at least it was done after Wu Sen and Xiao Bei had completely lost the early laning phase.


    They could withstand a gank that intensified gradually, but if the opponent team was coming at them from the start, like a five-person gank at level 3, or bombardment by ultis at level 6, or even mindless ward placements to oppress them¡­


    They couldn¡¯t even gain experience if that happened, not to mention farming.


    Luocheng was never going to play a game that was destined to fail.


    ¡®One win and one loss. This was an acceptable result, let¡¯s put an end to this.¡¯ Luocheng was satisfied with the performance of both sides. He had also regained the long-forgotten joy of playing a professional game after teaming up with Asmodai.


    Team SHU bore the same opinion as Luocheng. They preferred not to have a third game as it was going to be a one-sided butchery anyway.


    Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t do anything when their ex-teammate was being this unreasonable.


    ***


    ¡°Asmodai, you have played two games with us so you must have some understanding of our team. Could you tell us frankly what differentiates us from the professional team? I feel like we are at a bottleneck now and we don¡¯t know what and how to improve,¡± Xiao Jia asked for his opinion sincerely.


    ¡°You guys lack the big picture and in-game rhythm. The support always comes way too slow,¡± Asmodai said honestly.


    A good team would never allow a 5v2 situation to manifest, and Asmodai felt that Team SHU still had a lot to improve on.


    ¡°Then, what should we do?¡± Xiao Jia queried.


    Asmodai smiled and pointed at Luocheng, ¡°Stick to his rhythm and the team will immediately improve by a great margin.¡±


    ¡°Stick to the Support¡¯s rhythm?¡± Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Jinbei looked at each other.


    It wasn¡¯t that they were doubting Luocheng¡¯s prowess, but he was just a Support after all, how were they going to improve by following his rhythm? Were they going to surrender the ADC¡¯s farm to him as well?


    ¡°His perception of the game is way more excellent than anyone in this room. You will do no wrong following his command, besides, don¡¯t you know that most professional team captains actually play the Support role?¡± Asmodai explained.

 Chapter 208 - A Warm Winter

    Chapter 208: A Warm Winter


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yang Ying felt fortunate that he had not intervened in his sister¡¯s relationship with Luocheng. Their hope to claim the top eight spots in the national competition was greatly boosted with the addition of the legendary player into their roster.


    Asmodai did not stay for too long as Shanghai University was rather far from his place.


    After walking out from the campus, Asmodai turned back to take one last look at the majestic compound, and a sense of slight disappointment could be seen on his face.


    ¡°Why? Did you want to experience university life as well?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It kind of makes you feel more cultural, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Asmodai said with a laugh.


    ¡°Universities do provide scholarships to recruit students with special talents. Perhaps one day in the future, professional E-Sports players may be included too. You would be able to enroll in any university that you wanted to then.¡± Luocheng laughed as well.


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t kid me. That¡¯s not going to be possible. A game is still just a game, it will never be accepted so open-heartedly by society.¡±


    He walked straight toward the junction and stopped a cab after he finished talking.


    ¡°I will see you at the LPL. You will get to see the best of Asmodai there,¡± Asmodai turned back and said.


    An impromptu team was never going to match the level of a well-adjusted team. For Asmodai to have had such a commendable performance for his first time playing with strangers, that had definitely exceeded expectations.


    His ADC would only be most exceptional if he was playing with Team Daemon. The true value of an LPL champion was not going to be revealed simply through two friendly matches.


    Luocheng recognized this fact well. Shanghai University was just a shoal to Asmodai. He could only freely express himself in the actual sea, in short, the LPL.


    The person who had just left was his comrade that had ground through the darkest days of E-Sports with him. He was, at the same time, a great rival in Luocheng¡¯s short-lived journey as a professional DOTA player.


    The Pentakill during the 4v5 had sufficiently exposed the immaturity of Team Skycrown in front of a true champion.


    ¡®¡­see you at the LPL¡­¡¯


    Luocheng sighed and didn¡¯t know whether his team could bear the weight of this promise.


    ¡®With Team Skycrown at their current state, are they really good enough to take on LPL?¡¯


    Team SHU was still manageable, but what if Team Skycrown was pitted against a slightly stronger professional team?


    How was Team Skycrown going to match those teams that knew how to crush individual excellence with better champions¡¯ rotation?


    ¡®They must pull up their socks. Team Skycrown still has a lot of weaknesses to be addressed, if their flaws were caught out by the more insightful players, then the underdeveloped Team Skycrown would be easily taken apart.¡¯


    Team Skycrown did not have much time left. The preseason games were going to start right after the National University Competition was completed, and that was in less than two months. Team Skycrown would have a lot of catching up to do.


    ***


    The season slowly transformed.


    The leaves withered from the ornamental trees as they began to put on the winter setting. T-shirts, jerseys, and short pants on the males had changed to warmer jackets, hoodies, and long jeans.


    The ladies had also replaced their sleeveless tops with wool or yarn made fabric that protected their shoulders from the cold wind. The short skirts they wore during the summer were also gone¡­ Wait a minute¡­ Those were still here!


    Short skirts and pantyhose!


    This was the unanimous style among the girls during the cold season. It was hard to understand how men needed a jacket in place of a t-shirt to insulate the cold, while women could survive it by not more than a pair of sheer tights!


    But the men sure had nothing to complain about it.


    Some perverts would often lament that the arrival of winter was going to take the refreshing scenery away. The fact was, as the ladies were getting more modern-thinking by the days, such concern had gradually vanished with it.


    ¡®Yes, yes, let their legs be exposed to the breeze. Let us admire them. It was said that the sight of men is scorching hot. Perhaps this is what helped the girls to resist the chill.¡¯


    ***


    In the coming days, Luocheng often ran back and forth tirelessly between the E-Sports Club and Team Skycrown.


    Team SHU was more established and better known than Team Skycrown. Besides, students often gained more sympathy and a better impression from the real world, thus, it was easier for Team SHU to get professional teams to be their sparring opponents.


    Through Team SHU, Luocheng was slowly exposed to more second or third seed professional teams, and he understood the current power distribution of professional teams better now.


    Team Skycrown was still highly inexperienced and unexposed, and if they did not gather sufficient intel and only trained blindly, there was a high possibility that they would be disqualified as early as the preliminaries.


    Luocheng went through Team SHU to get in contact with Team Skycrown¡¯s potential competitors in the future and receive feedback on the different strategies he had experienced, relaying them to Team Skycrown. This helped Team Skycrown to keep up with the ever-changing E-Sports world.


    The National University Tournament had already begun, and as one of the top ten teams the last term, Team SHU was able to avoid the chaotic qualifiers involving thousands of teams, and go straight to the main event.


    Team SHU had improved drastically after the encounter with Asmodai. Luocheng reckoned that they were now at least on par with a third seed professional team. There would not be more than eight teams at the national level that could have crossed this boundary, in other words, they could at least secure the top 8 if everything went well


    Nevertheless, being the top 8 was not Team SHU¡¯s ultimate aim. They wanted to go further¡ªthe top 4 universities in the country.


    To avoid being countered too soon, Team SHU didn¡¯t plan to reveal Luocheng before they met the real challenge.


    The reason was simple, Luocheng was their trump card. Other than Fudan University, no one else knew that their actual strategy now was to ¡°follow the Support¡¯s rhythm¡±.


    This was a game plan not without its risks. In the case where Luocheng was mercilessly bullied, then Team SHU would collapse easily when playing against a university team that was better than them.


    So unless it was absolutely necessary, Team SHU was not going to include Luocheng at least until before the quarter-final.


    Team SHU had sparred with Team Skycrown consistently after their first match, and the individual skills of Team Skycrown¡¯s members were without a doubt, superior to Team SHU. Under the merciless thrashings by Team Skycrown, members of Team SHU who were not Luocheng had learned a lot in the process, and improved drastically. They wouldn¡¯t lose easily to a normal team even without Luocheng in the lineup.


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, aren¡¯t you getting up? Today is the assembly day, I believe the management has something important to announce,¡± Jiang Jiu tapped Luocheng¡¯s mattress with his hands.


    ¡°I am not going, please help me to explain to the counselor,¡± Luocheng rolled to the other side and hid deeper underneath the warm blanket.


    He had stayed up overnight to play ranked-team games with Team Skycrown and they had reached the top 200 rank in one night. Thus, he had not slept properly for a very long time.


    They needed to depart by 6 in the morning for the assembly, and Luocheng was unwilling to sacrifice his sleeping time for something so boring.


    ¡°Okay then, I will tell the counselor that you are having menstrual cramps and thus, couldn¡¯t attend.¡± Jiang Jiu smirked deviously.


    ¡°Get your ass out of here!¡±

 Chapter 209 - Yu Yu the Queen!

    Chapter 209: Yu Yu the Queen!


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Hey, do you know that our university LOL team has managed to reach the top 50?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard about it only now? The news broke out a few days ago. Didn¡¯t you watch the game? Don¡¯t call yourself an E-Sports Club¡¯s member if you¡¯re so ignorant.¡±


    ¡°I was busy recently, that¡¯s why I missed the game. I heard their roster is greatly boosted by a new recruit this year. It is said that they could easily reach the quarter-final with him.¡±


    ¡°That part is true, we heard it from the core members themselves, but he has yet to take part in any game as a strategy to reserve their true strength for the late stage.¡±


    ¡°Who is that person?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    The students had lined up uniformly on the green field, and when boys gathered, their topic would usually be either about girls or basketball.


    The basketball team had been underachieving this year and were now on the brink of elimination.


    The football team, meanwhile, had only gotten acceptable results, and should have acquired enough points to participate in higher tier competitions.


    As for the Track and Field Club, they were neither particularly amazing nor disappointing.


    As a result, the E-Sports team, which had done well in the national competition, had become the new hot topic of university students.


    In almost every course, students were seen gathered in a group as they discussed the recent matches of Team SHU ecstatically.


    ¡°Hehe, they still don¡¯t know who the freshman is,¡± Jiang Jiu said with a huge smirk.


    Hearing guys from other courses talking about these matters, Jiang Jiu and Jingtai, the two LOL newbies, were pretty proud of being Luocheng¡¯s roommates.


    ***


    The assembly quieted down when the flag-raising ceremony began.


    Following that, personnel from the upper management stood in front of the flag with their big tummies protruding and began to address the students.


    After a lengthy motivational speech, they proceeded to commend the students who had achieved excellent achievements in front of the whole assembly.


    One should never look down on the importance of doing well in the curriculum. The pride of being celebrated by the university in front of the crowd was indescribable, and people who disdained it were usually those that didn¡¯t have such an opportunity to stand out from the commoners.


    Those who were being acclaimed were either pretentiously calm, jubilant, exaggeratedly humble, or trying to act naturally. Although most of the audience didn¡¯t seem to care and paid very little attention to them, their moods were still greatly lifted by the formal ceremony and massive crowd.


    ¡°Eh, who¡¯s that pretty girl over there?¡± Out of boredom, Jingtai unintentionally glimpsed a gorgeous girl who was standing right at the very back of the awardee line.


    The girl carried a different vibe as compared to the other awardees, making her highly noticeable despite standing at the rear.


    She stood upright and her good figure was prominent despite the loose white sweatshirt, she looked just like an elegant swan.


    ¡°You will know when she is introduced later,¡± Jiang Jiu answered.


    Gradually, more and more students began to take note of the stunningly pretty girl.


    She was vibrant in spite of the cold winter, unusually calm, putting on a nonchalant yet distinctively polite smile on her face.


    She was outstanding but not unapproachable, just like the girl-next-door.


    ¡°I feel that she is oddly familiar. Just get it over with those people in front of her already,¡± Jiang Jiu rubbed his chin and said.


    The lines surrounding the I.T. course were all engineering-based students, and those wolves seemed to have noticed her too, their attention having suddenly shifted from LOL to the beauty.


    ¡°Another round of applause for Ho Liqi for her achievement in mathematical geometry. Very well, now please allow me to introduce the next student who is going to bring enormous honor to Shanghai University. She is our pride and represents the type of excellence Shanghai University has never stopped pursuing.¡± The formal introduction was announced by the dean.


    The students before her were announced by their respective head of departments. When it came to her turn, it was the dean himself that had stood up and welcomed her personally¡­


    ¡°What is so special about her? Why is she being welcomed by the dean personally?¡± Jiang Jiu and Jingtai were baffled.


    There was a small commotion among the crowd too.


    It was obvious that she was more highly praised than the others. She must have obtained an honor that even the dean and headmaster had been looking up upon.


    ¡°Alright, order! Where¡¯s your discipline? Please don¡¯t frighten our new student over here, I might increase your credit hours if you all don¡¯t behave properly now,¡± The dean reprimanded the students solemnly.


    But the dean¡¯s threat was responded to by laughter from the crowd, including the lecturers. It appeared that not all deans and lecturers were old-fashioned and immune to jokes after all.


    The dean cleared his throat and said again, ¡°Alright now, be quiet.¡±


    After the crowd had quieted down, the dean signaled the girl to walk up the stage.


    ¡°Students who are paying attention to the sports news must have seen her before.¡±


    ¡°She has just become the champion in this year¡¯s Under-18 National Swimming Competition held during the summer, known for her beautiful and elegant swimming stroke in the pool. Multiple sports magazines have reported her emergence as the future superstar of our country¡¯s swimming team. In the competitions held at Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing recently, she has achieved successive podium finishes as a first-time participant. This is a truly exceptional accomplishment for someone who has just begun to compete at the professional level this year.¡±


    ¡°At the moment, she has been recruited by the national team as a backup and is concurrently the undisputed number one swimmer of the Shanghai province team. She might only be representing Shanghai now, but without a doubt, she will be representing our country and fight for our glory at the international stage very soon. Most importantly, she is officially a Year 1 freshman at Shanghai University starting from today¡­¡±


    The dean certainly had better presenting skills than those head of departments. He had successfully attracted the students¡¯ attention with a simple joke, and narrated the new student¡¯s uniqueness with great spirit. This indirectly had everyone¡¯s eyes on the already outstanding girl.


    Now, everyone recognized the fact that she was a student with a sports scholarship, a special recruit with great talent in swimming.


    Such a reward was constantly being offered by SHU to attract talents from different fields so that the university would be consistently competitive in three vital categories¡ªAcademic, arts, and sports excellence.


    However, it was rare to have such students introduced in the grand assembly. The only circumstance to adopt this announcement method was when the student had chosen the university, rather than the other way around.


    A student with such high caliber was definitely coveted by renowned universities all around the country, for having the greatest swimmer of her age automatically guaranteed the university the No.1 title in this category. Her fame could also be used to promote the university¡¯s status in years to come.


    Shanghai University was not especially great among the vast number of universities within the country, a popular student who could have easily entered Beijing, Fudan, or Qinghua University, had opted for the relatively modest Shanghai University. Wasn¡¯t this something worth announcing in front of the entire school?


    Everyone immediately realized how special this young athlete was to the university. People¡¯s first impression of her was that she must be an obedient girl that focused on her studies. Her image had little to do with her true identity¡ªThe queen of swimming!


    An emotional introduction by the dean, her likable appearance, coupled with her sweet smile when she greeted the crowd instantly had the guys from the engineering courses willingly cheering for her.


    ¡°Mine, she is mine!¡±


    ¡°F*ck off! You don¡¯t even know which course she will be enrolled in.¡±


    ¡°I am joining the swimming club tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow? I am joining now, nobody is going to stop me. How much is the club fees, again? I am willing to pay even if it¡¯s 1000 yuan.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act rich.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I am actually one of the members. I had heard about this news long before today.¡±


    Other matters¡ªbe it the basketball team¡¯s poor result, the football team¡¯s performance, or the E-Sport Club being in the top 50¡ªbecame irrelevant in the face of the attractive lady. The guys cared for nothing else other than the pretty swimmer currently on the stage.


    It was imaginable that the swimming pool in the university was going to be a full house from that day onward.


    ***


    Standing on the stage, she could feel the heat boiling through the crowd.


    Her lips curved upward slightly, showing a cunning grin that was usually hidden behind her innocent look.


    Her line of sight scanned the crowd, trying to search for the figure she was familiar growing up with.


    Unfortunately, it was a massive crowd down there, making it impossible for her to locate the person she wished to see.


    ¡®Never mind, he must have seen me. Tsk tsk, how I wish to see his expression at the moment. His jaw must have dropped to the ground and his eyes must have rounded big. Then he would have held his urge to show off to his friends and pretended that he doesn¡¯t care about me.¡¯


    ¡®Hmph, now he can no longer ignore me. I am not going to answer when he calls me later, that will certainly get on his nerves.¡±


    ***


    After the assembly, Yu Yu first went to the standalone dorm the university had specially assigned for her.


    The high-class dorm had two rooms and housed only four people.


    Along the way, she could feel the passionate stares from the passersby, and some were even brave enough to step forth and ask for her number.


    She felt lucky to be escorted by a teacher, otherwise, Yu Yu doubted whether she could have reached the dorm safely.


    ¡°Yu Yu, are you in a rush?¡± Ms. Xu asked.


    ¡°I am not,¡± Yu Yu answered.


    ¡°Then why do you keep peeking at your phone to check the time?¡± Ms. Xu questioned laughingly.


    Ms. Xu was the advisor of the swimming club, and she was also the one who had recruited Yu Yu into Shanghai University.


    ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s nothing,¡± Yu Yu replied with a smile.


    Behind her angelic smile was a devilishly angry face.


    ¡®Stupid Luocheng. How dare you not call me after seeing me on stage.¡¯


    Yu Yu was infuriated. She had been plotting not to answer no matter how many times Luocheng called to make peace with her. In the end, her nasty brother never even bothered to do that.


    ¡®It¡¯s strange. He should have seen me during the assembly just now, there is no way he would not be calling me immediately after the announcement. He must have left his phone in the dorm, that must be it. He must be rushing back to dial my number now. Perhaps his phone is out of battery and still charging?¡¯


    Imagining how Luocheng must have rushed back to his dorm clumsily put a satisfied grin on Yu Yu¡¯s face.


    ***


    Dorm no. 5209.


    ¡°Luocheng, a goddess has just arrived at our university today!¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± Luocheng rolled over and continued sleeping.


    ¡°She is a swimmer and her beauty is out of this world. A very friendly girl, too. Unlike the other beautiful ladies, she is neither arrogant nor icy.¡±


    Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­


    The light snoring showed that Luocheng had once again returned to his dream.


    ¡°Sigh, what a boring guy. He is not going to know how to admire a pretty girl of this degree,¡± Jingtai said with clear disdain.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, maybe he only has Feifei in his mind.¡± Jiang Jiu agreed.


    ¡°The coldness on Feifei¡¯s face alone could have given you frostbite, who would dare to approach her on a winter¡¯s day? By the way, I know one of the vice presidents of the swimming club, I can ask him if he can slip us in as members,¡± Jingtai said.


    ¡°Brilliant! But it¡¯s winter now, can we still swim?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward, I don¡¯t care even if the pool is not warmed. I can¡¯t wait to see her in a swimsuit.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, you are right!¡±


    ***


    Monday was occupied with a lot of classes and Luocheng was drowsy after continuous lectures. When the seemingly everlasting two-hour lecture finally came to an end, Luocheng headed directly to the canteen for lunch and decided to visit Team Skycrown¡¯s place in the evening.


    Just as he had taken the first bite of his food, his phone rang abruptly.


    ¡°Hi! What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°You are an idiot!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Luocheng was baffled.


    ¡®My dear Yu Yu. What the heck have I done this time? You don¡¯t need to call me to greet me with your yelling!¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°You are a big, giant idiot!¡± Yu Yu screamed exasperatedly.


    ¡°Stop behaving like a kid.¡± Luocheng was losing his patience.


    ¡°You only have 10 minutes. Crawl over here and apologize to me, otherwise I will not forgive you, forever!¡± Yu Yu scolded.


    ¡°Has water filled up your brain after spending too much time in the pool?¡± Luocheng rebuked.


    ¡°Argh!!! I am so done with you!¡± Yu Yu lost her temper entirely. She would have bitten Luocheng¡¯s ears off if she knew where he was at right now.


    Du¡­du¡­du¡­


    She hung up without saying another word.


    Luocheng was still puzzled but he didn¡¯t dwell on the matter and went back to his lunch.


    ¡°Who was that? Why did it sound like you have done something unspeakable to someone?¡± Jiang Jiu had heard the loud voice from the other end and questioned Luocheng with a wry smile.


    Jingtai also joined in with the same expression on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just my mentally unstable little sister.¡±


    ¡°You have a sister?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about it?¡±


    ¡°Do you have her photo?¡±


    ¡°Look elsewhere. My sister is not available for losers like you two,¡± Luocheng said emotionlessly.


    ¡°Screw you!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Yu Luocheng!!!¡± When your parents called you out using your full name in such a tone, you knew you were in deep trouble.


    Hearing his mum¡¯s voice, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but rub his temple.


    ¡°I have done nothing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie!¡±


    ¡°What did I do this time?¡± Luocheng almost cried.


    ¡®What the hell is happening!?¡¯


    ¡°She was so excited to be going to the same university as you, yet you didn¡¯t even bother to give her a call. How dare you try to act innocent? You are her brother!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do¡­¡± Just as he tried to defend himself, he suddenly figured out the point he had been missing the whole time. He stopped and asked carefully, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°She got into your university.¡± Li Yun confirmed.


    Luocheng¡¯s facial expression changed instantly.


    ¡®She¡¯s here at Shanghai University?! My god! This is bad!¡¯

 Chapter 210 - Yu Luocheng’s Rage

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Hey, the video of our swimming goddess during the morning assembly is now up on the university page,¡± Jiang Jiu rotated his phone horizontally after accessing the Shanghai University official page.


    Luocheng glanced at it, noticing that the girl on stage was oddly familiar.


    The girl was wearing a white sweatshirt, her beautiful face only had a simple touch up, not to forget her gradually perfected figure.


    After watching the clip, Luocheng realized that he might have missed out on an important occasion by skipping that morning assembly.


    ¡°What do you think? What a gorgeous beauty, isn¡¯t she?¡± Jiang Jiu nudged Luocheng¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°She¡¯s my younger sister,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Your sister? If she¡¯s your sister, then I am her husband!¡± Jiang Jiu looked at Luocheng with great distaste. ¡®How thick is your face? So all pretty girls are your siblings now?¡¯


    ¡°She is my sister, for real! I¡¯m not joking!¡± Luocheng declared with a serious face.


    ¡°F*ck off! Sister, my ass!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Sometimes, Luocheng realized it was easier to communicate with a dog rather than with his roommates.


    ***


    Yu Yu refused to pick up the call after he dialed a few times. She was obviously still pissed, and Luocheng didn¡¯t know what to do, so he stuck to his original plan and went to Team Skycrown¡¯s apartment.


    Speaking of which, Luocheng was still surprised that Yu Yu had managed to enter Shanghai University through a sports scholarship award.


    Moreover, from the chatter he had heard through the whole afternoon, it seemed that Yu Yu¡¯s achievement had been great enough for her to select whichever university she wished to attend.


    To be honest, Luocheng was aware that she had won most competitions she took part in, however, he had not known that those wins were worth so much reputation. It was especially glaring when he compared his own failure to her noteworthy accomplishment.


    ¡®Well, it¡¯s just like how I had imagined it, though I never expected it to become a reality so soon.¡¯


    ¡°Luocheng, where are you now?¡± Yang Ying called and asked directly.


    ¡°I am heading to Lin Dong¡¯s place, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Come to Restaurant Qi Yun. I have someone to introduce to you,¡± Yang Ying invited.


    ¡°Who?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a dinner organized by the Student Council. Knowing them will make your life easier in the future, just come over,¡± Yang Ying urged.


    ¡°Alright then.¡±


    ***


    Restaurant Qi Yun was a relatively high-end eatery near the university where wealthy students from the university usually had their special occasions held.


    Luocheng was not a member of the Student Representative Council as the facilitator of a club was, by theory, ranked lower than the facilitator of the council. He was not even supposed to be invited to such an event.


    He wondered what was Yang Ying¡¯s intention for bringing him along this time.


    ***


    A diligently crafted round table was placed in the middle of a spacious room.


    Inside the room, a waitress in a red cheongsam was serving appetizers one after another onto the table. Several male and female students were sitting around the table, all of them facing the main seat which was occupied by the current president of the Student Representative Council¡ªZhao Hualong.


    Hualong had presented himself in front of the entire university more than once now, and he was a person who had received wide acceptance and reverence within Shanghai University. He was the one who had initiated today¡¯s dinner as a gesture to welcome the elites from each club while strengthening the bond between students of different expertise.


    Of course, this was usually done more moderately in a less grand place previously. The reason for it to be this ceremonious was none other than the arrival of Yu Yu, who had managed to astonish practically everyone in the assembly that morning.


    Those invited to this dinner were the entire crew of the Student Union, as well as presidents, vice presidents, and new recruits with the greatest potential of the major co-curriculum societies.


    Basketball club, soccer club, swim club, track-and-field club, and E-sports club¡ªThese were the main societies competing for the university¡¯s merit ranking this term.


    ¡°By the way, is Yu Yu from the swimming club coming?¡± The president of the Student Union, Wang Lang, opened his mouth and asked.


    ¡°She is, I had just spoken to her this afternoon,¡± The student representative replied with a smile.


    ¡°You have acted swiftly,¡± Wang Lang smiled along.


    Hualong coughed awkwardly and peeked at the quiet girl seated beside Wang Lang. He asked, ¡°Is this the very capable new facilitator you have mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She is Bai Feifei and her efficiency is top-notch. The statistics she collected over the university¡¯s clubs and personnel are flawless.¡± Wang Lang introduced and turned to Feifei. ¡°I believe you have seen our student representative before?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Bai Feifei noted and made no further notion.


    Hualong had wanted to speak with her more but he gave up after seeing her rather cold response. She was not his main concern tonight anyway.


    ***


    ¡°By the way, why was the E-sports club invited this round?¡± The president of the basketball club looked at the empty seats and said flippantly.


    In the past, only the conventional sports clubs were included in such occasions as they were the more elite groups of Shanghai University. Though the E-Sports club had garnered the most members nowadays, they were still just a bunch of nerds wasting time on a meaningless video game. In their critical eyes, those in E-Sports could never rise to the big stage.


    ¡°We had no choice, E-Sports has recently been recognized as an official competition, too,¡± Hualong said.


    ¡°Hmph, I despise them the most. We, the Student Union are given the responsibility to take care of the clubs¡¯ welfare. Over the years, we have maintained a good relationship with everyone here except the E-Sports Club. They are troublemakers who not only refuse to follow our arrangement but always break the regulations. Do they really think they are the best after the dean praised them once? They are just a bunch of losers that are addicted to a useless video game. If they fail to gain any noteworthy position this time, I shall wait and see whether they can maintain their arrogance!¡± Wang Lang reproached indiscreetly.


    ¡°Me too. I am especially loathed by Xiao Jia, but he is nothing but a bragger.¡±


    ¡°They must have been hallucinating. Do they really believe that they are the no.1 society in the university now after getting some minor sponsors and a little praise from the university? I am sick of seeing the prideful attitude of their president. Hua Long, I really don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary to have them in this gathering,¡± Han Linfeng, the captain of the basketball club said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. All they got is top-10 in last year¡¯s E-Sports competition. Is E-Sports even a real sport? How can they be compared to soccer? I seriously doubt the university¡¯s stance in this. Are they seriously betting on the E-Sports club to help promote the university at a national event? Besides, E-Sports competition is only popular at this premature level, you can hardly see its presence in the greater stage. Mark my words, E-Sports lives only in their imagination. Simply put, it¡¯s a fake sport,¡± The soccer club president, Lee Peng, was the one complaining this time.


    ¡°My brother is from Zhejiang University and he is one of the E-Sports club members there. He told me that Yang Ying and the rest of his club should feel lucky if they can even keep their top 10 spot this year. The other universities are catching up quickly, I wonder why Yang Ying has the confidence to aim for the top 4. Do they think the other universities are just dummies?¡±


    ¡°Stop it now. We are all from the same university and the swim club members will be here anytime soon. Don¡¯t let them find out that you guys are such whiners,¡± Hualong coughed loudly and stopped their ceaseless grumbling.


    ¡°True, true.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, this girl called Yu Yu is really something. As a national swimming champion, she is definitely a superstar in the making. Perhaps she will soon be representing China in the Asian Game, and to the Olympics after that.¡±


    Asian Games were not something the university sports event could be compared with. Besides, she was also a seeded athlete in the Asian Game. They were just school kids playing sports as a hobby in front of her.


    The topic shifted to Yu Yu under the student representative¡¯s diversion.


    But they had no idea that the two people standing in front of the room had heard the entire conversation, and both their faces had darkened equally.


    ***


    Yang Ying was depressed because the other clubs were looking down on his passion.


    They were simply envious and they couldn¡¯t stand the E-Sports Club for claiming the prestigious position that had once belonged to them in the past. They hated to see the growing influence of the E-Sports Club that had gradually overtaken theirs.


    It was hilarious to hear them dissing on others¡¯ success to cover up their own incapability.


    Luocheng stood there blankly as those hurtful words clenched at his heart violently.


    The university was a miniature of society, if E-Sports was deemed worthless in here, then one could easily imagine how much bias judgment it would receive in the real world.


    If your parents found out that you were sneaking out to play basketball, they would only warn you not to spend too much time on it. But if they knew that you were playing computer games instead, they would have given you a slap before anything.


    ¡®Is there ever going to be any light in this endless tunnel called professional gaming?¡¯


    Was the society willing to give hope to the likes of Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhao Tinghua, and Asmodai, who had treated E-Sports like their life and marched on bare-footed?


    Luocheng could only think of the worst. This rigid society would not be merciful when even the supposedly forward-thinking and open-minded university was shutting the door in the face of E-Sports enthusiasts.


    ***


    Society norm was cruel at times, and even though they knew about the sinister thoughts of those inside the room, they had no other choice but to clear their thoughts and enter the room with a happy face.


    When both of them saw those inside the room raising their glasses and addressing you as if they respected you, how Yang Ying and Luocheng wished that they could freely rebuke them, ¡®F*ck you!¡¯.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t like to curse, but after he had entered the room, he had greeted them non-stop with the worst expletives he could have thought of in his mind.


    ¡°The E-Sports club must work harder to fight for our university¡¯s fame. Don¡¯t be like us in the basketball club, we completely screwed ourselves up this time,¡± Linfeng raised his cup and said insincerely.


    ¡°It¡¯s just tough luck, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Yang Ying bottomed up the glass of wine with a smile.


    ¡°Come here, this is our new facilitator and he has enormous potential. Go ahead and cheers with the E-Sports Club president.¡± Linfeng signaled his member.


    The facilitator tactfully filled up Yang Ying¡¯s glass and clinked it with his.


    Yang Ying had no nonsense and emptied the glass instantly.


    ¡°It should be my turn now. I have not drunk with you even though we have been at the same university for a few years now. We should enjoy ourselves tonight. Let¡¯s have three shots in a row, are you up for it?¡± Linfeng challenged.


    ¡°Why not!¡± Yang Ying drank three glasses of wine without another word.


    The burning sensation running down his throat slightly smothered the fury in his heart.


    ¡°This is a new facilitator from our union, she is a very pretty girl. Don¡¯t you think you should show more sincerity?¡± Wang Lang, from the Student Union, laughed and said.


    Yang Ying didn¡¯t even look at Fei Fei as he gulped down another half a bottle of red wine.


    ¡®You wanted me drunk so that I would be embarrassed in front of everyone, right? God damn you! Like hell I would be scared. If you can get me drunk, I will adopt your surname from this day onward!¡¯


    One glass after another flowed down his throat.


    The food had not been served yet because the most important person had yet to arrive.


    Ample empty bottles were lined up in front of Yang Ying. He did not refuse any offer and drank it all¡ªbe it white wine, red wine, beer¡ªbig heartedly.


    ¡®Come. Push me. I won¡¯t yield this easily!¡¯


    Luocheng had had his dinner but Yang Ying obviously had an empty stomach. It was easy to tell that his stomach was rocking hard from the pale look and twitching muscles on his face!


    ***


    ¡°Now, now, stop drinking. The person we are waiting for isn¡¯t here yet. Your wild behavior might scare our VIP guest when she arrives later.¡± Hualong tried to stop them.


    ¡°This will be my last toast.¡± The president of the basketball club stood up again. ¡°This is to celebrate the E-Sports club¡¯s ambition. To Yang Ying, the soon-to-be national semi-finalist!¡±


    ¡°Hooray, semi-finalist!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Yeah!¡± The other presidents nodded in agreement.


    The fact was, everyone knew that Yang Ying was at his limit, but this was exactly what they wished to see.


    ¡°Let me have this in my president¡¯s place.¡± Luocheng grabbed the glass from Yang Ying¡¯s hand.


    Linfeng¡¯s face twisted and he said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to play the hero here. I am a club president and I am toasting for your president. If you wish to drink this for him, then one glass will not cut it. Besides, can you bring your club all the way into the semi-finals? Don¡¯t simply drink in another¡¯s place if you cannot deliver the promise.¡±


    ¡°Semi-final?¡± Luocheng looked at Linfeng and smirked.


    ¡°Yes. No semi-final, no drink, get it?¡± The president of the basketball club scorned silently, ¡®Learn your place, freshman.¡¯


    Luocheng looked around and saw through their fake smiles. He refused to act along any further and bottomed up the glass of wine.


    ¡°Piece of cake.¡± After saying that, he tossed the glass toward the sidewall with great force.


    Smash!


    The glass shattered after it hit the wall, the ear-piercing noise immediately resonating through the entire room.


    The girls screamed and ran to one corner.


    The glass pieces rebounded but Luocheng did not flinch. He didn¡¯t even blink his eyes and maintained his cold gaze on Linfeng.


    Hualong instantly stood up from his seat.


    Wang Lang and a few other presidents, too, all scowling at Luocheng in great anger.


    ¡°Luocheng, what the hell are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°Are you insane?!¡±


    Tension built up rapidly inside the room, and the shattered glass had revealed their true faces to Luocheng.


    ¡°We have heard every single word you guys said just now. Don¡¯t try to look down on other people when you were the ones who played like trash. I drank because I respected your position as the club president¡­ But now, it¡¯s time to talk about how much I want to f*ck you and your family!¡±

 Chapter 211 - She is my sister!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng was fearless because he had nothing to lose.


    You wouldn¡¯t have cared less when you were already at the bottom of society. Those above you were the ones who would hold more concern than you do.


    So what if you had shattered your glass provocatively in front of everyone? So what if you had said ¡°F*ck you all!¡± to their faces?


    At best, they would only scowl and scold you back. Some may even try to play it macho and act like he wanted to punch you. But at the end of the day, Luocheng stood firm and no one dared to take a step forward.


    ¡®You wanna fight?¡¯


    He was a cyber caf¨¦ regular after all, a guy who had seen the worst in the real world and was not going to be intimidated by a group of cowards who only knew how to babble.


    Luocheng had made a pact with his old man, that he would be an obedient student and barricade himself from cyber caf¨¦s, bad influences, and fights, but he realized that sometimes, a good student was just for show, much like those around him now. Underneath their shiny outfits were rotten scum that you wished to land a punch on.


    He didn¡¯t care about the Student Union or the Student Representative Council, those little shits meant nothing to him. He had even punched a nauseating foreigner before and he was not afraid to do the same thing here.


    ***


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± The voice of a serious woman came in from outside.


    Luocheng was waiting. He had even placed his right hand on an empty bottle, preparing to K.O. anyone brave enough to lunge at him.


    He might have thrown a glass at a person¡¯s face in the past. His aggression was considered tamed now.


    The situation was defused after the lady¡¯s voice was heard.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Ms. Xu, you must have accompanied Yu Yu here.¡± Hualong was the first to react and he put on a smile hastily.


    If a fight had broken out without being seen by the teacher, then it would have just been a matter among the students.


    But if they were to fight in the presence of a teacher, then both sides would be penalized for sure.


    After all, those involved were considered learning models of the university, and they would face heavy consequences if they were being disciplined for fighting. Thus, both the hot-tempered presidents of the basketball and football clubs were suddenly confounded and didn¡¯t know how to react.


    ¡°I am asking, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Ms. Xu¡¯s voice was getting sterner.


    The glass shards on the ground and the tense atmosphere inside the room indicated that they were about to launch a fight.


    ¡°You there, what are you trying to do?¡± Ms. Xu pointed at Luocheng.


    The few presidents had an idea after seeing that Ms. Xu was questioning Luocheng. They would put the blame on Luocheng and accuse him of threatening the members inside the room, there was no way he could excuse himself this time!


    However, before they could point their fingers at Luocheng, the latter looked at Ms. Yu and explained calmly, ¡°My glass just slipped out of my hand. These lads here were scared that the shard might hurt the ladies, so they rushed up to protect the girls like gentlemen.¡±


    ¡°Your glass slipped and somehow managed to reach the wall??¡± Ms. Xu questioned angrily.


    The stain of red wine had splashed across the wall, and the glass was obviously shattered outward from there. Ms. Xu was not a moron, she could tell it had been smashed against the wall by someone to provoke a fight.


    ¡°When it dropped, I tried to demonstrate my great soccer skills in front of the girls. I thought I might be able to kick it up and hold it, but in the end, my skills were as poor as those from the football club. That¡¯s how the glass ended up on the wall,¡± Luocheng explained, never losing his calm.


    The president of the football club twitched his lips a little. ¡®You b*stard! Could you be any more shameless?¡¯


    ¡°Zhao Hualong, is he telling the truth?¡± Ms. Xu turned her gaze toward the student representative.


    ¡°Yes, it was just an accident. Luocheng was just being too careless, please be more mindful. What if you accidentally hurt the ladies?¡± Hualong nodded.


    ¡°Zhao¡­¡±


    Linfeng and Lee Peng were beaten, and they wondered why the student representative had stood by Luocheng instead of them.


    Hualong tried to give them a hint and signaled them not to aggravate the situation. He then looked at Yu Yu who stood beside Ms. Xu.


    This dinner had been set up for her. Everybody would be a loser if this was screwed up. After all, she was a student that the dean had endorsed personally, and if she reflected today¡¯s situation to the dean and complained about Shanghai University¡¯s unhealthy culture, the dean would not think twice to expel all of them.


    Hualong understood that aggravating the situation would only make matters worse for them.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then sit down. Ask the waitress to clean up the mess,¡± Ms. Xu walked in and snorted while glancing at Luocheng.


    Luocheng ignored her and hauled the drunken Yang Ying up from his seat, stating coolly, ¡°We have had enough. Go ahead and enjoy yourselves.¡±


    ¡®I doubt anyone has any appetite after what has happened, Ms. Xu.¡¯


    Luocheng did not look back and left the room with Yang Ying.


    ***


    Feifei was disturbed to see Luocheng leaving in such a state, and she stood up, wanting to see whether he needed any help. They were classmates after all, and besides, she loathed the behavior of those presidents and didn¡¯t want to stay in the same room with them.


    But just as she stood up, she was surprised to notice tonight¡¯s main guest¡ªthe girl in a white sweatshirt¡ªfollowing Luocheng out of the room without saying a word.


    They could only faintly hear the girl call out ¡°brother¡± as she paced out of the room.


    Ms. Xu was baffled too. She didn¡¯t understand why Yu Yu had run away with the bad tempered freshman. All of a sudden, the atmosphere inside the dining room became extremely awkward.


    ***


    ¡°Yu¡­ Luocheng¡­ Well done! For what you have done today, I officially announce you as my brother-in-law!¡±


    Yang Ying gave Luocheng a big thumbs up despite having difficulty in walking properly. Red wine, white wine, and beer, were all jumbled up inside his belly. It refluxed back to his throat from time to time and he felt extremely uncomfortable.


    But seeing Luocheng¡¯s courageous act just now, he couldn¡¯t have been prouder!


    ¡®Hahaha, I have wanted to do so a long time ago. Just a horde of barking dogs! Pfft!¡¯


    Luocheng escorted Yang Ying back to the entrance where Jinbei was already waiting to take over.


    ¡°What happened? Weren¡¯t you two having dinner with the other clubs tonight?¡± Jinbei asked.


    ¡°We fell out with them. You¡¯d better send Yang Ying back first,¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t elaborate much.


    Jinbei knew something complicated must have happened judging by how drunk Yang Ying was, and he didn¡¯t pry further and supported Yang Ying back to his dorm.


    Before he left, Jinbei glimpsed the girl trailing behind Luocheng.


    She looked familiar but he was sensitive enough to leave them alone.


    ***


    ¡°Brother,¡± Yu Yu had followed Luocheng all the way back to the university. She wished to ask but dared not to after seeing Luocheng¡¯s fuming mad face.


    ¡°Why are you following me? They are holding a welcome party specifically for you. You should be there, not here,¡± Luocheng looked at her.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like them, I refuse to befriend them as well,¡± Yu Yu answered.


    Yu Yu put up a smile after she saw Luocheng¡¯s face brighten up a little. She hugged his arm and shook it. ¡°Stop being mad. Why don¡¯t we go to the dean and file a complaint against them?¡±


    ¡°That would not be necessary, it was just a small matter. Hey, stop doing that, a lot of people are watching!¡± Luocheng retracted his hand. It was inappropriate to be hugged by Yu Yu this publicly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind them. You are not anyone but my brother.¡± Yu Yu retorted, being the queen she was.


    ***


    ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that the swimming goddess of our university?¡±


    ¡°I think so. Oh my god. She has only been here one day and has already gotten hooked by someone?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t let me figure out who that guy is.¡±


    Almost every student that passed by them would throw them a strange look.


    Luocheng wished he could just put up a notice board to tell those unfriendly onlookers, ¡®What¡¯cha looking at? We¡¯re just siblings!¡¯

 Chapter 212 - We Have to Reach the Semi-Final

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was hard to guard against people who played dirty.


    After Team SHU had successfully qualified through the last-16, Yang Ying and Luocheng were summoned by the head of department to his office.


    Yang Ying sensed the irregularity and quickly made a call to Mr. Fang.


    They arrived at the office and found the chubby university officer looking at them with a pair of cold eyes.


    ¡°Someone gave me some feedback saying that you two were causing unrest during a dinner meetup. I was told that you two were drunk and even attempted to beat up members of the Student Union. They even claimed that one of you had hurt the female members with some glass shards¡­¡± The head of department said peevishly.


    Yang Ying and Luocheng both frowned, apparently, the Student Union had begun to take revenge on them.


    They wouldn¡¯t tolerate such a presumptuous act coming from a freshman. They had not used illegal means to take vengeance, but had utilized a seemingly proper channel to deliver their displeasure.


    ¡°Mr. Wang, there must be some sort of misunderstanding,¡± Yang Ying tried to explain.


    ¡°Misunderstanding? What sort of misunderstanding would cause the glass to end up on the wall? I have already received several similar reports. You dare say you are not trying to provoke a fight?¡± His harsh voice was raised by several decibels.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know the university is a place for gaining knowledge and not for fighting? Our university regulation strictly prohibits students from getting involved in any form of brawling. Yang Ying, you are a Student Union member yourself, so you should have known better. And you, only a few months into the university and you are already being this disrespectful to the senior students. How indecent! Let me tell you straight, you two better behave properly from now on under my close scrutiny.¡± The head of department blasted them righteously.


    ¡°Yang Ying, write me a reflection report. Luocheng, as a warning for you not to repeat the same offense, you will be penalized and removed from the competition with immediate effect.¡± The head of department said.


    ¡°Penalized? Removed from the competition?¡± Yang Ying was stunned.


    ¡®For f*cks sake! He had only smashed a glass. There wasn¡¯t even a brawl in the first place, why was he penalized and disallowed to play?¡¯


    The head of department was obviously helping the Student Union to oppress Luocheng!


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you have any opinion about my decision?¡± He glared at Yang Ying.


    ¡°Mr. Wang, he is one of the core members of the E-Sports Club. He plays a vital role in the team and will represent the university in the upcoming last-16 and quarter-final matches¡­¡± Yang Ying tried to plea.


    ¡°That¡¯s even more unforgivable. Luckily it only involved our own students this time. What if his impulse had led to a fight with participants from another university during the match? Isn¡¯t that going to tarnish our university¡¯s image? He is not suitable to join such an inter-university event being this bad-tempered. The E-Sports club has a lot of members so just get another person to replace him. The president of the Student Union has specifically emphasized that it is inappropriate to have such a misbehaved student to represent our university.¡±


    Yang Ying¡¯s face darkened.


    He could imagine the cunning smirk on Wang Lang¡¯s face now.


    Those who had paid attention were more or less aware that Luocheng was now Team SHU¡¯s trump card to reach the quarter-final. They had not included him in the team so far only because they had wanted to keep the opponents in the dark.


    The members of the E-Sports Club had tried feverishly to make their university proud, but as their schoolmates, what had those idiots done? They had used a dirty trick to rob away their team¡¯s greatest pillar because of a trivial incident.


    Didn¡¯t they know that without Luocheng, the university would also lose the merit point that was already in the bag?


    Yang Ying finally realized that sometimes, it was not your enemy that would stop you from achieving greater heights. Such holdbacks sometimes came from those who were supposed to be on the same boat as you, however, their jealousy and laziness prompted them to use all kinds of ploys just to block your ascendance. They simply couldn¡¯t stand other¡¯s success!


    ¡°Wang Jianlin, what are you plotting this time?!?¡± Suddenly, a bellow came crashing through the door.


    The young and striking Mr. Fang walked in swiftly, and his roar garnered the attention of all the officers inside the room.


    The head of department furrowed his brow and reprimanded his rude intrusion. ¡°Please stop your senseless yelling. Do you even own the most basic courtesy as a teacher?¡±


    ¡°Of all people, you are the last person I want to hear that from,¡± Mr. Fang stood in front of his students and rebutted him furiously.


    He had heard every word Mr. Wang had said just now and could no longer withhold his rage.


    ¡°They are under my supervision and I am the one who has the final say in whether he is allowed to participate or not. Since when were you given the right to disqualify a student out of the blue? The E-Sports club has managed to reach the last-16 stage and this team is our university¡¯s biggest hope in advancing into the quarter-final or semi-finals in a national level game. It¡¯s fine if you are not being supportive but please don¡¯t hinder them with some stupid accusation. You only listened to a one-sided story and jumped straight into your conclusion. What has Wang Lang done? Has he ever earned any notable honor for the university before?¡± Mr. Fang scolded in rage.


    ¡°Calm yourself down!¡± The head of department was getting a little agitated from all the attention they were receiving.


    ¡°Retract the penalty!¡± Mr. Fang ordered.


    ¡°I could retract the penalty but his intent to fight the student representative and members from the Student Union was inexcusable. We cannot allow such a student to represent our university,¡± Mr. Wang exclaimed.


    ¡°Are you daft? He is the key for us to reach the quarter-final and semi-final. If you insist on forbidding him to take part in the competition, then I am going to file a complaint to the dean right here, right now.¡±


    Mr. Fang took a pen and began to script his complaint on a paper.


    The letter wrote, ¡®In this year¡¯s inter-university competition, we, from the E-Sports club, had been progressing marvelously and were on course to attaining a better position than last year. We have lost that merely because Mr. Wang Jianlin has barred a highly competitive student from joining the competition. This in return, has cost us a valuable spot, and the university¡¯s position in the merit ranking. I sincerely hope that the dean will look into this without being biased and take this matter seriously.¡±


    Mr. Wang was restless after he read what Mr. Fang had written in front of every present teacher and officer. He hadn¡¯t expected Mr. Fang to go this far.


    In fact, Mr. Fang had seen through Wang Jianlin¡¯s foul intent. Something similar had happened in the past whereby the head of department had abused his power to heavily punish one of Mr. Fang¡¯s students for a minor mistake, just because he was holding a grudge against the teacher.


    Mr. Fang knew he was simply trying to exert his authority, but this time, he was not going to back down. ¡®I am ready to go down with you if you really want to do this. I am not going to give in to a selfish scum like you for my students¡¯ welfare!¡¯


    ***


    Most of the teachers knew that this was not the first time Mr. Fang and Mr. Wang had gone against each other, but this was the first time they had had such a huge fight that might startle even the dean.


    If the dean was made known of this quarrel, either one or both of the teachers would be disciplined and delegated.


    Luocheng was touched to see Mr. Fang defending them in front of the head of department. Nowadays, it was rare to see a teacher willing to defy their superiors in order to protect a student. Most would only be intimidated and bow shamelessly to those of a higher rank.


    ¡°You two, get back to your training now. Leave this matter to me,¡± Mr. Fang said to Luocheng and Yang Ying.


    Luocheng and Yang Ying understood that their presence would not help to alleviate the situation, so they followed the order and left the office.


    On their way back to the E-Sports room, Yang Ying hardly spoke. Luocheng too remained silent. In fact, he had not said a word from the beginning.


    ¡°Mr. Fang has done the same thing for his students in the past. This is not the first time he has irked Mr. Wang, but he has threatened to complain to the dean this time¡­ I hope that he is going to be fine,¡± Yang Ying said worriedly.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Luocheng nodded.


    ***


    They did not receive any updates regarding the matter for a few days after that, but on and off, they did hear that the conflict between Mr. Fang and Mr. Wang had worsened by the day.


    That night, Xiao Jia entered the room with a gloomy face while they were undergoing a scheduled training. He was definitely bringing in some bad news.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Meiqi asked him.


    ¡°Shit! The conflict has reached the dean¡¯s ears. The Student Union has uniformly agreed that Luocheng should not be allowed to represent our university for his misconduct. They claimed that sportsmanship and friendliness are the two vital qualities in any form of competition, and Luocheng, according to them, is an impulsive student that is going to smudge the university¡¯s image for sure. Mr. Fang was infuriated and argued with several other teachers that govern the Student Union. He has now offended a lot of teachers other than Wang Jianlin.¡± Xiao Jia delivered the bad news.


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd. Luocheng did nothing to deserve such a severe punishment,¡± Lee Meiqi said.


    ¡°The main problem still lies between the two teachers. I think this is a continuation of their previous grudge. The difference is that this time, they have escalated the conflict to a point where the dean can no longer ignore it,¡± Xiao Jia explained.


    ¡°Then, will Mr. Fang be alright?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Fang brought the fight to someone else¡¯s office. He was the one who initiated the conflict, moreover, his rank and influence are lower than the devious Wang, to begin with. It¡¯s obvious how this is going to pan out. Wang Jianlin¡¯s title is not only for decorative purposes after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s unfair. Mr. Fang is such a responsible teacher.¡±


    ¡°True. We should sign a petition to defend Mr. Fang!¡±


    ¡°I agree. Let¡¯s do it now!¡±


    Instantly, everyone in the room stood up in unison.


    The E-Sports Club had always been a self-dependent society. Other clubs were normally guided by a teacher and they could easily access the university resources through the advisor. Mr. Fang had been the only one willing to support the E-Sports Club. If he was forced to resign, then the E-Sports would not be able to survive in this tumultuous university culture.


    ¡°Signing a petition would be useless at this point. It would only make the matter worse than it is now. The dean actually hopes for the two teachers to settle this privately. He doesn¡¯t want to see more trouble so it¡¯s best to not get involved in it.¡± Xiao Jia calmed them down.


    ¡°Then what should we do? We can¡¯t just sit here and do nothing,¡± Zheng Xia said with urgency.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is not the first time the E-Sports club has been bullied like this. Now, we¡¯ve even gotten Mr. Fang into trouble. I feel sorry for not being able to help,¡± Yang Ying said.


    He blamed himself for not apologizing on Luocheng¡¯s behalf that day. He did not mind being penalized but he would not forgive himself if their actions were going to cost Mr. Fang his job. Without him, the E-Sports Club was going to crumble for sure as well. The computer equipment, this room, and their club fund had all been fought for by Mr. Fang.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the final decision would be made this early. It¡¯s all up to the dean¡­¡±


    ¡°You all should know that the dean is obsessed about the merit ranking. I have done the math. If we can manage to get in the top four, then the university would stay above twenty in this year¡¯s overall ranking. This is a huge improvement from last year by about ten spots. This improvement is vital for the university as the dean is planning to apply for a new grant from the government.¡± Xiao Jia analyzed.


    ¡°So, in other words, if we can reach the semi-final, then the dean might side Mr. Fang in this matter?¡± Zheng Xia said brightly.


    Xiao Jia nodded solemnly, ¡°You have guessed right. To the dean, the end result matters the most. Mr. Fang is the advisor of our E-Sports Club, and if we can get a convincing result, it will help defend Mr. Fang¡¯s case. We need to use our actions to show that Mr. Fang is fighting reasonably for the university¡¯s honor, and not out of compulsion.¡±


    The group suddenly found their direction. Yang Ying¡¯s stiffened face was also slowly replaced by a smile. He looked at Luocheng and asked, ¡°Do you have the confidence to bring us into the top-4?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Luocheng nodded his head resolutely.


    This was partly his fault and he vowed to steer things back onto the right track.


    ¡°Okay. We must get into the top-4 for Mr. Fang¡¯s sake!¡±


    ¡°Top-4!¡±


    ¡°For sure!¡±


    The hearts of the E-Sports Club¡¯s members were tied together strongly, they had each other¡¯s backs at a dire time like this.


    ¡°By the way, who is our next opponent?¡±


    ¡°We will reach the quarter-final after beating them. With another victory, we will acquire the ticket to the semi-final!¡± Meiqi exclaimed.


    Jian Feng sat in front of the computer immediately and brought up the tournament page.


    ¡°Hey everyone, come over here. The match schedule has been finalized. Let me check who¡¯s next¡­ F*ck!¡± Jian Feng cursed out of nowhere, his expression had changed abruptly.


    The others closed in quickly. They looked at the match schedule and the atmosphere instantly became glum.


    Top-16 matches adopted the knockout format. This meant that if they lost the next match, they would instantly be disqualified from the tournament and could very well forget about getting into the semi-finals.


    To make matters worse, their hurdle in front of the quarter-finals was none other than Zhejiang University.


    Zhejiang University! The runner-up of last year¡¯s national tournament! Their strength was second only to the almighty Fudan University.


    ¡®Why is this happening to us? Why?¡¯


    Even God was not being merciful to them.


    A minute ago, their determination to finish at top-4 had been sky-high, however, their buzz was killed the moment they saw Zhejiang University come up right next to Shanghai University. The name itself sent a shiver down everyone¡¯s spine.

 Chapter 213 - Play At Your Own Expense!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Did¡­did we see it wrong? Check it again.¡± Yang Ying said as he walked over.


    Everyone including Jian Feng was looking at the tournament roster, utter disappointment on their faces.


    The most unnerving thing to happen was meeting one of the top three teams in the qualifiers. Shanghai University¡¯s goal was to get into the top four as they were fully aware that the top three teams in the previous tournament were way better than them and it was impossible to defeat them.


    Even meeting them halfway into the season was bad news, if you lost, you would be kicked out from the quarterfinals!


    Zhejiang University and Team Revelation were close to each other, Team Revelation being one of the strongest teams in the LPL. With such a strong domestic team pushing them, Zhejiang University¡¯s strength was on par with second seed professional teams!


    This information was not news to anyone, and it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that Zhejiang University team was the next coming of Team Revelation.


    Going against such a team, how could a team of students from Shanghai University who were depending on themselves even stand a chance?


    All the adrenaline from the previous atmosphere evaporated instantly as it sank in, the entire club room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.


    The e-sports club had surged with attention together with the rise of LOL, to the extent that even the dean had emphasized on the importance of their training. Should the club not be able to produce any results, then following the clash between Mr. Fang and the head of department, the e-sports club would definitely suffer a heavy blow!


    In these few months, Shanghai University¡¯s team could be said to have made a giant leap, to the point that advancing into the top eight wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. Their members¡¯ confidence was that high.


    However, this enormous obstacle of going against Hangzhou¡¯s Zhejiang University was entirely out of anyone¡¯s expectation.


    They didn¡¯t delude themselves into thinking that they could defeat a team which had been cultivated by a top-rate team, no matter how high their confidence was!


    ¡°Do you want to hear even more bad news?¡± Jian Feng said, his voice quivering and looking as if he was about to burst into tears anytime, it was unsightly to look at.


    There was something even worse than going against Zhejiang University?


    Maybe the roster was wrong, and they were actually supposed to go against Fudan University?


    Against Zhejiang University, Shanghai University would have a confirmed loss. If they went against Fudan University, they probably wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to struggle before getting beaten down to the ground.


    Fudan University¡¯s strength was glaringly obvious to them, and even with Luocheng in the team, it was impossible to turn the defeat around.


    ¡°Just say it.¡± Yang Ying was already a mess inside, he didn¡¯t think that any other news would make it worse.


    ¡°The home ground is set in Zhejiang University¡­¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s rubbing salt into the wound.¡± Xiao Jia said dejectedly.


    Starting from thirty-two universities in the inter-university competition, the bracket was separated into home ground and visitor ground.


    For example, in the previous match with Fujian University, the match was held on their home ground. Fujian University¡¯s members had had to take the train to Shanghai University for the 16th-finals, and Shanghai University had won by a landslide¡ªthree to zero.


    Having to play in your opponents¡¯ home ground was disadvantageous for you, and if you wanted to win, you would have to give more than what you thought you could.


    Shanghai University was not as good as Zhejiang University, the match would be at Zhejiang University and they would have to take the train there. Adding on to the fact that they would have the support and cheering of their own student body, wasn¡¯t this rubbing salt into their wounds?


    ¡°How many days are left?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s this coming Saturday, we would need to reach on Friday and rest, and then take them on the next day. Once done, we need to come back.¡± Jian Feng said, rubbing his chin.


    ¡°F*ck, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for us to go. Mr. Fang has to apply for the funds and he¡¯s in a difficult position right now. It¡¯s impossible to apply for it now, and if we lose, there wouldn¡¯t be any benefit to the university either. This would just drag us down further.¡± Qin Ting spat out bitterly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zheng Xia said, nodding her head.


    ¡°So you¡¯re asking us to give up, just like that? We¡¯ve worked so hard to reach this point!¡± Meiqi protested.


    ¡°What do you want us to do then? It¡¯s not guaranteed that the university would give us the necessary funding, and we can¡¯t even go against Zhejiang University¡­Yang Ying, what do you think?¡± Jian Feng cut himself off, turning to the president instead.


    Yang Ying was silent, deep in thought. He only spared a glance toward Luocheng, and everyone present suddenly turned their attention toward him.


    Luocheng possessed that perfect teamwork with Asmodai, whether they could turn this around would depend entirely on him.


    ¡°Do you want to give up?¡± Luocheng asked, looking at Yang Ying, Xiao Jia and Jinbei when he posed his question.


    ¡°No way!¡± Yang Ying said, shaking his head.


    Xiao Jia and Jinbei were also of the same mind, even if they knew they would lose, they still wanted to fight!


    If you give up, it was a guaranteed loss, but if you were to fight, there was still a small chance to win!


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pay for myself. What about you guys?¡± Luocheng said.


    They had to get into the top four, even if the university didn¡¯t provide the funding, Luocheng would fight for this glory. He would make the student body and lecturers eat their words and respect their e-sports club, and not ridicule or insult them anymore!


    As the advisor of the e-sports club, Mr. Fang had gone against the head of department for them, how could they, as his students, be afraid anymore?


    ¡°Yeah! If the university doesn¡¯t give us the funds, then we¡¯ll play at our own expense!¡± Xiao Jia exclaimed.


    Sh*t, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have the money, I don¡¯t need your money!


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go on our own. I don¡¯t care if we win or lose, but we have to play!¡± Yang Ying said.


    Encountering strong opponents, obstacles from their own people, not being properly supported with fundings¡­These were all not excuses to give up!


    If you wanted to fight and win, then just brush aside those insignificant problems and keep walking forward!


    ***


    ¡°Who said we would lose anyway, we have our trump card¡ªLuocheng!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, none of the universities know that we haven¡¯t been using our strongest line up. Zhejiang University also wouldn¡¯t expect us to use our Support as our pacemaker, maybe we can even catch them off guard!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we won¡¯t lose! We don¡¯t need funding from the university, we¡¯ll fight for this honor ourselves. If we really win, all those f*cking sh*tty associations, student union, and even the Head of Department will all shut up. They enjoy giving us problems and the stink eye, wait till we win and return, their pinched faces would definitely be uglier than eating sh*t!¡± These string of curses and profanities flew out from their beautiful senior¡ªMeiqi.


    Everyone present was stunned into silence as Meiqi finished her rant, and they all stared at her, shock and surprise clear as day on their faces.


    Seeing their gazes on her, Meiqi¡¯s face heated up immediately, and she shouted, ¡°What are you looking at! I¡¯ve been mixing with you guys for so long that you¡¯ve corrupted me!¡±


    ¡°HAHAHA!¡± Everyone laughed, not being able to deny this beautiful senior of theirs.


    The laughter instantly blew away all the negativity they were feeling before, and instead, replaced it with burning determination!


    ***


    For the sake of the e-sports club which had been ridiculed, been the target of jealousy and looked down upon. For the sake of their respected and lovable lecturer who was willing to put himself out there for their club, they had to win this match against Zhejiang University!

 Chapter 214 - Zhejiang University’s Starter Team

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was only an hours¡¯ journey from Shanghai to Hangzhou, and the e-sports club was not expecting to obtain any funds from the university this time. The members who wanted to attend had given their names to Zheng Xia, and they had all bought tickets together.


    The group of them arrived at the front gates of Zhejiang University on Friday night at around 9 pm. Yang Ying had already made arrangements with the university beforehand, and the vice president of Zhejiang University E-sports Club¡ªKe Shaoying was there to receive them. They had also arranged temporary accommodation for the members of Shanghai University team in their university dormitories.


    Each university had their own dormitories, and Zhejiang University¡¯s dorms were quite elegant and classy. Six people to a room, the walls were off-white with simple decorations and new cabinets installed.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you settle in first and take a rest, when our president arrives, we¡¯ll go out for supper. We can also give you a tour of our campus at the same time.¡± Shaoying said, once he led them to the place.


    ¡°Alright, sounds good. Thanks.¡± Yang Ying said, nodding his head.


    There were sixty members from Shanghai University this time, and most of them were here for the first time. There was a strong feeling of curiosity burning in them.


    Zhejiang University gave off a feeling of mystery to the girls, and a sense of anticipation for the guys.


    Hangzhou and Zhejiang were a representation of Jiangnan. Jiangnan¡¯s gracefulness and beauty were like a painting, always appearing on the screen. The girls liked the freshness of this environment, and of course, the guys were loving the beauty and elegance of the girls in Jiangnan.


    Hangzhou was not as lively as Shanghai and it wasn¡¯t as busy either. Zhejiang University was also located at some distance from the urban area, and it was extraordinarily quiet.


    Seeing Hangzhou and Zhejiang University, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but be angry at himself. If he had studied harder and gotten better results in the university entrance exams, maybe he could have been spending his days together with Qianqian at Zhejiang University.


    Ah well, his scores were too far behind to get in here anyway.


    ***


    ¡°Where?¡± Qianqian¡¯s melodic voice floated through the receiver of his phone, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile at the pleasing feeling he got when he heard it.


    ¡°At your university¡¯s dorms.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Come down and I¡¯ll meet you at the gates,¡± Qianqian said.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Luocheng cast a hasty greeting toward Yang Ying before running toward the stairs and heading downward. Yang Ying watched as Luocheng disappeared, his heart feeling somewhat envious. ¡®This sister of mine didn¡¯t even bother to update me on anything for so long, now that your own brother here, you didn¡¯t even give him a call, but instead, calling Luocheng first¡­¡¯


    There was a small garden downstairs, and the trees were lush and not wilting because of the season.


    Qianqian was wearing a knitted hoodie, seated on the bench.


    When Luocheng reached the bottom of the stairs, his heart started beating faster as he took in the slender beauty in front of him. Only, the suspicious man standing beside her made him feel uneasy.


    What the hell was this?


    Could it be that his goddess had already been taken by someone else in this short time, and she was here with the guy to explain it to him?


    Qianqian lifted her head when his feet hit the bottom of the stairs, and her face lit up in delight as she hurriedly went to his side, wrapping her arms around his. However, before Luocheng could fully appreciate the intimacy with his goddess, the guy who had been standing beside her just now was already in front of him.


    He smiled at Luocheng and said, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m the ADC for Zhejiang University¡¯s starter team, Jiang Qiming. We are very appreciative that you could come to Zhejiang.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m Luocheng, Support for the starter team.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Qianqian is a member of our e-sports club and she always talks about how great your skills in LOL is. I¡¯ve wanted to have a match against you for a while now, and I didn¡¯t expect that our paths would cross so soon in the inter-university competition.¡± Qiming explained, his face never losing the warm smile.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll see each other in the match tomorrow,¡± Luocheng said, smirking. ¡°Qianqian, you said you wanted to bring me around the campus, right? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Sure, what about my brother?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°He¡¯ll just be in the way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Seeing that Luocheng and Qianqian were speaking sweetly with each other in low tones, Qiming took the hint and excused himself. Once he had left, Luocheng swiftly planted a short kiss on Qianqian¡¯s lips. Feeling satisfied, he asked, ¡°Who was that guy? He seemed close to you.¡±


    ¡°An admirer,¡± Qianqian said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell him you¡¯re taken?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Of course I did, but we¡¯re in the same club. When he has nothing to do, he¡¯ll find me to chat and discuss LOL. That¡¯s the reason I always bring you up and talk about how great you are¡­¡± Qianqian explained in a huff.


    ¡°Are you trying to make me jealous?¡± Luocheng asked, looking at her.


    ¡°Make sure you beat him soundly in tomorrow¡¯s match, otherwise, I¡¯ll never hear the end of it,¡± Qianqian said instead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t have a good time trying to hit on my girl!¡± Luocheng said, his voice laced with underlying anger.


    How dare you try to take advantage of what is mine when I¡¯m not around, you really don¡¯t value your life!


    Wait and see, Zhejiang¡¯s starter team ADC!


    ¡°I heard from my brother that you ran into some problems at the university?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Luocheng said, diving into a summary of what had transpired with Mr. Fang.


    Qianqian was worried after she heard the story, saying, ¡°What are you going to do? Our starter team is really good, and they would always practice and train with Team Revelation. I¡¯ve watched their matches against second seed professional teams, their win rate is particularly high.¡±


    Qianqian had accidentally betrayed her own side, but it couldn¡¯t be helped as her boyfriend and brother were both at Shanghai University.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the best in your university?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°The president is the best player, he¡¯s the captain of Team Revelation¡¯s reserve team. You don¡¯t normally see him on campus,¡± Qianqian replied.


    ¡°Captain of Team Revelation¡¯s reserve team?¡± Luocheng repeated in shock.


    The reserve team of Team Revelation was already on par with a second seed professional team, and to be able to claim the captain title, he must have some connections. Not only that, having a professional equivalent player in a team made by students, they would definitely be on another level if you compared them to the other university teams!


    Even though the members from Shanghai University were strong, they were all only barely touching the level of a third rate professional player.


    ¡°Uh huh, our team¡¯s strength isn¡¯t that much different than the reserve team for Team Revelation. The captain is particularly strong, and Qiming is also one of the main forces in the team. They¡¯re both considered to be the carries of the team.¡± Qianqian explained.


    Luocheng furrowed his brows in frustration. As expected, Zhejiang University¡¯s e-sports standards were completely on a professional level, even comparable to second seed teams.


    The professional training experience that Shanghai University experienced had only been only about two months, it was short compared to how long Zhejiang had been doing the same. The gap in their experiences was really too big.

 Chapter 215 - For the University!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The next day, the vice president took them for a tour around the campus in the morning. They had to admit that the campus for Zhejiang University was so much more beautiful than Shanghai University, it was comfortable no matter where they went. The wind was also not as cold and chilly as it was up north.


    After lunch, they realized that a small stage had been set up in front of the community area of the university. There were ten blue computers set up on the stage. A simple banner displaying the Esurfing logo had been hung up, and there were quite a few workers arranging the layout. There were also some long tables at the side as well as a couple of exhibitors.


    It was obvious that the afternoon match between Shanghai University and Zhejiang University was going to be held in this area. As it would be held at the community area, it was easier to attract the student body to come and watch.


    The stage was set up by the Esurfing workers, together with the student union and members of Zhejiang. Taking advantage of this inter-university match, Esurfing also blasted out their advertisements, achieving a further audience reach together with Tencent Games.


    In the past, e-sports had always been conducted in small rooms, and there were no inter-university matches. Following the development of the internet and e-sports, it had slowly received more attention from the student body.


    LOL was very happening nowadays, and you would often hear people discussing the game even if you had never played it.


    The match hadn¡¯t started yet and the venue was already crowded with people, coming up to hundreds.


    There were thousands of students in the community, and since the stage was placed in front of the community area, it was easy to attract the crowd. Even those who didn¡¯t know what LOL was had gathered to see what the commotion was all about.


    ¡°Sh*t, that¡¯s a lot of people.¡± Jian Feng stated, eyeing the surroundings which were filled with people no matter where he looked, feeling nervous from all the attention.


    It was fortunate that Luocheng was the one playing this match, Jian Feng doubted that he could perform as usual on stage with this many spectators.


    ¡°So it can be done this way too.¡± Yang Ying mused as he slapped his thigh in excitement. ¡°Next time if we ever host a competition, we should also play in front of the community area, then we could probably gather more LOL enthusiasts!¡±


    This trip to Hangzhou was worth it, an open match organized by Zhejiang University could easily become a good form of publicity.


    The downside of e-sports was that unlike basketball and football, it needed to be indoors. This resulted in an inferior atmosphere as compared to the other sports competitions. For Zhejiang University, they overcame this hurdle by cooperating with Esurfing for advertising and displays, going as far as to set up an outdoor stage and room for the competition.


    Yang Ying couldn¡¯t help but admire the creativity of the organizers of Zhejiang University.


    ¡°Yeah, if they can build a stage, we can too!¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°Of course we can, and we¡¯ll do it next time.¡± Xiao Jia said in agreement.


    With the building of the stage, it had easily attracted a few hundred people in an instant. It could reach a thousand people when the match started, resulting in a spectacular scene!


    Watching the match live on the computer screen, you wouldn¡¯t show much passion or emotions. However, if there were thousands of people sitting with you, getting excited, and cheering along with you during the match, it would definitely be a completely different feeling!


    ¡°No, I mean right now!¡± Meiqi hurriedly said, gesturing excitedly.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yang Ying asked, not understanding her.


    ¡°We can make a call back to our university, isn¡¯t Qin Ting and the others in the e-sports club room? Let them find a way to broadcast our situation here in Zhejiang to our university. We¡¯re fighting for the university, there¡¯s no reason to be hiding it. We should openly present our competition journey, let those who love LOL see the latest happenings, and even if the university doesn¡¯t support us, we still have a large group of supporters!¡± Meiqi explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to find guys in the dormitories that don¡¯t play LOL, and if we were able to set up a stage outside the community area and broadcast the competition live, then the students in Shanghai University could also watch the match. It would be pointless to watch the match alone in their rooms, the point is to bring these LOL enthusiasts and those who follow our club together. Let those basketball and football club members see our influence, and if we win, we can hear their cheers! That way, the e-sports club will be the best club!¡± Zheng Xia continued excitedly with sparkling eyes, understanding Meiqi immediately.


    Zheng Xia and Meiqi¡¯s words lit up everyone present.


    That¡¯s right, they were fighting for the university¡¯s honor, they were fighting for the university. There was no reason to hide that fact and huddle in a small room. If the confrontation between these two universities was broadcasted live in the community, it would easily attract the LOL enthusiasts, and even the university¡¯s honor alone could attract a big crowd!


    ¡°There¡¯s still two hours before the match, let me give them a call real quick, we can still make it!¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be able to build a stage within two hours?¡± Jinbei said.


    ¡°They can. I¡¯ve checked the weather, and it¡¯s cloudy today. They don¡¯t have to worry about the lighting, all they have to do is hang a big screen at the entrance of the community area, and add a commentator for the match.¡± Zheng Xia said. ¡°Qin Ting and the others are well versed in computer equipment, they would definitely be able to do it!¡±


    Since it was decided, Meiqi and Zheng Xia started to make the necessary calls, informing their club members who had stayed behind the plan. On their own side, they got the facilitators to open a laptop and connect the stage power plug and cables which were built by Esurfing to it.


    ¡°I¡¯m confused, apart from the match being recorded, how else is our university supposed to see the screen that we play on?¡± Jinbei asked.


    Jinbei¡¯s question made sense, and everyone went silent at his question.


    That was right, how would they stream the match live to the other side?


    You can¡¯t expect a person to be holding up a camera and recording the screen of the laptop, right?


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Xiao Feng, go over to Zhejiang¡¯s team and ask them for an OB position.¡± Zheng Xia said.


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Using Xiao Feng¡¯s OB position, we can turn on YY live game function. Xiao Feng¡¯s OB position will then be streamed live on a channel. All Qin Ting needs to do is open another computer on his side, and log into the YY live channel to watch the match. Connect his computer to the screen, and then the students can watch the match with the three-minute delay!¡± Zheng Xia explained.


    ¡°There¡¯s actually a function like this in YY!¡± Jinbei said in surprise.


    Zhejiang University had set up a stage, and they would have hundreds and thousands of audiences and even supporters. At someone else¡¯s home ground, you would definitely be affected by the cheering for an enemy, but with the live broadcast, they would also have a group of people cheering for them. Even if they couldn¡¯t hear them, they would be filled with confidence just knowing that they were cheering for them!


    More importantly, the e-sports club had always been looked upon unfavorably. This was the time to show the whole university that they were fighting for Shanghai University, and use their voices to tell the entire university that the e-sports club was the most popular club!


    ***


    An hour seemed to pass quickly, and Meiqi had yet to put down the phone in her hand. With only two hours to prepare, this was clearly too hasty. The biggest problem was how they would find a screen big enough to display the match for the entire student body to watch.


    With growing anxiousness and nervousness, the Shanghai University students sat in the resting area, watching as the stage filled with more Zhejiang students.


    The entrance of the university was big, and it was already crowded with people. Even in the chilly autumn, it gave off a heated feeling.


    Inside and outside, the best place to view the stage had already been taken up, including the balcony of the dormitories. These were considered to be the best viewing place, and you could see rows of people already there.


    Zhejiang University¡¯s support for e-sports was beyond the Shanghai University members¡¯ expectation. The match had yet to begin and already there were thousands of students gathered, it was hard to imagine, what inter-university competition could attract the sea of people they were looking at now?


    One of the reasons was due to the placement of the stage, the other illustrated the popularity of LOL! With only half an hour to the match, the Shanghai University members prepared to enter the venue.


    Meiqi had yet to receive the call from Qin Ting informing her that all was ready, and her heart started to tense up.


    ¡°They will make it, you just concentrate on the match!¡± Zheng Xia said encouragingly to everyone.


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Jinbei, Luocheng, and Wang Jun started going up the stage once the host called them. When they were on stage, there were mutterings and chattering from the audience.


    You were in someone else¡¯s university after all, it was impossible that there would be supporters there for you. You could see some faces which were arrogant, as though they were saying you were just waiting to be beaten!


    The fact that Zhejiang University was strong was an indisputable fact, even if Shanghai University ranked in the top ten teams in e-sports, there was a big gap between the two universities.


    Zhejiang University team followed closely behind after they went on stage. They ascended the steps in an orderly manner, and the one leading them was none other than the chairman of their E-sports Club¡ªCeng Feilong!


    Feilong was a well known skilled professional player in the Ionia server, and it was said that he played live broadcasts online that were spectated by tens of thousands of people at the same time.


    Whilst in Zhejiang University, this president was a well sought after figure by all e-sports enthusiasts!


    His position had been established when he obtained second place in the whole country in the last e-sports University League, and he had been acknowledged by the university for claiming such a high honor!


    Zhejiang University placed great importance on e-sports, as it could be seen by the crowd which had gathered there. When the Zhejiang team appeared, the whole student body gathered started to cheer, and the volume was loud, as though thunder had sounded!


    The Zhejiang team maintained their smiles as they received the enthusiasm and passion that came from the crowd, continuing to walk up the stage calmly. How did it feel to receive such thunderous support from thousands of people in the university?


    As the Shanghai team watched them walk over, their emotions were slightly overwhelmed, and they admired and were envious of the Zhejiang team.


    They were favored in their university, whereas Shanghai¡¯s team received scorn from the other clubs, needing their teacher to use his position to protect them, needing to use their own money to attend this match which they would surely lose¡­


    ¡°Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win!¡±


    ¡°Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win!¡±


    The cheers and shouts came wave after wave, echoing throughout the campus. The thundering cheers were like majestic drums of the enemies, hitting hard into the hearts of the Shanghai University members.


    You could understand how insignificant a few people¡¯s cheers were as compared to the cheers of a thousand people at this moment!


    ***


    Settling into their seats, opening the client, and entering the game.


    Luocheng glanced at the corner of the audience, seeing Meiqi still on the phone. It seemed that Shanghai University had yet to prepare the big screen needed to broadcast the match.


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Jinbei, and Wang Jun were also looking at the same corner.


    Their line of vision was full of Zhejiang University students, the name they were shouting in excitement was also Zhejiang University¡¯s team members¡¯ names, and the focus was also on the other side of the stage where the Zhejiang team was seated. In that kind of atmosphere, you wouldn¡¯t know where to look at, because no matter where you looked, it would only make you feel helpless and bitter.


    ¡°Alright, our game will start at two o¡¯clock, this quarterfinals for the National E-sports University League has definitely attracted the attention of our students. Both teams were ranked in the top ten during the last competition, and I trust this will be an exciting match to watch. While cheering for our Zhejiang team, don¡¯t forget to also encourage Shanghai University team who has traveled a long way to come here!¡± The host was also considerate of Shanghai University team¡¯s feelings, and had said some fairly acceptable words.


    However, looking at the reactions of the Zhejiang students, there were not many who really wanted to cheer for the Shanghai team.


    This was human nature, there was no need to inspire morale for the opponent, there was no mercy on the battlefield!


    ***


    ¡°Now, the match will officially begin! After the two computers with OB position have been adjusted, we will soon be able to see the banning phase¡­let us cheer for our players!¡± The host said, excitement in his voice.

 Chapter 216 - A Lonely Cry Among The Thousands

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°You¡¯re still not done?¡± Meiqi asked anxiously, covering one side of her ear to properly listen to the answer from the other side.


    ¡°We¡¯re still stuck with no screen. The university refuses to loan it to us because they¡¯re scared it will get damaged. It will take at least two hours to get the projector set up. What¡¯s the situation now?¡± Qin Tang asked.


    ¡°Listen to it yourself, I¡¯m so angry right now!¡± Meiqi said, lifting the phone from her ear.


    The cheers of the Zhenjiang University students flooded through the receiver.


    ¡°Oh sh*t, that sounds like a whole damn lot of people up there!¡± Qin Ting said in surprise.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely incomparably stronger than our university, hurry up and find a way to get it done! Others have such great support, our university doesn¡¯t have any excuse to lack supporters. Let the cheers for us be louder than everyone in the dormitory!¡± Meiqi exclaimed.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Qin Ting nodded his head.


    On Shanghai University¡¯s side, the e-sports club members and the student community were busy setting up the stage outside the community area.


    ¡°F*ck, they have so many people! Hurry up and get to the university radio room, f*cking book the whole slot for the afternoon! Announce it to the whole university and let all of them know that this afternoon is the day we¡¯re up against Zhejiang University!¡± Qin Ting shouted at the facilitator that he had randomly grabbed.


    ¡°It¡¯s expensive to book the whole afternoon.¡± The facilitator tried to reason with him


    ¡°F*ck the price, I¡¯ll pay whatever money is needed, hurry up and go!¡± Qin Ting roared.


    ¡°Qin Ting, there¡¯s a way! There¡¯s a way!¡± One of the senior members of the club shouted as she ran toward him.


    ¡°What is it!¡± Qin Ting hurriedly asked.


    The main issue now was that they couldn¡¯t get a big screen, there was no one in the university that was willing to lend it to them, and it was pissing Qin Ting off.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the Film Club play movies at the community area last week, we could borrow the equipment from them!¡± The girl replied.


    The Film Club would play movies using the projector in the community area from time to time. All they needed was a laptop, a linking device, and a projector screen.


    ¡°F*ck, how could I have forgotten? Who the hell is in the Film Club?¡± Qin Ting smacked his head, and shouted out the latter part of his sentence.


    Both the e-sports club and Film Club were made up of members who were good in computers, and generally, they had good relationships with each other. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem to borrow equipment from them.


    ¡°My roommate is the president, I¡¯ll find him to borrow¡­no, I¡¯ll ask the club members to help us set up the projection even if it kills them!¡±


    ¡°Alright, get to the announcement, let them know we¡¯re streaming the match between Shanghai University and Zhejiang University live. Those who have nothing to do, go knock on all the doors in the dormitory, tell them there¡¯s a match in the community area!¡± Qin Ting instructed, excitement and glee in his voice.


    The Film Club members moved fast, it only took about ten minutes to see several vice presidents carrying the equipment and appearing at the community area.


    There was no need for many words, the Film Club members started setting up the equipment immediately.


    ¡°How long do you need?¡± Qin Ting asked.


    ¡°At least half an hour.¡± The president replied.


    ¡°Alright, please hurry!¡± Qin Ting said.


    ***


    In the Zhejiang University community area, the whole area was occupied by their students. The cheers of thousands of students were heard every time Zhejiang Team killed someone or brought down a turret.


    Even with the noise cancelling headphones on, you could feel the atmosphere and enthusiasm of the crowd drowning their inner defense. The previous matches were all held in their home ground, and this was the first time the Shanghai team felt the tremendous pressure of being suppressed.


    Ten minutes into the game, and all three lanes had been overtaken. Fifteen minutes into the game, a teamfight at bot lane had caused a wipe out, putting a gap of five thousand gold between the two teams. There was no hope of a comeback with a gap that big.


    Zhejiang team was on a roll, at twenty minutes, they had already made their way into the highground. After taking the Baron, they ended the fight in twenty three minutes.


    The game concluded at twenty three minutes, with none of the lanes holding the line. A sense of helplessness was born.


    The five of them took off their headphones, and the roar of the crowd burst into their ears, making them feel like putting their headphones back on.


    ¡°They¡¯re too strong¡­¡± Wang Jun said, bowing his head.


    His spirit had been beaten till there was no light left, they were too naive in their thoughts.


    For the sake of Mr. Fang, and for the sake of getting into the top four, they had paid their own way to come all the way to Hangzhou to go against Zhejiang University. They were full of enthusiasm and fighting spirit, but they had overlooked one major problem. Zhejiang University was way too strong, and they were practically unbeatable.


    The rest remained silent. Sixteen to eight, this match was a three match system, with two best out of three. There was no hope of winning the next match, and once they were done, they had to pack up and go back to Shanghai.


    When they thought about the smug and gleeful expressions of those assholes back home and the disappointment of their supporters, their hearts felt heavy.


    ¡°Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win!¡±


    ¡°Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win!¡±


    The unrestrained voices of the crowd washed over them, and the five of them couldn¡¯t help but feel even more dejected.


    Zhejiang team stood from their seats, acknowledging the crowd as they kept their winning smiles on their faces.


    Although the cheers were harsh in their ears and piercing their hearts, the Shanghai members unknowingly also admitted that Zhejiang was going to win.


    Yang Ying¡¯s heart was cold, and he only had eyes toward the corner where the other club members were standing. What surprised him, however, was that Meiqi was standing on the table, holding her jacket up as high as she could. On her jacket was written ¡®They are watching you!¡¯.


    Meiqi noticed that Yang Ying was looking at her, and she hurriedly pointed to the laptop, and scribbled on another member¡¯s jacket. Among the crowd, Meiqi once again stood on a chair, raising the jacket with written words for Yang Ying, Luocheng, Wang Jun, Jinbei and Xiao Jia.


    After entering the stage, no communication device was allowed. Meiqi couldn¡¯t enter the stage either, so this was the only way she could communicate with them.


    ¡°There are a lot of people, above five hundred of them!¡±


    Among the densely packed crowd, an orange jacket was above them, the words that Meiqi wanted to tell them written on it.


    ¡°Their computer is connected to our university, and there are more than five hundred people who are watching us in the community.¡± Xiao Jia said, as he could see what Meiqi wrote.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost so badly, and we have let them see such a shameful sight¡­¡± Wang Jun said.


    ¡°It should have just been built¡­¡±


    ¡°Zhejiang win¡­Zhejiang win¡­¡±


    As the five of them were talking, they could still hear the cheers from the Zhejiang University students that pierced through their hearts, making them lose their fighting spirit.


    The five of them were silent for a moment, their eyes unconsciously drawn to Meiqi¡­


    She was scribbling on another member¡¯s jacket in a hurry, writing out four words.


    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯ve already fought so hard with these guys!¡±


    Meiqi had already lost all concept of being reserved, and she raised the third member¡¯s jacket and screamed out in a sharp voice.


    ¡°Zhejiang win! Zhejiang win! Shanghai win¡­Shanghai win¡­¡±


    A girl with bright red hair stood on the chair among the densely packed crowd, her hands holding a jacket with the words ¡®Shanghai win¡¯, her face flushed red and screaming constantly.


    As the cheering of the Zhejiang students slowly subsided, the girl¡¯s sharp high pitched voice rang out among the thousands, flowing into the ears of the five members of the Shanghai team.


    Meiqi¡¯s voice was almost drowned out by the noise around them, but Luocheng heard it clearly.


    Looking at Meiqi who was a goddess now turned into a fiery sprite, the Shanghai team on stage were stunned.


    Previously all they could see was ¡®Zhejiang win¡¯, and everywhere they turned, they were cornered by the enemy. But in a corner, there were still people cheering for them, and this figure stood alone in a sea of people, and her voice broke through the thousands, reaching them¡­


    And to think that usually, she was the lazy and weak girl!


    ¡°Shanghai, win! Shanghai, win!¡±


    As Meiqi¡¯s voice got hoarse, they expected her voice to disappear, but all of a sudden, the shouts from the corner became louder!


    The loud voices were a bit static-y, and it became obvious that it was coming from a speaker.


    ¡°I seem to hear something¡­¡± the host said, looking at the corner where the rest of the Shanghai members were. She saw that there was a large speaker beside the laptop, not completely sure when it had gotten there!


    ¡°It seems like they are amplifying the cheers for the Shanghai team, why do I feel that this isn¡¯t computer made¡­¡± The host said, shifting the topic as it was break time.


    While the host was speculating, another person walked up to her and whispered into her ears. She hesitated for a moment, and nodded her head.


    The host was the official host of the match, and she didn¡¯t have any favoritism. She looked at the anxious red-head down on the stage and said, ¡°A student from Shanghai University has a few words to say to the Shanghai team, let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    Saying that, the host invited the girl up stage, passing the microphone to her.


    Zheng Xia took the offered microphone and glanced at the team members on stage who had lost all their fighting spirit.


    ¡°Our team in Shanghai University has used two and a half hours to build the stage, hanging it at the entrance of our community area. There are five hundred people watching, and now there are more than six hundred people. Did you hear the cheers from the speaker, it¡¯s Qin Ting who had asked everyone to shout into the mic and it was passed through YY!¡± Zheng Xia said seriously. ¡°The next two matches, the whole student body will be watching.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Fang is there, the Film Club members and E-sports Club members, including all those other clubs who hope that we will lose are also watching.¡±


    Zheng Xia eyed the five of them, taking a deep breath before saying, ¡°Bring out your proper attitude and don¡¯t let us down!¡±


    With that said, Zheng Xia handed the microphone back to the host and left the stage.


    Shouting out from the thousands of people present, taking the microphone from the host in other people¡¯s homeground¡­


    Was this really the usual Meiqi and Zheng Xia that they knew?


    Where did they get the courage?


    ¡°Shanghai, win! Shanghai, win!¡±


    You could hear the sound transmitting from the computer from hundreds of miles away, and the loudest was Qin Ting as he was the nearest to the mic. This guy was usually quiet, and yet, here he was, crazily encouraging people to cheer!


    An indescribable warmth spread throughout them at this moment, and gradually, it lit into a burning flame!


    Even those two girls had the courage to stand alone among the thousands of students to cheer for them, why then would the five of them, who was representing the glory for Shanghai University, be afraid?


    ***


    Take out your own strength, the enemy isn¡¯t that strong!


    Use your own power to grab the glory, never give up!

 Chapter 217 - An Exhilarating Play!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In the Shanghai University community area, a huge projector screen hung at the entrance. The area was also now occupied by a lot of people, and you could see Qin Ting on the stage, continuously shouting with the people, ¡°Shanghai, win!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s picture! There¡¯s display!¡±


    A clear picture appeared on the big screen, and as the screen loaded, you could finally see that both sides were in the banning phase!


    On one side was the unified team name, which was the famous Zhejiang University in the e-sports university league¡ªZJU!


    And the other side was also a unified team name from Shanghai University that everyone couldn¡¯t wait to see¡ªSHU!


    Finally being able to watch the confrontation between these two teams, the students of Shanghai University started getting excited.


    They were representing Shanghai University to play against Zhejiang University, and the previous display was the journey of Shanghai University in e-sports. There were a lot of LOL enthusiasts that were already paying attention, and in fact, it was a hot discussion topic.


    Shanghai University had already matched up against Zhejiang University in the pre-quarter finals round, and the two teams that had made it into the quarterfinals were inferior to them. In short, if they could make it past this round by beating Zhejiang, getting into the semifinals would be no problem!


    Most of the computer geeks who kept track of the e-sports industry would already know this, but for those who didn¡¯t, Qin Ting had already explained it. The announcement through the university radio room was still ongoing in a repetitive loop.


    For a moment, it felt like the whole community of e-sports fans in the university was fired up. Even those who didn¡¯t usually pay attention to it had come together to watch after seeing the stage that had been built.


    They didn¡¯t really understand the rules of the game, nor how the game was supposed to be played. However, they did know that if Shanghai University could make it to the semifinals, it was something the whole university could be proud of!


    Every student was the same, when you talked about your alma mater, you would have countless complaints or swearing about it. But when it came to the dignity and honor of your alma mater, they would be the most anxious and heated!


    ¡°Beat Zhejiang! Beat Zhejiang!¡±


    ¡°Beat Zhejiang! Beat Zhejiang!¡±


    Emotions were running high, and Qin Ting had not expected the E-Sports Club to be capable of producing such a sensation in the university!


    ¡°Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Luocheng, Jinbei, Wang Jun, you guys have to make it, we¡¯re all cheering for you!¡± Qin Ting prayed as he watched the rising support from the people gathered in the area.


    ***


    Entering the ban phase.


    The bans by ZJU were more simple, they had watched the replays of SHU and other universities and hadn¡¯t found any champions that were special or outstanding to the point that it would be a threat.


    The one-sided match in the first round also confirmed this, so they didn¡¯t have any specific champion they needed to ban. After removing the few champions that were disgustingly overpowering, ZJU immediately chose Shen for the top lane and a Vi Jungle.


    The Eye Of Twilight¡ªShen and The Piltover Enforcer¡ªVi was a classic combination. Using Vi¡¯s ulti to directly aim for the enemies¡¯ back line and with Shen¡¯s ulti protecting her as well as going in with her, they could easily dispose of the ADC or Mid.


    The combination was practically unstoppable, and for ZJU to use this tactic, they were planning on going all in and fast to end the match.


    SHU didn¡¯t hesitate long either, and they were quick to lock in the champions they had chosen. Jax for Top, Elise for Jungle, Annie for Mid and Graves for ADC.


    And everyone had thought that the last pick would be Thresh for support, or maybe Zyra, Lulu or Sona. Luocheng, however, went for The Rune Mage¡ªRyze.


    ¡°This guy must be trolling, if he locks in that champion then I¡¯ll eat my shoes,¡± Shaoying said.


    As soon as he had said that, Luocheng pushed the lock in button!


    The four members of ZJU looked toward Shaoying, as though expecting him to start eating his shoes. Shaoying¡¯s eye twitched in annoyance, wanting deeply to spew out profanities.


    ¡°This idiot is really using Ryze as a Support!¡± Qiming said.


    In the last match, Qiming had already trashed Luocheng soundly and he was feeling elated. Every day, he had heard Qianqian talking about how good Luocheng was, in the end, he was just a useless mongrel!


    ¡°Annie is the support, it¡¯s the new meta right now. It¡¯s quite strong.¡± Feilong said.


    Just as he predicted, in the last thirty seconds, Ryze and Annie swapped!


    Annie was the Support!


    This meta was already popular nationally, pairing up with a high damage output ADC, the combination was particularly good against champions like Vayne who had a shorter range!


    Luocheng was boldly using a non-mainstream champion like Annie to support, and it completely intrigued the crowd.


    ¡°This meta usually ganks the middle lane a lot, be careful.¡± Feilong said to Shaoying, who was using Orianna at the mid lane.


    Shaoying nodded, knowing that Feilong was talking based on his experiences. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if it¡¯s two of them, they may not be able to stop me.¡±


    ***


    Entering the game, SHU and ZJU students burst out cheering at the same time, watching as both sides bought their starter items and rushed out from the fountain area.


    The host also directed the screen to Luocheng, who was on Annie.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t rush after his teammates to leave the fountain area, instead, he accumulated two stacks of his passive before moving.


    The first skill he added was W¡ªIncinerate!


    Each time Annie used a skill, she would accumulate one stack of her passive. After four stacks, the next spell she casts would have a 1.75 second stun effect.


    Therefore, using a skill like W which could be released without a specific target was a good strategy. When it was released, it would produce a wide area stun effect, and in the early game or later game teamfights, this could produce unexpected results!


    After accumulating enough stacks, Luocheng walked in front of the entire team.


    They had Jax, Elise, Graves, Ryze, and Annie, who had CC skills. With this lineup, there wasn¡¯t any reason not to start an early teamfight at level one. As long as they met in the jungle, it was almost guaranteed that they could wipe them out.


    ¡°Where would they be?¡± Xiao Jia said.


    The success of the teamfight at level one would be dependent on the position of their opponents. Luocheng was on the red side, and he led the team toward the Dragon Pit. Although they didn¡¯t see the reason why they would be there, they chose to believe in Luocheng and followed him.


    ¡°Do you dare to make a bet?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°What bet?¡± Yang Ying asked, confused.


    ¡°I bet that they will start like normal at the red buff. I saw them planting a ward at the entrance of the Wraiths camp just now, and there are definitely people in the tribush at the bottom lane. Since the two places for us to invade the camp have been sealed off, we can only Flash through the Dragon Pit if we want to catch them. There are definitely no wards here.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Flash through here? All five of us?¡± Yang Ying said, hesitation clear in his voice.


    ¡°If they¡¯re not at the red buff, then wouldn¡¯t our Flash go to waste? Why not send one person in to check first?¡± Xiao Jia asked.


    ¡°No, if they see one person coming, they will scatter. That¡¯s why I said, make a bet, it¡¯s all or nothing. If it¡¯s on point, then we¡¯ll be able to take down their Jungler, Support, ADC, or at least another two, including their red buff. If we lose the bet, all of us won¡¯t have Flash for the first five minutes. Good news is, they probably won¡¯t know this fact.¡±


    ¡°This¡­is very risky. Even if we succeed, the top laner will be losing out on experience.¡±


    ¡°Nope, even if we don¡¯t catch any of them, Ryze has Teleport. Whether we kill anyone or not, he can go straight back to the top lane to fight Shen. Jax is the same, he can recall back to base and go to the bottom lane, by the time he reaches, it should be just in time with the minion wave. Graves and I will head to the middle lane, and we¡¯ll burst down Orianna.¡± Luocheng explained.


    ***


    Yang Ying was stunned to hear this tactic for invading, Flashing up from the Dragon Pit and betting that their opponents would be at the red buff¡­


    This crazy dude actually dared to f*cking think of this kind of strategy!


    This was a f*cking exhilarating play!

 Chapter 218 - Eradicate Them Without Reason!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Damn it, if we play as usual then we¡¯ll just be beaten again. Let¡¯s make that bet, it¡¯s only five Flashes, and they won¡¯t even know that we don¡¯t have it. If we can last till the sixth or seventh minute, we won¡¯t lose anything.¡± Yang Ying said, biting his lip.


    Once they all agreed on it, they waited quietly in the Dragon Pit. If you were to go in too early, the opponent would scatter and the Flash that they burned would be in vain.


    They had to wait for the one minute and thirty-five second mark of the game, just as their opponents reached the red buff.


    One minute fifty seconds.


    Fifty-one seconds!


    Fifty-two seconds!


    Bamf! Bamf! Bamf! Bamf! Bamf!


    The Flash sound effect resounded consecutively with all five of them on the other side of the Dragon Pit, and Annie still in the lead.


    ¡°The stun will hit, don¡¯t let them have a chance to Flash out!¡± Luocheng said seriously.


    The rest nodded their heads.


    Heading in together from the Dragon Pit to the blue side¡¯s red buff, their opponent was likely lax in their vigilance at this point.


    As they stepped into the brush beside the red buff, the five of them were inexplicably nervous. If it was a miss, then they would already have lost half the match¡­


    It must be a hit!


    As they stopped in the brush, they could see the silhouette of a goddess in white¡ªSona, who was tanking the damage from the red buff while Vi and Ezreal were attacking it!


    Their eyes lit up in delight, it was right!


    With glee in their eyes, Annie made the first move and made a big turn. Unleashing the burning flames which danced from her petite hands, it spread out and slammed into Vi and Sona, stunning them, who were completely unprepared for the onslaught!


    Vi and Sona had already pressed Flash, but their opponents appeared too suddenly and sadly, their positioning had been too close together. That would mean the both of them would feel the full brunt of the attack by SHU team!


    By the time they got free of the 1.75 second stun, they would be resurrected at the fountain.


    More horrifyingly, Jax¡¯s E¡ªCounter Strike also had a 1.5 second stun effect, and he threw that in their faces too.


    Sona let out a shrill scream and fell to the ground, signalling that Wang Jun¡¯s Jax had gotten first blood.


    Vi¡¯s defense was higher than Sona and had a higher chance of escaping after the 1.75 seconds stun. But with Jax¡¯s Counter Strike hitting her with the stun effect, it was not an accident that she died too.


    FIRST BLOOD!


    The announcement for both kills exploded at the same time, the difference was only that Jax had gotten first blood, while Graves had gotten second.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Just as they were celebrating getting the first two kills, The Spider Queen¡ªElise shot a web in another direction. The web flew straight toward Ezreal, who Flashed away from it.


    When Luocheng walked into the brush, he saw Ezreal, Sona and Vi in one glance.


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t bothered about Ezreal, choosing to stun the two who were nearer and hitting the red buff. At the same time, Ezreal had Flashed away immediately like a coward running away with his tail between his legs.


    Once Elise saw that Sona and Vi were immobilized and had no chance of escaping, she simply walked toward Ezreal and threw out a web!


    Stunned!


    Yang Ying¡¯s Ryze was equipped with Runes of Speed, and his W¡ªRune Prison that he had been planning to use after Jax¡¯s stun wore off. Who would¡¯ve thought that before that could happen, they were already disposed off.


    He quickly followed up before Ezreal had realized that he was already imprisoned inside the cage! He didn¡¯t have a chance to escape at all, and fell unwillingly under the assault of SHU.


    DOUBLE KILL!


    Graves had gotten a double kill!


    The rest had deliberately backed down, letting Jinbei¡¯s Graves get the double kill. Even the usually reserved Jinbei had gotten so excited until he couldn¡¯t help but curse!


    SHU had gotten three kills, and they couldn¡¯t help but grin. The three kills was enough to get ahead for the bot lane and Jungler!


    ***


    ¡°F*ck! Why didn¡¯t you plant a ward!¡± Qiming roared angrily at his Support.


    They were fully aware that SHU had an almost invincible combination for an early teamfight, how could he not have planted a good ward. They had managed to invade and had even gotten three kills!


    ¡°I already did, see for yourself!¡± His Support retorted, anger seeping into his voice as well.


    Qiming glanced at the minimap, and his face froze.


    Both the entrance at the Wraith Camp and the bottom lane tribush had wards planted, if SHU had walked that way, they definitely would have seen them¡­


    F*ck, it was impossible for them to have gotten a one up on them like this!


    ZJU¡¯s Jungler, Qiming, and his Support were all dumbfounded. How the hell had they managed to invade, then?


    Feilong frowned slightly as he studied the minimap a little more.


    ¡°They Flashed up from the Dragon Pit.¡± He said in a calm voice.


    ¡°Flash? All five of them? Just to steal our red buff?¡± Shaoying said, choking a little.


    What kind of f*cking strategy was this?


    What if they had started at the blue buff instead, or had even chosen to invade? Then wouldn¡¯t the five of their Flashes have been wasted?


    Was there anyone who played League of Legends like this?


    ¡°They made a bet, a bet on whether we dared to invade their jungle, or would we start at our red buff.¡± Feilong said.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    Everyone in ZJU was speechless, going against such a radical group for the first time. Although it seemed stupid, they had gotten such an advantage with their method. Three kills and a red buff, as long as they didn¡¯t waste such a good advantage, they could probably snowball the game from the beginning!


    ***


    The students at Zhejiang University were staring at the screen, their mouths wide open in shock. There was a slight delay in the display, of course, but the crowd was visibly stunned when it happened.


    They didn¡¯t expect that SHU would be able to demonstrate such a tactic in a level one teamfight, and many novice players questioned whether they were playing the same game as them at all!


    An early teamfight with that kind of tactic! How crazy and extreme was that!


    ***


    Three minutes later, this scene was displayed on Shanghai University¡¯s screen. At one minute and fifty seconds, everyone had watched as the SHU team hid in the brush, and all of the spectators thought that they had finally gone off their rockers¡­


    When the five of them had Flashed up from the Dragon Pit in unison and proceeded to take down the three kills, the whole Shanghai University had exploded in cheers!


    The cheers echoed through the many rows of the dormitory, and even those who were not interested in League of Legends couldn¡¯t help but poke their heads out.


    There hadn¡¯t been any plays like this before, and with no one ever pulling off this type of feat, all eyes were on them!


    Seeing such a wondrous opening to the match, a lot of people took out their phones and called their friends to hurry up and come watch!


    On weekends, there were many who were immersed in playing games. After being spammed so much, the majority of them made their way out of the dorms, and even those who didn¡¯t know the game started to gather. They wanted to find out, what was it that was making people cheer as if they were at a live concert!


    ***


    First team fight of the match and they had hit the jackpot.


    Yang Ying¡¯s Ryze used Teleport to go directly to the top lane, and when he reached, it was just in time for the first wave to hit, so there was no experience lost.


    Jax didn¡¯t bother recalling to base, instead, going straight to his lane. Ezreal and Sona had already revived but were still at the fountain, meaning Jax could leisurely farm at the bot lane for the first wave, and maybe even the second wave.


    Even after Ezreal and Sona had reached the lane, Jax would have the advantage in levels and could still farm in peace. Once they had caught up with levels, Jax¡ªwho had gotten first blood could recall to buy items. Although he wouldn¡¯t be able to 1v2, Ezreal and Sona would still think twice before they tried to take him on.


    Annie and Graves reached the middle lane, and Orianna, knowing that her teammates had been killed, didn¡¯t dare to farm too far out. The reason for this was simple, if Annie managed to land a stun and Elise was around to follow up, Orianna wouldn¡¯t be able to escape even with her Flash. Before he could come out and farm with a peace of mind, Shaoying needed to make sure that Elise wasn¡¯t camping at the middle lane once she had gotten the red buff.


    Only¡­


    Shaoying was too naive in his thoughts.


    What was Luocheng good at?


    He wasn¡¯t only good at being a Support, his ADC was also abnormally outstanding. When he chose Annie with a basic attack range of 625, he was basically equivalent to a low-damage Caitlyn!


    I¡¯m going to poke, and continue to poke you to death!


    Once Luocheng landed a stun, he used basic attacks to hit Orianna instead of using skills. If Orianna wanted to return the hits with her own skills, then she wouldn¡¯t be able to farm at all. But if she focused on farming instead, then Luocheng would poke her mercilessly until she couldn¡¯t do it either!


    In the early game, even without items, Annie¡¯s damage was terrifying. Most of the time, it was Annie who walked past the creep wave to poke Orianna, making her frustrated.


    ¡°Join me for a while at the middle lane, if the creeps don¡¯t come over, I don¡¯t get a shred of experience. If they reach the turret, then our turret will get chipped down.¡± Shaoying said to Vi.


    The Jungler didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry at that, but he joined Orianna at the middle lane, splitting the experience gain. With the thought of forcefully killing Graves and Annie, Vi didn¡¯t even want to think about it.


    Vi had died once in the first two minutes into the game, taking the blue buff also had to be done alone. After defeating the blue buff, she didn¡¯t have much health left and she didn¡¯t even manage to get to level three.


    Graves was already at level four, and if they were to force a fight, that would be serving their own heads on a silver platter to them. The powerful combination of Annie and Graves were practically asking for a fight!


    ¡°Just play it carefully. Shit, this match has just gotten harder,¡± Shaoying said with a grimace.


    Orianna only had ten CS at this point, and her health was much too low for his liking. He needed to recall once this creep wave was down.


    D*mn it, he had never been so miserable after playing league for so long, it was really eating him on the inside!

 Chapter 219 - : Jungle Dominance Strategy

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng¡¯s best skill was not at using a Support champion to get kills, but rather, using the Support¡¯s unique skills to progressively suppress the opponent.


    Suppressing their experience gain, level gain, mental pressure, those minor harassments that would eventually drive people crazy. And once their opponent¡¯s heart was in a mess, they would begin to expose their weakness and carelessness, and they wouldn¡¯t be far from death!


    Orianna threw a combination of skills at Annie in frustration, and Annie took a step forward, sparks flying in her hands as she threw out a Disintegrate straight into the face of The Lady of Clockwork!


    Graves¡¯ reaction was not slow either, the moment Annie released her flames, he activated his E¡ªQuickdraw with a basic attack and directly using his ulti, taking away almost half of Orianna¡¯s health!


    Incinerate!


    The flames surged forward, landing the 1.75 seconds stun and within this time, Annie and Graves would be able to easily take down Orianna¡¯s remaining health!


    Shaoying was startled so badly that he immediately Flashed and even threw on his Barrier as he made his escape.


    Luocheng had already made his calculations on his damage, and before Orianna had flashed, he had thrown an Ignite on her. With her barrier lasting less than five seconds, Ignite would burn her at the last second.


    Bringing Ignite into the match as a Support, he was really focused on the damage and getting kills!


    Shaoying¡¯s face turned red with anger, knowing that he had wasted his Flash, as in the end, he had still died.


    Now he would have a difficult time without his Flash!


    Vi only came to cover the middle lane after Orianna had died. Annie and Graves ignored her and directed their attacks onto the turret instead. Seven minutes into the game and the mid lane turret had only less than one fifth of its health left, the next wave of creeps could probably bring it down.


    Recalling back to their base, Graves and Annie¡¯s wallets were bursting with gold. Graves immediately bought a B.F Sword, forget about slow and steady, they were going all in!


    Luocheng bought a Sightstone, shoes and a vision ward. You could tell how rich the Support was with the items in hand!


    Returning to lane, Orianna had finally managed to comfortably clear a wave of creeps, reaching level seven. At level seven, Orianna¡¯s clearing was better, and as long as she continued to farm under the turret, it would be slightly harder to deny her experience and income.


    Luocheng planted a ward at the brush outside the Wraiths Camp, clearing a vision ward Vi had planted before at the same time. After completing his task, he returned to the lane to poke Orianna.


    Shaoying was frustrated, he knew that Annie and Graves would have their Flash by now. If Annie Flashed forward to ulti, followed up by Graves¡¯ Flash and ulti, there would be no escape from death. That was why Shaoying refused to leave the safety of the turret, farming from a distance instead.


    ***


    At the bottom lane, Jax had already reached level eight, while Ezreal and Sona were still at level six.


    ¡°Wait for him to use his Q, then we¡¯ll go all in!¡± Qiming told Sona.


    Even with the two of them against Jax, they were only leading in CS by a measly five. Jax¡¯s farming was good, and he had already bought a Bilgewater Cutlass and a Ruby Crystal. With these items, they could forcefully be killed by Jax if they weren¡¯t careful.


    Qiming made an error on purpose, walking into the wrong position and Jax took the bait, jumping straight onto him!


    Sona immediately threw her Exhaust at him, reducing his damage. Once Exhaust faded off, she activated her ulti, stunning Jax in place to cut off his escape.


    Ezreal was calmly attacking Jax during this time, with the mindset to definitely kill off this Jax.


    After the stun wore off, Jax only had about one third of his health left. Instead of retreating, Jax chose to activate Counter Strike and jumped into Ezreal¡¯s face!


    ¡°He¡¯s looking to die, still wanting to fight us!¡± Qiming had assumed that Jax would use it to escape, but he didn¡¯t expect Jax to rush forward to them instead!


    With that little health, even if he had Flash, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape!


    ¡°Yeah, Tibbers!¡±


    A cunning voice full of malice rang out from behind them, Ezreal and Sona didn¡¯t even have the time to turn around before they were engulfed by a huge shadow of raging flames!


    Roar!


    A humongous bear fell from the sky in flames, his arse landing directly on Ezreal and Sona¡¯s faces!


    The two of them were stunned from the impact, and before they could collect their wits and figure out what had happened, their health had dropped drastically!


    You should never underestimate the amount of damage Annie could bring, using her three skills combo, she could easily take down more than half of a champion¡¯s health!


    Jax smirked with glee and raised his lamp post, pouncing on them and taking away the last bit of health left!


    DOUBLE KILL!


    Jax had gotten a double kill in exchange for his Flash! The bottom lane had once again died tragically, and Zhejiang University students were once again silenced in awe.


    ¡°F*ck! Where did this Annie come from! Why didn¡¯t the middle lane report that Annie was missing!¡± Qiming shouted in anger.


    This Annie had appeared too suddenly, even though both the tribrush and river had been warded, how the hell had she appeared from the back of them!


    ¡°I¡­I was taking the blue buff, didn¡¯t you guys ward?¡± Shaoying said.


    Shaoying hadn¡¯t noticed when Annie had left the lane, and he was aware that there were wards in the tribush, how the heck had Annie avoided all those wards and appeared at the bot lane¡­


    If he had walked in from the tribush in the red buff area, there was already a ward there. There wouldn¡¯t have been enough time for her to reach the bot lane like that if they had seen her, and Shaoying knew that Annie had still been in the lane ten seconds prior to that.


    Luocheng¡¯s roam had been a bit too sudden, and he had even brought his ulti out to match up with Jax¡¯s damage output, once again, giving a beautiful assist to his teammate to get a double kill.


    Ezreal and Sona¡¯s bottom lane could practically give the announcement that their turret had been destroyed, because the two of them would definitely not be able to win Jax.


    ***


    Three minutes later when the scene played out on the screen in Shanghai University, the OB camera was coincidentally on Luocheng¡¯s Annie.


    Everyone remembered that just thirty seconds before, Annie had disposed of the ward at the entrance of the Wraith Camps that had been protecting the bottom lane.


    Thirty seconds later, when Orianna had gone to get her blue buff, Annie had purposely gone through the same way and invaded the opponent¡¯s jungle. After passing the top of the Dragon Pit, right before entering the tribush, she had actually used her Flash! Near the brush below the red buff, she had leaned as close as she could to the wall and Flashed over to the far left of the Krugs Camp, happily skipping to the back of the two who were blissfully unaware.


    At that moment, Ezreal and Sona were assaulting Jax, and Annie had just swaggered up to them, activating her ulti right there!


    Seeing this scene, everyone had to reevaluated their thoughts¡­


    This wasn¡¯t a Support, this definitely was not a Support!


    What the f*ck, wasn¡¯t this how a Mid Annie would be playing instead!


    ZJU team had written off Annie as a Support and were more concerned about the whereabouts of Elise. Once Elise was visible on the map, they could farm with a slightly better peace of mind. They didn¡¯t expect that the Support would be the one invading their jungle, Flashing to avoid the vision the wards gave and even ganking the bot lane!


    Everyone had ignored Annie¡¯s level six breakthrough and the possibility that she would roam. They had completely underestimated this SHU Support who had never played by the normal rules!


    ¡°F*ck, the news that this freshman was simply unorthodox and outstanding was true!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he was aware that the bottom lane would have wards at that place. Even if it was me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from that ward so easily with Flash¡­¡±


    Flash was so valuable that many people would wait until it was unavoidable before using it. However, at times, it would be used unexpectedly, like bypassing the most critical field of vision and appearing at the opponent¡¯s back. This was better than letting them see you use your Flash to move forward and ulti, because this would give them time to react and use their own Flash to avoid it.


    Luocheng was not playing the game with the usual rule of common sense, and yet, he successfully managed to establish advantages for his teammate to obtain a double kill and bring down the bottom lane.


    ***


    With two assists previously, Luocheng was able to buy another vision ward, and immediately proceeded to plant a deep ward in the opponent¡¯s jungle area.


    Sona had not even been able to build a Sightstone yet, and if their vision control was seized like this, they wouldn¡¯t be safe even if they stood underneath their inner bottom lane turret. After all, who could guarantee that Elise, Graves, and Annie would all come to the bottom lane when they went missing at their respective lanes?


    With their middle lane turret also going down, ZJU team¡¯s vision fell completely to SHU team¡¯s control.


    Vi¡¯s position was known to them, but even so, the bottom lane didn¡¯t even dare to farm in peace. Orianna was also camping under the turret, and their freedom of movement was restricted to what they could see.


    Their outer middle lane turret, red buff area, and the bottom lane Krugs Camp area was being controlled by SHU, not to mention, the Dragon was practically already in their hands. No matter how many times it spawned, it was theirs for the taking.


    Even if Shen were to ulti down to any fights, Ryze could easily do the same with his Teleport.


    Feilong was also having a hard time because Elise had been camping his lane, and his own Jungler¡ªVi was unable to farm to catch up.


    ***


    ¡°F*ck, did they change their group of people? I don¡¯t remember SHU being so good!¡± Shaoying cursed.


    In the first match, ZJU had bullied them mercilessly, not even giving them any breathing space to retaliate.


    In the second match, they were the ones being pressed to the ground like dogs. They were either being camped by the Jungler, or being dived under turrets. It was only eighteen minutes into the game and all three outer turrets had fallen, this was faster and worse than the previous game when they had done the same to SHU!


    Can you imagine, Orianna had just managed to build Athene¡¯s Unholy Grail at eighteen minutes, and that was also only because he had sold his Doran Ring?


    Ezreal didn¡¯t even have Trinity Force, and Sona couldn¡¯t build her Sightstone and had to rely on Stealth Wards and Vision Wards.


    Although Vi was slowly catching up, the middle and bottom lanes had suffered too much. Graves could easily shave off half her life with his skill combos, and this was even with her building tank items¡­


    If this wasn¡¯t their home ground, and it was impossible for SHU to cheat, Zhejiang University students would really suspect that this second match was played by an entirely different team!

 Chapter 220 - A Bloody Storm at Level One

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost this round,¡± Feilong said, his brows furrowed.


    ¡°Not yet, wait till I get my items, we¡¯ll be stronger in team fights,¡± Shaoying said.


    Feilong shook his head. ¡°They won¡¯t give us a chance to wait till late game, and Ryze, Jax, and Graves, are all late game champions. The longer we drag the game, the lower our chances of winning.¡±


    If Summoner¡¯s Rift was divided based on the river, and the mid lane into four sections, then the situation now was that their opponent was controlling the vision of the three sections completely.


    This kind of vision suppression, jungle suppression, snowballing without killing and just aiming the tower¡ªthis was a tactic that would normally only appear in plays by professional top teams.


    Although there were many gaps and loopholes in the tactics used by SHU, the fundamentals were still the same.


    ¡°Our blue buff area will also be taken over by them if nothing out of the ordinary happens, and it will force us to head toward the Baron Pit. They will ambush us there and start a teamfight. If we don¡¯t go, they¡¯ll take the Baron and take all our turret outside the base, forcing their way into our high ground. Once that goes down, we¡¯ll lose.¡± Feilong explained.


    ¡°This tactic sounds simple, but difficult to apply. You need to properly calculate all three lane¡¯s pros and cons, as well as a strong vision control by the Support. The Jungler would also need to control the jungle area correctly as well as match up with each lane¡­¡± Shaoying said, his face solemn.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, they have an analyst who is close to a top professional player level instructing them. Unless we can win a teamfight, this tactic will press us to the ground with no chance of a comeback. We¡¯re too far behind in income compared to them, it¡¯s impossible to win.¡± Feilong said. ¡°We¡¯ll surrender at twenty, there¡¯s no use in continuing this match.¡±


    ¡°Surrender¡­but¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it bad for morale if we surrender?¡±


    ¡°This tactic is putting more pressure on us mentally, and you will feel more and more frustrated as it goes on. Just surrender and prepare for the next match, as long as we win the next one, it will be enough!¡±


    The rest of them didn¡¯t dare to argue, Feilong was their leader after all. They needed to obey his words.


    In the following minutes, as Feilong had said, the sections of the map was slowly taken over by SHU¡¯s control, including the blue buff area. Once this was done, the Baron would go down any time.


    Many times, even though you knew other people¡¯s tactics, you would still fall into their traps.


    Once SHU had managed to kill off two champions due to the lack of vision, they immediately took the Baron, taking down all the outside turrets and pushing their way into the highground.


    ***


    At around twenty-five minutes, ZJU¡¯s side had collapsed till they could no longer bear to look at it. Feilong didn¡¯t waste any time in pressing the surrender button.


    The others calmly pressed the same button, and the game screen froze suddenly, the big words of ¡®Defeat¡¯ appearing before their eyes¡­


    To be honest, Zhejiang University had not expected to lose any of the matches against Shanghai University. The strength of their top teams were too different after all.


    When the ¡®Defeat¡¯ floated up on the screen, the crowd burst into wails and chatters. Some didn¡¯t understand why ZJU would surrender before the end of the match¡­


    At the same time, the difference between the first and second match performed by SHU also surprised Zhejiang University.


    ***


    Three minutes later, wild cheers exploded from the Shanghai University community!


    It was a tie right now, and Shanghai University had managed to match Zhejiang University. You had to understand that Zhejiang University¡¯s first team was the runner up for the last national competition!


    This was definitely an achievement!


    Unconsciously, the number of people gathered in the Shanghai University community area had increased.


    The news of the match was still spreading like wildfire, and as the competition entered the last determining match, even lecturers were coming out from the office to watch this important match!


    It wouldn¡¯t be long before the number of people watching at Shanghai University would exceed the number of people watching at Zhejiang University!


    ***


    ¡°Captain, we¡¯ll be in trouble in the next match as well if they play as coordinated as they did in this match,¡± Shaoying said, frowning.


    ¡°Idiot, it was just luck that they managed to get three kills in the beginning. Other than that, I didn¡¯t see anything special about the way they played.¡± Qiming said, clearly unhappy.


    ¡°They most likely have someone who is good enough to be their pacemaker.¡± Feilong said, after some thought. ¡°It should be their Support.¡±


    ¡°That Annie Support?¡± Qiming said, surprised.


    The Support was Luocheng, and he was Qiming¡¯s love rival. After beating him soundly in the first match, Qiming had dismissed Luocheng¡¯s capabilities in LOL.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. In the first early teamfight, it was Annie that opened the act. During the laning phase, it was also her that had pressured our Mid. Roaming to the bottom lane and controlling the vision, taking the Dragon¡­ It would all seem as if Jax or Graves were the ones who put everything in place to take us down, but it was in fact Annie who controlled the bigger picture¡ªour vision, jungle area, and income. I am definitely not wrong in this assumption.¡± Feilong explained, his eyes sharp.


    The others were not convinced, how could a Support carry the game, by buying more Vision Wards?


    ¡°Captain, are you sure it¡¯s the Support? I don¡¯t think the Support was anything special, he just got lucky the few times he managed to catch us off guard and kill us.¡± Qiming retorted, his voice clearly disbelieving and unsatisfied.


    ¡°Qiming, if you can¡¯t let go of your prejudice and take a good look at SHU, we¡¯ll most probably lose the third match as well. Even though I wasn¡¯t able to pay much attention to the mid lane, nor did I manage to properly look at how Annie was controlled, but from his vision control, you can already tell that this guy is not someone to be taken lightly. You just remember that the Support is not someone to be underestimated, he is the core of their team. If we lose the third match because of you, you know the consequences!¡± Feilong said, anger and impatience seeping into his voice as his patience grew thin due to Qiming¡¯s nonchalant dismissal of his words.


    A person who didn¡¯t take their opponents seriously would easily make mistakes that the team could not make up for, especially in such an important position like the ADC!


    ¡°I understand, Captain,¡± Qiming said quietly, not daring to say much more.


    Only, his heart had an inexplicably strong resentment at that! If the bot lane was to be as it was in the next match, he would definitely rip that Support to shreds!


    ***


    ¡°Break time is over, both teams, please prepare to enter into the third and final match.¡±


    ¡°It feels like both teams are on par, the first match victory was taken by a landslide by ZJU. In the second match, SHU managed to press ZJU into surrendering, you can see how strong both sides are. The third game, which is also the decisive game, will definitely be entertaining. I¡¯m not sure if everyone is as excited as I am!¡± The host¡¯s melodic voice announced, trying to ignite the excitement in the crowd before the start of the third match.


    In e-sports, what you needed was enough support, if you watched the game in front of a computer or in a room, you wouldn¡¯t know how many people were supporting you.


    What you needed was what they had now, a hundred or thousand of people gathered together, using the performance of the players, the anticipation of the match, and the voice of the crowd to bring up the atmosphere!


    Like today, the host was satisfied with the atmosphere, and she even heard the excitement coming from Shanghai University¡¯s side!


    What they wanted was this kind of effect, where everyone was excited and in anticipation. For the honor of your university and for the sake of the e-sports team that you support, and also, cheer for the sake of everyone who had the same passion for e-sports!


    ***


    The third and final match, begin!


    Entering into the banning phase.


    In the previous two matches, ZJU hadn¡¯t paid much attention to who to ban. This was because they hadn¡¯t seen any particular champion that would serve as a threat to them.


    This time, ZJU immediately banned Annie, and it was their first ban.


    Luocheng had shown them the prowess which a Support could bring to the match, and it was even more terrifying than a Jungler, at how he could carry and pace the entire game. In this match, ZJU refused to allow Annie to be let loose, as they had yet to figure out a way to deal with Annie who could completely disrupt their rhythm.


    ¡°They¡¯re targeting you already.¡± Xiao Jia said, looking at Luocheng.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Luocheng nodded his head.


    ¡°They could probably tell that it was our Support that carried the game, as well as the fact that we¡¯re following his pace. Their observation is good.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re on the blue side this round. Xiao Jia, try to stay more on the mid lane and red buff side. Wang Jun, play as if our Jungler is camping at your lane. As long as your lane doesn¡¯t go down, we have a chance to win.¡± Luocheng said, informing them of the strategy this round.


    Wang Jun was going to face off against Feilong, and he would be under tremendous pressure. He didn¡¯t expect Wang Jun to have any outstanding plays, as long as he didn¡¯t get snowballed, it would be fine.


    Wang Jun nodded his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve been thoroughly trashed by your Team Skycrown, resisting pressure is something we¡¯ve been trained in.¡±


    ¡°Alright, whether we win this round depends on how well the four of us can match our rhythm,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Yeah, good luck!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go all out!¡±


    ***


    Amidst the cheers, ZJU and SHU both exited the fountain, hurriedly running toward the river entrances.


    There wasn¡¯t any overwhelming advantage on either side for an early teamfight this round, so if they engaged, they needn¡¯t be overly afraid of anyone in particular.


    Sure enough, both sides had the same idea and initiated a fight at the river, raging against each other fiercely. The only thing that separated them was whether their skills could be controlled properly and released on time!


    Both sides had no intentions of backing down, and the fight was intense!


    Four for four, and both sides only leaving the Support after the fight. The kills were also taken by the more important roles.


    From the first fight, you could already see the general situation of the entire game. If the first fight had already been so intense, there would most likely be a bloody storm that would rage and echo throughout the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift!


    The two Supports who had survived the fight started to plant their wards so that they could track their opponent¡¯s Jungler movement.


    At this level of strength, getting solo kills in lanes was almost impossible. The only role right now that could make heads roll would be the Jungler, which was why before they could get their buffs, they needed to have enough vision to know their opponent¡¯s movement so that they could prevent ganks from happening.


    The intentions of both Supports were now the same, using the time that their teammates hadn¡¯t revived, they would walk to the opposing side¡¯s jungle to plant deep wards!

 Chapter 221 - A Dangerous Person!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Be more aggressive,¡± Qiming told his Support.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that really a good idea?¡± His Support replied.


    ¡°What¡¯s not good about it? You¡¯re a Lulu Support, and your CC is strong, what are you afraid of?¡± Qiming retorted.


    Qiming still wasn¡¯t satisfied, how strong could a f*cking Support be?


    Saying that the Support was the one who had carried the game, but although Annie had gotten the kills in the beginning, she had only been buying more Vision Wards for vision control, and it was something that all Supports did. There wasn¡¯t any reason to make such a big fuss.


    ¡°He chose Fiddlesticks for Support this time round, if we get hit by Terrify, it¡¯ll definitely be painful.¡± His Support said.


    ¡°This guy really thinks he¡¯s some god, always picking unconventional Supports. He¡¯s asking to get killed.¡± Qiming said.


    The combination of CC from Caitlyn and Lulu was fearsome, in lane, they were practically unbeatable. With this combination, they could indeed afford to be more aggressive.


    Fiddlesticks and Corki, this was definitely an interesting match up!


    With the buff on Trinity Force in the recent patch, those ADCs that would build Trinity Force would be affected, and the most prominent one of them all was The Daring Bombardier¡ªCorki.


    Team Skycrown had accounts in the US server, and they would frequently train there, playing with the newest updates and items.


    Once they had new plays, they would practice against the people from Shanghai University. Incidentally, SHU would also be playing with the newest updates and items. Before their local server had received the latest updates and buff on Trinity Force, Jinbei had already been training hard with Corki.


    The buff on Trinity Force had only come in recently in the local server, and Jinbei had not used Corki in the previous two matches. However, in this third and final match, he needed to go all out, so he didn¡¯t hesitate and picked this champion!


    For Luocheng, his pick with Fiddlesticks as his Support was something he had learnt from Wu Sen. Wu Sen was a top player in the country and knew a lot of things. Wu Sen¡¯s playstyle of Fiddlesticks had been used in the practice matches between Team Skycrown and Team SHU a few times and had surprised Luocheng, so he too, began to train this champion as a Support¡­


    In the end, Wu Sen had taught Luocheng how to play Fiddlesticks as a Support. Luocheng had trained for a few days before managing to beat Wu Sen and Xiao Bei in a normal match up at the bottom lane.


    Those days, Xiao Bei and Wu Sen were overshadowed by Luocheng¡¯s Fiddlesticks Support. Once they weren¡¯t training but playing official matches, they had banned Fiddlesticks immediately without any further explanation!


    Jinbei and Luocheng had also been paired up and practicing for a month or two now, and while this strategy was not so easy to use, it was one that they had trained long and hard in! In this decisive match, they didn¡¯t dare to hold back anything and instead, chose the best coordinated team they excelled in!


    ***


    Reaching the lane, Luocheng began to calculate the experience gained as usual. This was a habit of his from playing league, if there were no other factors involved in the first four levels, he could tell when both sides would level up just by the number of minions in the lane.


    One of the keys to winning was having an advantage in levels, especially for champions like Corki and Fiddlesticks, who relied heavily on their skills. Their opponents were playing aggressively, you could tell from the fact that they kept hovering near the front of the minions and were always trying to pressure Luocheng and Jinbei.


    Lulu¡¯s Q together with Caitlyn¡¯s attack range and Q allowed them to have a relatively big advantage in the beginning, and Luocheng didn¡¯t intend to risk anything to retaliate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get hit by them too much even when you¡¯re farming. Hold out until level three.¡± He reminded Jinbei.


    Jinbei nodded his head, signaling that he had heard him.


    During this period of interaction, Jinbei¡¯s ADC had grown a lot. You could say that under the guidance of Luocheng¡¯s Support, Jinbei had come to realize the pros and cons of various champion combinations at the bottom lane, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of them.


    The combination of Fiddlesticks and Corki was not the strongest at level one, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat a Lulu and Caitlyn who were practically invincible at this level.


    The time when they truly wouldn¡¯t fear them would be when they reached level three, so as long as they didn¡¯t lose too much health before then, they would be able to seize an opportunity and turn the tides against them!


    ***


    ¡°Heh, they¡¯re useless, just beat them to the ground.¡± Qiming sneered.


    Fiddlesticks¡¯ Q¡ªTerrify had a range of only 575, Caitlyn could easily maintain her distance, and Fiddlesticks wouldn¡¯t be able to inflict Fear on her at all.


    Caitlyn and Lulu were fast to force Corki and Fiddlesticks under their turret, and before they had even reached level three, their CS had fallen behind by five.


    Corki was also considered to be a short ranged champion, and it was hard for him to avoid losing health and farm at the same time.


    The minion wave had reached the turret and it was hard to get the last hit for some. Their CS fell behind by seven and it didn¡¯t help that their opponent¡¯s suppression capabilities were also strong.


    Fiddlesticks didn¡¯t dare to stand too far front, as he was also shorter ranged and had no abilities to regenerate his health. The moment he stood in front, he would definitely get poked by Lulu and Caitlyn, thus, he could only play it safe for the moment.


    ¡°3¡­¡±


    ¡°2¡­¡±


    Luocheng silently counted down, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey!


    Jinbei¡¯s eyes immediately sharpened, pacing himself with Luocheng as he already knew from his time with him, that this was the signal to prepare.


    Everytime Luocheng calculated the experience in preparation to clear a wave, he would start the count backward. Once he reached ¡®1¡¯, Jinbei wouldn¡¯t even need to look at his experience gauge, it was definitely accurate and all he needed to do was upgrade his skills immediately and keep up with Luocheng¡¯s assault!


    To be honest, Jinbei suspected that Luocheng was insane to be able to calculate all the experience in the first four levels. You needed to understand that the experience gained from melee minions were different than ranged minions, and whether or not you could get the experience based on your position was also another matter¡­


    ¡°1!¡± Luocheng spat out the last number.


    That was the exact moment Jinbei hit and disposed of the last minion!


    Bamf!


    Fiddlesticks Flashed suddenly, and despite his previously meek defensive position before, without warning, he was in front of Lulu!


    Lulu had been just about to leave the turret range when she saw a scarecrow with its arms wide open, his eyes exuding a fearsome aura. Lulu panicked at that, and somehow, started taking a step forward toward the turret instead of away from it!


    Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!


    Jinbei had been ready for the assault, opening his Gatling Gun immediately into Lulu¡¯s face directly!


    The sudden rise in damage output by Corki at level three was terrifying, and Lulu¡¯s health dropped by half immediately. Worse still, the step she had taken forward had placed her in the turret range, and it immediately targeted her and shot straight at her!


    ZJU¡¯s Support panicked and fumbled as he quickly slammed the Flash key down.


    But as the effect of the 1.5 second Fear had just worn off, a black crow landed on Lulu¡¯s small body!


    1.2 seconds of Silence!


    Lulu couldn¡¯t activate any skills, and with Luocheng¡¯s beautiful combo, he had controlled a total of 2.7 seconds!


    Giving a 2.7 second to a Corki to make some damage at level three, how much damage do you think could be dealt?


    A level three Corki had a damage of around 85, in 2.7 seconds, he could unleash two basic attacks and that could take away at least 150 health from Lulu.


    A second level Q could take away about 120 health with the help of Fiddlesticks¡¯ passive¡ªmagic resist reduction. His E¡ªGatling Gun was for 2 seconds and could take away about 40 health, plus the effect of Corki¡¯s passive¡­


    In short, even if it was just Corki, he could deal about 400 damage in the span of 2 seconds!


    Adding on Fiddlesticks¡¯ crows that had about 60 damage, the total damage output would add up to about 460!


    A level three Lulu¡¯s health would be about 600. Under normal circumstances, she should still have about 100 health left over, just enough for her to Flash, use Exhaust, or even cast her shield to escape with her life¡­


    But don¡¯t forget, she also had to withstand the damage from the turret once!


    The turret¡¯s damage was definitely above 1,000, so in other words, together with the CC and damage output as well as turret attack, they could definitely kill Lulu!


    ***


    Once the 2.7 seconds was up, Lulu Flashed out with just a measly 10 health left!


    Jinbei didn¡¯t hesitate and Flashed forward, and using a basic attack, he secured the kill on Lulu!


    300!


    The pop up of 300 gold appeared on top of Corki, and it would have been useless even if Lulu had used her shield.


    The screen of ZJU¡¯s Support immediately greyed out, and he was speechless for a moment. It was that damn attack by the turret, if he hadn¡¯t gotten hit and used Exhaust on Corki, instead using shield on himself, he might have survived that¡­


    He didn¡¯t understand where Fiddlesticks had gotten the balls to Flash right up at his face to cast Fear on him, and besides, how was he to know that Lulu would definitely walk that way!


    Annoyance, surprise and puzzlement all together, ZJU¡¯s Support¡ªJianbin couldn¡¯t make sense of it!


    ***


    ¡°Beautiful, Luocheng¡¯s doing it!¡±


    After three minutes, there was a delightful cheer resounding from Shanghai University.


    The student in charge of the OB broadcast was well aware that Luocheng was the carry in the team, and he tried his best to direct the camera on Luocheng most of the time.


    Everyone clearly saw the entire play where Luocheng had Flashed and manipulated Lulu resulting in killing her! No one had expected that Fiddlesticks, who had been meek in the previous seconds, would suddenly lash out like a hero, and the fact that once he had made a move, it was a confirmed kill!


    It was such a triumphant experience!


    It could be seen that the rumors of Shanghai University having a superb freshman Support was true, you could see it from the past two matches!


    ***


    ¡°This Support is strong, don¡¯t make me repeat myself!¡± Feilong snarled, anger seeping into his voice as he spoke to the bottom lane.


    Feilong had watched the scene play out.


    SHU¡¯s Support had a good grasp on calculating the experience, damage and health left. He clearly knew that as long as he managed to inflict Fear on Lulu, she would take a step back. Adding on the turret¡¯s damage, he could definitely kill Lulu, and that was why he had dared to Flash and Terrify her.


    The difference between an amatuer player and a professional player was the ability to calculate health and damage output of the champions during the game. Feilong was only able to roughly judge that this Support was strong overall, but now, he could be certain that this Support was definitely on par with a professional player!


    It wasn¡¯t a coincidence that they had lost the previous match, it was this Support that had orchestrated the entire play that led to their crushing defeat!


    Feilong was not afraid of opponents who had the advantage in lanes, what he dreaded was opponents who could continuously use these advantages together with their team and dominate the entire match!


    It was obvious that SHU¡¯s Support was a dangerous person who was terrifying and could threaten their chances of entering the semi-finals!

 Chapter 222 - Shanghai University’s Strategy

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Qiming¡¯s face was thunderous as he silently fumed and farmed.


    It was him that had requested for Lulu to be more aggressive, but he hadn¡¯t expected that that guy would take the opportunity to secure a kill!


    ¡°Should I focus more on the bottom lane?¡± ZJU¡¯s Jungler asked.


    ¡°Once Mid has reached level six, go together. Their Jungler is obviously not coming much to the top lane, and they¡¯re more protective of the bottom lane.¡± Feilong said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Shaoying nodded his head.


    ¡®Looks like what Siyong said was true, SHU¡¯s Support is really something. Which team did he come from?¡¯ Feilong smirked as he thought to himself.


    The Jungle Dominance Strategy was something only the strongest top teams should know and use, and you needed to have outstanding control of the entire situation in the game. This included the timing of buffs, when to push turrets, location, time of wards, and timer for the Dragon¡­


    This was one of the tactics that could only be used after countless analysis and training under the supervision of a professional analyst, the number of people in the country who could pull off this play, Feilong could count them on one hand.


    Although the way SHU pulled off the tactic was incomplete, the effect still caused ZJU to not have any breathing space, and you could see just how strong this tactic was.


    What Feilong wanted to know was which team did SHU conduct their special training with, to the point that they could learn tactics which even second rated professional teams also had problems with?


    Could it possibly be with the strongest team¡ªTeam Daemons?


    There were rumors that Asmodai had been to Shanghai University a few months back.


    The reason Zhejiang University was strong was because they had the local well-known team backing them¡ªTeam Revelation.


    Fudan University was leading because they had a mysterious foreign team behind them.


    The sudden rise of Shanghai University was definitely not a coincidence, but which strong team was the one standing behind them?


    Was it Team 71, Team Sky, or was it the strongest team of all¡ªTeam Daemons?


    To be honest, in the whole National E-Sports University League, the only one who could have gone head to head with Zhejiang University was Fudan University. This was something Feilong could live with.


    Was it possible¡­


    Was it possible that a highly skilled player had appeared in Shanghai University and could make him feel threatened? Didn¡¯t that make the game more thrilling?


    Feilong liked the thrill, and initially, he had thought that only Siyong from Fudan University could ignite his passion for battle, but it looked like he needed to go all out even only in the quarterfinals!


    ***


    At the bottom lane, Corki was leading with kills and the advantage was slowly showing. Once they engaged, the one who suffered was always Caitlyn and Lulu. However, Jinbei just wasn¡¯t aggressive enough, and ended up only pushing them back instead of getting kills each time.


    Once they had reached level six, the walls gave off a chilling feel to them, and it always felt as if there were eyes spying on them from the brushes. Both mid laners frequently disappeared from their lanes, and although it seemed like nothing was happening, both teams knew that this was just the calm before a bloody storm came!


    Both Supports had started their vision control, for once you had lost vision control, it would mean losing the first move on the Dragon as well as the chance to initiate a fight.


    With Corki¡¯s protection, Fiddlesticks had started to plant his Vision Ward at the Dragon Pit. At this time, whoever had the most Vision Wards would have the bigger advantage. Luocheng was well aware of this fact, hence why he had recalled to base at level five and ensured that he had bought enough Vision Wards.


    Their opponent Jungler and Support were also concerned about the vision control, because with Fiddlesticks, you had to make sure that there were enough wards around. Once he escaped from your field of vision, it would be very deadly with all his crows!


    It was useless to try to use the wards positions to tempt their opponents who were at a professional level. When they placed wards, they would anticipate where you would jump from and be extra vigilant in those areas.


    The nearby areas of the Dragon Pit was full of vision items, you could even find Caitlyn¡¯s traps, Vision Wards, Stealth Wards, and even Jarvan¡¯s flag in the tribush, it was filled to the brim that you would find it hard to fit anyone inside!


    ¡°Let¡¯s see where you¡¯ll jump from now!¡± ZJU¡¯s Support said, gritting his teeth.


    There was barely a place that wasn¡¯t visible, and they could clearly see Fiddlesticks¡¯ position. If Fiddlesticks couldn¡¯t succeed in making a jump from the shadows to ulti, then it would be useless.


    ***


    ¡°They have a lot of vision, we can¡¯t make an estimate.¡± Yang Ying said.


    The Vision Ward they had placed at the Dragon Pit had been destroyed by ZJU¡¯s own Vision Wards. SHU had lost vision on that area, and the chances of taking the Dragon was low.


    ¡°Force them to fight us in an area without any vision control.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°How are we going to do that?¡± Xiao Jia asked. ¡°They will definitely be sticking to the Dragon area.¡±


    ¡°Give them the Dragon.¡± Luocheng said instead. ¡°Wait for my signal and then we¡¯ll all-in them.¡±


    The four of them were stunned, what he¡¯d said was right! Why did they need to engage them at the Dragon Pit, let them have it, the middle lane turret only needed one more wave to push it down!


    ***


    ¡°We¡¯re anticipating that a fight will break out for the Dragon at any moment now, the gold difference for both sides aren¡¯t that far apart, and the Dragon is one of the objectives which can tilt that balance. They definitely can¡¯t let it go.¡± The host said.


    ¡°Huh, what is SHU doing? Are they planning to give up this Dragon and show weakness to ZJU?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re going for the turret!¡±


    The four members of SHU made it seem as though they were going to fight for the Dragon as they headed to the top side of the pit, but once they reached the river entrance, they retreated and headed to the middle lane turret together with the fresh wave of minions instead!


    With the four of them attacking the turret, it was brought down faster than getting the Dragon. Once they had destroyed the turret, they continued to push in, clearly intending to also take the next turret!


    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Feilong¡¯s expression changed as he looked at his teammates who were still hitting the Dragon.


    ¡°What are you guys doing, go back and defend, do you want both turrets to go down!¡± He said, annoyance in his voice.


    The advantage of bringing down two mid lane turrets was greater than taking a Dragon. Once both turrets were down, SHU could use the advantage to turn the tables and implement the Jungle Dominance Strategy once again!


    Although the tactic was incomplete, Feilong still couldn¡¯t find any way to defend against it, so he couldn¡¯t let them take any more advantage than they already had!


    ¡°Oh, the change in tactics by SHU was clearly unexpected and surprising, giving up the Dragon in exchange for the turret, and even going for the second turret. ZJU is in an awkward position now, if they choose to reach the turret via the lane, SHU will be able to block them. If they take a roundabout way to the turret, they will most probably not be able to reach it in time!¡± The host said.


    SHU had lost vision control in the Dragon Pit, but with the change in tactics, they had regained the upper hand!


    Their opponents were forced to either engage in a place with insufficient vision control, or throw away two turrets!


    ¡°We were too careless¡­¡± Feilong gritted his teeth as he navigated Renekton toward the middle lane boldly.


    Feilong¡¯s face was unsightly at this moment. SHU¡¯s team tactics were not short of amazing, you had to understand that this tactic of giving up the Dragon in exchange for a turret was generally only used by the first and second rated professional teams. To think that SHU had been trained by one of those teams, they had suddenly became so much more dangerous!


    The local top teams would be able to use the advantage of bringing down turrets to continuously push the match in their favor, and the first and second rated professional teams would also be immersed in how to win teamfights and how to give the best assistance.


    Feilong was unsettled because the tactics used by SHU was clearly a shadow of a first rated professional team, and it was giving him immense pressure!


    Feilong continued to hurry to the mid lane hoping that he could reach the battlefield in time¡­


    ¡°Watch out, Fiddlesticks is coming!¡± Feilong shouted at Qiming suddenly.


    Qiming was startled by that, and just as he was about to press his Flash, a murder of crows flew out from behind the wall, and the terrifyingly disgusting birds flew straight toward Caitlyn!


    He continuously slammed the D key which his Flash was bound to, but he found that the Summoner¡¯s Skill refused to activate due to the fact that he had been inflicted with Fear!


    A level three Fear effect lasted for 2 seconds, and it was enough for the crows to take down a significant amount of health from Caitlyn. With Corki¡¯s Q and ulti, Qiming¡¯s Caitlyn was killed almost instantly!


    Qiming was stunned, and the other members of ZJU were also in similar state. They hadn¡¯t expected Fiddlesticks to jump out at this time, and more importantly, he had jumped at their main damage dealer¡ªtheir ADC Caitlyn!


    ¡°Kill him, what are you waiting for!¡± Feilong snapped heatedly.


    The remaining three members of ZJU snapped out of it at Feilong¡¯s words, throwing all their skills at Fiddlesticks who was alone in the midst of them, killing him swiftly.


    Looking at his screen as it turned grey, Luocheng smirked, not affected by it.


    Exchanging a Support for an ADC was completely worth it, and he had managed to Drain quite a lot of health from his opponents. The following 3v3 would be easy enough for Xiao Jia, Jinbei and Yang Ying to finish up!


    At this time, Corki¡¯s items were the best among all of them. With the three opponents unable to withstand Corki¡¯s terrifying damage, Jinbei easily got a double kill.


    Shaoying¡¯s Diana had managed to Flash out and hurriedly escaped with her life. One for three, SHU had instantly established a great advantage from this fight, and they could probably also take the second turret down!


    Roar!


    A huge crocodile jumped out from the side suddenly, heading straight for Corki. Renekton¡¯s huge jaws opened around Corki and bit down viciously, the Crescent Axe in his claws slicing down thereafter, instantly draining all of his health!


    SHUTDOWN!


    The indicator of 435 gold appeared on top of Renekton, and Feilong had ended Corki¡¯s killing spree. The massive crocodile then turned his eyes toward the other two, flying toward them immediately!


    Full of rage and blood on his bulk, the crocodile resembled a final boss in a game, leaking out a terrifying aura that indicated he could face off the three of them alone!


    This was the arrival of Zhejiang University¡¯s top team¡¯s captain¡ªFeilong!

 Chapter 223 - A Crushing Tactic

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Back it, we can¡¯t win this!¡± Luocheng said. ¡°Wang Jun, continue to push!¡±


    Yang Ying and Xiao Jia didn¡¯t dare to linger, turning immediately to retreat. However, Feilong wasn¡¯t going to let them, Flashing right up to Xiao Jia¡¯s Jarvan!


    Jarvan didn¡¯t have any mana left, and with Renekton right in his face, he didn¡¯t have any way to escape.


    DOUBLE KILL!


    As the Butcher¡¯s axe came down, Jarvan was cut down, giving Renekton a double kill.


    ¡°The captain of ZJU¡ªCeng Feilong has finally shown his true strength, with his assistance, he has turned around a miserable situation! With the three for three, ZJU has not lost any advantage at all. Moreover, the kills were given to Renekton, he is definitely going to deal a devastating blow to SHU if this keeps up!¡± The host commented in excitement.


    The strongest player in ZJU was Feilong, if you gave him enough time to farm and throw in a few kills, he would be able to wipe the whole team out alone!


    Feilong had managed to secure two kills with his intervention this time, and after buying a Chain Vest, even Wang Jun¡¯s Jax would have an impossible time against the crocodile!


    ¡°Beautiful, you came at the best time, Captain!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Three for three, this was something they could accept. Their opponent¡¯s top laner would have a problem dealing with him now.


    Feilong glared at the other four members, his expression dulled. ¡°What¡¯s beautiful about that, the top lane turret has been destroyed.¡±


    ZJU members all glanced to the top lane, and sure enough, they saw Jax taking down the turret with a wave of minions!


    It looked like ZJU had lost one more tower and were behind again in terms of income¡­


    Many people thought that obtaining the Dragon was more important than a turret, because it was an additional income and the turret would eventually be taken down.


    However, in the eyes of some professional teams, the turret was far better than the Dragon. Many tactics required to be centered around a turret, including suppression of vision control, as it also required them to destroy their opponent¡¯s turret first.


    Feilong understood that although he would make it in time to turn the tides at the middle lane, they would still lose out on one turret, which included the vision in the area of zone one¡­


    ***


    ¡°Wang Jun, their captain¡¯s reaction to follow up on assisting is fast, and they can seize the opportunity faster than we can. You don¡¯t have to bother coming to help us, just keep pushing for the turret.¡± Luocheng said to Wang Jun. ¡°Also, let us know if he goes missing from the lane.¡±


    Jax needed the farm, and if he came to help them during fights but received no assists, it would affect him in the long run. Luocheng rather had Jax keep farming at the top lane and push the turrets instead.


    Wang Jun nodded his head in agreement.


    Feilong was indeed strong, and if it was two months ago, Wang Jun would have been taken over by him easily. However, Wang Jun was not the same person he was before.


    In fact, Lone Gull Da Luo¡¯s top lane was even more aggressive than Feilong. That guy¡¯s control over the lane could practically brighten a blind man¡¯s sight, killing you before you could even have a chance to react. Wang Jun had been pushed by Da Luo to the point that he couldn¡¯t live with himself these past two months!


    In the beginning, Wang Jun had been beaten up by Da Luo until he hadn¡¯t even dared to leave the fountain.


    That¡¯s right, he hadn¡¯t even dared to leave the fountain!


    Da Luo¡¯s top lane was really broken!


    Proxy Farming? No standard!


    He went directly to farm in their higher ground, if he was caught alone, he would kill his opponent. If two people came to gank, he would escape. If three people came for him, he would bring at least one of them down with him before he died.


    Even if three of them went after him and secured the kill, they would realize that either their turret, Dragon or even the Baron had been lost.


    In the second week, Wang Jun could more or less farm normally in the lane. However, he still got tower dived and died in multiple ways. Even if they camped the lane, it was useless, and if Da Luo tower dived him, he could still get the kill and walk away alive.


    After a month of Da Luo beating him to the ground, Wang Jun could finally go against him without dying too much in lane. Da Luo had even told him that unless it was a professional first rated player playing against him, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone who could beat him anymore.


    Feilong was the captain of ZJU¡¯s top team, and he was also the player for Team Revelation¡¯s second team. In the National E-sports University League, this lane was his domain.


    However, going against an unknown player like Wang Jun, he couldn¡¯t obtain a big advantage, at most, he was leading in farm and a few kills.


    This was why Feilong deduced that behind Shanghai University team, there was definitely a strong professional team!


    ***


    ¡°Their captain is good, if it wasn¡¯t for his support, we could have taken both turrets and pushed straight in like the last match.¡± Yang Ying said.


    ¡°Yeah, and they¡¯ll most likely focus on protecting their jungle area, we can¡¯t use the same tactic anymore. Maybe we should split the four of us to push a lane while trying to find a chance to take down the bottom lane turret.¡± Luocheng mused.


    ¡°That might be a little difficult.¡± Jinbei said.


    ¡°Wait another sixty seconds for my cooldown, I¡¯ll break this deadlock.¡± Luocheng said, confidence in his voice.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get back to lane and farm first then.¡±


    ***


    ¡°3!¡±


    ¡°2!¡±


    Luocheng was once again giving the signal for Jinbei to get ready for an attack. Once Luocheng started his countdown, Yang Ying and Xiao Jia would unconsciously look to the bottom lane.


    There were many outbreaks of a fight that you were unable to prepare for in advance, just like how Luocheng was counting down now.


    However, no one could figure out how Luocheng¡¯s eyes were able to be as sharp as a hawk, catching the timing in advance. The moment he reached the final count, it was very likely a kill would happen!


    Jinbei looked toward Luocheng¡¯s position and realized that he was already channeling his ulti from the brush below the wall.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that a bit risk-¡±


    Before Jinbei could finish his sentence, Fiddlesticks had already started screeching, the murder of crows appearing around him!


    F*ck, it really hit its target!


    Jinbei was stunned and had maintained his position, but he recovered quickly and pushed Corki toward the turret immediately!


    ¡°He ult-ed!¡± ZJU¡¯s Support called out.


    Qiming wasn¡¯t indifferent this time, seeing Fiddlesticks jump out, he immediately pressed Flash and landed far from his turret.


    Caw! Caw! Caw!


    The piercing cries of the ugly crows resonated in the air as they flew around. Seeing Caitlyn Flash and use her 90 Caliber Net to escape his Crowstorm, Luocheng used his Flash and cast Terrify, inflicting Fear on Lulu.


    ZJU¡¯s Support had noticed Fiddlesticks jump forth, but he didn¡¯t expect him to be so persistent to Flash toward him and Fear him!


    2.5 seconds of Fear followed up by Corki¡¯s burst of damage, Lulu was taken down before she could even release any skills.


    Fiddlesticks¡¯ terrifying ulti combined with the burst damage of Corki from the luxurious equipment that he held¡­


    ¡°This¡­is too cruel. Fiddlesticks ulti-ed and jumped from the brush underneath the wall, and Flashed straight at Lulu to dive her under turret. Adding on Corki¡¯s damage, Lulu was instantly disposed off!¡±


    Kill!


    No explanation!


    No one had expected a Support Fiddlesticks to be able to be as strong as this!


    There had been no problem for him to dive under the turret to forcefully secure the kill!


    Both champions that Luocheng had used as Supports had altered the crowd¡¯s perception on the support role. The first game, the high burst damage and roaming Annie, and the second game, where Fiddlesticks was even more aggressive than the ADC!


    Both the ZJU members at the bottom lane were already aware that Fiddlesticks had been channeling his ulti, but that information didn¡¯t do anything for them. The ulti¡¯s blink and a Flash covered up to about 1,000 yards, if you didn¡¯t use your Flash, you¡¯d be dead!


    Lulu had already used her Flash in the previous teamfight, thus, she had tried her best to escape by running backward. In the end, she had still been inflicted with Fear and was easily killed off!


    ***


    After the kill, the opponent Jungler could be seen at bottom lane, intending to kill Luocheng who didn¡¯t have much health left. However, once he saw Jarvan and Yang Ying appearing at bottom lane, he banished the thought and could only meekly retreat and let the four SHU members take the turret.


    Taking the turret and the blue buff beside it, they established control of the jungle area once again. Feilong was out of reach at the top lane this time, and he could only watch as SHU once again got the advantage of another turret.


    Three minutes later, the scene was played on the screen in Shanghai University, and the cheers were once again deafening!


    ¡°Did you know, when we were training, Luocheng¡¯s Fiddlesticks Support brought down an arrogant professional player. Can you guess what Luocheng typed in the all chat?¡± Qin Ting, who was serving as the host, commented to the crowd.


    The crowd had seen Luocheng¡¯s strength, and naturally, they were interested in him.


    ¡°In the eyes of my Fiddlesticks, hiding under the turret is the same as digging your own grave.¡±


    Digging your own grave!


    The one Support champion who could easily tower dive and secure a kill, that was the Harbinger of Doom¡ªFiddlesticks!


    Countless people thought that as under the turret was a safe zone, their opponent wouldn¡¯t carelessly dive the turret.


    However, the Harbinger of Doom couldn¡¯t care less about the turret. The people who hid under turrets would easily rely on it, and when Fiddlesticks blinked toward it, he could easily hit everything under it!


    It was obvious that ZJU¡¯s bottom lane was still stuck in the era of traditional support champions. They didn¡¯t realize the strength of a Fiddlesticks Support, or rather, they had never met anyone like Luocheng who could play these unconventional support champions so brilliantly!


    With this unexpected development, they were now suffering due to it!


    ***


    Bottom lane turret had been destroyed, and so had middle lane turret. One side of their jungle was once again out of their control, and the next Dragon spawn was as good as SHU¡¯s.


    Feilong¡¯s face was growing darker by the minute. They were such a strong team, and yet they were getting crushed by their opponent¡¯s tactics!


    ¡°SHU¡¯s Support is really good at pacing the game.¡± The host commented.


    With the Support leading the pace of the game, this was SHU¡¯s tactic. The support role was often easy to overlook, but if you broke this routine by using strong unconventional champions like Annie or Fiddlesticks, adding on your own grasp of the entire game, the pace of the Support was a bigger influence than even the jungler.


    For most Junglers, their way of leading the pace would be to help establish kill advantages. While for Supports who led the pace, they would create a snowball advantage without using any resources!


    The main carry of ZJU was Feilong, and SHU was clever in using their tactics to pressure the lane and take down turrets, keeping the fights at the mid or bottom lane where Feilong would find it hard to reach.


    It was wise of SHU not to let Luocheng play before this, it was the element of surprise they had needed so that ZJU couldn¡¯t find a way to retaliate at all!


    It was a completely crushing tactic!

 Chapter 224 - Don’t Worry, I’m Here!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Feilong¡¯s face was getting darker, if that was even possible. He couldn¡¯t allow the middle and bottom lane to continue like this, he needed to rely on himself to turn the game around.


    ZJU started to group together, constantly pushing and forcing fights.


    Feilong was indeed the team¡¯s core and soul, once the captain had joined in the teamfights, the momentum was completely different. It felt like it was a totally different team altogether!


    Previously, there hadn¡¯t been much difference in the advantages obtained, as Jax¡¯s farm had not been as good as Renekton¡¯s. Even if he joined the teamfights with the items he had, it wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference.


    Wang Jun saw his teammates losing ground and he started to fret.


    ¡°I¡¯ll join the fight, I don¡¯t think you guys can hold.¡± Wang Jun said.


    Wang Jun was still at the top lane, and even though they had managed to take down two turrets at the top, the other four had been forced to retreat several times when they had fought under the turret. He could also see that the second turret in the mid lane was almost fully destroyed as well.


    ¡°Just take the higher ground at top lane, you can ignore this side for the time being.¡± Luocheng replied instead.


    When you were split pushing, the most damning thing would be to hesitate. Luocheng knew that if Jax were to recall now, it wasn¡¯t likely that he would make it to the fight.


    Jax was similar to Vayne, a late game champion. If they didn¡¯t have the proper items, they wouldn¡¯t have as much of an impact like Renekton. As long as they could buy some time, the split pushing tactic would yield great results for them.


    Wang Jun glanced at the middle lane where their opponents were pushing toward the highground. Fortunately, he did not dismiss the turret right in front of him and kept on pushing!


    ***


    ¡°We might not be able to hold, if they manage to take our highground on middle lane, we might lose everything.¡± Xiao Jia said.


    ZJU team was in good condition, and if they won the upcoming teamfight, they would most likely break the middle lane all the way into the highground, and this would be dangerous.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll settle it here and now, if Wang Jun comes back to defend, we¡¯ll just be dancing to their tune.¡± Luocheng said, his voice solemn.


    Under Feilong¡¯s leadership, ZJU started the fierce teamfight. Their goal was to go head to head against SHU without any hidden tactics.


    Jax¡¯s items weren¡¯t as good as Renekton¡¯s. ZJU¡¯s team strength in battle was way above SHU, and if they were to go against ZJU, they were bound to lose.


    The Jungle Dominance Strategy had been thwarted by Renekton joining the fight, so they only had their split pushing tactic left to use right now!


    This was the reason SHU couldn¡¯t compromise in any way!


    ¡°Shanghai University is quite decisive here, all members of ZJU are already clamoring toward the highground and can rush in at any time, and yet, Jax is actually still solo pushing the lane!¡±


    ¡°The same can be said for Zhejiang University, they are ignoring Jax who is demolishing their turrets. They¡¯re already determined to go all the way into SHU¡¯s highground!¡±


    ¡°Both sides are determined to end this with the teamfight!¡±


    The situation at hand was clear, it was either the four members of SHU being able to withstand the assault from the five members of ZJU, allowing Jax to tear down the top lane subsequently gaining a huge advantage for the team. Or, the members of ZJU would destroy SHU and take their middle lane, perhaps even all the way to the Nexus!


    The outcome was dependent on this teamfight, and as the host continued to narrate the game, the thousands of students in Zhejiang University had gone silent, all eyes on the big screen, not daring to blink.


    The atmosphere was the same in Shanghai University, Qin Ting as the host on their side also clearly knew that this fight was vital to both sides!


    ¡°Zhejiang, must win!¡±


    Someone¡¯s voice broke out, shattering the silence in Zhejiang University.


    ¡°Zhejiang, must win!¡±


    It was followed by more shouts, and people even began pumping their fists into the sky.


    ¡°Zhejiang, must win!!¡±


    ¡°Zhejiang, must win! Zhejiang, must win!!¡±


    The cheers were like a tidal wave, from initial small ripples, slowly growing into magnificent waves! Every time the cheers of win echoed, even the surrounding buildings felt like it shook due to the vibrations!


    Thousands of people cheering in unison, their fists going up and down as they continued to shout to an inspiring beat. On the road, you could see hands going up in pairs, and then down, all in sync. Even in the hallways of the dorms, everyone was doing the same, raising their fists as they cheered for them to win! It was a spectacular sight, even the basketball semi-finals that was held recently didn¡¯t have this big of a sensation!


    Unknowingly, the cheers and shouts of the Zhejiang University students echoed far and loud, reaching far out from the university!


    ***


    The cheers of Zhejiang University pierced through Luocheng¡¯s noise cancelling headphones which he wore, and as the noise seeped into his ears, he lifted his head slightly, glancing at the sea of Zhejiang University students, and he suddenly felt something stir inside him.


    Just as touched as he had felt when he saw Meiqi cosplaying Katarina under the lighting of the stage that time, e-sports seemed to have evolved when he wasn¡¯t looking. He knew it had been impossible to see such a passionate and eager sea of people cheering before this. They were, in fact, boosting the morale of their opponents while putting tremendous pressure on their own team!


    Luocheng¡¯s state of mind was not easily swayed because he had experienced far more than the others, and the first time this had happened was when he was overseas. Instead of the chinese, it had been the white people who were cheering for his team, boosting his opponent¡¯s morale. Even so, he still managed to withstand the pressure and exert his true inner strength.


    Luocheng was more concerned about Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Jinbei and Wang Jun. Could the four of them withstand the thundering applause and cheers that were encouraging their opponents?


    You need to understand, when you were in other people¡¯s home ground, the ones you were going against was not only the five players who were controlling the champions. It was also the thousands of spectators gathered who would cause great psychological pressure on you.


    They were nervous, holding their breath, and their hearts were heavy until they weren¡¯t able to utter a word. You could see that although they were pressing the keyboard and moving the mouse smoothly, their hands were trembling.


    Luocheng had experienced this kind of tremor before when he had first started playing professionally, but he had overcome it after several games of defeat.


    However, Yang Ying, Wang Jun, Xiao Jia and Jinbei didn¡¯t have many opportunities to overcome this tension and anxiety. If they lost this round, they would be losing a piece of glory for the university together with the hope of establishing the e-sports club¡¯s position. They would also be losing the prestige that they had established and they would also lose a teacher who was willing to fight for them.


    For the sake of their club, they were trying their best.


    Now was the hardest time, and it was also so close to success.


    In the face of a powerful opponent and their many supporters, the feeling of inferiority and insignificance inside their hearts would most definitely spread.


    Luocheng understood the feeling clearly, and at this moment, it was that little encouragement that he needed!


    He recalled the times when he was also nervous in the beginning, to the point that he couldn¡¯t even press any keys on the keyboard. It was that firm but gentle look that had calmed him, and that sentence, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, leave it to me.¡± that had given Luocheng the courage to overcome the tension when playing in professional matches!


    Although Luocheng didn¡¯t know where that person was currently, he was grateful to him for helping him build up his confidence when he was once weak, and Luocheng took this confidence to the world stage!


    That was why, what Luocheng needed to tell his team who was nervous, was not any strategy, not any skills, nor silently be their pillar of support, but instead¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here!¡±

 Chapter 225 - Savor the Crowstorm

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    An indicator of a strong Fiddlesticks was not when others were unable to find you at all, that would only make them more vigilant. It was that when they did see you, they would not be able to avoid your two seconds of cursed song and the murder of crows which would descend upon them after flying freely above your head.


    This required an advanced prediction of the teamfights, and you would need to be smart in using the surrounding obstacles to help make your hidden jump.


    Vision control had always been a learning process, and players who used Fiddlesticks needed to have a good grasp on this, you needed to know if the place you were hiding in was visible to your opponents or not!


    Luocheng understood clearly that their opponent had their eyes on his Fiddlesticks and didn¡¯t just dismiss him as a Support anymore.


    In fact, Luocheng¡¯s build right now was not very much different than a Jungler Fiddlesticks. As long as he could get a perfect jump ulti, there was hope to defend the base.


    Luocheng was extremely careful with his positioning, Fiddlesticks was very squishy, once he got caught, it would be easy to get disposed off.


    If Zhejiang University managed to catch him, they would definitely take the opportunity to kill this unconventional Support!


    As the wave of minions slowly pushed inward, ZJU team would surely use it to help push forward into their base. If they could hold on just a little longer, Jax would be able to deal more damage to their top lane.


    ¡°Uwah!¡±


    As expected, ZJU made the first move to initiate against SHU, and the first champion to jump across the wall was the ultimate tank¡ªRenekton!


    Feilong initiated with his ulti and propelled himself forward like a fish swimming in water. He used the minions to create a path, opening his massive jaws to bite right into Yang Ying!


    They planned to get rid of Yang Ying¡¯s Mid first!


    Sure enough, all of ZJU members were raining their skills down onto Yang Ying¡¯s Mid!


    Ding!


    Yang Ying cocked his eyebrow, pressing the ¡®1¡¯ button immediately and activated Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass.


    ¡°Diving the turret to forcefully get a kill? ZJU really went all in, but Zhonya¡¯s¡­Feilong chose to stun a target which has Zhonya¡¯s, that wasn¡¯t a very smart move!¡± The host narrated as her voice sharpened and hurried.


    Feilong didn¡¯t panic when Zhonya¡¯s activated, instead, he calmly turned his sights onto Fiddlesticks instead. Fiddlesticks had retreated backward behind the Inhibitor, and at the corner of the vision, you could see him spreading his arms.


    He was channeling his ulti!


    The corner of Feilong¡¯s mouth curved up, and he directed his teammates, ¡°Scatter!¡±


    The moment Feilong spoke, the ZJU members who had been aggressively pushing the turret to get the kills came to an abrupt halt and immediately retreated from the area that Fiddlesticks would jump to!


    ¡°They have scattered! It looks like ZJU was baiting out their opponent¡¯s Zhonya¡¯s and Fiddlesticks¡¯ ulti! This means his ulti has been wasted¡­¡± The host remarked hastily as she looked at the screen.


    They looked like they were aiming to bring down the turret, when in fact, they had only wanted to bait out Fiddlesticks¡¯ ulti. With this, Zhejiang University had an eighty percent chance to win this upcoming teamfight!


    You had to admit that Feilong¡¯s strategy to bait them out was ingenious!


    However¡­


    After two seconds, when everyone expected Fiddlesticks to jump out as usual and waddle around cutely but unable to reach anyone, nothing happened.


    ¡°Eh, didn¡¯t Fiddlesticks ulti?¡± The host said, confused.


    All eyes fell on Luocheng¡¯s Fiddlesticks who was at the corner. Suddenly, everyone¡¯s eyes widened, and some were even speechless as they watched Fiddlesticks who was swinging in place!


    ¡°F*ck, what is happening?¡±


    ¡°This¡­this is¡­?¡±


    The host was also staring at the screen, watching as Fiddlesticks posed like a scarecrow on the spot¡­


    What the heck, this as*hole didn¡¯t even ulti!


    And it was¡­it was taunting!


    That¡¯s right, it was the taunt move!


    In such an extremely intense teamfight where everyone felt like no hands were enough, this guy had deliberately positioned himself in a seemingly hidden corner. Just when everyone thought he was going to launch a Crowstorm, instead of pressing the R key, he had pressed CTRL+2, activating the taunting dance of the Harbinger of Doom!


    What was even more shocking was that the ridiculousness of such gesture was what made the ZJU team assume that he was spreading his arms to channel his ulti¡­


    It wasn¡¯t the cute jump which would miss, but it was ZJU¡¯s team that was scared away!


    ¡°F*ck!¡±


    ¡°Sh*t¡±


    ¡°This as*hole!¡±


    All the members of ZJU started cursing, and Feilong¡¯s mouth which had been curving up previously also froze. His face morphed into a twisted expression instead, making it hard to look at his unsightly face.


    In addition to embarrassment, his heart was getting heavier because this Fiddlesticks player was just amazing!


    Leaving aside the laughter toward him, this was not a game his heart was ready to play!


    With such a tense atmosphere, Feilong had activated his ulti, giving the other side the impression that they were going to force their way into the base.


    SHU¡¯s Mid and other two members had taken the bait and took on a defensive position, while Fiddlesticks had retreated to the back and made some movement. Feilong assumed that Fiddlesticks was channeling his ulti and had instructed his team to scatter.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that Fiddlesticks was stable and calm, and even more surprisingly, this guy had actually used the taunt to trick him instead!


    Many players knew that pressing the CTRL+ numbers would let the champion either dance, taunt or laugh, but who would have thought that these actions could be used to pretend that the ulti was being channeled and im turn, be used to frighten the opponents?


    In Feilong¡¯s point of view, this was not a funny behavior at all. This was a skill so high that there wasn¡¯t anything higher than that, and whether in or out of the country, Feilong had never met anyone who had used this before!


    A chilling breath came forth as he stared at that calm, wise, and arrogant scarecrow¡­


    He saw through the temptations and tricks, and had managed to pretend to panic as he hid in the corner to activate his ulti. When Luocheng managed to trick Feilong into thinking he was really going to activitate his ulti, he instead stood at the same spot and laughed like a devil at his stupidity!


    The more this guy laughed, the more fearful and disturbed Feilong felt. He was far calmer, wiser, and more stable than he had ever imagined!


    ¡°DEMACIA!¡±


    A loud shout resounded, and Jarvan activated his ulti, forcing Renekton to be trapped inside the turret range.


    Bamf!


    Jarvan Flashed out from the terrain and left Renekton inside it. This was a good move as it trapped Renekton under the turret, letting him get hit continuously by it. It also stopped the other four ZHU champions from unleashing all their skills.


    Renekton didn¡¯t have Flash, and being trapped in Jarvan¡¯s ulti, he could only wait it out while getting hit by the turret.


    Feilong¡¯s face was unreadable as he watched Jax reach their highground, they couldn¡¯t drag this on anymore!


    ¡°Force your way in, there¡¯s no time anymore!¡± Feilong shouted.


    Tanking the turret damage as he waited out Jarvan¡¯s ulti, Feilong moved to the side and the turret targeted the Jungler instead, shifting the damage. His intentions were clear!


    Even without his abilities, Renekton was a force to be reckoned with. He zoned Yang Ying and Jinbei¡¯s Corki out of the fight area, not giving them a chance to deal any damage.


    ¡°Kill the Jarvan first!¡± Feilong instructed.


    The rest of the team immediately turned their eyes and unleashed all their abilities on Jarvan.


    Jarvan was SHU¡¯s only front liner, if he went down, their ADC and Mid would have a hard time dealing their damage in peace!


    The best item on Fiddlesticks was a Zhonya¡¯s, and the damage he could deal was limited!


    ***


    ¡°Turn around and fight, ignore Renekton, his skills are all on cool down!¡± Luocheng was instructing his team at the same time.


    They couldn¡¯t wait anymore!


    If they panicked now, the flaws in their formation would be obvious!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t hesitate as he slammed his finger down, activating his ulti. The position in which he activated his ulti had already taken into account the Flash distance of their opponents, there would definitely not be anyone who could interrupt his channeling in these two seconds!


    The distance was a bit far, but this would have to depend on Jarvan¡¯s EQ combo!


    Xiao Jia¡¯s previous ulti was beautifully executed with his Flash, trapping Renekton in his ulti and forcing them to fight. Although his hands were numb and shaking, Luocheng¡¯s highly skilled ridicule and deception had given Xiao Jia the confidence!


    With a person who had won the world¡¯s stage before in their team, why would they need to fear a university team?


    Xiao Jia had kept his E skill even though he used his Flash previously. He knew that within this time frame, his EQ combo was the best match with Fiddlestick¡¯s ulti, it was even more valuable than Flash now, how could he simply throw it away!


    He threw his flag, and the Demacian Flag plunged into the stone floor.


    Dragon Strike!


    Jarvan flew like a dragon outward and his target was Caitlyn and Diana who were closing in on them!


    Fly!


    Diana and Caitlyn were so focused on their assault that they were careless with their positions, and Jarvan rammed into them, launching them into the air!


    ¡°Beautiful!¡± Luocheng shouted.


    The two arms that welcomed the darkness and demons were stretched out, the deceiving curse already flowing from his mouth!


    The two seconds for the spell to be channeled were silent¡­


    Then you will savor the Crowstorm!


    ***


    No matter if it was a Mid, Jungler, or Support, without any resources, The Harbinger of Doom would show you what destruction and slaughter was!

 Chapter 226 - Shanghai University, Must Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The ravens which were surrounded by death and sorrow lingered around the Harbinger of Doom, each of them letting out a sharp cry as they flew toward all the living objects it could reach.


    Before Diana was able to unleash any of her abilities, a black mass slammed right into her face!


    Shaoying kept slamming the ¡®1¡¯ key, wanting to activate his Zhonya¡¯s. Before he could land on solid ground, however, a pair of pupils filled with empty fear appeared right in front of him!


    Terrify!


    A full three seconds of Fear was inflicted on him, and Shaoying was completely unable to activate his Zhonya¡¯s, all while his health was decreasing rapidly! Diana had an Abyssal Scepter and it gave her a small amount of magic resist, but after getting hit by Fiddlesticks¡¯ ulti, her health had dropped to around half.


    Caitlyn had also fallen into the pit that was Fiddlesticks¡¯ Crowstorm, the damage to her was even higher, and she had to retreat using her E skill.


    Although Lulu had managed to polymorph Fiddlesticks into a harmless critter, the damage from Crowstorm still continued, and she too, suffered a high amount of damage.


    In addition to being Feared and taking on the full brunt of Crowstorm, the Jungler, who was also tanking the turret damage was even worse off. The Jungler walked out of turret range to avoid the damage, and the turret turned to the closest target after him, which was Diana!


    Xiao Jia and Jinbei ignored Renekton, and seeing that Luocheng had managed to Fear Diana, they threw all their abilities onto her instead!


    Within three seconds, assaulted by Fiddlesticks¡¯s ulti, taking the turret damage, and adding on Corki and the Mid¡¯s attacks, Shaoying desperately pressed on his Zhonya¡¯s, but it was a futile effort. Without even releasing a single skill, Diana was demolished in three seconds!


    The Scorn of the Moon¡ªDiana was actually quite a difficult melee champion to kill. She had a shield, Zhonya¡¯s, as well as an Abyssal Scepter which gave her sufficient armor and magic resist, and it wasn¡¯t a wise move to attack her with those items in her hand.


    Luocheng¡¯s ulti on Fiddlesticks had been a bit far out, and the only one he had managed to inflict Fear on was Diana, and he had initially just wanted to bring her health down significantly before turning his attacks toward the Jungler.


    He never expected the Jungler to make the mistake of letting Diana tank the turret attack, and even more, he didn¡¯t expect the usually passive Jinbei to choose this moment to bring out his courage and pounce on Diana together with Yang Ying, taking her down instantly!


    Diana hadn¡¯t managed to activate her Pale Cascade shield, and every time she activated Zhonya¡¯s, she couldn¡¯t Flash on time. First, she was launched up into the air by Jarvan, and after being inflicted by Fear for three seconds, the whole team came down on her!


    ¡°Beautiful!¡± Luocheng cheered.


    Xiao Jia¡¯s beautiful combo coupled with Jinbei and Yang Ying¡¯s follow up, their target was Diana who had been Feared. With this, they successfully took down their opponent¡¯s Mid carry!


    Luocheng had initially thought that only Team Skycrown was able to have such smooth coordination that was able to match his wavelength, he hadn¡¯t expected the four from SHU to be able to think the same as him in this critical moment!


    Very good!


    With Diana dead, they had a chance of winning this fight!


    A single person would be unable to save the world, and Luocheng was thankful that Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Jinbei, and even the lone ranger, Wang Jun, were able to place their confidence in him.


    With their trust, he would be able to lead them to victory!


    When Luocheng had one fourth of his health left, he activated his Zhonya¡¯s! The timing for Zhonya¡¯s had to be accurate for Fiddlesticks, if you did it too early, there was a chance that his ulti wouldn¡¯t be able to hit enough of them, and if it was too late, he could be instantly killed.


    After killing Diana, Luocheng continued to move forward, activating his Zhonya¡¯s on the highground. He didn¡¯t expect his ulti to do much damage to Caitlyn or Lulu, what he wanted was for them to retreat back and render them unable to do any damage within the five seconds of his ulti!


    Diana, who had aggressively rushed in, had been killed, and Renekton¡¯s damage was only so much. Adding on to the fact that they had managed to chase Diana out of the first fight, dividing their front and back line, their whole team formation had crumbled.


    Zhonya¡¯s activated with the last one fourth of his health left.


    Caitlyn stood on the steps, the only champion she could reach right now was Fiddlesticks, but he was in an invincible state for the next 2.5 seconds.


    Once the 2.5 seconds was over, he controlled Caitlyn in annoyance, clicking furiously on Fiddlesticks, wanting to make sure to kill him.


    However, a damn Exhaust was thrown on her head!


    With her damage and attack speed lowered, Caitlyn continued to attack Fiddlesticks impatiently, waiting for the Exhaust to wear off so that she could take him down.


    Only, what was the point in taking Fiddlesticks¡¯ life? As a Support, Luocheng had already maximized his value. His Terrify and ulti had matched up to his team¡¯s assault, instantly killing one of ZHU¡¯s carry¡ªDiana.


    He had also driven Caitlyn out from the fight with his five seconds of ulti, rendering her unable to deal damage properly in those five seconds. He had even used his Exhaust on her after his Zhonya¡¯s had worn off after the 2.5 seconds!


    In the late game, the one with the highest damage dealing was the Mid and ADC!


    With the Mid gone and the ADC not being able to deal any damage in the 7.5 seconds frame, and their tank was still under attack from their inner turret, he had done all that he should and could have.


    Picking Fiddlesticks and jumping into the fray, you don¡¯t have many chances of coming out alive. Fiddlesticks couldn¡¯t escape and Caitlyn took his head, but as Luocheng¡¯s screen turned grey, the corner of his lips lifted.


    He smirked because he knew, not only had they managed to defend this fight, they could also possibly win this!


    DOUBLE KILL!


    Corki displayed an incredible amount of damage dealt, and after dispatching Diana, the Jungler didn¡¯t have much of a chance to survive under his assault.


    TRIPLE KILL!


    Within the few seconds that Lulu had Flashed out of their base to escape, Corki had managed to accurately predict her movement and launched a bomb right into her!


    It was a triple kill!


    Double buff!


    The Daring Bombardier¡ªCorki had single-handedly obtained the highest kill in the game¡ªten!


    Initially panicking until his fingers were hot, Jinbei now felt as if he was on fire, just like Corki!


    This was a match against ZHU who had placed second in the previous nationals!


    Jinbei¡¯s ADC had always been balanced, not getting a lot of kills, but not dying a lot. Nothing outstanding, but not many mistakes either.


    However, he didn¡¯t know why now, when facing such a strong team like ZHU, his ADC had achieved such superb results!


    Watching as Feilong¡¯s Renekton beat a hasty retreat from their base and Qiming¡¯s Caitlyn ran away, Jinbei couldn¡¯t believe that this powerful Corki had been launched by him!


    ¡°Jinbei, that was awesome!¡±


    ¡°Beautiful!¡±


    ¡°They defended the base!¡±


    Xiao Jia and Yang Ying couldn¡¯t hold it in and jumped up from their chairs, hugging Jinbei. Facing such tremendous pressure from ZHU, they had still managed to defend their base!


    2 for 3!


    Corki was alive, and Jarvan was miraculously also alive. More importantly, Jax had managed to push into their opponent¡¯s base, even taking down one Nexus turret!


    Jinbei finally tore his eyes from the screen, looking incredulously at the person beside him¡ªLuocheng. Jinbei was fully aware that it was only possible for him to shine in this game because of this Support.


    He had calmly ridiculed and shattered the momentum of ZHU¡¯s team completely, his decisive ulti had killed their opponent¡¯s Mid, forced their ADC to retreat, and yet, he hadn¡¯t gotten a single kill. He even took the bullet straight on that killed him, succeeding in letting his team get this achievement!


    ¡°Baron, get the Baron, we¡¯re not done yet.¡± Luocheng said calmly, cutting through the joyful atmosphere.


    You can¡¯t slack until the end, and Luocheng, who had played many professional leagues, knew this point very well.


    The match had yet to end, it was not yet time to celebrate. Take the Baron and push the middle lane all the way in, and only then was this match on its way to victory!


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Jinbei nodded his head in agreement, no hesitation.


    Xiao Jia returned to the fountain, buying Homeguard, and immediately heading toward the Baron Pit. Jax, who had been pushing the top lane relentlessly all the way into their opponent¡¯s base also returned, the three of them heading toward Baron!


    ***


    Jax¡¯s items were quite luxurious now, adding on Corki¡¯s damage, they easily took down the Baron. During this time, Luocheng and Yang Ying had revived and the five of them all had the Baron Buff, their income was also leading by a lot.


    ***


    ¡°Ohhhh!!¡±


    ¡°Shanghai Uni, win! Shanghai Uni, win!¡±


    ¡°Shanghai Uni, win! Shanghai Uni, win!¡±


    The deafening cheers resounded in the Shanghai University compound, and the entire teacher¡¯s building and dorms could hear the loud cheers. Even more people started to gather around, and the community area of Shanghai University was full to the brim, completely crowded with people!


    With the crowd frenzy, the SHU team on screen had, with the help of the Baron Buff, managed to push into their opponent¡¯s base!


    After relentlessly farming alone for thirty minutes, Jax had his full items and was now an even scarier boss than Renekton! He tanked the turret damage as well as the damage dealt by two or three champions and went straight into their base to kill Caitlyn, somehow still managing to walk out alive.


    Corki was already Legendary, and even though Renekton was building tank items, he couldn¡¯t afford to take all the damage.


    It was also the same fight at their opponent¡¯s base, but they had the income advantage and the Baron Buff. With this, SHU had completely blown their momentum!


    ACE!


    The creeps fell easily and ZJU¡¯s team was unable to push back SHU¡¯s frenzied counter!


    Following the explosion of the Nexus, Shanghai University community area burst into the loudest cheer that you could have ever imagined!


    They had won!


    SHU had defeated the previous national¡¯s second place¡ªZJU, who was also their biggest obstacle to getting into the top four!

 Chapter 227 - Where Is This Godlike Support From?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Mr. Fang, Mr. Fang! They won!¡± Qin Ting shouted, his voice slightly hoarse, but there was no mistaking the elation in his voice.


    Even though Yang Ying, Luocheng, and the rest couldn¡¯t hear him, he had been encouraging the crowd since the beginning of the broadcast and had not stopped cheering as loud as he could for their team since then.


    However, they had won. That was the most important thing!


    The basketball and football club had always been the most popular clubs in the university, but no matter how jealous and unwilling they were to admit it, when they saw the crowd cheering for the E-sports club, a sense of shame and humiliation overcame them.


    This was especially so for the manager in charge of the university¡¯s clubs¡ªWang Lang, his eyes were as sharp as a knife.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Zhejiang University¡¯s e-sports team very strong?¡± Wang Lang said, clearly uncomfortable.


    ¡°Who¡­who expected them to actually win this match¡­¡±


    Zhejiang University had placed second in the last national league, and they had been defeated. Presumably, it wasn¡¯t only out of the expectation of the two universities watching this match. The match videos would definitely be uploaded onto the net soon, and more people would be shocked!


    ¡°Get ready to meet them at the gates!¡± Mr. Fang said, his face full of smiles.


    These kids didn¡¯t let anyone down!


    Mr. Fang could already imagine the pinched expression on the Head of Department! This guy was trying to persuade the Dean over tea to prevent the E-sports club from playing with their best members!


    You need to understand, if Luocheng was really banned from taking part in the competition, the university¡¯s honor would truly be lost!


    ¡°They will return once they¡¯re done with the match, come on, let¡¯s raise the flag and welcome them back!¡±


    Mr. Fang took the lead, immediately getting the Arts Club members to prepare a welcoming committee.


    They had used their own money to participate in the match, but they were coming back with the university¡¯s honor. When they were facing such a strong opponent, all they could do was watch over them silently. Now that they were triumphant, the only thing they could do in return was to give them the best welcome back!


    ***


    ¡°No matter how it is, this has been an extremely exciting match. Such a pity that this is where we, Zhejiang University, stop, and will be unable to move toward the championship. Congratulations to our guest¡ªShanghai University, for winning this match and proceeding into the quarter-finals.¡±


    ¡°We are amazed by the strength of Shanghai University, and I think, even with the top eight teams competing, it would be hard pressed to stop them from stepping into the top four. Although our Zhejiang University has lost, let us silently support this rising team¡ªShanghai University, and hope that they make it to the finals!¡±


    The host spoke with emotions, and it slightly eased the disbelieving and disappointed atmosphere of the Zhejiang University students in attendance. A few minutes ago, the entire community area had a face of disbelief and shock all over.


    They had never expected that Zhejiang University would lose¡­


    This outcome came out of the blue, and the five members of Zhejiang University were struck dumb by it.


    They stood up from their seats, watching the ecstatic SHU team as they cheered and celebrated.


    They had actually lost.


    Their glory for placing second in the previous nationals, with the ability to be on par with Team Revelation¡¯s reserve team, and they had lost to Shanghai University.


    What was the reason?


    How could they have lost?


    Their strength was not inferior to SHU at all¡­


    ¡°Captain¡­¡± Ke Shaoying spoke, not really knowing what to say as he looked at Ceng Feilong.


    ¡°Captain.¡± Qiming was boiling with rage.


    Feilong stared at his team for the longest time, and finally, his gaze landed on Luocheng.


    He understood very well that the one who played the Support was this guy, who looked a bit sloppy and lazy¡­


    Just, where was this Godlike player from!


    He had managed to lead a team that wasn¡¯t even on par with a third rate professional team into defeating a team as strong as theirs, who was on par with a professional team!


    Why was it that after so long in the E-sports circle, Feilong had never seen a Support play as unconventionally as this guy from SHU¡­


    ¡°Their Support probably has a good team backing him,¡± Feilong uttered slowly, after a long moment of silence.


    ¡°What backing?¡± Shaoying spat as he looked away.


    He didn¡¯t find anything special about Luocheng, he was just a freshman entering university.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, we¡¯ll have to ask Baifeng and the rest of them. Once Baifeng comes back, they¡¯ll watch our match recordings. They can probably then tell who this guy actually is.¡± Feilong replied.


    ¡°Captain, they were just lucky. It¡¯s only because we didn¡¯t manage to farm¡­¡± Qiming said, clearly unhappy.


    ¡°If you are still obsessed with it, then I will just say that you are a joke. Even Siyong from Fudan University felt threatened by that Support from SHU, and I have told you countless times, to not underestimate him. You made the same mistake, it looks like we need to change our ADC of the team.¡± Feilong said coldly as he gave a scornful glance at Qiming.


    Shaoying and the rest of the team were stunned at the information, to think that this Support was a threat to Lin Siyong of Fudan University, and they all clearly understood the strength of Siyong!


    Qiming was speechless, he had never expected to be stripped of his ADC position like this!


    ***


    ¡°You guys¡­you guys were so cool out there!¡±


    Li Meiqi who was wearing a tight fitting sweater excitedly gave each of the SHU starter team members a hug, making the surrounding members envious until they gritted their teeth.


    When it came to Luocheng¡¯s turn, Meiqi¡¯s hug became fiercer and longer, her lips beside his ear, ¡°Little junior, I¡¯m liking you more and more!¡±


    Luocheng blushed terribly, sneaking a peek at Qianqian who was beside him. Her cheeks had puffed up dangerously, this girl was hugging her boyfriend in front of her, and she even dared to say these kinds of things! She really didn¡¯t want to live another day!


    Having said that, although Qianqian was a student in Zhejiang University, she had hoped that Luocheng and Yang Ying would win. Alright, she admitted that she was a petty girl!


    As expected, Luocheng was still eye-catching, relying on his strength to pull the team to victory!


    ¡°Hey hey, Mr. Fang, Qin Ting, and a lot of the students are waiting for us to return to the university. I heard that they¡¯re preparing a grand celebration for us!¡± Jian Feng shouted excitedly as he ran toward them.


    ¡°Pack up and let¡¯s go back!¡± Yang Ying was suddenly impatient to return.


    Initially, Shanghai University had thought that this was a lost match and they would return immediately after it. They had even bought their return tickets already.


    Now that they had won, all the more reason for them to hurry back. This match was one of the most eye-catching in all of Shanghai University¡¯s history, and the whole community area was filled to the brim!


    They really wanted to see it for themselves!

 Chapter 228 - Celebration Party

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    To be honest, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that there was a celebration party being set up, Luocheng really wanted to stay a few more days in Zhejiang University.


    He hadn¡¯t been able to spend enough time with Qianqian, and now he needed to rush back already.


    Sigh, there would be more chances in the future.


    Finding a secluded spot with no people around and stealing a few kisses from Qianqian, Luocheng finally reluctantly left Zhejiang University. Sitting in the train back to Shanghai University, everyone was in high spirits as they chatted. After all, they had defeated Zhejiang University, and it was a joyful event that would last for a long time.


    The distance from Zhejiang University to Shanghai University wasn¡¯t really that far, and they were back in about three hours later.


    What surprised Luocheng, Yang Ying, Xiao Jia and everyone else, was that after getting off the train, there was a university bus parked outside waiting for them!


    ¡°F*ck, even the university bus is there, do they already know the results?¡± Jian Feng said, surprised.


    ¡°Of course they would, we defeated the runner up of the previous nationals. We have a great chance of getting into the top four and the finals, we¡¯ve gotten a lot of points for the university. They¡¯re definitely treating us like treasures now!¡± Xiao Jia boasted.


    The bus sent them to the gates, and when they arrived, everyone was shocked once again!


    Colorful banners were hung row by row, a group of cheerleaders waved colorful flags and banners as the bus carrying the e-sports members rolled in, and it even had the names of the five members on it.


    The other cheerleaders were doing formations, shouting that the E-sports club was the strongest!


    Soon after, shouts rang out from the school gates. When the E-sports members came down from the bus, a large crowd came rushing over.


    The one leading the crowd was Qin Ting, and behind him were the e-sports fans who had stayed back after the game to enthusiastically welcome back the members!


    Yang Ying, Jinbei, Xiao Jia and Wang Jun were all smiles.


    Who didn¡¯t like being surrounded by fans. When they had first stepped into the club, they were only there because they loved the game. Who knew that they would garner so much support!


    ¡°You lot, going off on your own to participate in a match, why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Mr. Fang said as he walked toward the E-sports Club members.


    His stern expression slowly morphed into relief, ¡°But it turned out well!¡±


    Mr. Fang patted the shoulders of several people as he praised them.


    ¡°Mr. Fang, are you all right?¡± Meiqi asked in concern.


    ¡°Well, what can I do, the dean still has the ability to discern right from wrong. However, the fact that you guys went on your own expenses to play the match and bring back this glory, you really helped solve a headache for the dean. Wait till you guys get into the top four, then you¡¯ll be the pride of our university.¡± Mr. Fang said seriously.


    Everyone nodded their heads, they were most concerned about Mr. Fang¡¯s side because the E-sports Club couldn¡¯t do without his support.


    ¡°Mr. Fang, the biggest contributor this round is Luocheng. Without him, we would have had an impossible time winning this match.¡± Xiao Jia said solemnly.


    In the beginning, Xiao Jia had had a lot of objections against Luocheng joining the starter team. However, now that he had gotten to know him better, he practically worshiped him like he was a god.


    There were players who used ADC or Mid to save the world, but there were only a handful of players like Luocheng who could use Support champions to save the world!


    ¡°That¡¯s right, even though we took all the kills, it was only because of Luocheng that we could even reach this stage,¡± Jinbei said, his voice quivering.


    Jinbei knew that his own strength couldn¡¯t compare to Jiang Qimings¡¯, and it was only because of Luocheng¡¯s godlike Support that they were able to completely control the bottom lane, giving him the confidence that he needed badly.


    Getting Legendary in this type of high tension match, it really gave him the feeling of being on cloud nine.


    ¡°You guys should¡¯ve seen the basketball and football clubs, their faces were so ugly. I wanted to take a picture to show you guys.¡± Qin Ting said suddenly, his face lighting up as he remembered.


    ¡°We¡¯ll give them a piece of our mind one day, that¡¯ll teach them to look down on our club!¡±


    ¡°Oh right, we recorded the scene just now during the matches. Have a look, I¡¯m telling you, after today, you guys are definitely celebrities in the university!¡±


    ***


    All the members of the E-sports Club were present during dinner, and even some of the head of departments who normally didn¡¯t show up were there. They drank wine and imparted some words of encouragement to the members, which flattered them greatly.


    The heads were reasonable and didn¡¯t stay too long, letting the youths enjoy themselves. During the celebration, Qin Ting played back the recording of the scene to everyone.


    ¡°Holy sh*t, this is even more exaggerated than Zhejiang University!¡± Jian Feng said, his voice full of surprise.


    In the video, the entire community area of Shanghai University was full, there were people shouting and waving their hands, it really was no less spectacular than the crowd at Zhejiang University!


    The crowd at Zhejiang University at that time had given them a feeling of inferiority, they had never expected that their own university would have garnered such a huge amount of support as well.


    Well, it was great that they hadn¡¯t let down the fans who loved e-sports.


    ¡°Oh yeah, why don¡¯t we call our masters!¡± Wang Jun said suddenly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, how could we forget!¡± Yang Ying said, slapping his thighs. ¡°Call them over, won¡¯t you?¡± He continued, looking at Luocheng.


    Luocheng nodded his head, giving Lin Dong a call. Lin Dong and the others were in a training session, and they had watched the match in the afternoon. They were very proud of Shanghai University team.


    Shanghai University team was also very clear about the fact that without the training and guidance from Team Skycrown, it would have been impossible to obtain today¡¯s victory. They were not only incredibly thankful for Luocheng¡¯s abilities, but also to the teachings of Team Skycrown.


    ***


    A group of people drinking until they were drunk, and Team Skycrown was no better off. Xiao Bei had always been afraid of talking to pretty girls, and Meiqi couldn¡¯t help but continue to tease him and drink. After a few drinks, Xiao Bei suddenly began to talk a lot.


    After drinking themselves late into the night, the members of the E-sports Club helped each other back to their dorms. The university was also very accommodating in letting them pass safely through the community area.


    ¡°You guys go on ahead, I¡¯ll walk them out.¡± Luocheng said as he waved to Yang Ying.


    Several members of Team Skycrown were drunk and they needed to be escorted back.


    ***


    ¡°Lin Dong, why are you standing there? Come on and roll back over here.¡± Da Luo said, his words slightly slurred.


    Lin Dong¡¯s face was flushed red, and he shoved both his hands into the pockets of his pants, standing at the gates of Shanghai University.


    It was late in the night, and he was standing alone there, looking about weirdly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Luocheng asked, coming to stand beside him.


    Lin Dong was super drunk, but Luocheng could tell that he was hiding something in his heart.


    ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Lin Dong replied, shaking his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­Don¡¯t pretend, you f*cking just want to attend university, don¡¯t you?¡± Da Luo said after staggering over and placing his arms on Lin Dong¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Not really.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know you!¡± Da Luo said.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t reply, choosing instead to turn his drunken self around to walk away. A fancy and magnificent university didn¡¯t have anything to do with him.


    Looking at Lin Dong who probably was offended as he left, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but feel helpless at that.


    Lin Dong was a hacker, and his skills had already been polished when he was just a teenager. If it wasn¡¯t for that cybercrime that he had been involved in, he would most likely would be a senior in the computer department at Beijing University or Fudan University. He could also have applied for further studies in a more sophisticated technology overseas with his skills.


    However, he couldn¡¯t even cross the line to attend university now. Looking at Lin Dong leave, Luocheng got to thinking, basketball, football, swimming, track, they all had special privileges. When would E-sports professional players have the same too?


    ¡°Lin Dong, it¡¯s just a university, what¡¯s the big deal? When we enter LPL and the Worlds, it¡¯ll be the same happiness and sufferings, being a university student won¡¯t match up to that!¡± Da Luo shouted in his slurred speech, chasing after Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong turned around. After drinking, he wasn¡¯t very talkative, in fact, he became more moody and gloomy, going silent.


    ¡°What, after being stimulated by a broken woman, you think you can indulge yourself?¡± Lin Dong said coldly.


    ¡°So what, I¡¯m telling you, Shui Mo will eventually be mine, she won¡¯t be able to get away. I¡¯ll have a lot of money, buy her a good house, buy a car for her, and even buy expensive cosmetics for her. She¡¯s mine, no one else can touch her¡­¡± Da Luo spat out as he staggered.


    ¡°I feel sorry for you, that woman has a few loose screws.¡± Lin Dong said disdainfully.


    ¡°I like her, so I like her that way, f*ck you. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s vulgar or cheap, it¡¯s me who is rotten. I didn¡¯t have the ability to give her what she wanted¡­¡± Trailing off, Da Luo couldn¡¯t stand properly any longer and fell toward Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong had also had too much to drink, so when Da Luo landed on him, he too, fell onto the grass.


    ¡°I¡­I¡­I¡¯ll say this¡­this time¡­we¡¯ll definitely get into LPL¡­¡±


    ¡°I know¡­I know¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll¡­we¡¯ll be famous, a lot¡­a lot of fans¡­lots of money¡­she¡­sooner or later¡­she¡¯ll¡­see how much¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to live in that¡­leaking¡­rain¡­mouldy room¡­I don¡¯t like¡­smell of mould¡­hate¡­especially hate it¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you sleep on the top bunk, there¡¯s less smell of mould there.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want¡­we¡­we¡¯ll get through this competition, earn a big sum of money¡­and then¡­then we¡¯ll change to a better place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll win this.¡±


    ***


    ¡°These two idiots.¡± Zhou Yan cursed, looking at the two who were sprawled on the flowerbed.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, my man¡­we¡¯ll be rich¡­isn¡¯t that right¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Zhou Yan said listlessly.


    ¡°You can¡­you can buy your way¡­into the university¡­I¡¯ll save the money for Lin Dong¡­and help him buy his way in¡­¡±


    After saying this, Da Luo fell completely asleep. Lin Dong was already snoring on the dirty grass beside him¡­


    Luocheng could only stand beside them, watching the two speak drunken words.

 Chapter 229 - The Push For Preseason

    Chapter 229: The Push For Preseason


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After escorting the drunkards back to their place, Luocheng turned and walked back to the university.


    Just as he reached the gate, a beautiful and familiar figure passed by him.


    ¡°What a coincidence, you¡¯re late in coming back as well.¡± Luocheng said as he greeted Bai Feifei.


    ¡°I was doing some handover in the club,¡± Feifei replied.


    ¡°Handover?¡± Luocheng echoed, not quite understanding her.


    ¡°I quit,¡± Feifei said in a low tone.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Feifei remained silent, not answering his question, and the two of them walked in silence toward the dorm.


    ¡°Congratulations on winning the match,¡± Feifei said after a while, probably tired of the silence.


    ¡°Ah, you know.¡± Luocheng said as he chuckled.


    ¡°I was watching in the afternoon. Even though I didn¡¯t really understand much, I heard that your performance was outstanding and it was because of you that the match was won.¡± Feifei replied.


    The spectacular scene in the afternoon really moved Feifei¡¯s heart, she had never imagined that an e-sports game could be so popular to this extent. Seeing the enthusiasm from the people gathered there, Feifei felt as if her whole perception had shifted.


    Was it possible that e-sports was not what the adults were saying?


    That it actually was a type of sports?


    ¡°They played well too,¡± Luocheng said, his tone humble.


    The two didn¡¯t talk much after that, and after walking Feifei back to the dorm, Luocheng returned to his own room.


    His roommates were all asleep, and Luocheng had drunk quite a bit too. Washing up swiftly, he fell onto the bed to get some shut-eye. Until the time he drifted off to dreamland, the drunken words from Da Luo and Lin Dong remained on his mind.


    ***


    The E-sports National University League was still in full swing. After the video of the match between Shanghai University and Zhejiang University was uploaded onto the net, the name of the godlike Support player was suddenly spread like wildfire across the various universities!


    For a while, the E-sports Club webpage of Shanghai University view count soared, and the university¡¯s homepage even opened another page specifically to promote the E-sports Club.


    Shanghai University¡¯s top team didn¡¯t disappoint either, after defeating Zhejiang University, they moved on to defeat another team who was in the top eight¡ªTongji University, and now, they ranked among the top four!


    Stepping into the ranks of the top four, the university happily presented special awards to them during the assembly. Soon after, major companies that often collaborated with Shanghai University also took the opportunity to offer sponsorships to the E-sports Club. The funds were given to Mr. Fang to decide how the distribution would be toward the club members.


    After playing their way into the semi-finals, Luocheng suddenly found himself with enough funds for his own use. Looks like he had enough funds to bring Qianqian to the beach, and most likely, she also wanted to go to Hainan. If he could find a chance to bring her to Hainan, Luocheng felt like he would have everything then, hey hey hey!


    ***


    As the University League gradually entered the finals stage, countless teams were also competing in Champions War, Media War, and Server War, to gain the qualifications to enter the preseason!


    The preseason was also the qualifying round of LPL Spring Season!


    Every year, only eight teams would qualify to enter the LPL, six out of the eight teams were chosen from preseason matches. The top two teams from the Champions War would be able to directly enter the LPL Spring Season.


    In other words, unless you already had the qualifications to directly enter, whether it be old or new teams, you would have to qualify in preseason if you wanted to enter LPL!


    During this time, all the well known teams within the country would gather in Shanghai, like a moth to a flame.


    The Internet Cafe League champion team, Champion War¡¯s strongest team, Provincial Sponsors¡¯ customized team, National University League¡¯s finalist team, boss teams in major servers, and countless professional teams who were popular¡­


    All of them had been fighting their way through countless second-tier matches just to qualify for the LPL preseason! If they managed to enter LPL, then only would their e-sports career be in the eye of the public, otherwise, the third and second-tier teams would have little development potential!


    ***


    The e-sports circle was still considered immature, and the teams who could truly shine were only the eight teams in LPL. The spotlight was currently only on the top four teams in the LPL, and the resources that could be obtained by the bottom four teams were scarce compared to them.


    Even if you managed to enter the LPL, it wasn¡¯t a guarantee that you would hit the jackpot, don¡¯t even talk about those teams who hadn¡¯t managed to enter the LPL at all. E-sports teams had to go through competitions if they wanted to stand out.


    Team Skycrown was well aware of this fact, hence, they hadn¡¯t bothered wasting their time trying to obtain any sponsorship or commercials. It was all meaningless to them, what they wanted to obtain was the peak, and they needed to aim for the LPL!


    ***


    The preseason qualifiers were coming closer, and Team Skycrown was participating in the Media War competition. They needed to qualify in this competition for them to obtain the preseason qualifications.


    Luocheng seemed to have fallen into a routine. During the day, he would attend classes, and once he was done with club activities, at night, he would go out of the university, pack food for five, and head toward Team Skycrown¡¯s accommodation.


    He himself had struggled in his professional career and had seen many people with extraordinary talent for gaming. However, having the talent was secondary, because what a professional player really needed was the perseverance of ordinary people.


    Twelve hours of training every day, and ten out of the twelve was repetitive, boring training, which was farming, movement and positioning, and reaction training. Only then, the remaining two hours were actual combat practice.


    There were a lot of talented players who wanted to become professional e-sports players because they thought that they could earn money with it, which was what they wanted¡­


    Ah, those who thought so were so naive.


    The boring training and mental stress experienced by a professional player every day was not something ordinary people could tolerate. Just like now, for the sake of standing out in the preseason, Team Skycrown had not stepped foot out of the door for days, apart from that one drinking celebration session with Shanghai University.


    For their meals, they would call for delivery, and Luocheng would pack food for them at night for supper. Apart from eating and sleeping, they were always in front of the computer screen.


    The fortunate thing was, apart from Xiao Bei who had not gone through this gruesome experience before, the rest of them were able to endure and persist through it.


    Standing out in the competition was the only road that Team Skycrown could take.


    Luocheng was well aware that Team Skycrown had a high chance to rock the boat, and they had to pull out all stops to make their name stand out!


    During this period, Luocheng would help them unconditionally, no matter whether it was in their daily life or competition. He sincerely hoped that they would succeed and obtain what they truly desired in the field of e-sports!

 Chapter 230 - A Small Storm In The Library

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With the arrival of the new year, the University League had entered into the final stage. Shanghai University had been eliminated in the semi-finals and they missed their chance to enter the finals.


    It wasn¡¯t because Guangdong Sun Yatsen University was strong, but it was the fact that since the match between Shanghai University and Zhejiang University had been uploaded onto the net, the teams that were able to enter the finals had invested a lot of time studying Shanghai University¡¯s tactics. In the end, they had all unanimously agreed that the way to beat them was to aim for the Support!


    Luocheng was Shanghai University¡¯s carry and pacemaker, and once he was deliberately singled out, the stronger side of Shanghai University would be completely suppressed.


    Even though it was a pity they didn¡¯t make it into the finals and there were many regrets, the fact that they managed to rank in the top four was already something to be happy about. For this reason, the university had also specially praised the members of the E-sports Club during the general assembly.


    The name ¡®Luocheng¡¯ had practically achieved legendary status within the campus. In the past, the ones who had managed to achieve such status were young masters who were rich and handsome, or someone who was capable of doing big things that sensationalized the university. For Luocheng who just played E-sports and was well known by his classmates due to this, it was the first time that this had happened.


    Of course, this was also something that was easily forgotten. With the various exams fast approaching, those hermits didn¡¯t have much time to increase their rankings. The one they needed to pray to now was not Luocheng, but instead, Confucious and other various philosophers.


    No matter how outstanding you were in E-sports, your studies were still the priority.


    It was already December, and Luocheng had let go of E-sports a little, beginning to devote himself to normal studies. Previously, he had had to participate in both Shanghai University team and Team Skycrown¡¯s training sessions, which forced him to skip classes and fall behind in his studies. As a result, there were so many things that he needed to catch up on and he didn¡¯t know where to start.


    In the afternoon after his lunch break, Luocheng picked up his books to read in his room. Feifei had taken notes for him and it was done with many details. The notes were easy to read and it made it easier for him to understand the materials.


    ¡°Sh*t, you¡¯re studying?¡± Qiu Jingtai exclaimed in surprise, poking his head out from the bed nearby.


    Luocheng ignored the idiot, choosing to continue studying his Further Mathematics.


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t need to take the exam to pass?¡± Jingtai probed further.


    ¡°No sh*t, that¡¯s only for a few subjects.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Just as he said that, his phone started to vibrate.


    ¡°Brother, are you in your room?¡± Yu Yu¡¯s melodic voice came through the receiver.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m in the library reading.¡± Luocheng said.


    Jingtai¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at Luocheng with an incredulous look on his face. F*ck, this guy was lying with such a straight face!


    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll come and find you.¡± Yu Yu said.


    ¡°Your training is over?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I reached back yesterday night.¡±


    Yu Yu generally didn¡¯t spend much time in the university and would only be here when she wasn¡¯t participating in any training or competitions. Luocheng had only seen her a handful of times.


    ¡°I¡¯m reading, don¡¯t come over.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also be reading.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t even finished but Yu Yu had already hung up the phone.


    This girl, she really would go to the library.


    The dorm room really wasn¡¯t suitable to study, with five other people around, you say one word, I say another word, and all of a sudden, everyone would be chatting and laughing instead of studying seriously.


    Simply packing a few things, Luocheng then departed for the library.


    ***


    Holding his books as he entered the library, his body automatically walked toward the corner of the place as he had always done when he came to the library.


    ¡°Damn.¡± Luocheng halted in his steps, scolding himself.


    He forced himself to turn around, leaving behind the door he so frequently used, and headed toward the stairs that led to the sacred floor of studying.


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t known that it would be so hard to get a place in the library this close to the exam period, and as he walked from the first floor all the way to the fourth floor, he still couldn¡¯t find an empty spot.


    For Luocheng who had been unexpectedly able to be enthusiastic about studying, this dampened his spirits. It looked like the only place that fully accepted him in this library was the multimedia room.


    There was no space on the fourth floor, and Luocheng returned to the third floor to continue his search. As he was walking, he noticed a familiar figure. He also noticed that there was an empty spot beside her, and his eyes brightened as he walked toward her.


    ***


    Feifei came to the library every day to read books and this was her daily routine. Even her seat was always in the same place. She loved this kind of life, once she was tired of reading, she would listen to music, rest a while, or pick another genre of book to read. The days would pass in a comfortable pace.


    However, there were disturbing things that happened sometimes. For example, there were some flies that would buzz around her with ulterior motives. With the face of someone who felt good about themselves or someone who thought they were smooth, they would continue to pester her, disturbing her peace.


    Feifei was disgusted with these kind of guys, and somehow, a couple of them would always appear in front of her every day.


    As she was reading, the seat next to her was taken by a guy.


    Feifei didn¡¯t bother to raise her head, her heart was already raising a wall to defend herself.


    What was up with today, after finally being able to chase one persistent guy away coldly, another one had turned up! Hopefully he would just stay silent and leave her alone.


    Burying her face into the book, just as Feifei was throwing a tantrum internally, she felt the guy beside her pat the top of her head!


    Feifei frowned, the guys were now more over the line! Just as she lifted her head to glare at the person, she was greeted with a lazy, but bright smile.


    Feifei froze, why was it this guy?


    ¡°Don¡¯t look like you just saw a ghost,¡± Luocheng said nonchalantly as he took in the expression on Feifei¡¯s face.


    ¡°I just thought that the possibility of you appearing on the first floor was higher, and the rest of the floors are zero,¡± Feifei replied after a while.


    Alright, Luocheng had to admit that he only had one destination in mind when he came to the library¡ªthe multimedia room.


    ¡°I¡¯m often on the fifth floor¡­¡±


    ¡°Fifth floor?¡±


    Luocheng looked at Feifei who clearly didn¡¯t understand his meaning, and he felt it wasn¡¯t necessary to say ¡®Fifth floor, picking Support¡¯.


    Coming back to reality, with the exam looming closer, Luocheng really had a lot of things that he wanted to learn from this committee member. The notes were Feifei¡¯s, and by asking the person directly, he could resolve a lot of his headaches.


    ¡°Would it bother you if I asked some questions?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°What do you want to ask?¡± Feifei said instead, her eyes full of suspicion as she looked at him.


    ¡°What are you nervous about, I¡¯m not going to ask anything personal. You helped me take these notes, there are some things which I don¡¯t understand.¡± Luocheng explained.


    He had been classmates with Feifei for more than three months, and he found that this beauty was not as arrogant or cold as people had said. She just didn¡¯t like talking to people who were not close to her or strangers.


    ¡°Oh, then go ahead and ask then. I can revise it at the same time.¡± Feifei said, nodding her head.


    ***


    Luocheng didn¡¯t have many questions in the first place as he could understand the majority of the materials himself, and the materials of the university studies weren¡¯t as complicated as he had thought.


    Put it this way, if you just aimed to pass the exam, even if you missed the whole semester of classes, you just needed to spend a week reviewing the key points of the studies and you could easily score between seventy to eighty marks.


    Luocheng was aiming for this seventy or eighty marks, if he got any higher than that, he would be better off raising his rank instead.


    Speaking of which, the local server¡¯s ranking systems had already been updated. It was now Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Challenger. You couldn¡¯t see the rank in Luocheng¡¯s account anymore, and instead, Diamond 3 was displayed. Recently, he had been playing in the Hanbok and US server and he didn¡¯t have as much time to raise his rank in the local server¡­


    Come to think of it, hadn¡¯t he come to the library to study, why was he suddenly thinking about this matter instead?


    Luocheng shook his head to get rid of these unnecessary thoughts, he needed to focus on his studies!


    ***


    Feifei maintained her indifferent expression on her face, looking concentrated on her studies. In fact, there were already ripples in her heart, and the cause of it was Luocheng.


    Among the girls in the department, there were already rumors about her and Luocheng¡¯s close relationship. If the students were to see him and her sitting like this together studying, even more exaggerated rumors were sure to start.


    ¡®Sigh, why should I care about that. Let them say what they want to,¡¯ Feifei wondered to herself.


    Feeling a bit tired, Feifei raised her head and stretched, taking a short break. When her eyes were tired, she needed to focus on something further away. Her gaze followed the long marble corridor all the way to the end, which was also the stairs.


    A bright, beautiful girl appeared at this time, her pure, innocent face was attractive, and Feifei felt a touch of familiarity as she looked at her. She wondered if she had seen this girl somewhere before.


    The girl was clutching a book in her arms, walking toward her direction, seemingly looking for someone and a place to sit.


    Feifei noted that the students who were previously focused on studying were now all fidgeting in their seats as the girl walked past them, all eyes turning to look and excited chatter from guys started to form.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t¡­isn¡¯t she the swimming girl?¡± Feifei finally remembered.


    This was actually the famous beauty in school which had caused a huge influence in swimming. When she had disappeared a while back, people had talked less about her. Whenever she appeared, various new rumors would spread among both the girls and guys.


    Feifei¡¯s impression of the girl was also good, she didn¡¯t exude the aura of a small celebrity. That soft gentleness and purity made people feel like she was a kind, familiar neighbor to everyone.


    As Feifei looked at her, unknowingly, she had walked and stood in front of her. Feifei smiled slightly, trying to be friendly. The girl originally had a kind smile on her face, but suddenly, her eyes held a weird look¡­


    It felt like there was hostility aimed at her.


    Feifei was confused, did she do something to incur that hostility?


    As she puzzled over this fact, the girl walked to the back of Luocheng¡­


    Luocheng was still busy trying to decipher something and he didn¡¯t see the swimming goddess standing behind him. The swimming goddess stretched out her arms lightly, slowly going around Luocheng¡¯s neck and suddenly threw her weight forward, plastering her face onto his back.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve found you!¡±


    It was meant to be funny, but Luocheng was startled from the impact and was shocked. Turning around, he found himself facing a seemingly angelic face, but with the devil¡¯s smile¡­


    Damn it, how could he forget that she was coming!


    Luocheng noticed that the surrounding people who were studying were now in a commotion!

 Chapter 231 - Garnering Hatred

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Feifei was startled.


    She was wondering if she had seen wrongly, and she could only stare at the swimming beauty who had suddenly embraced Luocheng from behind. Such an intimate move, it was definitely not something normal friends would do!


    ¡°Hush, don¡¯t be noisy,¡± Luocheng said, embarrassment on his face.


    How could he have known that Yu Yu would suddenly choose to attack him like that in a place with so many people, what kind of girl would do that?


    Previously when he had taken a walk and had a meal with Yu Yu, there were already a lot of onlookers. Now, Yu Yu was even more showy, hugging him in such a public place, wasn¡¯t it going to cause a public outrage!


    Nowadays, there were all types of hatred and vengeance around, not a single soul would listen to your explanation that this was your own sister.


    Luocheng glanced around and noted that a few people had taken out their phones and snapped pictures, and although that rendered him speechless for a while, he hurriedly pulled a chair out for Yu Yu to sit.


    Seeing Feifei looking at him curiously, Luocheng hurriedly explained, ¡°This is my sister.¡±


    ¡°Your sister?¡± Feifei said, amazement clear in her voice.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Your blood sister?¡± Feifei asked again, trying to process this information.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    ¡°No.¡± Yu Yu said, shaking her head.


    Feifei¡¯s eyes widened, one said yes and the other said no. Which was it?


    However, judging from the intimate embrace that she had seen a moment ago, it was obvious that these two were as close as they could get.


    Feifei had never imagined that the swimming girl that was the talk of the town would turn out to be Luocheng¡¯s sister, and she had never heard about this from Luocheng himself before.


    ¡°I¡¯m Luocheng¡¯s classmate, Feifei. Nice to meet you.¡± Feifei smiled politely as she introduced herself to Yu Yu.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, are you only classmates?¡± Yu Yu asked, direct to the point.


    Feifei glanced at Luocheng, and nodded her head.


    ¡°¡­¡± Luocheng had to admit that he was impressed.


    ¡°Just sit quietly in the corner, I¡¯m trying to study,¡± Luocheng said to Yu Yu.


    He then proceeded to ignore her, immersing himself in his studies again. After finishing up a few questions, he turned around to find that Yu Yu and Feifei had hit it off.


    Feifei seemed interested in Yu Yu and was asking her a few things. Yu Yu was the kind of girl who liked to talk, so she was happily indulging her.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to somehow get closer, and Luocheng was the one who felt like an outsider sitting there without uttering a word. Luocheng didn¡¯t understand how two strangers could suddenly become close, as though they had been friends for a long time.


    Whatmore, their topics were things like ¡°your skin is good, your hair is smooth, your clothes are beautiful¡­¡±


    ***


    Luocheng was well aware that he didn¡¯t have much time to study properly as it wasn¡¯t long before Team Skycrown would be entering the most important part of entering the preseason qualifiers.


    There was a minimum requirement to enter the preseason qualifiers, and it was that all members of the team needed to be at least at the rank of Diamond.


    Preseason was not some trivial competition, and there were no rewards or glory, just the four tickets to enter LPL. Everyone knew that if you wanted to gain fame and rewards, you needed to get into the LPL!


    The formal qualifiers would begin on the 15th of December. The competition schedule was tightly packed as they would be selecting the strongest four teams in the timeframe of only one month from the hundreds and thousands of teams that would participate.


    After the selection, a total of eight teams would compete for points in the Spring Season!


    In the Spring Regular Season, the top two teams would directly qualify for the Regional Finals which would lead to the World Championship.


    Although Team Skycrown was once brilliant, their goals were now very far away. However, the first step they needed to take was to obtain the rank of top four in the preseason qualifiers. They needed to get the qualifying tickets to enter the LPL first, after all, no one in the entire LOL field knew of them!


    For about a week, Luocheng could be found in the library studying from noon till evening, trying to catch up on all the studying that he had missed. Once it was night, Luocheng would then study the videos of all the teams.


    As a coach, Luocheng was also wearing the hat of an analyst at the same time. He had to be well aware of all the play styles of the top teams, whether they were local or foreign, so that he could establish tactics and counters for Team Skycrown.


    When you played against third-tier teams, it was their players¡¯ levels. Second-tier teams, their coordination. First-tier teams, it was their tactical plays!


    The members of Team Skycrown were individually strong, playing against third-tier teams were not a problem. However, their coordination was still severely lacking, and this was due to the fact that their bonding time had been short. Once they were matched up against something different, they could easily be beaten by second-tier teams.


    In order to play against first-tier teams, your tactical understanding and coordination must not only be perfect, but your tactical plays must also be even more avant-garde and complete.


    Team Skycrown was still brushing up on their coordination and their tactical plays were not really anything to boast about right now.


    On the contrary, because he had often coordinated with Shanghai University team, Luocheng persistently drilled the tactical plays into the Shanghai University members, and they gradually had some concepts on plays now.


    Sadly, those tactics and gameplays were still incomplete, and once it was exploited, it would all come crumbling down.


    ¡°Individual ability index: 8 points, overall coordination: 5 points, tactical and leadership: 1 point¡­Brother, what are you writing in your book?¡± Yu Yu asked, holding up his notebook as a look of confusion appeared on her face.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°What nothing, and what is this Team Skycrown? Are you starting a team again?¡± Yu Yu¡¯s eyes were sharp, taking in everything that Luocheng had written in his notebook with a glance.


    ¡°What are you doing here again, nothing else better to do?¡± Luocheng said instead.


    ¡°I already said I¡¯m on break, there aren¡¯t any competitions. Brother, let¡¯s go exploring, I haven¡¯t had the time to play even though I¡¯ve come to Shanghai for quite a while.¡± Yu Yu said in excitement.


    ¡°I¡¯m not free, I have exams coming.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll find some guy to go play with, there are a lot of handsome guys wanting to take me out.¡± Yu Yu said, laughing lightly.


    ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± Luocheng nodded his head, his thoughts drifting to how to increase Team Skycrown¡¯s strength.


    Yu Yu¡¯s face dropped, her eyes displaying her frustration and unhappiness.


    ¡°They¡¯re all chasing after me and you¡¯re letting me go play with them?¡± Yu Yu asked.


    ¡°Go ahead, mom and dad probably wouldn¡¯t object to you finding a boyfriend now. You should find one soon instead of coming to pester me every day!¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Do you want me to find a boyfriend that badly?¡± Yu Yu said, dissatisfaction on her face.


    ¡°Not really, just be cautious. Don¡¯t hook up with some weird or unreliable guy.¡± Luocheng said,


    ¡°I don¡¯t like those guys, When they confessed to me, I said I already have a boyfriend.¡± Yu Yu replied.


    ¡°Oh, and who did you use as your sacrifice?¡±


    Yu Yu held out her little finger and pointed cutely at Luocheng¡­


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Luocheng said, his voice full of disbelief.


    No wonder he felt like he was always met with hostile stares when he was walking outside!


    Moreover, Luocheng clearly remembered a Taekwondo president challenging him to a solo match, and Luocheng, who had never been afraid of a solo match, happily agreed. Turned out that he wanted to have a solo match in Taekwondo, what the f*ck!


    Luocheng was obviously garnering hate because of Yu Yu, why didn¡¯t this girl understand that her popularity in the university was as high as the sky!

 Chapter 232 - See You at LPL!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A comfortable cool wind blew in the lazy afternoon and the curtains by the window waved in response. The dormitories were new and the entire building was neat and clean. Due to Jingtai¡¯s interest, their room had a lingering smell of candle fragrance.


    Bzzt! Bzzt!


    The phone vibrated as a call came in.


    ¡°Luocheng, where are you now?¡± Xiao Bei¡¯s voice came through the receiver.


    ¡°In the dorms, is the schedule out?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m at the club room, come on over.¡± Xiao Bei replied.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Pulling on a jacket and combing a hand through his hair in an attempt to tidy himself, Luocheng left the room and headed toward the club. It had been almost a week since Luocheng had entered the club room, and there were so many more members in the club now. You could often see several people playing, and a group of others watching as they stood behind them. It reminded him of the days that he used to frequent the internet cafes.


    Upon reaching the club, you could see a red-haired beauty in the front row shouting in an unladylike manner.


    ¡°Kill him, yes, kill him! Let this asshole who bullied me see, now you know my great strength, eh?¡± Meiqi exclaimed.


    Luocheng glanced over and found Xiao Bei seated in front of Meiqi¡¯s computer, playing ADC and using the ID ¡®Horse Loves to Run¡¯.


    He could imagine what had happened, when Xiao Bei had come to the club looking for him, Meiqi, who was playing ADC had probably been beaten by somebody had then shouted for Xiao Bei to help her destress.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s freckled face was flushed red completely as he played, Meiqi¡¯s body pressing close on his side as she cheered. This little virgin boy probably couldn¡¯t stand the intimacy and temptation, and his blood pressure was probably shooting to the sky making it hard for him to play properly.


    ¡°Luocheng.¡± Xiao Bei was clearly relieved when he saw him, hurriedly standing up from the chair and giving it back to Meiqi.


    Luocheng nodded his head in greeting, and the other fifty to sixty members in the room who were playing hard also raised their heads to greet him. In the E-sports Club, Luocheng was still very popular.


    ¡°This is the schedule, have a look.¡± Xiao Bei said, handing over the sheet of paper.


    ¡°Let me see, let me see!¡± Meiqi excitedly bounced over.


    Naturally, Team Skycrown was playing in professional competitions. Shanghai University E-sports Club also had an understanding with Team Skycrown, so of course they would band together to go and watch their matches.


    ¡°It¡¯s the single round-robin method which is best of one, yeah, it¡¯ll go faster this way.¡± Luocheng muttered to himself as he looked over the schedule.


    This method was the most direct elimination method, and it was also the most efficient one. The two top teams needed to be selected from hundreds and thousands of participating teams after all, and it was necessary to employ this method. The competition would run from December to January.


    In the early stage, the strong teams that could qualify could be described with the Chinese proverb of ¡®The carp has leaped through the dragon¡¯s gate¡¯. Many carps swim upstream against the river¡¯s strong current, but only a few are capable or brave enough to take the final leap over the waterfall.


    And when the top two teams were finally selected, only they would be eligible to enter the preseason to compete with the few top teams from the other competitions to obtain the qualification to enter the LPL Spring Season!


    There would be many games to play in these few weeks for the Media War competition, and Luocheng roughly looked through the schedule. From this Friday onward, Team Skycrown would be participating in the first elimination bracket in the first week.


    Once the first bracket was over, there would only be 500 teams left from the thousands that had first participated. After the second bracket, only 250 teams would be left. After the third bracket, there would only be 120 teams left.


    In other words, from this Friday to the next, Team Skycrown would have three elimination matches to play.


    They couldn¡¯t lose any of these three knockout matches, losing one would mean being eliminated from the competition. If they wanted to enter the preseason or LPL, they would have to wait for the next year.


    Team Skycrown didn¡¯t have any initial capital and if anything were to happen in the process of entering LPL, it would deal a fatal blow to them and effectively crush their road to e-sports.


    Luocheng believed in the strength of Team Skycrown, but with such a tightrope system match up in this competition, it still made people inexplicably nervous. Three elimination matches that had to be won at all costs, and it was all best of one¡­


    Those participating in the competitions would be players from all over the country who were aspiring to be professional players, and these players would definitely have varying strengths, some would even be masters. Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t afford to let their guard down at all in these elimination matches.


    ¡°During the match, maintain your finger speed and feel as well as your reaction timing. I¡¯ll arrange a special training schedule, and you guys will follow the schedule. There¡¯s no need to continue playing premade games, generally professional teams won¡¯t appear anyway. I will try to arrange some matches with other teams for combat practice too.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°What¡¯s combat practice?¡± Meiqi asked, never hearing the term before.


    ¡°Professional team practices are generally divided into basic training, combat training, and free practice.¡± Luocheng explained, knowing that Xiao Bei was not very familiar with these terms either.


    ¡°Basic training refers to farming and last hitting, finger speed, and reaction time amongst others. This part of the training is the most boring but also, the most important training. You have to have at least three hours of this every day, once in the morning, in the afternoon and at night. It will be extended according to your own shortcomings.¡±


    ¡°Combat practice is basically actual combat practice. Generally, we would arrange matches with teams who are more or less on par with your own team, and the games are played in a competitive manner, so there is no room for slack. Twice a day, two matches each time. In other words, you have at least four matches of combat training, and this is aiming to train your own strength, coordination, and tactical plays.¡±


    ¡°The last part is free practice, which as the name implies, you can use your own account to play ranked games, whether it¡¯s in the Korean or US server. You can think of it as personal training because you will meet all kinds of players in ranked games.¡±


    Luocheng was explaining and summarizing the training methods seriously and systematically, and he didn¡¯t notice that all the members in the club were looking at him in surprise and listening attentively to him.


    Meiqi was also one of them who wore a surprised look on her face, asking, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use the same method when training our team?¡±


    ¡°Students are not professional players and they will be unable to perform such rigorous systematic training regimens. Team Skycrown is a professional team, and that¡¯s why they require such strict training.¡± Luocheng said, scratching the tip of his nose nervously, not knowing why all eyes were on him.


    ¡°For Fudan University to get that strong, was it because they trained like this every day?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°Logically it should be, plus, they would probably also have a more complete training regimen.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Listening to your explanation on the trainings and comparing it to ours, I feel like our team¡¯s training is just like playing house.¡± Xiao Jia said as he walked over to them.


    The method that Shanghai University team used to train was to keep playing matches continuously, and occasionally, they would arrange practice matches with other universities. The timing for these matches were mostly uncertain and it was all over the place. It wasn¡¯t one bit like the training schedules and methods that Luocheng had just explained, which were divided carefully and clearly.


    ¡°For the combat training, I¡¯ll need your help to think about it. There are more professional teams in your network, if there¡¯s an opportunity, I would like for them to train with us in the afternoon.¡± Luocheng said instead.


    ¡°No problem. I can¡¯t get you first-tier teams, and second-tier teams are a little difficult, but I can get third-tier teams easily every day to serve as your sandbag!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, before Team Skycrown becomes more known, I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡± Luocheng said.


    Wanting to do combat practice with other teams, you would require a certain amount of strength and fame. You couldn¡¯t just casually pull out five random players to train with, which would defeat the whole purpose of the combat training.


    Team Skycrown didn¡¯t play against Shanghai University team anymore because there was nothing more to improve from doing so. Luocheng was hoping that Xiao Jia would be able to get the champion of the University League¡ªFudan University team to practice with them. It would be very helpful for their development.


    ¡°Wu Sen mentioned that he could get Team Stardust to play a round with us.¡± Xiao Bei said.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Team Stardust one of the top eight in the previous LPL? It¡¯s a first-tier domestic team!¡± Meiqi exclaimed.


    ¡°Wu Sen was originally from Team Stardust and he would be more familiar with the members. However, they will also be participating in the preseason, and one of the tickets into LPL has basically been taken by them already. If we could have a match with them before the actual competition, it would be great. That way, we have a way to gauge how far off we actually are from a first-tier team.¡± Luocheng said.


    Team Stardust was not as famous as Team Revelations, Team Daemons, Team Sky, or Team 71, who were the top four. However, to be able to rank in the next four, their strength was something to be reckoned with.


    Team Skycrown could take on a third-tier team with their abilities now, and could most likely hold their own against a second-tier team. They hadn¡¯t had a chance to truly play against a first-tier team up till now, and if Wu Sen could really get a match with them, it would definitely be a rare opportunity.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a good relationship with Team Daemons, Luocheng? Why not ask them to have a practice session with us? If it¡¯s for you, they would probably take some time out to play against Team Skycrown, right?¡± Xiao Bei asked.


    ¡°Our abilities right now are too far apart from theirs, it isn¡¯t necessary,¡± Luocheng said, shaking his head.


    For Team Daemons, they only needed to meet in the battlefield!


    Moreover, if they couldn¡¯t even make it to LPL, how could Team Skycrown even think of playing against the top team in their country?


    The past was in the past, Luocheng was fully aware that Team Skycrown was starting from scratch. They were just one among the countless other teams that were trying to get a footing, and Team Daemons was a top tier team at the peak of a mountain.


    If he were to rely on his past connections to let such an excellent team play against their Team Skycrown who was currently worthless, it wasn¡¯t just an insult to himself, but an insult to the most respected opponents!


    Team Daemons, we¡¯ll see you at LPL!

 Chapter 233 - Team Skycrown Is Trash?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In the afternoon, Xiao Jia made a trip to Team Skycrown¡¯s accommodation. It had been raining the past few days, and the room was filled with the smell of rotting wood and moss. As he walked through the dark and wet corridor, Xiao Jia frowned and said, ¡°This place is quite rundown.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they don¡¯t have much funds. It was the cheapest room they could get.¡± Luocheng explained.


    ¡°Why not let them train in our club room, there are five computers there anyway, and we can let our members see how a master should play.¡± Xiao Jia suggested.


    Although the environment of their E-sports Club was not as glamorous as Fudan University¡¯s, it was still comfortable, clean, well equipped, and had a stable network. With the financial support of the university and sponsors as well as the membership fees, Shanghai University¡¯s income was not lacking.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a very good idea, they need to have complete silence when they¡¯re training. They wouldn¡¯t be able to concentrate in the club room. For the afternoon slot, however, maybe we could consider it.¡± Luocheng mused.


    Combat practice was not something to be taken lightly, and playing in the club room with an audience would give an atmosphere of being in a competition. With a professional team regularly playing in the club room, it would be sure to attract more members and bring benefits to the club.


    That being said, the problem of the accommodation environment had to be resolved as soon as possible, the house was entirely too old. Everytime he watched them train in such a shabby place, his heart would feel slightly bitter.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys reach the world stage before, you should have some savings from that, right? Or did those competitions not have any rewards?¡± Xiao Jia asked.


    ¡°Most of the money that we made was taken by Sky Club. We weren¡¯t making a lot of money already, but when I left the team, they wanted us to pay a penalty which was high. They didn¡¯t inform us of this clause when we signed the contract, so in short, we were all deceived.¡± Luocheng explained quietly.


    Team Wings had erected a banner in the entire e-sports industry for Sky Club in the beginning, laying down the most fundamental foundation for their current glory. They had also racked in countless sponsorships, and yet, the members only received a meager amount of salary and rewards. When they had wanted to leave, they had even pressed them to the limit and stripped them of everything, taking away all that they had!


    Luocheng had been insistent on leaving, so he had had to fork out the money. Once the other members had found out how blood-sucking Sky Club was, they weren¡¯t inclined to stay behind either and chose to leave.


    The members of Team Wings were young when they had joined, and Sky Club had taken complete advantage of them, making them as impoverished as they were now. They had even cut off any future routes into the professional field by using the fact that they had breached the contract.


    After completely uncovering the truth, Lin Dong and the rest were discouraged from going into any other fields. All this while, Lin Dong, Da Luo and Zhou Yan had held a deep grudge against Sky Club!


    While Team Daemons was a powerful team that Team Skycrown deeply respected, Team Sky was a team that they had to defeat no matter what the cost was, an enemy that they needed to trample over completely!


    ¡°Team Sky¡¯s really shameless, I don¡¯t understand how they got so big.¡± Xiao Jia said.


    ¡°Well, the road to being a professional player in e-sports was already difficult. You could always find these backstabbing assholes and traitors who would take advantage of you, so that¡¯s why Lin Dong decided to set up his own team. He doesn¡¯t want to be at the mercy of anyone else.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Xiao Jia said, nodding his head in agreement.


    Walking into the room, the five of them were in front of a single computer, their faces concentrated. At first, Luocheng was wondering what other videos did these guys find, but he was slightly relieved to find that they were watching a match by foreign teams.


    This lot would be playing in three days, if they dared to waste their time watching those rated films, Luocheng would have to give them a kick in their asses to wake them up!


    ***


    ¡°For the combat practice in the afternoon, we¡¯ll have it in the club room. They have better equipment and the network is more stable.¡± Luocheng said.


    Everyone present nodded in agreement. Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan and Da Luo¡¯s computers were old, and many times when they played, they felt like smashing it in frustration.


    The four of them were in Diamond 1, but it was hard to climb up to Challenger. Due to their old computers, it was often that there was a lag, the internet would suddenly cut off, or the keyboard and mouse didn¡¯t respond fast enough, and this affected their overall win rate.


    Never underestimate these external factors, for to a professional player, having a high end computer which ran smoothly and a perfectly stable network was like a soldier in battle having the sharpest sword!


    According to Lin Dong¡¯s analysis, if they could solve all the problems mentioned, their win rate would go up by ten percent, and this percentage was the key to getting into Challenger!


    If all members of a team managed to achieve the Challenger title, they didn¡¯t need any further publicity. This was a symbol of absolute strength, and many teams would be climbing over themselves to play against the strongest Challenger. They would probably even spend money to buy an account with the Challenger title!


    The five members of Team Skycrown were definitely among the top players within the country, and during free training, they would always play rank games to improve their strength. Sadly, they were always hovering between Diamond 1 and Challenger, always missing just by a bit. They couldn¡¯t go up anymore and there was not much for them to learn in these games.


    Lin Dong had suggested switching to the Korean or US server, but without any funds, they couldn¡¯t solve the network problem and it was always lagging. With such an unstable network, they were unable to reach the higher levels of the Korean server.


    Like now, even though Wu Sen¡¯s computer was good and he had the highest rank, he was also affected by the instability of the network. A hundred yuan a month was the usual broadband plan used by normal people, but to a professional player, it was not good enough.


    In short, if they could earn a sum of money, the first thing they needed to do was to replace the computers, get a better broadband plan, and resolve their accommodation problem. Rather than their accommodation, the more pressing issue was replacing their computers, everything else they could still endure.


    ***


    The five members agreed to train in Shanghai University from 3pm to 5pm everyday for combat practice, they could only improve with better computers and stable network after all.


    ¡°Who are we up against today?¡± Luocheng asked Xiao Jia.


    ¡°Team Galaxy.¡± Xiao Jia replied.


    ¡°Team Galaxy? Could it be the team that is sponsored by Galaxy National Network Chain?¡± Xiao Bei asked in surprise.


    There were a lot of internet cafes by Galaxy around the city, and Xiao Bei had frequently seen ¡®Galaxy Internet Cafe¡¯ and ¡®Galaxy Network Club¡¯ written on signboards with stars.


    ¡°Yeah, the champion of the National Internet Cafe League is actually Team Galaxy. Their strength should be around a second or third-tier team.¡± Xiao Jia explained.


    ¡°Being able to obtain the championship in the National Internet Cafe League, they must be formidable!¡± Zheng Xia exclaimed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, break a leg. Their coordination and tactical plays are definitely better than ours, so learn from them.¡± Luocheng said to Team Skycrown.


    Xiao Jia sat down and logged into QQ, clicking on a friend name labeled ¡®Team Galaxy Manager¡¯, connecting the call.


    Duu¡­Duu¡­Duu¡­


    There wasn¡¯t an answer after a long time, and Xiao Jia was confused.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird, why doesn¡¯t he answer.¡±


    ¡°Hey hey, what¡¯s up?¡± A muffled voice came through the speakers.


    ¡°Lu Lian, this is Xiao Jia. The E-sports Club vice president of Shanghai University made an appointment with you for combat practice today, are you guys ready on your side? If you¡¯re okay, then sign in, the players on our end are ready.¡± Xiao Jia said politely.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re not playing.¡± The person on the other end replied immediately without any hesitation.


    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t we already agree on it?¡± Xiao Jia said, startled.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, yesterday we couldn¡¯t find a team for combat practice. When you told us about Team Skycrown, we were wondering if they were some team that managed to win some professional competitions before, that¡¯s why we agreed. We checked on it later and even asked around, but no one had ever heard of Team Skycrown. They haven¡¯t even managed to break into the professional leagues, and you have the gall to ask for a combat practice with them, isn¡¯t that just a waste of our time?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that preseason is coming up, even if we do combat practice, we need to play against teams who are on a par with our own team! Enough with the nonsense, we have a game against Team Shadow Wing now. Also, don¡¯t get some unknown team to play with us next time, do you think I¡¯m so free!¡±


    With a weird and loud accent, the person on the other side didn¡¯t bother to hide his impatience and disdain. This person managing the team called Lu Lian talked like a pile of shit, everyone present including Team Skycrown was shocked.


    ¡°F*ck your sister, you¡¯re just a f*cking piece of shit!¡± Jian Feng who was already short-tempered shouted in rage.


    ¡°Ceh, watch your mouth. Putting it plainly, we¡¯re not interested in playing against a trash team.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, you¡¯re the one who needs to f*cking watch your mouth, who did you just say was a trash team!¡± Jian Feng was unable to contain his anger.


    ¡°Idiot.¡± Lu Lian said disdainfully again, and he hung up the call without any further words.

 Chapter 234 - Combat Practice with Team 71’s Second Team

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In the Shanghai Galaxy Network Club, a guy wearing cotton slippers smoking a cigarette was sitting on a large computer sofa chair, turning off the voice chat in a huff.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± The spiky-haired guy cursed.


    ¡°Lu Lian, what¡¯s wrong?¡± A young man wearing headphones who was sitting beside him asked.


    ¡°Nothing, just that I came across a team called Skycrown that wanted to have combat practice with us. After searching a bit, f*ck, they¡¯re just a newly formed team with nothing to their name, isn¡¯t that just f*cking wasting our time?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother about them, whatever their names are, Skycrown, XX, OO or whatever shit, there are many teams like them out there. They¡¯re not worth concerning yourself over.¡± The youth said.


    ¡°True. Are the members from Team Shadow Wind here already?¡±


    ¡°Soon, we¡¯ll play our best. Team Shadow Wind is good, and they will have no problems getting into the finals.¡±


    ***


    There was an uncomfortable silence in the club room after that incident. Since Xiao Jia had placed the call on loudspeaker, majority of the people in the room had heard the conversation.


    Trash team?


    The words uttered by that guy were heavy and harsh, and it pierced their hearts. The members of Team Skycrown were unsure of what to say for a while. Just when you thought that society nowadays was harmonious and courteous, who knew there were still so many assholes out there!


    ¡°That¡­I¡¯m sorry you guys, I didn¡¯t expect that Lu Lian was this type of person. This was my fault, I¡¯ll find some other team to have combat practice with you.¡± Xiao Jia said, his voice full of guilt as he looked at the ashen faces of Team Skycrown¡¯s members.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Luocheng said, shaking his head.


    ¡°Yeah, what he said was true anyway. Right now, we are worthless and a trash team.¡± Zhou Yan said quietly.


    ¡°Nonsense, you guys are really great! Without you guys, our SHU team wouldn¡¯t even dream of stepping into the top four teams. Team Galaxy is the trash team, being so high and mighty just because they are the champions for the National Internet Club League!¡± Li Meiqi exclaimed.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re the trash team. We don¡¯t need to play against them.¡± The members of the E-sports Club were all protective of Team Skycrown as they knew how strong they really were after all.


    ¡°We¡¯ll try to find some other team then, otherwise we¡¯ll just have to play rank games.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Luocheng¡­¡± Xiao Bei had never expected to be met with such pure discrimination, and he felt a little uncomfortable. The words said by the other party just now was really hurtful.


    Luocheng smiled and patted Xiao Bei on the shoulder.


    ¡°Rest assured, after this competition, a lot of people will be scrambling for a combat practice with us. Second-tier and even first-tier teams will come looking for us, and your title of the strongest ADC will also be known to everyone!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Xiao Bei had always believed in Luocheng¡¯s words, so he nodded his head in agreement.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be soon, this month we¡¯ll still be some trash team to other people. After this month, we¡¯ll be the strongest team!¡± Da Luo said determinedly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even have to say it, it will happen!¡± Wu Sen said, laughing.


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with Aijing, do you want me to give her a call to see if Team 71¡¯s second team can spare time for a match with us today?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    Team 71¡¯s second team had gone missing in action for a while after the incident previously, and was now resurfacing after everything had calmed down. The members of the second team had all been replaced, and their strength was stronger than before. It would seem that they were currently the best team that Team Skycrown could ask for in a combat practice at the moment.


    ¡°I contacted Feilong and he said they can have a match with us tomorrow.¡± Xiao Jia said, walking back to them after his phone call.


    ¡°With Zhejiang University¡¯s first team?¡± Jian Feng asked.


    ¡°No, Feilong will bring Team Revelation¡¯s second team, which is the official team he¡¯s in.¡± Xiao Jia replied.


    Everyone knew the strength of Ceng Feilong, it was seen in the fact that he alone could carry the powerful Zhejiang University team by himself.


    And Feilong was not the captain of Team Revelation¡¯s second team, he was just one of the members. From this, you could ascertain that the team was definitely a second-tier or above, and being able to have a combat practice with them would help a lot for Team Skycrown!


    As soon as Xiao Jia¡¯s call was ended, Lin Dong smirked as he looked at Luocheng.


    ¡°Boss, it seems that female analyst¡ªZheng Aijing is interested in you.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Luocheng asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.


    ¡°Shit, you actually forgot her? When you were ghost-playing in the internet league semi-finals, she was the one standing behind you watching. She¡¯s the tactical analyst of Team 71, and only the few teams in the top four would have official analysts in their team. For others, having a coach is already considered good.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Haha, at least we have a coach then, and it¡¯s even a world-class champion coach!¡± Wu Sen laughed.


    ¡°Also, Aijing was hesitant at first and said she would try. Once I said that our Team Skycrown coach was you, she immediately agreed. Really, our boss is just too irresistible.¡± Lin Dong said further.


    ¡°Ah geez, just hurry up and train. If you lose the elimination matches, you can just forget about it all, get yourselves drunk and get lost.¡± Luocheng said instead.


    Since they had managed to arrange a combat practice with Team 71, naturally they would be going all out.


    ***


    After all the members were present, Aijing was quick to connect the call with Lin Dong.


    ¡°Use the tournament server, there won¡¯t be any lag issues that way,¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Uh¡­we don¡¯t have the client for it.¡± Yang Ying said apologetically.


    ¡°Tournament servers are essential to professional players for practice and competitions. You¡¯d better think of a way to apply for one.¡±


    Lin Dong nodded his head. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way.¡±


    The tournament server had all the champions unlocked, as well as high amounts of IP and RP. If you played competitions on the normal domestic server, you could probably do it. The real professional matches however, were played on tournament servers. This was so there would be no issues with account names or graphic problems¡­


    Team Skycrown really didn¡¯t have anything right now, and it was just a pitiful sight. Fortunately, Aijing was reasonable, and allowed them to log in directly to a custom game room that they had created.


    ***


    71 Club was located in Shanghai Pudong New District. It was a very large factory building renovated into a residential base for them. In the training room, all of the members were sitting in their computer chairs, and you could hear the clicks of the keyboard as they keyed in their account username and password to log in.


    ¡°Aijing, who are we playing against? They can¡¯t even get tournament servers. Playing in the Ionia server would definitely lag, and there isn¡¯t any OB option.¡± The captain of Team 71¡¯s second team¡ªHai Ming said.


    ¡°Yeah, are they any good?¡± Another member¡ªHuang Jiulong asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, they¡¯re just newly formed,¡± Aijing replied.


    ¡°What the hell, you¡¯re kidding right, Aijing? Getting a team that¡¯s newly formed to play against us, it¡¯s better if they just go and play ranked games to train.¡±


    ¡°Individually, their members are strong. Play properly, if you lose, then that means an additional two hours of practice tonight.¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°How is it possible for us to lose. If we win, you¡¯ll spend two hours chatting with us then?¡± Hai Ming said jokingly as he laughed.


    ¡°Is that so, wait until you can reach the first team¡¯s base within twenty minutes, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± Aijing responded with a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± The members of the second team didn¡¯t have any more to say to that.


    Those crazy first team members rarely practiced with them because the gap between their strengths were just too big. Of course, even though they couldn¡¯t beat the first team, they could still beat up this team who had no name.


    ¡°Team Skycrown? Who has heard of them?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Never¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Lenovo, which is the team sponsored by them¡­¡±


    ¡°Then Skycrown would probably be a joint venture between Skydance Media and Crown Regency Hotels? Haha!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± The members of the team laughed.


    Aijing didn¡¯t laugh, but just stared at the members coolly. ¡°Just play properly, I¡¯m going over to the first team to see their match against the Korean team.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, we¡¯re playing two matches against them, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So if we beat them within an hour for those two games, we are free to play anything else during the next hour?¡± Jiulong asked, smiling.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Aw yeah, that¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s beat them in twenty minutes!¡±


    ¡°Remember to record the match,¡± Aijing instructed as she left.


    ***


    Aijing left the second team¡¯s training room, heading toward the first team¡¯s training room.


    Team 71 was playing against the Korean¡¯s top team this afternoon, both sides would be reserved and trying to test the waters against each other.


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want to see Team Skycrown¡¯s strength, but understanding the strength and tactics of the Korean team was more important at the moment. There were limited opportunities to play against Korean players, and she needed to analyse their plays and tactics with the limited games they had.


    Stepping into the room, the five members of Team 71 were sitting rigidly in their seats. Looks like they were treating this combat practice seriously like an actual competition match.


    The temperament of Team 71¡¯s first and second team were completely different, they were serious and rigorous. No matter what type of opponent they were up against, they would never underestimate them nor laugh about them like the second team was doing. This was the attitude a top team needed after all.


    ¡°Aijing, take a look at this. Their chosen lineup is a bit strange.¡± Team 71¡¯s middle laner¡ªTang Xiang said.


    Aijing walked over and glanced at the screen, her brows furrowing slightly.


    ¡°They might be doing it on purpose, not wanting to expose their strength and tactics so early.¡± Aijing mused.


    ¡°What should we do then, should we also deal with them casually, hiding our real strength?¡±


    ¡°Choose a regular line up, don¡¯t use your core champions,¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Even if the other party was intentionally hiding their real strength in this combat practice, Aijing still needed to analyze it carefully. She was hoping that she could get some information hidden beneath the layers in this match.


    Sadly, it seemed like the other side also had a good analyst. In champion selection, coordination and tactics were all hidden, and Aijing couldn¡¯t see through any of it.


    ¡°The Korean analysts have always been good, that¡¯s why they have always managed to claim first and second place.¡± Aijing muttered to herself.


    The combat practice between the first team and the Korean team ended quickly, and even if they had won, it didn¡¯t mean anything in terms of strength.


    Two games, one win each, and it was over in less than an hour.


    Aijing shook her head in frustration, not getting what she wanted. She would have to go over the recordings and study it. As she walked back to the room, she suddenly remembered that the second team was playing against Team Skycrown, and she could vaguely hear angry shouts and other noises from their training room.


    Aijing was surprised, and instead, headed toward the second team¡¯s training room.

 Chapter 235 - : Fighting Hawk’s Strength

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Aijing opened the door to the room, seeing the captain¡ªHai Ming swipe his mouse away in an agitated manner. His screen was grey, indicating that he was probably just killed.


    As she walked quietly into the room, she was surprised to find that the second team¡¯s bottom lane had been taken down. Looking at the position of Hai Ming¡¯s dead body, they were probably using the 4:1 split push tactic.


    Their opponent top lane probably pushed all the way and had taken down the bottom lane turret, while the four other members of Team Skycrown defended under the turret. Team 71 had engaged in a teamfight right underneath it and the result was a four for four. The remaining Mid who had very little health left could barely do anything.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing, you should have engaged first with no hesitation. And you, just stick to the ADC and whack him. Even if you can¡¯t kill him, at least zone him out of the fight, why are you being so indecisive.¡± Hai Ming¡¯s tone was dissatisfied.


    Huang Jiulong¡¯s face no longer held any trace of the joking mood that he previously held, and from the look in his eyes, he was frustrated and unsatisfied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡± Aijing said, after just a few seconds of observing them.


    ¡°It¡¯s just one lane being taken down, it¡¯s not confirmed that we¡¯ve lost!¡± Hai Ming said stubbornly.


    Aijing didn¡¯t elaborate anymore, for Team Skycrown to push Team 71¡¯s second team to this level, they would continue to use the 4:1 split push tactic.


    After breaking through one lane with the mentioned tactic, it was basically an unstoppable method. As expected, it wasn¡¯t even five minutes before Team Skycrown had managed to push Team 71¡¯s second team into a dangerous position.


    With their Top¡¯s forceful engage into a teamfight, Aijing could only sigh as she shook her head. Their Top¡ªNasus had Teleport on him, and if you thought that there were just four of them, then you were too naive.


    Aijing didn¡¯t think there was any other outcome, for as long as Team Skycrown had one member surviving, Team 71¡¯s second team would lose.


    ***


    ¡°Shit, it felt like we were fighting against an entirely different team.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was all smooth in the first game.¡±


    They lost, they had actually lost.


    In the second game, they had played weirdly. During the laning phase, they kept messing up and getting snowballed. Once the teamfights started, Team Skycrown kept using the 4:1 split push tactic with Nasus being the solo. The most frequent thing that would happen was when they had beat Team Skycrown soundly during the fights, Nasus would Teleport down and clear up the rest of them.


    In late game, Nasus was practically invincible!


    Aijing didn¡¯t say anything, she was well aware of the strength of the second team. In her opinion, even if the opposing team had been formed by that guy, there was no reason for the second team to lose.


    But reality was right in front of her, the second team had actually lost!


    ¡°Get me the recording, I¡¯ll study it,¡± Aijing said.


    This team definitely deserved some attention.


    ¡°Aijing¡­I¡­I didn¡¯t record the match.¡± One of the members said, his head bowed.


    Aijing¡¯s eyes fell on the member, her eyes narrowing.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you so many times, every single match you play has to be recorded, no matter who it is you¡¯re playing against!¡±


    ¡°I¡­I forgot¡­¡± The member continued to stutter.


    In actuality, he had felt that there was no need to record such a match that was a waste of his computer memory space. Who knew that Team Skycrown would play so aggressively in this second match, to the point that they were caught off guard.


    ¡°Aijing, we just underestimated them,¡± Jiulong said.


    ¡°Every combat practice match must be treated as though it is an official competition. You can use your own tactics or champions but the aim of it is to win, how long have you been doing this that you still don¡¯t realize it? If you are still not serious about this at this point, don¡¯t talk about the finals, you won¡¯t even last to the second week of the competition!¡± Aijing said, her voice cold and stern.


    The members of the second team didn¡¯t dare to say anything in response.


    ¡°If we meet them in the competition, we won¡¯t lose.¡± Hai Ming said.


    ¡°Hmph, for your sake, I hope so,¡± Aijing replied.


    Aijing left the training room and returned to her own room. Opening her computer, she clicked on a folder on her desktop labeled ¡®Team ability information table¡¯.


    Opening the folder, the names of ten teams appeared on her screen. The first team on the list was the strongest team¡ªTeam Daemons. Clicking on the document, several pages worth of information popped out.


    The second team was Team Sky, and similarly, there were several pages worth of information on them too.


    Aijing had been managing these documents since she started her career, and the officials had once used her notes as the standard team ranking. Korean coaches, analysts, US, and even Europe, wanted to get their hands on this complete manual. Because these analyzed notes were so detailed and deep, once you got your hands on it, by knowing all the teams inside it, your win rate would also naturally increase.


    Aijing¡¯s notes were divided into first, second, third, fourth, and fifth echelon. Every echelon had various team names and general information. Every competition won by these teams were also recorded here. Simply said, it was information on the domestic teams and their strength ranking.


    ¡°This Skycrown, which echelon should I place them in?¡± Aijing muttered as she typed in their name.


    Placing their name in the fourth echelon, Aijing closed the document and opened another folder instead. The label this time was ¡®Player ability ranking¡¯. Opening the document, a list of names appeared.


    The first few names at the top were written in red, and it belonged to the names of those members of teams who were in LPL. At the most top was a name as high as the player himself, that even foreign players feared¡ªHades!


    The captain of Team Daemons, Hades, also the champion of individual ability in China!


    Clicking on his name, a similar list of information popped out with his general information, ability index, team-fighting capability index, tactical and leadership index, as well as skill and dexterity index.


    The evaluation and analysis of a professional player were mainly on these four categories. Whenever Aijing came into contact with a player, she would use this data to analyze and determine their rankings.


    Hades: Individual ability index: 8 points, team-fighting capabilities index: 8 points, tactical and leadership index: 9 points, skill and dexterity index: 1.1, main champions¡­play style¡­


    ***


    Below Hades, the second player on her list was Team Sky¡¯s captain¡ªBlood Eagle. After that, it was Team Revelation¡¯s ADC¡ªBai Feng. Fourth on the list was their own Team 71¡¯s strongest player, their Top¡ªXiao Wang.


    This form contained the names and personal information of all the first-tier team players, and even some of the second tier teams players were included inside.


    Scrolling further down, among the second-tier players, Aijing clicked on one of the player names.


    This name was created three months ago, and she had only seen one match that was played by this player. She was also aware that this player was not a professional player, but she couldn¡¯t help but include his name here.


    Fighting Hawk:


    Individual abilities index: 7 points


    Team-fighting capabilities index: 5? 7? points


    Tactical and leadership index: ? points


    Skill and dexterity index: ?

 Chapter 236 - Can’t Play An Early Comeback

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Aijing opened another folder, and the label this time was ¡®Dota player individual strength ranking¡¯.


    There were many people still playing Dota, and Aijing had obtained this precious information from a Dota analyst. Clicking on the document, a neat row of names on the left appeared. Clicking once into the document, she scrolled downward. In this full list of names, the one at the top was Fighting Hawk.


    Fighting Hawk: Individual ability index: 9 points, team-fighting capability index: 9 points, tactical and leadership index: 9 points.


    The data in Dota index lacked ¡®skill and dexterity index¡¯. In the beginning, Aijing had used the Dota model to record her LOL data, but she later on realized that with just these three categories, it was hard to truly reflect the strength of a player. Hence, she had learnt from a South Korean analyst and added on a category for ¡®skill and dexterity index¡¯.


    In fact, the category of skill and dexterity index was no less important than the other three mentioned. It was a pity that for the list of Dota, there were no further updates on Fighting Hawk.


    The total points was 30 points, the overall ability of Fighting Hawk was already 27 points.


    In fact, players who had a score above 18 points were already considered to be first tier players, and 21 points would be top tier players that even overseas players would have heard of them.


    With 24 points, you were already ridiculously strong and practically unbeatable within the country. You would also probably have left an impression on those foreign players too.


    As for Luocheng who could reach 27 points, he was considered a freak of nature already. If you looked at the entire e-sports industry, there were not many players who could exceed 25 points.


    In China, the strongest player was Hades and his LOL score came up to a total of 25 points. If Fighting Hawk¡¯s stats of 27 points were that of LOL, then this guy would be the uncrowned king.


    Aijing believed that if Fighting Hawk hadn¡¯t given up on e-sports, his stats would definitely still be maintained at 25 points and above.


    This would mean that there is a legend who would truly lead the chinese teams into defeating the foreign teams.


    It was a pity that he gave up.


    If you hadn¡¯t touched e-sports for two years, how far would your skills have deteriorated?


    When Aijing had watched Luocheng play Vayne that day, she gave him a score of 7 for his individual ability. Attaining 1 point in this was already at the level of a professional player, and 6 points above would mean you were on par with a first tier player. Having given 7 points to Luocheng, Aijing already felt that was incredible.


    However, compared to the glory of his Dota days when he had 9 points and now, he had dropped by 2 points, it was very fatal. Aijing wanted desperately to know would he be able to return to 9 points if he ever came back into the professional scene?


    There were already foreign players who had achieved 9 points, but there had yet to be one within their own country.


    ***


    Wait, that wasn¡¯t right. There should be someone with the individual ability index of 9 points.


    Aijing suddenly remembered it and quickly entered an ID into the search bar¡ªShallow Dream.


    Shallow Dream (Not a pro player): Individual ability index: 9 points, team-fighting capability index: 6+ points, tactical and leadership index: ? points, damage fluctuation index: ?.


    Adding a ¡®+¡¯ to the back meant it was 6 and above 6 points. Team battle strength and tactical guidance index could only be collected from official matches. As Shallow Dream was not a professional player and had never played in any professional competitions, it was impossible to determine the other categories properly except for her individual ability which was 9 points.


    Seeing the ID name Shallow Dream, Aijing felt helpless. When the name had appeared in the domestic server and determining that it was a Chinese, all eight teams from LPL had sent out invites to the player frantically in order to recruit the player into their teams.


    Unfortunately, there were only a few who had managed to add the player as a friend. The most mysterious player who was also the strongest, had put shame to countless top professional players by being a non-professional player. Truth to be told, Aijing was very interested in this player, and she wondered what kind of person it was.


    Similarly, Aijing was also very interested in Fighting Hawk. Fighting Hawk¡¯s index majority was ¡®?¡¯, and if it was possible to accurately fill the index of a player that she was interested in it, it would be like completing a masterpiece of her work!


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, now that he has formed a team, he will appear at the competitions. I should be able to complete his data with that.¡± Aijing said to herself and smiled as she looked at the name again.


    Aijing was starting to anticipate Team Skycrown¡¯s appearance in the preseason, since they could defeat Team 71¡¯s second team, it was obvious that they weren¡¯t weak. Give them a bit more time, and it was possible they would appear in the range of first tier teams.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure which teams would stand out in this year¡¯s preseason, Team Stardust? Team LN Lenovo? Fudan¡¯s first team? Team Paradise?¡± Aijing muttered as she got lost in her thoughts.


    ***


    Two matches, one win and one loss.


    ¡°Team 71¡¯s second team isn¡¯t bad.¡± Wu Sen said as he stood up, taking off his headphones.


    They had thought that they could win both games, but they didn¡¯t think they would lose the first one. The first match was lost due to the level one teamfight, their Jungler and bottom lane were targeted constantly. Even though Da Luo played well, in the end, it wasn¡¯t enough to save the game.


    The second match had started normally, and from there, it was an easy victory. From the looks of the second match, Team Skycrown¡¯s strength was definitely stronger than Team 71¡¯s second team!


    ¡°Wu Sen, what¡¯s your take on this?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Wu Sen was once a first tier player, so Luocheng thought his insight would be helpful.


    ¡°Weak pressuring, won¡¯t fight if there¡¯s a disadvantage. Once their opponents have an advantage and engage in teamfights, they¡¯ve basically lost.¡± Wu Sen replied.


    The first teamfight held many uncertain factors, and even the strongest players would have times where they performed badly. Getting killed was not the scariest thing, it was getting snowballed that would be the worse.


    What professional players were strong at was taking a small advantage and slowly expanding it. They would continuously nurture and expand that advantage and at the same time, not expose their flaws easily to the point that their opponents would be able to make a comeback.


    ¡°In the first match, there was no reason to lose. You can¡¯t afford to lose in any of the elimination matches, and if we meet Team 71¡¯s second team in the first three games with this kind of unfavorable start again, you have to recover from it.¡± Luocheng said, his face serious.


    ¡°A strong team needs to be able to play in any kind of situation. Knowing that you can¡¯t play ¡®an early comeback¡¯, then you need to be aware of it. Don¡¯t engage in a level one teamfight if you play against them in the elimination match, avoid this predicament. Remember this!¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Luocheng used to be their captain, and when he spoke, his words were always accepted by others with minimal objections.


    ¡°Okay, Lin Dong, you should write these statistics down. Team 71¡¯s second team, average abilities of players is 4 points, team-fighting capability is 6 points, tactical and leadership is 1 point.¡± Luocheng said.

 Chapter 237 - Meeting Team Scarlet Once Again!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The first week of the Media War was held in Huahe Electronics Mall. This electronic city was built not too long ago, and there weren¡¯t enough shops rented out yet and the floor space was fairly large.


    The officials didn¡¯t need to invest too much money in here as Huahe Electronics Mall themselves needed the traffic and publicity. The entire second floor of the mall had been transformed into a stadium.


    Simple tables, chairs, and five computers on each row had been placed, together with a stage in the middle for the referee¡¯s computer.


    Area A, B, C and D, a total of four areas had been divided. Each area had been divided into eight stages, which is to say, thirty-two games could be run simultaneously in this huge mall.


    The competition schedule would start from 10 am in the morning all the way until 8 pm at night, and there would be no interruption during the games.


    There were more than a thousand teams participating in this competition, and each team had five members. This meant there was a total of 5,000 participants, and if all of them were to be present at the same time, it would overcrowd the entire mall. Moreover, this was a nationwide qualifiers competition.


    Shanghai was holding the largest competition area here, then there was one in North China, another in South China, and lastly, one in Shenzhen. There were a total of four divisions and no one could accurately say how many teams were participating.


    Of course, not all of the participating teams were professional teams. There was no requirement to enter the qualifiers, as long as you held the rank of Platinum and above, any five people could join the competition as a team.


    The other divisions were different and they had rewards with it. It was most likely the sponsors who had contributed in order to attract more people to gather for the competition.


    Some of the teams were not aiming for LPL, if they could get enough fame from the competition, that was also a form of honor for them already.


    The main battlefield was in Shanghai, as the teams came with the intention to go pro. This was why the competition here would be so much more fierce, and you would really taste the situation of where kings would stay and losers would get kicked out!


    Team Skycrown had registered very early, any team that had won first to third place in any competitions were exempted from the three elimination matches. Team Skycrown didn¡¯t have any of those glories, so they had to start from the most tedious knockout phase.They would also be facing three different teams in matches in this one week.


    On the first day of the competition, Team Skycrown would have to play. The match was around 3 pm in the afternoon and they would be notified of the specific time later.


    Team Skycrown had reached the location at around 12 pm and were looking for a place to eat nearby. There were a lot of shops nearby but they were all really crowded by the members of teams from all over.


    E-sports competitions had always been held in not a high standard, even when they were held, there wouldn¡¯t be much of a crowd. Rarely would people travel a thousand miles for a game where the rewards were low. Generally, once you subtracted the traveling expenses and accommodation, there would be very little left of your rewards.


    Luocheng had played professionally before this and had also experienced embarrassing moments with his team. He knew that for the organizer who wanted to gather a lot of players at one location, it was really hard.


    And then, LOL had managed to make an amazing breakthrough in the industry as could be seen from the surrounding eateries where so many different professional teams were gathered.


    ¡°Luocheng, where¡¯s your team? We have space here, come over and eat with us.¡±


    The phone call was from Qin Ying, whom he had not heard from for quite a while. Qin Ying was still managing LOL teams and it was spreading into the teams from major internet cafes.


    The last time they had spoken, he had mentioned that as long as it was any LOL competitions and players hosted by Lecheng, it was all under his management.


    This time, he had come to Shanghai with a LOL team that he had been training for more than six months. There were changes in the members and it was certain that their strength was stronger than before.


    ¡°Sure, we happen to have nowhere to eat anyway. We¡¯re coming over.¡± Luocheng said, nodding his head.


    Following Qin Ying¡¯s directions, Luocheng found the restaurant. There were two tables in the private room, and the people inside were discussing as they ate.


    ¡°I saw the members of Team Shadow Wind just now, but that¡¯s weird. Weren¡¯t they exempted from the elimination matches? Why did they appear?¡± Huang Yu said.


    ¡°It seemed like Team Shadow Wind was quite well known but they have changed their name. They changed clubs and sponsors too, so even though their members are still the name, they appear to be a new team to the organizers. So they¡¯re basically restarting from the beginning.¡± Xiao Dao explained.


    ¡°Haha, since we won the championship in the Champion War, we also managed to skip two elimination matches.¡± Xiao Tongtong said as he laughed.


    As Tongtong laughed, he looked up to see somebody walking in.


    ¡°Shit, Luocheng!¡± Tongtong smiled brightly.


    Huang Yu and Qin Ying also saw Luocheng, and they greeted him enthusiastically. The table was relatively large, so they just needed to squeeze a little and there was enough space for Team Skycrown to join them.


    ¡°Boss, could I get a menu, we¡¯ll be ordering some more.¡± Qin Ying called out.


    ¡°Boss Qin, let me introduce you to the original members of my team. Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, Wu Sen and Xiao Bei, they¡¯re the ones competing today.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°I thought you were joking when you called me the other day, so you really did make a team and even became their coach, haha! Ah, I don¡¯t have to introduce you to Huang Yu, Xiao Dao and Tongtong again, right. I¡¯ll introduce you to our two new members, our ADC¡ªTuo Niao, and Bin Bin who took over your role as Support after you left. Hai Yang went on to study properly in a university already.¡± Qin Ying said as he laughed.


    Luocheng glanced at Tuo Niao, who looked a bit bored. When he was introduced, Tuo Niao merely looked at Luocheng but didn¡¯t say a word. Whereas Bin Bin looked at Luocheng and asked, ¡°You were Team Scarlet¡¯s original Support?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Luocheng nodded his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it, why would you be a coach? I thought players couldn¡¯t be a coach until they retired from playing?¡± Bin Bin asked.


    ¡°Him? He¡¯s more than qualified to be a coach. If he were to flash out his previous ID to the professional teams, they would be scrambling over themselves to take him as their own coach.¡± Qin Ying said and chuckled.


    Bin Bin ignored Qin Ying¡¯s praises and continued, ¡°Since you¡¯re here today for the match, it would mean that you hadn¡¯t gotten any titles before today.¡±


    Team Scarlet had recently taken the champion title in the Champion War, so they could skip two elimination matches. As long as they won the third match, they could advance to the second stage.


    Team Scarlet¡¯s match would be five days later, and Qin Ying had brought them earlier to familiarize themselves with the location.


    To be honest, seeing so many teams busy within the crowd of people trying to qualify by winning three elimination matches made Bin Bin felt like they were superior because they only had to play one match.


    ¡°Yeah, our team is newly formed.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°If you¡¯re newly formed, you should have joined other competitions to gain more experience. This is a professional competition, it isn¡¯t suitable to be used as a training experience.¡± Bin Bin said as he took a sip of her beer, talking like a veteran player.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat, let¡¯s eat.¡± Qin Ying interjected, somewhat embarrassed.


    Luocheng glanced at Qin Ying and the latter explained quietly to him, ¡°Bin Bin was originally a professional player, and you could say that the reason we won the Champion War was because of him. Apart from being a little arrogant and a show-off, the rest of him is fine.¡±


    ¡°Have a good match in the afternoon, we¡¯ll definitely be watching. Ignore that guy, he¡¯s full of shit.¡± Huang Yu said as he patted Lin Dong¡¯s shoulder, his expression friendly.


    Lin Dong nodded his head.


    ¡°F*ck, who¡¯re you calling full of shit. If it wasn¡¯t for me, how would you have gotten champion in the Champion War. You really have no standards like those other shitty teams out there.¡± Bin Bin said, his voice full of satisfaction.


    Huang Yu ignored the guy and proceeded to share some experience with Lin Dong as mid laners.

 Chapter 238 - Wait Another 17 Minutes To Surrender!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After getting the phone call, the six members of Team Skycrown headed toward the stage. Area C, stage number 7.


    Walking through the crowd, they managed to find the stage. An expressionless staff came over to guide them to the seats. Apart from the players, it looked like every team had a number of followers, which is to say, there were a lot of people on each floor and the staff were busy running around to maintain order and organize the game.


    The noise level was very high, and among it, you could often hear loud laughter and chatting. Preseason competitions were like that. With the number of people here, it was impossible to have a semblance of order and it was easy for it to descend into chaos.


    ¡°Your opponent is Team Miracle.¡± The staff holding the schedule said.


    The members of Team Miracle were already seated on the opposite side and they looked to be guys from the Northeast, and their accent was heavy.


    Once the staff did the necessary briefing on the rules of the game, the players entered into the game.


    In the banning phase, both sides chose conventional champions and more conservative lineups. In elimination matches, even professional teams would not dare to take the game lightly as this would lead to failure.


    ***


    ¡°Shit, I was shocked for a while because I thought for sure we were going to meet Team Lenovo!¡± The short guy who was playing ADC for Team Miracle said.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. When the referee was announcing the names, my mind was thinking our luck would be so bad that it was going to be Team Lenovo, but who the hell are these Skycrown bozos?¡± Team Miracle¡¯s Top said in agreement.


    Team Miracle hailed from Shenyang and they had participated in internet cafe leagues as well as the Champion War. Sadly, they hadn¡¯t managed to win any titles. They had played against Team Lenovo who was sponsored by Lenovo in one of the internet cafe leagues, and Team Lenovo clearly left an impression on them!


    Well, think about it. If you endured and told yourself you could surrender in just another ten minutes, and then found that your base had already been demolished at seventeen minutes, it definitely would have left a damned strong impression on you too, wouldn¡¯t it?


    They used to look down and ridicule those trash teams, calling them little kids, but now after encountering such a strong team, they realized that they were also one of the little kids all along.


    ¡°Boss Wang has said that when encountering an unknown team, the game must be finished within thirty minutes. Remember to keep a fast pace!¡± The captain of Team Miracle¡ªLei Xiao said.


    ¡°Understood, we will ensure that the game is done within the designated time frame.¡±


    Although there was no soundproofing in the competition area, due to the overwhelming number of people, the entire area was so noisy to the point that whatever they said couldn¡¯t be heard on the opposite side.


    ***


    In the first level teamfight, they met at the river. For Team Skycrown who were protecting their Support and lacking vision, they obviously disengaged. This move made Bin Bin sneer at them.


    Team Skycrown had Jax, Zyra, and Lux. This was an advantageous lineup for a level one teamfight, and if they met at the jungle area, they should have just fought with no hesitation.


    ¡°Aih, why are they so afraid? Their lineup for a level one fight is so much stronger than the other side, they could have fought!¡± Bin Bin couldn¡¯t help but blurt out.


    The other members of Team Scarlet also had some doubt in their eyes, silently agreeing with what Bin Bin had just said.


    The members of Team Skycrown had their headphones on, and it acted as a shield to block out all noise from the area. They were well aware that they had the advantage in a level one teamfight, however, they were following Luocheng¡¯s instruction and refused to engage.


    Not engaging in a level one fight was as bad as letting the Baron get taken!


    The Support had started to plant wards, covering the key areas of the jungle. Wu Sen had one thing that Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but admire, and it was the fact that as a LPL player, he treated each competition seriously, not taking them lightly nor showing any slack. This was a quality that all masters should have.


    When meeting weaker foes, finish them off cleanly and simply.


    When meeting strong foes, face them and don¡¯t be arrogant or impatient.


    ***


    It was a regular start with everyone getting onto their own lanes and beginning to farm steadily.


    ¡°This match will be so boring, they¡¯re so careful, seriously!¡± Bin Bin huffed.


    ¡°Would it kill you to shut up?¡± Huang Yu muttered unhappily.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Go die then¡­¡±


    FIRST BLOOD!


    While Huang Yu and Bin Bin were bickering, top lane suddenly threw out a first blood!


    ¡°F*ck, like that also can! Shit!¡± Tongtong¡¯s eyes were wide as he exclaimed in surprise.


    Tongtong was a main Top, naturally his focus would be on the top lane which was played by Da Luo.


    Da Luo was playing a top lane Lee Sin and both sides had appeared at the same time in their lane. First blood was taken at 2 minutes and 10 seconds!


    You have to understand that the melee minions would meet at the lane only at 2 minutes 03 seconds, which is to say that it only took 7 seconds for Da Luo to take the kill!


    Not engaging in a level one teamfight but taking the first blood within 7 seconds was a little over the top!


    Tongtong had clearly seen how Da Luo moved with Lee Sin. When Lee Sin and Riven had met and watched the other farm, they had immediately engaged. Tongtong initially thought that Lee Sin had upgraded the wrong skill, but he didn¡¯t expect a normal basic attack to be followed up with a Q, kicking twice and with a level two Q, kicking once more¡­


    Then, he Flashed after the opponent Flashed to escape, securing the kill!


    This set of combos, even Tongtong knew how to do it. However, it had never been as accurately calculated as this Lee Sin had done, even more so that he didn¡¯t have that level of confidence and determination!


    Tongtong couldn¡¯t help but stare in stunned silence.


    The Top from Team Miracle himself was dumbfounded!


    This was the fastest first blood he had given out in his whole career of playing League of Legends!


    The embarrassment of giving out first blood at 2 minutes 10 seconds was as bad as lasting 7 seconds in front of a girl!


    ¡°Mistakes¡­mistakes were made.¡± The top laner from Team Miracle said awkwardly in an effort to cover himself.


    ¡°Play properly.¡± Lei Xiao said.


    DOUBLE KILL!


    Lei Xiao hadn¡¯t even finished uttering his sentence and bottom lane suddenly took down two kills!


    Double kill to the Graves!


    2 minutes 40 seconds.


    As the bottom lane pair waited to be resurrected at their fountain, they looked at their champions who were slain without mercy. Just a bit more and the double kill would have been theirs instead¡­


    It was just that little difference.


    Lei Xiao¡¯s face fell, it was only 30 seconds into the game and their opponents already had three kills!


    With such a start to the game, what the hell was ordinary mindset, arrogance, impatience, or calmness!


    Your ally has been slain!


    In the minute that Lei Xiao¡¯s emotions were running rampant, falling into the deepest pit, a strangled scream came from the direction of the blue buff. It was followed by the announcement: Your ally has been f*cking slain again!


    F*ck, can you even still play like this!


    Reaching their lanes at 2 minutes, playing for a mere 1 minute, and they had already mowed their way to getting four kills!


    With such an outcome, Lei Xiao now had the feeling that he should just give the middle lane his head, let them experience an ACE before even playing one minute of the game!


    That¡¯s right, the game had only been running for three minutes and Team Miracle had already lost the will to play¡­


    Thinking back to the worst time of their life against Team Lenovo, they were thinking at least it was just another ten minutes before they could surrender¡­


    This time, they needed to f*cking wait for another 17 minutes before they could surrender!

 Chapter 239 - Without A Single Death

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Everyone should have this type of experience when you played LOL, that is to say, when you first start a new account in a new region, for the sake of reaching level 30 fast, you would hurry up and round up the A.I champions and kill them, push middle lane, get experience, and happily move on to the next game.


    During this time, you would always look down on the A.I champions in the game as they didn¡¯t need to worry about the abilities of the A.I.


    But have you ever experienced such a thing?


    That is to be treated as if you were an A.I in the game, being pushed at middle lane all the way into the base at twelve or thirteen minutes of the game?


    It took 16 minutes 56 seconds, and their Nexus exploded.


    18 to 0, red side 18, blue side 0!


    Team Miracle didn¡¯t even get a single kill, assist, or even turret!


    When you played an A.I match, there were times where you would accidentally let yourself be killed. However, in a f*cking official preseason match, where the Nexus was taken in 16 minutes without a single death, it was completely merciless!


    The moment they lost the match, Team Miracle was completely blown away!


    They began to doubt their own self, whether the countless games that they played before this, was it really League of Legends, and whether their Diamond rank was just not even as good as A.I!


    The last time they had gone against Team LN, their self esteem and confidence was utterly shredded. At first, they thought that their strength was not very far off from that of a professional team. After being defeated in 18 minutes, they thought they understood how strong the team was and that they were truly weak¡­


    Alright, your Team LN is a preseason seed team, you have your reasons to be strong. However, going against a nameless team in the first round of elimination, they were actually beaten senseless and within 16 minutes to boot!


    Seriously, the first thing they needed to do when they got back home was to uninstall this game!


    ¡°Uh¡­Team Skycrown wins, heading into the second round of elimination.¡± The staff was stunned for a long time before finally reading out the results.


    Lin Dong, Da Luo, Wu Sen, Xiao Bei and Zhong Yan all took off their headphones, smiling from ear to ear.


    A few people turned their heads, looking at the members of Team Scarlet who had yet to return to their right minds.


    Huang Yu, Xiao Dao and Tongtong all looked at the members of Team Skycrown as if they were looking at monsters, and Bin Bin, the one who had talked so much and even looked down on them, was stunned to the point that his jaw was almost touching the ground.


    To be able to participate in the competition, the rule was that you needed to be above Platinum rank, but not necessarily Diamond. Coming here for fun was pointless.


    Bin Bin could tell that the opponents were not that weak, and if Team Scarlet had gone against them, they would still require at least thirty minutes to finish up the match. Who would have thought that Team Skycrown would wrap up the match in 16 minutes, and even more frightening was that they didn¡¯t even let up a single kill!


    This was faster and easier than playing a f*cking A.I match!


    ***


    Qin Ying was speechless.


    He knew that Luocheng had once reached the World Championship, and he knew that his team members were most likely top peak players. After witnessing such a game with his own eyes however, he suddenly felt like all the time he had invested in training Team Scarlet was insignificant.


    In short, after watching this match, the only thing that Qin Ying could think was, ¡®F*ck, we absolutely cannot be sorted into the same group as Team Skycrown!¡¯


    To be honest, any teams who were abused by them to this point would just lose all motivation to even touch this game anymore.


    ¡°Luocheng, about our combat practice¡­I think it¡¯s better to just forget it. When you guys have some time, just let us observe your games¡­¡± Qin Ying said as he laughed.


    ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s have dinner later then.¡± Luocheng said.


    ***


    It was evening by the time they had watched some of the matches and explored the mall, and Team Skycrown and Team Scarlet met up for dinner at a nice restaurant.


    Luocheng was not needed to be the intermediary and both teams started chatting on their own.


    ¡°I see that your abilities are definitely above a third seed professional team, why are you still bothered to enter the preseason qualifiers?¡± Qin Ying asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve just formed the team two months ago and we¡¯ve been busy training, so we didn¡¯t have the time to join any competitions.¡± Lin Dong explained.


    ¡°Shit, it¡¯s only been two months¡­this¡­¡± Huang Yu was at a loss for words.


    Team Scarlet had been formed for almost half a year now, and they had participated in more than a few competitions. Even so, they were not even at Team Skycrown¡¯s level.


    ¡°Before they started to play professionally, their individual ranks were already very high.¡±


    ¡°How high? Is it in Ionia? What is your ID, I more or less know majority of the higher ranking players there.¡± Bin Bin asked hurriedly.


    Da Luo had already been annoyed with Bin Bin¡¯s attitude since the beginning, so he asked instead, ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±


    ¡°I used to have 2,100 points, and now in Diamond 2 Diamond 3.¡± Bin Bin replied.


    ¡°Then you won¡¯t be able to match with me.¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°Impossible, you¡¯re below 1,800 points?¡± Bin Bin replied.


    ¡°You idiot, he meant that his points are so much higher than yours!¡± Tongtong growled out exasperatedly.


    When ranking with 2,000 points and above, even with a few people queuing, the rank points fluctuation would be around 200 points, but not more than 300 points.


    When Da Luo confidently told him that he wouldn¡¯t match with him in rank games, it was plainly saying that his points were above 2,300 points!


    In fact, Da Luo¡¯s account in the Ionia Server was at 2,479 points, and the highest he had had was 2,500 points. This was very high in the national rankings!


    With such high points, it was a given that he wouldn¡¯t match with 2,100 points¡­


    Having 2,100 points in LOL was already high, and Bin Bin had just dug his own grave, injuring his own self esteem. He lowered his head and ate his food without another word.


    He was speechless, and to be honest, he didn¡¯t see how strong Team Skycrown was until he had watched the match. Meeting a stronger team was nothing, but meeting a stronger team and still f*cking acting like some arrogant little shit, there really was no helping himself now!


    ***


    There was no suspense or tension in the first match.


    The second match would be held in two days, and Team Skycrown was there on the day. This time, Team Scarlet followed them without hesitation.


    From the time they had sat down, configured their computers, and begun the match, it took about 15 minutes.


    Until the end of the match, Team Skycrown had only used 30 minutes in total.


    17 minutes, Game Over!


    The moment the Nexus exploded, Xiao Dao, Huang Yu, and Tongtong all looked at Bin Bin and smiled widely. Bin Bin wordlessly took out 300 yuan from his wallet, giving each of them 100 yuan. He cursed inwardly at this group of insane people, wrapping up two matches consecutively within 20 minutes without a single death! They had also made him lose 300 yuan!


    If the first round was passed off as luck, then the second round truly displayed their true strength!


    There was only one way to describe this; they had made the impossible possible!

 Chapter 240 - You Can’t Escape Your Fate

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The second match was wrapped up very quickly.


    Team Scarlet was floored by the complete dominating performance of Team Skycrown. You would hear people talking about how good other teams were when they defeated some other strong teams, but not even letting your opponent surrender at twenty minutes and completely dominating the match was another level of greatness.


    It finally came to the third round of elimination matches, and Team Scarlet was prepared to participate.


    Team Scarlet had been silently praying that they would not go against Team Skycrown. So far, it seemed to be going well because they weren¡¯t even in the same grouping and their match was to be carried out in Area A. Team Scarlet played against a team that was stronger than them and Luocheng was watching the entire match.


    He was surprised at how much Team Scarlet had improved over the past few months as their opponent was at least on par with a third tier professional team. They struggled a bit in the match, but they came out victorious.


    That Bin Bin who played Support, he had good abilities too, being able to drive the team well.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s third elimination match was after Team Scarlet¡¯s, and they were still in Area C.


    After claiming victory, Team Scarlet came over with big smiles on their faces. They maintained the usual and continued to watch the third match of Team Skycrown¡¯s.


    Going into the third round, the opponents you¡¯d meet would range from amateurs to professionals. Bin Bin didn¡¯t hesitate as he drew out a roll of money, declaring boldly, ¡°If this round they don¡¯t have a single death and finish the game within 20 minutes, dinner will be on me! Just tell me what you want to eat!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a bit difficult, their opponent is Team Azure Dream, a national internet cafe chain professional team. They¡¯re often seen in various competitions.¡± Qin Ying said.


    ¡°Yeah, Team Azure Dream is really strong.¡±


    ***


    At the start of the game, Team Skycrown still maintained their playstyle of not engaging in level one teamfights.


    Not engaging didn¡¯t mean your opponent wouldn¡¯t, but if you retreated, they would invade your jungle and claim the buff for themselves. It was fatal to the Jungler if he gave up the first buff, and Team Azure Dream demonstrated their dominance in the beginning by taking Team Skycrown¡¯s buff forcefully.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, will you be fine?¡± Lin Dong asked, seeing that Zhou Yan lacked the buff.


    ¡°Let him take it, I¡¯ll make it so that he will never get another buff in the future.¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Zhou Yan¡¯s usual character was dull and boring, but once his hands touched the mouse and keyboard, controlling the champion, a whole new other side of him¡ªa more free and temperamental part of him would emerge.


    In about eight minutes, Zhou Yan¡¯s items had caught up with the opponent Jungler even without ganking. The jungle wasn¡¯t split into blue or red side, everything was his prey!


    After taking the opponent¡¯s red buff, he headed toward the bottom lane.


    Successfully completed a double kill.


    Taking down the first Dragon, Zhou Yan made a beeline for the opponent¡¯s blue buff.


    At this time, the opponent Jungler was helping Mid take the blue buff. Just as the Jungler pressed the S key, the familiar blue orb flew to Jax instead. Planting a ward and jumping away, stealing the buff was going smoothly so far¡­


    You need to know he only had 200 health left after taking Dragon, and with that amount of health, he still dared to steal the blue buff.


    In thirteen minutes, Zhou Yan had single-handedly taken over the jungle area and opposed the Mid and Jungler of his opponents. After dying once, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei and Wu Sen had come to provide their assistance, and a fierce fight started in the jungle area.


    ***


    One for three, apart from Wu Sen¡¯s heroic sacrifice, the rest survived. Taking the red buff, taking Dragon, and matching Da Luo¡¯s pace to take the opponent¡¯s blue buff. After fifteen minutes, Team Azure Dream¡¯s jungle was under Team Skycrown¡¯s complete control. At sixteen minutes, all the outer turrets had been demolished.


    At seventeen minutes, Team Skycrown took the Baron and pushed the lane with the minion wave. At nineteen minutes, they had reached their opponent¡¯s base, easily disposing of them and getting an Ace.


    They cleaned out the base without much effort, clocking in the match at 20 minutes 40 seconds!


    End of match, 15:1.


    ¡°Okay, at least the record was broken.¡± Huang Yu said, sighing.


    Team Skycrown was really a force to be reckoned with, three elimination matches, one round in 16 minutes, another in 17 minutes, and both without a single death or turret.


    The third match, even with a team as strong as Team Azure Dream, they only needed an extra three minutes. The one death that was their Support was also only because Team Azure Dream desperately tried their hardest for it.


    While it was true that Team Scarlet was aware of the subversions of strong teams, it was hard to think that maybe even going against first or second tier teams would be like this?


    Bin Bin also sighed in relief, he had almost lost a few hundred yuan because of that.


    Why did it feel like Team Skycrown was so much stronger than Team LN, it felt like a counterattack was coming!


    ***


    ¡°Team Skycrown has successfully entered the final elimination stage, the matches will start next week, and you¡¯re placed in Group C!¡± The staff announced to the members of Team Skycrown.


    He then passed the schedule of Group C to them. There were only 24 teams in Group C, and these teams would compete to get into the finals.


    Lin Dong took a careful look at the list of teams in the competition. There were a total of six groups, and there would be many strong and famous teams. Lin Dong wanted to see if there were any teams in all the groups that would pose a threat to their Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Yeah, Team Finance is strong and on par with a second tier team.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit, come over here and take a look at which team is in the same group as us!¡± Da Luo shouted as he pointed at the list.


    ¡°Which team, which team?¡± Xiao Bei asked as he came over.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be Team Scarlet, right?¡± Luocheng said jokingly as he laughed.


    Qin Ying¡¯s face was pinched as he said, ¡°We¡¯re in Group A, and to be honest, it¡¯s a huge relief that we¡¯re not in Group C.¡±


    The members of Team Scarlet nodded their heads heavily in unison.


    Frankly, it wasn¡¯t the fact that they couldn¡¯t take losing. It was the fact that you would lose to the point that you didn¡¯t even have the option to surrender, and that would shatter your self esteem completely.


    ¡°It¡¯s Team Galaxy!¡± Da Luo said as he laughed loudly.


    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s them!¡±


    The eyes of the Team Skycrown members brightened up immediately!


    You really couldn¡¯t escape your fate, if you were going to be arrogant, karma will definitely come and bite you in the ass.


    Team Galaxy had the gall to abandon the combat practice with them without any remorse, and just because they were internet league champions, they had called Team Skycrown a trash team!


    Unbelievable that they were sorted into the same group!


    Team Galaxy should be considered a strong team in Group C, in other words, as long as Team Skycrown maintained their win rate, they would definitely have the chance to meet Team Galaxy!


    Recalling the humiliation in the club room the other day and the forced smiles that Da Luo, Xiao Bei, Lin Dong and the rest had had to put on, Team Scarlet suddenly felt as if the temperature had suddenly dropped a few degrees.


    Team Galaxy, just wait to be pummeled!

 Chapter 241 - Entering B*tch Mode

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The elimination rounds took out about nine hundred teams, and only about a hundred teams remained, hence, the Playoffs would be run in a small exhibition hall.


    Just in the span of one week, a hundred teams were left from the thousands that had participated. It felt like a big wave had come and swept them all away.


    This was what the road to e-sports was like, they didn¡¯t have any minimum threshold. As long as a team was formed and registered, they could participate in the competition. The competition itself was like a wooden bridge with hundreds and thousands of soldiers standing on it, but ninety percent of them would be pushed overboard into the coursing river below and swept away. Only those who remained would be able to cross to the other side of the road of e-sports.


    Once they reached the other side, it wasn¡¯t prestige or glory that was awaiting them, they still needed to fight their way through brutal competitions with other strong competitors! Only after claiming victory over everybody else would they be eligible to step foot into the hall of honor¡ªLPL!


    All the participants in the Media War only had one objective, and that was to get into the LPL hall of honor to leave their footprint at the peak. They loved e-sports and they had worked hard for it, getting into LPL was the only way they could prove themselves!


    Perhaps a lot of strong teams had met with stronger teams during the elimination rounds and were eliminated, however, it was certain that those who could pass the three rounds of elimination definitely had the strength to reach the third tier professional line!


    ***


    Progression by points was actually the more common tournament format: Over a hundred teams were randomly matched against each other, after which teams would be separated according to whether they had gotten their first win or loss.


    During the second round, the twelve winning teams would be pitted against each other, and the same went for the teams who did poorly during the first round. From there, teams would again be separated, based on whether they now had two wins, one win and one loss, or two losses¡­ 1


    Events would continue in this manner until two teams with the highest winning rates were determined. During the final week of the LPL tournament, these two teams would fight each other for a place within!


    This was a brutal elimination match of nine teams out of ten!


    ***


    Entering the final elimination stage, the opponents that Team Skycrown encountered were not as easily done in as the previous elimination rounds. It was obvious that a lot of their playstyles were a threat to Team Skycrown.


    The first game, they took 23 minutes to defeat their opponents.


    In the second game, they got caught in the level one teamfight and it took them 27 minutes to wrap up the game.


    Team Kouga was the only team so far in the competition that had managed to survive more than 25 minutes into the game against Team Skycrown.


    Team Kouga and Team Scarlet were old enemies, and once the competition was over, Bin Bin walked over and patted the captain who was wearing a dejected expression. Bin Bin shook his head and sighed.


    ¡°If I were in your position, I would have surrendered at 20. There was no reason to continue the abuse into 27 minutes, it would definitely leave a mark in your heart¡­¡±


    The captain of Team Kouga also felt incompetent, he didn¡¯t understand, how was that fair, they were initially holding a big advantage and still they were overturned!


    What¡¯s more, normally in comebacks, the game would drag on for at least 40 minutes. But in the end, their opponents had only used 23 minutes to make a comeback, and in another 4 minutes, Team Kouga¡¯s middle lane turrets had gone down, and their base had been broken into all the way.


    In short, their 23 minutes of advantage throughout the whole game had been easily overturned in a mere 4 minutes!


    They were stunned shock and at a complete loss for words. The members of Team Kouga just didn¡¯t know what to say or do anymore.


    Just as Team Scarlet had said, if Team Kouga had known the outcome, they would have surrendered at 20 as to avoid that depressing shadow that left such a deep impression inside them¡­


    Holding the advantage for 23 minutes of the game, and in 4 minutes¡­


    They really had nothing to say, they were just tired, it was the same as getting your heart broken completely.


    ***


    After these two games, Team Skycrown had managed to enter the straight wins group!


    There were a total of six teams in the straight wins group, and these six teams were all strong. Either they were teams who had won the Champion War, placed top three in the National Internet Cafe League, or some other competitions. All of them had very outstanding performances!


    ***


    A little uncertain as to why, but they were feeling extra good today. Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t help but think that and deliberately ate more during their meal that day.


    After arriving at the stage, Team Skycrown then knew why they had eaten extra. Walking on the road while humming, the flowers were in full bloom, the girls were beautiful, it was because their opponent for today was Team Galaxy!


    Team Galaxy, champion of the National Internet Cafe League, and the top team among the third tier professional teams.


    In the eyes of the many people present, they were an extremely fierce and strong team. Meeting them in a match was equivalent to having a losing match already.


    However, for Team Skycrown, after meeting them, their mood was extraordinarily good. It was the same pride and wicked feeling of when you had stolen somebody¡¯s wife thus rendering them completely helpless.


    ***


    ¡°Team Skycrown, have you ever heard of them before?¡± A spiky-headed youth asked.


    The youth¡¯s ID was Hedgehog and everyone called him by that name. He was the Jungler for Team Galaxy, and he was quite an aggressive Jungler.


    ¡°Skycrown¡­Boss Lu, wasn¡¯t that the trash team that wanted to have a combat practice with us the other day?¡± A guy sporting a flattop haircut said.


    The guy¡¯s ID was Flattop, the members of Team Galaxy used their hairstyles to name themselves which was once stated in an internet news article. They followed it proudly and always maintained the same hairstyle.


    Lu Lian thought for a while, trying to recall, and realized Flattop was right.


    ¡°Ah, so it was them. What a joke that such a team could have gotten into the straight wins group.¡± Lu Lian said as he laughed.


    Lu Lian was Team Galaxy¡¯s coach, and he did recall something like this happening. Only, he hadn¡¯t expected to meet them in the field so quickly.


    ¡°Lu Lian, I remember they were seriously arrogant on the call the other day?¡± Hedgehog said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lu Lian replied as he rubbed his hands together in glee, smirking darkly.


    Just as well, since the previous game they played had left them a bit anxious and stressed, playing with this trash Team Skycrown would serve to boost their confidence.


    Wasn¡¯t it a pleasure to abuse other people when playing League of Legends?


    ¡°Hehe, look, here they come¡­¡± Flattop immediately started laughing as he pointed at Team Skycrown.


    Team Skycrown and Team Galaxy rubbed shoulders as they passed each other and Hedgehog looked at Xiao Bei during that time, chuckling non-stop as he said, ¡°Little boy, you¡¯re still studying? In primary school?¡±


    Xiao Bei¡¯s build was small and petite, and as he was only sixteen years old, he had the looks of a junior high school student. Standing among a group of adults, it was guaranteed that he stood out.


    ¡°No intentional provoking of other players allowed, this is your first warning.¡± The staff said sternly.


    ¡°Oh sorry, I just couldn¡¯t help it. Good luck, Team Skycrown. We are optimistic about you, it was too bad we couldn¡¯t make the last combat practice appointment.¡±


    ¡°By the way, it was a good thing we rejected that practice, otherwise, you would know all our tactics by now.¡±


    Lu Lian could still recall the call when someone from Team Skycrown had raged at him, and he coldly said, ¡°Even if you had seen our tactics or anything, it wouldn¡¯t matter. The fact that I rejected the practice was also for your sake, if you had played against us, you wouldn¡¯t have the courage to be standing here today to play against us.¡±


    Saying that, Lu Lian deliberately turned and walked to a place behind the referee, mouthing two words.


    Even if no sound came out, everyone could tell what the most harsh words were said, ¡®trash team¡¯!


    ***


    The members of Team Skycrown didn¡¯t speak. Except for Xiao Bei who was joining a real competition for the first time, the other members had played countless matches before. They definitely had more games in their hands as compared to a lot of other players, what kind of players had they not met before?


    They had long since passed the stage where they would mock their opponents right before a game¡­


    No, no, don¡¯t misunderstand.


    It wasn¡¯t because they had matured and held themselves to a higher standard that they stopped doing it, but it was because they could still tolerate this level of provocation. What they were thinking was, how should they play this match so that their opponents could have a taste of what it was like to suffer and practically eat shit?


    ***


    ¡°Boss, they are very despicable.¡± Wu Sen said after a while.


    Wu Sen was kinder and gentler than any of them, but anyone would get angry at the scorn and insult thrown in their faces like that.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Luocheng said as he nodded.


    ¡°I feel that you should play this match.¡± Wu Sen said.


    Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, Da Luo and Zhou Yan¡¯s eyes all fell on Luocheng as soon as Wu Sen had said that.


    ¡°What the f*ck, why are you guys looking at me like that!¡± Luocheng exclaimed.


    ¡°Enough, I can¡¯t take it anymore. It¡¯s either you play this game with us, or once the game is done, I¡¯m dragging them out to beat the sh*t out of them!¡± Da Luo said heatedly, his fist clenched tightly.


    ¡°Violence is not the answer, and you would get disqualified.¡± Luocheng hurriedly said.


    ¡°Then play this match with us.¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°F*ck, just torture them in return, why do I have to play?¡± Luocheng said, frowning unhappily.


    Team Scarlet who was watching this scene unfold from the side were also confused, why would they need Luocheng to play?


    Wu Sen was strong, and he was definitely on par with a first tier professional player. Letting Luocheng play instead of him should make no difference at all.


    As Qin Ying, Huang Yu and the rest were trying to figure out this matter, Luocheng had already been forced into the seat by the other members of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Hey, hey! I already said that I¡¯m not playing!¡±


    ¡°Damn it, being insulted right in the face and treated like a dog, are you telling me you can tolerate it?¡± Da Luo exclaimed as he pointed his finger at Luocheng¡¯s face.


    ¡°Of course I can¡¯t!¡± Luocheng retorted angrily.


    In the past whenever anyone had dared to insult Team Wings, Luocheng would face them one on one in whatever type of match they f*cking wanted to pick, it didn¡¯t matter!


    ¡°Then you play.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the same if Wu Sen plays?¡±


    Da Luo and Lin Dong spared a glance at Wu Sen, then they shook their heads as they patted Luocheng on the back.


    ¡°No can do, Wu Sen is too honorable, he can¡¯t play as despicably as you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Luocheng was completely lost for words.


    If you had the balls, I dare the both of you assholes to say that again to my face! What do you mean despicable!


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying I¡¯m a despicable person?¡± Luocheng growled out.


    ¡°Luocheng, to be honest, watching you abuse JJK that time, it was really¡­if we use the ranking system to rank how despicable someone can be, we¡¯re normally already quite bad and I would rank us at Bronze. Luocheng, your level¡­it would be Challenger.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Bei¡¯s explanation is completely on point.¡± Zhou Yan nodded seriously.


    Wu Sen, Lin Dong and Da Luo who completely understood Luocheng¡¯s personality all nodded in unison, no objection was voiced.


    Internationally, knowing that Luocheng was Fighting Hawk, he represented passionate and heroic fights¡­


    In actuality, many well-known players who had gone against this dirty bugger in solo matches would experience a completely maddening plunge into a deep pit. Once Fighting Hawk entered his b*tch mode, you would feel like kicking down your computer and buying a flight ticket to China to f*cking strangle this little twerp with your bare hands!

 Chapter 242 - The Most Despicable Of Them All, Teemo!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ugh¡­my stomach, it hurts¡­it hurts¡­referee¡­referee!¡± Wu Sen suddenly called out.


    The referee furrowed his brows as he came over, asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°My stomach really hurts, I can¡¯t play¡­we¡¯ll be subbing in a player.¡± Wu Sen said.


    ¡°Do you have a reserve?¡± The referee asked.


    ¡°Yes, we do. Yu Luocheng.¡±Lin Dong said, pointing to Luocheng.


    ¡°When you register, your reserve must be in the list.¡± The referee continued.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s in the list. I wrote it in, you can go check.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Alright, then let the reserve sit in and don¡¯t waste anymore time. There are still a lot of matches to go.¡± The referee said as he gave his consent.


    With that said, the referee went to verify their claims. It shouldn¡¯t take too long.


    Once the referee had left, Luocheng eyed Lin Dong and the others, asking, ¡°When you guys filled up the form, you wrote my name down?¡±


    ¡°Of course. The coach, the leader, and even the reserve player is all your name!¡± Lin Dong said as he laughed.


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡±


    Luocheng really had to hand it to them, he had fallen into their trap.


    ¡°Aih, this competition doesn¡¯t really have much coverage. Just relax and play, and take it as a university competition.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, looking at those disgusting faces of Team Galaxy, if we don¡¯t let you loose on them, how could we be satisfied.¡±


    To be honest, after being belittled and humiliated, Luocheng had really wanted to play the match and pummel them himself. There was no one who took the dignity of Team Skycrown more seriously than himself, and he couldn¡¯t tolerate people who insulted Team Skycrown!


    It would be a pleasure to torment this group of low-lifes.


    As Luocheng sat in Wu Sen¡¯s seat, it was obvious, he was going to turn on his b*tch mode!


    The members of Team Skycrown were all familiar with Luocheng, the reason he was their captain was not only because he had ungodly abilities, but it was also because of his protectiveness in defending the team¡¯s dignity and giving it as good as he got back to the opponents who insulted them.


    When encountering injustice, belittlement, and ridicule, Luocheng would stand up against it without hesitation, using his unique b*tch mode to restore their pride and dignity as well as bite back at their opponents.


    When this guy fights back, winning is never his objective. His aim would be to torment the opponent mentally, giving them hope and crushing it down ruthlessly. Even when they had fallen to the ground, he would give another kick to make sure they fell further.


    I recall there being a similar story.


    The girl asked the guy if he liked her, and the guy replied with no, he didn¡¯t. Just as the girl was about to leave sadly, the guy asked, ¡°Are you not going to ask if I love you?¡±


    The girl startled, and burst into tears, her face full of happiness as she asked, ¡°Do you love me?¡±


    Then the guy replied calmly, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±


    A cruel twist of a knife, stabbed into your gut and wrenched out to let the blood gush out.


    That¡¯s right, that¡¯s how Luocheng was when he entered his b*tch mode!


    Therefore, when Team Skycrown encountered such cheap opponents, they felt like unleashing Luocheng upon them would be the only way they could get complete satisfaction!


    Luocheng put up a fight against the four of them, but in the end, he obediently sat in the player seat. Everyone knew, he was already entering his b*tch mode!


    And this was what everyone wanted to see!


    ***


    Entering the banning phase, both lineups were quite normal. Even with the amount of insults and ridicule thrown, Team Galaxy still had some semblance of brains as they didn¡¯t pick any unconventional champions.


    Team Skycrown was also the same, no matter how annoyed or unhappy they were, they were well aware that they would lose everything if they lost. The winner would be the one standing and laughing after.


    At last pick, it was Luocheng at 5L. Luocheng was Team Skycrown¡¯s trump card, and this guy¡¯s understanding of the Support role was completely different than others. He would always choose a Support champion according to the composition of the opponent¡¯s team, maximising the value of a Support. This was why he always used different Support champions in games!


    ¡°Pick Blitzcrank and beat them up till they die!¡± Da Luo said to Luocheng.


    ¡°A champion with good harassing skills.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    Luocheng was still contemplating which champion to use, their opponent picks were ordinary. He should pick a champion with a high win rate for this match, but the question was, was winning really his objective in this match?


    No way!


    From the time Luocheng had sat down in his seat, winning was the obvious outcome, but tormenting them, trampling on them, and devastating them, was his main objective.


    Blitzcrank was considered to be one of the more well-known anti-fun champions, he would run forward and provoke his opponent, pretending to bend over in front of them to pick up the soap, and then suddenly turning around to Q subsequently dragging them in to beat them up.


    But even that didn¡¯t feel like it was enough.


    Singed?


    This champion was not really suitable to use as Support, but he was among the top in the list of anti-fun champions, and using him would definitely tilt his opponents.


    So, would he pick Singed?


    No, no. Among all the champions in League of Legends, Singed was not ranked first in being the most despicable!


    There was one more champion!


    Haha, that is you!


    Ding!


    The selection ping sounded suddenly, and the champion¡¯s avatar in 5L appeared!


    Team Skycrown had given Luocheng the freedom to pick whoever he wanted, they were confident that even if Luocheng picked something that couldn¡¯t match with their combination, they could still make things work.


    Also, even if they lost this match, it was just throwing away one win. As long as they won the later games, they would still be able to qualify into the winning group. Team Skycrown had that much level of confidence.


    But just as Da Luo, Zhou Yan and Lin Dong were wondering what champion Luocheng would choose, he clicked on a champion that made all three pairs of eyes bulge out!


    What in the world, as expected, their boss was their boss, even daring to f*cking pick this kind of champion!


    At the same time, the six members of Team Scarlet who stood in the audience area were also rubbing their eyes in wonder.


    Why, you ask?


    It was because they wondered if their eyes were deceiving them!


    This was an official competition, a professional competition. This was the straight wins group, not some game that you could simply play however you liked, could you please not do something so insane!


    Teemo!


    Teemo!!


    Teemo!!!


    Luocheng, this asshole chose the most despicable and anti-fun champion in the entire world of League of Legends¡ªThe Swift Scout, Teemo!


    The champion that needed to die a few hundred thousand times a day, and still his corpse could fill up a circle around the world twice!


    Luocheng, this was a professional game, could you be a little less deranged?


    ***


    ¡°What the f*ck, I swear if he locks in that champion, I¡¯ll eat this keyboard!¡± Hedgehog exclaimed.


    In normal games, the chances of a Teemo pick was high, but in competitions, its pick rate was completely nil. This champions was simply not suitable for playing in a professional game.


    Hedgehog had to bite his tongue as the border of Teemo¡¯s avatar beat once!


    Locked in!


    He really locked in!


    The four members of Team Galaxy looked expectantly at Hedgehog.


    Hedgehog¡¯s face fell, he had just said that he would eat his keyboard.


    Who the hell would do that!


    Sigh, it¡¯s not that you needed to eat the whole keyboard, just the QWER keys would do it too.


    ***


    Of course Hedgehog wouldn¡¯t eat his keyboard, this guy was just a mouth full of shit. But no matter how full of shit he was, he couldn¡¯t change the fact that their opponent Support had picked Teemo!


    ¡°Looks like they know they¡¯re going to lose this round, so they just simply picked their champions.¡± Lu Lian said as he smiled coldly.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to beat them until their mother can¡¯t recognize their faces!¡±


    ¡°Just rekt them, no mercy!¡±


    Team Galaxy was agitated by Luocheng¡¯s Teemo pick. To be honest, to insult your opponent, no matter how nasty your words were, how hurtful to your pride, it was all far less effective than picking a Teemo in an official game.


    As soon as Luocheng had decided on Teemo, Team Galaxy were immediately fuming in their seats!


    Yes, yes¡­this was what Luocheng had wanted to achieve.


    Wanting to repulse his opponents, Luocheng always had steps to follow. The first step was okay already, and the second step was to grow this Teemo fully in the game!


    Did you know, the two champions¡ªMaster Yi and Teemo had hidden auras, on top of the normal four abilities and two Summoner Skills?


    For Master Yi, he had an aura of terror.


    For Teemo, he had an aura of dread!


    There was a saying that there would always be a face that looked similar to yours among one hundred and eight faces, and that person was your destined partner.


    In conclusion, among the one hundred and fifty champions, there would be one that your fate was tied with and your nature and attitudes would be similar.


    That¡¯s why, once Luocheng got into his bitch mode, there was only one champion in the whole of League of Legends that could be as satanic as him¡ªTeemo!


    ***


    Before entering Summoner¡¯s Rift, Luocheng had bought the Cottontail Teemo skin which resembled a rabbit. Once they had bought their items, it was Luocheng leading at the front while the other four followed behind him.


    To be honest, a group of beasts, a group of ruthless men, a group of beautifully fierce women, and an adorable rabbit Teemo was a weird combination to watch.


    The members of Team Scarlet were fixed on the screen as they watched, their expressions still rigid. Locking in Teemo was one thing, but watching the rabbit skip on the screen of an official match was really something else entirely¡­


    The match had yet to begin and already it gave off a feeling of extreme discomfort and pain to the people present!


    Alright, putting on a rabbit skin on Teemo, his repulsive aura of dread felt like it covered the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift, to the point that it overflowed from the computer screen and plunged deep into the hearts of the players and viewers in reality!


    I can¡¯t take it, I need to hurl¡­


    That was what Team Scarlet was feeling on the inside!


    ***


    The first skill that Luocheng added was not Q¡ªBlinding Dart, but his W¡ªMove Quick.


    Not long after the match had started, you could see Luocheng¡¯s Teemo darting in front of the team with smoke kicking up behind him, moving fast as he planted a crucial ward in the bush, and then running around the middle lane into the opponent¡¯s jungle to gain vision!


    In official matches, the Support was very careful when planting wards. Planting wards was like heading into a battlefield full of soldiers lying in wait for you, it was just that serious.


    Looking at Teemo who swaggering and light heartedly planting the ward, Team Scarlet was rendered speechless once again as he just stood in the same brush and went invisible as soon as he was done. They couldn¡¯t be sure if this guy was playing for real in a competition and wanting to win, or did he just come here to troll!


    A serious, tense, and suspenseful game would be thrown in a whack because of Teemo¡¯s hidden aura, Team Scarlet could just feel it!

 Chapter 243 - Where Did Daddy Teemo Go?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Running into their opponent¡¯s blue buff and entering stealth, this kind of behavior could only be done by little kids.


    Thankfully, after standing there for a while, Teemo shook his tail and turned to run toward the top lane.


    ***


    Both teams went to their respective lanes, and Team Galaxy was on the combination of Caitlyn and Zyra.When they had reached their lane, they realized it was only Ezreal who was present.


    ¡°Teemo should have stealth somewhere around.¡± The ADC¡ªRedhead from Team Galaxy said.


    ¡°I know that, idiot. Since it¡¯s a Teemo Support, we¡¯ll definitely kill him.¡± The Support¡ªShock said.


    If Teemo didn¡¯t move for 2 seconds, he gained invisibility. Since there was only Ezreal in the lane, the Bot duo of Team Galaxy was confident that that son of a b*tch Teemo was hiding somewhere in the bottom lane. He was waiting for them to push the minion wave, and then he would blow out his poisonous darts.


    FIRST BLOOD!


    Suddenly, a strangled scream came from the top lane!


    2 minutes 14 seconds!


    First blood in less than a minute into the game again!


    What was more surprising was that it turned out to be Teemo who had gotten first blood, the left side of the announcement wordings were clearly showing Teemo¡¯s adorable smile!


    Shock and Redhead who were at the bottom lane looked at each other in surprise, what the hell, why was Teemo at the top lane!


    That would mean that Ezreal had been alone at the bottom lane all along, they had been tricked!


    If the bottom lane was a 2v1, it was easy to control the minion wave to ensure your opponent would be hard-pressed to get the farm and experience. However, since they had thought that Teemo was hiding somewhere, they hadn¡¯t dared to harass Ezreal too much. Who would¡¯ve known that Ezreal had been alone for real all along, comfortably taking in experience from the minions he killed and leveling up to level two!


    The top lane¡ªFlattop¡¯s face was twitching in anger.Picking Teemo in an official match was one thing, what he hadn¡¯t expected was for this damn Teemo to stealth and camp at his lane!


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t upgraded his Q-Blinding Dart, but together with the damage from Da Luo¡¯s Lee Sin at level one, taking the first blood was easy.


    ¡°Shit, like that also can!¡±


    Huang Yu, Xiao Tongtong, Xiao Dao and Qin Ying were all speechless!


    This was similar to a petty child¡¯s play!


    A lot of times, if you wanted to know if the Teemo player was a kid or not, all you had to do was see if he was stupidly camping in the lane.


    After planting the wards, Teemo had made a beeline for the top lane and hidden himself, waited until both Tops appeared, and waited till Lee Sin had Ignited his opponent before making an appearance!


    Flattop was using Riven, and at level one, she was not too afraid of Lee Sin. Who knew that Teemo would appear at her back, shooting out the dart from behind her¡­


    First blood, he had given out the first blood just like that!


    Using this kind of stupid pathetic method that you normally see in games before you reached level 30, and he had really managed to f*cking take the first blood from the top lane!


    You had to understand that this method was similar to five champions camping in a bush, waiting for their opponent to face-check in order to get the first and second kill by ambushing them.


    You are already at level 30, could you not use such petty childish method, and whatmore, in a professional game!


    However, what could you say?


    Luocheng had managed to use a level 20 tactic to claim first blood from the top lane!


    ***


    ¡°Damn it, you even KS-ed me!¡± Da Luo exclaimed, a touch unhappy.


    Pushing the lane with Teemo, the minion wave had reached the turret. Once Luocheng reached level two, he activated Move Quick, running toward the opponent¡¯s blue buff. There was a ward planted in the blue buff, and he could see the Jungler preparing to take the buff.


    When Luocheng headed toward the opponent¡¯s jungle area, Da Luo and Zhou Yan also followed.


    Don¡¯t think that you could get this blue buff!


    The three of them entered the jungle at the same time, and Shyvanna could only watch as her beloved blue buff was stolen right in front of her eyes.


    Top lane gave a kill, the Jungler lost a buff, this was the same pace they had set in their previous matches.


    Luckily, their opponent Jungler was smart and let go of the blue buff to farm at the top lane so that the level difference wouldn¡¯t be too big.


    How to put it, the game had only just begun and Luocheng¡¯s Teemo had already made them suffer like eating flies.


    ***


    You could tell that Team Galaxy seemed to have good control over the disadvantage they had, after encountering such feats in the beginning, they were slowly recovering as the game progressed.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t bother going to the bottom lane to assist Ezreal, instead, he always camped at the top lane, intending to fully crush Riven!


    Unfortunately for poor Riven, apart from getting experience from the minion wave, her CS had yet to go beyond double digits.


    Even if she were to buy defense items, she wasn¡¯t sure whether she should get magic resist or armor! If things went on like this, she wouldn¡¯t even have enough gold to buy pots!


    At the bottom lane, Ezreal was farming and leveling normally. His levels were always higher than the other side, and adding on the range of his Q, farming was not really a problem for him.


    ***


    In the next ten minutes, their opponent Jungler had to abandon his blue buff once again.


    And in the other lanes, another problem had arisen.


    That is, the moment you couldn¡¯t find Teemo on the map, Team Galaxy had to signal the rest of the other lanes and their Jungler.


    ¡°Teemo, missing!¡±


    ¡°Shit, wasn¡¯t he at your top lane!¡±


    ¡°Damn, he¡¯s stealth again.¡±


    ***


    ¡°What the f*ck, Teemo was missing, why didn¡¯t you say anything. I had to use my Flash!¡± Team Galaxy¡¯s Mid¡ªLu Lian scolded angrily.


    ¡°I¡­I thought he was in stealth at the top lane.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, the Dragon will be taken at this rate!¡±


    ***


    Seriously, not knowing when it started, whenever Teemo vanished from the map, Team Galaxy would get inexplicably flustered and panicked. They would feel like the surrounding bushes were imprinted with Teemo¡¯s cheeky smile, and they would be unable to farm in peace. This level of threat was not even achieved by the other side¡¯s Jungler, and if you weren¡¯t careful, it was extremely painful.


    Once he vanished from the map, they didn¡¯t dare to engage. They didn¡¯t dare to farm if he was missing, and they had to waste gold on Vision Wards when he went missing.


    Can you imagine the feeling of needing to be overly cautious about a Teemo Support, which surpassed even the whereabouts of the Jungler?


    The worse was that sometimes when he vanished from the map, it wasn¡¯t because he was on the move, but he just f*cking stood still and went invisible!


    If you thought the opponent was going to launch an aggressive assault, sorry, I was just taking a break there.


    ***


    There weren¡¯t many kills in the game, but Top¡¯s experience gain, Jungler¡¯s level, and the Mid¡¯s income had been completely thwarted.


    Ping! Ping!


    Klung! Klung!


    It seemed like in the early game, the game play of Team Galaxy was like the popular drama being aired now, ¡®Where did daddy go?¡¯.


    In Team Scarlet¡¯s view of the game, Luocheng¡¯s Teemo really was their daddy. This daddy was carrying the top lane, harassing as a Support, even as a Jungler, stealing buffs and ganking, planting wards, he was playing every role!


    ***


    ¡°We can¡¯t go on like this. Farm a while more, then we¡¯ll force a teamfight!¡± Lu Lian couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    He wasn¡¯t even sure if this was feasible, with a stealthy Teemo running around their top lane, middle lane and jungle area like wild dogs and chickens on the road¡­What made him even more speechless was that the bottom lane was a 2v1,and yet, they still couldn¡¯t obtain a higher advantage in that lane!


    A teamfight, that¡¯s what they needed.


    In teamfights, Teemo was basically useless. Their Support¡ªZyra, had great CC abilities and would play a big role in the teamfights.


    ***


    ¡°Contest for Dragon with them!¡± Hedgehog said.


    ¡°Are you crazy, that area is full of mushrooms. They have vision control everywhere, engaging in a teamfight there would be suicidal. What the hell, why haven¡¯t you both bought Oracle¡¯s Elixir!¡± Lu Lian scolded as he eyed the Support and Jungler¡¯s items.


    ¡°It just ran out¡­¡± Hedgehog replied with a bitter smile.


    The Jungler¡¯s income was not very good, and maintaining Oracle¡¯s Elixir was just dragging him down.


    Previously, Zyra had gone around dewarding the wards and mushrooms. After getting killed once by Teemo, she had decided to concentrate on harassing and blocking Ezreal¡¯s growth instead.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get Oracle¡¯s Elixir in a moment, we¡¯ll give them the Dragon and push the middle lane then!¡± Zyra said.


    Reaching an agreement, Team Galaxy began to push the middle lane. Pushing the middle lane yielded results that were obvious, because the other side only had four champions, they didn¡¯t dare to engage easily.


    After grouping up at the middle lane, Team Galaxy didn¡¯t need to be overly concerned about where that bloody Teemo was. Even if he was in stealth or pushing another lane, as long as they grouped up, Teemo was useless and wouldn¡¯t be able to contribute at all!


    ***


    ¡°If we don¡¯t fight soon, our turret will go down.¡± Zhou Yan mentioned.


    ¡°Yeah, get ready for a teamfight.¡± Lin Dong said as he nodded his head in agreement, controlling Syndra and trying to find an appropriate opportunity to launch a Dark Sphere.


    ¡°Boss, can you push a lane and get a turret down. What¡¯s the use of camping right here?¡± Da Luo glanced at Luocheng who was standing at the side of the field where the teamfight would most likely happen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you guys fight, I¡¯ll clean up.¡±


    ¡°Clean your head!¡±


    Teemo was a champion completely not suitable for teamfights, his usefulness could definitely be seen when going against opponents who weren¡¯t willing to buy Vision Wards or Oracle¡¯s Elixir.


    Pom!


    Syndra¡¯s Dark Sphere exploded outward, stunning the opponent¡¯s Jungler. They didn¡¯t have time to waste, Team Skycrown needed to engage decisively!


    Da Luo¡¯s Lee Sin performed a beautiful maneuver, guaranteed to awe the audience! He threw out a Q¡ªSonic Wave and it landed on its target, planting down a ward, he cast Safeguard toward it, shifting his position!


    Following up quickly with a Flash to the back of Shyvanna who was still stunned, a beautiful roundhouse kick knocked Shyvanna directly under the turret where his teammates were waiting!


    Shyvanna flew, stumbling right into the turret and hitting it hard!


    Lee Sin then activated his Resonating Strike, flying back toward Shyvanna smoothly in style. It would seem as if it was Shyvanna herself that had stepped out from her team¡¯s lines into the opponent¡¯s side!


    This series of maneuvers were completed in a short couple of seconds, Xiao Dao also used Lee Sin, but he had never tried this combo before in a teamfight!


    That step of sticking to the opponent, knocking her back toward his team, and subsequently smoothly navigating out from that chaotic situation¡­


    The whole process was so smooth, it was unbelievable unless you saw it with your own eyes!

 Chapter 244 - The Best Stealth!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What a beautiful maneuver!¡±


    Da Luo¡¯s Lee Sin had shocked the entire audience, with the kick on Shyvanna, it ignited the start of the teamfight.


    Although Shyvanna was the Jungler and she was building tank, she was currently not tanky enough. With the kick that Lee Sin had landed, it was entirely possible to kill her instantly.


    Hedgehog¡¯s reaction time on Shyvanna was not considered to be slow, and after being sent flying with that kick, he hurriedly activated his ulti to fly back toward the opposite direction!


    This move could potentially scatter Team Skycrown¡¯s formation, as well as give him more time to regroup. It was a professional game after all, and their reactions and awareness were quite good.


    As soon as the teamfight started, Shyvanna flew to the back, with half her health left, she could still continue to fight!


    Spitting dragon fire from her mouth, Shyvanna stood in front and took all the damage from the four members of Team Skycrown. The other four members of Team Galaxy engaged at the same time, and you could see the numerous skills being thrown to and fro in the middle lane!


    Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Wave, Shyvanna¡¯s Flame Breath, Syndra¡¯s Dark Sphere, Ezreal¡¯s Trueshot Barrage and Mystic Shot, Gragas¡¯ Explosive Cask, Zyra¡¯s Deadly Bloom and Grasping Roots¡­


    Skills filled the skies, figures shuttled in the rain of gunfire, lights from multiple Flashes intertwined!


    The teamfight was fierce and aggressive, and players from both teams were demonstrating the absolute strength of a professional player. Every detail was handled appropriately, and Team Scarlet in the audience also kept nodding their heads in praise of the moves. Watching confrontations between masters always gave a feeling of beautiful suspense and enjoyment.


    Everything was perfect, from positioning, defending, killing, counterattack and clashing, it gave off an inexplicably exciting feeling.


    However, there was something that felt off to everyone!


    There was something wrong somewhere!


    What the hell was going on?


    Was it because Lee Sin¡¯s kick on Shyvanna was too shallow, or Syndra¡¯s ulti was thrown at Riven, or was it because Ezreal¡¯s damage was too low¡­


    The focus changed, and suddenly, a translucent figure appeared on the screen!


    It was Zhou Yan¡¯s Jungler. For the sake of killing the opponent¡¯s Mid, he had gone in too deep and had been chased into the opponent¡¯s side of the map¡­


    And on this side of the map, there sat a translucent Teemo who was still standing there motionless!


    That¡¯s right, not a single movement.


    You could say that this guy had been standing there even before the teamfight had started. When the fight started, reached its peak and was cooling down, this Teemo had just stood there without moving the whole time!


    Even more outrageous was that Zhou Yan had been chased to this side by the opponent¡¯s ADC, if Teemo had shot out a dart to blind her, there was hope that Zhou Yan could be saved.


    However, he didn¡¯t move. Even as his teammate crawled over to him covered in blood, he just gave him a cute look and played with his apple.


    Bang!


    Caitlyn¡¯s Q¡ªPiltover Peacemaker flew over, right through Teemo¡¯s body.


    Teemo¡¯s health dropped¡­


    But he still didn¡¯t move!


    Caitlyn activated her ulti, taking Zhou Yan¡¯s head. Teemo merely needed to shift to the side and the bullet would have hit him, sparing his teammate.


    But, he didn¡¯t do it!


    He was still in stealth!


    As his screen turned gray, Zhou Yan¡¯s face which was already black, turned even blacker!


    Would it kill you to f*cking move your ass a bit to block the bullet? Would it kill you to shoot out a dart to blind the opponent? Stealth, stealth, stealth, what f*cking shit stealth were you doing. You did not even appear until now, if you keep being in stealth, your screensaver will appear already!


    Zhou Yan was speechless, once Luocheng entered his bitch mode, it wasn¡¯t only their opponents, but also their own teammates who would suffer from his madness!


    ¡°This Teemo has guts!¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t endure it, it would be a problem¡­¡± Qin Ying mused as he rubbed his chin.


    To be honest, if it was him playing ranked games, encountering a Teemo who went into stealth for thirty years, Team Scarlet would just hang their computers without any explanations.


    Even right next to you, you just stood there and watched him die without giving a helping hand, how cruel!


    Teemo continued to hide himself.


    Suddenly, the crossfire from the teamfights started to move, and it moved directly to Teemo¡¯s side!


    Zyra was still holding on to her ulti until now, waiting till Lee Sin and Ezreal had targeted her. As she screamed in agony, a monstrous thicket shot up from beneath the ground, covering a large area.


    The coverage area of her ulti¡ªStranglethorns was big, and it was activated near Teemo!


    It felt like it would be able to reach and knock him up, but at the same time, it felt like it wouldn¡¯t!


    Team Scarlet were all watching Luocheng¡¯s screen in anticipation, anxious for him even if the person himself didn¡¯t seem so.


    If he was exposed and the opponents concentrated fire on him, it would be easy to wipe him off the rift immediately!


    If it was anyone else, they would have started moving the moment Zyra had activated her ulti!


    However, even with that, Luocheng still didn¡¯t move his mouse!


    ¡°How can he be so damn f*cking chill?¡± Bin Bin exploded, unable to hold it in anymore.


    The vines snapped upward, knocking Syndra and Ezreal up into the air. Both of them hadn¡¯t expected that Zyra would hold out her ulti until this moment!


    The good news was that Luocheng didn¡¯t get knocked upward, if he had moved to sidestep it, he definitely would have been exposed.


    A lot of skills thrown around in the fights had landed on Teemo quite a few times, and his health had dropped constantly, leaving only about a quarter left!


    When Lin Dong and Xiao Bei were running, they subconsciously went toward where Teemo was standing, hoping to get some protection, but Luocheng was such an asshole that he just ignored them.


    The skills from Team Galaxy¡¯s members also kept flying in his direction, Caitlyn¡¯s Q, Zyra¡¯s Q, and even Riven¡¯s ulti!


    His health was still decreasing, and it was now less than one fifth!


    Standing still during a battle in stealth was dangerous for Teemo, you never knew what kind of damage you would be caught in, and it might force you to reveal yourself.


    ¡°F*ck, the team is already almost dead!¡± Huang Yu cursed.


    ¡°And he¡¯s still not moving, is his mouse broken!? Xiao Dao exclaimed.


    Team Galaxy hadn¡¯t planted a Vision Ward anywhere, so they didn¡¯t see that Teemo was right at their feet. Caitlyn, who was wearing a short skirt, also swayed her hips a few times on top of him.


    They weren¡¯t aware that Teemo was right there, and they were unaware that he only had a fifth of his health left. If they just threw out a few more skill shots at that area, they could take the kill.


    Team Scarlet could clearly see the whole picture.


    Watching as Teemo hid even after all that, not attacking, Team Scarlet¡¯s face was pinched, and their hearts whispered¡­


    You can still endure this?


    You¡¯re already dying, and you still want to squat there and hide?


    Are you playing in the f*cking competition or not?


    Your teammates are all almost dead!


    Lin Dong and Xiao Bei looked at Luocheng, realizing that he had no intentions to show himself, and they looked disappointed.


    Willing to sacrifice four fifths of your health to sell them out, what more could they say?


    Really, Luocheng, you win!


    Lin Dong and Xiao Bei¡¯s skills had all been exhausted, and their screens turned gray at the same time!


    Lee Sin was unwilling to go down without a fight, aiming a kick at Caitlyn¡­


    Pity that he didn¡¯t realize that she still had Barrier, and he was killed by her and Zyra.


    In actuality, in the 4v5 fight when Zhou Yan and Lin Dong watched Lee Sin fly in to deliver the kick and activate his E, for a moment, they hated the fact that they weren¡¯t the opponents and were unable to attack Teemo, because otherwise, they could beat this asshole out from hiding!


    You¡¯re still in stealth, can you f*cking come out already!


    ***


    ¡°Beautiful, a three for four!¡± Lu Lian shouted.


    They had won this teamfight!


    As expected, in a teamfight, Teemo was useless. Even if he took down a turret, so what, his teammates had been beaten to the ground.


    Flattop who had been having a bad time on Riven for the past twenty minutes finally smiled, relieved that they won the teamfight, otherwise, he would forever be haunted by that Teemo!


    Wait, that¡¯s not right. Where was the Teemo?


    While they were engaging in the teamfight, it was impossible for Team Galaxy to notice where Teemo was on the map. However, once the fight was over, they still hadn¡¯t seen a lick of him at all.


    Lu Lian frowned. ¡°Be careful, he might appear from the side.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, kill him if he comes.¡± Zyra said confidently.


    ¡°Ahhh!!¡±


    A strangled scream was suddenly heard!


    Just as he had finished talking, Zyra suddenly fell to the ground strangely! She was still alive just a moment ago!


    What was happening!


    Pew! Pew! Pew!


    A short, adorable white Teemo stepped over Zyra¡¯s body, throwing an Exhaust onto Caitlyn who was unprepared!


    Seeing Teemo suddenly appear, Caitlyn panicked and used her E to create some distance, but Teemo Flashed forward and threw a Blinding Dart together with two basic attacks!


    ACE!


    As Caitlyn fell to the ground, just two seconds after Zyra had died, a big large ACE word appeared on the screens of Team Galaxy!


    The five members of Team Galaxy were speechless as they stared at their gray screens and announcement.


    This¡­where did this Teemo come from!


    ¡°What the f*ck! He was in stealth the whole time right there!¡± Redhead was about to explode in anger.


    Just as they had finally taken the victory in a teamfight after much suffering, they had gotten aced after Teemo appeared to clean up the rest of them!


    What was even more frustrating was the fact that Teemo had been stealthing there since the beginning!


    F*cking unbelievable, the fight in the area had been so fierce just now, how the hell would they have known that a Teemo was squatting there!


    ACE!


    In any case, the battle was turned around, bearing fruit with Teemo getting a double kill with his mushrooms and stealth, earning their team an ace!


    ***


    ¡°I salute him, really!¡± Bin Bin¡¯s jaw was still on the ground.


    From the beginning of the fight, he had stood there stealthing, not giving a hand to his teammates no matter what it was. Taking damage from AOE skills, sacrificing his health as he watched his teammates die in front of him. Enduring until the end, finally spitting out a Blind Dart to kill Zyra, an Exhaust on Caitlyn with a few basic attacks and he killed her¡­


    To be honest, Team Scarlet could more or less guess what Team Galaxy was feeling right now!


    It was not easy to get a three for four, to win the teamfight! Only to have a dying Teemo jump out and kill you just as you were celebrating!


    More importantly, he had been cutely squatting there for so long, and this cute shit had actually landed an ace by himself!


    At the moment they were killed, Redhead and Shock both cursed loudly at the same time, ¡°F*ck your mother!¡±


    To make things worse, when they cursed so loudly, the referee who was seated sternly said, ¡°Team Galaxy loudly insults their opponent! This is your first warning, if you get a second warning, you will be disqualified.¡±


    Team Galaxy was going insane!


    Insulting their opponents? That shouldn¡¯t even be considered an insult!


    It was obvious that they were the ones being severely insulted by Teemo the whole time, alright!?

 Chapter 245 - Lowering their IQ

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I just want to ask, if we hadn¡¯t managed to take down most of them just now, what would you have done?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°I would have continued to stealth.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The other members of Team Skycrown were speechless.


    As expected, once this guy started being b*tchy, he didn¡¯t differentiate between friend or foe, night or day!


    Once they had gotten the ace, Luocheng led the push, taking down two turrets from the middle lane.


    Once they had killed their opponents, there was an extra blue buff to be taken. Teemo¡¯s mushrooms started appearing in the opponent¡¯s jungle, flooding all possible paths that they would walk. In short, you wanted to farm in the jungle?


    Without Oracle¡¯s Elixir, don¡¯t even dream about going!


    Could you understand this feeling, your entire jungle had now become a landmine, there was no place to step foot in that was safe!


    Even if you used Oracle¡¯s Elixir and cleaned them up slowly, there was no telling how long it would take you to do it, and the opponent¡¯s minion wave would have pushed further in already.


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take red.¡± Redhead said as his Caitlyn went toward the buff¡¯s direction.


    Equipped with a Bloodthirster, Caitlyn didn¡¯t really fear Teemo¡¯s damage. The health that was taken away by the mushroom could easily be lifesteal-ed back when hitting the red buff.


    Animation Cancel, Animation Cancel, Redhead skillfully controlled Caitlyn to shoot faster¡­


    A real master could consistently maintain Animation Cancel no matter what they were hitting so as to avoid getting attacked by their enemies.


    Redhead¡¯s skills in Animation Cancelling were smooth, and he kited the red buff beautifully¡­


    Boom!


    Suddenly, it seemed as though Caitlyn had stepped on something behind her. The mushroom exploded, spraying smoke onto Caitlyn and her health began to drop.


    ¡°F*ck, there were some here?¡±


    Redhead cursed, stepping on the mushroom gave off a disgusting feeling. Worse was that she had just taken the red buff, if she died just like that¡­Redhead¡¯s face twisted.


    ¡®I can¡¯t take it anymore!


    ¡®I want to kill that damn brat!¡¯


    Redhead was almost at his boiling point and he was going to scour the world for Teemo!


    League players would understand, you can lose the teamfight, but Teemo has to die!


    However, this time, Team Galaxy had a higher level of understanding. In the future matches, they would definitely aim to ban Teemo because of the shadows it was bound to leave in their hearts after this game¡­


    Split pushing 4:1, Luocheng started to farm in the lane without much thought. A Top Teemo would generally appear in higher ranked games, his objective being to farm at the top lane and use his mushrooms to fill up the entire top lane and some of the jungle.


    If one person came, Teemo could throw a few mushrooms and still engage. If two people came, he could activate Move Quick, leading them on a chase to step on the mushrooms. If three people came, he would drag the fight on as long as possible to help his teammates push their lanes or take the Dragon.


    To be honest, Luocheng¡¯s items were quite good, taking first blood, stealing other people¡¯s jungle, stealing their kills¡­


    With his mushrooms, he could save a bit on vision and use the gold to buy other items. Bringing an Oracle Elixir and decorating his minefield, Teemo continued to happily farm at the top lane.


    Adorable on the outside but a demon on the inside, this Teemo in the guise of an innocent rabbit always bent down to plant his mushrooms, treating your jungle area as his own home, bending down in front of you as if he was picking up your soap and throwing it at you. Who could bear this, who could tolerate this!


    He must die, he must die!


    Seizing the chance just as Luocheng was bringing down the inner turret, Team Galaxy surrounded him from the back.


    ¡°I¡¯m going, three of us¡­¡±


    ¡°Just for a Support Teemo, Team Galaxy is crazy.¡±


    ¡°If it were you, you¡¯d go insane too. I didn¡¯t understand it last time, why the hatred toward Teemo was so great, what they meant with they are willing to lose the teamfight, but Teemo must die¡­¡± Huang Yu sighed and said.


    When you performed miracles with your fighting skills, escaping from the enemy line and thinking that you had some godly light shining down on you, suddenly a ¡®boom¡¯ and your screen would become gray¡­At this time, you would have a painful realization when you looked at Teemo.


    When you were struggling with the jungle creeps and it leaves you with just a little bit of health, a ¡®boom¡¯ and your buff goes flying somewhere else, you would have a painful realization when you looked at Teemo.


    When you see Teemo all alone, planting mushrooms in front of you as he shakes his butt at you, and you launch yourself at him in haste but he runs into a bush to hide, and you go inside the bush because you can¡¯t let that disgusting shit go¡­A painful realization that once you go in, there would be another three or four champions lying in wait for you¡­


    When you¡¯re in a teamfight and after so much trouble, you managed to kill four of them but you turn around and realize that Teemo has already taken down your Nexus, that was a feeling of utter defeat and realization.


    With so many things mentioned, do you still not realize why this champion¡ªTeemo needs to die??


    And with this player who could make use of Teemo so brilliantly¡­no, who could bring out his inner demon in Teemo perfectly, are you saying it wasn¡¯t worthwhile to send three members of Team Galaxy to surround him?


    The fact that Team Galaxy hadn¡¯t smashed their keyboards where they sat, but instead, rushed toward beating up the Teemo in game, they were still considered to have brains!


    ***


    With wards and mushrooms everywhere, Luocheng could clearly see that he was surrounded by three opponents.


    When Luocheng escaped, he never took normal roads to run, and this time, it was no mistake that he was heading straight for their base!


    There was someone inside the base, Blinding Dart, and then run!


    Juke, avoiding Zyra¡¯s Grasping Roots.


    Walk in a circular motion, avoid their skill shots.


    Run in the opposite direction, break out of their circle around you¡­


    Being caught up to, Flash right into their fountain!


    At one time, their base was a show of Teemo making a commotion running around, and three to four members of Team Galaxy were chasing after him. They spent more than twenty seconds before they finally managed to force Teemo into a dead-end.


    Team Scarlet was starting to doubt that this was an official professional match after watching this unfold¡­


    Which match have you watched, that a Teemo would run right into the opponent¡¯s base, bringing three to four champions on a wild goose chase for half a day?


    ***


    ¡°F*ck, we¡¯ve lost the Baron!¡± Lu Lian shouted.


    Teemo had really pissed off Team Galaxy now, making them chase him for more than twenty seconds, ultimately causing them to lose out on the Baron!


    They felt like little kids being led around by their noses, letting someone use a brainless champion like Teemo to lower their IQ!

 Chapter 246 - Teemo’s Ulti, Global Taunt

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Taking the Baron and immediately taking the Dragon after, pushing the minion wave, their gold income gap had increased to about three to four thousand.


    Waiting for Luocheng¡¯s Teemo to revive, they started to push the middle lane together.


    At the inner part of the base under the turret, Luocheng¡¯s Teemo stood nearby, a cute rabbit¡­Team Galaxy already had the most bloodthirsty killing intent aimed at him.


    They were professional players who had taken champion in an internet cafe league, their laning was strong, coordination was smooth, and they had a good grasp of understanding in tactics. All of this was thrown into disarray by a damn Teemo so easily, digressing them into playing like little kids.


    It felt like they couldn¡¯t pull out any more strength, if you bothered about the Teemo, then you would lose the turrets and Dragon, if you didn¡¯t bother about him, then your base would be taken down. It really, really, ignited your intent to kill him as fast as possible.


    And now, this Teemo who was driving them crazy was daring enough to stand in front of them, using all types of insulting movements.


    Come at me, come at me~


    I¡¯m begging for death, I¡¯m right here~


    Come kill me, you can¡¯t kill me~


    Even if Teemo didn¡¯t say a word, those silent mocking movements and speeches were leaking out from Teemo¡¯s eyes, rushing into their minds!


    All types of profanities and vulgarities were spewed in the hearts of the members of Team Galaxy, making them anxious and impatient to rush in and kill him!


    ¡°F*cking hell, just waste him!¡± Hedgehog growled out, unable to contain the maddening anger inside.


    That thing was standing in front of them, seeking to be rekt, just one rooting skill followed by another onslaught of skills and he¡¯d be dead!


    Root him!


    Zyra¡¯s eyes lit up, he was going to die!


    The root duration was only 0.75 seconds, a very short period. Zyra was insistent on killing Teemo, so the second the roots caught a hold of him, she immediately activated her ulti!


    She knew that Teemo didn¡¯t have Flash, with such a combo of skills, he would surely die. His teammates also didn¡¯t dare to come forward!


    Everyone had the same thing on their minds, get rid of the Teemo who dared to stand so boldly in front!


    All their firepower was thrown at Teemo, various lights and layers covered his small body!


    ¡°Holy shit, even Zyra¡¯s ulti was used¡­¡± Huang Yu was stunned.


    Can you imagine how much hatred was directed at Teemo for such a decisive teamfight to start all because of him!


    ¡°Ugh, I feel that Luocheng¡¯s Teemo definitely wasn¡¯t planting mushrooms, but doing a global taunt!¡± Xiao Dao was similarly stunned, his mouth wide open. Watching as Team Galaxy lost their minds, he quietly said.


    Global taunt, everyone was affected!


    Team Galaxy threw all their skills onto Teemo¡¯s tiny person!


    And Teemo couldn¡¯t do anything during this time, except activate his Zhonya¡¯s!


    Ting!


    The white fluffy Teemo suddenly became gold, turning into an unmoving shining statue.


    All the skills thrown on him were useless, and all the AOE that was cast didn¡¯t do any damage to him¡­


    Seeing Teemo activate Zhonya¡¯s in the midst of all their skills, Team Galaxy was dumbfounded.


    This¡­this¡­


    So many skill shots, and even Zyra¡¯s ulti!


    Why couldn¡¯t this Teemo just die!


    Again and again, Team Galaxy¡¯s intelligence was insulted.


    A Support building Zhonya¡¯s, what kind of game were you playing!


    ***


    Once all of their skills were thrown out including Zyra¡¯s ulti, Team Skycrown rushed in to engage immediately!


    Team Galaxy usually had the upper hand with their CC skills but it was all on cool down now, and the four champions who held the Baron buff rushed in immediately to beat them down to the ground with no mercy.


    Two for four, and only the ADC of Team Galaxy managed to return to their fountain.


    Team Skycrown smoothly demolished the inner base and they didn¡¯t have any intentions to retreat, instead, waiting for the minion wave to reach them. Teemo was still alive despite all of that, and he started planting his minefield¡­


    They had already taken down the middle lane inhibitor turret, and Luocheng, this little bitch, still decided to plant some mushrooms there.


    When Team Galaxy resurrected, they immediately dashed out from the fountain. Luocheng activated Move Quick and ran behind some of the Super Minions.


    The Jungler who had started the chase halted, helpless in his pursuit and could only turn tail back to the fountain, buying an Oracle¡¯s Elixir to clear the mushrooms.


    Just as Hedgehog neared a mushroom, his face twisted into an expression that was about to explode!


    Teemo¡¯s mushrooms were invisible, and when Luocheng was planting them, they thought he was just being the usual disgusting Teemo. They remembered that Teemo had come in a few times and was always planting mushrooms around this area¡­


    However, it wasn¡¯t until now that Hedgehog had Oracle¡¯s Elixir that he noticed there were mushrooms on the left, right, top and bottom, writing out two very familiar words!


    S!


    B!


    Can you imagine the feeling? After wrecking their base, and now suddenly finding out that Teemo¡¯s mushrooms spelt out these two letters!


    SB! SB! SB! 1


    Your blood was already boiling and now that you¡¯ve seen these words, the five members of Team Galaxy were frothing at their mouths and wanted to puke blood in anger!


    Ugh, even if they lost this match, they needed to kill and slaughter that Teemo!


    A professional player needed to be professional, they needed to learn to ignore these kind of things, be calm and collected, they needed to remember that winning was their objective, they needed to..to f*ck this shit, they needed to tear that Teemo to pieces!


    ***


    Team Scarlet didn¡¯t really want to watch the match anymore.


    Was one Teemo so terrifying that it could turn an entire official professional match into a school playground for little kids who were out for blood?


    Team Scarlet began to doubt their own professionalism.


    But then again, Luocheng¡¯s Teemo was the epitome of bitchy and petty!


    He was such a high level bitch, he could kill, he could take the blame, and he could be disgusting.


    He was bold, but he was bold with standards, always running deep into their base, and if you wanted to catch him, you needed at least two people.


    He would always stand somewhere and stealth, hiding for half a year, and still, he could get the kills and many turrets.


    His methods were obviously childish, but he had managed to completely destroy a team of professional players!


    Even more terrifying was that he had previously placed the mushrooms in their base, even forming the two letters with them at the last minute! Team Scarlet honestly thought that Luocheng had placed the mushrooms simply according to his whims, to think that he had been sketching that out for so long, really, he took being bitchy and petty to a whole new level.


    Alas, meeting such an opponent, you had to either throw in the towel in the beginning or ignore it. If you didn¡¯t, the entire game would be just like watching your wife get f*cked and then getting f*cked yourself after that!


    There was nothing else to say, nothing else to love, because you were just completely incompetent.


    ***


    The game¡­


    Finally, finally ended.


    Team Galaxy hadn¡¯t managed to kill Teemo until the end.


    Team Galaxy never imagined that from the moment they had sat down to play against Team Skycrown, they would enter a hellish nightmare, and their minds were filled with Teemo¡¯s taunting face!


    Team Skycrown removed all their headphones.


    Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan and Da Luo already knew that once Luocheng entered his b*tch mode, he was outrageous. What they hadn¡¯t expected was that he wouldn¡¯t differentiate between friend and foe, and being his teammates, they had also suffered together.


    However, when they stood up and saw the previous arrogance that Team Galaxy had had disappearing, they couldn¡¯t help but feel satisfaction bursting inside them!


    They could completely imagine their feelings throughout this match, how much suffering, torture, and how insane they were going until their faces became so twisted it couldn¡¯t be reverted to normal.


    ¡°Uh¡­um, Team Skycrown¡¯s win, you advance into the straight wins group.¡± The referee said, taking him a while to return to reality, hesitatingly stating the result of the match.


    Team Galaxy had not been able to swallow the fact yet, the rage in their eyes clearly indicating that their anger was about to reach the level where they wanted to PK the real life player.


    To be honest, Team Skycrown had never been afraid of that. With Zhou Yan¡¯s large build, he just needed to stand on one side and it looked like he was a Renekton with an activated ulti coupled with a Sunfire Cape, Warmog¡¯s Armor, and Randuin¡¯s Omen!


    When Team Galaxy looked at Zhou Yan, their anger evaporated. There was still the lingering expression that screamed, ¡®Just you wait for death, I¡¯m going to call more people!¡¯.


    ¡°Team Galaxy enters the two wins group, their next opponent is Team Beijing!¡± The referee continued as he stood in between the two teams.


    Team Galaxy¡¯s eyes widened, staring at the referee.


    ¡°What, Team Beijing?¡± The members of Team Galaxy were all dumbfounded.


    ¡°Yes, is there a problem?¡±


    As though everything was suddenly raining down on them, Team Galaxy finally woke up, although still dumbfounded.


    If they had just lost this match and chalked it up to it being just a nightmare, then you had to understand, they had woken up from the nightmare just to be plunged into another nightmare!


    Team Beijing, a top second tier professional team, and one of the strong contenders for the LPL.


    Their team was strong, but no matter how strong they were, at most, they were on par with a third-tier team. That was a big gap compared to Team Beijing, and fighting against them was a confirmed lost match!


    They lost one time to Team Skycrown here, and if they faced Team Beijing, it was basically a lost game. Consecutively losing two matches, they wouldn¡¯t even be grouped into the subgroup!


    You could basically say that they were already eliminated!


    Eliminated!


    They hadn¡¯t even entered into the final week of the eliminations and they were already eliminated!


    They were the champions of the National Internet Cafe League, if they couldn¡¯t even qualify into the subgroups, it was an absolute disaster.


    They shouldn¡¯t have lost this match to Team Skycrown, they were unlucky to have met a strong team, and now, they would lose two matches consecutively and drop straight into the bottom!


    Seeing Team Galaxy¡¯s dumbfounded faces, Team Skycrown maintained a smile as they walked past them.


    Arrogant, we¡¯ll let you guys be arrogant.


    Team Skycrown was in a good mood now, extraordinarily happy as they felt as if the flowers were in full bloom to celebrate this, the girls were beautiful, and they felt like they could eat a whole lot more tonight!


    Getting into the three wins group, as long as they could win the next two games, they would be able to get out of the group and go directly into preseasons, getting the qualifiers to LPL!


    Being able to enter the battlefield of LPL, everything about you would be exposed. Every match you ever played would be broadcasted, and if you performed well, you would attract sponsors to you like bees to honey!


    Team Galaxy originally had a sponsor since they were the champions of the National Internet Cafe League. But if they couldn¡¯t even have the chance to shine here, then you could basically kiss your sponsorships goodbye!


    They had said that Team Skycrown was a trash team before this, and they were now halfway into the big battle. It wouldn¡¯t be long before everyone in the LOL circle know about Team Skycrown, and slowly, their reputation would build up even higher, overshadowing their own Team Galaxy!


    This was the most unacceptable thing to happen!

 Chapter 247 - Team Skycrown’s Troubles

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Three days later, as expected, Team Galaxy was beaten by Team Beijing and eliminated.


    Team Skycrown had won four consecutive matches, they didn¡¯t need to play the fifth and were directly qualified for the preseason!


    Team Skycrown¡¯s road was considered smooth, their absolute strength made them not fear the third tier professional teams.


    However, Luocheng was aware that the true problem would lie in the preseason matches. The teams there would have been formed much longer than Team Skycrown, their tactics, coordination, and experience would also be more than Team Skycrown¡¯s. To triumph over those teams would not an easy feat.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t give Team Skycrown too much leisure time either, once they had won the match, he took them back to training immediately.


    In this remaining month, he needed to maintain their consistent combat practice, they didn¡¯t have any room to slack or neglect their training.


    ***


    The e-sports club was very cooperative with Team Skycrown, thinking back on the conditions of their accommodation, they would always allow them to use the club room when it was time for their combat practice. This was to ensure that no accidents would happen during their actual practice.Read the next chapter on our novelhall.com


    ¡°I need to take my exams soon so I won¡¯t have time to look after you. Make sure you guys practice properly, don¡¯t slack.¡± Luocheng urged.


    Team Skycrown had once been a professional team, if they couldn¡¯t even endure this repetitive training, they weren¡¯t worthy of being professional players.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t around for the next few matches, he needed to sit for his exams and couldn¡¯t be with Team Skycrown. Even during training, they were on their own.


    Fortunately, during the absence of Luocheng during this time, Team Skycrown¡¯s performance was very good in all of the matches and they were getting closer and closer to the gates of LPL.


    ***


    ¡°A wild card has appeared in the Media War, and I¡¯m afraid that Team Beijing who is very promising might also be eliminated at the end.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about Team Skycrown?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve heard that Team Skycrown entered the preseason with a 100% win rate!¡± A fat student eating meat buns said.


    ¡°Their first match in the preseason will be against Team Beijing, but sadly, it won¡¯t be broadcasted, otherwise, I¡¯d want to watch it.¡± The guy holding a book said.


    ¡°What competition are you talking about? What is Team Skycrown and Team Beijing?¡± The girl at their side asked.


    ¡°Preseason.¡±


    ¡°What is preseason?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Both the guys had to explain the general system of the game¡ªLeague of Legends to this girl. There were a lot of people who played the game, but there were not many who truly understood the professional system. There was too little attention on it.


    Of course, if you were to compare it to last time when no one would even ask about it, now, you could often hear talks like this on the road as you walked, and that would indicate that the game was fairly popular already.


    Luocheng was being pulled along by Yu Yu, an expression of torture on his face as they headed toward the library.


    Now, everyone in the university knew that Yu Yu had a boyfriend, and it was a guy who was outstanding in League of Legends.


    Luocheng was at a loss for words, he had a girlfriend alright, but it definitely wasn¡¯t a thing like Yu Yu.


    When Yu Yu finished her training, she would always come to the university, and when there was nobody to play with her, she would come and find Luocheng.


    Everytime Yu Yu made an appearance, Luocheng didn¡¯t dare to enter the e-sports club room where Team Skycrown would most likely be. He was worried that this girl would expose his secret to his parents, saying that he wasn¡¯t concentrating on his studies but playing e-sports.


    Also, Yu Yu didn¡¯t like Luocheng playing e-sports from the bottom of her heart. The last time he had gone to eat with the club members without her, she had wanted to complain to their father. Luocheng had basically thrown away his pride to convince her not to.


    This sister was too hard to please, she didn¡¯t even allow him to talk to Qianqian over the phone. What the hell, who the heck was his girlfriend now?


    Once they had eaten their meal, Luocheng made excuses to take his leave.


    He hadn¡¯t been to Team Skycrown¡¯s place for a few days and tomorrow was their important game, which was the first game of the preseason. It was important, and the team they were facing was a veteran team¡ªTeam Beijing.


    Team Beijing had enjoyed their reputation for a long time, and Team Skycrown had only started rising in fame recently. Due to his examinations this round, he hadn¡¯t had any time to collect information about Team Beijing.


    Going against a strong team but not watching any videos of their matches, this was not a wise move.


    It was unfortunate, but Luocheng had not seen a single match by Team Beijing, and he didn¡¯t have any counter for Team Skycrown to use.


    ***


    Luocheng had the key to the door in Team Skycrown¡¯s accommodation, and after passing through the darkened corridors, walking around a smelly garbage dump, he took out the key and was about to open the door.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, do you have any ideas?¡± Lin Dong¡¯s voice came through the thin closed door, his voice slightly muffled.


    The computers were placed in the living room near the beds, and coming to talk at the door would basically mean that they didn¡¯t want to be overheard. Luocheng was about to open the door, but upon hearing Lin Dong¡¯s voice, he stopped.


    ¡°When you first formed the team, didn¡¯t you have the intention to be completely independent?¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°Yeah, when we were in Sky Club, it was basically working for them, all we could ever get was the prize money. We helped them so much, and what did they do for us? They didn¡¯t give us anything, instead, they took everything we had. That¡¯s why I¡¯m afraid of exploitation and management of a club.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that confirm it? Let¡¯s not bother about the deal with Thunder Club.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    Luocheng was puzzled, Thunder Club looked to be a recently formed club. They were a games, entertainment, and media company. It was said that they were quite influential and strong, and it was attracting a lot of strong professional players.


    Did that mean that Thunder Club had set their sights on Team Skycrown?


    It wasn¡¯t all that weird since Team Skycrown was a beautiful wild card in this year¡¯s preseason. Although other players may not know of their existence just yet, the industry should already be paying attention to them.


    Let¡¯s not talk about how the members of Team Skycrown used to be well known, just Wu Sen, who was a first tier professional player was already enough to indicate the team¡¯s strength, and having clubs that were willing to buy them out was not a wonder at all.


    Only, Lin Dong would most probably not agree.


    What Sky Club did to them would forever leave a bitter scar that could never be healed, and they would probably never have a good impression of clubs anymore.


    ¡°I fear that if we don¡¯t manage to enter LPL, the preseason competition doesn¡¯t have any rewards.¡± Lin Dong said quietly.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s face fell as he also said quietly, ¡°Actually, we have also thought of that already. Sigh, eating plain rice or noodles every day isn¡¯t going to solve this¡­¡±


    Luocheng was about to open the door but halted at Zhou Yan¡¯s words.


    He retreated a few steps, looking back at the dumpster that he had passed just now. It was full of cheap bread and spices packages.


    And not just any bread, but the cheapest one you could get, one yuan for one!


    He recalled that when everyone had started staying together and playing Dota, they were also very poor. They had stayed in a shabby house, and every day, they ate instant noodles to survive just to be able to get the rewards from the Dota competitions.


    After Sky Club had bought them in, their accommodation and meal problems were solved, but that was only because they performed well in the competitions¡­


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t expected that after so many years, they would have to return to the starting point again, living in a shabby house and eating instant noodles to survive.


    It had been three years, more than three years of giving up their youth in exchange for painfully fighting for the glory of e-sports, stepping up to the peak of e-sports. Yet, in the end, they had still fallen and started from zero with such a pitiful way of living¡­


    The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt.


    There weren¡¯t much rewards in the preseason, he hoped that they could get a sponsor who was not overbearing and that was able to see the potential of Team Skycrown, investing in them to ease their financial burden¡­


    But if there wasn¡¯t one¡­


    What if they couldn¡¯t get into LPL?


    Team Skycrown who was unwilling to sign any contracts would not have any source of income, and their living circumstances would suffer even more after this.


    They had to make it into the LPL.


    Luocheng silently prayed for Team Skycrown. They weren¡¯t the same as him, they didn¡¯t have anywhere else to go. For the sake of e-sports, they had given everything. LOL had reignited their passion and hopes, they couldn¡¯t afford to stray from the road of being a professional!


    ***


    Dong dong dong!


    Footsteps sounded from below and Luocheng turned around to see a small shadow. Luocheng looked at Xiao Bei who looked as though he had something on his mind, not even noticing Luocheng standing there.


    ¡°Oh, Luocheng, you¡¯re here!¡± Xiao Bei said when he finally noticed, his face turning into a smile hurriedly.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s smile was straightforward, innocent like a child. This made Luocheng think back to the time when he first joined e-sports, he was also as passionate as Xiao Bei¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Oh, nothing. I just went to my uncle¡¯s place to take some stuff.¡± Xiao Bei said.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong with your face?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Nothing, nothing. He lied to me, so I threw some things at him¡­¡± Xiao Bei said, stuttering slightly.


    ¡°You have no more money?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Uh, I still have some. Luocheng, don¡¯t worry about it. Once we get into LPL, there¡¯ll be sponsors, then we¡¯ll have the money.¡± Xiao Bei said, optimistic.


    ¡°What if you can¡¯t get in?¡± Luocheng asked quietly.


    Xiao Bei looked startled at that, the thought had never even crossed his mind.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t get in, then we¡¯ll have to pick up more training and earn some money to survive. Wait till next year¡¯s competition, we¡¯ll just try again. There¡¯s bound to be a way.¡± Xiao Bei said.


    Xiao Bei was so optimistic that Luocheng didn¡¯t know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, and for a moment, he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°Oh right, Luocheng¡­¡± Xiao Bei¡¯s face changed slightly, there seemed to be something he wanted to say to Luocheng.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh¡­it¡¯s nothing.¡± Xiao Bei wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t know how to say it, so he changed the topic instead, ¡°I just wanted to ask you, do you really not want to play professionally? Everyone knows that you¡¯re the strongest, if you were there¡­everyone has been in the real professional scene before, and they¡¯re great plus full of experience. I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯m just holding them back¡­¡±


    Luocheng shook his head.


    Luocheng was well aware of Xiao Bei¡¯s talent, he was a genius, an absolute e-sports genius. When he and Asmodai had teamed up against Xiao Bei and Wu Sen, they had only managed to end it in a draw.


    You had to understand that Asmodai had already been in the scene even longer than Luocheng, and for Xiao Bei to hold his own and be on par with Asmodai¡¯s ADC, it was a testament to how strong Xiao Bei was.


    His Vayne was probably a little less rigorous than Shallow Dreams¡¯, but calling him the number one Vayne in the country was definitely not an exaggeration!


    Luocheng believed that not long after, his ADC would definitely shine in the professional scene!


    What he lacked was confidence, and because of his blind worship toward Luocheng, he always felt that his ADC was lacking.


    In fact, Luocheng was aware that in a real competition, Xiao Bei¡¯s ADC was stronger than him. He had not gone through the trainings and he was far less stable and powerful as compared to Xiao Bei.


    Really, looking at Xiao Bei, Luocheng recalled his sixteen-year-old self, endless enthusiasm, determination, and hard work.


    Xiao Bei should be luckier than him, he had stepped foot into the world of e-sports at the right time. He just needed some time to settle down, have some courage, and he would be brilliant¡­


    He would take Luocheng¡¯s regret and step up onto the peak of the mountain! Luocheng was sure that Xiao Bei could do it!

 Chapter 248 - National Best Top, Forgetful Laughter

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Clack!


    Turning the pencil in hand, it accidentally slipped and fell to the ground. A test paper was on the table, scribbles on it. It didn¡¯t look like the answer was good.


    From the way it was written, you could feel the restlessness and worry from it. Luocheng couldn¡¯t concentrate even though the questions were easy to answer.


    He glanced to the side, Feifei was seated beside him, looking fashionably beautiful in her long boots. She was concentrating on answering the questions, her pen flying across the paper as she wrote with confidence.


    Ah, a typical studious girl.


    As though aware of his gaze, Feifei paused and looked up, making eye contact with Luocheng. He smiled at her, but Feifei merely bit her lip and looking like she was making a difficult decision, she unrolled the part of the question sheet which was complete and pushed it more toward Luocheng¡¯s side.


    ¡°¡­¡± Luocheng was speechless.


    Hey beautiful, that wasn¡¯t what I meant.


    Luocheng was restless not because he couldn¡¯t answer the questions, but because today was the first match of the preseason for Team Skycrown!


    The game had started but Luocheng had no clue of the situation right now. The media also needed to wait for the results of the game before being able to watch the footage, and that made Luocheng even more worried.


    If they didn¡¯t qualify for LPL from this preseason, Team Skycrown¡¯s days would be even more difficult than it was currently. There seemed to be no more competitions that they could participate in, could it be that they had to rely on boosting?


    But it wasn¡¯t as if they were guaranteed to receive a client list if they were to go into boosting. Regardless, Feifei had misunderstood and Luocheng had had no intentions of copying her answers. However, Luocheng also felt that such a kind gesture shouldn¡¯t go to waste, or it would hurt the other person¡¯s feelings¡­


    ***


    After handing in the paper, Luocheng hurriedly turned on his phone and gave Lin Dong a call.


    ¡°Lin Dong, how was it? Was it a win or a loss?¡± Luocheng asked anxiously.


    ¡°We¡¯re on the way back.¡± Lin Dong¡¯s voice sounded heavy.


    Luocheng frowned, judging from his voice, it didn¡¯t sound good. He then gave a call to Zhou Yan, but the latter didn¡¯t pick up.


    Zhou Yan wasn¡¯t able to joke, of this Luocheng was aware. If he picked up and didn¡¯t laugh while telling him that they had won the game, then it must mean¡­


    Walking toward Team Skycrown¡¯s residence, his mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts. They had lost this round, it was a piece of information that was too sudden.


    He blamed himself, thinking why hadn¡¯t he just skipped the test. If he had been at the venue itself, they would probably have had a better attitude to turn around the match and win.


    Reaching the shabby house, Luocheng pushed the door to enter, seeing the five of them sitting around the table in the living room, heads hanging, a little frustrated¡­


    Wait a minute?


    If they were frustrated or disappointed, they would be smoking, instead, why were they eating with chopsticks?


    ¡°Here here, cheers!¡±


    ¡°Haha, did you see Sun Liang¡¯s face, priceless!¡±


    ¡°That dog from that club, I bet he was the guy from the Taobao shop that deliberately sabotaged me, not letting me have a good life. Now that we¡¯ve formed a team and managed to get into the preseason and even won, his face was so black! Damn, still want to c*ckblock us? He must really think that he¡¯s all that in the e-sports circle!¡± Da Luo exclaimed.


    The five of them held their cups up and drank, drinking white wine on a cold day really was refreshing.


    But Luocheng was super annoyed!


    What the hell, they had purposely tricked him!


    Even Zhou Yan who couldn¡¯t lie to save his life had teamed up with them to trick him!


    ¡°Haha, boss¡¯ here! Come and sit here quickly! Our man Lin Dong finally allowed us to have some meat!¡± Da Luo laughed as he gestured for him to come over.


    Luocheng walked over to sit and swore loudly as he raised his middle finger at them once he had settled down.


    It was good that they had won.


    Since he had left the classroom, Luocheng had been thinking a lot about what would happen to Team Skycrown after this, if he should find some way to earn some money to maintain their livelihood¡­


    They had won, and that was good.


    Winning this match and going on to promote themselves at the LPL next year, there would be sponsors who would be willing to invest in them, and that was where they would rake in the money.


    With the money they acquired, they would be able to leave this moldy shabby house and change their computers as well as their internet plan.


    Just one more match, it was the last haul!


    There were six placements in the preseason, the first six would directly qualify to enter into the LPL.


    Team Skycrown had already won one round in the preseason, and the next match would be the determining match as to whether Team Skycrown would enter the LPL. If they could take it, then they would directly qualify for the LPL Spring Season!


    ***


    After their celebration dinner, Team Skycrown went back into training again. During the month of the competition, Team Skycrown had trained consistently, even after finishing a match, they couldn¡¯t afford to let their guard down.


    For other teams, they were already well known in their own area and had some sponsors backing them up, hence, they could afford to lose. Team Skycrown had none of those, let alone a channel to build their network. They didn¡¯t even know where to start anyway.


    The only thing they could do now was to get the qualification to enter LPL, and as long as they could get in, they would be regarded as a blockbuster and people would naturally initiate contact with them.


    Unconsciously, this crucial final game had a lot of pressure, and even Luocheng who was not playing felt inexplicably nervous.


    ***


    The last round of the stage was set up here, right inside the science and technology exhibition hall!


    The science and technology exhibition hall was close to the urban area, adding on to the fact that it was a weekend, it was expected that countless e-sport enthusiasts from Shanghai would come and watch the match in person, maybe even those from the other nearby cities.


    Apart from being broadcasted at the venue, the entire process of the competition would be broadcasted on many other media channels such as Youku, 56.com, Tudou, Tencent, PLU, GTV, SiTV, and many other channels.


    There would be thousands of people watching the broadcast in person, and tens of thousands watching from the other media sources!


    You could say that this was the first time that Team Skycrown would be playing in full view of the public eye, and it was the best opportunity for Team Skycrown to make their big splash. In any case, it was necessary to show the strongest side of Team Skycrown, taking the chance to stand out completely!


    It was such an important match that Luocheng needed to follow them, and he deliberately found an excuse to take that day off and postponed the exam he was supposed to be taking on that very day.


    Mr Fang helped Luocheng a lot on this matter as it was impossible to apply to postpone an exam without sufficient reasons.


    Luocheng was a freshman, and he had a few extra subjects to take exams on compared to the others. The other members of the E-sports Club had already finished this semester¡¯s courses.


    The competition was held in Shanghai, and their master¡ªTeam Skycrown was participating in it. They had said that they would go in person to watch the match and to cheer for them.


    ***


    The competition would start at 3PM in the afternoon, and after eating their lunch, Luocheng led Team Skycrown into the new science and technology exhibition hall.


    Previously, the National Internet Cafe League had been held in a small exhibition hall, and it was inferior compared to the current hall. It was hard to compare with this new exhibition hall in all aspects.


    At noon, Luocheng and his friends were all backstage.


    Lin Dong was a bit more familiar with the media people, and after being backstage for a while, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei and Luocheng saw an acquaintance¡ªZhang Aijing, the analyst of Team 71!


    Aijing had appeared on LOL media a lot of times, and her analytical abilities were considered to be the top in the country. The strength of Team 71 was a far cry from the other LPL teams, and to be able to maintain their position among the top four of LPL, it was due to the efforts of this outstanding analyst.


    Lin Dong was quite familiar with Aijing, so when their eyes met, her mouth curved into a smile. Her eyes brightened and sparkled as she glanced at Luocheng in curiosity.


    In Aijing¡¯s database of information, there were several key players that still had blanks in it. In this LPL preseason final stage, one of her objectives was to collect information on these two teams, and the other was to see if she could complete her information on the Fighting Hawk.


    ¡°Hi, Wu Sen. Long time no see.¡± The guy beside Aijing greeted Wu Sen as he waved a hand at him.


    ¡°Forgetful Laughter, haha, you¡¯ve gotten fatter.¡± Wu Sen said as he walked over, patting the guy he called Forgetful Laughter on his stomach.


    Forgetful Laughter, this was a name that Luocheng had heard of, more accurately, he¡¯d heard of many times!


    Forgetful Laughter was the Top player of Team 71, he was also the number one Top player in the country, a player with outstanding individual strength!


    The two aces of Team 71, one of them was definitely their Top¡ªForgetful Laughter, and the other was their analyst¡ªZhang Aijing. Both of them were the carry¡¯s of the team, and as long as they were there, it didn¡¯t matter if the other team members changed, it wouldn¡¯t affect their placement in the top four!


    Regarding masters, Luocheng had always been particularly interested. He took a meaningful look at this player called Forgetful Laughter.


    Forgetful Laughter had a tall build, he could easily stand beside Zhou Yan and not lose out in size. His person resembled a hero, being a Top was like being a bully, the amount of players who could go against him in lane were so few that it could be counted with your fingers!


    ¡°Da Luo, against Forgetful Laughter in lane, what are the chances of you winning?¡± Luocheng asked Da Luo who was standing beside him quietly.


    Da Luo didn¡¯t reply, but stared intently at Forgetful Laughter. His competitive spirit was exceptionally strong, meeting the national number one Top player here, you could imagine how Da Luo was feeling!


    That¡¯s right, this was war!


    ¡°Da Luo?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Oh, sorry. What did you say?¡± Da Luo asked as he pulled himself back to reality.


    ¡°I asked you if you went against Forgetful Laughter in lane, what are the chances of you winning?¡± Luocheng repeated his question.


    Although Da Luo¡¯s fighting spirit was geared up for war, he was never arrogant. He shook his head and said, ¡°Not getting dominated would be possible, but depending on the Jungler and team combination, at most, it would be a ten percent chance.¡±


    ¡°Ten percent?¡± Luocheng was shocked.


    Luocheng was well aware of Da Luo¡¯s ego, and with his abilities now, he could be the talk of China. What he didn¡¯t expect was that against Forgetful Laughter, Da Luo would admit that the odds were only at ten percent.


    How low could the chances get?


    And how strong was Forgetful Laughter to the extent that he could bring down Da Luo, who had always been prideful?


    ¡°I¡¯ve met him in ranked games a few times, and if we were in the same team, I¡¯d give him Top without any reservations. If I was in the opposing team and playing Top, I could come to a standstill with him in lane. However, the longer the game gets, I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him, he¡¯s that good at seizing opportunities.¡± Da Luo explained.

 Chapter 249 - Thirty Percent Chance of Winning

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Your opponents will be Fudan University, would you like some special treatment, I¡¯ll show you some data on their information?¡± Aijing said as she smiled.


    Lin Dong¡¯s eyes brightened as he said hastily, ¡°That would be awesome, let us¡­ wait, wait. Why is our opponent Fudan University?¡±


    The other members of Team Skycrown were also astonished, they remembered that their opponent was Team Ascent.


    Team Ascent was a veteran second tier team, and they had missed out on getting into LPL a few times.


    ¡°Fudan University had originally lost, but the members of Team Ascent didn¡¯t follow the rules so the team requested a rematch. The rematch was not publicized and Fudan University won the match. Didn¡¯t you guys know this?¡± Aijing asked as she blinked.


    ¡°What the hell, I didn¡¯t receive any notice!¡± Lin Dong cursed.


    ¡°This¡­we¡¯ve been studying Team Ascent for the past two days!¡± Wu Sen groaned.


    The others were also speechless.


    They had studied and done a lot of homework on Team Ascent, who knew that they had been eliminated and it was Fudan University that had entered the final stage to qualify for LPL instead!Read the next chapter on our novelhall.com


    Fudan University team was a team to be reckoned with, being able to enter the top level of professional teams despite being a university team, it was almost unbelievable!


    ¡°How much information on Fudan University do you guys have?¡± Wu Sen asked.


    The rest of them shook their heads, they were clueless about Fudan University.


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯ve fought against them once.¡± Luocheng smiled bitterly.


    If he had known that Fudan University would be the final boss for Team Skycrown, Luocheng would have arranged more games with them!


    ¡°I have a very complete set of information here with me.¡± Aijing smiled as she looked at the heavy faces of the Team Skycrown members.


    ¡°Give it here.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Praying at the last minute still had its uses, for example, just like taking a university exam.


    ¡°In exchange, how about giving me all of your combat practice recordings?¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Lin Dong was speechless. If they gave all their combat practice videos to Aijing, this woman would study their team inside and out, individual strengths and weaknesses, main champions, combinations, tactics¡­


    Once these were in Aijing¡¯s hands, the next time they met Team 71 in a game, they wouldn¡¯t need to play and would just have to surrender at twenty minutes.


    ¡°Seems that you¡¯re stingy, it¡¯s okay, forget it. For friendship¡¯s sake, I have the personal information of the five members in Fudan University team. It¡¯s data that I¡¯ve analyzed from the countless matches of theirs, although it may not be fully accurate, it shouldn¡¯t deviate much either.¡± Aijing said.


    Lin Dong hurriedly lowered his backpack and pulled out his slightly outdated laptop, and Aijing passed the information to him.


    Opening the document, Lin Dong realized that there was also information on other teams in the contents and his eyes brightened!


    Aijing¡¯s manual was valuable in the LOL e-sports circle, and there were many who could spend a pretty sum of money to get their hands on it. However, Aijing had never disclosed any of it.


    This document could only see Fudan University¡¯s data, however if he used this thumb drive which would be inserted into her computer¡­


    Lin Dong¡¯s mind was already formulating ways to obtain the data, and it was at this time that Aijing chose to say casually, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know you¡¯re a master black hat hacker, if you do anything to my thumb drive¡­hehehe!¡±


    Lin Dong laughed somewhat awkwardly together with her, abandoning all thoughts of stealing the information immediately.


    ***


    Fudan University first team Captain, Lin Siyong:


    Individual ability index: 6.3 points


    Team-fighting capability index: 6.9 points


    Tactical and leadership index: 5 points


    Skill and dexterity index: 0.9


    Main champion: Tristana


    The carry of the team, all tactics and gameplays revolved around the ADC, generally four supporting one¡­


    ***


    Xiao Bei was looking through the information together with the rest of the team and was a little puzzled and curious at the same time.


    ¡°What do the points mean?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Damn it, this isn¡¯t a complete set of information with so little things¡­oh, it¡¯s points based on their abilities. After analyzing their performances in the matches they¡¯ve played and adding on the matches after that, the points will be more accurate as more matches are analyzed. It¡¯s a way to directly gauge the strength of a professional player, and it was developed by analysts in South Korea. Now, it¡¯s basically the way everyone uses to measure the strength of other players,¡± Lin Dong explained.


    You couldn¡¯t use the games ranks to measure the strength of professional players, a lot of them were in low ranks. However, their personal strength as well as their strength within their team were immeasurable.


    Ranks were a one-sided estimation method, but the usage of this strength index was more professional and accurate!


    ¡°In that case, would the captain of Fudan University¡ªLin Siyong be considered high or low?¡± Xiao Bei asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s considered to be quite high.¡± Wu Sen said as he laughed bitterly.


    ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°Do you know our points?¡± Wu Sen replied.


    Wu Sen was a first tier professional player, and he was currently holding the best scores in Team Skycrown. His capabilities were also way more stable than the other four members, that was why the last person Luocheng needed to worry about was Wu Sen. In this area, Wu Sen¡¯s Support was more detailed and professional than his own.


    Luocheng was also curious, wondering how the scores would be for Wu Sen in Aijing¡¯s index.


    ¡°I¡¯ll read it out loud then.¡± Wu Sen said.


    Wu Sen, Team Stardust Support, first tier player.


    Individual ability index: 6.2 points


    Team-fighting capability index: 7.1 points


    Tactical and leadership index: 6 points


    Skill and dexterity index: 1


    After reading it, Xiao Bei froze. The members of the e-sports club including Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Zhong Jinbei were also present, and after hearing that, they were all wide-eyed.


    ¡°What the hell, it can¡¯t be. Wu Sen, with such a godlike Support, your points are still so low?¡±


    ¡°Average is 6 points, that¡¯s considered to be a first tier player standard.¡± Wu Sen replied.


    ¡°What the hell, then aren¡¯t we damn low?¡±


    ¡°For you guys, probably at most, 3 points.¡± Wu Sen said.


    Everyone was stunned.


    They were already considered to be on the higher end in terms of skills in LOL, and normally in ranked games, they basically were a confirmed-win in their games. Who knew these words from Wu Sen would immediately send their brains into a blank state¡­


    3 points!


    And that was saying at most!


    It wasn¡¯t even enough to live!


    They finally knew why their Shanghai University team would never be able to triumph over Fudan University¡¯s team. Even with two members of the team, they were so out of league compared to just one captain from that team!


    ¡°What does the 1 point gap mean?¡± Xiao Bei continued to ask.


    ¡°If the individual ability index has a gap of 1 point, it¡¯s still possible to work something out. 2 points would mean you stand absolutely no chance. For team-fighting capabilities, the gap of 1 point would be on coordination in smaller and bigger teamfights that have an additional chance of winning by ten percent. 2 points would mean an additional chance of twenty percent.¡± Wu Sen explained. As he had always been running in the professional circle, naturally, he was more aware of how the system was.


    ¡°F*ck, so you¡¯re saying that if we started a teamfight with a fifty fifty chance, as long as one of their team-fighting capability index is higher by 2 points, the odds shift to a thirty-seventy chance?¡± Yang Ying asked.


    ¡°Yes, it wouldn¡¯t be too far off from that. For a professional player with high team-fighting capabilities, they really can save the world, cementing a solid position for their team to never lose.¡± Wu Sen said as he nodded his head.


    Yang Ying had never imagined that there was such a huge gap between professional players, and he had always thought that they were on par with the professionals. Listening to their explanations, he realized that they were still on a lower level.


    Come to think of it, even by putting in their whole effort when they were facing Fudan University¡¯s first team, they still couldn¡¯t defeat them. Just going against that one player¡ªLin Siyong, and it felt like he could bring down their entire team all on his own!


    ¡°Then, what are the points for your team?¡± Xiao Jia asked in a hurry.


    In Xiao Jia¡¯s eyes, the strength of Team Skycrown was already high until they were unstoppable. To say that they were the strongest in the country was not an exaggeration, since they hadn¡¯t seen anyone that was stronger than them.


    ¡°You want to hear the truth?¡± Wu Sen asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°The average for individual ability is only about 6 to 7 points, team-fighting capabilities are slightly above 5 points but not reaching 6 points. Tactical and leadership¡­rubbish.¡± Wu Sen replied.


    ¡°Hey, we can¡¯t be that bad!¡± Da Luo said, his voice dripping with dissatisfaction.


    ¡°Yeah, it can¡¯t be that low.¡± Xiao Bei also felt like the rating was hard to accept.


    ¡°Wu Sen¡¯s analysis isn¡¯t wrong, I¡¯ve also given around the same rating as him.¡± Aijing said as she smiled.


    Aijing had gotten the recordings of the matches played by Team Skycrown previously. During the time that she had to study it, she had already analyzed the strength data of each member. The average individual strength was 6.2 points, team-fighting capabilities were 5.5 points, tactical and leadership¡­it really was rubbish.


    Team Skycrown and the members from the E-sports club were speechless, in the preseason, they had been so powerful that they seemed to be unbeatable gods. There were also many who speculated that Team Skycrown could compete with the four strongest teams in LPL, who knew that after hearing Aijing¡¯s rating on their abilities, only then would they realize how incompetent they really were.


    ¡°The good news is that I haven¡¯t seen a lot of your matches. The ratings can be considered to be still in progress, and you guys have just formed the team after all. There are a lot of improvements to be done on the index.¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know that based on your analysis, what are the odds between our team and Fudan University?¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Your overall team strength is already lower than theirs, but to be honest, your individual abilities are stronger than them. However, team-fighting capabilities and tactical-wise, you¡¯re still lower. Initially, I thought it would be a fifty-fifty chance. But taking into account that Fudan University has a strong backing from a foreign team who has a deep understanding of tactics and gameplay, I suspect they¡¯ll use some gameplays which are not expected by anyone in this decisive match. If you can¡¯t manage to overcome this, then there¡¯s only about a thirty percent chance to win. Of course, these are all based on the index points that I have. Sometimes the odds are only ten percent based on the index points, but they still won the game in the end, it all depends on what happens in the match.¡± Aijing said.


    Thirty percent chance of winning¡­


    Wasn¡¯t that too low?


    ¡°To be honest, Fudan University¡¯s first team is terribly strong.¡± Luocheng said.


    Luocheng had played against them before, and he was well aware that even with giving everything he had, he still couldn¡¯t change the fact that Shanghai University had lost.


    Would Team Skycrown be able to beat this veteran team who had been formed for a long time, with a high amount of fame, and even with the backing of a mysterious foreign team¡­it was hard to say.


    ¡°Try to gain a lane advantage on them.¡± Luocheng said.


    The members of Team Skycrown nodded their heads. Knowing that their opponent was strong enabled them to go all out seriously.


    Aijing was only analyzing the data on hand which was quite accurate, but it may not have explained everything. The four of them in Team Skycrown had an abundance of experience in big competitions, and they had the determination when facing important matches to bring out extraordinary plays!

 Chapter 250 - Break Away From The Past Wings!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Hey, Aijing, you¡¯re here.¡± A soft, melodious voice rang out.


    Luocheng had just wanted to ask for more information from Aijing when a beauty who was wearing a white t-shirt came walking in their direction.


    Plump cheeks, a full bust, and that sweet melodious voice. Wasn¡¯t this beauty always seen on the screen¡ªQi Qiao?


    The Madonna of LOL, the embodiment of a goddess in the eyes of all the otaku boys¡­


    Alright, Luocheng could admit that his thoughts had wandered. She was a normal professional commentator, okay, the comments about her were easy for peoples thoughts to wander off in the wrong direction.


    ¡°Qi Qiao, are you hosting this match?¡± Aijing looked to be familiar with Qi Qiao, not even a few words and they were already laughing up a storm.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I didn¡¯t expect you to be here. Come over to my place to eat later.¡± Qi Qiao said.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll get to eat your vinegar fish dish again.¡± Aijing said.


    The two of them were happily chatting, and Luocheng stood at the side listening. In fact, he had wanted to ask a question.


    Lin Dong had managed to find out from the IP address that Snowfall, who played with him a lot, was actually from GTV. After an investigation, it was determined that Snowfall was most likely the highly sought-after commentator in the LOL field¡­


    That was why, when Qi Qiao appeared, he took his time to seriously appraise her. He couldn¡¯t believe that the girl he had been playing with online turned out to be such a demure girl.


    Only, why did her voice not sound familiar at all?


    Luocheng clearly recalled that Snowfall¡¯s voice had sounded mature, sexy, and gentle. When she was serious, it was dignified and cold¡­


    Qi Qiao¡¯s voice was cute, melodic, and there were no hints of it being like a queen.


    Then, it wasn¡¯t her?


    Luocheng had a lot of suspicions in his heart.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t thick faced enough to ask even though Lin Dong¡¯s information had led them to Qi Qiao. However, Luocheng noted that Snowfall and Qi Qiao were very different, it was most contradictory.


    ***


    ¡°These are the members of Team Skycrown who have been performing amazingly in the preseason?¡± Qi Qiao smiled and asked, eyeing the members of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they¡¯re a group of extraordinary people.¡± Aijing answered with a smile of her own.


    ¡°This is amazing, once you win this match, you would be a star of LPL. Good luck.¡± Qi Qiao said as she raised her fist cutely.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s face flushed immediately, while Da Luo and Lin Dong made no secret of their love for Qi Qiao!


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going up onstage to warm up first, I¡¯ll be looking forward to your performance later.¡± Qi Qiao greeted everyone and then left.


    Xiao Bei secretly peeked at the stage area and found that there was already a reasonable crowd there, many faces were visible.


    Following the appearance of Qi Qiao, there were cries of excitement from the audience area, it felt as if a group of wolves were about to be released.


    This lady was really popular!


    ¡°Everyone, are you prepared?¡± The one in charge of the competition¡ªXi Xi asked.


    Xi Xi was the person in charge of the event, after Team Skycrown had entered the finals, he was also the one in charge of arranging the matches.


    This time, there was a handsome boy standing beside Xi Xi. He looked to be a fresh university graduate, and he was smiling warmly, saying to the members of Team Skycrown, ¡°Team Skycrown really gave us a big surprise, it¡¯s possible that I would need to change the text of the LPL this time to write your name in.¡±


    The members of Team Skycrown smiled politely, and even after the handsome youth left, they were still confused.


    At this time, Wu Sen said quietly to the team, ¡°His name is Ai Ke, he¡¯s the general manager for all matches related to League of Legends. From small competitions to the bigger internet cafe leagues, all the way to the world¡¯s competition, he¡¯s the one who¡¯s managing all of it!¡±


    The other members of Team Skycrown and the E-sports Club could only look on with wide eyes.


    Yang Ying couldn¡¯t stop himself from saying, ¡°F*ck, that¡¯s boss level, I thought he was an intern, how could he possibly look so young as if he was a university student like us!¡±


    ¡°Holy sh*t, so the one in charge of the event is someone who¡¯s so handsome and serious.¡± Meiqi said, her eyes sparkling.


    No matter how, Team Skycrown was considered to have entered into the public eye. They would most likely have more contact with these organizers of competitions in the future. Luocheng really thought that those in charge of these things would be some serious, professional-looking uncle. Who knew that it would turn out to be such a young man, it really was a blow to his ego.


    ¡°If you guys manage to enter the LPL, you¡¯ll see our boss¡ªAi Ke more often.¡± Xi Xi said.


    Team Skycrown hadn¡¯t even entered into LPL, it would certainly be difficult to be in contact with the higher members of LOL. Alright, a boss that needed to be worshipped had easily run away just now, if they had known, they would have tried to talk a bit more. They had missed a golden opportunity since it had felt like that very same boss was just a peer person.


    ¡°Fudan University team should also be in place already, they¡¯ve participated in a lot of competitions and should be familiar with the venue and atmosphere. You should spend some time getting to know people from Tencent, it will benefit you in the future. The source of income and bonuses to you players come from them, and are depending on the organizers of these LOL projects.¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Lin Dong said as he nodded his head.


    Team Skycrown had been formed not too long ago, and what they had was exceptional strength. However, for a team to really be in a stable position and continue to grow, they still had a lot more to manage.


    Other clubs had fixed training bases, professional managers, fixed sponsorships, and consistent media exposure. They had public platforms such as their YY, QT, Weibo, Qzone, WeChat, and other video platforms to sustain their popularity and income.


    Team Skycrown didn¡¯t have any of these.


    Working so hard, even if they won, they would only receive the reward. The rewards were a fixed amount, it wouldn¡¯t be enough for a team of five to six people to share among themselves.


    What Lin Dong meant was for them to rely on their absolute strength to make Team Skycrown¡¯s reputation known in LPL first, and then slowly manage things from there. However, it was hard to say whether this method was correct¡­


    Team Skycrown were still stumbling around in the dark, and the only thing they had was their passion and a strong heart for e-sports. These were all just incorporable things, nothing tangible. The team could survive on this for a little while, but they couldn¡¯t continue like this forever.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t recommend any of them taking on orders to boost accounts if they lost the competition, the reason being that if they did do that, they would be playing against players who were not of their level, and this would deteriorate their capabilities. They could earn their income this way, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to compete with the professional players anymore. Being unable to compete with them, they would be forced to continue taking orders which would further deteriorate their capabilities, it would be an endless vicious cycle.


    ***


    As the time of the match drew closer, Luocheng¡¯s mind wandered through all kinds of images¡­


    He recalled the time when Lin Dong had been drunk, standing in front of the university gates, that lonely back of his¡­


    He recalled the university, where he had wanted to learn more about computer technology. He didn¡¯t want to be left behind in this fast changing technology era, he didn¡¯t want to get lost among a sea of people. His hard work on bringing Team Skycrown back together and growing them, taking advantage of the fact that he hadn¡¯t rotted in the city, once again fighting hard!


    Recalling back to the time when Da Luo had been hurt by Shui Mo, the tear tracks on his face, the Lone Gull had returned to the team.


    He had turned from a playful child into a hard working youth, devoting all of his efforts toward a person who was not worthy of his love, and was thrown away easily after that. He had nothing, just a fragment of shattered gaming dreams. Now, he was picking up the pieces, hanging them on the dirt-covered wall of the room and reminding himself everyday. Make a comeback, embark on this dangerous road once again, and you have to succeed.


    And then there was Zhou Yan, his return seemed to be the most simple. However, it didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t able to let go of e-sports when he was running and tired of this judgemental society. In other words, all these years, the Gale Crane had been waiting quietly in a place where he didn¡¯t belong to. Even if the dirt and mud stained his feathers and body, he always kept his wings clean and lively. As long as somebody came along and pulled him gently, he would abandon that muddy place, spreading his wings and welcoming the winds to fly. Even if he were to break into pieces if he took flight, he would rather do so than stay any longer in the quagmire.


    Unknowingly, two or more months had passed and they were flying higher and higher. They had gradually left the constraints of the land, once again seeing the blue sky behind the densely packed clouds.


    As long as they could overturn this rampant storm, as long as they were not scattered by the violent winds, they could rebuild their sun and take flight in the sky of e-sports!


    Team Wings, so what if their wings had been broken. So what if their flesh had been torn, after they healed, they would still rush toward the blue sky that belonged to them, letting everyone see their most beautiful figure!


    ***


    They could definitely do it!


    They would definitely take victory in this match!


    ***


    Boom!


    Suddenly, a deafening boom vibrated throughout the area. The sound resembled a thundering war drum, resounding right into your heart and soul. As long as there was some hidden e-sports dream inside you, it would instantly be ignited by the exciting music!


    This was the signal that was blown before any battle in e-sports, it was so familiar, what a nostalgic melody!


    All the past small competitions couldn¡¯t compare to this passionate, pure, and ingenious opening, even more so that it would instantly pull everyone present into this gorgeous scene of e-sports!


    The flashing of colorful neon lights, dazzling currents running amok, cheerings and hands raised together with shouts of excitement!


    A spacious stage full of the games¡¯ artworks and banners, ten computers which looked like machines decorated like weapons for war, and the players who were being welcomed onto the stage¡­


    What a familiar sight!


    His quiet heart skipped a beat unconsciously, the scene of laughter and tears mingling with each other projected onto the stage in Luocheng¡¯s mind. The dormant blood in him suddenly started boiling again.


    How long had it been that he had not experienced this e-sports atmosphere with his own body? He had always thought that his heart had sunk to the bottom of the pit, and yet it turned out that it wasn¡¯t so, and with such an exquisite sight, had managed to move him to the core of his very soul!


    It would be alright. Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Da Luo, who were stepping onto the stage felt the same as him, and he just needed to watch over them¡­


    Especially Xiao Bei, he was so similar to the younger version of himself. The same age, the same passion, and the same talent.


    Xiao Bei was luckier than himself, no fetters or concerns weighing him down.


    He just needed to be himself, and he would go even further. He would take Luocheng¡¯s hollowness, together with his regrets, and reach the peak of the world!


    Break away from the past wings, Fighting Hawk, Lone Gull, Sky Swan¡­


    In the baptism of water, once again take up the rusty crown and place it on your head. Rise from the burning fire as a phoenix and take flight, soar into the sky!

 Chapter 251 - Blood Eagle, Zhao Tinghua

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The sudden change in their opponent left Team Skycrown severely underprepared, and it was impossible to come up with any so-called countermeasures. All they could gather was that the captain of the Fudan team¡ªLin Siyong was strong, and had met the standards of a first tier player.


    At the same time, Fudan University team also had very little understanding of Team Skycrown¡¯s information. It could be said that both sides had not done their homework, and when such teams collided, it would be a competition of strength!


    ¡°Alright, let us welcome the two teams that will enter the LPL on stage!¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s sweet voice rang out through the entire hall.


    Fudan University team took the lead as they came on stage first, and you could see the snow white uniforms they were wearing as they marched on stage under the magnificent spot light, accompanied by the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd.


    Forming a straight line, the members of Fudan University team gave off a revered aura, especially their captain, Siyong.


    It was estimated that about one-third of the crowd was from Fudan University, and as a university team, being able to stand on the professional arena was something to be immensely proud of. Adding on to the fact that they had the recognition of the university, they were practically celebrities online. You had to understand that e-sports enthusiasts were mainly made up of university students of the nation.


    ¡°And now, to invite the wild card of this competition, Team Skycrown! Perhaps there are some of you who are still unfamiliar with this team, or perhaps you have not heard of this team at all a month ago. However, they have used their absolute strength to prove that they are worthy to be standing on this stage today!¡±


    The workers had already prepared everything, and the five members of Team Skycrown ascended the stage.


    They didn¡¯t have a unified uniform, and they were dressed in simple clothing. Compared to the impression that the Fudan University team gave, it was completely different.


    ¡°This match will ultimately determine which team will qualify for LPL, will it be the representatives of university students¡ªFudan University team, or will it be the team that has emerged like a wave in the preseason¡ªTeam Skycrown? Let us wait and see.¡±


    Amidst the booming music, the players took their seats.


    The workers began their final inspection of the computers, and then the players logged into their accounts to enter the match.


    Before the match, players would be given sufficient time if they required to change any hardware or handle any bugs in the computer.


    The equipment used by Team Skycrown were standard, it was always the equipment provided by the organizers and they would adjust it as needed.


    Fudan University team obviously brought their own mouse and keyboards, the controls of LOL were not as fast or sensitive as other e-sports games, but it didn¡¯t mean that there was no need to be as accurate.


    When a professional player entered a match, they would choose their own keyboard and mouse which they were most familiar with to avoid any mistakes, whether minor or major, which could be caused by unaccustomed use of hardware.


    ¡°This Team Skycrown is really interesting, no uniform nor dedicated equipment. Don¡¯t know how they managed to get through the preseason into this final stage.¡± A backup commentator backstage laughed as he spoke to the person beside him.


    ¡°Hmph, when I spoke to them about signing on contracts a while ago, they actually rejected me. How could they be a professional team at this rate? To be a professional team, you won¡¯t make it if you just rely on your abilities. You need to have enough resources to build and promote the team, Team Skycrown is too naive in thinking that they will gain fame by making it to this stage. If they can¡¯t utilize their fame properly, don¡¯t manage it, don¡¯t open public platforms like YY, WeChat and Weibo, they won¡¯t be able to maintain it. Also, a professional team won¡¯t be able to maintain a hundred percent win rate, once they lose, they will lose a chunk of their fame. Relying on the prize rewards to get by? Don¡¯t make me laugh!¡± A bearded youth that looked to be around twenty-seven years old said.


    Hearing the discussion, Luocheng took a good look at the two people. The bearded youth should be the manager of Thunder Club, he had seen the potential in Team Skycrown and had wanted to bring them in to manage. After being rejected by Lin Dong, it looked like he carried quite a bit of resentment toward Team Skycrown.


    The backup commentator standing beside him, Luocheng felt that he was familiar. Taking a closer look, wasn¡¯t this guy the Publicity Assistant Manager for Sky Club?


    Sky Club had also promoted Team Wings through various public platforms in the beginning in order to win over more fame and endorsement fees, and the intern commentator at that time seemed to be this very guy. Luocheng vaguely recalled that his name was Sun Liang.


    From his last discussion with Lin Dong, Sun Liang was now one of the most loyal dogs for Sky Club. He often worked secretly to block Team Skycrown¡¯s path toward the professional scene.


    For example, recently when Da Luo had been receiving higher-end orders, Sun Liang had used his capacity as an official to ban the IDs that Da Luo was using. This had made him lose a lot of money to customers, which was why Da Luo had a strong hatred for him.


    When Lin Dong had yet to decide to form a team and Xiao Bei was being scouted by a few professional teams, Sun Liang had also done some shady things behind the scenes. He had forced Xiao Bei, who could have stepped into the professional scene much earlier, to run to Hanbok to be a ghost gamer for professional players like Cats Eye to raise their reputation instead.


    Just as the manager of the Thunder Club had said, unless your strength could absolutely crush these people in the e-sports circle, without knowing the ulterior motives of people, you would easily be suppressed and left behind.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t have the intentions to participate in those other unofficial events, but he was worried that once Sky Club found out that they had formed a team, they would do all sorts of things to stop them!


    You should never underestimate the ability of these petty and bitchy people, they would always come to bite a chunk out of you just as you were about to climb the ladder of success!


    This time, Team Skycrown had appeared live again, and people from Sky Club would definitely have noticed them.


    If Team Skycrown could win this match, they could use their strength to build a certain amount of support and influence. However, if they lost, then without any backing, they would definitely lose their popularity and be forgotten. The Sky Club would then pull them down even deeper.


    Team Skycrown was currently still new and weak, but they were determined to be a thorn for Sky Club, to make sure they felt the abilities of these old players!


    ***


    ¡°Alright, both sides are still debugging their equipment. Please wait patiently as they finish. In the meantime, I¡¯m going to let you all know something good, we¡¯ve gotten a mysterious guest to co-host the match with me. Is everyone curious to see who it is?¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s soft voice rang out, mesmerizing everyone present.


    The curiosity of the audience peaked at once, a co-host! It seemed that the organizers would always invite someone important to perform this role each time.


    ¡°Could it be a LPL player?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible, recently a lot of LPL players were invited as guests to perform the role. They have one of the best understandings of LOL, and it would be more professional to have them analyze the match.¡± The mutterings of the crowds could be heard beneath the stage.


    Talking about the more obvious guests, one of them would be Team Revelation¡¯s Bai Feng.


    He was handsome, had a confident smile, fluent in public speaking, and had a professional knowledge in analyzing. Letting him be the guest commentator would often boost the viewers, so a lot of them were guessing that the nation¡¯s strongest ADC¡ªBai Feng would be the one invited this round.


    Luocheng stood backstage, and he could hear Qi Qiao¡¯s words clearly.


    He glanced around the workers who were moving about backstage, but he didn¡¯t see any LPL players among them. If he had to say, there was only one player who was mingling with the workers, and that was Xiao Wang.


    Xiao Wang looked like he had come to discuss matters with the people here, not like someone who was preparing to go upstage.


    Then, who was it?


    If Qi Qiao was specially introducing him, then it had to be one of the top players in LPL who was well known.


    Luocheng continued to glance around, and he suddenly noticed another person coming out from beside Sun Liang.


    The person was well built with a clean and neat appearance, and he was dressed slightly fancier than the average person. He gave off a slightly exaggerated feel.


    He walked past Sun Liang as the latter was telling him something with a smile on his face. The guy didn¡¯t bother with him, instead, heading straight through the restricted area for staff.


    It seemed that a lot of people recognized him, as they greeted him when he walked from the studio to the backstage. It didn¡¯t matter if it was professional players, coaches, analysts, managers, or even the organizers, technicians, referees¡­


    You could tell whether a team¡¯s influence was significant or not by the most basic thing backstage, which was if anyone took the initiative to greet you.


    When Team Skycrown had stepped backstage, only Aijing and Xi Xi had spoken to them, the others had minded their own business.


    And this guy was so familiar to Luocheng, his influence was amazing. It looked like every single person here would greet and say a few words to him, it felt like he was a celebrity whom everyone was trying to get ahold of¡­


    ***


    ¡®I¡¯m sure everyone is very excited to know who it is, so we¡¯ll invite him up on the stage now. Captain of Team Sky, runner up in LPL, holding the title of the world¡¯s best Jungler¡ªBlood Eagle, Zhao Tinghua!¡±


    ¡°So where is everyone¡¯s cheers and applause, or perhaps you have forgotten how Blood Eagle used his keen blood lust in the international arena to let us see the wonderful ganks over and over again!¡±


    ¡°Put your hands together for our strongest, and welcome the Blood Eagle!¡±


    Qi Qiao¡¯s excited voice echoed throughout the hall, and cheers erupted from the crowd in a fantastic fashion.


    You could clearly see the many expressions on the crowd¡¯s face, f*ck it¡¯s really Blood Eagle!


    The crowd was going wild, seemingly like waves crashing onto the beach!


    Standing backstage, from his position, he could clearly see the platform for the commentators. You could also clearly see the expression on the guy who was there.


    The moment he saw him, Luocheng¡¯s heart skipped.


    It was him!


    He had actually appeared here!


    He was shining, brilliant, and stood even taller than before!


    Although it was a familiar figure and face, the whole aura exuded by him was completely different.


    Luocheng stood at the edge of the backstage, the curtain shadows covering half of his face as he looked out. It was difficult to calm his raging heart, and he could only stare blankly at the guy with whom they didn¡¯t need words to communicate with, and was once his most trusted teammate¡­

 Chapter 252 - Unleash Your Best Champion!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Onstage, there was an atmosphere that was making the crowd boil. The Blood Eagle, Zhao Tinghua¡¯s popularity, had surpassed everyone¡¯s imagination because he was one of the top world players who was basically a legend in the world of LOL!


    He didn¡¯t need anyone to spread his strength and glory for him, he was a king in LOL!


    The members of Team Skycrown all turned, a look of surprise on their faces as they all looked at Tinghua.


    Tinghua took a seat at the commentator platform, waving and greeting the audience below the stage as well as the viewers watching from home before looking calmly at Team Skycrown.


    ¡°F*ck, why did this guy come here.¡± Da Luo cursed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Lin Dong said, his voice bitter as he forced a smile.


    Zhou Yan frowned but said nothing, his eyes still on Tinghua.


    All four of them had quit Sky Club, and only Tinghua remained. With his extraordinary talent and brilliance, he had completely become one of the most outstanding kings in LOL. You could even say that he was standing at the peak of LOL, and Team Skycrown had just started their climb at the foot of the mountain.


    Up till now, Lin Dong could still remember the hurtful words that Tinghua had said at the beginning of the formation of Team Skycrown! The resentment from those words were not directed at Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Xiao Bei or Wu Sen from Team Skycrown. They had been directed at only one person, and that was Luocheng!


    ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua, I think everyone is quite familiar with me.¡± Tinghua said as he introduced himself with a smile.


    Whenever he smiled, it gave off a feeling that made people feel like they were familiar with him. That being said, no one could assume that he was giving a superficial smile, and the ones who knew Tinghua as a person also knew that he had always been like that¡­


    Luocheng clearly remembered that during the international stage where they were crushed by the Korean Dota team, he had still maintained this smile. A little bit arrogant, but still, unrestrained.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Blood Eagle has set his eyes on the two teams who are about to enter the qualifiers for LPL?¡± Qi Qiao said, glancing at him.


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t really pay much attention to teams that are not part of the LPL.¡± Tinghua said sheepishly.


    As soon as that sentence left his mouth, you could see the dissatisfaction of the team from Fudan University.


    Didn¡¯t it mean that if the teams did not manage to enter the LPL, it was not worth his attention?


    That was too much!


    ¡°However, these two teams are special.¡± Tinghua amended, clearly feeling the dissatisfaction from the people around.


    Hearing that, Qi Qiao felt slightly relieved. She had thought that Tinghua would display his arrogance right here and had been scrambling internally on how to cover this. Fortunately for her, it had turned out well.


    ¡°So what have you noticed from these two teams that are special in your opinion?¡± Qi Qiao asked.


    ¡°Although they are just a university team, Fudan University has managed to step foot into the LPL. This has definitely surprised us professional players, and their teamwork as well as their tactical plays are excellent.¡± Tinghua said, elaborating on his previous statement. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that there is a foreign team involved, and so, the backing of this particular team has always caught my interest.¡±


    ¡°I see, so regarding the team that is standing behind Fudan University, which team do you think it is?¡± Qi Qiao followed up. ¡°Could it possibly be Team KK from Korea, or Team LON from the US?¡±


    Team KK from Korea and Team LON from the US were internationally known teams, there were no teams in their country that could stand at the same level as them.


    ¡°And also, how did this wild card team¡ªTeam Skycrown catch a renowned king of LOL¡¯s attention?¡± Qi Qiao was quick in changing the topic to keep the crowd¡¯s attention. There was no need to dig too much into a specific topic and speculations on a live broadcast such as this.


    ¡°For Team Skycrown, there is nothing specific. Only, when they first formed the team, I have already spoken to them.¡± Tinghua responded.


    ¡°So you already knew Team Skycrown before this, and it seems like they have some history with you. So, Blood Eagle, what was it that you said to Team Skycrown?¡± Qi Qiao continued, her voice laced with curiosity.


    ¡°Nothing much, just that when they formed the team, I told them ¡®No matter when and where, I would crush them into dust under my feet!''¡± Tinghua said casually toward the camera, his expression not matching the intensity of his words.


    As soon as those words left his mouth, the whole hall went into an uproar!


    No matter when and where, he wanted to crush them under his feet!


    ¡°F*ck, Tinghua has gone nuts. He even dared to say this kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say he¡¯s nuts, Team Skycrown hasn¡¯t even qualified into LPL, they¡¯re not even a first tier team, and yet here he is saying that he¡¯s willing to step on them. Isn¡¯t that good for Team Skycrown, it means he sees something in them. Think about it, if it wasn¡¯t for this competition, who the hell would know who Team Skycrown is.¡±


    ¡°Sh*t, his tone is awesome. I love a domineering person.¡± A fierce-looking girl said.


    With Tinghua¡¯s words, it easily started a wave in the LOL circle within the country. Other than the three thousand people present in the hall, there were also tens of thousands of people who were watching the broadcast from all over.


    Tinghua had deliberately declared war on Team Skycrown in the media to trample on them, and this led everyone who was watching into thinking was there some backstory between them that they needed to know about?


    ¡°Damn, this little sh*thead has not changed one bit.¡± Lin Dong cursed under his breath.


    ¡°Motherf*cker, arrogant just because he¡¯s well known in LOL!¡± Da Luo spat, extremely displeased.


    ¡°Why is he like this?¡± Zhou Yan said, sighing.


    With that said, Zhou Yan¡¯s eyes fell on Luocheng, who was standing at the corner of the backstage.


    ***


    Qi Qiao was somewhat flustered by Tinghua¡¯s words and slightly lost for words as she weakly said, ¡°Is there something going on between Team Skycrown and yourself?¡±


    ¡°Not really, I just feel like doing it. However, even if I wanted to step on them, I¡¯m not sure they can even qualify for the LPL at this rate. I guess we¡¯ll have to wait and see if they can win this match?¡± Tinghua replied, his smile still firmly in place.


    Seeing the switch from serious to jokes by Tinghua, Qi Qiao hurriedly said, ¡°Presuming that Blood Eagle has known Team Skycrown before this, they could be rivals. In fact, being at the peak and having an opponent that you wish to stand above is indeed admirable.¡±


    ***


    ¡°This Tinghua, still the same. No wonder they said it wasn¡¯t easy to invite this guy as the guest.¡± Ai Ke, who was sitting on a bench upstairs said as he laughed.


    ¡°Yes, it was a real headache.¡± The person in charge of the teams¡ªXi Xi replied.


    ¡°However, there is nothing wrong with that. There are some who like humble and low key people. There are also those who will like his wild and unscrupulous taste. Moreso that he¡¯s called the Blood Eagle¡­Then again, it seems like this Team Skycrown is not some backwater team. Do we have any information on their members?¡± Ai Ke asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s some based on their participant forms, but it¡¯s relatively simple. Should I look into it?¡± Xi Xi replied.


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s do that. E-sports has only begun rising in recent years, for it to truly achieve anything at a national level, it¡¯s necessary to rely on these teams to reach celebrity status and to be admired and worshiped. Of course, the best results would be to achieve national glory. We lost dreadfully in the S International League, if there was a team that could stand in the international arena, it would cause a sensation on a national level. Only then would the competitions we¡¯ve been doing up till now have meaning.¡± Ai Ke said.


    ¡°Alright, I understand. I will keep an eye on these promising teams.¡± Xi Xi said as he nodded his head.


    ***


    Following Tinghua¡¯s declaration, everyone who was watching the broadcast started opening web pages and search engines, determined on finding more information about Team Skycrown.


    To be able to have Tinghua personally say that he wanted to crush them beneath his feet, there was definitely a reason for it. They wanted to know what was the relationship between the LOL king, Zhao Tinghua and Team Skycrown.


    It was a pity, when they searched Team Skycrown on Baidu, there was no information. This team was a team that was recently formed, there were no forums, no Weibo, no prestige, videos, or any other information.


    Nothing at all.


    ¡°Alright, then let us take a look at the strength of these two teams! Who will fall, and who will enter the grand doors of LPL, it will all be revealed soon!¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s voice fell back to its melodic quality, pulling the crowd¡¯s attention back to her once again.


    ***


    When the two teams were ready, they entered the banning phase.


    ¡°Sigh, it looks like Team Skycrown didn¡¯t ban Tristana. It looks like they are very confident, telling them to take out your best champion!¡± Qi Qiao mused as she watched.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the captain of Fudan University¡¯s team, Lin Siyong¡¯s Tristana before, and it was quite good. Not banning her is not a wise move. Of course, Tristana has her limitations and weaknesses. If you can catch it, then you needn¡¯t be overly afraid of her.¡± Tinghua said, putting in his opinion.


    Tinghua was a player who had an understanding in LOL that was far superior than most, and while Siyong¡¯s strength was obvious to everyone, his standards were only quite good when Tinghua spoke of it.


    ***


    As expected, since you left Tristana, Fudan University immediately chose her!


    There was a discussion post in the LOL forums, if you let Siyong have Tristana, even a first tier team wouldn¡¯t be able to control him. This post had conducted a detailed analysis on the use of Siyong¡¯s Tristana, and it had more than a hundred thousand replies to it.


    Put it this way, Fudan University¡¯s win rate until now had been about seventy to eighty percent, and that was without the Yordle Gunner¡ªTristana.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was holding back either, but their opponents had consistently banned Tristana, not giving him a chance to use her at all!


    From that, it could be seen that Siyong¡¯s Tristana posed such a great threat to these professional players!


    However, in this match, Team Skycrown had actually left Siyong¡¯s strongest champion alone. In the hearts of the members of Fudan University, they were thinking, ¡®Did Team Skycrown have a way to counter Siyong¡¯s Tristana? If not, how could they possibly be willing to unleash this champion?¡¯


    ***


    At Team Skycrown¡¯s side¡­


    Confidence?


    That was not the case at all!


    They hadn¡¯t had a damn clue that Siyong¡¯s Tristana was exceptional!


    You must understand that they had only known their opponents were Fudan University when they had arrived just now, okay!

 Chapter 253 - The ADC is Their Weakness

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Pay more attention to the bottom lane. Since the core of the enemy team is the ADC, we should make sure that he doesn¡¯t get enough gold,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, can you handle it?¡± Da Luo looked at him.


    Xiao Bei forced a smile and nodded.


    Wu Sen patted Xiao Bei¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Xiao Bei is much stronger than whoever that Siyong is!¡±


    When Wu Sen had joined the team, he had had a few doubts in his mind when he knew that he would be supporting Xiao Bei. He could not understand why Lin Dong would invite a kid like this to a professional team.


    After much cooperation and training, Wu Sen had slowly realized that Xiao Bei had frightening potential as an ADC. Wu Sen could now say without a doubt in his mind that Xiao Bei might be more skillful than the ADC that he had supported in a first-rate team. This gave Wu Sen newfound confidence.


    Siyong had chosen Tristana, a late-game ADC. To pressure Tristana more efficiently, Xiao Bei chose a very strong laning champion, Caitlyn.


    There were only so many ADC champions that would be chosen in a professional competition, normally they knew how to use every champion there was.


    Two typical little girls, Tristana and Lulu, went to the bottom lane.


    Team Skycrown went with Caitlyn and Thresh, a lineup that could apply a lot of pressure.


    The champions that Wu Sen and Xiao Bei would pick were already very obvious, all in an attempt to stop Tristana from earning more gold.


    If they could thoroughly control Siyong¡¯s economy, the game against Fudan University was as good as won.


    Both teams made very careful decisions when picking their champions.


    ¡°Fudan University has Zed, the Master of Shadows in the mid lane, Hecarim, the Shadow of War in the jungle, and Rumble, the Mechanized Menace at the top lane. This lineup has solo and team fight capability. There is a small detail that must be seen, that is if the mid laner is an ADC, then the top laner must be an APC. This is to prevent the enemy from buying full armor to counter in the late game.¡±


    Qi Qiao started to analyze the reason for both team¡¯s lineups. After analyzing, she purposely asked for Tinghua¡¯s opinion.


    Tinghua didn¡¯t make too many comments on Fudan University¡¯s team lineup. On the other hand, he paid special attention to Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup.


    The champion that Da Luo picked was Zac, the Secret Weapon. This champion had gotten nerfed recently, but that did not mean that the champion would be removed from the competitive playing field.


    The jungler, Zhou Yan, picked Xin Zhao. With tanking items becoming so strong, Xin Zhao as a jungler with tanky items already received enough recognition. A really strong attack could also be achieved especially with the help of Orianna, The Lady of Clockwork.


    As expected, the champion Lin Dong picked was Orianna.


    This champion had been seen in too many competitive matches. It was to be expected as the champion had the capability to control, defend, accelerate, and good AOE. If a team fight occurred, her AP would be over the charts. If they didn¡¯t ban it, they had to choose it.


    ¡°The lineup is quite ordinary,¡± Tinghua muttered to himself.


    All in all, both teams had picked champions that were well-loved, and these champions were always seen in competitive matches.


    There really wasn¡¯t anything more to comment on.


    On the contrary, you could feel the seriousness in their picking.


    In the first match, none of them wanted to expose their trump cards, they also didn¡¯t want to show their strategies. Both teams were using the normal strategy to lane and gank to test their opponent.


    ¡­


    ¡°OHHHHHHHH¡±


    Following an enormous cheer, you could see the big screen slowly pan out, completely enticing the crowd.


    The camera panned to Team Skycrown¡¯s fountain.


    Like a well-trained army, they bought their items at once and were ready to head out.


    You could immediately tell a team¡¯s literacy and temperament by watching their start of the game. Many teams would head out lazily at the start, losing precious seconds that provided chances for an opening.


    ¡°Team Skycrown seems to be playing very carefully as they are playing defensively. Fudan University also seems to be the same, both teams are unwilling to make the first move!¡± Qi Qiao said.


    Both teams had no intention of attacking, the Supports of each team warded the enemy jungle and headed back to their respective sides.


    As the game progressed, you could see that both teams were playing it extra safe, avoiding any life-threatening mistakes.


    A very passive early game, but you could feel the tension in the air.


    This was the last ticket into the LPL already. This was Fudan University team¡¯s second time advancing to LPL, they would not let this chance slip past them easily. They would go all out even if the team they were facing was brand new.


    The situation was completely different for Team Skycrown. They were not coming back for a fight, but were betting all they had on this one match. If the Fudan University team lost, they would still have many fans and still remain very popular. But if Team Skycrown lost, they would lose everything.


    Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen had plenty of competition experience, you could tell from their furrowed eyebrows. They didn¡¯t have the usual easygoing and happy-go-lucky attitude, instead, they were focused and tense.


    Luocheng could tell from his position backstage, the four of them had completely different auras.


    In Aijing¡¯s records, judging from the data analysis of the past matches, they were weaker than the Fudan University team in terms of skill.


    What Aijing didn¡¯t understand was why Lin Dong, Da Luo and Zhou Yan, these 3 world-class players, didn¡¯t know how to hide their skill and advanced statuses?


    The hiding of true skill, added up with intentional advanced competition statuses, the difference of skill must be apparent. Even if they started to slowly find the feeling from before¡­


    Laning starts!


    In the mid and top lane, by leading in creep score, as time goes by, the numbers would become higher and higher.


    When jungling, Zhou Yan had thought that he was one step ahead of the enemy jungler, but his actions were completely unpredictable. A moment before, he was at the top lane, and yet when ganking the mid lane, this guy reverse-ambushed him!


    A conventional early game, laning stage, and growth.


    When comparing basic techniques, Team Skycrown, a team that was just founded, had already surpassed the very famous Fudan University team!


    ¡­


    The battle continued on till the 7th minute, and finally, there was a kill!


    First blood was taken by Siyong, he had killed Xiao Bei¡¯s Caitlyn, and then used his E-skill to jump over Thresh¡¯s attack.


    With accurate calculation and efficient execution, Siyong was indeed Fudan University team¡¯s captain. He broke the tie in the early game by killing the enemy¡¯s ADC!


    Siyong pressed the Tab button. His eyes lit up with confidence as he saw that he was in the lead with 5 creep kills and a kill. Caitlyn would miss out on the next wave of creeps¡¯ gold and experience too.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the enemy ADC should be their weakness. We have all positions leading in economy, we must win the bottom lane.¡± Siyong said to his Support.


    The Support nodded. He could also tell that the ADC on the other team would crumble under pressure.

 Chapter 254 - The Fallen Bottom Lane

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Wu Sen turned to Xiao Bei. Xiao Bei had made a mistake that was not supposed to happen. If he hadn¡¯t, the worst that could have happened was that he would have traded kills with Siyong¡¯s Tristana, and not have gotten killed that easily.


    Xiao Bei was visibly confused, a hint of uncertainty and nervousness also mixed in the confusion. Wu Sen glanced at Xiao Bei¡¯s hands.


    His hands appeared to be shaking mildly. This sign of nervousness was very normal before a match, but it was abnormal when they were already in the middle of a game. The situation seemed dire.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Wu Sen asked.


    Xiao Bei gave him a silent nod.


    ¡­


    After respawning back into the arena, the drop in his economy was apparent.


    Wu Sen estimated that Lulu would rotate to put down a ward, and suddenly, a Death Sentence chain was shot out!


    With inhuman precision, the chain caught a hold of Lulu, and she was pulled forcefully toward Thresh.


    ¡°A show of immense experience, Lulu¡¯s positioning was completely predicted! There is still some distance between Caitlyn and Lulu, it looks like Lulu is in trouble!¡±


    ¡°Yes, although Team Skycrown¡¯s Caitlyn is a bit slow, she still manages to attack!¡±


    ¡°Lulu is extremely restricted right now because her Flash was used already. The situation looks really bad for her right now! All Caitlyn needs to do is just attack and she will get a kill¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on? Why did she stop in the middle of the attack? A malfunction?¡±


    On the screen, Caitlyn had stopped just before attacking and just stood there. Then, she continued walking forward.


    At this instant, Tristana used her E-skill and jumped over, the cannon in her arms making a buzzing sound!


    Bang!


    A large cannonball hit Caitlyn right in the middle of her torso. Caitlyn wasn¡¯t able to attack, but instead, she got propelled as far as the eye could see.


    ¡°What a beautiful execution by Fudan University team¡¯s Siyong! With the right timing, his ulti has saved Lulu from certain death.¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed.


    ¡°This Caitlyn obviously has terrible basics, the player messed up right when it mattered the most,¡± Tinghua said quietly.


    Even an amateur could tell from a glance that Xiao Bei had made a very grave mistake. He should have been able to get the kill, but he failed just because he had stopped short.


    As a professional player, these kinds of newbie mistakes should never occur.


    Just because of one minor mistake, it rendered a chance to make a comeback useless, it really was too bad¡­


    Eh, it seemed as though that was not the case. Fudan University¡¯s Jungler had retreated!


    By the river, a burly figure holding a glaive appeared out of nowhere!


    With his four magnificent hooves, he rode through the arena elegantly with the wind rushing past him.


    Hecarim¡¯s speed in the game was one of the best there is. Many times, you would not be able to outrun this champion even if you saw him!


    Caitlyn and Thresh had gone too deep, and while they were retreating, Hecarim ran Caitlyn straight into the wall! As skills were being thrown out, Xiao Bei¡¯s hit points decreased rapidly.


    Suddenly, Tristana took off into the sky and landed right on Caitlyn!


    Tristana¡¯s E-skill¡¯s slow effect from the blast was really horrifying, a 60% slow could basically stop an enemy in their tracks.


    When Wu Sen saw that Xiao Bei had been slowed and restricted, he calmly retreated further back, and after a certain distance, he immediately sent a lantern toward Xiao Bei!


    ¡°Xiao Bei, click it!¡± seeing as Xiao Bei had very low health, he hastily shouted.


    ¡°The placement of this lantern is perfect; Caitlyn will not be in any danger,¡± Qi Qiao said.


    ¡°Oh my God!¡± Qi Qiao shouted suddenly.


    Everyone could not believe what they were seeing, their eyes fixated on the screen.


    A few seconds ago, Fudan University team¡¯s captain, Siyong, had made an unpredictable action. Just before Caitlyn could reach the lantern, his Tristana had Flashed right in front of her!


    Tristana had Flashed right onto Thresh¡¯s lantern, and by using her body to step on the lantern, she completely denied Caitlyn the chance to escape!


    ¡°I¡­I am completely and utterly speechless about Siyong¡¯s unpredicted actions!!!¡±


    ¡°Everyone should know that the lantern can be used, but in the same way, Thresh¡¯s lantern can also be stepped on. As long as you move onto the lantern, you will block it with your champion and prevent the enemy from using the lantern!!¡±


    ¡°An extremely beautiful execution for Siyong, he used Flash to change his position to immediately step on the lantern. Caitlyn has no way to escape now!¡±


    A wave of cheers immediately came from the audience, such a wonderful display of talent was not expected at all.


    He indeed deserved to be Fudan University team¡¯s captain. Earlier, he had obtained a kill, and right now, a save and also a Flash leading to a kill. This immediately showcased to everyone the absurdity of the power of Fudan University team¡¯s ADC!


    If Caitlyn was unable to use the lantern, death was imminent.


    A scream was heard. Not even a minute had passed and Xiao Bei¡¯s Caitlyn had died yet again!


    By being behind in level, creep kills, and also champion kills, after the kill was obtained by Tristana, Team Skycrown¡¯s bottom lane was already as good as destroyed!


    ¡­


    ¡°The skill gap of both teams¡¯ ADC is huge! Letting a kid handle such an important position, I really don¡¯t know what Team Skycrown is thinking.¡±


    ¡°I agree, you can already see that Fudan University team¡¯s Siyong¡¯s skill level is much higher than Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC.¡±


    ¡°The situation looks bleak for Team Skycrown. Tristana will already be very hard to deal with in the late game, if she gets all the farm in the early game, she will literally be unstoppable!¡±


    The discussion backstage was no less than the audience¡¯s either. There were employees, professional players, coaches, and analysts. Luocheng unintentionally furrowed his eyebrows once he got wind of their words.


    ¡°What is wrong with Xiao Bei¡­¡± Luocheng muttered to himself.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s controls were abnormal, he shouldn¡¯t have made that mistake.


    Also, the timing of Xiao Bei¡¯s E-skill, 90 Caliber Net, was off. If he really was the one playing, there would be no reason that he would be killed by the enemy.


    Luocheng had a heavy expression on his face. The destruction of the bottom lane could influence the whole game, especially when the enemy bottom laner was an extremely capable person. Siyong had strong skill and also team fighting capabilities. Team Skycrown¡¯s chances of reclaiming initiative at the bottom lane was almost zero.


    As expected, Fudan University was exploiting the advantage at the bottom lane to play aggressively. After destroying the tower, they could kill the dragon. At this moment, the difference between both team¡¯s economy exceeded 2000 gold.


    ¡­


    ¡°Sir Blood Eagle, what do you think of this match?¡± As the game was in its mid stages, Qi Qiao inquired.


    ¡°Team Skycrown has already lost this match.¡± Tinghua said.


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Qi Qiao asked curiously.


    ¡°Caitlyn only shines in the late game, but by looking at the items obtained by her, you could tell that even in the late stages of the game, she has very low potential to do much damage.¡±


    ¡°There is also Tristana with Infinity Edge and Phantom Dancer, her attack range increases as her level rises plus her attack speed skill was also raised. If she buys a lifesteal item, she can also tank the damage from jungle creeps. You could say that in short, Team Skycrown has lost.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the difference of items between the ADC¡¯s are so big, coupled with a 4v1 item build, it is basically impossible to kill Tristana! Not only can you not kill her easily, Team Skycrown¡¯s frontline will be demolished!¡±


    ¡°I am a little disappointed, it looks like this is all Team Skycrown has to offer. With these mediocre standards, our Team Sky can GG them in 17 minutes.¡± Tinghua said bluntly.


    ¡°Erm¡­Team Skycrown is a newly formed team, of course their skills cannot be compared to Team Sky.¡±


    ¡­


    After listening to what Tinghua had said, Yang Ying and Xiao Jia were both extremely agitated backstage.


    ¡°This guy is too arrogant, what do you mean end Team Skycrown in 17 minutes? He¡¯s talking as if they can really do it. When we enter the LPL, we¡¯ll show them what we¡¯re made of!¡± Meiqi said angrily.


    ¡°Yeah, they look down on us too much!¡± Yang Ying nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Well, he isn¡¯t lying.¡± Aijing¡¯s voice cut them off abruptly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lie?¡±


    Aijing continued, ¡°The skills of all of the members of Team Sky are at least around 7 points, which means that during laning, Team Skycrown would literally be suppressed in all lanes.¡±


    ¡°Also, the most horrifying player of Team Sky is their Jungler. A hunter with a keen sense of smell and at the same time, bloodthirsty and ruthless in attacking. If you¡¯re talking about an advantage in laning, he can turn the advantage into a win in just 10 minutes. The next 7 minutes would be to push one lane as a team, that time is definitely enough.¡±


    Aijing said all of that with such a straight face, even the media reporters were stunned.


    That couldn¡¯t be right, if Team Skycrown met Team Sky in a match and lost within 17 minutes, how big was the skill gap?


    Unless the teams within LPL were all that strong?


    ¡°Fudan University team¡¯s bottom lane lineup went against Team Sky¡¯s team in a 2v2 before. Altogether, it was 5 matches, and in all 5 matches, they were slaughtered by Team Sky¡­¡± Aijing said, and once again, everyone was shaken by her comments.


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Meiqi were all left with their jaws hanging and at a complete loss for words!


    Five rounds of 2v2 and they had been slaughtered in every round. Knowing that they were in Shanghai University, it looked as though the lineup against Fudan University was practically invincible.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s bottom lane couldn¡¯t even win against the Fudan University team, how could they possibly beat Team Sky?


    The audience didn¡¯t even want to think about the outcome.


    While they hadn¡¯t experienced it for themselves, they really didn¡¯t think that there would be that much difference between professional teams!

 Chapter 255 - The Banner that No One Cares About

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Although Lin Dong¡¯s performance in the mid lane was top-notch, if the ADC position failed to perform, it would still be a disaster for them.


    Even if they switched to another ADC, even if Team Skycrown had more time, they would still be unable to make a comeback.


    It was too bad that the enemy team had a Tristana. In the late game, going against Tristana would be extremely annoying. With her long-range attacks, the towers would crumble down one by one. Fudan University was really going all out!


    The nexus was destroyed and the match was decided.


    You could hear cheers from ninety percent of the crowd celebrating Fudan University¡¯s win.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s creation had been too late, and they had completely no supporters whatsoever. There wouldn¡¯t even be anyone to feel sorry for them when they lost.


    The five players of Team Skycrown put down their noise cancellation headphones. Looking at their loss, they could only harbor bitter feelings.


    They were lucky that this was the first of the three-wins game, they still stood a chance.


    ¡°Sir Blood Eagle, what opinions do you have on Team Skycrown¡¯s performance? I feel that all the members of Team Skycrown are quite skilled, some of their executions were surprising.¡± Qi Qiao said.


    ¡°Their ADC was too weak.¡± The Blood Eagle looked at Xiao Bei who was sitting at the side coldly.


    The players could hear the voices of the commentators and the audience as they had already put their headphones down.


    These harsh words from Tinghua really put Xiao Bei into a bad mood.


    Those words felt as if a knife was stabbed straight into Xiao Bei¡¯s heart.


    Everyone could see that they had lost because of the ADC¡­


    Xiao Bei didn¡¯t even know what had happened to himself. The champion that he was once familiar with hadn¡¯t listened to his orders, and the usual fluent and smooth executions had stiffened for some reason today.


    Or maybe¡­


    He had always been weak. Compared to these professional players, he still had a long way to go.


    Xiao Bei looked at the other members of Team Skycrown, their faces had obvious signs that showed they were unwilling to lose like this. His heart felt weak, and he looked down at his feet with regret saying, ¡°Sorry guys, I¡­I screwed up.¡±


    Normally when they were playing ranked matches, Xiao Bei would always regretfully say those words when he was off of his game.


    However, this wasn¡¯t a ranked match. If you lost, it wasn¡¯t just losing a few points!


    He knew that just the words ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯ were useless. If they lost, everyone¡¯s hard work would go to waste! If they lost, everyone¡¯s dreams would be crushed!


    Only now did he realize why Luocheng had asked him ¡°What if you can¡¯t get into the LPL?¡±


    It was him who had taken things too lightly, thinking that he already had what it took to get into the LPL.


    In actuality, he did not have what it takes. He couldn¡¯t even take down Lin Siyong from Fudan University, not to mention, compete to be the nation¡¯s strongest ADC.


    Luocheng, Bai Feng, Asmodai, and Seven Pounds 1 ¡­


    If they were to play an ADC in this match, they could definitely completely suppress Siyong, and wouldn¡¯t be slaughtered like him instead.


    Xiao Bei was at a loss for words.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Xiao Bei. We¡¯ll get them next time.¡± Wu Sen patted Xiao Bei¡¯s shoulder lightly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there are two more games, we¡¯ll definitely get them.¡±


    ¡­


    Aijing was changing the data backstage.


    With one more competition¡¯s information, she could change her data to be more precise.


    After this game, Aijing had to lower Xiao Bei¡¯s personal score.


    Many times in a match that depended on the flow, you could not tell a player¡¯s real skill. In the past matches, Team Skycrown had been too successful, coupled with Xiao Bei¡¯s mediocre performance, this was why Xiao Bei¡¯s personal score had been on the higher side.


    After this match, Aijing didn¡¯t really alter Xiao Bei¡¯s personal score that much. She only changed the ¡°skill and dexterity index¡± slightly.


    Team Skycrown Xiao Bei :


    Individual ability index: 5.7 points


    Team-fighting capability index: 5.8 points


    Tactical and leadership index: 5 points


    Skill and dexterity index: 0.9 points reduced to 0.7 points


    ¡°So that was the player that your Thunder Club wanted to hire?¡± Sun Liang asked.


    ¡°Erm¡­yeah.¡± Thunder Club¡¯s manager replied.


    ¡°He seems very mediocre, I even heard rumors that talk about how great he is, but seeing his performance today, I didn¡¯t think he would be that bad.¡± Sun Liang mused.


    ¡°I guess he didn¡¯t do his best.¡± Thunder Club¡¯s manager could only say it with an awkward expression.


    Xiao Bei had quite a name for himself in the ADC category of the nation. The coaches and managers of many teams had heard of his name and were also trying to get him to join them. Only, no one would have ever imagined that Xiao Bei would join a team which had no prestige whatsoever, even performing so badly in a competition.


    There was a chance that a large number of managers would secretly be happy after watching this match. They must be thinking, luckily, they had not signed Xiao Bei with that huge amount of money, for he would only drag down the team.


    ¡­


    ¡°We¡¯ll start the second match after a short break.¡± To warm up, Qi Qiao pushed the topic toward Tinghua, about when they were playing in the S season.


    Tinghua spoke without any hesitation, ¡°The gaming standards of other nations are much better mainly because their setups are much more sophisticated, giving the players a peace of mind whether they are practicing or when they are in a competition. Everyone should know about one of the stronger teams in Korea, Team KK. When we were playing against them, they gave off a weird vibe¡­ how do you put it into words, it might be like this match. Fudan University against Team Skycrown. There will always be a point in time where the tower will be destroyed, and it goes downhill from there.


    ¡°Is this type of loss due to the skill of the players?¡± Qi Qiao asked.


    ¡°Not really, there will be a huge gap in team skill, not to mention the team strategy,¡± Tinghua replied.


    ¡°After that year of LPL, in the arena for the S International League, your team did not have the confidence to take down Korea¡¯s Team KK? Alright, I¡¯m guessing that this year, the two teams that will be participating are your team, Team Sky, and Team Daemons.¡± Qi Qiao said.


    ¡°To tell the truth, it would be extremely hard if we wanted to triumph over the teams from other nations. Our country does not have that many top-notch players. Currently, there are no world-tier players to lead us to victory.¡± Tinghua said this while looking at the players of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°As far as I know, the Blood Eagle has quite a lot of history in the competitive scene throughout the world. I¡¯ve also heard that you were awarded the Esports Supreme Glory trophy. Since you are so outstanding, why are you being so humble and going as far as to say that there are no world-tier players in our country?¡± Qi Qiao asked, puzzled.


    You couldn¡¯t deny the fact that the two best teams in the country, being unable to be world-class, was very saddening.


    Qi Qiao did not want the audience¡¯s mentality to be influenced and become depressed because there were no China teams in the world competitive stage. Thus, she started praising Blood Eagle.


    ¡°I am a boastful person, but I am not an arrogant person. If we don¡¯t have what it takes, I¡¯ll say it. We probably didn¡¯t train enough.¡± Tinghua said.


    ¡°Then how did you defeat the teams from other countries? Are you saying that LOL and DOTA have a big difference?¡± Qi Qiao continued to ask.


    ¡°In the past, there was a player in our country whose skill was able to carry the whole team. This team had the confidence to defeat every strong team there was in the world¡­¡± Tinghua said as he looked toward Team Skycrown yet again.


    Tinghua knew that Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Lin Dong could hear his words. In actuality, these words were supposed to be heard by them!


    A bunch of cowards who abandoned the scene but still dared to come back?


    Even if they had come back, so what? They were so weak that they couldn¡¯t even win against a University¡¯s team.


    You could say that after this match, Tinghua felt as though instead of talking bad about Team Skycrown, he had been praising them in front of so many people, and yet, the skills that they possessed didn¡¯t even deserve his dissing.


    ¡°Who is this person that you speak of? Does our country even have such a strong player? Is it Hades?¡± Qi Qiao asked, surprised.


    Someone whom THE Blood Eagle, the king of LOL, respected, which she had no clue of?


    Who was this mysterious person?


    Was it Hades??


    ¡°At that point of time, Hades could only barely compete with him, even losing to him in the most important match.¡± Tinghua laughed.


    Once those words were spoken, everyone was shocked!


    As they knew it, Hades, Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua, Xiao Wang, and Bai Feng¡ªthese four people were the strongest LOL players in all of China, it was near-impossible to surpass them!


    Following the news, Hades was the strongest player out of the previously mentioned four LOL players.


    This strongest player in the whole country had actually lost to someone else?


    Exactly how strong was this person??


    Qi Qiao wasn¡¯t that informed about the old esports scene, and when she heard what Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua had just said, she was shocked out of her mind.


    At the same time, backstage, Aijing, Xiao Wang, and the rest of the esports audience put their attention toward Luocheng.


    Wasn¡¯t Luocheng the person that Tinghua was talking about?


    This honor, if you listened to the rumors or just watched it happen, you won¡¯t feel much.


    Yes, yes, the glory of a global runner-up.


    Even so, if you connected the dots for the still-underdeveloped esports scene in the country, you could see the strongest team¡¯s global achievements.


    Now, the impression of Team Sky and Team Daemons being the strongest were already imprinted on how many people¡¯s minds?


    But on the stage of the S International League, everyone knew that there were many other teams that could defeat these two teams.


    Now that is what you call a world championship!


    If there was a team that could uphold China¡¯s glory and bring it glory, that would be exciting!!


    Due to the fact that esports had only just recently obtained attention, many people didn¡¯t know about it. In actuality, when they had been busy contemplating about Team Sky and Team Daemon¡¯s defeat, when they had been sulking about their loss, when they had been shocked about the strength of the teams formed by other countries, there was already a team that had reached such heights.


    It was just too bad that their torn banner had already been long-buried in the sand, without anyone even caring.

 Chapter 256 - Hard to Face Stage Fright

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Well then, Blood Eagle, who is the man who could defeat even Hades?¡± Qi Qiao pushed for an answer.


    Qi Qiao couldn¡¯t wrap her head around the fact that she had no information on this legendary esports player. It seemed as though she had heard about someone like him before, but she could not recall from where exactly.


    ¡°He used to be a person worthy of respect, but now, he¡¯s just a coward who ran away, we don¡¯t need to bring him up!¡± Tinghua smiled coldly. You could hear from his voice that he harbored negative feelings for this certain person.


    Coward! A runaway soldier!


    Luocheng had lost track of the times he had heard those words scolding him.


    This time, he clearly heard the voice, and he felt as if something had pierced through him, it was a horrible feeling.


    ¡°Alright, I guess our Blood Eagle here has some grudges to settle with someone¡­ Oh, since we talked so much, it seems like the second match is about to start. Both team¡¯s bans are already out.¡± Qi Qiao said with her vision turned to the big screen.


    This time, Team Skycrown didn¡¯t hesitate to ban Tristana. Siyong could indeed control Tristana incredibly, there was no way they were going to let him use her again.


    In the second match, Fudan University¡¯s team had a rough estimate of Team Skycrown¡¯s overall strength, and they started to bring out a few special circumstances.


    ¡°Great, Fudan University¡¯s mid laner is Twisted Fate. Twisted Fate is one of the most picked champions, will Fudan University¡¯s Huang Lin bring out a different style of him?¡±


    Twisted Fate¡¯s appearance was followed by a round of cheers.


    From everyone who had come, other than watching a heated match, they had also hoped to see their favorite champions being played.


    Twisted Fate was being picked less gradually in the LPL and the national competition, but this did not mean that he was loved any lesser.


    In the beginning, when Luocheng had still been in Lecheng, his gameplay of Twisted Fate had created the meta at that time. Almost every match, there would be someone trying to play Twisted Fate, because no one could forget that elegant figure slaughtering his enemies!


    ¡°Alright, now let¡¯s see who Fudan University has chosen as their Jungler¡­¡±


    ¡°Nocturne was chosen, nice. Fudan University¡¯s Jungler is Nocturne, this is one of the stronger jungling champions there is.¡± Qi Qiao said.


    In the early game, the strongest champions in the jungle would be Lee Sin and Pantheon. If you met either one of those champions with a level three Nocturne, you wouldn¡¯t need to worry about the jungle, the two champions included.


    Nocturne also had surreal ganking capability, especially with his horrifying initiation. It was basically the same as using a sharp knife to stab straight into their enemies hearts!


    When Nocturne had been locked into position, the arena burst with cheering!


    Soon, it was time to pick the top laner.


    Fudan University¡¯s pick for mid lane was exceptionally fast, the spectators could see that Fudan University had completely no hesitation at all and immediately picked Shen, the Eye of Twilight.


    Twisted Fate, Shen, and Nocturne!


    The combination of these three champions were enough to make the crowds go wild!!!


    ¡°Is¡­ Is this the rumored whole map roaming tactic?¡± Qi Qiao was so shocked she couldn¡¯t keep her jaw from dropping open.


    She had not realized it during the picking phase until the whole picture had been filled. The champions from the top lane, mid lane, and jungle, all had global support skills!


    You could already imagine what could happen at the bottom lane when these champs had all reached level 6!


    Twisted Fate would use his ulti, blood red eyes hanging over the champions, and consequently, the sky would turn dark, the utterly terrifying sound of Nocturne echoing through the arena just like the booming sound of thunder. This would all be followed up by Nocturne¡¯s shadow blade, a shield appearing on his body, swirling, as he slowly landed on the ground¡­


    It would become a 5v2 from an initial 2v2! How crazy was that!


    Fudan University¡¯s strategy had gotten everyone on the edge of their seats.


    They had definitely practiced this lineup before, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be that confident when picking champions.


    It was already hard enough to get two global heroes, not to mention three!


    Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup was restrained.


    You could tell that they obviously didn¡¯t have the amount of confidence that Fudan University had after they lost the first match.


    ¡­


    ¡°Against these three global champions lineup, what do you think Team Skycrown should do, Blood Eagle?¡± Qi Qiao asked.


    ¡°This type of lineup has both strengths and weaknesses. Their strength is only strong when they have all reached level 6. It does not matter which lane the fight happens as it will not make much difference anyway. The downside to this tactic would be that their laning power will be significantly decreased. They are great at supporting others, but not that great by themselves.¡± Tinghua replied.


    Just when the both of them were commentating, both teams had entered the arena. As five-man teams, both teams met in the jungle!


    Shen immediately cast his E-skill, Shadow Dash, on Syndra! Just as he had almost taunted Syndra, she Flashed out at the very last second, barely surviving!


    ¡°Wow. Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid has inhuman reactions and execution speed! Everyone should know that the Shadow Dash skill had just been released and the chance for the taunt to work has greatly increased. Not just that, when the skill is used, he immediately dashes to the target area and the skill is very hard to evade. Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid still managed to use his Flash to escape under these circumstances, he is truly a skilled player.¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed.


    In the team fight, both teams had only exchanged a Flash, this wouldn¡¯t affect the match that much.


    ¡­


    Both teams entered a very stable laning stage. Wu Sen controlled Zyra and headed toward the bottom lane while giving Xiao Bei a meaningful look.


    Xiao Bei controlled his Ezreal and walked right into their lane. Although his hands were not showing it, Wu Sen could feel that Xiao Bei was undergoing a lot of stress right now.


    Luocheng could just barely see Xiao Bei from his position backstage.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s facial expressions and body language appeared to be very stiff, his gaze showed that he was nervous, hesitant, and uncertain altogether. You could see small droplets of sweat forming on his forehead.


    Stage fright¡­


    Xiao Bei must have gotten stage fright.


    The past few matches were not open for all to see, and there had only been a small amount of people watching. During those moments, Xiao Bei might have been careless, but he had never done this bad.


    However, in this open match, this qualifying match to be in the LPL had given Xiao Bei huge emotional pressure. If he were to tilt his head slightly upward from the screen, he could see the thousands of faces who were watching his match.


    Xiao Bei had never been in such a situation before!


    When a professional player has made a name for himself and climbed up the ladder, they would definitely be faced with stage fright. Some people might adjust to their situation quickly and go back to how they were playing before, but others might be frozen still and unable to adapt to the situation given the circumstances. Their strength would not be used to its fullest, and thus, a life-threatening error would occur.


    At the start, Luocheng had thought that Xiao Bei would adapt quickly to the match, not thinking that the blunder Xiao Bei had made in the first match would affect him this much.


    Xiao Bei was still beating himself up, sulking over the fact that he had messed up the first game. He was immensely scared, scared that the second match would be a repeat of what had happened.


    Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo had already experienced important matches like this, you could say that it would be a breeze for them.


    Xiao Bei on the other hand had made quite a name for himself in LOL, but he normally stayed in the shadows. He never really stepped out onto a professional stage, not to mention being watched by thousands of people while playing a match¡­


    This type of stage fright couldn¡¯t be helped, it was very hard to provide emotional support to him, and he could only rely on himself. He needed to conquer the fear inside of him, conquer his own weakness, and most importantly, conquer himself.


    The only thing that Luocheng could do was to not pay any special attention to him until the second match ended.


    Just one minor problem, with Xiao Bei having such terrible stage fright, would this match be a repeat of the previous one?


    If that was the case, there would be a huge emotional burden on Xiao Bei if he dragged his team into the mud in this game too!


    ¡­


    ¡°It looks like Team Skycrown¡¯s bottom lane isn¡¯t doing too well, they are already behind by 20 creeps. Even so, it reinforces the fact that Fudan University¡¯s Siyong is definitely a force to be reckoned with.¡± Qi Qiao commented.


    The same thing was happening again. Team Skycrown held the advantage in all the other lanes, but the suppression on the bottom lane was unbelievable.


    Following the appearance of the global supports, both Wu Sen and Xiao Bei had been slain at the bottom lane, losing both their tower as well as the dragon.


    The loss of a tower and the dragon had put Team Skycrown¡¯s advantage in the other lanes to waste, not to mention, the kills had all gone to Siyong, making the gap between both team¡¯s ADCs even more obvious.


    ¡­


    Being behind on creep score, slow reactions, weird movements, missing his skills¡­


    Xiao Bei¡¯s skill on Ezreal did not seem to be the same as when he played it some time ago. This made Team Skycrown¡¯s supporters increasingly nervous. No matter how great everyone else played, it would all be for naught if the ADC himself was useless.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC is such a noob. Their Top, Mid, and Jungler have all given everyone a show of their skills. Too bad the bottom lane is in a horrible state. The Jungler had gone to help a few times, but in the end, the tower was lost and their gold income was slowed.¡± There was a round of cheering in the arena.


    ¡°So true, I feel that a diamond-ranked ADC can play better than him. He wants to be an LPL player? Dream on!¡±


    ¡°If this goes on, Team Skycrown will really lose. Their Support is skilled, but it¡¯s too bad that their ADC is an idiot.¡±


    The impression made on the audience would definitely be remembered, what they saw now was assumed to be what they would see in the future.


    They didn¡¯t know that in actuality, Xiao Bei¡¯s palms were sweaty and his hands had already gone numb! He really wanted to do his best like he always did, but his hands would not listen to him, his mouse and keyboard were also unresponsive!

 Chapter 257 - Going On The Stage Himself?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Siyong has claimed a double kill, making his every move clean and careful, just like an assassin hunting down his prey silently!¡±


    ¡°Now, he only has about one-third of his health. Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC has appeared! Caitlyn probably won¡¯t be able to leave alive.¡±


    At the river, Siyong who had obtained a double kill finally encountered a dangerous situation.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s Ezreal went in for the kill, launching his basic attack twice, adjusting his position, and firing his Q-skill.


    Caitlyn was also attacking while moving backward, after casting her basic attack twice, it seemed as though Ezreal was about to use a skill on her. She then used her E-skill to dodge Ezreal¡¯s Q-skill, retreating all the way down to the mid lane¡¯s brush!


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    A piltover peacemaker came out of nowhere, dealing a lot of damage to Ezreal, leaving only half of his health!


    Ezreal had been slowed down by the net, and his attack range was slightly smaller than Cailyn¡¯s. At that moment, Xiao Bei used Ezreal¡¯s E-skill, Arcane Shift, to blink closer toward Caitlyn.


    Cling!


    Just as Ezreal blinked into the bushes, he triggered the trap. Caitlyn took this moment to create some space between herself and Ezreal while continuing her barrage of attacks. As Ezreal was trapped and unable to touch Caitlyn, Caitlyn has obtained a Headshot from her passive.


    Bang!


    The headshot landed on Ezreal and now, he was left with less than half of his health!


    The grave situation had started to make Wu Sen frown. Caitlyn¡¯s shield had already been used to block Ezreal¡¯s E-skill and the two attacks, if Ezreal were to use his basic attack twice and land his Q-skill, he would most definitely be able to take Caitlyn down.


    Caitlyn started to enlarge the gap, and after Ezreal managed to land two hits, he finally used his Q-skill. If the skill landed on Caitlyn, it would be a definite kill.


    It seemed as though Siyong had completely predicted the trajectory of the skill and thus, evaded it gracefully. With precise control over his champion, Siyong had dodged the life-threatening skill!


    Bang!


    Caitlyn continued to hit Ezreal even under the dire circumstances. With the help of one of his items, Phantom Dancer, Siyong took Xiao Bei¡¯s health down to a critical level.


    When Xiao Bei saw that he had missed his Q-skill, he got even more nervous and immediately tried to kill Siyong with his ulti.


    ¡­


    Who could have thought that Caitlyn would actually not run away? Instead, she took a roundabout route and evaded Ezreal¡¯s ulti while attacking him at the same time. The amount of health obtained solely through her life steal was not a small amount.


    After missing both his Q-skill and his ulti, Xiao Bei panicked while moving Ezreal forward. Just when he wanted to attack Caitlyn, she had already gone behind the middle brush!


    Vision was lost! Siyong controlled the vision and distance very well, so well that Xiao Bei could not touch him!


    Bang! Bang!


    A headshot landed yet again! As the headshot landed right on Ezreal, with the little health that he had left, he could not have survived the hit regardless.


    TRIPLE KILL!


    With just a tiny bit of health left, using his skillful techniques and beautiful placement, he had managed to kill Xiao Bei with seemingly no effort at all!


    After the triple kill was announced, the crowd went wild!


    ¡°Absolutely stunning! I hope no one blinked and missed that awesome play! Siyong showed us his magnificent skills with Tristana in the first round, who would have thought that he could do so much with Caitlyn as well?¡± Qi Qiao became very excited and it was written all over her face.


    ¡°You can¡¯t exactly blame Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC, because Siyong has really outdone himself. Evading skills, controlling vision, setting traps, controlling the distance, positioning¡­ This isn¡¯t just about finger speed and reaction time anymore, it has just become something psychological. When will Ezreal use his skill, when will he attack, Siyong has achieved complete control over Caitlyn¡¯s movements perfectly!¡±


    Upon getting back to his base with a triple kill and only being left with just a sliver of health, Siyong bought the agility cloak and finished his Infinity Edge!


    Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, and Infinity Edge¡ªthese three items were already completed before the 25-minute mark. Now was the time for Caitlyn to wipe the floor with the enemy team!


    Seeing that his opponent Ezreal only had a Trinity Force and half the item build of a Last Whisper, Siyong could not help but smile. As the fight continued, so long as he did not get killed, the win would already be in the bag.


    ¡­


    ¡°Xiao Bei!¡± Da Luo looked at Xiao Bei in complete frustration.


    Missing all of his skillshots, now that was extremely disappointing.


    Da Luo was extremely dissatisfied. Under those circumstances, Caitlyn should definitely be dead, but not only had Xiao Bei failed to kill her, he had even gotten himself killed in the process.


    With Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, and Infinity Edge on Caitlyn, the game was as good as lost.


    Lin Dong hastily shook his head at Da Luo, signaling him to not say a word. Da Luo stopped talking and took a good look at Xiao Bei, and only then did he realize that the latter could not even hold the mouse properly.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s face was covered in sweat, both of his hands were shaking uncontrollably, and his breathing was increasing rapidly as if he was not inhaling enough oxygen to breathe.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Da Luo muttered softly.


    ¡°He¡¯s too nervous, don¡¯t talk so much. The more you talk, the worse he will play.¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    Wu Sen and Lin Dong both nodded their heads in agreement. All of them could see that Xiao Bei was visibly shaken. He seemed to be shaking uncontrollably, even more so after being scolded by Da Luo.


    The audience remained silent.


    They had also passed through this phase before, they knew how it felt to have their hands numb at times like this. What mattered the most now was to give their full support and understanding to Xiao Bei.


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen were all nervous too. If things went on like this, they would lose both their matches and it would be hard to make a comeback from the loss in matches.


    If that happened, their dreams of being professional players capable of standing in the spotlight would be completely and utterly ruined!


    Even so, they could not blame Xiao Bei for it. No one could help him with his stage fright, only he himself had the ability to adapt to the situation.


    They could lose this match, but what they could not afford to do was to let Xiao Bei fall even further down the rabbit hole!


    ¡­


    ¡°Why did this happen?¡±


    ¡°How could this happen¡­¡±


    These words would only repeat themselves inside Xiao Bei¡¯s head. Right now, he really felt like chopping his own hand off, and the urge to slap himself in the face was undeniably strong.


    He had promised Luocheng that he would enter the LPL, obtaining world recognition while bringing Team Skycrown¡¯s name and flag glory and fame. Team Wings hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to be the world champions, but Team Skycrown could definitely do it¡­


    He had never imagined that he would surpass Luocheng, but he had known all along that not obtaining the title of world champions would be a lifelong regret for Luocheng.


    After he had left the professional leagues and vowed never to play again, it meant that he would never have the chance to touch the trophy of the champion.


    It was Luocheng who had brought him into the professional spotlight, and he also loved playing competitively very much. He was extremely grateful to Team Wings for bringing him from the countryside to an unfamiliar city, giving him the chance to have fun.


    It really was too bad that they were gravely injured on the path to being champions. Well, it was time for him to face the wind and continue to tread on this unsteady road. If Luocheng would not be able to hold the champion trophy in his arms, why not bring it back for Luocheng and put it in front of him himself?


    They were a team, and if he obtained it, it was equivalent to Luocheng getting it as well. It didn¡¯t matter if Luocheng would never play competitively again, what mattered was that he would not have any regrets and could live his new life in satisfaction.


    LPL, the S International League, only after facing these two mountains did he just realize that he had only experienced the tip of the iceberg.


    There was still such a long way till the S international league, wasn¡¯t this just a small competition, what was there to be afraid of? Why didn¡¯t he have even just a bit of bravery to relax?


    ¡­


    Watching the enemy¡¯s advances, seeing his own useless items that were incomparable to the enemy¡¯s, watching Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen continue to defend the high ground, watching them get picked off by Caitlyn one-by-one, Xiao Bei felt horrible on the inside.


    The uncomfortable and deep resentment for himself made his tears well up in his eyes, turning his screen into a blur. Maybe his eyes had temporarily lost it¡¯s vision, but he couldn¡¯t even see where Ezreal was anymore.


    He had never once thought that when he entered the professional league, he would embarrass himself in front of thousands of people. He had really taken the professional league too lightly.


    ¡­


    As the nexus shattered into pieces, it felt as if those pieces swirling around had flown out of the screen and pierced him straight into his heart.


    They had lost again.


    Just because of him, he had caused the team to lose both rounds.


    Xiao Bei could only look at Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, Da Luo and Wu Sen teary-eyed. He couldn¡¯t even say the words ¡°Sorry, I messed up.¡± anymore.


    The rest of the team remained quiet. They had thought that Xiao Bei would have gotten his head back in the game in the second round, but sadly, they had been mistaken.


    He really was too young, he was unable to take this kind of pressure as he had never been through anything like it before. If this continued, it went without saying that they would indeed lose the last match, and they would not be eligible to enter the LPL.


    To be honest, no one had planned for what comes next if they did not manage to get into the LPL. Could they really endure going without pay for three months? It had taken them so much for the dream to become reality, but was it going to be shattered just like that?


    ¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s time for a short break, next up is the third match. If Team Skycrown loses again, the Teams for LPL will be set in stone.¡± Qi Qiao said.


    Tinghua looked at Team Skycrown coldly.


    They really were a disappointment¡­


    They couldn¡¯t even get into the LPL, don¡¯t even think about defeating Team Sky.


    Reality isn¡¯t as nice as you want it to be, go back and train for a few more years. The team that you have right now isn¡¯t even qualified to be our opponents.


    Just as Tinghua was about to shift his gaze away, he saw someone coming out from backstage, slowly making his way to the arena.


    Tinghua immediately fixed his gaze unto him, his body tensing up as he was filled with rage.


    So, you are here too!


    Tinghua laughed internally, his laughter tinged with a little craziness.


    Luocheng, are you planning to come out yourself?


    Now, wasn¡¯t that funny? Didn¡¯t you swear you would never go back into the professional gaming world again?


    He really was an asshole who went back on his words!


    With this kind of unstable mental state, how could you ever get the title of a world champion??

 Chapter 258 - Massive Adjustments

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng walked up onto the stage and continued until he was right beside Xiao Bei. Xiao Bei stood up from his seat, his whole body frozen in place.


    He literally could not think of anything right now, he was just a frightened teenager. He didn¡¯t have anything to be proud of other than his own confidence and skills in video games.


    However, as this match had ended up horribly because of him, he felt as though he had just lost everything.


    ¡°Does Team Skycrown want to switch out their players?¡± Qi Qiao pondered as she looked at Luocheng who had just walked into the arena.


    Normally, there wasn¡¯t a substitute player for any professional gaming teams. There would only be five-player teams, as their teamwork could be improved much more. If one person was substituted, the sense of teamwork would be completely thrown off.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that you couldn¡¯t change your players. In Xiao Bei¡¯s case, if he was not substituted, they would lose the third game for sure.


    ¡°He has already sat down, I guess that he will be replacing the ADC. In the past two games, Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC has been underperforming, maybe if they swap him out with another person, there will be a different outcome.¡± Qi Qiao commented.


    Tinghua stared at Luocheng as this was a good chance to see Luocheng¡¯s actual skill. Deep down, he really wanted to know if Luocheng, who hadn¡¯t played professionally in such a long time, still has his old skills.


    ¡°Alright, here comes Team Skycrown¡¯s sub player¡¯s information.¡± Qi Qiao continued, ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s substitute player, Yu Luocheng. He has competed in the Campus Championship and helped Shanghai University get into the top four. Huh, other than this, there aren¡¯t any more records on him.¡±


    ¡°It looks like this substitute player is Team Skycrown¡¯s coach and analyst, this is absolutely shocking! Blood Eagle, what comment do you have for the coach going onstage himself to play?¡±


    Tinghua couldn¡¯t hold back his smirk and replied in a mysterious voice, ¡°The amount of competitions that he has been in is not a small amount.¡±


    Tinghua¡¯s small comment was immediately followed by Qi Qiao¡¯s question.


    ¡°Since he is both a coach and an analyst, then it must not matter if his skill isn¡¯t on par. His addition to the team will definitely increase the cooperation between the team and the tactics will obviously be even more strategic. These two factors might be the key to victory.¡±


    While Qi Qiao and Tinghua were commentating, a large number of the people present were gossiping about what was happening. The majority of the students supporting Fudan University in the crowd had watched the Campus Championship before, and when they saw Luocheng going up on stage, they suddenly realized, wasn¡¯t that Shanghai University¡¯s sharpest Support?


    In the Campus Championship, Shanghai University and Fudan University had been up against each other in the last few rounds. Even when it seemed as though Fudan University was winning, the tides could have turned at any moment. If there was even a small mishap leading to an Ace, Shanghai University would have been able to make a comeback easily.


    The one who had been maintaining the pressure on Fudan University¡¯s team was none other than the strategic and skilled Support from Shanghai University!


    The question was, could a Campus Championship player really shine in the spotlight in a professional match?


    If they won this game, the team would make a good name for themselves, and not only that, they would also become one of the most recognized teams in the whole country, the players would also be well-known across the country!


    At Fudan University¡¯s side, both the team captain, Lin Siyong and Wang Lin were flabbergasted.


    ¡°How come it¡¯s him?¡± The team captain, Siyong looked at Luocheng who was across him.


    ¡°This guy will be such a headache.¡± Wang Lin scratched his head.


    ¡°If he takes up the ADC role¡­¡±


    Siyong furrowed his brow.


    It was very clear to him that other than the bottom lane, Team Skycrown had the advantage against Fudan University in every other aspect. If they changed their ADC, especially to a person who had given Siyong a hard time before, Siyong was not sure if he could perform as well as he had before.


    Honestly speaking, this Support from Shanghai University had shaken up Siyong thoroughly.


    ¡°With that said, how do you think the next match will go, Blood Eagle? Will this young coach help them make a comeback?¡± Qi Qiao questioned.


    ¡°Is it possible?¡± Tinghua shook his head, feeling that Qi Qiao was too conservative, and he said with a smile.


    ¡°With him, Fudan University has absolutely no chance of winning at all.¡±


    Qi Qiao was taken aback and it took her a long time to reply. ¡°Did I hear that correctly? You said that if this person plays, Fudan University will lose all three matches in a row?¡±


    The commentator and the guest¡¯s words could be heard by everyone. Tinghua¡¯s firm tone made the audience become restless, and this in turn made Fudan University¡¯s team members all nervous.


    Fudan University¡¯s members admitted that Luocheng really had the skills. They had played against him before, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as how Tinghua had just declared. They wouldn¡¯t lose all three games in a row, right?


    Even if Team Skycrown were to switch one member, achieving a groundbreaking change was nearly impossible!


    While all of this was going on, Aijing turned on her computer with a big smile on her face backstage.


    ¡°Miss Aijing, the great player that you were talking about¡­ Is it him?¡± Xiao Wang stood beside her, his gaze fixed on Luocheng.


    ¡°Yes, he is not a professional player, his personal score is seven points, team strength should be on par with a first-rate team, we just don¡¯t know how good he is at strategizing and his strength fluctuation.¡± Aijing replied.


    ¡°A person who is not a professional player could actually get seven points, he is really extraordinary, isn¡¯t he? If he went through formal training, he might even reach greater heights.¡± Xiao Wang rubbed his jaw.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Aijing just gave him a nod.


    ¡­


    In the arena, Luocheng was already seated on Xiao Bei¡¯s seat. Xiao Bei could only stand beside him, not knowing what to do.


    Right then, Luocheng started opening the interface, tampering with the controls and settings as well as the sensitivity. Every professional player had his own preferred sensitivity, and adjusting it right before playing was a good habit.


    ¡°Luo¡­Luocheng, should I get off the stage?¡± Xiao Bei asked in a weak voice.


    ¡°Now why would you do that?¡± Luocheng asked him.


    Xiao Bei looked at Luocheng, confused. He did not know if Luocheng was scolding him or being sarcastic as he had just thrown the match not once, but twice! Moreover, Xiao Bei had no willpower to continue playing anymore.


    Luocheng tampered with the sensitivity with such speed that it seemed as if he had done this a thousand times before.


    After he finished the adjustments, he pulled out a blank note and started to type the text, QWERDFQWERDF¡­


    QWERDF¡­


    These six letters appeared on the note repeatedly, and Xiao Bei could only see the texts moving so fast that it looked as though it was being scanned by a printer.


    Flawless inputs without even a single error and with that amazing typing speed, he shocked the whole crowd, and after a short while, the note was already filled with ¡°QWERDF¡±.


    Next, he started to use the mouse as well while pressing the A key!


    He began to input ¡°A¡±QWERDF, followed by Q¡±A¡± WERDF, and then, QW¡±A¡±ERDF, QWE¡±A¡±RDF¡­


    Luocheng¡¯s hands were flying across the keyboard like the wind, slotting the ¡°A¡± key without fail into the correct position, shocking Xiao Bei!


    The rhythm was so quick that Xiao Bei thought it was being printed out by a printer. In the first ¡°QWERDF¡± row a few seconds later, all the ¡°A¡±¡®s had been placed into the right spots. After that was done, the second row was completed with the same speed and unbelievable precision.


    ¡°Absolutely unbelievable!¡±


    Qi Qiao¡¯s shock was shared by the audience as the crowd went wild!


    Luocheng, who was busy and focused on making adjustments, didn¡¯t realize that his screen was displayed on the big screen. Not only that, his inhuman speed of typing and precision had been seen by everyone present!


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ Is this how a professional player adjusts his sensitivity? That speed is crazy!¡±


    Qi Qiao had only wanted to show everyone how a professional player adjusts his settings by showing Luocheng¡¯s screen, she had had no idea that this would be such a sight to behold.


    Although it seemed easy to type it a thousand times, everyone knew clearly that when it was their turn to input, there was absolutely no way that they would be able to do it as efficiently as that, not to mention placing the A key in all the right spots correctly!


    Click!


    Finally, Luocheng closed the text note.


    Xiao Bei, who had been standing behind him this whole time was dumbfounded. With the same amount of people watching, the same amount of pressure from the LPL, Luocheng had managed to do such a thing in a steady and calm way that Xiao Bei knew he himself could never achieve.


    ¡°Team Skycrown, are you sure that you want to switch teammates?¡± At this point, the referee walked up, and Xiao Bei knew that it was time for him to leave the stage.


    He thought that he could slowly get closer to Luocheng¡¯s level, but after seeing the skills that Luocheng had showcased, he felt as though he could never surpass him in his whole life.


    Luocheng looked at the referee and said, ¡°Referee, this mouse and keyboard is malfunctioning, can you please change it?¡±


    ¡°Is there a problem? Let me see.¡± The referee was also a technician and he walked up to the computer, opened the same text note, and input some stuff randomly.


    This technician¡¯s input skills were obviously much worse compared to Luocheng.

 Chapter 259 - The Country’s Highest Ranked ADC player

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any problems,¡± the technician replied.


    ¡°When the ¡°A¡± key is pressed, the other keys on the keyboard fail to function,¡± Luocheng told the technician.


    ¡°Really? Let me check again.¡± Following what Luocheng had said, he started pressing the other keys while holding down the A key.


    As expected, when both keys were almost pressed at the same time, the latter key would not function. Realizing the reason for the problem, the technician opened the program and checked for malfunctions.


    The third round which should have started was thus delayed due to the necessary maintenance required for the malfunction, and Luocheng¡¯s screen was projected on the big screen.


    Confused, Qi Qiao asked, ¡°What are they doing?¡±


    ¡°I think the keyboard is dysfunctional,¡± Tinghua said.


    ¡°Huh? A dysfunctional keyboard?¡± Qi Qiao looked at Tinghua, confused.


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, both commands would be issued when two keys are pressed, but occasionally, with a dysfunctional keyboard, only one key would present its function when both keys are pressed. From how they are fixing it, I guess the problem lies with the ¡°A¡± key and the QWER keys.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t usually need that function in LOL, though, right?¡± Qi Qiao asked yet again.


    Seeing Qi Qiao still dumbfounded, Tinghua could only shake his head and continued to explain further.


    ¡°Some professional gamers are used to commencing attacks for their character with the A key. It is also common for them to press that same button continuously so their fingers stay active to press other keys efficiently while keeping their characters in the attacking position. As such, some players who accidentally pressed two keys simultaneously will either be unable to send out the command of the Q or the A key.¡±


    Qi Qiao was mind blown as this could be the first time that she had heard such a detailed analysis. She turned to look at the technician at work on the big screen.


    ¡°If so, I assume Xiao Bei has a habit of always pressing the A key, which would cause his keyboard to malfunction.¡±


    Tinghua nodded his head in agreement, ¡°From the mistakes he made the last two rounds, it seems like this was the cause.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s it¡­ No wonder professional gamers always prefer to use their own keyboards and mouse. Having been unable to unleash his full potential, I think that this is quite understandable.¡±


    ¡°Truth to be told, these types of technical problems are quite frustrating, and Xiao Bei who was able to come this far has proven that he has an even greater potential in him still dormant, unable to shine.¡± Tinghua continued.


    Tinghua did not take a person lightly despite the enmity between him and Luocheng. Before Luocheng had requested for a change of keyboard, he would never have had this thought. If Xiao Bei had been using the malfunctioned keyboard the last two rounds, his skills could only be described as marvelous.


    Hearing Tinghua¡¯s words, everyone present could only be in awe. So, it wasn¡¯t the ADC of Team Skycrown who was to blame, but the malfunction of the keyboard?


    Thinking back to the past two matches, the movement and control of Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC were quite the highlight, but was unfortunately ignored because of this.


    ¡°Using a dysfunctional keyboard up against Siyong while still being able to play with such standards, that¡¯s quite heroic.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, after changing the keyboard, I think Siyong will be kissing his third consecutive win goodbye.¡±


    ¡°In addition, seeing as how the coach of Team Skycrown was able to point out the problem easily, he is surely something.¡±


    Tons of comments started to flood in, and in an instant, the audience¡¯s view on Xiao Bei was changing for the better.


    ¡­


    After a short while, the technician came back with a new keyboard.


    ¡°We are truly sorry for being clueless toward the habits of professional gamers such as you guys.¡± The technician apologized.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, give it a try.¡± Luocheng stood up to let him try.


    Xiao Bei was stunned and pointed at himself. ¡°Me¡­?¡±


    ¡°If not you, who else would it be? You are the ADC,¡± replied Luocheng.


    ¡°Yeah, quickly give it a try to see if there are any problems, if there is none, let¡¯s get this show on the road.¡± Wu Sen said as he gave Xiao Bei a light pat on the shoulder.


    Xiao Bei looked at everyone, and seeing how they wanted him to join the team for the third match, his eyes turned red. A while ago, he had thought that Luocheng was going to replace him, he never expected that he would get to play!


    ¡°Allow me to appeal for a rematch from the head judge since your loss was due to the fault on our end.¡± The technician tried to make up for the inconveniences caused.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to do so.¡± Luocheng denied the offer as he was pretty sure the head judge would not allow it over such a minor accident.


    ¡°No?¡± The technician looked at him blankly.


    ¡°I have faith in him.¡± Luocheng affirmed as he patted Xiao Bei on the shoulder.


    ¡°Just stick to how we practiced before and go on to the third match.¡±


    After saying that, Luocheng left the stage area.


    Seeing Luocheng¡¯s shadow fade from the tournament arena, Xiao Bei could only feel the excitement in him gradually intensify. He nodded his head, wiped his tears, and his hands started moving swiftly across the keyboard.


    With the hindrance removed, the movement speed of his hands escalated drastically, leaving everyone¡¯s mouth wide open in full admiration.


    Ignoring some minor mistakes at the beginning, he was already at an inhuman pace entering the keys smoothly and accurately, almost on par with Luocheng. Although his speed of pressing the A key was still behind Luocheng, it was also already quite a sight to behold.


    The once shivering and panicked hands had become in sync with the keyboard, as though they were of one body executing all the commands with perfect coordination, not making a single mistake!


    ¡°Team Skycrown, can we start now?¡± the judge asked the team.


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen all put their attention toward Xiao Bei.


    He closed the program, wiped away his nervous sweat and pulled himself together.


    ¡°O¡­okay, let¡¯s start!¡±


    ¡­


    Have you ever had those kinds of feelings before? The feeling of being an insignificant nobody, only acting as a burden for the team, but still being given faith and trust by your teammates?


    These indescribable feelings were just¡­


    Well, Xiao Bei, who had worked alone in a big city, was one such person who had never had this feeling of such warmth until now. He was absolutely clear of his abilities, also knowing that the opponent, Siyong, was not as strong as himself!


    He was not some nobody nor a burden to the team, and he would definitely prove it with his all!


    Not to mention, the country¡¯s highest-ranking ADC player was not Bai Feng, but rather, he himself, Xiao Bei!

 Chapter 260 - Xiao Bei’s Vayne

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When entering the preparation phase this time, Xiao Bei did not hesitate to choose his ADC character. As his star character was Vayne, the Night Hunter, it was the wisest choice despite some minor weaknesses, moreover, Vayne would only thrive flawlessly if she was in the hands of Xiao Bei.


    Under normal circumstances, Vayne was unsuitable as the first choice because the hatred toward her would sometimes exceed even Teemo, which attracted unnecessary attention.


    Debates sounded from the crowd as they saw the character choice of Xiao Bei and Siyong, respectively Vayne and Caitlyn, as Caitlyn was the perfect counter for Vayne.


    Vayne was bad at laning while Caitlyn was great at laning, and there would only be one victor in this match-up. Xiao Bei¡¯s previous two ADCs had already been abused by Siyong, and yet, he had made such a perilous choice for the third round?


    ¡­


    Seeing Xiao Bei¡¯s decision, Luocheng merely nodded slightly. Speed was never a scarcity of Xiao Bei, but instead, self-confidence. The moment Vayne was chosen, Luocheng felt those eyes were overwhelmed with confidence and concentration.


    He had always believed in Xiao Bei¡¯s abilities to surpass himself, in actual fact, his strength had already far exceeded his incompetent self. Xiao Bei only lacked experience and the knowledge to analyze formations, and such shortcomings would only be broken through by entering various competitions. Besides, Vayne was also his favorite character, the stage would now belong solely to Xiao Bei.


    ¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s review the line-up.¡±


    ¡°As you can see, Fudan University has chosen heroes which side more toward agility. They have Ahri in the mid lane, Lee Sin in the Jungle, Kha¡¯Zix at the top lane, Sona as their Support, and Caitlyn as their ADC.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, Team Skycrown has Syndra in the mid lane, they went with Elise as the Jungler, Kennen is their Top, Soraka as the Support, and Vayne as the ADC.


    The appearance of Soraka as a team member made everyone question that decision.


    Soraka was naturally weak and she was gradually losing her popularity in competitions. Most Supports used nowadays would be those who had strong control skills, proving to be useful later on in the game.


    Choosing a Soraka bluntly meant that Wu Sen could only regenerate his teammate¡¯s health bar, while leaving the rest of the work to the ADC.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t his intention either.


    Sona and Caitlyn both majored in poking their enemies, and without Soraka, Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne would easily meet her doom.


    ¡°Play properly this time.¡± Wu Sen said as he patted Xiao Bei on the shoulder.


    Xiao Bei nodded, grateful for the trust placed in him.


    ¡­


    ¡°The battlefield is currently being projected onto the big screen!¡±


    ¡°Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, this match is brought to you by Qi Qiao. This is the season¡¯s round three of the final match. This round of the preliminaries will decide who shall be qualified to enter the LPL to join the country¡¯s top teams.¡±


    ¡°As of now, Fudan University is in the lead with two victories. As long as they win this round, they are eligible to enter the LPL tournament!¡±


    ¡°Not forgetting Team Skycrown, can they create a miracle by winning the last three matches consecutively!?¡±


    Cheers of excitement echoed from behind Qi Qiao¡¯s melodious angelic voice and onto the stage. The fans of Fudan University made up over 90% of the audience, boasting the popularity of a team formed by university students.


    So what! As long as Team Skycrown won this tournament, the chants of the masses would surely be in their favour.


    Their goal was to enter the world stage, how could they admit failure here?


    ¡­


    As level ones, Team Skycrown proceeded to move together in a defensive stance, sticking to their plan of not engaging.


    With Fudan University winning two matches, they obviously wanted to advance to see if they could breach into the farming zone of Team Skycrown. Sadly, Wu Sen had busted their plan.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Team Skycrown will switch lanes as Caitlyn and Sona¡¯s attacks are very strong when combined. Soraka¡¯s regeneration ability may not fully ensure Vayne¡¯s safety when farming. To top it off, Sona has great control skills that can stun her opponent, proving its use later in the game.¡±


    ¡°Oh? They aren¡¯t switching! It seems like they plan to play with fire.¡±


    Siyong controlled Caitlyn so skillfully it was as if it were his own body participating in the fight, poking Xiao Bei every time he wanted to last hit with pinpoint accuracy, depleting Vayne¡¯s health bar steadily.


    Vayne had a smaller attack range which made it impossible to counterattack unless he useD Q to ambush while invisible, and unknowingly, his health bar was shaved down to two-thirds.


    This time however, Xiao Bei did not panic, but rather, he continued to focus on killing the minions while waiting patiently for Wu Sen¡¯s Soraka to level up. With a four percent lifesteal rune and Soraka¡¯s heals, Xiao Bei could already control the amount of health he had at all times.


    Caitlyn took aim carefully and pivoted her body carefully while holding her musket, and just as she used her Q, Piltover Peacemaker, the shot made its way toward Xiao Bei who was busy farming.


    Right after Xiao Bei got that last hit on the creep, he immediately used his Q skill, controlling Vayne to tumble to the front, elegantly evading Caitlyn¡¯s skill in the process.


    As soon as Caitlyn¡¯s skillshot had missed its mark, Vayne fired off a few shots from her crossbow at Caitlyn.


    Out of the blue, she stopped for a second, and it looked as though the keyboard was malfunctioning once again, but without any warning, Vayne¡¯s Condemn skill flew out toward Caitlyn and knocked her back.


    In the process of the knockback, Vayne managed to get another hit on her, triggering the third consecutive attack on Caitlyn and applying the Silver Bolts effect!


    Caitlyn¡¯s health was diminished greatly and she could not go to the front to harass for a while.


    ¡°What a smooth maneuver!¡± Qi Qiao shouted in excitement, praising Xiao Bei.


    ¡°We all know that Vayne¡¯s skill can be unleashed simultaneously and the common combination would be AQE, but seeing how Xiao Bei executed his Q first to shorten the distance between the champions, pausing briefly and then following up with his E then A was surely something else. I didn¡¯t think we could use it that way and yet create such a miraculous combination!¡±


    Seeing that Caitlyn was retreating, Vayne continued to farm peacefully. Just like that, ten minutes or so soon passed, and suddenly, she started to press forward and consequently dealt a heavy blow on Caitlyn when the latter was unaware!


    Once again, Vayne had not retreated, and instead, had managed to deal a severe blow to Caitlyn¡¯s health!


    Naturally, Siyong would not allow the third strike to deal direct damage to his health while ignoring his shield. Before Vayne could deal the third attack, he used Caitlyn¡¯s 90 Caliber Net to retreat and at the same time, slow Vayne down.


    On his end, Xiao Bei was also well prepared and had not used his Q-skill with the intention to cast it as a backup, almost as if he already knew that Caitlyn would use her E-skill to retreat. At the exact moment the 90 Caliber Net was shot out, he skillfully rolled sideways, dodging the attack, and making the third hit and final strike.


    It was exactly at this moment that Sona rushed over, wanting to let Vayne have a taste of her skills, but regretfully, she was silenced by Soraka before she could even lift a finger.


    Flash!


    Vayne flashed and pounced toward Caitlyn!


    Bang!


    Condemn!


    The heavy crossbow bolts flew out and pinned Caitlyn to the wall, rendering her immobile and cast into a dire situation! If any ADC got pinned to the wall by Vayne, their lives would be in great danger!


    Being stunned for 1.75 seconds gave Vayne ample time to release two more arrows, which at the same time, unlocked his W-skill¡¯s true damage once again! In the blink of an eye, Caitlyn was left with a third of his health, and seeing as the situation demanded for it, Sona quickly reacted and cast her exhaust on Vayne.


    Xiao Bei didn¡¯t bother attacking and swiftly maintained his distance with Caitlyn. Right after the exhaust effect ended, Xiao Bei didn¡¯t falter and charged in once again. The only option Siyong had was to retreat with his Flash, otherwise, his life would definitely be taken right then and there!


    Seeing that Siyong was forced to flash away, Xiao Bei didn¡¯t pursue any further nor bat an eye at Sona¡¯s existence, but rather, he went back to farming the creeps to regenerate his health!


    ¡°Su¡­ such a sudden face off!¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed.


    ¡°From farming calmly and leisurely to morphing into a ferocious predator the next second, just a little more and Siyong¡¯s Caitlyn would have been slain. And right after that suspenseful encounter, he slipped right back into calmly farming, like nothing ever happened. Not only that, if anyone else has noticed, Xiao Bei totally ignored Sona knowing that she would use her ability to increase her health and he would be unable to kill her.¡±


    Xiao Bei¡¯s attack had definitely been a surprise, there were no signs of intention at all, and he had calmly trouncing Siyong with no mercy. By the time Siyong had regained his senses, his health was so low that even killing minions was impossible, and taking advantage of that, Xiao Bei then quickly secured his farm, leaving Siyong no choice but to go back to his base.


    Once Siyong had returned to base, Xiao Bei immediately pushed the minion lane, causing Siyong to lose a wave of minions and experience points.


    Score, 43:33.


    Siyong hit the TAB only to find out that he was 10 creep scores behind the enemy. Under normal circumstances, Caitlyn should be in the lead by 10 creeps!


    Siyong became frustrated, the earlier battle had weakened them heavily. Not only had both the ADC players used their Flash, Sona had even used her Exhaust.


    Most importantly, after pushing the lane, Vayne had gone back to complete her item build. With Caitlyn¡¯s advantage gone, Vayne would not need to fear Caitlyn anymore as she had a vampiric scepter now, moreover, with Soraka here, Xiao Bei would be happy to use that combo once more.


    ¡°Why do I feel that this ADC is a little different?¡± The Fudan University team¡¯s Support asked, slightly bewildered.


    Siyong nodded in agreement, for he too, had felt it!

 Chapter 261 - Epic Comeback

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Vayne doesn¡¯t have her Flash anymore, come and gank the bottom lane.¡± Siyong said to his Jungler.


    The Jungler was using Lee Sin and he had very good flexibility, as soon as Siyong had given him the order, Lee Sin smoothly went to the Krugs from the Lizard Elder. With quiet footsteps, he hid behind the wall at the bottom lane, all the while, using his ears to listen in on how the four people were moving at the bottom lane.


    Lee Sin was suitable for a late-game gank. When his teammates and the opponents clashed in battle, Lee Sin could come in from the back, giving his teammate a shield and crippling the enemy with a smash to the ground, closing the distance between them and casting his Q-skill at the most optimum angle. If he did exactly that, there was almost no chance that the enemy would be able to escape.


    Fudan University team¡¯s Jungler was playing very carefully. Although there were many times that there had been a chance for him to use his Q-skill, he bided his time and waited for the ADC and Support to harass their opponenets a little more.


    In actuality, Vayne would not need to be scared of Caitlyn as she was slightly stronger than her. Even more so because she had already gone back and bought items, Xiao Bei had nothing to fear. As soon as he saw an opening, he would most definitely take it.


    After a few basic attacks, Vayne was getting closer and closer!


    Seeing as Vayne had taken the bait, the opponent Jungler¡¯s face lit up with a smile. True, Xiao Bei¡¯s skills were indeed more stable now, but he was still too na?ve.


    ¡°Zoom!¡±


    As if he was one with the wind, Lee Sin suddenly flew in from the side, a golden shield forming on Caitlyn, raising his hand in preparation to smash the ground and slow Vayne down.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Suddenly, a heavy crossbow bolt came flying straight toward Lee Sin and hit him right in the face, not only causing Lee Sin to fail to use the second part of his E-skill, but also knocking him back and consequently getting pinned to the wall.


    Siyong was stunned as he watched Lee Sin get knocked back. That reaction speed was insane!


    ¡°That was too quick, his reaction speed is inhuman!¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s voice was rising in astonishment.


    ¡°After Lee Sin used his W-skill on Caitlyn, he didn¡¯t even have time to use his skills and had already been pinned to the wall by Vayne. It gives off a feeling that Vayne had already known long ago that Lee Sin would come, so she had prepared her Condemn for him, but in reality, there were no wards in the bush that Lee Sin was in!¡±


    Fudan University¡¯s Support was completely shocked out of his mind! This kid¡¯s reaction time was unreal, this was the first time they had encountered a Vayne that was played this well.


    After Lee Sin had been stunned, Xiao Bei ignored him and got into a better position to continue attacking Caitlyn who was also taking in a lot of damage from the bolts as she continued to stand beside Lee Sin who was in line with Vayne.


    Using the fact that Soraka could heal her, Vayne continued to fight against Caitlyn with all her might. Both the ADC¡¯s health bars were rapidly decreasing, and finally, Soraka stepped forth and used her Exhaust on Caitlyn.


    After withstanding a 2.5 second slow and weakening, Caitlyn had no hope of0 defeating Vayne, and she was forced to use her shield and EQ-skills in succession to create a safe distance between herself and Vayne.


    The Q-skill that Caitlyn threw out had missed due to Vayne using Tumble to dodge, and seeing that he could not hit Caitlyn anymore now, Xiao Bei focused his firepower toward Lee Sin instead.


    When facing Lee Sin, Xiao Bei did not falter. A new minion wave became his natural shield as Lee Sin¡¯s skill could not touch Vayne in the slightest. Lee Sin, while taking damage from both the cannon minion and Vayne, was losing his health drastically.


    ¡°Using the minion wave as a cover, Vayne is moving very carefully. Lee Sin is literally being toyed around with and led by his nose!¡±


    Every time Vayne¡¯s W-skill¡¯s true damage took effect, it would bring the opponent¡¯s health down by a significant portion, and Lee Sin¡¯s health had reached a critically low point.


    The audience below paid immense attention to the game. This tactic and execution of using the minion wave as cover was really too awesome. Lee Sin couldn¡¯t even touch Vayne, and this play surely had many people¡¯s eyes lighting up with passion.


    ¡°Get back further!¡± Siyong urged frantically as he saw that Lee Sin¡¯s remaining amount of health was running dangerously low.


    The Jungler was not satisfied at all, but it was too bad that his health did not provide him with what he needed to continue idling in front of Vayne. He looked back at Sona as he prepared to use his W-skill to escape.


    ¡°Trying to run?¡±


    It seems as though Wu Sen had already seen through Lee Sin¡¯s intention and had used his silence that he had saved up for this moment.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Lee Sin used his W on Sona countless times but it was all in vain!


    This silence was lethal, because if he took one more shot of true damage, it would really be the end of him!


    ¡°Nice silence!¡±


    Xiao Bei¡¯s heart beat faster as he guided Vayne to move forward in a few swift movements. 1.75 seconds of silence was definitely enough!


    After 0.5 seconds, the first arrow took flight, hitting Lee Sin. In a rapid motion, he moved forward and fired another shot after 1.2 seconds.


    At this point, the silence cast on Lee Sin had ended, and his health was critically low, sending him into a panic as he pressed his W key non-stop to get to Sona.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Tumble!


    At the very next second, Vayne tumbled forward to reach the place where Lee Sin had used his skill to fall back to, and the last arrow soared through the air and chased after Lee Sin!


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    True damage was applied, Lee Sin¡¯s shield was broken and the remaining health was completely demolished!


    FIRSTBLOOD!


    The first blood had finally appeared!


    No one would have thought that it would have been taken by Vayne under a 2vs3 circumstance!


    ¡°His health is almost gone, kill him!¡± Siyong ignored the dead Lee Sin and continued to control his Caitlyn.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s position had gotten a bit too deep from his actions done to kill Lee Sin, and right now, he was completely vulnerable to attacks from Caitlyn and Sona.


    Even while retreating, he never once let up on his attacks directed at Caitlyn. As he realized that his health was declining rapidly, Xiao Bei had to use his shield to buy himself two more seconds, and in these two seconds, he did not forget to continue attacking, his bolts on Caitlyn never once stopped.


    Sona had always been one of the weakest Supports, and she couldn¡¯t really tank many bolts. In these two seconds, Sona¡¯s health dropped below fifty percent.


    As Vayne continued to retreat and move toward the minion wave, the shield on her disappeared as well.


    ¡°Vayne is almost dead, but he did take a kill, it isn¡¯t too much of a loss. Oh, there goes a heal! This heal really came right on time!¡±


    Wu Sen¡¯s emergency heal had come right on time just as Caitlyn¡¯s shot was on the way.


    It wasn¡¯t that Wu Sen liked to do things last minute, it was just that his cooldown had just finished. A second ago he had been furiously spamming his W key to heal, it was extremely lucky that he had made it in the nick of time.


    Vayne¡¯s level three W, Astral Infusion, gave her more than 180 health points, the main point was there were eighty points of shields.


    Eighty shield points for two seconds could literally enable him to fight with Caitlyn to death. By counting on the shield¡¯s time, Xiao Bei did not retreat, but instead, moved sideways and attacked Sona!


    After three shots, Sona had less than a quarter of her health left. She would not be able to continue due to the fear of dying.


    Xiao Bei hesitated for a second, but in the end, ultimately decided to push forth!


    ¡°She¡¯s still chasing, but even if she kills Sona, Vayne might be killed in exchange¡­ This type of exchange might not be beneficial.¡±


    Taking advantage of his passive, Xiao Bei chased after Sona, and with his already-used three-shot combo, he executed Sona magnificently!


    DOUBLEKILL!


    After killing two enemies, Xiao Bei was finally showing off his skills properly!


    ¡­


    Siyong¡¯s expression turned dark immediately. Both kills had been taken by Vayne, and even if he killed Vayne now, he would merely be compensating for the loss of 300gold.


    If Vayne came back from her next trip to the shop with a Bilgewater Cutlass, she would definitely have an even easier time killing them! It didn¡¯t matter how, he had to kill Vayne.


    Siyong controlled Caitlyn and shot a blind Q at the brush. The Q flew out, but it did not hit Xiao Bei at all, as Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne had been standing at the edge of the two bushes in the bottom lane. At the very last possible second, Xiao Bei dodged Siyong¡¯s Piltover Peacemaker by a hair¡¯s breadth.


    An annoyed expression was shown on Siyong¡¯s face, a backward E was also used to get closer to the bush. He positioned himself toward the top, this was to prevent Vayne from falling back. With her health, it would be extremely easy to kill.


    As Caitlyn walked to the top of the brush, Siyong took a guess that Vayne might have run in the other direction, so he stepped into the bottom bush.


    Suddenly, Vayne tumbled right past her!


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    A bolt was fired and it hit Caitlyn, but just as Siyong¡¯s Caitlyn wanted to counterattack, Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne entered the brush again, causing them to lose their vision on her.


    Thus, Siyong had no choice but to guide Caitlyn to chase and follow Vayne into the bushes.


    As soon as he entered the brush, Siyong immediately pressed the A key. That way, it didn¡¯t matter wherever Vayne was, he was sure to hit her.


    Bang!


    A shot was fired, and just as he was about to shoot again to end Vayne¡¯s life, Vayne moved into the brush again.


    The vision was lost once more!


    Siyong was obviously very annoyed, and a cold smile appeared on his face.


    ¡®Do you really want to play the vision game with me? It doesn¡¯t matter how you play it, you will die by my hands!¡¯


    Siyong controlled Caitlyn and continued toward the bottom Brush, and just then, Vayne appeared in Caitlyn¡¯s view, and the latter immediately held up her gun!


    Bang!


    Even so, Caitlyn didn¡¯t even manage to hit her last shot and was instead knocked back by a heavy crossbow bolt, thereafter getting pushed right out of the bush, causing them to lose their vision yet again. To add on to that, Caitlyn was still pinned to the wall between the bushes!


    ¡­


    Tumble!


    Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne Tumbled out of the bush, firing a bolt at Caitlyn and immediately went back into the brush right after, rendering Caitlyn unable to attack her again.


    The bloody vision was lost again! Siyong was furious as he controlled Caitlyn and ran toward the brush!


    Just as she entered the brush, a bolt came flying at her! This was the bolt that activated true damage! That last shot immediately took the rest of Siyong¡¯s remaining health!

 Chapter 262 - Winning the Match!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    He had lost vision time and time again, not once or twice, but four times!


    Siyong¡¯s Caitlyn could have made four basic attacks, but every time he wanted to do so, he had lost his vision!


    Just by using two bushes, Xiao Bei had shown his flawless mastery of vision control. Vayne, with her crossbow, moved from bush to bush, each time showing just enough of her to fire an arrow, leaving Caitlyn completely fooled and toyed with.


    TRIPLE KILL!


    As the triple kill was announced, everyone looked at the screen in complete shock and awe of what had just happened. With Vayne¡¯s small sliver of health, she had managed to pull such a stunt off.


    This left everyone speechless and even Qi Qiao didn¡¯t have anything else to say. Following what had just happened, the playback very quickly recorded and replayed it in slow motion.


    This time, it was from Caitlyn¡¯s point of view. From the moment Caitlyn had seen Vayne as the latter had entered the bush onward, Vayne had always only let just a tiny bit of herself out and immediately disappeared right after. Every single time Siyong had wanted to click on her, she always ended up slipping away.


    The last encounter in the bush left everyone¡¯s jaw dropped. Caitlyn had had full vision already, but because of Vayne¡¯s E-skill pushing her out of the bush, she had lost vision on Vayne all over again!


    If these four back and forth fights were not replayed in slow motion, not many people could tell what had happened properly, not to mention, the excellent play and control of vision!


    ¡°Unbelievable, in the previous match when Lin Siyong used Caitlyn, he had used all sorts of skills to outplay Xiao Bei¡¯s Ezreal. But now, Xiao Bei from Team Skycrown has used Vayne to play around with Siyong, only needing to use two bushes to outplay him!¡± Qi Qiao was running out of words to describe the magnificent control Xiao Bei had of Vayne.


    Kiting had always been one of the sneakiest and most beautiful displays of vision control and positioning. These skills were usually seen in normal matches, and watching the one who was kiting outsmart the victim always gave everyone a sense of satisfaction.


    This time however, it was Lin Siyong, the team captain of Fudan University who was famed to have the skills of a professional ADC, who had been outplayed!


    Not being toyed with by Siyong was already considered to be fortunate, who would have thought that Fudan University¡¯s star player would be outplayed and killed!?


    Not to mention, the person who had accomplished that feat was none other than Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC who had been crushed by him two matches in a row!


    It felt as though a whole different person was playing! Yes, and the feeling didn¡¯t just apply to the audience, it was the same for Siyong himself.


    The enemy ADC had changed completely. His controls were precise, his last hits were on point, and he was relentless in his attacks but was calm when the situation called for it.


    Strange, why was this ADC¡¯s style so familiar?


    This familiarity gave Siyong immense mental pressure.


    It couldn¡¯t be him! Impossible!


    Siyong shook his head in denial.


    ¡­


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s like he became a God right after the keyboard change!¡±


    The audience suddenly became boisterous.


    ¡°The kiting just now was just extraordinary, did you see it? Even Siyong was fooled and got led around by his nose!¡±


    ¡°How could this be? Is this really the same ADC? How could he be so strong? Did the dysfunctional keyboard really have such a big impact on the last two games?¡±


    The triplekill had completely changed how the audience viewed Xiao Bei. Compared to the last two games, this magnificent display of skill after the 2vs3 situation had completely shocked everyone. It was very hard to imagine that the person who was playing was indeed the same ADC who had thrown the past two games!


    ¡°Nice going, Xiao Bei!¡± Wu Sen shouted in excitement.


    That play was awesome!


    His teammates who had also seen the good news all had big smiles on their faces.


    Luocheng who was still standing backstage let out a sigh of relief. It looked like Xiao Bei had regained his composure. If so, this triple kill was just the tip of the iceberg for him, and soon, the Fudan University team would be experiencing Xiao Bei¡¯s wrath!


    ¡­


    After the triple kill, Xiao Bei went back to buy boots and two daggers. These equipments were already a huge threat to Caitlyn, for if Vayne also managed to control the lane, they would have a hard time last-hitting at the bottom lane. In these circumstances, the Jungler and Mid had no choice but to help more frequently.


    Thanks to that, the Jungler had to visit the bottom lane more often than not to help Siyong farm. Even if there were three people, Vayne did not shy away. If they wanted to fight, he was prepared. With appropriate equipment, a higher level, better control, and also having Soraka with him, Vayne had the upper hand.


    Due to the fact that the Jungler was too focused on the bottom lane, Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise had already gotten two kills. These two kills were both given to Da Luo by Zhou Yan.


    Da Luo had already gained the advantage in the top lane, and after getting two kills, the enemy Top could not secure his own life. Da Luo casually went right behind the enemy tower to intercept the creeps. It was as if he was telling the Fudan University team¡¯s Jungler, ¡°Come and catch me if you can!¡±


    Fudan University¡¯s Jungler was at a loss as to where to go. If they had four people in the bottom lane, the chances of them getting the dragon were very slim, and Vayne would have no trouble in a 1vs2.


    Besides, even if he did head up to the top lane to help regain the advantage, their ADC would have a hard time farming. Right now, as soon as Vayne laid eyes on Caitlyn, an ultimate would be used to attack, and if needed, a tower dive to get the kill was also a possibility.


    ¡­


    Complete annihilation!


    Fudan University team¡¯s bottom lane had completely and utterly lost!


    In the past two games, they had used their advantage of the bottom lane to triumph over Team Skycrown. In this game, the same scenario had happened, only, the roles had been switched.


    ¡°Come on, they have to win!¡± Yang Ying and a few other people backstage were also excited.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s sudden change had let everyone see Team Skycrown¡¯s real potential, and it wasn¡¯t just Xiao Bei¡¯s strength. Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong had also shown their professionalism. All of their personal skills were enough to blind the Fudan University team. With their considerable amount of experience, they had Fudan University right where they wanted. Even if they didn¡¯t have a team cooperation as strong as Fudan University, they were still using their best strategy, splitting to two groups of four and one. This led to the Fudan University team having a hard time to initiate any fights.


    Fudan University team started to group up and try to use numbers to overwhelm Team Skycrown, hoping to use a team fight to regain their advantage, but little did they know, Team Skycrown was already used to fighting 4vs5.


    Team Skycrown loved the strategy of split four and one. Normally, Da Luo would be at the top lane pushing towers to win the game, while the other four distracted and defended their turrets and base.


    In this game, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, Wu Sen, and Xiao Bei were enough to face five enemies. Caitlyn and Lee Sin were both underfarmed, and Vayne¡¯s current equipments would enable him to kill both Sona and Caitlyn in a few seconds if he were to use his ultimate. Fudan University had no choice but to let their top lane be taken, plus, they couldn¡¯t go for the Baron as it was too risky.


    ¡­


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost.¡±


    After a teamfight at the Dragon pit, Siyong gave up completely.


    Fudan University team had been forced to initiate the teamfight as the enemy¡¯s Top had already gotten to their high ground. If they didn¡¯t win the fight now, their nexus would be destroyed.


    The forced teamfight ended up horribly for them as there were disconnections between the teammates, leading to them having four dead in the fight and only three dead on Team Skycrown¡¯s side.


    The worst part was that Vayne was the one who was still alive!


    In this fight, Vayne had gotten two more kills, and with this, Xiao Bei could already buy a Phantom Dancer after his trip back to the base. Only eighteen minutes had passed and Xiao Bei already had a Phantom Dancer and Blade of the Ruined King. As long as he did not feed or troll, the game was already in the bag.


    ¡°They must have been holding back in the past two matches. From what I can tell, Team Skycrown are all professionals, otherwise, how could they perform so well in the match? Who knows what could happen in the next two rounds¡­¡±

 Chapter 263 - Another Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    During the ten-minute half time, Fudan University¡¯s team members all looked as though they¡¯d seen a ghost.


    ¡°How can it be? It feels as if the one playing ADC is a completely different person now.¡± Wang Lin said.


    Siyong was Fudan University¡¯s strongest player, he shouldn¡¯t have lost the lane that easily.


    In the first two matches, it was undeniable that the enemy ADC was just a piece of trash, but why had their captain gotten beaten up in the third match?


    ¡°Calm down guys, we just have to not lose again.¡±


    Fudan University¡¯s members all nodded, but Siyong remained silent the whole time, not uttering even a single word.


    ¡­


    During the short break, Luocheng went up on the stage and put his hand on Xiao Bei¡¯s head with a big smile on his face.


    ¡°Great job, nicely done.¡±


    Xiao Bei had really outdone himself this time and even Luocheng was surprised.


    It was good that he had finally regained his composure. Luocheng had always been worried about him not being able to conquer this challenge.


    Winning or losing, the fate of their team lay in the results of the third match. Throughout the entire match, Luocheng had not blinked for even a second. He was more worried than anyone else on the team for Xiao Bei. Luckily, Xiao Bei had managed to calm down and not disappoint them all.


    There were countless people in the crowd who were supporting Fudan University, and the only one who was rooting for Team Skycrown this whole time was none other than Luocheng. His hope for Team Skycrown to win had to be greater than the thousands of people there.


    No one understood more than he did about the hardships they had gone through to build this team. There was definitely no one other than Luocheng who knew that other than gaming, Team Skycrown had nothing left. Even if Fudan University team lost, they would still be university students and have many avid fans.


    But if Team Skycrown lost, they would be losing everything they ever had! Luocheng himself was not sure where he had gotten the courage to leave the fate of the match in Xiao Bei¡¯s shaking hands which couldn¡¯t even hold a keyboard and mouse properly.


    Everyone from Team Skycrown knew that Xiao Bei had an immense amount of potential, he had shown talents that surpassed anyone of his generation. Before, he had been ranked tenth place on the nation¡¯s leaderboard, and he was also the only ADC in the top ten!


    Finally, he had done it!


    Xiao Bei conquering his fear and taking this step was much more important to Luocheng than the result of this match. Luocheng had always known that Xiao Bei would climb to the top eventually.


    ¡°Miss Aijing, why did you change the stats again?¡± Xiao Wang stood at the side, looking at Aijing¡¯s laptop.


    Aijing had no choice but to change Xiao Bei¡¯s statistics. In the last match, Xiao Bei¡¯s performance was exhilarating! It was as though someone else was playing the game for him.


    If this was Xiao Bei¡¯s real strength, Team Skycrown possibly had another first-class player in their team!


    ¡­


    The next match soon began.


    It seemed as though Lady Luck had taken Team Skycrown¡¯s side.


    Fudan University entered Team Skycrown¡¯s jungle once again as a team. Unfortunately for them, they were ambushed by Team Skycrown and three of them were killed.


    These three kills meant a lot to Team Skycrown. By using the advantage obtained by these three kills, Team Skycrown started to snowball in their respective lanes, slowly but steadily gaining the upper hand.


    The first to win his lane was Da Luo in the top lane. After he had gotten one kill, it was as if he had become the demon king himself, tanking the damage dealt from the Jungler and the two Top players of the enemy team while still getting a kill and escaping with a small sliver of health remaining!


    This play shocked everyone present and some people even started to support Team Skycrown.


    In actuality, Team Skycrown had done great in the past three games. All of them had shown their professionalism, using their highly complex and polished skills to gain the upper hand in their lanes. The losses in the first two matches were mostly due to Xiao Bei losing the bottom lane.


    In the third match, everyone from Team Skycrown had shown their unparalleled strength. The Top was able to 1vs2, the Mid had twenty more creep scores as compared to the enemy Mid, the jungle had become Zhou Yan¡¯s personal garden, and not to mention, Xiao Bei¡¯s last hits were on point, slowly increasing the gap of last hits between him and his opponent!


    Under normal circumstances, Da Luo preferred to remain solo at the top lane and split from his teammates, but this time, he started to roam. He went to the mid lane and then to the jungle for a walk, afterward, even pushing the bottom lane tower. After the seventh minute, as long as the Dragon was still alive, Da Luo would always appear at the mid lane or the bottom lane.


    ¡­


    The first three deaths in the team fight had demoralized Fudan University¡¯s team greatly. Following that, they were unable to gain the upper hand.


    After about twenty minutes, through killing the dragon and pushing towers, Team Skycrown¡¯s combined gold was ahead by more than six thousand!


    Group up and push!


    As if they were well-trained soldiers who were ready for a battle, Team Skycrown never once stopped forcing their enemy into a fight, it didn¡¯t even matter if they were within the tower range.


    The members of Team Skycrown all knew it clearly, if they dragged the game on, they would definitely lose the advantage they had gained. Hence, they used this strategy from the very beginning, fighting as hard as they could to gain the advantage over their opponents.


    After being in countless professional competitions, being on the global battlefield, how could they lose to a mere university¡¯s team? How could they lose before even making it close to the top?


    ¡°After getting the buff from Baron Nashor, Team Skycrown is unstoppable. It looks like this match has already been decided!¡± Qi Qiao said.


    The one thing that a team needed was morale, and Team Skycrown had uncontestable morale levels right now!


    Following a team fight which ended with two dead from Team Skycrown and four dead from Fudan University, Team Skycrown pushed their way onto their opponent¡¯s high ground and destroyed their middle inhibitor.


    After the inhibitor was destroyed, Fudan University rushed to the Baron, trying to buy themselves precious time for a comeback.


    Sadly for them, Team Skycrown was quick in defending the Baron. Inevitably, Fudan University was teamwiped at the Baron¡¯s position, giving Team Skycrown an ACE!


    Upon losing the high ground, the big ACE words that appeared on the screen signaled that the match was about to be over!


    ¡°Nice! We¡¯ve won two matches!¡± Da Luo put down his headphones, grinning from ear to ear.


    In this game, Da Luo had single-handedly disrupted the flow of Fudan University¡¯s team, and this made Da Luo feel unimaginable satisfaction.


    After leaving the professional scene for so long, Da Luo had felt that his reaction time was deteriorating. It was just recently that he had found his touch back, and in this match, he felt as if he had broken through a bottleneck and obtained a higher level of skill.


    Lin Dong let out a huge sigh of relief. They had won two matches, that was great. If they were to fall now, no one would be satisfied. Even so, this gave Lin Dong valuable information.


    In the LOL professional scene, there were more and more skillful players appearing. It didn¡¯t matter that they had been in the global league once. If a mere team from a university could threaten them like this, they wouldn¡¯t have any hope of beating the top teams in the LPL anymore.


    ¡°Congratulations to Team Skycrown for winning the fourth match! It is hard to imagine that Team Skycrown actually made such a beautiful comeback and has won two games in a row, resulting in a draw for now. You have to give them credit for being so skillful.¡± Qi Qiao continued, ¡°It seems like Fudan University is facing some challenges right now, they might need more time to regain their composure. The fifth match will be the key to victory!¡±


    Because the first two matches had gone extremely smoothly, it had made everyone think that Fudan University was definitely going to make it into the LPL and become one of the strongest teams in the nation.


    Who would have thought that Team Skycrown would make such a drastic comeback and win two matches in a row, dragging it to the final match? No one could determine who would win the final match yet as both teams might have tricks up their sleeves.


    ¡°The participants now have twenty minutes of break time before the last match begins. In these twenty minutes, can Blood Eagle please go over the details of this match? As it is very hard to obtain an analysis from one of our top four players, I hope everyone can pay full attention. If there are any questions at all, you can ask them on the spot.¡±


    ¡°All right, let¡¯s begin.¡±


    ¡­


    In the twenty minutes of Q and A session with Qi Qiao and Zhao Tinghua, there were many questions as there were many who were fans of the Blood Eagle.


    While that was going on, both teams were preparing for the next match backstage.


    ¡°Captain, let¡¯s use that strategy, it looks like Team Skycrown has gotten stronger.¡± Wang Lin said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that they¡¯ve gotten better, they¡¯re just finally using their true strength,¡± Siyong said in a serious tone.


    Team Skycrown was not easy to defeat, it was shocking that they could win two matches in a row and make a successful comeback.


    ¡°Let¡¯s use the POKE tactic. We¡¯ve never lost using that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, captain. If we don¡¯t use it now, we won¡¯t be able to use it if we don¡¯t get into the LPL. Let me use Ezreal in the mid lane, I can definitely suppress them!¡±


    Siyong nodded. ¡°Although we are not too familiar with the tactic, it might be enough for us to take down Team Skycrown. Of course, you must promise me that you will be giving your all in the lane.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry captain, the spot for LPL is definitely ours to take! Team Skycrown will never overcome our strategy!¡±

 Chapter 264 - For Their Own Sakes

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to see is the deciding round in the last match-up of the LPL Pre-Seasonal Qualifiers!


    ¡°The two teams in this clash are the fearsome and renowned Team ¡®Fudan¡¯, against the dark horse in this pre-season, Team ¡®Skycrown¡¯! This will be a best three out of five, and the current score is two wins for either side! Will the final opening to get into the LPL go to Fudan after all, or will it be snatched up by Skycrown? Let¡¯s all watch and see!¡±


    Team Skycrown was gaining more and more support from the crowd with each passing moment. People were easily impressed by skill. Anyone who wasn¡¯t already completely devoted to Team Fudan found themselves rooting for a team like Skycrown, with extraordinary players in every role.


    Although the cheering for Team Skycrown was still scattered and indistinct, it could nevertheless be heard across the arena. To the players on Team Skycrown, any amount of fans was worth being thankful for.


    Before the Pre-Seasonal Qualifiers began, Team Galaxy had even made fun of them for being a ¡®trash team¡¯. The disdain and contempt they¡¯d received had been heart-breaking . 1


    The hardest thing to bear is when what you¡¯re the proudest of is disparaged and spat on.


    In one month¡¯s time¡ªjust one month¡ªthey¡¯d surpassed Team Galaxy¡¯s score!


    And if they could win this one too, they¡¯d be the new darlings of the LOL competitive scene in the LPL, and the name of Team Skycrown would spread!


    ***


    ¡°This is the last game,¡± Yu Luocheng said to his team. ¡°Do your best out there. There are already many who are aware that Team Wings is on the rise again. They¡¯ll be watching us play with ridicule in their eyes. For our own sakes, we have to win this one!¡±


    The five players nodded solemnly. ¡°For our own sakes!¡±


    So it was for anyone who walked the path of professional gaming: Not for anyone else, they were only here because of their own burning love for the game. Regardless of what anyone else thought of them, it was a passion which could never be extinguished or wiped out!


    That¡¯s why they were doing this, for no one¡¯s sake but their own!


    They hadn¡¯t had much chance to receive a proper education. They¡¯d left home at a young age, making their own way in the world. A handful of words alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to fully describe the difficulties they¡¯d seen.


    Without any professional skills or certifications, nor any claim to a place among the intellectual elite, they were fated to a life of nameless mediocrity. It was a dreadful thought, that this might be all they¡¯d ever be.


    It was no miracle that they¡¯d still been able to get the group back together. They were young men with no academic or affluent background, and had just been wandering aimlessly through the world.


    Lin Dong was just some inconsequential tester, Da Luo had been exploited and then discarded by a woman, Zhou Yan had been working his fingers to the bone at a thankless job, and Xiao Bei was a school drop-out doing odd jobs in a city far from home.


    It could be said with certainty that no matter how many years they kept slaving away like this, no matter how long they drifted alone through the crowds, as long as they still held the faintest desire to make a splash, and reach out for destiny, there was only one path for any of them to take!


    It was a feeling like falling into darkness, ice-cold and agonizing, utterly wretched¡­ all they could do was crawl, and keep on crawling, just like all the other meandering castaways around them.


    Some made it out to stand in the sunlight; but bottom-feeders like them would only find themselves at a dead end, or perhaps they¡¯d keep sliding ever deeper into the darkness.


    Everybody was trying to become somebody, to rise above the masses. Some people really did manage it, but Xiao Bei, Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen weren¡¯t those people. There was only one fate awaiting people like them.


    When they bashed their skulls against solid stone, gazing tearfully at the end of the road, they¡¯d look back and see that one precious mote of light, so close yet so far.


    This faint, flickering light was none other than that thing which they loved the most, and refused to ever surrender.


    And that was gaming!


    As long as they still had the will to fight, as long as they still desired something more in life, they would always be ready to wipe off the blood and the tears.


    It was that, or be cast down forever, always crawling along with their noses in the dirt, the scum at the bottom of the sea of society.


    Wouldn¡¯t you rather have their eyes on your backs, as you race ahead of the horde to find your own spot of sunshine. Who cares if people laugh that you¡¯re headed the wrong way, that you¡¯re making a fool of yourself?


    Just hold onto the faith that when you¡¯re bathing in the light, they¡¯ll have nothing left to say!


    Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Da Luo were within sight of the sunshine now. They just had to make it over this next row of jagged, razor-sharp crags.


    Past here, there was someplace warm waiting for them. From there, they¡¯d be able to climb even higher still¡ªtowards even brighter lights!


    It had never been good enough for them, living in that cold, dark hole. They refused to rot there.


    This was an opportunity to break free.


    For their own sakes, they had to win!


    ***


    Stepping into the blinding lights of the arena, the five men of Team Skycrown looked simply pathetic compared to the fresh-faced Fudan University boys.


    Team Fudan was just fighting for a bit more glory. Team Skycrown was fighting for their very lives!


    ***


    ¡°Players, to your seats. All preparations have been completed. We are now ready to see the birth of a new star in the LPL! I can hardly wait!¡±


    In the arena, there were thousands of spectators watching.


    On the internet, there were nearly ten thousand more paying attention to this match, waiting to see who would win:


    Would it be Skycrown, or Fudan?


    In an hour¡¯s time, the pantheon of the LPL would be inscribed with the name of a new team:


    So was it going to be Skycrown or Fudan?


    ***


    For some reason, the five players of Team Skycrown could feel their hands trembling.


    It wasn¡¯t their first time on a big stage like this, and they didn¡¯t lack fighting spirit¡­ but with so much on the line, it was hard not to feel a certain sense of anxiety!


    Of course, the real reason behind their tension was the mood of no turning back, no surrender!


    ¡°Xiao Bei. Xiao Bei.¡± Wu Sen nudged him a little.


    Xiao Bei gave a start, realizing that it was already his turn to select a Champion.


    ¡°Will you be playing Vayne again, this game?¡±


    Xiao Bei had an impressive winning rate with Vayne. Whenever he brought her into a high-level game, victory would be more or less in the bag.


    At this final, crucial juncture, Wu Sen hoped Xiao Bei would fall back on his best Champion of all.


    Xiao Bei eyed the enemy team¡¯s composition with some consternation: Jayce, Lee Sin, Orianna¡­ It could be tricky to position Vayne well, against this.


    Xiao Bei shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to do much in the late game, as Vayne.¡±


    Wu Sen nodded.


    Thung! The portrait of ¡®Tristana, the Yordle Gunner¡¯ appeared!


    ¡°Tristana!¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s Xiao Bei has chosen Tristana, of all champions! Isn¡¯t she Team Fudan captain Lin Siyong¡¯s favorite? Doesn¡¯t he realize that a player would be most familiar with his best champion¡¯s weaknesses?¡± Qi Qiao stared in shock at Xiao Bei¡¯s choice.


    Team Fudan¡¯s fans were all agog as well.


    ¡°What, are you trying to teach Lin Siyong something about Tristana?¡± a man exclaimed in a heavy north-eastern accent.


    ¡°Tristana!¡± Beside him, his girlfriend rolled her eyes as well.


    Playing Tristana¡­ against the country¡¯s pre-eminent Tristana player?


    This startling move by Xiao Bei was raising quite a commotion. How much gall did it take to select his opponent¡¯s own best champion to go into the tie-breaker game?


    Making a choice like this, he was either going to teach someone a lesson, or he was about to get schooled himself.


    ***


    ¡°You sure about this?¡± Lin Dong inquired.


    ¡°Yes, this is the best move.¡± Xiao Bei nodded.


    If Vayne wasn¡¯t able to get ahead by the late game, she¡¯d be all but useless. Xiao Bei wanted something more dependable for this all-important game, especially considering how the enemy team would be able to greatly inhibit Vayne¡¯s damage-dealing potential.


    Lin Dong nodded, and didn¡¯t say any more.


    Everyone on Team Skycrown knew that Xiao Bei was highly proficient with all the ADC champions, and could get results using even the least common choices.


    They hadn¡¯t Banned away Tristana, partly because they didn¡¯t place much priority on keeping Lin Siyong from using her, but also because Xiao Bei used her often and well, with an extremely high winning rate. Why ban one of their own ADC player¡¯s best champions?


    If Xiao Bei had no problem playing Tristana against one of her most well-known users, they might as well believe that Xiao Bei would be able to play her better than Lin Siyong himself!


    They just needed to accommodate Tristana a little through their own champion selections.


    ***


    ¡°It seems this match is full of highlights: Xiao Bei from Team Skycrown and his surprising choice of Tristana¡ªperhaps he doesn¡¯t understand whom he¡¯ll be playing her against? If he does, then this goes way beyond mere bravado. I can¡¯t wait to see what sort of surprises Xiao Bei has in store for us with his Tristana!


    ¡°Team Fudan¡¯s Top has chosen ¡®Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow¡¯. I have some information to share with everyone: Fudan University¡¯s Top player, Zheng Xihe, plays in China using the ID ¡®Beer¡¯. Those of you playing in the highest tiers of Ranked games in the Bilgewater server should be plenty familiar with this ID¡ªafter all, he¡¯s one of the top five players in Bilgewater¡­ and Jayce is his best champion.


    ¡°According to statistics, he has a winning rate of 80% on Jayce, meaning that champion should always be banned when playing against him in any serious games. Throughout the college championship and the pre-seasonal tournament, Beer has never used Jayce even once so far¡ªbut this doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s run out of tricks on that champion¡ªhe¡¯s been saving his best for the most important games of all!¡±


    To be one of the top five players in the Bilgewater server, that was something really amazing in League of Legends.


    If not for Qi Qiao announcing this particular tidbit, the audience might not have realized that besides Lin Siyong¡ªwho was good enough to give first-class pro players a run for their money¡ªthere was also someone this noteworthy on Team Fudan.


    But, then again¡­


    If Team Fudan¡¯s Top player ¡®Beer¡¯ was such a remarkable player, what did that say of Team Skycrown¡¯s ¡®Lone Gull¡¯, who¡¯d been winning his lane against him four games in a row?


    Perhaps it was the players of Team Skycrown that no one fully understood!

 Chapter 265 - Background Information

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Well now, does anyone want to hear a few things about Team Skycrown? Please allow a bit more time for our staff to perform their research. With the changes to Ranked play, we have to dig into the previous patch to get some answers,¡± Qi Qiao explained.


    Considering how well Team Skycrown was doing, there was no way there¡¯d be nothing to find out about the team or the individual members. In any case, they should all have remarkable standings in Ranked play.


    ¡°Our director has provided us with some details about the player known as Lone Gull¡ªuh, wow! This is something else!¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed. ¡°Lone Gull, highest ever position was 19th in Solo Ranked on the Ionia server, the sort of Top player you only see once a millennium! Is there anyone here who plays Ranked at the highest tiers of the Ionia server? If so, you may be acquainted with this god-like Top. The very sight of his ID might even fill you with equal parts dread and awe, huh?¡±


    Getting 19th place in Ranked play on the Ionia server was basically the pinnacle of achievement. It wouldn¡¯t be an overstatement to call him one of the top five Top players in the nation.


    ¡°Blood Eagle, a player of your prowess should also be someone of note in Ranked play. Maybe you¡¯ve come across Lone Gull a time or two, in-game?¡± Qi Qiao enquired.


    ¡°A couple of times, yes. When facing off against him, he basically doesn¡¯t dare to step out from his Fountain,¡± Zhao Tinghua replied coolly.


    ¡°Blood Eagle, you wouldn¡¯t have been camping him exclusively, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    With his headphones on, Da Luo didn¡¯t hear the nasty things Tinghua was saying about him.


    Qi Qiao still wanted to ask more about Da Luo, but then the game began.


    The view expanded gradually across the massive LCD screen. Both teams could be seen swiftly purchasing their starting items before setting out in unison.


    As always, Team Skycrown prioritized defense in their jungle, standing watch at various key entry points.


    Having learned their lesson from last time, Team Fudan didn¡¯t attempt any more reckless invasions.


    With no untoward occurrences at the start, they proceeded directly into the laning phase.


    Since both Top-laners had received some introduction just now, the director deliberately cut the view over to the two of them now.


    Jayce was nothing to worry about at Level 1, but with one more level, his power increased several times over. It was clear to see that Beer was very familiar with this champion, changing modes and deploying skills deftly. Somehow, he was soon the one with more health left.


    ¡°Da Luo, watch your health, there.¡± Zhou Yan snuck Elise up behind the wall.


    No change in Junglers on either team: Team Fudan was still using Lee Sin, and it remained Elise for Team Skycrown.


    Da Luo was playing Kennen. During Level 2, a fierce attack from Jayce had knocked away a substantial amount of his health, forcing him to withdraw some distance.


    Seeing that Zhou Yan had arrived, Da Luo nodded faintly to himself.


    He understood that Zhou Yan wasn¡¯t instructing him to consume a Health Potion, but rather to make sure that he didn¡¯t die if his opponent suddenly made another determined assault against him, while allowing his health to remain low enough to lure in the enemy Top and Jungler to attempt an all-in gank attack.


    ¡°Aha!¡± Kennen transformed into a ball of fizzing lightning, rolling through the minions to keep his distance from Jayce.


    As he did this, both Da Luo and Zhou Yan sensed impending peril!


    Now that he¡¯d thrown away his mobility skill, the time was ripe for the enemy to make a move!


    The Top lane was supposedly a solo lane, but the shadows were deep there, and you never knew whether there might be more enemies hidden nearby. Even if it looked as though your opponent was on his own, there could very well be a counter-gank lying in wait!


    There was a thundercrack, and Jayce¡¯s weapon instantly morphed into the Mercury Hammer, coursing with lightning!


    Somersaulting through the air, he brought the hammer crashing down upon Kennen¡¯s head!


    At the moment of impact, Jayce immediately Flashed behind Kennen, and then used his E-skill ¡®Thundering Blow¡¯ to knock Kennen away from safety!


    It was an unbelievably swift maneuver, the whole thing taking place over the course of less than a second.


    As Kennen was struck, Da Luo hit his own Flash without a moment¡¯s thought!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Lee Sin popped out from a nearby bush, slamming both palms into the ground!


    However, Da Luo¡¯s response had been too quick. Otherwise, if he¡¯d been caught by that skill, he¡¯d have taken more damage and gotten Slowed down as well¡ªand that would have been the death of him!


    ¡°Holy hell, he really is here!¡± Zhou Yan muttered, deftly shape-shifting into Spider form.


    Up into the sky, and then down again!


    Elise descended upon Jayce, unleashing a skill combo on him. At Level 3, the Spider Queen actually had six skills to use. By the end of her skill combo, Jayce barely remained standing¡ªand this was when Kennen lit him up with Ignite ! 1


    ¡°As skillful as Beer was at switching modes on Jayce, Team Skycrown¡¯s Jungler matched him with an equally jaw-dropping demonstration of dexterity on Elise! She closes the distance with E, uses all her skills in Spider Form, then smoothly switches back to Human Form to unleash another skill combo!¡±


    It had been a fierce exchange of skills between the Top-laners and Junglers from both teams. With his Flash expended, and the Red Buff eating away at him, Jayce had no hope of getting away.


    Meanwhile, Kennen had already used his ¡®Lightning Rush¡¯ to trick the enemy into launching their attack¡ªand with his own Flash on cooldown as well, he was an easy target for Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill. He was doomed, too!


    First Blood!


    Zhou Yan had picked up First Blood with Elise!


    Almost at the same instant, Team Fudan¡¯s Lee Sin delivered a flying kick to Kennen, and then Jayce¡¯s own Ignite finished off their target. The kill had been taken by Jayce!


    Both Top-laners had fallen simultaneously!


    For a moment, the Top lane became a scuffle between two Double-Buffed Junglers, neither one daring to approach the other!


    ¡°Lee Sin connects with his Q, a perfect shot! Elise takes to the sky, avoiding the follow-up kick¡ªbeautiful!¡±


    Zhou Yan¡¯s reflexes were astounding. A moment ago, Elise had still been in Human form. After Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Wave hit her, she instantly morphed into Spider form and pulled herself up to safety, dodging the incoming flying kick just before it landed, and thereby taking no damage from it.


    Coming to ground again, she unleashed a skill combo, which Lee Sin absorbed with the shield from his ¡®Safeguard¡¯, even as he leapt over to one his minions to withdraw from the fight!


    Elise and Lee Sin were both champions who possessed six skills at Level 3, and that most recent exchange between them had been mind-boggling to witness! It was like watching two swordmasters thrusting viciously at each other, intent to kill, and then just barely dodging every lethal attack, both fighters coming away unscathed!


    The battle in the Top lane had been so intense that no one had dared to blink. Meanwhile, things were heating up between Orianna and Lin Dong¡¯s Anivia, over in the Middle lane!


    Thanks to her passive skill, Anivia was virtually unkillable in the early game, and she threw out her skills with furious aggression.


    By Level 3, both AP champions had already run out of mana. Abandoning the minions, they began hurling basic attacks at each other, as though they were ADCs.


    In this regard, Orianna had the advantage over Anivia, but Lin Dong wasn¡¯t put off by that, and he stood his ground.


    At last, Anivia¡¯s ceaseless harassment seemed to cause Huang Lin of Team Fudan to lose his cool. Tossing an Ignite onto Anivia, he threw a full skill combo at her!


    With one last basic attack, Anivia¡¯s health was reduced all the way to zero, and she shriveled away into an egg on the ground.


    ¡°Nice one!¡± Qi Qiao called out. ¡°Fudan University¡¯s Huang Lin has forced the cryo-phoenix into her passive. Will he be able to finish her off?¡±


    ¡°Fudan¡¯s Mid is kinda na?ve,¡± Zhao Tinghua remarked bluntly.


    Taken aback, Qi Qiao turned to him. ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s out of mana right now. So what if he makes Anivia use her ¡®Rebirth¡¯? Can he kill her with just his auto-attacks? Earlier, Anivia was already low on health¡ªthere was no need to invest so many skills, and even Ignite, all just to bring her down once. In a few seconds, she¡¯ll be back with more health than Orianna¡ªand then how can Orianna remain in lane against an Anivia at nearly full strength, with her Ignite still available?¡±


    Hearing Tinghua¡¯s analysis, Qi Qiao finally understood the truth of the situation.


    Indeed, even if Lin Dong had expended the benefit of his passive skill, Orianna wouldn¡¯t be able to finish off Eggnivia with just her pitiful basic attacks. As the rebirth of the phoenix drew closer, Orianna had no choice but to back off.


    Believe, and you shall have eternal life, never to perish!


    Lin Dong¡¯s face lit up with a grin. With half his health bar remaining, he boldly pushed forth!


    His minions reached the enemy tower, and times were tough for Orianna. With scant little health left to her, it was exceedingly dangerous to be farming under her own tower.


    As such, Orianna had to reluctantly abandon this wave of minions and return to base to recover.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid player is similarly impressive! Relying on Anivia¡¯s passive, he picks a fight with Orianna right away, thereby securing an advantage with his second life! If I recall correctly, across all five games in this series, Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid player Sky Swan has always won his lane!¡±


    ¡°Previously, we¡¯d been minimal with information about the players on both teams out of respect for their privacy. Our director has now sent over more details about Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid player.¡±


    To have won against Team Fudan¡¯s Mid five games in a row, there was no question that he was an exceptional player. Everyone listened with rapt attention for more juicy morsels about Team Skycrown¡¯s players.


    Qi Qiao¡¯s little news bulletin here could hardly have come at a better time.


    ¡°Sky Swan of Team Skycrown is well-known among the highest echelons of Ranked play in the United States. Our collaborators from that region have informed us that Sky Swan has already been recognized over there as an all-star player, and has been mentioned in e-sports headlines about League of Legends. He¡¯s an amateur player who¡¯s admired by pro-gamers around the world.


    ¡°Some of you might be unfamiliar with the term ¡®all-star player¡¯. Basically, it¡¯s like getting into the hall of fame, when you¡¯re recognized as one of the best players in a server. It may also help to know that everyone in the United States plays on the same server, unlike how we have many server regions here in China. This should give you an idea of what it means to stand at the top, over there¡­¡±


    Qi Qiao herself was stunned by the information she was reading aloud!


    It seemed as though every one of the players on Team Skycrown had come from an unbelievable background. They¡¯d already reached heights that most pro-gamers had never claimed before!


    Small wonder that they were beating the players from Fudan University in every lane. With more time to develop their teamwork and tactics, this team would be absolutely spectacular to watch!

 Chapter 266 - Deadly Poke

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Qi Qiao spoke up, ¡°Blood Eagle, you¡¯ve been quiet for a while, now. I remember you saying at the beginning that Team Fudan had an interesting champion line-up. Could you say some more about that?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll find out at around twenty minutes into the game,¡± Zhao Tinghua replied.


    The battles raged fiercely. Both sides had racked up a similar amount of Champion Kills, and each Dragon was bitterly contested.


    The gold difference between both teams remained negligible. The main advantage so far lay with Lin Dong¡¯s Anivia having amassed forty more CS than Orianna.


    210 CS at twenty minutes¡­ fearsome farming indeed.


    Now that a tower had fallen in the Bottom lane, the action was moving towards the Middle lane.


    It was obvious that Team Fudan¡¯s Jayce had been making a lot of appearances here. Using his E-skill ¡®Acceleration Gate¡¯ to speed up his whole team, they knocked down a tower before Team Skycrown could respond in time, and now they were pushing towards the second-tier tower!


    Kapow! Another Acceleration Gate flared to life, and a ¡®Shock Blast¡¯ hurtled through it, slamming into Team Skycrown¡¯s champions with devastating effect!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Anivia and Da Luo¡¯s Kennen had each suddenly lost a third of their total health!


    Mystic Shot!


    Ezreal fired off his Q-skill relentlessly. With the Iceborn Gauntlet in hand, any Mystic Shot that hit an enemy would be followed by another one just one second later, and Lin Siyong was a crack shot with it, so that everyone on Team Skycrown was soon staggering from their wounds.


    ¡°Oh no, we¡¯re¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let the minions get close,¡± Da Luo snapped.


    If the enemy¡¯s minion wave reached their tower, Jayce could throw down another Acceleration Gate for his team, and another one of their towers would be reduced to rubble in moments.


    However, even though Team Skycrown had Anivia¡¯s potent wave-clearing capability on their side, they were helpless against this onslaught. Anivia was taking so much damage that Lin Dong didn¡¯t dare to bring her to the front. If she lost her passive skill this early, they¡¯d be that much weaker during a team fight.


    Lin Dong frowned. ¡°We can¡¯t go on like this. Everyone¡¯s lost too much health.¡±


    The team fight hadn¡¯t even started in earnest yet, but the non-stop barrage of Shock Blasts and Mystic Shots from Jayce and Ezreal, not to mention Orianna¡¯s Ball and Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Waves¡­


    They were being bombarded by a veritable hail of long-ranged attacks.


    Because they had to hold their tower, there was a limit to how much they could dodge around, so somebody was always bound to get hit every so often. Although they¡¯d started out at full health, beneath this withering harassment, hardly anyone was still fit for combat.


    Under these circumstances, they couldn¡¯t take the initiative at all¡­ but if they didn¡¯t do something, they¡¯d just keep getting poked down like this until there was no choice but to return to the Fountain¡ªand the moment even a single one of them withdrew from this engagement, the enemy would tear their towers apart in a blink!


    Although Team Skycrown had managed to secure an advantage early on, if they lost two towers in the Middle lane like this, the tides of war would turn against them.


    Before long, they¡¯d lost a tower in the Top lane as well.


    Team Fudan immediately advanced upon the second-tier tower there, poking hard as before. They wouldn¡¯t commit to a team fight until the Team Skycrown champions were badly wounded enough to be easy pickings.


    ¡°Da Luo, force a fight! We can¡¯t let them poke us down again!¡± Surveying everyone¡¯s health, Lin Dong gave the command.


    Nodding, Da Luo moved to flank!


    Flashing through the wall, he opened right up with his ultimate skill, ¡®Slicing Maelstrom¡¯. The area was suddenly filled with crackling lightning, a fearsome ring of death surrounding Kennen!


    Kennen¡¯s ulti transformed him into a living bomb, a terrifying vortex of ravenous electricity!


    ¡°Kennen uses Flash to start a team fight! Indeed, Team Skycrown can¡¯t allow themselves to keep getting harassed like this!¡± Qi Qiao cried out.


    Snap-crackle! Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, as Kennen dove into the enemy¡¯s ranks.


    ¡°Ah-tah!¡± Clad in the Dragon Fist skin, Lee Sin belted out that signature yelp. Right before Kennen reached the enemy team, Lee Sin vehemently slammed a foot into his face!


    Trailing fresh blood, Kennen¡¯s little body was sent sprawling away. This meant his Slicing Maelstrom had been kept at bay, allowing Team Fudan¡¯s champions to avoid getting locked down by it!


    It had been a perfect response from Lee Sin. The crowd went wild!


    Kennen, the Heart of the Tempest, was most feared for his ultimate skill. Not only did it do tremendous damage across a vast area, it could also Stun everyone caught within its effect, often leading to a whole-team Ace.


    That one kick from Lee Sin had utterly neutralized the threat from Kennen.


    Deprived of Kennen¡¯s area-effect crowd control, Team Skycrown had no tanks which could withstand through the horrifying damage from Team Fudan¡¯s champions.


    Already behind in gold, now that Team Skycrown had fumbled this crucial opening maneuver, the team fight became a disaster for them, and their champions dropped like flies.


    Double Kill! Triple Kill!


    ¡°Jayce claims a Triple Kill with a beautiful Shock Blast. Elise was trying her best to juke it, but the shot found her anyway!¡±


    The noise from the audience was deafening. Team Fudan¡¯s diehard fans were screaming hysterically after that victorious team fight!


    Two deaths for four kills! The team from Fudan University had only lost their Support and Mid; Team Skycrown had lost everyone save for Xiao Bei¡¯s Tristana.


    Tristana couldn¡¯t hold the Top lane¡¯s second-tier tower all by herself. All she could do was return to the Fountain.


    Team Fudan now held a commanding advantage in the aftermath of this decisive team fight. They were currently more than seven thousand gold ahead, and they¡¯d claimed all the Buffs too. Any further team fights against them would be even more of an uphill battle!


    As a result of such a drastic financial disadvantage, even if Kennen managed to start off a team fight in an ideal situation, they could still end up losing due to the sheer difference in their equipment.


    Furthermore, Team Skycrown¡¯s choice to prioritize defense would only mean a slow, inevitable tumble towards defeat.


    Jayce had assembled Last Whisper, Black Cleaver, and Muramana. Augmented with such sumptuous gear, one Shock Blast from him could shear off fully one-third of anyone¡¯s health bar!


    Team Skycrown had no true front-liners in their composition. Elise could take a moderate bit of punishment, but the others would have to back out of a fight after taking just a couple of hits¡ªand then they would lose another tower, and the gold difference between them would widen further.


    ¡°This team composition¡­ Team Fudan¡¯s line-up is essentially unbeatable. So this is what Fudan University is capable of¡­ Blood Eagle, you saw it right from the start, didn¡¯t you? Is this the scenario you anticipated at twenty minutes¡ªis this what you meant?¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s voice quavered with awe.


    Now that Team Fudan had demonstrated the strategy made possible by their champion line-up, everyone was startled beyond words. Before this point, Team Skycrown had been winning all three of the lanes.


    However, once the team fights began, Team Skycrown appeared completely helpless. They were being trampled underfoot by Team Fudan, slaughtered almost to the last man, badly battered even while on the defensive.


    ¡°Classic poke strategy,¡± Blood Eagle commented.


    ¡°Could you explain to everyone the essential concept behind a poke strategy?¡± Qi Qiao asked.


    ¡°A poke composition comprises multiple champions with long-ranged attack skills. More typical examples include Lux, Jayce, Ezreal, Ziggs, Kha¡¯Zix, Orianna, and so on. Three or more of these champions in the same team is an obvious indicator of a strategy based on poking.


    ¡°It¡¯s clear to see that this is what Team Fudan was going for. They picked up Jayce, Ezreal, and Orianna¡ªthree excellent poke champions. Another crucial component to a poke composition is a champion who can force a team fight, or foil the enemy¡¯s attempt to do so. Such a champion is key¡ªin this case, Lee Sin!


    ¡°The greatest weakness of a poke composition is having a team fight forced onto them. Specialty in poking means inferior performance in an all-out team fight, so they can¡¯t stand up to a sudden ambush or an aggressive charge. In this sense, Team Skycrown¡¯s Kennen poses the greatest threat to them¡ªbut Lee Sin¡¯s presence greatly mitigates this problem: Any time Kennen comes charging in with his ulti, Lee Sin will promptly eject him from the premises¡­ as we saw earlier, up in the Top lane.


    ¡°Add in a Support with a large-area CC, and once the game progresses to this stage, things will really get out of hand. It¡¯s like a moving castle of Towers.


    ¡°The teams are over seven thousand gold apart, now. Once the gold difference crosses ten thousand, no amount of strategy or teamwork will make any difference. The difference in equipment will be insurmountable, and the outcome of this game will already be decided.


    ¡°This kind of strategy first appeared in Korea. Team Fudan¡¯s proficiency with it still appears rather primitive. If this play-style was being employed by one of Korea¡¯s top teams, you¡¯d understand the feeling of waiting helplessly for your own defeat.¡±


    Blood Eagle delivered an impeccable run-down of the strategy. Qi Qiao was enraptured by his explanation. She hadn¡¯t realized there were such powerful patterns in League of Legends. If you encountered an enemy team using such tactics in everyday Ranked play, there¡¯d be no hope of overcoming them!


    It was clear that Team Skycrown had been caught by surprise, and they¡¯d lost a bunch of towers as a result. Now they were stuck on the back foot.


    ¡°Does this mean Team Skycrown is already done for? I can¡¯t find any flaws in this strategy. It seems like there¡¯s no way to defeat it.¡±


    ¡°Picking Kennen was actually a mistake¡ªMalphite would have been better,¡± Tinghua declared. ¡°He¡¯s got the best team-fight opener in all of League of Legends, and better yet, a Malphite built for armor can stand in front of his team and block Jayce¡¯s Shock Blasts with the help of his passive skill, greatly blunting the efficacy of their poke comp.


    ¡°Sadly, Team Skycrown is still kinda raw. They lost half the game during Champion Selection.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Team Skycrown appears to still lack experience. Given these circumstances, their odds of winning this game are scant to nil, what with the composition they¡¯re up against,¡± Qi Qiao lamented.


    ***


    Backstage, Yu Luocheng was similarly morose.


    Team Fudan had surprised them with this strategy. Luocheng had seen it before in foreign competitions, but never as well as Team Fudan was performing it now, with lots of poke as well as the ability to force a team fight, or deflect enemy team fight openers¡­ and then a deadly finishing flourish.


    To make matters worse, Team Skycrown¡¯s own champion line-up made the situation particularly untenable. There was no doubt that Lee Sin was keeping a close eye on Da Luo¡¯s Kennen.


    It looked like an 80% chance of them losing this game.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t feel that he was exaggerating the situation. He honestly didn¡¯t reckon that there was anyone on Team Skycrown who could find a breakthrough now!

 Chapter 267 - Imminent Defeat

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Fudan had a reputation for unorthodox strategies, and a knack for finding victory through unexpected means.


    In the two years that they¡¯d been around, they¡¯d also been training with various unnamed foreign teams.


    It had to be said that foreign strategies were ahead of whatever domestic teams were doing. Team Fudan¡¯s flawless poke strategy demonstrated this clearly enough. Although Team Skycrown had managed to get ahead early on, they were unable to bring any of that to bear once the team fights began.


    They were simply being beaten down too badly¡ªand whenever they tried to push through, the enemy would slink out of their reach. Once their health bars had been whittled away almost to nothing, then the enemy would come barging in for the kill.


    Kennen¡¯s immense burst damage, Anivia¡¯s area-effect attacks, Tristana¡¯s incredible sustained damage¡­ what use was any of it, when Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t even get within reach of their opponents?


    Team Fudan had obviously trained deliberately to become familiar with deploying this strategy. While Jayce provided the main thrust of their poking attacks, Orianna cleared away the minions, and the Iceborn Gauntlet-wielding Ezreal hampered Team Skycrown¡¯s movements, until Lee Sin dashed in to force a fight.


    They had a good sense of when they should go in and mix it up, and when they should hang back and keep poking.


    Team Skycrown was no slouch at clearing off minions, either, but it wasn¡¯t much help to them: when the lane was clear, Team Fudan had a clear line of fire at them, but Team Skycrown still couldn¡¯t close the distance to them. To make matters worse, one side had already snatched up all the buffs.


    They were simply helpless against this play-style.


    Backstage, Yu Luocheng shared in the misery of the five players on Team Skycrown.


    The team¡¯s weakness was painfully obvious: They¡¯d had too little time to work on their team tactics, and hadn¡¯t developed much in the way of comprehensive strategies. They were always just going with the same old 4-1 split-push and total jungle control. Though they¡¯d achieved a tremendous level of sophistication with these techniques, they weren¡¯t fit to be used in every possible circumstance.


    Dominance over every region of the jungle relied on a number of conditions, and was unlikely to fly against a strong team like Fudan¡ªat most, they¡¯d only be able to keep it up for a little while before the enemy team seized back control of their own half of the map.


    Team Fudan¡¯s proficiency with this poke strategy was a far cry from anything Team Skycrown could bring to the table. It was a difference of two months against two years¡ªit wasn¡¯t even worth comparing.


    Right now, Luocheng could only hope that the players of Team Skycrown would be able to find a way out of this maze, and forge a path to victory.


    ¡®A hundred seconds of cooldown left on Da Luo¡¯s Flash. Essentially, team-fighting won¡¯t be possible during these one hundred seconds¡­¡¯ Staring up at the screen, Luocheng¡¯s mind was afire.


    If he had Flash, Kennen could attempt an ambush with his ulti and, when Lee Sin came after him, immediately Flash behind Lee Sin. Pulling off such a feat should be well within Da Luo¡¯s ability.


    Sadly, that cooldown was just too long¡­


    Both Anivia and Elise had crowd-control skill-shots, but the odds were too low that they¡¯d be able to land a decisive Stun. Team Fudan always kept a minimum distance of 800 units away.


    Starting a team fight with Anivia¡¯s Q or Elise¡¯s E wasn¡¯t solid enough as a plan. It relied too much on a difference in player ability.


    This was the tie-breaker game. If Team Skycrown could only rely on luck, it would be a little different from having already lost.


    ***


    As Luocheng was deep in rumination, the situation worsened. Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid-lane Inhibitor Tower was halfway to collapse, though minions were scant on either side.


    ¡°Hah!¡± Soaring through the air, Lee Sin dove under the enemy tower!


    E twice to Slow!


    Two champions had been caught by Lee Sin in this way. This was clearly a prelude to a tower-dive-and-kill!


    Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen¡¯s champions were all at half-health. Sensing an opportunity, Lee Sin was here to start off a team fight!


    As the enemy team moved to breach their base, Kennen was nowhere to be seen. This was because he was already outside, in position to flank.


    When Lee Sin made his move, Kennen charged in with ¡®Slicing Maelstrom¡¯!


    ¡°Kennen uses his ulti! This flank attack is gonna hurt!¡±


    Da Luo wasn¡¯t a fool. He knew that standing at the front would mean taking all sorts of poke damage, and there was no hope that he¡¯d be able to bring the full effect of his ultimate skill to bear while Lee Sin was in the way.


    So he¡¯d attack from the flank!


    A face-to-face 5v5 brawl was a no-go. Against an enemy team composition like this, one had to ambush them from the side!


    Seeing that Da Luo had thrown himself into the ring, everyone on Team Skycrown advanced!


    ¡°Hah!¡± All of a sudden, the ground was crawling with creeping vines!


    It was Zyra¡¯s ultimate skill, ¡®Stranglethorns¡¯!


    Seeing the ground before them erupt in snaking green tendrils, the four other champions of Team Skycrown were forced to halt in mid-charge!


    There was no way forward¡ªnot without getting knocked up into the air!


    ¡°Da Luo¡­¡±


    He was already deep within the enemy¡¯s ranks. In mere moments, the enemy team tore him to pieces.


    Watching himself die alone, Da Luo¡¯s eyebrows hiked up his forehead.


    Team Fudan was swift on the retreat! The only person he¡¯d been able to lock down was Lee Sin.


    The Top-laner only managing to catch the enemy Jungler with his skills¡­ it was basically a wasted effort.


    Trapped as he was, even Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass could make no difference. Once the 2.5 seconds of Invulnerability ended, Orianna, Jayce, Ezreal, and Zyra fired their skills all at once, and life¡¯s brief candle was about to be snuffed out for Kennen!


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, as long as we get Lee Sin.¡± Da Luo exhaled heavily.


    Watching the air fill with incoming enemy attacks, Da Luo felt a sense of despair and helplessness.


    If he charged in from the front, Lee Sin had his ulti reserved specifically for him.


    If he flanked from the side, Zyra could zone off his teammates with her ulti.


    Team Fudan was heading him off at every avenue. Without his Flash, he was completely at a loss as to how he could salvage the situation.


    His screen had grayed out.


    Da Luo¡¯s eyes glazed over as he beheld Kennen¡¯s fallen body.


    It felt like they were about to lose another team fight.


    If they lost this tower, the gold difference would be close to ten thousand, and they¡¯d have basically zero chance of turning this game back around.


    How could this be happening? Couldn¡¯t they even handle a bunch of university boys?


    Could it be that times had changed so quickly, and now a bunch of old gamers like them were no longer any good?


    Skills flew back and forth in grayscale. He watched as Wu Sen¡¯s Support was killed off instantly. Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise pounced into the fray, never to emerge again.


    Finally, the only ones left standing were Xiao Bei¡¯s Tristana and Lin Dong¡¯s Anivia, struggling desperately to hold the Inhibitor Tower.


    Anivia¡¯s passive ability had already been lost. With the scant little health she had remaining, all it would take was one more hit from Jayce, and she would be finished.


    And yet, she couldn¡¯t withdraw¡ªnot without immediately losing this tower.


    Beneath his spectacles, Lin Dong¡¯s eyes were affixed to the monitor before him, moving around to evade Jayce and Ezreal¡¯s skillshots.


    It was like walking a tightrope over a yawning chasm. One wrong step and it would cost him his life!


    Whoosh! A Mystic Shot flew in from the side, catching one of Anivia¡¯s wings in an explosion of frost.


    That brought Anivia down to her last handful of HP, and before she could make another move, a brilliant ball of energy came screaming in from a second source!


    Her movement Slowed, Anivia had no way to escape. Her frozen body evaporated away instantly in the blistering explosion.


    Lin Dong sat motionless in his chair. In that moment when his champion had been slain, he¡¯d felt something breaking inside of him. There was a pain in his heart that threatened to consume him!


    Why didn¡¯t he dodge that?


    Why couldn¡¯t he dodge that?


    As long as he¡¯d avoided getting hit, he could have held on.


    The color washed out of his screen. He watched with unfocused eyes as the Middle Inhibitor Tower fell. All he could do was watch, as Jayce and Ezreal barged into their home ground.


    ¡°Lin Dong¡­¡± Xiao Bei glanced at Lin Dong as he meekly pulled Tristana back to the Fountain.


    After they lost this Inhibitor, the Baron would be soon to follow. They were already eight or nine thousand gold behind. If the enemy team got any richer with a power play on the Baron Buff, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if Team Skycrown managed to start the perfect team fight¡ªthey¡¯d still lose on account of the equipment gap.


    Was there still any way for them to win?


    Exactly how were they going to win this?


    At this point, even if they figured out an effective counter-measure to this poke strategy, it wouldn¡¯t matter.


    ¡°It¡¯s just one of our Inhibitors. We haven¡¯t lost yet,¡± Xiao Bei whispered.


    Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, Da Luo, and Lin Dong maintained their glum silence.


    They¡¯d all been playing LOL for a long time. Of course they¡¯d been through games where, even after all three of their Inhibitors had been broken, they¡¯d still managed to turn the tables and find victory in the end. Then again, they¡¯d also seen games where, by the time the first Inhibitor was lost, it might as well have just been the whole Nexus.


    And they knew how to tell the difference between the two.


    Obviously, this tie-breaker game was the latter case.


    ***


    Faced with the wordless pallor of his teammates, Xiao Bei squirmed with discomfort.


    If only he¡¯d been able to play his best during the last two games, and help secure some advantages for his team, then Team Fudan would have had to reveal this poke strategy earlier on, and Team Skycrown would have had a chance to plan an effective response to it.


    Instead, this was already their last game. There was no chance to make any more adaptations!


    For some reason, Xiao Bei¡¯s thoughts were all a mess. He ran Tristana this way and that, unsure of where he ought to go.


    Turning around, Xiao Bei gazed helplessly at Yu Luocheng, standing in the back.


    In fact, when each of their champions died, Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Lin Dong had also turned to look at Luocheng.


    In the past, no matter how bad the situation¡ªeven when things appeared bleak beyond hope¡ªtheir captain, the heart and soul of their team, would somehow find a way to get them through it, and create a miraculous turnaround.


    It had been a reflexive force of habit: In those days, Luocheng¡¯s unwavering gaze and unbreakable spirit had always been a reassuring sight for them.


    Every team needs a guiding light¡ªand for Team Wings, that light had been Yu Luocheng. That was why, after he¡¯d left, no one else could stay, either.


    But now, the man they used to depend on for miracles could only watch from backstage.


    Without him, what were they to do, in a desperate situation like this?


    No one had any clue how they should handle the next team fight, or how to stave off their imminent defeat!


    ***


    Clutching the cordon that separated him from the players, Luocheng¡¯s heart was in turmoil.


    It was pure agony, watching in silence as Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Xiao Bei, and Lin Dong sank into despair, their movements listless and ineffectual.


    So maddening was it, that he was almost grinding his teeth into powder!

 Chapter 268 - Across the Distance

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Fingers wrapped around the cordon, Yu Luocheng realized Xiao Bei was looking at him.


    Beneath those smooth eyelids, his eyes held the same despair and aimlessness as his teammates.


    Seeing his skinny, freckled little face only made Luocheng¡¯s heart twist even worse.


    ¡®I¡¯m from a tiny little place in Gansu Province, called Xiao Bei Village. My name is Xiao Bei, too. I don¡¯t really get what this is, but I think I like it. Luocheng, can you teach me to play?¡¯


    Unbidden, a flashback came to Luocheng of the first time he¡¯d met Xiao Bei. He¡¯d been saying something along those lines.1


    A young man from the North-West, brought out from the mountains by an uncle living far away, so he could work at small jobs in ever-blooming Shanghai. He didn¡¯t have a clue about anything, except that he liked gaming.


    Looking into his uncertain eyes, one could see that he only knew who he was when he had his hands on a mouse and keyboard, controlling a Champion upon a computer screen.


    Luocheng had believed that he¡¯d really be able to get somewhere in pro-gaming, with such a sincere passion for it in his heart.


    Every team needs a guiding light. Xiao Bei was still barely more than a mewling pup, but Luocheng was pinning his hopes on him!


    ***


    Xiao Bei was truly at a loss. Individually, Team Fudan¡¯s players clearly weren¡¯t a match for Team Skycrown¡ªand yet, they had all but vanquished Team Skycrown.


    If they really lost this game, what was left for them?


    Would the team have to part ways, just like that?


    After all, even if they wanted to keep going, where would they find the money to keep five people fed for several more months?


    Xiao Bei gazed at Yu Luocheng. He needed his help now. He needed Luocheng to tell him what to do¡­


    But Luocheng was so far away, right now. Against the harsh glare of the lights behind him, all he could make out was a shadowy silhouette.


    What was he even looking for? Luocheng wasn¡¯t on the battlefield with them.


    Xiao Bei was about to turn back to his screen, where his base was about to be broken open someplace else¡ª


    A tiny movement caught his eye.


    It was Luocheng¡¯s figure. He was trying to communicate something to him.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s gaze whipped right back to him, where Luocheng stood among the shadows.


    He held out his right hand in a fist, and gently tapped it against his own chest.


    Thump! Thump! He could almost hear the sound in his own ears.


    It was a gesture he recognized well. The sight of it awoke something deep inside of him, something which spread through his whole body and set his blood on fire!


    It was the victorious salute of F-Hawk!


    After they¡¯d become the first-place champions of China after a hard-won battle against Team Daemons¡­ in spite of the disdain they¡¯d received from Korea, America, and Europe¡­ F-Hawk had flattened all opposition to claim the ultimate honor in the International Solo Tournament¡­


    ¡­ and then, with a smile, he¡¯d tapped his right fist to his chest: Victory by his hand, as a gamer with all his heart!


    It was a moment deeply ingrained in Xiao Bei¡¯s memory, the symbol of Yu Luocheng¡¯s triumph over the entire world of pro-gaming, and seeing it again helped him to understand two important things:


    He didn¡¯t have to envy those people who boasted a better education and lifestyle than him. He didn¡¯t chase after wealth or status. Contempt, judgement, promotion, income¡­ he didn¡¯t understand any of these things¡ªbut when Team Wings had stood at the top of the whole world, he¡¯d learned the meaning of glory and dignity!


    To other people, it might be a complete joke: Small fry like him, struggling just to make ends meet, and still worrying over something like this.


    But so what? He¡¯d found these two qualities in someone like Yu Luocheng!


    That was the kind of person he wanted to become.


    Victory by his hand, as a gamer with all his heart. He¡¯d found his reason for existence again!


    He longed to know what it felt like to receive the applause of countless people, to feel his heart awaken! How many years he¡¯d longed for it!


    But if he couldn¡¯t even prevail in a little game like this, what place did he have talking about conquering the world, claiming the throne of pro-gaming¡­


    And how would he ever look Yu Luocheng in the eye again?


    It was time to rise up!


    Rather than letting his hands fall in defeat, he would yet thump them against his chest in victory, and rally his faltering heart!


    Biting his lip, Xiao Bei nodded meaningfully at Luocheng.


    He¡¯d understood the meaning behind the gesture!


    He¡¯d do his best¡ªno, he¡¯d demonstrate the full measure of his potential!


    ***


    You can find out a lot about somebody just from the look in their eyes.


    A moment ago, Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes were clouded, glazed over; after that brief moment of encouragement from Luocheng, the scattered light of his eyes was now in sharp focus!


    All systems at full speed!


    The eyes saw, the brain processed, and the hands acted with lightning speed!


    ¡°Player Xiao Bei appears supremely confident in his movement control. He¡¯s dodging one skillshot after another from both Jayce and Ezreal, and now he¡¯s successfully taken the Red Buff! This should be the first time Team Skycrown has managed to get themselves one of the Buffs ever since they started losing this game!¡±


    Having secured the Buff, Xiao Bei proceeded directly to the Bottom lane to farm.


    Another five hundred gold, and he could get the ¡®Bloodthirster¡¯. With items like the Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, Bloodthirster, and a Pickaxe, his damage output would be truly fearsome. It was just a pity that he hadn¡¯t had much opportunity to bring all this firepower to bear.1


    A fresh wave of minions arrived just as he reached the Bottom lane. Xiao Bei polished these off, and then poked through the jungle for more money from creep camps.


    With the rest of his team out of commission, Xiao Bei had all three lanes to himself, and the cash was positively rolling in. While he was pushing the minion wave down in the Bottom lane, everyone on Team Fudan appeared in the Top lane!


    Their assault down the Top lane had begun. Everyone else on Team Skycrown had revived now, and they gathered to repel the enemy¡¯s advance. Alone, Tristana continued to push down the Bottom lane.


    The moment he¡¯d amassed five hundred gold, Xiao Bei brought Tristana back to base to get her gear.


    Xiao Bei had made a mistake with his item build order: With such potent harassment from the enemy team, he should have completed this Bloodthirster much sooner.


    ¡°Everyone get Homeguard!¡± Lin Dong commanded.1


    With the vast difference in gold and therefore equipment, the Shock Blasts from Jayce presented a mortal peril to all. A single hit could halve the health bar on any of the squishier champions.


    No one could blame Team Skycrown for despairing. The gap between the two teams had grown too wide. They had no hope of standing up to them, now.


    Fending off the defenders with an unending barrage as they wore away at the tower, Team Fudan attacked in concert with the Super Minions coming up the Middle lane. They kept this up for a while, and now the Top-lane Inhibitor Tower was on the verge of collapse.


    Xiao Bei watched Jayce closely, dodging every one of his shots. Tristana darted nimbly around the place, virtually impossible to hit.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, go clean up Mid a little,¡± Lin Dong instructed. ¡°Another Super Minion is coming.¡±


    ¡°Alright. They¡¯ll probably attack the moment I leave. You guys be careful.¡±


    Everyone nodded.


    No matter what, they had to hold off this attack!


    Tristana cleared the wave off quickly. Not even a Super Minion could long withstand her damage output.


    Even as the Super Minion was brought down, a fresh wave of minions arrived from the Top lane. When Ezreal, wielding the Iceborn Gauntlet, managed to Slow two enemy champions at once, Team Fudan couldn¡¯t hold back any longer, and marched headlong through Team Skycrown¡¯s attacks to demolish the Top Inhibitor Tower!


    Once the tower fell, the battle was joined!


    Jayce¡¯s Shock Blasts, Ezreal¡¯s Mystic Shots, Orianna¡¯s Ball, Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Waves, Anivia¡¯s whirling blizzards, Kennen¡¯s lightning¡­


    Multi-colored skills erupted across the battlefield, catching champions in their areas of effect. Flesh was rent, and blood was spilt!


    Once the team fight got into full swing, the difference in gear was made painfully obvious. Wu Sen, playing Support, was barely able to get out a couple of skills before he was abruptly eliminated.


    Zhou Yan, playing Jungler on Elise, actually had the most durable champion on the team. However, drowned beneath a furious torrent of enemy skills, he was soon delivered unto oblivion all the same.


    As his last act before death, he caught Lee Sin with a ¡®Cocoon¡¯¡ªand then everything went black-and-white.


    The moment Elise died, Zhou Yan took his hands off the keyboard.


    On the enemy team, Lee Sin was near death, but everyone else was still in excellent health. Two champions on his own team had already fallen, how could they go on? The equipment advantage was too great. Even beneath their own towers, they were getting killed off with ease!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Anivia was dithering between fight or flight. Da Luo¡¯s Kennen was fleeing to the Fountain with grave injuries.


    This time, there hadn¡¯t even been an opening for Kennen to use his ulti!


    They¡¯d lost.


    It was an unbearable feeling.


    ¡°Team Skycrown is helpless to halt Team Fudan¡¯s advance! Fudan is already breaking their Inhibitor! If this second Inhibitor goes down, Team Fudan could easily take the Nexus with their next push! Take the Baron for good measure, break open the Bottom-lane entrance as well for the sake of being methodical, and victory will already be firmly in their grasp!¡±


    The audience was already cheering uproariously.


    Anyone could see that the end of the game was already in sight, and Team Skycrown¡¯s disadvantage was all but insurmountable. They could very well lose it all right now.


    ¡°The Top Inhibitor is just about to go down,¡± Qi Qiao observed. ¡°I guess it¡¯s safe to congratulate the university team on their entry into the LPL. Team Skycrown is still putting up a fight. No one¡¯s going down quietly¡ªthat¡¯s proper sportsmanship. It must be said that Team Fudan¡¯s strategy has been very effective this time, proving that the game ¡®League of Legends¡¯ isn¡¯t just about individual player ability.¡±


    Qi Qiao was talking very rapidly. Already, she was wrapping up the whole game with a grand flourish.


    Lin Dong and Da Luo were still in the game, but they both knew that it was just about time to throw in the towel. It was already over for them.


    But in their hearts, they refused to surrender. The Nexus was still intact. The game was still on!


    This was the true meaning of professionalism: To fight on in the face of certain defeat, too proud to give in. If they lost this game, they¡¯d lose everything¡ªbut until then, they were still winning.


    Boom, boom, boom!


    Taking advantage of her extended range, Tristana fought back tenaciously. She still plenty of health left. Like the others, Xiao Bei had no intention of lying down to die!


    He glanced at the last little sliver of health Lee Sin had remaining, and then watched as Kennen came charging out from the Fountain in desperation and rage.


    A thought floated up in Xiao Bei¡¯s mind. It was the beginning of a plan which set his heart racing furiously!


    This game wasn¡¯t over yet. They hadn¡¯t lost yet!


    Somehow, he needed to reach across a distance of two thousand units!1


    That was the distance he needed to move to get behind the enemy team. From there, he¡¯d use Tristana¡¯s ultimate skill to knock them back towards the Fountain¡ªas Kennen came charging out with Homeguard and his ulti!


    However, a distance of two thousand units was equivalent to Flashing three times in a row. How could she possibly pull this off?


    Lee Sin. That nearly dead Lee Sin!


    She could use him as a springboard!


    Xiao Bei had a complete plan in mind now!


    And now was the moment to make it happen!


    No mistakes, now¡ªnot one single mistake!

 Chapter 269 - Springboard

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    No mistakes!


    There couldn¡¯t be even the slightest, tiniest bit of error, right now!


    Biting hard on his lower lip, Xiao Bei warded off his nervousness with these thoughts.


    Now was the moment.


    Xiao Bei jammed down on the W key!


    Rocket Jump!


    Tristana, the Yordle Gunner, pointed her cannon to the ground as it erupted with a massive explosion, the force of which threw her high into the sky.


    She was diving right into the enemy¡¯s midst!


    ¡°What¡¯s Tristana doing? Why¡¯s she throwing herself at the enemy?¡±


    Everyone watched the screen as Xiao Bei performed this wholly unfathomable move.


    Wasn¡¯t this basically committing suicide?


    Tristana¡¯s ¡®Rocket Jump¡¯ could move her a distance of nine hundred units¡ªenough to drop her right into the heart of the enemy¡¯s formation. Everyone was baffled by her seeming eagerness to meet her doom.


    Boom, boom, boom!


    As she came to ground, Tristana unleashed her fury upon Lee Sin!


    Lee Sin had not expected Tristana to make such an aggressive move just to trade her life for his. Frantically, he tried to escape with his W-skill ¡®Safeguard¡¯.


    Meanwhile, a great mass of writhing vines arose from beneath Tristana!


    Zyra had used her ulti the instant Tristana leaped towards them. In another moment, the Stranglethorns were going to launch Tristana up into the air again!


    If that happened, Tristana would be dead before she came back to ground¡ªand then this game would really be over.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s teeth bit deeper into his lip. He tasted the sharp tang of blood.


    Faster! Faster! Get a Critical Hit!


    Hurry up and die, Lee Sin!


    Boom! One final cannonball hurtled after Lee Sin, still wrapped in his golden energy shield.


    In the late game, Tristana¡¯s attack range was no laughing matter. Even though he¡¯d dodged away with Safeguard, Lee Sin was still within her reach.


    532! Critical Hit!


    With both Phantom Dancer and Infinity Edge augmenting her attacks, she¡¯d managed to land a Critical Hit, which shattered through Lee Sin¡¯s shield and ended his life!


    Shut Down!


    She¡¯d done it!


    W! W! W!


    Xiao Bei rammed the W key, as the vines beneath Tristana¡¯s feet tensed to spring. If he didn¡¯t get her out of there right now, the effect could still catch her in mid-air!


    Getting a Champion Kill would instantly end the cooldown on Rocket Jump!


    At the instant of Lee Sin¡¯s death, Tristana¡¯s cannon flared again, and then she was soaring through the air, just barely escaping the combined wrath of Jayce, Ezreal, Orianna, and Zyra.


    The vines lashed upwards, licking the soles of her feet. For a moment, Xiao Bei was unsure whether they¡¯d actually hit him or not.


    Tristana shot through the sky like a runaway comet¡­ and the Stranglethorns failed to catch her, after all.


    ***


    A sea of wide eyes stared up at the screen as Tristana performed this death-defying maneuver, escaping Zyra¡¯s ulti by the skin of her teeth¡ªnot to mention all the skills being thrown out by the other enemy champions!1


    With the first Rocket Jump, she¡¯d left safety behind to dive into the fray.


    With the second one, she¡¯d thrown herself onto their rear line, crashing heavily onto Jayce and Orianna!


    Still not far enough!


    Two Rocket Jumps in a row totaled up to 1,800 units¡¯ distance¡ªshe was still two hundred units short!


    Bamf! Flash!


    As Tristana touched down, Xiao Bei hit Flash!


    Two thousand units. Against all odds, Tristana had made it two thousand units across the battlefield, starting out from in front of the enemy team to end up behind them!


    Take aim¡­


    The Yordle Gunner whirled around, leveling her cannon at Jayce and Orianna, both champions having just been badly Slowed down!


    ¡­ Fire the ¡®Buster Shot¡¯!


    Tristana¡¯s cannon roared with fire. An enormous cannonball slammed heavily into her target!


    Unable to dodge aside, Orianna and Jayce were sent tumbling away!


    The devastating cannon fire left a trail of scorched earth.


    Jayce and Orianna were both knocked back a thousand units¡¯ distance!


    Witnessing this turn of events, the crowd fell silent, completely baffled.


    Then they saw, at the edge of the screen, the appearance of Kennen, charging in with Homeguard!


    At first, Da Luo had been just as bewildered by Xiao Bei¡¯s actions. However, when Tristana hopped behind the enemy formation, and then delivered Jayce and Orianna¡ªthe enemy¡¯s key damage-dealers¡ªright to his feet, Da Luo¡¯s burning eyes flared like a thousand suns!


    ¡°Well done, Xiao Bei!¡± he roared. It was hard to tell which one held the greater fury¡ªthe champion, or the player.


    ¡°Ooh-hah!¡± That was the E-skill, ¡®Lightning Rush¡¯!


    All of Da Luo¡¯s frustration, he fed it into the storm raging around Kennen, and pushed forward to receive Xiao Bei¡¯s gift!


    A great lightning bolt descended from the heavens, coursing through Kennen¡¯s body and forming a wide ring around him. It seemed to be crackling with all the energy Da Luo felt in his heart!


    This was his ultimate skill, ¡®Slicing Maelstrom¡¯!


    Lightning fell like rain, laying waste to everything around him!


    All the enemy champions were enveloped within Kennen¡¯s tempest. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked. The heavens themselves struck against his enemies! Jayce, Orianna, Zyra, and Ezreal were Stunned senseless!


    The entire enemy team had been locked down within Kennen¡¯s lightning storm!


    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s right!¡± Inspired by this perfect combo from Xiao Bei and Da Luo, Lin Dong was shaken from his stupor.


    When all seemed lost, he¡¯d found hope again. It was an indescribable sensation!


    Da Luo had pulled off the perfect crowd-control effect. Anivia could now come in with her own ultimate skill, and catch all four enemy champions with it!


    Lin Dong hit R, and the Cryophoenix batted her wings mightily!


    This was her ¡®Glacial Storm¡¯!


    Shards of jagged ice whirled around amid a blizzard of hailstones and frost, tearing the enemies to shreds while freezing their blood solid!


    With all four remaining enemies trapped within the Glacial Storm, ice and lightning raging in unison, the enemy team¡¯s health bars plummeted in free-fall!


    Then Anivia used her Q-skill, ¡®Flash Frost¡¯!


    Next, her E-skill, ¡®Frostbite¡¯!


    She fired off these skills in rapid succession. The huge ice spike from ¡®Frostbite¡¯ impaled Jayce clean through!


    Jayce had a magnificent set of equipment, true¡ªbut it was all for damage. He couldn¡¯t withstand two ultimate skills compounded one upon another, and when Anivia¡¯s Frostbite struck him, there was a horrific spurt of blood, and he toppled over in the blizzard with a muffled crack.


    Shut Down!


    After racking up countless Champion Kills for himself, Jayce¡¯s kill-streak had finally been shattered!


    The next Flash Frost sought out Orianna!


    Unable to take so much as a single step, Orianna was rooted to the spot all the way until her death. The final blow came from Kennen¡¯s Q-skill, ¡®Thundering Shuriken¡¯!1


    Zyra fared no better. The fragile Support champion stood no chance against the full brunt of Kennen¡¯s ulti. Soon, she was at death¡¯s door, and one more skill from Kennen finished her off.


    Three kills!


    With Kennen and Anivia stacking their ultimate skills together, those three champions from Team Fudan were promptly wiped out. In spite of the differences in gear, the combined damage they produced together was enough to get the job done!


    ¡°There¡¯s still Ezreal! Ezreal¡¯s still alive!¡± Lin Dong hollered.


    ¡°He¡¯s mine!¡± Tristana had less than half her health remaining, but she wasn¡¯t worried about losing a head-to-head duel against Ezreal!


    An Ezreal with a mana-focused item build could only dish out a paltry amount of burst damage, at least before he assembled a full set of six items. Against a Tristana with Bloodthirster, Infinity Edge, and Phantom Dancer¡ªnot to mention her ¡®Rapid Fire¡¯ skill fully maxed out¡ªhe just couldn¡¯t compete!


    In the face of Ezreal¡¯s flurry of skills, Tristana just activated her Barrier as she pummeled away at him!


    Two Critical Hits in a row, and Ezreal¡¯s health was suddenly in dire straits!


    Panicking, Lin Siyong hit Flash¡ªbut with Tristana¡¯s incredible attack range, that still wasn¡¯t enough to escape her.


    Boom! One last cannonball came hurtling after him!


    ¡°Shut Down!¡± Another one down for the count.


    ***


    ¡°Ace!¡±


    ***


    Ace! Team Fudan had been Aced!


    Bam! ¡°Outstanding!¡± Stricken mute up till this moment, Zhou Yan slammed both hands onto his keyboard, howling like a deranged beast!


    Seeing the light of dawn from the depths of the abyss, it was a sight to set the heart afire!


    Zhou Yan and Wu Sen had never imagined that Xiao Bei, Da Luo and Lin Dong could pull off such a flawless combination ulti!


    Ace! They¡¯d taken out the entire enemy team!


    ***


    Across the screen, the word ¡®ACE¡¯ was a staggering sight to behold.


    Everyone in the arena gaped, too stunned to applaud.


    A flight across a distance of two thousand units, followed by an ulti over the shoulder to knock the enemy team into the waiting arms of your allies¡­


    This feat alone had already left the whole audience gibbering with amazement. But neither the three thousand spectators present on the scene, nor the ten thousand more watching live online, had imagined that Team Skycrown, teetering on the very precipice of defeat, would suddenly pull off this unbelievable combo-ulti!


    Who could have foreseen it?


    Who could possibly have imagined that Team Fudan would suddenly suffer a turnaround massacre, slaughtered to the last man?


    Now, every player on Team Fudan was staring blankly at a black-and-white display. As one, they were reliving the sight of Tristana¡¯s flight overhead, while their ears still echoed with thunderclaps and howling winds.


    Ace¡­ To think that they¡¯d been Aced!


    The looks in their eyes bespoke utter confusion and disbelief!


    ***


    ¡°Heavens above! What a shocking performance by Team Skycrown! Is it even possible to see a more startling, more flawless combo than that?¡±


    Qi Qiao¡¯s voice echoed loudly through the hushed arena, jolting everyone out of their dazed stupor. A few scattered hoots rose up, swiftly growing into a deafening storm that rolled through the entire hall!

 Chapter 270 - From Lose to Win

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Baron! Take Baron! I¡¯ll tank it!¡± Lin Dong¡¯s voice verged on hysterical.


    Rushing down the Middle lane to clear off some of the minions, the three of them raced towards the Baron Pit with the speed boost from Homeguard.


    At least ten seconds before any of the enemy champions came back to life. They could totally make it.


    As Anivia endured Baron Nashor¡¯s attacks, Tristana swiftly cut the monster down to size.


    ¡°Lee Sin is back! Watch out!¡± Zhou Yan called out in warning.


    Since Lee Sin had been the first to fall earlier, he would certainly be scrambling for the Baron Pit as fast as his legs could carry him. It was not impossible that he might arrive before the Baron Buff was secured.


    ***


    ¡°Team Skycrown has no one with Smite there, so the odds of getting the Baron stolen away from them are quite high! Lee Sin is already circling the pit!¡± Qi Qiao observed.


    With the way this game was turning out, who could avoid getting excited?


    Securing this Baron Buff was crucial: It could help Team Skycrown claw back no small amount of their financial disadvantage, while providing them with a leg-up so they could stand on equal footing against Team Fudan during the next team fight.


    And if the Baron Buff was stolen from them now, Team Skycrown¡¯s defeat would be assured, and their miraculous triumph from just a moment ago would be nothing more than a passing fluke.


    The Baron Nashor¡¯s health continued to fall, and as it approached the last two hundred HP, Lin Dong planted a ward on the bluff overlooking the Baron Pit, and spotted Lee Sin awaiting his moment!


    As if they¡¯d let him get it!


    Anivia raised up a wall of ice there, impeding movement. At the same time, she threw a Flash Frost at Lee Sin!1


    Smack! The ball of ice exploded on target, Stunning Lee Sin where he stood upon the overlook!


    Da Luo responded with breathtaking speed as well. Even as Anivia locked down Lee Sin, Kennen unleashed a couple of skills and a basic attack onto him, Stunning him again!


    At the end of this chained CC, Tristana used her Rocket Jump to come crashing down atop Lee Sin!


    With ¡®Rapid Fire¡¯ on, Tristana¡¯s damage output was the stuff of nightmares. Despite his tanky item build, Lee Sin¡¯s health was falling away in great chunks!


    ¡°Jayce is coming! This is bad news for Tristana: With the items he¡¯s got now, Jayce could outright delete Tristana with a single skill combo.¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s voice was tense.


    Tristana had recklessly thrown herself into a duel with Lee Sin on the cliff above the Baron Pit, which resulted in her now having to contend with Jayce as well. The rest of Team Fudan was also back in action, and they were passing through the Red Buff as they hurried over directly.


    Xiao Bei didn¡¯t panic at the sight of Jayce. Glancing at Lee Sin¡¯s current health, he deftly stepped to the side, and then let off one last attack!


    Bang! Lee Sin ate her ulti, the Buster Shot!


    For a moment, Lee Sin thought he¡¯d be able to drop a ward and escape¡ªbut he hadn¡¯t expected Tristana to pounce on him so viciously!


    The Buster Shot sent him careening through the air. Mid-way through his flight, the ¡®Explosive Charge¡¯ that Tristana had also applied on him went off, and Lee Sin fell back to ground a corpse.


    Lee Sin had been killed off by Tristana again!


    Even better, Lee Sin collided into Jayce, knocking him back as well. Still a thousand units away, he hadn¡¯t even managed to get within reach of her before being sent back the way he¡¯d come, so that he was no closer to her than the rest of his team.


    ¡°Beautiful! Tristana takes down Lee Sin and knocks Jayce back. With the cooldown reset on Rocket Jump, Tristana hops right back into the Baron Pit as Lee Sin falls! Just a little bit more¡­ Team Skycrown has secured the Baron Buff!¡±


    Team Fudan had been just a moment too late to stop Team Skycrown from claiming the Baron.


    By now, Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise and Wu Sen had regrouped with their team at the mouth of the Baron Pit. All five of them were wreathed in the violet aura of the Baron Buff!


    With the Baron Buff on their side, the tides had turned. The five champions of Team Skycrown made no move to retreat¡ªthey wanted to start another team fight with Team Fudan!


    ¡°Is Team Skycrown raring for another fight already?¡± Qi Qiao anxiously wondered aloud. ¡°True, they have the advantage in numbers at the moment, but the minion waves are not in their favor: Super Minions are advancing on their Nexus Towers from two directions. If they¡¯re not careful, they could lose their Nexus to those Super Minions! I think they should first¡ªoh, Thresh is starting things off!¡±


    Flashing in to hook, Wu Sen had found an excellent trajectory, and Thresh¡¯s ¡®Death Sentence¡¯ flew straight towards Team Fudan¡¯s Orianna!


    Evidently, Team Fudan was still rather shaken after that surprise upset from earlier. They¡¯d assumed that Team Skycrown would head straight back to fend off the attacking minions, and had been paying no heed to the positioning of their champions!


    Wu Sen had missed with every one of his hooks this whole game, but this surprise Flash-and-hook was golden!


    Upon the screen, everyone watched as Thresh snared Orianna with his hook-and-chain, and then descended upon the enemy team like a demon!


    He used his E-skill ¡®Flay¡¯ towards himself, then laid down his ultimate skill, ¡®The Box¡¯!


    With a textbook demonstration of how to dive with Thresh, Wu Sen had caught Orianna, Jayce, and Zyra!


    For your information, the walls of ¡®The Box¡¯ inflicted such a powerful Slowing effect that it was little different from just being Rooted to the spot!


    ¡°Ooh-hah!¡± Eyes flashing, Kennen activated his secret ninja techniques!


    ¡°Aa-hya!¡± Lightning danced through the area!


    With the combined effects of the Blue Buff as well as the Baron Buff, Kennen already had his ulti ready to take full advantage of the opportunity Wu Sen had created!


    Kennen was a living maelstrom of lightning, tearing through Team Fudan¡¯s ranks!


    Boom, boom, boom!


    The three enemy champions who¡¯d been Slowed were locked down once again! The circle of lightning didn¡¯t just Stun them, it was also dealing enough damage to sear the flesh from their bones!


    They were finished!


    Lin Siyong had managed to get his Ezreal away from that death trap, but now all he could do was watch as his remaining three teammates were engulfed by the storm.


    They¡¯d been caught again!


    It was a cardinal sin for a poke-based team to cluster together and get caught by CC. This kind of situation was their worst nightmare.


    Once two or three of their champions got caught, they¡¯d basically lost the whole team fight!


    ¡°Triple Kill!¡±


    In mere moments, Jayce, Orianna, and Zyra were slain by a furious barrage of skills. Kennen had claimed all three of their lives!


    ¡°Triple Kill! Kennen has gotten the Triple Kill! Team Fudan¡­ are they about to get Aced again? My word, getting Aced twice in less than two minutes¡¯ time¡ªit would likely spell the end for Team Fudan!¡± Qi Qiao was squealing.


    It was a catastrophe. For the spectators in the arena who¡¯d come to cheer for Team Skycrown, seeing the three champions from Team Fudan getting slaughtered was like watching a scene out of a nightmare.


    It was absolutely horrifying!


    Two minutes ago, Team Fudan¡¯s poke composition had been a flawless spectacle to behold.


    Now, in the face of this onslaught from Team Skycrown, they seemed as helpless as newborn babes!


    How could such a drastic change have taken place?


    ***


    Ezreal continued to flee. Lin Siyong¡¯s mood was in the pits right now.


    The poke strategy was undeniably effective, in that it could apply tremendous pressure on the enemy, while giving them no opportunity to retaliate.


    However, there was a fatal flaw: If they were forced into a full-on team fight, or got caught in a massive ulti, not even a gold lead of ten thousand could spare them from a total wipe-out!


    They¡¯d gotten too careless, and now they¡¯d messed up.


    How could they have been so na?ve as to assume that Team Skycrown would immediately return to defend their base after they¡¯d picked up the Baron Buff? How could they have overlooked the possibility that the enemy team might turn around and press the attack right away?


    They¡¯d only suffered one Ace, and it had thrown them into utter chaos.


    This second Ace would mean game over for them, no question about it. Already, all five champions of Team Skycrown, augmented by the Baron Buff, were storming down the Middle lane!


    The first tower fell instantly. The second one barely lasted a few seconds. Two minutes ago, Team Skycrown had been like a mewling kitten, feeble and feckless; now, with the Baron Buff and two victorious team fights under their belt, they¡¯d transformed into a ferocious tiger, and nothing could stop their savage advance all the way into their home base!


    The Inhibitor Tower fell without a struggle, with the Inhibitor soon to follow. Glancing at the minimap, Lin Siyong noticed that his own Super Minions were just about to bring down both of the enemy¡¯s Nexus Towers!


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, the minions are in our favor.¡± It restored a flicker of hope in Siyong¡¯s heart.


    Team Skycrown was in danger of losing their Nexus to the Super Minions right now. After they broke the Middle Inhibitor, they would naturally have to leave in order to take care of things back home.


    So their Mid Lane had been broken through¡­ whatever. So they¡¯d lost two team fights¡­ so what? Team Fudan was still ahead in gold. As long as they regained their composure, and took extra care with warding their flanks and dodging Thresh¡¯s hooks, not to mention keeping Kennen at bay¡­ They¡¯d breached the enemy¡¯s base from two directions. They still held the advantage. They could still win this!


    ¡°Team Skycrown can¡¯t push any further. They¡¯ve already lost both Nexus Towers. Hurry back and defend your own base!¡± Qi Qiao cried.


    Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle, watched the screen in silence.


    He had to admit that Team Skycrown¡¯s miraculous turnaround had surprised even him, but he understood that if they made the wrong choice here, this game would still end with their defeat!


    Whether or not they¡¯d make it into the LPL, it all came down to what they decided to do after they broke this Inhibitor.


    ¡°We¡¯re losing our Nexus! Fall back!¡± Zhou Yan barked in consternation.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, you Recall first!¡± Da Luo commanded.


    Lin Dong felt a moment¡¯s despair. After they brought down this Inhibitor, they would need to find a safe place to Recall, otherwise Ezreal would certainly use his skills to interrupt them. If he could delay them until the rest of Team Fudan returned to the field, then it would be their turn to get wiped out here!


    Could they, with what health they had left¡­ could they shatter the enemy¡¯s Nexus?


    ***


    No Recall! They couldn¡¯t turn back!


    Watching from backstage, Logan¡¯s fingers were clenched tight around the steel bar of the barrier!


    If they broke off now, it would be game over!


    Ezreal was still alive. If they tried to Recall now, he would use his skills to disrupt their Channeling. Even if they split up, it would still mean leaving someone behind.


    Now that they were in the late game, it would take sixty seconds for a champion to respawn after death. Team Fudan could use their advantage to push in another minion wave, going straight for Skycrown¡¯s Nexus. Now that both of their Nexus Towers had gone down to the Super Minions, there was no way they¡¯d survive another push from Team Fudan!


    They absolutely could not turn back! That would be digging their own graves!


    Their only hope of victory now was to boldly keep pushing all the way to Fudan¡¯s Nexus!


    There were still another ten seconds until the next champion was revived. Those ten seconds meant that victory was well within the realm of possibility!


    This was the deciding moment: heaven or hell?


    Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Xiao Bei, Wu Sen¡­ Don¡¯t screw up now!

 Chapter 271 - : Victory in Death

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart was thumping madly. Watching this game as a spectator was even more suspenseful than actually playing it himself!


    When he saw Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise beginning to Recall, Luocheng¡¯s face fell.


    Da Luo had started to Recall, too.


    They¡¯d lost. Returning to base would seal their doom. Luocheng averted his eyes, fearing to witness the defeat that was to come.


    ***


    ¡°Team Skycrown has chosen to return to base,¡± Qi Qiao the commentator announced.


    ¡°Idiots,¡± remarked Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle.


    What a thoughtless move! Lin Dong, Da Luo, and Zhou Yan¡­ had their brains rotted during their time away from professional e-sports? To think that they¡¯d turn back now, at a moment like this.


    Retreat meant defeat. If they pushed forward, they could still hope for victory!


    ***


    Sure enough, after returning to the Fountain to heal up, Ezreal came charging back out again.


    There was no way he¡¯d allow Team Skycrown to get away just like that. He already had three Super Minions pummeling their Nexus. If he delayed them a while longer, those Super Minions could very well win this game for them!


    Racing into battle, he found the Skycrown champions Recalling right next to the Inhibitor, and his face split with a wide grin.


    If they¡¯d split up, they could still expect to get two or three champions home. But Recalling on the spot like that¡­


    ¡°Ha!¡± Suddenly, a glob of spider silk came flying straight at Ezreal¡¯s face.


    Lin Siyong had just been in the middle of deploying his Q-skill ¡®Mystic Shot¡¯, and ended up being just a little too late with using his E-skill ¡®Arcane Shift¡¯ to dodge aside!


    At the precise moment that Ezreal came rushing in to halt their retreat, all five of the Team Skycrown champions canceled their Recall in perfect unison!


    Thresh¡¯s hook and Anivia¡¯s Q came hurtling towards him, catching Ezreal just as he¡¯d struggled free of the sticky webbing, so that he never even had the chance to Flash away!


    A flurry of skills, and he was dead!


    ¡°Magnificent! Another surprise attack, and Lin Siyong¡¯s Ezreal had no hope of escape, getting slain instantly!¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s voice promptly rang out across the arena.


    Hearing this, Luocheng raised his head once more, and saw that all five of the players on Team Skycrown had cancelled their Recall, and followed up Ezreal¡¯s death with a daring advance upon the enemy¡¯s Nexus Towers!


    These five players might have missed their calling as actors. They¡¯d managed to fool everyone. Even Luocheng himself had believed that they were about to retreat, never realizing that it was just a ruse to lure Ezreal to his death!


    With Ezreal¡¯s harassment removed from consideration, the five champions of Team Skycrown attacked with frightening ferocity!


    ¡°Good heavens¡­ Team Skycrown¡¯s Nexus is already halfway to zero, thanks to the enemy¡¯s Super Minions,¡± Qi Qiao observed. ¡°It¡¯s too late to Recall now. Now, it¡¯s a race against time!¡±


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise tanked the Nexus Towers first, the champion¡¯s health rapidly plummeting away. As he came down to his last shred of health, Zhou Yan hurriedly switched Elise over to Spider Form and yanked her up into the sky, avoiding the attacks from both towers.


    Tristana still had plenty of health, but everyone else on Team Skycrown had taken a turn at tanking the towers throughout this extended siege, and it was hard to say whether they¡¯d actually be able to finish the job or not!


    ¡°Oh no, Team Skycrown has run out of people who can tank the towers. They¡¯re about to get killed off from the damage!¡± Qi Qiao¡¯s voice quavered with anxiety.


    Four of their champions were now at critical health, and if they didn¡¯t pull out of the towers¡¯ attack range, they would soon fall before the towers!


    That would leave Tristana, who had no hope of withstanding the towers on her own!1


    Were they actually about to get Aced by the Nexus Towers?


    If that happened, it would be an unimaginable tragedy, because anyone could see that Team Skycrown was mere inches away from snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat!


    Impassioned, Lin Dong hollered, ¡°I¡¯ll tank it! No retreat, keep attacking! There¡¯s no turning back anymore!¡±


    Right now, the five players of Team Skycrown were balancing upon a very fine wire indeed. There was no looking back, and definitely no looking down. There was nothing for it but to keep going, uncertain of the future, with no guarantees except that this was truly their last chance!


    In that moment when Lin Dong had begun to Recall, he¡¯d realized that this path would surely lead to defeat. Immediately, he¡¯d directed the entire team to join him in a feint, with the objective of catching Ezreal and killing him off first.


    It was evident now that Lin Dong had made the right call, there. The way things were going now, if they¡¯d made this attempt on the Nexus while Ezreal was still around, it would probably end with them giving him a Penta Kill.


    Even so, despite Ezreal having been taken off the board, the damage from both towers was proving more than they¡¯d anticipated.


    However, for their own sakes, they had to win!


    Lin Dong pushed Anivia forward, her frozen body shattering beneath the towers¡¯ armor-piercing attacks. In this way, Anivia surrendered her final sliver of health, and shrank into an icy egg upon the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Rebirth¡¯! Anivia still had her innate skill!¡± Qi Qiao clamored, her nerves strung tight.


    The arena was caught in the hush of thousands of people holding their breath.


    How desperate did a game have to be, for Anivia to have to expend her Rebirth on tanking towers?


    Lin Dong watched the cryo-phoenix egg withering away beneath the staggering damage. Mages were of little use when it came to demolishing towers!


    ¡°Your turn, Wu Sen.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± An ethereal moan rose into the air as the egg was soon smashed apart by the towers. Lin Dong watched his screen fade into gray.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Thresh moved up to the fore.


    This whole game, Wu Sen¡¯s Thresh had contributed nothing besides Wards. He¡¯d landed no hooks, and had done nothing to break the lockdown forced upon them by the enemy¡¯s poke composition.


    But right now, these last few HP he held meant everything to the team!


    Shielding himself with his ghostly green lantern, he waited quietly at the foot of both towers¡­


    Klung! That was the sound of the tower¡¯s merciless judgment. The color washed out of his screen as Thresh fell.


    ¡°Here I go.¡± As Thresh crumbled apart across the floor, Zhou Yan brought Elise back in to face the peril, moving her in front of Tristana and Kennen.


    She didn¡¯t have enough health to take more than one attack.


    And now Zhou Yan¡¯s screen was all black and white. Elise had died.


    Kennen had already stepped forward, silently moving to protect Tristana.


    There was a flash of searing light, and then Da Luo¡¯s Kennen tumbled to the ground beside Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise.


    That made four deaths in a row, each life sacrificed to buy another precious moment.


    As thousands bore witness to the scene of Team Skycrown¡¯s champions falling one by one to the Nexus Towers, all so that their ADC could have more time to take the objectives, a pall of silence fell over the entire arena.


    This was not a team to be summarized with a handful of words, but the four lifeless bodies on the ground said everything: For Team Skycrown, no price was too great if it brought them victory!


    For a moment, Tristana was the only champion still standing upon the battlefield. Alone, she faced down the soaring towers, surrounded by fallen comrades who¡¯d laid down their lives for her without a word.


    Xiao Bei could feel a lump in his throat. This match had proven far more difficult than he¡¯d imagined. It had demanded tremendous sacrifices from everyone. The last thing he¡¯d expected was to find himself the sole survivor, holding the fate of the game in his hands.


    Without turning his head, he could feel the gazes of all his teammates.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you now, Xiao Bei.¡± A million thoughts were riding upon those short few words. Xiao Bei heard them all.


    They had nothing else in this life. They couldn¡¯t lose any more.


    For some reason, hearing these words from his teammates caused tears to well up in Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes, not that he had ever been particularly strong to begin with.


    It was clouding his vision. He couldn¡¯t see. As the towers finally collapsed into ruin, Xiao Bei reached up with one skinny hand, and wiped it roughly across his eyes.


    Whatever else he did, he couldn¡¯t lose this game!


    Right hand lightning-quick upon the mouse, left hand ramming the A key, he kept his ring finger poised over W.1


    Lee Sin had appeared! With one kick, he could put an end to all their dreams right now.


    Move, attack, move, attack. Tristana circled around the Nexus, staying as far away from Lee Sin as possible!


    Lee Sin had actually sold some equipment to get himself the Homeguard enhancement, and now he was like the Grim Reaper himself, bearing down upon Tristana with frightening speed, scythe raised to strike!


    ¡°Just a little more!¡± Tristana continued to kite him, using her Rocket Jump an instant before he got within reach of her, repositioning to one side.


    ¡°Huh!¡± Lee Sin fired a Sonic Wave at Tristana¡¯s landing point.


    As she came to ground, Tristana stepped to the side, dodging Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill even as she continued to fire away.


    ¡°Nice dodge! Four more shots!¡± When Tristana evaded what would have been a fatal hit from Lee Sin, the crowd went wild.


    Four more shots. Just four more!


    Luocheng sucked in a long breath through gritted teeth.


    Even the commentator, Qi Qiao, was unable to speak.


    With furrowed brow, Zhao Tinghua watched the screen intently.


    Yang Ying and the others watched with eyes as wide as dinner plates, not daring to blink for fear of missing a single moment of the action!


    Four more shots to go.


    But the way Lee Sin was running, Tristana was unlikely to get off more than two!


    Blam! Once.


    Xiao Bei vehemently hit Q for Rapid Fire. Fully maxed out, this skill could raise her attack speed by up to 90%1!


    Blam! Twice.


    Blam! Thrice.


    Tristana¡¯s cannon was firing at high speed!


    Here came the last shot!


    Xiao Bei pressed A one last time!


    Blam!


    Time seemed to pause. Everyone present in the arena was frozen in place.


    Cra-cra-crack!


    After that last cannonball slammed against the Nexus, a great surge of energy exploded outwards, blowing apart the Nexus crystal!


    His hands were numb and feverish. His fingers were trembling violently.


    Xiao Bei was still blindly ramming on the A key, the sound of his keyboard ringing through the silence. His eyes were tearing up again.


    Never in his life, in all his years, never once had he felt a sensation like this: Like his heart was going to stop beating, but also like it wanted to burst out from his chest!


    Bam! Bam! Bam! Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen leapt from their seats, bounding towards Xiao Bei!


    Victory!

 Chapter 272 - Heart of a Gamer

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xiao Bei was still in dazed disbelief when all of a sudden he was snatched up in the warm embrace of three men. He could hear Lin Dong, Da Luo, and Wu Sen hollering in his ears.


    They¡¯d spent the whole afternoon teetering on the edge, afraid even to breathe too sharply. In the moment of their victory, they¡¯d leapt from that treacherous precipice into the hallowed halls of the LPL. They¡¯d come so close to losing it all, and falling into oblivion!


    ¡°Victory!¡±¡±We won!¡±


    Crazed with delight, delirious from relief, the five players of Team Skycrown turned around, and were instantly buffeted by a deafening tide of cheers, washing over them like a sudden tidal wave!


    Lin Dong, Da Luo, and Zhou Yan stood there, nonchalantly drinking it all in¡ªthe cheering of thousands, the proof of their triumph. It had been a long time since they¡¯d last heard it. Their hearts, which had become cold and placid over these dreary years, had returned to life with full vigor!


    Only by standing in an arena like this, winning a victory like this, could they truly feel alive. It was a sensation that easily washed away all the humiliation, aimlessness, and suffering of the past couple of years.


    ¡°Amazing! What a magnificent match! Surely no one here expected Team Skycrown to pull off such a jaw-dropping comeback in those last few minutes!¡±


    ¡°Well done! Congratulations to Team Skycrown for winning the fifth round of this series! Congratulations on entering the LPL, and becoming one of the top-tier teams of the nation! Let¡¯s have another round of applause for our new stars in the LPL!¡± Although still recovering from her own shock, Qi Qiao was nevertheless able to ignite the mood in the hall.


    Initially, more than ninety percent of the spectators present had come to cheer on Team Fudan, but the magnificent gameplay that Team Skycrown had demonstrated during those last few minutes, culminating in their heart-pounding final assault on the Nexus¡­ it had won over no small amount of supporters!


    Their audacity and courage, their readiness to give their lives for the sake of ultimate victory¡­ who could resist becoming a fan?


    The roaring from the crowd was deafening. Three thousand people were simultaneously losing their minds. ¡®Skycrown¡¯ began as scattered murmuring, and swiftly grew into a bellowing chant!


    The spotlight fell upon the five players of Team Skycrown, and all eyes were on them now.


    Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen had all been through this before, but for Xiao Bei, it was his first time being on the receiving end of such adulation!


    Amid the chanting of their team name ¡®Skycrown¡¯, he could faintly detect people calling his name, ¡®Xiao Bei¡¯.


    Up till now, the only person who¡¯d ever shouted his name was his abusive, exploitative uncle. He¡¯d never experienced what it felt like to command the attention of thousands, all screaming his name.


    He felt like he was ready to take wing and fly. It was a sensation like never before.


    He¡¯d always loved gaming, and had gone into it with the simple desire to be the best. There was someone he admired, someone he aspired to become. But never once had he imagined that in the moment when he found victory, he would also find an indescribable emotion such as this.


    And then, he remembered something.


    Xiao Bei held out his right hand, clenched into a fist.


    He thumped it solidly against his chest, for all to see.


    By the hand of victory, awaken the gamer¡¯s heart¡ªset it racing!


    That man had performed this gesture too, when he¡¯d made it to the top of the world. After seeing it, Xiao Bei had lain awake for several nights in a row. It had led him to pursue a new dream. It had led him into the world of professional gaming!


    He knew that he was still such a long way off from achieving that dream¡­ but now that he¡¯d taken this first step, he¡¯d keep on going until he made it there himself, too.


    He was certain of it!


    ***


    Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle, was watching the five players of Team Skycrown, when he noticed Xiao Bei performing that triumphant gesture. It was kind of clumsy, yet full of resolve.


    The hand of the victorious, upon the heart of a gamer.


    Tinghua recognized this gesture straight away¡ªhow could he not? The only thing he didn¡¯t get was why it was this kid doing it.


    He had no right to it!


    An inexplicable sense of fury arose in Tinghua¡¯s heart.


    They¡¯d only just made it into the LPL. One foot through the door. It hardly meant anything at all.


    Soon, they would come to understand: Although there were only eight teams in the LPL, the difference in ability between those teams was akin to the distance between heaven and earth!


    ***


    Watching from backstage, Yu Luocheng saw it too.


    For some reason, when Xiao Bei planted that fist against his chest, Luocheng felt an electric shock surge through his own heart, and now his pulse was running wild.


    Two rounds of suspense and anxiety. Two rounds of serenity and conviction. And then one last explosive moment on the cusp of defeat: a flight across a distance of two thousand units to deploy a game-changing ulti, leading to a white-knuckled attack on the enemy Nexus in the face of overwhelming odds.


    Luocheng clearly understood what had been going on in Xiao Bei¡¯s heart the whole time.


    He hadn¡¯t let his teammates down. He¡¯d lived up to Luocheng¡¯s expectations. He¡¯d led them to victory, forcing open the doors into the LPL!


    Well done, Xiao Bei!


    The world of gaming bows to neither age nor seniority. The only truth is power, wielded with an ironclad audacity to overcome the impossible!


    Now that he¡¯d made it through this triumphant initiation, Luocheng looked forward to seeing what Xiao Bei could really become!


    Standing in the silence and the shadows, Luocheng wore a contented smile as he watched the five players being honored on stage. The multi-colored lights of the arena reflected off his eyes, scintillating and coruscating.


    ***


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s have our winners take center stage.¡± A gorgeous woman in an elegant dress had arrived on the show. The players of Team Skycrown complied as instructed.


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to believe what¡¯s just happened: Team Skycrown is a complete newcomer to the tournament scene, but they¡¯ve been blazing their way through this pre-season tournament. Just as everyone was thinking that they¡¯d finally met their match in this finals series, they performed a mind-blowing comeback, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are the rightful champions of this tournament!¡±


    The announcer joined Team Skycrown on stage. ¡°Could everyone please give our winners another round of applause?¡±


    Yet another raucous din rose up from the audience.


    ***


    ¡°We still have some big things coming up next! Not only will the Blood Eagle be presenting Team Skycrown with their trophy, he¡¯ll also be putting on a solo demonstration. Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to leave just yet, ladies and gentlemen¡ªwho knows, you could be the one who gets to go one-on-one against the Blood Eagle himself!¡±


    The moment the announcer revealed this, there was a veritable explosion of noise from the crowd.


    To think that an event like this would be taking place!


    Everyone knew that in the whole nation, there were only a handful of people who could hope to stand toe-to-toe against the Blood Eagle¡ªbut who could pass up the chance to try their hand against such a legendary figure?


    Even if you lost, you could still go around bragging to your friends that you¡¯d faced the Blood Eagle himself in a duel, once!

 Chapter 273 - World Champion of Gaming

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Presenting¡­ the Blood Eagle!¡± the announcer called out, turning her gaze to him.


    Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle, along with Qi Qiao, the commentator, came down from the commentary desk. With casual steps, he strode over to the players of Team Skycrown.


    Once he was standing before Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Zhou Yan, Tinghua gave them a smile, and before the microphone could be passed over to him, he remarked, ¡°Looks like you just barely made the cut. What a sorry sight you all are.¡±


    Then the announcer handed the microphone to Tinghua, who cast a glance over to the shadows backstage. ¡°A strong team surely relies upon the guidance of a wise coach. Team Skycrown, I¡¯m sure you guys have your own coach, or analyst¡­ why don¡¯t you invite them up here, as well?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Although you¡¯ve never appeared in any tournaments before this, Team Skycrown has made an unstoppable advance all the way into the LPL! You must have an exceptional tactician supporting you¡ªmaybe a retired star from the pro-gaming scene?¡± Clearly, Qi Qiao was curious too.


    The MC seemed to catch on to where the Blood Eagle and Qi Qiao were going with this. Casting her gaze over to the staff gathered backstage, she said, ¡°Well then, let¡¯s have Team Skycrown¡¯s coach on stage with us as well! You won as a team, so everyone should get a fair share of the glory!¡±


    The team manager, Xi Xi, hurried over to Yu Luocheng. ¡°You¡¯re the team leader and coach. Get out there! This is a rare chance to catch a bit of the spotlight!¡±


    Luocheng hesitated. He hadn¡¯t planned on going on stage himself. Team Skycrown¡¯s victory was reward enough for him¡ªeverything else was beside the point. He didn¡¯t want to go up there. It would only make things more complicated for him.


    Xi Xi wouldn¡¯t relent. Then, Zhang Aijing came over as well. She swung open the barrier, and then shoved Luocheng through.


    Suddenly, Luocheng came into the view of three thousand people. Caught beneath the bright lights, he couldn¡¯t see any of their faces, but he could feel them all looking at him.


    More importantly, the camera had instantly trained onto his position.


    ¡°Keep smiling! Go on, go on¡­ you¡¯re already on camera!¡± Xi Xi urged from the shadows backstage.


    Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Li Meiqi, seeing how Luocheng was frozen to the spot, all clapped their palms to their foreheads. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s got stage fright!¡±


    ¡°A bit of stage fright is perfectly understandable,¡± Meiqi commented. ¡°Faced with a crowd that size¡­ if it were me, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to walk straight.¡±


    Xi Xi was now beside herself with worry that a university lad like Luocheng might embarrass himself on air. There were three thousand people just here alone, and a hundred thousand more watching over the internet.


    Luocheng paused, noticing the burning gazes from the five players of Team Skycrown.


    Alright, it¡¯s no big deal either way.


    He began to advance, making his way over to center stage. Wearing the ghost of a smile, he walked with measured steps, and even knew the precise moment when the camera would have him in focus.


    In an instant, he had become a completely different person. Calm and collected, it was as though he¡¯d long been accustomed to the spotlight.


    You can tell by the eyes, whether or not someone is at home on the stage.


    Luocheng¡¯s gaze was unwavering. If there was any emotion to be described in his expression, it was pride in Team Skycrown¡¯s victory.


    It was no different from the usual smile he wore, easy-going and lackadaisical.


    ¡°Wow, to think that your coach was such a young man! Come to think of it, why does this guy seem kind of familiar¡­¡± The MC scrutinized Luocheng as he strode over to join them.


    Qi Qiao was watching him too, her big eyes appraising him with fascination.


    Yu Luocheng took his place alongside the victorious members of Team Skycrown. Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen all greeted him with a warm embrace.


    They had no doubt whatsoever that without Luocheng¡¯s ceaseless training, they could never have made it this far. Though he himself hadn¡¯t been playing, he nevertheless remained the team¡¯s driving spirit.


    In times of despair, their eyes would turn to him. When they sought courage and inspiration, they would look for it in him!


    ¡°Behind every strong team is a coach working silently in the background. I think the players of Team Skycrown must all feel deeply appreciative of the quiet support their young coach has been giving them!¡± the MC declared.


    ¡°During the game earlier, Qi Qiao already delivered an introduction for each of Team Skycrown¡¯s players. Except for Wu Sen, who is already a renowned Support player within the LPL, the other players all represent the cream of the crop in Ranked play, each one equal to a first-class professional player in terms of individual skill. Could we now hear a little something about this young man who acts as your team coach?¡±


    Watching Luocheng, Qi Qiao thought she felt a faint flicker of recognition. After staring at him distractedly for a moment, she eventually gave a sheepish smile. ¡°We don¡¯t actually have much information on Team Skycrown. Everything I¡¯ve told you about the players, we just dug that up on the spot earlier. Otherwise, there¡¯s still a lot about this team that we¡¯re still in the dark about.¡±


    The crowd eyed Luocheng curiously. For a newly formed team to have achieved such a breakthrough, and claimed a place within the pantheon of the LPL, their coach must be someone special. Everyone was eager to learn the truth of his identity.


    Still, looking at him, he didn¡¯t seem any older than the players themselves. He didn¡¯t bear the look of a person who¡¯d spent his whole life on games.


    Zhao Tinghua knew who he really was.


    From the moment Luocheng stepped onto the stage, Tinghua¡¯s gaze had remained fixed on him. He betrayed no evident expression in his features, but it was like the tense silence before a volcanic eruption!


    It was an atmosphere that sent a chill up your spine.


    Suddenly, Tinghua smiled. To Luocheng, it looked like he was baring his fangs viciously. A great many things hid beneath the surface of that smile.


    It was the first time since his retirement that Luocheng had seen Tinghua. That made it perhaps two years, now.


    Two years ago, they¡¯d still been best friends. Now they felt like complete strangers. They lived in different worlds, now.


    It felt like there had often been a voice echoing in his ears, full of rage and sorrow, always screaming¡­ calling him a traitor.


    The owner of that voice now stood before him. Seeing him reminded Luocheng of what it had been like, coming home from their defeat in England.


    ¡°Eh, Blood Eagle¡­ would you happen to already be acquainted with Team Skycrown¡¯s coach?¡± Sensing something amiss, the MC spoke up.


    With a little laugh, Tinghua regained the proper stage composure. Microphone in hand, he nonchalantly said, ¡°I bet everyone here is eager to see just how good this coach is. To be able to produce a stand-out team like this, he must really be out of this world!¡±


    Qi Qiao and the MC both nodded. The audience would certainly like nothing better than to find out exactly how this guy measured up.


    To be able to become a coach, there must be something worthwhile about him!


    ¡°How about this: For the upcoming activities, let¡¯s have this coach from Team Skycrown be my opponent. As the Blood Eagle, I shall personally investigate the depths of this mystery man¡¯s abilities. What does everyone think of that?¡±


    As he said this, his grin hardened, his predatory eyes set in a playful slant as he watched Luocheng.


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than he was replied to with a resounding round of applause!


    The Blood Eagle vs. Team Skycrown¡¯s coach!


    It was an absolute must-watch!


    Blood Eagle stood among the best of the best in the nation, while Team Skycrown¡¯s coach had to be an elite professional player in his own right. It promised to be a fight to remember!


    The MC and Qi Qiao looked on with eyes brimming with excitement. This was truly attention-grabbing stuff. They were all for it!


    Backstage, Aijing was already all smiles.


    A solo duel¡ªone between F-Hawk and Blood Eagle!


    Aijing had already collected a wealth of information about Blood Eagle. What she fervently desired right now was more combat data on F-Hawk.


    A solo duel was the greatest demonstration of fine gameplay skills. One round between them, and Aijing would have a much clearer picture of F-Hawk¡¯s Individual Ability Index in ¡®League of Legends¡¯!


    What a marvellous fellow this Blood Eagle was! He was giving her exactly what she wanted!


    ***


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua, is this necessary?¡± Lin Dong frowned at him.


    Not equipped with a microphone himself, these words were spoken only privately¡ªhowever, Qi Qiao the commentator and Su Mei the MC both caught it. They maintained their smiles for the camera, but the intrigue had deepened.


    Qi Qiao suddenly remembered that, at the start, Zhao Tinghua the Blood Eagle had declared that he would make sure to crush Team Skycrown beneath his heel. It was obvious that there was some sort of history between them.


    What was their connection?


    Moreover, Blood Eagle had deliberately issued a challenge to Team Skycrown¡¯s coach. Was there some meaning behind this, as well?


    Switching off his microphone, Tinghua coldly replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s necessary. There¡¯s a certain someone who¡¯s still holding on to the title of world champion in gaming. Since he¡¯s not playing professionally anymore, it¡¯s time for him to pass on that honor.¡±


    World champion¡­ in gaming?


    Qi Qiao and Su Mei stared in disbelief at Team Skycrown¡¯s coach!


    The World Cyber Games Solo Championship had been a prestigious event organized under the IPL. The grand champion of this tournament could be considered the indisputable king of MOBA-gaming!1


    After that, no one ever held an event like that again, meaning the grand champion from that tournament remained the only person to have ever received that highest of honors.


    The MC, Su Mei, had never imagined that she¡¯d be standing before that legendary figure in person¡ªor that he¡¯d be this young man with the goofy smile!


    Who could have anticipated that the coach of Team Skycrown carried such a legacy!

 Chapter 274 - Honor Guard

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng watched Zhao Tinghua with a frown. He hadn¡¯t expected him to bring a personal grudge into this event.


    He had to admit, though: It was a brilliant move.


    The title of world champion was one you had to fight for. Whenever the current champion was challenged, the duel ought to be carried out in public view. If the challenger proved victorious, he could approach the International E-Sports Federation to register himself as the new world champion of gaming.1


    Naturally, this registration process was very complicated. You couldn¡¯t lose the title just because of one game. However, the Federation had made the option available in order to keep the reigning champion under tremendous pressure, while at the same time providing a goal for everyone else to strive towards.


    There were many who coveted Yu Luocheng¡¯s vaunted throne, among them Asmodai himself. Sadly, Asmodai lacked the right to challenge Luocheng.


    From Tinghua¡¯s point of view, since Luocheng had withdrawn from the competitive e-sports scene, he was no longer worthy of such a prized title. Someone ought to take it from him!


    One way to do this was to defeat him in a solo duel!


    It wasn¡¯t just Tinghua¡ªcountless elite gamers around the world had their sights set on usurping Luocheng¡¯s throne. Any one of them would leap at such a chance.


    The MC, commentators, and the people in the audience were unfamiliar with the rules and specifics governing such international e-sports matters. There was still so little awareness across the nation regarding this field¡ªnothing like how other countries fought tooth-and-nail for glory.


    Su Mei and Qi Qiao were unaware of the true stakes behind this duel. They just wanted to see Blood Eagle and the Team Skycrown coach go at it.


    But everyone on Team Skycrown¡ªXiao Bei included¡ªknew what Blood Eagle was really after. He was seeking to dethrone Luocheng, and rise to that most exalted position among gamers!


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua, it¡¯s been two years since our captain left the professional scene. Even the Federation has quietly acknowledged that in spite of his departure, he remains a legend. Your challenge is dishonorable, the act of an opportunist!¡± Da Luo snarled vehemently.


    There was only one world champion, and it was Yu Luocheng.


    In that arena, against an assembly of the world¡¯s greatest gamers, he¡¯d competed in Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and DOTA. He¡¯d gotten second place in Starcraft, but first place in the other two!


    For one person to have taken part in all three events, and then to have trampled over the best in the world, ultimately becoming world champion¡­ it was an unprecedented achievement at the time.


    Neither in China nor anywhere else across the globe had anyone ever duplicated such a feat.


    The International E-Sports Federation had bequeathed this highest of honors upon Yu Luocheng precisely because there was no one else who could get two golds and one silver, as he had done!


    In those days, the only people who were even aware of the tournament¡¯s existence were industry insiders. There was zero media coverage of the event, and it was virtually impossible to find recordings of the games that took place there¡ªcertainly, they weren¡¯t available anywhere on the internet.


    Abroad, Yu Luocheng¡¯s triumph against established pro gamers across the world had brought him untold fame; within China, there was hardly anyone who had ever even heard about it. It may be amusing to know that this exact topic once came up during a game show, and neither the contestants nor anyone in the audience had half a clue.


    This clearly demonstrated how little prestige the world of gaming commanded in China.


    Yet, despite all the neglect and contempt that surrounded it, it was a glorious achievement nevertheless. It wasn¡¯t something just anybody could lay claim to!


    For Zhao Tinghua to imagine that he could simply challenge Yu Luocheng, win one solo duel against him, and then immediately snatch the title away for himself¡ªit was the height of incredulity!


    For starters, Luocheng had clearly announced his withdrawal from professional gaming. Even foreign players knew better than to seek him out in hopes of a chance to win his title for themselves. It was a matter of respect for a living legend who had stepped down.1


    Anyway, even if Tinghua won a single duel against him, would that really grant him the right, the audacity, to claim the same honor for himself? In that tournament, Luocheng defeated the premier gamers of his generation. Across thirty-seven separate rounds, he¡¯d only lost two games of Starcraft, and one game of Warcraft¡ªhe¡¯d been completely undefeated in DOTA!


    During that World Cyber Games Solo Championship, the other elite contestants from China could only manage a 30% winning rate. A 50% winning rate would already have placed one head and shoulders above the rest. Luocheng¡¯s 90% winning rate was a clear statement, an unshakable claim to his throne.


    That title represented an ideal which many aspired to, but few could ever hope to surpass. It was the legacy of a contest of might with no parallel, a reminder of the height of Yu Luocheng¡¯s pro gaming career!


    Zhao Tinghua¡¯s challenge was a show of utter disrespect. He was spitting upon what should be sacred!


    He¡¯d gone mad.


    In the past, anyone who thought to challenge Luocheng for his crown would first have to get past Tinghua¡¯s own considerable might. With such a formidable warrior defending his honor, few were they who dared to step forward.


    Now, he himself was planning to clamber over Luocheng¡¯s head? Was he really going to tear up the last tattered shred of friendship between them, and blow it in Luocheng¡¯s face?


    ***


    ¡°Captain, pay no heed to this lunatic.¡± Da Luo was at the limit of his patience.


    No matter what, they were former comrades. Luocheng¡¯s retirement had caused misery for everyone, but life was a mess like that. Luocheng was only doing what he thought was best¡ªthere was no crime in that.


    Moreover, he¡¯d recently been giving his all for Team Skycrown.


    He¡¯d withdrawn from the battlefield, but his loyalty endured. Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Lin Dong all knew this!


    Now, they¡¯d each gone their separate ways. Tinghua wanted to bring down Team Skycrown, crush them beneath his heel once and for all. The members of Team Skycrown themselves wouldn¡¯t breathe a word in protest. If he wanted to take a shot at them, he could come right over and try it.


    But if he was trying to take away the most precious moment in Luocheng¡¯s life¡­ that could not be allowed!


    The day Luocheng had led them to victory over the rest of the world, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo had taken it upon themselves to stand as defenders of his throne.


    In his retirement, Luocheng¡¯s skills might no longer be comparable to that of an elite professional gamer.


    No matter. It changed nothing about their duty to him!


    It wasn¡¯t for the sake of some petty scrap of glory. It was because Yu Luocheng had always been, and would always be, the person they looked up to the most in the whole world. No one was allowed to trespass upon his pride!


    ¡°First, you¡¯ll have to get past the three of us!¡± Da Luo snapped at Tinghua. Lin Dong and Zhou Yan nodded in unison.


    Anyone who sought to challenge Yu Luocheng would first have to make it through this gauntlet. The crown of the world champion was not some mere trifle. Lin Dong, Zhao Tinghua, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo were all world-class players, the original honor guard.


    In the face of Tinghua¡¯s treachery, the other three refused to back down!


    If he wanted to face F-Hawk, the world champion of gaming, it would have to be over their cold, dead bodies!

 Chapter 275 - Spotlight or Shadows?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Me too, me too!¡± Xiao Bei stepped forward.


    The one thing he couldn¡¯t tolerate was someone showing disrespect towards Yu Luocheng. Not even the Blood Eagle could be allowed to get away with that!


    Zhao Tinghua glanced at Xiao Bei with disdain. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ll need to have set foot on an international stage before you can talk about challenging me.¡± He turned back to the others with a sinister grin. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll cut my way through every one of you. That¡¯s exactly what I was hoping for!¡±


    This was a clash between world-class gamers. Those who¡¯d never even been out of the country before had no right to interfere! Knowing this, Wu Sen remained silent the whole time.


    ***


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ai Ke, the manager of event operations, noticed that things had taken an unusual turn on stage.


    Xi Xi, who was in charge of handling the contestants, was already hurrying towards the stage to try and get the situation under control.


    Sensing that a serious conflict was brewing between Blood Eagle and Team Skycrown, Qi Qiao and Su Mei expertly diverted the crowd¡¯s attention.


    They¡¯d overheard the entire exchange. What they¡¯d thought would just be a simple solo duel was turning out to be far more than they¡¯d bargained for. They still hadn¡¯t figured out what exactly was going on, and their heads were swimming with questions, but above all they had to prevent this from becoming a public fiasco.


    It was time to shake up the mood a little. They began distributing gifts to members of the audience, in a bid to draw attention away from the squabble between Blood Eagle and the Skycrown players.


    As Xi Xi was just about to step onto the stage, Zhang Aijing suddenly decided to tag along as well.


    ¡°Let me sort out the situation,¡± Aijing said to her. ¡°It looks like this may actually be an international e-sports matter.¡±


    Xi Xi nodded, and brought her along up to the stage.


    The camera was presently focused on Qi Qiao and Su Mei, who were walking around the stage handing out LOL-related gifts to the audience.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± Xi Xi interjected. ¡°Skycrown coach, couldn¡¯t you just accept Blood Eagle¡¯s challenge and fight a solo duel with him? It¡¯s all just for show anyway, so it shouldn¡¯t be any big deal.¡±


    ¡°Unacceptable!¡± Da Luo shook his head resolutely.


    ¡°And why is that?¡± Xi Xi snapped at him. ¡°See here, you¡¯re on stage right now. There are cameras pointed at you. Please try to play along, or else you¡¯ll cause a great deal of trouble for us.¡±


    ¡°Just keep calm a moment, Xi Xi. Let me find out more,¡± Aijing suggested.


    In hushed voices, she conferred with the members of Team Skycrown, and soon found her way to the crux of the issue. Once she understood what was really going on, her heart swelled with excitement!


    So there were prerequisites to challenging F-Hawk¡­ especially when there was any kind of media attention!


    ¡°Well, what¡¯s the issue? Have you gotten an answer out of them yet?¡± Xi Xi pressed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a complicated matter. We¡¯ve still got some time to spare. Let¡¯s discuss it with Ai Ke.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± This was doing nothing to improve Xi Xi¡¯s mood. Why couldn¡¯t everyone just stick to the plan? Why did there always have to be more complications cropping up everywhere? Zhao Tinghua was indeed proving to be a headache to deal with. No wonder there were a few broadcast stations which had reported having trouble with him.


    Backstage, Aijing and Xi Xi met up with operations manager Ai Ke.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, then?¡± Ai Ke asked.


    ¡°Blood Eagle is challenging Team Skycrown¡¯s coach to a duel, but it turns out that guy¡¯s a special case,¡± Aijing explained. ¡°He used to be known as ¡®F-Hawk¡¯. Have you ever heard of this player, Ai Ke?¡±


    ¡°F-Hawk?¡± Ai Ke thought for a moment, and realization began to dawn on him. ¡°The captain of Team Wings? That would make him a former teammate of Blood Eagle.¡±


    ¡°Yup. They once made it to the finals of an international tournament. It¡¯s an achievement that China has yet to match in ¡®League of Legends¡¯. F-Hawk, the coach of Team Skycrown, is of particular note: He took part in the World Cyber Games Solo Championship¡ªa really huge, one-time event organized by the IPL. Playing in all three of the available games, F-Hawk placed second in one of them, and first in the other two. As a result, the International E-Sports Federation hailed him as the world champion among gamers.¡±


    As a seasoned organizer of such events, Ai Ke didn¡¯t fail to grasp the magnitude of what Aijing was describing. Catching on right away, he said, ¡°In light of this, Blood Eagle¡¯s challenge against F-Hawk has transformed our demonstration game into a contest for the crown of the world champion.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. According to the Federation¡¯s regulations, any public challenge made against the current world champion means automatically upgrading the classification of the event to a duel for the title. If the challenger is victorious, they should be able to declare themselves as the new world champion of gaming.


    ¡°However, it¡¯s not actually as simple as that: Besides needing to be an internationally recognized player, the challenger will also have to defeat all the champion¡¯s bodyguards beforehand¡ªand every one of those is a world-class player in their own right.¡±


    Hearing all this, Xi Xi was struck dumb where she stood!


    A contest for the title of the greatest gamer in the world¡­ now that was an eye-catching tagline. The clicks would go straight through the roof!


    She¡¯d never even suspected that Team Skycrown¡¯s coach was a figure with such an impressive history. If they spread this around a bit, drummed up some hype on major streaming sites¡­ this could be massive!


    ¡°No, wait¡­¡± Xi Xi cut in, ¡°Earlier, it looked to me like Blood Eagle intended to take on three of the Skycrown players as well.¡±


    ¡°If Blood Eagle and F-Hawk have both resurfaced, then it could very well be that three of the five players on Team Skycrown are none other than Sky Swan, Lone Gull, and Gale Crane. Those three are also world-renowned pro gamers, so obviously they¡¯re the bodyguards.¡± Ai Ke seemed delighted by all this.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, they¡¯re all there.¡± Aijing nodded.


    ¡°A world-class series of duels¡­ who would have thought that our LPL pre-season tournament would conclude with such a momentous spectacle?¡± Ai Ke murmured to himself.


    One of his assistants nearby, with short hair and leather shoes, spoke up: ¡°Let me go in there and ask Zhao Tinghua to stop at once.¡±


    Ai Ke shook his head. ¡°Why would we stop them?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way we can handle such a big affair all of a sudden. It¡¯ll throw the whole program into disarray. Anyway, we¡¯ve made zero preparations for it. If we¡¯re really going to do something this big, there should be an appropriate period of advertising beforehand¡­¡± the assistant made his case.


    ¡°For each one of our events, we¡¯ve always tried to build up plenty of hype, but it¡¯s always just the same crowd. Interest in e-sports isn¡¯t exactly mushrooming everywhere,¡± Ai Ke said in response. ¡°This suggests that doing things by-the-book isn¡¯t all it¡¯s cut out to be. Right now, we¡¯ve got five legendary professional players gathered up on that stage, and they¡¯re looking to rumble. Isn¡¯t this exactly the sort of surprise that gets people¡¯s notice?


    ¡°Xi Xi, Aijing, Li Jun¡­ make it happen. We¡¯ll keep calling it a demonstration match, as befitting a cadre of world-class players.¡±


    ¡°But their fame was in DOTA, not LOL,¡± the assistant pointed out.


    ¡°Achievements in gaming carry a universal value. No one makes such a big deal out of whether you¡¯re talking about DOTA or LOL.1 Let them fight it out!¡± Ai Ke watched those five players on the stage, a glutton drooling at the sight of a buffet.


    The assistant remained persistent. ¡°How are we going to explain to the audience why Blood Eagle is dueling several people in a row?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t have to. Let them guess for themselves. Isn¡¯t it more fun that way?¡±


    ¡°Let me handle it!¡± Aijing declared. Besides being an analyst, she also had experience as an MC for LOL tournaments.


    Ai Ke knew what she was capable of, and gave her the nod, meaning that she could go ahead and take over this contest for the world champion¡¯s title!


    ¡°Looks like F-Hawk¡¯s leaving the stage. I should speak with him first, ask if he¡¯s okay with being in the spotlight again.¡±


    ¡°Whenever the camera is on him, have the editing team obscure his face. For someone like him, an air of mystery will only drive our spectators even wilder.¡±


    There was a set delay before a live broadcast actually went on the air, approximately thirty minutes. This afforded the editing team some time to touch things up before uploading the video to the internet.


    That meant the only people who got to saw Yu Luocheng¡¯s real face were those three thousand people in the hall.


    Aijing continued to present it as an exhibition event. Only the people on the inside knew that this was in truth a contest for an international title!


    ***


    As she watched Aijing leave, Xi Xi inquired out of confusion, ¡°Why aren¡¯t we announcing this as a solo challenge for the place of world champion of gaming? Wouldn¡¯t that get us a lot more attention? It could even be a front-page headline for e-sports news! Although we still don¡¯t have LOL players of international renown, world-class DOTA players switching over to play LOL would be a tremendous boon to us, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown has already made it into the LPL. We¡¯ll definitely be revealing this information about them. If they hail from such an illustrious legacy, wouldn¡¯t it be more appropriate to unveil it within the LPL itself?¡± Ai Ke said.


    ¡°But¡­ F-Hawk is the main highlight, here. He probably won¡¯t be taking part in the LPL itself.¡±


    ¡°Once a gamer, always a gamer. He¡¯s returned to the professional scene as a coach for Team Skycrown. I have no doubt he¡¯ll give us even more to see in times to come. I feel it¡¯s best to let him make his own entrance.¡±


    Ai Ke had seen every kind of pro gamer there was. They had no choice but to pass over this spectacular opportunity, because if F-Hawk only made one public showing, and then faded back into the shadows afterwards, whatever hype they built up would fall flat.


    If F-Hawk continued to show up in the world of professional gaming, his legend would grow into a rising storm. Then, the time would be ripe to fully cast the spotlight on him, and let him carry ¡®League of Legends¡¯ to the next level of fervor!


    The only question lay with this F-Hawk, this world champion pro gamer¡­


    Which would he choose: to remain in the shadows, or to return to the spotlight?


    ***


    Ai Ke handled a lot of LOL tournaments across the country.


    Previously, Team Daemons and Team Sky had both fallen early on. Not only did this mean he¡¯d lost the chance to get involved in higher-level, international events, it also meant there was still no one flying their flag out there.


    He¡¯d been working really, really hard to promote e-sports and spread its appeal.


    If, by chance, someone like F-Hawk appeared in the LOL professional scene, and led his team to take on the world¡­ it would galvanize how LOL was played within the nation, and draw the scattered fragments into a united whole.


    In all honesty, Ai Ke fervently hoped to see F-Hawk¡¯s full return. He needed an icon like him to strike a spark within the soul of the gaming world, start a blazing fire that would sweep across the nation¡ªacross the entire globe!

 Chapter 276 - Da Luo vs. Zhao Tinghua

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The defense of the world champion¡¯s throne had begun!


    Xiao Bei watched Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Lin Dong flanking Yu Luocheng. His heart felt so full it might burst.


    However, he was still a newcomer to the world of professional gaming. It had taken all he had just to get into the LPL. He was still a far cry from a world-class player.


    ***


    Zhang Aijing took center stage. ¡°Hi, everyone! I¡¯ll be the one taking you through the solo exhibition match! According to the rules of the International E-Sports Federation, challenging the coach of Team Skycrown to a duel is not to be done directly¡ªfirst, one has to get past his honor guard, before they can be allowed to actually face him. As such, Blood Eagle will be taking on the three bodyguards of Team Skycrown, in the hopes of ultimately challenging the enigmatic coach himself!1¡±


    Aijing didn¡¯t actually announce Luocheng¡¯s standing as the world champion of gaming, but instead used a roundabout fashion to hint to the audience that this series of solo duels would be considered an international matter.


    Hearing this brought a smile to Zhao Tinghua¡¯s face.


    Good. Someone had realized that this was a challenge for the crown of the world champion. And here he¡¯d thought no one in China would have a clue about such matters.


    Let¡¯s get started, then. He¡¯d been waiting for this day for a long, long time!


    ***


    A surge of cheering rose from the crowd.


    Back-to-back duels¡­ now you¡¯re talking! However, some question marks had also begun to form.


    ¡°Is Team Skycrown¡¯s coach really that amazing, for them to save him for the finale?¡± a university student with permed curls wondered aloud.


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe the coach is a better player than any of them. Maybe he¡¯ll take the field himself during the LPL. Didn¡¯t you hear when the MC mentioned that there are rules about challenging that guy to a duel? Something about a Federated E-Sports International Regulatory something-something¡­¡±


    ¡°This is so weird. Team Skycrown just won a major game, and now they have to get their asses kicked?¡±


    The discussions raged on. Typically, the crowd would disperse soon after a tournament game ended¡ªthis time around, no one had yet to rise from their seats. Everyone was looking forward to seeing Blood Eagle go up against Team Skycrown.


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± Da Luo suggested. He was already making for the computers they were setting up for the solo duels.


    Tinghua was already there, waiting. He wasn¡¯t even going to swap in his own mouse and keyboard, just using whatever he¡¯d been provided. It was as though he wanted to keep things as honest as possible.


    Seeing this haughty display from Tinghua pissed Da Luo off.


    Logging into his account swiftly, he was shown a selection of champions for purchase. He wasted no time making his choices, and then entered the designated custom game room.


    Aijing explained a bit about how they¡¯d be doing things: ¡°Keeping in mind that both players each specialize in different lanes, we¡¯ve put some restrictions into place: Lone Gull of Team Skycrown is a Solo Top player, so this duel will take place in the top lane, using only those champions most commonly picked for Solo Top during competitive play.¡±


    Solo maps were only used for particular games, and typically any champion was allowed. However, when one sought to challenge the reigning world champion, there were no guarantees of fairness. Each member of the honor guard was entitled to set the terms of the duel: where they would play, which map they would play on, and even whichever game the world champion was known for playing.


    Da Luo could have chosen DOTA¡ªbut they were here now as LOL players. To change the game under these circumstances, it would be an admission of weakness.


    Straight away, Da Luo selected the same champion he¡¯d used last game, Kennen.


    Tinghua¡¯s choice came even faster. As though he couldn¡¯t even be bothered to see which champion Da Luo selected, Tinghua picked Darius without hesitation!


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sure this is the first time anyone¡¯s watching Blood Eagle play Top. Who would have guessed that he¡¯d choose Darius, the Hand of Noxus!¡±


    Darius, Executioner of Noxus!


    This champion used to be the most feared character in the Top lane, and the easiest one to get a Penta Kill with. Once he got rolling with his brutal ultimate skill, ¡®Noxian Guillotine¡¯, there would be heads rolling everywhere!


    However, with the introduction of other mighty Top champions such as Renekton, Jax, Kennen, and Zac, Darius¡¯s short range became an increasingly evident drawback, and as a result he was seeing less use in serious games.


    For Tinghua to insta-lock Darius was an incomparable show of arrogance! As Blood Eagle, he was mainly a Jungler¡ªbut every pro gamer, as a matter of course, should be well-acquainted with all the roles in the game, albeit not to the absolute pinnacle of mastery.


    ¡°A first-class Jungler should know the Top lane like his own backyard, since that¡¯s the lane the Jungler looks after the most,¡± Aijing said. ¡°An elite player like Blood Eagle will undoubtedly prove an expert Top-laner as well.¡±


    The crowd cheered as the view soared across the Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    The other two lanes had been closed off, so trying to farm there was basically conceding the game.


    Both players purchased their starting equipment, and then strode into their lane, arriving at the mid-point simultaneously.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what each player got¡­ Lone Gull is packing a Doran¡¯s Blade, totally textbook. Kennen especially has to start with Doran¡¯s Blade, not just for effective poking, but also for a leg up at farming.


    ¡°Blood Eagle is also going with a common starting load-out: Cloth Armor and five Health Potions, that¡¯s playing safe. Kennen has an advantage against Darius¡ªas long as he can avoid getting hooked, he¡¯ll basically dominate the lane.¡±


    Kennen juked tirelessly, taking pot-shots at Darius in between picking off minions. Darius just kept farming, guzzling potions as quickly as Kennen could damage him.


    Soon, the minion wave was pushing in against Kennen!


    ¡°A solo duel is decided when one player gets a single champion kill, or one hundred minion kills. Blood Eagle hasn¡¯t used his hook even once¡ªhe¡¯s just been farming non-stop.¡±


    Luocheng was frowning. Watching the duel play out on the main display, he could see that Da Luo¡¯s poking wasn¡¯t doing very much. In fact, from the moment Kennen¡¯s first attack hit Darius, he knew that Tinghua wasn¡¯t using damage Runes¡ªhe¡¯d gone for double defense.


    Darius was heavily dependent on gaining levels, with equipment as a secondary concern. It was obvious that Tinghua¡¯s plan was to weather the harassment with his defensive Runes, while using his skills to clear away the minions and push in the waves.


    Early game, Kennen couldn¡¯t match Darius at farming. As the front-line was forced against his tower, Da Luo began to miss a few minions.


    In this way, Darius soon pulled ahead by 5 CS.


    It should have been the ranged champion bullying the melee fighter, and getting ahead in CS¡ªhowever, thanks to the Armor and Magic Resist Runes, things were turning out the opposite way.


    Worse still, even with those Runes, Darius still promised to deal a fearsome amount of damage, if he could get ahead in levels!


    ¡°He¡¯s almost Level 5.¡± Luocheng glanced at the state of the minions, and his heart sank.


    A melee minion fell, providing the last few Experience Points Darius needed to reach the next level.


    There, Tinghua did something in the moment just before Darius leveled up: taking one tiny step to the side, he slipped into the brush!


    Having lost sight of him, Da Luo couldn¡¯t see him level up. As he moved Kennen forward to finish off another minion, Darius suddenly Flashed out from the brush!


    First a basic attack, then his W-skill ¡®Crippling Strike¡¯, followed by another attack!


    After suffering three hits in the blink of an eye, Kennen reacted quickly and retreated into his ¡®Lightning Rush¡¯ form, pulling himself away from the action!


    Decimate!


    With one vicious sweep of his battle-axe, Darius hewed off yet another section of Kennen¡¯s health bar.


    No sooner had the axe blade flashed past, than it shot out again to Apprehend!


    Darius had used his E-skill ¡®Apprehend¡¯ last. It was psychological warfare: In solo duels, most people were accustomed to using Flash to dodge their opponent¡¯s key control skills.


    Tinghua hadn¡¯t used Apprehend at all, instead throwing out a skill combo, and then waiting until Kennen was just about to escape the reach of that skill before suddenly using it to pull him back again!


    It was a play at the very limits of possibility. Kennen had hoped to escape via Lightning Rush, but when he saw that he was about to get caught by the wicked hook on the axe blade, he was forced to Flash!


    If he got pulled back to eat another combo, with an Ignite laid on top of that, even if he didn¡¯t die, he would still be done for.


    ¡°What a breathtaking combo!¡± Aijing gasped.


    Every champion in League of Legends had their own set of combat animations. Upon closer examination, one might notice that some elite players were much faster at stringing their moves together, and they were somehow more graceful about their movements¡ªas though they were using WSAD instead of a mouse cursor.


    When it came to playing Darius, some people felt the champion was clumsy and ungainly to use, with terribly obvious cues telegraphing the use of each skill, as well as slowing down each attack.


    However, Tinghua played Darius with the elegance of a ballet. Even while Kennen¡¯s movement was being accelerated with Lightning Rush, Darius had still been able to unleash a jaw-dropping A-W-A-Q-E combo onto him. Typically, that second basic attack should have been too much to hope for.


    Don¡¯t overlook the value of that one basic attack¡ªin a Top-lane duel, especially prior to Level 6, each attack could be the difference between life and death!


    ***


    With half his health gone, Kennen had to tread carefully now. If he got hooked now, considering Tinghua¡¯s APM, it was certainly possible that a single skill combo plus Ignite would be the end of him.


    Darius resumed pushing in the minion wave, using the concealment of the brush to force Kennen away entirely. With the increased need for caution, Kennen only continued to fall behind on minions.


    Little by little, the difference grew to 10 CS. The waters of anxiety were rising in Da Luo¡¯s heart.


    Kennen should be able to gain a dominating advantage against Darius. In Ranked play, Da Luo had never failed to win the lane when playing in such a match-up.


    How was Tinghua¡¯s Darius able to exude such a frightening aura of menace? He couldn¡¯t even approach the shadow of his hooked axe. There was a zone of certain death with a radius of 600 units around him¡ªbut ¡®Apprehend¡¯ should only have a reach of 540 units!


    Da Luo felt a monumental sense of pressure weighing down on him, and yet he still couldn¡¯t figure out exactly what was going on.

 Chapter 277 - Traitor

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°It¡¯s like Blood Eagle has always been a Top main! Look at that impeccable farming! He¡¯s five CS ahead, and Kennen seems helpless to do anything about it!¡± Zhang Aijing continued to lead the commentary.


    According to her Individual Ability Index (IAD), Zhao Tinghua held as much as eight points. As a main-line Jungler, he should be having some trouble in the Top lane, so that his performance should only appear to be worth approximately seven points on the Index.


    Da Luo himself had only ever gotten six points on Aijing¡¯s IAD. A difference of one point would be seen in each player¡¯s gold totals.


    It seemed there would be no need for her to revise her estimates.


    At ten minutes, both players were drawing close to 100 CS. Da Luo could see that Tinghua was still calmly farming. The way things were going, his Darius would undoubtedly be the first to reach the goal.


    He had to do something. If he couldn¡¯t regain control of this game, then it would be his defeat.


    Both champions were at Level 8, and well on their way to Level 9. Neither had yet to use their ultimate skills.


    It wasn¡¯t that Da Luo was losing control over his patience¡ªthe problem was that he was losing the game.


    He watched Blood Eagle closely, searching for his chance. Tinghua¡¯s farming skills were solid, and he largely ignored Kennen¡¯s harassment. Those defensive Runes of his were working too well. Kennen was mediocre at both Attack Damage as well as Ability Power, so it was hard for him to deal any real damage to Darius. Furthermore, if he was any more aggressive than this, Darius could very well hook him in and get off another skill combo!


    At last, Da Luo could hold back no longer. This next wave of minions would definitely give away that 100 CS!


    Circling around to the side, Kennen managed to pull off a Stun, and then he immediately activated his ulti!


    Activating ¡®Slicing Maelstrom¡¯ after his opponent had already been Stunned, it was perfectly possible to trigger a second Stun. If he could do that, victory would be within his grasp.


    Already burning from Ignite, Darius¡¯s health plummeted within the howling lightning storm. Barely a moment later, he was suddenly down to his last quarter of health.


    Glancing at Darius¡¯s health bar, Da Luo¡¯s expression turned grim. He¡¯d done a lot less damage than he¡¯d expected.


    Darius was packing too much Magic Resist¡ªhe¡¯d even bought a Hexdrinker! Revising his estimates hurriedly, Da Luo gauged that after all the damage he could deal over this double-Stun duration, Darius would still have five hundred HP left. From there, Da Luo could only hope for the best.


    The shield from Hexdrinker sprang up, absorbing a portion of the incoming damage. Darius didn¡¯t retreat, even though his health had now fallen to the last five hundred points.


    Q: Decimate!


    Then a basic attack, followed by W to deal a ¡®Crippling Strike¡¯, and then another basic attack!


    That was two stacks of ¡®Hemorrhage¡¯, inflicting continuous damage.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: ¡®Hemorrhage¡¯ is Darius¡¯s innate skill, which grants extra bonuses at five stacks. Yes, I know it should be at four stacks now. You¡¯ll see in a moment where the mistake is coming from.)


    E: Apprehend!


    This pulled Kennen over to him. Another basic attack, and Hemorrhage was at three stacks now!


    Yet another attack. Four stacks!


    Decimate! Darius managed to hit with the outer edge of the area-of-effect¡ªthe axe blade¡ªdealing a bonus 50% damage!


    ¡°Four stacks! Darius adds another stack of Hemorrhage for each basic attack he lands, and each stack raises the damage of his ultimate skill ¡®Noxian Guillotine¡¯ by 20%! Four stacks means a damage increase of 80%, so if Darius uses it now¡­ and Kennen¡¯s already expended his Flash¡­¡±


    As Aijing prattled away on rapid-fire to keep up with the action, Darius suddenly Flashed forward, catching up to the fleeing Kennen, and hit him with one more basic attack!


    Five stacks!


    That was five stacks of Darius¡¯s innate skill, bringing the Hand of Noxus to the apex of his might!


    Five stacks of Hemorrhage!


    Da Luo glanced at Kennen¡¯s health bar. The color drained out of his face.


    Despite only having five hundred health left, Darius hadn¡¯t retreated, and had instead managed to inflict five stacks of Hemorrhage on him!


    Da Luo knew there was no longer any hope of escape for him. After ¡®Noxian Guillotine¡¯ came out, the following Ignite and Bleeding damage was guaranteed to finish off what little health remained. The only thing he could do was hurl another Shuriken, and try to bring Darius down with him!


    ¡°Hah!¡± The massive battle-axe was hoisted high into the air, and then came whistling down towards Kennen.


    Da Luo knew there was no point in trying to dodge that. Kennen boldly stood his ground and unleashed all his skills at Darius!


    Every skill hit, but Da Luo had still miscalculated the damage slightly¡ªhe still needed to land one more attack in order to kill Darius!


    But he had already run out of time.


    As Kennen drew out that final throwing star, he succumbed to the Bleeding and the Ignite.


    Darius had less than fifty HP left, but he stood in place, unmoving¡ªas though he already knew that last attack could never be made.


    First Blood!


    The burst damage from Kennen had taken away three-quarters of Darius¡¯s health. Fighting on with that last scrap of life, Darius had done even worse in return over a short few seconds. With a single combo, he¡¯d taken Kennen down for the count, everything perfectly calculated.


    It had been so close¡­


    Just one attack short.


    But that was all the difference between victory and defeat!


    ¡°That was a close one! Both champions very nearly ended up killing off one another. Both players really know how to bring the pain with their respective champions, how to get the most effect out of all their skills. Blood Eagle was one step ahead in the end, but it had been a near thing. If Kennen had gotten off just one more attack on him¡­ it leaves one in a cold sweat, just thinking about it!¡± Qi Qiao commented.


    This solo duel hadn¡¯t been a scene of constant battle. Tinghua had used an unexpected strategy to gain control of the lane, and then patiently waited for Kennen to lash out, so that he could unleash a deadly counter-attack!


    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone noticed that after he used his ulti, Darius just stopped moving completely. He didn¡¯t even bother to get himself away from Kennen. If I¡¯m not mistaken¡ªand you¡¯re probably all thinking the same thing¡ªBlood Eagle probably made the precise judgement that he would have enough health to survive, and that Kennen wouldn¡¯t be able to get out that last attack in time.¡± This was from Aijing.


    As a professional analyst, she could catch even the tiniest details. She refused to believe that Tinghua would have just stood there and let Kennen bring the duel to a draw!


    Playing in the Top lane necessitated exact judgements of health and damage.


    However, after Aijing highlighted this fine little detail, many in the audience were stupefied: Could pro players really predict the outcome of combat to such a degree? It was a notion that beggared belief.


    ***


    Da Luo stepped away from the computer with an ashen face.


    Tinghua¡¯s professional gaming career revolved mainly around Jungling. He hadn¡¯t expected him to be this good a Top-laner, too.


    He¡¯d lost, by the difference of one basic attack. He¡¯d been too hasty. If he¡¯d waited a little longer, things might have turned out differently.


    But there was no denying that he¡¯d been defeated, after all.


    ***


    Lin Dong patted Da Luo on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t mind it. He¡¯s never taken a break from professional-level training; meanwhile, we¡¯ve been away for a long time.¡±


    Da Luo nodded, but he didn¡¯t have anything to say. He knew full well what an amazing player Tinghua was. They¡¯d met before in the Ionia server. When Tinghua didn¡¯t get the Jungler position, he¡¯d play Top.


    Moreover, if Da Luo wasn¡¯t mistaken, Tinghua played all the roles in high-tier Ranked games.


    ¡°He¡¯s formidable in the Top lane as well. Watch out: He doesn¡¯t play Mages. He usually goes AD in Mid,¡± Da Luo warned.


    Lin Dong nodded. He usually played in the US region, so he¡¯d never faced Blood Eagle in the Middle lane before, while playing in the upper tiers of Ranked.


    ***


    ¡°No doubt everyone knows that Blood Eagle is a skilled player. For Team Skycrown¡¯s Lone Gull to be able to force such a close fight against him is proof that they¡¯re not small-time themselves. Of course, dueling ability is not everything. Let¡¯s ask our analyst, Zhang Aijing: From your own point of view, how much does victory in a solo duel say about an individual player¡¯s abilities?¡± Qi Qiao was stirring up the mood in the arena.


    ¡°Individual combat ability is only one out of four fundamental pillars of a player¡¯s abilities,¡± Aijing replied. ¡°To truly judge the worth of a player, one must consider all these elements.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Now, the Blood Eagle is preparing to take on the second challenger from Team Skycrown,¡± Qi Qiao prepared to resume the show. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this guy already, the one who has a spot in the Hall of Fame in the US region¡¯s Ranked play. That should tell you everything you need to know about how good he is.


    ¡°We all know that Blood Eagle is the best Jungler in the nation, and we¡¯ve just seen how good he is in the Top lane as well. How well does he play Mid? Let¡¯s all find out together!¡±


    As he stepped onto the stage, Lin Dong turned back to address his teammates: ¡°It sucks to be used as a punching bag, just for one guy to show off how good he is at everything.¡±


    And then Lin Dong made his way across the stage.


    Indeed, Team Skycrown had just been victorious, claiming their place within the LPL. It felt like Tinghua was doing this on purpose, issuing them this challenge so that he could utterly humiliate them in their moment of triumph.


    It was a terrible sensation.


    And yet, although they knew that they would be no match for Zhao Tinghua right now, retreat was absolutely out of the question.


    ***


    ¡°Are you just going to let him have his way like this?¡± Zhou Yan asked Yu Luocheng.


    Luocheng had been silent all this while.


    Did Zhao Tinghua really want his crown so badly? If it mattered to him so much, why had he been so ardent at defending Luocheng¡¯s throne back then, never brooking the slightest provocation?


    What he was really after was some means to well and truly hurt Luocheng.


    Tinghua needed to do something wicked to him, something to appease the vengeful fire burning within his heart.


    Faced with the unabashed ferocity of his wrath, Luocheng¡¯s mind was in turmoil.


    He couldn¡¯t make sense of it. Zhao Tinghua used to be his most trusted, most faithful friend. Now he was strutting about, carrying himself like some kind of villain, seething with fire and brimstone¡­ Had he forgotten that the one thing Luocheng couldn¡¯t abide by was seeing his own teammates being insulted?


    Or perhaps that was exactly where his intentions lay¡ªhe was deliberately aiming to incite Luocheng¡¯s fury.


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t deny it any further: Seeing Da Luo leave the stage beaten and dejected, with Tinghua sneering after him¡­ it filled his heart with rage!

 Chapter 278 - Lin Dong vs. Zhao Tinghua

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There were many more viable champions for playing Mid compared to Top. Once again, with no knowledge of what his opponent was going for, Zhao Tinghua picked Riven straight away!


    Playing Riven in Mid had been popular in Korea for a long time.


    In truth, players in China were still stuck in the era of fielding AP champions for Mid. Meanwhile, players in Korea and the US were experimenting with new ways to play, resulting in the rise of AD champions in the Middle lane. These days, Pantheon, Zed1, and Riven were trendy picks for high-level play in Korea. Ezreal Mid was a common sight, as well.


    After Tinghua chose Riven, Lin Dong went with an old favorite, which was also a solo powerhouse: Orianna.


    Both players were wearing noise-cancelling headphones, and neither could see which champion their opponent was selecting.


    Soon, the game began. When Tinghua saw that Lin Dong had selected Orianna, he burst out laughing.


    One might say that Riven, as a melee champion, might have some difficulty playing in lane against Orianna. Tinghua saw things differently: He¡¯d won this lane against Orianna countless times, in complete defiance of the disadvantage of going melee vs. ranged.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look at Blood Eagle¡¯s stats for playing as Riven. It seems he¡¯s been using her a lot in Ranked play, as Mid, Top¡­ even as a Jungler! Even at the highest tier, he¡¯s achieved a winning rate of up to 70%!


    What did a winning rate of 70% represent?


    The average player in a Normal game saw a winning rate between 50% to 55%. Anything beyond 55% suggested that your skill was far beyond that of the opponents being matched to you. 60% meant that, in most circumstances, you could completely dominate your opponent in the lane!


    It was extremely rare for anyone to exceed a 60% winning rate, because the system would automatically compensate for this by matching you to tougher opponents, until your performance dropped back towards 50%.


    For a player to achieve a 70% winning rate with Riven, as Blood Eagle had done, indicated that the system had been unable to find a suitable adversary who could stand up to him¡ªwho could bring him down.


    In Ranked games, anyone who spotted Blood Eagle on the enemy team would immediately respond by banning Riven.1


    Playing Mid against Lin Dong, Tinghua hadn¡¯t hesitated to pull out the champion with the highest winning rate in his regular games. One could call it a show of respect for Lin Dong¡¯s skills.


    Tinghua was a Jungler first, Top second, and after that Mid.


    Using his favorite champion Riven, he could totally treat this Mid-lane duel as though he was playing in the Top lane.


    The Middle lane was shorter, so minions reached the mid-point sooner compared to in the Top lane. As Tinghua¡¯s Riven and Lin Dong¡¯s Orianna came into the lane, the first thing they both did was get right to farming.


    The same truth applied to both champions: Whoever reached Level 3 first would hold a tremendous advantage!


    ¡°Orianna¡¯s basic attacks really hurt!¡± Qi Qiao exclaimed. ¡°Wow, now I see that she started with Doran¡¯s Blade!¡±


    Starting Orianna off with Doran¡¯s Blade? It echoed of Kennen!


    Even Tinghua was taken aback by this unexpected move on Lin Dong¡¯s part. No wonder her basic attacks were doing so much damage!


    Orianna¡¯s basic attacks were enhanced with bonus Magic Damage. Adding the effects of Doran¡¯s Blade on top of that resulted in each basic attack slicing off sixty or seventy health¡ªand Riven was not rich in health to begin with, early game.


    Orianna soon attained Level 2, and then employed her high-damage attacks to harry Riven viciously. Riven was forced to put her next skill point into her E-skill ¡®Valor¡¯ in order to weather this aggressive assault.


    Attack, advance. Attack, advance. Whenever Riven moved in to claim a minion, she would always have to suffer another basic attack. Meanwhile, Orianna used her Ball to finish off enemy minions and push the wave. Harassment and farming were being carried out simultaneously, independent of each other.


    Very soon, Lin Dong had gained a clear lead of 3 CS, and the entire minion wave was about to come within reach of the tower. No matter how good Tinghua was at farming, he was bound to lose a couple more here.


    ¡°That¡¯s the way!¡± Seeing the success of Lin Dong¡¯s unorthodox strategy, Da Luo was all smiles.


    Tinghua had gotten ahead of himself. Of all the times to challenge them, he chose the moment when they¡¯d just successfully qualified for the LPL. If they didn¡¯t give him a good what-for here, he might start thinking he was really something special.


    Lin Dong¡¯s ploy had genuinely thrown Tinghua off-balance. A conventional AP Orianna was already a potent harasser, but only as long as her mana held up. Just by dodging a couple of her skills, one could greatly blunt the threat she posed.


    However, Lin Dong¡¯s AD Orianna play-style was proving to be a huge pain in the neck. She was dealing exceptional damage with her basic attacks, and her skills added to that substantially, along with a Slowing effect to boot.


    By the time he cleared off the minions under his tower, Tinghua had already used both the Health Potions he¡¯d started with.


    Broken Wings, first strike!


    Riven suddenly slashed outwards with her weapon, an attack seemingly meant for one of the minions, until she unexpectedly lunged forward!


    Valor! Broken Wings, second strike!


    It was a deft succession of Dash moves, smooth and seamless!


    Riven could be described as a champion with a plenitude of skills. If you wished to gauge someone¡¯s proficiency at playing Riven, you only had to observe how well they used her Q-skill ¡®Broken Wings¡¯.


    Even an awkward, lumbering champion like Darius became a whirlwind of death under Blood Eagle¡¯s control. What would a nimble champion like Riven play like in his hands? Perhaps a crimson ballet with a frost-touched blade, graceful strokes evocating cold-blooded murder!


    This attack came too abruptly. Orianna had already been moving away, but Riven reached her nevertheless!


    The Runic Blade came down!


    As the blade struck, Tinghua hit W for Riven¡¯s ¡®Ki Burst¡¯!


    Just managing to catch Orianna to Stun her in place, Riven struck her again with the blade, her innate skill1 taking effect once more!


    The instant her blade made contact, Riven delivered the third and final strike of ¡®Broken Wings¡¯!


    Her lithe form somersaulted high into the air, and then she buried her blade into the ground at Orianna¡¯s feet!


    With a split-second response, Lin Dong hit Flash just before Riven caught Orianna with the knock-up effect of that third strike!


    That Flash allowed him to evade the finishing move of Broken Wings, but Orianna didn¡¯t fall back in panic, retaliating with a QW-combo against Riven!


    Riven had expended all her skills. Orianna was badly wounded, but she didn¡¯t hesitate to strike back!


    Lin Dong was an ADC expert as well, and his kiting skills were no lesser to Xiao Bei¡¯s own. Moreover, Orianna was a champion particularly well-suited for such tactics!


    Giving pursuit, Orianna did far more damage to Riven in return, and soon she was forced back to the safety of her tower. With barely more than a hundred HP left, Riven had no choice but to Recall. Doing so would mean losing out on a great many minions and XP¡ªand Lin Dong was already 13 CS ahead of Tinghua!


    ¡°He should be able to win this,¡± Wu Sen remarked.


    ¡°That remains to be seen. He was just forced to Flash.¡±


    The other players of Team Skycrown gazed up at the large monitor. If he¡¯d been up against anybody else, Lin Dong¡¯s current lead and intimidating display could have been taken to mean that this duel was already in the bag.


    But his opponent was Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle. Nothing was certain.


    From the start, Tinghua had been considered at least the equal of Yu Luocheng, with something that Luocheng himself didn¡¯t possess: A brutal savagery in his play-style.


    It was crucial not to allow Tinghua to find any gap in your defenses. The slightest sign of weakness, and he¡¯d attack full-force, and in the end he would invariably be the last one standing!


    ¡°It¡¯s now a difference of 14 CS. Blood Eagle is losing control of this game. It looks like that ¡®Doran¡¯s Blade¡¯ Orianna is working a treat.¡±


    Both champions returned to the lane. Lin Dong wasn¡¯t messing around: He¡¯d bought a second Doran¡¯s Blade, along with some Health and Mana Potions.


    He clicked on Riven to have a look. ¡°Elixir of Fortitude1?¡±


    Lin Dong¡¯s brow furrowed. Riven hadn¡¯t picked up any new equipment at all¡ªthe only thing she¡¯d purchased during her return to base was that Elixir.


    Tinghua was planning to fall back on his usual gambit: kill or be killed!


    Lin Dong had to keep a safe distance, and keep pushing the minions. Riven could not be allowed to get close!


    Just seeing that item told Lin Dong everything about Tinghua¡¯s plans. He wouldn¡¯t allow him the chance to do things his way.


    Orianna eased off on the harassment. With a lead of 12 CS, as long as she didn¡¯t lose out on too many, and steadily built her way up to 100, it would be Lin Dong¡¯s victory!


    For a time, both champions just farmed quietly.


    Lin Dong was flawless in this regard, and virtually never missed. Riven minded her own business as well, making no overt show of aggression.


    This left the audience somewhat befuddled. Tinghua had bought himself an Elixir of Fortitude, but he wasn¡¯t going to attack? Then what had been the point? Shouldn¡¯t Elixirs be used right away, in order to help you gain some measure of advantage? Even if you couldn¡¯t slay the enemy champion, you¡¯d still claw back some of the CS and XP difference. The longer you waited to use it, the less of a boon it would be.


    Seconds became minutes, and still Tinghua continued to farm¡­ but the CS difference only kept growing, and many were beginning to feel nervous for him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he forgot about the Elixir he¡¯s holding¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, right? If this carries on for much longer, he¡¯s gonna lose by CS.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Blood Eagle known for playing aggressively? I¡¯m not seeing it, here.¡±


    The murmur of discussion was growing among the crowd, while the two MCs on stage speculated wildly about what Tinghua was really up to.


    ***


    ¡°He¡¯s mellowed somewhat,¡± Zhou Yan remarked quietly.


    Luocheng nodded. The Blood Eagle he remembered would never hesitate to throw himself into a fight, no matter the odds. His thirst for battle had seemed unquenchable.


    Whether it was gameplay skills, instincts and judgement, or teamwork, Blood Eagle was every bit the equal of F-Hawk in his prime. The only reason F-Hawk had won more glory than him was because Luocheng was more calculating by nature.


    If you can¡¯t bend, you¡¯ll break. This aspect of Blood Eagle¡¯s nature was also a fatal weakness, whereas F-Hawk demonstrated more discretion, knowing when to bide his time, and when to strike decisively. When it was time to go all-out, he could be every bit as ferocious as anyone!


    From the patient and measured way Tinghua had been playing Darius during the previous game, it was evident that he¡¯d learned how to choose his moment more wisely.


    Likewise, the way he was playing Riven now showed that he was no slave to bloodlust. Supposedly, both Darius as well as Riven were champions which had to be played with a bold heart for battle¡ªand yet, he was playing them with such serenity here, it was hard to believe he was the same Blood Eagle they used to know.


    Tinghua¡¯s newfound temperance alone was not the main cause for concern. What was truly terrifying was the indescribable menace lurking behind it. Easing his restraints even by the slightest would allow the beast within to burst free, to tear his foes to shreds!


    ¡°He¡¯s awaiting Level 6,¡± Zhou Yan stated.


    Luocheng nodded.


    The moment Riven reached Level 6, the carnage would begin.


    Zhou Yan knew it. Luocheng knew it. Standing against Tinghua on the battlefield, Lin Dong was well aware of this as well.


    Lin Dong was unable to estimate XP progression at quite the same degree of accuracy as Luocheng. All he could do was keep a close eye on Riven, watching for the moment when she attained Level 6!

 Chapter 279 - Showdown!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Sometimes, even if you make every effort to be cautious, the imperative need to keep farming minions could still lead you into a pitfall.


    Of crucial importance was that Lin Dong didn¡¯t have Flash available to him. This meant that rather than a mere 500 units¡¯ distance¡ªa gap easily crossed by Riven¡ªhe had to maintain a safe distance of 1,100 units!


    Lin Dong tended the minion wave carefully, allowing the front-line to creep in towards his side, even coming within reach of his own tower.


    Beneath the relative safety of his tower, Lin Dong took a quick glance at his Creep Score, and estimated that another three or four waves should be sufficient to reach 100. The heat was on Zhao Tinghua, not him.


    Squeezing through the gap between the tower and the nearby wall, Lin Dong alternated deftly between the Ball and Orianna¡¯s basic attacks, getting all the minions even beneath the tower.


    Suddenly, Riven opened with the first strike of ¡®Broken Wings¡¯.


    Sensing danger, Lin Dong¡¯s heart leapt into his throat, and Orianna recalled the Ball to herself hastily, so that it provided her with a protective barrier!


    Bamf! Flash!


    As though knowing that Lin Dong still had another ten seconds before his own Flash was ready, Tinghua suddenly dove him under the tower. In particular, this meant Riven caught Orianna in the cramped space between the tower and the wall, boxing her in!


    Immediately, Riven activated her ultimate skill!


    Riven¡¯s ulti appeared to activate instantly, although in truth there should have been a slight pause beforehand. No one could be sure exactly when Tinghua had actually started it up!


    Riven struck once with her blade, and then performed the second technique of ¡®Broken Wings¡¯! Another attack, and then she dashed forward with ¡®Valor¡¯ to attack again!


    As Orianna fled, Riven used ¡®Ki Burst¡¯ to Stun her! One more attack, and then Riven followed with ¡®Wind Slash¡¯!


    ¡°Hah!¡± A violent gust tore outwards in a fan, slicing through Orianna and reducing her to critical health!


    Riven wasn¡¯t finished yet. Even as the Wind Slash swept through the area, she slammed the third strike of ¡®Broken Wings¡¯ down upon Orianna!


    Each QA-combo was almost too fast for the naked eye to follow!


    Upon the enormous viewscreen, all the audience saw was Riven leaping about spectacularly, blade flashing this way and that, some moves occasionally blurring together. It felt as though the character was rapidly going through a pre-programmed sequence of moves¡ªbut the truth was that, over the span of a little more than two seconds, Tinghua had performed a dozen separate commands!


    The speed had been unbelievable!


    QA-chaining was one of the minute techniques required to master Riven, but the light-speed QA-EA-WA-RA sequence that Tinghua had just pulled off¡­ how much would one have to train with Riven before they¡¯d be able to get that whole thing out in just over two seconds?


    Moreover, Lin Dong also possessed extraordinary reflexes, and had immediately responded by deploying Orianna¡¯s ulti to pull Riven away¡­ and yet she¡¯d still been hit with that full combo from Riven, plus an Ignite, resulting in Orianna being insta-killed while at full health!


    A tower-dive with an impossibly fast combo!


    It seemed like a futile venture to even try to wrap one¡¯s head around how quickly that kill had been pulled off!


    As the members of the audience slowly shook themselves out of a daze, they saw Riven, having secured the Champion Kill, escaping from the tower with a tiny sliver of health remaining. Her body was wreathed in flames from an Ignite spell.


    But in the end, it wasn¡¯t enough to bring her down.


    Riven was cloaked in a reddish aura, indicating that as she attacked Orianna, she¡¯d also downed that Elixir of Fortitude. That was what saved her from falling to Orianna¡¯s Ignite.


    If Riven had died from that, then the duel would have had to carry on until a clear outcome could be reached.


    Too bad.


    Lin Dong had been exercising the utmost caution, to the point that he¡¯d been deliberately farming under his own tower. He hadn¡¯t expected, though, that Tinghua would outright tower-dive him!


    He¡¯d used that Flash so suddenly, and right as Lin Dong was trapped in a tight spot, making it difficult to get away. The Blood Eagle had clearly retained the ruthless killer instincts that they remembered from the past, to say nothing of his relentless savagery once battle was joined!


    Zhou Yan and Luocheng had little reaction to seeing that Lin Dong had fallen as well. They¡¯d expected as much¡ªthat Tinghua would make a move before Lin Dong regained his Flash, even if it meant diving the tower. It was exactly the sort of thing he¡¯d do, and yet he¡¯d been allowed to do it.


    Up until that point, Tinghua had been farming diligently, just keeping to himself. It suggested that he¡¯d been absolutely certain he¡¯d be able to take down Lin Dong in one go!


    ***


    Wearing the same self-satisfied smile as before, Zhao Tinghua casually removed his headphones, his gaze on Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong followed suit, but he was still going over the fight in his mind.


    Truly, it had been too fast, too sudden. He¡¯d taken every possible precaution, but he¡¯d been deleted all the same. After two years of training and experience, Tinghua had become even more fearsome than before, not just in terms of pure skill¡ªhis tactics and demeanor were simply overpowering!


    ¡°Now, me.¡± Zhou Yan announced to Luocheng, as he watched Lin Dong descend from the stage.


    ¡°Jungling is what he¡¯s best at,¡± Luocheng said.


    Zhou Yan nodded, but didn¡¯t reply.


    Every player on Team Skycrown had their own sense of pride. Even if it was against a former comrade, losing a solo duel like this was deeply depressing. On top of that, if all three of them were beaten at their own specialties by the same player, it would be an excruciating demonstration of their inferiority.


    ¡°Zhou Yan. We¡¯ve bumped into each other quite a number of times before, haven¡¯t we?¡± Tinghua smirked at him.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Zhou Yan nodded in reply, but didn¡¯t have more to say.


    Zhou Yan was counted among the premier Junglers of the Ionia server, and he¡¯d come across Tinghua in Ranked play, now and again.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just admit defeat? You lose every game you play against me.¡±


    ¡°You talk a lot.¡± Zhou Yan took his seat.


    Tinghua spoke truthfully. Every game where Zhou Yan had to face off against him, Tinghua would basically have free reign over the whole jungle, and he also had a much better sense for ganking the various lanes.


    Perhaps because they used to be teammates, Tinghua had an uncanny grasp of Zhou Yan¡¯s tendencies. Knowing that Zhou Yan never did things the usual way, he himself would employ unusual methods to disrupt him, foiling him at every turn.


    Zhou Yan acknowledged that as a Jungler, Tinghua was far beyond his league. Out of ten games, he¡¯d be completely trampled in seven of them, and he fell behind pretty much every time.


    But that in no way meant that Zhou Yan would simply surrender. To him, each clash with Tinghua was another lesson learnt. Losing nine out of ten games also meant that there was a 10% chance of getting a win, or forcing a draw.


    So he¡¯d fight!


    ¡°This third game will be a duel between Junglers. From their five games against Team Fudan, everyone should have clearly seen that Team Skycrown has a talented Jungler on their side, one who favors atypical routes, so that he often catches the enemy by surprise. He¡¯s a wanderer¡ªnot your run-of-the-mill Jungler.


    ¡°And now, Gale Crane of Team Skycrown must face the greatest player in the nation: The undisputed lord of the jungle, Blood Eagle! Pitting Gale Crane of Team Skycrown against a legendary adversary like this, I wonder what we¡¯ll see from him?¡± The MC was clearly excited about this particular match-up.


    Then, the MC spotted Luocheng walking over to the computers on stage. ¡°Uh, just a moment. It looks like something¡¯s going on over in Team Skycrown¡¯s corner.¡±


    Zhou Yan looked up at Luocheng in surprise.


    ¡°Let me do it,¡± Luocheng said to him.


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, and Wu Sen stared at Luocheng. Couldn¡¯t he let Zhou Yan have his turn as well, before taking matters into his own hands?


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong both had first-hand experience watching Luocheng play, and there was no doubt in their minds that he¡¯d been born to be a gamer. Even if he was no longer playing professionally, his skills nevertheless appeared second-to-none.


    In particular, that game Luocheng had played against Shallow Dream had left the two of them dumbstruck with awe.


    Lin Dong knew that Zhang Aijing had recorded a value for Luocheng¡¯s Individual Ability Index: Under the name of ¡®F-Hawk¡¯, there was a score of 7 points.


    If a recording of Luocheng¡¯s game against Shallow Dream was spread around on the internet, Lin Dong felt that Aijing would scrub off that ridiculous score in a heartbeat!


    There were pro gamers who trained desperately but couldn¡¯t seem to get any better. If they saw what Luocheng could do when he was playing seriously, they¡¯d be driven mad with frustration!


    Still, Lin Dong couldn¡¯t understand why Luocheng had to skip over Zhou Yan like this. Considering his skill at playing ADC, it should be a clinch for Luocheng to beat Tinghua, who wasn¡¯t much of an ADC himself¡ªprobably 7 points at best.


    No, hold on¡­ Something occurred to Lin Dong.


    Tinghua was best known as a Jungler. For Luocheng to step into this particular duel against him, so that they could go Jungler vs. Jungler¡­ wasn¡¯t this the most blatant sort of challenge in return?


    Tinghua sought to take from Luocheng his most treasured spot as world champion; Luocheng was going to humiliate Tinghua at his own specialty!


    It all made sense now. Lin Dong finally realized that Tinghua¡¯s presumptuous, discourteous manners today had caused Luocheng to well and truly lose his temper!


    Now Luocheng was out to cut Tinghua down a notch, and rub his face into the dirt!


    ***


    Zhou Yan examined the look in Luocheng¡¯s eyes. Eventually, he rose from his seat, and ceded it to him.


    Luocheng cast a look at Tinghua. The cocksure smile was gone from his face.


    Tinghua himself wasn¡¯t sure why he couldn¡¯t keep up that provocative smirk any longer. Perhaps it was the vestiges of the past.


    In the days of the original DOTA, Tinghua had also been this arrogant and bloodthirsty, picking fights with elite players across the land. There was only one person whom, if he didn¡¯t fight him honestly with everything he had, he couldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    That person had just taken the seat opposite him. Even after all these years, he still unconsciously felt that sensation of dread.


    He had to give this his absolute best, or else he¡¯d be crushed to a pulp!


    Last time, he¡¯d been completely overshadowed by this person. There wasn¡¯t a gamer in the world who didn¡¯t know the name ¡®F-Hawk¡¯. Tinghua had always been jealous of him. Even as teammates, he¡¯d never really warmed to Luocheng, until that one game¡­


    But now, they were enemies once more.


    It was better this way. Now, they could have themselves a proper showdown!

 Chapter 280 - Lee Sin vs. Lee Sin

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is finally taking the stage himself!¡± Zhang Aijing announced. ¡°As I understand it, this guy played in the LOL University League as Support for Shanghai University. With his addition to their team, Shanghai University made an unprecedented breakthrough, going all the way to the semi-finals!


    ¡°Based on an ID check and analysis by our statistics team, the Skycrown coach is a long-time Bot-lane player, typically going Support or ADC. He¡¯s got an exceptional winning rate in Ranked play¡ª100% when playing as Ezreal!¡±


    When she¡¯d found out about F-Hawk¡¯s re-appearance, Aijing had used her own methods to ferret out Yu Luocheng¡¯s in-game ID, and had sifted through all his performance stats.


    He was a Bot-laner, and nothing stood out more than that 100% winning rate on Ezreal. He¡¯d risen from the bottom to the top in Ranked play, and he¡¯d won every single game during his transition from 2,200 ELO to Diamond 1. It was a startling notion.


    Now that Aijing had spilled the beans like this, the whole crowd was in an uproar!


    Who had ever heard of a 100% winning rate? Whether in Normal and Ranked play, the system in ¡®League of Legends¡¯ always strove to bring your winning rate down to 50%, and it should be the same no matter how good you were.


    It was a ladder system which reached a very long way up. If you were a skilled player, this ladder would quickly bring you up to a level where all the players were equal to you in ability. As a result, your winning rate would gradually tend towards 50%.


    Outside of smurfing, the only way one could maintain a winning rate that high was if the system genuinely couldn¡¯t find anyone who was your equal!


    Luocheng¡¯s 100% winning rate on Ezreal came as a shock to everyone. Perhaps luck played some part in it, or perhaps he hadn¡¯t actually played that many games as Ezreal¡ªbut to hold a 100% winning rate at Diamond 1 tier¡­ whatever else that might be said about it, it wasn¡¯t an achievement to be taken lightly!


    ***


    ¡°Oh, hell¡­ Luocheng is really going to duel Blood Eagle!¡± Yang Ying wasn¡¯t quite coming to terms with the notion.


    Not too long ago, Yu Luocheng was just another freshman, with perhaps a few things worth noticing about him.


    His partnership with Asmodai had already been a huge shock. Now he was going into a solo duel against national LOL royalty. Exactly what was going on, here?


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the two of them use to be teammates? Why does it feel like they¡¯re fighting over something, right now?¡± Li Meiqi wondered.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Zhang Aijing mention that this involved the International E-Sports Federation?¡± Xiao Jia pointed out. ¡°Maybe it has something to do with the title of ¡®World Champion of Gaming¡¯? Luocheng is the title-holder, and only world-class players have any right to challenge him.¡±


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua definitely counts as one, so he¡¯s got the right to challenge,¡± Zhang Xia noted. ¡°So it¡¯s a brawl between ex-comrades. In the past, F-Hawk was the more well-known among the two¡ªand probably the better player. Nowadays, hardly anyone knows either Luocheng or F-Hawk, and he¡¯s not returning to the professional scene. He should no longer be any match for Blood Eagle¡¯s reputation or abilities.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, dueling against Blood Eagle¡­ once we start spreading word of this around the campus, it¡¯s gonna whip up a storm!¡± Yang Ying exclaimed.


    ¡°Luocheng doesn¡¯t like bringing up his past. You should ask him how he feels about that, beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Something¡¯s wrong with that guy! Keeping a nuclear bomb like that quietly tucked away; if it were me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop myself from letting the entire campus know. It would be raining panties all day long!¡± Xiao Jia moaned enviously.


    ***


    As he put on the headphones, Luocheng could feel Tinghua¡¯s eyes on him. He returned the gaze serenely, betraying no hint of passion.


    As far as the world of professional gaming was concerned, he¡¯d purposely forced himself to remain aloof and distant. He couldn¡¯t decide whether it was because he couldn¡¯t really let go of it after all, or if it was because everyone he ran into was some kind of hardcore gamer, but somehow he had found his way back in again.


    He¡¯d decided to remain an amateur player, playing casually with friends and classmates, a wolf among the sheep. It had been an enjoyable pretense¡­ but without noticing it, he¡¯d stumbled right back into pro gaming once more.


    Truth be told, when Team Skycrown looked like they were about to get defeated by Team Fudan, he¡¯d felt worse than any of the actual players¡ªespecially when they turned to look at him in despair. In that moment, he¡¯d wanted nothing more than to just tear his way in there¡­


    Tinghua had humiliated Lin Dong and Da Luo in their own lanes, growing ever more full of himself the whole time. Luocheng had been unable to intervene during the tournament earlier, because it would be against the rules for him to suddenly join in halfway through¡ªbut there was nothing stopping him now!


    It wouldn¡¯t be his first time kicking Blood Eagle¡¯s butt. So what if he wasn¡¯t a pro player anymore? He could still give out a bloody good trashing!


    Luocheng had to admit that in a pro-level tournament, whatever contributions he could make would be nothing close to matching the Blood Eagle as he was now¡ªbut a solo duel was all about individual skill, and where that was concerned, he didn¡¯t fear Zhao Tinghua in the slightest.


    Was there a professional player who¡¯d never, while playing in random games, been done in by some exceptionally skilled player in passing?


    Yu Luocheng did that sort of thing to other people all the time!


    ***


    They were in Champion Selection now. As usual, neither player could see what their opponent was going for.


    Different champions flashed rapidly past Luocheng¡¯s screen.


    This being a Jungler duel, the choice of champion was of paramount importance. He had to pick someone with tremendous early-game power!


    Truth be told, Luocheng already had a champion in mind. The reason he was cycling through other champions like this was because he was trying to figure out which one Tinghua would choose.


    Riven? Would he go with Riven again?


    Blood Eagle was undeniably skilled with Riven. Luocheng couldn¡¯t recall ever seeing anyone who could string Riven¡¯s combos together as deftly as Blood Eagle did. Since he often used Riven as a Jungler too, the odds of it being Riven again were quite high.


    There was pretty much no champion who could stand against Riven at Level 1, but Luocheng himself was no good at Riven, so picking her was not an option for him.


    Klung!


    The portrait flashed with light. In the end, Luocheng would be going into this with an incomparably popular Jungling champion: Lee Sin!


    In a duel between Junglers, Lee Sin was second to none. Luocheng felt fairly confident about locking him in.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s coach has made his decision, but Blood Eagle is still trying to make up his mind. The last two rounds, he¡¯d locked in his choice immediately; this time, he seems full of hesitation. It¡¯s clear to see that this opponent is not someone he takes lightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for another juicy tidbit: Both the Skycrown coach as well as Blood Eagle are former DOTA players. They faced off against each other often, and proved to be evenly matched. The question is whether the same will hold true in LOL!¡± Aijing unveiled another revelation.


    Aijing was still skirting around the heart of the matter regarding the history¡ªand ensuing bad blood¡ªbetween Yu Luocheng and Zhao Tinghua, but she¡¯d nevertheless implied that a lot of conflict had happened between them. This duel was not some spur-of-the-moment impulse, but something that had been a long time coming!


    ¡°Blood Eagle¡¯s made his choice: Lee Sin! Who¡¯d have thought that he¡¯d choose the same champion!¡± For some reason, this was getting Aijing really excited.


    There were clear separations of power between each champion in ¡®League of Legends¡¯. As was demonstrated earlier, at Level 6, Riven could kill off Orianna with a single combo chain, and there was no real way to prevent it from happening. Even if you hid under the tower, as long as Riven had Flash, Orianna would be completely at her mercy.


    However, if both sides were using the same champion, these differences were completely moot. All that mattered then was individual skill, judgment, and reflexes!


    This was exactly the sort of thing she¡¯d been yearning to see!


    This would be worth an entire page of info about F-Hawk, at the very least! Aijing was beside herself with anticipation.


    The audience was oblivious to the fact that this was a face-off between two world-class players. None among them suspected that the title of ¡®World Champion of Gaming¡¯ was at stake!


    Lee Sin vs. Lee Sin¡­


    That was one of Aijing¡¯s favorite champions. One could say that after you mastered how Lee Sin was played, basically all the other champions in LOL became trivial.


    Lee Sin is an agile, deadly champion, at once spectacular yet terrifying to watch in action!


    A beloved champion in the hands of two elite players, about to clash in a thrilling solo duel!


    Just thinking about it was making her breath draw faster!


    The loading screen appeared. When both players realized that they¡¯d chosen the same champion, they simultaneously exchanged looks across the stage.


    Excellent. A mirror match!


    It was the best way to show off their worth as players!


    ¡°Before the game begins, let¡¯s talk about the rules to this Jungler solo duel:


    ¡°As before, we¡¯ll be using the 5v5 Summoner¡¯s Rift map. During the first minute, both Junglers will come down the Middle lane. The duel will officially begin at exactly one minute into the game. The playing field will be restricted to the jungle areas between the Middle and Bottom lanes, and both Junglers are required to remain within these bounds, with no distinction between Blue and Red sides.


    ¡°The match point will be one champion kill, or forty jungle creeps!¡±


    Solo duels typically only took place along a particular lane. Carrying out a duel within the jungle like this was an exceedingly rare sight.


    However, once Aijing read out these rules, the audience had a pretty clear idea of what was going on: Both players could only operate within the same half of the jungle. As they cleared out the creep camps, it was inevitable that they¡¯d run into each other.


    ¡°Come to think of it, these rules are kinda wonky. With such a large playing field, if one player decides to hide somewhere¡­ that¡¯s still a lot of jungle, and with all those bushes in there, they could just stay hidden forever and never get caught. It¡¯s like playing hide-and-seek,¡± a student among the crowd commented.


    ¡°No way. If they just want to hide, then let them hide. The other player can keep farming creeps, building up levels and equipment¡­ then you might as well stay hidden, because if you get caught, you¡¯re dead. Keep on running from a fight, and your opponent will eventually pick up that 40 CS¡ªthen you¡¯ll lose anyway!¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­ Gotta be careful with the Recall, then.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. If you just Recall for nothing, your side of the jungle will get cleaned out. If your opponent is really cunning, they¡¯ll leave one tiny creep alive in each camp for you, delaying the whole camp¡¯s respawn time. You¡¯ll be flat broke.¡±


    It was probably the first time a jungle duel was being broadcast in public like this¡ªand a Lee Sin mirror match, no less¡ªbetween Blood Eagle and this mysterious expert player. It should be something worth watching!


    Before anyone noticed it, the event was already spreading like wildfire across the internet. The match between Team Skycrown and Team Fudan had already been drawing a hundred thousand viewers to begin with, but suddenly the views had increased to a hundred and fifty thousand¡ªan extra fifty thousand clicks, in hardly any time at all!


    The fight hadn¡¯t even started yet, and there were already a hundred and fifty thousand people watching. If there had been time to do a proper bit of advertising, the views would surely be in the millions!


    The media team for this event was utterly astounded. No one had imagined that an impromptu duel could produce such results!

 Chapter 281 - Fighting Hawk vs. Blood Eagle

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As the game began, a storm of cheering rose up.


    As per the rules of this duel, after they¡¯d gotten their starting items, both champions met up in the Middle lane.


    In no time at all, both Lee Sins had assembled, staring each other down!


    The moment they came into view of one another, they each immediately clicked on their opponent to take a look at what they¡¯d started with.


    Doran¡¯s Blade!


    ¡­ and Doran¡¯s Blade!


    The peculiarities continued: Both players had started with the exact same items!


    They even had the same Summoner Spells: Barrier and Ignite!


    No Smite, no Flash. First item Doran¡¯s Blade.


    Both players clearly intended to start the violence right away. What 40 CS? Forget about it!


    The very sight of their starting items and Summoner Spells told everyone that there was going to be blood, and lots of it. The promise of violence electrified the air.


    Reaching the one-minute mark would set things off. Both fighters stood ready in their corners. Ten seconds to go.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s hands lay over his mouse and keyboard. His eyes were on the clock.


    57


    58


    59


    Start!


    Both Lee Sins simultaneously made for the Red Buff!


    Without Smite, fighting over the Red Buff was pointless. Their goal was not the monster itself¡ªthey were hurrying to meet in the first arena!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Zhao Tinghua abruptly made the first move, his ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯ slicing through the grass to hit Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin!


    ¡°Beautiful! That¡¯s a hit!¡± squealed Qi Qiao. ¡°You¡¯d expect no less from Blood Eagle, the top player in the nation! To be able to land a Q from there¡­ eh? Why isn¡¯t he following up on that?¡±


    After hitting someone with that skill, you should just go right ahead with a flying kick to the target. Many in the crowd were stumped as to why Blood Eagle declined to follow through with the second phase of Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill.


    Zhang Aijing considered this a moment, and figured it out right away. Holding up the microphone, she declared: ¡°Foregoing the flying kick is the right move, here.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Qi Qiao asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that if he goes flying over there, he¡¯ll be able to deal further damage. However, when Team Skycrown¡¯s coach retaliates, the first use of that skill will augment his next two basic attacks with 40% bonus attack speed. After two attacks, he can follow up with his own flying kick, and then another two enhanced attacks.


    ¡°That¡¯s the benefit of Lee Sin¡¯s innate skill: Each time he activates one of his skills, it also provides a 40% attack speed boost to his next two basic attacks. And that¡¯s not all: Lee Sin¡¯s ¡®Resonating Strike¡¯ does more damage based on how badly wounded his target is.


    ¡°Being the defender here means getting in two basic attacks beforehand¡ªand if you go so far as to apply an Ignite for even more damage before you use that second-stage Q, you¡¯ll deal that much more damage.¡±


    It was an incisive analysis by Aijing. Qi Qiao¡ªas well as the members of the audience¡ªgaped in awe.


    ¡°Basically, whoever uses the flying kick first will lose out,¡± Aijing concluded.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered such details at all. Expert players are something else¡ªthey see things that never even occur to us,¡± Qi Qiao breathed.


    It was as Aijing had said: When there were two Lee Sins, both at Level 1, whichever one of them followed up a Sonic Wave with a Resonating Strike, that was essentially performing a flying kick into your own coffin. The defender would be able to deal far more damage than the attacker.


    Most people only thought about a champion¡¯s active skills, along with a rough estimate of how much damage each one could deal. Eventually, it would be necessary to consider the effects of the innate skill as well, and perhaps any hidden effects and interactions. That included how best to use all of those skills.


    ¡°Pah, were you hoping I¡¯d fly over there, and screw myself over?¡± Tinghua smirked. He could tell that he¡¯d deliberately been allowed to land that hit, in order to lure him into a trap.


    There was no way he¡¯d be such a fool. He was well-acquainted with Luocheng¡¯s craven tricks!


    Tinghua pulled his Lee Sin away from Luocheng. Now his skills were fully on cooldown. If Luocheng hit him with his own Sonic Wave now, there was no doubt he¡¯d come flying right over!


    Both of them were making a full sprint from the Mid lane to the Red Buff, following a largely identical route, with one in the front and the other behind. Luocheng was the one following, at a distance of about 800 units.


    Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill had a maximum range of 1,000 units. At a distance of 800, landing a hit would be nearly impossible for Luocheng. Although he was hot on Tinghua¡¯s heels, he couldn¡¯t quite find an ideal shot.


    With such poor odds, Luocheng certainly wouldn¡¯t be taking the gamble.


    At its first tier, Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill had a cooldown of eleven seconds. If he missed with the Sonic Wave, he¡¯d be dancing like a cat on a hot tin roof for the next eleven seconds!


    ¡°Hah!¡± All of a sudden, another Sonic Wave burst out from the brush up ahead, intersecting with Luocheng¡¯s path of movement!


    Just as he¡¯d healed back most of the damage from the first hit earlier, this second hit brought him even lower.


    Luocheng¡¯s nerves were strung tight. In almost the same instant that Tinghua launched this attack against him, Luocheng replied with his own Sonic Wave!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Counter-attack to the source!


    Although not actually able to see Tinghua¡¯s champion, Luocheng¡¯s retaliatory Sonic Wave had unerringly sought out its target where he hid amid the brush!


    After exchanging hits, they now each had vision of the other¡ªbut neither one followed through with the Resonating Strike. They both understood that would be an act of folly.


    ¡°What¡­ what terrifying reflexes!¡± Aijing gasped.


    ¡°Aijing, have you got another startling observation for us?¡± Qi Qiao seemed baffled, herself.


    ¡°That counter-attack from the Skycrown coach was a demonstration of skill at the highest level!¡±


    Qi Qiao and the other MC, Su Mei, exchanged worried looks. Did they miss something amazing just now? Weren¡¯t both players just trading blows with one another?


    ¡°An instant counter-attack to the source is a high-level technique originating from DOTA. When you have no vision of your opponent, and they launch a straight-line skillshot like Lee Sin¡¯s ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯, you immediately gauge your opponent¡¯s current position, and launch your own attack in reply. The result should most likely be a hit.


    ¡°Did everyone notice that while Blood Eagle¡¯s Sonic Wave was still in the air, the Skycrown coach made a god-like instant response by firing his own Sonic Wave back down the path of the enemy skillshot, thus hitting Blood Eagle even while he was invisible?


    ¡°I can say with certainty that neither player will use their Resonating Strike yet; they¡¯re just poking with Q for now. One supposes that if the Skycrown coach had been any slower with his response, Blood Eagle would already have moved away from there, getting in a second hit for free. Having poked his opponent twice like that, he¡¯d have the upper hand in any exchange to follow.¡±


    Aijing discussed details that most people wouldn¡¯t have thought to examine closer. Who even stopped to ponder such things, normally? Most Lee Sin players, upon landing the first Q, would not be able to stop themselves from immediately going for the flying kick¡ªa hard-wired compulsion!


    The counter-attack back to source, in layman¡¯s terms, meant that after Tinghua¡¯s Q-skill was launched, Luocheng took a fraction of a second to ascertain his position, and then returned fire.


    It sounds simple enough, but it¡¯s not easy to pull off, unless you have an amazing response time and dexterity!


    ¡°Haaah!¡±


    Suddenly, Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin gave a great shout, leaped into the air, and flew in a straight line towards Tinghua¡¯s Lee Sin, a thousand units away!


    ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s going on!¡± Qi Qiao cried out. ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is going in? But then he¡¯s going to lose the exchange!¡±


    Luocheng soared like a shooting star across the screen, the grass swaying violently in his wake, as though whipped up by a sudden gale!


    Luocheng was diving in!


    Going by what Aijing had just discussed, everyone understood that the first player to do this would be the loser.


    So why had Luocheng decided to use the flying kick, now?


    Realization struck Aijing, leaving even her in awe. ¡°Magnificent! The Skycrown coach has performed a feat of impeccable timing!¡±


    After using his Q-skill, Lee Sin had three seconds to perform the second phase of the skill. If those three seconds elapsed without the skill being activated again, the whole thing would go on cooldown.


    Luocheng was willing to dive in because he¡¯d calculated exactly when Tinghua¡¯s Q-skill would fully be on cooldown¡ªwhile he himself still had it available for another fraction of a second!


    Tinghua¡¯s entire Q-skill set was now on cooldown; Luocheng could still do the flying kick!


    Aijing hurriedly explained this to the audience, who stirred restlessly in their seats.


    You could do that? You could exploit such a tiny gap in timing?


    This coach of Team Skycrown was playing at an inhuman level of precision!


    With all the ire of bitter rivals, as Luocheng came flying in with his Resonating Strike, both players simultaneously lit each other up with Ignite!


    One punch. Sidestep. One kick. Move!


    With deft grace, they flowed around each other in a deadly dance!


    Each attack was dealt out the instant it became available, the rest of the animation immediately canceled with movement. Both fighters wreathed in fierce immolation, they became a whirling hurricane of kicks and punches. Both health bars were falling away with alarming speed!


    ¡°Both players use Ignite at the very first opportunity. This can only mean one thing: They¡¯re both using the ¡®Summoner¡¯s Wrath¡¯ Mastery, which increases AD by 5 after Ignite has been used!1


    ¡°They¡¯re both Level 1, with hardly any difference in health, so those five points of AD are massive! Neither player is missing out on even the tiniest detail! However, it¡¯s obvious that the Skycrown coach has an advantage in health here, since he also got in a Resonating Strike! Are you telling me this duel is about to be settled, right here, right now?¡±


    Indeed, Luocheng clearly had a little more health than his opponent. Both players were deploying their basic attacks flawlessly, and neither one was allowing the other to use the brush for concealment. If they continued dealing out attacks at the same rate, and if they¡¯d both used Ignite at the same time, then ultimately the one with more health would be the last one standing.


    Just Level 1, and they were fighting this viciously already. The crowd was going hysterical!


    This Jungler duel was about to reach a conclusion within the next two seconds!


    As Tinghua fell to his last eighty HP or so, he suddenly made an odd motion, and somehow shook off Luocheng!


    He¡¯d backed out of reach!


    Luocheng still had a little over a hundred HP himself. Factoring in his health recovery as well, he could maybe take another two basic attacks. He just needed to close the distance to Tinghua, and the next strike would end it!


    Alas, Tinghua was too cunning, and had managed to slip free.

 Chapter 282 - Mind Games

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t allow Zhao Tinghua to escape. He gave chase, only three hundred units behind.


    Both champions had the same movement speed. As long as he didn¡¯t get thrown off again, there would be no getting away from him.


    At this distance, the moment his Q-skill was ready again, he¡¯d put an end to the Blood Eagle.


    Tinghua kept running, all the way into the brush, causing Luocheng to lose sight of him.


    Luocheng glanced at his own Q cooldown, and felt a tinge of anxiety. Hurriedly, he pulled his Lee Sin out of the way!


    ¡°Hah!¡± A Sonic Wave shot out abruptly from the tall grass, hitting him. Luocheng had seen it coming, but he¡¯d failed to dodge it all the same.


    The grass rustled, and the doppelganger Lee Sin came hurtling through the air towards him!


    Luocheng was on his last legs, himself. This double-Q could very well be his curtain call!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Luocheng attacked the very instant his cooldown timer finished, and immediately followed with the kick!


    Whap!


    Whap!


    Both champions collided into each other, the sounds of impact coming one after the other!


    ¡°First Blood!¡±


    ¡°You have been slain!¡±


    These two system announcements came out virtually on top of each other. A pair of portraits appeared on the right side of the screen: Lee Sin had slain Lee Sin, one blue and the other red. The next row announced that Lee Sin had also slain Lee Sin, red against blue!


    Both attacks had found their targets, and both champions had fallen!


    It was an equal trade! They¡¯d taken each other¡¯s lives!


    Supposedly, Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin had been a little bit ahead in health¡ªbut not by so much that he could survive a full double-Q from Tinghua.


    Similarly, Tinghua¡¯s Lee Sin had to fall after taking a flying kick from Luocheng.


    When both Lee Sins took to the air to deliver that fatal strike to their foe, it had ended with both their deaths!


    The question was: Who had claimed First Blood?


    First Blood was worth 400 gold.


    The next Champion Kill after that was worth 300.


    That extra 100 gold meant one could buy not only a suit of Cloth Armor, but also several Health Potions. For two opponents who were otherwise evenly matched in terms of finances, levels, and equipment, this was a decisive difference.


    ¡°Blood Eagle got the First Blood!¡± Aijing declared in disbelief.


    ¡°But¡­ this was obviously a case of simultaneous kills! Why should Blood Eagle alone be getting First Blood?¡± Qi Qiao asked in confusion.


    Hearing this, the players of Team Skycrown became grim.


    Luocheng had clearly gained the upper hand in that fight, yet Tinghua had been granted First Blood in the end. It was difficult to fathom how the system had made its judgement.


    ¡°Maybe it applied the damage from the one who used the skill first, before acknowledging the attack from the other player,¡± Zhou Yan surmised.


    ***


    ¡°Since that ended in a draw, we¡¯re gonna keep going! That last duel, all the way up to the final exchange, was really amazing stuff! I couldn¡¯t even blink! To think that the Skycrown coach would use a difference in cooldown timing to win himself an advantage in health¡­ that definitely convinced me of his skills!¡± This was from Qi Qiao.


    A Jungler duel against Blood Eagle? There shouldn¡¯t be a single person in the whole nation who would honestly dare.


    No one in the audience had expected Team Skycrown¡¯s coach to be a player of such formidable ability. He¡¯d come within an inch of bringing Blood Eagle down. If not for this questionable judgement by the game system, Blood Eagle might not even be enjoying the lead from getting First Blood.


    In any case, being able to hold his own against Blood Eagle, even forcing him to retreat¡­ it was already phenomenal!


    Both champions soon respawned at their respective Fountains: the respawn time for Level-1 champions was next to nothing.


    Having three hundred gold now meant getting some Cloth Armor at best. That¡¯s what Luocheng did. As well, with the gold he¡¯d automatically earned over the passage of time, he also picked up a couple of Health Potions.


    At the moment, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t be picking any fights with Tinghua, for the simple reason that he was certain Tinghua would immediately use his four hundred gold to pick up a Long Sword¡ªwhile he himself could only afford Cloth Armor.


    Although there was no clear victor in comparing the Long Sword against the Cloth Armor, Tinghua could use the increased damage to swiftly clear out the Golems camp, bringing himself to Level 2. At that point, running into his Lee Sin would basically mean guaranteed defeat.


    He had to be the first to reach Level 2.


    With the XP gained from a Champion Kill, one batch of Golems should get him there, no problem.


    If Luocheng held any sort of advantage, it was in that he was playing from the Blue side, meaning that his side of the jungle had more creeps than the other. Tinghua absolutely had to come over to his side.


    ***


    Upon his revival, Luocheng raced for the Golems camp.


    It took some doing to bring down the Golems at Level 1. Fortunately, he¡¯d taken the Jungling Masteries. By the time the Golems were finished and he¡¯d levelled up, he still had approximately half of his health remaining.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I presume ¡®Jungling Masteries¡¯ refers to some combination of ¡®Butcher¡¯, ¡®Durability¡¯, and ¡®Tough Skin¡¯, going by the old Masteries system.)


    Luocheng immediately put the skill point into his E-skill, and then used his Q to check the Red Buff.


    Luocheng honestly had no clue whether Tinghua was going for the Blue Buff, or if he was already creeping this way. He couldn¡¯t be too cautious!


    Because he hadn¡¯t brought Smite, Luocheng didn¡¯t dare make any attempt on the Red Buff. Having made sure that Tinghua wasn¡¯t lurking about, he made for the other section of jungle, across the river.


    Although he himself didn¡¯t presume to claim the Red Buff, neither could he allow Tinghua to take the Blue Buff. That would be another level gained, and both players understood that was a crucial early-game advantage.


    Luocheng used another Sonic Wave to peer into the area: the Ancient Golem was still there.


    Evidently, Tinghua had also been wary of Luocheng springing an ambush on him immediately after respawning, so he¡¯d opted not to go for the Blue Buff straight away. Without the benefit of Smite, it was a pretty painful proposition for a Level-1 champion to go toe-to-toe with either of the Buff monsters. Getting ambushed in that situation would mean the end!


    ¡°I guess he¡¯s cleaned off the Wolves. Should be Level 2 now.¡± Luocheng began making guesses as to where Tinghua had run off to.


    Meanwhile, Tinghua hadn¡¯t found Luocheng at the Red Buff, either. He fired a Sonic Wave into the Golems camp, and struck only empty air.


    ***


    ¡°These two are up to exactly the same scheme: Rush to Level 2, check the Buff on their side, and then the one across the river. It¡¯s all mind games. I¡¯d guess that they¡¯re both trying to figure out their opponent¡¯s current position and level.¡± Aijing watched the screen with rapt attention.


    It felt as though two pinnacle-level masters were simultaneously delving through a pitch-black forest, knowing nothing about their opponent¡¯s situation or location. Relying upon keen senses, investigating the state of the local wildlife, and speculating upon the likely tactics of their adversary¡­ It was the first time Aijing had ever watched such an intense, elaborate competition between Junglers.


    It should be the first time such a duel had ever been carried out in public. Judging by the atmosphere across the arena, it was clear that this face-off between Luocheng and Tinghua had everyone on the edge of their seats.


    While both players were in the dark as to their opponent¡¯s circumstances, the audience themselves could easily see everything that was happening. Whenever both champions drew close to one another, everyone¡¯s hearts tensed. The suspense was mounting with each step taken!

 Chapter 283 - Unconventional Tactics

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    By his second visit to the Blue Buff, Yu Luocheng had already attained Level 3. This meant he was much more efficient at wiping out the creep camps, and the second phase of his W-skill was useful for getting some health back. With the additional Lifesteal from Doran¡¯s Blade, Luocheng was still holding on to one Health Potion.


    As he walked past, he suddenly noticed that the Ancient Golem had vanished! The two Young Lizards were hurling bolts of magic into the nearby bush, where some portion of the colossal Ancient Golem could be seen spilling out of the brush!


    That scoundrel was trying to sneak a quick one with the big daddy!


    Luocheng knew Zhao Tinghua was a gambling man, which was why he made a point of always checking both Buffs after each camp he cleared.


    Sure enough, Level 3 and he was making a solo attempt on the Blue Buff. If he succeeded, Luocheng would have to run for his life!


    He scrambled over to send a Sonic Wave into the bush!


    It was a hit, lighting up the critically wounded Ancient Golem¡ªbut the moment Luocheng¡¯s skillshot made contact, Tinghua instantly threw down a ¡®Tempest¡¯ and finished it off!


    Tinghua¡¯s Lee Sin only had about one third of his health left. That had been the terrible price of challenging the Ancient Golem.


    Luocheng had arrived just a little too late. A few seconds earlier, and he could very well have stolen the Buff for himself!


    Getting the Blue Buff also meant that Tinghua was now at Level 4¡ªand he was aware of Luocheng¡¯s presence.


    Without wasting a single moment, Tinghua whirled around and tossed his Sonic Wave towards the Wolves camp, using them to pull himself to safety. Just like that, Luocheng lost sight of him.


    In a solo duel, it was forbidden to return to base. If Luocheng gave chase, he might be able to finish off his badly wounded adversary.


    However, Tinghua was very cunning, and circled around the Wolves camp non-stop, buying time for his health to regenerate.


    If he could get his health back up to two-thirds, he might be able to take Luocheng on. Each level gained not only meant improvements to all of a champion¡¯s attributes, it also raised the effectiveness of skills, and even the Ignite and Barrier Spells. With two-thirds health and the Cooldown Reduction from the Blue Buff, he¡¯d be more than a match for Luocheng¡¯s Level-3 Lee Sin!


    Holding down the Tab key, Luocheng confirmed that Tinghua had already used up all his Health Potions.


    Rather than run after him, Luocheng doubled back to his side of the jungle. With the aid of his last Health Potion, he had to get himself to Level 4 as soon as possible, or else he¡¯d have serious trouble with their next fight.


    Back on his side of the river, Luocheng quickly sent the Wraiths to their final rest, but doing so didn¡¯t really give him all that much XP. He¡¯d have to take down his own Buff monster if he hoped to level up in time.


    There was the Lizard Elder, right before his eyes. The way things were going right now, whoever got the Red Buff would basically win the game. Augmenting attacks with True Damage and a Slowing effect, it was the ultimate weapon.


    The problem was that neither Tinghua nor Luocheng felt ready to tangle with the Lizard Elder, who enjoyed the benefits of its own Red Buff. If either one of them engaged it in battle, and then the other player crashed the party, that would be game over.


    Having brought a swift end to the Wraiths, Luocheng was on his way over to the Golems camp when he bumped into a Level-4 Lee Sin!


    Tinghua had recovered up to three-quarters of his maximum health. As his gaze fell over Luocheng, there was the unmistakable air of killing intent!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Tinghua unleashed his attack as though he¡¯d been lying in wait for awhile. His Sonic Wave struck Luocheng right in the face!


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t get clear in time. As he got hit, he heard the enemy Lee Sin belt out a spirited cry, and then saw him soaring in like a cruise missile!


    He was diving in for the attack! Knowing he had Cooldown Reduction from his Blue Buff, Tinghua was going all-out.


    Luocheng glanced at his current health. Under the circumstances, there was no hope of disengaging!


    Wham! He slammed a palm into the ground with all his might, throwing out a violent shockwave that caught Tinghua as he came flying in!


    Punch, kick! Then he used ¡®Cripple¡¯ to Slow his opponent down!


    Whirling with fist and foot, Lee Sin unleashed a combined outburst of willpower and brute strength, throwing up a storm of dirt and grass, and causing all the nearby wildlife to bolt in terror!


    The skills came out one after another, both players exhibiting flawless control over the smallest details, both bringing Lee Sin¡¯s full damage potential to bear!


    They even continued to move throughout the brawl, which carried all the way over from the Golems camp to the lair of the Lizard Elder!


    ¡°Did he just¡­ It looks like Skycrown¡¯s coach messed up, there. One of his basic attacks seems to have tagged a Young Lizard guarding the Red Buff!¡± Qi Qiao said. ¡°How could he make such a drastic mistake?¡±


    Luocheng was fighting a retreating battle, but when he reached the bush outside the Red Buff, he suddenly attacked one of the Young Lizards guarding the Lizard Elder. No one could make sense of it. Although Blood Eagle was still just a little out of reach, that didn¡¯t mean he ought to just waste one of his strikes on a minor creep like that!


    Just as everyone was thinking that this might be Luocheng¡¯s last mistake, he suddenly threw down a ward and then hopped over to it using ¡®Safeguard¡¯, placing himself behind Tinghua just as the latter was entering the bush himself.


    No sooner had Tinghua stepped into the brush than he was confronted with a furious Lizard Elder!


    At the same time, Luocheng attacked him from behind, boxing him in!


    ¡°He¡¯s making the monsters fight for him!¡± Lin Dong and Xiao Bei exchanged looks of astonishment and exhilaration.


    Wasn¡¯t that none other than Luocheng¡¯s signature tactic?


    During the quarter-finals of the Coca-Cola Cup, Luocheng had inexplicably provoked Baron Nashor, ultimately causing Orianna¡¯s demise.


    In his duel against Shallow Dream, he¡¯d caused the Dragon to turn its Slowing effect against his opponent.


    This time, he was using a Red Buff-enhanced Lizard Elder to provide damage support in a pincer attack against Tinghua!


    Luocheng was always doing things that no one else would have ever thought of, which was the real reason why so many were terrified of him!


    Upon the screen, the Lizard Elder was seen switching over to attack Tinghua, and a hubbub arose from the audience.


    Having just accused Luocheng of committing a serious blunder, Qi Qiao was momentarily at a loss for words.


    Why did this remind her so much of that time, during the Coca-Cola Cup, when a certain commentator jeered at Vayne for ¡®mistakenly¡¯ attacking Baron Nashor, only to bear witness to a jaw-dropping turnaround kill.


    The same scenario was playing out right now: Provoke the Lizard Elder, and then direct its attacks upon one¡¯s own enemy!


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­ Team Skycrown¡¯s coach has shown something new to our number one Jungler, Blood Eagle!¡± Zhang Aijing was barely able to contain her excitement at the moment.


    This F-Hawk was definitely worth more than seven points on his Individual Ability Index. Sometimes, he even proved to be thinking ahead of Tinghua: cooldown-timing gaps, taking advantage of wild creeps¡­ all of these tactics had caught Tinghua off guard!


    Pummeled by the Lizard Elder, Tinghua¡¯s health plummeted away rapidly!


    He was about to lose this one, because in another two seconds, Luocheng¡¯s Ignite would be available again! That would be the last nail in his coffin!


    Glancing at his own skill cooldowns, Tinghua grit his teeth and performed a lightning-quick ward jump!


    Fleeing from the combined assault from Luocheng and the Lizard Elder, Tinghua was now on his last fifty-or-so HP!


    Anticipating this move from Tinghua, Luocheng had already been moving in that direction in between his attacks.


    Three seconds until his Q-skill was ready again! Two seconds for Ignite! Either way, Tinghua was about to become dead meat!


    Separated by a distance of less than five hundred units, his target was totally within range of the Ignite Spell¡ªand he¡¯d just used his Safeguard!


    This would be the end of Zhao Tinghua!


    One second left!


    Half a second!


    Luocheng¡¯s finger hovered over the F key, ready to Ignite!


    ¡°Hah!¡± Suddenly, Tinghua threw his Sonic Wave off to the side¡­ towards the Golems camp!


    Luocheng¡¯s heart missed a beat. That scoundrel was going to use the Golems to leap to safety!


    Sure enough, the next thing that happened was Tinghua taking flight with the second phase of his Q-skill. This carried him over the long stone wall to the south, and he alighted on the other side with a perfect landing!


    Luocheng¡¯s Ignite was ready¡ªbut Tinghua had gotten away, right from underneath his nose!


    No way Luocheng was going to let that pass.


    One second later, his Q-skill came off cooldown, and Luocheng sent his own Sonic Wave towards the Golems!


    Soaring over there in hot pursuit, he arrived at the far side just in time to spot Tinghua circling right back around towards the Red Buff again!


    ¡°Cunning dastard!¡±


    Then he was lost to sight once more, and Luocheng had no one to use his Ignite on.


    Always missing by inches, although Luocheng was obviously one move away from checkmate. It only served to incite him further!


    ***


    For a while now, the whole audience had been in the grip of a dead silence. Occasionally, an excited gasp issued from one of the commentators.


    Luocheng¡¯s use of wild creeps as impromptu allies had been a stroke of blinding brilliance, but Tinghua¡¯s death-defying escape to the Golems camp had been equally stunning!


    Earlier, when both Lee Sins had been hunting through the shadows for one another, the crowd had already been on the edge of their seats. When they finally clashed for real, it was as though the screen had exploded in their faces. In terms of precision, savagery, and cunning, both players were a spectacle to behold. One used ferocious beasts to his advantage; the other danced upon the threshold of death¡¯s door. Who knew that a solo duel could be such thrilling stuff!


    Moreover, every skill used was a masterpiece. As they collided, dodged, and soared about, one couldn¡¯t help but imagine the following scene:


    In the skies above the treetops, a hawk and an eagle rode upon violent winds, tearing at each other with razor-sharp claws, flitting aside with a flick of their wings¡­ they¡¯d descend through the canopy and into the midst of the trees, fresh blood painting everything in crimson!


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, is this really that Support player from Shanghai University?¡± Huang Lin of Fudan University stood staring up at the screen in disbelief.


    After their defeat, Team Fudan had continued to hang around. Lin Dong and Da Luo¡¯s solo duels against Blood Eagle had already been an eye-opening sight¡ªbut watching Yu Luocheng go up against Zhao Tinghua, it was a thrill beyond words to describe!


    All this while, they¡¯d felt that as a bunch of university students, being able to come close to a first-class standard was already something worth bragging about¡­ who would have suspected that Shanghai University had been harboring a freak of nature who could stand up to the Blood Eagle to this extent!


    Thank the heavens he¡¯d only been playing Support during the University League! Any other position, and that inhuman level of skill would have allowed him to skin their Jungler alive! After all, the Blood Eagle who was going solo against him right now was nothing less than the universally recognized king of Junglers in all of China¡­ and he was running for dear life!


    Now that they thought about it, it had been a blessing that Luocheng hadn¡¯t been playing for Team Skycrown during this LPL pre-season tournament¡­


    ¡­ if he¡¯d been there, Team Fudan wouldn¡¯t need to bother playing at all!

 Chapter 284 - Duplicate Miracle!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°That was a whiffed Q, and what a pity¡ªthe Skycrown coach was so close to dealing the final blow to Blood Eagle!¡± Zhang Aijing lamented.


    As he slipped out of view, Zhao Tinghua feinted and caused Yu Luocheng¡¯s skillshot to miss him. Still enjoying the benefits of the Blue Buff, ¡®Safeguard¡¯ was soon available to him again, and he hopped right back to the same ward he¡¯d placed a moment ago, before continuing to flee back towards his side of the jungle.


    Soon, Luocheng had lost track of him completely. He declined to pursue, allowing the miserable wretch to scurry away with his life.


    Turning back, Luocheng fired another Sonic Wave into the Golems camp, and promptly resumed farming.


    Earlier, when Tinghua used his ¡®Resonating Strike¡¯ on the Golems in order to escape, he was still bearing the shield from ¡®Safeguard¡¯, otherwise they might very well have just beaten those last fifty HP out of him. If he¡¯d gone down that way, it would have been the death of his legend.


    Finishing off these Golems would finally allow Luocheng to reach Level 4. He rained a flurry of blows upon the nearest one, while at the same time luring it after him to the junction which opened out to the Bottom lane. Besides protecting against a sudden ambush from Tinghua, it also spared him a few of the Golem¡¯s attacks. This was the most painless way to clear the Golems camp.


    This sort of thing was common practice in DOTA, but LOL had compensated for this technique so that it couldn¡¯t be exploited too much. At most, Luocheng could only reduce their damage slightly by kiting them like this¡ªhe couldn¡¯t outright mitigate their damage entirely.


    By the time the last Golem had been reduced to rubble, Luocheng hadn¡¯t lost that much health, thanks in part to the Lifesteal provided by his second-phase W-skill, which helped to recoup some of his lost health.


    Now that he¡¯d attained Level 4, Luocheng experienced a sudden bout of indecision.


    Which of his skills should he upgrade?


    Considering the current state of his health, if he raised ¡®Safeguard / Iron Will¡¯ to Skill Level 2, those skills would quite likely enable him to claim the Red Buff with the health he had left.


    Blood Eagle had definitely gone back to base this time: he wouldn¡¯t be running around with only a handful of HP left. This was the perfect moment to take the Red Buff!1


    Let¡¯s do it!


    ¡°What¡­ Is the Skycrown coach really going to try for the Red Buff? With that itty-bit of health he¡¯s got, he might just get slaughtered by the Lizard Elder. According to the rules, being executed by creeps also constitutes a loss. If he just gets killed off by a monster¡­¡± Qi Qiao watched Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin anxiously.


    He really didn¡¯t have much health left, and he didn¡¯t have Smite. Challenging the Lizard Elder in this condition, it was no different from committing suicide!


    Upon the screen, Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin slammed a palm into the ground, starting the fight!


    The Lizard Elder lashed out in fury, mighty claws tearing away no mean amount of Lee Sin¡¯s health!


    Thank goodness for that Cloth Armor, otherwise each attack from the Lizard Elder would be lopping off fifty to sixty health from him, and he¡¯d be down in moments!


    ¡°Hoo!¡± Safeguard!


    A damage shield worth eighty HP surrounded Lee Sin, and it would persist for up to five seconds. Sadly, that was barely equal to two of the monster¡¯s attacks.


    W again: Iron Will!


    10% Lifesteal for the next five seconds.


    Lee Sin¡¯s health was very nearly at zero. It felt as though a couple more attacks from the Lizard Elder would put paid to him.


    And yet, somehow, after one skill combo from Luocheng, his health rose back up by no small amount. He¡¯d even mitigated perhaps two attacks¡¯ worth of damage!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Lee Sin suddenly got back a whole bunch of HP!¡± Qi Qiao wondered aloud.


    ¡°He used his Level-4 skill point to raise his W to the second tier, which grants 10% Lifesteal and Spell Vamp, so that he¡¯s regaining health through his skills as well as his basic attacks. If he goes for maximum damage during the five seconds that effect is active, he can get back quite a bit of his health. Keeping your health topped off while Jungling as Lee Sin relies upon optimal usage of Iron Will,¡± Aijing explained.


    Luocheng¡¯s low-health Jungling method was another instructive demonstration for the members of the audience. Countless players who favored Lee Sin were realizing for the first time the different functions served by variations in the order of their skill combos.


    The Lizard Elder¡¯s health continued to dwindle away to nothing. One last kick from Luocheng, and it toppled over dead, transferring its flaming red aura over to Lee Sin!


    Effortlessly swatting down the two Young Lizards, Luocheng now found himself at Level 5!


    Level 5, and he had the Red Buff, to boot. The next time he caught Tinghua would also be the last!


    A smirk lit up Luocheng¡¯s face.


    ¡°Hah!¡± Suddenly, a Sonic Wave streaked in from beyond the wall!


    Luocheng was in the middle of Recalling, and this sneak attack had caught him completely by surprise! His heart leapt into his throat!


    Tinghua hadn¡¯t Recalled, after all! He¡¯d anticipated that Luocheng would make a move on the Red Buff!


    The audience gave a start at the sight of that Sonic Wave. It seemed to have come out of nowhere!


    Luocheng glanced at his health. Five HP left. That one Sonic Wave had nearly slain him with a single hit!


    He heard a shout from the other side of the wall. Like an eagle diving straight down from the clouds, he dove towards Luocheng!


    Luocheng had truly let his guard down. Unable to respond to the situation, all he could do was watch helplessly.


    Tinghua was already grinning. This one kick would end it!


    Wham! That was a hit.


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin fell sprawling to the ground, and the Red Buff changed hands again.


    He¡¯d been slain!


    Everyone had watched it happen: Zhao Tinghua had taken down Yu Luocheng!


    The attack had come too abruptly. No one had expected it!


    After Luocheng claimed the Red Buff, he should have been guaranteed to get the kill on Tinghua the next time they met, what with his advantage in levels, not to mention the Red Buff providing True Damage and Slow.


    Who could have known that instead of Recalling to base, Tinghua would double back? He didn¡¯t even have fifty HP just now¡­ Where did he find the guts to come lay an ambush for Luocheng in that state!


    Most unbelievable of all: it had worked!


    That one skillshot had found true onto Luocheng. While everyone was still considering how Luocheng had secured the upper hand by seizing the Red Buff for himself, Tinghua had shown up all of a sudden and struck him down!


    This outcome had arrived too abruptly, completely unanticipated.


    For a long moment, everyone stared up at the screen in a daze.


    Tinghua¡¯s Lee Sin stood triumphantly over the fallen body of Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin, thoroughly pleased with himself.


    A smirk pulled at the corners of his lips. He stole a glance at where Luocheng was sitting.


    Despite not saying a word, it was clear that he was declaring his victory!


    Luocheng remained fixated on his own screen. He snapped the view back to the Item Shop at the Fountain, unsure of which items to get¡­


    ¡°What a shocking turn of events! A daring ambush by Zhao Tinghua has ultimately won him this solo¡ªno, wait! His Lee Sin is still burning from Ignite!¡± Qi Qiao had just been about to announce the conclusion of the duel when she noticed this.


    Ignite¡­ When was that Summoner Spell placed upon Tinghua?


    The smile froze on Tinghua¡¯s face. He looked at his own champion, dumbfounded.


    Little by little, the damage-over-time from Ignite was eating away at his health, and there was nothing he could do to stop it!


    Inconceivable!


    Tinghua stared at his screen in disbelief.


    ¡°Argh!¡± With a cry of agony, Tinghua¡¯s Lee Sin flopped down to the ground three seconds later, and the scene of his victory was now cast in shades of gray.


    ¡°This¡­ this is all too much to take in! Team Skycrown¡¯s coach used Ignite on Blood Eagle¡¯s Lee Sin in mid-flight! What an incredible response speed!¡±


    Tinghua¡¯s Sonic Wave out of nowhere had been impossible for anyone to react to. Following up immediately with the flying kick, he¡¯d killed off Luocheng before anyone even understood what was happening.


    But who would have thought that, during those last few milliseconds, Luocheng had managed to set Ignite upon Tinghua?


    True, Luocheng¡¯s champion had fallen¡ªbut Tinghua¡¯s was quick to follow suit!


    They¡¯d traded kills again!


    Apparently, the duel wasn¡¯t over yet. It had been a heart-pounding battle so far, with one shock after another as both players demonstrated the very limits of Lee Sin¡¯s potential¡­ but it had ended in another draw!


    It defied words to describe what a spectacular feast for the eyes this duel between both Junglers had been!


    A cheer suddenly arose from the crowd. To the spectators, it would be a shame if an epic clash of this magnitude were to be ended so quickly!


    ***


    Displeasure shone from Tinghua¡¯s eyes. He looked over at Luocheng again, only to find him watching his screen indifferently, probably shopping for items.


    ¡°This guy¡­¡± Tinghua cursed him silently, in his heart.


    To be able to throw out an Ignite even in that situation¡­ He hadn¡¯t been playing professionally, but his responses were still that sharp. It was downright aggravating!


    Everyone else on Team Skycrown had sprouted a few white hairs for Luocheng, but as Tinghua fell to that Ignite, they were all smiles once more.


    That¡¯s the captain for you. One couldn¡¯t help but admire his natural-born reflexes and adaptability.


    It was a crying shame that he wasn¡¯t playing professionally!


    ***


    ¡°How can that guy be such a bad-ass? It feels like even the Blood Eagle can¡¯t keep up with him,¡± Huang Lin of Fudan University remarked.


    Lin Siyong didn¡¯t take his eyes off the screen. This solo duel had clearly demonstrated to him the truth of Luocheng¡¯s abilities. Thinking back to those couple of times when they¡¯d met face-to-face, he now understood why he¡¯d experienced that sense of dread.


    This guy named Yu Luocheng was a prodigy to challenge even the gods. He was up against the top Jungler in the nation, and he was soundly holding his own. So this was what he was capable of!


    ¡°Head coach¡­¡±


    ¡°Head coach, you came as well?¡±


    The sudden sound of his teammates¡¯ voices pulled Siyong out of his reverie.


    Turning around, Siyong spotted a tall man in his mid-twenties heading this way. He was wearing an American-style cap and a heavy coat, giving one the mild impression of foreign cultures.


    He had the features of an Easterner, but his style of dress made him stand out from the locals.


    Siyong¡¯s expression lit up instantly with delight. ¡°Head coach!¡± he greeted the man reverently.


    The man with the American sort of flair nodded in reply. Smiling, he asked, ¡°You lost the match?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡­¡± Huang Lin¡¯s tone was heavy with shame.


    Siyong lowered his head as well.


    The guidance and instruction of the man who stood before them was the main reason why Fudan University had been able to accomplish all those breakthroughs. They¡¯d thought that the assistance of this top instructor from America could get them into the LPL, but they¡¯d been defeated in the end.


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you guys,¡± the guy declared sedately. Looking past the barrier, he watched the solo duel playing out on the screen. ¡°Team Skycrown comprises three world-class pro players. For you to have taken them two games out of five, I¡¯m already overjoyed.¡±


    ¡°Three world-class pro players? Coach Li, were there really such amazing talents on Team Skycrown?¡± Siyong¡¯s face was marked with consternation.


    ¡°Yup. They¡¯ve been inadvertently left out of the faulty memory of the e-sports world, and no one¡¯s been sparing them any attention. However, in the United States, Korea, and Europe, they still have a great many fans.¡±

 Chapter 285 - Draconic Shield

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    He picked up two wards.


    He was Level 5 now, so he had the advantage in levels. However, he¡¯d expended Ignite. It could still go either way. The damage and bonuses from Ignite were crucial.


    Leaving his base, Yu Luocheng did not immediately seek out Zhao Tinghua. Instead, he got right back to farming.


    Tinghua also seemed to be worried about running into him, and was tip-toeing around the place with particular care. Each time he finished clearing out a creep camp, he¡¯d immediately melt away into the shadows.


    Luocheng enjoyed a bit of advantage in terrain: There were three creep camps around the Red Buff. As for Tinghua, having already taken down the Blue Buff, the only creeps on his side were the Wolves.


    As such, he was forced to trespass on Luocheng¡¯s side of the jungle.


    They spotted each other several times, but never actually got into a real fight. They were both gunning for Level 6.


    One had to admit that Tinghua was a lot better at timing the creep camps than Luocheng was. More than once, Luocheng arrived just a little too late, and found that the Golems or Wraiths had already been wiped out.


    Slowly but surely, both champions approached the cusp of Level 6.


    One thing was certain: No matter how they were going about their farming at the moment, once they reached Level 6, the violence would begin in earnest. This was the calm before the storm. They were amassing every last possible scrap of strength in preparation for the final battle at Level 6!


    An air of tension spread throughout the jungle. The Wraiths and Golems were both being slaughtered as soon as they respawned. Luocheng knew that Tinghua was at the Golems camp right now, most probably as good as Level 6 already.


    Similarly, clearing out these Wraiths finally raised Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin to Level 6. Inexorably, he gravitated towards Tinghua¡¯s position. Tinghua advanced to meet him, showing not the slightest hint of fear.


    As he reached the lair of the Lizard Elder, Luocheng spotted somebody slipping into the brush.


    With only his Barrier but no Ignite, it would be practically impossible to prevail against Tinghua. Luocheng threw a half-hearted Sonic Wave in his direction, then immediately turned aside to ford the river instead.


    While it was true that a fight would be unavoidable, now that they had both reached Level 6, going in without Ignite was out of the question. Considering how good Tinghua was with Lee Sin, he was guaranteed to always deal the maximum possible amount of damage. Without Flash, Luocheng didn¡¯t expect to dodge any of Tinghua¡¯s skills.


    There were only those few creeps around the place. Trying to rise beyond Level 6 would be slow going. Hiding was not an option, either¡ªthat would just allow Tinghua to hog all the gold and XP. Luocheng just continued to make aggressive overtures, trying to poke down Tinghua¡¯s health.


    Besides the two wards he¡¯d brought along for some outplay potential, Luocheng also warded a strategic location in advance. This would keep him well-informed of Tinghua¡¯s movements.


    Tinghua had the advantage of Ignite, and was eager to get the action started. Sadly for him, Luocheng was too slippery to get caught, but neither would he allow him to farm in peace.


    ***


    Ten more seconds!


    Luocheng was keeping careful track of his Ignite timing, and continued to stall for time.


    No doubt Tinghua was also aware that Luocheng¡¯s Ignite was about to come off cooldown. He began to pursue Luocheng doggedly, intent on killing him off within these last ten seconds!


    As always, he opened with ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯. Luocheng wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge this one.


    Luocheng had been careening all over the place. He had to hand it to Tinghua for managing to line up a shot on him like this.


    There were still maybe six seconds to go. Naturally, Tinghua wouldn¡¯t let such an opportunity go to waste!


    Soaring in to attack, Tinghua chased after Luocheng, striking him twice with his basic attacks!


    Flawless control as always¡ªTinghua¡¯s basics were incomparably solid. Every step and every strike was perfectly executed, and not a single motion was made in vain.


    Luocheng whipped around and retaliated with his own Sonic Wave, a punch, Tempest, a kick, and then Cripple!


    As the counter-attacker, it was obvious that Luocheng was doing more damage. It appeared that Luocheng was gaining the upper hand here, but he hadn¡¯t forgotten that his Ignite spell was still four seconds away!


    There was a searing flare of heat. Sure enough, Tinghua had used Ignite on him straight away!


    Without missing a beat, Luocheng tossed a ward over the nearest wall, and then made his exit.


    He¡¯d quaffed a Health Potion the moment the fighting broke out. Under the effects of Ignite, it would only heal him for 75 HP at most, while an Ignite spell cast by a Level-6 champion would deal a total of 170 damage or so.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: The Summoner Spell ¡®Ignite¡¯ also applies a ¡®Grievous Wounds¡¯ effect which severely reduces all healing received.)


    He¡¯d suffer 100 net damage, and meanwhile Tinghua could use potions to regain 150 health over these same five seconds, producing a health difference of 250 between them. It was impossible to win.


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t let Tinghua have his way. He had to survive these next three seconds!


    The instant he¡¯d placed that ward, Tinghua had matched his move with unbelievable speed. They seemed to arrive in the Dragon pit at almost the same time!


    Tinghua continued to press the attack, and Luocheng continued to trade blows with him as he fell back. However, the continuous damage from Ignite was producing a marked difference between their health totals!


    Fighting as he withdrew, Luocheng frowned and made an estimate of the time until Tinghua¡¯s next Q would be ready. He moved Lee Sin towards the Dragon.


    This time, Luocheng didn¡¯t provoke it¡ªthat would just cause him to take more damage. It wasn¡¯t the right situation to use that tactic again.


    ***


    Everyone was watching the screen intently. No one dared to look away for even a moment.


    Upon the screen, two master Lee Sin players darted about nimbly with the ebb and flow of battle, fists like a hurricane, feet like thunder.


    What was truly amazing was how their fight was carrying on right beside the Dragon!


    ¡°Both Lee Sins are sticking close to the Dragon as they exchange blows. Have any of you ever found yourselves in a situation like this? Attacking the Dragon by accident?¡± Aijing¡¯s face was a mask of amazement.


    Despite fighting around the Dragon like this, both players were still every bit as agile, neither one slowing down at all. Weren¡¯t they afraid of hitting the Dragon by mistake?


    Keep in mind that the Dragon didn¡¯t just dish out heaps of damage, it also Slowed down your attack speed! Whoever hit it would be in serious trouble!


    It was no less exciting than a fight at the edge of a bottomless chasm¡ªa split-second¡¯s carelessness, and it would be all over for you!


    ¡°Everyone must be wondering why Team Skycrown¡¯s coach keeps circling around the Dragon. Part of the reason is to disrupt Blood Eagle¡¯s actions, but he¡¯s also using the Dragon¡¯s body to block the next Q from his opponent!¡±


    Using the Dragon to block a skillshot? What a unique concept!


    Indeed, looking at the situation, what with the colossal Dragon right smack in the middle, it was easy to see that using Sonic Wave here would most likely hit the Dragon instead!


    At first, everyone had thought that Luocheng was going to provoke a monster into joining the fight again, but no one had been expecting him to use it as a shield!


    Truly, these were tactics on a scale that would never even occur to most people!


    ***


    Stalling for time. What Luocheng was really doing was delaying Tinghua¡¯s use of his Q-skill.


    With the current state of his health, if he got tagged with ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯, then sent flying with ¡®Dragon¡¯s Rage¡¯, with ¡®Resonating Strike¡¯ to close in again¡­ the total burst damage should be more than enough to end his life. He had to keep buying time until his own Ignite was ready.


    ¡­ And the best way to stall for time was to equip a Draconic Shield! Interposing the Dragon between them like this, not only would it block ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯, it would also deter the use of ¡®Tempest¡¯!

 Chapter 286 - Sovereign Dominion

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Zhao Tinghua¡¯s expression was solemn.


    He¡¯d clearly gained an insuperable advantage here, but now they were playing ¡¯round the mulberry bush¡¯.


    Time was running out. Yu Luocheng¡¯s Ignite would soon come off cooldown. Even if his own Ignite had gained him the upper hand, it still wasn¡¯t enough for him to both kill Luocheng and remain standing himself!


    Sizing up Luocheng¡¯s remaining health, Tinghua steeled his resolve and hit R!


    Dragon¡¯s Rage!


    With a spectacular spinning sweep, he slammed a foot against Luocheng¡¯s chest, and sent him tumbling out from the shelter of the Dragon!


    Flying backwards through the air, Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin hurtled towards the northern edge of the Dragon pit. Even as he was still in flight, a perfectly aimed Sonic Wave came streaking in after him!


    RQ-combo!


    In order to maximize the damage done with ¡®Resonating Strike¡¯, Lee Sin¡¯s ultimate skill ¡®Dragon¡¯s Rage¡¯ usually preceded it.


    They were both playing the same champion. The victor would be the one who knew how best to manifest their full damage potential.


    Using Dragon¡¯s Rage to knock an enemy out of position, and then immediately sending a ¡®Sonic Wave¡¯ after them¡­ Tinghua executed this combo with intimate familiarity.


    Knocking Luocheng back with Dragon¡¯s Rage meant foiling his cunning scheme to use the Dragon for his own protection, while also starting up a devastating combo!


    The Sonic Wave found its mark, and Tinghua immediately hit Q again. Leaping into the air, he sailed past the Dragon, running along the nearby wall to deal a follow-up strike to Luocheng!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t even have two hundred HP left to his name. Tinghua would likely deal enough damage with this flying kick to just kill him outright!


    He had to use his Barrier!


    Luocheng deployed his Barrier spell, blunting the damage from Tinghua¡¯s Resonating Strike!


    During the two seconds for which the Barrier persisted, Luocheng retaliated with two basic attacks. Just as the Barrier was about to collapse, he hit R himself, so that Tinghua had no opportunity to use any further skills!


    Dragon¡¯s Rage!


    This one sent Tinghua flying towards the stout stone wall behind the Red Buff! It was too thick for him to pass through, so when Tinghua collided with the wall, he bounced right up into the air!


    ¡°Hah!¡± It was the same RQ-combo!


    However, Luocheng did it a little differently: As Tinghua was sent flying away, Luocheng immediately threw down a ward and hopped over to it with his W-skill ¡®Safeguard¡¯, which brought him face-to-face with Tinghua again!


    At this moment, Tinghua himself was still spinning helplessly through the air!


    Punch, then E for ¡®Tempest¡¯!


    Kick, then E again for ¡®Iron Will¡¯!


    Q again to deliver a Resonating Strike for overwhelming damage!


    ***


    The fight had spilled into the Dragon¡¯s pit, where both champions remained locked in fierce melee as they danced around the Dragon. Then they had suddenly tumbled over to one side of the pit¡­ The blinding-fast sequence of events left the entire crowd in a paralyzed hush!


    ¡®League of Legends¡¯ was a top-down multiplayer game. Basically, all the control involved was using the mouse to direct movement and attacks, and the keyboard to deploy skills. When champions did battle, it should have been impossible for them to exhibit the sort of finesse you might see in some other games.


    And yet, this exhibition duel between two Lee Sins was giving everyone the impression of watching an action-RPG¡ªin fact, it reminded them even more of watching a finely choreographed action flick!


    Was this even still League of Legends?


    How could there be someone who could play Lee Sin at such a level of mastery? In ordinary Normal and Ranked games, those fools you saw playing Lee Sin were either saving their own enemies by kicking them to safety, or else just missing all their Sonic Wave skillshots.


    But these two players¡­ every skill was being used to its utmost, and there was a lot more burst damage coming out than they¡¯d realized Lee Sin was capable of¡ªespecially those RQ-combos each player had just thrown down!


    RQQ, carefully arranged so that the target would no longer be able to seek cover behind the Dragon.


    RQWAEAQ, all within the space of a single heartbeat, resulting in maximum damage!


    A lethal cascade of skills, one after another. Just four hotkeys and an innate skill, but there had already been so many intricate techniques that the average player could never even dream of attempting!


    It was a contest of reflex speed, quick wit, and cunning tactics!


    F-Hawk! This was the real F-Hawk!


    Zhang Aijing had allowed herself to become mesmerized by the events on-screen, and hadn¡¯t been saying anything over the microphone for a while now.


    A pro gamer who¡¯d made it to the very top of the competitive scene¡­ even if he chose to remain dormant for now, when the day came that he awakened and spread his wings, the skies remained his sovereign dominion all the same¡ªand not even the fiercest eagle could deny him!


    No matter the ultimate outcome of this duel, every true gamer would recognize this game as a landmark event, something worth talking about!


    After seeing the pitched battles that had been taking place throughout this round, even those foreigners who looked with disdain upon China¡¯s e-sports scene would be forced to show some respect. One would be hard-pressed to find many more Lee Sin players equal to them, even if you searched the entire world¡ªand it would be impossible to find anyone who was more passionate about gaming!


    For some reason, just watching this game had left Aijing short of breath, her pulse racing. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her: F-Hawk and Blood Eagle couldn¡¯t be allowed to finish this duel!


    They had both been born to be gamers. Their duel ought not to be brought to a conclusion here. As good as they both were, it was perfectly possible that they might face each other again at the top of the world. That would be a thrilling sight to see, for all the gamers of the world!


    ¡°What? Another Ignite¡­ and Tinghua¡¯s died again.¡±


    ¡°This makes the third time they¡¯ve simultaneously killed each other.¡±


    Three draws in a row. Since Level 1, they¡¯d been fighting each other to a standstill, always ending with both their deaths in quick succession.


    Were they really supposed to carry on like this?


    What if this happened a fourth time? Aijing shook her head.


    This triple-draw said it all: They were both equally skilled at playing Lee Sin, with neither one being superior in either reflexes or gameplay.


    Even if one of them prevailed in the end, it would only be a matter of luck.


    It wasn¡¯t necessary to carry on. They were both elite players. Allowing luck to decide this duel was a disservice to them. This wasn¡¯t the way to do things. A solo duel didn¡¯t carry all that much meaning.


    They would surely meet again during the LPL tournament. If they settled things there instead¡­ wouldn¡¯t that be much more thrilling?


    F-Hawk had to be brought back to pro gaming!


    Gaming was his calling. If he did anything else with his life¡ªno matter what it was¡ªit would be a let-down, no different from being disgraced and left to waste away. He could be shining so brightly, on the stage his soul yearned for!


    That day, Aijing made a vow, from the depths of her hammering heart.


    The crowd was in an uproar. This duel might as well be declared a tie!


    Everyone saw Blood Eagle as the greatest LOL player ever, whom none could surpass. There was no Jungler who could honestly be called his equal. Even foreigners regarded him as occupying a league of his own, above the other elite players in China.


    However, everyone had been shocked to discover that there actually was somebody who could fight him to a stalemate. Three times they¡¯d killed each other in unison, and there was no shortage of people who¡¯d fallen in love with the Skycrown coach¡¯s skill and tactics!


    No, wait¡­ when the MC was giving the low-down on the coach, she¡¯d said that he was a Bot-lane player!


    Bottom lane? He¡¯d tied with Blood Eagle as a Jungler!


    As the implications of this set in, the murmuring of the crowd grew into a deafening roar!


    ***


    Backstage:


    ¡°Oh, wow¡­ We have two hundred thousand viewers watching this live right now!¡± The media team was in commotion.


    During the series between Team Skycrown and Team Fudan, the viewcount had been less than half of that. Even if you counted the spectators in the hall, that only brought the total to a hundred thousand, at the very most. Realistically, this number was probably being inflated through various means, so the actual number of viewers should be closer to seventy or eighty thousand.


    That was already quite a considerable amount of attention, most likely due to Team Fudan¡¯s widespread appeal as a university team. Normally, a pre-season tournament game being able to exceed twenty thousand live viewers would already be a noteworthy achievement.


    The moment Blood Eagle took the stage, the viewcount began to grow rapidly. After his duels against two of Team Skycrown¡¯s players, the viewcount was at around one hundred and forty thousand.


    Throughout Blood Eagle and the Skycrown coach¡¯s phenomenal duel, it felt as though they¡¯d suddenly gained sixty thousand more viewers in mere minutes!


    This was without any overt advertising efforts on their part. If they¡¯d been making announcements on the homepage of selected sites¡­ just how high might that viewcount soar up to?


    ***


    ¡°The rules of a solo duel dictate that if both opponents slay each other simultaneously, three times in a row, then the duel will be called as a draw!¡± Aijing suddenly held up the microphone, bringing the duel to an abrupt end!


    ***


    The media team didn¡¯t take this well. Visibly upset, the department head protested, ¡°Why are you stopping the duel? Let them keep going! The views are still pouring in, here!¡±


    But it was no use.


    Aijing had spoken truly: In accordance with international regulations, three draws meant the duel was a tie, with neither winner nor loser.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: It¡¯s important to have globally recognised standards for such matters, in case you bet the life of your firstborn on the outcome of a 1v1 with some random troll who was flaming you non-stop last game.)


    It being difficult to tell which of the players was superior in a solo duel, the only proper way to settle the issue was via a proper 5v5 tournament series!


    League of Legends was not about individual ability!


    It was about finding the path to victory!


    ***


    Removing his headphones, and taking his hands off his mouse and keyboard, Tinghua got to his feet, sharp eyes affixed on Luocheng. A cold sneer crept across his face.


    Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d quit competitive gaming?


    If Luocheng could stand equal against an elite professional player like himself, then in what way had he walked away from all of this?


    Did all retired players fight as savagely as he had? He was as formidable as any pro player out there.


    What he wanted to see was how long Luocheng could keep up this charade!


    If he couldn¡¯t even hold on to the things he loved the most, what else was there to say?


    In the beginning, he¡¯d run away from home to become a pro gamer. Such was his resolve, he could even sever contact with his family for two years running. Where had that F-Hawk gone?


    One failure, one setback, and he¡¯d fled!


    Coward!


    If you¡¯ve got a problem with my attitude, why don¡¯t you do something about it?


    I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the LPL!


    Meet me there, so we can settle this once and for all!


    I¡¯ll show you what Blood Eagle is really made of!

 Chapter 287 - Victory Celebration

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Mystery player takes on Blood Eagle in a solo duel, gains the upper hand repeatedly!¡±


    ¡°Watch as Blood Eagle gets his ass kicked!¡±


    ¡°Someone challenges the Blood Eagle. You won¡¯t believe what happens!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s the true King of Junglers: Blood Eagle, or the mystery player?¡±


    When the game replay was released, all the LOL interest sites went crazy!


    All manner of eye-catching headlines adorned their homepages, with highlight montages from that game replay.


    One had to note the terrifying speed at which word got around. Barely half an hour after the duel ended, and it felt like everyone was already talking about it!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s duel with Zhao Tinghua hadn¡¯t even lasted ten minutes.


    Highlight reels have always been a crowd-pleaser. After all, how many working stiffs could spare the time to watch an entire game from start to finish?


    Sympathetic of their plight, others regularly produced montage videos of highlights from selected games, which they then circulated to various websites!


    ¡®Blood Eagle¡¯ was already an attention-grabbing topic in itself¡ªZhao Tinghua had a massive fan following. Append a sensational headline to the name, and you¡¯d draw a crowd, regardless of how far you strayed from the truth.


    Obviously, the recording of this particular game was something extraordinary: Three draws in a row, demonstrating the highest imaginable level of play for Lee Sin. There were even articles titled, ¡®Watch the whole video and you¡¯ll know all the ways to play Lee Sin!¡¯


    Media outlets, fans, and random passers-by shared the video everywhere. The video breezed past a million views in just one day!


    The video continued to draw lots of views over the next few days. Discussions about it raged within the main LOL fan group on Weibo, which boasted over five hundred thousand members, and it was a hot topic in other places as well. The main thing everyone wanted to know was: Exactly who was this mysterious player, who could stand equal to Blood Eagle?


    The video was deliberately edited to obscure Luocheng¡¯s face while on stage. People watching the highlight videos didn¡¯t even realize that the footage had come from the Skycrown vs. Fudan match.


    The official LOL website played coy with the details, further stimulating everyone¡¯s curiosity.


    A solo duel didn¡¯t say everything, but it still said a lot. Especially considering all the mystique surrounding the whole affair, articles about the anonymous elite player proliferated wildly.


    Those who had been there in person knew that the player in question was Team Skycrown¡¯s coach, and of course many among them spilled the beans wherever they could. Strangely, anyone attempting to do so would immediately see the thread they¡¯d just created disappearing into thin air.


    Apparently, deliberate measures were being taken in order to conceal the player¡¯s identity.


    ***


    Luocheng himself was oblivious to all this.


    He wasn¡¯t aware of all the hype being built up around him, nor did he realize there were others working to cover up the truth of his identity.


    In truth, he didn¡¯t desire fame.


    Where had they been, back in those days? He¡¯d triumphed over the best the world had to offer, and not a peep of it made it into the news. Now, he no longer had any need for recognition. If they tried to cause a stir, it would be nothing but an annoyance to him.


    That night, the members of Team Skycrown, along with an entourage of Shanghai University students, found themselves some tables at a night market, so they could drink and make merry.


    The LPL! They¡¯d made it in!


    Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. It was difficult to put this joy into words.


    That bit of drama with Zhao Tinghua was soon forgotten. They had every faith that, with enough time to figure everything out, they would be able to achieve a lot more than simply getting into the LPL¡ªthey aimed to make it all the way to the semi-finals, and become one of the top four teams in the whole nation!


    And not just that: Having stood at the top of the world once before, they were eager to get into League Worlds!


    Where League of Legends was concerned, the two mightiest teams were Team Sky and Team Daemons! Eventually, they would have to defeat one of them, in order to take their place on the world stage!


    ¡°A toast, to the beginning of our journey!¡±


    ¡°To our victory!¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡±


    A dozen cups clinked loudly together, throwing out a spray of foam.


    Cheerful laughter rang out, along with the squeals of girls whose clothes had been caught in the splash!


    All five players drained their cups in one go. The fellows of the Gaming Society did the same. Li Meiqi, who alternated between princess and tomboy, also managed this feat, which resulted in a scarlet blush upon her cheeks that was especially fetching to behold.


    ¡°Do your best, guys. If you really make it into Worlds, I¡¯ll be your woman!¡± Meiqi cackled raucously, appearing for a moment like Miss Fortune, tousling her hair as she whispered, ¡°Are you sure you can handle me, Summoner?¡±


    Sipping his drink quietly, Xiao Bei stole shy looks at her.


    Although normally unable to speak around beautiful women, Xiao Bei had overcome this thanks to Meiqi¡­ If you counted having nervously stammered a couple of things to her before.


    The way Meiqi had boisterously declared her availability on the condition of getting into League Worlds¡­ Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes were shining!


    ¡°Yu Luocheng, you¡¯re amazing! Going against Blood Eagle in a duel, and even forcing a tie with him!¡± Xiao Jia clapped him heavily on the shoulder.


    In the beginning, this guy had been dead set against Luocheng joining the team. He¡¯d heard of feigning weakness to trick your enemies into giving you an opening, but this guy was a big damn wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing!


    You¡¯re the World Champion of Gaming, and you were keeping quiet about it while fooling about in our Gaming Society¡­ this is some next-level subterfuge!


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± quipped Yang Ying. ¡°Speaking of which, why weren¡¯t you playing in the series? With you there, I doubt Team Fudan would have had a snowball¡¯s chance in hell.¡±


    Everyone knew what Luocheng was, now. Honestly, they¡¯d all like nothing better than to see him playing in a serious game. That would be something!


    ¡°Agreed. Luocheng, you should just go pro. I¡¯ve heard that quite a few LOL pro players are still students, too. You¡¯re so good at it, you even gave Blood Eagle a run for his money. Maybe some day, you could even be bigger than him¡­¡±


    Now, all eyes were on Luocheng.


    What he¡¯d shown them today had been unforgettable. They¡¯d already known he was good at the game, but they hadn¡¯t realized to what extent!


    With this level of ability, why wasn¡¯t he playing professionally? Anyone could see how much he loved League of Legends.


    Beneath those expectant gazes, Luocheng didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°Hey, the captain has his reasons. Let¡¯s leave it for now.¡± Lin Dong changed the subject. ¡°Here, a toast to Xiao Bei!¡±


    ¡°To me?¡± Xiao Bei remembered playing rather poorly, which had caused lots of trouble for everyone.


    ¡°To you. To that god-like double jump you made, and the ulti at the end!¡± Meiqi cried out.


    Being praised by Meiqi caused Xiao Bei to avert his eyes bashfully.


    Everyone raised their cups, and then drained them dry.


    With that, the conversation returned to the tournament that had just ended. From there, talk gradually turned to future prospects for Team Skycrown. Now that they¡¯d made it into the LPL, it was time to discuss team management.


    Without a good manager looking after the team, no matter how good they were, their only source of income would be a paltry bit of prize money. If they stumbled, or the events dried up, life would be hard.


    ¡°I¡¯m in my fourth year now, and I haven¡¯t figured out what to do after graduation. How about I help you guys out?¡± Jian Feng spoke up.


    Jian Feng, Yang Ying, and Xiao Jia were all senior students. Soon, they would all need to find a job.


    The recent LOL University League would be their last bit of indiscretion as university students. After the tournament had ended, they¡¯d found themselves beginning to panic, because very soon they¡¯d have to enter the working world.


    Yang Ying already had something lined up for him. As much as he played around, he didn¡¯t mess about with serious business. He¡¯d been the first one among them to land himself a job.


    Xiao Jia¡¯s parents were loaded. No one really bothered to ask him about this issue, since it wasn¡¯t like he was in any danger of running out of money.


    Most likely, he¡¯d join his dad¡¯s company and eventually take over one day. Gaming was something he could only give his all to during his university days. Afterwards, it would be nothing but a past-time.


    Jian Feng always got terrible grades, and he was constantly on the look-out for ways to earn some scratch. He actually had no clue what sort of jobs he¡¯d be into. Truth be told, a university degree had little meaning to him.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to pay you a salary,¡± Lin Dong declared solemnly.


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯ve still got something saved up. I foresee great success ahead of you. This team will be really big some day¡ªyou might even be able to found a top-tier agency. I¡¯m prepared to go through thick and thin with you guys,¡± Jian Feng replied earnestly.


    ¡°Me too, me too! I want to be your financier, hahaha!¡± Meiqi was getting pretty wasted, carelessly waving her hands in the air.


    ¡°Babe, just stay out of my way. I¡¯m seriously applying for a job, here.¡± Jian Feng sulked at her.


    Everyone knew that Meiqi herself came from a wealthy background¡ªit was obvious from the way she dressed. A real-life fairy tale princess.


    An heiress like her, willingly signing up as the financier of a deadbeat team like this?


    No one would believe that. For one thing, Team Skycrown¡¯s current training room was a damp, gloomy, filthy apartment. Who could imagine a delicate young lady like herself spending her days amongst these misbegotten, ramen-eating vagrants.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I apologise if anyone was inadvertently burnt by that one.)


    The five players on Team Skycrown were deeply envious of their university lives. They were all the same age, but they themselves had long ago been forced to face the harsh realities of the world and all its injustices. How nice it would be to have been born as Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, or Li Meiqi, enjoying lives of wealth and comfort, without a care in the world.


    If not for LOL, they¡¯d have absolutely nothing to do with one another.


    ¡°But I¡­ I really mean it, okay! I can do all kinds of¡­ all kinds of things. I can put together videos, provide commentary¡­ I can even cosplay and dance! Every team needs fans¡ªwhat can you guys do by yourselves? How many people actually make the time to watch games being played live? No matter how spectacular your games may be, you¡¯ll still need a multi-talented young beauty like me to draw people in. That¡¯s how we¡¯ll get you some fans!¡±


    Meiqi¡¯s voice was slurred from inebriety, a sultry tone that was positively driving them mad!

 Chapter 288 - Lifesaver!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A team was more than just the players alone.


    Everyone knew that the career of a pro gamer was a brief, flickering candle, even more dependent on one¡¯s youth than prostitution.


    Pro gamers all started to show dramatic signs of regression around the age of twenty-five. They could play professionally for a few years perhaps¡ªbut what about after that?


    If they hadn¡¯t yet formed into something resembling an agency, something which could really earn them a steady living, then Team Skycrown¡¯s legend would also prove a short one.


    They were in no hurry to meet that fate.


    But where did they go from here? They didn¡¯t really have an answer to this question.


    Back when they were playing for Team Sky, all they had to worry about was playing the game. Ignorant as babes, they didn¡¯t know a thing about internet publicity, official procedures, or acquiring sponsors.


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out!¡± Zhou Yan declared.


    ¡°Leave it to me! Leave it to me!¡± Li Meiqi said coquettishly.


    Everyone looked at her. She¡¯d clearly had too much to drink.


    ***


    After qualifying for the LPL, Lin Dong¡¯s phone had been ringing non-stop.


    Unfortunately, most of them were about buying the team.


    There were several established entertainment agencies in the country, and they were all seeking talents to fight in their name.


    Having been burnt by Sky Club in the past, no one on Team Skycrown was interested in joining up with an agency. They played out of love for the game, and even if they lost their edge to advancing age, they¡¯d still be willing to risk it and keep playing.


    They would form their own agency, and be no one¡¯s slaves!


    They had no idea where to even get started doing such a thing, but they¡¯d figure it all out, and make something of themselves.


    ***


    Somehow, no matter how much he drank, Luocheng remained the most clear-headed person at the table.


    This was not to say that alcohol had no effect on him¡ªhe¡¯d been stone-cold drunk before. However, one good barf and he¡¯d be right as rain.


    ¡°You can just return to campus,¡± Zhou Yan assured him. ¡°I¡¯ll see them all home safely.¡±


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, Wu Sen, and Xiao Bei were already over the moon. Seeing their drunken little smiles brought some delight to Luocheng¡¯s heart. They¡¯d made it back into the professional scene. It wouldn¡¯t be too long before they all could enjoy a faster internet connection, new computers, a new place¡­


    ¡°Alright, you guys take care,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Will you be spending Chinese New Year with us?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    Chinese New Year would come rather early this year, around the end of January.1 Luocheng¡¯s exams would finish around mid-January. If he didn¡¯t hurry home immediately after that, then he¡¯d basically be spending the occasion in Shanghai.


    Luocheng had already done so twice before, both times in the company of this team. It had always been a somber time for them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably be going home. The LPL begins around March. That gives you a couple of months to train up.¡±


    This match against Team Fudan had made clear Team Skycrown¡¯s shortcomings. Although they were always able to get ahead in their own respective lanes, they struggled to utilize it to secure victory for themselves. It was a major headache.


    By Luocheng¡¯s estimations, he¡¯d say the players were already first-class in terms of individual ability, but their teamwork and group tactics were still rudimentary, at times not even comparable to a second-class pro team. This was something they needed to shore up on.


    There would be no competitions going on during Chinese New Year, and most pro gamers would be on an extended break. Luocheng hoped that Team Skycrown would be able to take advantage of this laxness on the part of their adversaries to grind more and get ahead, and patch up their two most glaring weaknesses.


    ¡°I guess you know that we¡¯re just a bunch of penniless bums. We don¡¯t have the money to go out on the town. It¡¯s a stretch even for us to take the bus.¡± Zhou Yan grinned with a mouth full of pearly whites.


    Luocheng smiled in reply, and patted one of Zhou Yan¡¯s broad shoulders. ¡°No worries. Things will get better, real soon.¡±


    ***


    After that, Luocheng became very busy indeed.


    Tests for nine subjects in all, each one requiring several days of intensive study. It was a stressful endeavor.


    What the hell! Who was it who said that university life meant limitless freedom and leisure!


    There were more exams than back in high school. It was inhuman!


    January arrived, and Luocheng lived a monochrome life. The Gaming Society was forbidden territory. The library was his home, now.


    Back in high school, his homeroom teacher was like a god-tier Jungler. In order to ensure that his students were studying hard, he would sneak up on you when you least expected it, ganking you while you were napping in the back, or playing with your phone, or reading some novels.


    In university, even if everyone in the back was sound asleep, and the battle lines were all in disarray¡­ no one seemed to care. It had to be the most feeble and hopeless kind of Jungler.


    Tragically, this lack of adult supervision invariably resulted in great hordes of students, normally absent from view, congregating in the library to exert a level of effort which could put to shame the regular diligence of the top students.


    As such, being in the library became akin to marathoning an entire drama series. There was never a dull moment, and every character was rife with quirks and conflicts.


    His buddies Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu were habitual slackers. As the end of the semester drew close, they became inseparable from Luocheng, and spent their days in the library putting their nose to the grindstone.


    However, when they showed up at the library only to find that someone had already reserved a seat for Luocheng, all they could do was weep.


    How wonderful it was, to have someone holding a seat for you¡ªespecially when that someone was the ice queen of their class, Bai Feifei.


    For a long time, there¡¯d been a rumor going around about those two being more than friends. They¡¯d refused to believe it at first, but the moment they saw this with their own eyes, they immediately dropped their books and left!


    What did people always say? So you¡¯re a model student¡­ That¡¯s great, good for you. Oh, you have a Diamond frame1, too? Now you¡¯ve crossed the line!


    Luocheng was a hardcore gamer who had no right to any success in academics. So he¡¯d dueled with Blood Eagle before¡­ That¡¯s amazing, you¡¯re really something else. You have a swim-team goddess for a little sister¡­ That¡¯s swell, you must have done a lot of good deeds in your past life. Going to the library at semester¡¯s end to make a show of studying, and the class beauty saved a seat for you?


    Where is the justice in this world?


    ***


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you two?¡± Feifei beheld the tears of the two boys, bewildered.


    ¡°Critical hit to their self-esteem, I¡¯d wager.¡± Luocheng elected to ignore the pair of drama queens.


    Honestly, he wasn¡¯t sure exactly when Feifei started this practice of always keeping a seat free beside her. What she¡¯d do was leave a book on there, and tell people that it was already occupied¡ªeven though the book was already there even before Luocheng actually showed up.


    This tiny act caused something to stir within his heart, if ever so slightly. Could it be that this fair lady, most-coveted of the class, was harboring feelings for him?


    Ah, at some point Luocheng would learn the truth: Bai Feifei was always blocking the seat beside her in order to prevent random people from coming over to chat her up. Luocheng was actually included in that list, but he¡¯d somehow come to the conclusion that she¡¯d been saving that place for him, so he¡¯d just picked up the book and taken the seat, bold beyond belief.


    At first, Feifei had been miffed by this. However, when she saw that Luocheng had genuinely come to do his revision, rather than pester her with small-talk, she¡¯d granted him tacit permission to take that place beside her from then on.


    Quite frankly, Feifei did not welcome people intruding upon her quiet little world.


    ¡°Two more to go. If I don¡¯t fail any subjects this year, I¡¯ll treat you to something.¡± Luocheng put his book down.


    This semester, Luocheng had spent the past two months playing in the LOL University League, which meant missing quite a few classes. Most of his notes had come from Feifei, who¡¯d even photocopied them for him.


    For a month or so after that, Team Skycrown had been working to get into the LPL, and Luocheng skipped his classes again, or slept through them. Already accustomed to covering for him, Feifei prepared a set of notes for him of her own accord. If he didn¡¯t fail anything this time around, it would be thanks to her.


    Feifei declined politely. ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°Anything you like. Be my guest.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it if you pass everything, then.¡±


    ***


    The next two exams went by without issue.


    University exams were easier than he¡¯d expected. Just by comparing Feifei¡¯s notes to the selected texts, each subject could be squared away in three or four days.


    Good, good. At this rate, it would be smooth sailing ahead for him. He could spend up to three or four months each semester fooling around, then pull up his socks for the last month, and he¡¯d be sitting pretty!


    After the last exam was over, students began to leave for home, one after another.


    He hadn¡¯t seen much of Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, Qin Ting, and the others lately. They¡¯d probably been busy with work. Luocheng wondered if he¡¯d ever get another chance to meet up with them for a merry game or two.


    Well, it seemed like they had all remained in Shanghai. There would surely be other occasions to come.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t leave right away. First, he spent a few days with the Skycrown guys. This involved fervently studying replays alongside Lin Dong in order to pick up the tactics used by top teams, which they hoped would help them to develop a personal set of strategies for their team.


    Next, they would be facing the strongest teams in the whole nation. Judging by the legacy of these teams, they should be familiar with every kind of team composition and battle strategy. If all they did was duplicate established stratagems, there were unlikely to see much success against these opponents. They would have to develop something unique, or else the other LPL teams would always be one step ahead of them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already looked it up: In the LPL, finishing at seventh or eighth place is worth fifty thousand RMB, and each team will also receive an additional fifty thousand.¡± Lin Dong was smiling from ear-to-ear as he strode in to announce this to everyone.


    ¡°Seventh or eighth place? Wouldn¡¯t those be the last two places?¡± Wu Sen exclaimed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. In other words, even if we lose it all, and end up at the bottom of the heap, as long as we finish all our games, we¡¯ll still come out with a hundred thousand RMB!¡±


    ¡°Hot damn! Is this for real?¡± Da Luo was delighted.


    Back when they¡¯d gone for that international DOTA tournament, only a scant few at the top could get a share of that pathetic prize money. After paying for airport taxes, flight tickets, room and board¡­ there was hardly anything left.


    No one on Team Skycrown had known that merely being in the LPL¡ªeven if they got their butts handed to them at every turn¡ªguaranteed a pay-out of one hundred thousand RMB!


    A sum like that, for a team with no patronage to speak of, would be an absolute lifesaver!

 Chapter 289 - Bad to the Bone

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Xixi tells me that the fifty thousand yuan payment will be given out steadily over the course of the tournament. The prize money for your placing in the tournament will be awarded immediately upon the conclusion of the tournament! There shouldn¡¯t be any delays in this regard,¡± Lin Dong explained.


    Delays in awarding prize money were a common problem in tournaments, whether in gaming or elsewhere.


    This delay could be the doing of the event organizers, or the patron agency behind a team.


    Everyone in Team Skycrown had experienced this suffering before. Probably everyone in that line of work knew what it meant, to wait for days without end, wondering when you¡¯d finally get your due.


    The League of Legends Professional League (LPL) represented the premier official ¡®League of Legends¡¯ tournament within the nation. Tencent Holdings, as a magnificent gesture, would literally be handing out the prize money on the spot, as soon as the winners were decided!


    With no agency to answer to, Team Skycrown didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone else holding up the pipeline. That was to say, as long as they finished all their games, that would be a hundred thousand yuan in the bank!


    Lin Dong had only found this out after they¡¯d already qualified for the LPL.


    All this while they¡¯d only been thinking about training, trying to carry over their old methods from DOTA. They¡¯d been aiming for the LPL purely to get some recognition locally.


    At first, they¡¯d moaned about how the pre-season tournament offered no reward money. Little did they know that making it into the LPL meant a guaranteed one hundred thousand yuan!


    For a penniless pro gaming team like theirs, this was the best news ever!


    Money, money, money. Team Skycrown¡¯s biggest problem right now was money. If they didn¡¯t find a source of revenue soon, they would starve.


    Starting up a pro team with no capital was rough. No one understood this better than them.


    For now, this guaranteed one hundred thousand yuan had renewed their faith in this career path. They could see a ray of hope!


    Just getting into the LPL was worth one hundred thousand bucks. What if they did well in the tournament?


    This was even before any talk of investment from sponsors, advertising royalties¡ªLOL was a hot commodity on the internet right now, and a major factor in sales of computer peripherals!


    This was the very definition of one game supporting the livelihoods of countless people, and forming the basis of an entire industry.


    Yup. Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, and Wu Sen would just like to give their thanks to CCTV, Tencent, and the LPL!


    Since it had been clearly stated that they¡¯d be receiving regular payments once the tournament began, it took a huge load off their minds regarding living expenses and the like. All they had to do was endure these crappy conditions for another couple of months or so, and sharpen their skills to a gleaming edge!


    If they were getting a hundred thousand yuan at the very least, then what if they placed fifth or sixth? Third, or fourth? What if they really made it into the top two?


    Of course they¡¯d want more!


    They wanted to move out of this apartment which was costing them eight hundred a month. They wanted to have better computers than these ones with the buzzing motherboards. They wanted to upgrade their broadband so they could stream videos faster than this torturous speed that they had to put up with right now¡ªno, if they had the money, they¡¯d just go pick up some chicks! So much better than watching videos!


    And no more instant noodles! It was such that they wanted to throw up at the very smell of it! They would have meat! They would have a feast!


    ***


    When he finally bid farewell to the team, Luocheng didn¡¯t take the train back home directly, but instead headed for Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province.


    (Translator¡¯s Note: Beautiful parks and gardens here. Go in the summer. Great for honeymoon vacations. Mysteriously, all the girls there look like Reese Witherspoon.)


    Ever since the LOL University League, Luocheng had been missing his beloved goddess of legs. Now that he was on break, he charged headlong towards where she was, hoping to slake his thirst a little.


    They¡¯d been calling each other every day, which only allowed Yang Qianqian to tease him mercilessly. He couldn¡¯t restrain himself any longer¡ªthe moment he clapped eyes on her again, he¡¯d be sure to get a few kisses off of her.


    ***


    When he arrived in Hangzhou, Qianqian was already waiting for him. They¡¯d agreed to go back by bullet train.


    A cold winter wind blew through the area.


    Disembarking and then moving to the waiting lobby, he saw a bright-eyed girl standing amid the rows of seats, dressed up like a white cottontail bunny.


    Hands clasped behind her back, she was leaning forward slightly to read a notice that had been pasted upon a pillar. Her long, luscious legs were pressed together, the lithe outline of her body setting Luocheng¡¯s heart afire!


    What a treat! And, even better: If they stood together, side-by-side, they would look like the perfect couple!


    He walked up to her and put his arms around her waist, then kissed her hungrily upon one cheek, a salacious leer blooming across his face.


    ¡°Ugh, you gave me a fright!¡± Dainty fists rained down upon him, pinching and poking, obviously embarrassed to be embraced like this in public.


    ¡°Got the tickets?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yup, let¡¯s go back.¡± She wouldn¡¯t let him keep his arms around her, but yet she took hold of his hand, and led him towards the checkpoint nearby.


    Qianqian had hardly any luggage with her¡ªjust one suitcase¡ªwhile Luocheng himself only had a large backpack on him.


    ¡°By the way, if you¡¯re going home, then what about Team Skycrown?¡± Qianqian enquired.


    They talked on the phone every day. Qianqian had heard a lot about the team, and she was also aware that her psycho boyfriend had gone so far as to tussle with none other than the illustrious Blood Eagle himself.


    Not even Qianqian had suspected that Luocheng was actually that good. Thinking back to the feud between classrooms during their high-school days, Luocheng had been doing a remarkable job of maintaining a low profile. Who would have known that, when he unleashed his full power, he would immediately be counted among the best in the entire nation?


    Many times, she¡¯d asked him if he intended to return to playing professionally. He¡¯d never answered her.


    On the train, Qianqian looked out the window, and distant memories revisited her, unbidden.


    ¡°What if your father¡¯s condition is much improved?¡± she suddenly wondered aloud.


    ¡°Who knows. I was genuinely worried at the outset, and I know they all want me back in the saddle. Yang Ying says I can apply to put my classes on hold, or even to only sit for the exams, and I¡¯ll still get the degree scroll and testimonial just the same. I haven¡¯t yet sorted out my own feelings on the matter, though.¡±


    It was only in front of Qianqian that Luocheng could reveal honest thoughts like these.


    His thoughts were all in a jumble.


    In his dreams, he saw the despair in their eyes as they stood on the brink of defeat. He relived the helplessness of being confined to backstage.


    He told Qianqian about these feelings he¡¯d had.


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not about whether or not you can do anything to help them¡ªit¡¯s about whether or not you yourself want to return to the arena. If your only motivation is the travails of your comrades, and a desire to help see them past their trials, I don¡¯t see that as much of a reason to return. You¡¯ll just leave again one day, and they¡¯ll have to deal with the pain of parting once more.


    ¡°The only worthwhile reason is if you genuinely want to reclaim your former glory for yourself. If that becomes true, then you should return,¡± Qianqian decided.


    ¡°For myself¡­¡± Qianqian¡¯s words struck a chord deep within him.


    The problem was that even he wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he truly wished to return to the competitive scene.


    There were still embers glowing within his heart¡ªbut he feared that someone would come along and crush them underfoot.


    Never mind. For now, Team Skycrown had five players, making up a full team. Even if he joined up with them, he¡¯d mainly just be performing tactical analyses. They all played well¡ªthey just needed more time to practice and rehearse.


    ***


    ¡°Hey, is Luocheng back yet?¡± Wang Qin¡¯s booming voice thundered from the phone. ¡°Let¡¯s go play some Ranked, man! I¡¯m pretty imba now, let me tell you. Never mind Gold or Platinum, all fodder before my might. Don¡¯t believe me? I¡¯ll screenshot my profile to you right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already on the train heading back. What are you getting so worked up for?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯ve been training hard in uni, you know? Listen here: We¡¯ve got a genuine talent over here, best among the best. I help him pick up chicks, he trains me in LOL. Lin Xu and his chumps have been making noise again, demanding a showdown with our Class 8, and I¡¯ve taken him up on it. Don¡¯t worry, I can handle them all by myself!


    ¡°Oh yeah, what tier are you? I hear you and Qianqian are shacked up these days? Spending your days mooning over a girl, I bet you haven¡¯t been training at all! Come on, let¡¯s have a solo duel between us. Twenty bucks a pop, how¡¯s that? Hahaha!¡±


    Snuggled up in Luocheng¡¯s arms, Qianqian heard what Wang Qin had said, and was shaking so much she could barely keep straight.


    Challenging Yu Luocheng to a solo duel? Had Wang Qin learned nothing, even after all this time?


    Qianqian was certain that Wang Qin had watched that viral video from half a month ago, about Blood Eagle vs. the mystery player. If he knew that the anonymous player who¡¯d fought Blood Eagle to a standstill was none other than Luocheng himself, his jaw would definitely hit the floor!


    This Wang Qin¡­ all he knew was that Luocheng had put on a pretty good showing during the Coca-Cola Cup. If only he knew how Luocheng¡¯s exploits in university would have all the LOL players in Lecheng wetting their pants with fright!


    ¡°Forget about a solo duel. I¡¯ve had no time to play LOL in university. Qianqian keeps summoning me to Hangzhou.¡± Luocheng was nothing if not modest.


    ¡°I knew the two of you were¡­ ah, to think that you were the one who stole away that fair damsel. Damn it, this won¡¯t do! You¡¯ve sullied our idol, and I¡¯ve got to teach you a lesson! Solo duel, fifty bucks per round¡ªno, a hundred!¡±


    ¡°One hundred per round?¡± Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, one hundred each round. Argh, just thinking about it pisses me off!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ well then, you ought to have an outlet for all that pent-up stress. I guess I could give it a shot. I wouldn¡¯t want to be rude.¡± Luocheng strove to effect a tone of great reluctance, as though expecting to be beaten badly, but resigning himself to it anyway, if only for the sake of their friendship.


    Listening in beside him, Qianqian was giggling like a jubilant songbird.


    This Luocheng¡­ he was bad to the bone! She ought to beware of him!


    Luocheng ended the call and, utterly bewitched by Qianqian¡¯s boundless charms, took advantage of the deserted train car to pull her close and peck her several times!


    Shrugging him off at last, Qianqian said, ¡°I wonder, the day when you return to pro gaming, what sort of looks our old schoolmates will be wearing on their faces.¡±


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t guess how their old schoolmates would respond to that, but he felt he had a pretty good idea of how his family would take it.

 Chapter 290 - Making Money

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The first thing he saw upon returning home was his mother Li Yun hard at work in the kitchen.


    Knowing that Yu Luocheng would be returning home that day, she¡¯d gone on a shopping spree through the supermarket, buying a bunch of stuff in order to give him a warm welcome home.


    Not counting those two years he¡¯d run away, going to university was his first time being away from home for an extended period of time. Somehow, whenever he wasn¡¯t around, Li Yun found herself feeling profoundly anxious, always worrying that he might suddenly vanish from contact like before¡ªexcept this time for good.


    Many times she¡¯d wanted to apply for leave to travel up to Shanghai and visit him, but he¡¯d managed to dissuade her from doing so.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t a little boy anymore. Running away from home was no longer something he would even consider.


    After helping him bring in his things, Li Yun bustled right back to the kitchen.


    His father Yu Jing was sitting on his revolving chair, watching TV. It was always news, current affairs, and politics. Luocheng didn¡¯t fuss over why his interests were always so narrowly constrained.


    When Luocheng took a seat, his father glanced at him once, indifferently.


    But not a minute later, Yu Jing spoke up: ¡°How are your grades? What are your marks? What¡¯s your placing?¡±


    ¡°Dad, there¡¯s no placing in university, alright? And I don¡¯t keep track of my marks, as long as I pass everything.¡±


    Truth be told, Luocheng was still nervous that he might have failed something. And then, if a copy of those results was mailed home¡­ next semester, there would no longer be any hope of fooling around like he¡¯d planned. Kiss that notion goodbye.


    He owed so much to the lady Bai Feifei.


    ¡°Oh. I see.¡± Having never been to university himself, Yu Jing had no idea what things were like there. He couldn¡¯t think of how to carry on the conversation.


    Luocheng was similarly taciturn. Conversations with his father never went beyond inquiries about his academic performance, conduct at school, tutelage from his teachers, and advice to focus on ¡®practical concerns¡¯¡­ topics of this nature.


    It was hard to blame Luocheng for never saying much to his father. He was a dinosaur, moments away from being rendered obsolete by the modern world, and Luocheng had no idea what there was he could say to him.


    It felt like entering a game to find one of your teammates hollering that the enemy had gotten First Blood by having the entire team prepare an ambush in a bush along the Top lane. You were farming in the Bottom lane when this occurred, but they shriek something like this at you: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come and help? We could have gotten First Blood!¡±


    Times like those, you could only say that not everyone plays the same game the same way.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t expect his father to be savvy about the internet and gaming. There were still a great many people like his old man, who looked upon an internet-based job with deep suspicion and contempt.


    ¡°Where¡¯s that girl, Yu Yu?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°She came back a few days ago. Said she¡¯d managed to apply for something really important.¡±


    Bringing up Yu Yu caused a smile to appear on Yu Jing¡¯s face. She was a well-regarded girl, and even the neighbors had been talking about her, saying that the Yu family had produced a rising star.


    Yu Jing had colleagues at the factory who regularly kept up with sports news. At work, some old friends had come up to congratulate him. Even the foreman had clapped him on the shoulder. He¡¯d remained stoic as always, but his heart had been singing with joy.


    Reminiscing on this, Yu Jing unconsciously reached for a smoke. As he patted around for the lighter, Luocheng got to his feet and pocketed it himself. ¡°A sick man shouldn¡¯t be smoking,¡± he muttered coldly.


    ¡°Smoking is about the lungs, not the liver,¡± Yu Jing retorted with a scowl.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s not having something going wrong with your lungs, too.¡± Paying no heed to Yu Jing¡¯s displeasure, Luocheng withdrew to his room.


    Turning on his long-neglected computer, he logged on just in time to see Lin Dong doing the same. He¡¯d sent Luocheng a message, lamenting about something.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Shouldn¡¯t you all be training right now?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Da Luo¡¯s computer crashed.¡±


    ¡°Tell him to watch less pr0n.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it. How could he get taken down by a virus while I, Lin Dong, am here? His motherboard is fried, and the rest of it isn¡¯t looking good. Repairs would probably set us back a thousand bucks or more.¡±


    One computer short, how would they train?


    Luocheng felt a powerful migraine coming on. The LPL was just around the corner. They only had to hold out for another two months or so, and then they¡¯d be good for cash. And yet Da Luo¡¯s beaten-up old fossil had tapped out before they made it there.


    Then again, considering the PCs Team Skycrown was using¡­ They were already barely a step up from toasters, making it difficult to pull off intricate techniques. As each game began, Zhou Yan¡¯s computer would lag for five or six seconds before his champion could actually start moving, which was a serious impediment to Level-1 team fights.


    In the LPL, they¡¯d be facing formidable opponents. The slightest vulnerability could easily be the beginning of the end. If their training was constantly being bogged down by technical difficulties round after round, it would definitely show during a real game.


    It looked like they would have to resolve material issues sooner rather than later.


    ¡°How much cash does everyone have left?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Barely enough to cover everyday living expenses. Buying a computer will be a stretch. My ideal professional-quality gaming PC would command a price tag of around four thousand RMB. The specs would be considered above average, at best. I don¡¯t recommend going lower.¡±


    (Translator¡¯s Note: I¡¯m sure he means a PC for playing ¡®League of Legends¡¯, not ¡®Cyberpunk 2077¡¯.)


    Lower specs noticeably affected performance. As pro gamers, they needed response times measured in split-seconds. A few milliseconds too slow, and it could cost them the whole game. Computer specs weren¡¯t a matter to compromise on. The best thing would be to get machines similar to what they¡¯d be using during tournaments.


    However, Team Skycrown still had four other computers which also needed upgrading. Four thousand apiece meant sixteen thousand in all. Where would they find that kind of money? There had been no other competitions going on anywhere lately, so that wasn¡¯t an option.


    The prize money Luocheng had won from the LOL University League, he¡¯d already given it all to Lin Dong as sponsorship funds, and it had only been enough to allow them to subsist on instant noodles every day.


    If the five men of Team Skycrown ate regular meals, the bare minimum would still cost a total of 150 RMB every day, coming up to 4,500 RMB monthly. Rental, utilities, broadband, and a substantial electricity bill combined to demand an additional 2,000 RMB.


    That was to say, if the members of Team Skycrown did nothing every day besides play ¡®League of Legends¡¯, never buying clothes or toiletries, never drinking or going out for a night on the town, and skipping all forms of public transport¡­ they¡¯d still need 6,500 RMB every month!


    Lin Dong still had about ten thousand RMB left, which would require many more days of a ramen diet if they hoped to survive these next two months or so.


    If they sprung for a new computer worth four thousand RMB, they would really be in danger of starving to death.


    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is, we¡¯ll all have to get out there and pick up some odd jobs, so we¡¯ll be able to get a new PC for Da Luo as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Out of the question. Your priority should be training. Nothing else on the side,¡± Luocheng sternly decreed.


    What nonsense was this? The LPL was less than three months away, and Team Skycrown was nowhere near ready. They already didn¡¯t have enough time to prepare, and they certainly didn¡¯t have the time to hire themselves out as coaches. Were they really going to settle for last place in the LPL this year?


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the CPU for this computer delivered over to you. Use it in the meantime,¡± Luocheng said. ¡°As for buying a new computer, I¡¯ll see what I can do about it, these next couple of weeks.¡±


    ¡°What are you gonna use, in that case?¡±


    ¡°Qin Ying has partial ownership of the Dragon Rising Cyber Caf¨¦ now. Using their computers is practically free for me.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ alright, then. Actually, our situation should improve after Chinese New Year. I¡¯m expecting to be contacted by sponsors.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Jian Feng and Li Meiqi have set up a public Weibo account for us, saying that our team has been steadily gaining attention. I¡¯ve sent them replays from our Ranked games, so they can clip them up into highlight reels and garner more publicity for us.¡±


    Lin Dong continued. ¡°The other LPL teams all have their connections, including direct links to the people behind the official website. They¡¯re building up a lot of hype for themselves, but we haven¡¯t been doing anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Are those two seriously going to manage our team for us?¡±


    ¡°They seem sincere enough. You know, if we make it past a hundred thousand followers on Weibo, one sponsored ad from a hardware brand and we could earn over a thousand bucks. Meiqi says she¡¯s got a friend named Hu Yue who¡¯s an expert on this sort of thing. Meiqi is consulting with her, and feels certain she can set up a real online presence for us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. They¡¯re really going to a lot of trouble for us.¡±


    ¡°And get this: We¡¯ll have to make sure to court YY and QT as well. You can live-stream from both those platforms, I¡¯m sure you know. If we can set up our own accounts there too, we could be like Team Daemons or Team Sky, with tens of thousands of active viewers every day. That sort of outreach alone could already pay for various everyday expenses, and we¡¯d have a more stable source of revenue.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not actually that good at this sort of thing¡­¡± Luocheng admitted.


    ¡°Jian Feng and Meiqi are all over it. Recently, they¡¯ve been researching the management procedures of established entertainment agencies.¡±


    ¡°Li Meiqi is honestly throwing in with us?¡± Luocheng asked again.


    Team Skycrown was planning to be in this for the long haul, so they would need committed managers and advertising staff. They were starting from zero, with nothing to their name. If they didn¡¯t give it their all, they¡¯d never rise above the throng.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t sound like she¡¯s kidding around. Remember that she handled all sponsorship matters for the Shanghai University Gaming Society. She says that when the new semester begins, she¡¯ll be able to lure those same sponsors over to Skycrown. There¡¯s not a lot of money there, but they could eventually help us to draw in bigger sponsors.¡±


    ¡°What are you getting at? No matter how you slice it, she¡¯s still just a third-year university student.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m suggesting we take her on as our manager. Certainly it¡¯s beyond the five of us. Concerning her studies, she told me that her family lets her be, so she¡¯s free to do as she pleases. I admit I¡¯m not certain how long her motivation will hold out, and whether she¡¯ll keep doing her best all the way.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t rush into anything. Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±


    ¡°Yup. Do it right, or don¡¯t do it at all. A short-lived spurt of passion will ultimately leave us in more awkward straits.¡±


    ***


    Luocheng ended the voice call, and rubbed his temples.


    Declining to sign on with an agency, and trying to strike out on their own instead¡­ it seemed to involve a lot more than just five people practicing together all day and taking part in tournaments. It was hard to say how many more obstacles they¡¯d encounter along this path.


    In any event, they¡¯d take things one step at a time. For now, that meant getting a functional computer for Da Luo.


    Luocheng had forbidden them from taking up any jobs on the side, and yet gamers like them were most suited to earn money through online coaching services¡­


    Over in the United States, strict measures had been taken to curb the practice of ¡®ELO-boosting¡¯1. As a player of professional integrity, Luocheng himself frowned upon pro players disrupting the balance of the game like that.


    But times were tough¡­


    Luocheng found his way to the LOL forums, browsing quickly through the threads in search of ways to make some money.

 Chapter 291 - Foreign Delicacies!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°YY¡¯s looking for a host, Diamond rank, five yuan per hour¡­¡±


    ¡°Looking for high-skill level trainer to climb to Challenger, discuss price face-to-face, prices higher for Ionia and Bligewater.¡±


    ¡°QT8** hiring new members for the team, must be available online for long periods of time.¡±


    ¡°Searching for an all-rounded top player to collaborate on videos, high pay. Please email us or leave a comment if interested, kindly include your rank in your comment. Challenger is preferred, thank you.¡±


    Scrolling through all the messages, Yu Luocheng only replied to the one with the highest pay.


    Give him at most a month¡¯s time and Yu Luocheng would get Da Luo¡¯s computer problem solved. His own computer was an antique too¡ªit wasn¡¯t running particularly smoothly either.


    ¡°This one.¡± Yu Luocheng clicked on one of the offers on screen, sending him his rank as well.


    Yu Luocheng was currently Diamond II in Ionia, since he was too busy training others, Yu Luocheng¡¯s own Ionian account had been shelved for some time now.


    Logging on to his own account, Yu Luocheng opened up his profile and screenshotted his rank and recent battle history.


    People wanted Challenger players, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Diamond II account couldn¡¯t really prove anything about his skills, but if he included some of his battle history, he just might be able to convince them.


    After sending his message, Yu Luocheng checked his friend¡¯s list.


    Shallow Dream!


    A green light¡ªHe was online.


    But the very next second the name turned yellow, he was in Champion Select!


    He was playing ranked!


    Yu Luocheng felt a wave of excitement, he didn¡¯t think that he would¡¯ve been able to meet him after so long.


    ¡°Hehe!¡± Yu Luocheng sent a sharp laugh his way.


    ¡°¡­¡± Shallow Dream replied quickly as well.


    Suddenly, Yu Luocheng saw that Shallow Dream had exited Champion Select, returning to its original green hue.


    Shallow Dream dodged???


    Did he want to duo with him?


    ¡°Play?¡± Indeed, Shallow Dream asked succinctly.


    ¡°It would be an honor.¡± It had been a while since Yu Luocheng had played. He was itching to do so, and he couldn¡¯t wait to meet Shallow Dream!


    Shallow Dream has invited you to play in a game!


    Yu Luocheng accepted without hesitation, but quickly realized that Shallow Dream was first pick, and he was the sad last pick.


    Yu Luocheng guessed that he was just destined to play Support.


    Yu Luocheng was more than happy to Support for Shallow Dream, top players didn¡¯t need that much practice playing together, even impromptu combinations can be played to fantastic results.


    If only Shallow Dream was a girl, hahahahaha¡­ Uh, okay, his teenage boy was showing.


    Shallow Dream was probably a male player¡ªhe had been around since Starcraft, DoTA, and Warcraft III. A true veteran, but for whatever reason he had never been part of a professional team.


    Shallow Dream stuck to his role as ADC, picking Caitlyn.


    Yu Luocheng had seen Asmodai play Caitlyn¡ªhe was deadly strong. Team Skycrown were just stationary targets in front of the Sheriff of Piltover¡ªhe was probably the number one Caitlyn in China.


    But for some reason, Yu Luocheng thought Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn didn¡¯t lose to Asmodai¡¯s Caitlyn at all. Some of the small movements Shallow Dream did were even better, he wondered if the both of them faced each other in a 1v1, who would be the final victor.


    Yu Luocheng had always picked¡­ interesting champions for Support, this time choosing Galio to support.


    Thankfully players in Diamond had a bit more integrity than some others, it was a rare sight that nobody dissed Yu Luocheng¡¯s weird pick for a Support.


    ¡®This game is probably close to Challenger,¡¯ Yu Luocheng thought to himself.


    Shallow Dream was Diamond I and his LP was high too. He basically already had a foot in the Challenger pool.


    If his teammates and opponents weren¡¯t Challenger, they were at least the top of Diamond I. Yu Luocheng had never played in such a high rank before¡ªthe stress was piling on!


    ¡°Player 1, you trying to carry someone?¡± Mid lane¡¯s ¡°Hard and Proud¡± said.


    Yu Luocheng was offended. He was still Diamond II which only one rank below them¡ªdid they really need to look down on him so much?


    Shallow Dream didn¡¯t respond, so Yu Luocheng did instead, ¡°Yeah, just getting a piggyback ride from a goddess all the way to Diamond I.¡±


    ¡°Goddess? Player 1¡¯s a girl??¡± Hard and Proud was astonished, the other two were suddenly interested too, pressing for an answer.


    Shallow Dream maintained his silence, not typing a single word.


    ¡°Xi Ling¡¯s probably the only female Challenger player, is this the goddess Xi Ling¡¯s smurf account??¡± Hard and Proud asked.


    Xi Ling was a female gamer, who often uploaded videos on the internet. She even had a face cam in the bottom right corner. She had a staggering online presence, even if she¡¯s never been in official matches, she was still known by every person who played LoL¡ªthe Big Sister of League.


    Of course she was beautiful, but her skills were what pushed her to this level of fame.


    Most girl gamers don¡¯t really stand out much, but this girl Xi Ling broke standard expectations, stomping so-called godlike guys under her dominating high heels.


    Her favorite catchphrase? ¡°1v1 me, I dare you.¡±


    Can you imagine how bad you¡¯d feel, if a girl said this to you straight to your face, and then proceeds to absolutely crush you?


    Anyway, many pros and gods in the LoL community had all gone through this feeling of utter shame.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably not Xi Ling, she wouldn¡¯t stay this silent in a situation like this.¡±


    Alright. Yu Luocheng now understood that this Xi Ling girl wasn¡¯t the quiet type.


    ***


    Bot lane gets a Double Kill!


    ***


    Get Baron then turn, control the game!


    ***


    Dive tower, Godlike!


    ***


    Ace In The Hole, Legendary!!


    8/0/3


    ***


    ¡°Push mid in, I¡¯m done with this game,¡± the opposing ADC typed out in All-chat.


    ¡°Free game!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®free¡¯, bot lane was amazing!!¡± Hard and Proud said.


    Before seven minutes, Caitlyn had gotten two double kills, ten minutes in and the jungler starts int-ing, mid lane gets pushed in, the mid laner and top laner start int-ing soon after.


    The opponents were Challenger to Diamond I players, even if they weren¡¯t playing as good as they could, they shouldn¡¯t have been tortured like that, right?


    Fine, even if they were in an almost Challenger ranked game, no one could turn Shallow Dream¡¯s death count from a 0 to a 1, especially with a god Support like Yu Luocheng. Shallow Dream had turned from the most fragile champion to an immortal!


    ***


    ¡°I have something to do, when are you usually online?¡± Yu Luocheng asked Shallow Dream.


    The email he sent out had already received a reply, saying they needed to voice call, even though he wanted to continue duo-ing with Shallow Dream, he had more important matters to attend to.


    ¡°Eight to ten at night, not every day,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to send my computer out, so I won¡¯t be playing these few days, I¡¯ll look for you after then. I¡¯ll for sure get you to the Top 50,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I just want to find someone stronger. It¡¯s too bad that the stronger players in the country don¡¯t really play on local servers,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°¡­¡± Yu Luocheng was speechless.


    D*mn. This Shallow Dream was really something, getting to Challenger yet still didn¡¯t feel threatened.


    ¡°How about we go to the American or Korean servers to duo, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve played with foreigners,¡± Yu Luocheng suggested.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Korean server, I¡¯ll be recognized in America,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°Sure, there are many pros in Korea.¡± Yu Luocheng nodded.


    It was their winter break, Yu Luocheng had to ensure that he didn¡¯t get rusty. If he could spend two hours with Shallow Dream in the Korean server every night, he was definitely going to improve.


    ¡°Uh¡­ can you make an account?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Easy.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ***


    After going offline, Yu Luocheng added the popular analyst on QQ.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m the LoL analyst JX.¡±


    A man¡¯s voice sounded through the chat in perfect Mandarin.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Yu Luocheng returned a polite greeting.


    JX was a famous LoL analyst, his videos have even popped up on the LoL mainpage, another big name in the community.


    Perfect words, enunciation, and tone, his video series ¡°Lessons of the Blade¡± was adored by players around the country. He has a wide range of audiences, from beginner-friendly tutorials to high-level tactics¡ªall topics were covered in his videos and are explained concisely. Many things could be learned from his videos even if you¡¯ve been playing for years.


    ¡°So here¡¯s the thing, I need some videos from basically pro-players, preferably all by the same person, and then I will commentate and explain a few topics regarding high-level play. I see that you¡¯re not Challenger, but your win-rate is quite impressive, do you have any special ways you play to achieve this?¡± Analyst JX asked.


    ¡°I play them myself,¡± Yu Luocheng answered.


    ¡°Then could you tell me who you are? You¡¯re probably not a normal player if you can get a win-rate like yours, right?¡± Analyst JX said.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need, don¡¯t you only need a video clip?¡± Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t want to expose himself.


    ¡°Yes, I was just asking out of curiosity.¡± Analyst JX didn¡¯t push the topic. ¡°I want you to record all your games in high quality, and then send me ten of the most interesting games every week. I¡¯ll pick one of those to do a voice-over and make that one of my uploads. Of course, I can¡¯t just hire you alone, I¡¯ll make a decision on the video with more usable content. I know making exciting plays is hard¡ªhaving to sit there and play all day. If the video I end up choosing is yours, your pay will be higher. I¡¯ll even give you a cut of the AdSense if the video gains enough views, and also promote you as a player a bit, since the point of these videos is to promote some of the top non-professional players.¡±


    ¡°How much can you pay me?¡± Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t beat around the bush.


    ¡°My average weekly views are around five to eight hundred thousand. If we get over six hundred thousand views, I¡¯ll give you an extra one hundred bucks on top of your basic weekly salary of 500. If we get to eight hundred thousand, I¡¯ll give five hundred bucks on top of that.¡±


    ¡°What if it breaks eight hundred thousand views?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°After eight hundred views, it¡¯s a hundred bucks for every ten thousand views.¡±


    JX¡¯s gameplay analysis channel peaked at eight hundred thousand views a week, it would be pretty difficult to beat that.


    He really wanted to hit a one million milestone too. If this pro was what it took to break that view count, who cared if he spent a little more money.


    But the problem is, could he really hit one million? A million views in a week, he would be that week¡¯s number one spot on the Duowan forums!


    JX didn¡¯t say it in much seriousness, he didn¡¯t think that videos made by some random player could hit that level of virality.


    ¡°Can I play on the Korean server?¡± Yu Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Of course, you might increase the viewership too,¡± Analyst JX said.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send you the videos next week.¡±


    ¡°Good, but fair warning, I¡¯ve chosen quite a few players. If your games are just average, I¡¯m not gonna use them, at most I¡¯ll give you a hundred bucks as compensation for your efforts,¡± Analyst JX said.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be spectacular, guaranteed.¡± Yu Luocheng laughed.


    Wrecking some Koreans with Shallow Dream, how could that be anything but?


    With that sort quality and high-skill plays, who could resist watching even if they were both anonymous?

 Chapter 292 - Glossy Diamond II in the Korean Server!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Beijing Stamp Corporation¡¯s Office.


    ¡°JX, we are going for supper later. Are you staying late again today?¡± JX¡¯s commentary partner who had two dimples, Xiao Fen, asked.


    ¡°Yea. I am still going through some videos. The gameplay is pretty outstanding. I plan to complete editing by tonight.¡± JX raised his head and an unkempt face emerged behind the monitor.


    Xiao Fen couldn¡¯t help but laugh at JX¡¯s messy hair. ¡°Half of your fans who fall in love with your voice would probably run away if they see the real you.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± JX smiled back and didn¡¯t say anything.


    It¡¯s normal to see JX staying in the office for the whole night. He didn¡¯t have much choice due to his never-ending work. He needed to check out replays, live-stream his own game, and edit video by inserting his own commentary¡­


    His body posture clearly displayed his exhaustion but his eyes were beaming with excitement. Those eyes belong to someone who had probably discovered rare gems.


    ¡°It¡¯s decided. I am going to use these clips. Such a wonderful play. I think my mouth will be all dried up when I¡¯m done with this.¡± There was a smile on his face despite the complaint.


    He opened Alipay and transferred five hundred yuan to a certain player after he confirmed he was indeed playing in the Korean server. If the views of the video hit a certain target, he was going to pay him more.


    His instinct told him that this video would definitely make it to the top 3 in Duowan after release.


    Right after he completed the payment, JX¡¯s phone rang. He answered the call with his brows furrowed.


    ¡°Hey JX, what is this? I have deliberately asked a player of Challenger rank to play non-stop last week and send you his video. Now you tell me you don¡¯t want them anymore?¡± The voice on the other end was clearly displeased.


    ¡°I discovered better materials from the Korean server. It was too exceptional to pass on,¡± JX explained.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nuts. You should be the one who knows best about the strength of the Challenger-ranked player that I had hired. How can he be compared to some puny players from the Diamond rank? I understand you wanted clips with more actions but is it really meaningful to release a video of one-sided slaughter?¡±


    ¡°Sun Liang, just wait until the video is out and you will know. This player and his partner played really, really well together,¡± JX emphasized once more.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s set this matter aside first. On another note, I heard that you plan to dig out highlights of Team Skycrown and edit it with your commentary?¡± Sun Liang interrogated.


    ¡°True. Their last match was pretty fun to watch. A lot of my fans have specifically requested for my version of it. After wrapping up my current theme, I am planning to make tournament-related videos. Using that match as an introduction seems to be a good idea¡­¡± JX revealed his plan.


    ¡°Are you stupid or what? Don¡¯t you know three members from Skycrown have currently been blacklisted by Sky Club? You seeking your own demise if you launch their video at this point. Many online resources would instantly be removed and I guarantee you, your video viewership will be immediately halved, too¡± Sun Liang warned.


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that Sky Club and Team Skycrown had such a huge conflict. I will focus on other teams then,¡± JX yielded.


    ¡°That¡¯s my boy. Our manager has instructed continuous defamation on Skycrown even if they manage to get into LPL.¡± Sun Liang repeated.


    JX had been in this industry for a long time. He understood how deep the influence of an E-sports club could go. He didn¡¯t want to get involved with others¡¯ dispute and more importantly, he was not bold enough to offend big shots like Sky Club in China E-sports.


    Nonetheless, he felt that it was such a shame for Team Skycrown. The personal skills of all five members were highlight-worthy and really suitable to be used in his next program.


    ***


    ¡°Remember to show the interface that displays your rank when you record your play. This helps to convince others that you are not acting or playing bully,¡± JX sent a message to Yu Luocheng through QQ.


    JX did not doubt Yu Luocheng¡¯s true capability. He could tell that players from both teams were at least Diamond ranked or above.


    The problem was some low-tier players always questioned the authenticity of JX¡¯s videos. They would leave all kinds of horrible comments if the solid proof was not presented.


    ¡°Okay! But as we have agreed, you have to pixelate my partner¡¯s ID in all your videos,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°No problem. By the way, do you two always play on the Korean server?¡± JX asked.


    ¡°No. Last week was our first.¡±


    ¡°How did you get your account then?¡±


    An account in the Korean server requires identification so it is not easy to get one. JX was curious about their true identity. Judging by their gameplay, they were one of the best in this country but oddly, he had never heard of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Level 30 account that my partner bought,¡± Yu Luocheng typed.


    ¡°The Diamond account in Korean server is quite expensive,¡± JX pointed out.


    JX would be called out easily whenever he played on the local server. It¡¯s difficult to play the game properly once someone recognizes you. This greatly dampened the quality of his live-game so he wished to play in the Korean server someday. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t find any available account till now and had no idea how much an ID there exactly costs.


    ¡°I have no idea how much it is for a Diamond-ranked ID. These two that we bought should be cheaper,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Wait¡­ You mean you guys did not get a Diamond-ranked ID?¡± JX was hit with a sudden realization.


    ¡°Nah. The one we bought was just a normal full level ID.¡±


    ¡°The f*ck! Don¡¯t tell me the games that you recorded were actually of Gold and Platinum rank!¡± JX almost lost control.


    ¡®It can¡¯t be. Both sides displayed exceptional skills. Could it be that casual players from Korea are already this good?¡¯


    ¡°Rest assured. The videos that I provided were all Diamond Ranked games. We reached the Diamond Rank in five days. The videos sent to you were recorded on the sixth and seventh day. Our teammates and opponents should be either one rank above or below Diamond II,¡± Yu Luocheng clarified.


    ¡°Diamond Rank in five days?¡± JX was stunned.


    Korea only had one main server. All Korean players play on this server. Besides, many professional players would train on this server too. The standard of the Korean server was light years ahead of the national server.


    How was it possible for them to reach Diamond in just five days? JX had once heard his friend, who was a Diamond I in China server, was stuck at Platinum Rank after playing for two months there.


    ¡°I am serious. We could reach even faster if not because my partner can only manage five games per day,¡± Yu Luocheng said.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    JX was speechless seeing Yu Luocheng¡¯s reply.


    Five games per day in a total of five days. In other words, they had only played slightly more than twenty games within that span.


    Diamond rank after twenty games. ¡®You guys must have won every game so far!¡¯


    JX would not believe such bullshit if he had not seen how they slaughtered the Korean players freely. To achieve a twenty-plus win streak in the Korean server was wishful thinking until now.


    Of course, JX would be in greater disbelief if he was told that these two were the ones who had successively created the longest win streak (25 and 26, respectively) in China¡¯s server history.


    These highlights were very valuable to JX.


    ¡®They are real pros!¡¯ JX realized he must have bumped into two rare talents.


    He questioned why such high caliber players were not yet recruited by clubs. ¡®Could it be that they are professionals who use this holiday period to earn extra income behind their employer¡¯s back?¡¯


    Yet again, JX had watched the gameplay of almost all professional players in this country before. He could not recall any pair that played so tacitly and aggressively.


    The professional players are indeed strong. But JX was clearly aware that some top players were still hidden among the casual players waiting to be discovered. If they get to pick their best champion, they could easily defeat those pro-players too.


    Perhaps no one would believe but JX knew exactly such a person.


    This strong player was initially recruited by Team Revelation and his personal skill was on par to Bai Feng. However, due to the player¡¯s uncooperative behavior, he was sacked by the club.


    There was a great deal of such disobedient players in China. They prefer freedom more than fame and sometimes play as much as a professional player would every day. They used their ability to earn income from various internet sources.


    These two must belong to the latter group. They had unmatchable skills but were unwilling to be restricted by a club.


    ¡®Hmm. I must tap in with him constantly.¡¯ JX was confident that the new video compilations revolve around these twos would become an instant hit in the gaming forums!


    ***


    Lecheng, Rising Dragon Cyber Caf¨¦.


    For awhile now, whenever Yu Luocheng joined a game, there would be a group of enthusiastic fans gathered around him.


    There was a time in the past when internet caf¨¦ were still popular, a lot of caf¨¦ visitors who did not have a seat or enough money to play would have done the same. In his earlier days, Yu Luocheng was also one of those who squatted behind others and watched.


    ¡°Hey, who is that guy? Why is the entire Team Scarlet gathered behind him when he starts to play?¡± On the other side of the caf¨¦, a few secondary school students raised their heads and looked toward Yu Luocheng.


    Team Scarlet was considered popular in most caf¨¦s around Lecheng now. Those who frequently visited cyber caf¨¦ would have at least heard of them.


    Among the elementary students who played LOL, Team Scarlet was the best team they got to see up close. They were the definition of professionals around here.


    However, a strange phenomenon had taken place in the caf¨¦ recently. All players from Team Scarlet were always seen gathered behind a teenager to watch him play like a group of obedient apprentices.


    Why was this happening? Why were the top five players of Lecheng so submissive to a young man?


    The celebrity effect had resulted in everyone holding a VIP card to crowd behind Yu Luocheng¡¯s seat. It was a rather spectacular group!


    ¡°I am going to pee. Huang Yu, please pick my champion for me.¡± Yu Luocheng stood up from his place.


    He turned around and was shocked to see the packed crowd behind him. ¡®Hey you guys, at least left a clean path for me to get through. My bladder is about to burst. Don¡¯t you all need to protect your own butts being so close to each other?¡¯


    Yu Luocheng rushed to the toilet after he forced himself through the crowd.


    After Yu Luocheng disappeared into the bathroom, the people around began to talk.


    ¡°The opponents in previous games look unusually weak. He went through most of them without a sweat. I bet those were only Gold or Platinum games,¡± a tall guy commented.


    ¡°Same feeling here. I think the players from the Korean server are not that strong after all. I wonder why we couldn¡¯t defeat Koreans in the previous S competition.¡± A guy in his school uniform added.


    Huang Yu turned around and glared at them after he heard what they said.


    ¡®There¡¯s certainly a lot of twisted minds nowadays. You seriously think this is a Gold or Platinum level game? Have you ever seen such a quick covering speed in those games? Is it possible for an ADC at the lower-tier managed 80 CS in ten minutes? Is it common to see all sorts of ulti-avoiding-Flash in an ordinary game?¡¯


    To shut them up, Huang Yu purposely called out Yu Luocheng¡¯s personal LOL info.


    Perhaps nobody in the caf¨¦ could read the worm-like words but everyone could definitely recognize the Diamond shield.


    A glossy Diamond II! Nobody could have faked that!

 Chapter 293 - Getting On The Game Homepage!

    Chapter 293: Getting On The Game Homepage!


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know then don¡¯t talk nonsense. I tell you, the Diamonds here when they go on the Korean server, to be able to play until Platinum is already considered very good. He¡¯s definitely playing at Diamond level. The last time I saw him go against a quite famous player ¡®Need¡¯, and he actually f*cking won. Come to think of it¡­ Huang Yu, you still haven¡¯t told me. Who the h*ll is this guy and how did he get so great that he managed to maintain such a great pace while playing against Diamond Korean players?¡± the owner of Rising Dragon Cyber Cafe asked.


    ¡°Hehe. If I tell you, you will definitely freak out. Did you watch that video that became a hit? The one with the mysterious player vs the great god Blood Eagle?¡± Huang Yu said, clearly elated.


    ¡°How could I not? Really made me p*ss my pants, I also play Lee Sin but I felt like my Lee Sin is so far off from that. In their hands it seemed like the champions were completely different champions, those skills displayed were practically godlike¡­F*ck, don¡¯t tell me the mysterious player who soloed against Blood Eagle is him?¡± the owner exclaimed, with realization and shock dawning on his face.


    ¡°Obviously!¡± Huang Yu said.


    ¡°You¡¯re sh*tting me, I know you are.¡± The owner said, clearly not believing him.


    The people around them were also unconvinced. The one who went against Blood Eagle was surely some boss of some other big club, it was impossible that he would appear to play rank in some small cyber cafe!


    ¡°Yeah, if he¡¯s the one who soloed against Blood Eagle, then I¡¯ll kneel down to you,¡± Huang Mi said.


    ¡°F*ck, are you for real?!¡± Huang Yu¡¯s temper flared after hearing that.


    Team Scarlet was well aware that Yu Luocheng was the player who soloed against Blood Eagle, and apart from him, who else could be the coach of Team Skycrown? Even though his face was blurred, it was unthinkable that they wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize him!


    Unfortunately, Huang Yu couldn¡¯t produce any evidence to back up his claim!


    Not long after, Yu Luocheng returned and he pushed through the crowd to get to his seat again.


    ¡°Luocheng, play Lee Sin. Huang Mi this *sshole doesn¡¯t believe that you¡¯re the one who was on Lee Sin when you went against Blood Eagle. He said, if you really are the one, then he¡¯ll kneel to me.¡± Huang Yu said.


    ¡°Freaking Lee Sin, and I¡¯m on fifth floor again?¡± Yu Luocheng said, dissatisfaction clearly in his voice.


    Yes, Yu Luocheng loved to play Support, but one can also get tired of playing the same position over and over. Yu Luocheng also wanted to play Lee Sin, but the others wouldn¡¯t give you their position, what can you do?


    With nothing he could do, Yu Lucoheng chose a lazy Support¡ªSona. With Sona, even if you use your face to play the keyboard, as long as you activate your ulti in teamfights, it¡¯s all good.


    ¡°You know how to play Sona?¡± Shallow Dream typed in English to ask him.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Yu Luocheng replied.


    Shallow Dream also knew that Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t much like passive Supports, and although with Sona using Flash does not differ much from Leona¡¯s position, you could say there are fewer utilities on Sona in comparison.


    ¡°Then take ADC.¡± Shallow Dream could feel that Yu Luocheng was tired of playing Support, and thus said that to him.


    ¡°You can Support?¡± Yu Luocheng said, slightly surprised and with some hesitation.


    In the decisive match of Ezreal against Vayne, both of them had already affirmed the strength of their ADCs. Shallow Dream also knew that Yu Luocheng¡¯s Support was outstanding, but Yu Luocheng had not seen Shallow Dream play Support much.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll get something to eat. You take care¡­¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    Seeing those two exchange words, the people who were watching from the back turned speechless!their brains suddenly went speechless!


    Playing a Diamond game in the Korean server, you chose Sona and then go eat something?!


    Aren¡¯t you underestimating people a little too much?!


    Rising Dragon Cyber Cafe had several computers that could access the Korean server, and the better players here had gone over to play there before too. As a result, their ranks had been stuck at Gold and Platinum for quite a while. This included Team Scarlet, and even a professional team like them had gone to the Korean server, but they had more losses than wins.


    ¡®You guys here eating at the side¡­


    ¡®Can you guys not be so arrogant?!¡¯


    To be honest, there were some people who were starting to believe that Yu Luocheng really was the person who had soloed against Blood Eagle!


    ***


    Shallow Dream played one match as Support, and in the beginning she would support through all sorts of maneuvers, and once she landed a few hits, she would then retreat and let Yu Luocheng 1v2.


    In the later game teamfights, her ulti always seemed to hit the majority of the opponents, and it was the key champions. Yu Luocheng had definitely changed his perception toward Shallow Dream¡¯s Support!


    In the next few games, Shallow Dream kept playing Support. What surprised Yu Luocheng was, this person¡¯s ADC was almost invincible, and her Support was also great.


    More importantly, most of the Support champions she had picked were more the passive ones that Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t use.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s ADC was strong even in defense, and wanting to kill her was probably harder than trying to bring down the sky. Her level of protection as a Support was also fantastic¡ªall sorts of extreme shielding, all sorts of godly rescue, even if she sacrificed herself she could still get away with little health left to spare!


    She had such a high tactical and deep understanding capabilities!


    In fact, there were not many players who could partner and keep up with Yu Luocheng. On one hand, some of Yu Luocheng¡¯s ideas were too advanced, and on one hand, his Supports were sometimes too aggressive.


    Bottom lane was a duo lane, and if the duo could not synchronize their thoughts, no matter how could a player you were, it didn¡¯t matter.


    In the beginning, Yu Luocheng had partnered up with Xue Yiyi. Xue Yiyi¡¯s strength was limited, and to be frank, he was the one carrying her all the way.


    After that he had partnered up with Xue Haiyang, and his strength was about the same as Xue Yiyi¡¯s. This made Yu Luocheng have a harder time farming, and sometimes it was possible that he would ruin the whole game¡¯s pace.


    Later on when he played with Zhong Jinbei, he was slightly stronger than Xue Yiyi, but his playstyle was too straightforward and boring. He couldn¡¯t keep up with Yu Luocheng¡¯s pace at a snap.


    The only one who could match with him the best, could only be Xiao Bei.


    Xiao Bei already had his professional Support¡ªWu Sen. If both players had a high level of synchronization, then their individual strengths would be fully displayed.


    That¡¯s why, up till now, Yu Luocheng had not been able to find the most suitable partner for the bottom lane.


    Yu Luocheng felt like he had finally found his other half after partnering with Shallow Dream for more than a week. This person¡¯s individual strength was explosive enough, and he suspected even Asmodai would have followed Shallow Dream¡¯s ADC. After several partnering, their synchronization had only gotten better. They didn¡¯t have to ping each other and they already knew what to do.


    This was also the most important reason why they weren¡¯t at a disadvantage in the Korean server!


    Every avatar had his partner, and Yu Luocheng considered that he had found his. Coincidentally, both of them were in a similar situation, they were both top-class players who didn¡¯t join in professional competitions!


    Yu Luocheng considered this his routine, and he would be on at 8 pm each night.


    Shallow Dream would normally be on, and both of them would play in the Korean server. Previously, Shallow Dream would play until ten before going off, and now it would gradually drag on until after eleven. This was she knew that Yu Luocheng was making money from the commentaries in the games, and he needed to play more rounds for entertainment.


    ***


    ¡°Boss!¡±


    A phone call woke Yu Luocheng up, and Lin Dong¡¯s voice floated through the receiver.


    ¡°The video of your game is almost at the top of the LoL homepage!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed loudly.


    ¡°If it¡¯s on the homepage then it¡¯s on it¡­ making such a fuss, what the f*ck did you just say?!¡± Yu Luocheng exclaimed, his mind riddled with sleepiness.


    ¡°Open up your game interface, the lower left corner is the game you played, JX commentator!¡± Lin Dong said, his glee not diminished in the slightest at his friend¡¯s grumpiness.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s computer had already been shipped out, and there was only an old notebook at home from god knows where Yu Yu obtained from.


    There was LoL in it, but it couldn¡¯t be played at all. Yu Luocheng logged in and saw the title at a glance: ¡®JX hot commentary, mysterious national amateur players duo queue in Korean server!¡¯


    Clicking on it, it brought him directly to the page.


    There weren¡¯t too many commercials, and it directly went to the interesting parts that were edited in. The first ten minutes were coincidentally the interesting moments of Yu Luocheng and Shallow Dream¡¯s three weeks worth of games. Adding on the dynamic music theme from LOL, watching the clip would make your blood boil!


    The next ten minutes were the actual fights!


    The fights were not just one game, but it was from various games all compiled together. Most of them were from the winning games¡ªthe one or two fights that after led to victory!


    Clips after clips made the audience feel overwhelmed, and later on the movements and synchronization became even more interesting. JX¡¯s usual tone that was usually warm and gentle changed into a more upbeat and excited tone, with paragraph upon paragraphs spilling from his mouth.


    When you watch this video, there would be the feeling of a tidal wave in your chest. When you think that the clips you have watched are already shocking, then a more shocking scene would be played!


    The video that spanned seventy minutes still made people reluctant to let go, even Yu Luocheng himself watched the whole thing in one go!


    After he was done watching, Yu Luocheng was slightly shocked!


    This was from the games he had played?!


    He himself didn¡¯t expect that someone would edit the games that he and Shallow Dreams had played, and that it would have such a huge impact!


    At the same time, one can¡¯t help but admit that JX¡¯s editing and promoting were fantastic.


    In the beginning, they displayed the strength of the Korean server, and even introduced a few Korean stars in the video which had stirred some feelings of resentment from the players within the country. Thereafter immediately releasing the video clips of them getting defeated, it really made people want to wildly applaud!


    Additionally, the video had clips that showed exhilarating and shocking controls and plays. This video that showed the Korean players getting beaten down was bumped up to the top of the homepage was born!


    To be honest, after seeing the video getting so much attention and creating such an impact, Yu Luocheng had the urge to jump out and admit to the world, ¡°This is the game I played!¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, how much did JX promise to give you?¡± Lin Dong asked hurriedly after Yu Luocheng had finished watching the video.


    ¡°About five thousand, and it¡¯s been settled.¡± Yu Luocheng said bitterly.


    ¡°Mother f*cker, it¡¯s possible for him to earn at least a hundred thousand from this video, and he only gave you five thousand?!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed in fury.


    Yu Luocheng knew it wasn¡¯t worth it, but he couldn¡¯t do much. It¡¯s not like he could do commentary, what more edit clips.


    Even if he had all the materials, he had to admit that the people around him wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve the impact that JX had.


    Playing well is one aspect, but the popularity and the abilities of others are also important. If there was someone in Team Skycrown that could edit videos and could do the commentary to ignite such atmosphere and had the resources, the money earned from it would all be in their pockets.


    Sure enough, in this age of social media, just having the ability to play well was not good enough. They also needed to understand branding and advertising.


    Unfortunately, there was no one around them that had this talent. Money earned by people who had the talent¡ªhe couldn¡¯t criticize that either.


    ¡°Do you want me to ask Meiqi to boost you on the internet platform? If you admit that you¡¯re the person who soloed against Blood Eagle¡ªadmit that the player in this video is you, you can probably attract a lot of popularity too. I hear that other people stream live on their OT and YY, some even have a stable income from that of over ten thousand a month,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°It¡¯s that high?!¡± Yu Luocheng asked in astonishment.


    The basic income of a professional player was only about a few thousand a month, and those that livestream could get more than ten thousand a month?!


    That was incredible!


    If he didn¡¯t play professionally, using his own capabilities to help Team Skycrown gain popularity by livestreaming didn¡¯t seem like such a bad choice either.


    ¡°Meiqi is still learning the ropes for those things, give her some time to prepare those. If we can get a master like JX to help us¡­F*ck, I used to have someone to do this before, we have a lot of materials to work with, but in the end those people didn¡¯t want to deal with our team. It has to be Sky Club that did something, they used their influence to c*ck block us again, not letting us go through online channels.¡± Lin Dong said with anger seeping into his voice.


    ¡°Not letting us get our name out there, once it does, we¡¯ll definitely beat them like dogs!¡±


    Lin Dong¡¯s resentment against Sky Club was not made in a day or two.


    In fact, wanting to teach Sky Club a lesson, as long as they defeat them in LPL, Sky Club wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to block Team Skycrown anymore.


    Only, can their Team Skycrown really defeat Team Sky?


    They have all seen Blood Eagle¡¯s strength, and the other members of Sky Club were quite famous and strong. Even if you take away any of those players, they were still definitely stronger than Team Fudan!


    If you were to compare individual abilities, Team Sky would definitely not lose to Team Skycrown. Even their Jungler¡ªZhou Yan would probably be wrecked by Blood Eagle easily.


    And in terms of team-fighting capabilities, a veteran team like Team Sky would definitely be better than Team Skycrown. They had two years to build up, while Team Skycrown only had a few months. In terms of tactical capabilities, Team Skycrown barely had any tactics that were foolproof, and even the tactics they had used against Fudan University was easily countered, what more against a veteran team like Team Sky.


    Team Skycrown has entered LPL, but the people on the internet were discussing and were saying that they were basically at the bottom of LPL.


    The analyst and internet were not wrong, but hopefully Team Skycrown would improve to be much better, more mature, and more perfect before the start of LPL!


    Strength can be practiced and slowly build up. Apart from Xiao Bei, the rest of Team Skycrown had loads of experience in big competitions. There were many uncertainties in big competitions¡ªa unique tactic and gameplay could possibly become the key to victory.


    Knowing that Team Skycrown still had a lot of shortcomings, Yu Luocheng was not arrogant or complacent.


    Work hard and the day they defeat Team Sky would be when Team Skycrown would rise for real. The past that was sealed in blood would be announced to the public that it definitely was not the four of them that had betrayed anyone!


    Now, let Team Sky use their despicable means to block them at any means.


    They would definitely take back whatever that belonged to them!

 Chapter 294 - The Importance of Game Plan

    Chapter 294: The Importance of Game Plan


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Another year has passed and our son is now 19 years old.¡±


    This was perhaps the first time in recent memory that they had spent the New Year together.


    In the past, Yu Yu would be busy with her training and only have limited holiday days.


    But now that she had already gone through the toughest part of her training, Yu Yu instead focused more on maintaining her form, rather than doing intensive drills. This gave her more free time, allowing her to return home more frequently.


    ¡®It was around three years ago¡­¡¯ Yu Luocheng vividly remembered that he was only a 16-year-old teenager when he ran away from this very house. He had been all alone in Shanghai during that New Year.


    Li Yun had been busy preparing everything since early in the morning. Like it or not, the Chinese placed importance on serving sumptuous meals during the festive season. Apart from the traditional dishes, Li Yun also insisted on making Yu Yu and Yu Luocheng¡¯s personal favourites. It was common to see the dining table overflowing with various appetizing food on New Year¡¯s Day.


    It was Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve. They had their reunion dinner as early as five in the afternoon, right after they showered.


    Yu Luocheng ate like a glutton, swallowing rapidly and moving his hand back and forth around the table to pick up dishes at an insane speed.


    He couldn¡¯t help it. He had barely eaten anything the whole day as he had been occupied with house chores and running errands for Yu Yu and his mother.


    ¡°After the first day of the New Year, there will probably be a lot of relatives coming to visit. Yu Luocheng, you better stay put in the house for the next few days, got it?¡± ordered Yu Jing.


    ¡°Are you serious? I don¡¯t think we have that many close relatives, do we?¡± questioned Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°They are all dropping by to meet Yu Yu. She was once featured in a primetime sports program. The news quickly spread and many of our relatives informed me long before New Year that they would be coming over,¡± said Li Yun with a prideful smile on her face.


    Yu Jing was not fond of keeping in touch with relatives, which resulted in them living apart from the other family members. As a result, they seldom had visitors, even during New Years.


    This suited Yu Luocheng perfectly. He was more than glad to avoid those big-mouths and gossipers.


    However, that is not how the elders in the house saw things. If a family hosted only a few guests during the New Year, this somehow implied that said family had nothing worth mentioning and thus no one cared to spend time with them.


    Everyone wishes to lead a fruitful life. Yu Luocheng¡¯s parents were not looking for flattery but at the very least, they simply wished to be respected among their kin.


    As the quality of living continued to rise, with startups beginning to emerge like mushrooms after the rain, and more and more relatives returning home in better cars year in and year out, blue-collar families like Yu Luocheng¡¯s inevitably became more irrelevant over the years.


    Li Yun didn¡¯t have extravagant expectations. She only hoped for a noticeable improvement from their current state so that people would not talk behind their backs.


    Yu Jing couldn¡¯t care less about the relatives and their small talk. But the arrogance of those who liked to flaunt their achievements did get to him from time to time.


    After Yu Yu¡¯s interview came out on TV, Li Yun and Yu Jing could feel that their neighbors and relatives treated them quite differently. Nowadays, they often heard compliments instead of sarcasm, which was a rarity in the past.


    Who wouldn¡¯t feel proud when people are commending your children? Even a dull person like Yu Jing slept and ate better recently.


    ¡°You better behave and don¡¯t you run out constantly like you used to!¡± Yu Jing chastised Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ they are here for Yu Yu. What does it have to do with me being at home or not?¡± Yu Luocheng was clueless.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me I have to entertain those busybodies!¡¯


    ¡°Of course you have to be around. They will certainly ask about you too. Just tell them you are now enrolled in the University,¡± answered Li Yun.


    ¡°¡­¡± Yu Luocheng glared at Yu Yu who was eating dumplings beside him. His piercing gaze was overflowing with plain displeasure.


    ¡®It¡¯s one thing that you are now a celebrity but why am I being dragged into this as well? I have done nothing yet I have to be grounded because of you? Grr¡­¡¯


    ***


    After the reunion dinner, he read the status update from Da Luo and Lin Dong.


    It was typical to lament during the festive season, but it was gut-wrenching for Yu Luocheng to picture the team having only frozen dumplings on the eve of New Year.


    Neither Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, Lin Dong, nor Xiao Bei went back to their hometown for this New Year. On one hand, they didn¡¯t want to waste the limited time they had for some final training before the LPL. On the other hand, most of their family relationships were so messy that they had rather not return.


    Lin Dong has been on his own from a very young age. He had long since cut ties with his family due to his cyber-criminal record. His relationship with his family had worsened beyond the point of repair.


    Zhou Yan lost both of his parents during adolescence. Not wanting to rely on his relatives, he also stepped into the real world at a relatively young age like Lin Dong. He had taken on all sorts of harsh jobs one could only imagine, including hawker, cleaner, repairman, front desk, ghost gamer, etc.


    Da Luo was a typical game addict that did not find much success in the academy. His family did not have enough connections to land him a decent job either. Plus, since he has many siblings, his parents practically gave up on him after he dropped out of school.


    Wu Sen grew up in a normal family. The reason he chose to stay was simply because he wanted to train together with the team before the tournament.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s home is at Xibei, an under-developed rural town. The trip itself would have taken seven to eight days.


    All in all, Yu Luocheng considered himself luckier than most of them for having a complete family. Though not a wealthy one, he could still feel the warmth and care from his parents and only sister.


    ¡®Alright! It is a brand New Year, so let me pray for the five of them under this sky full of beautiful fireworks. May they build up their own happy family in the future, so that they can escape from this tragedy of eating frozen dumplings and watching replays with other guys during the festive season.¡¯


    ***


    Since New Years began, Yu Luocheng had seldom seen Shallow Dream online. He wondered whether she was also busy dealing with her relatives.


    Free time during the New Year holiday was considerably short and precious. Yu Luocheng was forced to accompany his parents and Yu Yu during the day and could only play a few games at night.


    But when Yu Luocheng realized that almost all the people inside the caf¨¦ had recognized him and were waiting for him to turn up, he yielded and went home directly.


    It must be because of the highlight video. Someone must have blown his cover, resulting in him being expected by a large group of eager LOL fans in the caf¨¦.


    It was normal for a famous player to be asked for permission to observe their games but this may be the first time someone was being hounded physically near the cyber caf¨¦. Yu Luocheng figured he may need to wait for the hysteria to subside before he could visit Rising Dragon again.


    ***


    After the eighth day of Chinese New Year, Yu Luocheng used the excuse of having a pending assignment to head back to the university early. Team Skycrown desperately needed their coach.


    They had been painstakingly working on their teamwork and chemistry during Yu Luocheng¡¯s absence. They understood that they were still far from perfect in terms of teamwork. They couldn¡¯t execute most of the renowned champion combos flawlessly, at least not to the level of the professional LOL teams competing in the LPL.


    Generally speaking, their team-fight proficiency was below par at the moment. At this rate, they would still be easily taken out by any LPL team, even without a superior strategy.


    Unfortunately, they felt like they had hit a wall right now and could only improve by playing together more. But time was a luxury they did not have ¡ª the LPL would be here in less than a month.


    So if they wanted to boost their competitive edge within this short period of time, their only choice was to come up with an innovative strategy.


    In a professional team, the members would first be asked to elevate their skills to a certain level. Only then they would work on team play and when the team becomes a well-oiled machine, that¡¯s when the team¡¯s identity and core strategy would be forged.


    The power meter of a team is determined by personal skills, team play, and specific game plan. These three factors worked in synergy and often improved at the same pace. Between the three, a unique game plan is the hardest to execute, yet was also the most essential element of a team.


    During the fifth game against Fudan University, Team Skycrown had gained an early advantage over all three lanes. Nonetheless, due to the opponent¡¯s better refined game plan, Team Skycrown could hardly compete with Fudan University in the late game. This demonstrated the importance of a well-crafted and well-trained tactic.


    All eight teams in the LPL must have several sets of strategies on hand, especially the top four teams: Daemons, Sky, Revelation, and 71.


    If a LOL team were to be viewed as a martial artist, then his raw strength and speed would be his talent, his punches or kicks would be the coordination of his strength a.k.a teamwork, while the game plan would be referring to his inner chakra. Complementing his physical moves with chakra output would certainly boost his overall potency exponentially!


    At best, the current Team Skycrown was like a martial artist with an attractive fighting style. They were like children in front of the actual powerhouses in the LPL who had seamlessly melded their team chemistry and game plan.


    Thus, Team Skycrown needed Yu Luocheng because he was the best when it comes to building a team identity.


    He always learned more than others when analyzing replays. He could hastily decode the strategy used by the other team and assimilate any suitable playstyle into his own almost instantaneously.


    He was also a very innovative player.


    When they were still playing DOTA, Team Wing was only slightly better than Team Daemons at first.


    But after joining the international competition, Team Wing continued to improve along the way and not long after, they substantially closed the gap between them and Team Daemon in less than a month. Team Daemon was humbled every time they had a practice game with Team Wing, whereas the latter always appeared stronger than the previous match.


    Half of it was credited to Yu Luocheng¡¯s brilliant and unorthodox game plan.


    There was still about a month left before the LPL, which was rather different from DOTA. Nowadays, resources regarding game strategy could easily be found online. Team Skycrown hoped that Yu Luocheng could give them a crash course regarding the game plan in this final month of preparation.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng used all sorts of excuses and even asked Mr. Fang to lie for him so that he could finally be freed from his house. He was still living in the university hostel, but Yu Yu had generously lent him her university apartment.


    After he touched down in Shanghai, Li Meiqi generously passed her lecture notes to Yu Luocheng so that he could burrow himself in Yu Yu¡¯s apartment for the next five days and focus solely on watching LOL replays and highlights.


    A month before the competition, professional gamers from other LOL teams had kicked into gear and practiced feverishly. Friendly matches between professional teams became more frequent. Unfortunately, even when Team Skycrown managed to play with certain LPL teams, they did not get to practice at their full strength.


    Their opponents were trying to hide their true power in front of potential rivals. Meanwhile, those who might play seriously had refused to deal with Team Skycrown. It was generally a very frustrating situation.


    ¡°F*ck it. This must be Sky Club¡¯s doing. They are trying to isolate us by barring us from playing any meaningful games before the tournament!¡± Da Luo grumbled angrily.

 Chapter 295 - Complete Shut Out

    Chapter 295: Complete Shut Out


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Right after Da Luo¡¯s outburst, Lin Dong returned with a long face. They could guess the unpleasant outcome from his gloomy expression.


    ¡°Another failed negotiation?¡± asked Zhou Yan.


    Since no team was willing to arrange practice games with them, they had been training on their own for consecutive days. Lin Dong had taken this opportunity to meet with the tournament officer, Xi Xi.


    Besides just casual conversation, Lin Dong had also inquired about the sponsorship.


    Normally, sponsors would directly contact teams to discuss endorsement. However, this privilege belongs only to the better-known teams. A fresh team like Team Skycrown that had no backing and platform would not attract enough interest from the relevant parties. Even if certain bodies were willing to provide financial assistance, they would not know where to seek them. Do you expect them to search your team on Baidu?


    Team Skycrown had neither a PR platform nor any promotional videos to publicize themselves. This hindered interested organizations from getting in touch with them, which is why Lin Dong had asked Xi Xi to help them promote Team Skycrown to potential sponsors.


    Xi Xi was a responsible and kind-hearted individual. He vaguely suggested to Lin Dong that Sky Club was currently exerting their enormous influence over the broad sponsorship network and had dominated almost the whole internet gaming platform.


    Not only had they implied their strong stance against Team Skycrown to the other LPL teams, but they had also spread propaganda through all possible channels that Sky Club still retained the right to take legal action against Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Lin Dong.


    In other words, they could dissolve Team Skycrown at any moment if they wanted to!


    No sponsor would be stupid enough to dump money into a team that is at risk of being disbanded at any time!


    ¡°Bullshit! I tore apart the contract with them. Why would they still reserve the right to sue us? F*cking nonsense! Besides, we¡¯re just gamers. Do they have to be this malicious?¡± Da Luo could no longer control his temper after listening to Lin Dong.


    ¡®What an effing shameless company. They play dirty just to prevent us from getting sponsored. They¡¯re trying to stifle Team Skycrown¡¯s financial source!¡¯


    Sky Club had tried to forbid them from re-entering the E-sport world by spreading negative rumors and boycotting them along with other LPL teams, as well as falsely accusing them of contract violation to jeopardize their source of income. Could the principal of Sky Club be more brazen?


    ¡°Xu Ping Yang! F*ck you and your family! I have never met anyone as disgusting as him!¡± Da Luo could not stop whinging.


    Xu Ping Yang was none other than the owner of Sky Club. He was originally small reseller of an electronic brand and used to own a computer store.


    After his business expanded, he bought the barely surviving Sky Club in an attempt to diversify his assets. Sky Club had a long history in E-sports but was about to go under as the founder had chosen to switch professions because the E-sports environment was still rather unhealthy and disorganized during that period.


    Xu Ping Yang had sufficient capital to support this new venture. He single-handedly revitalized Sky Club by striking deals with several E-Sports professionals that excelled in several major platforms like StarCraft, WAR3, DOTA, etc. Besides that, Sky Club also had its pawns in some of the popular MMORPGs such as Legend Online, World of Warcraft, Perfect World, DNF, CF, and more.


    As long as the online game was popular enough, with micro-transactions that promised lucrative returns, Sky Club would definitely be involved with it. This intensified over the past three to four years, and now Sky Club¡¯s influence in the domestic E-Sports scene was overwhelming. They had ongoing deals with almost 90% of the online gaming businesses in the country.


    A corporate giant like them often had such aggressive and ruthless tendencies.


    The five members of Team Wings were among the first batch of Sky Club recruits. Xu Ping Yang himself signed the contracts with them. Back then, he was not as successful yet.


    Ironically, the name of Sky Club had been popularized by Team Wings¡¯ excellent performance in DOTA. With this newly acquired fame, Xu Ping Yang began to spread his net and gained more fortune as he continued to benefit from Team Wings¡¯ name.


    While Xu Ping Yang was enjoying his new-found wealth, Team Wings continued to train tirelessly and represented Sky Club at numerous tournaments. But their success did not translate into additional income. They were only given their basic salaries as well as part of the prize money that they had fought hard to win from the beginning to the very end.


    That didn¡¯t change even after they had attained world-class honor.


    When Yu Luocheng lost his desire to play and wanted to resign, Xu Ping Yang, knowing that the team relied heavily on Yu Luocheng¡¯s leadership, threatened him with the contract. He warned that if Yu Luocheng were to withdraw, he would need to pay a large penalty fee for breaching the contract. He even intimidated the teenager by claiming that he was going to take legal action against him, all in an effort to make sure that Yu Luocheng would not join another team.


    Yu Luocheng was only a kid back then. He knew nothing about the law and his own rights. They had all been deceived and taken advantage of.


    As it is, they were already upset at not being appreciated by the club despite pouring in their blood, sweat, and tears for the job. The contract conflict further verified the selfishness of the club owner who was just exploiting the younglings¡¯ talent for his own benefit.


    Yu Luocheng wanted nothing. He returned every cent of the money and even all the medals he rightfully earned. His only wish was to quit playing professionally, that¡¯s all.


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Zhou Yan had also decided to pull out. Thanks to Sky Club¡¯s blackmailing, they ended up using almost all the money they earned throughout their two-year career to pay off the compensation.


    For the entire two years, they had never skipped a single day of practice. All their efforts went down the drain the day they decided to retire. Their exit received no applause but unjust humiliation instead.


    They had invested their most valuable youth into E-sports with enormous risk. When their two-year gamble ended in vain, they had to bear the judgment and reproach from the people closest to them.


    To a certain degree, they did blame Yu Luocheng for the team¡¯s downfall, but they also understood that working under such an abysmal boss would only result in them facing a similar fate once they were no longer of use to him.


    After relinquishing the main stage, they were hit hard by the reality of not having money, vocational skills, and academic qualifications to survive in this cutthroat society. Over the past two years, their grudge towards Sky Club only grew larger with each passing day.


    Seeing Sky Club gradually become the largest gaming club in the country pissed them off. And watching a con man like Xu Ping Yang prosper by exploiting inferior parties absolutely infuriated them.


    So when they rebuilt their roster, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo had decided not to join any club without a second thought. They also implicitly viewed Sky Club as the main nemesis they needed to take down at all costs.


    Fast forward to now, the three of them were once again experiencing the malice of Sky Club. They were especially furious when Lin Dong told them how Sky Club had killed all kinds of support they might get through multiple channels.


    They were already in the worst possible scenario ¡ª living in a shabby apartment, filling their stomach with only cup noodles, and too embarrassed to face their own families¡­


    Yet, Sky Club still refused to spare them.


    ¡°I am not going to sit here and do nothing!¡± After he whined for more than half an hour, Da Luo picked up a metal rod and went straight to the front door.


    ¡°Da Luo, have you lost your goddamn mind?¡± bellowed Zhou Yan.


    ¡°I know where he lives. I¡¯m going to ambush him there tonight. I¡¯m not coming back until I give him a good taste of my anger!¡± Da Luo had indeed completely lost his cool.


    Only they knew what kind of life they had to suffer through for the past two years.


    Da Luo swung the door open and was startled to find Yu Luocheng standing there glaring at him.


    ¡°What are you going to do? Silence that b*stard then cast Ignite? You think this is a game?¡± Yu Luocheng had heard the entire conversation. Da Luo¡¯s unconstrained protests could easily be heard through the thin wall.


    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding!¡± rebutted Da Luo.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m kidding? You¡¯re not even at level 6. How are you going to fight him? You think you can just walk away after assaulting him? He¡¯s a perceptive b*tch! He will show no mercy once he holds something against you.¡± Yu Luocheng snatched the iron rod from Da Luo¡¯s hand and pushed him back into the house.


    ¡°Then tell me, are we just going to stand aside and let him oppress us as he pleases? I refuse to give in this easily!¡± Da Luo bawled.


    ¡°None of us like it but you just have to live with it, at least for now. This is your Achilles heel. You are too hot-headed at times. If one day you manage to learn how to stay one step ahead of your opponent, then perhaps your solo Top play style would improve drastically,¡± said Yu Luocheng calmly.


    A gamer¡¯s play style is practically a reflection of their true personality.


    Yu Luocheng was aware of Da Luo¡¯s greatest weakness. He is often the better player in the top lane but the glaring problem was his obsession to look for insignificant kills. Such recklessness usually resulted in him being ambushed by the opponent¡¯s reinforcements, clumsily handing over the team¡¯s hard-built advantage to the enemy.


    Worse, the words ¡®retreat¡¯ and ¡®patience¡¯ did not exist in his dictionary. He would not hesitate to rush into a fight even when he knew that it was a battle he had no chance of winning.


    Judging by his impulsiveness alone, he should be called Blood Eagle instead of Lone Gull. But if he could play well as Blood Eagle and not die unnecessarily, then Yu Luocheng would have no complaints.


    ¡°Can you not link everything back to the game?¡± said Da Luo dejectedly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. That¡¯s my duty as your coach.¡±


    Da Luo felt exasperated as he was unable to refute Yu Luocheng¡¯s reasoning. Turning his back on them, he went into his room and slammed the door.


    ¡°Will Da Luo be alright?¡± asked Xiao Bei sheepishly. This was the first time he had seen Da Luo making such a big fuss.


    ¡°He will be fine. Just leave him be for now,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°We have been cut off completely.¡± Zhou Yan delivered the news gloomily.


    Yu Luocheng looked at the four of them. The news was definitely a huge blow to Team Skycrown. They wouldn¡¯t be able to survive without a sponsor. How do you continue to play as a professional when you couldn¡¯t even guarantee your next meal?


    ¡°I heard. I still have some money with me. It should be enough to support the team until the tournament,¡± Yu Luocheng comforted them.


    ¡°It won¡¯t last. If the team can¡¯t stand on its own feet and start earning money soon, we will still collapse in no time. Even the tournament subsidy won¡¯t be able to cover our expenses. Li Meiqi and Li Feng have also told me that the online platform is another dead end. Any promotion about Team Skycrown has failed to get approval from the clients they¡¯ve tried to approach so far,¡± claimed Lin Dong.


    ¡°Then there is only one way left,¡± announced Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Which is?¡± the four of them asked simultaneously.


    Yu Luocheng paused dramatically before giving them the answer. ¡°Defeat Team Sky on the stage.¡±


    The four of them were baffled.


    ¡®Defeat Team Sky? Is this possible?¡¯


    They knew exactly how huge the gap between them and Team Sky was.


    Da Luo had probably also heard Yu Luocheng¡¯s boastful suggestion. He walked out of his room and looked at Yu Luocheng with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Perhaps we are not strong enough to counter Xu Ping Yang by ourselves,¡± continued Yu Luocheng after he glanced at Da Luo. ¡°But if we can demonstrate our true strength to the world, then all his tricks and foul play will be meaningless!¡±

 Chapter 296 - Intensive Training for the Final Month

    Chapter 296: Intensive Training for the Final Month


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The five of them sat in the living room, listening intently to Yu Luocheng. They were keen to know what kind of ingenious strategy their coach had drafted for them.


    ¡°I have been watching replays from the Korean Server these past few days. Plus, for the last three months of the winter holidays, I have been playing through the high ranks there too. Suffice to say that I now have a comprehensive understanding of their play style,¡± explained Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°In comparison, the games in our server usually progress in a rather static and uniform way. For instance, whenever there is a double kill at the bottom lane, the surviving champions would usually opt to Recall. This allows them to purchase stronger items before returning to the lane to gradually gain the advantage.¡±


    The team nodded in agreement, being familiar with this tactic.


    ¡°However, from what I observed in the Korean Server, the winner would usually go for a strong push instead. This is because they are not only building on their kill advantage but they are also intending to transform it into team gain,¡± continued Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°The new strategy that I¡¯m going to propose now is not very different from the Jungle Dominance strategy that we have been using. I just tweaked it a little to make it a more reliable system. I also tried to change some of the passive mindsets that have become a norm in our play style.¡±


    With his detailed analysis, Yu Luocheng almost seemed like a knowledgeable professor giving an insightful lecture to his students. The five Skycrown members sat upright and concentrated carefully on his explanation.


    ¡°First up, I want all of you to focus on strengthening a select few champions each. In a game, champion drafting is always the first and foremost thing we do. We need to ensure that our champions pool is versatile enough so that we will not be easily overwhelmed by the opponent. Whether our game plan is executable or not relies heavily on how well we can pick our desired line-up.¡±


    Yu Luocheng fixed his gaze on Da Luo as he addressed him directly.


    ¡°Da Luo, you need to be extra dominant with these particular champions. The bottom line is you can never lose a one vs. one battle at the top lane. I need you to hold the top line no matter what happens.¡±


    Da Luo nodded. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°First, Jax. I don¡¯t think I need to elaborate on this. To be fair, you¡¯ve been excellent at using this hero so far. But I need you to do even more,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve hit the ceiling with Jax,¡± replied Da Luo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll be able to have a breakthrough with the team¡¯s help. Whether our new strategy works or not greatly depends on your strong play,¡± explained Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°The second champion that I want you to master is Lee Shin. For this champion, go straight for a hard tank build. We might need its tanking ability to bait the enemy,¡± requested Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Is it wise to ask Lee Shin at the top lane to join the fight that frequently?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    ¡°He will only be needed sporadically. Still, as I said, this strategy revolves around the Solo Top player.¡±


    ¡°Lastly, Shen. You should know what to do with this champion.¡± Yu Luocheng finalized his instructions to Da Luo.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°I also have an additional mission for you to accomplish during your personal training. I will give you the details later.¡±


    Da Luo nodded silently.


    ¡°Lin Dong, you¡¯re next. For your position, I need you to focus on champions that are able to sweep the creep line quickly, especially during the early game. If the opponent has picked an AP first, then you should always consider Riven-mid,¡± said Yu Luocheng, turning to Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong was not entirely convinced. He just stared at Yu Luocheng and said nothing.


    ¡°For Zhou Yan¡¯s Jungler, I want you to focus on Aatrox. Next in line would be Vi, Jarvan, and Lee Shin,¡± commanded Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Noted.¡±


    ¡°For the bottom lane, I want you two to be able to alternate freely between two different tactics. We will be going into the details of these tactics later. The champions that I have in mind for Xiao Bei are Caitlyn, Graves, Tristana, and Vayne; while for the support role I am happy to see Zyra, Thresh, Lulu, and Annie.¡±


    The champion selection was extremely vital, which is why Yu Luocheng had specified several champions for each member. It was not his intention to restrict them from exploring the possibility of using other champions, but he knew that any improper champion selection would cost an underdeveloped team like Team Skycrown dearly.


    ***


    Their financial instability was still the biggest issue at hand. Team Skycrown would have to bear with the worn out, leaky apartment for at least another month.


    Their attempts at scheduling friendly matchups with other teams were still continuously being jeopardized. Fortunately, Fudan University was willing to train with them. They even generously introduced Team Skycrown to some overseas teams.


    Since teams normally conceal their identity when playing with a foreign LOL team, both teams were able to not hold back during the practice match. This granted Team Skycrown an opportunity to perfect their innovative strategy within a short time frame. Sky Club, despite being influential domestically, had no control over foreign clubs.


    Throughout the final month of training, Yu Luocheng basically left no breathing room for the five of them.


    They only had one month left to get the hang of the new strategy. If they failed to do so, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance in the LPL, left alone at defeating Team Sky.


    ***


    Once the semester began, Yu Luocheng was frequently absent from class as he wanted to ensure that Team Skycrown could perfectly carry out his game plan without a single hiccup.


    ¡°Luocheng, I was close to the Challenger rank before you brought up this new tactic. Since then, my ranking has plummeted right back into Diamond 2. Those who know me have not been easy on me recently,¡± Da Luo complained to Yu Luocheng with a long face.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t get into Diamond 1 using this playstyle, then you can forget about the competition.¡± Yu Luocheng showed no empathy.


    ¡°But they don¡¯t know that I¡¯m undergoing special training. All of them were chastising me and claiming that I was purposely feeding.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. What I want from you is that even if you had fed during the early game, you would still be able to put together a strong enough build by mid-game.¡± insisted Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll try¡­¡±


    ***


    Five days later, Da Luo¡¯s face grew gloomier.


    ¡°Are you back in Diamond 1?¡± asked Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Diamond 3.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing. Keep practicing.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people have banned me and even reported me for trolling¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to care about what others are saying. Just play the way I told you to. I¡¯ll ask someone to push your rank back to Diamond 1 so that you can keep losing.¡±


    Considering that players from a lower rank are usually mediocre, Yu Luocheng could not allow Da Luo¡¯s rank to drop below Diamond. He would let the cycle continue repeatedly until Da Luo could match his expectations.


    If you refuse to die in vain time after time, then you better be reborn from the ashes.


    Being killed three times as a Solo Top was nothing. Someone from overseas who used Singed managed to rebound from dozens of deaths and saved the match in late-game. Da Luo¡¯s situation was nothing compared to that.


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, enough is enough. I¡¯ve lost count how many times I¡¯ve collected six Tears of Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Sell them all and start again.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Luoceheng, I¡¯ve taken down 2,000 minions without any items and runes.¡±


    ¡°How many misses?¡±


    ¡°Maybe slightly more than 100?¡±


    ¡°You missed more than 100 creeps even when there¡¯s no pressure? Get me another 2,000 CS with no more than 50 misses.¡±


    ¡°Stop kidding bro. The starting damage was only 57 and at max around 100. Those creeps had more HP than my champion towards the end.¡±


    ¡°Just start another custom AI game then. CS in LOL is considered easy. Do you want to try DOTA?¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ alright¡­ a new custom game it is.¡±


    ***


    ¡°The ward here is unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°You have to block the vision here.¡±


    ¡°Place Vision Ward here whenever possible.¡±


    ¡°Keep up your attack on the minion right until the last hit.¡±


    ¡°At this point, you should have secured the vision around Dragon. Place your wards here, here, and here. Remember, when you catch the opponent¡¯s Jungler at the top lane or when Da Luo is baiting, always get the tri-bush area warded first. If we are the blue side, then head to the river first. We have to prioritize the mid-tower over the Dragon, remember that!¡±


    ¡°Make sure you always keep the time Siege Minions are being spawned in mind. It will roll out every three waves. If you are using Soraka, I want you to pay extra attention to the siege minion in mid-lane. Depending on the situation, you should have the foresight to call upon Zhou Yan to gather mid earlier. What¡¯s the timing of when the first siege minion will emerge there?¡± questioned Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Three minutes and thirty-three seconds,¡± Wu Shen answered precisely.


    ¡°Remember, a qualified SP should have great map awareness at all times. The timing of the tiniest of details is equally essential too. Most importantly, you have to outsmart the opponent in securing the vision for the team. After Da Luo, your warding ability is the second factor determining whether this strategy will work out as I have pictured.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Zhou Yan, don¡¯t just focus on farming the jungle. The money you can get from the jungle is limited. I forbid you to claim one particular monster ¡ª Krug from the red side. If we are on the red side, ignore it and restrain your farming zone within Wraiths and Wolf camps so that you can reach the mid-lane anytime.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡± Zhou Yan nodded.


    ¡°Again, do proper warding. You can skip an item or two but never be stringy on buying wards. I don¡¯t need you to know the exact location of the opponent¡¯s Jungler but you have to be sure not to be counter ganked during an ambush. So other than wards for protection, you also have to learn how to ward aggressively at the enemy¡¯s backline.¡±


    ***


    Time flew by as twenty days came and went in the blink of an eye.


    The LPL¡¯s promotional campaign had swept over the entire country. Every team had appeared in front of the public at least once and received considerable coverage from the media to exert their confidence and expectations for the tournament.


    Team Skycrown still buried themselves in their old apartment and practiced tirelessly.


    They recognized the need for more training before they could bring their teamwork and the tailor-made game plan to the next level.


    ***


    ¡°What a bunch of lunatics. If I had played LOL non-stop for a month, I probably would loathe even the sight of the loading screen,¡± lamented Jian Feng.


    Team Skycrown would be having a friendly match with Fudan University later that afternoon. To avoid any disturbance in the middle of the game due to hardware errors, they were borrowing computers from the E-sports clubroom.


    This not only allowed Team Skycrown to enjoy a much-needed change of environment, but also provided an opportunity for the club members to get a sneak peek at an LPL-level match before the actual tournament.


    The E-sports club was gaining considerable fame as an official LPL team had been visiting their clubroom frequently for the past few months. However, in order to keep their strategy a secret, Yu Luocheng had specifically requested a closed door match. He even asked Fudan University not to save any record of the match.


    Fudan University was being incredibly nice to Team Skycrown. When the latter was being boycotted by most of the LPL teams, Fudan University volunteered to be their sparring partner, despite once being rivals in competing for an LPL spot. The members of Team Skycrown greatly appreciated their timely assistance.


    ¡°Yeap. Just watching them play gave me a headache,¡± said Qin Ting.


    Monotonous training is pretty torturous. Lin Dong was forced to play against AIs every day and repetitively farmed for six Tear of Goddess. Xiao Bei was asked to achieve 2,000 CS without the help of items and runes. Worse, he had to start all over if he missed more than 50 creeps.


    That¡¯s absurd!


    To be honest, a lot of people only saw the success of an E-sports player on stage. They had no idea how much pain and sacrifice a professional player had to bear behind the scenes.

 Chapter 297 - A 8/10 Player

    Chapter 297: A 8/10 Player


    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At the E-sports club of Fudan University, Lin Siyong lit his cigarette and stared at the computer screen blankly.


    ¡°Captain, I don¡¯t even know how we lost that badly,¡± said Huang Lin bitterly.


    Nineteen minutes and fifty-three seconds!


    That wasn¡¯t how long it took Fudan University to lose the Baron to Team Skycrown, nor was it the duration in which Team Skycrown took down the high ground turret. Nineteen minutes and fifty-three seconds was exactly how long it took for Fudan¡¯s Nexus to be demolished.


    The fact that the game had ended seven seconds before the surrender option became available was scary. The players from Fudan University were at a loss for words after the game ended so quickly. They couldn¡¯t believe that they had just been so utterly defeated.


    ¡®Is this really the Team Skycrown that we know and have played with before?¡¯


    Though Fudan University still recorded more losses than victories in the last few games they played against Team Skycrown, those games at least lasted about thirty to forty minutes.


    ¡®What happened to them in just a few days?¡¯


    Lin Siyong broke the silence. ¡°Any comments?¡±


    ¡°We are unable to cope with their pace. Their push was insanely quick.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Right after my first gank at the top, I could tell that our Jungle was constantly surrounded with wards. From that point onwards, they always knew what I was up to.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! Why do I feel that their strategy was fiercer than ours?¡±


    ¡°Ours? We didn¡¯t even last long enough to execute our tactics.¡±


    Once all the afternoon games were over, the Fudan University team members remained in shock after experiencing a string of one-sided defeats.


    Just a few days ago, they could still fight Team Skycrown on an equal playing field. But today, Fudan University felt completely helpless throughout all the matches. At one point, they felt like they wouldn¡¯t have even the slightest chance of winning, no matter how hard they tried.


    None of them could explain what just happened.


    ¡°Maybe they were holding back during previous games. I heard from Xiao Jia that Team Skycrown trained non-stop even during the New Year. That must be why their strength and strategy have improved so drastically.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s highly possible.¡±


    Twenty minutes was an important benchmark. If they couldn¡¯t make it past twenty minutes, then it meant that Fudan University was no longer a match for Team Skycrown.


    ***


    At Shanghai University, Jian Feng, Li Meiqi, and Qin Ting were dazzled by Team Skycrown¡¯s performance. It was hard to imagine that the almighty Fudan University could one day be defeated in such a brutal manner.


    ¡®That was inexplicably pleasing to watch.¡¯


    ¡°The strategy is basically in place. The rest depends on how you guys implement it in a real match,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    Da Luo removed the headset and laughed. ¡°My baiting was not too bad, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll work for now.¡±


    Lin Dong stood up and said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t checked the tournament schedule.¡±


    ¡°Let me do it.¡± Jian Feng offered to help.


    ¡°By the way, here¡¯s the info I gathered on the top eight teams of LPL. Come and check it out.¡± Yu Luocheng switched on one of the computers and waved them closer.


    The eight strongest teams from all around China were in the LPL. Referring to the previous LPL rankings, it was pretty much obvious who the top four teams were.


    The first was Asmodai¡¯s Team Daemon and the second was Team Sky led by Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua.


    Their supremacy within the country was indisputable. They would alternate being crowned champions at almost every major and minor domestic competition. No other team was a threat to them during the previous season. Judging by this trend, these two teams were in a league of their own far ahead of the rest of the LPL.


    Third place belonged to Team 71, which had the analyst Zhang Aijin and the national No.1 Solo Top player Xiao Wang. And finally, fourth place went to Team Revelation, captained by the king of ADC, Bai Feng.


    These four teams had dominated the local LPL scene for a very long time. Other teams have never even come close to overthrowing them throughout the years.


    The other four teams participating in this year¡¯s LPL were Stardust, Meteor, Dusk, and first time participant Skycrown, who had defeated the initial favorite Fudan University to qualify for the LPL.


    Lin Dong purposely picked the name Skycrown as it represented the past glory (crown) of Team Wing (sky) in DOTA. He sincerely hoped that this team signified the rebirth of Team Wing in LPL and that the team would be able to dominate the MOBA arena once again!


    ***


    ¡°I believe you guys have been briefed about the tournament rules and format during the introductory meeting. But let me reiterate some of the key messages,¡± said Yu Luocheng solemnly.


    ¡°This time, we¡¯re participating in the Spring Tournament LPL which uses the points system. Simply put, each team will play all the other teams once and the winner receives one point while the loser gets none. The two teams with the lowest points will be eliminated at the end of the robin round while the top six will enter the Summer Tournament.¡±


    ¡°Four teams with the highest combined points from the two tournaments will then qualify to compete for the two China seats in the International S Tournament. In other words, only the two strongest teams in this country can go after the international trophy and the prize of 1 million.¡±


    More games meant more exposure, which is how a team would be able to garner enough fame and interest from potential sponsors.


    The LPL has a well-established tournament system. Main events and mini-competitions in between spanned almost the entire year. If Team Skycrown could consistently secure a spot in the top tier, they would no longer need to worry about their lack of funding.


    In the Spring Tournament, the two weakest teams would be eliminated. Yu Luocheng did not want such a tragic fate to befall Team Skycrown. If they were to be ousted that early in the Spring Tournament, then perhaps their time in E-sports had really come to an end.


    Sky Club had used all available resources on hand to jeopardize their resurgence. If Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t even survive the first tournament, then no one would remember them. As cruel as it may sound, this was their last chance to have a shot in this merciless world. If they didn¡¯t pull off a memorable run in this tournament, then they could forget about getting endorsements and consequently, forget about their professional career.


    ¡°In the Spring Tournament, opponents are assigned randomly. This means there is a chance we might face Team Daemons or Team Sky very soon,¡± continued Yu Luocheng.


    His tone was somber but his eyes shone with determination.


    I hope that all of you can at least stay within the top six throughout this tournament. As long as we remain in the game, we will definitely have the opportunity to turn our fortunes around. I also want you guys to defeat Team Sky for at least one game!¡± said Yu Luocheng animatedly.


    Li Meiqi nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Sky Club has been oppressing us in all facets since the beginning of the tournament. They are the reason why we still have no income and recognition. If we manage to pull out a stunner, even only once, it will give us an opening to break through their off-stage impediments. We can then build on this and announce our existence to the world.¡±


    He paused, looking around at his teammates who were all as determined as him. They all desperately wanted to show Sky Club that they were not to be taken lightly.


    ¡°Sometimes it may not be a bad thing to have an overpowering rival. Because the longer we resist them, the greater the chance for us to exploit them as our PR medium. Once we have enough popularity, they will not be able to shut us out completely,¡± continued Li Meiqi.


    Defeating them in an official game was now the only way Team Skycrown could overcome the current predicament that Sky Club had forced them into.


    Yu Luocheng was confident that Team Skycrown could definitely take Team Sky by surprise with the strategy he designed for them.


    They were not being unrealistic by dreaming of nabbing one of the top two positions. Yu Luocheng was aware of Team Skycrown¡¯s immaturity. They would not attain a very high win-rate in the LPL at their current state.


    Nevertheless, with the element of surprise, they might be able to take down any opponent, even one as powerful as Team Sky. It didn¡¯t matter if such a patchy tactic only worked for a while and was quickly discovered. They just needed it to work long enough to give them an advantage.


    ¡°We understand everything you¡¯re trying to tell us and we will definitely give it our best. But tell us this, will you take the player¡¯s seat when necessary?¡± Da Luo asked Yu Luocheng.


    Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Xiao Bei, and Wu Sen were looking at Yu Luocheng too. They knew that he was the only one in the team capable of countering Zhao Tinghua.


    No matter how unorthodox the strategy, Zhao Tinghua was the type of aggressive player that could singlehandedly destroy any game plan. If a match against Sky Club did arrive earlier than expected, they hoped that Yu Luocheng would fight alongside them.


    They were using his strategy after all. He was the perfect candidate to lead them in-game, instead of remaining in his position as coach. With all five of them looking at him wistfully, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Was Team Skycrown a five-man team?


    No, of course it wasn¡¯t.


    Everyone in the team acknowledged Yu Luocheng¡¯s contribution. They knew the effort he put into this team was no less than any other team member.


    They also knew that the MOBA spirit in Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart was yet to be extinguished.


    Yu Luocheng answered firmly after a long silence. ¡°I will if it¡¯s necessary.¡±


    The five of them nodded simultaneously.


    It was actually uncommon for a MOBA team to alter their lineup at the last minute. Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, Wu Shen, and Xiao Bei all understood that adding Yu Luocheng to the roster meant that one of them would need to back out.


    They had been playing together for six months now. They were like a well-oiled machine, and the impromptu inclusion of Yu Luocheng at this point would perhaps do more harm than good to their teamwork.


    All they needed was Yu Luocheng¡¯s promise. With his words, they could now march forward into the LPL brimming with confidence.


    Yu Luocheng had promised that he would be there if and when they needed him. That¡¯s all they needed to hear. They understood how much his family meant to him now, so they wouldn¡¯t actually force him to do anything against his will.


    Team Wing¡¯s captain was always going to be their captain. Even after he had retired, he could still give his teammates the greatest moral support!


    ***


    ¡°Our first opponent is Team Stardust. The game will be decided by best of five. Each win is equal to one point. In other words, we can get three points if we win and zero to two points if we lose. Wu Sen, you know Team Stardust better than I do. Maybe you can give them an evaluation based on my collected data,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    Wu Sen was formerly a SP of Team Stardust. Their current members were mostly his ex-teammates. Team Skycrown¡¯s advantage lay in Wu Sen¡¯s in-depth understanding of the team.


    ¡°In Stardust, we often acknowledged each other as Wind, Earth, Water, Fire, and Lightning depending on the position that we played. The strongest member among the five is their mid-laner, Earth. He is the kind that will carry the whole team on his shoulders. As for how strong he is, I believe Lin Dong knows best,¡± said Wu Sen, expressing his opinion.


    Lin Dong nodded heavily. ¡°If I was the non-professional me of half a year ago, he would beat the crap out of me.¡±


    ¡°Personal skill-wise, from one to ten, where does he rank?¡± asked Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Not lower than eight I suppose,¡± answered Wu Sen with a low voice.


    Both Li Meiqi and Qin Ting¡¯s jaws dropped in astonishment.


    ¡°8? Isn¡¯t that equivalent to Bai Feng and Xiao Wang?¡±


    ***


    Author¡¯s Note: The Spring Tournament of the LPL in real life does indeed follow the point format. The only difference here is that the actual tournament goes by BO1 (best of 1) instead of BO5. The author hopes that readers will understand the need for such an alteration, as he aimed to provide more twists to the story. Other than this discrepancy, the LPL narrated in this novel is exactly the same as how the real tournament is carried out, including the Spring and Summer seasons. The author will reveal more information and rules regarding the competition in subsequent chapters and hopes that the readers will have a better picture of this annual gaming event in China as the story progresses.

 Chapter 298 - Earth and His Formidable Zed!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Stardust was formed at about the same time that League of Legends was launched. After two years of development, they transformed from an unknown team into one of the LPL powerhouses with their own fan base.


    During last year¡¯s LPL, Team Stardust managed to consistently maintain a ranking of at least sixth or seventh place.


    The team¡¯s key figure, Earth, was the main reason that Team Stardust managed to uphold their enormous popularity for so long. Being one of the top Solo Mids in the country, it would not be an overstatement to say that he had single-handedly carried his team this far.


    ¡°We were completely crushed the last time we played them,¡± said Xiao Bei.


    Wu Sen had used his connection with Team Stardust to set up a friendly match with them after the pre-season tournament ended. That game ended with Team Skycrown¡¯s miserable defeat. They were mostly on the losing end throughout the game and despite a few occasional sparks, they were inevitably defeated by Team Stardust¡¯s solid teamwork.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching many of Team Stardust¡¯s replays recently. They are particularly aggressive in attack, with the mid player as their most iconic finisher. Earth¡¯s favorite heroes are Zed, Fizz, Ahri, etc. ¡ª those that can charge in quickly and are especially powerful at creating solo-kills,¡± said Yu Luocheng, sharing his observations with the team.


    ¡°They usually follow Earth¡¯s lead in initiating team fights. His targets are usually random. He would not hesitate to jump on a Tank and unleash all available skills if he¡¯s confident that he can instantly finish off the target,¡± continued Yu Luocheng.


    Wu Sen nodded. ¡°Indeed. Earth¡¯s champion control and his ability to instantly kill the opponent is unmatched. He definitely lives up to his title: ¡®The Lord of Sudden Death¡¯. Their main strategy depends greatly on his play. More often than not, they will quickly follow up Earth¡¯s initiation in a team fight and focus fire on a single target to create subsequent five vs. four situations.¡±


    Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were especially familiar with such tactics. In the last game alone, both of them were instant-killed by Earth at least five times each. His timing and approaches were unpredictable. As skillful as Xiao Bei and Lin Dong were, Earth managed to catch them by surprise time and time again.


    Even when they thought that they could perhaps absorb the damage and retaliate, the screen would mercilessly turn colorless the next second.


    ¡°Oh ya, someone compiled his best plays into a single video. Let me bring that up.¡± Jian Feng suddenly recalled a replay he watched and quickly logged into his account.


    Jian Feng would often save highlight videos on his own hard-drive. The information available on the internet was simply too vast. He sometimes failed to retrieve the content he wanted even with Baidu. So he developed the habit of downloading videos of interesting or instructive game plays.


    All six of them gathered close together and watched the replay with great curiosity.


    ¡°This one¡¯s about Zed. Let¡¯s watch.¡± Jian Feng clicked on the play button.


    The background music immediately came to life. The song blasted rhythmically as Zed paced steadily towards the Baron¡¯s pit.


    Zed¡¯s four other teammates had been killed and were waiting to be resurrected, while all the five opponent players were still alive. Team Stardust had apparently just lost a devastating team fight.


    ¡°He was going after the Baron!¡± exclaimed Lin Dong.


    Zed had neither vision nor Smite. He was on a suicide mission!


    Schwaff!


    Zed¡¯s shadow appeared out of thin air. The dark shadow dashed straight into the Baron¡¯s pit. Earth¡¯s Zed strolled along the river just outside the Baron¡¯s pit. He tried to disrupt the opponent by casting skills through the shadow.


    Unexpectedly, Malphite, who was attacking the Baron, suddenly turned around. With an earth-shattering roar, Malphite transformed into a red-hot meteor and dashed right at Zed!


    Malphite¡¯s Unstoppable Force came as a surprise. Nobody would have guessed that he still had his ultimate available after the team fight.


    Poof!


    Milliseconds before Malphite hit Zed, Zed¡¯s figure abruptly turned into a silhouette. The shadow disappeared after the impact. Malphite was left stunned at the crash site, gazing at the thin air in front of him. His R-ulti had missed its target!


    Where was Zed?


    Turning back, Malphite was surprised to find that Zed had reunited with his shadow inside the Baron¡¯s pit. Amumu was the first to react and he immediately cast his R-ulti in an attempt to trap Zed. Yellow amulets spread across the land and formed a giant entangling ring. Yet, once again, Zed successfully got away right before he could be confined by the spell.


    Earth¡¯s perfect execution of Death Mark had allowed Zed to become untargetable for 0.6 seconds and thus he escaped the second close-range ultimate! His R-ulti wasn¡¯t aimed at Amumu, but at the ADC Vayne who was single-mindedly attacking the Baron!


    Forbidden technique¡ªDeath Mark Shadow!


    Blade of the Ruined King!


    Ignite!


    Razor Shuriken!


    Shadow Slash!


    The skill combo unleashed by Zed was dazzlingly quick. Vayne had no chance to react and sustained all the damage. After the barrage of attacks, The Night Hunter, with her Barrier activated, used Flash without hesitation.


    Zed did not continue the pursuit as he was in equally bad shape after the short encounter. With a swift press of the R key, Zed returned to the shadow summoned earlier and relocated to the edge of the Baron¡¯s pit.


    In the next second, he triggered Flash and fled the scene. While he was heading to the mid lane, Zed wasted no time and used Cleanse to remove the slow debuff on him.


    Argh!!!


    Not long after Zed escaped, Vayne suddenly let out a painful scream and fell to her death with blood gushing out of her chest.


    Zed¡¯s ultimate leaves a mark on the target which detonates after three seconds. The resulting physical damage is equivalent to the percentage of pre-mitigated damage dealt by Zed to the marked target within that period.


    Team Skycrown was astounded as they watched how Zed was able to bolt safely after he elegantly ended Vayne¡¯s life within the enemy siege.


    First of all, he had cleverly used the W-skill to evade Malphite¡¯s dash. Then, he barely dodged Amumu¡¯s ulti with the less than 0.6 seconds invincibility he got from using his own ulti.


    After unleashing his carefully calculated combo on Vayne, Zed didn¡¯t bother to chase the fleeing Night Hunter and instead once again promptly swapped places with his shadow to retreat. Three seconds later, Vayne could not escape her ultimate fate and was killed by the explosive mark.


    He freely strolled in and out of the Baron¡¯s pit like the enemies were non-existent. This guy named Earth sure is a heck of a player. They thought he was going after the Baron but in fact, his aim was the opponent¡¯s ADC all along!


    Vayne was killed even when her position was well covered by the other four teammates. Worse still, they had allowed Zed to recover back to mid-lane and continue pushing.


    After the first excerpt, the scene in the video cut to another setting.


    This time, Zed once again showcased his ability to finish off the opponent in a flash. He first hid a W-shadow in a corner and used his ultimate to finish off the opponent¡¯s AP within the crowd. Subsequently, he activated the second cast of Living Shadow and silently returned to the hidden location.


    Amusingly, the opponent team kept pointing fingers at their AP every time they lost a team fight. In other words, they were not even aware of how their AP was killed on several occasions!


    The next excerpt was a skirmish on the lane at level 6. Earth had used Zed¡¯s Living Shadow to clear the creep wave, but this opening was seized by the opponents. Their Jungler and Top quickly closed in to corner him.


    Earth used Flash to withdraw but he was eventually slowed by the opponents¡¯ barrage of skills. When everyone figured he would not make it out alive this time, Zed suddenly swapped places with his shadow and unpredictably appeared in front of a hastily-approaching Orianna.


    R-Ulti, Blade of the Ruined King, Ignite, and the classic turn back after the combo. A lantern emerged on the bottom left and Zed calmly lit it despite having barely any HP left. Not more than a second after Zed landed safely beside Thresh, the mark detonated and wiped Orianna off the map.


    He manipulated his enemies with Flash, making them believe that he intended to flee to his tower. When his enemies took the bait, he suddenly switched places with his shadow that he earlier used to clear creeps, and dealt with Orianna who was left too far behind by then. Like clockwork, Thresh arrived just in time to get him out of the tight spot.


    After they watched the three short clips, there was pin-drop silence in the room.


    ¡®What the f*ck did I just watch?¡¯ was their common thought at the moment.


    ¡®Like hell we¡¯re going to win against someone like him!¡¯


    ¡°F*ck! Ban it. We must ban Zed when we play against them. Or else we¡¯ll definitely lose!¡± Da Luo was the first to blurt out his thoughts.


    He was right. Earth¡¯s mastery of Zed was beyond horrifying. If this champion was let loose, then Team Skycrown¡¯s core strategy would be effortlessly dismantled by Earth.


    Yu Luocheng nodded solemnly.


    Frankly, he too was dazed by Earth¡¯s individual skill. Judging by Earth¡¯s performance using Zed, he reckoned that whoever used ADC or AP against him would end up with post-traumatic stress disorder after the game. He had never met someone so ferocious and purposeful in securing an instant-kill.


    Earth was simply unstoppable. Once he made up his mind to target you, how many allies or skills you have wouldn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s even more unbelievable is that he even flawlessly planned his escape before charging in.


    He is insanely good at sensing danger too. He always managed to abort seconds before the situation turned hostile, making it almost impossible to lure him into a trap.


    Earth from Team Stardust was undeniably a giant threat to Team Skycrown. Yu Luocheng¡¯s concern grew immensely after he watched the video. Skycrown¡¯s new strategy greatly depended on the team¡¯s cohesiveness. The game plan would be completely useless if Earth were to focus on and frequently kill any individual member of the team.


    They needed a quick fix to suppress the overpowering captain of Team Stardust.


    ¡°What¡¯s your take laning against him?¡± asked Yu Luocheng, looking at Lin Dong.


    ¡°I think not being killed is already a huge win. To be honest, I¡¯m not fond of dealing with mid-lane assassins. Yu Luocheng, you¡¯re pretty good at using Zed too, right? Train with me over the next few days so that I familiarize myself with an assassin play style in the mid-lane,¡± requested Lin Dong.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that I¡¯m anywhere near his level. But I guess it¡¯s still better than nothing. I will spar with you using AP and the assassin that Earth is good at.¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°By the way, how are we going to counter their strategy?¡± asked Zhou Yan.


    ¡°Their tactic mostly revolves around Earth. Once they take down an enemy, they will immediately gather and force a team-fight with their numerical advantage. Our Jungle Dominance strategy may not be effective against such a style. I think we should go on the defensive in this one and wait for a chance to counter-attack,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too passive?¡± questioned Da Luo.


    ¡°We have no choice. First of all, we cannot expose our main strategy too early into the tournament. At the rate of how Team Sky is spying on us, they are definitely going to analyze all our games thoroughly. Besides, that tactic won¡¯t work against Team Stardust anyway. They are more experienced than us in terms of outnumbering the opponents. Infiltrating their jungle is no different from feeding Earth. His sixth sense and insight are simply too powerful,¡± explained Yu Luocheng.


    The others nodded.


    The LPL was just around the corner. This was the breakout opportunity Team Skycrown had been yearning for. It was guaranteed to be a thrilling competition between the Top 8 LOL teams in China!

 Chapter 299 - We Have Female Fans Now!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Unknowingly, the LOL culture had slowly crept into society.


    Upon seeing a gorgeous musical instrument was displayed inside a glass cabinet, a random passerby said, ¡°Look, it¡¯s a Sax!¡±


    The person beside him was baffled. ¡°I thought Sax is a car brand?¡±


    ¡°Idiot, that¡¯s Lexus!¡±


    ¡°Lexus? Isn¡¯t that one of the regions in LOL?¡±


    ¡°For God¡¯s sake, that¡¯s Noxus!¡±


    A game needs to foster its own culture and an established culture needs its followers. Take the NBA for example. The NBA system has successfully promoted the game to every corner of the world and spawned many basketball enthusiasts who were crazy about the sport.


    The number of people who play E-games is definitely comparable to that of basketball. Yet, why is E-sports unable to replicate the success of other world-class sports?


    It could be attributed to multiple reasons¡ªthe improper organization of E-sports, common pre-judgment of elders against video games, convoluted match-making, and lack of interest to turn pro.


    The founding of the LPL, the World S Competition, and the International WCG E-Sports Competition aimed to boost the allure of E-sports. These rewarding competitions provide a golden platform for those who are passionate about and excel in video games to freely express themselves.


    Domestically, the LPL is a multi-million dollar event sponsored by Tencent. Its prize alone had reached three million this term, which was music to any professional player¡¯s ears.


    Over the past several years, none of the previous E-sports tournaments (such as CS, WAR3, or StarCraft) had ever offered such a lucrative reward. Players that had been involved with E-sports since the early days like Yu Luocheng were baffled by the scale in which the games and tournaments had evolved under Tencent¡¯s watch.


    Putting aside the honor of winning the championship, the RMB50,000 subsidy alone was enough to motivate teams from all over the country to fight for a spot in the final eight. This created healthy competition among the domestic teams and encouraged them to always strive to be better.


    ***


    The eight strongest teams would gather at Shanghai Technological Center on 15th March and officially kickstart the LPL Spring Tournament.


    The tournament¡¯s promotional campaign began right after the Chinese New Year. One could easily see the impact LOL had on the popularity of E-sports. Various types of media, including online platforms, TV channels, traditional press, and even podcasts had been utilized by Tencent to publicize the LPL as widely as possible.


    To garner more attention, Tencent had even invited FAN, a well-known LPL team from Europe, to play an exhibition match with Team Daemons at the opening ceremony.


    FAN was a quarter-finalist at last year¡¯s International S Tournament. Their game play and lineup were highly unpredictable, making them a difficult team to beat.


    Team Daemons had not met with Team FAN at last year¡¯s international games. Tencent¡¯s intention of making LPL the biggest E-sports event in the country was clear. They hoped that the arrival of a popular foreign team would further hype up the highly-anticipated tournament.


    ***


    The members of Team Skycrown were pumped when the day finally arrived.


    Most of them had experience at professional tournaments, but none of those were comparable to a LOL event. They had never seen any E-sports event with an audience of five thousand people. Ten thousand attendees was considered huge for a concert. So five thousand bodies inside a conference hall was nothing short of magnificent.


    Their heartbeats raced wildly when they arrived at the hall¡¯s entrance. They were dazed by the humongous concrete building in front of them.


    ¡®Have we been mistakenly sent to a concert venue instead?¡¯


    Even when they reached the finals of the international DOTA competition, it was held at a small venue occupied by a maximum of two to three thousand people!


    How generous of Tencent to book a stadium-esque venue just to announce to the world that the LPL had now officially begun! While admiring Tencent¡¯s wealth, they also figured that the prejudice against E-sports was a thing of the past. People¡¯s attitude towards E-sports had completely changed after the release of LOL.


    ¡°So? Are you excited now?¡± asked Lin Dong, playfully shoving Da Luo who was standing beside him.


    ¡°Of course I am! If I only knew earlier that LOL competitions have reached such a large scale, I would already be a veteran player by now. I often envy those celebrities. To see them on the big stage waving to their fans. F*cking show-offs!¡± exclaimed Da Luo.


    ¡°Haha! You can do the same when we win the tournament. Say hi to those on your left and right!¡± Lin Dong shook Da Luo¡¯s shoulder and laughed.


    Da Luo couldn¡¯t hold back his smile and put his arm around Zhou Yan. ¡°Zhou Yan, isn¡¯t that going to be fun?¡±


    Xiao Bei was equally thrilled. He smiled along as if they were really going to be celebrities soon.


    ¡°Three nut-heads,¡± deadpanned Zhou Yan.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in. There are lots of people around. It¡¯ll be bad if anyone recognizes us,¡± said Xiao Bei, blushing.


    Wu Sen forcefully patted his back and scowled. ¡°Who the hell would know us?¡±


    ¡°Wu Sen, stop being so serious. Just pretend that we are famous. I wonder whether we need to wear a cap and sunglasses when going out in the future,¡± said Da Luo, laughing.


    While Da Luo was immersed in his own daydream, three ladies in winter coats and boots walked straight towards them.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± said one of them.


    Stunned, Da Luo stopped his boasting and suddenly turned shy.


    ¡°You guys are in a team uniform and I noticed the word Skycrown on your back. Let me guess, you guys are the newly promoted dark horse, Team Skycrown?¡± asked the fair girl with center parting, smiling.


    The two girls beside her were also curiously eyeing the boys. Someone actually recognized them! No matter how hard Da Luo tried to keep a straight face, he could hardly conceal the bursting joy within.


    They had their own fans now! Moreover, they were all pretty girls!


    The girl with the center parting was gorgeous, with a smooth forehead, prominent nose, small and sexy lips, seductive eyes, and long eyelashes.


    Da Luo suppressed his inner ecstasy and introduced himself. ¡°Yes, yes! We are Team Skycrown! I am Lone Gull. You can call me Da Luo!¡±


    Yu Luocheng stood by and looked at Da Luo in disgust.


    ¡®What kind of celebrity gets more excited than the fans when he¡¯s recognized? Please pull yourself together. Pathetic!¡¯


    Then again, in the past, only the big names in the E-sports community would have their own fans. The possibility of an E-sports player being recognized on the street is close to nil. The feeling of being approached and picked up by girls is not bad after all. It would be perfect if they were willing to exchange numbers!


    ¡®It seems that working as a professional player nowadays is pretty enjoyable!¡¯


    ¡°I know you! You are the team¡¯s Solo Top player. Beer from Fudan University was no match for you at all,¡± said the small girl with short hair who was standing at the back of the group.


    ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Da Luo¡¯s face was distorted by his wide smile.


    Their chatting slowly drew more people in until they were eventually surrounded by a small crowd.


    Team Skycrown was a newly promoted team. Many people would definitely be curious about how this unknown team had managed to stand out from so many LOL teams across the country.


    ¡°There they are!¡±


    ¡°Woah, it¡¯s really them! Let¡¯s go and get their signatures. I even brought my mouse pad along!¡±


    ¡°Idiot, I will get him to sign my hand. I¡¯m going to get ten straight wins with his blessing!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious. How does it feel to masturbate with a hand that has a man¡¯s signature on it?¡±


    ¡°F*ck off!¡±


    The crowd on the other side suddenly turned hysterical. Numerous people suddenly flocked toward them.


    The members of Team Skycrown raised their heads and were astonished to see close to two hundred people hurrying in their direction. It felt like a famous celebrity had just arrived and the supporters were rushing in to get his/her signature.


    There were several entrances leading into the conference hall. One of those was reserved specifically for players and staff. Security guards and fences were seen around it. The audience was supposed to enter through the main entrance with their ticket. But suddenly, they were all squeezing against each other to reach the players¡¯ entrance.


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡®This can¡¯t be real! We¡¯re this popular?¡¯


    They never thought that winning the pre-season tournament would gain them such fame!


    Just a while ago, Wu Sen was complaining that nobody would recognize them. But look at the crowd now! Being a professional player really is as admirable as being a superstar!


    Da Luo walked up to meet with the large group of fans. ¡°Stop squeezing. We don¡¯t have a pen with us so we are not going to sign¡­¡±


    A group of three men swiftly went past Da Luo, giving him strange looks along the way. Then, several girls quickly walked past him too. They seemed to have heard Da Luo¡¯s words and tried to stifle their laughter.


    The two hundred people reached Team Skycrown and did not halt their footsteps, running quickly past them instead. Da Luo finally realized that they were not the target and turned around.


    A brand new car with a ¡®Club Revelation¡¯ logo on it had just arrived and parked behind them. The first one to emerge from the car was none other than Team Revelation¡¯s captain, Bai Feng. His handsome face had a smirk plastered across it as he greeted the crowd graciously. He took out a pen and gave signatures to the fans closest to him.


    Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, and Yu Luocheng were standing right in front of the players¡¯ entrance. They were also wearing team uniforms but no one was paying attention to them anymore.


    ¡°Gosh, it¡¯s Bai Feng!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± A part-time photographer pushed Xiao Bei away. He then ran quickly towards the car and began to rapidly click on the shutter button. Having lost his footing, Xiao Bei tripped on a ladder lying against the wall and fell to the ground.


    Yu Luocheng quickly helped him up and realized that he had scratches on his palm. Dust and soil were seen embedded in the wound.


    ¡°Terrible!¡± The normally quiet Zhou Yan was angry. He marched over to the photographer and pulled on his sleeve.

 Chapter 300 - Defaming Team Skycrown

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?!¡± The photographer was taken aback and stared at Zhou Yan.


    Zhou Yan dragged him to face Xiao Bei and bellowed, ¡°You owe my friend an apology!¡±


    ¡°Apologize for what? You better let me go before I call security!¡± The photographer¡¯s face turned red as he shouted back.


    ¡°Apologize!¡± Zhou Yan growled again.


    His abrupt, coarse holler silenced the crowd. The hundreds of people turned around to look for the source of the commotion.


    Security quickly rushed over. ¡°What¡¯s happening? Don¡¯t try to make a scene in front of the hall!¡±


    ¡°I am not making a scene. This man pushed my friend and left unapologetically as if nothing happened. I am just asking him to apologize to my friend!¡± explained Zhou Yan.


    ¡°Anyhow, please loosen your grip first. You are disrupting our work here,¡± advised the security guard.


    ¡°Here¡¯s my working pass. I am an official photographer employed by XXX webpage,¡± said the photographer in spectacles as he hastily took out his ID and showed it to the guards.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a f*ck! Apologize!¡± yelled Zhou Yan angrily.


    Feeling the piercing gaze from the surrounding crowd, Xiao Bei panicked and said to Zhou Yan, ¡°Bro, let it go. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°I am an event photographer. I can sue you for gripping my collar so blatantly. Judging from your uniform, I believe you are from Team Skycrown. So what if you are one of the top LPL teams? Does that give you the right to be so aggressive?¡±


    The photographer was equally enraged and upset at how Zhou Yan forcefully dragged him around in public. Earlier, he did not make a sound as he was intimidated by Zhou Yan¡¯s larger build. Now that the attention of the guards and the crowd was on them, he began to speak up.


    ¡°Us? Aggressive?¡± Da Luo was stunned.


    ¡°You heard me. Everybody knows that three Team Skycrown members were kicked out by Sky Club due to improper conduct. I even heard that some of you guys once threw punches at foreign players. Players like you are the ones that have tainted our otherwise healthy E-sports culture. Be civilized and don¡¯t act like a gangster. Stop being so full of yourselves just because you¡¯ve won a few games, you cyber caf¨¦ punks!¡±


    This time, the entire Team Skycrown was baffled by the accusations.


    ¡®Being kicked out by Sky Club? Fought with foreign players? Cyber caf¨¦ punks?¡¯ They were shocked listening to the defamation. Suddenly, the fans looked at them repulsively.


    ¡°So it¡¯s true after all. I thought those rumors were made up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you follow the latest E-sports news? Three Team Skycrown members were once under Sky Club but they were kicked out after behaving unprofessionally.¡±


    ¡°I do often hear that E-sports players with a cyber caf¨¦ background are the worst.¡±


    All of a sudden, Team Skycrown became the center of attention. The bystanders chatted feverishly while pointing their fingers at them. The three girls who recognized Team Skycrown earlier subconsciously took a step back.


    ¡°Step aside. Please uphold your discipline and professionalism as a player. We will take serious measures if you still refuse to let this guy go,¡± said the guard solemnly.


    ¡°There is no need to make a big fuss out of this. Let¡¯s sort this out peacefully. I think Team Revelation should be held responsible too. We didn¡¯t expect the audience to overreact upon our arrival,¡± said Bai Feng to the photographer and the guard.


    ¡°He must have accidentally bumped into their friend while things were a little chaotic just now. I apologize on behalf of my team for causing the unnecessary misunderstanding.¡± Bai Feng sounded like a perfect gentleman as he spoke.


    Turning to Xiao Bei, he apologized to him, before asking his manager to get him a bottle of water and some bandages. He then once again apologized and comforted the photographer who was clearly satisfied at how things turned out. He smiled politely to Bai Feng and glared at Zhou Yan before he left.


    ¡°Your behavior is as bad as your skills. Learn to respect others and stop acting like a hooligan. Otherwise, sooner or later you will be banned by the authorities. When that happens, you won¡¯t even be able to dream of playing another game.¡±


    The photographer walked away after spitting out those harsh words. He entered the hall conceitedly after displaying his pass to security.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Stop tainting the E-sports industry any further. It was the cyber caf¨¦ culture with all its expletives and gang fights that put E-sports in a bad place. Leave LOL alone. It took a huge effort for this game to have come so far,¡± said a worker in his thirties, reprimanding the team.


    Just a moment ago, they were still feeling good about themselves for having three girls and a group of about twenty people chatting with them. The feeling of having fans for the first time was so exciting for Team Skycrown.


    It was soon proven that moments like that would be over in a flash. The audience immediately turned on them after the quarrel. The feeling of being looked down on and compared to the wildly popular Team Revelation was deeply demoralizing.


    When had they ever been a team of gangsters?


    When were any of them ever kicked out of Sky Club?


    When did the Internet start to be filled with baseless rumours used to smear Team Skycrown¡¯s name?


    ¡®Sky Club is being unreasonable! How dare they fake all those accusations?! Why didn¡¯t anybody bother to do a basic fact-check before buying into what the cunning conglomerate was selling?!¡¯


    Team Skycrown was crushed to see the crowd cast them aside while instead chanting for Team Revelation as they marched into the hall. They were especially dejected to see that the three girls from earlier were also tailing Bai Feng and trying to get his signature. On top of all those mixed feelings, they were most bothered by the way Sky Club had twisted the truth.


    ***


    After a while, Yu Luocheng instructed his team. ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough,¡± said Da Luo calmly. Yet, his eyebrows flickered with a sense of suppressed fury.


    They had never suffered such humiliation before. These people knew nothing about the mistreatment they experienced when they were representing China at the international scene.


    They raised their country¡¯s name while most of the other E-sports teams from China were being embarrassed by foreign players then. How many f*cking teams in LPL had ever achieved such a feat? How dare these people label their past as ¡®tainting E-sports¡¯?


    ¡®Where are those who know the truth? Are they all dead? Why doesn¡¯t anybody come forth and say something when we were being unfairly accused?¡¯


    ¡°Me too.¡± Zhou Yan tightened his fist.


    He was not angered by the photographer¡¯s arrogance. Rather, he was infuriated by how the photographer had distorted facts.


    First of all, they left Sky Club voluntarily instead of being kicked out. Second, they did fight with foreign players before but it was not for no reason. No one knew how immoral and disrespectful those foreigners were.


    As for being cyber caf¨¦ punks¡­


    True, they did come from such a background. Maybe they did lack the general courtesy people had become accustomed to. But that didn¡¯t mean that a photographer in a suit with a pricey camera could act all high and mighty!


    ¡®Son of a bitch!¡¯


    ¡°Me three.¡± Lin Dong was unusually calm too. ¡°Even if it means prison, I am going to hack and crash all media related to Sky Club. A group of f*cking dogs!¡±


    Yu Luocheng had a long face as well.


    He had given Sky Club everything they asked for. The trophies? Returned. The prize money? Not a single cent left. He was willing to give up everything in exchange for an ordinary life. He never expected them to go so far as to spread false rumours about them on the Internet.


    The instance in which they defeated the foreign teams was theirs and the country¡¯s most glorious moment in E-sports history. ¡®Are they going to take that away from me as well?¡±


    Watching the photographer walk away, Yu Luocheng laughed bitterly.


    The fact is, the real problem with the national E-sports circle was never about the players. It was the greedy E-sports organizations who had mercilessly oppressed true enthusiasts of the game that had led E-sports in this country to a dead end.


    Money was no longer the only thing Team Skycrown fought for now. They were playing for justice. They needed to clear their names and most importantly, show Sky Club what they were capable of.


    ¡°I¡¯m sick of putting up with this. Let¡¯s torment them in the game. Lin Dong, I forbid you from taking any illegal action. Just focus on your mid-solo!¡± ordered Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to take the game seriously, but to ask us to just swallow such humiliation¡­¡± objected Da Luo.


    Da Luo was easily aggravated. If it weren¡¯t for Li Meiqi and Jian Feng holding him back, he would have long since punched that horrible photographer right in the face.


    ¡°Your punch will be righteous only when you have proven yourself in the game. Besides, I memorized that guy¡¯s name and affiliation when he flashed his ID just now,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    Skycrown may be the main culprit behind this mess but the photographer was equally guilty. He clearly tried to defame Team Skycrown in front of the crowd!


    They vowed not to forget the humiliation they faced today!


    ***


    Yu Luocheng had told himself numerous times to behave. Unfortunately, some people just have to challenge your limits.


    ¡®Liang Gui from Giant Horn Multimedia, I will remember you forever. I wonder whether you are one of Sky Club¡¯s dogs. What a horrible scum. I¡¯m going to beat the hell out of you when I get the chance. As for Sky Club, defame us as much as you want. Let¡¯s see how loud you can bark after we defeat you in the game!¡¯


    Once they bring their A-game, people would certainly recognize their talent and turn to their side. The truth would definitely be revealed one day. That¡¯s when Team Skycrown would retaliate and Yu Luocheng wanted his team to be prepared when that time comes!

 Chapter 301 - The Opening Ceremony

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The empty seats inside the event hall were occupied by audience members in no time. Even before the opening ceremony, the venue was already bustling with noise. Inside the hall, a lot of cosplayers were dressed up as LOL characters, allowing the attendees to immerse themselves into the Demacia culture.


    Yu Luocheng led his team backstage through the players¡¯ entrance. Their surroundings were bustling with activity as numerous workers were seen patrolling in and out of the stage area.


    The players were in their uniforms so they were easily distinguishable from the event staff. As soon as they stepped inside the room, a few teams purposely glanced at Team Skycrown.


    The green uniform they wore was sponsored by a small university business recruited by Li Meiqi. The cost was inexpensive and the name of the sponsor was printed on the shirt. From the large team logo printed on their backs, the other teams could easily tell who they were.


    Wu Sen looked around and noticed that the members of Team Stardust were chatting in a corner. ¡°Team Stardust is in black. The one with the spiky hair is Earth.¡±


    Immediately after that, Xi Xi approached them and said, ¡°Your rest area is placed right next to Team Stardust over there. Your match will begin this afternoon.¡±


    The first LPL match was scheduled right after the opening ceremony¡ªSkycrown vs. Stardust.


    If the live audience of the opening ceremony could reach five thousand people, then there must be at least twenty to thirty thousand viewers online. Although this number might drop by more than half after the Daemons vs. FAN game, it was still a good opportunity for Skycrown to exhibit their capability.


    ***


    ¡°Hi, Wu Sen!¡± Wind from Team Stardust smiled and greeted Wu Sen as Team Skycrown walked towards them.


    Wind was wearing a jacket and looked stylish with his undercut mohawk hairstyle.


    Sitting beside Wind were the other Stardust players nicknamed Earth, Fire, Thunder, and Water. They were about the same height so they appeared almost identical from afar, especially since they were all wearing the same uniform.


    Nonetheless, one could easily tell them apart based on the logos on their chest.


    The bearded guy with a fire logo walked up and patted Wu Sen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re back in business!¡±


    ¡°Well, I have no other expertise.¡± Wu Sen smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°I¡¯m baffled. Why don¡¯t you retire? Why return and hold back another team?¡± Earth glanced at Wu Sen and sneered.


    Wu Sen¡¯s face turned gloomy and he looked at Earth bitterly.


    Wind intervened before things could escalate further. ¡°Earth, let bygones be bygones.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just stating facts.¡± Earth shrugged and returned to his seat.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t mind him,¡± said Wind, trying to ease the tension between them.


    They briefly chatted for a little while longer before Wu Sen returned to his seat, clearly unhappy.


    Yu Luocheng, who had sensed the strain in the conversation earlier, asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do they hold a grudge against you?¡±


    Wu Sen shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s just me and Earth. We weren¡¯t pals even when I was on the team. If it wasn¡¯t for Wind, one of us would have left earlier.¡±


    ¡°Why did he say that you should retire?¡± asked Xiao Bei. Wu Sen chose not to respond to that question.


    ¡°Why is Team Daemons not around?¡± questioned Da Luo as he looked around the room.


    ¡°Team Daemons is going to play against a foreign team later. That match will be broadcasted live on TV as well as on the Internet. They¡¯re in the makeup room ready to be dressed and set up by professional designers. They are VIPs unlike us, who can only sit and wait,¡± said one of the members of Team Meteor from the other side of the room.


    ¡°Incorrect. They have a game in the afternoon. We are the ones sitting and waiting,¡± replied another one of his team members, pointedly eyeing Team Skycrown as he spoke.


    ¡°Hard to say. Maybe they will lose the match entirely and get zero points,¡± said the first guy.


    They spoke softly as if they didn¡¯t want Skycrown to hear their conversation. But the guys were bad at controlling their volume. Team Skycrown roughly caught what they were saying judging by the big grin on their faces.


    Yu Luocheng glanced at Team Meteor and frowned.


    ¡®That¡¯s odd. Why are these teams so hostile towards us with no apparent reason?¡¯


    They were all adults and equal participants in the LPL. By right, they should be polite and courteous to each other. Yet, Yu Luocheng felt that they were being heavily discriminated against by the other teams the moment they arrived backstage.


    Another voice was heard coming from Team Meteor. ¡°They won¡¯t lose. This is a team that aims for the world championships. LOL teams in this country are nothing to them.¡±


    A round of jeering laughs quickly followed.


    Yu Luocheng was stunned. ¡®Since when did we claim that?¡¯


    Team Skycrown¡¯s ultimate aim was indeed the international stage. But having a dream is like wearing underwear¡ªsomething you need but would never expose publicly. The members of Team Skycrown were all E-sports veterans. They would not make such a rookie mistake of broadcasting their goals to everyone.


    ¡®Alright then. It must be Sky Club¡¯s doing again.¡¯


    ***


    The mixtape kicked in, filled with the sounds of magnetic gun, electric guitar, drum¡­


    When the curtain was raised, a popular band was revealed to be standing in the center of the stage, dancing wildly while dropping a thrilling rhythm.


    ¡°Welcome to the League of Legends!¡±


    ¡°Thirty seconds until minion spawn. Crush them!¡±


    ¡°First Blood!!¡±


    ¡°Double Kill!!¡±


    ¡°Triple Kill!!¡±


    ¡°Quadra Kill!!¡±


    ¡°Penta Kill!!¡±


    The unexpected inclusion of in-game announcements into the rock song pumped up the hearts of the audience! When the song ended with ¡°Ace!!¡±, the venue reached its boiling point!


    A commanding voice was heard the moment the music came to a halt. ¡°Portray your Noxus pride, raise the Demacia flag in your hand, and howl with a voice great enough to tremble the Valoran to cheer for your heroes!¡±


    A sexy lady in cowboy attire appeared abruptly on the giant screen. Her wild laugh and the stunning ammo was seductive. She looked unbelievably real despite being just a virtual image on the screen.


    Recoil, Peacemaker, Ace in the Hole! After her elegant EQR combo took down the fleeing enemy, the slim Sheriff rested her rifle on her shoulder and gorgeously walked away into the desert¡­


    As her figure faded from view, the radiance from the sunset suddenly turned into glaring punches! The Piltover Enforcer, Vi¡¯s gauntlets were seen before she arrived. Her blast of punches filled the entire screen!


    Simultaneously, Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow took the stage. The Mercury Hammer in his hand emitted light and thunder, which crisscrossed with Vi¡¯s punches to form a dazzling pattern.


    ¡°Chosen of the sun.¡± The golden Leona descended from Heaven, leaving a gold trail streaking across the beaming sky.


    On the desert, Leona kneeled on the path and pierced her Zenith Blade into the land. A flare was seen gradually emanating from her fiery blade. On the other end of the path, Pantheon stood proudly holding his spear, Skyfall of Areion and his shield, Aegis of Zeonia.


    A gust of wind kicked up the sands while Pantheon and Leona looked into each other¡¯s eyes. All of a sudden, the glimmering sky was shrouded by a giant cloud¡­ only it wasn¡¯t a cloud but a large flock of crows!


    The Noxian Grand General took center stage and stood firm on the rotten land.


    In a barren field behind him, a large group of scarecrows were chasing away the beast. One of them, the Fiddlestick, flashed its deadly blades under the flock of crows. After death and calamities ravaged the land, dead bodies were seen all over the place.


    A brutal warlord with his chopper surrounded by numerous dead souls came into view. He stood undeterred on top of a mountain.


    At the base of the mountain, a dead figure wiggled and began to assemble parts that did not belong to it onto its destroyed body. It was the Dreadnought, Urgot.


    The camera then zoomed into the distance and stopped short at the boundary river between Demacia and Noxus. Minions, sieges, and super minions were all caught up in a ferocious war. Demacia was seen in blue while Noxus was in red.


    The Sword of Justice broke through the enemy defense line as a giant swordsman swung his weapon fearlessly in the middle of the warzone.


    Milky spells and blinding flashes flew in and out of the battlefield at an insane speed.


    Flying Daggers and Death Lotus spilled the blood of one enemy after another in quick succession.


    Long spears charged into the battling crowd and left no living soul behind.


    The tip of the knife aimed only to cut the enemy¡¯s throat.


    Under the dancing knives, the Blind Monk Lee Sin deflected all attacks that came his way with only his palms. None of the minions were able to close in.


    Nearby, a slithering creature observed Lee Sin with great interest. ¡°You are the only man that I have failed to petrify. Do you dare to remove your blindfold and look into my beautiful eyes?¡± After she finished speaking, all the creatures in front of her suddenly turned to stone!


    The super minions became rock statues, metallic weapons became stoneware, while the soil land turned rock hard.


    Something was moving inside the layered rock. A face appeared mythically on the stone wall. A body detached from the wall and smashed like a burning meteor against those ignorant troops that dared to wake him from his sleep.


    ***


    The war being portrayed on the screen was full of killing and chanting that made everyone inside the hall tremble. Every time a champion appeared on-screen in between the animation, it sent a chill down their spines.


    These were the champions that they had been picking in the game all this while. Never would have they thought that those virtual characters could be displayed in such a lively and animated manner.


    The crowd was pumped!


    The CGI movie that depicted LOL champions in various settings had ultimately intensified the arena¡¯s atmosphere. The cheering inside the hall had undoubtedly exploded following the introduction of the champions!

 Chapter 302 - Team God, Apollo!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Now it¡¯s time for us to invite the champions of the LPL, Team Daemons, to the stage. Please welcome Hades, Charon, Belial, Mephistopheles, and Asmodai!¡±


    The cheering suddenly got louder and the crowd especially went wild when Hades who was looking regal in black and green clothing stepped onto the stage.


    As the top E-sports player in the country, Hades had countless fans. He didn¡¯t have the elegance of Bai Feng, the incredible love that Blood Eagle received from fans, or Xiao Fang¡¯s lovable wild nature. But he was undoubtedly the strongest player in all of LOL!


    The five members of Team Daemons stood in a row, facing the audience of almost five thousand people in front of them.


    ¡°Hades! Hades! Hades!¡±


    Dark and standing tall, Hades had mid-length hair with black eyes that sparkled. He was dressed stylishly, looking cool with the logo of Team Daemons printed on his clothes. His vibe and aura made people feel like he was hard to approach.


    It was obvious that even if Hades didn¡¯t actively interact with the crowd or appear regularly in the media, his absolute strength had won the admiration of all the LOL enthusiasts.


    Standing on the stage, in front of his team and under the huge screen, with thousands of people watching, there was no doubt that he definitely deserved the title of LOL king!


    ¡°And next, let us welcome the professional team from Europe¡ªTeam FAN!¡±


    Cheers resounded through the hall once again and everyone turned their attention to the stage as a youth with a sharp nose and brown hair walked out. He had mesmerizing ocean-blue eyes, as expected of a handsome French guy.


    The host introduced him with a booming voice. ¡°Here¡¯s the captain of Team FAN whose name represents the sun: Apollo!¡±


    The development of LOL within China was slower than other countries, so many people would often watch videos of foreign teams in order to learn more advanced tactics. Apollo was one of the more favoured foreign players for a very simple reason. It was because every champion he played could only be described as unpredictable.


    His Kassadin video had made waves in various countries, and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Kassadin was made for Apollo. At all the world competitions, any team going up against Team FAN would definitely ban Kassadin!


    The six members of Team FAN were all on stage, including their fat coach who had a big nose. They shook hands with Team Daemons, indicating that the first match was a friendly one.


    However, everyone could see that when Apollo, the captain of Team FAN and Asmodai, the captain of Team Daemons shook hands, they held on for a long period of time.


    Apollo was often said to be very belligerent and Asmodai¡¯s reputation as one of the top ten most dangerous players was common knowledge not only locally, but overseas too.


    They both played Mid and had an in-depth understanding of the champion Kassadin. As the two world-tier Mid players shook hands, it was inevitable that there would be sparks flying in the air.


    It seemed that this exhibition match would not be so simple after all!


    ***


    As Asmodai and Apollo were shaking hands, four members of Team Skycrown, namely Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Yu Luocheng were reeling in shock backstage.


    Apollo!


    This guy¡­


    How was it possible that he had entered the world of LOL too?!


    ¡°Boss, how can this be?!¡± stuttered Lin Dong.


    Yu Luocheng just stood there with a strange expression on his face as he watched the stage without a word.


    Apollo¡­ how could Yu Luocheng ever forget him?


    The entirety of Team Wings would never forget that name, because he was one of the members of the team that defeated them at the competition in England!


    He was a supreme god player in DOTA, with highly impressive skills and bone-chilling intelligence in controlling the game!


    Could it be that Team FAN was actually the team that defeated them in the past? That very same England team that had left a huge scar in the hearts of the Team Wings members?


    Yu Luocheng took a closer look at the other five members of the team.


    No, everyone else was a stranger except for Apollo!


    Could it be that the original King had been disbanded to start marching into LOL?


    ***


    This shocking news hit the four members of Team Skycrown like a hurricane!


    That particular scene of their defeat had haunted their dreams countless times. The unforgettable moment when their long-standing string of victories were soundly crushed during that England competition.


    In the three years since that time, the four of them had gradually started to move on and forget that defeat. But today, they actually saw one of the people who was responsible for giving them that hellish experience that forever cast a shadow over their career.


    Apollo!


    This guy had soundly trounced Team Wings who were at their peak during the England competition!


    And now he appeared as a top LOL player. Did that mean that Team God had also stepped into the domain of LOL? Team Wings were all too familiar with the names of the five members of Team God.


    Apollo from Team FAN was also a member of Team God, and what¡¯s more his strength was so great to the point that people would say he was one of the best professional players!


    A chilling feeling of dread spread throughout the four members of Team Skycrown¡­


    ***


    ¡°I like your country China very much, and because my great-grandmother stayed here for quite a while, I can also speak Chinese. Although, my pronunciation possibly leaves much to be desired,¡± said Apollo to Hades, maintaining a frivolous smile on his face.


    Hades merely nodded his head in acknowledgement.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard many great things about the teams of China, and there¡¯s only one player I admire right now. I hope you don¡¯t disappoint me,¡± continued Apollo.


    Hades replied softly. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about those whom we¡¯ve defeated before, then it can¡¯t be helped. Unfortunately, I heard that they¡¯ve disbanded,¡± replied Apollo with a tinge of disappointment tainting his voice.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± said Hades firmly.


    Hades had heard about Team Skycrown from Asmodai. Truth be told, he would like nothing more than to have an all-out heart-warming battle against Team Wings again. It was unfortunate that they needed time to once again hone their skills.


    ¡°Haha! Three years ago, I felt apologetic towards the China team that had a chance of claiming the championship. We shouldn¡¯t have used such a strong team to go against them after they tried so hard to step foot into the league of the strongest teams,¡± said Apollo, still smiling.


    ¡°It is said that the French are very courteous people but it doesn¡¯t seem like it at all. Don¡¯t worry, at this year¡¯s S International League, if Team FAN meets Team Daemons, I will return these words back to you with my apologies,¡± retorted Hades, his expression still aloof and bored.


    ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped then, today we will test the waters. To use one of your martial arts terms: come on and hit me with your taichi. I¡¯m just afraid that you can¡¯t help but be forceful, and in that case we won¡¯t show any mercy either.¡± Apollo laughed as he said that, his ocean-blue eyes sparkling with extreme confidence.


    ¡°You talk too much.¡±


    ¡°I guess the joke¡¯s on me, haha. I really like your attitude.¡±

 Chapter 303 - Stardust vs Skycrown

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°If you are strong, to my country, you will know you are a joker!¡± (Translator¡¯s Note: This is literally what it says in the raw.)


    The arrogant voice with a heavy British accent lingered in his ears. Every time it appeared in his dreams, Yu Luocheng felt like the voice was coming from the skies. What he sees right after that is a pair of seemingly humble eyes that were actually filled with arrogance.


    ¡°If you¡¯re so strong, come and fight me in my country, then you will realize that you are nothing but a jumping clown!¡±


    ***


    A fluent American accent was heard throughout the stadium, filled with enthusiasm as if a king was performing a knighting ceremony. ¡°Beautiful, our Fighting Hawk has once again demonstrated he¡¯s at the peak of world DOTA in terms of strength. I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s anyone from any country who can go against him.¡±


    He grinned widely as he continued to sing Flying Hawk¡¯s praises.


    ¡°Who would have thought that someone so invincible is from China, a country that doesn¡¯t have much talent in E-sports! This eastern country is truly a place of surprises, let¡¯s give it up for this amazing player!¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit premature to be calling him the strongest player, he hasn¡¯t played against the strongest team yet: Team God,¡± said a famous Canadian commentator.


    ***


    ¡°My god, what just happened? The two teams who were about to compete in the final stage of WCG, at the same time¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s hard to believe that both teams actually made that decision. Could this be the so-called battle to the death?¡±


    ***


    ¡°World champion? We don¡¯t care for such a thing at all, you can have it if you want it.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re so strong, then come and fight me in my country and you will realize that you¡¯re just a joke.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re not as spineless as the contestants from other countries said. I admire your courage to abandon the championship. I welcome you to come to England to participate in a real world E-sports competition. Here, I will thoroughly destroy all the arrogant E-sports players, this will be all of your graves!¡±


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind was swimming with visions. He was unsure whether they were real or fake, the memories of the past were overlapping with the present. Apollo¡¯s white face, sharp nose, and sharp smile were still the same, and you could still feel an ominous aura emanating from him.


    He claimed to be a god in the field of E-sports, but he had the sinister smile of a devil who never gave anyone a chance to survive, not even any of the top E-sports players!


    This guy was actually a devil who trampled on the dignity of others and shattered their dreams!


    ***


    ¡°This is very exciting, Hades managed to take down Apollo by using Kassadin! With Mejai¡¯s, Kassadin has made three consecutive kills, instantly making him a terrifying killer to the ADC and Mid. Does this mean that they could make a comeback?¡±


    ¡°Oh, how unfortunate. No matter how strong Hades has gotten, he¡¯s still unable to change the outcome of this game. The match has been decided.¡±


    ¡°As expected from teams who are part of the world¡¯s top eight. You can tell that both sides were holding back, but even then you can still see how strong these teams are. This match definitely showed that they deserve to be part of the top eight teams in the world!¡±


    ¡°And of course, let¡¯s give our very own Team Daemons a round of applause for bringing us such a wonderful, world-class showdown!¡±


    Cheers and cries resounded through the hall. The local E-sports players and enthusiasts didn¡¯t hold much of a grudge towards European E-sports players. Even though their local team lost, the performance of the European team was highly impressive and deserved to be commended.


    Of course, if it was a Korean team that had been invited instead, and had Team Daemons lost to them, the response would have been even louder, but for a completely different reason.


    Why? It was simple. The locals had been building up resentment towards the Korean E-sports scene for years. At the last S International League, the high-profile Team Sky was defeated by the Koreans with a score of 3-0 and it was game over for them. Plus, those assholes were just so arrogant, with their unbearable domineering attitudes¡­


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng¡­ Luocheng¡­¡± Xiao Bei nudged Yu Luocheng¡¯s side.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s bewildered eyes gradually refocused, like he was waking up from a dream.


    As he regained his senses, he realized that the match was over and he had been staring blankly at the screen. The only thing he remembered seeing was Hades playing with the momentum of 1v5, the rest of the details were hazy and chaotic in his mind.


    Damn it! It happened a long time ago and yet it felt like it was only yesterday.


    ¡°Luocheng, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Xiao Bei.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a memory from the past,¡± said Yu Luocheng, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.


    Xiao Bei glanced at Apollo who was still wearing that sharp smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Luocheng, rest assured that I will defeat him one day. Although I know that he¡¯s strong, and even Hades was unable to change the outcome of the match¡­¡±


    ¡°Having confidence is a good thing,¡± said Yu Luocheng as he chuckled lightly.


    ¡°Not only him, I will beat all of them one by one, as long as they appear in the field of LOL,¡± said Xiao Bei solemnly.


    Yu Luocheng laughed as he scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Just concentrate on your LPL matches first, as long as you don¡¯t get eliminated while at the bottom, that¡¯ll be good enough.¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I¡¯ve gained a new understanding on ADC just a few days ago,¡± said Xiao Bei, grinning.


    ¡°Oh really? Then I¡¯ll be looking forward to your performance in the match against Team Stardust,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Then you better watch closely, Luocheng!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Up next will be our first match in the LPL, with our new entry Team Skycrown against our veteran Team Stardust!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun, the commentator.


    With his pleasant and masculine voice, it is said that many female players have drifted off into a deep sleep while listening to his commentaries.


    Standing there on the commentators¡¯ stage, dressed in a well-fitted suit and a confident yet serious smile on his handsome face, it seemed like the whole arena was under his control.


    His wit would transform the smallest of incidents into a cute joke, and his excellent word choice and story-telling skills would make a normal match magically unfold as though it were an extraordinary fantasy.


    A lot of other commentators have been involved in countless controversies, and many of them carried prejudice of some form or other. The only one who was able to remain completely neutral was Bao Jun, and he really deserved to be called the best of his kind!


    Besides being the host of the event, he was also a match commentator. He would be the commentator for the first match of the LPL and would analyze it for the audience.


    Besides the top four strongest teams in the LPL who were highly popular and had a lot of fans, it has to be admitted that the remaining four teams were not even half as good as them.


    On the Internet, the view rates for the matches of the top four teams would always be ten times higher than that of the matches of the remaining four teams.


    This time was no exception. More than half of the audience were only interested in watching the match between Team Daemons and Team FAN during the opening ceremony.


    Now that their showdown was over, there were already people starting to leave. The online viewer rate was also gradually declining. However, once they saw that Bao Jun was the commentator, a large number of people remained in their seats.


    This was the charm of the host!


    But Team Skycrown didn¡¯t care about how many people were watching, how many audience members were leaving, or even who the commentator was.


    All they needed to do was to win this competition!


    ***


    Entering the stage!


    Introduction, exchange handshake.


    Players take their seats, adjust their computers!


    The applause and cheers were not as loud as the previous two teams, and the enthusiasm wasn¡¯t as high either. It was clear that the supporters for Team Skycrown and Team Stardust were not that crazy.


    As expected, the strong would get more respect and more applause.


    The audience didn¡¯t know that to enter the LPL was to stand out from thousands of other teams.


    They couldn¡¯t see the suffering teams went through to enter the LPL. They only saw them standing at the top of mountains, only to be taken down by teams that were standing on higher mountains.


    People would only ever remember the ones who came in first, while second place would always be forgotten.


    In the world of E-sports, there was only continuous victory and breakthroughs gained by surpassing others. It was a difficult path, but it suited the members of Team Skycrown just fine!


    Did you look down on Team Skycrown, thinking that they were just an insignificant speck in your eyes, no different than those trivial internet cafe players?


    Alright then, have a taste of what it will be like when you see these trivial beings trample on your LPL stars!


    ***


    With his hands on the keyboard and mouse, Xiao Bei was no longer as nervous as he was before. His hands were steady, his moves were calculated, and you couldn¡¯t see any errors in his positioning. There was not even the tiniest hint of a mistake in his movements and attacks.


    When Wu Sen was surrounded and killed by three champions after taking first blood, Xiao Bei didn¡¯t lose his head and continued to maintain a safe distance while farming, consume and dragging out the time for them to push the turret.


    ¡°My bad, I didn¡¯t place the wards properly,¡± said Wu Sen quietly to Xiao Bei, the guilt clear in his voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± replied Xiao Bei.


    Wu Sen was quiet as he stared at his greyed out screen, looking a bit restless. Xiao Bei glanced at him from the corner of his eye, asking, ¡°Wu Sen, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be concealing it, should I?¡± Wu Sen mused, as he dragged his screen to Xiao Bei¡¯s champion who was still farming calmly.


    Even though the bottom lane was consistently being targeted, Xiao Bei¡¯s farm was still in the lead by ten. Wu Sen couldn¡¯t help but lament how fast Xiao Bei¡¯s strength had grown.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s strength was something that had caught the attention of many people. He was strong to the point that he could compete against Asmodai, Bai Feng, and several others.


    What he lacked was confidence and experience in bigger competitions. Wu Sen felt that the improvement in Xiao Bei¡¯s skills was due to the calmness that he projected, and that made him feel slightly ashamed.


    ¡°The fact that I resigned from Team Stardust,¡± continued Wu Sen.


    ¡°Because you weren¡¯t compatible with them?¡± asked Xiao Bei, slightly confused.


    ¡°I should have retired. Maybe it was due to age, but my strength deteriorated during that time, and it was affecting the team. Putting it plainly, I was a hindrance.¡± Wu Sen explained after shaking his head.


    ¡°How can that be¡­¡± Xiao Bei stuttered, slightly stunned.


    Seeing that Zhou Yan¡¯s Jungler had come to cover for him, he recalled under the turret.


    ¡°The coach gave me some face, requesting that I voluntarily withdraw from the team. Not long after leaving the team, Lin Dong came to find me and asked me to join Team Skycrown,¡± muttered Wu Sen, the sadness lingering in his eyes.


    ¡°When I first joined, it was because I just couldn¡¯t let go of E-sports. I still want to play, I really want to play¡­ I just didn¡¯t expect that we would be able to get into the LPL in such a short time¡­¡±


    ¡°Wu Sen, we can talk about this slowly later on. Let¡¯s focus on the match first,¡± said Lin Dong, his voice heavy.


    ¡°Wu Sen, your Support is good. I¡¯m stating a fact. You taught me a lot of experience that I couldn¡¯t have learnt from just ranking. Don¡¯t talk about yourself like that,¡± said Xiao Bei.


    Wu Sen shook his head, his expression losing the melancholy look he had just an instant ago as he laughed instead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not about to get sentimental over this like some girl. I just wanted to tell you guys, damn, if we win this match, I¡¯ll wash your underwear for a month. You will understand the horrible feeling of being eliminated by the team, and you will understand how great it feels to be on the other side, torturing them until they are half dead!¡±


    Hearing Wu Sen¡¯s words, the other four couldn¡¯t help but let out a bark of laughter.


    Team Stardust only relied on individuals who were able to contribute to the team, but Team Skycrown relied on the team as a whole. There was no such thing as being a hindrance, only cooperation and bonding as a team!

 Chapter 304 - There Is No Such Person Called Xiao Bei

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°The Support from Team Skycrown has decisively sacrificed himself and managed to gain time for the ADC¡¯s skills to cool down!¡±


    ¡°This ADC seems to be very confident¡­ oh, beautiful! This Arcane Shift has not only managed to dodge a key skill, but has also dealt a considerable amount of damage. He has managed to turn the tables and kill Stardust instead!¡±


    ¡°Unwilling to turret dive?¡±


    ¡°Go around it, avoid the skills, open barrier, Flash, and run!¡±


    ¡°Escape with minimal health, have ulti, turn around, and ulti!¡±


    ¡°Reach, take it away, Double Kill!¡±


    ¡°Beautiful, he turned the tables on two of them! This youth has definitely shocked everyone, he completely saw through Team Stardust¡¯s ADC and Jungler!¡±


    ¡°Two shutdowns! Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC is definitely fed now, pay attention to his farm. It is accurately ten minions per minute and he has two completed items at eighteen minutes. Top has no way to defend against his damage.¡±


    ¡°Then again, Team Skycrown cannot be taken lightly. If it was any other team, they could safely use their 4:1 push tactic with their ADC having better items to defeat them. But let¡¯s all not forget who Team Stardust is, that¡¯s right, they have Earth, who is a scavenger!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at this wave, will Team Skycrown be able to withstand the endless onslaught by Earth?¡±


    ¡°Okay, Team Skycrown has just slapped me in the face. I just said that and you left your ADC. What happens if he gets killed by Earth? He doesn¡¯t recklessly go after people who are protected.¡±


    ¡°As expected, this killer is everywhere, he has appeared where the ADC is!¡±


    ¡°The Support is defending determinedly, throwing in a Flash and Exhaust. Earth used Cleansed instantly and is continuing to use his skills! ADC you still don¡¯t want to run away?¡±


    ¡°Oh this guy has got guts! He even dares to move like that in front of Earth¡­ and¡­ he really did it!¡±


    The commentator couldn¡¯t help but smile as he just looked at his screen for a long time without speaking.


    It was a beautiful play.


    Or rather, Xiao Bei¡¯s graceful maneuvers had once again rendered the crowd speechless and left them in awe.


    Dodging the skill, turning around, consistently attacking, hiding in the bushes to block their vision, using the cannon minion to block the way. These few seconds of play had shown countless detailed movements of an ADC.


    It wasn¡¯t only Bao Jun who was given a slap in the face, even the crowd felt it. Everyone thought that Earth would instantly kill someone without a doubt and would even be able to retreat with no damage!


    But this time, Earth was buried!


    This was not only because Xiao Bei had better items, but it was also due to his boldness and precise calculation!


    ***


    Watching the fight made Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes light up.


    He had been skeptical when Xiao Bei said he had a new understanding. However, after watching this confrontation, even Yu Luocheng was surprised by Xiao Bei¡¯s maneuver.


    Asmodai was great at blocking vision. He played ADC to the point where you couldn¡¯t touch him.


    And it was Shallow Dream who made good use of the minions. His ADC was meticulous and breathtaking.


    Being able to fearlessly attack was his own ADC style. He dared to fight to win, which meant that running away was meaningless!


    It was obvious that Xiao Bei had been studying the videos of these ADCs recently, and that he had learned a lot from them! No wonder he was so confident before the match even started.


    LOL¡¯s strength is divided into levels, and when you gain a new understanding, then you would level up.


    Seeing Xiao Bei¡¯s confidence in his controls, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but smile. Looks like Zhang Aijing would need to reevaluate Xiao Bei¡¯s points again.


    The same could be said for himself, as he had always been looking at Xiao Bei¡¯s talent. Besides the work he put in, and the most important thing Xiao Bei had that others didn¡¯t was an undying passion for E-sports.


    It looks like the LPL was the place where Xiao Bei was going to shine bright like a diamond!


    ***


    ¡°The outcome is really unexpected¡ªTeam Stardust lost!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps Team Stardust relied too much on Earth¡¯s assasination tactics. They panicked once the instant kill failed. Team Skycrown showed us rigorous defensive tactics, their aggressiveness, and their vigorous effort!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations to Team Skycrown, who gained double experience and double rewards from their first win! Alright, just kidding.¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown has obtained four points, and Team Stardust had obtained two points. Both teams may still have a chance to meet again. Let¡¯s take a break and after dinner it will be Team Revelation against Team Meteor. Don¡¯t miss this everyone!¡±


    ***


    The image on the screen changed to the broadcast hall where two commentators were seen analyzing the previous match.


    ¡°Coach Huang, do you think that Team Skycrown¡¯s victory was a coincidence?¡±


    Team Daemon¡¯s coach shook his head as he said, ¡°Their tactics were rigorous and the ADC¡¯s strength is great. Team Stardust used the wrong tactics from the start, not to mention that they were too focused on killing the ADC and messed up their team fights¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, after being solo killed, you could see that Earth couldn¡¯t control himself. I remember a foreign analyst saying that Earth would be unable to reach the top because of the way he doesn¡¯t consider the team. He¡¯s strong individually but he doesn¡¯t work for team victory.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, I also heard that Team Skycrown has a great coach. I¡¯m not sure if they performed so well in this round due to the guidance of the coach?¡±


    ¡°A team needs very comprehensive tactical guidance that is proficient for all roles while also looking at the overall situation. Team Skycrown¡¯s teamwork is very interesting and their individual capabilities is no less than that of the other teams¡­¡± Coach Huang mused.


    ¡°It seems that Coach Huang is optimistic about Team Skycrown.¡±


    ¡°An old opponent.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the fact that they used to be in Team Sky?¡±


    ***


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s a discussion about us! Coach Huang is helping us correct our image!¡± exclaimed Da Luo, his face full of glee as he pointed at the broadcast on the screen.


    ¡°What did I say? As long as we win our matches, there will be more reports about us. Others will stand up and do us justice,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    Everyone nodded. Coach Huang had managed to sweep away a huge portion of the shadows that hung around their heads!


    ¡°We¡¯ll be facing Team Meteor in the next round. And our opponent for the round after that should be Team Revelation,¡± said Lin Dong.


    The last thing the remaining four teams wanted was to meet any of the top four teams in a match, because they really had no chance against them. All they could do if they faced them was get two more winning points from the defeat and try to use that to reduce the gap between them.


    Right now, Team Skycrown would strive to win against the four bottom teams, while if they met with the top four they just needed to get enough points. They would persevere until the time comes to confront Team Sky!


    ***


    Their next match was the day after tomorrow, and with the victory today, Da Luo suggested taking a day off, but his idea was vehemently rejected by Yu Luocheng.


    You want to take a break? Dream on!


    They needed to remain focused during the competition period. Just like being familiar with a woman¡¯s body, if you don¡¯t indulge often, would you still know what to do?


    As agreed, Wu Sen was now in charge of washing their underwear for one month. On the day of their match against Team Meteor, Wu Sen angrily tossed Da Luo¡¯s underwear out the window.


    ¡°You f*cker! You f*cking throw your dirty underwear at me so early in the morning to wash! Damn it, let¡¯s see if you can still find a girl like this!¡±


    ¡°Who was the one that said he would wash our underwear for a month if we win against Team Stardust?¡±


    ¡°F*ck you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Get your things, we need to go.¡±


    ¡°B*stard.¡±


    ***


    At the stage area, Team Meteor was already in place. Before this, Team Meteor had already been hostile towards Team Skycrown, thanks to the rumours spread by Sky Club.


    If they disliked Team Skycrown, let them dislike all they want. Their goal was ultimately the world championships, so something like this was insignificant!


    They took their seats and adjusted their computers. The match was starting.


    As usual, Yu Luocheng silently watched the game from backstage. But from the start of the match, he had not stopped frowning. It seemed like Team Meteor had tactics that were specifically tailored to counter Team Skycrown¡¯s assault.


    Team Meteor¡¯s Jungler liked to camp, especially at the middle and bottom lanes. Following a few failed ganks by Zhou Yan, Team Skycrown fell into a more passive state. The match kept dragging on, and the longer it dragged, the more Team Skycrown was at a disadvantage.


    Just as Yu Luocheng was getting worried, a staff member called out, ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of Team Skycrown?¡±


    ¡°I am. What¡¯s the matter?¡± said Yu Luocheng, turning around and looking at the competition worker skeptically.


    ¡°Oh, sorry to trouble you, but you need to follow me. There¡¯s a small meeting that you need to participate in.¡±


    Although Yu Luocheng found it suspicious, he still nodded his head and went along.


    Once he reached the venue, Yu Luocheng saw Ai Ke, the general manager in charge of the overall event, Xi Xi who often contacted them, as well as several other officials.


    ¡°This is Team Skycrown¡¯s coach,¡± said Xi Xi as he vacated a seat for Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng sat down, slightly confused. Normally Xi Xi would be the one to contact him if there was any issue relating to the teams. Needing to meet the coach alone was rare, and it was even rarer for the meeting to be attended by so many officials.


    Seeing as how they called a meeting at this time, it had to be about something important.


    Ai Ke passed a document to Yu Luocheng. ¡°Sorry, but please look at this. While applying for the grant, this is something that came up when we were verifying the identities of your team members.¡±


    Yu Luocheng took the document from Ai Ke and realized that it was a form. On it, the six members of Team Skycrown were listed, with himself as their substitute. It also had each player¡¯s full name, gender, nationality, identity card number, political standing, and other details.


    It was basically a personal information form.


    When Yu Luocheng glanced at the column with Xiao Bei¡¯s name, he saw that Xiao Bei¡¯s identity card number was stamped with a black stamp.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to inform you that the security agency was unable to verify one of your team members¡­¡± Ai Ke hesitated before continuing, ¡°There is no such person!¡±


    Yu Luocheng went pale as he looked at the form.


    No such person?


    How could this be?!

 Chapter 305 - : A Kidnapped Child

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind was still in a state of confusion as he returned backstage. This unexpected information had come too suddenly.


    The match was still ongoing and with one glance he noted that Team Skycrown¡¯s inner turret had been taken down.


    Not long after, even the nexus turret had been crushed. Team Skycrown stood up and took off their headphones, feeling slightly conflicted about the outcome.


    3 to 2. This time, Team LM lost the match and only obtained two points.


    It wasn¡¯t because Team Meteor was much stronger than them, but because their Jungler was good at disrupting their rhythm, leaving Team Skycrown at a loss on what to do.


    Team Skycrown was still not familiar with a lot of things and hadn¡¯t practised enough to improve on what they didn¡¯t know. Yu Luocheng had already predicted that this sort of thing would happen.


    But right now, Yu Luocheng was more concerned about the problem with Xiao Bei¡¯s identity.


    ***


    Although they lost the match, the members of Team Skycrown didn¡¯t feel very frustrated. While studying the LPL teams before this, they realized it would be hard for them to break through Team Meteor¡¯s solid teamwork. Being able to obtain two points from this match was already good enough for them.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, it looks like it¡¯s up to you to save the world. Countless people are definitely gonna edit your three consecutive kills from when you were 1v3 during the third game and post it all over the forums. Play a few more games and you¡¯ll be famous in no time.¡± Li Meiqi laughed as she spoke to Xiao Bei.


    Xiao Bei still felt flustered and would blush whenever he spoke to Li Meiqi, so he could only nod his head in embarrassment.


    ¡°Yeah, if it wasn¡¯t for Xiao Bei, we really would have lost with a score of 3 to 0. Team Meteor is stronger than Team Stardust, it was quite stressful to play against them,¡± said Lin Dong.


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Wu Sen all nodded their heads in agreement. Xiao Bei¡¯s performance was the best of them all. After going through the pre-season games, the rate of his progress was astounding!


    It was obvious that Team Meteor was better than Team Stardust. The core of Team Stardust was Earth so they would give him all the resources. However, if he couldn¡¯t perform despite all the advantages given to him, or if something happened to Earth, then defeat was inevitable¡­


    Putting it plainly, Team Stardust had a fatal weakness.


    However, Team Meteor was more balanced in terms of strength. They didn¡¯t have any roles that specifically stood out, and none that were particularly weak either. With their experience, they used their stable teamwork and fast coordination against Team Skycrown.


    In terms of teamwork, Team Skycrown was not as close-knit as Team Meteor. This defeat also allowed them to learn what the absence of teammates was like.


    At their current total of six points, Team Skycrown wasn¡¯t in a bad position.


    Sadly, their next opponent was Team Revelation, one of the top four teams. Getting just one point from them would already be a cause for celebration.


    As they were leaving the hall, Xi Xi spoke to Yu Luocheng. ¡°Luocheng, please deal with your team¡¯s issue as soon as possible.¡±


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Lin Dong all turned in confusion, looking at Xi Xi who had a slightly dissatisfied expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Lin Dong, watching as Xi Xi left.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, we¡¯ll talk about it when we get back,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    ***


    It started to rain just as they arrived at the apartment. The cold air leaked through the battered windows and a musty smell spread throughout the place. Every time it rained, not a single comfortable spot could be found in the whole apartment, no matter where you stood.


    Da Luo cursed loudly as he stepped onto a wet floorboard. Zhou Yan silently brought a cloth over and wiped the wet spot.


    ¡°Zhou, stop wiping it. It¡¯ll get wet again in a while. On that note, when will the grant for the teams be released? Once we get it, we¡¯ll be able to change accommodation. I really can¡¯t stand this place!¡± Da Luo growled.


    ¡°It¡¯s been delayed,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Delayed?¡±


    Everyone was startled and stared at Yu Luocheng in confusion.


    ¡°Until when?¡±


    ¡°Why is it delayed? Did Sky Club do something again?¡±


    Yu Luocheng shook his head, waving his hand for them to sit down. He looked at Xiao Bei, and said, ¡°Xiao Bei, tell us honestly, where did you get your identity card?¡±


    Xiao Bei was already sixteen years old. He had given Lin Dong his identity card when they were registering for the competition, who had then proceeded to register him based on the information stated on the card.


    Xiao Bei stared at Yu Luocheng, completely taken aback by his question.


    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    ¡°Xiao Bei¡¯s identity card is fake,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong instantly turned their gaze on Xiao Bei who had an uncomprehending look on his face.


    Lin Dong repeated the question. ¡°Xiao Bei, where did you get your identity card?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ my uncle gave it to me,¡± said Xiao Bei.


    ¡°Why your uncle? What about your parents?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    ¡°My parents were from an old, rural village and my uncle didn¡¯t know where the public security bureau was so he couldn¡¯t make my identity card. That¡¯s why he bought one for me and told me I could use it¡­¡± said Xiao Bei, anxiety clearly in his voice as he looked at everyone. ¡°Could it be that my uncle bought a fake card?¡±


    Listening to Xiao Bei¡¯s words, everyone present was at a loss for words!


    The question here wasn¡¯t whether the card was real or fake¡ªhave you ever heard of buying an identity card??


    You had to present yourself at the public security bureau to make your identity card! It wasn¡¯t possible to buy one!


    ¡°Is your uncle blood related to you?¡± Lin Dong asked suddenly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. When I was about eleven years old, he came to our village and said he would bring me out to earn money.¡±


    ¡°Did your parents agree?¡±


    ¡°He said my parents agreed and asked me to go with him. There was a car waiting for me at the village gate. I ran home but there was no one there and he kept insisting that there would be no next time if I didn¡¯t get in the car right then and there. I waited a while but they didn¡¯t come back, so I told my neighbors to let my parents know that I was leaving to make money¡­¡± replied Xiao Bei.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone was speechless!


    It could seem like just a typical, boring story, but they had realized the horrifyingly cruel fact behind Xiao Bei¡¯s words.


    And the saddest part of it all was that Xiao Bei was still oblivious to the truth.


    He didn¡¯t come to Shanghai to work with his uncle, but was in fact abducted by a complete stranger when he was eleven years old!


    This was a common occurrence in the northwestern area. Traffickers would pretend to be distant relatives and use the excuse of making money to deceive children with elderly family members, then take them far away to use as child labor.


    When they first saw Xiao Bei at the grocery store, Yu Luocheng and the others had assumed that he was the nephew of that drunkard. Little did they know that Xiao Bei was not related at all to the asshole who had actually abducted him from a nameless village.


    Now everything made sense. No wonder he always scolded Xiao Bei. No wonder he never allowed Xiao Bei to attend school. No wonder he always worked the poor boy like a dog, and even consistently tried to stop him from playing E-sports. Finally, it was Xiao Bei itself that had enough and left the grocery store.


    How could someone like that give Xiao Bei a real identity card? When Xiao Bei requested for one, he just gave him a fake one that cost less than ten yuan and wasn¡¯t even from the public security bureau!


    ***


    The room was silent.


    They had always been a little puzzled by Xiao Bei¡¯s situation, but seeing his joyful appearance every day, they always assumed that it wasn¡¯t what they thought¡­


    ¡°Xiao Bei, you haven¡¯t once gone back to your village?¡± asked Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°According to Uncle, my parents passed away and he arranged for the funeral. He said it was a beautiful one that cost about 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. He told me that I have to pay back the money, otherwise it would be disrespectful to my parents,¡± said Xiao Bei.


    ¡°What the f*ck, you believed that nonsense?!¡± Da Luo exclaimed angrily.


    As Yu Luocheng looked at Xiao Bei¡¯s confused face, a kind of sadness and sorrow grew in his heart.


    Was Xiao Bei so hopeless that there was no hope for him? Or was he simply too naive to suspect anything?


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, he had lived in a sheltered mountain village since young. Once he arrived in the city, all he did was work hard day and night. The only salvation in his life was E-sports and the only people he had who cared about him were the members of Team Skycrown¡­


    Suddenly, Da Luo, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen realized they had a big problem!


    They had registered for the LPL with Xiao Bei¡¯s fake identity card! Lin Dong recalled the dissatisfied look on Xi Xi¡¯s face when they left. With horrified expressions on their faces, they turned their attention to Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng sighed and nodded his head. ¡°The organizers found out that Xiao Bei¡¯s an illegal immigrant.¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    The room descended into silence once again.


    The sound of the rain falling on the roof was the only noise and the temperature in the room felt like it had dropped a few more degrees.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier¡­¡± Da Luo¡¯s face was full of anger.


    They were well aware that using a fake identity card to register in a professional league was subject to harsh penalties. Getting kicked out of the competition was considered a light punishment. Worst case scenario, they could be permanently banned from participating in all future competitions!


    Yu Luocheng hurriedly shook his head at Da Luo, signaling for him not to do or say anything rash.


    This wasn¡¯t Xiao Bei¡¯s fault, they could only blame this sad society. This kind of abduction was quite a common occurrence in the northwest after all.


    And the many people in Shanghai who didn¡¯t have identity cards now lived at the bottom of society. They were like hard-working ants who tired themselves out every day, but still couldn¡¯t even find out who they were.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, you have a problem with your identity card. You still remember how to get back to your village right? You should return there and get your household registration from your parents, then go to the local public security bureau. If your village doesn¡¯t have one, go to one in the nearest town and register your identity card there.¡± Yu Luocheng spoke seriously to Xiao Bei.


    Xiao Bei wasn¡¯t stupid, he just had too little life experience.


    ¡°Oh my¡­ is this matter affecting the grant for the team¡­?¡± said Xiao Bei, hanging his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ai Ke has given us some leeway. We still have a few days to fix this. The grant has only been delayed, it doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re not giving it to us. As long as you solve your identity card problem, we should still be given what is rightfully ours,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    Xiao Bei nodded his head.


    He never expected that things would be so serious, but fortunately there was still a chance to remedy this.

 Chapter 306 - The Appearance of Fighting Hawk!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Jian Feng volunteered to accompany Xiao Bei back home which made everyone feel slightly relieved. They were worried that Xiao Bei wouldn¡¯t be able to resolve things on his own, he really was too naive.


    The next morning, Xiao Bei and Jian Feng boarded a train headed for the border of Gansu. The train would only pass by certain cities, and the village that Xiao Bei originated from was quite far off. It would take about half a day to get there on foot, and the entire round trip would probably take about five to six days.


    ¡°Luocheng, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that this would happen. I¡¯ll settle this problem with my identity as soon as possible,¡± said Xiao Bei, his voice dripping with guilt and shame.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± said Yu Luocheng, ruffling the younger boy¡¯s hair.


    ¡°But this isn¡¯t all that bad¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You get to make an appearance on stage. I¡¯m only sad that I can¡¯t see it happen¡­¡± said Xiao Bei, chuckling a little.


    ¡°You idiot, you better hurry up and get back here soon. Find out where this little rascal came from, at most I¡¯ll help you tank one or two games in the meantime,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    Team Skycrown still belonged to the five of them, and Yu Luocheng hoped to see the same five reaching the peak of E-sports.


    Deep down, Yu Luocheng was well aware that while he could step in as a substitute for Xiao Bei, it might be impossible to be on his level. The rest of the team was used to playing together, so their chemistry and teamwork was better without him.


    But this situation left him with no choice but to make an appearance.


    When he initially said that he would step in if necessary, he meant it as a joke, or at most just as motivation for Team Skycrown. He didn¡¯t expect that something like this would happen to Xiao Bei.


    And now, somehow or other, he was suddenly expected to take the stage. He didn¡¯t even have a chance to get all pretentious about it.


    Aih, f*ck that.


    He might as well use this chance to vent his dissatisfaction on the recent happenings.


    F*cking hell, when he was playing against the world¡¯s top players, the guys that were now acting all big in front of him had still been playing games like Tetris and Super Mario!


    As they watched the train disappear from their sight, Yu Luocheng spoke to the remaining members of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°There¡¯s some bad news. Although Ai Ke has helped us cover up this issue for now and isn¡¯t going to directly punish us, all our points from the games Xiao Bei played are now void. In other words, we now have zero points and are at the bottom of the rankings.¡±


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Da Luo cursed loudly.


    Zero points!


    On average, each team had already played two games and had a minimum of three points. Team Skycrown was initially not in a bad place with six points, but now this!


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to fault them for this. We should be celebrating the fact that they didn¡¯t directly kick us out of the LPL,¡± Zhou Yan reasoned.


    ¡°Yeah, and it¡¯s not all bad. Don¡¯t we have a piece of good news to share too?¡± said Lin Dong, a smile slowly creeping onto his face.


    Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, Da Luo¡¯s eyes immediately brightened as they turned to look at Yu Luocheng.


    The fact that this asshole Yu Luocheng was going to make his appearance was indeed good news!


    To be honest, if they didn¡¯t know Xiao Bei well enough, they would have thought that he did this on purpose to let Yu Luocheng play. No matter whether it was a coincidence or not, Yu Luocheng making an appearance had Team Skycrown that much more excited for the rest of the LPL!


    Yu Luocheng shook his head, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy yet, you guys and Xiao Bei have built up your teamwork all this while. There are even a few gameplays that will only work with Xiao Bei. I¡¯m not that familiar with your coordination anymore. Worst case scenario, I might even disrupt your rhythm.¡±


    Xiao Bei¡¯s personal strength wasn¡¯t too far off from his own, but when you consider the fact that Xiao Bei had better synergy with the team, there was no doubt that his win rate was higher than Yu Luocheng.


    With Yu Luocheng playing, they would have the advantage of having an unknown variable. Their weakness however was just as deadly, putting them in the same situation as Team Stardust.


    Yu Luocheng himself had not synergized with the team, and the others would definitely play according to their own play style. If he were to clash with them at any point, the result wouldn¡¯t be pretty.


    The same thing happened when he played with Shanghai University at the national university competitions. After entering the semi-finals, their opponents started targeting Yu Luocheng who was carrying the team. That was what brought their winning streak to an end.


    ¡°Me playing a few games wouldn¡¯t be an issue, because they don¡¯t really understand us yet, and they don¡¯t know what kind of tactics we have. But with every game I play, they will start to see our glaring weakness ¡ª me. Our losing rate will greatly increase then, and when that happens we may not even be able to beat Team Stardust. You guys better pray that Xiao Bei gets back early, or we¡¯ll really be eliminated soon,¡± said Yu Luocheng, his face serious and solemn.


    A team¡¯s synergy greatly impacts their overall strength index. Yu Luocheng was not arrogant enough to think that he was strong enough to keep leading Team Skycrown to victory. Not unless he had two or three months to properly synergize with the team¡­


    ¡°Sh*t, I almost forgot. The next match we have is against one of the top four¡ªTeam Revelation!¡± Da Luo groaned, slapping his head with his hand.


    Everyone knew that there was a big gap in strength between the top four teams and the bottom four teams. It¡¯s said that Team Meteor and Team Stardust didn¡¯t get even a single point when they went against the top four teams, instead facing a landslide loss of 3 to 0.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s those analysts again. Hurry up and watch!¡± exclaimed Li Meiqi, shoving her handphone in front of the five of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s Team Revelation¡¯s analyst.¡±


    In the video, Chesnut, Team Revelation¡¯s analyst, and Bai Feng were being interviewed at the same time.


    The interview was about the commotion that happened right before the opening ceremony. On the screen, an angry Zhou Yan was seen grabbing onto the photographer¡¯s collar and asking him to apologize to Xiao Bei.


    Soon after, Bai Feng appeared and apologized to both Zhou Yan and the photographer in a polite manner. His actions had attracted the praise of many fans, stating that with his good manners, Bai Feng was indeed a prince among the LOL professional players.


    As it turns out, Bai Feng truly was from a good family background and he played E-sports professionally purely because he liked it.


    After the report, Chestnut and Bai Feng¡¯s interview began. Looking calm, the two of them were about to analyze the situation that had taken place.


    ¡°According to that photographer, Team Skycrown¡¯s strength is not as good as yours. What are your thoughts on this matter?¡± asked the interviewer.


    Bai Feng humbly replied, ¡°Team Skycrown is an old opponent of ours and although we are familiar with them in some aspects, we can only truly know the difference in our strength once we have played against each other. It¡¯s not appropriate to make assumptions so early.¡±


    ***


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t like Bai Feng very much. I think he¡¯s very hypocritical! Luocheng, you¡¯re going against him in lane this time, I believe you¡¯ll be able to wreck him with no problem!¡± said Li Meiqi.


    Their opponent was Team Revelation, and the strongest player on the team would undoubtedly be their ADC ¡ª Bai Feng!


    It wasn¡¯t that Team Skycrown didn¡¯t believe in Xiao Bei¡¯s capabilities. His rank was clearly higher than Bai Feng¡¯s, and he was no doubt qualified to be called the King of ADC.


    However, Xiao Bei didn¡¯t have enough experience in big competitions. Even with his astounding progress, he would most likely suffer when facing Bai Feng who had vast experience as a professional player.


    Yu Luocheng would be different as his playstyle was smooth and flexible. If he were to be singled out or targeted, he would still be able to make it by consistently farming without coming out from under turret.


    When things were so intense to the point that he wouldn¡¯t dare to leave turret, he would still be able to get ahead by farming!


    The most important thing to consider was mental stress.


    Bai Feng was the strongest ADC in the country, Xiao Bei would have definitely felt pressured when facing him, and subsequently struggled to show his full potential.


    Again, Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t have this problem. Didn¡¯t you see how he almost brought down Blood Eagle during his solo?!


    While others were climbing to the top with the world¡¯s best players, Bai Feng was somewhere at the bottom, still struggling to beat little kids!


    Li Meiqi knew that Bai Feng¡¯s popularity had recently reached insane heights in the E-sports circle, and that made her excited to watch the showdown between Bai Feng and Yu Luocheng!


    What if¡­what if our Fighting Hawk could defeat Bai Feng?


    Then this pre-match interview would come back to haunt them!


    Moreover, Bai Feng¡¯s status as a top ADC would also be shaken¡ªwhat a huge wave this would make on the Internet!


    Li Meiqi just couldn¡¯t wait!


    With Team Skycrown receiving so much criticism and ridicule this time, they really needed something unpredictable like Yu Luocheng to break all the ridiculous public perceptions and assumptions about them. With a victory, they would raise eyebrows as they proved the capability of Team Skycrown!


    ***


    ¡°Brother, which rock did you climb under and die? I haven¡¯t seen you at university for days!¡± Yu Yu¡¯s voice came through the phone, with arrogance in her voice as usual.


    This stupid girl, acting so meek and polite in front of others. She acted like a devil in front of Yu Luocheng, speaking with a commanding tone as if she was controlling a favorite toy of hers.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been busy, I can¡¯t talk right now,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying. Even your counselors have called home, saying you often skip classes and don¡¯t return to the dorms at night,¡± retorted Yu Yu.


    ¡°Okay, okay. I really need to do something now, help me explain to Mom and Dad.¡±


    ¡°You can explain to them yourself.¡±


    Du du du.


    Just as Yu Luocheng was going to respond, Yu Yu had already hung up in a huff. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t mind, she was ten thousands of miles away after all. At most he would just be scolded a bit, not much harm done.


    Yu Luocheng would be playing one or two matches and the rest will be left to Xiao Bei. Playing one or two games would be no reason for his family to notice.


    ***


    Team Skycrown¡¯s third match was at 8PM.


    Needless to say, Team Revelation¡¯s popularity was super high. Even before the match started, there were already tens of thousands of people tuning in.


    Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t an idiot to think that they had all come for them. He knew that it was probably due to Bai Feng.


    As the game started, this popularity would continue to rise.


    ¡°Welcome to the LPL battlefield! My name is Miracle and I will be your commentator for today.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Qi Qiao.¡±


    ¡°Qi Qiao, I recall that you were also the commentator for the match on the day that Team Skycrown qualified for the LPL. Naturally, you would have a better understanding of them. Do you think that they also bear the curse?¡± said Miracle.


    Miracle was also an official commentator who was good at guiding topics. You wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being bored even during intermission.


    ¡°Curse? Don¡¯t use these kinds of terms that the audience won¡¯t understand.¡± Qi Qiao laughed and proceeded to explain.


    ¡°It¡¯s like this, according to our statistics, three teams from the bottom four teams have already played against the top four teams. Team Stardust vs Team Sky, Team Meteor vs Team 71, and Team Dusk vs Team Daemons. In these three matches, the bottom four teams have yet to succeed in gaining any points. I remember at the last LPL, although the top four teams were strong, there wasn¡¯t ever a situation where the bottom four teams couldn¡¯t even gain a single point¡­¡±


    ¡°Rumours of this so-called curse have been spreading in the forums, so if Team Skycrown who is playing against Team Revelation also lose today, then they would also be victims of the curse. Alright, we shouldn¡¯t be stereotyping. We should sincerely wish that Team Skycrown can break this cycle, yes that¡¯s right, if Team Skycrown¡¯s bottom lane doesn¡¯t get wrecked that is¡­¡± said Miracle ominously.

 Chapter 307 - Who’s Going to Get Wrecked

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Team Skycrown is strong, especially their bottom lane. Xiao Bei has been showing consistent progress in each game, and you can tell he¡¯s a strong player. He won¡¯t get wrecked so easily,¡± said Qi Qiao.


    The two commentators were casually bantering as though they were having a normal conversation. This kind of commentary style is what the audience loved, especially with Miracle finding fault and poking fun at the teams.


    As a female commentator, Qi Qiao would always try to help teams that had less fame or a worse reputation to save some face. Together, these two commentators formed a harmony like yin and yang.


    ¡°Alright, the players have entered the stage¡­ hey, I remember that the ADC from Team Skycrown is of a smaller build¡­ now it¡¯s a teenager, did they change players?¡± Miracle narrated, his tone confused.


    ¡°They really did use a substitute. We don¡¯t have the profile with us so we don¡¯t know who it is at the moment,¡± continued Qi Qiao as she tried to figure out why the youth¡¯s silhouette seemed so familiar.


    ¡°It¡¯s rare for teams to use substitutes, could it be that they¡¯re using Tian Ji¡¯s horse racing tactics? However, Bai Feng will be the one facing their ADC no matter what,¡± said Miracle.


    His words immediately elicited laughter from the audience.


    Everyone present knew that in Tian Ji horse racing, Tian Ji would choose the worst horse to race against their opponent¡¯s best horse. They would then lose one round and the winner would be the one who wins the remaining two rounds.


    Anyone with half a brain obviously knew that this asshole Miracle was poking fun at the temporary change of members in Team Skycrown. But coming back to the topic, the change in ADC for Team Skycrown was really sudden. It was quite weird as a member change among the five of them might do more harm than good.


    Moreover, after the first two games, Xiao Bei¡¯s display of strength had attracted a certain amount of popularity. Many people were looking forward to seeing how he would fare against Bai Feng, and now with the sudden change, the audience¡¯s enthusiasm was down by at least half.


    ***


    Asmodai, who was watching the match on the computer while eating suddenly spit out a mouthful with a stunned face.


    ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s Fighting Hawk!¡±


    Their coach, Huang Kang, was also startled as he spluttered, rushing to Asmodai¡¯s side to look at the screen.


    ¡°Fighting Hawk? He¡¯s up?¡±


    The rest of Team Daemons, including Hades, dropped what they were doing and hurriedly gathered around the computer.


    ¡°It¡¯s really him!¡±


    ¡°Damn, he finally couldn¡¯t take it!¡±


    ¡°Fighting Hawk playing against Bai Feng, this will be a great match!¡±


    ¡°Miracle is still poking fun at Fighting Hawk, is he really looking to get punched in the face?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely asking for a good beating.¡±


    Team Daemons nodded as they grinned. They couldn¡¯t wait to see Miracle¡¯s expression later on.


    ***


    When Qin Ting found out that Yu Luocheng was playing against Team Revelation, the entire E-sports club exploded in excitement!


    The LPL was the most prolific professional league in the country, and when they saw Yu Luocheng¡¯s face on the screen during the live broadcast, the expression on his face was indescribable.


    Not too long ago, he was just one of them, a fellow E-sports club member. And now this asshole was suddenly appearing on the LPL star stage, taking everyone by surprise!


    There was no doubt that this game would definitely be an exciting one. How could Qin Ting keep calm?


    Time to pull out the big screen in the community area again!


    He needed to let everyone see that the E-sports club was so awesome that they could produce someone like Yu Luocheng who made it to the LPL!


    ***


    In the community area, a large group of E-sports enthusiasts suddenly gathered under the big screen. Yu Luocheng was like a godlike existence in the E-sports community. When they heard that he was playing in the LPL, it sent a shockwave through the entire campus.


    What you need to understand is that there were tons of students in the university who played League of Legends. It was not uncommon to hear even female students shouting ¡°F*cking don¡¯t take my Teemo!¡± in the dorms.


    As Yu Luocheng¡¯s face appeared on the screen, Qiu Jingtai started shouting at the people around him, unable to contain his excitement.


    ¡°My roommate, that¡¯s my roommate!¡±


    ¡°F*ck off, he¡¯s my roommate! Yu Luocheng sleeps on the bed opposite mine. Damn, I knew he was an extraordinary guy from the moment he set foot into this uni!¡± bosted Jiang Jiuyi.


    The other guys from their room were staring at them like they had grown two heads. Of the group of roommates, Yu Luocheng, Jiang Jiu, and Qiu Jingtai were the only ones who played LOL. The other three didn¡¯t even touch any computer games. They almost never had meals together, and this one rare time that they did, they actually stumbled upon Yu Luocheng¡¯s face on TV, damn!


    ¡°He¡¯s your roommate?¡± asked a middle-aged uncle, tapping on Qiu Jingtai¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah. Teach, don¡¯t tell me you play LOL too,¡± replied Qiu Jingtai.


    The middle-aged uncle who looked like a teacher smiled and said, ¡°I know this game, so is this match organized by your university too?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. This is the LPL, the top competition at the national level!¡± exclaimed Qiu Jingtai.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai frowned as they looked at the man, slightly doubtful.


    ¡°Look, even an uncle knows LOL.¡±


    ¡°I saw an old man play last time, he had all sorts of maneuvers and even killing sprees. Sadly it was just against A.I¡­¡±


    ***


    On stage, Miracle was still carrying on with his usual style of criticising all sorts of things. Team Skycrown wasn¡¯t his only target, he also targeted Team Revelation¡¯s previous doings, and his chatter kept the audience entertained.


    Sadly, although Qi Qiao¡¯s insisted that Team Skycrown was strong, it did little to change the crowd¡¯s perception.


    ¡°Everyone has their cell phone with them right? How can there be no bets during a competition? Send a text message to our official platform and take part in a quiz to stand the chance of winning some cool prizes¡­ oh, alright, you guys already know about this, so I won¡¯t have to repeat myself. Let your fingers make the decision on whether you¡¯ll bet big or small, maybe luck will be on your side and you¡¯ll win big! There¡¯s a huge reward for voting in Team Skycrown¡¯s favor, but that comes with an even bigger risk!¡± said Miracle, getting the crowd all hyped up again.


    The players had already taken their seats and were in the banning phase at the moment.


    ¡°Wow, Team Skycrown really has got guts. They haven¡¯t banned a single ADC! Are they trying to tell Team Revelation that they¡¯re not afraid of Bai Feng?¡± Miracle mused.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible that their ADC is strong, Team Skycrown has consistently displayed a strong ADC performance. Xiao Bei had a wide variety of ADCs to use ¡ª his Tristana, Vayne, and Ezreal all gave great performances for everyone to see,¡± replied Qi Qiao.


    ¡°I think the bet should be placed on whether or not Team Skycrown¡¯s bottom lane will be wrecked, that would be a fairer bet,¡± said Miracle said, running his mouth as usual.


    Bai Feng¡¯s ADC and Lin Siyong¡¯s ADC couldn¡¯t be compared, his individual strength index was at 8 points.


    In other words, if Lin Siyong and Bai Feng played against each other, Lin Siyong would likely be pressured completely, and the chance of getting wrecked was also very high.


    An individual strength index of 8 points was no indicator of someone¡¯s true skill. Earth from Team Stardust also had the same number of points. However, his team-fighting capabilities could not be compared to Bai Feng¡¯s.


    Earth¡¯s overall score was 20 points, making him a middle-tier player in the LPL. Meanwhile, Bai Feng¡¯s overall score was at about 23 to 24 points. This 3 to 4-point difference meant that Bai Feng would always triumph over Earth.


    More importantly, Bai Feng also had mental strength. No matter the situation, you would never see him falter, which was something many first-class professional players were unable to do. His skill and dexterity index were very stable too!


    And Yu Luocheng was going to play against him, the strongest ADC player in the country!


    Other newly-formed teams would immediately ban Bai Feng¡¯s strongest ADCs right from the start. Then, their first floor would snatch any ADCs that were relatively good for their own team, to ensure a better chance of the bottom lane not getting destroyed. But in the end it would still result in Bai Feng carrying the game with some other ADC.


    ¡°Team Skycrown has banned Ahri, Jarvan, and Shen. I don¡¯t really see a pattern in those bans, it doesn¡¯t seem like any specific bans towards Team Revelation.¡±


    ¡°They probably have their own way of playing,¡± said Qi Qiao.


    ¡°Too true. In facing such a strong team like Team Revelation, maybe their tactic would have some unexpectedly good results. It might even give them a bit more time to survive in-game. I feel like if I continue like this, Team Skycrown will want to curse and kill me soon, haha!¡±


    ***


    When it came to champion selection, Yu Luocheng picked Caitlyn without much hesitation. Caitlyn was a must-have ADC for this match. Although Yu Luocheng would admit that his Ezreal, Graves, and Vayne were good, he hadn¡¯t dared to use Caitlyn much after seeing how impressive Asmodai and Shallow Dream were at using that champion.


    So there must be a reason that he dared to pick her in this match!


    ¡°For the Support¡­ wah, are you planning to choose all the old champions? A Soraka Support is really rare to see nowadays. Team Skycrown, what are you guys thinking?¡± Miracle commented as he stared at the screen in surprise.


    The Starchild, Soraka!


    Why would they pick this champion? It didn¡¯t make sense!


    ¡°A new team¡¯s determination to win, you really can¡¯t guess what they¡¯re thinking,¡± said Miracle, sighing.


    Qi Qiao rebutted by saying, ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, Wu Sen used Soraka during the pre-season too. His skills in healing and recovering mana for Xiao Bei is the reason why Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne managed to save the day during that match!¡±


    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s the case, then this match would be completely dependent on the substitute ADC right?¡± said Miracle smoothly without missing a beat.


    ¡°This ADC isn¡¯t just a substitute, he¡¯s the coach of Team Skycrown. He¡¯s the one who went solo against Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua and managed to reach a stalemate with him.¡± Qi Qiao laughed as she spoke, enjoying the change in Miracle¡¯s expression when he heard that.


    Miracle was stunned and finally at a loss for words!


    The one who went solo against Blood Eagle!


    Wasn¡¯t he a Jungler Lee Sin? Why would he play ADC?


    ***


    Zhang Aijing looked towards the stage and upon hearing Miracle¡¯s words, she couldn¡¯t help the laughter that bubbled up inside her.


    It was hard to say who would end up getting wrecked. Fighting Hawk¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t in being a Jungler, but at the bottom lane!

 Chapter 308 - Demolished Turret In 3 Minutes!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Bai Feng: captain and ADC of Team Revelation, the player recognized as the strongest ADC in the country!


    Individual ability index: 8.1 points


    Team-fighting capabilities: 8.4 points


    Tactical and leadership index: 8.3 points


    Skill and dexterity index: 1.0


    Hao Yue: Team Revelation¡¯s Jungler.


    Individual ability index: 7.2 points


    Team-fighting capabilities: 7.3 points


    Tactical and leadership index: 8.0 points


    Skill and dexterity index: 0.9


    Of Team Revelation¡¯s two strongest players, Bai Feng was undoubtedly the first. With him at the bottom lane, you could rest assured that even if Jungler and Mid came down, Bai Feng would be able to handle it.


    And Hao Yue¡¯s Jungler capabilities also surpassed many of the LPL players. Even if the other members in Team Revelation weren¡¯t above 6.0 points, the key to Team Revelation¡¯s consistent placement in the top four was their team-fighting capabilities and tactical game plays.


    Bai Feng¡¯s overall ability index came up to 23.8 points, whereas Hao Yue¡¯s overall ability index came up to 22.5 points.


    That was higher than the other members of Team Revelation by at least 4 to 5 points.


    As for Team Skycrown, Zhang Aijing estimated that their overall ability index was between 18 to 19 points.


    According to Zhang Aijing¡¯s calculations, Xiao Bei was the only one to exceed 20 points, with a total of around 21 points. However, if he were to go against Bai Feng who was at 23.8 points, there wasn¡¯t a big chance of winning.


    Now it was Yu Luocheng who was playing. Even if his overall points were higher than Bai Feng¡¯s, Team Revelation still had a Jungler with 22.5 points. There would still be a difference of at least 4 points between him and Zhou Yan!


    These 4 points would be enough to affect the outcome of a confrontation, and that¡¯s without even taking the other members of Team Revelation into consideration yet.


    In other words, if Team Skycrown wanted to defeat Team Revelation, one of the only ways they could achieve that outcome was for Yu Luocheng to wreck Bai Feng!


    ¡°Bai Feng, will you be so easily wrecked?¡± said Forgetful Laughter who was looking at the book in Zhang Aijing¡¯s hand.


    In such a short amount of time, Zhang Aijing had already calculated the probability of the match between Team Revelation and Team Skycrown. She had also roughly estimated what Team Skycrown needed to do if they wanted to have a chance of winning.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not seen anyone who can beat him at this stage,¡± replied Zhang Aijing.


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯ve only heard that he was defeated by a pro player in the US server, but never in the domestic servers¡­¡± said Forgetful Laughter.


    ¡°So the probability of Team Skycrown winning is¡­¡± Zhang Aijing smiled slightly, tapping on the screen in her hands.


    The audience¡¯s support vote rate popped up on the screen, and astonishingly the support for Team Revelation was as high as ninety-six percent, while Team Skycrown only had four percent of the votes!


    Forgetful Laughter was also stunned by the results, the difference in ratio was too great. His eyes turned to Zhang Aijing¡¯s book and found that the final data she analyzed was also at four percent!


    A four percent chance of winning, that was practically having none at all!


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too low?¡± said Forgetful Laughter.


    ¡°This computation was with Xiao Bei in the calculation, if I put Fighting Hawk in instead¡­¡±


    Forgetful Laugher watched as it was recomputed, and the rate changed, going up to twenty two percent!


    ¡°It¡¯s still only about twenty percent?¡± said Forgetful Laughter.


    ¡°League of Legends is a five player game, one strong person would only slightly increase the win rate, he can¡¯t possibly save the world alone. Going by their ability index, Fighting Hawk will end up in a stalemate with Bai Feng. If the bottom lane is a draw, Hao Yue, Team Revelation¡¯s Jungler, will be able to carry the team. So Team Skycrown will face a problem there. Team Revelation still has the bigger advantage and this will result in their win.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m hoping that the game won¡¯t go according to your prediction. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to be such a boring match.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s started, pay attention.¡±


    ***


    As the game started, Wu Sen¡¯s Soraka bought her items and followed the team out of their base. They would definitely not engage in a level one team fight, everyone would just protect Wu Sen as he planted the wards.


    These few wards were basically their main vision sight. One was to monitor the Jungler¡¯s movement and the other was to see if there was any lane swap going on.


    ¡°Team Skycrown is being very careful as they step into the jungle, it¡¯s obvious that they¡¯re trying to avoid letting their opponent see their movements. Hey, why is Soraka suddenly going back towards the middle lane¡­¡±


    The match just started and something strange was already happening!


    When the minion wave appeared, Soraka started heading towards the middle lane, and this puzzled a lot of people.


    ¡°Are they swapping lanes, with two people at the middle lane? No wonder they¡¯re not afraid of Bai Feng¡¯s ADC, their plan is to completely avoid him in the beginning. Caitlyn and Soraka will go directly to the middle lane and let Bai Feng farm at bottom,¡± said Miracle as he studied the screen.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it. Don¡¯t you see that Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is still at the bottom lane? The only one heading to the middle lane is Soraka. It doesn¡¯t look like Malzahar has any intention of going to the bottom lane either,¡± said Qi Qiao.


    Lin Dong had chosen a champion that was rarely seen in competitions¡ªMalzahar, The Prophet Of The Void.


    What were Annie, Zyra, and LeBlanc¡¯s abilities compared to the instant kill champion recognized by the Youth Team?


    ***


    ¡°Wow, what did I just see? Did Soraka release Starcall?!¡± exclaimed Miracle suddenly.


    The shower of stars falling from the sky was Soraka¡¯s signature kill. However, experienced gamers also know that it was a waste to add this skill at the beginning of the game.


    That¡¯s right, when you are a ranked player and realize that Soraka had added this skill right from the start, you would be certain that the player was a little kid!


    But¡­


    In the LPL, a Soraka who added Q¡ªStarcall as their first skill¡ªhas appeared!


    ¡°Wu Sen, in such a high tension and decisive competition, you actually added the wrong skill! Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting scolded?!¡±


    A debate started around the stage. The Support had gone to the middle lane to assist the Mid, and even spectacularly exposed the fact that he had added the wrong skill in the beginning¡­


    Whoever said that you really can¡¯t guess the thoughts of someone with a combat effectiveness of 2,000 and rank points of above 2,000 was totally spot on!


    ***


    As the shower of stars fell, you could see streaks of yellow and blue lights falling onto the creeps around Soraka. Mad Star, Team Revelation¡¯s Mid, was utterly confused. What the hell are you doing Soraka? Can you just go back to your Caitlyn and start healing her already?


    Call of the Void!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Malzahar raised his hands and summoned two orbs. Energy leaped out between them, forming a flat leaf shape.


    As Starcall and Call of the Void were released simultaneously, the minion wave was effortlessly pushed back! Team Revelation¡¯s Ryze was forced back to his turret, and he could only helplessly throw out his skills as he tried to take on the wave of minions.


    But the cooldown on Ryze¡¯s skills in early game took quite a while. His basic attack was also low, not to mention that his CS was always missing too due to those reasons.


    Mad Star cursed.


    ¡°What the hell, they just keep brainlessly pushing? Two of you are sharing experience huh¡­ wait till I level up, what will you hit then?¡±


    ***


    Team Skycrown kept using the same tactic. Every time the minion wave reached the middle of the lane, Wu Sen and Lin Dong would use Starcall and Call of the Void at the same time, easily clearing the wave of minions. After that, they would ignore Ryza and instead head straight for the middle lane turret.


    As one minion wave has six minions, the middle lane turret was already missing one fourth of its health after just two waves.


    Checking the time, Wu Sen called out to Zhou Yan, their Jungler, ¡°We¡¯re almost at the three-minute mark!¡±


    ¡°Noted!¡± Zhou Yan, who was playing Lee Sin called back.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Da Luo nodded his head in acknowledgement too.


    ***


    First Blood!


    Suddenly, the call of First Blood came from the top lane!


    ¡°Aiyah, Team Skycrown¡¯s top lane was not careful enough. This is the exact timing when the opponent Jungler had just completed both buffs. Without the presence of their own Jungler, he actually dared to push the lane forward so much¡­ isn¡¯t he just serving his head up on a silver platter?¡± Miracle chimed in with his criticism again.


    In just three minutes, Da Luo had thrown away the precious First Blood.


    Team Skycrown watched Da Luo die but they didn¡¯t feel frustrated at all, and instead smiled in glee!


    ¡°Hurry up and look at the middle lane!¡± exclaimed Qi Qiao.


    With Da Luo being ganked at the top lane, the camera naturally focused there. However at this time, those looking at the mini map would be able to see that Team Skycrown suddenly had three champions at the middle lane!


    Soraka, Lee Sin, and Malzahar.


    These three champions all had AoE skills, and each one of them was able to easily clear the minion wave. Once they did that, they rushed towards the turret while leading both a cannon minion and a wave of minions!


    ¡°Oh my gosh, what is Team Skycrown doing?!¡± Miracle gasped, staring at the middle lane.


    The three of them gathered in the middle lane, pushing the minion wave under turret and ignoring Ryze as they ruthlessly attacked the turret!


    Mad Star suddenly realized that their objective was to quickly push the middle lane turret and immediately exhausted all his skills trying to bring the cannon minion down.


    The cannon minion dealt substantial damage to the turret, and with its higher health, it was also able to take quite a lot of damage from the turret in return.


    Taking down the cannon minion was Team Revelation¡¯s only hope of stopping Team Skycrown from getting the turret!


    ¡°You wanna kill my cannon? No way!¡± Wu Sen laughed as he pressed the W key, activating Astral Blessing on the minion.


    Ryze only had a sparse number of skills in early game and the damage he could deliver was limited. With Wu Sen¡¯s healing, the cannon minion¡¯s health was restored!


    Cannon minion, melee minion, ranged minion, Malzahar¡¯s voidlings, Lee Sin, Malzahar, and Soraka¡­


    This horrifying team was like a hot knife on butter¡ªthere was nothing stopping them from taking down the middle lane!


    The game hadn¡¯t even hit the three-and-a-half-minute mark yet!


    And a turret had been taken down!


    This speed and efficiency¡­


    ***


    ¡°Taking advantage of the cannon minion which appears every three waves, they sped up the push at the middle lane! Using Soraka¡¯s Q to clear the minion wave, healing and blessing the cannon minion, and using Malzahar¡¯s clear and voidlings ¡­¡± Zhang Aijing was startled at what she was witnessing.


    How was this possible?


    Taking advantage of these champions who could easily clear the lane in early game, plus using the cannon minion which everyone treated as mere experience and money in the lane to aim directly for the key middle lane turret!


    Was this a fast push tactic?


    Which fast push tactic was this bloody amazing?


    A turret was down in less than three minutes, you wouldn¡¯t see that happening so fast even when playing against A.I!

 Chapter 309 - 1-3-1 Formation Tactic

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    An alarming signal sounded, Team Skycrown¡¯s tactic of blindly pushing the turret had left everyone speechless. No one had ever done it before. Which god of a player came up with this way to push the turret?!


    The fast push didn¡¯t stop at just demolishing the turret. The moment the middle lane turret went down, Lee Sin, Soraka, and Malzahar beelined for the top lane.


    With the wave clear of the three champions, the minion waves didn¡¯t stand a chance!


    The wave was quickly pushed under turret and the three of them continued to assault the turret as before.


    Even without the cannon minion, Malzahar¡¯s voidlings were able to tank the damage. Zha Ke, Team Revelation¡¯s Top, was trying his best to clear the wave. However, his efforts didn¡¯t help in pushing back the three champions who had their eye on the prize.


    ¡°Their First Blood at the top lane was planned,¡± said Zhang Aijing suddenly.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Forgetful Laughter.


    ¡°Using the top lane as a distraction, they pulled the Jungler¡¯s attention and gank to the lane. After that, their Jungler joined the two at the middle lane to destroy the turret. Once that was done, their Top who revived would go to the middle lane to get some experience and gold,¡± replied Zhang Aijing, elaborating on what she noticed about Team Skycrown¡¯s tactic.


    ¡°The three of them who were fast pushing will rotate to the top lane and use the same tactic to destroy the top lane turret. If nothing goes wrong, when the second cannon minion appears at the six-minute mark of the game, the top lane turret will be gone.¡±


    Startled by that explanation, Forgetful Laughter turned back to the screen and sure enough, Team Revelation¡¯s turret was already down by one third!


    Plus, the cannon minion was about to make its appearance, and by the looks of it, they really could destroy the top lane turret at the six-minute mark!


    If they managed to take down this turret, the members of Team Skycrown would have as much gold at the six-minute mark as if they had one kill each. More importantly, the significance of the turret was also higher than getting actual kills.


    ¡°Why do I feel like they¡¯re not playing League of Legends?!¡±


    Not farming, ignoring the opponent champions, focusing on turrets¡­ are you guys playing Battle City?


    At the six-minute mark, the cannon minion appeared!


    The Jungler¡¯s tempo was completely messed up as he was forced to abandon the jungle area and head to the top lane to help Zac, who has yet to leave the turret range for the last three minutes.


    Do you remember often seeing this scene in comics? A coconut tree that¡¯s about two to three meters tall on a small island, surrounded by the vast ocean.


    Zac had basically been living in the aforementioned scene at the top lane for the past few minutes. His turret was the coconut tree, but his surroundings weren¡¯t the vast ocean, instead he was surrounded by the opponent¡¯s minion wave and those three blasted champions!


    For the first time in their professional career, Team Revelation¡¯s Top had been pressured to this extent. Yes, the minion wave was being consistently pushed backwards, but that wasn¡¯t the reason he couldn¡¯t get out of the turret range. The most important point was that they kept going for the turret, so how the heck was he supposed to ignore them?


    ¡°Alright, Hao Yue from Team Revelation has gone to help defend the turret. They might still have a chance at the top lane,¡± said Miracle, watching the scene play out.


    Just as Miracle said that, the announcement for a second kill rang out!


    Nobody knew when Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin had retreated and appeared at the middle lane!


    The middle lane had already lost one turret, so unless Ryze had decided to farm under the inner turret, he would have had to walk quite far out from the turret range to farm.


    Once Da Luo¡¯s Renekton reached the lane just now, he had always been controlling the lane.


    The second that Ryze stepped out to farm, Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin came at him from behind!


    Ryze had Flash but he before he could even use it, Lee Sin had already claimed his head!


    ***


    It was like Ryze¡¯s death acted as a signal. The moment he died, Malzahar and Soraka who were under the pretense of using the cannon minion to push the top lane turret suddenly turned and cut through the jungle area. They passed the red buff area and headed straight to the middle lane.


    The four of them¡ªLee Sin, Renekton, Soraka, and Malzahar¡ª tore down the League of Legends uniform, and instead put on soldier uniforms!


    With their cannons and the rest of the minions, the four of them continued to launch their assault.


    Team Revelation¡¯s Support, Jungler, and Zac rushed from the top and bottom lanes to defend, but they had to take a roundabout way to return to base as the key entrances had been overtaken by Team Skycrown. By the time they reached the middle lane, Team Skycrown had taken the turret!


    ¡°Just go all in!¡±


    Hao Yue was frustrated and angry at this point, he had a bone to pick with Team Skycrown!


    Since the game was currently four on three, Team Skycrown wasn¡¯t afraid at all. Even if Team Revelation¡¯s levels were slightly higher than theirs, they still had the advantage of having an extra champion. Didn¡¯t Team Revelation understand that?


    Although they failed in the attack, Team Revelation still managed to escape with what little life they had left, surprising everyone with their great control of their champions.


    Team Skycrown didn¡¯t care about that. After beating them to an inch of their lives, they cut through the jungle area again to the top lane. These people were running around the jungle area like it was their own home!


    As the top lane turret only had half health left, the three of them and the minion wave easily took it down. It wasn¡¯t even the eight-minute mark of the game yet, and Team Revelation had already lost one top lane turret and two middle lane turrets¡­


    One turret was worth 150 gold, three turrets meant 2,250 gold!


    In the early game, it was obvious who was leading in terms of gold. Every member would have one more item than their opponents!


    ***


    Team Skycrown returned to base, buying their items.


    These three gangsters now started to target the bottom lane.


    Bai Feng frowned. Seeing just about everyone coming to his lane, he suddenly realized why his opponent had picked Caitlyn!


    Yu Luocheng had always been at the bottom lane and his role was a simple one¡ªjust maintain pressure.


    Relying on Caitlyn¡¯s superior range and adding on her wave clear, Yu Luocheng¡¯s experience gain didn¡¯t suffer much. And since Bai Feng had been focused on trying to bring down the turret as quickly as possible, Caitlyn was now one level higher than him!


    Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to fight against Bai Feng, he was concentrating on farming and defending the turret instead!


    When his companions reached his side, he threw off the passive role he had been playing for the last eight minutes, turning into the sheriff that Caitlyn was known to be.


    All five members of Team Skycrown were now pushing the bottom lane.


    It was still the same play of ignoring the champions and focusing on attacking the turret. Their eyes only had the opponent¡¯s turret in it.


    If Team Revelation wanted to engage in a team fight, Team Skycrown would welcome it with both arms and even both legs. With the advantage of three turrets, they had more gold and better items, which ensured that they wouldn¡¯t lose in a team fight.


    ¡°We have to engage, if not we¡¯ll completely lose!¡± said Hao Yue, gritting his teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Go!¡± commanded Bai Feng.


    At his word, Team Revelation immediately jumped into the fray. Hao Yue led the charge with Elise, throwing a Flash and Q onto Caitlyn.


    Woosh!


    Lin Dong¡¯s reaction was astounding, activating his ulti the moment Elise hit the ground!


    Nether Grasp!


    Malzahar¡¯s ulti was definitely one of the most disgusting ulti in the world! 2.5 seconds of suppression time! Unable to move for 2.5 seconds¡­ just how much health do you think a level seven Elise has?


    In those 2.5 seconds, Malzahar¡¯s skills were enough to instantly kill him, and that wasn¡¯t even adding on Lee Sin, Renekton, and Caitlyn¡¯s skills yet¡­


    Elise didn¡¯t even have time to throw out an E. Before the 2.5 seconds were up, Hai Yue¡¯s Elise was instantly killed!


    The atmosphere was silently cold for a while after that gorgeous instant kill.


    ¡°Stop¡­ stop! Come back!¡±


    Bai Feng and the rest of Team Revelation collectively gulped, the kill was f*cking faster than they thought!


    This felt like a scene that always appeared on TV, where a group of young and confused people were aggressively wielding machetes. On their boss¡¯ command, the boys picked up their weapons and charged, intending to kill the little motherf*cker that had messed with them.


    But then that little sh*t merely opened fire with the gun in his hands. As the smoke rose out from the muzzle of the gun, the boys were left confused and dumbfounded at the scene!


    Why the f*ck would you attack when your opponent had a gun?!


    The remaining four members of Team Revelation were also in that position. Whether they engaged or not, Team Skycrown had already displayed their skills.


    ¡°Give them the turret!¡±


    Bai Feng gritted his teeth, turning around to retreat. They could only watch as Team Skycrown tore down the turret in front of their eyes!


    ***


    ¡°1-3-1 formation!¡± Zhang Aijing¡¯s eyes opened wider, sparkling brightly as she realized what Team Skycrown was doing.


    Their tactic was the 1-3-1 formation!


    It all started with the middle lane turret assault. Then, once time was up, they allowed the top lane to give out First Blood. After that, the three champions would gather at the middle lane and go straight to take out the turret.


    Once the middle lane was down, they would switch back to the top lane while the Top who had died at the top lane would swap to the middle lane to farm.


    At the six-minute mark, they would continue to take the top lane turret. If their opponent¡¯s Jungler came to defend, they would then take advantage of the fact that the middle lane was open and gank.


    Even if they couldn¡¯t kill, they would at least deliver enough damage to be able to continue pushing the lane!


    Soraka used the gold gained from the turrets to consistently place wards, controlling the vision in the jungle area. She would even de-ward the opponent¡¯s wards.


    If their opponent¡¯s Top and Jungler didn¡¯t buy any wards, then they needn¡¯t dream of going out to farm. But if they bought wards, then they would just be wasting their gold. Either way, they would be at Team Skycrown¡¯s mercy.


    After successfully taking down the middle lane, they would then head towards the bottom lane.


    Caitlyn was the most suitable champion to 1v2 as she didn¡¯t need to grow any faster. She just needed to survive and defend the turret!


    When the assault on the bottom lane came, Caitlyn¡¯s prowess at lane pushing was demonstrated, forcing their opponent to engage, and at the same time not getting herself involved.


    It hadn¡¯t even been ten minutes and the middle lane had already lost two turrets, while the top and bottom lanes had lost one turret each. The range that Team Revelation could reach at the moment was very, very small!


    Next, they just had to carry out the Jungle Suppression tactic, continue to control the vision in the jungle area, and continue to push hard at the lanes.


    With Malzahar¡¯s existence on the map, whoever engaged first would be instantly taken out. In early game, a champion wouldn¡¯t have much health and magic resist. Under Malzahar¡¯s 2.5 seconds ulti, not even the Top would stand a chance!


    By using the 1-3-1 formation tactic in the first ten minutes, Team Skycrown ensured that Team Revelation fell into their trap that all began when they drew First Blood.


    After that, no matter how strong a team Team Revelation was, they were being led around by their noses!


    With Malzahar and Caitlyn, plus Soraka and Leesin, and even a tank Top¡­


    Which genius thought of such an ingenious tactic?!


    With this kind of tactic in place, neither Bai Feng¡¯s overall ability index of 23 points nor Hao Yue¡¯s 22 points mattered, they were still completely helpless!


    Within ten minutes, the gold gap between the teams was already at about 4,000. The jungle area had been completely controlled, and with Dragon, the gap was almost at 5,000.


    Can¡¯t engage in a team fight!


    All vision was under their control!


    In pushing the tower, they were practically an unstoppable demolition gangster team!


    The whole game had already been overtaken by Team Skycrown¡¯s game play, leaving Miracle and Qi Qiao at a loss on how to narrate the rest of the game.


    No one had ever seen such a disgusting tactic, not to this extent of making everyone nauseous!


    Even Team Revelation who was among the top four in the LPL couldn¡¯t counter this play!


    It was simply¡­


    Absolute f*cking nonsense!

 Chapter 310 - One Win For Team Skycrown!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Team Skycrown, you¡¯re really something. You managed to think up this kind of tactic to go against Team Revelation¡­ I can only say that you¡¯re the sh*t!¡± Not even Miracle couldn¡¯t find anything to criticize them with right now.


    When faced with a player who could 1v2 at the bottom lane against Bai Feng¡¯s strongest ADC, what else can you spit on?


    Facing this type of astonishing fast push, nothing could stop them. Demolishing tactics, AD Master Yi backdoor, AP Xin Zhao tanking tower were all useless against them.


    Forget about the poke tactic, the 4-1 push tactic, and Teleport Ganking¡­ Team Skycrown¡¯s tactic was the most unique thing anyone had ever seen. It truly represented the development of the people of the Republic of China!


    That¡¯s right, this tactic was completely unimaginable!


    If the audience could go back to when they cast their votes, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have unhesitatingly voted for Team Revelation.


    Give me a land, and I can build you a nation.


    Give me a city, and I can rule over Diaoyu Island.


    Give me five champions, and I can show you the peak of the LOL world!


    ***


    Team Revelation was not afraid of losing, it was normal to lose a couple of games. However, being ultimately crushed with this kind of tactic and intelligence, they really didn¡¯t know where to put their faces!


    When they first started the game, the members of Team Revelation were all confident and they even gave a pre-match interview.


    Now their words had come back to bite them. Can you believe that a new rising team in the LPL used five cheap champions to thoroughly thrash them?


    When their inhibitor turret was taken down, and when the inhibitor was taken, Team Revelation had no will to resist anymore.


    At this point, they even had trouble dealing with the super minions. They didn¡¯t even want to step out of base, it felt like they weren¡¯t playing LOL anymore. It was basically a Warcraft RPG where you defend Athena on hell mode!


    League of Legends was indeed a pushing turret game, but everyone knows that kills and team fights were the main point. If you don¡¯t kill or engage in team fights, how would you get the items needed to push the turret?


    The members of Team Revelation had no words to describe the bitter taste left in their mouths upon seeing the game change direction under Team Skycrown¡¯s disgusting tactics.


    Hao Yue¡¯s roaming gank had no way to be used here, and his abilities were not used to gain the upper hand in getting buffs, Dragons, or Barons, but instead used to fight against the super minions.


    How could Bai Feng be expected to show off his gorgeous initiates and positioning while trying to beat back the super minions?


    None of them could display any of their abilities at all!


    Bai Feng is said to be the most gentle and calm player, but as he spent the whole game defending turrets and beating back super minions, even his patience was reaching its limits!


    ***


    ¡°Oh, Bai Feng is angry! He¡¯s definitely going after Caitlyn¡¯s arse now! And can you blame him? You basically turned LOL into a turret defense game!¡± said Miracle, starting to poke fun at the teams again.


    Even though it was subtle, the subject of laughter this time was actually Bai Feng.


    Bai Feng initiated!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Caitlyn was leading the charge alone at the bottom lane, and the two ADCs faced off against each other.


    By Flashing in immediately, Bai Feng was obviously intending to break this deadlock tactic. He wanted to solo against Yu Luocheng!


    Graves¡¯ damage at late game was very high, after using Quickdraw and landing a crit, coupled together with his other skills, he definitely had a chance of taking Caitlyn¡¯s head!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s reaction was also not slow and he retaliated against him, giving as good as he got.


    Buckshot!


    Three bullets in the form of a cone shot out, and Bai Feng who was testing his limits tried to aim at least two bullets in Yu Luocheng¡¯s direction.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s hand speed was amazing, slamming his finger down onto the E button the second the bullets launched from Graves¡¯ gun, executing a beautiful dodge with his 90 Caliber Net!


    The bullet that hit Yu Luocheng¡¯s Caitlyn didn¡¯t cause much damage, but his EQ follow up on Bai Feng definitely landed a heavy blow.


    Bai Feng remained calm. Seeing Yu Luocheng¡¯s EQ and retreat, he immediately aimed his ulti on her retreating figure!


    The explosive shell shot out in a straight line, and even though Caitlyn¡¯s EQ allowed her to move a great distance backwards, there was still a limit to how much she could retreat. Aiming the shell in this direction, the hit rate was definitely one hundred percent.


    Boom!


    As the explosive shell burst, Piltover Peacemaker also burst out from Caitlyn¡¯s rifle. The moment the two skills crossed over each other, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Caitlyn disappeared from her original position, appearing to the side of Graves while still maintaining a distance of 600 yards!


    Miracle couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise at the move he just witnessed.


    ¡°Beautiful! Caitlyn used Flash to cancel the animation of her Piltover Peacemaker and avoided Graves¡¯ ulti at the same time!¡±


    After Caitlyn releases Q, she has a small pause. If you pressed Flash the moment the skill is released, you could completely cancel out that pause. The same was true of her QR combo, you needed to be quick and fluent in your controls.


    With the distance of 600 yards, Graves would still be within Caitlyn¡¯s range, but she wouldn¡¯t be in his!


    After exhausting all his skills and having each one be evaded, Bai Feng realized that he wouldn¡¯t be able to win this fight. Activating his Barrier, he started to retreat.


    But it was meaningless to run from Caitlyn when he had so little life left. Without hesitation, Yu Luocheng immediately pressed R.


    Ace in the Hole!


    Boom!


    The homing projectile shot out and landed a perfect headshot, taking away the last bit of health Graves had.


    ¡°Bai Feng has been solo killed!¡±


    A deafening roar resounded through the arena!


    Bai Feng was aiming to kill Caitlyn in his anger, trying to break the deadlock. In the end, it was him that fell to Caitlyn¡¯s beautiful maneuver!


    ¡°His Flash forward to confront Caitlyn was not a very wise move, it¡¯s obvious that Caitlyn¡¯s items are far superior to his. He might have stood a chance if all his skills had landed, but unfortunately for him, Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is not just anybody. It isn¡¯t that easy to kill him.¡± Qi Qiao elaborated on the scene that had played out.


    For her who had witnessed Yu Luocheng solo against Blood Eagle in person, her eyes involuntarily shifted towards Yu Luocheng.


    The facts were plain to see. If Bai Feng were to be this aggressive against any other professional player, he might have been able to use his set of skills to take their heads.


    Even if he didn¡¯t kill them, he would have at least left them with only the smallest bit of health.


    However, Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t like that at all. With two repositioning skills in his kit, he used the right judgement to avoid the damage from Graves. Then, taking advantage of his longer range and better equipment, he turned the tables and killed Bai Feng instead!


    ***


    Once their ADC died, Team Revelation also lost their third inhibitor turret. With all inhibitor turrets down, they could only watch as their base was demolished by the super minions.


    ¡°Congratulations to Team Skycrown for obtaining the first win in this round! Presumably, this result was contrary to everyone¡¯s expectations!¡± announced Qi Qiao, a full blown smile on her face.


    Miracle, who had assumed Team Revelation would waste Team Skycrown had nothing much to say now. He had initially prepared an onslaught of ammunition to use against Team Skycrown and was just waiting for the moment Team Revelation took them down. He was waiting for the moment he could entice laughter from the crowd with his comments, but this result was not something he had anticipated.


    If you think about it, no one would have expected this outcome at all! Who would have thought that Team Revelation would be beaten by an up-and-coming new team?


    ¡°I think Team Revelation needs to sort out how they are going to counter Team Skycrown¡¯s latest tactic,¡± said Miracle.


    ¡°By the way, Team Skycrown has indeed broken the curse,¡± said Qi Qiao after some thought.


    ¡°Indeed they have,¡± said Miracle, smiling awkwardly as he recalled his earlier jibes before the match started.


    If he knew that this was going to happen, he wouldn¡¯t have excessively poked fun at Team Skycrown. At this rate, the backlash was going to start physically hurting!


    ¡°Right right, ladies and gentlemen, Team Skycrown has also shown us the truth: LOL is a turret pushing game.¡±


    ***


    At the end of the first match, discussions were going on everywhere. Before the outcome was known, who would have thought that Team Skycrown would win?


    Before the match, nobody wanted to vote on the outcome. Instead, everyone was more interested in voting on whether or not the bottom lane would be wrecked. Some even went so far as to vote on how long Team Skycrown would last at the bottom lane.


    It wasn¡¯t that Team Revelation had disappointed them, but it was instead Team Skycrown¡¯s tactic that was disgusting.


    ¡°Miracle, so which team do you think will win this time?¡± asked Qi Qiao excitedly, her voice high.


    ¡°An unexpected tactic won for now, but this is a best out of five game. At most, they¡¯ll only be able to use this tactic once. From the second match onwards, Team Revelation will have a better defense against it. As long as they can maintain their turret, Team Revelation still holds the advantage of their team fighting capabilities, which will help them obtain victory. I still think that Team Revelation will be victorious,¡± said Miracle, explaining his theory.


    Miracle was not blindly worshipping Team Revelation, their strength was plain for everyone to see. If you take away the unexpected tactic that Team Skycrown had used to beat them, Team Revelation¡¯s strength was still way higher than Team Skycrown¡¯s. In this best three out of five game, how would Team Skycrown be able to overthrow this clear advantage that Team Revelation had?


    ¡°Careful not to burn yourself again,¡± said Qi Qiao, laughing.


    ¡°Impossible, I believe in Bai Feng. That solo kill earlier was unavoidable. The outcome would have still been a loss for them even if he hadn¡¯t tried to break the deadlock. He was gambling on the chance of making a comeback. If he didn¡¯t take the chance, it would have been a complete loss.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s see what else Team Skycrown will entertain us with. To be honest, I¡¯m getting more and more interested in them,¡± said Qi Qiao.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s shocking game had absolutely drawn in everyone watching. The fact that they were able to win one game against Team Revelation was already amazing.


    ***


    ¡°Alright, next round!¡±


    The members of Team Skycrown celebrated backstage, fist bumping each other with smiles on their faces!


    This tactic was something they had used against Fudan University and the effect was obvious. However, there was a big difference in skill between Fudan University and Team Revelation.


    When facing Fudan University, Team Skycrown had taken nineteen minutes to GG them. It had taken thirty minutes to do the same to Team Revelation. But no matter what, the fact that their tactic had managed to overthrow Team Revelation had amazed Team Skycrown, giving them a burst of exhilaration.


    ¡°You guys were awesome! Haha, you didn¡¯t see the faces of the people backstage, I swear their eyes were going to pop out!¡± Li Meiqi was roaring with laughter.


    Yu Luocheng coughed into his hand. ¡°Calm down!¡±


    ¡°What calm down? Don¡¯t you know why we¡¯re happy? Before the match started, they were betting on how long you would last at the bottom lane. In the end, that b*tchy photographer lost a thousand yuan! I wanted to roll on the floor and laugh!¡± Li Meiqi laughed as she pointed out the man standing in a corner.


    Everyone looked at where she pointed, surprised to find that dirty photographer Liang Gui was also backstage.

 Chapter 311 - Team Revelation Isnt All That

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Liang Gui was not an official photographer, but he did have some connections with the organizers, so he was backstage collecting some materials that could be sold.


    Out of boredom, he made a bet with a few photographers that he was close to.


    The bet was initially just a joke, but who would have known that those Team Skycrown idiots actually won and he lost a thousand yuan just like that.


    Now that Team Skycrown was backstage during their break, Liang Gui was glaring at them with fire in his eyes. If looks could kill¡­


    ¡°This kind of backwater team won? Team Revelation must be useless, making me lose money!¡± spat Liang Gui, with venom in his voice.


    Hearing his complaints, Yu Luocheng glanced at Liang Gui and raised his middle finger at him.


    ¡°Congratulations on losing a thousand yuan.¡± Da Luo smiled, his words dripping with sarcasm.


    Liang Gui¡¯s expression shifted and he coldly said, ¡°So what if I can¡¯t let go of this one thousand yuan? You think you¡¯re so great after winning one match? If you have the capability, then go ahead and beat Team Revelation! Bunch of bird shit!¡±


    ¡°F*ck, who do you think you¡¯re cursing you piece of sh*t?!¡± Da Luo exclaimed angrily.


    Seeing that Da Luo was about to get physical and knowing that any backstage incident would get them banned from playing, Yu Loucheng hurriedly held Da Luo back.


    ¡°Leave it to me,¡± said Yu Luocheng, turning towards Liang Gui.


    ¡°Earlier you said that we can¡¯t win against Team Revelation, so what happens if we do win, idiot?¡±


    ¡°Even if you can win, with a weird tactic like that you¡¯ll only get a second win at most! Let¡¯s see how you play the next few rounds,¡± said Liang Gui, his smile cold.


    Everyone could see that the reason Team Skycrown won this round was due to their unexpected tactic. In terms of actual strength, Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t compare to Team Revelation.


    And at most, that type of formation could only be used once.


    ¡°What if we do win? Would you care to make a bet?¡± asked Yu Luocheng, standing in front of Liang Gui. His voice was calm as he looked at the idiot in front of him.


    ¡°Win? You guys?¡±


    ¡°Enough nonsense, are you willing to make the bet or not? If you¡¯re not then just f*ck off to some corner and masturbate with your camera lenses. I hear that a lot of you crazy photographers have weird fetishes,¡± said Yu Luocheng, his voice laced with steel.


    ¡°F*ck you, you¡¯re the one with the weird fetish!¡± Liang Gui couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and roared, ¡°I don¡¯t dare? Come on, I¡¯ll throw two thousand yuan in. If you win, you can take it!¡±


    ¡°I thought you were some hotshot playing with high-grade cameras, yet you only bet two thousand yuan? Come on, I¡¯ll bet ten thousand!¡± said Li Meiqi as she pulled out her own bag, showing the rolls of money inside.


    A roll of cash was slapped on the table and Li Meiqi smiled sharply, saying, ¡°If Team Skycrown loses, this ten thousand can buy a 5D lens for your camera so you can finally look like a professional photographer. Stop trying to pass off a cheap 60D lens as something more high-grade, asshole!¡±


    Watching Li Meiqi suddenly lose her temper shocked Team Skycrown into silence. Wow, this ladylike senior of theirs was not f*cking around! Seeing her just casually throw such a large amount of money on the table¡­ could she really still be called a lady?


    And judging by Liang Gui¡¯s pinched expression, you could tell that Li Meiqi had hit the mark on his camera lenses!


    There were several other professional photographers backstage, and with Li Meiqi¡¯s outburst, they all came running over to see what was happening.


    Liang Gui couldn¡¯t put up with the humiliation anymore. If it was just Yu Luocheng challenging him to a bet, he could have still found a reason to turn it down. But to have a little girl throw down ten thousand just like that¡­


    With so many eyes on him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to show his face in the LOL industry anymore if he were to get scared off by a woman.


    Liang Gui¡¯s face was getting darker and darker as he pondered the situation before realizing that he still had some money leftover on his card.


    After all, it was impossible for Team Skycrown to beat Team Revelation. Guan Lanjie from Team Sky had also said so earlier. It was impossible for Team Skycrown to win the rest of the matches.


    Team Revelation had been caught off guard by their unexpected tactic, but they would be prepared in the next games. Team Skycrown had barely any chance of winning!


    Liang Gui couldn¡¯t afford to lose face here, where would he go after that? The chance of Team Skycrown losing was so much higher and he would even walk away with ten thousand yuan after he won the bet!


    Bring on the bet! He wasn¡¯t scared!


    ¡°You think I can¡¯t put up ten thousand? I¡¯ll go withdraw the money now. I don¡¯t believe you guys will win!¡± Liang Gui lifted his head arrogantly, confidence radiating from his person.


    Li Meiqi smiled disdainfully. ¡°Don¡¯t regret this.¡±


    ¡°Everyone here can be a witness!¡±


    Feeling like he was going to earn this money for nothing, Liang Gui was clearly eager.


    Ten thousand yuan, that was worth two to three months of his salary!


    Liang Gui was an amateur photographer but he really wanted to enter into the professional world. Professional photographers earned a lot of money and had good equipment.


    With this ten thousand yuan, he could upgrade his equipment, add on a wide-angle lens, and collect more worthy materials. If his work catches the eyes of the organizers, he would really be able to be an official photographer¡­


    Where else would he find such a good chance to get everything he wanted?


    To be honest, Li Meiqi had really backed him into a corner. But thinking about it now, he wanted to show that big-chested-no-brains girl what happens when you make rash bets without thinking things through!


    ***


    After Liang Gui turned and left, the member of Team Skycrown all turned as one to the girl, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Why are you all looking at me like that?¡± Li Meiqi stuttered, suddenly feeling shy and embarrassed being at the center of the five boys¡¯ attention.


    The five of them faltered again. Just seconds ago, this girl was roaring like a god of war, and now she suddenly turned into a demure goddess!


    This¡­


    ¡°Ten thousand yuan! You dared to bet that much!¡± Da Luo couldn¡¯t help it, he shouted loudly.


    Yu Luocheng had indeed wanted Liang Gui to lose more, but he didn¡¯t expect Li Meiqi to up the stakes to ten thousand yuan! Damn, being rich really made you see things differently.


    ¡°Yeah, ten thousand yuan is enough for us to live for two to three months,¡± said Lin Dong bitterly.


    ¡°And you know we don¡¯t have any money,¡± said Zhou Yan, pointing out the obvious.


    Team Skycrown was poor as dirt right now. They didn¡¯t know how they were going to make it past the next few months if they didn¡¯t get the grant.


    Li Meiqi¡¯s life was definitely much better than theirs. She had just bet enough money for Team Skycrown to survive for a few months.


    She wanted to help Team Skycrown, but how could they accept it? A bit of suffering in life was nothing. It is because of suffering that you would then work harder to get somewhere in life. By suffering, you would then later appreciate the feeling of accomplishment brought upon by winning something on your own. Wouldn¡¯t it be meaningless to use some girl¡¯s money?


    ¡°Can¡¯t I make a personal bet against him? It has nothing to do with you. Damn it, I¡¯m sick of listening to those assholes talk about how Team Skycrown will lose! Do you like listening to all those professional players talk sh*t about you backstage? Does it feel good?¡± snapped Li Meiqi, venting her frustration.


    ¡°That commentator is also the worst, he¡¯s always poking fun at us. You painstakingly won one match¡­ looking at their retarded dumbfounded faces and seeing how surprised they were made me incredibly happy! Can¡¯t I even spend a bit of money after being happy?¡±


    Lin Dong interrupted, saying, ¡°That was not just a bit of money.¡±


    ¡°Sh*t, don¡¯t interrupt me!¡±


    ¡°¡±Speak Madam, we will listen!¡±


    ¡°Listen up, you guys are not allowed to lose to Team Revelation! I don¡¯t care about the money but I can¡¯t stand them looking down on you. They don¡¯t know how much you guys have suffered, but I do. They don¡¯t know how much you love E-sports, but I do¡­¡± said Li Meiqi. Her voice shook with emotion and her eyes were red.


    At her declaration, the five members of Team Skycrown lapsed into silence.


    Li Meiqi¡¯s words had stroked a fire in their hearts.


    They had always thought that Li Meiqi was just playing around, claiming to be the manager of Team Skycrown. But now they were well aware that Li Meiqi was completely with them on the road back to being a professional player.


    ¡°What¡¯s so good about Team Revelation? I want those girls to be surrounding you in the future, begging for your autograph! I want those sponsors to beg us to enter their companies, not the other way around!¡±


    Team Revelation was not all that!


    Yeah, they¡¯re definitely not all that!


    When Team Skycrown was playing professionally in the nationals, Team Revelation was probably playing Tetris somewhere. When Team Skycrown was playing in the World Championship, Team Revelation was just some half-assed DOTA team.


    Li Meiqi exclaimed beautifully, ¡°Show them what you¡¯ve got and prove to them that your victory this round was not a fluke! This was your f*cking skills!¡±


    Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and even Yu Luocheng were overcome by emotions at Li Meiqi¡¯s speech.


    Defeating Team Revelation by relying on their own strength!


    They wouldn¡¯t know that demolishing their lineup was just the tip of the iceberg in Team Skycrown¡¯s abilities.


    Since everyone thinks that they would win only one more game and get one more point, then they will prove them all wrong by taking down Team Revelation!


    ***


    Li Meiqi had spoken the words hidden deep in Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart. The reason he hadn¡¯t hesitated to step into a professional competition this time was because of the injustice Team Skycrown had suffered. He couldn¡¯t stay silent anymore!


    This tactic was something that he thought up himself, so it was up to him to lead the team to another complete victory. The one he needed to defeat this time was not Team Meteor or Team Stardust or whatever galaxy team, but one of the top four teams¡ªTeam Revelation!


    Bai Feng, the strongest ADC in the country?


    There were several other ADCs in Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind that were not any worse than Bai Feng.


    He really dared to call himself the strongest ADC in the country?


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t even dare to claim that his ADC was the strongest, so let him be the one to test this so-called strongest ADC in the country. He would also show E-sports enthusiasts that the professional players they saw on screen were not necessarily the strongest.


    They were uncontested simply because those who were stronger had not yet awakened, and had not yet stepped into the public eye!


    During the last match, Bai Feng had used Graves.


    Everyone knew that Graves was a favorite of Yu Luocheng¡¯s. No matter how many times he is nerfed, his domineering statute was still loved by Yu Luocheng.


    In the next round, let the master teach you how to use Graves properly!

 Chapter 312 - Outsmarting Team Revelation!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Second match, start!


    After the astounding first match, the support for the teams was not so one-sided anymore.


    Everyone knew that it was impossible for Team Skycrown to win again by using the same tactic, but they were still eager to see what other fantastically unexpected tactic Team Skycrown would use.


    ¡°Our vote for the next game is soon, everyone grab your cellphones! Those watching at home can also use the link below to enter the voting site, we have giveaways there as well!¡±


    The outcome of the voting was quickly calculated.


    Surprisingly, Team Skycrown only got an incredibly low four percent of the votes in the previous game, but now their votes had increased to twenty percent!


    That was a five times increase in popularity that had been wrestled over from the crazy popular Team Revelation!


    With the votes casted, the members of Team Skycrown were all smiles.


    As expected, only strength can do the talking, anything else about tricks and conspiracies were all pointless.


    If winning one game had increased their support from four percent to twenty percent, what would happen if they won another?


    ***


    ¡°Going into the loading screen, let us once again introduce Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup. Their lineup is still a little bit different than the usual meta, they have two ADs!¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup consists of Top Shen, Jungler Aatrox, Mid Ezreal, Support Thresh, and ADC Graves!¡±


    ¡°On Team Revelation¡¯s side, they have Top Renekton, Mid Ahri, Jungler Vi, Support Elise, and ADC Draven.¡±


    ¡°Needless to say, I feel that Team Revelation¡¯s lineup makes more sense. There¡¯s tank, there¡¯s gap closure, there¡¯s engage and disengage, those are some powerful CCs in there!¡±


    Seeing this lineup, Miracle started his ribbing again. ¡°Using normal lineups, Team Skycrown doesn¡¯t have much of a winning chance. I remember that after level six, Vi and Ahri can catch opponents who are standing quite far out with their ulti, and once caught, their opponents will surely die. Using this point to hard engage in early or mid game, and then once Bai Feng gets his items on Draven, Team Skycrown doesn¡¯t stand a chance at all.¡±


    He paused, remembering the events of the previous match.


    ¡°Forget it, I better not say too much. What will Team Skycrown bring to the table this round? Let¡¯s anticipate it together!¡±


    Miracle had learnt his lesson and settled down. It was better not to trash talk too much, lest he got another slap to the face later.


    ***


    The match began, and Team Skycrown had changed their usual tactic of not engaging in level one team fights. They bundled together and headed towards Team Revelation¡¯s jungle area.


    Team Skycrown was on the red side (top side), and were heading towards Team Revelation¡¯s blue buff.


    Four of them were waiting at their opponent¡¯s blue buff area, while Wu Sen was busy planting wards at the other side of their jungle.


    They planted a ward on their own blue buff and one at the Wraiths camp.


    ¡°Oh, Team Skycrown seems to have something going on for their team fighting strategy. Getting their Support to ward the bottom half of their jungle, and the other four are camping at Team Revelation¡¯s blue buff. Are they intending to steal blue buff or kill some people here?¡± mused Qi Qiao as they watched the scene.


    ¡°If they were to engage in an early team fight, Team Skycrown would hold the advantage with their lineup,¡± said Miracle.


    ***


    Hao Yue¡¯s view switched to their blue buff and a smile stretched out on his face as he thought, ¡®Want to camp us there?¡¯


    There was definitely already a ward in place, their Support had done so way earlier. Did they really think that Team Revelation didn¡¯t even grasp the basic understandings of vision control?


    ¡°They¡¯ve hidden at wolves,¡± said Team Revelation¡¯s Mid.


    ¡°They think we¡¯ll open at blue buff, wait for our Jungler, Mid, and Top to take blue, then they¡¯ll come at us from a blind spot at wolves to kill us,¡± Bai Feng deduced.


    Camping at your opponent¡¯s buff also involves technique. In a competition you want to camp at the bushes at the river first. It wasn¡¯t realistic to wait until blue buff was almost dying, then rush out to either steal it or kill your opponents, since they would have already warded it earlier.


    If you start off with four champions grouped together, then you would be taking a gamble on whether their opponents have warded or not, and camp at wolves as early as possible.


    The area around the wolves can severely limit your vision, sometimes even when you come from the side, they still might not see you coming. When your opponent is taking blue buff, you can take their heads unexpectedly by suddenly coming from the wolves area.


    It was obvious that Team Skycrown had chosen to use the wolves hideout tactic to camp at Team Revelation¡¯s blue buff.


    ¡°Aih, although Team Skycrown¡¯s thought process is good, unfortunately for them blue buff has been warded. Even their hiding in the wolves area has been noticed, and their tactic will definitely fall through this time. Team Revelation could even turn the ambush around on them if they wanted to.¡±


    ¡°However, it looks like Team Revelation doesn¡¯t have the intention of wasting time doing so. Since their blue buff is being camped, then their Jungler will take Team Skycrown¡¯s blue instead, and let them waste time there.¡±


    ¡°This is an exchange of blue buff.¡±


    ***


    At one minute and forty-nine seconds, Team Revelation¡¯s Jungler Vi, Elise, and Draven appeared at Team Skycrown¡¯s blue buff area.


    ¡°Team Skycrown surely didn¡¯t expect that their own blue would be taken while they were camping at their opponent¡¯s blue. Setting up bait for an early team fight is still Team Revelation¡¯s forte,¡± said Miracle.


    As soon as he said that however, an astonishing sight greeted them.


    On the big screen above them, the five members of Team Skycrown suddenly appeared at their own blue buff!


    At one minute and fifty-seven seconds, when Vi, Elise, and Draven were hitting blue buff, the whole of Team Skycrown appeared.


    All five of them!


    The entire Team Skycrown was present, and Shen immediately Flashed and Taunt, effectively trapping Elise!


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Aatrox lifted his heavy blade, bringing it down on Vi and Elise, who were not able to react at all.


    With skills flying all over, Vi and Elise couldn¡¯t even activate their Flash and were blown away in seconds!


    Bai Feng¡¯s reaction was the quickest, immediately Flashing away when Shen Flashed and Taunt.


    The appearance of Team Skycrown was sudden, and Bai Feng himself had a fright. If it wasn¡¯t for his fast reaction, he would have been hooked by Thresh and dragged in. He almost gave them three kills!


    ¡°Oh my god, did the four members of Team Skycrown fall from the sky?!¡± exclaimed Miracle with awe and surprise in his voice.


    When the fight started, everyone¡¯s eyes widened in shock!


    Weren¡¯t the four members of Team Skycrown camping at wolves? How the hell did they suddenly appear at their own blue buff and even manage to kill some members of Team Revelation?


    ¡°What¡­what happened?¡± Qi Qiao was also stunned, not knowing where the members of Team Skycrown came from.


    Everyone took note of their Summoner Skills, none of them had Teleport! How the heck did they cross that big span of space in such a short time?!


    ¡°Rewind, rewind! Hurry up and replay that miraculous event!¡± said Miracle somewhat frantically.


    The screen was currently displaying two bodies, their dead eyes full of unwillingness and confusion.


    At Miracle¡¯s request, the screen now displayed what happened at around the one-minute mark of the game. This was when Team Skycrown had been camping in the bush near blue buff and then headed towards the wolves camp.


    This time, there was no Fog of War, hence you can clearly see Team Skycrown walking into the wolves area.


    Then suddenly, four blue pillars shone down from the sky and the four members of Team Skycrown shouted out, ¡°I will follow you!¡±


    Recall back to base!


    These guys from Team Skycrown actually immediately recalled back to base once they reached their destination!


    After landing back at their base, they immediately rushed out towards their blue buff, catching the three members of Team Revelation who wanted to exchange their blue!


    ¡°Holy sh*t, Team Skycrown you can just get an Academy Award for this!¡± exclaimed Miracle.


    After watching the replay, everyone was once again stunned silent by Team Skycrown¡¯s astonishing play.


    ¡°Team Skycrown really is clever. It was obvious that they knew Team Revelation had a ward at their blue buff, so they made a realistic performance of camping out there, what a blockbuster!¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, I¡¯m sure that Team Revelation would have been laughing when they saw Team Skycrown camping there. They would have laughed and thought that they were idiots camping there and¡­ah, they were really completely outsmarted!¡± said Miracle, laughing slightly.


    If you were paying attention, you would realize that Miracle had unconsciously started ribbing Team Revelation.


    However, he was simply stating facts.


    Team Revelation had been outsmarted and they lost two kills because of that. This would set back their Jungler and bottom lane quite severely.


    The only thing that was certain was that Hao Yue, Team Revelation¡¯s Jungler, would be having a difficult time after this. Losing the blue and with it the level gain, he would definitely not be appearing for ganks anytime soon!


    Bai Feng¡¯s face was dark, and it couldn¡¯t get anymore blacker than this.


    This kind of humiliation and ridicule really frustrated Team Revelation.


    They had already lost the first game due to some gangster tactic. They spent thirty minutes just trying to hold back the super minions like they were playing an A.I game for last hit training.


    In the second game, their ego was once again bruised.


    Angry, Bai Feng was really angry!


    But the problem was that he couldn¡¯t even do anything despite being angry. His Support was dead and he didn¡¯t have Flash, how would Draven dare to CS?


    And worst of all, Graves had managed to snag one of the kills!


    Graves¡¯ damage in early game was higher than Draven¡¯s. With First Blood taken by Graves, Bai Feng would definitely suffer later in the game!


    ***


    Your ally has been slain!


    To make matters worse, Hao Yue had just managed to reach level two after killing a jungle creep when Aatrox appeared and solo killed him.


    Bai Feng spared a glance at Hao Yue, it was time to change their pacing to do something to save the game.


    Hao Yue himself was pissed beyond words!


    It hadn¡¯t even been three minutes yet and he had already been consecutively killed twice, yet he still had to continue playing.


    So what if he had an individual overall ability of 22 points? His opponent¡¯s champions were of higher levels and had better items. Adding on their two kills, there really was no need to talk about who had the better advantage, was there?!


    ¡°Hao Yue, concentrate,¡± said Bai Feng, his voice remaining calm.


    Despite his words, Bai Feng himself was also unable to remain calm at the situation Team Revelation found themselves in since the beginning of the match. Didn¡¯t you notice that he also missed some CS?


    ***


    ¡°Three minutes ago, who would have imagined this at all?¡± said Miracle excitedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if everyone could feel Team Skycrown¡¯s rhythm¡­ setting traps in the beginning, going one after another, and reeling it all in like a storm!¡± said Qi Qiao.


    The two commentators couldn¡¯t help but shower praises on Team Skycrown!


    The problem was that their start was really eye-catching.


    Team Skycrown was a new and unique team, while Team Revelation was a rigid veteran team. It really was quite a contrast!

 Chapter 313 - Illogical Graves

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What the hell is Team Revelation doing?!¡±


    Backstage, Liang Gui was kicking up a fuss. Only three minutes into the game and Team Revelation had already given three kills to Team Skycrown, not to mention that their Jungler was heading into a downward spiral.


    Calm down, calm down. We¡¯re talking about ten thousand yuan here!


    Li Meiqi looked at the flustered Liang Gui, a wicked smile stretching out on her face.


    With Team Skycrown playing so well and proving their worth, let¡¯s see if anyone else dared to look down on them!


    ***


    ¡°This Bai Feng is really cautious, not daring to come out at all!¡± Wu Sen cursed loudly.


    In the previous LPL, Wu Sen¡¯s bottom lane was wrecked by Bai Feng, without him even being able to do anything!


    Now in this game, Bai Feng had been pressured from the beginning, until he refused to come out from under turret. It was to the extent that he didn¡¯t even dare to come out to gain experience, making Wu Sen sigh in frustration.


    No one had ever pressured Bai Feng¡¯s bottom lane to this extent, and it was even rarer to see such a big difference in level and CS!


    It was all because of Yu Luocheng on Graves, being such a bully!


    After getting First Blood, he has yet to recall to base to buy any items.


    That¡¯s why when Bai Feng hard engaged, he managed to bring down Yu Luocheng¡¯s health and safely farm a bit.


    But against an axe-wielding Draven, Yu Luocheng was even more domineering in his plays. Oh, so you¡¯ll throw an axe? Then I¡¯ll just throw an E in your face!


    When Elise wanted to throw a web at Yu Luocheng¡¯s face, he just dodged it. Since he had already used up all his skills, it was of no loss to him to poke his opponent.


    Moreover, once he leveled up and was ahead by one level, it was Draven who took more damage during the few times that they engaged!


    Draven¡¯s laning phase was very strong, just a few hits of his axe was enough to slaughter some paper champions. But it was Graves that he was up against, who had stronger armor and defense. It really wasn¡¯t a good matchup for him at all, and it wasn¡¯t good to be weak and stubborn in this case!


    ¡°This Graves has really got balls, throwing an E straight into people¡¯s face. He¡¯s not afraid of Elise stunning him, is directly making a kill even possible there?¡±


    ¡°This is called confidence!¡± retorted Qi Qiao as she laughed.


    Qi Qiao had realized that the coach of Team Skycrown is indeed a master unlike any that has been seen in the professional industry. When he was solo against Blood Eagle, he showed extraordinary strength and held his own. Now facing Bai Feng, his movements and plays were confident!


    Graves was one of the heroes that Bai Feng was good at using. Many other LPL players had also used Graves against him before, but it was all for naught.


    But this time, Bai Feng was facing such a skillful Graves that was so aggressive in poking and also directly throwing skills in his face.


    Only a handful of ADC players in the country would dare to rush directly at Bai Feng¡ªit was this kind of courage that made the people watching give Yu Luocheng a thumbs up!


    ***


    ¡°This guy is playing way too safe, I can¡¯t get a chance to kill him at all,¡± said Wu Sen, his voice clearly frustrated.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head in agreement. Bai Feng was Bai Feng in the end. Even with all the disadvantages in the early game, he still wasn¡¯t showing any weakness in the later part.


    Even though Bai Feng lost in all the previous engagements, he was slowly climbing back up by farming!


    ¡°Damn, this guy¡¯s farming is more stable than yours!¡± said Wu Sen as he glanced at the scoreboard, noting that the difference in CS was only about ten.


    ¡°Yeah, he took advantage of my engages those few times, baiting me into leading the minion wave under turret. Then he froze the lane there and continued to farm safely under turret.¡±


    Wu Sen groaned. ¡°No way, is he that strategic?¡±


    Baiting the initiate, using Graves¡¯ wave clear abilities, and pushing the minion line towards the turret. Once the lane is controlled by any side, wanting to farm was going to be hard for the other side.


    Bai Feng was smart to use this point to have the minions push all the way under his own turret, ensuring that his farm wouldn¡¯t suffer.


    It was hard to imagine that Bai Feng was able to calmly strategize under these circumstances.


    In a subtle way, being able to use the disadvantages was an important tactic that helped Bai Feng to never lose the bottom lane. Without going through a few close calls, how would you dare to call yourself the best ADC in the country?


    ¡°How about we recall and fight with him once more? You have the advantage of getting First Blood and your items are better than his,¡± suggested Wu Sen.


    After going through so much to pressure him to this extent, Wu Sen was not willing to sit back and watch as Bai Feng made his way back up! After all, Wu Sen had a deep hatred and jealousy towards guys like Bai Feng who were both rich and handsome.


    If I¡¯m not as handsome as you, then I¡¯ll just f*cking torture you in LOL!


    Yu Luocheng disagreed vehemently, ¡°Go back your head! I only have one thing to say, let¡¯s waste him!¡±


    You think you can control the lane?


    You¡¯re nuts if you think I won¡¯t come at you with such a level difference. If I don¡¯t do it now, then when?


    Even if you¡¯re beside the turret, I¡¯ll still take your head!


    In Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes, using Graves meant abandoning all logic.


    Quickdraw!


    Taking the chance while Bai Feng was farming, Yu Luocheng initiated aggressively, once again rushing into Bai Feng¡¯s face.


    One shot!


    Buckshot!


    Bai Feng cursed internally, ¡®This crazy piece of sh*t!¡¯


    No one used Graves like this! Everyone knew that the repositioning skills of an ADC shouldn¡¯t be used so recklessly. Initiating with an E, what was the reason behind this?


    Even a saint had his limits, did you think that Bai Feng had that much patience?


    Bai Feng¡¯s Support couldn¡¯t take it anymore either!


    They were already within the turret range and this Graves was being totally unreasonable. Did you take Bai Feng as some amateur?


    Elise knew that this Graves loved to throw his E in people¡¯s face and then use Smokescreen to hide.


    This time, Elise knew not to use her E¡ªCocoon¡ªbut instead immediately shapeshifted to her Spider Form and used her Q on Graves!


    Yu Luocheng completely ignored Elise, fixing his sights on Draven as he mashed the A button!


    Bai Feng was smart, he continued to stand behind Elise while launching attacks on Graves. The precision of the spinning axes was beautiful, and even their first hit on Graves had already managed to deliver quite a lot of damage.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s health was dangerously low, and yet he didn¡¯t retreat!


    He threw a Smokescreen, obscuring Draven¡¯s vision!


    The blocked vision was the key point here, it managed to seal Draven¡¯s vision right behind him.


    Bai Feng now had two choices, he could either step backwards into the Smokescreen, lose his vision, and get back under turret, or he could stand within Graves¡¯ range and fight to see who would die first.


    You have to admit that Graves¡¯ passive¡ªTrue Grit¡ªwas really OP!


    The longer the fight, the higher the stacks on his armor and magic resist.


    Bai Feng called Yu Luocheng a crazy piece of sh*t because he used Graves while being clearly aware of his capabilities as a champion. At level five, Graves passive would be at the second level, and the effect of that was two bonus armor and bonus magic resist!


    Before the fight started, this guy had deliberately stacked his passive, and after almost fully stacking it, he threw an E directly in Draven¡¯s face.


    Draven¡¯s damage at early stages was high, but that would mean he needed to toss out a few more axes. Graves just needed to fight for a few seconds and his armor and magic resist would gain more than a dozen extra points!


    So, to fight him or not?


    Bai Feng bit his lip, a level five Graves was indeed disgusting. If he was also at level five, then he wouldn¡¯t be afraid at all!


    Calculating the health he had, Bai Feng knew that he would die if he didn¡¯t retreat. He took a step back and his vision was immediately obstructed.


    You couldn¡¯t blame him for making this decision, because no matter how hard he fought, he would be the one to die. Besides, he still had Exhaust on him.


    Entering the turret range, Bai Feng felt the tension lifting, making him feel slightly relieved.


    Damn, where did this ADC come from and how playing against him bring this kind of intense pressure?


    Elise suddenly shouted out a warning, ¡°Bai Feng, watch out!¡±


    Bai Feng halted hesitatingly.


    Watch out for what? Did that guy mean to tower dive him?


    As the smoke cleared, the retreating Bai Feng suddenly found a man with a gigantic gun behind him.


    ¡°F*ck!¡±


    The normally civilized Bai Feng couldn¡¯t help but let out a loud curse, this guy really was diving the turret. Can you f*cking look at your health bar first?!


    You still dare to come forward with such little health left?


    Do you not f*cking see that Elise is still at the side of the turret?!


    This guy is crazy, rushing in like this!


    Elise hurriedly changed to her Human Form, her Cocoon had yet to be used, and since Graves wanted to dive the turret by coming forward¡­


    With a wave of her hand, the web flew towards Graves.


    Bai Feng had kept one skill on hand, and that was Stand Aside.


    To be honest, he didn¡¯t expect Graves to dive the turret to kill him, but he wouldn¡¯t back down either!


    Cocoon and Stand Aside launched, directly targeting Graves.


    Bamf!


    Flash!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s strange Flash placed him at the space between the turret and the wall.


    The two skills flew over his head harmlessly, and stabilizing his gun, Yu Luocheng aimed it at Draven!


    Bang bang!


    The gun barrel surged and the large lead bullets burst out angrily, heading right for Bai Feng!


    Startled and looking at his low health, Bai Feng frantically activated his Barrier!


    A cold bead of sweat fell from his forehead.


    Just a little bit, if he had been just a little bit slower, he would have died!


    Once he got over the initial shock, anger started to build in Bai Feng. With Barrier activated, he could still take some damage, so he turned around and pressed A on Yu Luocheng.


    Once Yu Luocheng saw the Barrier activate, he wore such a satisfied expression. He took a step back and stretched out his arm, swiftly grasping Thresh¡¯s lantern!


    Thanks to Thresh¡¯s lantern, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Graves smoothly slid out of the turret range, leaving Bai Feng without any change of retaliation. The whole operation was executed perfectly, as if everything had been planned.


    ¡°Just a bit more!¡± said Elise angrily, chasing Graves even though he was already safely out from the turret range.


    Once her shapeshifting abilities cooled down, Elise turned into her Spider Form again, shooting upwards into the sky as she wanted to bite down on Graves and take the little remainder of his health.


    ¡°Don¡¯t chase, he still has Barrier!¡± shouted Bai Feng.


    Unfortunately, Bai Feng¡¯s warning came a bit too late. Elise had already descended from the sky, aiming to fall on Graves and give him a bite!

 Chapter 314 - The Player Who Beat The Koreans!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng nonchalantly activated his Barrier. At ten stacks for his passive, Yu Luocheng had an extra twenty magic resist, how much damage could a Support Elise do?


    I¡¯ll stand my ground and let you approach, you won¡¯t be able to bite me within the two seconds that my Barrier is activated!


    Within those two seconds, Yu Luocheng moved behind Elise, using the minions and the wall to block her movements, turning her back into level A Elise.


    After the two seconds of Yu Luocheng¡¯s Barrier, Wu Sen unleashed the skill that he had been holding back!


    ¡°You think you¡¯re the only one who can hold back a skill?¡± Wu Sen taunted, his hook landing beautifully on Elise¡¯s fat ass.


    Yu Luocheng looked at Elise who had ran out of mana and calmly shot her in the face. A Support Elise was very weak, her health had already been drastically reduced in just four seconds. As he walked forward and shot her, it was clear that Yu Luocheng was not afraid at all.


    He only had a little bit of life left, but even then, Elise¡¯s basic attacks just couldn¡¯t kill him!


    Bai Feng watched from under turret as his Support was kited by Yu Luocheng¡­


    It was useless, Elise had about 60 basic attack and Graves¡¯ armor was already above 50, how could you beat him?


    As expected, Graves who had only about 50 health left still did not die. Although his health looked like it declined, he was still withstanding Elise¡¯s attacks¡­


    Once Thresh used his E to flay her backwards, Elise¡¯s chance at killing Graves was completely gone!


    Team Revelation¡¯s Support let out a strangled scream as he slammed his hands onto the keyboard.


    ¡°You were too reckless. He exchanged a Flash for my Barrier, it was actually his loss¡­¡± said Bai Feng quietly to his Support.


    His Support breathed out angrily.


    He had two thirds of his health left, while his opponent only had 50 health left¡­


    But then there was Barrier, and the hook, and he could see Graves¡¯ health dropping, but he just wouldn¡¯t die!


    And in the end, he was killed instead!


    ***


    ¡°Oh sh*t, Graves you didn¡¯t die even from that! You have to be cheating right?¡± Miracle couldn¡¯t help but curse.


    That scene just now practically looked like a cheat. With no Barrier or any other protection, Elise had ferociously attacked with A but Graves still didn¡¯t die!


    ¡°This¡­the coach of Team Skycrown is also a bit crazy. Facing Bai Feng upfront in a fight, pushing it all the way into the turret. Calmly retreating like a suave gentleman, taking the damage from Elise head on, and even killing her in the end!¡± exclaimed Qi Qiao, excitement clearly in her voice.


    In the LPL competitions, many had tried to target Bai Feng with all kinds of tactics. But have you ever seen anyone play against him so calmly?


    As expected of a master who can solo and achieve a draw with Blood Eagle, he was really playing with so much confidence.


    Miracle exclaimed suddenly, ¡°Aha! Even our camera can¡¯t help but focus on him!¡±


    The camera had been on Graves ever since he calmly returned to base and the big screen was focused on Yu Luocheng!


    Within the country, there were only a few bottom lane combinations that Team Revelation couldn¡¯t beat. Even Asmodai from Team Daemons felt pressured when playing against Bai Feng.


    When have you ever seen Team Revelation¡¯s bottom lane get beaten so badly?


    Though it was only a Support that was killed, the shocking fact was that beating them outside wasn¡¯t enough. With so little life left, Yu Luocheng had still dived into turret range and made use of the Support that was sure to chase him, what a domineering play!


    ¡°This is the coach of Team Skycrown, and he¡¯s in the game in person this time. You can feel the domineering attitude radiating from him, he¡¯s definitely going all out!¡± said Miracle.


    He couldn¡¯t possibly be performing any better than he already was. In the first game, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Caitlyn demonstrated how to neatly kill Bai Feng¡¯s Grave by taking advantage of his recklessness.


    And now in this second game, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Graves was basically teaching people how to properly use him. Continuing to fight even when his opponents had already ran under turret, he was really demonstrating just how someone using Graves is supposed to dominate the game!


    ***


    In one of the dormitory bedrooms at Fujian Normal University, a youth wearing slippers watched his computer screen as he breathed deeply, nostrils flaring.


    When the screen changed to the coach of Team Skycrown, this youth¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets!


    F*ck!


    Wasn¡¯t that Yu Luocheng?!


    Yu Luocheng, if you¡¯re going to create trouble, could you please not do it to the extent that your face freaking appears as Team Skycrown¡¯s coach?!


    A student eating chips beside him exclaimed, ¡°Holy sh*t, this Graves is the bomb! He actually crushed Bai Feng!¡±


    ¡°I heard that Bai Feng is not the strongest ADC in China¡­ I can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s really true!¡±


    ¡°Wang Qin, what¡¯s wrong with you? Your nose is bleeding!¡±


    ¡°I¡­that¡­that guy used to sit at the same table as me in high school, would you believe it?¡± said Wang Qin with a strange expression on his face.


    ¡°Believe what? Sh*t, go and do something about your nose, idiot!¡±


    Wang Qin didn¡¯t know what else to say!


    Not long ago, he believed that Yu Luocheng was a friend who was on the same level as him. Now he suddenly realized that Yu Luocheng had already jumped so far forward into the top-tier professional LOL competition.


    More importantly, during Chinese New Year, he had yapped on and on asking to go solo against him, even going so far as to bet one hundred yuan per round!


    Even Bai Feng who claimed to be the strongest ADC in the county had been so soundly defeated that he should be calling Yu Luocheng daddy. And here Wang Qin was, a noob who wasn¡¯t even at Diamond yet, wanting to go solo against him.


    ¡°The coach of Team Skycrown is my high school tablemate!¡±


    ¡°Then I am your father!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, at the Shanghai University community area, the entire student body was about to explode! This Yu Luocheng was a bloody god!


    Do you understand how great Bai Feng was in everybody¡¯s heart?


    Yu Luocheng actually managed to pressure him to the point where someone as great as Bai Feng had to turtle under turret. Did he even think about how his unimates, classmates, and even his roommates would feel?


    ¡°He¡¯s my roommate!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s mine!¡±


    Jiang Jiu and Qiu Jingtai were going nuts, shouting out loud to whoever bothered to listen.


    ***


    After the broadcast of this fiery battle, the domestic LOL industry would also be in an uproar!


    Soloing against Blood Eagle wasn¡¯t the best way to gauge how good your level at LOL was.


    Managing to draw with Blood Eagle, now that was how you proved that you were an incredibly skillful player!


    But in the professional LPL competition, being able to play strongly in lane, killing the country¡¯s best ADC¡¯s Support, and chasing people back home was no ordinary feat!


    ¡°Graves has gotten yet another kill and with the First Blood, this Support is worth 300 gold. Adding on his farm, he now has a gap of 900, almost 1,000 gold!¡± exclaimed Miracle.


    ¡°Who was the one who wanted to bet on whether or not Team Skycrown¡¯s bottom lane would get crushed?¡± asked Qi Qiao, smirking slightly.


    ¡°Ehem, let¡¯s not worry about these minor details.¡± Miracle cleared his throat, refusing to look at his fellow commentator.


    Who the hell would know that Team Skycrown¡¯s coach would be this aggressive, beating Team Revelation¡¯s bottom lane to this extent?


    The unspoken truth was that with a 1,000 gold lead and a higher difference in level, Draven wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the Graves and Thresh combination, no matter how well he played!


    Just because Bai Feng always won, did you think that he would never lose? The winds wouldn¡¯t always blow in his favor. Even the strongest player would one day meet his match.


    ***


    After purchasing some items from the fountain, Bai Feng¡¯s expression became pinched.


    ¡°Is this Graves really that good? Do you want us to back you up while you catch up?¡± asked Hao Yue.


    Bai Feng hesitated a while and said, ¡°This Graves is a little weird.¡±


    Their Support who was slightly pale nodded his head in agreement. It was rare to meet an ADC who played this aggressively, and even rarer to find someone who was so relaxed while playing against Bai Feng.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be him right? Some friends of mine met the person who defeated you in the US server before this and they confirmed that he¡¯s Chinese,¡± said Hao Yue quietly.


    Asmodai and Guan Lanjie¡ªTeam Sky¡¯s ADC¡ªwere the only people in the country who were able to pressure Bai Feng so greatly. The rest were not even worth mentioning.


    But everybody knew that there was another person in the country who was so strong that even Bai Feng respected him.


    He was not a professional player and had once defeated Bai Feng in the US server!


    ¡°It¡¯s not Shallow Dream, he doesn¡¯t play so insanely. And I¡¯ve never heard of him using Graves, but this guy reminds me of someone else,¡± said Bai Feng.


    ¡°Who?¡± asked Hao Yue.


    ¡°Those two masters who beat the Korean players,¡± replied Bai Feng.


    ¡°That¡¯s just some empty title, how can a non-professional player actually¡­¡±


    Bai Feng shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve watched the videos and even got some videos from JX. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the one who plays more ADC is Shallow Dream.¡±


    ¡°Are you for real?¡±


    ¡°Apart from him, how many people can beat those Korean players like dogs?¡± said Bai Feng.


    ¡°So if the coach isn¡¯t Shallow Dream, then how can his ADC be this strong?¡±


    ¡°Shallow Dream can also play Support and the person he partnered with that time could play ADC. He also had the same type of aggressive play style, and one of the videos was of Graves from the player¡¯s perspective. At the time, I thought that JX invited some foreign master to play, then put up the name China Beat Korea in the ranking. Looking at it now¡­¡±


    Bai Feng hesitated, saying quietly, ¡°The one who¡¯s controlling Graves, that¡¯s the guy with Shallow Dream that could play both Support and ADC!¡±


    ¡°F*ck, then aren¡¯t we screwed?!¡± said Bing Dong, their Support.


    During the first game, Bai Feng had still been puzzling over this. There were only a handful of people who could go against himself and Bing Dong alone, while still being able to farm steadily.


    When Bai Feng himself was reckless during the first game and ended up being solo killed, he couldn¡¯t help but think about when he first met Shallow Dream in the US server.


    But he quickly shook off the thought because this Caitlyn¡¯s movement and play style was not as meticulous as Shallow Dream.


    In the second game, Bai Feng once against denied the possibility that this person was Shallow Dream, but he suddenly recalled the hero who beat the sh*t out of those Korean players!


    It was definitely him, there was no mistake about it.


    No wonder Team Skycrown could rise up as a wild card, there was a hidden master within them!


    It was really something hidden so well.


    Just a bit of carelessness from their end, and he had overtaken the whole game. It was so true that no team should ever be underestimated. Team Revelation had really been too arrogant!

 Chapter 315 - Master Level Graves!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± asked Bing Dong.


    ¡°We¡¯ll fight if we can, if not we¡¯ll surrender at 20,¡± replied Bai Feng, his eyes now reflecting his usual calm.


    Up till a second ago, he was playing recklessly because he couldn¡¯t accept the fact that he was being beaten in lane by a newbie.


    However, now that he had deduced the true identity of Team Skycrown¡¯s coach, he returned to his calm state.


    A player that had been acknowledged by Shallow Dream was not a normal player. This kind of player should be showcased to the world on a higher level for all to see!


    ¡°Surrender at 20?¡± said Hao Yue, shocked.


    This didn¡¯t seem like Bai Feng at all!


    They were actually going to surrender to this new, green team?


    But thinking about it properly, it would be hard to make a comeback in this round.


    His jungling had already been completely beaten, not able to farm or buy items. And the top lane was just a lost cause.


    Middle lane against Ezreal was slightly better, but once Ezreal gets his items, there was no need to even bother playing the late game anymore.


    And at the bottom lane, just seeing how Graves maneuvered was enough to know that not getting killed was already a great accomplishment. There was no way of catching up via farming anymore.


    When he said that they¡¯ll play if they can, Bai Feng meant that they would wait and see whether Team Skycrown would end up making any mistakes.


    If a small team like Team Skycrown made a deadly game-costing mistake, then Team Revelation could use that chance to turn the match around and claim victory.


    ***


    A team that was worthy of entering the LPL would not so easily give up their advantage. How could a Graves with a Bloodthrister at the ten-minute mark possibly be defeated?


    Let¡¯s put it this way, Hao Yue had tried to launch a sneak attack on Graves, but he just stood there and attacked him, causing Hao Yue¡¯s health to deteriorate too rapidly for him to even touch Graves!


    Graves was like a game¡¯s final level boss right now!


    With Ezreal giving him a W to increase his speed, and his own E¡ªQuickdraw¡ªhe could withstand the damage of two champions as his lifesteal speed was superb!


    This Graves, he was so smooth.


    He would suddenly just throw an E at people¡¯s face.


    He really was on another level!


    ***


    Miracle suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Look here, Team Skycrown is intending to make a move!¡±


    The members of Team Skycrown¡¯s were all grouped together, making rounds around the Baron pit.


    As Bai Feng¡¯s income had taken a heavy hit, leaving him quite far behind, he was peacefully farming at the bottom lane.


    Since Bai Feng was farming by himself without his teammates, how could Team Skycrown just give him the chance to farm for his items? Seeing Bai Feng at the bottom lane, the five members of Team Skycrown didn¡¯t hesitate to head towards the Baron pit!


    Noticing that Team Skycrown was intending to make use of their two ADCs¡¯ high damage to take down the Baron as quickly as possible, Bai Feng had to abandon the minion wave in front of him and make his way there.


    Once Hao Yue saw Bai Feng heading towards the pit, he glanced back to check the Baron¡¯s health.


    He couldn¡¯t afford to wait as the Baron¡¯s health was going down rapidly.


    Hao Yue set his sights on Graves, the one who was the biggest threat right now. If they wanted to win a team fight against Team Skycrown, they needed to take out Graves!


    ¡°Follow up!¡± said Hao Yue said, his eyes flashing as he grasped the chance to corner Graves.


    Without needing to explain why, he immediately activated his ulti!


    Hao Yue¡¯s Vi flew up, a thin red line appearing from her fist, aiming directly for Yu Luocheng¡¯s Graves.


    Watching as Hao Yue aggressively initiated the fight, how could Ahri not follow up?


    Ahri activated her ulti too, using her dash to launch herself forward to follow Vi.


    ¡°The killing duo have made their move and their target is that arrogant Graves!¡±


    Vi and Ahri¡¯s combination to aim and kill someone was deadly. As long as the champion appeared within Vi¡¯s range, and with Ahri¡¯s gap closure, the target would definitely die!


    Yu Luocheng wasn¡¯t aware that they had that much hatred for him, and when he saw both of them coming for him, he frantically pressed E, using Quickdraw to head towards his little band of teammates.


    ¡°Wanna kill our boss? Dream on!¡±


    Wu Sen roared like a lion and Flashed right into Yu Luocheng¡¯s position.


    Using his body to block Ahri¡¯s Charm, he also blocked Vi and Ahri¡¯s CC!


    With Thresh standing in front of him to tank all the CC and damage, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t need to quickly escape. He then turned around and launched a combination of skills on Ahri.


    Bang!


    Three bullets hit Ahri simultaneously and her health fell to almost one third!


    With a follow up of two basic attacks, half of that dropped further!


    Team Revelation¡¯s Mid sucked in a breath sharply, this f*cking damage, what the hell?


    Suddenly a yellow, moon shaped projectile slammed into Ahri and passed through her, leaving her with only one fourth of her health!


    Team Revelation¡¯s Mid was so frightened that he almost pissed his pants. He immediately used the third dash of his ulti to retreat from the fight!


    Bang bang bang!


    Suddenly, a blasting shell that sounded like thunder came from somewhere nearby.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Letting out a devastating moan, the Mid of Team Revelation watched wide-eyed as his screen turned grey.


    He had been killed!


    His Ahri had actually been killed!


    Disregarding Ezreal¡¯s ulti, Graves¡¯ own set of skills had already brought his health down by three fourths!


    His Ahri had rushed in with Vi to kill Graves, but in the end Graves wasn¡¯t killed, instead unleashing such a deadly set of skills that killed Ahri.


    This Graves, how the hell is he dealing so much damage?!


    ¡°Oh my god, instant kill! Master Graves, how are you so good at this?¡± Miracle couldn¡¯t help but shout out as he watched.


    ¡°I see, this Graves master has gone straight for Last Whisper!¡±


    Generally, Graves players would build Bloodsthirster or Phantom Dancer for their damage and speed.


    The fact that Yu Luocheng built Last Whisper immediately after finishing Bloodthirster meant that his only intention was to kill!


    The high damage he dealt was due to the critical strike effect, his base attack was actually only at 70.


    Bloodthirster added another 70 for damage, and once the effect was fully stacked it would go up to 100. This 100 attack would convert directly to Graves¡¯ skills, and adding on Last Whisper¡¯s armor piercing effect, this would maximize the damage output!


    Graves was a very scary DPS champion on his own, one Q plus an ulti and he could take you down in a second. Adding on Yu Luocheng¡¯s item builds, basically whoever comes over, with just one skill and an ulti, no Ahri, Support, ADC or Jungler stood a chance at all.


    Once this kind of Graves was shrouded in his smoke, no one in the circle would be left standing!


    Many professional ADC players often played a more balanced build during competitions, with Bloodthirster or Infinity Edge. There really were very few people who would dare to try and pull off Yu Luocheng¡¯s bold build.


    But he was using it and miracles were happening!


    Your combination of Vi and Ahri was very deadly right?


    Sure, I¡¯ll let you try and kill me, and if you can¡¯t then let this master show you how Graves will get it done!


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if everyone realized that initially, there were sparks flying from both sides as both were eager to start a team fight. But after Graves¡¯ intimidating roar, the whole world has gone silent¡­¡± said Miracle.


    Everyone watching the match, from the ones in the stands to those at home, all nodded their heads in agreement with what he said.


    With Ahri dying instantly, Team Revelation had completely lost any will to continue the team fight. And Vi who had rushed in, used her Flash and Q to save her life, but they had to let the Baron go.


    The other three members of Team Revelation walked around the pit area for a while before giving up the Baron completely. There was no purpose in trying to steal the Baron, doing that would be the same as serving up their heads on a silver platter.


    ***


    With the Baron buff in their hands, Team Skycrown was ready to get the show on the road.


    Especially that boss level Graves!


    Have you ever seen an ADC heading straight for the turret to tank and attack it?


    Have you ever seen an ADC that stood right in front during team fights?


    Hao Yue who was defending their inner base couldn¡¯t take it anymore!


    Watching as Graves E up front to the turret, Hao Yue once again activated his ulti and rushed towards Graves.


    Ahri was also ready with her skills and followed up, this time she definitely wouldn¡¯t repeat the same mistake of letting herself be hit by Graves!


    But something happened before Ahri could activate her ulti!


    The red line connected to Graves and Vi was flying towards him.


    Graves immediately Flashed backwards¡­


    Vi¡¯s ulti was special, once she had taken aim, she would definitely strike the target no matter how far you fly away!


    So for Graves to Flash backwards like that, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid her hit¡­


    But he Flashed backwards towards a lamp?


    The moment Hao Yue activated his ulti, he regretted it immediately. Once Vi¡¯s ulti was activated, there was no stopping at all!


    So he could only watch as his champion flew straight towards his opponents, and with Graves using Flash to grab the lantern, he watched as his Vi flew right into the middle of the four members of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Aiyo, this Graves used his body as bait to fish a kill back!¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is really something, using this kind of method to reel Vi in!¡±


    This scene was carried out so smoothly that it surprised everyone.


    Knowing that Vi wanted to kill him, Yu Luocheng had stood in front to lure her towards him. Once she made her move, she was caught like a fish on a line, and pulled directly into the middle!


    In short, that scene was very miserable!


    With his overall ability index of 22 points, Hao Yue wasn¡¯t sure why his intelligence had deteriorated to this extent today. He had spent the whole match with his heart almost beating out of his chest!


    Once Vi died, Team Revelation was left without a front liner and their lanes would fall. With Baron buff, there was no problem going straight into their base.


    And with Yu Luocheng¡¯s item build, it was all about burst damage.


    But he had Ezreal¡¯s W which would increase his speed, and adding on his own E to add more speed, the continuous damage that he had was not low, and Team Revelation¡¯s Top couldn¡¯t withstand the damage!


    With the bottom lane¡¯s inner turret falling, Team Skycrown could charge in straight, heading towards Team Revealation¡¯s inhibitor.


    Bai Feng also stopped resisting. He knew that this match really was a lost cause and had already prepared for this in his heart.


    However, Yu Luocheng¡¯s performance on Graves in lane left Bai Feng feeling tremendously pressured.


    This Graves was definitely at a master level, he was even more aggressive than himself. He definitely wouldn¡¯t use the method of tanking turret and attacking it without a minion wave, then turning around to lifesteal from the minions!

 Chapter 316 - 2:0 Team Revelation

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Yay, yay! They won another round! That¡¯s awesome!¡±


    It¡¯s too bad the Li Meiqi didn¡¯t have the right equipment with her. If she could, she would have changed clothes with just a twirl, transforming into a sexy cheerleader in a mini skirt who was cheering loudly for Team Skycrown.


    How was Team Skycrown weaker than the other teams?


    The top four strongest teams of the LPL? Pfft, they were all just stepping stones for Team Skycrown!


    Not to mention, Yu Luocheng was just too awesome. The way he used Graves without logic left Bai Feng at a complete loss, without any possible way of countering him.


    Li Meiqi hated people like Bai Feng, so watching Yu Luocheng¡¯s Graves defeat him made her heart burst with happiness.


    Of course, as happy as she was, nothing could compare to the satisfaction of seeing the look on Liang Gui¡¯s face.


    Team Skycrown won two consecutive rounds!


    And in this round, Team Skycrown had definitely defeated Team Revelation in terms of skills. Now let¡¯s see who else dares to say that they won out of luck!


    Liang Gui had a horrible expression on his face.


    What the f*ck just happened?


    Team Skycrown had to be cheating, otherwise it would be impossible for a newbie team to defeat Team Revelation in not just one, but two rounds!


    Also, what was wrong with Team Revelation today? They were playing worse than dog shit!


    It may be a trivial matter for you to fight like sh*t, but I have ten thousand yuan on the line here!


    Thirty minutes ago, Liang Gui thought that he would be winning ten thousand yuan with ease. But now he felt like the ten thousand yuan was flying further and further away from him.


    ¡°Bro, don¡¯t make a fool out of me, Team Skycrown has already won two games! Team Revelation needs to fight three rounds!¡± said Liang Gui to Guan Langjie who stood beside him.


    Guan Langjie furrowed his brows.


    What kind of drugs was Team Skycrown on to be doing so well? He remembered them from the LPL pre-season. Back then, their strength was that of a second-tier team at best, they were far from being a first-tier team.


    But in just two to three months, they actually managed to grow stronger to the point that they could render Team Revelation helpless. Could it be that they had an expert guiding them?


    It is important for a team to have an excellent coach and an analyst. The two games played by Team Skycrown were strategic and intelligent. They were eye-opening games to those watching, in which Team Revelation had always been playing more defensively, using four champions to protect one.


    In short, Team Revelation was strong because they had Bai Feng as their unbeatable ADC as well as a Jungler who could pace and carry the rhythm of the team.


    But it was exactly because all their tactics were centered around their ADC, that it was hard to come up with new game plays. Their tactics usually revolved around team fights, late game plays, and protecting the ADC while he farms and grows.


    Whereas in the two games they played against Team Skycrown, the only thing Team Skycrown focused on was pushing turret, pushing turret, and just pure mindless pushing turret!


    ¡°Say something man,¡± snapped Liang Gui, his tone clearly unhappy.


    It was because he had believed in Guan Langjie¡¯s words that he dared to place the bet with Li Meiqi. If he really lost¡­


    ¡°Team Revelation isn¡¯t that simple. It¡¯s not impossible for them to have to play three rounds,¡± said Guan Langjie calmly.


    But to be honest, Guan Lanjie himself felt unsettled that Team Revelation had already lost two rounds.


    And he could clearly see that Team Skycrown¡¯s coach was strong. He was completely ignoring Bai Feng¡¯s existence while playing, and the outcome of the matches were impossible to predict.


    ¡°Why, are you scared?¡± said Li Mei as she watched Liang Gui fidget.


    She snickered and her laughter sounded like a fox, a fox that was just about to catch its prey.


    Liang Gui¡¯s eyes flashed with restrained anger, but in his heart he had already vented his anger on the pretty vixen in front of him.


    Li Meiqi was not scared of some sex-obsessed idiot. Besides pretending to be an arrogant asshole, he didn¡¯t have the guts to do anything to her anyway!


    ¡®You just need one more win, one more win and you can turn everything around!¡¯ Li Meiqi prayed in her heart, looking at the five members of Team Skycrown on stage.


    She liked the team, they were all simple people.


    Each one of them had nothing to their name, but they were more ambitious and stronger than those white collar workers who had professional titles or college degrees.


    Their team was newly formed but they were more hardworking than anybody.


    During Chinese New Year, while others were celebrating, they were eating frozen dumplings while studying various foreign matches.


    While other professional players had comfortable apartments to live in and people to manage their daily lives, Team Skycrown was spending their days in a room that smelled of mold when it rained¡­


    Anyone else would feel itchy and uncomfortable after staying just a few days in that room, but they had persevered through it all, staying on even when their grant was delayed. They had now been living there for half a year!


    Li Meiqi wasn¡¯t pitying Team Skycrown, but she was in fact thinking that they had endured such a hard life for half a year, all to get into the LPL.


    What could stop them from succeeding? The LPL players who always appeared on the Internet? The veteran teams with patience and aggressiveness? Or the clubs who only knew how to use deceit and trickery to maximize their profits while forgetting the essence of E-sports?


    Team Skycrown craved victory more than anything and Li Meiqi believed with all her heart that they would win!


    You could say that their first win was because they had used an unconventional tactic. But even from that, you could already see how unique Team Skycrown was.


    You could also say that their second win was due to a combination of luck during the early team fight and Bai Feng playing badly. But Yu Luocheng had demonstrated how great he was on Graves.


    If they won the third match, they would have defeated Team Revelation with a score of 3:0!


    Everyone would then shut up, having no choice but to applaud this wild card of a team who won against one of the top four teams, and recognize them as a skillful team who could beat Team Revelation three to zero.


    Come, there¡¯s no need to hold back now. You¡¯ve endured everything for half a year, all for the sake of appearing on this LPL stage. Now you¡¯ve won two rounds, with a current score of two to zero against Team Revelation.


    So why not go all the way and win three to zero?


    Team Skycrown must win!


    ***


    ¡°This is hard to believe, two to zero, is this Team Skycrown¡¯s comeback?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Team Revelation today? Why do they seem like they¡¯re unwell? Could it be that against a new team, they really have their hands tied?¡±


    ¡°No, I think that Team Skycrown¡¯s strength has exceeded any of our expectations. This team became a wild card during the pre-season, and in just a couple of months, they have become even stronger! Even a team from the top four is hard pressed to win against them!¡± said Qi Qiao.


    This was not the first time Qi Qiao had contact with Team Skycrown. She found herself liking this team which was quiet outside of competitions, but entertaining and outstanding during matches.


    There was no media coverage on them and no fancy decorations, instead they had a lot of negative news surrounding them.


    But when they were being broadcast, they never showed anything but focus. It was as though they didn¡¯t care that they didn¡¯t have an audience, or even if the audience was cheering on their opponents.


    They were only focused on performing well for themselves. They fully immersed themselves in the competition, using their strength and skills to show everyone how much they thirsted for victory!


    Qi Qiao felt that their two victories were not a coincidence.


    They would definitely win again, and they would completely dominate one of the top four teams in the LPL¡ªTeam Revelation!


    ***


    ¡°So exhilarating. At the beginning of the game, I was ribbing Team Skycrown. And even though my words have come back to bite me countless times during these matches, I don¡¯t feel embarrassed at all. This team has performed beyond our expectations and made me really admire them! So now, can they really beat Team Revelation? Truth be told, I¡¯m very excited for this!¡±


    Miracle had subconsciously started to side with Team Skycrown as he exclaimed his thoughts for the crowd to hear.


    A newly formed team that had only been around for half a year winning against Team Revelation who had been in the limelight for two years¡­ wasn¡¯t this such an exciting match?


    The third match was about to begin, and Miracle was sure that the votes of support for Team Skycrown would definitely not be like the previous rounds with only four or twenty percent. There were probably a lot of people who just like him, didn¡¯t like Team Skycrown at first, but had now begun to admire them!


    So for the next match, how many votes would Team Skycrown get?


    Would it be up to forty percent? Or perhaps even more astonishingly, up to fifty percent?


    ***


    ¡°Welcome back everyone, this is the stage where the LPL Summer Season is being carried out. I¡¯m Miracle, your host for today. Let me recap what has been happening so far!¡±


    Seeing a serious Miracle was a rare occasion and you could see that he was really passionate about what he was doing.


    ¡°Sitting on the left side of the stage is our veteran Team Revelation, they have been appearing frequently on our stages throughout the past two years. They are without a doubt one of the strongest teams!¡±


    ¡°Seated to the right is our wild card for this year¡ªTeam Skycrown! This team has only been formed for half a year and they disappeared for a while after their beautiful performance during the pre-season. They have now reappeared here at our LPL Summer Season, beating team Stardust and even giving our wonderful Team Revelation a run for their money!¡±


    ¡°Two to zero, everyone! The score is now two against zero! For those of you who have just tuned in¡­oh, for those who have just turned on the computer, don¡¯t give us a look of ¡®ah, i knew it¡¯. Please open both your eyes and look at the score properly, it¡¯s not Team Revelation who has won the two points, but the newly formed Team Skycrown!¡±


    ¡°Will it be the new team who will completely dominate our veteran LPL team? Or will Team Revelation turn the tables and counter attack in the remaining matches? Everybody, please ready your right hand¡­ oh wait, edit your text messages and send it in for the team that you want to support.¡±


    Li Meiqi clenched her hands together, anticipating the results.


    How many votes would Team Skycrown get this time?


    They only had four percent in the first round!


    What about now?


    ***


    They have entered the ban phase.


    Team Revelation was now taking Team Skycrown very seriously.


    ¡°Oh¡­oh!!¡±


    ¡°Team Revelation has banned an ADC!¡±


    ¡°We all know that Team Revelation has never banned an ADC because the strongest ADC in the country is in their team. Banning an ADC would mean cutting down on the pool they can choose from. But this time, Team Revelation has banned Graves, one of Bai Feng¡¯s frequently used champions!¡±


    ¡°Has the masterful Graves from Team Skycrown¡¯s coach really discouraged Team Revelation this much?!¡±

 Chapter 317 - Ashe? You Want To Pick Ashe?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lin Dong and Da Luo couldn¡¯t help but laugh when they saw that their opponent had banned Yu Luocheng¡¯s Graves that had caused such a fuss in the previous match.


    You banned Graves?


    Their efforts were futile, Yu Luocheng could definitely use way more ADCs than Bai Feng.


    Have you ever seen an assassin build Ezreal?


    Have you ever seen a Vayne that can break your back line?


    It wouldn¡¯t matter even if they were to ban all the ADCs.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Support was so godlike that if you let him play Support, he will show you the meaning of an inescapable death!


    ***


    ¡°Are you still going up against Bai Feng in this round?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head.


    ¡°We can¡¯t use the same tactics or normal tactics when going against Team Revelation.¡±


    Zhang Aijing¡¯s analysis wasn¡¯t wrong. The overall strength index for Team Revelation¡¯s Jungler was 22 points, second only to Bai Feng¡¯s 24 points.


    If you used conventional methods to play, even if Yu Luocheng gained a slight advantage at the bottom lane, it would likely be impossible to change the fact that Team Revelation had strong teamwork and an impressive ability to team fight.


    Team Revelation liked to follow the rules and drag the game because they tend to choose late game champions. They wanted Bai Feng to have more time to farm, everyone knew that ADCs needed time to develop.


    In this case, hitting them with conventional methods would mean playing right into their slow pace, and the chance of losing was very high.


    They needed to break their pace, mindlessly push turrets, speed up their pace like crazy, and stop Bai Feng from farming, to the point where he wouldn¡¯t be able to build his items!


    Yu Luocheng knew very well how strong Bai Feng was.


    Let him farm for just a few minutes and he could add on a little to his team¡¯s win rate.


    The reason Bai Feng lost the first two rounds was because Team Skycrown had completely messed up his farming pace. He had also made the mistake of underestimating Yu Luocheng¡¯s capabilities.


    But Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t think himself capable enough to be able to gain an advantage over Bai Feng once he got serious.


    He was an ADC with an overall index of close to 24 points, in no way was he an inferior player.


    Yu Luocheng would definitely not underestimate any of his opponents!


    He was well aware that Team Revelation would be cautious in the third game, and it would be difficult to use unique tactics again.


    Without the advantage of a head start, Yu Luocheng was not arrogant enough to say that he could take Bai Feng head on.


    At this point, the most he could do was not be completely overwhelmed by Bai Feng.


    But that didn¡¯t change the fact that the opponent¡¯s Jungler had an advantage in overall strength. Plus, they had a better understanding of tactics in late game team fights.


    ¡°We¡¯ll use the Chaos Suppression tactic,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Should we be using that tactic so early? We were saving it for Team Sky,¡± said Da Luo, surprised.


    ¡°The only way we can know it¡¯s weaknesses is to use it,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    ***


    Both sides have decided on their lineups.


    This time, Bai Feng chose his ADC without hesitation: the wind-like champion, Ezreal!


    Ezreal was Bai Feng¡¯s most well-known champion. Picking Ezreal showed that Bai Feng had entered his most serious mode.


    The others had also finalized their champion picks. Zhou Yan had chosen Aatrox, a champion that had come out not too long ago. The pick rate for him within the country was not very high. Overseas, Aatrox was very strong and it was a must to ban him.


    Top, Da Luo had chosen the champion that he was best at¡ªThe Blind Monk, Lee Sin!


    A Top Lee Sin was not commonly seen in competitions, causing the crowd to cheer loudly after Da Luo¡¯s selection.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s tactics were very unique, breaking through the usual strategies of Teleport Ganking, push and pull, and even ulti tactics. Team Revelation was slightly worried as they wondered what was so special about Team Skycrown¡¯s champion selections.


    Damn, it wouldn¡¯t be something disgusting like the tactic they used in the first game right?


    ***


    Following that, Lin Dong at Mid chose Gragas.


    Mid Gragas was becoming more popular recently, and this was mainly because of the godlike plays made by the players in the Korean server. This champion had repositioning skills, burst damage, CC, and a strong ulti that could displace everyone in a second.


    There were also quite a few players who used Gragas within the country, but there were not many who were skilled at using that champion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something weird with Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup?¡± asked Hao Yue. Looking at the unconventional lineup made his heart somewhat unsettled.


    If it wasn¡¯t for that first game that made him nauseated, the normally confident Hao Yu wouldn¡¯t feel this unsettled.


    Bai Feng shook his head, he also felt that Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup had some untold secret. But when he delved more into it, it would seem that it wasn¡¯t any different than a normal lineup either.


    ¡°Aiyo, the coach from Team Skycrown is being naughty again! Is this a deliberate tease for everyone or are you really going to pick this champion?¡±


    Miracle barely held back from slapping a hand to his head.


    ¡°Coach, do you really want to use this champion? Even though this champion¡¯s pick rate in competitions is high, the win rate for this champion isn¡¯t that high.¡±


    Hearing the commentators¡¯ shocking comments, the audience went into an uproar as they saw the screen for themselves.


    The champion that Yu Luocheng picked was very familiar. You can say that as long you have played League of Legends before, you definitely would have used her.


    That¡¯s right, she is the elder sister who held our hands as we grew up in the game¡¯s tutorial¡ªThe Frost Archer, Ashe!


    Ashe was generally a champion that would appear in normal matchups below level ten as many who were new to the game world would start with Ashe as their first champion.


    But as their level increased, so did the resistance they met as well as the amount of jeers from their teammates. And so, a champion that was so loved would then slowly be added to the blacklist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use Ashe!¡±


    ¡°F*ck, why would you pick her?¡±


    ¡°Ashe? I¡¯m turning it off.¡±


    In the usual matchmake and ranked games, you would never see your teammates using this tone to express their disdain for the Frost Archer.


    Was Ashe really so frustrating? Was she really that bad?


    Of course not.


    As everyone knows, Lee Sin was not suitable for players below Platinum, and when using Anivia, you were either great or terrible. So what about Ashe?


    Why were so many people prejudiced and contemptuous towards the Frost Archer?


    It was because this champion would never be able to be fully utilized, no matter how high of a level you were at!


    You could say that Riot Games had already set down this precedence from the beginning.


    Although Ashe was placed as the rookie champion in the tutorials, the fact of the matter was that no one was arrogant enough to say that Ashe was an easy champion to use. Not even the godlike players who had moved on to other champions could say that they were able to easily use Ashe!


    This was a fact, a fact that would become more profound the higher your rank and levels increased.


    And here Yu Luocheng was, pressing on the lock in for Ashe. What Bai Feng, the strongest ADC in the nation, felt was not scorn and disdain like most people were expressing¡­


    You dare to pick Ashe, where the f*ck does your confidence come from?


    Bai Feng would never be afraid of any ADC who chose Ashe, because he could easily destroy this ADC who didn¡¯t have any repositioning skills or any burst damage!


    But what if the person using Ashe was also the partner of Shallow Dream, the coach of Team Skycrown?


    He wouldn¡¯t pick Ashe if he didn¡¯t have a thorough understanding of the Frost Archer.


    League of Legends has always been a game, right from the start of the ban phase, to when the actual game bagan.


    To be honest, Bai Feng really didn¡¯t understand where the coach of Team Skycrown got his confidence from. It was really making him feel unsettled! Because from the beginning, Bai Feng had not been able to gain any advantage over him.


    ¡°He really chose Ashe¡­ I feel that this coach has come out just to deliberately poke at our country¡¯s number one ADC, Bai Feng,¡± said Miracle.


    ¡°We¡¯re entering the loading screen now, so let¡¯s describe the lineup.¡±


    ¡°For Team Skycrown, Top is Lee Sin, Jungler is Aatrox, Mid is Gragas, Support is Thresh, and their ADC is Ashe.¡±


    ¡°For Team Revelation¡¯s side, Top is someone you rarely see in competitions¡ªDarius. Jungler is Zac, Mid is Orianna, Support is Zyra, and their ADC is Ezreal.¡±


    ¡°In terms of lineup, Team Revelation is sticking to their usual team fight composition tactics. I wonder if anyone has realized, that Team Revelation¡¯s line up has quite terrifying CC. With Orianna¡¯s protection from her ball and activating her ulti to pull her opponents inwards, adding on Darius coming in to pull in another time, and Zyra¡¯s follow up with her root and ulti¡­¡±


    ¡°As long as Zac completes a beautiful jump into the middle of the enemies, then only eradication awaits Team Skycrown!¡±


    ¡°In contrast to that, Team Skycrown only has Aatrox¡¯s small range of CC and Ashe¡¯s ulti. It¡¯s a very unstable CC and you can see that once the team fight starts, Team Skycrown will definitely be miles away in terms of strength!¡±


    Miracle had roughly analyzed Team Revelation¡¯s game plan. The routine in their mind was exactly as Miracle had described: using Zac as their initiate and immediately following up with all the skills they had. Whether their enemy was paper or tanky, being immobilized was a sure way to die!


    ¡°Let¡¯s all wish Team Skycrown good luck. Alright, the voting results have come in¡­uwah, this is hard to believe!¡± exclaimed Qi Qiao as she covered her gaping mouth.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s support votes have increased to fifty-six percent!¡±


    Fifty-six percent of the votes!


    Just an hour before this, they only received four percent of the votes, which was a testament to how unpopular Team Skycrown was compared to Team Revelation. It really was such a pathetic score!


    But after the first two matches, Team Skycrown had suddenly flipped the tables and got more than fifty percent of the votes on their side!


    ¡°I say, Team Revelation¡¯s supporters, you guys have no loyalty. How can you change sides so quickly? Those who fall in the fifty-six percent, you guys are so fickle, I¡¯m disappointed in you!¡±


    ¡°Miracle, which side do you support?¡± asked Qi Qiao after his rant.


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. Team Skycrown had fifty-five percent of the votes just now, but after I cast my vote it increased to fifty-six percent!¡±


    ¡°You still dare to be disappointed in others when you yourself have done the same!¡± Qi Qiao scolded him.


    Miracle laughed awkwardly.


    It was inevitable. Team Skycrown had already won two matches using their own f*cking capabilities, how could you not support that?

 Chapter 318 - I Only Need One Shot!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At level one, both teams were conservative. After planting their vision wards, there wasn¡¯t anything happening.


    Once they came to lane, Team Skycrown once again did something weird!


    There were actually two champions at the middle lane suppressing Orianna¡ªAshe and Thresh!


    Double team in the middle lane was actually something quite common in competitions and it was the meta for a while. However, this tactic had some major drawbacks, and one of it was that it limited the growth of the Mid champion.


    A lot of Mid laners were not focused on gold during the laning phase, but instead on the experience gained. As long as their level was higher, they could make a difference in team fights.


    Seeing that Yu Luocheng and Wu Sen had gone to the middle lane, then there must be someone to pressure there, it could be either the Top or Mid.


    Team Skycrown had decided that for this round, Gragas would oppose the bottom lane duo. Gragas¡¯ pressuring capabilities were still okay and his skills were also all ranged. He could still farm but it would be slightly harder to really grow.


    As for Orianna at the middle lane, her farm would feel some pressure but she could still get experience. Hence, the switching of these two lanes roused some suspicion.


    At the middle lane, Ashe and Thresh had obviously started to push the lane. They pushed the minion wave till the bottom of the turret, and using their basic attacks, they steadily brought down the turret¡¯s health.


    ¡°Are they intending to push the lane again?!¡± said Team Revelation¡¯s Mid.


    Two champions at the middle lane and pushing the minion wave towards the turret. If they weren¡¯t focusing on pushing the turret, what else could it be?


    Hao Yue realized that something wasn¡¯t right and abandoned his top lane gank on that arrogant Lee Sin. He hurried to the middle lane, helping Mid to clear some of the minions.


    ¡°Clear out and counter them on the next wave!¡± said Hao Yue to their Mid.


    Hao Yue had double buff on his champion, a level three Zac could still hold out. Plus, they also had the added advantage of Orianna¡¯s speed reduction. As long as they could control the lane, Ashe and Thresh would have to use their Fash to get out since they were only at level two!


    This was the drawback of having two champions at the middle lane.


    Two champions at the middle lane would mean that the experience gained was halved, but Orianna could gain experience up to level three before them.


    And once the Jungler has gotten both his buff, he would also likely have reached level three. The duo at the middle lane would still be busy trying to suppress the minion wave, wasn¡¯t this the best time to claim their heads?


    Seizing the opportunity, Hao Yue¡¯s Zac curved into a slingshot as he leaned backwards, fiercely flinging himself forward as he smashed right into Ashe and Thresh!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s positioning was fairly good and he managed to avoid Zac¡¯s direct hit. However, he still fell prey to Zac¡¯s Q which reduced his speed.


    Even though Oriaanna was only at level two, her QW combo would be enough to reduce speed and inflict damage. Adding on the fact that Orianna¡¯s basic attack was high, if all went smoothly, they could really get a double kill!


    Ashe could die easily and after slowing her down, both of them threw all their skills on her, including an Ignite.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Ashe immediately activated Barrier and retreated backwards, but still maintained her weak attacks.


    Just when she didn¡¯t have much health left, a deep red-winged shadow suddenly appeared from the flank!


    With wings raised high, the demon swordsman flew up and smashed down towards Orianna who tried her hardest to avoid the hit.


    Orianna was immediately launched into the air from the impact, her health deteriorating rapidly after taking a heavy hit!


    Seeing Orianna being blown away, Wu Sen threw his scythe in her direction.


    Bamf!


    Flash!


    Orianna had frantically clicked Flash, managing to dodge back under the turret. And Zac, who had to face Ashe¡¯s frost arrows and Thresh¡¯s E¡ªFlay¡ªwhich slowed him down, lost his opportunity to kill Ashe and hurriedly used Flash to escape them.


    ¡°That was a beautiful countergank, Aatrox had gotten both buffs and was camping at the middle lane. He didn¡¯t expose himself until Zac initiated! Even though they didn¡¯t get any kills, they still managed to bring down Zac and Orianna¡¯s health by quite a bit, and even managed to force out two Flashes,¡± said Qi Qiao, her voice vibrating with excitement.


    ¡°Orianna was forced to use her Flash, the next few minutes without it will be hard on her,¡± said Miracle in agreement.


    ***


    Orianna didn¡¯t have much health left. After considering for a while, she definitely needed to recall back to base.


    Zac had eaten his red pots and regained most of his health. He was currently at the middle lane, helping Orianna to clear the waves.


    At the same time, Gragas at the bottom lane had also been pushed and pressured to the point that he had to return to base. The turret was also already at half health.


    Once Orianna returned to lane, Zac disappeared and made his way down to the bottom lane.


    Gragas was being brutally pressured at the bottom lane and his level was quite bad. Hao Yue realized he would be unable to initiate properly at the middle lane, so he decided to try his luck at the bottom lane with a 3v1, to get some kills and push the turret. Once they disposed of Gragas, they would then demolish the bottom lane turret.


    ¡°Bai Feng is crazy, I can¡¯t hold on much longer,¡± said Lin Dong, glancing at Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Zac should be heading down soon, you¡¯re dead,¡± said Yu Luocheng as he took a look at the mini map.


    Bai Feng¡¯s Ezreal and Zyra had pushed the lane a lot, a big wave of minions had reached the turret¡¯s range. If everything went according to plan, Zac was also heading downwards to initiate a 3v1 fight!


    ¡°How can I die? I¡¯ll give up the turret!¡± said Lin Dong.


    Realizing the danger, he tossed a barrel and cleared a few of the minions, before launching an E to escape from under the turret!


    Suddenly, a green blob landed from the sky, right on top of Gragas.


    Lin Dong¡¯s Flash had previously been forced out by Bai Feng, and once Zac had hit him, Ezreal and Zyra followed up, causing him to be killed instantly!


    ¡°Team Revelation has killed Gragas in a 3v1, and the bottom lane turret definitely cannot be defended anymore,¡± said Qi Qiao, watching the scene play out.


    ¡°Oh, there is another fight happening here! It¡¯s Aatrox¡­ he dived the turret and killed Orianna!¡±


    At the same time that Gragas breathed his last, Zhou Yan¡¯s Aatrox appeared at the middle lane.


    Orianna was initially farming in peace under turret, but once Aatrox made an appearance, her face completely paled¡­


    With no Flash on the champion, if you think you are safe under turret then you¡¯re in for a big surprise.


    His long blade flew and split the gravel, Aatrox¡¯s damage was terrifying. This set of skills landed on Orianna and just like that she lost half her health!


    Ashe and Thresh¡¯s skills followed up, and Orianna was instantly killed under turret without much delay. Whereas Zhou Yan¡¯s Aatrox had yet to even use his Blood Thirst. He safely left the range of the turret and turned around to attack it.


    Aatrox¡¯s damage was great in early game, and following the minion wave that reached the turret, the middle lane turret was also easily taken down by Team Skycrown!


    Initially, tearing down the bottom lane turret was good news for Team Revelation. Who knew that their key defense at the middle lane would be so quickly and easily taken down instead¡­


    ***


    With the bottom lane taken down, Team Revelation¡¯s bottom lane duo then quickly switched to the middle lane.


    Let the Orianna with poor farm go against the Gragas with poor farm at the bottom lane and lead themselves into ruin.


    Yu Luocheng glanced at Gragas¡¯ level and then studied the level of the others.


    Team Revelation¡¯s CC was great and because they always gathered together, it was also extremely deadly.


    But Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t give them the opportunity to launch their skills so easily. When it came to initiating, who could do it better than Ashe?


    Even Malphite¡¯s initiate couldn¡¯t compare to Ashe!


    To be frank, Ashe needed a long time to farm and grow, and only with the right item build would she be able to be effective.


    But Yu Luocheng had never intended to use Ashe as an ADC!


    After level six, Yu Luocheng would begin to use her Enchanted Crystal Arrow which can travel the whole of Summoner¡¯s Rift to completely disrupt Team Revelation¡¯s slow farming pace.


    In Ashe¡¯s battlefield, she only needed one shot for victory!

 Chapter 319 - You F*cking Shot Me Again!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°We¡¯re almost at seven minutes!¡± said Wu Sen, reminding the other members.


    The seven minute-mark was an important time for Team Skycrown. This was the signal for them to break through Team Revelation¡¯s rigorous defense!


    Following Yu Luocheng¡¯s previous instructions, Da Luo would not go to the Krugs once the red side appears. Instead, he would support the middle lane and counter jungle.


    As a Support, Wu Sen was now the timekeeper. He had already memorized the few key timings they needed to take note of, and it was his responsibility to remind his teammates.


    The seven-minute mark was when both buffs respawned.


    Orianna is a champion that needed the blue buff, and even though they had swapped lanes, she still needed the blue buff to truly be able to farm properly!


    ¡°Ezreal is farming at the bottom lane,¡± said Wu Sen after taking a glance.


    Zhou Yan and Da Luo nodded their heads in acknowledgement and their faces broke into smiles. This feeling was like being a gangster who knew that the man of the house was gone, leaving a girl alone at home.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Aatrox took the lead and they headed towards their opponent¡¯s blue buff area.


    A ward was planted directly in the bush beside the blue buff. One glance and you could see Zac, the opponent¡¯s Jungler, appearing!


    And standing behind Zac was Orianna who couldn¡¯t farm properly!


    ¡°They¡¯re planning to steal blue, come and help us!¡± said Hao Yue.


    Team Revelation¡¯s Top¡ªDarius¡ªhad good map awareness. Noticing that Lee Sin was not in lane, he hurriedly rushed to where the blue buff is.


    But Darius was still too slow, Lee Sin had made it there faster than he did!


    ***


    ¡°Hurry up, Darius is on the way!¡± said Zhou Yan, watching the mini map.


    ¡°Boss, it¡¯s up to you now!¡± said Da Luo as he glanced at Yu Luocheng who was still at the middle lane.


    Wu Sen¡¯s Thresh had already gone to support them, but Yu Luocheng remained where he was, focused on pushing the middle lane.


    Ashe needed proper items to boost her attack in late game, and her attack growth as an ADC was very high!


    Also, who said that Ashe needed to be nearby to help her teammates?


    Yu Luocheng glanced at the blue buff area with the ward in the bush and saw that Zac and Orianna were entangled with Aatrox and Lee Sin. It was obvious that they were not willing to give up the blue buff so easily.


    Darius had disappeared from view on the mini map, obviously he was heading towards their location. If they were intercepted by Darius, they would definitely die!


    There was only a few seconds to spare. Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes sharpened like a hunter closing in on his prey.


    Let me show you what it means to have my arrows fly true!


    The Frost Archer at middle lane was suddenly wrapped in cold air and the atmosphere around her dropped to a freezing level, changing the entire area around her.


    She pulled the string of her bow backwards, forming a full moon with the curve. As the bow was drawn backwards, the ice crystals in the atmosphere gathered, gradually outlining and filling up a giant arrow, finally taking the form of an Enchanted Crystal Arrow on her bow.


    Whoosh!


    Her fingers released the string and the Enchanted Crystal Arrow was set loose!


    The wild, cold wind swirled around Queen Ashe, making her blue hair whip around.


    The giant Enchanted Crystal Arrow flew straight, passing through several stone walls and towering trees, cutting through bushes¡­


    Bam!


    A loud noise was heard as the crystal arrow shattered, hitting Orianna who was standing between the Wolves canyon and the blue buff with great accuracy.


    The further the Enchanted Crystal Arrow flew, the longer its stun effect. Yu Luocheng¡¯s ulti was shot from the middle lane, and with the distance it gained, it would stun the enemy for two seconds!


    And in those two seconds, the terrifying Aatrox and Lee Sin could wreck Orianna before she even woke up to see the light of day!


    ¡°Ohhhhh!! Orianna has been hit by an arrow that descended from the sky!¡±


    ¡°Aatrox has grasped the chance and charged in!¡±


    Zhou Yan had already been prepared. Once he saw Orianna get stunned, he ignored Zac¡¯s jump and immediately flew towards her.


    Da Luo on Lee Sin was even sharper. The moment he saw Zac activating his ulti to block him from killing Orianna, he activated his own ulti and landed a kick directly on Zac¡¯s face.


    What a beautiful roundhouse kick! Ha!


    Zac was thrown backwards by Lee Sin, his body slamming heavily into Orianna who was right behind him.


    Orianna was once again launched up into the air!


    Why did we say ¡®again¡¯?


    Once she was stunned by Ashe¡¯s Enchanted Crystal Arrow, Aatrox had followed up with his explosive Dark Strike, launching Orianna into the air.


    Before Orianna had even touched the ground again, she was then met with an assault from her own teammate! She didn¡¯t even have the chance to touch the ground before she was instantly annihilated!


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s combo was too beautiful, not giving Orianna any chance at all! I wonder how Qing Ye from Team Revelation feels, watching as he died in the air. I suspect it doesn¡¯t feel too good!¡±


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Qing Ye, who was controlling Orianna, cursed loudly.


    He hadn¡¯t been able to release even a single skill before he died!


    Also, wasn¡¯t that arrow from Ashe a bit too f*cking accurate?! Her aim was so true that she managed to avoid hitting Zac¡¯s huge body, and instead accurately hit the thin-as-a-stick Orianna!


    As soon as Orianna died, the blue buff had to be let go. Even Thresh had arrived to give support and this 3v2 situation didn¡¯t have any benefit at all.


    Most importantly, Darius¡¯ range was too short. Even if he could kill one champion with his set of skills, he would most likely die doing so. That was because Ashe had cleared the wave in the middle lane and was obviously heading in their direction.


    Instead of staying at the bottom lane, Zyra had already appeared at the middle lane. Team Revelation¡¯s members were all actually already heading towards them to support.


    A truly strong team does not wait for both sides to start a fight before coming to support. They knew when to move according to the situation, with the only difference being how fast either team was able to reach their destination.


    Unfortunately, Orianna had perished a little too soon. This made Zyra, who was running with all her might to give help, awkwardly stop halfway¡­


    She could then only head towards the middle lane instead to help clear the wave.


    ***


    After securing the area, Zhou Yan gave the blue buff to Yu Luocheng.


    Gaining the blue buff, Yu Luocheng¡¯s speed at clearing the minion waves increased. Without realizing it, his CS was now at 70, which was 10 more than Bai Feng¡¯s CS!


    With and without the blue buff, Gragas was two completely different champions. Even if there were three champions at the bottom lane now, it would be hard to suppress his growth.


    ¡°Go to the bottom lane and farm, leave the middle lane to us,¡± said Bai Feng.


    They should have made the swap earlier. Sadly due to their greed at wanting that last minion wave, they lost a kill and even their blue buff was stolen.


    With her low level, incomplete items, and no buff, Orianna was basically trash now.


    Facing Gragas with an unlimited amount of mana at the bottom lane, plus the fact that he can regenerate his health due to his passive, it definitely would be impossible to beat him!


    ***


    At the middle lane, even with the blue buff, Yu Luocheng was not playing very aggressively. He was well aware that his Ashe and Thresh would not be able to defeat Ezreal and Zyra who had a large amount of burst damage.


    His Ashe was playing very conservatively by consistently launching his W. Since he has the blue buff, it¡¯s not like he freaking needs money to launch his skills.


    From time to time, he released a Hawkshot into the surrounding area, checking to see if Zac was hiding around the area.


    ¡°Damn, how can he be so sensitive?!¡± Hao Yue cursed as another Hawkshot was fired.


    The hawk spirit burst into sparkles above Zac¡¯s head, completely exposing his position and surroundings. He initially wanted to take advantage of the next wave, but now he had to turn around and retreat.


    There were many wards at the middle lane. Thresh as a Support had already prepared a number of Vision Ward and Sight Ward and warded the area accordingly.


    There were a number of areas which Zac could not jump in from, and whenever he found a suitable spot, Ashe would suddenly fire her hawk spirit in his direction, exposing his position!


    All along Ashe had been a champion that was supposed to be an easy kill, but suddenly you meet someone that clearly knows how to fully utilize her E. Wanting to kill her was harder than reaching for the sky!


    ***


    ¡°Both teams seem to have entered a peaceful farming phase. So let us take a look at the difference between their gold. We¡¯ll see which team is doing worse.¡±


    The screen suddenly snapped to the bottom lane where Gragas and Orianna were facing off. Gragas¡¯ health was still full, whereas Orianna only had about two thirds left, and her mana bar was empty.


    Gragas¡¯ damage at late game was higher than Orianna, and his CS was also already higher than Orianna by about 15.


    Needless to say that even with the lane swap, Orianna was not having a good day. It was like switching from a room full of boys to a double room. It may seem like a better situation but there were still a lot of things to consider, like the needs of your new roommate.


    ¡°We¡¯re at the nine-minute mark of the game and Orianna only has 47 CS. I recall that she was only at 20 CS not too long ago.¡±


    ¡°Gragas¡¯ CS is at 62. If we were in a normal game, they would be farming as usual. Normally, you would never be pushed to the extent that you would die in the beginning. But this is a professional game, so the players definitely must have the skills to survive!¡±


    ¡°Orianna should be recalling back soon since she has exhausted all her mana. She doesn¡¯t have much health left either, and if she¡¯s not careful she will be easily killed by Gragas.¡±


    The screen was now coincidentally focused on Orianna, showing that she had found a suitable position under turret to recall.


    This position was super safe. If Gragas wanted to dive in to kill her, it would basically be an exchange of life, so Orianna was not so worried.


    Bai Feng suddenly shouted out a warning, ¡°Qing Ye, watch out!¡±


    ¡°Watch out for what?¡± asked Qing Ye, panicking.


    Just as he said that, a crystal arrow surrounded by ice particles appeared from the corner of his eye, flying directly at Orianna who was just about to recall back to base to buy her items!


    Qing Ye was frantically trying to hit his Flash, but the enchanted arrow struck with a loud impact before he got the chance to use it!


    As a professional player, if an Enchanted Crystal Arrow appeared suddenly in your line of vision, you would be able to Flash away.


    However, he had dragged his screen to the fountain with the intention of buying his items!


    Bam!


    The arrow once again landed a direct hit.


    What frustrated Qing Ye even more was that that f*cking Gragas had already anticipated this and moved out of the way!


    Boom!


    Gragas¡¯ ulti directly landed on Orianna and blew her weak body towards him. Lin Dong rushed towards the turret area, slamming into Orianna violently. He didn¡¯t even need Ignite and took her life away just by throwing a Q!


    Qing Ye¡¯s face was stiff and twisted in anger.


    You f*cking shot me again!


    He had already swapped to the bottom lane and he still got shot at!


    Did he have some kind of grudge against him?!

 Chapter 320 - Hawkshot, A Terrified Orianna

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Congratulations Orianna, you have once again won the prize¡­¡± said Miracle, his tone clearly anything but congratulatory.


    ¡°What¡¯s with this killing people from thousands of miles away? Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is really too good at seizing opportunities. With the blue buff cutting down on CD, the frequency of Ashe¡¯s ulti will be high. Professional players would be able to avoid an arrow flying straight at their face by using Flash or some other repositioning skill. But it¡¯s hard to avoid this kind of arrow flying out of nowhere without warning.¡±


    ¡°With one ulti stunning your opponent, then followed up by your teammates, and another set of skills¡­the usually peaceful game has once again been thrown into chaos because of one arrow¡­¡±


    Two arrows, two kills. And this was on Orianna who was as thin as a bamboo stick.


    In the countless matches they had played, Team Revelation rarely had to face Ashe, even in normal games.


    It was really hard to be aware of such a sneaky flying arrow when you were in such a tense situation and being pressured so strongly at the bottom lane!


    ¡°Bottom lane¡¯s turret has been destroyed, and the Dragon is also probably gone by now,¡± said Bai Feng, furrowing his eyebrows.


    As expected, Aatrox appeared at the bottom lane and paired up with Gragas to take down the bottom lane turret. After taking it down, the duo headed towards the Dragon Pit. Gragas, Aatrox, Thresh, and Ashe all appeared at the Dragon Pit. Even Lee Sin was heading towards the same place.


    Originally, the three from Team Revelation could still contest for the Dragon, holding out until Orianna respawned. But once they saw Lee Sin appearing at the middle lane, they immediately gave up the idea of regrouping and retreated instead.


    ¡°The speed of Team Skycrown¡¯s Support is astounding, it reminds me of the saying, a ripple in a pond!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, if this was a normal match, killing Orianna would just mean a kill and then push turret. But Team Skycrown¡¯s attitude is completely different. Once Orianna died, Aatrox joined Gragas at the bottom lane to take down the turret. While they were doing this, Lee Sin made his way down from the top lane to support. Lee Sin¡¯s moves are very smooth. You can see that he immediately launched his kick at Baron and followed up with a ward to create more distance between himself and Darius. He basically flew through the walls to run towards the Dragon Pit.¡±


    With five people taking down the Dragon against only three people defending, plus the fact that Darius was still at the Baron Pit¡­ how could Team Revelation hope to stop Team Skycrown?


    Zyra and Ezreal didn¡¯t dare get too close to the Dragon Pit. They could only stand by, listening to the sounds of the Dragon roaring as it fought against the five of them¡­


    After getting the Dragon, Team Skycrown scattered, returning to their lanes to continue farming.


    Without realizing it, the gold difference between the teams had increased to almost four thousand!


    ***


    ¡°If my calculations are correct, Ashe¡¯s ulti is almost up!¡± said Miracle, his voice slightly weak.


    The normally peaceful game had already been thrown into chaos twice by that one crystal arrow that marked the start of a blood bath.


    It was obvious that Team Skycrown was using Ashe¡¯s ulti as a signal. As long as her ulti was up, they would engage wherever she shot her arrow. At the same time, they would push turret and initiate all the fights!


    Team Revelation¡¯s champions were all late game champions. In comparison, Team Skycrown¡¯s champions were all flexible. So it wasn¡¯t really possible for Team Revelation to initiate a big team fight.


    In short, following Ashe¡¯s previous uses of her ulti, it was clear that this game was already completely under Team Skycrown¡¯s control!


    Miracle could see this, and Team Revelation had also finally realized the significance of Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup.


    With Ashe as the signal, they would first instantly kill and push the turret, then control the vision and build up the team¡¯s income.


    In other words, as long as Ashe¡¯s ulti CD was over, you needed to stay alert, even if you were under turret!


    Team Skycrown had complete vision control. Thresh and Aatrox didn¡¯t even bother using the inferior Sight Ward, and just immediately opted to use Vision Ward.


    Counter jungle Team Skycrown?


    Impossible, they could clearly see your every move. Plus, Ashe was consistently using Hawkshot, exposing areas on the map with just a wave of her hands.


    Team Revelation now understood why Ashe had to be at the middle lane. She was basically acting as the brain hub and controlling the overall situation!


    ¡°Orianna you better get your finger ready on your Flash key, Ashe¡¯s ulti is already aiming for you!¡± said Miracle, falling back into his habit of ribbing.


    The game had only been going on for slightly longer than ten minutes and Orianna had already died three times. The situation really could not get any worse.


    An Orianna who couldn¡¯t farm to get her items could only contribute by using her ball to shield something!


    And she was facing a Gragas that could easily take her head.


    In short, if Orianna made just one wrong move and was blown towards Gragas, she would surely die again if she didn¡¯t use Flash.


    Miracle was only joking. He had no idea whether Ashe was actually aiming for Orianna.


    As long as Ashe was missing from the map vision, you could only wonder whether an arrow would suddenly fly from somewhere¡­


    ¡°Their middle lane is missing, they¡¯re most likely stealing our red buff. Let¡¯s go!¡± said Bai Feng as he moved.


    As their jungle had already been warded by the opponents, the members of Team Revelation, including Orianna, headed towards the red buff from different directions.


    Orianna was very cautious. Every step she took forward had to first be scouted out by her ball¡­


    Just as she took a step into the Fog of War, an arrow suddenly burst forward from the darkness!


    Qing Ye hesitated a split second and immediately pressed his Flash as soon as he sensed the imminent danger.


    This godlike reaction made even Qing Ye admire himself. Think I¡¯ll let you shoot me again? No way!


    Poof!


    The arrow shattered into countless sparkling crystal pieces as it burst and illuminated the area which was covered by darkness¡­


    On the big screen, Orianna¡¯s timely Flash had avoided Ashe¡¯s R, Enchanted Crystal Arrow¡­ no, wait! It was only her E skill¡ªHawkshot¡ªthat had illuminated the surroundings!


    The big screen had completely captured the scene that just played out.


    The air was frozen for a moment, and the screen was displaying Orianna who had avoided the hawk spirit with her Flash, now left standing once again in the Fog of War!


    ¡°Hahahaha! Oh my god, what did I just see?!¡± exclaimed Miracle, trying not to laugh too loudly as he held his stomach.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Even Qi Qiao didn¡¯t have any words to say in this situation.


    ¡°What a beautiful Flash, avoiding Ashe¡¯s hawk spirit from seeing. Orianna has managed to hide herself in the darkness¡­¡±


    The entire arena which was quiet suddenly burst into laughter!


    ¡°This Orianna, did she get scared till she peed her pants?¡±


    ¡°An E bro, that¡¯s just Ashe¡¯s E, not her ulti!¡±


    ¡°Idiot, is this a professional player? Such a noob mistake, aiyo, I¡¯m gonna die of laughter.¡±


    Qing Ye¡¯s face turned bright red. It couldn¡¯t possibly get any redder!


    Mother f*cking sh*t head, you dare to deceive me Ashe!


    At this moment, Qing Ye felt like he could die of embarrassment.


    Playing in the professional league for so long, he had never once made this kind of noob mistake. Mistakes like pressing the wrong kills, missing his ulti, or even Flashing into a wall couldn¡¯t compare to Flashing away from a skill that didn¡¯t do any damage! It was such a stupid blunder!


    Qing Ye was mentally cursing and repeatedly stabbing that b*astard Yu Luocheng.


    Even Team Skycrown and Yu Luocheng himself were left wide-eyed. The tense atmosphere was broken by laughter due to the godlike control displayed by Orianna.


    What an unexpectedly f*cking amazing outcome!


    Yu Luocheng had released the skill for vision purposes, as he felt that Orianna was somewhere there. He didn¡¯t expect that she would be so paranoid to the extent that she would throw out a Flash.


    Okay, you win Orianna. Since you overestimate me so much, how can I not continue to aim my ulti at you?


    ***


    With vision control in Team Skycrown¡¯s hands, Team Revelation didn¡¯t dare to initiate a fight against them in the jungle. More importantly, that asshole Lee Sin had arrived to give support, while Darius was still pushing turret at the top lane. Even if he came down to fight against Lee Sin, it wasn¡¯t like he could win.


    At the fifteen-minute mark, it was coincidentally time for the Dragon to respawn. As Team Skycrown headed into the jungle, their plan was obvious. They clearly wanted to take their second Dragon!


    ¡°Plant a ward and get ready to contest, we can¡¯t go on like this!¡± said Bai Feng, gritting his teeth.


    Hao Yue nodded his head seriously. This was similar to the Jungle Suppression tactic. Team Skycrown would use Ashe to initiate, kill one, and then push turret. After they built the advantage for the team, they would then use wards to control the jungle area.


    Once they controlled the jungle area, they would continue to catch the champions who were alone. Through Lee Sin¡¯s maneuver, they would surround them and gain the upper hand with their greater numbers.


    Once the situation was a 5v5, they would disengage immediately. Even if you tried, you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep any of them there.


    At this rate, the gold difference between the teams would reach ten thousand in less than twenty minutes. By then, Ashe would have built up her items and Gragas¡¯ poke would be stronger, so Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t lose even in a team fight. It was basically GG for Team Revelation!


    ***


    Hao Yue had positioned himself accordingly, knowing that Team SKycrown would be gathered right outside the pit if they intended to take the Dragon. Even without vision, he knew that his instincts were right.


    Orianna threw her Magic Ball on him along with her Protect. When Zac used his ulti together with Orianna¡¯s ulti, the chances of winning this team fight was high, as long as they could retain two opponents.


    Elastic Slingshot!


    Zac, who had been hiding in a blind spot, launched himself out decisively.


    Orianna¡¯s shield from her Magic Ball was on him, and following Zac¡¯s launch, their vision was also cleared¡ªthey could see Aatrox landing the last blow on Dragon.


    He could hit both Aatrox and Thresh!


    Hao Yue¡¯s heart fluttered with excitement, he had gambled correctly on these positions.


    Just as Zac was about to land at his destination to knock up Aatrox and Thresh, Wu Sen suddenly reacted at the speed of light, sweeping his chain around him using Flay!


    Zac who was still mid-air was pushed away by Thresh¡¯s chains, his body landing far away from the ongoing fight.


    ¡°Beautiful, such a beautiful counter. Team Skycrown¡¯s Support has given us a classic display of using his Flay!¡± said Miracle, his face full of excitement at the scene.


    Thresh¡¯s E¡ªFlay¡ªcould disrupt most of the gap closing skills. If timed properly, he could even disrupt Malphite¡¯s ulti!


    The corner of Wu Sen¡¯s mouth curved up slightly, under the guidance of such a godlike Support like Yu Luocheng, how could he not improve?


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s expectations of Wu Sen¡¯s Thresh was high, to the point where he would even need to interrupt Diana¡¯s Lunar Rush dash. So this kind of slow launch from Zac was barely a challenge for him at all!


    If you dare to fly over, I will cut you off. Why the f*ck do you think I picked Thresh? It was precisely for team fights, in which all I need to do is mindlessly block Zac¡¯s skills!

 Chapter 321 - Glorious Equipment

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Boom!


    A loud noise resounded across the arena as Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas threw his gigantic barrel towards Team Revelation.


    This time, the objective of his ulti was simple¡ªto scatter Team Revelation¡¯s positions!


    Zac had jumped directly into the middle of their team, distancing himself quite a bit from his own team. Other than Orianna¡¯s Magic Ball that was still keeping up with him, his other teammates were on the opposite side of the wall. Ezreal wouldn¡¯t possibly use his life-saving repositioning E just to follow up with Zac.


    This ulti had completely divided the battlefield, and Team Skycrown didn¡¯t hesitate to throw everything they had onto Zac!


    Thresh who had many restricted movement skills could trap Zac with his ulti, making sure that he couldn¡¯t jump out of the fray. And when he tried to get closer to Yu Luocheng¡¯s Ashe, Zac was easily hooked and dragged to the other side with Death Sentence.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Aatrox didn¡¯t launch any attacks towards anyone else, but instead chose to unleash everything onto Zac. Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas did the same, hitting Zac with everything he had, including his EQ combo.


    Everyone must have the same mindset during a team fight. Don¡¯t bother about tank, just get the squishy one first!


    But unlike the usual logic, Team Skycrown was throwing every skill they had onto Zac.


    But if you think about it, how tanky can a Jungler Zac get at fifteen minutes into the game?


    Zac activated his ulti as soon as his landing was disrupted. But before it could even finish channeling, he was already split into four green blobs!


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s objectives are easy to understand, they want to divide up the front and back liners, then directly attack the back line. This method would have succeeded if Team Revelation was using any other Jungler. Unfortunately for Team Skycrown, Zac still has his passive which is buying his team some time!¡± commented Qi Qiao, her eyes serious as she watched the fight.


    Zac was disgusting, and it was all because of his passive.


    If you try to get rid of the blobs, then your enemies would have time to reposition themselves and come for you. Can¡¯t you see that Zyra has already Flashed over and activated her ulti?!


    If Team Skycrown didn¡¯t move now, they would definitely be caught up in it!


    Yu Luocheng immediately ordered the others, ¡°Spread out a bit.¡±


    Without any hesitation, Aatrox Flashed out of Zyra¡¯s ulti. Gragas¡¯, who had blue buff, had a very fast CD on his E. Using it to move out of the way, he easily avoided Zyra¡¯s ulti.


    Wu Sen was the only one caught, and you could clearly see him receiving a lot of damage.


    Ha!


    At this moment, Orianna who had been standing closer to the back was suddenly kicked from behind.


    The kick launched her from a hiding position right into the middle of the crossfire.


    Whoosh!


    At the same time, a beautiful crystal arrow shot forward from Team Skycrown¡¯s direction.


    Boom!


    Orianna didn¡¯t have a chance to dodge. After getting kicked by Lee Sin, she landed directly in the line of Yu Luocheng¡¯s arrow!


    Again in the face!


    Orianna had once again been shot in the face while she was right in the middle of both teams.


    Both sides were stunned!


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    ¡°The two ultis were absolutely chained perfectly. Only in the LPL will you be able to see such an amazing combo like this!¡±


    ¡°Orianna, is it possible that you didn¡¯t light an incense for Bodhisattva over the New Year? How old are you? Why is it always you?¡± exclaimed Miracle, the mocking clear in this tone. He had once again fallen back to his habit of teasing.


    ¡°That combo was really too beautiful, even Aatrox didn¡¯t hesitate to follow up. Sadly for Orianna, she has once again died before touching the ground. And in almost the exact same way as when she died at the blue buff area!¡±


    Orianna¡¯s damage was really too low. In normal situations she would have been able to at least easily dispose of the Support. But now, she only managed to reduce Thresh¡¯s health by half.


    Orianna¡¯s AOE had only brought down the health of a Support by half, and even their own Support Zyra¡¯s damage was catching up to her.


    What was even more frustrating was the fact that Lee Sin¡¯s roundhouse kick had once again placed her right in the middle of everything¡­


    At that moment, a cold wind blew and Qing Ye, who would never live down the noob mistake he made with his Flash earlier, was instantly killed.


    More importantly, Orianna died at a place which was not far from Zac. Initially Zac still had a chance of survival due to his passive. Following Ashe¡¯s ice arrows, Gragas¡¯ barrels, and Lee Sin¡¯s E¡­nothing else needed to be said, he was basically a sitting duck.


    Hao Yue looked at Qing Ye with undisguised bitterness. Qing Ye refused to meet any of their eyes, his face pinched.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that Lee Sin was behind you guys?!¡± said Team Revelation¡¯s Top with anger.


    To be honest, they were regretting picking Darius due to his f*cking short legs.


    Lee Sin once again planted a ward and jumped, easily closing the distance on the battlefield. Darius couldn¡¯t even make it on time to provide any support as Team Skycrown had focused on a speedy team fight.


    By the time he arrived at the battlefield, things were already too chaotic, and it wasn¡¯t like he was there to take down a turret. It was a four on five fight, and once Ashe initiated with her ulti, it was basically a downhill battle.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± said Yu Luocheng to his members.


    Wu Sen¡¯s Thresh had been killed instantly and they had already thrown all of their skills in this fight, there was no reason to continue. Darius¡¯ combat effectiveness was still strong. If they were to be caught in his Flash and hooked, he could instantly crush Ashe with one hit.


    Plus, Aatrox didn¡¯t have much health left and Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas didn¡¯t have very high damage, so neither of them would be very effective!


    They had already gotten two kills, there was no need to be greedy and stay.


    Yu Luocheng shot a Volley as he retreated and the four of them walked away. Team Revelation didn¡¯t have Zac, so they couldn¡¯t stop Team Skycrown from leaving. If they wanted to chase, Ashe, Gragas, and Lee Sin all had sufficient CC. Chasing them would mean death.


    One red buff, one Dragon, and two kills. Team Skycrown was really on a roll and the difference in their gold was almost at six thousand!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Ashe once again returned to the middle lane to farm, only recalling to base just before the twenty-minute mark!


    At twenty minutes, he had 207 CS.


    KDA is 1/0/3.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at what our masterful coach will buy¡­wait, what am I seeing?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an Infinity Edge and a Phantom Dancer! How is that possible?¡± Qi Qiao gasped, her face clearly shocked.


    They were only at the twenty-minute mark and he was already buying Infinity Edge and Phantom Dancer!


    To be able to build these items now¡­ just how rich was he?!


    ¡°Having these items at twenty minutes is¡­ Darius has only just managed to build his Sunfire Cape. Apart from that, none of the other Team Revelation members have any armor items, including Zac. None of them will be able to withstand the damage!¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s coach doesn¡¯t even have many kills, how can their gold difference be this big?¡±


    Everyone watching the match also had a similarly shocked expression on their faces. Having Infinity Edge and Bloodthrister at the twenty-minute mark was already barely acceptable, but to have Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, and Berserker¡¯s Greaves too¡­


    ¡°Let me count, let me count¡­¡± said Miracle as he started counting on his fingers.


    ¡°At twenty minutes, the gold gained in-system would be 1,440. Team Skycrown gained 700 from the Dragon and the turret. One kill and three assists would get him an additional 700 gold. That amount would be just nice to buy Phantom Dancer at 2,800 gold. Including his CS of 207 and adding in canon minions, that would come up to about 4,400 or 4,500 gold. Infinity Edge costs 3,830. If he sells off Doran¡¯s Blade and throws out another 900 gold for Beserker¡¯s Greaves, it¡¯s just nice!¡±


    The commentator was able to account for everything with just their words, what amazing calculation skills!


    But who would have thought that he would be able to build such shocking items even without many kills, just by relying on objectives and farming.


    Even Bai Feng currently only had a Trinity Force, a Pickaxe, Beserker¡¯s Greaves, Doran¡¯s Blade, and a Long Sword. He hasn¡¯t even been able to build Last Whisper yet!


    With these items, Ezreal had already dealt a considerable amount of damage. But in comparison to Ashe, she definitely had a higher damage output than him. As the game drags on, Ezreal wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to Ashe¡¯s damage!


    ¡°With her items, Ashe can completely participate in any team fight¡­ as long as her teammates peel and tank for her. Team Revelation really is in danger now,¡± mused Qi Qiao.


    As Qi Qiao said, Team Revelation already had a foreboding feeling of the oncoming danger.


    In regards to team fight capabilities, Team Revelation was definitely on a stronger level. Unfortunately their main damage dealer¡ªOrianna¡ªwas not looking too good with her items.


    And the important initiator¡ªZac¡ªseemed to be having difficulties playing his role properly due to Thresh¡¯s Flay which could easily disrupt his Elastic Slingshot.


    Whoosh!


    The Enchanted Crystal Arrow burst into sparkles, landing a direct hit on Zyra who was planting a ward.


    Aatrox and Lee Sin wasted no time in simultaneously launching an attack and instantly killed off Zyra!


    Lee Sin used Safeguard to return and Aatrox grabbed the lantern to smoothly retreat.


    By the time Team Revelation wanted to launch a counter, Team Skycrown had already cleanly executed a kill and disappeared from the area!


    ***


    ¡°Team Skycrown is in trouble now!¡±


    ¡°They have been cornered by Darius in the Dragon Pit area. And above the pit, Zac is positioned waiting to jump in!¡± exclaimed Qi Qiao, her voice slightly panicked.


    This time, Team Skycrown made a slight error in movement. Team Revelation who had great awareness had caught on and immediately latched onto this opportunity.


    Darius moved decisively, Flashing from the bottom lane and trapping Team Skycrown in the Dragon Pit area.


    At the top side, Ezreal, Zyra, and Orianna were maintaining a safe distance and throwing their skills from where they stood.


    Team Skycrown now only had two choices. One was to use the Dragon Pit as a defense base and fight against Team Revelation. Or, they could force their way through the enemy¡¯s blue buff area to run away, but they would then be surrounded by their opponents who were at the top side.


    More horrifyingly, Zac who had rushed over was waiting at the top of the Dragon Pit!


    In short, as long as Zac launched himself into the fray, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether Thresh disrupts his jump or not. Once he activates his ulti, he would still be able to catch them.


    With Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup, they were unfortunately surrounded.


    Team Revelation was indeed a veteran team, being able to grasp the flaw of Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup in this situation. And they were smart enough to take advantage of the time that Team Skycrown was aiming to take the Dragon.


    Forget about items or gold difference, once Team Revelation released the outrageous amount of CC from their ulti, Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t stand a chance at all!


    ¡°I don¡¯t have my ulti!¡± said Lin Dong, furrowing his brows.


    If Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas had his ulti, he could at least scatter their positions. Then, all he had to do was fail in killing Zac before his ulti was up.


    Once Zac had recovered his health and hurried back, the ward above the pit already showed that he was coming from the back of red buff towards the Dragon Pit top side.


    Team Revelation didn¡¯t initiate. Instead, they boxed Team Skycrown into the Dragon Pit area and waited for Zac to jump in from above!

 Chapter 322 - Complete Victory!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Getting out was impossible as the road was completely sealed off.


    Yu Luocheng frowned. Team Revelation¡¯s speed at sealing off their routes was uncommonly fast. As expected of one of the top four teams, they had quickly found the flaw in Team Skycrown¡¯s tactics!


    Team Skycrown needed to remain calm. They could not let their lineup be so easily taken out by their opponents. If they were killed, the gap in the gold difference would close, and it would be them who had a weaker lineup in the late game.


    Yu Luocheng glanced upwards at the Dragon Pit. Zac was bending his body backwards and down, clearly indicating that he was about to jump!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes brightened and he smirked coldly.


    ¡°Kill Zac!¡±


    Yu Luocheng pressed R the moment he said that.


    Whoosh!


    The Enchanted Arrow flew from below the Dragon Pit, aiming right for Zac!


    Boom!


    As soon as he was shot in the face, Zac¡¯s flight was immediately halted.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s arrow was like a signal. After the hit landed, everyone immediately moved and launched themselves at the stunned Zac like crazy hunters pouncing on their prey!


    Da Luo¡¯s Lee Sin was the first to launch his attack, hitting Zac with a Sonic Wave, then using the next part of his Q to fly through the wall and kick Zac in the face.


    Wu Sen followed up closely. A Death Sentence flew out at a stunned Zac, the scythe hooking onto him without even needing to be aimed accurately!


    At the same time, Aatrox flew up above the road between the red buff and the Dragon Pit, launching a series of blows onto Zac.


    Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas also went forward with his E, happily flying to the top side of the Dragon Pit and joining the rest of his companions in their assault on Zac.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Bai Feng suddenly realized that the situation was not good and hurriedly ordered Darius to engage.


    Darius rushed into the Dragon Pit, his iron axe at the ready with Apprehend!


    However, only Ashe and a lantern from Thresh remained in the pit¡­


    It was a shocking scene!


    Qi Qiao and Miracle watched the scene play out in front of them in shock, completely forgetting that they needed to say something.


    Even the audience watching the screen all had their eyes wide open in disbelief at what the five members of Team Skycrown had done.


    ¡°My god, all five of them can fly!¡±


    On the big screen, Team Skycrown who was initially surrounded in the Dragon Pit area had shown a delightful scene of flying through the wall.


    All five of them flew out of the Dragon Pit with not a single one left behind!


    At first, they were completely surrounded with no way out. But now with all five of them flying towards Zac, the whole situation was instantly turned around.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Hao Yue couldn¡¯t help but curse loudly.


    What the hell?! Just a second ago he had a nasty smile on his face, wanting nothing more than to turn into a cannonball and launch himself into their team.


    But in the next second, the five members of Team Skycrown had flown up, and he could only watch as his health dropped rapidly while he activated his ulti in a desperate attempt to somehow survive¡­


    Below the Dragon Pit, the other four members of Team Revelation were all dumbfounded.


    It was at this moment they knew that they had f*cked up. Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup was truly terrifying!


    The five of them were initially trapped, but with one glance all of them had flown out, and even managed to kill Zac!


    Besides Ezreal, the other four members of Team Revelation didn¡¯t have repositioning skills.


    Across the wall, Team Revelation could only watch as Zac was surrounded and killed. They could only feebly shoot a few skills in their direction, showing how helpless they were!


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup is really something. Lee Sin, Aatrox, Gragas, and the one who can¡¯t move so freely can rely on Thresh¡¯s lantern to make up for it!¡±


    ¡°Also, Team Skycrown made use of Zac and found a way to overcome this problem. This really demonstrates how clever they are.¡±


    ¡°Team Revelation¡¯s problem now is that their Zac was isolated and killed. Team Skycrown is now in their jungle area, whereas they are still in the river. Damn, the tables have turned on Team Revelation!¡± exclaimed Miracle excitedly.


    As soon as a breakthrough happened, the entire situation was turned around!


    However, Team Skycrown didn¡¯t launch a counter attack on them.


    They immediately turned and headed for the middle lane¡ªthe five of them were pushing the turret!


    For a moment, it was weird.


    Why was it weird you ask?


    It felt as though Team Skycrown was defending the blue side turret, and Team Revelation was the one intending to attack them.


    Team Skycrown was on the red side, and right now they were sieging the two turrets at the middle lane. Whereas the four members of Team Revelation didn¡¯t dare to recall back to base and could only pace behind Team Skycrown, watching as their turrets were taken down!


    ¡°Aih, Team Revelation must be feeling horrible right now, right?¡± said Miracle.


    Is it possible to not feel bad?


    It had been so difficult to find a chance to surround Team Skycrown for a kill. Who knew that all their effort would so easily just crumble into nothing?


    Even that would have still been acceptable, but Team Skycrown advanced directly to their rear and demolished the turret that no one was defending.


    The route back to base was sealed off from Team Revelation, leaving them unable to defend even if they wanted to. They could only watch helplessly as the two middle lane turrets were taken down before Team Skycrown moved on to the top lane turret!


    Team Revelation followed them but didn¡¯t dare to initiate. Darius¡¯ short legs couldn¡¯t even reach Team Skycrown.


    What was more hateful was the fact that all the members of Team Skycrown could fly through the wall and their movement speed was fast. When the battle shifted places, Team Revelation couldn¡¯t keep up with the speed.


    When the top lane outer turret was taken down, they couldn¡¯t defend the inner turret either. Team Revelation was basically like a cow lead to slaughter, unable to put up a fight at all!


    ¡°To be honest, I first thought that Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup was only good for early game ganks. I didn¡¯t expect that this lineup had such a hidden secret to it, and it¡¯s like a domino effect right now. They have completely messed up Team Revelation¡¯s normal farming and slow pace and pressured them to this extent. Without realizing it, the gold difference now stands at ten thousand!¡± said Miracle, looking at the stats on his screen.


    A gold difference of ten thousand was difficult to come back from.


    The next step for Team Skycrown was to pace around the Baron Pit.


    Team Revelation had to have some vision around the Baron, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t know when the Baron would also be taken!


    ***


    Whoosh!


    ¡°Ashe¡¯s ulti has once again come out, landing directly on Darius!¡±


    ¡°Gragas has thrown his ulti, bringing Darius back to them!¡±


    ¡°Alas, poor Darius¡­¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup combo has once again been displayed, with Ashe¡¯s ulti flying out and stunning someone, followed up by Gragas¡¯ ulti to bounce them backwards, it is an instant kill right there¡­vision is life-saving.¡±


    Team Revelation had already been very cautious by letting Darius walk in front, but the outcome was still the same. Yu Luocheng¡¯s ulti didn¡¯t need to be accurate and could just be directly thrown into anyone¡¯s face.


    As long as he could stun one, Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas could follow up with his own ulti, and no matter how the fight went, it was a sure win for them. Their gold difference was already too much anyway.


    On the other hand, Team Revelation couldn¡¯t even chain their ulti properly because their vision was tightly controlled by their opponents!


    Once Darius died, Team Skycrown pushed the turret again.


    Using Gragas and Ashe¡¯s skills to clear the wave and push the minions forward, they hurriedly withdrew and headed towards the Baron Pit.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s movement speed was fast, one by one they flew across the wall. By the time Team Revelation managed to clear the minions and headed towards the Baron, it was already taken.


    Soon the teams¡¯ gold difference was reaching fifteen thousand, and Team Revelation was completely out of the play.


    With an invincible champion like Ashe to initiate, and Lee Sin to catch any isolated enemies, they had a huge advantage. Team Revelation could only defend to the end and wait for a slow death!


    ¡°Just like the saying that martial arts can only be overcome with speed, Team Skycrown has truly shown us the definition of being fast in the first match. Now in the third match, their pacing is even more shocking to us. I want to know how a new team managed to render Team Revelation helpless in such a short time,¡± said Miracle with a smile on his face.


    ¡°The top four teams of the LPL have always defended their titles and remained unshaken by other teams. Team Skycrown is really something, it looks like they¡¯re heading for victory!¡± said Qi Qiao in agreement, her face equally excited.


    With the five members with Baron buff, they pushed all the way into the base, causing the audience to roar in excitement.


    These were cries of victory because everyone could see that Team Revelation had no chance of coming back!


    Team Revelation had not lost out in terms of strength or team fighting capabilities. They had lost due to their consistently slow pacing, wanting to drag the match out to late game and team fight.


    The problem was that Team Skycrown had already gained such a huge advantage in early game. Once Team Revelation got their items, Team Skycrown was already too powerful.


    Backstage, Li Meiqi was yelling at the top of her lungs, ¡°Go all the way, destroy the Nexus!¡±


    The entire area was swept along with the jubilant momentum that Team Skycrown had gathered after getting Baron buff. Who would have thought that such a new team could actually beat Team Revelation with a score of three to zero!


    Liang Gui¡¯s face had a dark expression on his face.


    Team Skycrown had won. They really won, and with a score of three to zero against Team Revelation!


    Ten thousand yuan¡­ ten thousand f*cking yuan!


    ¡°For letting you run your mouth, I will gladly accept this ten thousand yuan. It so happens that there¡¯s a bag that recently caught my eye¡­¡± said Li Meiqi, laughing.


    Her face was flushed with happiness as she swept the cash into her bag.


    Liang Gui¡¯s face was twitching violently. What a waste of his entrance ticket¡­


    Ring ring ring!


    At this moment, Liang Gui¡¯s phone rang. He was annoyed as he answered it, speaking with a bitter tone.


    The voice on the phone was even angrier.


    ¡°A lot of the materials you gave me were utterly useless. Others have already reported on it, how dare you erase their watermarks and put your own name on it?! And yet you still have the gall to request for me to make corrections on it? Liang Gui, just get lost and stop discrediting our company!¡±


    Stunned, Liang Gui didn¡¯t react and the other side hung up before he could get over his shock.


    Li Meiqi smiled brightly as she looked at the dumbfounded photographer, saying, ¡°Congratulations on being laid off.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! You b*tch, what did you do?!¡± Liang Gui suddenly snapped back to reality, yelling at her.


    ¡°Nothing really, I just asked some professionals to verify some of the things on your company¡¯s website, and also talked to the cyber police.¡± Li Meiqi snorted. ¡°When you scolded me the other day, weren¡¯t you so arrogant? Idiot, did you think I¡¯d just let it go?¡±


    Liang Gui could still live with losing ten thousand yuan.


    But losing his job was an absolute disaster.


    Even his stolen work had been revealed. If this leaked out in the industry then it would be difficult for him to find work as a photographer!


    Li Meiqi happily took the money, not bothering to even glance at Liang Gui who had sat down on a chair with downcast eyes¡­


    Listen, listen to the glorious cheers coming from outside!


    Before the competition, they were all cheering for Team Revelation. Now that the competition was over, they had all been converted to fans of Team Skycrown.


    This feeling was great, the grievances that she suffered previously were gone like the wind. Her heart was filled with the ecstasy of the crowd¡¯s cheers.


    From the start, she had believed.


    She always knew that they would definitely beat Team Revelation!


    Li Meiqi wiped the tears that had escaped her eyes and stood in the background excitedly. She wanted to reward these five nerds of Team Skycrown with a huge warm hug!


    Think of it as the benefits of winning.


    This was what they deserved after going through so much bitterness and hard work!

 Chapter 323 - The Coach from the Worlds Runner Up Team

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A chilly strong wind blew as Jian Feng looked at the miles and miles of vast loess and hills, making him feel like he was in an entirely different world.


    Also hailing from the countryside, he didn¡¯t have the arrogance of the city kids, but it wasn¡¯t until he walked into Xiao Bei¡¯s village that he truly understood the meaning of ¡®mountain village¡¯. It really was completely surrounded by mountains and the only means of getting around was by walking.


    The road was uneven and steep, it was hard to believe that people could actually live in this place!


    Over the past few days, Jian Feng had seen and experienced the worst parts of the county. Forget about cell phones and computers, the village didn¡¯t even have running water or lights.


    It was completely isolated from the world, and more importantly, he was certain that the China census never reached the village either.


    Most of the people here didn¡¯t have identity cards, and even if they did go to town, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to apply for one anyway.


    Fortunately, they at least still had cell phone signal.


    ¡°Hello¡­ what¡­ won?! F*ck, you¡¯re serious right? They really managed to beat Team Revelation?!¡± Jian Feng shouted suddenly.


    ¡°What? What happened?¡± asked Xiao Bei as he hurriedly came over.


    Jian Feng didn¡¯t manage to get more than two words in before the call was cut off.


    They could get a signal here but it was so bad that you¡¯d be lucky to even be able to say one word.


    ¡°They won, they won!! Three to zero against Team Revelation, a top four team!! Hahaha!¡± Jiang Feng exclaimed in excitement, unable to hold it in.


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!!¡± Xiao Bei also exclaimed loudly, excitement clear in his tone and eyes.


    Three to zero against Team Revelation, they couldn¡¯t even dream of this before!


    With this kind of victory, every LOL player would now have their eye on Team Skycrown. They definitely would not be looked down upon anymore.


    And they would definitely be able to find sponsors now, their money problems were as good as solved!


    ¡°Luocheng really is the best!¡± said Xiao Bei with a wide grin.


    Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t played in the professional league for such a long time, but with one touch he managed to defeat Team Revelation with an astounding score of three to zero.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s heart sank as he thought about the problem with his identity card that still couldn¡¯t be resolved. He really wanted to play on the same stage as Yu Luocheng. When they won together, the taste of victory would definitely be indescribable!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back, there¡¯s no point in staying anymore,¡± said Jian Feng.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go back and ask my uncle. He does a lot of dodgy things, maybe he can help me settle this,¡± said Xiao Bei.


    Jian Feng protested strongly, ¡°Ask your uncle? Don¡¯t be stupid, that guy¡¯s a con man!¡±


    Xiao Bei shook his head, saying, ¡°No, I was the one who wanted to leave at that time. You saw what my village was like¡­ and when I said that I was going to play e-sports, he didn¡¯t completely stop me either.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡±


    ***


    The Shanghai University community was in an uproar!


    The LPL was the most prolific professional league in the country. It was like getting to see their own schoolmate not only appearing on the CBA field, but also sweeping away all those well-known CBA masters!


    No one could contain their excitement as they watched!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s five roommates were all in the community area. The only ones who knew how to play LOL were Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu. At first, the other three were watching Yu Luocheng with a weird expression, wondering why he was so popular.


    But when they saw the live broadcast, with such a gorgeous stage and a massive crowd that you normally only see in concerts, they suddenly realized that their roommate was someone who was damn good at playing the game!


    ¡°No wonder our e-sports club suddenly managed to get into the top four, there was actually an LPL player in there!¡± said a senior.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t watch the later games, Yu Luocheng was singled out from beginning to end. If it wasn¡¯t for that, they probably could have been placed first in the university rankings!¡±


    ¡°I think so too!¡±


    ¡°In other words, our school has two celebrities now¡ªa swimming goddess who¡¯s a national champion and a LPL god!¡±


    ***


    The five members of Team Skycrown stood proudly on stage as confetti rained down on them from above.


    ¡°Congratulations to Team Skycrown! This round was amazing, it was the only one where a newly formed team managed to defeat one of the top four teams, you guys are really something!¡± the host commented warmly as he made his way to the stage, smiling.


    Someone else was following the host to the stage. He was upright and wearing American-style denim, giving off the feeling that he just returned from a foreign country.


    He was also holding a mic in his hand and had a smile on his face. His eyes were fixed on Yu Luocheng, looking at him fondly like he was an old friend. His gaze also carried a hint of admiration.


    ¡°Let me introduce the person beside me. He¡¯s the coach of Team Free from the US. You can say that he has probably influenced more than half of all the strong teams in the US. He grew up in our country and returns here from time to time. This is Moke,¡± explained the host.


    Even without the host¡¯s introduction, the LOL fans in the hall had already recognized him.


    US Team Free¡¯s amazing coach who led the team to step into the S International League¡­ he is the golden coach of the Worlds¡¯ runner up team!!


    As long as you watch the S International League, you would definitely know who he is.


    In the beginning, many people were confused and suspicious about this Asian American coach. They guessed that he was Korean as the level of Korean e-sports was too high, having surpassed many other countries. No one expected the coach of the runner up team to actually be from China!


    This made the domestic LOL fans even more excited.


    In the e-sports industry, the other countries have always looked down on China. Their version is slower, their play style is outdated, and their technology is lacking. The fact that they didn¡¯t even appear in the qualifiers for the S International League was proof of their inferiority.


    Then, everyone found out that the coach of the Worlds¡¯ runner up team was actually from China! Doesn¡¯t that prove that Chinese people aren¡¯t as weak as they thought?


    But if he was from China, why didn¡¯t he just stay and develop the local teams? If such a strong coach were to remain in the country, he could definitely cultivate a world-class China team!


    ¡°Do you have anything to say about the match you just watched between Team Skycrown and Team Revelation? With your unique vision, I¡¯m sure you can explain and analyze our new Team Skycrown, and tell us how they managed to get a landslide victory like this,¡± said the host.


    ¡°Moke is what I go by in the US, my actual name is Li Tuchuan, just call me Tuchuan,¡± said the golden coach.


    He smiled as he continued with his analysis.


    ¡°In the first match, they were using the fast pushing tactic that some teams in Korea have already been using. However, Team Skycrown¡¯s use of Malzahar and Soraka on the cannon minion to destroy the turrets was actually unprecedented. It was quite surprising to see. I think that if this tactic was used on the world stage, it would have wrecked even those famous veteran teams and left them unable to counter.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Team Skycrown¡¯s win in the first game was inevitable,¡± said the host, attempting to clarify.


    Li Tuchuan nodded his head.


    ¡°To be able to come up with such a tactic, you have to be someone who not only has a comprehensive understanding of League of Legends, but also has a bold and innovative mindset. To be honest, I admire the creator of this tactic.¡±


    Li Tuchuan maintained his smile as he glanced at Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a great honor to be recognized by the strongest tactical coach in the world! Team Skycrown, can you tell everyone who was the creator of this tactic?¡± asked the host, facing the members of Team Skycrown.


    With the exhilaration of victory still running in them, Team Skycrown unanimously pushed Yu Luocheng out front. Apart from him, who else could come up with such a tactic? This guy was born to play games!


    ¡°As expected¡­ Fighting Hawk¡¯s boldness is undoubtable,¡± said Li Tuchuan as he grinned, exposing a row of clean, white teeth.


    Yu Luocheng was also looking at him in shock. He never expected Li Tuchuan to appear at this time. What¡¯s more, this guy turned out to be the coach of the strongest US team!


    Who is Li Tuchuan?


    We have to go back to the time when Yu Luocheng first came into contact with e-sports, because when Yu Luocheng was just a budding sprout, Li Tuchuan was already a god in this industry!


    You can say that this guy is a legendary e-sports veteran!


    At this moment, memories flashed through Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind¡­


    ***


    ¡°Fighting Hawk, I¡¯m leaving the country,¡± said Li Tuchuan who was still in his early twenties at the time, taking a sip from the glass of alcohol in his hands.


    ¡°Leaving the country? Why?¡± asked a younger Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°The local e-sports circle is a mess. I¡¯ve really done all I can to try and change it¡­ in the end, I have nothing to show for my efforts. I don¡¯t even have the qualifications to participate in a professional competition, what a joke.¡±


    ¡°You want to go overseas and grow?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m thinking of developing myself out there. Instead of rotting here and searching for scraps to eat.¡±


    ¡°Good luck on your journey.¡±


    ¡°Good luck to you too.¡±


    ***


    Yu Luocheng saw him as an e-sports predecessor who had been completely heartbroken by the local gaming scene.


    And in just a few years time, he seems to have succeeded!


    Relying on his strength, he had grown to the extent that he was now training the Worlds¡¯ runner up team. This in itself was evidence of his success!


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve never seen anything like the third match before. Using Ashe as the centre, the Top, Jungler, and bottom lane were all highly mobile champions. With the various repositioning skills and incredible movement speed¡­ watching them freely move around the enemy¡¯s jungle area was like watching a high-suspense action movie! Frankly, I think even my classic poke lineup would have completely failed!¡± said Li Tuchuan.


    The classic poke lineup was first seen in Korea, but in fact it had been developed by Li Tuchuan and a Korean coach.


    And the reason that Fudan University could use the poke tactics was because the team that was supporting them was actually that very same foreign team who was the Worlds¡¯ runner up team¡ªTeam Free.


    The reason Fudan University could be strong enough to win the LPL was precisely because they received guidance and training from this golden coach, Li Tuchuan!

 Chapter 324 - Sky Club, Just Wait For Your Death!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Their hard-won victory felt amazing.


    After their on-stage interview, everyone had a new perception of Team Skycrown.


    At least they were now aware that Team Skycrown had always been training since the moment they were formed half a year ago. They had never caused trouble and never made a racket with others on the internet.


    Those tasteless rumors were dispelled on their own!


    And even if Team Skycrown did actually do something, they had still defeated Team Revelation, one of the top four teams. Go ahead and try to also beat them three to zero if you can!


    Didn¡¯t you see the golden coach giving them such high praise?


    ¡°I look forward to your performance at this year¡¯s Worlds,¡± Li Tuchan had said, patting Yu Luocheng on his shoulder.


    Worlds¡­


    That goal seemed so near yet so far!


    Team Skycrown¡¯s reality was far from satisfactory. They never denied that they wanted to gain recognition and make a name for themselves.


    But no matter how many twists and turns life threw their way, and how hard their daily lives were, the feeling of elation that would come from standing on the world stage to compete against international teams would truly make them feel alive!


    So that¡¯s why they had to be unafraid of pain, and whenever they were knocked down, they had to just keep getting up to fight again!


    As an e-sports veteran, Li Tuchuan knew well how much glory Team Skycrown used to have and how brilliant they were.


    When they were playing against Fudan University, Li Tuchuan already had his eye on them.


    At the time, Team Skycrown was still weak. But in just a short span of two to three months, their awkwardness had completely faded, showing their true skills in e-sports!


    Incredibly pleased, Li Tuchuan couldn¡¯t wipe the smile off his face.


    He left the local scene because it was disdainful to fight with those kinds of people. Team Skycrown had suffered so much, but they still managed to pick themselves up and stand once again. They truly deserved this victory!


    ¡°Could it be possible that Moke thinks that they have what it takes to qualify for Worlds right now?¡± asked the host, slightly surprised.


    All the way from the bottom to having the qualifications for Worlds¡­ the host never expected the golden coach to have such high praise for this team!


    Li Tuchuan didn¡¯t say much.


    Worlds was the pinnacle of real e-sports, if a team didn¡¯t set getting there as their goal, then they didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to reach the LPL!


    Li Tuchuan believed that the once king of e-sports wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with just being the top in the country, too many people abroad already knew about them.


    As long as they dared to go beyond the LPL, those who arrogantly despised Chinese e-sports players will fear, because the previously known Team Wings had beaten them within an inch of death!


    As the members of Team Skycrown were not people of many words, they didn¡¯t say much about their victory.


    Walking down from the stage, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen were still exhilarated from the victory. As soon as they reached the bottom of the stage, a beautiful girl ran up to them and threw herself at them in a hug.


    A soft body, pleasant fragrance, a beautiful face¡­


    The feeling of happiness was so sudden, and as the first one to be embraced, Da Luo felt like he was in heaven. No one expected that Li Meiqi would give every one of them a hug.


    She even sneaked a kiss on his cheek when it was Yu Luocheng¡¯s turn!


    ¡°Heyyy, we want a kiss too!¡± whined Lin Dong and Da Luo after seeing it.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have any meaning if I give too many kisses, who wants to come first tonight?¡± said Li Meiqi, smiling slyly.


    Lin Dong and Da Luo were startled and could only look at her with their mouths hanging open¡­


    These virgin boys didn¡¯t know how to react to such aggressiveness at all!


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t take much notice of her action, he knew that Li Meiqi had always been this way. He glanced at Li Tuchuan who had also walked down from the stage with them.


    Li Tuchuan didn¡¯t stop to continue any kind of conversation with him. He only reached out his fist and lightly bumped it against Yu Luocheng¡¯s chest before turning and leaving.


    Watching as he left, Yu Luocheng was out of it for a long time. This man who was sort of his teacher had finally walked onto the path of glory. A pleasantly warm feeling spread through Yu Luocheng at the thought of his success.


    The path of e -sports was a difficult one, but those who persist would eventually find a place to call their own.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to playing against your team at Worlds!¡± His mind still replayed Li Tuchuan¡¯s words, and Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart surged inexplicably in excitement.


    Yeah, he should be galloping towards Worlds. Where did his passion in the beginning go? He wasn¡¯t even that old yet!


    He didn¡¯t know why, but at times Yu Luocheng felt like he was an old soul, doing things unemotionally without feeling a single beat of excitement.


    But when he thought about the possibility that he might play on the same stage as his e-sports predecessor, his heart started to beat in excitement!


    Could it be possible that he actually desired to return to the arena?


    ***


    Team Skycrown didn¡¯t own a car, so they stepped out of the competition venue and waited for the public bus like most of the audience. As they were waiting, a bunch of LOL fans crowded around them!


    ¡°Aih, why would you take the public bus? Come on, I have a car, I can send you guys to where you want to go!¡± said an enthusiastic fan.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one with a car! Lao Zhao, drive my Land Rover over¡­¡±


    ¡°So what if you have a car? They promised to give me an autograph!¡±


    ¡°Coach, teach people to use Ashe. My Ashe always cannot hit properly, you landed so many accurate hits, everyone loves it¡­¡± exclaimed a bubbly girl exclaimed with a big smile on her face.


    Half frightened by the girl¡¯s excitement, Yu Luocheng hastily retreated.


    ***


    In the end, the five of them ended up taking the subway back to campus. With such a hard-won victory, Li Meiqi happily offered to treat them to a good meal with her winnings of ten thousand yuan.


    After many days of eating nothing but junk food, the members of Team Skycrown went crazy over the amount of meat they were now able to eat!


    ¡°Oh my gosh, why are you guys fighting over it, you will definitely be able to eat a lot of meat in the future!¡± said Li Meiqi as she laughed at them.


    The members of Team Skycrown were so cute, hungrily wolfing down the meat without a care for their image, like they hadn¡¯t had any for years. Li Meiqi couldn¡¯t help but smile warmly as she thought about how they would soon be able to leave such a difficult life behind.


    ¡°Our next opponent is Team Dusk and their play style is relatively new. Their personal strength is also not very prominent,¡± said Lin Dong.


    ¡°When will we go against Team Sky?¡± asked Da Luo, impatience in his voice.


    ¡°As long as we win the game against Team Dusk and get another four points, then our next opponent will be Team Sky,¡± replied Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong unconsciously clenched his fist. Team Sky really was so hateful. Defeating Team Revelation wasn¡¯t enough. They would only be able to truly celebrate when they took down Team Sky!


    ¡°Oh by the way, I recently checked. Team Sky¡¯s strength seems to be on the decline. They lost to both Team Daemons and Team 71. If we can beat them, maybe Team Sky will really be thrown down the gutter and not qualify for Worlds!¡± said Li Meiqi.


    Lin Dong shook his head, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not that their strength is declining, Blood Eagle just hasn¡¯t been playing.¡±


    ¡°Blood Eagle didn¡¯t play?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I heard that Blood Eagle has gone overseas to receive special training. He hasn¡¯t been in the country since Chinese New Year, they let a substitute play Jungler. I heard they said that even without Blood Eagle, they would still be able to maintain their position in the top two of the LPL. After Team 71 beat them three to two, Team Sky is slightly panicking right now.¡±


    ¡°Did Zhao Tinghua do this intentionally? To let us stomp on them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Zhao Tinghua can¡¯t wait for us to lose. It¡¯s possible that he himself wants to get stronger, so he went overseas for training¡­¡±


    ¡°Then isn¡¯t this a good chance?¡±


    With and without Zhao Tinghua, Team Sky was definitely like two different teams! If they could defeat even Team Sky, then Team Skycrown would be able to qualify for the S International League!


    ¡°Haha, Zhao Tinghua really chose a good time to leave. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that we know what he¡¯s like, I really would think that he deliberately ran away from us,¡± said Da Luo, laughing loudly.


    ¡°Yeah, Team Sky can¡¯t afford to lose anymore. If they do¡­¡±


    This was good news for Team Skycrown! Team Sky didn¡¯t have many points, while Team Daemons and Team 71 were the ones currently maintaining their winning streak.


    If Team Sky lost one more time and were not able to get the four points from a victory, then the top two in the LPL would be Team 71 and Team Daemons, followed by Team Skycrown who only had two points.


    The top two from the LPL Spring Season would qualify for the S International League, and more importantly, the prize for third place is two hundred thousand yuan!


    The members of Team Skycrown were all excited!


    Their biggest objective for coming into the LPL was to defeat Team Sky. Right now, with Blood Eagle out of the country for special training, Team Sky was in an embarrassing position. As long as Team Skycrown could get an advantage over them, it would definitely cause a fatal blow to them!


    Wasn¡¯t Team Sky known to be the top domestic e-sports club?


    If they can¡¯t even qualify for Worlds, do they still have the face to be known as that?


    If Team Sky tried to continue tainting Team Skycrown¡¯s reputation in the future, others would know that it was out of pure jealousy and resentment. And once that happened, more people would side with Team Skycrown!


    So what if they tried more tricks and deceit? None of it would matter as long as Team Skycrown could beat them fiercely on the battlefield!


    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get lax in your training during this time. Make sure to maintain your feel and reaction timings. After beating Team Dusk, we¡¯ll go all out on Sky Club!¡± said Lin Dong, his eyes full of burning determination.


    Team Skycrown had waited an eternity for this moment!


    Sky Club, just wait for your death!

 Chapter 325 - A Devil With Horns

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Do you guys really have the confidence to beat Team Sky? I heard that even without Blood Eagle, they¡¯re still very strong. Even Team Revelation is no match for them,¡± said Li Meiqi as they walked back to the university.


    As they had been drinking and were on a high from their victory, Team Skycrown had completely forgotten about something important. The fact that all their points had been taken away because of Xiao Bei¡¯s identity problem, causing them to start from zero again. Right now, they only had four points, which would make it a bit hard for them to make the top three.


    Of course, not making it to the top three wasn¡¯t really a problem. As long as they could beat Team Sky, then Team Skycrown would immediately gain fame as the team who defeated both Team Revelation and Team Sky. Even if they didn¡¯t manage to participate in Worlds, they would still be a highly influential team within the country.


    That would be enough for them. This year, they had made it into the LPL. Just wait until next year when they would be more mature and have more experience. When they aimed for Worlds then, it would definitely be more exciting!


    All the well-known professional players had recently been appearing a lot in the media. Let them have their moment in the spotlight while they can, it would be Team Skycrown¡¯s turn soon!


    ***


    Having been away from university for a while, Yu Luocheng needed to catch up with his coursework. It was already dark out and the lights were on all over the university.


    ¡°Will you still be playing in the next match?¡± asked Li Meiqi.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see. It¡¯s best if Xiao Bei plays. The tactic we¡¯ve been using was specially developed for the five of them, and they¡¯ve practised with it longer than I have. I might have been able to bring a stronger effect in the beginning, but later on I won¡¯t be so effective. I didn¡¯t train as much as they did after all,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s such a pity that you¡¯re not playing professionally. Don¡¯t you want to try convincing your family to let you play? I think they¡¯d be so proud to see you being supported by everyone. Everyone knows that studying is not the only way to succeed,¡± said Li Meiqi.


    ¡°My family hardly goes online, they won¡¯t understand all this. In their opinion, online games are like drugs¡­¡± said Yu Luocheng, shaking his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t communicate with them much,¡± replied Li Meiqi.


    Yu Luocheng looked at her and sighed, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t understand my situation.¡±


    ¡°Then tell me, I¡¯ll listen. If you don¡¯t explain it to me, how can I understand?¡± retorted Li Meiqi.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t feel like explaining his home situation, saying, ¡°The situation with my old man is a bit more complicated.¡±


    ¡°How is it complicated?¡±


    ¡°You have to return to your dorm, I¡¯m going back to uni,¡± said Yu Luocheng, pointing to the high-rise apartment that had an elevator.


    Yang Ying used to stay here with his girlfriend, and Yu Luocheng was quite familiar with this apartment. Looking at it, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but think of Yang Qianqian who he had not seen for about a month.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, I was just trying to lend you an ear. Besides, I live alone. Come on up to my place, we can talk through the night,¡± said Li Meiqi while batting her eyes cutely, speaking in a tone that would give you goosebumps.


    Yu Luocheng swallowed hard, sneaking a peek at Li Meiqi¡¯s perky tits.


    F*ck, did she have to tempt a pure virgin like him? She had to know that he had a girlfriend!


    ¡°Uh¡­ now that you mention it, I am a bit thirsty¡­¡± Yu Luocheng croaked.


    ¡°Oh, then hurry up and get back to your dorm so you can drink some water!¡± said Li Meiqi, turning around gracefully.


    Her heels made a clacking sound against the pavement as she made her way back to her apartment. She purposely swayed her hips seductively as she walked away to captivate Yu Luocheng who furiously tried to distract himself.


    See no evil, hear no evil¡­ the weather today was good, slightly cloudy¡­


    ***


    Walking into the university compound, Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind was still filled with mixed thoughts.


    Part of him could still feel the rush from the dynamic music and the crowd¡¯s passionate cheers. But at the same time, he was haunted by a vision of his own face, staring coldly with a serious expression and judging himself.


    Lost in his thoughts, he unconsciously walked into the community area and saw two people standing at the entrance. It was late, most of the students would have already retired for the night, you normally wouldn¡¯t even see a shadow at this hour.


    Suddenly, a clear voice rang out, ¡°Dad, go home first. I don¡¯t think Brother will be coming back tonight.¡±


    Feeling like the voice was quite familiar, Yu Luocheng squinted to try and see who was talking. His face paled when he realized who it was.


    One person was wearing white, fluffy sportswear that outlined a beautiful and charming figure. This view had become one of the most beautiful sights of Shanghai University, and many knew who she was.


    What made Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart race was not the fact that Yu Yu was standing at the entrance, but the middle-aged man standing next to her.


    Yu Yu had just finished talking when she saw Yu Luocheng walking in their direction.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    Yu Yu hurried to Yu Luocheng¡¯s side, glaring at him as she whispered, ¡°I kept calling you but you didn¡¯t pick up or read my texts. Dad already knows¡­¡±


    Yu Luocheng stood there, not moving a single muscle.


    Yu Jing also stood there and you could see his chest heaving, as though he was having difficulty breathing. His face was extremely rigid and his eyes were cold and furious. His gaze was laced with disappointment and pain!


    This was the expression that Yu Luocheng was most afraid of, he had never wanted to see this look on his father¡¯s face. It felt like a lightning bolt had slammed right into his mind.


    Huff huff huff!


    Yu Jing¡¯s breaths grew heavier and more laboured. His words of reprimand were stuck in his throat, unable to come out.


    Sensing that something was wrong, Yu Yu hurried to her father¡¯s side to support him.


    ¡°Dad¡­are you alright?¡±


    Yu Jing was dripping with sweat, and his face that was red with anger had slowly turned pale white!


    Yu Luocheng clearly recalled the previous time this had happened to his father, when they had their big fight about him playing in the professional league. Back then, Yu Jing had also been full of anger that couldn¡¯t be vented, blocked by pain, and unable to speak a word¡­


    Looking back, Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t known that his father¡¯s damaged liver had been causing him so much pain in that moment!


    And now, the same anger, the same pain¡­


    Looking at Yu Jing who couldn¡¯t utter a word and seeing the painful expression on his face with sweat dripping down, Yu Luocheng suddenly realized that his illness was flaring up, and hurried over to help him too.


    ***


    Yu Jing had actually arrived in Shanghai earlier that morning, feeling happy that Yu Yu had given him a reason to hope again. He was also elated by the chance to see the university that both his children were currently studying in¡­


    To him, university held a lifetime full of regrets.


    But the whole day of feeling good had been ruined by what went down in the community area¡­


    Since then, Yu Jing hadn¡¯t left the community area. He had been waiting at the entrance all day, waiting for Yu Luocheng to get his sorry ass back to the dorm and explain himself!


    Who was the one who had knelt in front of the door, swearing that he would never touch those blasted drug-like online games again?!


    Why¡­ why was it that in less than two years, he once again chose to walk this path that his family didn¡¯t want him to be on, and that too without a shred of remorse¡­


    How much had Yu Jing given for the sake of his family? Suffering day and night from his illness. And this child couldn¡¯t even listen to the one thing that was asked of him??!


    ***


    For Yu Jing, this was a nightmare come to life.


    For Yu Lucoheng, this was also a nightmare unfolding into reality before his very eyes.


    Red lights flashed, hurting his eyes with it¡¯s brightness.


    The roar of the ambulance siren was also particularly harsh in his ears.


    Yu Yu¡¯s voice lingered in his ears, ¡°You bastard, don¡¯t you know why Dad came to Shanghai?!¡±


    ***


    Li Yun¡¯s crying voice came through the phone, ¡°Cheng, do you really not know or are you just in denial? Even if you can¡¯t let go of the thing that you love, can¡¯t you at least wait until after your father¡¯s surgery¡­wuwuwu¡­¡±


    ***


    Why did it feel like he had been thrown back into the past, when they used sharp shouts, harsh scolding, and a flood of tears to reprimand and stop him from playing?


    Just recently during Chinese New Year, everyone was still happily celebrating and enjoying a feast together. They had been teasing Yu Yu about all the suitors she had in university, and saying that Yu Luocheng had accidentally tricked a schoolmate into becoming his girlfriend¡­


    Suddenly all the colors turned into the white walls of the hospital. The scenes of cold lights, crying, and scolding kept replaying in his head.


    This was the second time in the year that he stepped foot into the hospital. In his heart, Yu Luocheng was scolding himself for being such an idiot.


    Previously, Yu Jing had already spent a big sum of money on his liver surgery. Back when Li Yun had been unwilling to disclose Yu Jin¡¯s condition, Yu Luocheng should have known that his father¡¯s liver was almost useless¡­


    As time passed, Yu Luocheng found that Yu Jing grew more and more quiet. He always wanted to speak but didn¡¯t know what to say. It wasn¡¯t just because there was a big age gap between them, but also because sometimes it was just too painful to talk about anything.


    As long as he didn¡¯t go pale and faint, Yu Jing always pretended that he was fine, pretending to be healthier than any of them¡­


    ***


    ¡°He needs a liver transplant, he won¡¯t last long at this rate,¡± said the doctor, his cold voice echoing in the hallways of the hospital.


    ***


    ¡°Since you¡¯re a national athlete, your direct relatives receive certain medical insurance benefits. The medical costs of the liver transplant will be covered by the country, but the problem is¡­¡±


    ***


    Yu Luocheng sat in the waiting room, not speaking a word.


    Seeing him now, you wouldn¡¯t even imagine that just a short while ago, he was enjoying a celebration for an incredible victory. Suddenly, everything came crashing down with one piece of bad news. Now, every breath he took was filled with the bitter taste and smell of the sterile hospital.


    He couldn¡¯t do anything but simply wait in silence.


    Before all this happened, Yu Luocheng had always been thankful for at least having a warm house and caring family. He was definitely in a better situation compared to Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Xiao Bei.


    But his household had always been held together with glue, and their deep wounds were just bandaged. One gentle touch and¡­


    It would break again.


    Yu Luocheng was like a devil with horns, even if you used brute strength to break the horns, they would unconsciously grow back again¡­

 Chapter 326 - Team Skycrown without Yu Luocheng

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lian Guan was the owner of a grocery store. He had opened one in a residential area of Shanghai, as this was the most popular way of doing business in the area. You could say that there was a grocery store or small supermarket outside every home.


    Having managed it badly, Lian Guan¡¯s grocery store was quite small and not doing very well. It only generated about a few thousand yuan a month, which is what he survived on.


    When he had Xiao Bei around, Lian Guan could ignore everything around him and spend his days just playing cards and drinking alcohol.


    As soon as Xiao Bei left, it became difficult to sort out the delivered goods. After the day¡¯s goods delivery earlier that morning, Lian Guan was feeling frustrated. He shouldn¡¯t have let that little bunny run away, doing everything himself made him very tired.


    ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m back!¡± exclaimed Xiao Bei as he ran into the shop.


    ¡°Get out, get out. I¡¯m annoyed just looking at you,¡± said Lian Guan, his voice full of dissatisfaction.


    ¡°Have you settled my identity card issue yet? You should urge the people over there to hurry up!¡± said Xiao Bei instead of leaving.


    ¡°Urge the Public Security Bureau? You want me to die? Don¡¯t nag, just bring all this stock to the back. I¡¯ve already agreed to play mahjong with some of the guys,¡± said Lian Guan.


    ¡°This is urgent! Haven¡¯t you gotten it done yet?¡± asked Xiao Bei as he dragged the heavy load to the back as instructed.


    Xiao Bei had already heard about Yu Luocheng¡¯s situation. If he couldn¡¯t play, then Xiao Bei needed to make sure that he could!


    He knew that his uncle had some small connections, and if Lian Guan pulled some strings, he would be able to solve the problem with Xiao Bei¡¯s identity.


    ¡°Crazy sh*t, I already told you that I¡¯ll settle it when you¡¯re eighteen years old. Like I said, this will take up a huge sum of money. The penalty for having kids over the birth limit is now a hundred and twenty thousand yuan, you know? Do you think you can earn this sum of money?¡± Lian Guan scolded him.


    ¡°What does helping me with my identity card have to do with the birth limit?¡± asked Xiao Bei, confused.


    ¡°There are a lot of illegal children now, don¡¯t you think they want to be registered too? They either have unknown indentities, are hiding from the family planning office, or have stupid parents who didn¡¯t register them.


    Someone like you who nobody wanted, the only way to put your name on the register is to use the one child policy limit. I put your household register under one of my friends in Shanghai, but he already has one child.


    To settle your problem, my friend has to go to the family planning office to fill in all kinds of paperwork, and then pay the penalty fee for having more than one child. Remember, you owe me a hundred and twenty thousand yuan!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have that money, and anyway I worked for you for so many years. It should add up to that amount,¡± said Xiao Bei.


    ¡°Bullsh*t! Didn¡¯t I feed and house you all these years?! Stop talking nonsense, I¡¯m going over to the club to play mahjong. Sh*t, I have to win today,¡± said Lian Guan.


    Lian Guan was not a human trafficker, but when he first went northwest, he was well on his way to becoming one. He almost joined a group of traffickers who wanted to kidnap children, but he immediately got out of it when he realized that he had been deceived.


    He couldn¡¯t send Xiao Bei back when he fled, and so he brought him back to Shanghai. He took him in as his nephew and made him work in the store. Lian Guan liked to laze around and enjoyed playing cards and mahjong. While the average person would just play for fun, Lian Guan would go further by putting a few thousand yuan on the line during the games.


    So despite the shop being open for several years, he didn¡¯t really earn a lot of profit from it due to his gambling habits¡­


    It wasn¡¯t easy to get some profit, but everything he earned went into making Xiao Bei¡¯s household register and identity card. And also to f*cking bribe those guys in the bureau!


    Ah forget it, it was easier to just play mahjong. Lian Guan was far too lazy to worry about all those troublesome things.


    ***


    Looking at white walls and white beds was strangely mind-clearing. Yu Luocheng sat at his father¡¯s bedside, staring out the windows at nothing in particular.


    These days he didn¡¯t even know how he spent his time, he was like a walking corpse.


    Li Yun had already arrived from Lecheng and she was currently on the phone outside the room, looking quite anxious.


    Yu Yu seemed to be going through some formalities somewhere, and Yu Luocheng was sitting inside, not knowing what to do. Besides the initial guilt, he seemed to have become a little numb now.


    For quite a while now, he felt like he didn¡¯t even have a heart.


    His phone vibrated for a long time before he reacted and reached to answer it.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s anxious voice came through, ¡°Luocheng, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± replied Yu Luocheng stoically.


    ¡°My uncle helped me apply at the local public security bureau. My specific identity still can¡¯t be determined, but at least I¡¯ll have a birth certificate. It¡¯s attached to a local person¡¯s household register, and I¡¯ve already asked the office. He said that it will pass smoothly if it needs to be verified for the competition,¡± said Xiao Bei happily.


    It really wasn¡¯t easy to settle this identity issue, and Xiao Bei knew that it was impossible for Yu Luocheng to participate in the competition right now. It was also impossible to expect any guidance from him at the moment, the five members of Team Skycrown were on their own for the rest of the matches!


    ¡°Okay, good luck with the matches,¡± said Yu Luocheng, his voice still strangely empty.


    ¡°Luocheng, don¡¯t worry, I will definitely work hard and become a world champion!¡± said Xiao Bei seriously, his voice full of determination.


    Xiao Bei was well aware that after going through this, Yu Luocheng would never touch professional gaming again.


    To be honest, none of the members of Team Skycrown expected Yu Luocheng¡¯s father to be sick enough to need a liver transplant¡­


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Hanging up the phone, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t have any desire to move, and he continued to stare out the window.


    ***


    At the competition venue, Li Meiqi had an unhappy expression on her face as she looked at the five members of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Luocheng?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He has a family emergency, so he won¡¯t be able to come,¡± said Lin Dong, sighing heavily.


    Zhou Yan and Da Luo remained silent. Even if he wasn¡¯t on stage with them, they were so used to having Yu Luocheng at every important game. They always felt more secure and confident knowing that he was cheering for them backstage.


    This time, he wouldn¡¯t be here. It felt like Team Skycrown was missing a big piece, majorly bringing down their motivation and enthusiasm.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, you managed to settle your identity problem?¡± asked Li Meiqi, turning to him.


    ¡°Yeah, and I also went to our local security office to confirm that there won¡¯t be any more problems,¡± said Xiao Bei, nodding his head.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good. I already passed on the details to Xi Xi, he warned me that there better not be a problem this time¡­¡±


    ¡°Jian Feng also went with me, you can check with him if you¡¯re worried,¡± replied Xiao Bei.


    Jian Feng nodded his head. ¡°They said it wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, especially since boss will most likely bid LOL goodbye after this,¡± said Lin Dong, seriousness in his voice.


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan still remained silent as they already knew about Yu Luocheng¡¯s situation. What else could they do but sigh about it?


    ¡°What happened? Is it that bad?¡± asked Li Meiqi, confused.


    ¡°His father¡¯s liver is on the verge of shutting down. It¡¯s been like that for a few years now. Back when Luocheng left home, his father was admitted to the hospital. After that, it happened more frequently. This time, his father came to Shanghai for treatment and somehow found out about Luocheng playing in a professional match¡­ now he¡¯s lying in the hospital, waiting for a donor¡­ if they can¡¯t perform the surgery on time¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that serious?¡± gasped Xiao Bei, shocked.


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t know about this last time either. It¡¯s no wonder Luocheng refused to touch the professional league.¡±


    ¡°Why is his father so stubborn? It¡¯s just a professional match.¡± Li Meiqi protested, still confused.


    Da Luo snorted and said, ¡°Aih, how many parents nowadays understand e-sports? His relatives have probably heard that it¡¯s something that almost killed his father.¡±


    It¡¯s just a professional match? Those words were so easy to utter.


    Not many older people were so open-minded, and there were still many parents who didn¡¯t even understand the Internet. These same parents also thought that studying hard was the only way to guarantee a good future, everything else was considered useless and a waste of time.


    Having never experienced this in her own household, Li Meiqi was unable to relate to or even comprehend the situation.


    ¡°Luocheng would probably still pay attention to our matches,¡± said Lin Dong.


    ¡°He definitely will.¡±


    Only those who had a deep passion for e-sports would understand how terrifying being unable to play was.


    After staying silent for a long time, Lin Dong finally forced a smile and spoke.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s properly prepare. Boss has already invested so much blood and tears in us, all in the hopes that we can get ahead in this field. He has done a lot for us. If we can¡¯t grow up and do this ourselves, he¡¯ll only be more disappointed and worried.¡±


    Out of respect for his father, Yu Luocheng had never crossed the line to once again step into the realm of professional e-sports.


    Instead, he always hoped that Team Skycrown could be strong enough to one day compete in a real e-sports competition again.


    It had nothing to do with their past glory or fame. All Yu Luocheng wanted was to see Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Xiao Bei, Wu Sen, and Da Luo take pride in being able to climb to great heights in something that they love.


    Team Skycrown believed that even if they were to have much more than they currently do, Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t ask them for a single thing. He just wanted the five of them to be well, then he would return to student life, completing his studies and graduating as per his father¡¯s wishes.


    It was the situation with Xiao Bei that had forced him to play just one match.


    Somehow, his father just so happened to stumble upon that one time he played, and now everything was a mess. Even if he had tried to explain the circumstances, his father probably wouldn¡¯t even listen or believe him.


    Not being able to do what you love is what truly makes a person suffer most.


    But if you think about it, how many young people in today¡¯s society have returned to their hometown after failing to live their dreams in the big city? Instead, they all end up following their families¡¯ pre-arranged plans for them.


    Did they really want to walk on this path after graduating and coming out into the real world?


    Now, all Team Skycrown could do was to pray that Yu Luocheng¡¯s father would recover. They also hoped that the older generation would understand that professional e-sports was not a drug that children got addicted to.


    Just like with world-popular sports such as football and basketball, professional e-sports also required endless effort and incredible skill, and glory came from their competitions too!


    ***


    No matter what, the match must go on!


    Their next round was against Team Dusk¡ªeven without Yu Luocheng, they could do it!

 Chapter 327 - University Student Who Lacked Three Points

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°It seems that Team Skycrown has switched back to their original ADC¡ªXiao Bei. Their powerful coach must be watching over them from backstage. The last match against Team Revelation was really pleasing, let¡¯s see what kind of surprise Team Skycrown will give us this time in their match against Team Dusk,¡± said the commentator.


    It was obvious that there were fewer people in the audience for this match between Team Skycrown and Team Dusk. This was a testament to Team Revelation¡¯s popularity as a veteran team.


    However, you could tell that because of the previous game, the supporters of Team Skycrown were not any less than Team Dusk¡¯s.


    Having appeared in the last LPL, it stands to reason that Team Dusk¡¯s popularity should still be far above that of the new Team Skycrown. But who knew that Team Skycrown would capture the hearts of so many people with just one match? This made the members of Team Dusk envious.


    ¡°What the f*ck, I don¡¯t understand how Team Skycrown can beat Team Revelation three to zero! It¡¯s like they accepted a bribe to purposely lose the match or something!¡± said Xi Yang, Team Dusk¡¯s ADC who was clearly unhappy.


    Xi Yang¡¯s role was bottom lane and having faced Team Revelation a few times, he knew first-hand how strong Bai Feng was. Being able to hold your own at the bottom lane and not get crushed by him was considered a great achievement.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that Team Skycrown could possibly be even better at playing bottom lane, to the point that they had managed to beat the great Bai Feng.


    Thinking about it further, he wondered if they were trying to deliberately build hype for this talented new team by letting Team Revelation purposely lose to them.


    There was nothing one wouldn¡¯t do in order to be famous in the field of e-sports.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s coach is undeniably good, but luckily he¡¯s not playing in this round,¡± said Mu Se, the captain of Team Dusk.


    ***


    Of course, there were some people in the audience who lamented the change in Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup. Their rise in the match against Team Revelation had been nothing short of amazing.


    With his Graves who showed no fear against Bai Feng and his Ashe who could control the entire map, Yu Luocheng¡¯s ADC had really surprised a lot of people.


    But why wasn¡¯t he playing this round?


    ¡°Our information shows that Team Skycrown¡¯s coach only played once and their original players are the five currently on stage. They¡¯d probably have more chemistry in their coordination,¡± explained the commentator.


    At this point, Xiao Bei had already put on his headphones.


    His mind was a bit chaotic due to Yu Luocheng¡¯s situation. If his father¡¯s illness was so serious that he was waiting for a donor in the hospital, this might be the final straw that pushed Yu Luocheng into a dead end.


    It was likely that Yu Luocheng would never touch professional e-sports again¡­


    He clearly loved the stage and enjoyed the game on this battlefield.


    The usual him always looked indifferent, but something changed when he sat on the stage. His black eyes would sharpen like an eagle, making him look focused, proud, and confident!


    When he played, he was completely different from the easy-going Yu Luocheng that just lazed around.


    The cruelest part of it all was that someone beloved to him was the one stopping him from pursuing his passion. Could he really walk away from it all and let everything go without a care?


    ***


    ¡°Let us have a look, Team Skycrown¡¯s Xiao Bei¡¯s pick is very decisive. He has picked The Night Hunter Vayne, even though his opponent is Caitlyn. It doesn¡¯t seem like a very wise decision.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Bottom lane is going quite stable, but this isn¡¯t good news for Caitlyn. A level six Vayne can easily beat Caitlyn. If you wait for Vayne to initiate, Caitlyn even more wouldn¡¯t be able to¡­ oh, I just said that and Xiao Bei has already launched an aggressive assault! Xi Yang from Team Dusk was careless in his movement and has now been pinned to the wall! Will he Flash?¡±


    ¡°Vayne has dodged her EQ combo, this is bad news. She still isn¡¯t going to Flash¡­ ah, Flashing now is a bit too late. As expected Vayne was able to land that last hit with her arrow and Caitlyn is down for the count.¡±


    ¡°What a beautiful solo kill there, in a situation where both Supports were not present. We have seen Xiao Bei¡¯s smooth control of Vayne, and Xi Yang was clearly overconfident and sloppy in that play. How can you commit this kind of rookie mistake in the LPL?¡±


    ***


    ¡°Vayne has already built Blade of The Ruined King, it¡¯s going to be hard to farm equally at the bottom lane now!¡±


    Just as the commentator¡¯s voice faded, two champions emerged from the tribush!


    Mid and Jungler, together with Bot, surrounded the bottom lane to secure a kill?


    ¡°Push the turret, there¡¯s no time,¡± said Xiao Bei, glancing at the map and seeing Zhou Yan rushing over to help.


    Zhou Yan also had the same thought, their opponent had seized the loophole in their vision and went for the bottom lane. It was obvious they were intending to kill two birds with one stone by taking both the bottom lane and the Dragon.


    Zhou Yan was still a distance away from the bottom lane, and even if he managed to reach the bottom lane in time, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much. Making the decision, he abandoned the bottom lane and instead opted to push the middle lane with Lin Dong!


    As the first turret went down easily, the pair didn¡¯t hesitate and continued to push the second turret!


    For Team Skycrown, taking a turret was more important than a kill because it related to vision and map control. The last match against Team Revelation had helped them fully understand the importance of controlling vision. No matter how strong a team was, they would still roll over and die if their vision was taken.


    ¡°Vayne ulted and went invisible, Flashing in the opposite direction and running!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s the life steal from the Blade of the Ruined King¡­ oh my, will he be able to escape like this?¡±


    ¡°Just a bit more, oh my god, Vayne actually managed to escape! She¡¯s running towards the middle lane from the river!¡±


    Zhou Yan and Lin Dong who were pushing the second turret also looked at the bottom lane, their eyes wide when they saw the beautiful maneuver Xiao Bei pulled off to escape.


    Lin Dong and Zhou Yan exclaimed simultaneously, ¡°Beautiful!¡±


    Hurriedly demolishing the second turret, the three of them coordinated for Vayne to life steal back two thirds of her health, and then they headed towards the Dragon Pit.


    Team Dusk had dived the turret to force a kill, throwing every single skill shot in their arsenal and only managing to kill a Support who didn¡¯t even use his Flash. They barely took the turret and Vayne had managed to escape their hands!


    What¡¯s more, they obviously didn¡¯t dare to go for the Dragon right now as their opponent¡¯s Mid and Jungler still had their ulti and skills. Gathering at the Dragon Pit right now would be like serving up their heads on a silver platter.


    After considering everything, it was still Team Skycrown who came out ahead from that fight with two middle lane turrets taken.


    ***


    While Team Skycrown and Team Dusk were having their battle, Yu Luocheng was still sitting at his father¡¯s bedside in the hospital.


    ¡°Brother, there¡¯s someone looking for you,¡± said Yu Yu softly, her words piercing through the haze in his mind.


    Yu Luocheng nodded, standing up to walk out of the room. He took a glance around and noticed Li Meiqi who was wearing a jacket.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to visit you and your father,¡± said Li Meiqi.


    ¡°Okay. He¡¯s sleeping right now, so let¡¯s not go in and disturb him. We can talk outside,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    Walking to the side, Li Meiqi asked, ¡°Do you need my help?¡±


    Yu Luocheng shook his head.


    Money wasn¡¯t the issue right now, it was the fact that his father needed a liver donor. As long as there wasn¡¯t one, the hospital would be unable to carry out the surgery.


    All they could do now was to wait, and even Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t know for how long they needed to wait¡­


    It was all up to fate.


    If Yu Jing was destined to live such a short life, then maybe this hospital would be where he drew his last breath. If he was destined to live a long, healthy life, then a donor would somehow appear¡­


    ¡°They¡¯ve already beaten Team Dusk, and their next game is against Team Sky,¡± said Li Meiqi, after a long silence.


    Team Sky, the enemy that Team Skycrown had to defeat no matter what. They were the ones who had taken away everything Yu Luocheng had worked hard for.


    Everyone hoped that Yu Luocheng could be present at this match. Even if he wasn¡¯t playing with them, they hoped that he could be backstage, watching proudly as they trashed Team Sky.


    Only then would Team Skycrown feel like they had not let him down after all the hard work and effort he poured into them.


    It wouldn¡¯t be the same if Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t be there when they faced their ultimate nemesis.


    ***


    Looking at the downcast Yu Luocheng, Li Meiqi¡¯s heart clenched painfully. The troubled look in his eyes spoke volumes about how he was feeling. It was obvious that his heart had been in turmoil over the past few days.


    A woman¡¯s voice echoed from the side, ¡°Are you Cheng¡¯s classmate?¡±


    ¡°Auntie, how are you?¡± asked Li Meiqi.


    With just one glance, she could tell that the woman was Yu Luocheng¡¯s mother. They had the same eyes.


    ¡°I heard what you said earlier¡­¡± said Li Yun.


    Flustered, Li Meiqi quickly tried to explain, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way! I just feel that since it¡¯s something he¡¯s passionate about, there¡¯s no reason¡­¡±


    Li Yun smiled slightly, indicating that she didn¡¯t mind Li Meiqi bringing up the game this time.


    ¡°Yu Jing was supposed to have his surgery in Shanghai this time, but he just couldn¡¯t cross that line. When he got angry, he aggravated his illness¡­¡±


    ¡°Auntie, why does Uncle try to stop Yu Luocheng from playing games?¡± asked Li Meiqi, slightly hesitant.


    ¡°About that¡­¡±


    Li Yun glanced at the chair beside her, silently suggesting that Li Meiqi should have a seat. Li Meiqi really didn¡¯t understand what the problem was. It was just e-sports, it wasn¡¯t as though Yu Luocheng was doing anything harmful.


    ¡°Yu Jing wasn¡¯t always as rigid as he is now¡­ to be honest, he could have been a university student who embraced new cultures and technology¡­¡± said Li Yun.


    ¡°University student?¡± repeated Li Meiqi, slightly surprised.


    Li Yun looked to be over fifty years old now and Yu Jing was even older. He would have been a university student back in the 80¡¯s or 90¡¯s. At that time, being a university student was really something to be proud of. Back then, people who got into universities were like dragons who had reached the skies!


    It was not possible, Li Meiqi could tell that Yu Luocheng¡¯s household was not that wealthy. If Yu Jing had been a university student, then their family would be extremely wealthy right now!


    ¡°He was just lacking three points in the examination,¡± said Li Yun in reply to the confusion on Li Meiqi¡¯s face.


    ¡°That¡¯s such a pity. During that time period, passing the university entrance exam was an incredible privilege that even surpassed being an official,¡± said Li Meiqi.


    In fact, Li Meiqi¡¯s parents had been university students back then. They always talked about how hard it was for them to get in, and they also told her about how prestigious being a university student was.


    Knowing this, Li Meiqi completely understood how Yu Luocheng¡¯s father had only been three points away from completely overturning his family¡¯s poverty. This was undoubtedly the regret of a lifetime for him.


    Li Yun continued, ¡°Indeed, if he didn¡¯t miss one of the subjects¡­¡±


    Miss a subject? Li Meiqi was taken back.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s father had actually missed a subject when taking the entrance examination? He missed a subject and yet only lacked three points to get in?!


    At that time, universities were not divided into divisions because there were only so many key institutions. If you passed the test, you could get into any of them!


    If he had only been short by three points after missing one paper, how terrifyingly high were Yu Luocheng¡¯s father¡¯s scores for his other papers?

 Chapter 328 - It’s Kill Or Be Killed!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°How can that be? How could he miss one subject?¡± asked Li Meiqi, horrified.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of this.¡±


    Li Yun gestured to the man in question who was lying on the bed.


    ¡°His liver illness?¡± asked Li Meiqi.


    ¡°Yes. That was the first time it flared up, and the pain was so bad that he couldn¡¯t help but withdraw from the examination hall. And there was no retaking of papers during that era¡­¡± said Li Yun.


    Li Meiqi¡¯s heart wavered as she listened to the older woman talk.


    Regret. It was definitely a lifetime regret.


    By obtaining such high marks even after missing one subject, Yu Luocheng¡¯s father had fully demonstrated just how lofty his passion for academics was. His talents were truly amazing, and he had really put so much effort into his studies.


    With life becoming mediocre after missing out on this incredible opportunity, his regret only grew with each passing day as he became just one of many others in the sea of factory workers.


    Li Meiqi was well aware that the reason she had a good life today was because her parents managed to be admitted into university back in their time, becoming one of the people in society who had good knowledge.


    The people of this era probably didn¡¯t understand how people back then had the idea of going to university so firmly rooted in their bones as the only way to achieve future success.


    Yu Jing was similar to other fathers, and probably had even more regrets than most of them.


    So when he had his first child, a son, he saw a dazzling hope within him!


    Suddenly, work didn¡¯t seem as tedious as it did before, because Yu Jing was aware that he had to work hard in order to create a better environment for his son¡¯s future studies.


    He needed to maintain his son¡¯s health and make sure that he had enough nutrients. He couldn¡¯t let his son get sick or let his body get weak, as this would affect his studies.


    He had already been through a severe loss because of this once, and now he was determined not to let his son suffer the same fate.


    He taught Yu Luocheng how to read and write from the young age of only three years old, and was delighted when he saw that his junior high results were good. He could clearly envision his son going to high school and then university.


    He had just slowly started to let go of the regret that had been buried deep within him¡­ and then, the bad news came¡­


    Yu Luocheng wanted to give up on his studies to play e-sports professionally instead!


    You couldn¡¯t imagine how hard this blow was to Yu Jing. For more than ten years¡­ he had nurtured his son for more than ten years¡­ and now he decided to just walk away. How heartbroken would you feel as a father?


    At that time, Yu Jing formed a perception in his mind¡­


    Drugs, e-sports was no better than drugs!


    Most parents had the same mindset of e-sports being like drugs, so they would tell their kids stay away from it.


    You can¡¯t touch it! You¡¯ll get addicted, don¡¯t play!


    Study properly and don¡¯t play games!


    ***


    ¡°Auntie, professional e-sports is not a game, it¡¯s a competitive sport. It has the same honor as other sports, and it requires a lot of hard work and effort to gain glory,¡± said Li Meiqi, trying to change the perception of the older generation.


    Li Yun shook her head, saying, ¡°I know, but it¡¯s useless. In Yu Jing¡¯s eyes, it is an evil that has taken away his child.¡±


    She paused and sighed.


    ¡°I know that Cheng¡¯s heart isn¡¯t in his studies, and I¡¯m well aware of what he loves. His father is also aware, which is why he knows that it¡¯s impossible to stop him from playing completely. That¡¯s why he only forbade him from playing professionally. Because once Cheng does that, even his family becomes strangers to him¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Li Meiqi, not understanding how that could happen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand either¡­¡± said Li Yun, shaking her head sadly.


    Li Yun had seen the time when Yu Luocheng was crazy, a child who only had the computer screen in his eyes. She even couldn¡¯t think of him as her child when he was like that.


    ¡°Is there no way to reconcile this contradiction? Yu Luocheng is really talented. He can reach unimaginable heights in this field, even our Dean has praised him,¡± said Li Mei, trying her best to convince Li Yun.


    ¡°I want to change Yu Jing¡¯s perception too. I want him to understand that children can be outstanding in fields other than academics, but¡­¡± Li Yun choked on her words as she held back a sob, ¡°But it¡¯s up to the Heavens now to grant me the chance to persuade him again.¡±


    ***


    Li Meiqi couldn¡¯t remember even leaving the hospital. Yu Luocheng¡¯s mother¡¯s words were replaying over and over again in her head.


    A strong-willed mother, determined to put on a smile no matter what, talking while trying to hold back her tears.


    How many children¡¯s souls have been crushed thanks to this deep-rooted belief the older generation had? What kind of career do you expect soulless people to have?


    And how many families have had their happiness taken away by illnesses? If Yu Jing were to pass away from this, would Yu Luocheng still have the courage to get back into the thing that had taken his father¡¯s life?


    The relationship between Yu Luocheng and his father was not unsalvageable, there was still potential for reconciliation. It wasn¡¯t very hard to graduate from university. As long as Yu Luocheng completed his studies, Yu Jing wouldn¡¯t have much to say about his involvement in professional e-sports¡­


    But just as Yu Luocheng¡¯s mother said, they needed a chance to reconcile.


    In her heart, Li Meiqi knew that all she could do now was to pray for Yu Jing¡¯s recovery.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s concerned voice came through the phone, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is Luocheng okay?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s alright¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you tell him about my performance in the match against Team Dusk?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Did you also tell him that I will definitely beat Team Sky? I think Luocheng will definitely want to see that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I told him that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! I will definitely beat Team Sky! Then Luocheng¡¯s father will recover and walk out of that hospital!¡±


    ¡°You just need to play properly, why do you care so much about Luocheng¡¯s thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Luocheng is my idol!¡±


    ***


    Sky Club¡¯s base was a very large house which was divided into three floors, each one had a corridor with many rooms.


    The club was no longer a simple one just for DOTA. They had a dedicated operation team for almost every popular game. Each room had a particular game¡¯s icon pasted on, and in a room that was more like a lobby, a large LOL icon could be seen. It was filled with computers, making it look like a small yet exquisite Internet cafe.


    A man wearing a suit that didn¡¯t fit well was sitting on the sofa, smoking a cigarette. His eyes were on the five members of Team Sky.


    ¡°I really never thought that they would manage to pick themselves back up,¡± said Xu Pingyang.


    ¡°Boss, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely beat them three to zero and immediately eliminate them,¡± said Guan Lanjie, the captain of Team Sky.


    A small team like Team Skycrown dared to stir up trouble by posting on the Internet?


    They weren¡¯t playing DOTA anymore, they were in the LOL era now. So what if Team Skycrown had been formed from the previous Team Wings. Those who had been trampled on should just stay down!


    ¡°Hn, Zhao Tinghua is getting more brave too. He dared to go for overseas training without even getting our permission. He should have at least got us into the S International League before just taking off like that!¡± said Xu Pingyang, his voice shaking in anger.


    Xu Pingyang of Sky Club now depended on sponsors to make money, and a team that could make it into Worlds would be able to gain an enormous amount of sponsors.


    To Xu Pingyang, the S International League was a good opportunity to make a lot of money. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t let someone else grab this golden opportunity.


    ¡°It¡¯s confirmed that Yu Luocheng won¡¯t be playing right?¡± asked Xu Pingyang.


    ¡°Yeah, I heard that his father is in the hospital due to liver failure. He¡¯s taking care of him there,¡± said Xie Yi, Team Sky¡¯s Mid.


    ¡°Hehe, his father¡¯s illness flared up at the right time,¡± said Xu Pingyang, chuckling gleefully.


    He had been really stressed during Team Skycrown¡¯s match against Team Revelation.


    Yu Luocheng had really displayed his raw strength there, and Xu Pingyang was afraid that he would return to his former glory. If that was the case, then the confrontation between Team Sky and Team Skycrown would really be intense, especially since Blood Eagle was not around.


    Xu Pingyang was someone who wasn¡¯t afraid of things that he could see coming, the only thing that scared him was the unexpected. He didn¡¯t want anything to affect his chances of raking in the big bucks, so in this game against Team Skycrown, Team Sky needed to have absolute confidence in winning.


    His discussion with Samsung was going well, as long as they claimed victory on that day, the contract was basically a done deal. Once signed, he would have nearly fifty thousand yuan in the bag every month!


    And that was just an initial investment. Following the development of the e-sports industry, it wasn¡¯t impossible for Samsung to up their sponsorship offer to millions of yuan. Plus, if they had multiple sponsors, he would make more than a few million.


    Money, this was all about money!


    Xu Pingyang had yet to make his dream of owning a villa in Shanghai come true, he couldn¡¯t let himself be crushed by the members of Team Skycrown whom he had once trampled on.


    ¡°Come to think of it, isn¡¯t their ADC that little brat?¡± asked Xu Pingyang suddenly.


    ¡°It¡¯s Xiao Bei, Lian Guan¡¯s nephew,¡± replied Sun Liang.


    Lian Guan¡¯s store was not far from Sky Club¡¯s premises, so they were familiar with Xiao Bei as he often delivered snacks to them. Who would have thought that such a small errand boy would eventually be such a big threat to them?


    If this wasn¡¯t a pheasant becoming a phoenix, then what was?!


    ¡°Make sure to play properly!¡± said Xu Pingyang.


    ¡°Please rest assured, boss!¡±


    ¡°Those little sh*ts, we¡¯ll definitely show them their place!¡±


    Xu Pingyang nodded, satisfied. ¡°Go and train properly, if you win then we¡¯ll have rewards for you¡­ Sun Liang, come over here damn it. You don¡¯t even do your job properly, all you do is play mahjong every day.¡±


    Sun Liang was just about to leave to win some money, but since the boss was calling, he couldn¡¯t do anything but sulk as he came back in.


    ¡°I have a question for you. Why did Yu Luocheng play as a substitute for that brat in the last game?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that sure either, it¡¯s something to do with his personal profile.¡±


    ***


    Today, the members of Team Skycrown were a mess of emotions. To be honest, they have waited for this day for so long!


    Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo¡¯s grievances and resentment towards Team Sky had only been increasing since the day they left Sky Club.


    Until today, they still couldn¡¯t forget Xu Yangping¡¯s shameless face. He was like a horrible human-eating demon, one that would mercilessly devour someone right down to the bones.


    All this while, Team Skycrown had been enduring hardships and working hard in their training, but never getting what they deserved. It was all because of a giant obstacle in their way that just wouldn¡¯t stop oppressing them¡ªSky Club.


    That¡¯s why today, it was finally time to fight back aggressively.


    In this confrontation, it¡¯s kill or be killed!

 Chapter 329 - Victory Is The Best Present

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The crowd roared as they walked into the arena.


    After their winning streak against both Team Revelation and Team Dusk, Team Skycrown¡¯s popularity had only increased day after day. Though they were now facing the famous Team Sky, there were still some people in the crowd holding Team Skycrown banners.


    It was the students from the Shanghai University e-sports club who first started supporting Team Skycrown, and students from Fudan University also unconsciously followed their lead.


    Since Team Sky was playing, the scale of this match was much bigger.


    Besides the audience already seated in the hall, there were many standing spectators crowding the aisles. Some of them even had colourful paint on their face, while others were wearing Teemo¡¯s hat, and many were clearly showing their passion for Demacia.


    A reporter spotted a very pretty girl, so he got the photographer to hurry up and follow him. He held up a microphone to ask her a question.


    ¡°Hey miss, where are you from?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m from Hangzhou,¡± replied the pretty girl softly, slightly shy.


    ¡°Ah, Hangzhou is really a place that has produced beautiful women since ancient times. So which team did you come to support?¡± asked the reporter.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡­¡±


    ¡°Ohh, it seems that Team Skycrown is really popular now, they already have so many beautiful fans!¡±


    ¡°Everybody, you¡¯re looking at our LPL arena at this moment. The competition will start shortly, in about half an hour. One team is the top club¡¯s Team Sky. Whereas the other team is Team Skycrown, who has recently emerged. Who will win?¡±


    ¡°Now I will hand it over to our commentator for the match!¡±


    ¡°Hello everyone, my name is Hei Hei and I¡¯m here with Xi Ling. We¡¯ll be explaining this exciting game to everyone today.¡±


    ¡°Good day everyone, I¡¯m Xi Ling!¡±


    Hei Hei was a famous official LOL commentator who had a style that was slightly similar to Miracle. The difference was that Hei Hei is more sadistic on the inside, but was also able to remain neutral. Unlike Miracle, whose explanation could turn around at any moment.


    Meanwhile, Xi Ling was a beautiful commentator who the majority of players were familiar with. Just with her simple introduction earlier, the entire arena had erupted into cheers and wolf whistles. It seemed that she had many fans within the crowd. From time to time, you could also hear some people calling her teacher.


    Somehow, the term ¡®teacher¡¯ had a different sort of feeling tied to it, one of endearment. Her ¡®students¡¯ also hoped to be able to call her big sister one day, just like they did with Chang, another popular star that everyone knew.


    Both Xi Ling and Chang had great reputations in their respective industries, and the former was actually one of the most brutal players within the country!


    Plus she was absolutely beautiful, which helped her videos easily get over a million viewers each. Even a professional commentator like JX could only lament the influence of a beautiful girl.


    The presence of both commentators added to the atmosphere of excitement in the arena, and even the half hour wait didn¡¯t seem too long.


    ¡°Our players are about to enter the stage. Everyone, let¡¯s hear it for the team you¡¯re supporting!¡± exclaimed Xi Ling.


    The cheers started suddenly when Team Sky entered, the volume only increasing with every second that went by, and you could also hear some cheers for Team Skycrown.


    The popularity of Team Sky who had previously made it to Worlds could not be compared to Team Skycrown who had only recently been recognized after winning a few matches. You could tell from the cheers that about eighty percent of the crowd were fans and supporters of Team Sky.


    What a pity that Blood Eagle was not around. If he was here, the crowd¡¯s cheers would definitely be more explosive!


    ¡°Hei Hei, I remember that Team Sky¡¯s captain challenged Team Skycrown during the pre-season. It seems like there¡¯s something going on with these two teams,¡± said Xi Ling.


    ¡°Well, I heard that three members of Team Skycrown used to play for Team Sky. They should be old teammates,¡± replied Hei Hei.


    He didn¡¯t know much about the situation either, he¡¯s just heard some random bits of info from people who had been in the e-sports circle much longer than him.


    ***


    Both teams had entered the stage, and Team Skycrown had no leader. Previously, Yu Luocheng had been the one who took that spot, but he wasn¡¯t present this time, so the five of them marched up on stage without him.


    Meanwhile, Team Sky¡¯s leader was actually Xu Pingyang himself!


    As an e-sports player himself, he would act as a coach for other e-sports games from time to time. But it was rare for him to make a personal appearance like this.


    What was his objective for being here this time?


    ¡°Long time no see,¡± he said.


    Bald and thin, Xu Pingyang looked quite the sight in his ill-fitting suit. It was like a thin dog wearing human skin! As a result of his long-term smoking habit, the teeth that showed when he smiled were disgustingly yellow.


    When Zhou Yan, Lin Dong and Da Luo saw his face, they had to endure the desire to immediately punch his brains out and scatter his yellow teeth on the ground.


    They had never met anyone as disgusting and low as him!


    The five members of Team Sky were dressed in a blue e-sports uniform with their logo on it. They followed Xu Pingyang as he led them past Team Skycrown to the middle of the stage.


    The five of them didn¡¯t say a word, but they didn¡¯t bother to hide their arrogance and pride either.


    In order to promote good sportsmanship, Xi Xi, who was in charge of all the teams, would always tell the team who would be walking out second to shake the hands of the other team when they walked past. They would also be instructed to give their opponents another friendly handshake once the match was over.


    As Team Skycrown¡¯s stage was on the other side, further from the entrance, they would enter after Team Sky.


    Team Sky walked in first and they stood in line facing the crowd. As Team Skycrown walked past them, Xi Xi¡¯s reminder to shake their hands was still ringing in their ears,


    But Lin Dong who was walking at the front of the group had no intention of shaking hands with Team Sky at all.


    Shaking the hands of scum like them would be disgusting!


    Lin Dong was the first to just walk past Team Sky, and Da Luo and Zhou Yan followed suit, abiding by the unspoken rule to ignore that bunch of idiots from Team Sky.


    Shake hands? Hmph!


    If Zhou Yan were to actually go through with it, his rough hands would probably crush all the bones in their hands. Especially when it came to that dog Xu Pingyang!


    ***


    Before the match even started, the audience had already started muttering after they witnessed such an unfriendly scene. The sounds of scolding echoed through the crowd.


    ¡°What the hell, Team Skycrown is so pissy. Do they think winning a game or two makes them so great?¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown doesn¡¯t even want to shake hands with their opponents, so uncivilized.¡±


    ¡°Walao! Damn, what kind of attitude is that? When Team Sky crushes them, they also won¡¯t shake their hands. What the hell?¡±


    ¡°When Team Sky was fighting their way in LOL, who knows where Team Skycrown was? Probably just playing with mud in some park, not amounting to anything.¡±


    Team Sky had a lot of cruel fans, since they had specific people to maintain and boost their popularity. Whenever something threatened Team Sky¡¯s reputation, their fans would use their sharp words to cut down whoever opposed their beloved team.


    ***


    After taking their seats, Xi Xi came over to them, slightly angry as he said, ¡°What the hell man, didn¡¯t I remind you guys to shake their hands? Look at the atmosphere now, the audience is criticizing you.¡±


    ¡°Xi Xi, not shaking hands with them is already the limit of our tolerance. If I take their hands, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have stopped myself from hitting them,¡± said Da Luo, a hint of steel in his voice.


    They didn¡¯t care about any of the criticism being thrown at them!


    So what if Team Sky had many fans like that? They had already smeared Team Skycrown¡¯s reputation on the Internet anyway.


    After they win this match, then those idiots will have to shut their mouths!


    Xi Xi knew that Team Skycrown had bad blood with Team Sky, and looking at their angry faces, he could only shake his head helplessly. He hoped that the competition would continue peacefully, they couldn¡¯t afford to have any abusive or brawling scenes.


    ¡°No matter what your grievances are, just play peacefully, can you do that?¡± asked Xi Xi.


    ¡°As much as possible,¡± said Zhou Yan, in a chilly tone.


    At first, Team Skycrown thought that they could play peacefully, but once they saw Xu Yangping¡¯s arrogant look, their hearts erupted like a volcano!


    Besides their issues with Xu Yangping, their boss was also currently in the hospital taking care of his father that needed a liver transplant¡­


    If it wasn¡¯t for Xu Yangping, Yu Luocheng could have returned home with a hundred thousand yuan as well as the trophy issued by the World E-sports Association.


    There was a big difference between returning home with nothing and returning home with a hundred thousand yuan and a prestigious trophy recognized by the whole county. What would Yu Luocheng¡¯s family have thought of him had he returned in a blaze of glory?


    Maybe these things were not what his family craved for, but they could have served as proof that Yu Luocheng had not wasted those two years. That it wasn¡¯t an obsession, and that he was really working very hard to do something amazing!


    But all the things that Yu Luocheng had fought so hard for had been taken away by Xu Pingyang! Also, with Yu Luocheng¡¯s father in the hospital, they must really really need this money. Dreaming about getting the money back from Xu Pingyang was impossible.


    That¡¯s why the only thing Team Skycrown could do now was to win this match, taking at least fourth place. This way they would have a total of a hundred and fifty thousand yuan in prize money.


    Yesterday, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Wu Sen, and Xiao Bei had reached an agreement. They would only take the official team subsidy, and give the rest of the prize money from the LPL to Yu Luocheng.


    A liver transplant would definitely require hundreds of thousands, and everyone knew Yu Luocheng¡¯s family may not be able to fork out that amount of money.


    If¡­


    If they could use the prize money of the game to help Yu Luocheng¡¯s father recover, they may be able to ease the relationship between the father and son to a certain extent. Hopefully his father would also gradually change that stubbornness due to their hard work¡­ and let Yu Luocheng return to the arena.


    During this half a year, it was Yu Luocheng who sacrificed a lot for them, all five of them had seen it with their own eyes.


    The reason none of them had gone to visit Yu Luocheng and his father in the hospital, was not because they didn¡¯t regard him as a brother, but because they needed to practice hard in order to win and obtain the prize money!


    In their opinion, this prize money was the best gift they could give when they visited the father of their most respected captain!

 Chapter 330 - Facing Team Sky

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A little bit of suffering, a tinge of fatigue¡­ none of it mattered.


    Team Skycrown was well aware that they wouldn¡¯t have even made it into the LPL without Yu Luocheng. Even if he would never be able to return to the arena again, they still hoped that they could at least help him overcome this obstacle.


    They needed to give their all in this match against Team Sky!


    ***


    In the resting area, Xu Pingyang was smoking a cigarette as usual, crossing his legs as he looked at the big screen.


    There were two iPhones on the table and the one on top suddenly rang, vibrating non-stop. Xu Pingyang looked at the screen and his face brightened immediately when he realized it was a sponsor calling. He hurriedly answered the call.


    ¡°Mr. Wang! How are you, how are you? Oh, regarding the problem of the low win-rate recently. Our Blood Eagle has gone overseas for special training, he¡¯ll be back sometime in the next few days¡­


    ¡°Yes, yes, don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t lose this round. Even without Blood Eagle, we¡¯re still a strong team. Team Skycrown is just a new team with barely any experience in big competitions.¡±


    Xu Pingyang¡¯s face was all smiles, looking like he was talking to his own grandfather. He always looked like this when dealing with sponsors, especially when such a big sponsor like Samsung was waving hundreds of thousands in his face. Who cared about keeping your pride? Pride can¡¯t earn you that amount of money!


    ¡°Please be assured that by sponsoring our Team Sky, there will be many more opportunities for promotion in the world arena. Your branding is already very well-known, but you still have many strong competitors.


    ¡°You must know that the number of live broadcast viewers for the S International League has already surpassed the NBA by at least ten times. You won¡¯t go wrong by betting on our Team Sky,¡± boasted Xu Pingyang.


    He already had many meetings and discussions with the manager of Samsung, but they had yet to close the deal. But Xu Pingyang could tell that Mr. Wang really wanted to sponsor them.


    Samsung¡¯s sponsorship involved such a huge sum of money, so forget about buttering them up, Xu Pingyang would be willing to even lick Mr. Wang¡¯s shoe, as long as it got the deal signed!


    His own villa, the latest Audi model, and even a fancy bed complete with a girl who was great in bed lying in it, he needed money to get all these things¡­


    As long as Samsung¡¯s sponsorship deal went through, he could have it all!


    So of course, Team Sky really couldn¡¯t afford to lose this match. If they lost and got kicked out of the top two, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it to neither Worlds nor the S International League. If that happened, Samsung definitely wouldn¡¯t sponsor them!


    The reason Xu Pingyang came in person this time was because he needed to pay close attention to this very important match.


    His gut feeling told him that Team Skycrown was very strong. He had seen their talents with his own eyes when they dominated the country as Team Wings.


    Their members were all world-class e-sports players, and even though they had formed their LPL team a bit late, Xu Pingyang was well aware of their formidable abilities. They had especially displayed their outstanding strength during the match against Team Revelation.


    If Blood Eagle was around, Xu Pingyang wouldn¡¯t be worried at all. It was obvious that these two teams had a big gap between them. The problem was that Blood Eagle was still training overseas, and that was the reason why Xu Pingyang was very concerned right now.


    ¡°Damn it, if it wasn¡¯t for that shitty, disobedient Blood Eagle, it would be so easy to destroy you!¡± said Xu Pingyang angrily.


    ¡°Boss, I heard that Yu Luocheng¡¯s father is in the hospital and needs to undergo some major surgery or something,¡± said Mr. Ou, Sky Club¡¯s driver.


    Mr Ou. had been with Sky Club for a very long time. Team Wings used to call him Uncle Ou as he was the one responsible for their daily lives. Now that Mr. Ou was a driver, he also took care of some trivial matters in Team Sky.


    He was still in touch with Lin Dong, so Mr. Ou knew that Yu Luocheng was dealing with some family problems now, and probably urgently needed money.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. As long as he doesn¡¯t turn up here, we¡¯ll have no problem winning this game,¡± said Xu Pingyang.


    The only person Xu Pingyang feared was Yu Luocheng. He was practically unstoppable, if he were to appear, the match¡¯s outcome would be impossible to predict.


    ¡°Boss, what I meant was¡­ shouldn¡¯t you give them the prize money? The problems between you and them have already dragged on for so long¡­ no matter what, they were the ones who helped bring up Sky Club¡¯s name.


    ¡°Now, you shouldn¡¯t care so much about this small sum. If you give it to Luocheng, he could let his father see the doctor and get better,¡± said Uncle Ou in a low voice.


    Xu Pingyang had taken prize money worth almost a hundred thousand from Yu Luocheng. Uncle Ou was really concerned about him right now, and was trying to see if he could get Xu Pingyang to return the money that rightfully belonged to Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Ou, is there something wrong with your brain? Did I force him to leave back then? It was him who wanted to leave and violated the contract, so of course the prize money wasn¡¯t given to him. The agreement was written in black and white. Why are you making it sound like I conned him?


    ¡°Everything was in accordance with the terms. If he was still working hard for my club, I wouldn¡¯t mind giving him some money to take care of his sick father. But the problem is, he¡¯s not, so forget it. And he even purposely formed this blasted Team Skycrown to go against me!¡± ranted Xu Pingyang.


    Listening to Xu Pingyang¡¯s words, Uncle Ou¡¯s desire to persuade him disappeared. It was obvious that Xu Pingyang intended to pocket the money, asking him to take it out was impossible.


    Thinking of Lin Dong and the rest who said they would defeat Team Sky in order to give Yu Luocheng the money to treat his father, Uncle Ou hoped with all his heart that Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Da Luo and Xiao Bei would really be able to beat Team Sky.


    ***


    ¡°Players from both teams have taken their places. Once they adjust their hardware, we¡¯ll be able to see the game on the screen soon.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know how many votes Team Skycrown and Team Sky will get this time. Who do you think will win, Xi Ling?¡± said Hei Hei.


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be Team Sky,¡± Xi Ling paused, musing over the situation before continuing, ¡°Even though Blood Eagle is not around so the team is missing their core, the other members of Team Sky are still strong. They shouldn¡¯t have any reason to lose to Team Skycrown.¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown has shocked many, but since you feel that Team Sky will win, then¡­ I also feel that Team Sky will win,¡± said Hei Hei, making the entire arena laugh at the change in his tone.


    They had expected Hei Hei to be opposite of Xi Ling and support Team Skycrown.


    Nowadays, commentators would talk about which teams they felt would win before the game started. This was to better stimulate an exciting atmosphere in the arena. Needless to say, as this match was against Team Sky, the support for Team Skycrown was low.


    ***


    Entering the banning phase.


    Team Sky had done their homework, and the first champion to be banned was the one that had contributed a lot in the match against Team Revelation¡ªGragas.


    In the match against Team Revelation, Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas was still unpolished. However, in the following match against Team Dusk, Lin Dong¡¯s Gragas was like an explosive on the field, thoroughly scattering their opponents and destroying all their preparation with just one ulti.


    Team Skycrown had done even more homework than Team Sky.


    Their whole reason for even entering the LPL in the first place was to defeat Team Sky. They had watched every single one of Team Sky¡¯s matches to carefully study their tactics and play style.


    It was difficult to admit, but with Blood Eagle carrying the team and pacing the game, it was hard to win. Each game they watched brought them a sense of helplessness.


    But Blood Eagle wasn¡¯t here, which gave Team Skycrown more confidence. They believed that with their coordination and strategy, it was entirely possible to win!


    Team Skycrown had initially planned to ban the few champions that Zhao Tinghua excelled at using, but since he wasn¡¯t here, they chose to instead focus more on Team Sky¡¯s Mid and ADC.


    Xie Yi, Team Sky¡¯s Mid, had an individual ability index of only 7 points, but his overall score came up to as high as 23 points!


    Xie Yi and Zhao Tinghua had amazed everyone with countless demonstrations of plays that displayed their wonderful cooperation. Team Sky was strong because the two of them carried the entire team.


    Adding on the fact that the overall points for the other members of the team were not low, that was why they could sit firmly on the first and second placings!


    Vulcan, Team Sky¡¯s Top, had an overall score of 21.5 points and was considered to be one of the top tier players in the LPL. Apart from Team 71¡¯s Forgetful Laughter and Team Daemons¡¯ Charon who could pressure him in his farm and lane, no other Top could compete with him.


    This was because this guy had never farmed peacefully in lane before, and he would immediately launch assaults against his opponents, killing both himself and them!


    In addition to having a strong Top, Team Sky¡¯s bottom lane combo was also an undefeated team in the LPL.


    Their ADC¡ªGuan Langjie¡ªhad an overall score of 22 points. His laning phase was weak, but he knew how to find advantages in team fights, and was known as creeper.


    It was impossible to touch his ADC in any team fight! Even if he can¡¯t damage you, he won¡¯t give you a chance to kill him!


    In a team fight, the life and death of the ADC was extremely important. He was the key in whether you would be able to take Baron or Dragon, and the one who would make a difference in how fast you can defend or push a turret.


    With Team Sky having an aggressive Jungler like Blood Eagle, there were many times when they couldn¡¯t properly protect the ADC. Guan Lanjie¡¯s play style of being such a creep was exactly what their team needed!


    Team Sky¡¯s Support was mediocre, with an overall score of 19 points.


    In reality, the bottom lane combo didn¡¯t really need to have someone who had high strength, it simply required the sync and cooperation of the two players.


    It was obvious that Team Sky¡¯s Support, Leng Qi, was exactly what Guang Langjie needed for his creeping ADC playstyle! Their combination even caused problems for the aggressive pushing Asmodai and flexible Bai Feng.


    As for Birch, Team Sky¡¯s Jungler substitute, his strength was unclear and it was said that he had only recently been recruited into Team Sky. If it wasn¡¯t for Blood Eagle being so in the spotlight, he would probably be a very strong Jungler star in the LPL too.


    If Xu Pingyang was allowing him to play in Blood Eagle¡¯s place, then Birch was definitely not some noob who had never played in the professional league before!

 Chapter 331 - The Strongest Jax VS The Strongest Renekton!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Pick phase!


    Team Skycrown had no intention of holding back. In this match, they definitely needed to go all out, so they would obviously pick their best champions.


    Once Shen was banned, Da Luo didn¡¯t hesitate to pick Jax. The Grandmaster at Arms was his most-loved champion. Jax¡¯s fearlessness and ability to fight against multiple champions at the same time made Da Luo feel like this champion was made for him.


    Only Jax could help him chanel his desire for victory and completely release the years of accumulated anger and resentment in his heart!


    Meanwhile, their opponents had picked Renekton to hit the top lane.


    Renekton had dominated top lanes for a very long time, and it seemed like there were no champions that he was afraid of. Using Jax against Renekton was basically playing at a disadvantage.


    Even so, Da Luo didn¡¯t have any doubts in his pick.


    It had to be The Grandmaster at Arms¡ªJax!


    ***


    Lin Dong was always straightforward with his choice. He selected Ezreal, the same champion he had previously used. A play style that used a middle lane Ezreal was popular overseas, but it was considered as non-mainstream within China.


    A middle lane Ezreal¡¯s builds are Trinity Force and Manamune, and the first Mid Ezreal built the Blue Build which would be Frozen Gauntlet. However, the disadvantage of less attack damage and kiting capabilities, as well as the slow development of the champion with these items were not suitable for fast-paced games, hence Blue Ezreal became rarer in games.


    Since Lin Dong had picked Ezreal and his style was different, then it meant that Team Skycrown¡¯s team fight system would most likely be a duo ADC style!


    With Xiao Bei at the bottom lane as the main ADC, Ezreal would serve as the second ADC. Using Ezreal¡¯s W skill to maximize the main ADC¡¯s damage was often able to have a good effect on the overall game.


    The main ADC¡¯s pick wouldn¡¯t be a champion with slow build up like Caitlyn or Ashe. To be able to fully utilize Ezreal¡¯s W which would maximize the damage output and his flexibility to bait the enemy, the main ADC had to be a champion like Twitch, Kog¡¯Maw, Vayne, or Miss Fortune who had enough speed to keep up!


    ¡°They have picked a Mid Ezreal! If my calculations are correct, Xiao Bei will pick Vayne!¡± said Xie Yi.


    Xie Yi had already done his homework on Team Skycrown. They knew that Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne had a hundred percent win rate in the pre-season and the LPL. They couldn¡¯t waste a ban on Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne, but if they let him build her up, they wouldn¡¯t be able to handle her either.


    Neither Bai Feng, Guan Lanjie, nor Asmodai could call themselves the county¡¯s best Vayne. No, that title belonged to this skinny brat who was only sixteen years old!


    Most of the big shots in the LPL usually play ranked games in the Ionia server, and it wasn¡¯t like they had never played against this number one Vayne before. So, they were well aware that if Xiao Bei managed to build her up, a victory would be difficult to obtain.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take it first. Let¡¯s see what else he can use to pair up with Ezreal!¡± said Guan Lanjie coldly, locking in Vayne as soon as their opponent locked in Ezreal.


    Together, Vayne and Ezreal were practically an invincible team. Team Sky was not about to let Team Skycrown have a lineup that included both the King of Kiting and King of Damage.


    Guan Langjie sneered.


    ¡°If I actually had time to play ranked games, do you think that the title of number one Vayne would still fall to this brat?¡±


    Every strong ADC player held Vayne close to their hearts. It was really a joke that Xiao Bei dared to let himself be called the number one Vayne.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they were divided by divisions and whatnot, more powerful ADCs would surely have been unearthed, and this brat definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to claim the title of being the best Vayne!


    ***


    ¡°Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne has been taken away, and it looks like there¡¯s some slight hesitation in the pick now. There was a mention before this that Team Skycrown¡¯s Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne currently has the highest rank within the country.


    ¡°With the highest win rate, he is undoubtedly the top Vayne in the country. His ID is Xiao Bei, and I presume that many of the higher-ranking players should have tasted the strength of his Vayne before,¡± said Hei Hei.


    Hei Hei himself was a high-ranking player and he had also played against Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne before. He obviously admired and respected Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne.


    Suddenly recalling something, Xi Ling said, ¡°Come to think of it, there are many top notch players gathered here today for this match.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Hei Hei.


    ¡°That Top Jax, his ID is Lone Gull. If I remember correctly, he¡¯s the defending champion that holds the 24-win streak record from almost half a year ago. He played all 24 games with Jax and achieved a 100% win rate in the Ionia server. You have to be amazingly strong to be able to do that in that server.


    Everyone definitely remembers how freaky that 24-win streak was. And it seems like no one has been able to take the title of strongest Jax from him yet!¡± explained Xi Ling.


    The strongest Jax in the country!


    Da Luo¡¯s Top Jax was really a king, although he hadn¡¯t used it much in the previous matches. It wasn¡¯t that he was intentionally saving his best for last, he had simply been choosing champions who were more compatible with his team.


    For this game, Team Skycrown had purposely developed a duo ADC lineup in order to fully maximize the individual strength of each team member. They wanted Da Luo to be able to use Jax to launch his assault full speed ahead without having to worry about the back line.


    ¡°Oh, you have the strongest Jax in the country and the strongest Vayne in the country on the same team. It¡¯s a pity that Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne has been taken by Guan Langjie, otherwise this would have been one hell of a match to watch!¡± said Hei Hei.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone here is aware that Vulcan, Team Sky¡¯s solo Top, is known as the strongest Renekton. The confrontation between the strongest Jax and strongest Renekton will surely be amazingly exciting!¡±


    With such an exclamation, the arena suddenly cheered loudly, bursting with excitement!


    In China, the title King Of Champions referred to a person who had the highest win rate with a specific champion with the highest rank.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s Vayne had been elected as a King Of Champions for almost half a year now, and no one had been able to claim the title from him yet. At the same time, ever since Da Luo¡¯s Jax had obtained the 24-win streak, no other player has been able to beat that record.


    This clearly demonstrated how deep an understanding the two players had of these two champions.


    It was only the first match and both top laners had already picked champions that held the title of King. It was obvious that both teams were not holding anything back!


    The strongest Jax and the strongest Renekton were going to face off in a LPL match, just who will dominate the entire battlefield?


    Without a doubt, the first contest in the match would be a top lane face off!


    ***


    Both team¡¯s lineups have been locked in.


    Team Skycrown had an aggressive lineup, including their duo ADCs. Team Sky had a tank, a burst, and two protectors for Vayne in their lineup.


    In terms of ADC, Xiao Bei finally chose The Mouth Of The Abyss¡ªKog¡¯Maw!


    Kog¡¯Maw was an ADC that has almost been forgotten by most players. It wasn¡¯t commonly used, but in late game it was one of the only champions who can match Vayne¡¯s attack speed. The disadvantage of this champion is that it is not flexible and has no repositioning skills.


    After entering the loading screen, the commentators started to read the long list of sponsors for the event and repeated the lineups of both teams once again.


    ¡°The voting results have also come in, let us have a look!¡±


    ¡°Team Sky has almost seventy-six percent of the support votes, while Team Skycrown is at twenty-four percent. Looks like there are still people who support Team Skycrown, their popularity has definitely increased.


    ¡°To be able to grab twenty-four percent of the supporters away from Team Sky, this must be the result of their match against Team Revelation. Team Skycrown really gave the audience a fantastic scare during that match,¡± said Hei Hei.


    ¡°It¡¯s also probably because Blood Eagle is not around. If he was here, the results would most likely be different,¡± added Xi Ling.


    ¡°Indeed, if Blood Eagle was here, Team Sky¡¯s support votes would definitely be as high as ninety-eight percent or more, and the rest would probably just be a mistake in the text messages instead,¡± joked Hei Hei.


    Everyone knew that Team Sky would have absolutely no problem defeating Team Revelation. After all, Team Revelation was the weakest of the top four teams.


    Even if Team Skycrown had won against Team Revelation with a score of three to zero, it wasn¡¯t enough to shake the hearts of all the Team Sky supporters.


    Blood Eagle¡¯s strength was so strong that he even stood out among the LPL players as a world-class player. If it wasn¡¯t for weaker teammates holding the team back, it would be impossible for Team Sky to not progress past the group stage!


    ***


    ¡°We are entering the game screen! Everyone, what you¡¯re watching now is the domestic LOL Professional League brought to you by Tencent and the many sponsors below. The two teams currently playing are the veteran high profile Team Sky and the rising stars Team Skycrown!¡±


    The image slowly appeared on the big screen, and you could see the five champions of Team Sky¡ªRenekton, Syndra, Jarvan, Janna, and Vayne.


    This was one of the most classic LOL lineups, the only thing missing was CC abilities. But as they didn¡¯t have much AOE skills individually, controlling objective points was even more important to them.


    Jarvan, their Jungler, could easily close gaps and also be used as an initiate as well as to defend the back line. Even though Renekton was able to dash in to initiate, he may not be able to inflict enough damage, so Jarvan should be used to initiate instead. Meanwhile, Vayne¡¯s safety would be fully entrusted to Janna.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup consisted of Jax, Volibear, Ezreal, Zyra, and Kog¡¯Maw.


    Similarly, their team composition was based on team fights. The responsibility to initiate would mainly be on Jax and Volibear. Once they were able to drive away the opponent¡¯s back line and deal sufficient damage, they could let their duo ADC dispatch the remaining opponents and their front lines.


    In fact, just from their lineups, you could tell that both teams had similar play styles. Now, it was all down to whose front line would be able to hold out for longer and whose back line could inflict more damage. That would be the winning team!


    That was why the development of Jax and Renekton was the most crucial point for both teams.


    Jax¡¯s build was more towards damage output, but a really strong Jax would be able to completely distract the opponent¡¯s back line for a long time. When paired with a Volibear who would be a nightmare with his tank build, these two champions would ensure that their own back line could safely attack from behind.


    However, the main confrontation in this match would be the strongest Jax against the strongest Renekton. It was hard to say which one of them would be able to get the upper hand all the way into mid game and play the vital role in their team.


    ***


    As both teams were focused on farming in their lane, there were not many team fights happening¡­


    The moment they reached their lane, Team Sky chose to immediately swap lanes, disappointing the audience. With Vayne and Janna switching to the top lane, it was obvious that they intended to put pressure on Jax to affect his laning phase and farm, giving Vayne more time to develop.


    ¡°What a pity, we won¡¯t be able to see the confrontation between the strongest Jax and the strongest Renekton. But this lane swap was indeed wise, because the combination of Vayne and Janna is slightly weaker, and it would be hard to come out on top against Kog¡¯Maw and Zyra¡¯s explosive teamwork at the bottom lane¡­¡±


    ¡°Ohh, Team Skycrown is very clever too. They seem to have expected that Team Sky would swap lanes and have also done the same early on.¡±


    The camera changed angle, and the once quiet crowd now burst into explosive cheers upon what they saw.


    With both sides swapping lanes, it was just a change where the top laners were now at the bottom lane. So they would still get to see the exciting confrontation between the strongest Jax and the strongest Renekton!

 Chapter 332 - Jax’s Relentless Counter!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When both top laners clashed at the bottom lane, you could immediately feel the bloodlust in the air!


    Normal attacking the creeps and maintaining some attack speed, Da Luo very quickly shot an attack onto Renekton¡¯s head.


    As though he wanted to bring out all the anger in his heart, Da Luo continued to follow up, stepping forward out of the minion wave. Just as Renekton was about to counter, he pressed his E¡ªCounter Strike!


    The creeps were attacking Da Luo¡¯s Jax, but all the damage from them was absorbed by his Counter Strike. Gathering strength with his Brazier Stave, he swept down fiercely onto Renekton¡¯s body!


    Vulcan didn¡¯t want to go head to head against a level one Jax, and he was willing to let his farm go rather than let Jax take his health. A level one Renekton couldn¡¯t beat Jax, and Vulcan didn¡¯t really care much about this early disadvantage, he just wanted to silently gain experience.


    Reaching level two after the seventh minion, Vulcan immediately launched a counter attack, using his E skill to dash through the minions and avoid the damage from them. At the same time, he was also dashing towards the back to avoid giving Jax a chance to damage him.


    Between level one to three, both sides frequently exchanged blows but unfortunately the champion¡¯s disadvantage just became more and more obvious.


    A level three Renekton has a stronger capability for wave clear, stable CC, and also two flexible repositioning skills. With a combination of skills thrown together, he was able to clear the wave and return to the back of the line, taking farm and also bringing down his opponent¡¯s health at the same time.


    Meanwhile, Jax was not as stable, his stun was weak, and his life steal capability was not as good as Renekton. If they exchanged blows, Renekton would be the one gaining the upper hand. And if they engaged, Renekton wouldn¡¯t lose to Jax either¡­


    After level three, no matter how aggressive Da Luo¡¯s Jax attacks were when given the chance, he was still unable to match up to Renekton¡¯s strength.


    To beat Renekton, Jax had to be equipped with a certain level of items. If his farm wasn¡¯t suppressed too much, he still had a chance to make a comeback in the later game.


    ***


    At the middle lane, Xie Yi was playing very aggressively. He had strong individual capabilities and Lin Dong had started off with Doran¡¯s Blade. From the beginning, he had been harassed a lot and his health quickly dropped. After just one hit, he already had to recall to base to recover his health.


    He was also lagging behind quite a bit in both farm and experience, an obvious gap between the levels of the two champions could be seen.


    No matter what, Xie Yi had an individual ability index of 23 points. Although his champion control wouldn¡¯t be considered as top in the country, he was good at fully utilizing help from his teammates.


    Ezreal was a Mid that was very difficult to catch and kill, but Xie Yi¡¯s Syndra was good at her Scatter The Weak. She stunned Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal, letting Jarvan fly in from the side onto him!


    Lin Dong had to use his Flash before he was even level four, and if another combination of skills were to be thrown at him, his life would be forfeited.


    Meanwhile for Zhou Yan on Jungler, the few times that he babysit middle lane, he was interrupted by a beautiful stun from Syndra, rendering him unable to launch an attack!


    This time, both team¡¯s Junglers frequently appeared at the middle lane. And as expected, the head to head confrontations between Renekton and Jax at the bottom lane completely depended on how deeply they understood their respective champions.


    At the top lane, ADC and Support weren¡¯t willing to confront each other in order to not disturb their laning phase. Hence, the middle lane became the most frequent fighting lane.


    In terms of coordination, Jarvan and Syndra were more in sync, and this clearly affected Lin Dong¡¯s farming on Ezreal.


    A Mid Ezreal really needed to farm, as he would only have more kiting capabilities after getting Manamune and Trinity Force. But if this situation continued, Syndra and Jarvan would definitely be a much better combination than Ezreal and Volibear, especially once they started ganking other lanes.


    Both the top and bottom lanes seemed to be in a pinch, it was easy for a bad situation to arise. Feeling the opponent Mid¡¯s pressure, Lin Dong frowned deeply.


    ¡°You can¡¯t beat Xie Yi. In terms of laning, he¡¯s not weaker than you. In terms of coordination, he is at about 8 points. If you go against him in lane, he can probably control the lane and pressure you. But once the Jungler appears, your lane will just be waiting to crumble!¡±


    Looking at this somewhat tragic situation, Lin Dong couldn¡¯t help but recall the words that Zhang Aijing had said previously.


    Xie Yi was a player with overall skill points of 23, while Zhang Aijing had only rated him at 20 points, there was a 3-point difference between them!


    At first, Lin Dong didn¡¯t really care much, as he felt that points couldn¡¯t accurately determine one¡¯s skills.


    However, facing someone like Xie Yi who could fully utilize the Jungler to pressure the Mid, Lin Dong could really feel the enormous pressure now!


    This was a player with 23 points?


    They weren¡¯t even at level six yet, and Lin Dong was already behind by 12 CS and 1 level. After level six, his Mid Ezreal would have even less of a chance in a head to head confrontation against Syndra!


    Lin Dong finally spoke, ¡°Forget it, Zhou. Just focus on your own farm and leave my lane alone.¡±


    The outcome of this match was really important. He couldn¡¯t hold his Jungler back just because of the pressure on his own lane. Whether or not they could win the mid game team fights would depend on how long Volibear could withstand the opponent¡¯s assault.


    If the damage output was slightly lower, then Volibear really needed to tank up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ward for you,¡± said Zhou Yan as he nodded his head in agreement.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t bother. Go and farm. I¡¯ll add E and then W to get around,¡± said Lin Dong.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work too well, your damage is still low,¡± said Zhou Yan, frowning.


    Ezreal¡¯s W was currently really weak and it wasn¡¯t worth adding points to it right now as the mana consumption was also high. A mainstream player would add Q first, and then E.


    Lin Dong wanted to forgo adding his Q, and instead go for W and E. That would mean giving up Ezreal¡¯s main damage skill, since the champion¡¯s damage skills came mainly from his Q¡ªRising Spell Force!


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, Xiao Bei¡¯s farm is good. Right now I¡¯m not even half useless and it¡¯ll be hard for me to deal much damage in the first twenty minutes. If it¡¯s going to be that way, then I¡¯d rather add more to W to help Xiao Bei have attack speed,¡± explained Lin Dong.


    In fact, his W would add 50 damage points with every level, while his Q would only add about 20 damage points with every level. Since Lin Dong¡¯s first item was Manamune, adding Q would not be as effective as adding W. At least against Syndra at the middle lane, his W would be much more useful than his Q.


    Following this exchange, Zhou Yan stopped bothering about the middle lane. He went back into the jungle to farm, focusing on that and counter jungling.


    Meanwhile, their opponent¡¯s Jungler¡ªBirch¡ªseemed like he was intent on crushing Lin Dong, even going around the tower to land a kill on Ezreal.


    Anyone else playing Mid would most likely have died countless times by now. Ezreal had brought Flash and Barrier in his Summoner¡¯s Skills, and with his keen map awareness and maneuvers, Lin Dong managed to escape several close calls.


    ¡°My middle lane will crash. Good luck at your own lanes, guys,¡± said Lin Dong quietly after about ten minutes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you still have us!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, farm properly.¡±


    In this kind of competition, there was no room for blame and anger. They were all facing the same enemy that they resented, and only with their hearts as one would they have a chance at victory.


    They recalled what Yu Luocheng had said to them during the pre-season: ¡°You have to win, for your own sakes!¡±


    They had always kept his worlds close to their hearts, and had continuously worked hard to launch an aggressive assault on Team Sky to make up for their tragic and dreadful past.


    But now, they were doing it all for the sake of the one person who couldn¡¯t watch their match, because without him, Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t even exist today.


    ***


    ¡°Having fun pressuring me in lane, are you?¡± said Da Luo calmly as he glared at the screen.


    ¡°When I was just a newbie, you were still wearing diapers. You dare to compete at the top lane with me¡ªLone Gull?¡±


    His eyes flashed with determination and Jax¡¯s figure burst onto the screen with a cold, killing intent!


    In early game, Renekton would be able to pressure Jax. However, once the items have been built up, Jax¡¯s damage was more than enough to slay the tanky crocodile.


    Da Luo was impatiently anticipating the completion of his Blade Of The Ruined King and Trinity Force, because Lin Dong¡¯s lane was obviously not doing very well. So it was up to him to be able to beat out a good advantage!


    Playing top lane, Da Luo had already slaughtered many Renektons, if not a thousand, then at least eight hundred of them. When he chose to use Jax against Renekton, he had known from the start how to overcome all the disadvantages that came with his choice of champion.


    Even Team 71¡¯s Forgetful Laughter didn¡¯t dare let Da Luo use Jax against him in top lane. So what made Team Sky¡¯s Vulcan think that his Renekton could even hold a candle to Da Luo¡¯s Jax?


    After seeing Renekton use his W, Da Luo immediately threw Ignite on him!


    With Da Luo throwing his Ignite on a full health Renekton, it was basically a declaration that he was going to kill him right here, right now!


    Without hesitation, he activated the slow effect from Bildgewater Cutlass, chasing and hitting Renekton with the staff. When he tried to escape using his E, Da Luo used his Q to close the gap and hit him with the staff again.


    At this time, he felt that Renekton was about to launch a counter. When Renekton turned around to attack, he activated his E¡ªCounter Strike¡ªto stun him at the right moment.


    Together with the damage from the creeps, Da Luo¡¯s E had stacked to 5!


    5 stacks would mean a 100% increase in damage. Vulcan was clearly aware that if he were to be hit by this Counter Strike and stunned, then Da Luo would be able to use his W¡ªEmpower¡ªand the stacks from R which gave him bonus damage, to launch an assault with terrifyingly high damage!


    Vulcan was also a veteran Top player and he had purposely kept his second part of E to avoid Da Luo¡¯s Counter Strike.


    Using Dice, Renekton managed to put some distance between him and Jax. However, Da Luo¡¯s reaction was faster, his Counter Strike landing true after using his Flash to close the distance.


    Woosh!


    Renekton was stunned!


    Empower, Grandmaster¡¯s Might!


    The two hits landed and Renekton¡¯s health dropped significantly. Even if Renekton had armor, it would have been useless. Both the hits were magic damage, and Da Luo was skillful in using Spellblade¡¯s unique effect which had a 2 second cooldown to heighten the damage of the blow. Together with the Empower and Grandmaster¡¯s Might stack, he landed a devastating blow!


    In this consecutive fight, Renekton¡¯s W had already been used, and he was unable to interrupt Jax¡¯s assault, making his passive stack even higher. Even if Renekton¡¯s skills were not on CD, he still would be no match for this Jax who was now on a mad rampage.


    Vulcan was forced to use his Flash, retreating from the fight against Jax. But the length of the top lane was long, and Da Luo had been waiting for Renekton to overpush the minion wave in order to launch an attack.


    ¡°You Flashed for nothing, my Q will be ready in an instant!¡±


    Da Luo had both bottled up his anger and endured Team Sky for a very long time!


    Have a taste of this relentless counter!

 Chapter 333 - The Unbeatable Top, Jax!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Once the next Q cooled down, the Grandmaster At Arms waved his staff as he jumped up, landing a heavy hit on the back of Renekton¡¯s head.


    Empower¡¯s effect activated, dealing a massive amount of damage!


    Renekton¡¯s W was ready and he was about to bite down with his jaws, but he was still too slow and a basic attack from Jax took away that last bit of his remaining health.


    A kill!


    With his greater understanding of Jax¡¯s strength and skills, as well as his confidence in Jax¡¯s passive, Da Luo managed to secure an amazing solo kill at the bottom lane!


    Being able to enter the LPL meant that you would already have played countless games for a single role. You would definitely be well-versed on everything from your champion¡¯s weaknesses and when to initiate, to your opponent¡¯s weaknesses and when they would initiate.


    Vulcan¡¯s Renekton was considered to be invincible. No other ranked player could even come close to shaking his position, much less a Jax who is naturally at a disadvantage against him¡­


    What he didn¡¯t expect was for Jax to be able to solo kill him without even getting his items up yet!


    It was an earth-shattering miracle that an experienced veteran Top like him got solo killed while he was using his best champion¡ªRenekton.


    Jax was a snowball champion. Once you let him get his items up, that was it. There would be no room for you to negotiate at all!


    ¡°Jax has actually solo killed Vulcan¡¯s Renekton, this is really out of all our expectations!¡± Hei Hei hurriedly exclaimed, snapping out his shock.


    The replay was also quick to catch up, showing the process of Da Luo¡¯s solo kill on Vulcan¡¯s Renekton.


    Vulcan¡¯s Renekton had always been a bully at the top lane. Only Team 71¡¯s Forgetful Laughter and Team Daemons¡¯ Charon could beat the sh*t out of him. Da Luo¡¯s aggressive and courageous solo kill shocked the entire audience!


    Hei Hei mused, speaking into the microphone, ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s performance and strength has really surprised us, any other team would have already been wrecked.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also because Blood Eagle is not here.¡±


    ***


    After Vulcan saw that Jax had bought Trinity Force, he glanced at his own Sunfire Cape and some scattered items¡­


    It was obvious he would not be able to win if he continued to fight like this against Jax.


    Da Luo¡¯s play style was very aggressive. Once Renekton came into lane, Jax would jump forward to beat him up as if he was nothing more than a disobedient child.


    And it wasn¡¯t like Da Luo was sure that he could score a kill. He would just throw a bunch of skills, then retreat to the back of the minion wave to continue farming. He would wait until his opponent came forward to farm before jumping at him again with a bunch of skills. With the time was right, he would use Bilgewater Cutlass to slow down his opponent and secure the kill.


    In such an obvious situation where he couldn¡¯t possibly win, Vulcan was forced to have his teammates camp his lane.


    With Birch, Team Sky¡¯s Jungler, now appearing often at the bottom lane, the pressure Lin Dong was feeling at the middle lane was relieved by quite a bit.


    In fact, if he hadn¡¯t picked a flexible champion like Ezreal, he would be completely run over by now. Birch only had one objective, and that was to help Xie Yi grow fast and mow down the middle lane.


    Birch didn¡¯t really go to the top lane because Vulcan didn¡¯t normally need help when he was using Renekton. Vulcan was usually able to control the situation so well that he could even 1v2 with no problems.


    Who would have expected that his number one Renekton would be completely overtaken and beaten to this point? It was such a surprise!


    ***


    ¡°Jarvan incoming¡­ wah, Jax didn¡¯t even bother running and immediately activated his Counter Attack. Is this where he kills Jarvan?¡± Hei Hei exclaimed, surprise evident on his face as he watched.


    Facing off against Renekton and Jarvan, Da Luo¡¯s universe broke completely. Throwing an Ignite onto Jarvan, and then activating his ulti to launch a fierce assault on him, he completely ignored Renekton who was dashing to and fro!


    ¡°This Jax can¡¯t be shaken off at all! He keeps sticking onto Jarvan, so cruel!¡± said Xi Ling.


    The whole arena was now in an uproar!


    He even dared to 1v2, was he trying to die?! Was he even aware of which team his opponent was from?


    Even if Blood Eagle wasn¡¯t here, Team Revelation was still a formidable opponent. Jarvan came to gank his lane, but why did it feel like the other way around instead?


    Da Luo¡¯s thinking was very simple. With no Flash, he could only use his Q to escape. After Jarvan used his EQ, he would still have his ulti which could be used to completely subdue Da Luo¡¯s movements. Trying to escape was pointless.


    So, since he couldn¡¯t escape, then he may as well just make the most of it. It would be difficult to hit Renekton who still had his ulti, but Jarvan was more brittle than him.


    After countering with a bunch of skills, Birch suddenly realized how terrifying the damage of a Jax with Trinity Force was. He had already used his Flash while he was harassing the middle lane earlier and now had no way to run!


    The kill barely took a few seconds. Watching as Jarvan ran under the turret to escape, Da Luo didn¡¯t hesitate and dived the tower to secure the kill on Jarvan.


    ¡°Wow¡­ Team Skycrown¡¯s Lone Gull is very aggressive. After taking Jarvan¡¯s head, he still managed to take a minion before dying,¡± said Hei Hei, stunned.


    Normally this scene would be caused by Team Sky as they used Renekton¡¯s powerful abilities to go against their opponent¡¯s Top and Jungler.


    But now, it was Vulcan experiencing the feeling of being beaten up like this!


    ***


    Twice in a row, Da Luo exchanged his life with the Jungler. Although Renekton¡¯s items have been built up, it still couldn¡¯t compare to Jax who had longer health and better equipment.


    And while they were busy at the bottom lane, Lin Dong managed to farm nicely at the middle lane. With Zhou Yan¡¯s Flash on Volibear and a fling from him, they managed to take out the middle lane¡¯s boss¡ªXie Yi!


    After killing off Xie Yi, Lin Dong and Zhou Yan pushed the middle lane. Even without the minions, Zhou Yan was able to tank the turret damage and they took it down together.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s concept of demolishing turret was strong. Even after killing a champion and having so little health left, they didn¡¯t retreat to base. They would wisely use the time while their opponent was dead to push the minion wave, as well as crush the defense line and demolish the turret.


    ***


    ¡°Oh oh oh, Jarvan was careless for just one second and our Renekton has been solo killed!¡± exclaimed Hei Hei, once again surprised.


    Ganking twice in a row, and this Jax was still not being annihilated at all. When Jarvan went to the top lane to camp for the duo there, a commotion suddenly broke out at the bottom lane.


    Vulcan¡¯s face was already looking so sour!


    How would he as the strongest Renekton show his face in the LPL circle after getting beat to a pulp like this by a Jax?


    ¡°Looks like we can already declare who the strongest is. This Jax is really invincible! Now that Vulcan¡¯s hands are tied while facing him, I¡¯m seriously curious about how Forgetful Laughter would fare against this Jax,¡± said Hei Hei.


    Forgetful Laughter heard the comment made by Hei Hei from backstage. The Jungler for Team 7, Double Seven, was beside him and he glanced at the strongest Top player.


    Forgetful Laughter shrugged, grinning with a row of white teeth as he said, ¡°When I was ranking and if I got first floor against Lone Gull, I would immediately ban Jax.¡±


    ¡°Is his Jax really so aggressive or is it Vulcan who¡¯s being stupid today?¡± asked Double Seven.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I remember the few times we played, I would crush his Jax in the early stages. But in the later game, he was the one wrecking me instead. You can call it a tie,¡± said Forgetful Laughter.


    ¡°No way, there¡¯s actually someone who can draw with you at the top lane?¡±


    Forgetful Laughter was invincible at the top lane and someone managed to tie with him? It was hard to imagine that possibility within China, it was just impossible.


    ¡°Yeah, before he completed his Trinity Force,¡± explained Forgetful Laughter.


    Double Seven stumbled at that. This guy¡¯s Jax could already tie with Forgetful Laughter before his Trinity Force was complete??


    Trinity Force was a god-tier item. No matter which champion you use, you can¡¯t go wrong by buying it!


    Trinity Force¡¯s effect and performance had been buffed a lot, letting a falling-behind champion like Ezreal get popular again. It allowed Jax to be invincible at the top lane and made Corki a force to be reckoned with at the bottom lane.


    Forgetful Laughter continued, ¡°Anyway, I think that Vulcan was aware that Lone Gull¡¯s Jax is invincible and he still didn¡¯t ban it. That was already a stupid move there.¡±


    ***


    Invincible Jax!


    Everyone had their own destined champion and those who managed to find theirs were likely to continuously score in the game. From Platinum to Diamond, and from Diamond to Challenger.


    Da Luo¡¯s destined champion was none other than Jax!


    He had been using this champion for far too long and had even achieved his most glorious 24-win streak with it.


    Playing as Jax, Da Luo was confident enough to wreck any top laner in the country, including the strongest Top¡ªForgetful Laughter.


    Burning with ever-building resentment towards Team Sky, Da Luo had used Jax since the beginning of the game to release his pent-up anger.


    One Renekton wasn¡¯t enough to quell his rage, bring on the Jungler too! If they dared to come for him, then he would kill them without a care!


    ***


    With one kill after another and one counter gank after another on the Jungler, the entire arena was once again in an uproar.


    Jax was often picked in amateur games, but how many times would you see this pick in a peak professional league?


    Why was Team Skycrown so insane?


    In the beginning, the newly formed Team Skycrown had not been looked upon favourably in the LPL. Countless people were just waiting to laugh when they were inevitably knocked off their high horses.


    No one expected this team to have such unlimited potential.


    It all started with a sixteen-year-old ADC who had extremely good hand coordination, and even managed to defeat Team Stardust who was known as the King of Instant Kills.


    This was followed up by the appearance of their amazing coach who went against and defeated Bai Feng, the strongest ADC in the country. Then came their straight wins against Team Revelation, one of the top four teams.


    Now, Team Skycrown¡¯s Top was also standing out brilliantly. The country¡¯s strongest Renekton that even Forgetful Laughter somewhat struggled with was directly killed by this fierce Top!


    Where did this bunch of monsters known as Team Skycrown come from?


    You would always hear how strong and great the top LPL teams were, but why is it that they didn¡¯t seem to be all that now that Team Skycrown had appeared?


    If you say that Team Sky was a team that relied on promotion and hype to get to where they are, then why was it that other teams have not been able to shake their position for so long?


    The only possible explanation was that every single member of Team Skycrown was incredibly strong!

 Chapter 334 - Shameless Buyout!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As he sat in the waiting room, Xu Pingyang¡¯s face stiffened with annoyance. His smile turned into a frown and anger slowly filled him up. The look on his face right now was a far cry from the joyful expression he previously displayed.


    A game in which Team Skycrown initially held the advantage at both the middle and bottom lanes had now been completely overturned by that d*mn Jax!


    During the middle game, Team Skycrown once again fell back into their usual 4:1 push tactic. Da Luo¡¯s Jax was mindlessly pushing at the top lane, and the other four members of Team Skycrown were defending the turret.


    With a duo ADC lineup, Team Skycrown had a better position with their higher damage output. Plus, they had a Volibear tank in front of them. Even if they lost one, they could make up that gold difference by getting Da Luo to demolish the top lane turret.


    The longer the game dragged on, the better items Jax would have¡­


    With an unwise decision to gank bottom lane Jax with three of them, Team Skycrown stole Dragon and the gap between the teams¡¯ gold became even more obvious!


    Jax wanted to kill Syndra and no one could stop him from doing so. Instantly taking her down, the situation immediately turned to Team Skycrown¡¯s favour. They gave their all and pushed the lane, taking down two turrets at the middle lane all the way into their base.


    After killing Vayne, they attacked the Inhibitor!


    With two ADCs, they could demolish the turrets extremely quickly, especially when coupled with a Jax whose attack speed was incredibly high.


    Even though the resurrection time needed was short, Team Skycrown still managed to push their way into the inner part of the base and take down everything in their path!


    As the word ¡®victory¡¯ appeared on Team Skycrown¡¯s screens, the five members let out a long breath, smiling widely.


    None of their other victories could compare to the feeling of euphoria they now felt from winning over Team Sky, especially since Da Luo¡¯s Jax had thoroughly wrecked them.


    The first round went to Team Skycrown!


    This outcome also surprised all the audience members and fans who were supporting Team Sky.


    This Team Skycrown, could they possibly be trying to beat and counter a team that was God in the eyes of everyone?


    ***


    Team Sky and their supporters were in a state of panic because Team Skycrown¡¯s performance and strength left everyone in shock!


    Everyone only felt relieved once the second round began and Team Sky used their small scale team fighting capabilities to get an overall advantage.


    In the second game, Team Sky banned Jax without any hesitation and they finally managed to showcase their strength as a top team with their timely assists, advanced awareness, and tactical understanding.


    Although Birch, who had only joined the team for a short time, couldn¡¯t possibly seamlessly meld into the team, the cooperation between the other members of Team Sky¡ªVulcan, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter¡ªwas extremely impressive. This caused the arena to be in an uproar once again.


    ¡°A super team is really a super team in the end. The first game was swept away by the Jax who had managed to mess up their pacing, but now in this second game, they have turned into a flawless army once again.


    Team Skycrown needs to just roll over in this game, they haven¡¯t managed to break any turrets at all. This is fatal to their tactic, since they chose a lineup with fast pace, and they didn¡¯t manage to get an early advantage. It¡¯s impossible for them to turn this game around now.¡±


    In the second game, Team Skycrown didn¡¯t give in or give up till the last minute, fighting all the way to the end. For them, getting even one extra kill on Team Sky was enough to make them happy.


    ***


    Ding ding ding!


    The tone of a message coming in rang, and Yu Luocheng who was sitting on a hospital bench in a daze slowly picked up his phone.


    There seemed to be a few text messages before this, but Yu Luocheng hadn¡¯t read any of them. Several messages popped up when he opened his inbox. Each one was probably received about an hour or so apart.


    ¡°Luocheng, our Da Luo has gone on a rampage, killing those dogs from Team Sky and making them crawl all over the place. Hahaha, it really is so satisfying to see! We won the first game!¡±


    ¡°Luocheng, we lost the second game, Team Sky is really good, their cooperation and coordination is better than ours by a mile. Lin Dong really tried his best¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry, we lost the third game too. It¡¯s my fault, I couldn¡¯t gain the upper hand at the bottom lane. I also could have gotten the kill a few times, but I wasn¡¯t decisive enough¡­ d*mn it, why did they ban Vayne, why would they snatch away my Vayne¡­¡±


    Reading these messages, Yu Luocheng felt that Xiao Bei was like a child talking about his day. As he read the texts, he wondered why he felt slightly indifferent to them.


    Yu Luocheng had been struggling for the past few days, it was giving him a massive headache and making him easily irritable.


    He had already admitted to himself that giving up e-sports was difficult. And he could also admit that his current family turmoil had been caused by his own stubbornness¡­


    But was this really a situation where it could only be one or the other?


    What a joke.


    Looking at the time, the fourth match should be starting soon¡­


    ¡°Brother, Dad is awake,¡± said Yu Yu quietly from beside him.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to talk to him?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Why are you like this? I don¡¯t understand. Is it really that difficult to not play games?¡± asked Yu Yu, clearly unhappy.


    ¡°If I asked you not to swim, could you do it?¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Swimming and games are two different things!¡±


    ¡°Ah, then there¡¯s nothing more to say.¡±


    ¡°Why are you being so hateful?!¡±


    ¡°Same as you.¡±


    Yu Yu looked like she had been slapped in the face. Her brother¡¯s words cut deep, right into her heart. Looking into his eyes which held a sense of arrogance, she felt her heart beating furiously in her ribcage and a sense of panic building up in her¡­


    She had seen this look before. It was the same one Yu Luocheng had when he was indifferent to everyone around him, the one from when he had absolutely no feelings at all¡­


    Ding ding ding!Read the next chapter on our novelhall.com


    The message tone rang again and the screen displayed the message.


    ¡°Hahaha, Luocheng, I finally got my Vayne! I was like Da Luo, swooping in and saving the world! The whole arena was boiling over, a lot of the audience stood up and watched my control over Vayne.


    ¡°Luocheng, this match will definitely be recorded, you have to watch it no matter what. I feel like my Vayne has gone up another level. We won this round! We won the fourth match! Now it¡¯s two for two, there¡¯s just one last match to decide who the winner is¡­¡±


    The message flashed on his phone screen, but unfortunately, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t see it. His eyes were fixed on the wall, staring indifferently.


    Numerous things were flying through his head at the moment. The time when he took the throne of e-sports, the time that he failed at the world competition held in England, the smiles of all the members of Team Skycrown when they won¡­ and then the face of a pale middle-aged man shattered all the images.


    His initial feelings of guilt had slowly turned into disgust. He knew that it was heartless of him to feel like this, but he just couldn¡¯t help it¡­


    ***


    After receiving that last message which he didn¡¯t read, his phone battery died. Yu Luocheng stayed in the ward, feeling out of it.


    Yu Yu and his mother were both busy, and he had nothing to do, seemingly unable to blend into this family.


    ***


    At the competition venue, the fifth match was about to begin. After Xiao Bei happily sent off the text message to Yu Luocheng, his heart suddenly surged with anticipation.


    Just one more round. Once they won, they would get the prize money of more than a hundred thousand yuan!


    Xiao Bei couldn¡¯t help but imagine the look on Yu Luocheng¡¯s face when they brought the prize to him at the hospital. What kind of expression would he show?


    He would probably be really touched!


    Xiao Bei took a deep breath to calm himself. The match was about to begin.


    At this time, his phone suddenly rang. Xiao Bei smiled happily, could it possibly be Yu Luocheng who was calling him?


    He should be really curious about the situation at the competition right now. Anyone would be nervous about it, and now he had finally called them to check in.


    Instead, a slightly familiar voice came through the receiver, ¡°Hey, Xiao Bei!¡±


    Xiao Bei¡¯s mood immediately plunged down when he realized who it was.


    ¡°Oh, Uncle. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hey hey, so you went off to play e-sports professionally and even became famous huh?¡± said Lian Guan, laughing.


    ¡°I can¡¯t talk to you now, my match is starting soon, said Xiao Bei, wanting to get off the phone as soon as possible.


    They only had about ten minutes of rest time, and Xiao Bei didn¡¯t want to waste even a second of it talking about nonsense with Lian Guan.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to hang up, there¡¯s something I need to talk to you about,¡± said Lian Guan.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time now, I¡¯m hanging up,¡± replied Xiao Bei.


    Suddenly, another voice interrupted, ¡°Xiao Bei, wait, wait¡­it¡¯s Sun Liang.¡±


    ¡°What, gonna ask for mercy?¡± said Xiao Bei coldly once he knew who was on the line.


    Sun Liang was one of Team Sky¡¯s lackeys. Seeing as how he was sneakily calling Xiao Bei in private, he must be up to no good.


    ¡°You¡¯re at zero points right now. Even if you beat Team Sky, the prize money you¡¯ll get is only about a hundred thousand yuan at most. After deducting tax and dividing between five people, you¡¯ll only get about twenty thousand yuan each. I won¡¯t beat around the bush. If you purposely lose the next game, I¡¯ll immediately deposit a hundred thousand yuan directly into your account!¡±


    Sun Liang¡¯s voice was slightly high pitched, and Xiao Bei was shocked to hear those words from him.


    What the hell was wrong with Sun Liang¡­


    Give them a hundred thousand yuan?


    Lose the game?


    What on earth was he up to?


    He was trying to pay them off!


    Bribing them with a hundred thousand yuan to lose the next round on purpose!


    At that moment, Xiao Bei¡¯s blood boiled with unimaginable anger.


    Team Skycrown had put in so much effort just for today. And now when they were so close to their goal, this piece of sh*it tries to pay them off! If they agreed to this horrible deal, they would be worse than animals!


    The fiery anger swept through Xiao Bei¡¯s entire being. He never imagined that Team Sky would be so shameless as to try and secure their victory for their own selfish reasons by fixing the match.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, this hundred thousand yuan will last you a long time, and the others will never know about this. No one will notice if you just make a small mistake, a lot of accidents happen in LOL.


    ¡°You always boost others in their ranked games, whether in the Korean server or the local server, this is something that¡¯s not hard for you. I¡¯ll deposit the money as soon as the match is over. Your uncle and I are at the bank now, he can testify that what I¡¯m saying is true,¡± said Sun Liang, chuckling.


    Xiao Bei roared, the rage clear in his voice, ¡°F*ck off! If I don¡¯t make your dog ass regret this for life, then my name is not Xiao Bei!¡±


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t hang up! If it¡¯s not enough, then a hundred and fifty thousand!¡±


    Du du du¡­


    ***


    ¡°So pissing off, so pissing off!¡±


    Xiao Bei gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to throw his phone at the nearest wall.


    Team Sky was notorious for being shameless, but who would have thought that they would go to such dirty extremes to secure victory? Whatever little admiration he still retained for them had now completely vanished.


    Had Team Sky relied on these kinds of tactics to make it into Worlds?


    This kind of team was able to qualify for Worlds and play as a representative of China?


    Thinking about how such a proud and passionate e-sports player actually had to play for such a disgusting club, Xiao Bei really felt for Yu Luocheng.


    If they didn¡¯t beat Team Sky, then his name was not Xiao Bei!


    Knowing such an ugly reality, Xiao Bei would not only forget about point shaving, he would use all his strength to beat the sh*t out of Team Sky!


    Only their Team Skycrown was worthy of representing China at Worlds, every single one of them were passionate and powerful e-sports fighters!

 Chapter 335 - Thrilling Performance!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xiao Bei felt resentment and hatred building up in his heart, the call from Sun Liang had completely angered him. Sitting on the chair in front of the competition gaming console, he became increasingly agitated on Yu Luocheng¡¯s behalf.


    The final round was about to begin. They couldn¡¯t let Team Sky win, no matter what! A scummy team like them was not worthy of representing the Republic of China at Worlds!


    ***


    Coming from a mobile phone, Sun Liang¡¯s voice echoed through the waiting room, ¡°Boss¡­ Xiao Bei didn¡¯t agree to the deal.¡±


    Though his call was connected, Sun Liang could hear that his boss was on another call with the Samsung representative, so he stayed on the line and waited.


    Holding another mobile phone in his hand, Xu Pingyang was speaking into it, while keeping a humble smile on his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Relax. As a sort of coach myself, I understand what they¡¯re doing. Team Skycrown is not weak and they have good tactics. They were just testing their strength during the earlier rounds, as they¡¯re likely to encounter them in future competitions. In this fifth round, our Team Sky will not hold anything back and give it their all. You don¡¯t have to worry,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­thank you for your constant interest in our Team Sky. Of course, it¡¯s been a pleasure working with you¡­¡±


    As soon as his call with Samsung was over, he immediately picked up the other mobile phone to talk to Sun Liang.


    ¡°What did you say just now?¡± asked Xu Pingyang coldly.


    ¡°Xiao Bei didn¡¯t take the deal,¡± replied Sun Liang.


    Xu Pingyang screamed into the phone, ¡°Motherf*cker, you couldn¡¯t even do something small like that properly!¡±


    Sun Liang didn¡¯t dare defend himself or even say anything in response to the scolding. He just kept his resentment to himself. Just a few seconds ago, his boss was talking so nicely to someone else on the phone, and now here he was, scolding the sh*t out of Sun Liang!


    ¡°I can¡¯t save him anymore. Just f*ck off and do as I instructed earlier. D*mn you, making me do all the work myself,¡± said Xu Pingyang angrily.


    ¡°Understood,¡± replied Sun Liang.


    ***


    ¡°Now, players from both sides have taken their places and we¡¯re heading into the banning phase. Looks like everyone present here can¡¯t wait to know the outcome of this game,¡± said Hei Hei.


    Xi Ling continued, saying, ¡°I¡¯m curious, which champions will Team Sky ban for this round? Firstly, definitely Jax. Team Skycrown¡¯s Lone Gull is simply a boss at using Jax, and Team Sky can¡¯t bring him down, no matter how strong they are.


    ¡°Xiao Bei cannot be allowed to use Vayne either, the last match was filled with screams because of him. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a player being able to use Vayne so skillfully, from the damage output and repositioning, to the dodging and pinning to the wall. It was all like a fantastic dance between enemies.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I was really stunned speechless¡­ oh, as expected, Jax is the first champion to be banned by Team Sky, closely followed by Vayne. It¡¯s obvious that their lineup selection doesn¡¯t include a champion that can control Vayne. If they were to let Xiao Bei use Vayne under these circumstances, this match will end the same way as the previous round,¡± said Hei Hei as he watched the screen.


    After banning Jax and Vayne, Team Sky still had one ban left, and they decided to use it to remove the only threat left to their lineup¡ªLee Sin.


    ***


    ¡°Team Sky seems to be going all out with their most powerful lineup.¡±


    ¡°Their first pick is actually Kennen!¡±


    ¡°After Kennen was buffed and played at top lane, he is so loved by countless players in our country, and his golden partner¡­ ah, we just said that and Team Sky has already proceeded to pick her¡ªScorn of the Moon, Diana!¡±


    When Diana was first released, she was a very popular champion because her Q damage was super high. After they nerfed her, Diana¡¯s pick rate had decreased.


    But the Koreans had developed a new way to play her, which is by building Abyssal Scepter and Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass. With such a build, Diana¡¯s magic resistance and armor were very high. Adding on a barrier, she was basically a very tank melee mage.


    First, use Diana¡¯s Lunar Rush to rush in, followed by her E to pull the enemies to her. Then, when all fire is on her, activate Zhonya¡¯s. And finally, use Lunar Rush again to disengage. When coupled together with Kennen¡¯s ulti that¡¯s full of CC, the burst damage would be terrifying!


    Team Sky had already worked on perfecting this tactical lineup for some time.


    At first, they wanted to keep this secret weapon for a little longer, but seeing how they were currently two to two against Team Skycrown, they had to pull out all the stops!


    The key of this lineup was not Kennen, but in fact Diana. Her skill release to pull in their enemies required very precise timing and accurate control. With such an important role being played by Xie Yang, Team Sky would be able to completely become monsters at level six.


    Meanwhile, since most of their best champions had been banned, Team Skycrown wasn¡¯t making their picks based on synergy.


    Xiao Bei picked Ezreal, as they couldn¡¯t afford to let their opponents take such a champion. Facing so many gap closure skills, only Ezreal would be able to get himself out of any sticky situations.


    More importantly, the combination of Kennen and Diana was already terrifying. If they added on Ezreal¡¯s ulti, Team Skycrown would be destroyed.


    Team Skycown¡¯s lineup was also focused on team fights. Da Luo at the top lane had picked Kha¡¯zix, and Lin Dong had taken Karthus. Jungler was Jarvan and Support was Sona.


    The key in this lineup was Kha¡¯zix.


    Either Sona or Jarvan would initiate the fight, letting Karthus rush in to sucide and activate his ulti. Once a sufficient damage output was reached, Kha¡¯zix would come in to clean up everything, taking the bounties.


    At the same time, there was another reason why they picked Ezreal as their ADC. With this kind of lineup, there wasn¡¯t really any champion who was able to protect the ADC. The ADC would need to find his own position to shoot, and the expected precision in controlling the ADC was also very high.


    ***


    Entering the loading screen, each team¡¯s lineup showed their attitude to some extent.


    It was kill or be killed!


    At level one, there was high tension on both sides when they met in the jungle, their skills were flying everywhere. The players of both teams were very aware of their health and damage, they used Flash in a timely manner to escape.


    ¡°What a bloody battle, yet no one has died!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s clear that they want to kill each other, but they¡¯re also still trying to maintain the vigour that they¡¯ll need for the final game.¡±


    ¡°Team Sky has some sense of accomplishment, they are after all the top team in our country. What astounds me is that Team Skycrown¡ªwho was formed just a little over half a year ago¡ªcan in fact hold their own against such a top-tier team. To be honest, I can¡¯t believe that they really are a bunch of scattered non-professional amateurs who came together to form a team,¡± said Hei Hei.


    In a professional competition, it wasn¡¯t just all about strength, it was also an ongoing psychological game.


    Team Skycrown was mentally strong, they were in no way inferior to any of the top professional teams in that sense. If you didn¡¯t know for a fact that they were a new team, watching these two teams on stage almost felt like watching Team Daemons playing against Team Sky!


    Is it possible that Team Skycrown will completely stand out this year and join the ranks of the top teams? China would now have three top teams, instead of two.


    ***


    Both teams have entered into their laning phase.


    This time, neither side swapped lanes, and the host kept focusing the camera onto the bottom lane.


    As usual, the bottom lane was peaceful, as it was a lane that seldom had fights breaking out. The vision at the bottom lane was bright, and the Jungler didn¡¯t have a reason to waste his time trying to gank it.


    The ADC farm was also important for both sides, no mistakes could be tolerated. Battles between ADCs have always been more cautious than other battles.


    In a situation where you still have Flash and Barrier, it wasn¡¯t so simple for a fellow professional player to be able to kill their opponent in the beginning or secure a flashy kill.


    However, compared to the previous games, the bottom lane was not as peaceful as usual.


    The laning phase had long-since started, and the ADC and Support on both sides were constantly at each other¡¯s throats. You could see that Xiao Bei¡¯s Ezreal didn¡¯t hesitate to go past the minion line as long as his AQ could land a hit on his opponent Graves.


    Was he being so aggressive because Sona had the skill to recover health? In that case, a strong ADC should first calculate how much health Sona would be able to recover for him before attacking, not try to fight his opponent to the death before even getting to level two!


    Both Supports have already used Exhaust, and with the next minion wave being cleared, Xiao Bei¡¯s Ezreal once again jumped in.


    He was just asking for a fight!


    Guan Langjie, Team Sky¡¯s ADC, was also getting frustrated. His Graves wasn¡¯t at all afraid of Xiao Bei¡¯s Ezreal.


    Both sides had only half their health bars left, and they launched their skills at the same time.


    The difference was that Xiao Bei pressed E the moment he launched a basic attack, activating his Arcane Shift into the bush beside him.


    Boom!


    The three bullets from Graves¡¯ Q missed completely, and Xiao Bei¡¯s homing bolt from his E landed on Graves.


    Graves was standing in between the minions. What made him flustered was the fact that this Ezreal¡¯s Arcane Shift was so accurate, the homing bolt had gone right between the two minions and landed directly on him!


    Guan Langjie knew that in terms of skills, he had lost. Looking at his barely remaining health, he hurriedly beat a retreat.


    Xiao Bei didn¡¯t intend to let Graves go and sloppily chased after him.


    Once!


    Twice!


    The opponent Zyra was also consistently bringing down Xiao Bei¡¯s health with her basic attacks, and even the minions were attacking his Ezreal.


    However, Xiao Bei remained indifferent to these matters and only had eyes for Graves!


    Graves didn¡¯t dare to turn his back so easily. Seeing that his health was already very low, he hurriedly pressed Flash.


    Guan Lanjie knew very well that both sides had already used Barrier during the previous level one team fight. He didn¡¯t understand where this Ezreal found the fire in him to chase after him so crazily, all while bearing the damage from minions and Zyra¡¯s basic attacks.


    Bamf!


    Graves Flashed behind the minion line.


    And at the same moment that Graves pressed Flash, it seemed like Xiao Bei pressed his at the same time too.


    You can¡¯t tell whether it was a coincidence or planned, but this Flash not only beautifully avoided Zyra¡¯s Q, but also repositioned Ezreal so that there were no minions in between him and Graves!


    Pew!


    His arms stretched out and a bolt of energy shot out in a line.


    Mystic Shot!


    The bolt of energy flew straight ahead, towards the position where Graves Flashed into.


    Graves was stunned, he didn¡¯t imagine that this guy could follow up with a Flash so quickly. He unconsciously moved to avoid this forty five degree angle shot.


    However, this Mystic Shot was a little devious. As though it had calculated the fact that he would want to move back to avoid it, the bolt was instead aimed at one step behind Graves, which is where he was headed!


    First Blood!


    Immediately after killing Graves, Xiao Bei was set on fire by the minions surrounding him.


    In order to keep up with Xiao Bei, Wu Sen had also Flashed forward to heal him as best he could. He then attacked Zyra zealously, taking the aggro by the minions away from Xiao Bei.


    Xiao Bei managed to escape with the little health he had left!


    The entire audience was enthralled and captured by this thrilling performance.

 Chapter 336 - Sudden Situation, Rematch?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Wow, I can literally see the tension in the air! That was such an aggressive play so early on in the game, but it¡¯s hard to dismiss the fact that it was a beautifully executed kill!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, even the positioning of the Support was really good. By Flashing up and giving him a Heal, attracting all of the minions aggro onto him. If he didn¡¯t do that, the ADC would definitely have fallen to the minions¡¯ attacks. At early game, minion attacks are very painful, you can imagine they are basically half a champion,¡± said Xi Ling.


    Forcing a fight at the bottom lane and leaving with First Blood, you rarely see this kind of situation in professional competitions.


    Normally, the majority of the ADC players in professional competitions are more conservative. Being so aggressive like Xiao Bei was something that was rarely seen.


    Speaking of which, Graves had used his Ignite just now. He dared to turn around just to throw it on Ezreal, wanting to make an exchange of life at the last moment!


    After taking First Blood, Xiao Bei didn¡¯t start building Trinity Force as usual, but instead he bought another Doran¡¯s Blade.


    Leaving the base, he continued to push. Facing such a high damage output and adding on Sona who could heal, Graves was forced to retreat to the back of the minion wave.


    ¡°This¡­ what¡¯s up with Xiao Bei? He suddenly so aggressive in this game, beating the sh*t out of Team Sky at the bottom lane to the point that their balls have shrunk. Could it be possible that this is his true strength?¡±


    With the advantage of First Blood, Team Sky¡¯s Guan Langjie realized that his Graves could no longer win over Ezreal!


    In the past, this was unlikely to happen. Bottom lane was a duo team, and even a thousand gold lead may not show such a significant effect. What¡¯s more, it was only an extra Doran¡¯s Blade!


    Wu Sen was also confused by Xiao Bei¡¯s behaviour in this fifth game. He was even more aggressive than he was when he was playing with Vayne, his best champion. It was as though there was some kind of deep-seated hatred fuelling him. No matter the situation, he just had to go forward to force a fight with Graves.


    What surprised Wu Sen that even while being so aggressive, Xiao Bei¡¯s reactions, dodging, judgement, skill shots, and feinting were all so on point that it seemed like he was using some kind of cheat!


    During normal practise and ranked games, Wu Sen was clearly aware of Xiao Bei¡¯s strength as an ADC. Whether in the Korean server or locally, it was hard to find players who could control his growth in game or the overall situation.


    Throughout their LPL journey, Xiao Bei¡¯s strength had slowly been catching up to Wu Sen¡¯s. And now it seemed like he had a breakthrough, his play becoming more confident and wild.


    Wu Sen had only seen this kind of playing from Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng was already considered to be a big boss in the field of e-sports. Going against strong players would naturally bring out his domineering nature. Whereas Xiao Bei was still a sprout, and although his individual abilities were not too far off from Yu Luocheng¡¯s, he clearly lacked Yu Luocheng¡¯s aura of pride and arrogance.


    But now, Wu Sen was feeling it from him.


    From the beginning until now, Xiao Bei¡¯s ADC play had been very aggressive. It was as though he was on a completely different level than his opponent. Xiao Bei could predict his opponent¡¯s movements, outsmart him, and even chase him down for a kill without a care.


    ***


    ¡°Is this the end of Team Sky¡¯s bottom lane? They don¡¯t even dare to come out to farm!¡± Hei Hei¡¯s face was surprised as he announced this.


    In the first three games, the bottom lane was evenly matched, and there was no way to tell who was stronger or weaker.


    Then, in the fourth match, everyone present understood why no one would challenge Xiao Bei for the title of being the strongest Vayne. His Vayne was so strong that it was hard to remain calm while watching his gameplay.


    And now in the fifth match, it was as though Xiao Bei had become a completely different person. From the conservative farming tactics to this overly aggressive wild playstyle, he was beating Team Sky¡¯s Guan Langjie to the point that he couldn¡¯t retaliate.


    And let¡¯s not forget that Guan Langjie has an average overall ability of more than 20 points.


    This situation was somewhat impossible to believe!


    ¡°Team Sky is in a dangerous position right now, if the bottom lane were to fall¡­¡±


    They would lose!


    Even though Xi Ling didn¡¯t say the words out loud, everyone understood. The moment the bottom lane falls, the chances of losing would increase.


    No matter what the lineup, the ADC was always the core of the team. The moment the ADC can¡¯t farm for gold, the game is basically half lost!


    ¡°Team Skycrown is really going to turn the tides!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Team Sky played with fire this round and they¡¯re getting burned. Without Blood Eagle, they could lose this round. And if they do, they will lose their qualification to participate in international competitions. This qualification will then pass on to Team Daemons and Team 71.¡±


    Team 71 and Team Daemons were currently still maintaining their winning streaks. Team Sky had lost to Team 71 before this, so if they lose to Team Skycrown here, they would completely throw their chances of participating in the S International League!


    ¡°Coming back to this, Team Skycrown¡¯s ADC is really super strong. It feels like even Bai Feng was not able to pressure Guan Langjie to this extent, right?¡±


    ¡°Even in the previous match with his Vayne, I already felt like he is way better than Bai Feng. Tell me when have you ever seen Bai Feng pull off those types of moves on his ADCs? Xiao Bei actually danced out from those tanks who were surrounding him, and that kitting, that stable repositioning¡­¡±


    ¡°His Ezreal is also really fantastic okay, have you seen his Q? It basically never misses, consistently maintaining full stacks and fighting against Graves¡­¡±


    In the audience, murmurs of discussions were ongoing without any signs of stopping. Xiao Bei¡¯s performance as an ADC in the past two games have clearly astounded everyone.


    Previously, the ADCs that were well known to the LOL fanatics were Bai Feng and Asmodai. No one had ever heard of Xiao Bei from Team Skycrown before.


    Now, Xiao Bei had been thrust into a match against these two godlike ADCs, and there were people who thought that his ADC was even stronger than Bai Feng, this was amazing!


    Unconsciously, a cheering crowd had formed for Team Skycrown. Every time Team Skycrown obtained an advantage, there would be cheers.


    ***


    Most of the game was focused at the bottom lane this round, because the amount of engage there was countless.


    In a previous situation, the opponent Jungler came to gank Xiao Bei¡¯s Ezreal, but he had performed a beautiful feat by kiting and forcing out a Flash from the Jungler. He even killed the Support!


    If it only happened once or twice, it could be passed off as being lucky.


    But this ADC had repeatedly shown up his opponent without giving them a chance to retaliate, this was true strength!


    Team Sky¡¯s gank this time was a complete failure. After Team Skycrown¡¯s Jungler and Mid rushed down to give assistance, they also lost Dragon and the bottom lane turret. They had basically lost so much before anything even started!


    Fourteen minutes in, and Xiao Bei had already completed Trinity Force, Beserker¡¯s Greaves, and two Doran¡¯s Blades, while Graves still only had a B.F Swords and Beserker¡¯s Greaves.


    Their items couldn¡¯t even be compared. If they were to enter into a fight like this, Xiao Bei would just need to Q a few times and finish off with his ulti to significantly reduce the health of their front lines!


    At fourteen minutes in, Zhou Yan gave the blue buff to Xiao Bei without any qualms.


    Lin Dong¡¯s items were still not complete, and there wasn¡¯t much time left to farm in the laning phase. Seeing that Xiao Bei was clearly leading the pace in this game, Zhou Yan and Lin Dong would obviously give both buffs to him.


    With both buffs on Ezreal, his kiting abilities and damage output will reach another level. In the team fight at the middle lane, Xiao Bei boldly stood in front of most of his team, continuously throwing out skill shots at their opponent, bringing down their health.


    He even dared to play like that against Diana who had gap closure and burst damage, and what¡¯s more, she was being played by Team Sky¡¯s Xie Yi!


    The team fight had yet to start, but Diana had already lost half her health and the Jungler had lost one third of his health. Being pressured by a double buff Ezreal, they didn¡¯t dare to initiate a team fight!


    Finally, after Xiao Bei and Lin Dong¡¯s assault, Team Sky gave up on the first middle lane turret.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s income once again went up, and they immediately went into Team Sky¡¯s jungle area to plant wards for vision control.


    ¡°Having vision control¡­Team Sky is really heading towards a dangerous position. This is the same Jungle Suppression tactic, they shouldn¡¯t have given up their turret just now at the middle lane. They should have forced a fight to defend instead. Being so indecisive, only a slow death awaits them now,¡± said Hei Hei, now starting to nitpick at Team Sky.


    A Team Sky without Blood Eagle was really subpar. If he was here, he would have initiated a fight earlier. He would have forced a fight rather than giving up the turret just like that. But now, control of their jungle area had been wrestled away from them!


    ¡°Yeah, Team Skycrown basically has control over the entire match. Now it just depends on whether Team Sky can execute a perfect counter¡­¡± said Xi Ling.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s gold income continues to skyrocket upwards, and now the difference has become almost five thousand!


    About one to two thousand of their five thousand gold lead was from Xiao Bei¡¯s crushing performance as an ADC. It was now impossible to compare the items of both ADCs.


    Just after taking Dragon, the five members of Team Sky already felt like they had hit rock bottom. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t have the guts to fight. They were just well aware that they would be the ones at a disadvantage if they initiated a fight.


    Their opponent Sona could stop their movements, Karthus would rush in and activate all his skills, Ezreal could kite with an insane amount of damage, and finally Kha¡¯zix would jump in to clean all of them up¡­


    Plus, Team Skycrown would use the CC from Karthus, Ezeal, and Kha¡¯six every time, while Team Sky didn¡¯t even have enough health to tank all the damage from the attacks.


    In this situation, wasn¡¯t initiating a fight the same as going in to die?


    ***


    ¡°Ah, Team Skycrown¡¯s Kha¡¯zix was careless. How can he roam the opponent¡¯s jungle alone? Now he¡¯s been surrounded, and it looks like it will be hard to spread his wings to get out¡­¡±


    Xi Ling cut into Hei Hei¡¯s observation, ¡°Not true, look at the mini map!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Team Skycrown is trying to sneakily take Baron at the 19-minute mark. I understand now, they purposely used Kha¡¯zix as bait, letting him appear in sight while they have vision in their opponent¡¯s jungle to take Baron. This¡­ Team Sky is such a veteran team, how can they not realize anything at all?¡±


    ¡°Team Sky has finally realized something is up, but it looks like they¡¯re a tad bit late. Looking at Baron¡¯s health, Team Skycrown can wrap it up in about 10 seconds!¡±


    Roars of cheering rang out as the crowd howled with excitement. Everyone was well aware of the advantages Team Skycrown currently held in their hands. If they take Baron too, then it would be a complete landslide victory.


    Could it be possible that the outcome of this round would also depend on Baron?


    Hei Hei couldn¡¯t help but feel excited as he exclaimed, ¡°Will this Baron bring victory, or will this Baron be the one that destroys everything?¡±


    ¡°Team Sky¡¯s Birch is rushing towards the Baron Pit, it looks like he¡¯ll make it!¡±


    ¡°Retribution! Beautiful, Team Skycrown has managed to get Baron, and they also managed to take the kill on the opponent Jungler who jumped into the pit!¡±


    The entire arena was filled with cheers!


    Team Skycrown has taken Baron Nashor!


    Moreover, with the other members of Team Sky scattered by chasing Kha¡¯zix, and the Jungler¡¯s life now exchanged for trying to steal Baron, Team Skycrown could take the chance to push and take down the turrets in the lane with Baron Buff.


    Baron Buff resembled the drums of war echoing in the air, giving a boost to the team¡¯s morale!


    The members of Team Skycrown were seen rushing towards Team Sky¡¯s middle lane turret, and the members of Team Sky were hurriedly retreating to defend.


    Ka!


    In the midst of the cheers, a loud sound rang out and a countdown timer suddenly appeared on the screen.


    29:59 minutes.


    29:58 minutes.


    The game was stopped!


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Why has it stopped?¡±


    The game was suddenly suspended without explanation. Even the two commentators were unable to make any announcements as they were not aware of what was going on.


    ¡°It seems that there has been a problem. We appreciate your patience! It¡¯s possible that there¡¯s an issue with the players¡¯ computers,¡± said Hei Hei, hurriedly mentioning the first thing that came to mind to appease the audience during this sudden suspension of the game.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, if it¡¯s a computer issue, a staff member would have gone over to check. I¡¯m seeing the team managers walking towards the stage,¡± said Xi Ling as she looked around.


    Stopping the game right when the tension was at its peak, it was obvious that the audience was not happy about it.


    After all, Team Skycrown was on a counter attack. To be honest, a lot of people who were gloating couldn¡¯t help but want to see that incredible Team Sky be taken down by a newly formed team!


    While the two commentators were wondering what was happening, the director came over to whisper an explanation into their ears. Hei Hei was left stunned when he heard the situation.


    ¡°The camera will cut back to the both of you after this, you just need to follow what was said,¡± whispered the director.


    Once he was done, he hurriedly left the area.


    Hei Hei and Xi Ling were experienced in dealing with many unexpected situations. When the camera switched back to them, they immediately put on apologetic smiles.


    ¡°To our audience members who are present with us today, as well as our audience at home, there has been an issue in this competition. It was decided that this game will be suspended,¡± said Hei Hei, his expression serious, all traces of playfulness gone.


    As the words were said, the entire arena lapsed into a shocked silence.


    Suspended?


    The game was already halfway through, why would they stop it now?


    Was it possible that someone was cheating? But everyone was watching the match live, it was not possible that there was cheating involved!


    ¡°This is the organizer¡¯s decision. There are already several referees and staff members in discussion. The final conclusion on whether the match will be stopped, continued, or whether a rematch will take place, will be announced very soon.¡±


    Among the audience, there were unhappy scoldings happening.


    What kind of decision was this, stopping the game right when it was at the peak?


    It¡¯s normal to be angry and unhappy in this situation. When you watch porn and the programme is suddenly cut off right at the height of your pleasure, don¡¯t you also curse the National Radio and Television Administration?


    ¡°What the h*ll is happening? Why would you stop it?¡±


    Li Meiqi was super unhappy. Just when you feel that Team Skycrown was going to win, they suddenly stopped the match, and there was even talk of a rematch.


    What the h*ll kind of mess was this?


    ***


    Hei Hei announced what was told to him by the staff, ¡°We appreciate everyone¡¯s patience during this time. The referees and staff have already made their decision. The previous four matches between Team Sky and Team Skycrown will still be valid, but since the fifth match had yet to exceed twenty minutes, there will be a rematch. This rematch will be carried out after Team 71 and Team Daemon¡¯s match.¡±


    The two commentators didn¡¯t know exactly what happened, but since the director told them to say this, they didn¡¯t really have a choice either.


    ¡°Boo¡­what the h*ll! You say rematch, then rematch? You¡¯re not even giving us an explanation, this is too unreasonable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the dignified LPL! Isn¡¯t pulling this kind of sh*t like spitting in the face of the audience here?¡±


    The unhappy mutterings and scolding didn¡¯t stop. No one was willing to accept a rematch without any explanation. The audience had even come to the venue in person because they wanted to be the first to see the outcome of the matches. Who knew that there would be a rematch?


    Was it possible that the organizers had accepted bribes from Team Sky, and seeing that Team Sky was losing, they immediately stepped in and scheduled a rematch?


    That was just such a foul.


    ¡°Oh, we now have an explanation. It seems that there¡¯s a problem with one of the members of Team Skycrown, who apparently does not meet the requirements of an LPL player. We will announce more details soon,¡± said Hei Hei.


    Once the news broke out, the entire arena was once again in an uproar!


    A player that didn¡¯t meet the requirement of the LPL?


    What the h*ll was happening?

 Chapter 337 - Wine On The World Stage

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Inside the waiting room, Xu Pingyang smiled as he hung up the phone.


    Sun Liang ran in, laughing his head off. ¡°Boss, you really are the best. This time, Team Skycrown is definitely done for, haha!¡±


    ¡°Since you managed to get your hands on this information from Lian Guan, consider yourself forgiven for your previous mistake, Sun Liang. Hmph, you should have taken the money, Xiao Bei. You¡¯re the one who insisted on doing things the hard way, so don¡¯t blame me for doing this!¡± said Xu Pingyang, laughing cruelly.


    By this time, the players had already left the stage. They walked into the waiting room and were immediately suspicious when they saw an unusually happy Xu Pingyang.


    ¡°Boss?¡± asked Xie Yi hesitantly.


    He didn¡¯t understand how Xu Pingyang had got the organizers to stop the competition. They were always fair and unbiased. They wouldn¡¯t have stopped the match without a good enough reason.


    Sun Liang smiled as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember how Fighting Hawk substituted for Xiao Bei in one of the previous rounds?¡±


    Xie Yi still didn¡¯t understand what was going on. ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Bei is a ¡®black child¡¯, he doesn¡¯t have a proper identification card. He couldn¡¯t be verified when the organizers ran a background check. That¡¯s why Team Skycrown had to start again from zero points.¡±


    ¡°So, our match was stopped because of that too?¡± asked Xie Yi.


    Sun Liang grinned widely, showing a row of ugly teeth. ¡°Hehe, of course. However, the penalty this time isn¡¯t so light!¡±


    Xu Pingyang was also grinning, displaying his ugly yellow teeth. He had been looking for some way to take out Team Skycrown, but he hadn¡¯t imagined that he would stumble upon such a great opportunity!


    All it took was bribing Lian Guan to head to the National Bureau and halt the process of making Xiao Bei¡¯s identity card. Then, he put in a call to the organizers, telling them that there was still a problem with Xiao Bei¡¯s identity.


    Once they checked for themselves¡­


    There was no way the match could go on. Team Skycrown had broken the rules too severely. The LPL organizers forgave them once before, but this time¡­


    ***


    The five members of Team Skycrown were invited to a conference room. It was a room that had been temporarily set up, and the soundproofing was not very good. Sounds and noises from outside could still be heard from inside the room.


    Xi Xi, the person in charge of the teams, entered.


    Da Luo immediately spoke up, his temper flaring, ¡°Why are we having a rematch? Didn¡¯t we already play very well?¡±


    Lin Dong could see that something was wrong, and he moved to stop Da Luo. ¡°Da Luo, be quiet for now.¡±


    Ai Ke, the overall person in charge who had warned Yu Luocheng before, was also in the conference room with them. He looked at Team Skycrown, and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your coach?¡±


    ¡°He has a family emergency, so he¡¯s not here,¡± replied Lin Dong.


    Ai Ke didn¡¯t bother beating around the bush and got straight to the point.


    ¡°I regret to inform you that this match will be your last in the LPL. Taking the audience reaction into consideration, you will have a sudden death match against Team Sky. You were already informed of when it will take place.¡±


    Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Xiao Bei, Da Luo, and Wu Sen were all stunned when they heard this.


    Their last match?


    What did it mean?


    Even if they were to lose this match, they should still have been able to play a few more. Why was this their last?


    In their anger, only one word floated to the front of Lin Dong¡¯s mind: banned!


    The organizers were banning them from competing?


    ¡°Why¡­ why would you ban us from competing?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    ¡°There are still problems with Xiao Bei¡¯s identification, and this time, we have to be more strict in dealing with it!¡± said Ai Ke solemnly.


    Hearing that, Team Skycrown was even more stunned. Their eyes all fell on Xiao Bei!


    They clearly remembered Yu Luocheng saying that a player with identification issues would immediately be banned from the competition. They were lucky that Ai Ke had previously been willing to give them a chance.


    This was something that Team Skycrown was very aware of, and that was why they had mercilessly grilled Xiao Bei with questions before this match started.


    Xiao Bei and Jian Feng had confidently said that even the office had confirmed that there would be no problems¡­


    How could this still be happening?


    ¡°Impossible, that¡¯s impossible! I already went to the Public Security Bureau and they said that I was registered,¡± exclaimed Xiao Bei.


    ¡°My assistant told me that the information you gave us was still unable to be verified,¡± said Ai Ke, glancing at them before continuing, ¡°A team that has been banned will be unable to qualify for the competition rewards and will not receive any subsidies. You can forget about the fifth round against Team Sky too. Whether you win or lose, it¡¯s meaningless now.¡±


    Cold and sharp, Ai Ke¡¯s words pierced their hearts like ice!


    No team subsidy, no reward¡­


    How can this be? How can this be?!


    ***


    The spring wind was still as cold as ever. Team Skycrown didn¡¯t even know how they left the arena, and had no idea how they made it back to their shabby accommodation.


    With the hot weather, the smell of mold in the room was more prominent than ever. Unable to stand the smell, Jian Feng and Li Meiqi desperately wanted to open the windows to let some air in, but it was also raining outside.


    Wu Sen and Zhou Yan were sitting on chairs and staring blankly ahead. Ai Ke¡¯s words kept replaying in their minds.


    No team subsidy, no rewards¡­


    Having no support from anyone, Team Skycrown had been counting on getting the team subsidy to ensure their survival. To them, that was even more important than the prizes that came with winning!


    Just like that¡­ nothing.


    For a long time, no one in the room said anything.


    The air was heavy and suffocating.


    Dong dong dong!


    The sound of loud footsteps and cries came from outside.


    Lin Dong lazily raised his head, watching as Xiao Bei entered. He was completely soaked. You couldn¡¯t tell whether he was rubbing tears or rain water off his face.


    ¡°Everyone¡­ I¡­ I really don¡¯t understand what happened. Lin Dong, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry. I¡­ I really did ask properly, and they told me¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ll go to the Public Security Bureau again.¡±


    Xiao Bei didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    Identification problem¡­


    After properly taking care of his identity registration, Xiao Bei really didn¡¯t expect that this would be a problem again. He couldn¡¯t believe that just because of him, Team Skycrown was now banned from the LPL.


    And to add insult to injury, they were also losing the team subsidy!


    Team Skycrown really didn¡¯t have much money right now, and they had been banking on getting the team subsidy to survive. Due to their few previous victories in the LPL, they were once again being contacted by sponsors.


    But once the ban became public knowledge, those sponsors would undoubtedly turn their backs on them at once. Then, Team Skycrown would be left penniless again¡­


    With no money and no coach, how would they participate in competitions? More importantly, if they were unable to take part in the LPL, what was the point of even forming the team in the first place?


    This realization hit Team Skycrown hard, and they were left in daze for a long time.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, get back here. It¡¯s pointless. The organizers have already made their decision. Even if you get your identity registration sorted out, they still won¡¯t take back the ban,¡± said Zhou Yan, shaking his head.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll go talk to them. This is on me. Even if they¡¯re adamant on the ban, they should only ban me. This has nothing to do with you guys,¡± said Xiao Bei tearily.


    Looking at the expressions on everyone¡¯s face, the already fragile Xiao Bei¡¯s heart shattered even more. He didn¡¯t know what to do. He didn¡¯t expect to be the cause of Team Skycrown getting kicked out of the LPL.


    Because of him, everyone¡¯s chance of pursuing e-sports had been taken away, and they had to bid farewell to the professional league!


    ¡°Banning involves the entire team. Isn¡¯t there another way to handle this?¡± said Li Meiqi.


    ¡°There is,¡± replied Da Luo, sighing coldly, ¡°Disband Team Skycrown. Then, we¡¯ll join other teams as individual professional players. That¡¯s probably the only thing the organizers will agree to.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ how can Team Skycrown be disbanded?¡± exclaimed Jian Feng in shock.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. I don¡¯t understand, we¡¯ve worked so hard and endured so much for so long, and now, right when we¡¯re about to defeat Team Sky, this sort of sh*t happens? I really don¡¯t understand, I don¡¯t!¡± yelled Da Luo.


    He stood up and stomped into a room, angrily slamming the door shut.


    Bam!


    The slamming of the door shook the entire place and could even be heard outside. The sound was like a nail through Xiao Bei¡¯s heart.


    Xiao Bei cried as he continued to apologize, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    The room was once again filled with a heavy silence, with the exception of his tearful apologies ringing out again and again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you guys somehow¡­ I will, I really will. Team Skycrown won¡¯t disband¡­ it won¡¯t¡­¡±


    Xiao Bei looked at everyone else with his red eyes, but suddenly it felt like everyone¡¯s gazes had become so cold, like they were strangers.


    Wasn¡¯t it only a short while ago that everyone was united in confronting their longtime enemy, Team Sky? Why did it now suddenly seem like the end of Team Skycrown?


    Was it really the end?


    There was a white document on the table, stamped with the organizers¡¯ official seal¡­


    Picking it up and scanning through, Xiao Bei¡¯s eyes stopped on the words ¡®banned from further competitions¡¯.


    For a long, long while, Xiao Bei felt like this was all just a dream. But holding the official document in his hand was like a harsh slap back to reality, reminding him that Team Skycrown was done for.


    The official document of suspension really drilled home the message that Team Skycrown would never again be able to participate in the LPL professional league¡­


    And it was all his fault.


    Xiao Bei felt like his entire body was submerged in cold water. Even if the rain water wasn¡¯t dripping down his body, he still felt chilled to the bone. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.


    All of their hard work¡­ all of it just went down the drain.


    Lin Dong has suffered and worked so hard to get everyone back on the team. Life already had him bound by heavy shackles and caused him to lose so much. E-sports was the only path he had left¡­


    Da Luo had experienced so much pain to come back to the world of e-sports. And the only reason he had even returned was because he wanted to shed that laughable part of himself, and allow people to see him in all his glory.


    Yu Luocheng had already given his all to Team Skycrown, and was now suffering as he waited in that hospital¡­


    There were also Li Meiqi and Jian Fei, who had both continuously worked so hard to build this team.


    In a flash, it was now all over.


    All their talk about beating Team Sky, about going up against Team Daemons again, about taking over the world¡­ it was all impossible now¡­


    Due to this ban, their e-sports dreams have been completely and utterly shattered to pieces!


    ***


    Time passed and the living room was still submerged in a heavy silence. The rain continued to fall heavily outside, giving people a sense of frustration.


    Xiao Bei had hidden himself away somewhere to reflect and wallow in his self-pity and self-blame. His phone was still on the table, vibrating relentlessly. Irritated by the constant vibrating, Lin Dong answered the call somewhat unhappily.


    The moment the call was taken, words came out from the speaker.


    ¡°Hey Xiao Bei, hahaha, you did good! Don¡¯t worry, Uncle isn¡¯t so petty. I previously told you that it would take a hundred and twenty thousand yuan, so I will only take that amount. The remaining thirty thousand yuan is yours. That¡¯s still more than the twenty thousand yuan you would have gotten if you won the prize money, right?¡±


    As the room was dead silent, everyone could hear the words coming from the phone!


    Initially, everyone had blank looks in their eyes, but they snapped back to reality the moment they heard what Lian Guan said. Disbelief was written all over their faces.


    The line was immediately cut, but Lin Dong was still blankly holding onto Xiao Bei¡¯s phone, not really back to his senses yet¡­


    ¡°How could Xiao Bei do this?!¡± said Li Meiqi, stunned.


    Having chosen that precise moment to re-enter the living room, Da Luo heard every word Lian Guan said.


    He angrily snatched the phone, roaring furiously, ¡°I knew it, I knew it! Xiao Bei, Xiao Bei! Get the f*ck out here!¡±


    ¡°Da Luo, calm down. It¡¯s definitely not what you think it is!¡± said Zhou Yan, trying his best to hold back the furious boy.


    Da Luo ignored him and ran into the room. Not seeing Xiao Bei there, he realized that the door to the toilet was locked. He pounded on it heavily, shouting, ¡°Xiao Bei, come out! Explain to us what the h*ll is going on!¡±


    Out of his right mind, all Da Luo wanted was an outlet to release his rage onto.


    What kind of mistake was this? How could it be repeated? This had dragged the entire team down!


    Lin Dong dragged Da Luo away from the door. ¡°Da Luo, enough!¡±


    Lin Dong was well aware that Xiao Bei would never do this sort of thing. There was no one more pure and innocent, no one who was more hyped for the glory of Team Skycrown. There had to be someone pulling the strings.


    Lian Guan, it had to be Lian Guan!


    He often played mahjong with people from Sky Club, and could have accidentally told them about the problem with Xiao Bei¡¯s identification registration. It was entirely possible that they used this issue to set a trap!


    Xu Pingyang couldn¡¯t wait to uproot Team Skycrown, and they wouldn¡¯t put it past him to do something like this.


    ¡°Xiao Bei, come on out. It¡¯s definitely Xu Pingyang who bribed your uncle. We don¡¯t blame you,¡± said Lin Dong calmly as he knocked gently on the door.


    Xiao Bei still didn¡¯t dare to come out and continued to hide inside.


    Everyone knew that Xiao Bei was still a kid, and this was something that had impacted him heavily. How could they blame him? He had also given so much in the name of Team Skycrown.


    At the time when Lin Dong was unable to get the other members back, Xiao Bei had stood with the team from start to end. Even though other professional teams had been willing to take him in, Xiao Bei was still willing to fight with Team Skycrown, even though he wouldn¡¯t get a single penny.


    With his capabilities, he could have joined any other LPL team, and would have received way better treatment than during his time with Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Xiao Bei¡­it¡¯s alright,¡± said Lin Dong comfortingly.


    Through the closed door, Lin Dong thought he heard a soft ¡®wa ah¡¯, which he assumed to be the sound of Xiao Bei crying. He patiently waited outside while speaking comforting words, hoping that the young boy would feel better after letting it all out¡­


    ***


    At the hospital, Yu Luocheng was sitting outside the operating room. His head was leaning against the plastic chair, and his gaze was fixed on the white wall.


    The presence of Yu Yu and Li Yun sitting beside him made him feel somewhat anxious and reassured at the same time. After waiting for so long, his father¡¯s operation was finally being carried out.


    The doctor had reiterated many times that this operation had a very high chance of success. As long as the donor liver was a match, the operation would go smoothly. Yu Jing would be able to recover and live his days like normal, perhaps in even better condition than he was before.


    The operation would take a long time and there was a lot of preparation work to be done before it could begin. Yu Luocheng had no idea what the process of replacing a liver was like. All he could do was to sit there waiting and watching the operating room light.


    ***


    It felt like a very long wait.Read the next chapter on our novelhall.com


    Yu Luocheng had already been in the hospital for such a long time, but the wait for the operation felt even longer than that.


    Finally, the light on the sign outside the operating room turned off. Just like in the movies, the first person to emerge was the attending doctor, who had already taken off his mask.


    ¡°The operation was a success and the patient is in good condition. He¡¯s lucky that the liver we transplanted into him didn¡¯t show too much of an adverse reaction. Now, he just needs to rest and recuperate. Some of the things that he can¡¯t eat has been written on his chart. Just take note of that, and everything will be fine,¡± said the middle-aged doctor, smiling kindly.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you. Really, thank you so much..¡±


    Li Yun was so relieved that she couldn¡¯t stop thanking the doctor. Her eyes were once again full of tears. But this time, they were tears of joy.


    When she found out that Yu Jing needed a liver transplant, Li Yun had already silently shed tears many times here at LeCheng Hospital. During those times, she was always in low spirits and couldn¡¯t even bring herself to eat properly.


    Constantly worrying that the person who had been by her side for so many years would suddenly just disappear from the world¡­


    But luck had chosen to smile down upon him.


    ¡°Doctor, when will my father wake up?¡± asked Yu Yu hurriedly.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take too long, the operation went very smoothly,¡± replied the doctor.


    The doctor also looked tired. After all, the operation had taken a long time.


    ***


    ¡°Cheng, Yu Yu, why don¡¯t you go eat something first? Your father should be alright,¡± said Li Yun, smiling at her children through her tears.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head and walked towards the exit. He felt like it had been a long time since he¡¯d taken a breath of fresh air outside the hospital¡­


    Now that his father¡¯s operation had been a success, it felt like a weight was lifted from him. He didn¡¯t know what the date was today, but he vaguely remembered two student doctors saying that today was the day of the rematch between Team Skycrown and Team Sky.


    Despite keeping his phone turned off, Yu Luocheng already knew that Team Skycrown had been banned. He learned of the news from the discussion between the two student doctors.


    But that conversation had taken place right around the time of Yu Jing¡¯s operation, so Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t have much time to think on it.


    ***


    After they finished eating, Yu Yu was back to her lively self, holding onto her brother¡¯s arm and chattering non-stop. Yu Luocheng was somewhat worried about the competition, but was not yet in the right mind to ask about it.


    As they walked through the halls of the hospital, a familiar figure came into sight.


    Lin Dong stood in front of Yu Luocheng. ¡°Boss¡­¡±


    Lin Dong did not look like his usual self. He was not wearing his hat and his hair was a mess, like it had not been washed in days. There were dark circles under his eyes, giving him a haunted look. His eyes were red, like he had been crying.


    ¡°How did your dad¡¯s operation go?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, everything went smoothly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ here, this is for you. Our sudden death match against Team Sky is this afternoon. We¡¯ll still be fighting, even though we¡¯re down by one person.¡±


    With that said, Lin Dong handed a white document to Yu Luocheng before he turned around and left without another word.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t understand why Lin Dong was acting so strangely.


    Come to think of it, the competition ban must have hit them really hard.


    Even if there were only four of them, they would still fight?


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go, Dad hasn¡¯t even woken up yet. You have to at least wait for him to wake up¡­¡± said Yu Yu, concerned that her brother would run off immediately and try to prevent that from happening.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Yu Luocheng turned around to look at Lin Dong¡¯s retreating back.


    Why did he look somewhat strange?


    Forget it, they could talk about it later once he had settled his own family problems.


    Bzzt bzzt bzzt¡­


    Suddenly, Yu Yu¡¯s phone rang with a call from their mother.


    Li Yun¡¯s trembling voice came through the phone, ¡°Come quickly, your father has woken up!¡±


    ¡°Dad¡¯s up, that¡¯s great!¡±


    Yu Yu grabbed Yu Luocheng¡¯s arm, flying towards their father¡¯s room like a baby bird taking flight for the first time while dragging her brother along behind her.


    Yu Luocheng shoved paper that Lin Dong had given him into his pocket, hurriedly keeping up with Yu Yu.


    ***


    The room wasn¡¯t as cold as it used to be, and Yu Luocheng could hear the sounds of his mother¡¯s laughter. Yu Yu¡¯s voice also rang out joyfully as she dropped her hold on him and rushed over to Yu Jing¡¯s bedside.


    Despite having various tubes attached to his body, Yu Jing managed to force out a smile.


    To be honest, he thought that he would never see his family again¡­


    Yu Jing still was somewhat groggy, as the anesthesia was not fully out of his system yet. Knowing that the room was small and fearing that he would disturb his father¡¯s rest, Yu Luocheng chose to wait outside for a little while.


    As soon as he plopped down onto a chair, he let out a long sigh of relief.


    His father was alright¡­


    In the room, Yu Yu and his mother were talking in low voices. He could see that Yu Jing waking up had taken away the anxiety in their hearts. Yu Luocheng also felt lighter than he had in a long time.


    Digging through his pockets, he pulled out the piece of paper that Lin Dong gave him earlier.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the suspension notice?¡± wondered Yu Luocheng as he looked at it, his heart suddenly pounding in his ears.


    Everyone had poured so much effort into preparing for the LPL, and because of this ban, it had all been for nothing.


    It really felt like fate was playing with them, not allowing these people who were so passionate about e-sports to do what they loved.


    Eh? There seemed to be something written on the other side.


    Noticing this, Yu Luocheng flipped the paper¡­


    There were rows and rows of densely-packed words written on the back of the suspension notice.


    Reading the first line alone made Yu Luocheng freeze, his blood running cold.


    What is this?


    What the h*ll was written here?!


    Impossible¡­ it¡¯s impossible!!


    Lin Dong had spoken in an odd tone.


    ¡°Was your dad¡¯s operation alright?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡±


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind replayed Lin Dong¡¯s expression, and his ears were ringing with his words!


    At first, Yu Luocheng thought that Lin Dong had simply been expressing concern, but now he understood the deeper meaning behind those words!


    ¡°Our sudden death match against Team Sky is this afternoon. We¡¯ll still be fighting, even though we¡¯re down by one person.¡±


    Down by one person!


    Why would they be down by one person?!


    Even if the whole team had been banned, there was no reason why they wouldn¡¯t have enough people for their last match¡­


    Why¡­ why hadn¡¯t he understood the meaning behind those words? Why had he naively assumed that it was because of Xiao Bei¡¯s identification problems?


    Yu Luocheng stared blankly at the words, before jumping up and taking off at a run!


    ***


    Doctor Lan was a well-known doctor who had just returned from overseas. Having performed many major surgeries over the years, he was very experienced.


    He had only recently taken over Yu Jing¡¯s case and had been worried by the lack of a suitable liver donor.


    However, Yu Jing really had such good luck.


    Most liver transplants were assigned by hospitals according to a case by case situation. It was almost impossible for most people to find a suitable match. After all, the criteria for donors were very strict.


    Most of the time, liver transplants would be obtained from youths who had commited suicide, as the livers of accident victims were usually too damaged to be of any further use.


    What surprised Doctor Lan was that someone had willingly donated his liver to this middle-aged man just a few days ago. With a young liver like this and no adverse reactions, Yu Jing would be able to recover and live a healthier life than ever before¡­


    Bam!!


    While Doctor Lan was reminiscing about the successful operation, a young man suddenly slammed his door open and barged into the room.


    Taking a look, he realised it was his patient¡¯s son. Why the h*ck had he come here?


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s unwavering gaze was fixed on the doctor.


    ¡°Doctor Lan¡­ tell me¡­ my old man¡­ did someone donate their liver to him?!¡±


    Doctor Lan nodded his head. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Tell me his name!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, our hospital policy doesn¡¯t allow us to disclose the names of donors. He doesn¡¯t need your gratitude, as long as your father lives a healthy life with his liver, that is the best thanks you can give him,¡± said Doctor Lan.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes were red as he pleaded again, ¡°Please, tell me his name!¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask? Isn¡¯t the fact that your father is cured all that matters?¡± asked Doctor Lan.


    Doctor Lan took a closer look at the young man standing before him. Unknowingly, a crowd had gathered around the entrance of his office, drawn by Yu Luocheng¡¯s odd behaviour and loud demands.


    Doctor Lan shook his head, sighing deeply as he said, ¡°He was roughly the age of sixteen or seventeen, a child who commited suicide by cutting his wrist. To prevent the blood from clotting, he soaked his arm in water¡­ the one who tended to him for emergency treatment was also myself, unfortunately¡­


    ¡°The police have also investigated and obtained his handwritten testament, I believe someone would have passed it on to you¡­¡±


    Each word that came from Doctor Lan¡¯s mouth felt like a knife piercing into Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart!


    He leaned against the doorway as his legs gave way, feeling like there wasn¡¯t a single bone in his entire body. His mind was raging in turmoil, like an endless crashing of waves.


    Boom!


    Trembling and shaking, he fell to the floor as he lost all the strength in his body.


    ***


    Doctor Lan looked at Yu Luocheng again, noting that he was clutching a piece of white paper in his right hand¡­


    He stood up, and quietly closed the door behind him as he exited the room, giving space to the youth who needed to read the testament properly.


    ¡°Doctor Lan, is everything alright?¡± asked a nurse.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, just give the child some space, don¡¯t bother him,¡± said Doctor Lan calmly.


    ***


    In the empty room, Yu Luocheng¡¯s hand was touching but not really feeling the smooth texture of the paper. Something that was so light felt so extremely heavy in his hand.


    He was still leaning against the wall with his head buried in his knees, feeling numb. The moment the door closed with a click, he let out a sorrowful wail as the tears he had been holding back started to gush out!


    Everyone passing by the room could hear his devastating cries.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this young man¡¯s father fine? Why is he crying like that?¡± asked an old nurse.


    ¡°His father is cured, but he has lost another person who is important to him¡­¡± said Doctor Lan, his gentle voice filled with understanding.


    In a hospital, doctors were accustomed to seeing both joy and sorrow, as well as occasions of both life and death. However, Doctor Lan had never seen a case like this before.


    What was it that gave such a young child the courage to end his own life, in order to save the father of another child?


    ***


    Tears fell on the crisp white paper as Yu Luocheng finally opened the crushed document that he hadn¡¯t dared to read yet, slowly taking in each and every word on it¡­


    He could clearly remember how elated and relieved he felt when he first found out that someone was willing to donate their liver to his father. But little did he know, that donor was actually someone he held dear.


    And the words that this someone wanted to tell Yu Luocheng were written on this piece of paper¡­


    ***


    Luocheng,


    Didn¡¯t you say that your dad was rejecting e-sports with every fiber of his being? Now, he won¡¯t be like that anymore, since there¡¯s at least one organ inside him right now that¡¯s as passionate about e-sports as you are.


    Luocheng, something you once said really hit me hard. It was when you first took Team Wings to the top, when you stood proud on the world stage, telling them that it¡¯s not a game, it¡¯s a war!


    Do you know how many people in the e-sports industry were moved by those words?


    Do you know how cool you looked? How awesome it felt for us when you trampled over those foreign players who so arrogantly thought that they were the best?


    It was at that moment I decided to become an e-sports player just like you!


    I wanted to win the World Championship for you and erase all your regrets. I always told myself to work harder and be stronger, so that I could become just as amazing as you were when you first took what is now Team Skycrown to the top¡­ I promised that I would definitely help you get into Worlds!


    But because of my stupidity, I have let all of you down.


    When I held this suspension notice in my hands, I knew that it would be almost impossible for everyone to play professionally anymore, and that our Team Skycrown would even have to be disbanded.


    We came together after so much suffering, so how could we go our separate ways just like that?


    That¡¯s why, I thought of a way to stop the team from disbanding. Instead, this will give you guys a chance to rebuild with all the strong players¡­


    Luocheng, Team Skycrown really really needs you. Lin Dong, Da Luo, Wu Sen, Zhou Yan¡­ they all need you very much.


    I know that as long as you come back, Team Skycrown will not disband. Only you will be able to take them to Worlds!


    Luocheng, there is no one else in this world who loves e-sports more than you. Since you love it so much, why do you have to let it go?!


    When you didn¡¯t win the World Championship, were you really satisfied?


    Now, there is nothing stopping you from returning to the world of professional e-sports.


    With you, Team Skycrown can only grow to be more glorious than ever!


    Take back all that you have lost, defeat all those who have stepped on your head, and win back the World Championship that you lost so long ago!


    When you do, remember to pour wine for me on the stage where you win the World Championship, alright?


    ¡ª E-sports player, Xiao Bei.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng could recall Xiao Bei¡¯s last words to him with absolute clarity.


    ¡°Luocheng, I will definitely win the World Championship, definitely!¡±


    At the time, his childlike naivety caused him to still hold so much hope for a limitless future. Yu Luocheng had wanted to tell him that getting to Worlds would not be so simple¡­


    But seeing the last line in Xiao Bei¡¯s letter, Yu Luocheng¡¯s tears started anew!


    ***


    Wine on the stage where we win the World Championship¡­


    Why¡­ why won¡¯t you be there with us too?


    Why would you end your own life? Why would you donate your liver?


    Don¡¯t you know winning the World Championship isn¡¯t something that¡¯s very difficult for me¡ªYu Luocheng?


    The hard part for me is having to let you go¡­ knowing that I let you slip through my fingers, and that ashes are all that is left of you now¡­


    ****


    Author¡¯s Note: I¡¯m sorry for writing something so depressing, but it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m not an author who only writes plots that are light and uplifting, so sometimes there will be certain things and situations that are depressing. Novels are the same as e-sports, both require supporters. I hope that everyone will vote in the monthly polls and recommendations, to let the actual transmutation of an e-sports player be known to more people. Well, our protagonist will return soon.

 Chapter 338 - I, Fighting Hawk, Have Returned To The Team!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen were sitting backstage, downcast and all sporting black circles under their eyes.


    ¡°Why are there only four of you?¡± asked Xi Xi as he raised his head to look at them.


    The four of them said nothing in response. Their eyes were fixed on the translucent lounge ahead of them, or more specifically, on the members of Team Sky who were in there.


    They unconsciously tightly clenched their fists, fingernails digging deep into their tender flesh¡­


    Never had they felt like killing anyone more!


    Xu Pingyang was laughing with a man dressed in a suit, completely oblivious to the fact that his shamelessness had taken an innocent life. Why hadn¡¯t he been caught and thrown in the slammer? Why was he not being held accountable for his sins?


    The fact that he was still here, laughing away, pissed off Team Skycrown even more!


    ¡°If it¡¯s just the four of you, it¡¯s better to give up¡­¡± said Xi Xi hesitantly.


    Lin Dong shot back, ¡°Is there a rule that says we can¡¯t play if there¡¯s only four of us?¡±


    Xi Xi was startled. The rule was that a team must be made up of five people, but it didn¡¯t explicitly state that the players could not play if all team members were not present.


    Four people¡­


    Team Skycrown only had four people left.


    They never imagined that Xiao Bei, who had been hiding in the toilet, would do such a crazy thing.


    They never imagined that they would suddenly see such a joyful child looking so pale, with fresh blood running down the tiles as he lay there, both eyes empty¡­


    Everything¡­


    Everything was caused by Xu Pingyang, he had to pay for his sins with his life!


    They knew that this was their last game, and they only had four members left. But when they thought of poor Xiao Bei, they couldn¡¯t suppress the rage that threatened to overwhelm them.


    This was their chance to have their revenge on Team Sky, and they weren¡¯t going to let it just slip by!


    ¡°Will he come?¡± asked Wu Sen in a low voice.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Whether he does or not, we¡¯ll still fight,¡± said Lin Dong, his voice laced with determination.


    Lin Dong hated himself for being so foolish. He had been standing right in front of the toilet door. What he heard as he stood there was not the sound of Xiao Bei crying, but in fact the sound of blood flowing out and splattering onto the floor.


    If¡­ if only he had realized sooner, maybe Xiao Bei would still be¡­


    The four of them stood there in silence, holding back the seething torrent of tears that threatened to fall from their eyes.


    Team Sky¡­ you long for a huge amount of sponsorships, and want to reach the world stage? Dream on!


    Not while our group is alive!


    ***


    Back at the hospital, Yu Yu was talking softly to Li Yun. Yu Jing was a lot more aware now, and was able to laugh and talk with them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, Yu Yu is a national athlete now. Our relatives have helped us a lot with covering the medical insurance costs. And although the hospital bills are high, Yu Yu will work hard and earn it all back in no time,¡± said Li Yun.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± agreed Yu Yu, nodding her head.


    Li Yun continued, ¡°Later on, when Cheng graduates, I think it¡¯s better if you quickly get your affairs in order. He¡¯ll continue to act like a child if he doesn¡¯t get married early.¡±


    Yu Yu flushed in surprise. She¡¯d known about this idea of her and Yu Luocheng getting married, but had always thought that it wasn¡¯t possible.


    ¡°Hmph, that guy isn¡¯t worthy at all! Guys who don¡¯t have proper jobs don¡¯t deserve Yu Yu!¡± said Yu Jing, clearly unhappy.


    Still shocked, Yu Yu just listened as her parents talked.


    Turns out that when she once jokingly called herself ¡®just a child bearer¡¯, she wasn¡¯t too far from the truth.


    Yu Yu was confused, feeling all kinds of emotions at once. She already knew that she had no blood relation to Yu Luocheng, but still always treated him like an elder brother¡­ and yet, why did it hurt when she saw him with other girls?


    Not knowing how to continue the conversation, Yu Yu pretended not to hear anything that her parents were saying. And speak of the devil, Yu Luocheng chose that exact moment to walk into the room, further flustering her.


    Yu Yu herself didn¡¯t know how to define the relationship between them. She liked to cling onto Yu Luocheng and rely on him, but she also liked to poke fun at him. Seeing his impatient face made her extremely happy. Did that mean she liked him? Or was it just a familial bond?


    She never really cared about it before, but with her parents suddenly bringing up this topic, she felt panicked.


    ¡°Cheng, come sit down. I have something to tell you,¡± said Li Yun.


    ¡°I have something to tell you too,¡± replied Yu Luocheng, but he didn¡¯t take a seat and instead remained standing at the entrance.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, why are your eyes so red?¡± asked Li Yun.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes were indeed very red, and the tear tracks on his face were still clear as day.


    ¡°Sit, sit. We can slowly talk about whatever it is,¡± said Li Yun gently. She tried to quiet the voice inside her that whispered that something wasn¡¯t right.


    Yu Yu slowly raised her head, confusion evident on her face, ¡°Brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I want to play e-sports professionally,¡± said Yu Luocheng, getting straight to the point.


    ¡°What? What did you just say?¡± said Li Yun, shocked and praying desperately that she had heard wrong.


    Yu Luocheng repeated himself, punctuating each word to emphasize the seriousness, ¡°I said: I. Want. To. Play. E-sports. Professionally.¡±


    ¡°You! Say it¡­ say it again!¡± Yu Jing was shaking in anger as he forced his words out through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Brother, what are you doing? Do you want our father to stay in this hospital bed forever?¡± exclaimed Yu Yu, hurrying to Yu Jing¡¯s side the moment she saw him start to shake.


    ¡°Cheng, sit down. We can talk about this, alright?¡± said Li Yun, still in shock. Her heart had been beating furiously against her ribcage from the moment Yu Luocheng walked into the room.


    ¡°Go! Go and play! If you go this time, don¡¯t even think about coming back to our household!¡± yelled Yu Jing, beyond furious.


    The previous harmonious atmosphere had completely collapsed in an instant, and the tension was now so thick that you could cut it with a knife.


    Yu Yu looked at Yu Luocheng with anger-filled eyes. She didn¡¯t understand what had come over him. Was he possessed by the devil? Why would he come out and say something like that at this time?!


    She started shouting at him, her voice full of bitterness, ¡°Can¡¯t you stop playing for the sake of Dad¡¯s health? Don¡¯t you know how much he¡¯s invested in you? Can¡¯t you just listen for once and finish your studies? Do you have to anger him to the point of making his illness worse? What is wrong with you, just what is wrong with you?!¡±


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t respond. Instead, he calmly shifted his gaze from one family member to the next, starting with Yu Yu, then Li Yun, and finally, Yu Jing.


    He hadn¡¯t suddenly gone off the deep end, and Xiao Bei¡¯s letter definitely wasn¡¯t the reason that he was confronting his parents right now.


    He had spent the past few days thinking about what he wanted to do. When he let his mind go quiet and was truly honest with himself, he found that he couldn¡¯t give up e-sports after all.


    Yes, he had listened to his parents for these past two years and studied properly.


    But throughout that time, he felt like a part of him was missing. He did everything on autopilot, finding neither joy nor anger in anything, as though he was a dead man walking¡­


    To fulfil his parents¡¯ wishes, Yu Luocheng had become a soulless puppet. Had he been born solely to make up for the regrets of the previous generation?


    Your regrets will remain as yours, while my dream is mine, and mine alone, don¡¯t confuse them!


    Stop bringing up the fact that you spent a lot of money for me to enter university, it¡¯s nothing but shackles weighing me down. If you were really thinking about me, then I would like you to stand in my shoes. Learn about what I like and understand how much effort I¡¯ve put in¡­


    Then, you will understand that e-sports is not a drug. It¡¯s a sport that requires countless efforts in order to obtain glory. Stop pointing out my failures and using them to hurt me even more. Stop using the words ¡®See, I told you so¡¯ to make me follow the path you wanted to walk yourself!


    Yu Luocheng had longed to say these words for so long¡­


    After playing against Team Revelation, Yu Luocheng was planning on looking for a good time to properly talk things out with Yu Jing. However, what happened after that made it almost impossible for him to speak.


    Until Xiao Bei¡­


    ¡°Go! Go and play! If you do, don¡¯t ever come back, and don¡¯t even try to kneel at the door and beg for forgiveness with a pitiful look on your face!¡± Yu Jing growled out, his chest heaving in exertion.


    Yu Luocheng looked at Yu Jing, watching as his entire frame trembled with rage as he spat those words out.


    And suddenly, Yu Luocheng thought that it was such a funny scene.


    Again with the same words. Why do you always use the same threats on me?


    You don¡¯t need to gamble everything and put all your eggs in one basket. Will you be happy when the basket breaks?


    This time, Yu Luocheng wouldn¡¯t bother to compromise.


    There was nothing to compromise on anymore. Sometimes, a smelly and dirty road could be the one that leads to success. You wouldn¡¯t know unless you walked it.


    Yu Luocheng needed to walk this road to the end. Even if his body was riddled with wounds, and all his bones were broken, he would crawl his way through. Even if it isn¡¯t a logical path, and it¡¯s filled with irony and contempt, it is still mine to walk. I will not be your substitute to overcome your regrets.


    I will walk the road that I choose for myself.


    ¡°If you really are my family, why don¡¯t you ever support me in what I want to do? Is doing that harder than chasing me out of the house?! Is it so hard to let me pursue e-sports?!¡±


    The words that Yu Luocheng spat one were the ones that he had kept bottled up inside him for a long time. They echoed through the room, and for a while, no one dared to utter a single word in response.


    Yu Luocheng could see it in their eyes¡ªthey still couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t comprehend what he meant. He had said all that he wanted to.


    Leave? Of course, he would leave.


    ¡°Yes I made my father angry, to the point that it damaged his liver. I¡¯ve tried to be filial, but you are keeping me from the only thing that makes me happy and that I¡¯ve poured so much effort into. What you¡¯re doing is no different than robbing me of my own heart¡­¡±


    This heart was born for the sake of e-sports.


    No one understood that Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart held an undying passion for e-sports!


    The more you try to suppress it, the more you try to shackle him with family obligations¡­ the more his rage grew.


    If you took away e-sports, then he wasn¡¯t Yu Luocheng anymore. He would just be a filial, obedient child who listens to his elders. He would not be successful, because he no longer did what he loved. He would only be able to go with the flow in life and become like everyone else.


    He didn¡¯t want to live that kind of life!


    Since I don¡¯t have the heart to face you, I would rather let you see my back as I walk away.


    There will come a day when you see me on a big screen, standing on the highest stage in the world, in all my glory. Then you will understand that you were wrong to stop me, that you were just being pedantic and paranoid!


    ***


    Li Yun could only watch blankly as Yu Luocheng quietly turned and left. Her mind was still replaying the words he had uttered only a few moments ago.


    Robbing him of his heart¡­


    For a while now, she felt like her son had changed. He was not as happy as before, and his smile always felt forced, never reaching his eyes¡­


    Only now did she realize why.


    Yu Yu watched as Yu Luocheng walked away. She wanted to make him stay, but she didn¡¯t have the courage to open her mouth. Hurriedly chasing after him, she could see that he had no intention of turning back.


    This time, he was walking away far too calmly.


    It wasn¡¯t like the previous time where he made a ruckus. There was no shouting and no slamming of doors, just a soft click as the door closed behind him.


    His calmness showed that he was dead serious in his decision. Yu Yu could only stare at Yu Luocheng¡¯s back as he walked out of the room and down the hospital corridor.


    His back was too lonely, too proud, and strangely cold, to the point that nobody dared to reach out, and no one could stop him.


    ***


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t turn back once, and he soon arrived at the competition venue. He raised his head, staring up at the magnificent exhibition as he listened to the cheers coming from inside the hall.


    He took out his phone, dialing Lin Dong¡¯s number. When the call connected, he heard both Lin Dong¡¯s voice and the sounds from the stage.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± said Yu Luocheng quietly, a hint of steel in his voice. He took a deep breath, burying all his bitter feelings of regret deep within his heart.


    ¡°You came¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Yu Luocheng nodded even though Lin Dong couldn¡¯t see him. His hands came up to scrub away the remaining tears on his eyelashes.


    In a firm and calm tone, he said, ¡°I, Fighting Hawk, have returned to the team!¡±


    ***


    Xiao Bei, before pouring the wine for you on the World Championship stage, I will offer up the heads of Team Sky to honor you!


    (Translator note: It is a Chinese custom to pour rice wine or tea in front of an altar or tombstone, horizontally from left to right with both hands. This is done as an offering to the gods and in honor of the deceased.)

 Chapter 339 - : Who Is This Person?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    If someone were to ask, which LOL team is the strongest?


    Those who have watched the LPL competition would answer ¡°Team Daemons!¡± without any hesitation. Their popularity has always been sky-high, especially when it came to a match against the equally popular Team 71!


    The atmosphere at the competition venue today was definitely bursting with excitement. The thunderous shouts and cheers shook the entire arena. This was the most number of people to ever make up an audience since the start of the LPL!


    ¡°Congratulations to Team Daemons for obtaining victory! Although Team 71 pressured Hades¡¯ farm in the early game, they were ultimately unable to stop his progress later on. Thank you to both teams for bringing us such a wonderful match!¡± exclaimed the commentator¡ªBao Jun¡ªin his unique tone.


    Such a highly-anticipated match would of course require commentary from a veteran commentator. Bao Jun¡¯s voice echoed through the arena, bringing a special sense of enjoyment to the crowd.


    An exciting competition, two of the strongest teams, a professional yet entertaining commentator¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s remember this battle, as up next on this stage are two teams who will be dueling in their fifth and final match. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s none other than the match between Team Skycrown and Team Sky! Please give them the same warm welcome you gave Team Daemons and Team 71 as they make their way onto the stage!¡±


    Bao Jun¡¯s clear voice rang out, effortlessly capturing everyone¡¯s attention. No one knew what kind of magic his voice had. Most commentators had to shout into the microphone to excite the audience, and that wasn¡¯t always an effective method.


    But Bao Jun¡¯s simple words were enough to have the entire arena erupting into applause!


    ***


    Xu Pingyang glared at each member of Team Sky. ¡°Get up there! If you lose this time, I¡¯ll skin you alive!¡±


    Dressed in their Sky Club uniforms, Vulanca, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Birch could only look at their boss with lingering fear. They glanced over at the man in a suit who was sitting in the waiting room with them.


    Nodding, the five of them walked towards the stage, their anxious faces immediately morphing into confident smiles when they heard the applause.


    Xu Pingyang slowly turned around. The fierce, cold look on his face changed to one that was warm and humble in less than a second. With a smile firmly in place, he walked over to the man in a suit.


    ¡°Mr Wang, I didn¡¯t expect you to come to the arena in person¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve played this game and know how big of an influence it has. I stand by what I said before. If you can qualify for Worlds, I will immediately sign the deal and get it stamped. If you don¡¯t, I will approach the manager of the team that does qualify for Worlds instead,¡± said the man as he took out a stack of documents from his briefcase.


    Xu Pingyang¡¯s eyes sparkled with desire upon the sight of that coveted agreement. To him, it was as valuable as gold.


    He had rejected countless sponsors and lost quite a bit of money, all for the sake of attracting Samsung to exclusively sponsor their club. As long as they got this sponsorship¡­


    A grand villa, a luxury car, a hot mistress¡­ as long as Mr. Wang signed the agreement, Xu Pingyang would get everything he ever wanted!


    Bao Jun suddenly said, ¡°Eh? Team Skycrown only has four members up on stage?¡±


    Hearing the announcement, Xu Pingyang hurriedly looked for himself, and sure enough, there were only four members of Team Skycrown present.


    He rejoiced at the sight of them lacking one person, looks like this round is in the bag!


    Those damn organizers. Since they had already revoked Team Skycrown¡¯s right to compete in the LPL, they should have just marked them as absent and given the four points to Team Sky. Then, qualifying for the World Championship wouldn¡¯t be a problem for them anymore.


    But the organizers had said Team Skycrown not having any winning points was their own problem. If Team Sky lost this fifth round, it would still be counted as a loss, and they would only gain two points!


    Fortunately, they were now down one team member. If Xiao Bei wasn¡¯t playing, how would Team Skycrown defeat Team Sky?


    The sponsorship was definitely a done deal!


    ***


    Team Skycrown¡¯s appearance with only four members sparked a lot of discussion. The fact that they were banned from future competitions had not been officially announced to the public yet, but there were rumors about it floating around.


    ¡°Only four players? You might as well just surrender already. Why waste time?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve already been banned. It¡¯s meaningless even if they win. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t even bother to show up. You still have to pay for your train fare here and back, you know.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, there¡¯s seriously no point watching. I only came to watch Team Daemons¡¯ match anyway.¡±


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen stood on the stage. There were more people than usual in the stands today, because Team Daemons had played against Team 71 earlier. Many LOL fans were even willing to stand throughout their whole match.


    The four of them stood there, facing the abuse and doubts from the crowd without uttering a single word.


    There should have been someone else standing next to Wu Sen¡ªa naive yet passionate sixteen-year-old child with an intense love for e-sports¡­


    No one in the arena noticed that all four members of Team Skycrown had tightly tied a strip of while cloth around their arms. They remained silent with their heads slightly bent. Though they didn¡¯t say a word, their eyes were firm, and did not waver in the slightest.


    ¡°Maybe something has happened, but either way, let us invite our players to enter the stage and be seated,¡± said Bao Jun.


    The five members of Team Sky held their heads high as they walked with their unique gaits. They headed to their seats with ease, sitting down and chatting amongst themselves. They were completely relaxed, without a single trace of fear or panic.


    The four members of Team Skycrown were the complete opposite, walking to their seats in a stiff and slightly more mechanical manner.


    However, once they took their seats, they immediately sat upright and simultaneously untied the white cloth from their arms, instead tying it around their foreheads!


    The pale white headbands gave off a heavy feeling when people looked at it.


    E-sports players usually wore uniforms with their team logo on it or sometimes they wore matching accessories, but no one had ever seen a team who wore white headbands during a competition.


    Team Skycrown was giving off a feeling of inexplicable coldness and eeriness!


    ¡°Team Skycrown, are you sure you will be competing with just four people today? If your fifth member doesn¡¯t turn up in the next five minutes, you won¡¯t be able to add anyone into your lineup mid game,¡± said Bao Jun.


    Team Skycrown was really acting weirdly today, puzzling everyone present. They were even lacking a player right now. Didn¡¯t they have a substitute?


    ***


    Backstage, the dressed-in-all-black Hades was frowning as he observed Team Skycrown. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡±


    ¡°Something must have happened,¡± said Asmodai.


    Spotting the two students who were always with Team Skycrown out of the corner of his eye, Charon turned to them, asking, ¡°Where¡¯s your ADC?¡±


    Li Meiqi and Jian Feng remained silent.


    Confused, Charon was just about to ask again when Hades tapped his shoulder repeatedly, signaling for him to pay attention to the white cloth Team Skycrown was wearing.


    Charon froze, his face pale and his eyes widening in astonishment.


    ¡°Team Skycrown, if you don¡¯t have a substitute, then the match will begin soon. Once it enters the loading screen, you can¡¯t swap out or add in any players,¡± said Xi Xi as he walked up next to Li Meiqi.


    Li Meiqi and Jian Feng still said nothing.


    Xi Xi asked again, his voice seeping with impatience, ¡°Hey, do you have a sub or not? Even if you don¡¯t, you still need to let me know.¡±


    ¡°They do,¡± said a voice from behind Xi Xi.


    Xi Xi didn¡¯t bother turning around and looked down at his clipboard to write. ¡°Then, hurry it up! What¡¯s the sub¡¯s ID? I need to send it up.¡±


    ¡°F-Hawk!¡±


    Xi Xi nodded his head, writing it down as he headed to the second floor in a hurry.


    Xi Xi didn¡¯t realize the significance of the ID, but the members of Team Daemons who were just about to leave the backstage area, all froze in place. Including Huang Kang, their coach, all six of them turned their heads, their eyes fixed on the youth who had just given his ID.


    F-Hawk!


    This ID was definitely familiar to all these professional e-sports players.


    As long as this ID was displayed internationally, even world-class players would tremble at the mere sight of it!


    Those who were arrogant or full of themselves, those who used all kinds of colourful and unique names to prove that they were strong or unmatched in the field of e-sports¡­ they would all feel ridiculous and insignificant when they placed their ID together with this one!


    The world of e-sports was one that was rapidly changing, perhaps it even changes too fast.


    This ID was considered as part of the previous generation and was slowly being forgotten. But to Team Daemons, this ID would always be the one who sat on the e-sports throne. It was not so easy to erase it from one¡¯s memory.


    To hear that name once again, from the mouth of the person it belonged to. To see the king who had been silent for so many years, suddenly standing right in front of them filled with determination.


    The images of the past unwillingly burst forth in their minds!


    How they met during the group stages of the competition, competing at the peak of the Chinese division, watching the team with wings fly higher and higher, until they reached the very top that all the strong teams could only dream of¡­


    Even now, when they were known as the strongest LOL team within the country, Team Daemons was still afraid that they would always be chasing the shadow of that mighty team!


    ¡°Fighting Hawk!¡±


    Wearing a black and green shirt, his body was straight and rigid.


    Hades silently stood up, his deep black eyes focused on Yu Luocheng who had suddenly appeared backstage.


    Hades was said to be the number one LOL player, but when everyone wanted to crown him as such, he would always shake his head. If he couldn¡¯t even surpass this youth standing in front of him, how could he claim the title of number one?


    Hearing Yu Luocheng state his international ID, Hades felt like his whole body was burning with excitement.


    He was finally here!


    For Hades, an e-sports world without Fighting Hawk was really meaningless and not at all fun¡­


    Finally, they could compete once again!


    ***


    There were many workers and other teams backstage, and even Team 71 was looking over in their direction.


    All of them were equally confused.


    Team Daemons had always ignored all the other local teams and players, why were they looking at that player with undisguised awe and admiration?


    Who was this person?

 Chapter 340 - Return Of the Fallen Emperor!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Some people in the stands were still holding banners of support for Team Daemons. Since Team Skycrown was down a player, many assumed that their match would not be worth watching, and started to make their way towards the exit.


    Despite the huge number of people, things were unexpectedly running smoothly. It seemed that Tencent was well prepared to accommodate the larger than usual crowd.


    Just as people started to move, a young man dressed in casual clothes with his head bowed appeared at the entrance of the stage!


    Bao Jun hurried to make an announcement as he watched him walk up, ¡°Oh, it looks like Team Skycrown has a substitute coming on stage after all. This young man looks oddly familiar¡­¡±


    A commentator needed to maintain the atmosphere of the venue, and this one sentence from him was definitely able to pull back the majority of the people who had been ready to leave.


    Sure enough, people were turning their heads to look at the brightly lit stage and watch as the young man walked in, still keeping his head down.


    When he reached the halfway mark, the youth lifted his head to look at the four members of Team Skycrown. As though he noticed something, he suddenly halted in his steps and headed backstage again.


    ¡°Er, it looks like this player has forgotten something, everyone please stay calm,¡± said Bao Jun feeling embarrassed on behalf of the player and wanting to help him out a little.


    This was the LPL competition, it was broadcasted live to the entire country. Generally, all the players who came on stage were always well prepared. When would you ever see this kind of thing¡ªa player walking up halfway then turning around as though he forgot something?


    Unsure of what Team Skycrown was up to, the crowd started to boo them. But not long after, the youth once again emerged from backstage.


    When he appeared on the screen, you could see that he was holding a white cloth in his hand. As he walked to join his teammates, he tied it around his head¡­


    He wasn¡¯t in uniform, but he was wearing the same white strip of cloth across his forehead, just like the other members of Team Skycrown!


    ¡°Hey, hey! You¡¯re going the wrong way, that¡¯s Team Sky!¡± said Bao Jun in an oddly amused voice as he watched Yu Luocheng walk towards Team Sky.


    The crowd in the stands started laughing slightly, wondering how a player could be so confused as to walk towards the opponent¡¯s section instead.


    The staff kept shouting that he was going the wrong way, but Yu Luocheng was not deterred in the slightest. He continued to walk towards Team Sky, pulling the white strip of cloth on his forehead tighter and glaring fiercely at all the members.


    The referee quickly warned him, ¡°Don¡¯t provoke your opponents or you¡¯ll be disqualified!¡±


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s antics were causing a commotion in the stands. Why was this player from Team Skycrown standing directly in front of his opponent¡¯s stage? Was he going to cause trouble?


    Yu Luocheng spared a glance at the referee, before turning his gaze back to the members of Team Sky. He spoke to them in a tone dripping with contempt, ¡°I hope you guys don¡¯t surrender.¡±


    He also threw a cold look in the direction of the waiting room, knowing that Xu Pingyang was sitting in there watching everything. Standing there filled with determination in front of all the cameras, Yu Luocheng pointed a finger at the white cloth stretched across his forehead!


    ¡°Who is he?¡± asked Mr. Wang, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he noticed Xu Pingyang¡¯s panicked reaction.


    The owner of Sky Club¡¯s face had gone drastically pale. He had in fact already known about Xiao Bei¡¯s death. Someone from the Public Security Bureau had been dispatched to interrogate his uncle.


    Xu Pingyang had instructed Lian Guan to not bring up anything about tampering with Xiao Bei¡¯s identification registration, so that it wouldn¡¯t lead back to him.


    Only, Xu Pingyang hadn¡¯t expected that Yu Luocheng would not only appear here at the competition, but also publicly warn him like this!


    That little sh*t¡¯s suicide had nothing to do with him at all! You can¡¯t put the blame for this on him!


    When Xu Pingyang found out about Xiao Bei¡¯s suicide, he called up the local police to ensure that the case would be closed as a suicide, in order to avoid them digging up more information.


    At the same time, he also used his connections to delay the news from reaching the organizers¡­


    He didn¡¯t have an identity anyway, and they couldn¡¯t even verify his details, so he wouldn¡¯t be considered as an LPL player!


    ***


    In the arena, Yu Luocheng¡¯s cold eyes were still focused on the bald head of Xu Pingyang.


    Xiao Bei¡¯s heart was so pure, he wouldn¡¯t have survived in the filthy, cutthroat world of e-sports.


    Suicide?


    The police¡¯s conclusion was not wrong, the facts of the case were as such. But who would investigate Xiao Bei¡¯s mental health?


    E-sports was Xiao Bei¡¯s life, so when Xu Pingyang used such underhanded methods to rob him of his dream, it was as good as killing him!


    This was murder!


    And the police didn¡¯t know that the culprit who shattered Xiao Bei¡¯s dreams and caused him to take such drastic measures was now sitting in the VIP waiting room.


    Yu Luocheng had to make Xu Pingyang pay for Xiao Bei¡¯s life, he had to thoroughly expose this sh*t¡¯s revolting behaviour to the world!


    Money could be used to cover up many things, from making sure the media doesn¡¯t report on the death of an e-sports player like Xiao Bei, to covering up all your shameless behaviour.


    So let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to use money to cover this up, just go ahead and try to cover up the storm that Yu Luocheng was about to bring!


    All he said to the five members of Team Sky was that he hoped they would not surrender¡­


    He didn¡¯t bother finishing his sentence. They would soon know that if they didn¡¯t surrender, the raging storm that was building in Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart would soon be unleashed on them!


    Defeat Team Sky?


    How was that enough?!


    A laughable victory would be nowhere near enough to let the whole industry know that a child with so much love for e-sports had paid for his passion with his life.


    Everyone had to know exactly what kind of a dirty person had cunningly murdered him!


    There was only one way to rock the entire e-sports industry¡ªa kill count dripping with blood!


    At the end of the game, accompanying the declaration of Team Skycrown¡¯s victory, would be the announcement that it had cost their enemies a hundred of their lives!


    ***


    Turning around, he walked towards his own stage with determination¡­


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s silhouette then fell out of everyone¡¯s sight.


    To the audience present and the countless people around the country who were tuning in to the live broadcast, he was just a casually-dressed youth with a white cloth around his head walking towards his seat.


    But there were a few who knew, that this was a player who had once been at the very top of the e-sports industry, the place where no one could even dream of reaching. He had once been the greatest e-sports emperor!


    And now¡­


    This fallen emperor was once again stepping into the competition grounds, bringing his wounds and tears with him¡­ and also¡­


    Anger and passion were flowing through his veins!

 Chapter 341 - Vayne, The Immortal Soul!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Alright, it seems that all members of Team Skycrown are present. I believe that this will be a very amazing match, because as far as I know, the fifth player is the player who led the team against Team Revelation and obtained the score of three to zero.


    ¡°He is the coach of Team Skycrown, and is also the player who many on the Internet know to have stood his own against ADC Bai Feng, so exciting!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun.


    Ai Ke¡¯s helper had sent over a document a while ago, filled with information on Team Skycrown¡¯s newest player who was now onstage.


    Normally, player information wasn¡¯t very detailed and only consisted of a few lines. Bao Jun was surprised that this player had several long paragraphs of information to his name.


    A commentator needed to keep things simple, so Bao Jun would need to summarize the content in his hands. But once he read through the list, he found that it was almost impossible to omit anything. Every single sentence was sure to capture the audience¡¯s attention!


    ***


    Yang Ying who was in the middle of his internship at a Lecheng company, was sitting at a desk, starting excitedly at the computer screen in front of him.


    ¡°It¡¯s really Luocheng! He¡¯s back in the game again!¡±


    Knowing about Yu Luocheng¡¯s family situation, Yang Ying thought that it would be difficult for him to play in a competition ever again. He didn¡¯t expect him to suddenly appear during the final match against Team Sky.


    Just seeing him make an appearance was enough to inexplicably excite anyone!


    ¡°Hello, Xiao Jia, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Working.¡±


    ¡°Luocheng is onstage!¡±


    ¡°Seriously?!


    ¡°Why would I lie to you? Hurry up and take leave, find a place to watch!¡±


    ¡°What f*cking leave? This is my dad¡¯s company, who would dare to complain about me¡­¡±


    Yeah fine, you rich second generation kid.


    ***


    The entire Zhejiang University e-sports room was shrouded in darkness, but there were images being displayed on the projector screen.


    The members of the university¡¯s starter team¡ªCheng Feilong, Ke Shaoying, Jian Qiming and the others¡ªwere all tensely concentrating on the screen with a hundred percent focus, without moving even an inch. The members of Team Revelation¡ªBai Feng, Qing Ye, Hao Yue and the rest¡ªwere watching with them too.


    The Zhejiang University team had always been linked to Team Revelation. In their hearts, Team Revelation was like a godlike existence to them. But when Yu Luocheng, a mere university student, had appeared in the LPL and beat their gods down just like that, their belief was shattered in an instant.


    When Yu Luocheng appeared on screen, the entire e-sports club was shocked, especially Bai Feng, Qing Ye, Hao Yue, and the rest of Team Revelation. Their eyes flashed with surprise, but also with shame.


    It was him!


    He appeared once again!


    You couldn¡¯t possibly imagine how they felt. A top four team who had been in the standings for a long time, being beaten three to zero by a newly formed team.


    The humiliation, the anger, the impossibility of it all!


    And now, that same player who dealt them such a huge blow, had once again appeared in the LPL, causing the atmosphere in the room to immediately change.


    ¡°That sh*thead!¡±


    Hao Yue unconsciously tightly clenched his fist, shouting, ¡°I will definitely beat him!¡±


    Bai Feng¡¯s expression remained calm, but under the surface, he was simmering with emotion.


    Because this was one of the players that Bai Feng definitely wanted to compete against again!


    ¡°F-Hawk, player name Fighting Hawk, Team Skycrown¡¯s coach. I think we have already seen his unparalleled strength in the match against Team Revelation.¡±


    At Bao Jun¡¯s announcement, the faces of Team Revelation and the Zhejiang University team hardened¡­


    ***


    ¡°Here and now, there¡¯s another piece of news that I want to share with everyone!¡±


    At the arena, Bao Jun¡¯s face was full of excitement, ready to read out the information from this player¡¯s file.


    He threw out a question to the audience, ¡°Do you all remember that sensational video of Blood Eagle going solo against a Lee Sin?¡±


    The video of Blood Eagle soloing a Lee Sin?


    How could anyone not know about it? That video probably had more than five million views by now, and the wave it caused at the time was amazingly horrifying.


    There had been numerous speculations about the mysterious player who was able to draw with Blood Eagle, and even now, forums were still abuzz with discussions about it.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the player who went solo against Blood Eagle back then is now right in front of you, his ID is F-Hawk!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun, his eyes shining.


    The moment those words left his lips, it caused a commotion in the arena. The uproar continued without any signs of stopping, and those who were watching the live broadcast from home were also wide-eyed in disbelief.


    What position does this coach from Team Skycrown actually play?!


    He could go solo against the strongest Jungler, Blood Eagle, and also stand his own against a strong ADC like Bai Feng¡ªeven if you scoured the entire country, you wouldn¡¯t be able to find anyone crazier than him!


    At this time, the entire crowd was suddenly captivated by this mysterious player. Having successfully hyped up the crowd, Bao Jun now took the chance to bring their focus back to the game at hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s some other news too, but I¡¯ll let you all know about that in due time. Now, let¡¯s turn our attention to the big screen, both teams have entered into the start.¡±


    As the game entered into the selection screen, the bans from Team Skycrown looked very simple, no one could figure out the meaning or purpose behind them.


    On the other hand, Team Sky¡¯s bans clearly revealed their intentions, as well as the fact that they were involuntarily filled with fear and terror.


    First ban: Graves!


    Second ban: Lee Sin!


    Third ban: Ashe!


    All three bans were champions that Yu Luocheng had not only used before, but displayed some truly spectacular games with!


    In a professional competition, players would normally ban champions that their opponents were good at, champions that were strong in a lineup, and champions that would pose a threat to their own lineup. They would also consider the champion¡¯s utilities¡­


    Team Sky banning the three strongest champions from Yu Luocheng¡¯s public plays clearly showed how unsettled they were by him!


    After all, Yu Luocheng used to be part of Sky Club. Besides the younger members like Birch and Guan Langjie, Vulcan, Xie Yi, and Jupiter all knew the name Fighting Hawk.


    You could say that when Yu Luocheng was already as strong as a dragon, these people had just been starting to learn how to fly. So, the three of them were well aware of how strong Fighting Hawk was.


    Xie Yi didn¡¯t think that it was ridiculous to ban all three of his champions. He knew that if Fighting Hawk was allowed to pick any of his good champions, the match that followed would be their nightmare come to life!


    ¡°Let¡¯s see their picks then. The first one Team Skycrown chose is Ezreal. If I¡¯m not mistaken, this Ezreal will be given to Sky Swan to use, his Mid Ezreal is really amazing.¡±


    During the pick phase, both sides quickly selected their champions without much hesitation. For Team Skycrown, this match was no longer a simple matter of victory or defeat!


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup is a little unique. It¡¯s obviously another duo ADC lineup, as Mid Ezreal has popped up once again. Sadly, Fighting Hawk¡¯s Graves which was on par with Bai Feng¡¯s has been banned. It¡¯s hard to find a combination that is as suitable as Graves and Ezreal.


    ¡°What¡¯s more surprising is that, top lane Lone Gull didn¡¯t pick Jax, his best champion. Instead, he picked a champion that¡¯s rarely seen in competitions¡ªShepherd of Souls, Yorick!¡±


    Yorick!


    Team Skycrown¡¯s choice of champions was confusing everyone. Was it possible that they were going for a resurrection team play, and that their Support would be Zilean?


    ¡°Oh my god, Team Skycrown has really picked The Chronokeeper, Zilean as their Support!¡±


    Zilean!


    Yorick and Zilean¡ªthis was the most classic resurrection lineup in the game!


    You would sometimes come across players who used this combination when playing ranked or normal games. But this was the LPL. A lineup like this one with such little AOE damage and CC would be easily defeated!


    ¡°What is Team Skycrown up to? With Zilean¡¯s revival ulti and Yorick¡¯s corpse reanimating skill, are they trying to summon someone¡¯s soul?¡± said Bao Jun, surprise and confusion clear in his voice.


    The crowd at the venue was once again in an uproar. Team Skycrown always had unexpectedly amazing lineups, but can this resurrection lineup really be used in a top professional league like the LPL?


    With a double resurrection, then their next choice of champion must be their key, because this intention of resurrection means that the core of their team has to be someone who cannot die.


    And this immortal core is¡­


    Ping!


    With a loud sound, Yu Luocheng on the fourth floor has finally picked his champion.


    Everyone knew that whichever champion Yu Luocheng chose would be the key of their entire lineup. So, who did he choose? Who required such a grand resurrection system?


    Bao Jun suddenly burst out, ¡°Vayne!¡±


    The Night Hunter¡ªVayne!


    This champion was loved by countless ADC players within the country, but there were only a handful of players who could use her well.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, the top Vayne player in the country is from Team Skycrown as well. I¡¯m sure everyone watching the LPL has seen him play before.


    Fighting Hawk is currently sitting in for Xiao Bei, and he chose Xiao Bei¡¯s best champion, The Night Hunter, Vayne. Is there perhaps some meaning behind it?¡± said Bao Jun.


    The words that Bao Jun had said without thinking¡ªwhose soul were they trying to summon?


    No matter which champions they chose, nothing could lighten their grief and sorrow, and nothing could convey the feelings they had for Xiao Bei¡­


    Except Vayne!


    Da Luo didn¡¯t choose Jax because he understood that the main protagonist of this match was not him. It was their captain¡ªFighting Hawk¡ªwho had returned to e-sports with anger in his heart!


    ***


    The moment Vayne was locked in, Yu Luocheng¡¯s cold eyes flashed with emotion. When he walked onto the stage, he had already known which champion he was going to choose.


    In Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes, Team Sky¡¯s bans were ridiculous and stupid!


    ***


    Xiao Bei, let me use your favourite Vayne to summon your spirit, and together, we shall fill the Summoner¡¯s Rift with the blood of all those who have sinned against you!

 Chapter 342 - The Worlds Greatest Fighting Hawk!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I¡¯m at a loss of words to describe the choice of lineups that Team Skycrown have decided to wing it with¡­ nonetheless, it¡¯s all been decided¡­¡± the commentator¡ªBao Jun said.


    The ¡°resurrection strategy¡±. Team Skycrown was probably the only team that had ever utilized this strategy in the LPL.


    After enacting the ¡°resurrection strategy¡± via Yorick and Zilean, players would usually opt for another Champion that possessed the ability to auto-resurrect¡ªlike Zac, the Secret Weapon, or Anivia, the Cryophoenix, or Aatrox, the Darkin Blade. On top of that, if they were to don a Guardian Angel¡­


    Team Sky had a powerful and impenetrable line-up on their side. Without any hesitation, Vulcan opted for his Renekton despite having significant disadvantages when faced against Da Luo¡¯s Jax¡­


    Xie Yi, on the other hand, chose Ahri, the Nine-tailed Fox. This Champion possessed extraordinary advantages in terms of versatility, high DPS, and potential in AoE crowd controls.


    As for the rest¡ªthe Jungler, ADC and Support were Kha¡¯Zix, Varus, and Fiddlesticks.


    As soon as the two teams decided on their line-ups, the loading screen kicked in!


    ¡°Well, haven¡¯t I told you that I have some peculiar news that I¡¯d like to share?¡± Bao Jun quickly started speaking.


    Bao Jun always had some materials prepared for him to rile up the crowd. Originally, he had already drafted up a piece about Team Skycrown versus Team Sky to hype the crowd. However, after receiving a certain document from his assistant Ai Ke, Bao Jun knew that there was no need to do anything extra to hype this match at all.


    All he had to do was to reveal a certain person¡¯s identity!


    As the match was starting, there were countless spectators discussing just who this mysterious competitor was to be able to face off with Blood Eagle alone. Bao Jun knew that this was the best time to reveal who that person was; this was the best moment to let slip the news that would shake the entire E-sport industry!


    ¡°I believe everyone who¡¯s watching this game here has played LOL. Yet, E-sports goes way back before LOL. In fact, before LOL was popular, there were other big names like Warcraft 3, Starcraft, DOTA, and Counter-Strike!¡±


    ¡°During the times when these games were more popular than LOL, there was one person who held the title of the greatest E-sports player in our country. Do you know who that was?¡±


    After pausing momentarily, Bao Jun looked straight at the screen before him, exactly at the moment when the camera was pointing at Yu Luocheng.


    No matter how mature he had grown, that burning passion that was ravaging his eyes could never be appeased!


    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you¡­ the World¡¯s Greatest¡­ Fighting Hawk! Yes, the very same Fighting Hawk who had retired two and a half years ago!¡±


    ¡°International E-sports Top Players. Indeed, this is what we call them in the E-sports media. Now, everyone! Tell me, who are the Top players that are well-known in the LOL community? Who do you think could be considered as international top players amongst the competitors in the LPL?¡±


    Bao Jun¡¯s question sent his audience into deep trails of thoughts.


    ¡°I suppose Ancient Dust is a top player. He¡¯s quite famous in the North American server.¡±


    ¡°Bai Feng is also a player there and he¡¯s even more famous than that whatever Dust.¡±


    ¡°What about Asmodai? He is a top player.¡±


    Ancient Dust, Forgetful Laughter, Asmodai, Bai Feng, Hao Yue, Charon, Xie Yi, Skygazer¡­


    In a short time, countless top players¡¯ names were brought up. These were all famous accomplished players within China. Their achievements were so outstanding that no other regular players could outdo them!


    Looking at his audience¡¯s confused faces, Bao Jun beamed widely as he slowly replied to them, ¡°To become an international top player, one would need to win an ¡°Honor¡± in a certain international competition, be it a ¡°Teamwork Honor¡± or a ¡°Solo Honor¡­¡±


    ¡°Yet, there are only two players from the LPL who have ever won these Honors!¡±


    The audience present were stunned upon hearing Bao Jun¡¯s words.


    Two?


    There were so many OP, god-like players in the LPL, and yet, there were only two people who had ever won the international ¡°Honor¡±?


    This¡­ this couldn¡¯t be! These players were so skillful too! And yet it was not enough for them to become international champions!?


    ¡°The first person was the captain of Team Daemon¡ªHades. He was the top player who posed the greatest threat to the others in the S International League back then.¡±


    ¡°The other was the captain of Team Sky, Blood Eagle. He was the greatest Jungler in the S International League. Although this may seem like a small achievement, it was enough for him to be considered an international Honor bearer. Blood Eagle was already a seasoned international E-sports player before LPL was a thing. His team¡ªTeam Sky was once an unstoppable force that defeated every single E-sports player in the country and advanced toward the international level, becoming the runner-up in the S International League! Sky Club is now called the top E-sports club because of this runner-up cup standing tall in their lobby!¡±


    Blood Eagle¡ªZhao Tinghua was already a shining superstar the moment he stepped into the world of LOL. Due to the media giving him the superstar treatment when reporting his runner-up achievement in the international league, this directly led to Team Sky becoming known as the top team in E-sports despite not having won the first place.


    However, no matter how strong or how hardworking the various teams in LPL were, when they stepped into the international league, they would always be wiped out in the play-offs. No one had ever gotten to the top¡ªTeam Sky had never gotten there¡­ Team Daemon had never gotten there¡­


    ¡°I suppose everyone here already knows just who Blood Eagle is, and you would also know that he was a DOTA champion back then. However, did you know who the captain of Team Sky was back then? The Team Sky that marched into the international league and acquired the greatest honor that we had ever seen?¡±


    Bao Jun¡¯s voice was trembling with excitement as he spoke.


    ¡­


    ¡°What the heck? Blood Eagle was not the captain back then?¡±


    ¡°No way! Blood Eagle was not the captain? Then who was the captain? Who else possesses the skill and competence to be that team¡¯s captain?¡±


    ¡°No way¡­ is he saying that¡­ that runner-up team¡¯s captain was that guy over there¡­¡±


    ¡°Holy fuck! That¡¯s so wicked!¡±


    The crowd went wild!


    ¡­


    Not many knew who were the top players in E-sports inside China. Thus, Ai Ke needed commentators like Bao Jun to let slip these informations to the public, and this was the best timing to announce such information.


    In the meantime, a slight twitch could be seen on the owner of Sky Club, Xu Pingyang¡¯s face.


    He had spent so much effort in making the world focus on the ¡°runner-up prestigious top player Blood Eagle¡±. He had even done some manipulations behind the scenes to avoid the world from knowing that the team had ever had a ¡°Fighting Hawk¡±¡ªall to stop Luocheng from using his achievement in the past to promote this new team he was with, and to also stop the news of him scamming the teens in the past from being publicized.


    Yet now, this cursed Bao Jun had announced all of this live on air in a matter of minutes!


    Come on! He was just a retired player, there was no need to mention this at all. Was he out of his mind!?


    ¡­


    ¡°Yes indeed. The captain of Team Sky, the S International League runner-up team, was this player over here!¡±


    ¡°Blood Eagle and Hades were just international Honor bearers, yet, the one you are looking at over here is the World¡¯s Greatest! The only one who was acknowledged to be the Top Player by the International E-sports Federation!¡±


    If one were to ask ¡°who is the Top One E-sport player in China¡±, most would say it was Team Daemon¡¯s Hades without hesitation!


    Yet, Hades had never dared to call himself that. He knew that all his achievements were nothing on the international level. He knew his achievements were dwarfed by Fighting Hawk Yu Luocheng¡¯s by miles!


    He was the one. The only one!


    Without having gone through the bloody and painful road of competing in E-sports, not many knew just how difficult this path of life was. The glory of countless champions many saw today were built on the countless players whose dreams were wrecked!


    Bao Jun and the LPL organizer, Ai Ke, knew this very well.


    This was an E-sport Emperor who had returned and was continuing to fight for his dreams in E-sports after having been utterly crushed and defeated. This man deserved the highest level of respect from everyone in the E-sports industry and communities!


    Ai Ke was not going to retract the restrictions that were imposed in the LPL earlier. No league would go against the rules that it had set for itself. Of course, he would not be allowing Team Skycrown, who had broken the rules, to return to the LPL too. Yet, he hoped that this team who had the real deal inside would utilize their persistence to carry on fighting and climbing upward, all the way toward the international level and reach its summit.


    For now, all he could do was to help Luocheng recover the honor that was originally his in front of this league¡ªone with 5000 spectators and over tens of thousands of audience on the livestream.


    This honor was his! No one had the right to take it away from him!


    Of course, that was all in the past.


    Now, show us! Show us, Fighting Hawk!


    Prove to everyone here that you¡¯ve still got it in you. Prove to everyone that you could still be an international legend again in this new field that you¡¯re stepping into, starting from this match!


    ¡­


    ¡°Without Blood Eagle, Team Sky has only about 20 points in its average competence. Looking at how he could take on Bai Feng, his skills are probably three times stronger than Guan Langjie¡¯s. Even after considering the fact that he needed to support the much weaker Wu Sen on the field, the team-up of Fighting Hawk and Wu Sen would still be much more powerful than Team Sky¡¯s by 2 points.¡± Aijing, who was as obsessed with statistics as ever, mumbled to herself.


    Excitement was running wild in Aijing¡¯s mind¡ªthis was the first time where she would get to witness a real World-class players¡¯ match.


    Even though the Honor that he acquired had been for DOTA back then, Aijing was confident that Luocheng would still be able to become a new legend in LOL!


    Oooh, she was most excited indeed!

 Chapter 343 - First Blood

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    And the match began!


    Luocheng had never felt such a blood-boiling excitement after hearing the ¡°30 seconds until minions spawn¡± in the longest time he played LOL.


    Crush them! Yes, crush them!


    To him, this was not ¡°just a game¡± anymore. This game had filled him with so much passion and rage!


    Now, all that Luocheng could see and all that he cared for, was the screen. He was not controlling the Champion as an LOL player. No. His spirit and soul were already becoming one with his Champion.


    ¡­


    ¡°Watch out, he¡¯s strong.¡± Jupiter warned Guan Langjie.


    ¡°Who the hell is this guy?¡± Langjie asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s essentially the founder of our Sky Club. That runner-up cup that you see in our lobby? He¡¯s the one who acquired it. Well, that was a DOTA cup though¡­¡± Jupiter replied in a stern voice.


    ¡°DOTA? Heh, so it¡¯s not LOL then. Give me a break, man. There are many players who came from DOTA but they are still squashed by us, the LOL newcomers. Come on, Championships in E-sports are short-lived, alright? The so called ¡®seasoned players¡¯ are nothing but wimps who get weaker by the day!¡± Langjie retorted with a smirk.


    Jupiter frowned as he looked at the confident, cocky Langjie.


    This kid had never been through the older bloodier days of E-sports. He would never understand just how much of a formidable foe Fighting Hawk was. Even now, when facing Luocheng head on, Jupiter could still feel every single nerve in his body tensing up.


    Perhaps it was better for Langjie to not understand this foe¡¯s capabilities as it would save him from all the stress that Jupiter was experiencing now.


    ¡­


    Entering the field, Langjie took a glance at the ADC, Vayne, that was creep scoring, before letting out a scoff.


    It was not easy to get the upper-hand on the bottom lane, even more so, this ADC that was carrying a Flash and Barrier would be even harder to kill.


    However, it was still a Vayne after all, and she had the usual skills and techniques that ranged up to 550. His Varus, the Arrow of Retribution, had 30 points more range than Vayne, there was no way he could lose!


    Nothing much happened at the top lane, and the middle and the bottom lane were also quite peaceful for now. After hearing Bao Jun¡¯s mention of Luocheng¡¯s past, everyone at the scene was expecting a jaw-dropping performance.


    Contrary to their expectations, all he was doing at the moment was creep scoring.


    There was no murderous intent or aura that one would feel from watching top players at war on the field. Instead, it felt as though this was just a normal match. Slow but gradual growth as he took his time to creep score, with the aid of two supports, while Zilean and Fiddlesticks hurled attacks at one another in an attempt to deplete their opponent¡¯s HP.


    This went on for 8 minutes and no champion was slain. Everyone had thought that this was going to be a fierce battle, and yet, the match was so peaceful that it felt a little unbearable.


    10 minutes had passed by and still, no champion was slain. The bottom lane, which was the usual conflict-ridden area, was also very peaceful.


    ¡°Now as we can see here, Vayne has gotten herself a Blade of the Ruined King. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she¡¯d have two Lifesteals. Even if her first equipment was nothing but a sword, Vayne would still be able to hold on her own. Acquiring a Blade of the Ruined King in 10 minutes without slaying any Champion, this was indeed the fastest one could do. Of course, he¡¯d need to slay a few Krugs first, otherwise, his pockets would be a little too light.¡±


    A Blade of the Ruined King in 10 minutes. Luocheng did not even get a pair of boots yet, just that blue-ish Blade of the Ruined King sitting there serenely in his first slot!


    Indeed, Vayne would need some time to grow. However, after acquiring the Blade of the Ruined King, he quickly changed his strategy!


    Luocheng did not want to waste too much time getting the other equipment, and after acquiring the weapon he needed, he quickly went on a killing spree!


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    Vayne¡¯s bow quickly turned to silver as its string vibrated out a sound. As the holy silver energy charged up into the arrows, blinding lights started to rain outward!


    In the meantime, Wu Sen pressed the E key and activated Zilean¡¯s Time Warp!


    This would grant his allies a boost of 55% movement speed. Receiving the effects of the boost, Vayne quickly zipped out of her enemies line of sight, her cape flapping against the wind!


    Langjie had only just farmed a wave of minions before realizing that Vayne was charging toward him at a blinding speed with her bow and Silver Bolts!


    With no hesitation, Luocheng pressed the F key!


    He knew that as soon as his arrow was launched, Fiddlesticks would inflict ¡°Terror¡± upon his Vayne!


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t the Fiddlesticks terrified Vayne yet? Is his skill still on cooldown?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no! That¡¯s not it! It¡¯s been cleansed in an instant! Luocheng reacted so quickly that he had Vayne cleansed of the debuff before it could even be seen on her head!¡±


    Excitement could be heard from Bao Jun¡¯s commentary!


    This attack was so quick and sudden that everyone was astounded!


    Just a few moments ago, the match had been very peaceful and devoid of conflicts, and yet now, just one Blade of the Ruined King was enough to stir up a storm of bloodshed!


    Everyone had seen Vayne activate the Summoner spell ¡°Cleanse¡±, but they did not get to see the exact moment of its activation. They¡¯d thought that it had already been activated prior to her charging in, but they had all gotten it wrong ¡ª it had been activated sheer seconds before the ¡°Terrified¡± icon could appear above Vayne¡¯s head!


    ¡°D*mn, this had to have been controlled not via his hands and fingers, but by his will! If one were to react with Cleanse the moment the enemy inflicts Terror on them, ordinary folk would require at least 0.5 seconds to react and then another few seconds to press the keys. Yet, pressing the key to activate Cleanse in under 0.2 seconds? He surely must have done that through his will alone and activated Cleanse at the very moment Fiddlesticks opened his arms!¡± Bao Jun continued on with his professional commentary.


    Usually, every instant-click or instant-reaction was done when one knew what to expect. Many players only knew how to cast skills and their ultimates followed up by ravaging whatever was in front of them. They would never consider what skills their opponents possessed that could destroy them. Thus, if one were to predict his foes counter-attacks, one could then turn the tables in mere seconds!


    A support like Fiddlesticks had only one crowd-control skill ¡ª ¡°Terror¡±. That 1.2 seconds of Silence was not going to affect Luocheng in any way.


    Hence, the next thing he needed to consider was Fiddlesticks¡¯ weakness!


    Jupiter was definitely not going to Exhaust Vayne when she still had 3 seconds of Cleanse effect left on her.


    ¡°Cleanse¡± could strip away any de-buff that was inflicting a champion in an instant. In other words, that 3 seconds of Cleanse could decrease any de-buff¡¯s effectiveness in the following short moments, and so, Fiddlesticks¡¯ Silence and Exhaust wouldn¡¯t be doing much on Vayne.


    Jupiter did not panic though, all he needed to do was wait out that 3 seconds. The moment the 3 seconds had passed, he could then hurl his Exhaust on Vayne!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    In an instant, the bolt of the devil darted out of Vayne¡¯s silver crossbow and Condemned Jupiter!


    ¡°THUD!¡±


    Fiddlesticks¡¯ body was pinned to the stone wall, unable to move a muscle, and his Exhaust was still not ready to be launched yet. Jupiter¡¯s eyes widened as the scene played out before him, he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes!


    In order to protect Varus, Fiddlesticks had unwittingly stood at a location where his back was facing right at a wall. More importantly, Jupiter hadn¡¯t thought that Fighting Hawk would anticipate his every move as well!


    His Terror had been instantly cleansed, and now, just when he was about to Exhaust her, he was now pinned to the wall instead!


    Not only that, Jupiter was even more surprised by the fact that Luocheng had actually not been aiming for Varus ¡ª he had been targeting the Support, Fiddlesticks!


    Every Support that got pinned to a wall by Vayne could be slain fairly easily in a few series of skill combos. 1.5 seconds of stun! Vayne quickly cast her ultimate in order to ravage the poor Fiddlesticks!


    All that Langjie, who was nearby, could do, was to just stand there and watch as his Support was pinned and wasted by Vayne. 2.5 seconds of Exhaust, he was not able to undo this with his barrier!


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you get too content just yet!¡±


    Overwhelmed by anger, Langjie aimed at Vayne and hit his R key!


    Chain of Corruption!


    A long black tendril flew out of Varus¡¯ Arrow of Retribution and flew straight toward Luocheng!


    However, Luocheng¡¯s finger had already been standing by on the Q key, awaiting for the moment that Varus¡¯ bow would turn black!


    Tumble!


    The quick agile evasion won a round of raving applause from the spectators!


    Varus¡¯ ultimate darted past Vayne¡¯s cape with a piercing sound of wind!


    Alas, the Chain of Corruption was unable to bind the Night Hunter.


    ¡°What a moron!¡±


    Luocheng ignored Varus and continued with his attacks on Fiddlesticks.


    Fiddlesticks quickly hurled Exhaust at Vayne, trying to flash away. However, this was all anticipated by Luocheng, and as he was attacking, he quickly glided to the rear of his enemy. By doing so, Vayne could utilize her agile movement to block the enemy¡¯s escape route, and she did not even need to use her Flash to do it!


    First Blood!


    Finally!


    First Blood after a long, calm, 10 minutes!


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Langjie let out a curse as he vehemently pursued Vayne.


    Luocheng was not scared of Langjie at all, quickly moving toward the bushes as he pointed Vayne¡¯s crossbow at Varus.


    As soon as Vayne disappeared into the bushes, a silver bolt darted straight toward Varus, enraging Langjie greatly.


    Oh, he¡¯d attack me at this time? It¡¯s your death wish!


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    Suddenly, the Blade of the Ruined King was activated, and Varus¡¯ HP dropped rapidly as Vayne¡¯s HP was recovered.


    Then, right after he rolled out of the bushes with Tumble, Luocheng quickly moved downward and away from his hiding spot. Overwhelmed by shame and anger, Langjie quickly Flashed toward his foe!


    ¡°FLASH!¡±


    In a split second, Luocheng also activated the same spell, flashing into another row of bushes and out of Varus¡¯ sight!


    Langjie was not about to give up, even with the little HP he had left, he continued to chase down his target! Seeing the pursuing Varus, Luocheng¡¯s lips curved up into a smirk.


    Luocheng could still remember that Xiao Bei had utilized the bushes to block the enemies sight four times consecutively. He had played his foes like a fiddle before slaying them ¡ª it was like a work of art!


    Thus, Luocheng too, wanted to re-enact this very same play!


    Even if he had just a drop of HP left, it was all he needed to slay Varus!

 Chapter 344 - LPL’s Sword of the Occult

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The art of fog-of-war!


    The two most important areas¡ªanticipating the opponent¡¯s reactions and response time as well as the amount of time the said opponent would take to recover from the shock!


    After losing sight of the target, one would need to control his Champion to lock onto a new target via mouse-clicking. No matter what the attack speed of the Champion was, the player would still need to do that manual click before anything could happen.


    Anticipating the amount of time of the opponent recovering from shock and starting to move his mouse, followed by quickly moving the Champion out of the opponent¡¯s sight within that short window of time.


    This would result in the art of fog-of-war!


    Langjie quickly pursued the Vayne, heading toward the bushes, wanting to end Luocheng.


    Indeed, pressing the A key could quickly lock-on the player¡¯s target. Yet, pressing the A key at this time was not the right move, for this technique had a crucial and deadly weakness.


    Wu Sen was good at what he did, and when Luocheng stepped into the bushes, Wu Sen quickly dropped a Ward near him. Thus, if Langjie were to use the A key to zip into the bushes, his attack would then surely land on the Ward!


    Langjie was an LPL-ranked ADC¡ªthere was no way he would make such a mistake. His mouse was on stand-by all the time, preparing to attack Luocheng manually when the chance arose!


    As he stepped into the bushes, suddenly, he heard a cry from Vayne!


    Quickly Tumbling into sight, Vayne evaded Varus¡¯s Arrow of Retribution and then stood at the edge of the bushes. Right after firing a bolt, she then hid quickly within those bushes.


    Langjie had seen where Vayne was, and he quickly clicked his mouse to move forward and attack her.


    Alas,just as he was about to strike, Vayne disappeared into thin air!


    Target lost!


    Varus thus had to keep on pursuing her into the bushes, however, as he entered the bushes, he saw Vayne, the Night Hunter, slowly walking past him!


    After a short pause, Langjie quickly clicked on Luocheng¡¯s Vayne but was foiled yet again as the Chronokeeper, Zilean, had flung a Time Warp at Vayne, enabling her to swiftly zip into another bush.


    Langjie was quick in his reaction, but it wasn¡¯t quick enough. Furious at what had just happened, Langjie hastily pursued his target. Seeing that his Chain of Corruption¡¯s cooldown was over, he quickly pressed the E key and hurled a glob of black venom toward the bushes.


    Chain of Corruption could deal area-damage, so in other words, it didn¡¯t matter where exactly Vayne was hiding within the bushes, his attack would surely land on her!


    However, as Langjie lifted his finger off the E key, he noticed that Vayne had quickly moved horizontally toward the creeps, evading his skill! Zilean¡¯s Time Warp had raised Vayne¡¯s movement speed earlier, enabling her to zip away from Varus¡¯s Chain of Corruption easily.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Another bolt was fired from Vayne¡¯s crossbow, depleting more of Varus¡¯s HP!


    As Langjie paused momentarily due to the shock, a Time Bomb detonated above Varus¡¯s head!


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Langjie¡¯s last drop of HP was wiped clean as the Time Bomb exploded. In the end, he had not been able to slay Luocheng and his face turned grim immediately.


    3 seconds! He hadn¡¯t been able to land a single click on Vayne even in that 3-second time frame!


    And the result? He was slain!


    Losing his target and pursuing it only to have it zip out of sight again. What about throwing a calculated attack? Vayne was able to evade it with some strange movements, and when he was finally able to drop the kill-shot, the opponent¡¯s support had thrown a fatal attack on him.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have pursued him.¡± Jupiter frowned.


    Langjie looked at the mono-colored screen in front of him silently. His face looked so grim that one would have thought that he had just devoured countless stinking flies.


    ¡­


    ¡°Toying around with the fog-of-war! How incredible! One can only witness this brilliant technique in the LPL! Team Skycrown¡¯s Vayne only had one drop of HP left and yet, she didn¡¯t die. She completely toyed her opponent to death like a cat toying with a dying mouse!¡± Bao Jun excitedly exclaimed into his microphone.


    To toy with the opponent using the fog-of-war took skill and also required perfect timing and believable fake-fleeing. You would need to flee toward just one direction, leaving a lot of openings for attacks. Yet, as soon as you entered the bush, you would need to stand completely still, waiting for your opponent to appear, and then, flee toward another direction. By doing this, one could perform this exciting fog-of-war play by zipping back-and-forth between the bushes!


    However, there weren¡¯t many people who could disappear into the bushes 4 times consecutively. Even Luocheng himself had only seen it happen once. which was when Xiao Bei had taken on Lin Siyong during that fight against the Fudan University team.


    This time, the most that Luocheng could do was ¡°disappear¡± 3 times. He was not as skillful as Xiao Bei was in mastering this technique, and if it weren¡¯t for Wu Sen¡¯s Time Bomb, he would have been slain earlier.


    ¡­


    Two players were down in just minutes. The crowd was going wild!


    The art of instant-kill, the art of fog-of-war! Just how many times could one witness these skills? And in the same match too!


    ¡°After the First Blood and assist-kill from his Support, Vayne can surely bag herself a Berserker Greaves now. After the cooldown of her Ultimate skill and Blade of the Ruined King is over, she can then head out and resume her killing spree!¡± Bao Jun keenly deduced.


    Sure enough, the spectators could see as the camera focused on Vayne recalling back to her base to purchase equipments.


    After that short moment of her killing-spree, Vaybe had grown a lot and earned herself quite a bit of dough in her purse. Perhaps she could buy herself a Zeal or something¡­


    ¡°Hmm? Vayne¡¯s bought¡­ Wow, what on earth is the Fighting Hawk thinking!¡± Bao Jun sounded surprised.


    In the LPL, every player would carefully calculate their moves, and yet sometimes, some players would gamble like the devil. However, unless the player could acquire some specific champions, doing this was equivalent to committing suicide in the match.


    Bao Jun was a high-ranking player himself and he had also been commentating in countless tournaments and leagues. He had seen Kassadin, Katarina, and Lux, turning the tables by using a Mejai¡¯s.


    However, this was also due to Mejai¡¯s being suitable for these Champions.


    Fighting Hawk on the other hand was an ADC, so why the heck had he bought a Sword of the Occult!?


    Sword of the Occult!


    Thousands of spectators and hundreds of thousands of live-stream viewers could see very clearly that Luocheng had bought himself a Sword of the Occult!


    Not many would dare to purchase this equipment when they were competing in a ranking match, and of course, this applied to this nation-wide league!


    No one had ever acquired a Sword of the Occult in the LPL ever!


    Just one Blade of the Ruined King and a Sword of the Occult! Nothing else!


    No one could believe their eyes and they looked at Vayne carrying these two items with her.


    He had managed to slay two opponents in the first 10 minutes of the match, a match of a professional league. Why the hell would he get a Sword of the Occult!


    LPL matches were known to be intense¡ªsometimes, a match could go on for over 20 minutes and still the total kill counts on either team would be locked at below 10.


    How could a Sword of the Occult help in a match like this!?


    Spending over 1000 gold to buy a weapon that would only add a mere 10 damage was almost equal to forfeiting the advantages that he had acquired from slaying the two opponents earlier!


    He would need to continue slaying enemies to compensate for this loss, and if he were to be slain once, all this gold would then be wasted. Wasted! There was no room for error in the LPL.


    This dude had to be nuts!


    ¡­


    ¡°Sword of the Occult. Sword of the Occult! Just who does he think I am!¡± Langjie from Team Sky was pissed.


    All the gold that he had gotten from slaying him had been used for a Sword of the Occult? So, this Fighting Hawk thought that he was an easy kill!?


    What a joke! This was the LPL, the highest level of E-sport within the nation. Equipping himself with this pathetic weapon was equivalent to a death wish.


    Langjie was furious indeed.


    Just who did this Fighting Hawk think he was.


    This was LOL, not DOTA.


    So, he thought that he was unbeatable, huh!?


    ¡­


    Luocheng¡¯s Vayne had been able to acquire a major advantage after buying the Blade of the Ruined King. Now, after getting her hands on a Sword of the Occult, this Vayne had totally shrouded herself in vapours of killing intent!


    Why? She had totally forfeited creep scoring, going straight for the Champions!


    Whenever she saw Varus and Fiddlesticks, she would rush at them without hesitation. With the innately higher movement speed and Zilean¡¯s Time Warp, Vayne was indeed able to zip around as much as she wanted!


    ¡°Reckless! How reckless! Rushing at his opponent like this, Fiddlesticks could easily cast his Terror and then use his Ultimate Skill¡­ Vayne could be annihilated in an instant!¡± Bao Jun shouted into his mic.


    Vayne, as though she had lost her mind, rushed straight at the enemies when all their skills were not in cooldown.


    As expected, Fiddlesticks cast Terror on her while Varus launched his Ultimate Skill. Vayne dropped dead almost instantly as her HP was quickly drained to zero, But as her corpse was kneeling in place, life started brimming in her again!


    Chronoshift!


    Wu Sen had been able to cast his Ultimate Skill at Luocheng when the latter had rushed toward his enemies. In a matter of seconds, Vayne was now alive and kicking again!


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The sounds of Vayne¡¯s crossbow stretching out echoed in the Summoner¡¯s Rift!


    Tumble!


    As soon as Vayne had risen from the dead, she quickly Tumbled away and hid herself in stealth mode. When she reappeared again, a bolt darted out like a strike of lightning and hit Varus, sending him flying backward, pinning him to the wall nearby!


    Langjie had already been very mindful of where he stood, and yet, Luocheng was able to pin him like this.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped though. Vayne had been recently resurrected, thus, they would need to standby near her corpse or else she would flee away. But he hadn¡¯t expected Vayne to Tumble away and Condemn his Varus like that!


    ¡­


    700 HP after resurrection.


    With this much HP left and all her skills exhausted, Vayne was basically just a long-ranged creep to Fiddlesticks.

 Chapter 345 - They’re Here for Blood! Not Towers!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    During that 1.5 seconds of Varus being pinned to the wall, Vayne had utilized that time to deplete half of his health!


    ¡°Oh, Varus is going to die again¡­ how savage! First, Luocheng exchanged blows with his opponent in order to deplete each other¡¯s health. Then, he rushed in to force the opponents to utilize all of their skills, and immediately after that, boom! Resurrection! His opponent could not have expected that. Then, he¡¯d continued by triggering his Ultimate Skill to take out his enemies. Brilliant!¡± Bao Jun¡¯s exciting comments were fired out like a Gatling Gun in full auto mode!


    As soon as he had finished his comment, a huge mantis arrived from the sky!


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Team Sky¡¯s Jungler, Birch! Birch has noticed that there¡¯s some conflict on this part of the map and has come to aid his teammates. Oh, he¡¯s sharp!¡±


    As everyone was watching in excitement, expecting to witness Vayne slay Varus again, Team Sky¡¯s Jungler stormed out and dashed straight at Vayne!


    Langjie smirked, ¡°Heh, now let¡¯s see how that Sword of the Occult can save you now!¡±


    In a massive blow, about 200 points of Vayne¡¯s health was shaved off by Kha¡¯zix!


    However, Luocheng was as calm as ever. First, a quick dash to the upper right direction, and then he pointed his crossbow at Varus.


    One mouse click!


    One bolt was shot.


    Then another!


    After that, a quick Tumble in the reverse direction from where he came, straight to Kha¡¯zix¡¯s back.


    Kha¡¯zix had already been moving toward the direction where he thought Vayne would have fled toward, trying to slay her before she got away. Yet, he had never expected her to suddenly appear behind him!


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Zilean¡¯s Time Bomb detonated in the nick of time!


    At the same time, Vayne¡¯s Silver Bolt was shot!


    But there was still some health left.


    Fine.


    Vayne quickly activated his Blade of the Ruined King!


    Langjie had anticipated that he would die before the Vayne did, but he hadn¡¯t thought that a Time Bomb and a mix of Tumble and Silver Bolts would have been able to take away all of his health!


    And that wasn¡¯t all. What was even more infuriating was that due to the movement speed buff from the Blade of the Ruined King, Vayne was able to move toward the river and put a great distance between herself and Kha¡¯zix!


    Kha¡¯zix did not have any skill that could catch up to Vayne, and all he could do was crawl slowly to pursue her.


    After recovering 300 health by utilizing her Blade of the Ruined King, Luocheng didn¡¯t take the chance to flee.


    No. He continued to kite Kha¡¯zix with the rest of the skills that he still had under his sleeves.


    Bao Jun couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. His mouth was open so wide that it formed a huge ¡°O¡± shape!


    How gutsy! This was like pulling the fangs from a lunging tiger!


    Yet, it was not fang-pulling that he was trying to achieve here.


    He was trying to slay the tiger!Read the next chapter on our novelhall.com


    ¡­


    Birch decisively used his Flash almost immediately, vowing to slay Luocheng quickly!


    Unfortunately for him, Zilean had thrown a Time Warp at Birch¡¯s Kha¡¯zix, slowing down his movement speed, hence, the Flash had only inflicted a Q key damage at Vayne and nothing else.


    Seemingly unphased, Birch waited for his chance to use his W-skill, Void Spike. With this skill, Kha¡¯zix could definitely defeat Vayne, the Night Hunter right away.


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes were locked onto Kha¡¯zix, not blinking at all.


    Every Champion would show some tell-tale sign before releasing their skills or attacks, like Kha¡¯zix¡¯s Void Spikes.


    As soon as Kha¡¯zix raised its claws, Luocheng swiftly pressed his Q key!


    Every quick-key pressing required a pre-emptive cognition which was basically observing the opponents and anticipating their next moves. When one put his full attention into evading the attacks, it was quite easy to demonstrate a beautiful performance of evasion, strolling past his opponents.


    Varus¡¯s Chain of Corruption and Kha¡¯zix¡¯s Void Spikes were not skills that possessed homing capabilities. In other words, as long as the player put all of his attention and prepared the necessary skills, Vayne could utilize her Tumble to evade those skills easily.


    Dark blue spikes darted from Kha¡¯zix¡¯s claws, tearing the air asunder!


    Seeing the spikes closing in on their target, Vayne, Birch looked at her health and smirked. With that tiny bit of health left, his skill would be able to slay her in one go. His confidence bursting, Birch immediately turned and moved the other way right after releasing his Void Spikes. His Leap skill¡¯s cooldown was almost over, so he decided to turn his attention toward his next prey, Zilean, the Chronokeeper!


    In those sheer milliseconds, everything seemed to have slowed down in Luocheng¡¯s eyes. To him, it was as if the screen had vanished and he was now inside the game. All he could see were the sharp air-cutting spikes that were darting toward his face!


    Tumble!


    ¡­


    On the huge screen, every spectator held their breaths as they watched the Void Spikes fly forth to pierce through Vayne.


    Suddenly, Vayne quickly rolled away and evaded the spikes, as though they had whizzed past her by mere millimetres. It felt as though the air-cutting spikes had grazed her as they sped on by.


    She had evaded it!


    The crowd couldn¡¯t believe their eyes! Luocheng was able to evade the attack within such a close range. How incredible!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Bolts were fired from Vayne¡¯s crossbow and landed on Kha¡¯zix. Turning back to face her, Kha¡¯zix could barely believe that this Vayne was still alive. Enraged, he quickly dashed toward her!


    ¡°Slash!¡±


    Suddenly, a barrage of yellow projectiles rained toward Kha¡¯zix from across the river.


    Kha¡¯zix¡¯s health had already been halved earlier, and now, Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal had taken away another third of his health with his Trueshot Barrage!


    Birch was shocked as he stared at his health.


    Out of the blue, a bolt landed on him!


    He quickly backed away but was hit by yet another Bolt. Birch frantically pressed his Q key, wanting to slay Vayne while he still had the chance.


    Alas, there came the third bolt, and his health was all but depleted.


    ¡°Double Kill!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°What a brilliant performance! Utilizing Vayne¡¯s advantage in her agility, he was able to evade his opponent¡¯s attacks while kiting and depleting his health. Then, with the aid of Ezreal from the middle lane, Vayne was able to slay two Champions in such a short time!¡± Bao Jun exclaimed.


    ¡°Oh, and I almost forgot, Vayne had gotten herself a Sword of the Occult earlier. These two kills have probably stacked by 4 now!¡±


    A Sword of the Occult that had 4 stacks¡­ That meant that this equipment would now grant Vayne a whopping damage of 1200, it was no longer considered a dead weight!


    Two kills. This also meant that Team Skycrown had acquired more gold from this and Luocheng quickly headed back to base and purchased his boots.


    Then, he did something that once again left everyone baffled ¨C Instead of returning to his bottom lane, Luocheng decided to head to the top lane.


    Did that mean he wanted to change lanes? Everyone was puzzled by this.


    As Luocheng activated his skills and rushed toward Renekton, the crowd then understood what she was trying to do.


    Vayne wasn¡¯t changing lanes, she was hunting down champions!


    Upon coming out from behind the tower, Vayne quickly Tumbled and turned invisible. Sheer moments later, she briefly attacked a creep with her auto attack before Tumbling away again.


    In no time, she was able to appear right in front of Renekton who was unaware of what was coming!


    ¡°F*ck me! How did she get here!?¡± Vulcan let out a loud curse.


    Vulcan¡¯s Renekton had been growing well by creep scoring. The crocodile had been able to force Yorick squirming back within the towers ¨C a payback for Da Luo defeating him with Jax before this.


    However, just as the joy of revenge was sizzling in his mind, a Final Hour activating Vayne had appeared right in front of him!


    It was not unheard of to have a Jungler suddenly appearing every now and then. Yet, this was no Jungler, instead, this was the ADC that was on a killing spree at the bottom lane. What the heck!?


    In most cases, if you were to see a Vayne running out of her lane and appearing in front of you¡­ that meant that you were dead!


    The top lane was a wide and long area. With Vayne activating her Ultimate Skill, she was no different than a fierce panther, and she could easily catch up to any prey that she laid her eyes on!


    Sure enough, the Blade of Ruined King touched her prey, slowing down his movement speed.


    Yorick then hurled another debuff, further slowing Renekton down. By now, it didn¡¯t matter if Vulcan used his Flash to escape his pursuers. All he could do was stare at his depleting health.


    Each attack was brutal, and his health was drained out bit by bit. It did not matter how big his health pool was, nor how sturdy his equipment was.


    Then came the moment when Renekton fell, and Vulcan was both angered and dismayed when he saw this.


    That wasn¡¯t how you played ADC! Who told you that you could leave your post at the bottom lane and come up here to gank me!?


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m just speechless. Vayne¡¯s timing in ganking Renekton was impeccable. It was all done at the same time a new wave of creeps came pushing in too. Renekton has good equipment and if he were to utilize his Ultimate Skill, not even the Jungler could take him down in such a short time. Heck, if that happened, the conflict would possibly result in the Jungler losing his life too, and yet, Vayne came rushing in with her Final Hour. Whoa, I suppose there¡¯s nothing Renekton could do other than feed her!¡± Bao Jun concluded after a long pause.


    Vayne really was formidable with her Blade of the Ruined King and it was true that she could now take on anyone. However, leaving her own lane and heading straight to the top lane to gank the Top over there? That was unheard of in the LPL.


    Nonetheless, that was what you ought to do if you wanted to win ¨C to strike when the enemies least expect it.


    If the Jungler were to gank Renekton, Vulcan wouldn¡¯t have been slain so easily as he had been playing the role of Top for such a long time.


    Team Sky had sharp minds on their side too, and after seeing Vayne¡¯s ganking, the remaining four decided to team up to take on the Dragon.


    ¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s take out the top lane towers. We¡¯ll gain the upper hand that way.¡± Da Luo suggested to Luocheng.


    Luocheng looked at the lower right side of the map and replied, ¡°Ignore the towers. Kill them!¡±


    Hearing this, Da Luo opened his mouth intending to refute this decision, but then he shut his mouth, not saying a word.


    Indeed, what good was it for them to take down the towers?


    They were not here to win the game.


    No.


    They were here for blood!


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go then!¡± Da Luo¡¯s eyes were shining as he recalled how Luocheng had led them in overpowering the Koreans.


    That had been such a memorable event!


    Indeed, they were not here to win the game, they were only here to slay their opponents!


    To them, this was not a game. It was war!


    ¡­


    Vayne¡¯s Sword of the Occult had now acquired 6 stacks on it. Wielding it, Vayne zipped through the map shrouded in thick fumes of murderous intent as Team Sky was facing off Zhou Yan, Lin Dong and Wu Sen.


    Seeing Vayne was on her way, coming for them, Team Sky didn¡¯t hesitate anymore ¨C they went straight to the Dragon.


    ¡°Now!¡± Luocheng ordered Zhou Yan.


    Zhou Yan nodded and pressed his E and Q keys, rushing straight into the crowd!


    Dragon? Hah! Zhou Yan¡¯s Jarvan IV didn¡¯t even waste a glance on the majestic beast. After storming straight at his opponents, Zhou Yan quickly activated his Ultimate Skill ¨C Cataclysm and trapped his enemies in the impassable terrain that it created.


    Then, a Flash!


    Team Sky was now ensnared inside an inescapable cage, waiting for Vayne to come and reap their souls!


    Yes, indeed. She wasn¡¯t here for the Dragon or the towers. All she wanted in the Summoner¡¯s Rift was blood!

 Chapter 346 - She Hadn’t Even Gotten 10 Kills Yet!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Even though Vayne¡¯s Final Hour had already expended, Luocheng¡¯s killing intent had not decreased a single bit!


    As he was pursuing his prey, Luocheng slowly raised his head and shot a sneer at the rest area above.


    Xu Pingyang frowned as he sensed Luocheng¡¯s taunting glare. It was as though Luocheng was hinting that the Team Sky that Xu Pingyang had spent years to build was nothing but a pile of garbage!


    Luocheng sat up straight as his right hand gripped the mouse tightly, and the nerves on the back of his hand could be seen snapping .His grip was so tight that the mouse was almost crushed in his hand!


    Indeed, one would wonder why there was no one that could surpass Fighting Hawk in the field of E-sport? The answer was right there in front of Luocheng¡¯s screen. Whenever he was playing a match, he would put in all of his attention, as though he had merged his consciousness with whatever that was happening on his monitor. To him, when a match started, there was no difference between the real world and the game world.


    The real Luocheng was now inside the game. The person that we saw in front of the screen was nothing but a shell, a statue. There was no emotion to be seen on his face aside from the raging fire that was burning wildly in his eyes!


    Lin Dong, who was sitting next to Luocheng, took a glance at him, and a look of surprise filled his face.


    When a person was paying full attention to something, there was a certain aura that one could feel from them. That aura was an indication of one¡¯s peak form in the activities that he was engaging in.


    That was also why so many E-sport players would spend so much time playing matches and training. It was to hone their skills and reflexes so that they could be at their peak form when a match came their way!


    Everyone had their own version of ¡°aura¡± or ¡°peak form¡±, and this peak form could change drastically at every moment in a match. The player¡¯s performance could drop or hike up all depending on this ¡°peak form¡±. No player would dare to talk to one another in such matches, all for the sake of maintaining this nerve-breaking condition.


    If they were to be distracted even for just a few seconds, their performance level would drop drastically. From time to time, an E-sports player would rise up to be one of the top players in the nation, but then vanish, all this due to them not having the skill to concentrate.


    Lin Dong too had his own ¡°peak form¡±. He had had this form when he was in Team Wings back then too. By doing constant training, he had been able to maintain it to this day.


    What he did not expect was for Luocheng, who had not touched E-sports for such a long time, to be able to enter his ¡°peak form¡± this quickly. Heck, it was not expected for him to enter this form at all!


    ¡°How did he do it?!¡±Lin Dong looked at Luocheng in awe.


    Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo, had to constantly train for nearly half an hour to recover their peak forms. Luocheng had never gone through such ¡°recovery training¡± at all, so how the hell did he do it!?


    Just like earlier, he had been able to Cleanse in less than 0.2 seconds!


    To be able to maneuver such precise control to achieve the art of fog-of-war earlier!


    Or the skilful evasion of Kha¡¯zix¡¯s attack!


    Many would find their skills becoming rusty after not playing for days. Luocheng had spent so much time at the hospital and he had not gone through any training in the last 2 years. It was unthinkable for him to be able to slip into his peak form, one that surpassed even theirs, in an instant!


    Suddenly, a huge pink heart shape was hurled out from Ahri!


    With a quick, agile movement, the attack was evaded!


    Black long ribbons were hurled into the chaos, trying to entangle any target that came in its way. While all of this was happening, who would have expected that Varus was silently hiding in the shadows, preparing to fire his arrows!


    Zilean and Vayne, utilizing their increased movement speed, evaded the ribbons, and as they moved out of the way, Kha¡¯zix leapt up in the sky, disappearing into the fog-of-war! It seemed that it wanted to net itself a kill to avenge itself!


    In just a few steps, Kha¡¯zix moved closer to launch its prey as it raised up its spikes!


    Diagonal steps, then roll to the back! It was now standing together with its allies in a Y-shape, facing off with Ezreal!


    In the chaotic valley where the Dragon resided, Vayne zipped between her enemies and cross-fire of energies, her cape flapping against the wind.


    Just as everyone thought that Vayne was about to be slain, she stood tall on the screen with that tiny bit of health remaining. Nothing seemed to be able to kill her!


    ¡°Double Kill!¡±


    That was a double kill! That meant that the Sword of the Occult now had 10 stacks.


    Team Sky¡¯s Mercury couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. He quickly cast his Flash and struck out, depleting the last of Vayne¡¯s health!


    ¡°Finally, she¡¯s dead¡­ What a terrifying Vayne. She was able to find the best spots and locations to strike, evading countless fatal attacks. Finally, Team Sky¡¯s Mercury has slain her¡­¡±


    Bao Jun had just finished his words when suddenly, the crowd went wild! Bao Jun couldn¡¯t help but pause for a moment.


    Wait¡­ Vayne hadn¡¯t been slain? No, that couldn¡¯t be right. The message of Vayne being slain had been shown on the screen.


    Hold up¡­ Team Skycrown¡¯s line up was¡­!


    Bao Jun had been feeling saddened by Vayne¡¯s slaughter, and during those few depressing seconds, he was about to mention how the Sword of the Occult had been wasted.


    Then, he realized who the Champion standing next to Vayne was.


    It was Yorick, the Shepherd of Lost Souls.


    ¡­


    ¡°There¡¯s still Yorick¡¯s Ultimate Skill!¡± Mercury clenched his teeth.


    He did indeed defeat Vayne earlier. Yet, he had not expected Yorick to still be retaining his Ultimate Skill, and it was retained solely for Vayne!


    Seeing the fallen Vayne slowly rise up again with her crossbow, Xie Yi couldn¡¯t help but feel a freezing chill surge down his spine.


    ¡°Voom!¡±


    The sound of the bolt leaving the crossbow¡¯s string could be heard across the entire valley.


    It was the Final Hour. During all this time, the cooldown for Vayne¡¯s Final Hour was done!


    Shocked by this, Xie Yi turned tail and fled!


    ¡°Thud! Thud! THUD!¡±


    Two bolts and then a Condemn! After activating Final Hour, Vayne had become a bloodthirsty slayer. Xie Yi¡¯s Ahri was pinned to the wall in literally seconds! Poor Ahri had no chance of escaping whatsoever.


    Then, a volley of bolts were fired.


    Letting loose an excruciating cry, Ahri was felled before the stun effect had ended. Not batting an eye at Ahri¡¯s corpse, Vayne quickly Tumbled and turned invisible, pursuing her next prey!


    There was another Champion¡¯s head she needed to pawn, and Luocheng remembered where the Varus had fled to too.


    After sending a bolt at a creep and activating her blue buff, Vayne quickly Tumbled away and rushed to the second turret at the bottom lane!


    No way. Why was she still pursuing him? Varus was probably long gone after fleeing from the site!


    Yet, Vayne, the Night Hunter, had her eyes set on her prey, like a red-eyed panther dashing toward the direction where Varus was fleeing toward.


    ¡°5 seconds have passed, it isn¡¯t possible for her to catch up to him.¡± Bao Jun deduced.


    Indeed, 5 seconds had passed since Vayne¡¯s reanimation. When the time ran out, Vayne would turn back into a corpse yet again.


    Originally, everyone had thought that Vayne would be satisfied by slaying just Ahri. They had not expected her to pursue another target for this long. Varus had already fled earlier and disappeared into the fog-of-war, and he was now probably hiding behind the turrets!


    Vayne quickly zipped past the second turret after she crossed the streams. As soon as she caught her eye on the turret, sure enough, there he was! Varus was activating his teleportation to return to the base!


    It would take only a few seconds for Varus to complete the teleportation, and Langjie had been very careful in placing Varus behind the turret.


    Yet, in the last few seconds, Vayne dashed out from the fog-of-war with her Final Hour activated!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    A bolt landed on one of the creeps before the Night Hunter¡¯s Tumble finished its cooldown!


    Looking at the distance between him and Vayne, and then at the loading time for his Varus to finish teleporting¡­ d*mn, 2 seconds left! Langjie almost pissed himself after seeing this!


    Darn it! He had even stepped into the turret¡¯s range, and yet, this crazy b*tch had still pursued him all the way from the Dragon pit!


    Panicked, he quickly cancelled the teleportation and tried to flee!


    ¡°Run behind you! Remember, Vayne¡¯s dead. This is Yorick¡¯s reanimation skill!¡± Xie Yi yelled at Langjie to remind him.


    Indeed, all he needed to do was wait until the time ran out. As soon as Yorick¡¯s skill effect passed, Vayne would be dead again automatically. There was no need for Langjie to engage with her.


    Turning toward one of the higher turrets, Langjie sent his Varus running for his life!


    However, Vayne was still pursuing him like a mad dog!


    Then, with a Tumble, Vayne was able to close in on her target and shorten the distance between them significantly!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    A bolt landed on its target!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Another!


    Unfortunately, the next bolt missed! Oh, she was not close enough, but she quickly continued on with her pursuit!


    Then, the final bolt was fired¡­


    ¡°Double Kill!¡±


    As soon as the double kill announcement echoed in the Summoner¡¯s Rift, a thick black fog started to surround and envelop Vayne, the Night Hunter, and then¡­ Whoosh! She turned into a cloud of dust!


    At the very moment that she slayed Varus, Luocheng¡¯s screen had also turned grey.


    What a hot pursuit!


    Utilizing that short 10-second time frame, Vayne had been able to kill Ahri and then pursue Varus into the turrets and to his death!


    When the camera zoomed in on the scene of Varus¡¯s death, Bao Jun was at a loss of words. Everyone¡¯s jaw had dropped to the ground!


    How!?Not to mention, the turret was still active too!


    They had thought that it was just a feud in the Dragon¡¯s pit. Yet, the casualty had spread all the way to the turrets!


    Just how bloodthirsty was this Vayne!? She had not even let her enemy, who had fled to the turrets, escape from her volleys!


    ¡­


    Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo all looked at Luocheng with stares of surprise.


    The four of them felt a certain rage and persistence burning within him!


    Those scums at Team Sky¡­ that human filth Xu Pingyang had no idea just how much hopes and expectations Luocheng had had for Xiao Bei!


    They had no idea just how excellent his Vayne was!


    ¡­


    When Luocheng¡¯s Vayne was revived at the base, his right hand gripped on his mouse strongly.


    If this darn E-sport industry was this filthy and there was no room for the people who loved E-sports like him to live, then he, Fighting Hawk, would tear out a bloodied route for everyone! He would help everyone find their paradise!


    As soon as Vayne walked out of the spring, cleansing all the blood that she had bathed in during the bloodshed earlier, she quickly sped off to her next prey.


    There was no stopping. She hadn¡¯t even gotten 10 kills yet!

 Chapter 347 - Five Bolts

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°She went to gank Renekton earlier, now, could it be that she¡¯s preparing to head to the jungle?¡±


    She had slain the Champion at the bottom lane and had also ganked the top lane, killing the rest of the opponents once. She had basically turned herself into a walking Grim Reaper, bringing death wherever she went!


    This time, she had appeared in her opponents¡¯ jungle!


    Right about now, the Mana recovering blue buff would have already been refreshed. Luocheng had seen this buff earlier when he was reanimated by Yorick, using it to renew his Vayne¡¯s Q skill.


    It was quite apparent that Team Sky¡¯s Ahri and Jungler would head there to get the Mana recovering buff. Luocheng waltzed into the area alone while clearly seeing the two Champions from the bottom lane mobilizing to the jungle to aid their teammates.


    As soon as he stepped into the area where the blue buff was located, Luocheng saw Ahri in the middle of acquiring the buff alone!


    ¡­


    ¡°This a**hole!¡± Xie Yi saw Luocheng¡¯s Vayne almost immediately, and his mind began to burn with infurious rage!


    Just what was he trying to do!? What business did this ADC have coming to their territory? To acquire the blue buff? Didn¡¯t he know that Ahri was known as an ADC killer!?


    No ADC could come and go as they pleased. He would need only 2 seconds to end any ADC that came his way, and that included even national treasures like Bai Feng!


    Hence, when he saw the Fighting Hawk, Xie Yi immediately activated his Ultimate Skill ¨C Spirit Rush!


    In just mere seconds, Ahri was 500 yards away from Vayne, the Night Hunter!


    Xie Yi did not cast his Charm skill yet. He knew just how quick the Fighting Hawk could react with his Vayne ¨C much quicker than most Esport players in the industry. If you wanted to cast a skill at him, you¡¯d have to do it before he moved, otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be able to land a hit. Why? Because he would have already anticipated the timing of when you were going to Charm him!


    Every Esport player must possess this one skill ¨C to anticipate the opponents¡¯ moves before exchanging blows. What skill the opponent had under their sleeves, how they would mobilize their Champions, would they Flash, would the attacks penetrate their barriers, how would they make sure that their attacks hit their mark!


    Why was Xie Yi one of the country¡¯s top middle laners? It was because he tended to consider all of these factors more thoroughly than the other ordinary Esports players you could find in the industry!


    Xie Yi knew that Vayne had not used her Flash or Cleanse earlier, thus, he had quickly bought himself an Abyssal Scepter. Even though this would not contribute much to his damage, if the attacks were to all land on Vayne, it was possible for Vayne to be slain due to her lack of magic resistance.


    Ahri¡¯s Spirit Rush had brought her closer toward Vayne. Xie Yi was careful to not get close to any walls nearby, lest he get pinned to the wall by Vayne.


    His opponent was that Fighting Hawk! There was no room for error! He could Cleanse Fiddlestick¡¯s Terror in just 0.2 seconds. If he were to release his Charm in that 500 yards range, it was close to impossible for the attack to land on Vayne. Fighting Hawk¡¯s reaction time was incredible and his hand was probably already standing by on the Q key. If Ahri were to Charm his Vayne, he would probably roll away diagonally immediately!


    Evading an attack from a range of 500 yards could be achieved by many LPL contestants, so of course, Fighting Hawk could too!


    So, how would he make sure that his attack would land? By doing this ground-zero!


    If he were to release the skill next to him, there was no way that Vayne could evade it. It wouldn¡¯t even help if she tried to go invisible, nothing would stop the attack from landing!


    That was the reason he was using his Spirit Rush to get closer to the Fighting Hawk. He would Charm Vayne before using the precise angle that the Spirit Rush would place Ahri in to unleash her Orbs of Deception, damaging Vayne. Then finally, he¡¯d use another attack to deplete her final bit of HP, slaying her!


    If the ground-zero Charm did not work, Ahri had to cease all attacks. There were a lot of walls in the area, and if things were to go south, she would definitely be pinned to her death by Vayne¡¯s Condemn. Yes, if the Charm didn¡¯t land, Ahri must then use another Spirit Rush to flee into a bush on the lower right. It really did not matter if he was able to kill Vayne by himself, for as long as he was able to deal enough damage to Vayne, Kha¡¯zix was on his way ¨C as soon as the gigantic mantis arrived, he could end her in an instant!


    In that very short 1-second time frame which began the moment he had seen Vayne, Xie Yi had already run through a thorough simulation of how to slay Vayne once in his head ¨C from the Spirit Rush, to ground-zero Charming, to the moment the Orb of Deception killed Vayne, and to the almost-impossible chance of Ahri¡¯s Charm missing. Everything!


    Most E-sport players only tend to consider how to perform the perfect kill. They would probably also consider their strategy two steps after the kill, yet, Xie Yi planned ahead much farther than that. He had even put his teammate, Kha¡¯zix, who was still on the way, into the equation!


    Remember how he completely played Lin Dong like a fiddle in the match earlier? How did he do it? This was how. Xie Yi would always think far ahead when engaging in a match, while Lin Dong only cared about the moment at present.


    ¡­


    ¡°Mercury has used his Spirit Rush! How gutsy! He intends to slay Vayne himself.¡±


    The first Spirit Rush had sent Ahri 500 yards nearer to Vayne!


    Under normal circumstances, Ahri could already utilize her skill and strike at the ADC by now. Yet, Xie Yi wouldn¡¯t do it. He knew Fighting Hawk would be able to evade the skill at this range.


    No, Xie Yi couldn¡¯t risk missing his attack. Thus, he Spirit Rush-ed again!


    Ground zero. Ground zero! He must Charm Vayne at an extremely close range. Now, unless Vayne Flashed away at the last second, there was absolutely no way she could evade what was coming!


    ¡°Voom!¡±


    Suddenly, the strings on Vayne¡¯s crossbow sounded loudly as she stretched it in her hand!


    Xie Yi had anticipated that the Fighting Hawk would activate his Final Hour at this time, making his Vayne invisible to trick him. However, right now, Vayne was rushing straight toward Ahri. There was no use even if she Tumbled in that instant or even activated her invisibility. At this range, there was no way that you, Fighting Hawk, could evade the Charm!


    The second Spirit Rush had sent Ahri straight at Vayne, and at the same time, Vayne used her Tumble to turn invisible!


    Xie Yi did not hesitate at all as he quickly pressed the E key and cast his Charm! He had complete confidence that the Fighting Hawk would definitely be at this precise spot. At this range, there was no way that Vayne could Tumble away from his Charm!


    The pink lip flew out from Ahri, bound to disappear halfway if it collided with something that was in its path. Xie Yi was very sure that this attack would collide with Vayne, and when that happened, all he needed to do next was to ensure that his Orb of Deception landed on her, and he quickly pressed the Q key in a smooth follow up.


    However, something unthinkable happened ¨C the pink kiss that was thrown forth by Ahri travelled a great distance in its path¡­ not disappearing. There was nothing in its path for it to collide with!


    Xie Yi was shocked!


    How!?


    Even if she was invisible, there was no way the Vayne could have evaded her Charm at such a range. She was there! At that spot! She had to be!


    Yet, the fact remained that Ahri¡¯s Charm had not hit.


    Then, 1 second passed¡­


    Xie Yi¡¯s eyes widened as he saw where his opponent was ¨C at his back. Fighting Hawk¡¯s Vayne appeared right behind him!


    ¡°Did he Tumble toward me when I did the second Spirit Rush to get to my back? Could it be that he too, had the same idea¡­ to hit me at a close range?¡± Xie Yi was shocked as he saw Vayne standing behind his Ahri!


    Then came the bolts! In just two bolts, Ahri¡¯s HP was depleted by a third! If the third bolt landed on Ahri, she would only have one fourth of her HP left!


    In other words, Vayne only needed 5 bolts to kill her!


    ¡°Vayne¡¯s way of mobilizing¡­ that was so incredible! On the other hand, Mercury¡¯s Charm and Orb of Deception had all missed their targets!¡± The commentator, Bao Jun¡¯s excited voice could be heard from the speaker.


    On the huge screen, everyone could see very clearly from the Blue Team¡¯s point of view on how the half-invisible Vayne had rolled to Ahri¡¯s back at the same moment the latter had cast her Charm skill.


    These kinds of attacks couldn¡¯t be evaded using diagonal movements. However, attacking at a close range also had a weakness ¨C the opponent could very easily shift their steps and move toward the location that benefitted them instead. Just like how Ahri¡¯s skills could only move in a straight line, when the opponent moved out of the attack range, all her advantages were lost!


    ¡­


    After missing his attacks, Xie Yi did not panic. He had already planned where he would be fleeing toward when this exact scenario happened!


    With no hesitation, he quickly pressed the R key and Spirit Rush-ed away!


    Xie Yi was quick and careful, making sure that he did not get close to any walls while dashing forward. Then, he pressed his R again and did another dash of Spirit Rush, speeding into the bush that he had been targeting all along!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Vayne fired her third bolt!


    This time, her attack depleted yet another third of Ahri¡¯s HP!


    Now, after 3 bolts, Ahrii¡¯s HP was depleted to a fourth of her total HP pool. How terrifying Vayne was when she was in Final Hour mode and possessed a Sword of the Occult!


    If she were to use her Blade of the Ruined King right then and there or if one of her bolts landed a critical hit, he could very well be slain right away!


    Terrified at the prospect, Xie Yi quickly threw a glance at Kha¡¯zix.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take him out!¡± Birch grunted.


    This Fighting Hawk was really too much of a nuisance! Just what kind of match did he think this was? A ranking match? How dare he rush in recklessly like this!? He would pay dearly for this!


    Right after pressing his E key, Birch¡¯s Kha¡¯zix leapt out from behind the walls!


    Ahri¡¯s Spirit Rush and Fox-fire had inflicted quite a bit of damage on Vayne earlier, making it possible for Kha¡¯zix to slay Vayne with everything he had. Using his earlier leap, Kha¡¯zix moved straight toward Vayne.


    Before he landed on the ground, Birch had pressed his Q and W key ¨C activating his Taste Their Fear and Void Spike!


    If the player was quick enough, it was entirely possible for Kha¡¯zix to slay his enemy before he even landed on the ground, and he could then leap out of the scene by pressing the E key again.


    Unfortunately for him, Birch¡¯s landing was slightly off, resulting in his Taste Their Fear not being able to reach Vayne. His Void Spike, on the other hand, did hit her. Now, all he needed to do was move a little closer.


    ¡°THUD!¡±


    As soon as he landed on the ground, Vayne¡¯s Condemn was fired right at Kha¡¯zix.


    Although his Void Spike had hit Vayne, he was not able to get close to her at all, instead getting pinned to the wall by Vayne!


    Next, a bolt was fired. Then a second, and a third!


    After being damaged by Vayne¡¯s Condemn and three bolts, Birch saw that his Kha¡¯zix¡¯s HP had now been depleted to only one fourth of his HP pool.


    Vayne¡¯s Level 2 Final Hour would grant her another 40 damage while her Sword of the Occult would add on 8 points of damage for every stack. She had about 10 stacks now, and so, with 10 + 55¡­ that was 65 points of damage! Even if one were to buy a B.F Sword and Pickaxe, the total damage they provided was a mere 25 damage!


    On top of that, Vayne¡¯s high level Tumble was able to buff her damage by about 40% to 50%. Now add that on to her devastating Silver Bolts¡­


    If she wanted to slay someone, she only needed five bolts!


    Ahri had received 3 bolts earlier, depleting her HP to a few pitiful drops. Kha¡¯zix, who was being pinned to the wall, wasn¡¯t faring any better.


    Vayne had not even used her Blade of the Ruined King yet and she was able to deal over 1000 damage!


    Birch had thought that he could instant-kill Vayne when he ambushed her. What he had not expected was that he would be the one who to get instant-killed.


    This Fighting Hawk¡­ how had he acquired this lightning-fast reflex?! How was he able to pin Birch to the wall without seeing him coming from the fog-of-war?


    And just how devastating was his Vayne!?


    She was so powerful that she needed only 5 bolts to end him!

 Chapter 348 - An Epitaph of Blood

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xie Yi stared at the screen for quite some time, barely believing what he was seeing.


    How did the Fighting Hawk react and strike in such a short time? When Kha¡¯zix had leapt out from the fog of war earlier, there was no way that he could have seen it coming. Usually, the other players would have been dead before they realized what had happened!


    ¡°Could it be that he had foreseen all of this? He could anticipate everything even ahead of me!?¡± Xie Yi mused to himself as he stared at the Sword of the Occult that had now gathered 13 stacks.


    Without any warning, he had evaded Kha¡¯zix just like that, and then stunned him in a mere instant! It almost felt as though Vayne had already been waiting for Kha¡¯zix to leap over, aiming her Condemn at him from the start!


    Furthermore, Fighting Hawk, after retiring for so long, was still able to retain his quick reaction and skills ¨C those that would require most professional players to train at least 8 hours a day to maintain!


    How did he do it? And how was he able to slay these professionals with such ease and no hesitation!?


    How was he doing it!?


    ¡­


    ¡°Xie Yi. An average score of 23. He barely managed to escape from Vayne.¡±


    ¡°Birch. An average score of 20. Slain twice. He had the chance to slay Vayne but still got slain instead.¡±


    Zhang Aijing started her deduction as she mumbled to herself.


    Despite not having Blood Eagle in their team now, Team Sky¡¯s line up was still a top notch one. They had Xie Yi, a professional player with an average score of 23 on their side! The very same Xie Yi who could suppress Lin Dong when facing off one-on-one!


    Yet, Aijing had not expected that even a professional player like Xie Yi, who had picked his favourite and advantageous Ahri, was still unable to slay the Fighting Hawk. Not only that, he had had to flee for his life after more than half of his HP had been shaved off.


    This was not the first time Aijing had watched Luocheng play a match. She could still remember how astonishingly well Luocheng had performed in previous matches. He had not revealed any skills or prowess that indicated that he could slay a top player in mere seconds right after activating his Ultimate skill!


    Yet, he was able to kill Kha¡¯zix while facing off with Ahri, all at the same time. This was clearly a 2 vs 1 situation, and he had crushed it by not utilizing any Summoner Skills ¨C no Cleanse, no help from his teammates, nothing! Ultimately, he was able to send Xie Yi turning tail after almost killing him off!


    ¡°13 stacks on Sword of the Occult. Just how strong is this Fighting Hawk?? Sis Jing, are you sure he¡¯s a retiree?¡± Forgetful Laughter asked.


    No one had ever dared to get themselves a Sword of the Occult in the LPL ever, what more, stacking it up to 13 stacks!


    If a non-professional player could wreck Team Sky like this, then, how could other professional players who had never even beaten Team Sky call themselves ¡°professional¡±!?


    ¡°Fiddlesticks¡¯ Crowstorm!¡±


    The commentator¡¯s excited voice pulled Forgetful Laughter back to the giant screen.


    Sure enough, on the screen, the Support Fiddlesticks fell from the sky as he cast his Crowstorm, Terrify, and Dark Wind, at Luocheng!


    ¡°Well, well. Vayne¡¯s as good as dead then!¡± Forgetful Laughter thought.


    Even though Fiddlesticks was a Support, his DPS was not something one should underestimate. If Luocheng¡¯s Vayne were to take in all of that damage after being inflicted by Terrify, she would definitely be killed right away!


    Yet, no announcement about Fiddlesticks slaying Vayne appeared on the screen!


    Chronoshift!


    It was Zilean!


    Zilean¡¯s Chronoshift had been cast on Vayne in the nick of time, enabling her another chance at life!


    ¡°Oh my God! We had totally forgotten that Team Skycrown¡¯s Zilean has a Guardian Angel!¡±


    Jupiter¡¯s face turned pale as he saw the Guardian Angel being cast on Fighting Hawk¡¯s Vayne.


    Just when he had thought that he had slain Vayne with everything he had, they had revived her in that instant!


    It was not an easy thing for them to land a kill on Vayne, and now, it was ruined!


    Wu Sen¡¯s support was impeccable. He knew that Xie Yi would come back to face off with Luocheng after this resurrection. Thus, he buffed up his movement speed and rushed to Luocheng¡¯s defense!


    Sure enough, a huge kiss shape ¨C the Charm spell from Ahri landed on Wu Sen.


    At the same time, Varus appeared too. Even though he had suffered a lot of damage, Wu Sen knew that he could not allow them to get close to Vayne¡¯s corpse before she was completely resurrected, otherwise, they could finish her off in an instant!


    After tanking Ahri¡¯s attack, Wu Sen did not take a step back at all. No, instead, he put a Ward in the bush behind and cast an Exhaust on Varus!


    ¡°Wow! This Support is feeding himself to the enemies, all just to buy some time for Vayne. What a great friend!¡±


    Zilean was a Support after all. His HP and damage resistance were all very low, there was no way he could hang on for more than a few seconds if he stepped up to tank like this.


    Yet, to Wu Sen, this was all worth it!


    As a Support and as a ¡°big brother¡±, Wu Sen had been beating himself up over Xiao Bei¡¯s death. He blamed himself for not being able to protect Xiao Bei.


    The moment when he opened the bathroom door, that bloodied image that had appeared before his eyes, had stunned Wu Sen in place.


    At that moment, he had wished with all his heart that he was Zilean, The Chronokeeper, in real life ¨C Just so he could press his R key and then wait for a few seconds for Xiao Bei to stand back up.


    Or perhaps, he could wait another half a minute, and he would then be revived at the fountain.


    Yet, that was not League of Legends. It was the reality of a cold, harsh, world.


    Honor, glory, victory, matches, leagues¡­ all of these were not important to Wu Sen.


    He knew that there was very little that he could do. No matter how angry he was, there was no way he could defeat these two bottom laners from Team Sky. Thus, to express the furious rage in his heart, all he could do at the moment was to buy Luocheng some time ¨C some time for him to get back up and carry on with his killing spree. All he could do was buy more time for Luocheng to make Team Sky and Xu Pingyang suffer! To avenge his friend!


    Wu Sen spared a glance at Luocheng¡¯s Vayne.


    Good! She had revived!


    After quickly throwing a Time Warp on Vayne, he quickly placed a Time Bomb on himself before dashing straight toward Ahri and Varus.


    At the last moment when his HP was entirely depleted by Ahri, the Time Bomb detonated above his head.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    A small amount of health was shaved off from Ahri and Varus¡¯s HP pool.


    As for Zilean, his corpse had fallen to the ground.


    ¡­


    Giving the ADC a chance to resurrect and then buffing the said ADC right after her resurrection, subsequently using himself as a bomb to damage his enemies in his last breath.


    Wu Sen had done all that he could as a Support, especially that last move ¨C detonating the Time Bomb above his head to further injure his foes. The commentator and spectators were all in awe as they witnessed it.


    Every move was perfect. To most people, this was just a ¡°strategic move¡±. Yet, only the members of Team Skycrown knew what Wu Sen was trying to say!


    As Vayne slowly stood up, Luocheng looked at Zilean¡¯s corpse, a flicker of emotion blinking in his eyes.


    Cool and proud, just like the eyes of an eagle.


    In the eyes of the normies, this was ¡°just a game¡±. It was nothing but a way to entertain oneself. Yet, was it really ¡°just a game¡±? Was it just a game to Team Skycrown?


    Wu Sen¡¯s actions earlier had been like a moth zooming straight toward wildfires.


    But was this the first time they had done something like this? Was this the first time they had leapt into the fire like this!?


    Why? What drove these people to continue doing what they did? What drove them forward? What drove them to continue on without fear of getting hurt, getting crushed by the arrogant belittling the society gave them in return?


    Passion. The answer was their passion for E-sports.


    These people¡¯s hearts were burning with wild, genuine passion for E-sports!


    ¡°You love E-sports! Why give up?¡±


    Luocheng really wanted to tell Xiao Bei the answer to that. That there were a lot of ridiculous filthy conflicts and politics in the world of E-sports. Those things would drive the dreamy E-sport lovers to damnation¡­


    Yet, at the same time, if you really loved E-sports so much¡­ so, so much¡­ then who cared how ridiculous it was!? Who cared how filthy it was? There was no way you would just give up!


    You must have faith.


    Have faith that the shining glory will come. When the time comes ¨C when they all stood on the summit of the world of E-sports, nothing would be able to stop them. Not even the filthy, scummy, Team Sky!


    Team Sky was nothing but a stepping stone for them to reach higher, thus, stepping on them was what they were going to do!


    Indeed, using a match of a game like this to express their grief and anger did look insanely ridiculous. However, if a child were to still hold his faith for this world of E-sport to his last breath, and if one were talented and worked hard enough, he would most definitely be standing proudly in the pantheon of Champions one day!


    If a child could hold his faith like this to his last breath, you would know for sure that this was not ¡°just a game¡±.


    It was a sport! A sport that shed the blood and tears of countless young souls!


    A sport that hundreds of thousands, no, millions of people looked up to!


    A sport of glory!


    Yes, they had to have faith! And now, this Team Sky? The very Team Sky that intended to be an obstacle in their path to glory? They would crush them to pieces and inscribe this story as an epitaph for their friend!


    They would make the world-shaking glory of Vayne pawning 100 enemies heads with her bolts and crossbow into a great epitaph for Xiao Bei and as an inscription on the milestone of Team Skycrown¡¯s path to glory! !


    ¡­


    15 heads pawned.


    Not enough. It was still not enough!


    Vayne, the Night Hunter, stood up, shrouded in the rays of resurrection.


    There were four prey, breathing nervously in front of her. Slay them. Yes. Slay them! After taking their heads, her kill count would then reach 19, which was another great leap to 100 kills.


    ¡°Voom!¡±


    Vayne¡¯s silver crossbow¡¯s strings vibrated as it was extended in her hand as she put on her bloodied cape right after her resurrection.


    Oh, Fiddlesticks was running?


    I¡¯ll be taking your head first!


    ¡­


    Fiddlesticks was just a Support and he did not have much HP, thus, ending his life required a mere 4 bolts.


    ¡°You have slain an enemy!¡±


    16 kills!


    ¡­


    Ahri wanted to flee as well, but¡­


    One¡­ two¡­ three! Three bolts penetrated her body!


    ¡°Killing Spree!¡±


    17 kills!


    ¡­


    Varus. There you are! Come and get it!


    Ah, yes. Ezreal and Jarvan was here too!


    ¡°An enemy has been slain!¡±


    18!


    ¡­


    Renekton!


    Renekton!!!


    Where are you!?


    Da Luo cast his Flash and halted Renekton from fleeing.


    19!


    ¡°You have slain an enemy!¡±


    ¡°Rampage!¡±


    ¡°ACE!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s an Ace! It¡¯s an Ace, ladies and gentlemen! Oh, Team Skycrown has completely wiped out their opponents! And now, if they were to take down a tower right after this, they will be riding the winds of victory!¡±


    ¡°¡­wait.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­what¡­ No! Team Skycrown is not attacking the towers!¡±


    ¡°This is such a golden opportunity, and yet, they are not attacking the towers! Are they going to teleport back to their base and resupply?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ Wait a second¡­ Just hold on¡­ They¡¯re ignoring creep-pushing entirely!?¡±

 Chapter 349 - Chime of Death; Final Hour

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Confucius had once said, ¡°If you only slay Champions and not take down the towers, very soon, sh*t will hit the fan!¡±


    This was the very first time that Bao Jun, after becoming an LPL commentator for so long, had seen such an eerily strange match!


    And it wasn¡¯t just him, everyone present in the E-sport stadium felt the same confusion too. Just what was Team Skycrown doing? They could have pushed that tower! Why did they forfeit the perfect opportunity to tip the game to their favor?


    Putting their focus on slaying enemy Champions and creeps in the Jungle, and then, teleporting back to the base without valid reasons. This was the LPL, there was no way a team competing in the LPL would commit such a newbie error¡­ right?


    Besides, when they were competing against Team Revelation, Team Skycrown had completely maintained their classic tower-pushing strategy, pushing the towers at every chance they got. Strangely enough, for this match, they were jumping right at any enemy they set their eyes upon, especially Vayne, the Night Hunter!


    ¡­


    ¡°Vayne and Varus have met again! Oh my, it seems that Varus is afraid of leaving the gap of 800 yards away from his tower.¡± Bao Jun was utterly baffled by the scene before him.


    ¡°Okay, now the camera is cutting over to Jarvan, and¡­oh! What do we have here? Team Skycrown¡¯s Jarvan IV has been caught!¡±


    On the gigantic screen, Team Sky¡¯s Ahri and Kha¡¯zix were giving Jarvan IV the final blow. In the meantime, Varus, who was handling the middle lane, was suddenly declared dead!


    When the camera changed back to the middle lane, Varus was already lying lifelessly next to his tower. As for Vayne? She had left the Wraiths camp with half of her HP intact!


    ¡°¡­just what on Earth happened during the few seconds we shifted our attention away!?¡± Bao Jun was totally stunned!


    Dead.


    Dead!?


    Varus was dead!? How!?


    When the camera was cut to another scene, everyone¡¯s attention had been on Jarvan IV. Jarvan had been trying to play the same fog-of-war trick, but alas, he wasn¡¯t skilful enough and was ultimately destroyed by Xie Yi¡¯s Kha¡¯zix.


    During those few seconds, Vayne had zipped through the tower¡¯s defense and slain Varus!


    ¡°Hmm, it seems that even though Varus was hiding behind the tower and had about 800 yards of distance from Vayne, it still wasn¡¯t safe enough for him. Guan Langjie is usually quite the brutal killer, but now, he has turned into the prey when facing off with this fierce Vayne. The last time he ran behind two towers and teleported, it didn¡¯t go well either as it resulted in him eating a bolt from Vayne and then, the dirt! With the equipment he has, I think it¡¯s best for him to not appear in front of Vayne, especially when his teammates are not there to save him.¡± Bao Jun calmly deduced.


    It was best for him to not appear in front of Vayne¡­


    Guan Langjie must have been so pissed after hearing this!


    Vayne could slay him with ease under a tower! Under a tower! Not only that, if he couldn¡¯t even support the minion wave like this, how was he supposed to perform in this match!?


    ¡°Can you id*ots stop going after the other Champions? Vayne is becoming Godlike now! If we can¡¯t get his Sword of the Occult down, we¡¯re as good as dead!¡± Langjie yelled furiously.


    He quickly pressed the Tab key, and sure enough, Vayne now possessed a 20-stack Sword of the Occult!


    This was the utmost disgrace to Team Sky!


    ¡°Vayne is slaying every opponent that crosses her way, and she¡¯s pushing on the forefront too. Langjie, you can try feeding her once more if you want, and when that happens, Jupiter can Flash and then Terrify her. Then, we¡¯ll go all-in with all of our skills. She wouldn¡¯t last a second.¡± Xie Yi calmly suggested.


    ¡°Okay. His Cleanse should still be on cooldown, there should be about 70 seconds left, and his Flash has 90 seconds before it comes back up.¡± Jupiter replied.


    It was a basic skill for top-tier Supports to remember the cooldown of the opponents¡¯ Summoner Skills and Ultimate Skills, especially the opponent ADC¡¯s Flash!


    ¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the camera too much, focus on Vayne!¡± The director was giving a stern order to the cameraman in the livestream room.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t how we do things. We ought to stream as many exciting moments of various players to the public.¡±


    ¡°Fool! Can¡¯t you see? In this match, the core and focus of Team Skycrown is Vayne. Wherever she goes, there¡¯s always something exciting happening. And now that you mention it, I¡¯ll have to ask you this. Just how did Vayne slay Varus earlier when she was so far away from him? She even left with half of her health in tow. How the heck did that happen!?¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine. I get it. I¡¯ll focus the screen mainly on Vayne.¡±


    ¡­


    Wherever Vayne went, there would be casualties!


    A ward had detected Varus acquiring the red buff in the red side. Luocheng was in the middle lane, and the moment he saw Varus, he quickly guided his Vayne over.


    ¡°Follow them!¡± Lin Dong, seeing Luocheng make his move, quickly rallied the others.


    They were quite a distance away from Luocheng when they arrived, but they could see how he was biting onto Varus¡¯ fleeing tail!


    Varus¡¯s score was at 0/5/6, meaning his head wasn¡¯t worth much even after it was pawned.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re still pursuing me? Now die!¡± Langjie smirked as he shot a look at Fiddlesticks who was already completing his Ultimate Skill activation.


    ¡°Caw caw!¡±


    Crowstorm!


    Fiddlesticks leapt out from the wall behind, 100% confident that he could land his Terror on Vayne, even casting his Flash to further ensure that it would hit.


    Flash! And Terror successfully landed on the Fighting Hawk!


    A demon symbol appeared above Vayne¡¯s head as she started to back away in panic.


    Now, Fiddlesticks¡¯ attacks weren¡¯t strong, hence, his attacks could only shave off half of Vayne¡¯s HP. At the same time, Kha¡¯zix and Ahri leapt out, unleashing all of their attacks on Vayne!


    ¡°Oh ho! Just one person¡¯s DPS would have been enough to slay Vayne, and yet, Kha¡¯zix and Ahri teamed up on her, with Ahri even using her Ultimate Skill. Just how much favouritism are they putting into play here! Oh, they sure love Vayne, I see!¡±


    Luocheng¡¯s Vayne was killed almost instantly! Team Sky¡¯s teamwork was impeccable, and as soon as Fiddlesticks¡¯ attacks landed, the others were already focusing their attacks on Vayne.


    However, was the Fighting Hawk someone who could be fooled that easily? Was he someone that was easily slain?


    Xie Yi had never once thought of it that way. He knew Zilean would always follow her from behind, buffing her movement speed, and bestowing resurrection upon her!


    Indeed, Wu Sen was sharp. As soon as Luocheng had gotten Terrified, he knew he was ambushed by the opponents. Thus, he had quickly cast Zilean¡¯s Chronoshift on Vayne!


    In mere seconds, Luocheng would be revived!


    ¡°Langjie, get ready!¡± Team Sky had foreseen this and had hatched a plan to deal with it!


    As soon as the rest of Team Skycrown had arrived, they would quickly dash toward Luocheng, trying to shield him with their bodies to buy him time to revive. But, Varus was good at crowd control. When they were all gathered in one place, he could quickly utilize his crowd control to handle them, slaying Vayne once more before killing the others.


    This would be the perfect counter-strike!


    Sure enough, the rest of Team Skycrown were rushing forward, trying to shield Vayne, giving the impression that this was a team of one ADC and four Supports!


    ¡°Stay away. Not now, Varus still has his Chain of Corruption.¡± Luocheng quickly alerted his teammates.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t go to you, you¡¯ll die.¡± Wu Sen replied.


    In just one second, Luocheng would be revived. However, if he were to revive in between the two teams and not allowing his allies to chase the enemies away or shield him, he would drop dead the instant he stood up with his first breath.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I die.¡± Luocheng slowly replied.


    ¡°But your Sword of the Occult¡­¡±


    Luocheng shook his head.


    Indeed, Team Sky¡¯s ambush was perfect. From Fiddlesticks stunning him, and then slaying him in the next instant. Not only that, they had even anticipated the Chronoshift and his teammates coming forward to shield him, which they then countered with Varus¡¯s skill.


    No equipment would be enough to prepare a person to handle such an ambush, especially when they had all focused their fire on Vayne like this.


    But¡­ so what?


    No one lived forever when playing League of Legends. It was just one Sword of the Occult.


    And so, Team Skycrown did not rush forth. Only Yorick stepped in front to shield Luocheng from Ahri¡¯s Charm.


    Just as expected, as soon as Vayne stood up, Varus cast his Chain of Corruption at him, rooting him successfully.


    Langjie had timed his attack perfectly, releasing his Ultimate Skill before Luocheng had even begun rising up. The Chain of Corruption headed straight toward Vayne and reached her right at the moment of her revival.


    There was no way anyone could possibly react fast enough to evade the attack.


    Vayne was pinned!


    Renekton was quick when he threw out his strikes. Before Vayne had been pinned, he had already taken a bite on her, not allowing her any chance to flee!


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s crowd control over crowd control! It all started from Fiddlesticks¡¯ Terror. It looks like Vayne is going to die for real this time! Indeed, Yorick¡¯s skills could ensure his teammate¡¯s survival, however, that would only revive Vayne¡¯s spirit, not her body. In short, Vayne is as good as dead now.¡±


    Team Sky¡¯s ambush on Fighting Hawk was indeed perfect and impeccable!


    On the other hand, Vayne was like a Hard Mode Boss that had leapt out from the pits of hell. If they had not set up an ambush and hit her hard again and again like this, there was no way they could have killed her!


    At first, the audience had had their doubts when they heard of Luocheng¡¯s history. He was just a top player from DOTA. Sure, he was a world-class player, but could he handle LPL as a former DOTA champion?


    Yet, after witnessing this, they finally believed it.


    He was only taken down after enduring a full envelopment of strikes by all of his opponents. Who else would an entire team focus all their attention on in taking just one player down? The answer was only the likes of Hades, Blood Eagle, and Bai Feng.


    Only the top of the top in the LPL.


    This was absolutely insane!


    Team Sky was insane!


    This was the first time people were seeing them being butchered like cattle, allowing their opponent to stack up a Sword of the Occult to over 20 stacks!


    Losing a match was one thing, being slaughtered repeatedly was another. Therefore, they needed Vayne dead one way or another!


    This time, Vayne was finally dead, finished off by Renekton!


    Everyone on Team Sky felt a sense of great relief after finally seeing the message of Vayne¡¯s head being pawned. However¡­


    Was this the end of everything?


    Sure, Yorick could not revive Vayne entirely, all that was being revived was just a ghost. She would be dead once more after 10 seconds had passed.


    Yet, Vayne possessed an extremely splendid set of equipment.


    ¡°Voom!¡±


    The sound of Vayne¡¯s crossbow¡¯s string vibrating could be heard throughout the Summoner¡¯s Rift. No, that wasn¡¯t quite right. That was the sound of the strings from a Grim Reaper¡¯s Banjo, and every time the audience heard it, it involuntarily pumped their blood up.


    Because they knew.


    They knew another round of bloodshed was coming right up! This was the kind of bloodshed that superseded every kind of ¡°excitement¡± that had ever occurred in the LPL. This bloodshed and the excitement that it brought¡­ it could thrill the soul of anyone who witnessed it!


    On the other hand, to Team Sky, this sound was like the chime of death¡­ THEIR death!


    ¡­


    At long last, Luocheng finally activated it. The one thing that he had not utilized from minutes before.


    His Final Hour!

 Chapter 350 - Killing Him Like the Pathetic Dog He Was!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It didn¡¯t matter if you cast every single skill you had under your belts, I won¡¯t be intimidated one bit!


    If Team Sky thought that Luocheng was a mindless berserker who would kill anyone who came his way, they were sorely mistaken. Ultimately, they would be underestimating an E-sport captain who understood and was extremely well-versed in strategies!


    Slain? So what?


    You have only slain Vayne¡¯s body, and at what cost? How many skills had they used to accomplish that?


    Fiddlesticks had used up all of his skills and even his Flash. Ahri had used her Ultimate Skill as well as her Charm while Kha¡¯zix and Renekton had used up all of their offensive skills. Varus too, had used his Ultimate, Chain of Corruption.


    True, Team Skycrown¡¯s entire means of DPS were all on Vayne, and yet, one shouldn¡¯t forget that Lin Dong¡¯s champion was Ezreal ¨C his DPS potential wasn¡¯t something to be looked down upon. On top of that, let¡¯s not forget that Yorick possessed a skill that could enable Vayne to get back up to fight another 10 seconds!


    And these 10 seconds¡­ oh¡­ these 10 precious seconds¡­


    Right now, Luocheng could kill Kha¡¯zix in 3 bolts and Ahri in 4 bolts. Renekton might need 6 to 7 bolts in him before he drew his last breath.


    In these 10 seconds, putting aside his teammates¡¯ DPS, just how many opponents could Luocheng slay?


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    As soon as Vayne was revived, the crowd went wild!


    Her first target was none other than Fiddlesticks!


    Vayne quickly Tumbled and went invisible. After evading Renekton¡¯s relentless attacks, she quickly caught up to Fiddlesticks whose movement speed had been slowed by Da Luo¡¯s Yorick.


    First bolt!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Half of his HP was depleted! Half!


    Vayne¡¯s first bolt after her Tumble had shaved off half of Fiddlesticks¡¯ HP, and this insane DPS had sent all the audience¡¯s jaws falling to the ground!


    Then came the second bolt! With it, a fourth of his health was taken away, and then, another bolt hit!


    800 HP! Fiddlesticks had only had about 1000 HP!


    Vayne had successfully killed him in just 3 bolts, and not to mention, it was an overkill!


    Everyone had been confused at first. Why would Vayne chase after the Support first?


    Now they knew why.


    Those 3 bolts? They were just her appetizers.


    ¡°Ooh, Vayne¡¯s going on a rampage! Oh yeah!¡±


    Vayne¡¯s DPS was off the charts, stunning everyone who witnessed it. So, who would be the next victim?


    Renekton?


    No. After killing off Fiddlesticks, Vayne stepped aside to receive Zilean¡¯s and Ezreal¡¯s movement speed buff before dashing straight at her next prey that was standing at the rear of the enemy line!


    This ADC was trying to cut right through the enemies¡¯ defense!


    ¡°I¡¯ll open up a path for you!¡± Da Luo stood at the frontline eagerly.


    Upon seeing Luocheng destroy Fiddlesticks and then dash toward his direction, Da Luo instantly knew what his captain wanted to do.


    And so, he quickly Flashed toward Ahri and Varus. In just one Tumble, Luocheng had slipped past and evaded Ahri¡¯s Orb of Deception!


    Suddenly, Luocheng halted halfway and leapt back, allowing the audience to witness Kha¡¯zix¡¯s spikes and Ahri¡¯s Charm drift by in front of Vayne¡¯s face!


    ¡°Oh my God! Vayne has got great reflexes! It¡¯s as though she has faced over tens of thousands offensive skills and evaded all of them in one go! All of them! She glided right into the enemy line and still had everything under her control! So this is what a world-class player is like! Overpowering! Overpowering indeed!¡±


    The ability to leap right into the enemy line and evade every attack that came his way, this level of reflex, control and foresight¡­ just what kind of training had granted him these god-like skills!?


    Most of the audience in the stadium were fans of Team Daemons and Team 71. They were here to watch them, not Luocheng¡¯s Team Skycrown. Little did they know that they were in for a treat!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    ¡°THUD!¡±


    3 bolts! 3 bolts again!


    Vayne had used 3 bolts once more to take away Varus¡¯s remaining two-thirds of health that he still had. She had killed him like the pathetic, begging dog that he was!


    After shooting her killing bolt at Varus, the cooldown time of Vayne¡¯s Tumble had already ended. Not batting an eye at Varus¡¯s corpse, Vayne fiercely dashed toward Ahri!


    Now, how many bolts can you withstand, Ahri?


    Luocheng¡¯s equipment had 3 main buffs. They could buff his Vayne¡¯s speed with each kill, this in turn allowing her to have an additional 60 movement speed buff right after she activated her skill. Adding that to her passive skill that granted her another 30 movement speed, she was like a lightning bolt, zipping across the map. Nothing could catch up to her, not even the speedy Quinn. Of course, let¡¯s not forget her Berserker¡¯s Greaves that had an enchantment that granted her 12% attack damage!


    Now, with only 2 Spirit Dashes left, where could this Ahri run to?


    ¡°This is so frightening! After activating her skills, Vayne is now like a berserk demon queen! She could easily claim anyone¡¯s life as she wishes!¡± Bao Jun commented exaggeratedly via his microphone.


    It had only taken 3 bolts to finish off these so-called Champions? Were they no different than the tower-pushing creeps?


    Also, speaking of pathetic fleeing Champions¡­


    Ahri didn¡¯t stand a chance at all, not even after she had fled into the tower¡¯s range.


    1 bolt!


    In an instant, Luocheng had Condemned Xie Yi¡¯s Ahri to the tower!


    How could this be!? Xie Yi had a Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass on him! And yet, Luocheng¡¯s move was too unexpected and Xie Yi had not thought that he would pin him to a tower! With the stun time that was inflicted on Ahri, it was enough for Vayne to take her out!


    4 bolts. Vayne put an end to Ahri in 4 bolts, and yes, it was another overkill.


    Xie Yi didn¡¯t even have time to use his Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass before seeing his Ahri being destroyed under the tower.


    If he was in the game, he might even hear complaints coming from his towers ¨C a complaint about letting the entire team get slaughtered by the enemy between the towers. Not only that, these enemies hadn¡¯t even destroyed one tower. Not one single tower had been destroyed!


    Somewhere nearby, Kha¡¯zix was lying low, waiting for an opportunity. He had been hoping to coordinate with Ahri to defeat the recently revived Vayne, however, he witnessed with his own eyes how Xie Yi had fallen. And now, Vayne had her eyes locked on him too!


    Birch was scared shitless as he quickly had his Kha¡¯zix running for his life!


    ¡°Oh, Kha¡¯zix is fleeing! Team Sky is now ruined! No, they are in pieces!¡±


    Triple Kill!


    Right after reviving, Vayne had managed to kill 3 Champions, now, could she pull off another kill?


    Vayne, the Night Hunter, was now in pursuit of Renekton. Renekton had already been wounded by the other members of Team Skycrown, and right when he thought that he had finally gotten away from them, he saw Vayne dashing right toward him.


    Thoroughly shocked, Renekton quickly cast his Flash!


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    He had rammed himself straight into a wall.


    Vulcan could hear the laughter coming from the entire stadium, however, what he didn¡¯t know was that those were cries of shock for him.


    He couldn¡¯t do this now, Vayne, the killing demon, was right behind him! She could end him in an instant!


    Right now, she had a Blade of the Ruined King, her skills were all activated, and she had received a lot of buffs, not forgetting the 19-stack Sword of the Occult.


    To be frank, it didn¡¯t really matter even if he didn¡¯t make a single mistake at all. No matter how tanky he was, or how much health he had, he stood no chance in front of Vayne anyway ¨C she was a tank-killer.


    ¡°Gosh, Renekton. Just kill yourself now. That¡¯s much better than dying in humiliation.¡± Bao Jun commented coldly.


    ¡­


    4 kills!


    Right after she had ended Renekton, Vayne stood up and swung her bloodied cape against the wind before dashing out to find her next prey.


    Where. Are. You!?


    Come out and get it!


    Corpses appeared wherever Vayne went. Now, she was just one more corpse away from a team-wipeout, just like earlier.


    She was running around the field, searching for that final kill, when suddenly, her body turned into a shroud of blue smoke and vanished into thin air.


    D*mn!


    In front of this Fighting Hawk, all the top-tier LPL players were like cannon fodder. He basically just killed whoever and whatever he wanted, and not only that, he did it all within that 10 seconds window that Yorick had granted her with his Awakening.


    Just how strong was he?


    Just how strong was this Fighting Hawk? This¡­ Fighting Hawk of Team Skycrown!


    So was this the difference between the national and international players? How could the difference be this huge!?


    It was as if they were not even from the same realm!


    Now, every audience present believed. They believed in the title of that national E-sports emperor¡­ the King of International E-sports!


    ¡­


    6 members of Team Daemons were standing at the backstage, staring at the young man who was sitting on his seat like a statue via the livestream.


    That was the Fighting Hawk! The actual, real, Fighting Hawk!


    Even after retiring for so long, his reflex, skills, and momentum, weren¡¯t rusted one bit. When he took off the chains and locks on him and discarded that stupid student¡¯s uniform, he was still that same king of E-sports. Nothing could stop him!


    He had created miracles time and time again. This Team Sky¡­ they were nothing!


    Hades¡¯ eyes were glaring at the stage, his fists clenched tight.


    These people¡­ Vulcan, Xie Yi, Birch, Mercury, Jupiter¡­


    How dare they take on the Fighting Hawk! How dare these weaklings take him on!?


    Weak! They were too weak!


    In the entire world of E-sports, only him! Only Hades had the right to face off with Fighting Hawk!


    ¡°Asmodai, if your ADC ever crosses paths with him¡­¡± Charon whispered to Asmodai.


    Asmodai in turn remained silent.


    Looking back, Asmodai couldn¡¯t help but feel how foolish he had been when he suggested a duel with Fighting Hawk.


    Not only did he not have the capacity and right to take on Fighting Hawk, he finally realized now why they, Team Daemons, kept hitting a wall when trying to breach to international level.


    He finally understood just how small and ridiculous they were¨C the so-called ¡°strongest team in the country¡± in the eyes of the international players.


    This gigantic gap between national and international level¡­ Asmodai felt that he would need a very, very, long time to cross it!


    Still, there was one thing Asmodai just couldn¡¯t make sense of.


    There were so many giants in the E-sport world who could reproduce this kind of high-speed reflex without any kind of special training.


    How did the Fighting Hawk do it?


    How!?


    ¡­


    ¡°Now do you know why Team Daemons respects him?¡± said Zhang Aijing as she turned to her team.


    Team 71, including Forgetful Laughter, quickly pulled their attention back from the screen and nodded.


    This Vayne¡­ her killing streak had just made it clear how huge the gap between their, the top-tier players¡¯ skills, and the skills of the players on the international level were. That gap was bloody huge!

 Chapter 351 - Champions Worth Less Than Cannon Minion

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    League of Legends had had a long sweeping reach to all universities in the nation for the longest of times. There were numerous universities, like Zhejiang University, Fudan University, Shanghai University, and Zhongshan University, that even took a positive stance toward E-sports and organized countless open-air livestream watch parties throughout the year!


    The spotlight of the LPL this year was undoubtedly the match that Team Daemons, whom many cheered on for, were playing. Thus, there were many high schools that had Team Daemons¡¯ fans set up camps and started watching the LPL livestreams outdoors.


    This led to them also watching Team Sky and Team Skycrown¡¯s match.


    At first, the audience had been raging with passion when the match started, but now, all that was left in the watch parties was silence.


    When Team Skycrown and Team Revelation were facing off, many students at Shanghai University were going crazy just from seeing their fellow students from the same university breach into the renown LPL!


    Yet now, they were so stunned in disbelief as they saw Team Sky being wrecked!


    This didn¡¯t feel like a match. No, it felt as though a Diamond player was fighting a Bronze team¡­ No, not even Bronze, it was as though he was taking on a Plastic team!


    That difference in power was that great!


    Blade of the Ruined King, Sword of the Occult, Trinity Force, and Phantom Dancer!


    Whenever Vayne appeared on the map, any opponent in the same area would definitely be dead, it didn¡¯t matter who it was ¨C Renekton, Ahri or even Kha¡¯zix!


    So much attention was on the champions being slain that many didn¡¯t realize that the creeps had already destroyed a few towers. Without the towers, Vayne was able to pursue her prey even further. As long as the ward found an opponent, Vayne would zip right over to his or her location¡­ and kill!


    Anyone could wreck an amateur team. However, for a team from the top-tier level to be wrecked like they were nothing but rubbish¡­ this was such an utter disgrace for Team Sky, the so-called top team within the nation.


    ¡°World-class E-sports king¡­ Holy sh*t!¡± Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu couldn¡¯t believe their eyes as they slowly shifted their eyes from the screen and stared at each other.


    They were so shocked by what they saw that they clung to one another for comfort. They held each other so tightly that anyone who walked by would have thought that they were either brothers who had just been reunited after being separated for years, or that they were just weird.


    They had traveled across the country to find the Gods of LOL. They had ditched their dignity to kneel to various top players so that they would be accepted as students ¨C all so they could defeat those snobs who looked down on them back home.


    Indeed, they knew Luocheng was great in E-sports. He was, after all, sought out by the E-sport Club and then went on to participate in a high school E-sports tournament, later becoming a professional E-sport coach.


    They were already shocked to see that he could defeat Team Revelation¡¯s Bai Feng, and now, they were utterly dumbfounded and stunned. They couldn¡¯t believe that this ¡°King of E-sports¡± was their roommate!


    If these so-called LPL top players were ¡°LOL Gods¡±, then Luocheng was basically the Genesis of LOL Gods! And this ¡°Genesis¡± had been sleeping right there in their room back then!


    They now felt nothing but regret! They had had so many opportunities to lick his boots back then and yet, they had wasted their chances! Wasted!


    ¡­


    At Fujian Normal University, a guy constantly let out screams of passion.


    ¡°Now, can y¡¯all losers just kiss my butt!?¡±


    His roommates just gave him stares of disgust, ¡°Yeah, yeah, we get it! This Fighting Hawk was your high school mate and we¡¯re all your d*ck¡¯s grandsons. Satisfied!?¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Bai Feng, Hao Yue, and Qing Ye, all sat in silence in the E-sports Club of Zhejiang University. At the same time, their university mates, Zeng Feilong, Jiang Qiming, and Ke Shaoming, were all watching the livestream intently without blinking an eye.


    This Yu Luocheng¡­ this berserker was insane! He wouldn¡¯t stop killing!


    Usually, when a player slays the opponents this much, the match would have ended by now. There was nothing Team Sky could do to stop this Vayne, the Night Hunter, who had been revived twice.


    Still, Team Skycrown had never once decided to attack the towers. It was almost like their sole intention was to slay Team Sky, as if they wanted to strip Team Sky of their honor and dignity.


    It was undeniable that 10 minutes into the match, there was at least one Team Sky member being defeated at every minute!


    There was no one who could pawn more than 30 heads in an LPL match! No matter how hard the others tried, the best they could do was get more than 25 kills, but it was always less than 30!


    Yet now, Team Skycrown¡¯s kill count was steadily rising up to 60, and out of the 60 kills, Vayne was the one who had done most of the killing ¨C 40 kills, to be exact!


    Their kill rate was absurdly high. They kept reviving one another, not pushing the creeps, not jungling, and instead, pursuing the enemy champions! Whenever they saw their opponents, they would march straight toward them with bloodied red eyes! Team Skycrown¡¯s routine was either slaying their opponents, waiting to be revived at the fountain, or to keep on slaying their opponents!


    It was as though they treated the LPL as some kind of child¡¯s play. There were no strategies. There were no plans. There was only killing. However, if this was just a child¡¯s play, how was Vayne able to always catch up to her prey even when they were 2000 yards away? And how was she always revived so efficiently?


    ¡°Still killing¡­ he is still going at it¡­ Since when did Team Sky become this much of a wimp!?¡± Hao Yue mumbled to himself.


    ¡°This dude¡­ he¡¯s too strong, boss¡­¡± Qing Ye could feel a cold chill on his spine.


    When facing off with the Fighting Hawk back then, Qing Ye had already known just how threatening he was, how superbly powerful he was. However, he didn¡¯t know that back then, Fighting Hawk had been holding back.


    Now, there was one thing that he was convinced of. Fighting Hawk¡¯s ¡°Resurrection Strategy¡± was something much more brilliant than Bai Feng¡¯s. Qing Ye had seen so many spectators in the stadium raise their cardboards that were prepared on the spot, showing, ¡°Bai Feng¡¯s weak! Fighting Hawk is the real deal!¡±


    Yes, compared to this berserking Fighting Hawk, Bai Feng was now nothing but a thing of the past. Everyone was so shocked that they couldn¡¯t say a word. Every E-sports legend was now nothing compared to this Fighting Hawk ¨C The very same Fighting Hawk that kept on striking his opponents down as he swung his bloodied cape against the wind!


    ¡­


    ¡°Qianqian, look! Isn¡¯t that your boyfriend? Wow, he looks so cool! But why does he look so gloomy?¡± one of the girls from the E-sport Club whispered to Yang Qianqian.


    The entire E-sport Club was enveloped by a strange atmosphere. No one dared to talk loudly, fearing to disturb the top players from Team Revelation. Besides, it was quite difficult for people to open their mouths to talk due to how stunning the performance was!


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± Qianqian admitted as she stared at the screen.


    Every time a kill happened, the camera would then show Luocheng as a highlight, and during those times, Qianqian could see something in his eyes. Something that was fiercely radiating from his eyes!


    It was an extreme level of sadness and a show of powerful calmness, the latter trying to suppress the former. Meanwhile, the muscles on his face were twitching while several nerves were tensing up on his forehead, which indicated that he was now also exceptionally furious!


    There was nothing he paid attention to other than the game that was happening on the screen!


    ¡°Ah!¡± Suddenly, Qianqian recalled something.


    Qianqian remembered that Luocheng had once told her, when he was at the height of his E-sport career, he had gotten totally addicted to the world of E-sports. He couldn¡¯t differentiate what was real and what was not anymore at the time. Everything that he saw in the ¡°real world¡± had seemed fake to him.


    Could it be that he had once again plunged himself deep into the abyss!?


    And it was because he had done that and gotten lost in it, he had now become so terrifyingly powerful.


    To the other professional E-sport players, their constant training was to maintain their reflex and speedy control. It was just so that they could maintain that ability to handle the highly tensed pressure when dealing with a match.


    However, it was not the same with Luocheng. He would give it his all, and he would become one with the game.


    Qianqian was fairly familiar with what Luocheng was capable of, and she knew that he was a strong E-sport player. Yet, the skills and proficiency that he showed today was way too strong. This wasn¡¯t the usual Luocheng that she knew, and thus, she deduced that there was something else that was driving him.


    There was something else that had provoked him to return to his old ways ¨C his old ways of merging himself with the fictional world of E-sport!


    Qianqian didn¡¯t know what was that ¡°something¡± that had made Luocheng like this, however, she knew she couldn¡¯t allow Luocheng to go on like this. If it went on like this, his psyche could be crushed by this enormous ¡°drive¡±. He had to escape from this!


    Please!


    Please end this match!


    Please end it quickly!


    ¡­


    Fingers were tapping on the keyboard, like the stings of bees!


    93!


    Godlike!


    ¡­


    The mouse was whirling around on the mousepad, like a dance of butterflies!


    94!


    Legendary!


    95!


    SHUTDOWN!


    Suddenly, everything on the screen turned white, and the avatar was now showing a countdown.


    Vayne was slain, but it was alright ¨C Zilean had granted her another revival.


    Oh, she was killed again. It didn¡¯t matter, she had her Guardian Angel.


    Oh no, she was slain yet again!


    There was nothing to worry about! Yorick had revived her again.


    4 lives! And she had used them all up.


    The reason Luocheng had acquired Guardian Angel was not for keeping Vayne safe ¨C No, it was so that she could quickly rise up and resume killing.


    However, now that the Guardian Angel needed another 5 minutes before granting him another revival, Luocheng couldn¡¯t be bothered with it anymore and pawned it off without hesitation.


    After that, he didn¡¯t purchase any defensive equipment at all.


    Other than Guardian Angel, Luocheng also sold off his Sword of the Occult and bought an Infinity Edge and Last Whisper in exchange.


    Now, other than her boots, Vayne had nothing but offensive equipment on her!


    ¡­


    It had been a while since the match started, and so, the members of Team Sky had now acquired godlike equipment for themselves.


    Due to Luocheng¡¯s Vayne being slain earlier, they had been able to retaliate and had managed to push their creeps all the way to the Inhibitor Tower.


    It was quite obvious what they were trying to do ¨C they were trying to utilize the short window of time when Luocheng was reviving at the fountain to destroy their opponents¡¯ nexus!


    However, Team Skycrown didn¡¯t care about winning. Team Sky wanted their nexus? Come and take it!


    They wouldn¡¯t stop until they had lopped off 5 more heads. Don¡¯t even think about ending the match before that happened!


    ¡­..


    ¡°10 more seconds! Come on, push all the way to their nexus with all we have! If Vayne is revived, we¡¯re going to lose!¡± Guan Langjie yelled out to his teammates.


    Langjie didn¡¯t care about anything else anymore. All he cared about at that very moment was just winning this match.


    Ever wondered how one would feel when he had been killed so many times that it was as if his champion¡¯s head was worth less than a cannon minion?


    This was the LPL!


    If one was familiar with his ranking, they would know that his champion was supposed to be more valuable than that!


    Langjie was now so mad that he had totally lost his mind!

 Chapter 352 - Ninety-six Kills!!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There were only seven seconds left, there wasn¡¯t enough time!


    They did not know why, but these seven seconds seemed very scary, as if after it had passed, the death door would open and the apocalypse would begin!


    All of Team Sky¡¯s players were breaking out into cold sweat!


    This match did not affect Team Skycrown much as they had already been disqualified from the LPL, but the situation was very different for Team Sky. The points accumulated in this match would determine if they were eligible to participate in the World Championship or not. If they really lost, their prize money would be directly affected!


    In the mid-game stage, they were killed as if they were just minions, and that was very embarrassing for them. It was very hard for them to finally kill Vayne, this was their last shot at getting a comeback!


    ¡­


    In the resting area, Xu Pingyang was on his feet, looking at the big screen through a glass window. Right beside him was the General Manager, Wang Zong.


    He had a contract beside him. If he signed that contract, Team Sky would monopolize most of the resources from the competitive gaming scene, and with the sponsorship, Xu Pingyang could also live a very lavish life.


    This contract was more important to Xu Pingyang than his own life. He had waited his whole life for this moment, but he had not known that this situation would arise.


    Manager Wang had wanted to leave many times already, from the time Team Sky had been slaughtered like pigs. The only reason he stayed was because Xu Pingyang had begged him to. He had never seen a person who did not care a single bit about his image. Since he was told that Team Sky had a chance to win, he had to see for himself how they would get out of this dilemma.


    Vayne was going to revive soon, and if she was revived, Team Sky would definitely lose.


    ¡­


    ¡°Whoa!!!¡±


    The crowd went wild!


    There was only one reason behind why they had become so rowdy!


    Vayne had respawned!


    The Night Hunter had appeared in the fountain, and it felt as though the crossbow on her wrist was already dipped in blood!


    ¡­


    ¡°He¡¯s respawned! He¡¯s respawned!¡± Langjie shouted in panic.


    Fear had spread throughout the ranks of Team Sky, immediately stopping them in their tracks.


    ¡°Run! NOW!¡± shouted Birch!


    This was Team Sky¡¯s last chance! They had to go all out now and push like their lives depended on it, otherwise, this embarrassing match might continue!


    Vayne almost had one hundred kills!


    ¡°It¡¯s no good, we have to fall back! There¡¯s no way we can win right now, we¡¯ll get them next time!¡± Xie Yi exclaimed.


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    The death bell had tolled, the grim reaper was now here!


    With terrifyingly fast speed, the aggressive Vayne was advancing without giving a damn on whether there was a five-man team in front of her or not!


    ¡­


    ¡°Use Terrify on him! Right now!¡± Langjie shouted.


    Jupiter readied himself and flashed in with a Terrify right as he landed, leaving Vayne feared. This kind of tactic was definitely unavoidable.


    As soon as Luocheng was terrified, the whole team of Team Sky rushed back in to kill him. As long as they controlled the situation well, they would be able to kill Vayne in seconds, even with those items in her possession!


    As they turned around, Luocheng used Cleanse on himself to remove the debuff!


    Most of Team Sky¡¯s big crowd control skills were used on the other Team Skycrown members. Only then, they were able to push the tower to the state it was in right now. But now, other than Fiddlesticks¡¯s Terrify and Ahri¡¯s Charm, they were completely useless against Vayne!


    Could they kill her if they focused all of their attacks solely on her?


    They might have a small chance of killing her, but what if they didn¡¯t succeed?


    There were so many times they had thought that they had the upper hand and could manage to kill her, but instead, had ended up getting killed themselves!


    Kha¡¯Zix had jumped over walls to ambush her many times but was killed. Varus had been chased down many times, and Ahri had also been sniped. There was not even a need to mention Renekton, he was just a delicious meal in front of Vayne!


    ¡°Thud! Thud!¡±


    Two bolts were fired!


    Both hits were critical hits, and Fiddlesticks who had almost full health, instantly dropped to the ground!


    Vayne now had 96 kills!


    ¡­


    ¡°Does this Vayne plan to fight all of them without his teammates!?¡± Bao Jun was immensely shocked, and the crowd were no different!


    There were five enemies with quite a sustainable amount of health, but Luocheng still rushed forward. Even though he had used Cleanse to clear the fear from Fiddlesticks and had subsequently killed him in two shots without a retaliation, there were still four enemies!


    How much more shock could this Vayne bring to the world!?


    Had a 1 vs 5 ever occurred in the LPL?


    ¡­


    ¡°Kill him! Kill him now!¡±


    How could the four people of Team Sky be scared off by just one person? Currently, Vayne had no resurrection options, she was only looking for death if she rushed in!


    Renekton aggressively turned around toward Vayne and pounced.


    ¡°Hah!¡±


    After killing Fiddlesticks, Luocheng suddenly rolled backward, almost as if he had a strong sixth sense and he had already known that Renekton would pounce at him!


    By hiding and rolling, even if Renekton used both parts of his E skill, he would not find Vayne¡¯s position. He had wanted to bite Vayne, stun her, and let his teammates do the rest.


    The only problem was, he could not find where Vayne was hiding. Just as he finally found Vayne, his health started to drop drastically!


    Even if he was tanky, he could only take six shots!


    Move!


    A bolt was shot!


    Another one was shot again!


    As he was moving sideways, he had made the enemy form a line!


    Retreat and continue kiting!


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    Just a mere six shots and Renekton¡¯s health was shredded!


    Not only that, from the start till the end of the encounter, Renekton had not been able to lay a single finger on Vayne. When both parts of his E skill had missed, he already knew that he was going to die!


    Renekton could see that he had to fall back, but just as he started to run, Vayne rolled out from the top right and fired one more bolt.


    DOUBLE KILL!


    Out of five people, only two were left. Not just that, both the kills were by kiting and poking.


    Being able to hit the target accurately in a messy scenario was already an amazing achievement for an ADC. Earlier, Renekton and Kha¡¯Zix were almost next to each other, but even so, all of Vayne¡¯s bolts had hit their mark splendidly, killing Renekton!


    On his part, Kha¡¯Zix had tried his best to deal as much damage as he could, but when he saw that Vayne¡¯s armor had started glowing, he knew that it would never be enough!


    It was Zilean¡¯s Chronoshift!


    Even if he killed Vayne, she would rise again. More importantly, her teammates had already respawned and were out and about!

 Chapter 353 - The Everlasting Chase!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Kha¡¯Zix had very high damage, so high that even after using some skills, it could cut Luocheng¡¯s health by about seventy percent!


    The only thing was, Birch could only run after exhausting his skills.


    Revive and chase!


    Even without the help of his Ultimate skill, Luocheng had crazy movement speed!


    Every time he used his Tumble, he would take advantage of his Night Hunter¡¯s ability to continue increasing his movement speed!


    This was one of the most conventional ways to use Vayne. By using the Phantom Dancer, she would be permeable to units, so he could ignore the enemy minions blocking his path.


    As he used his Tumble ability, he also shot out a bolt, resetting the cooldown of his Q skill. At the same time, if his bolt killed the enemy minion, he would trigger three types of buffs to his movement speed at once, increasing his movement speed by twelve percent!


    Coupled with Vayne¡¯s passive, even if he had already used his Ultimate skill, if there was an enemy in range, Vayne could definitely catch up to the enemy. This was definitely one of Vayne¡¯s strongest points!


    Birch¡¯s movement speed without his Q skill to evade was extremely slow. In a few seconds, Luocheng had already caught up to him.


    Birch braced himself and turned around to face Luocheng, trying to find a way to kill him instead.


    Now, a professional ADC could have seen that counter attack from a mile away. Luocheng knew to dodge with inhuman reflexes, he might have even calculated all the moves that could be played against him!


    Luocheng sneakily stood there and stopped, facing Kha¡¯Zix. As soon as Kha¡¯Zix turned around and leapt into the air¡­


    ¡°BANG!¡±


    A silver bolt flew across the sky and landed precisely on Kha¡¯Zix mid flight!


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Kha¡¯Zix had been pinned to the remnant of the tower and could not move. The silver bolts did not stop, just two more bolts and a Q skill could cut down half of it¡¯s health. It seemed as though this insane burst of damage would kill Kha¡¯Zix even before the stun wore out!


    ¡°WHOA!¡±


    The crowd immediately went wild, all of them barely believing their eyes!


    Vayne had shot down Kha¡¯Zix mid flight and had even pinned it to the ruin of the tower, that was just unbelievable!


    Every Vayne player should know that there was only half a second for his E skill to work, and the time for Kha¡¯Zix to land was also around half a second!


    If he had waited for Birch¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix to turn around and jump, and then only use his E skill, Kha¡¯Zix would definitely have landed first.


    This Hawk had pinned the enemy to the tower mid flight with extraordinary positioning!


    This play showed that Luocheng had an immense amount of skill and experience to even pin someone with a skill within half a second!


    There were a tiny amount of Diamond and Platinum ranked players in the crowd. Most of the people present were either Gold, Silver, Bronze, or even unranked players. Most of the time, they would ponder about what is the difference between them and a professional player.


    In this match, Luocheng had let all of them know what a ¡°Game Sense¡± truly was!


    Most players would just stop at estimating the enemy¡¯s rotations, but in actuality, there were many more things included. The enemy¡¯s future position, estimating ability, flash radius, counterattack estimation, psychological state¡­


    Firstly, every player that was above the Platinum rank would know that you will not be able to outrun a Vayne who had fully built up at least three items. There was almost no one in the Champion selection that would be able to outrun her at all. If there were enough chances to refresh the Q skill, even Quinn and Nidalee would have a hard time escaping Vayne¡¯s clutches.


    Since he would definitely die if he just kept on running, why not put up a fight. With Kha¡¯Zix having enough damage, it may be possible to kill Vayne even if Vayne revived once again.


    And Birch did try it, making a great leap back to counterattack. It was really too bad that Luocheng was already one step ahead of him.


    If you already knew what the enemy was thinking of and were prepared to take action, your reaction speed would be freakishly fast. This was also part of the psychological and evading aspect of the game.


    Of course, Luocheng needed to be extremely confident and know his opponent well. Otherwise, how else could he pin the airborne Kha¡¯Zix onto the tower in half a second?


    The three speed-boosting effects were applied while stepping over the corpse of Birch¡¯s champion, Kha¡¯Zix, and Vayne¡¯s speed was boosted and continued to increase!


    ¡°Whoa! He is still going! Vayne is still continuing to chase!¡±


    Vayne was sprinting through the lane, continuously using the lane to refresh his Q skill while dashing toward the two enemies.


    In the early game, Luocheng had already killed Varus after chasing him from the blue buff until they were between the two towers, even going as far as the high ground. That play had made thousands of people¡¯s jaws drop!


    This time, Vayne started the chase from her own fountain!


    In the process, she had killed Fiddlesticks, and soon after, had ended Renekton with six bolts.


    Upon being revived after getting killed by Kha¡¯Zix, with Zilean¡¯s speed boost and also her own speed boosts, she gave chase. Following that, she had even managed to pin and kill Kha¡¯Zix, who had tried to counterattack, at her first tower!


    Ahri and Varus were already long gone, but even so, Luocheng continued to give chase. He ran from his high ground to the mid lane while constantly using the creep wave to refresh his Q skill, stacking his movement speed.


    On the big screen, the view was panned to Vayne.


    Vayne was constantly chasing very aggressively. She had a feeling that Varus had run off to somewhere around here, but she could not see him as far as the eye could see!


    There were still two more kills to go!


    Where had the Varus gone!? Where was he hiding?


    Luocheng looked closer, noticing that the formation of the creep wave was crooked.


    Varus had not bought a Phantom Dancer, which meant he must have had some collisions with the creep wave. This also meant that he had passed by, causing the disruption in the creep wave!


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up. Varus was right ahead!


    Luocheng continued to give chase. After using the creep wave to continuously increase his movement speed, as expected, Varus appeared in his vision now!


    Varus has tremendously slow movement speed, and his items were all trash. Luocheng took advantage of his movement speed increase and chased him up to the high ground.


    The tower at the middle lane¡¯s high ground had already been long since destroyed. As two towers were gone, this made Luocheng¡¯s path much easier than it should have been.


    Right about now, Team Sky¡¯s Guan Langjie looked as though he had seen a ghost!


    From Blue base to the Red base¡­


    This time, the chase had lasted through the whole summoner¡¯s rift. It was a distance of tens of thousands of units!


    This made the crowd go silent. This was not a normal game that Vayne was playing anymore, it had just become a slaughterhouse!


    Langjie was still trying his best to run, but in the end, with his low health and after Vayne had used her Q skill to roll and launch a bolt at him, his corpse ended up near the inhibitor!


    Kills: 99!


    For Team Sky, these numbers were like a slap in the face for them!


    Only one more left!


    It was very clear to Luocheng that Ahri was in the fountain!


    After wiping the blood off his bolts, he ignored the nexus and ran straight toward the steps of the enemy fountain.


    In the fountain, Xie Yi¡¯s Ahri was recovering her health. His boots were not built fully, and he would not be able to change it to Homeguard anytime soon.


    His Ahri was standing in the deepest part of the fountain, and Luocheng was approximately 800 units away. With this distance, Luocheng would not be able to touch him.


    With Luocheng¡¯s remaining health, he would not be able to come in for the kill since he would not be able to withstand more than two hits from the fountain.


    Luocheng did not move an inch, standing still, just like a hunter that was waiting for his prey to come out of the cage.


    Xie Yi was also looking at the bloodied Luocheng.


    He had already bit his lip until there were hints of blood.


    The person standing right in front of Xie Yi was the world-recognized best player in this category.


    Even so, all of the competitive players were full of pride. They stood on top and shone brightly among hundreds of thousands of players. Normally, no one would recognize that they were inferior to someone else.


    ¡°Xie Yi, are you willing to come out from your fountain?¡±


    It seemed as though Xie Yi had heard Luocheng whisper this in his ear.


    In actuality, Bao Jun was the one who said it.


    The crowd was quiet for a long time. Even the people backstage were looking at the screen intensely, not to mention the tens of thousands of people watching online.


    This Vayne seemed as though she was just waiting for that last one to come out next to the enemy fountain.


    ¡°Are you willing to come out?¡±


    ¡°Are you really willing to come out?¡±


    This was really it. Everyone knew that at this moment, these words were said by Vayne to the enemy right in front of her!


    Finally, Xie Yi moved!


    He had his Ultimate skill ready now!


    If he had his ultimate, how could Xie Yi retreat from the best competitive player! Xie Yi payed full attention. Right at that moment, he simulated everything that could happen in his head, calculating every single possibility of the enemy¡¯s positioning.


    Spirit Rush!


    Xie Yi moved to the middle of the fountain and pretended to not have his ultimate. Just as he got closer to Vayne, he suddenly Spirit Rush-ed to the side, standing at an angle that Vayne could not hit him to use his skills!


    BAM!


    Suddenly, a clear sound rang through the air and shattered whatever plans Xie Yi had had previously.


    A silver bolt flew through the air and pinned Ahri to the wall of the fountain!


    Xie Yi was stunned. He had thought of four steps into the future, why had he not realized that his plan would be foiled from the start and he would be pinned to the wall!


    This b*stard¡­


    How could he Flash right into the fountain and stand right next to himself just to pin him to the fountain wall!


    Flashing right into the fountain to obtain an angle to pin the enemy to the wall!


    Did he not know that the fountain dealt one thousand pure damage per second!?

 Chapter 354 - Sacrificing One Hundred Corpses!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The moment Vayne Flashed into the fountain, everyone¡¯s heartbeat quickened!


    Right after she was hit by a ray of light, a huge chunk of her health dissipated instantly. That was a massive portion of her health, gone in a mere second!


    Everyone was shocked! How could Vayne Flash into the fountain without the slightest bit of hesitation!?


    Right after firing a bolt, she rolled out. After another bolt, continuously firing at Ahri, her health was decreasing rapidly. The amount of burst and true damage output was not any smaller compared to the damage from the fountain!


    Two seconds had passed, and another ray of light descended upon Vayne!


    How much health could a level eighteen Vayne possibly have?


    The three items that she had did give her some health, but it was just a mere two hundred and fifty points of health! You could say that Luocheng¡¯s Vayne currently had around two thousand maximum health points!


    If Vayne¡¯s health was any lower than two thousand points, she would die immediately, and if her health was higher than two thousand points, she would be left with just a small slither!


    ¡°Hah!¡±


    Just as the ray of light was about to strike Luocheng, he rolled out of the fountain!


    Just as he was rolling out, a bolt was fired at the already weak Ahri who was unable to counterattack.


    Another kill!


    Ahri, surrounded by the healing power of the fountain, was immediately killed before she could use any of her skills!


    Xie Yi¡¯s screen turned black and white, and it seemed as if he had just lost his soul. Both of his hands which were on his keyboard and mouse were currently frozen in place!


    Flashing into the fountain¡­


    Haha, he had Flashed into the fountain¡­


    Xie Yi had simulated everything in his mind. He had thought of every single possibility, but when he had taken the first step, the Fighting Hawk had Flashed into the fountain. By taking advantage of his lifesteal items, he had gotten over two thousand health and endured two thousand points of true damage. Then, in 1.5 seconds, he had killed Xie Yi who was hiding in the fountain!


    Utterly defeated.


    Xie Yi was completely and utterly defeated!


    At the time, there were people in the country who were unsatisfied with being below the Fighting Hawk, and there were also uncountable people overseas who didn¡¯t like him as well, however, when they really did encounter him, they had no choice but to admit defeat. You could see very clearly that he had a different understanding toward the game compared to any other person.


    One hundred kills!


    A whole one hundred kills!


    At the start of the competition, who would have thought that there would be a time when one hundred kills would ever happen.


    Now they knew why before the match had started, Fighting Hawk had told them to not surrender¡­


    If they surrendered, they would not have to suffer the shame of getting killed one hundred times. They had hoped to make a comeback using this match, but because of Team Skycrown not losing their towers, going into the late game, the game had started to lean in Team Skycrown¡¯s favor.


    ¡­


    One hundred!


    Those who were aware of it were completely silent.


    No one had really paid attention to the kill count. When it had been ninety-nine kills, everyone¡¯s attention was still on how Vayne had killed Ahri in the fountain.


    When the kill count reached one hundred, everyone finally realized!


    Just to get one hundred kills, he had gone all the way across the arena, killing left and right!


    But why did he do it?


    It was just a match, if he won, then so be it. Why did he have to get one hundred kills?


    Also, when the camera panned to Luocheng¡¯s face, why did it feel like his eyes looked so strange.


    One hundred kills!


    It felt as if the game would end only if this number showed up, not when the nexus broke into pieces!


    Then, what would he do now after getting the kills?


    ¡­


    Everyone watched as Vayne went back to the fountain.


    Would he continue killing?


    The rules had stated that any behavior to embarrass the enemy players would not be tolerated.


    This match should already be Team Skycrown¡¯s win. It was won by this player but he purposely didn¡¯t destroy the nexus just so he could get more kills. This should have been a violation of the rules.


    It was clear to the facilitators that the match could not be continued. If Vayne wanted to continue dragging the match on to just get more kills, the match had to be stopped.


    ¡°Wait for a while.¡± Ai Ke stopped the judge from making a move.


    His attention was still focused on the screen.


    On the big screen, Vayne had already returned to the fountain.


    He had sold most of his items, leaving just his boots and Trinity Force in his inventory.


    He then filled the last four slots with wards!


    The bloodied Vayne walked step by step toward the enemy nexus through the mid lane.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡±


    ¡°He has killed everyone already, why isn¡¯t he pushing!?¡±


    ¡°He bought so many wards!¡±


    ¡°We only buy wards and place them to form words when we lose. But this is the LPL, the judges will probably not tolerate this.¡±


    The crowd started to become agitated as they saw Vayne walking toward the enemy base. Zilean also used his skills to increase Vayne¡¯s movement speed.


    ¡­


    Finally, he had reached the nexus!


    All of his wards were placed quickly in succession and formed a word in front of the enemy nexus!


    At first, no one could tell what it was, but just as the words were finished, everyone could clearly see the word!


    ¡°Bei!¡±


    Killing the enemy team, getting one hundred kills, and right after, writing a ¡°Bei¡± word at the enemy base!


    ¡°Cut it, faster cut the camera!¡± The commentator shouted.


    Even if they cut the camera, that word had already been imprinted on everyone¡¯s mind!


    The screen showed Luocheng, and you could see his handsome facial features clearly.


    The hair covering his forehead seemed to be in a slight mess, and his cold, black eyes had finally loosened up, a stream of tears suddenly rolling down his right cheek from the corner of his eye.


    I did promise, before getting your name to the world championship, I would sacrifice one hundred lives of Team Sky to you.


    Luocheng had finally done it, and he wrote this word at the end of it all in memory of him, as his tombstone¡¯s last engraving!


    Farewell, my friend.


    ¡­


    The venue that was currently filled with people was completely silent.


    That eye-catching word, as if it was written with the blood of Vayne¡¯s own hands, brought unbelievable feelings to everyone, a heartbroken kind of feeling!


    Also, the stream of tears from this young man had truly touched everyone¡¯s hearts!


    Many times, there were too many times when the camera had panned in on Luocheng, there had been a feeling that he had had some sort of emotion flashing in his eyes.


    Now, they knew.


    When he finally wrote the word ¡°Bei¡±, everyone could see his sorrow and sadness in his cold, angry eyes!


    What could be the reason for this professional gamer who was standing on top of thousands to tear up?


    ¡­


    The place was completely silent, as if they were mourning.


    Following the sound of Victory, this match had finally come to an end.


    ¡­


    Xu Pingyang who was standing in the resting area had already become restless. Almost as if that word was a curse, it made him panic and uncertain of his actions.


    ¡°Mr. Xu, what do you have to say now?¡± Manager Wang scoffed at him and took the contract back as he stood up.


    This kind of team, getting slaughtered by people like dogs and even getting killed one hundred times. How could they still represent their products!?


    ¡°Manager Wang, wait a second, please, there is still the summer season competition, even if we have lost this season, there is still the next season! In the next season, we will definitely get first place, we will also get qualifications to enter the S International League!¡± Xu Pingyang aggressively tried to win manager Wang¡¯s favor back again.


    ¡°Even if your team can make it, I have already lost all interest in your team. Furthermore, don¡¯t treat me like an idiot. Your team and Team Skycrown have some bad blood between you. If my memory serves me well, Team Skycrown had an ADC player called Xiao Bei. I recently received news that Xiao Bei had passed away, right after they were forced to be disqualified!¡± Manager Wang retorted.


    There was nothing that would happen for no reason. Team Skycrown¡¯s Fighting Hawk, this type of top-tier player massacring Team Sky, and finally engraving a ¡°Bei¡± word at the enemy nexus. If you were to connect the dots beginning from the time when Team Skycrown and Team Sky¡¯s bad blood had started to show and also the death of the player, it was very obvious that there was an underlying unspeakable truth!


    Three Star was a big brand, and there was no possibility that they would work with a problematic team and sign a contract with them. It didn¡¯t even matter if they were able to get into the S league anymore!


    Bang!


    The door was slammed shut, and Xu Pingyang stood there, absolutely stunned.


    If someone began an investigation, they would definitely find it strange, the reason being that Xiao Bei¡¯s identity had already been confirmed before the match. However, he had used some underhanded methods to force Xiao Bei¡¯s identity to have some problems, thus resulting in Team Skycrown being disqualified.


    If this were to be dug up and spread around, he would have to be responsible for this suicide case, and he would also be apprehended by the competition committee!


    He did not know if he would be going to jail, but Team Sky would definitely be ruined!


    ¡­


    In the working area, the head of the LPL, Ai Ke, had an annoyed expression on his face.


    ¡°This player should be apprehended! How could he do such an embarrassing thing to the enemy team! Does Team Skycrown not want to play in the LPL anymore!? The audacity of him!¡± The assistant was angrily saying.


    The competition had rules that stated that this type of behavior would not be tolerated. Did Team Skycrown not care anymore, using those wards to shape words?


    ¡°We can¡¯t stop him, the only ones that have the authority to do so is the International E-sports Federation.¡± Ai Ke said bluntly.


    His assistant flinched. There was actually a player that the LPL could not stop!


    When the LPL didn¡¯t exist, this player had already reached a world-tier level. Without a professional like him, the LPL would most definitely receive some resistance from organizing the competition.


    If the LPL did not have the authority to stop Luocheng from playing, the International E-sports Federation themselves might not be able to stop him as well.


    ¡°You should go and ask the managing section about the condition of Team Skycrown¡¯s original ADC, Xiao Bei¡¯s identity. First, determine the reason for it being unidentified. It might be the best decision to go to the Public Safety to make sure.¡± Ai Ke said.


    ¡°Huh? You want me to investigate this?¡± The assistant asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Just follow my orders and go. Also, I heard an unsavoury rumor yesterday, I want you to investigate that too. If there really was a player that committed suicide, we will have to deal with some of the responsibility.¡± Ai Ke continued.


    ¡°A player that committed suicide!?¡± Xi Xi was startled and came over in a hurry.


    ¡°Yes, there was already someone who had messaged me before the match. I thought that it was some sort of a prank, but right now, that might just be the case.¡± Ai Ke nodded.


    The competition manager, Xi Xi, was left completely baffled.

 Chapter 355 - Stepping Into the World

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Normally, after a match, the crowd would dissipate normally. This time however, the spectators stared at the screen in a daze for a long time.


    The whole of Team Sky just sat on their chairs, utterly dumbfounded.


    They had lost. They had actually lost!


    And this time, it felt the worst. Their pride had been trampled on, and now, it was as if they couldn¡¯t get up from their chairs anymore.


    They were LPL¡¯s strongest team, and their full strength was ranked number two. They were never scared of anyone before, but after today, would they have the willpower to say this again?


    Even if Blood Eagle was not here, how would they explain getting killed one hundred times!?


    If they had known about this earlier, they would not have tried to even initiate a comeback and instead, surrendered at the twenty-minute mark. If they had, they would not be embarrassed.


    ¡­


    After the match, the five members of Team Skycrown finally stood up.


    A sudden wave of cheers and shouts echoed through the venue, all of them were directed toward Team Skycrown.


    They won. They had finally won miraculously with one hundred kills!


    They had done whatever they needed to do!


    The thing was, no one in the audience knew that this would be the last time Team Skycrown would be participating in the LPL.


    To use the most eye-catching way as a finale!


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong, all looked toward Luocheng.


    With the match over, they had lost their direction.


    They had spent so much time, blood, sweat, and tears, to prepare for the LPL and even try to go to the nationals. After everything that had happened, none of them wanted to face this bloodied mess anymore.


    How hard would this path actually be?


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Zhou Yan stood next to Luocheng and patted his shoulder.


    Zhou Yan knew what Luocheng was going through right now. He had already been worried when he saw that Luocheng¡¯s expression had changed.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, everything is under control.¡± Luocheng shook his head.


    After this initiation, Luocheng felt as though he had had a change of heart.


    At first, he had left his house entirely because he was too engrossed in gaming. The person he was before had been too engrossed,which was why he did what he did.


    He had left the competitive scene to allow himself to leave this dream. After coming back to reality, he had found out that the only thing left in his mind was gaming. With some time to think, he finally found out what he wanted in his life, and his life finally gained meaning.


    ¡°Bro, look over there!¡± Suddenly, Da Luo pointed toward the resting area.


    The five members of Team Skycrown looked over and saw that a few people with authority over the competition had appeared before Xu Pingyang.


    Even if they could not hear what they were talking about, after seeing Xu Pingyang¡¯s panicked face, it was obvious that he was trying to give an explanation.


    ¡°I hacked into the public safety system and prepared evidence of the messages and changes of violation on Xiao Bei.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Zhou Yan immediately became worried. ¡°Lin Dong, why are you so reckless? Are you not afraid of being sent to jail?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This time, I did it without leaving any traces. The competition organizers should have gone to the police.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡­


    After walking backstage, Ai Ke suddenly walked out from the resting area. He had seen the five members of Team Skycrown walking toward him.


    ¡°We are already investigating with the police. Furthermore, Xiao Bei¡¯s status has been returned to being an LPL player. His name will be recorded in our LPL database, this is all we can do for now.¡± Ai Ke said.


    ¡°He should be going to jail!¡± Lin Dong grit his teeth.


    ¡°It all depends on the police. No matter what, Xu Pingyang has violated our competition rules and we will immediately revoke Team Sky¡¯s rights to enter the competition. Also, we are thinking of giving you back the right to participate in LPL¡¯s matches. We have two choices now. The first choice is to forever ban Team Sky from participating in the LPL, and they will never be able to play in the LPL again. At the same time, your team will also lose the right to join the LPL. It is a fact that at the start, the identity of Xiao Bei was indeed unidentified. If we investigate further, it will not be beneficial to you either. The other choice is to remove both of your teams from this year¡¯s LPL. That way, next year, both of your teams will be able to participate.¡± Ai Ke said.


    All eyes were focused on Luocheng, hoping that he would make a decision.


    ¡°The second choice.¡± Luocheng confirmed.


    The LPL was the only way for them to enter the nationals, they had to get back their right to enter.


    ¡°Besides that, All-Star will be starting soon, and you will be put on the waiting list. Following your performance today, the All-Star ADC should be between you, Bai Feng, and Asmodai. If it is possible, I hope that you will consider joining the competition in Los Angeles.¡± Ai Ke said in complete seriousness.


    ¡°What is All-Star?¡± Lee Meiqi asked.


    ¡°The All-Star competition is organized once every year. It is participated by China, South East Asia, Korea, North America, and Europe. You could say that this is a competition at the top of the LOL player base and is watched by millions of people.¡± Xi Xi replied.


    Ai Ke and Xi Xi both hoped for Luocheng to participate in the All-Star match. His skills were remarkable, and his level was already much higher than a mere LPL player. If the Fighting Hawk were to represent the All-Star team for China, the other countries would surely be jealous.


    Yet again, all eyes were on Luocheng.


    Who would have thought that after just two LPL matches, Luocheng would be recognized as a player suited to play in the All-Star match? This was a great honor as there were many ADC players that would kill to get that spot!


    ¡°Never mind, I don¡¯t have any plans to go overseas anytime soon.¡± Luocheng shook his head.


    HUH!?


    After hearing Luocheng¡¯s answer, Xi Xi¡¯s jaw dropped to the floor!


    This was the All-Star match! The competition organizers would cover the full expenses to Los Angeles! How many millionaires and rich people would be sponsoring this trip overseas, and it was even to be broadcasted all over the world!? This was unbelievable!


    Ai Ke had already revealed what he was here for, and if Luocheng nodded his head, the spot would be his. He definitely had the qualities to become the top in the gaming scene.


    Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Wu Sen and Lin Dong, all turned to look at Luocheng, puzzled. They didn¡¯t understand why Luocheng was giving up this amazing opportunity.


    It could not be possible that Xiao Bei¡¯s incident was the reason for him not going, Xiao Bei himself would very much hope for Luocheng to go too!


    ¡°I will bring my own team to the international league.¡± Luocheng said.


    Many years ago, he had brought Team Wings to the international league and had made history.


    Now, he would do it again. It didn¡¯t matter if anyone was standing in their way!


    How would they do it?


    No, Team Skycrown had a very clear objective in mind. They had chosen their path a long time ago. The entirety of Team Skycrown was not strong enough. Their teamwork was not as solid as other teams, and their strategies were not completely foolproof!


    Also, they would definitely not be satisfied by just defeating the LPL teams, their target was the internationals!


    If they couldn¡¯t do it this year, they would definitely obtain it next year!


    ¡°I believe that you can do it. Even if you can¡¯t participate in the LPL, there are still many tier-two competitions. There, no one can stop you from obtaining your objective.¡± Ai Ke nodded.


    It seemed to him that it was already a paved pathway for him to go through.


    Since he was planning to enter the internationals, Ai Ke, as an organizer for the LOL championship, would definitely look forward to it. He looked forward to seeing someone who would bring the nation glory and show everyone else what China was made of!


    ¡­


    Upon walking out of the competition area, a beautiful sunset was awaiting them.


    Orange rays of light shone on Team Skycrown¡¯s members.


    Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Da Luo, Wu Sen, Luocheng, Lee Meiqi, and Jian Feng. This team consisted of a total of seven people.


    They took off their white headbands and dropped it on the ground.


    No sponsors, no prizes from the competition, no more training grounds, and they had even gotten their rights to this year¡¯s LPL revoked.


    This time, they really had nothing left.


    However, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong, didn¡¯t feel as lost as they did before.


    This was because of what Luocheng had just said.


    ¡°I will bring my own team to the international league!¡±


    This simple sentence had all four of them pumped!


    Standing at the top of the world, how long would that take? But even so, it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Even if they had nothing right now, they had Luocheng¡¯s unwavering trust.


    They believed in Luocheng, it was as if he was the soul of their team. He had reached those heights before, standing on top of everyone else, being the best of the best in the gaming world. After a long period of internal debates, he had become more mature, and he would definitely become stronger. That world champion position that they hadn¡¯t gotten yet wasn¡¯t just engraved in Luocheng¡¯s heart, it was also engraved in all of their hearts as well!


    It was okay, even if they lost everything, it would still be okay.


    If they had the willpower and not bow down to their fate, whatever it was that belonged to them would be obtained eventually, and they might even go higher!


    Looking back at the crowded place of the competition, the team waved their hands as a goodbye to Xiao Bei, and also to say goodbye to LPL.


    Next year, they would definitely appear at this competition once again!


    At that time, whether it was Team Sky or Team Daemons, no one would be able to stop them in their tracks!

 Chapter 356 - Playing in the Hangzhou Competition!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The speed of the news spreading on the internet was very fast, and following the official announcement, Team Sky immediately gained many haters.


    After they were removed from the competition, they didn¡¯t show themselves in front of crowds anymore. Even when streaming normally, they would only be bad-mouthed by many people.


    On the internet, Xu Pingyang was scolded like crazy, and it was said that until now, he was still under investigation by the police. Due to the fact that he had tempered with their public safety system, he would not be let off so easily.


    Before, you might be able to see Xu Pingyang in Team Sky¡¯s stream once in the blue moon, but after they were removed, Xu Pingyang probably wouldn¡¯t be showing himself anytime soon. Even the rest of Team Sky¡¯s players were not able to participate in any sponsorships.


    Just because of this incident, everything changed for Team Sky, and at the same time, the team which was constantly getting stronger, Team Daemons, were getting more and more attention!


    In the spring season competition, not to anyone¡¯s surprise, Team Daemons had won first place once again, followed by Team 71.


    After the spring season competition, the All-Star competition was next!


    The main picks for Mid were Ancient Dust, Xie Yi, and Hades. With overwhelming votes, Hades took the mid laner spot of the All-Star competition.


    After that, it was the votes for the ADC position, and there were only Asmodai and Bai Feng contesting for this spot.


    Bai Feng¡¯s solo skills were stronger than Asmodai, but because of his many years of teamwork with Team Daemons, Asmodai¡¯s teamwork and strategy was much better than Bai Feng, resulting in their votes being almost the same, and no one could really tell who would get into the All-Star.


    The coming of All-Star made many people excited.


    The internet gossip comes and goes very quickly, and thus, following Team Skycrown¡¯s disappearance from the media, this Team which had butchered the other team in the LPL had also become forgotten with the passing of the All-Star competition.


    Sometimes, some people would be curious during the voting session. Where was the ADC that treated Team Sky¡¯s members like mere AI? Why was he not chosen for the All-Star?


    ¡­


    After that one match, Team Skycrown had really disappeared.


    There were no traces of them in any other competitions, and they were also gone from the ranks.


    The people who still remembered Team Skycrown started to have discussions, would this team be disbanded due to their competition rights being revoked?


    Disbandment¡­


    From a normal person¡¯s perspective, disbandment might be their fate. Not getting sponsored and not getting the prize money and financial support that they needed to obtain¡­


    They weren¡¯t even able to join the LPL anymore. If the top of the world was their aim, they had finally lost their means now.


    But, has this team really disbanded?


    If they had not, where were they now!?


    ¡­


    After a long time, September finally came. The Hangzhou West Lake was one of the most famous tourist attractions at this time of the year.


    The lake area was filled with couples sitting together, looking at the mountains and water in the distance, making it seem as though the whole world belonged to them.


    Luocheng, as an honorable early graduate of his university, would never do such inappropriate actions in public. Such as his hand which was holding onto Qianqian¡¯s slim waist slipping down inch by inch¡­


    ¡°Idiot!¡± Yang Qianqian pinched Luocheng¡¯s hand, glaring at him playfully.


    Without them realizing, Qianqian was already a second-year in university. Normally, September was the time when school would start, but not long after she had started university, she had gotten word that Luocheng had come to Hangzhou. Hence, they decided to meet at the west lake, having a very sweet encounter.


    After playing in the LPL, Luocheng had begun his studies in Shanghai. This request had been made by his parents. Since Luocheng only needed to write the proposal, after sending a copy back home, it did not matter if his parents signed it, as he had already made up his mind.


    Luocheng was exempted from paying the fees for his second year. Taking into consideration the fact that Luocheng had brought back very important extra marks, the school had agreed to let Luocheng continue his studies provided he could pass all his subjects.


    And so, Luocheng was able to attend university like normal. During the times that he went to Shanghai for his training, he would go back to school often too.


    However, after realizing he was being watched by many people, Luocheng would be extra careful when going back to the university.


    In his fellow students¡¯ eyes, he was basically a God!


    There were also some retards who went straight into a ranked match after shaking his hand, as if it gave them some godly luck to be able to reach the gold rank.


    Regardless, Luocheng still had to do it as it was safer for him to go back to school.


    ¡°Anyway, if you guys want to play in a competition, why not join Shanghai¡¯s competition?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°There is not enough prize money in the competition. If we get to be the champion of the state, we will only obtain some skins, and if we were to emerge as district champions, we will only get ten thousand bucks.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Wow, you guys have finally come out! With all these competitions, why don¡¯t you join the city¡¯s LPL competition?¡± Qianqian asked enthusiastically.


    After Team Skycrown left the LPL, they had not appeared anymore. Qianqian had wanted to see Luocheng many times but she never had the chance to.


    She only heard from Lee Meiqi that they were training secretly, and this secret training lasted for six months!


    Half a year of training, Qianqian could not comprehend where these guys got their motivation from. They could shut themselves off from the world and train for six months, and where did they get the money for their expenses?


    ¡°Yes, it is almost time. There is a competition organizer that told us that if we were to emerge as champions in the district competition, they would pay us thirty thousand dollars and even throw in five high-tech LPL gaming gear. The condition is that we have to represent their cybercafe in Zhejiang, Hangzhou.¡± Luocheng continued.


    ¡°A represented match? Why don¡¯t you guys represent Team Skycrown to play? Why not just join the competition, get the title of the district champion, and then also win the nation¡¯s competition? There might even be a cash prize of two hundred thousand dollars!¡± Qianqian was quick to understand what was going on.


    ¡°They are a new cybercafe, right here in Hangzhou. They must have spent money to invite us to play for the fame they would be getting. Although thirty thousand dollars might not be much, we really want those gaming gears from the bottom of our hearts.¡± Luocheng said.


    High-tech gaming gear!!!


    How many times had they died in the game or lost the match just because their computers froze? Losing their ranks because of the bluescreen was just unbearable!


    For LOL, they did not need high specs for the gear. But just because of the lag, or connection problems during a ranked match, it may cause impulsive behavior toward family, marriage, and the peace and harmony of the family.


    All in all, their gaming gear was really important to them. If Team Skycrown didn¡¯t obtain good gear, how would they win against the Taiwan Team!?


    ¡°Going first into the weekly tournament, and then the monthly tournament, right?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Correct, so I will be in the state for around a month. The next time I come, we might just stay here for two days for the monthly match.¡±


    ¡°Let me take some days off to be with you guys. I heard that a few of my seniors have joined the City competition, I really pity them.¡± Qianqian said.


    ¡°Why is that so?¡± Luocheng asked, puzzled.


    ¡°They will have to go against you.¡± Qianqian said with a smug look on her face.


    Luocheng started to laugh uncontrollably.


    Oh, so that was the reason. Under normal circumstances, Team Skycrown would not join these kinds of competitions. Even if they wanted the two hundred thousand dollars of prize money, they would appear right in Shanghai for the competition, and not in Hangzhou.


    If someone were to blame, it would be the rich owner of the LOL cybercafe in Hangzhou. Five complete sets of high-end gaming gear!


    Luocheng could only apologize in his heart: I¡¯m sorry, people of Hangzhou!


    ¡°If it is true, then the owner of the cybercafe must have had a very happy look on his face when your Team accepted the offer.¡± Qianqian laughed as she said that.


    Team Skycrown, the team which had stepped into the heavens before, the team which had tortured Team Sky, the team which had also come to this kind of place for a city competition, while currently representing a cybercafe¡­


    Who knew what the players in Hangzhou¡¯s city match had done in their past lives to be treated like this?


    Qianqian was also praying that her seniors and friends who were competing would not be going up against Luocheng.


    If they really went up against him and his team, it would not be as easy as just getting tortured.


    ¡­


    Taking into account the fact that the living conditions of Team Skycrown were just average, Luocheng took Qianqian back to her school and promised to meet tomorrow when the match started.


    Okay, Luocheng admitted that Qianqian was the one who wanted to go back to school, and he had nothing to say to ask her to stay.


    There was a match tomorrow, it would be best if he did not partake in any rigorous activities¡­


    ¡­


    September in Hangzhou was still very hot.


    Next to the road in the commercial district was a place called ¡°Fishy Caf¨¦¡±.


    That¡¯s right, it was a cybercafe!


    To be honest, this cybercafe was indeed high end, and when Team Skycrown stepped in, they thought it was a freshly renovated coffee shop.


    The shining covers, the white-as-marble curtains, the milk-colored computers!


    The seats were organized in such a way that there would be no smoke and harm caused by the clean and neat computers. Japanese-style toilets, the half see-through dividers, the fish-patterned ceiling, the cherrywood floor¡­


    The five members of Team Skycrown were all flabbergasted!


    This was a cybercafe!?


    In their eyes, a cybercafe was a place that was filled with cigarette butts on the ground, mist everywhere, the chair would be missing a leg, the table would be half-broken with a torn mousepad, and the place would be filled with people sporting all sorts of hairstyles and colors!


    How¡­how was this place so completely different? This completely changed the view of Team Skycrown toward cybercafes.


    Playing the competition in this environment would make them feel as though they had already gotten into the big leagues!


    ¡°Are you here for the competition?¡± Standing beside the door, a teenager in his team shirt looked at Luocheng and his team.


    ¡°Yes, we are.¡± Lin Dong nodded.


    ¡°First time? Try not to block the door next time, alright?¡± The teenager said.


    After saying that, this person wearing a team shirt which was sponsored by a random company walked to the bar and pulled out his gold card as if he had done so many times before, while flirting with the waitress. Judging by his swagger, it was obvious that he was a regular here.


    That feeling, it seemed like his standard of normal living had long surpassed many people!


    After he had walked further away, Da Luo came back to his senses and started complaining, ¡°D*mn, he is such an *sshole.¡±


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve already remembered his team name, it doesn¡¯t matter for now.¡± Lin Dong replied, a slight smirk on his face.


    ¡°Should we let Luocheng have a go at him?¡± Da Luo asked.


    When seeing someone act like a douchebag, letting Luocheng have a go at him seemed like a great idea!


    ¡°What ¡®have a go¡¯!¡±

 Chapter 357 - We are from Sandy County!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Xu Ben, what¡¯s the matter? Why did you arrive so late?¡± At the competition area, a man wearing fancy-colored pants said while walking toward Xu Ben.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I here now? K, do you see those idiots at the door?¡± Xu Ben said as he walked to his team.


    The one who called K looked up and immediately saw the five people wearing their team shirts.


    ¡°So, we are up against them?¡± K questioned.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t need to sign up in advance anyway. Since you can compete as soon as you arrive, I guess that is so.¡± Xu Ben laughed.


    ¡°Are they good? Do you know where they¡¯re from?¡± K asked.


    ¡°As good as my *ss! I don¡¯t even know which cyber caf¨¦ they are from. They think that getting team shirts from a small-time t-shirt maker will make them a team.¡± Xu Ben replied.


    ¡°How would you know?¡± K continued.


    ¡°Heh, if they were used to playing in these competitions, they would definitely know about this cybercafe. Didn¡¯t you see them looking lost like idiots over there?¡± Xu Ben said with a smirk directed at the five people in the corner of his eye.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hello, are you here to compete in the LOL competition?¡± The server asked politely as she walked toward Luocheng.


    ¡°Yes, where can we sign up? Will we be playing immediately after that?¡± Lin Dong nodded and asked.


    ¡°Is this your first time competing in a city competition?¡± The server asked with a smile.


    ¡°Hmm, I guess it is.¡± Wu Sen said after stuttering slightly.


    The city competition, especially these types of small-time competitions had never really caught Team Skycrown¡¯s eye, so they had never competed in one yet, especially after the time when they had gotten the qualifications to play in the seasonal competition after playing in the online competition. After that, they had gotten to play in the LPL and since then, they did not participate in any competitions anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you. The city competition will not need you to sign up in advance, you can play as soon as you arrive as long as you have five members.¡± The female server wearing a maid caf¨¦ outfit explained.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. If that is so, then a hastily-formed team can also participate then?¡±


    ¡°That is correct, as long as you have five people.¡± The female server nodded.


    ¡°Then, can we start right now?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yes, you can. If you want to participate, you can get ready right now to play against Team Demolition.¡± The female server glanced toward the group of people at the competition area.


    ¡°Oh~ so that¡¯s them.¡± Lin Dong dragged out his voice purposely.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to join now? Just a gentle reminder, if you join right now, your enemy will be Team Demolition, the team which just signed up before you. They were the champions for last month¡¯s competition and are very strong. If you don¡¯t have the confidence, it might be a wise decision to have some coffee and wait till the next team comes in to sign up. This would be better for you so that you won¡¯t be immediately disqualified from the competition. As this is a bracketed competition, you will be disqualified if you lose a match.¡± The server said with a sweet smile.


    ¡°How much is it for a cup of coffee? Da Luo asked.


    It wasn¡¯t everyday that they got to be in such a high-class place, Da Luo also wanted to know the price for future reference.


    ¡°That would be thirty-seven dollars. A lunch here normally costs slightly over fifty dollars. A cup of coffee and some food¡­¡± The server continued.


    ¡°D*mn¡­ That is just too expensive. Never mind, we will join right now.¡± Da Luo said.


    Thirty-seven dollars for a cup of coffee!? A little more than that and they would be able to eat a very affordable self-served meal! They had not eaten meat for days!


    ¡°We will immediately register and start playing against them then. By the way, beautiful, can the internet fee be on the house? We are quite poor right now after selling the last pot in our house to get a taxi to come here to compete. The fees are too high for us. Why not give me your gaming ID and I will bring you up the ranks?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°The fees are already free.¡± The server smiled, and it seemed like she was amused by Luocheng¡¯s joke. Soon after, she smirked, saying, ¡°You want to get my ID? The members in Team Demolition are still lining up to bring my rank up. You guys should know where your power lies. There are many people who haven¡¯t been in this kind of competition and think that they can be the champions for the competition, but they usually end up being the first ones to be eliminated. I¡¯ve seen too many people who have gotten their pride crushed.¡±


    Da Luo and Wu Sen were both shocked. Luocheng was really too shameless, trying to obtain someone¡¯s ID out of the blue, how was it different from asking for someone¡¯s phone number?


    ¡°Heheh.¡± Luocheng scratched his head awkwardly, as his motive was found out.


    How could the girls in this era be so careful? Perverts that were on Luocheng¡¯s level never asked for people¡¯s phone number, instead, immediately asking for their ID. After waiting for these people to come online and bringing them to win a few matches, it was almost a given that they would become acquainted.


    ¡°Ahem, bro, don¡¯t blame me for not warning you but¡­. look behind you.¡± Lin Dong coughed.


    As Luocheng looked behind him, a beautiful girl was already standing there, her eyebrows furrowed and her cheeks puffed.


    ¡°Um¡­ Qianqian, you¡¯re early¡­ let me explain¡­¡± Luocheng¡¯s words started to stutter.


    ¡­


    They really couldn¡¯t afford the coffee here.


    Upon entering the competition area, they immediately saw the arrogant teen from earlier and his teammates sitting there. All of them had a cup of coffee with them, and they noticed Team Skycrown walking toward them.


    The competition judge had already arrived, and coincidentally, it was the girl who had served them. As she smiled at Luocheng gently, Qianqian pinched Luocheng¡¯s arm mercilessly.


    ¡°Log in to your own QQ accounts and wait for five minutes after creating your name. After that, relog and your gold and level will be refreshed. You will be given ten minutes to buy your heroes and runes. After thirteen minutes, Team Demolition will be creating a room. On the left will be Team Demolition, while Team Birdie will be on the right. After picking the players, no one is permitted to leave the match.¡± The judge spoke up.


    ¡°Xiao Ya, we already know all this. Anyway, what time will you be getting off work? After this match, let¡¯s go grab a bite.¡± Xu Ben said as he leaned back in his chair lazily.


    Xiao Ya was clearly annoyed by him and responded, ¡°Stop making a fuss, you know that they don¡¯t know the rules.¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh, yeah, definitely. I almost forgot that the guys in front of me are competing for the first time. Which cybercafe are you from? You probably haven¡¯t participated in a real competition before, right?¡± Xu Ben said.


    ¡°We are from Sandy County. We really haven¡¯t competed in this type of competition. This is our first time, go easy on us.¡± Luocheng said with a big smile on his face.


    ¡°Is that a place in Hangzhou?¡± K said with a suspicious look.


    A chubby member of Team Demolition cut in, ¡°There are so many counties in Hangzhou, how would you remember every single one of them? Anyway, I bet it¡¯s just a small county with a crappy cybercafe. I guess they were called pros in that cybercafe and thought that they were good¡­ let¡¯s crush them later.¡±


    ¡°Treat this as an entertainment, don¡¯t play too seriously. Don¡¯t bully these folks from the rural areas.¡± K also laughed slyly.


    ¡­


    Both teams had finished creating their accounts.


    After five minutes of creating their character, their RP had reached two hundred thousand.


    ¡°Wow, I have two hundred thousand RP now, I can buy so many champions and skins now!¡± After a pause, Luocheng shouted, astonished.


    Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo, all looked at Luocheng, puzzled. What was there to be shocked about, it was not the first time they had joined a competition.


    Just as they were wondering what had happened to Luocheng, they noticed the enemy team tittering and making fun of them, and suddenly, they realized what Luocheng was doing, and so¡­


    ¡°Holy sh*t! It¡¯s true, I also have two hundred thousand RP now. Miss Beautiful Judge, can I use these to buy anything I want? Any heroes or any skins I want?¡± Lin Dong followed up on Luocheng¡¯s act very quickly.


    ¡°Me too, me too! This is so much money, I did not think that I would get so much money and skins! It would be worth it even if we lose!¡± Da Luo said very emotionally.


    Luocheng glanced at his extremely cooperative teammates. Man, this is what you called brothers, this is what you called understanding!


    At this time, the five members of Team Demolition were already laughing uncontrollably.


    ¡°You¡­ you guys are just too funny!¡± Xu Ben could hardly breathe.


    These few people were really idiots! They didn¡¯t even know what a competition account was!


    The money in the competition account was only available during the competition. When the members of Team Demolition heard someone saying ¡°I did not think that I would get so much money and skins¡±, they could not stop laughing!


    What was it about their luck today, how could they be put up against such a funny team? This was amazing!


    ¡­


    ¡°Alright, the competition is starting. Team Birdie, as a reminder, after the match has begun, you may not leave or your team will be immediately disqualified.¡± Xiao Ya also couldn¡¯t hold back her laughter.


    Where were these guys from? Didn¡¯t they know that the people right in front of them were the monthly champions, Team Demolition? Other teams which met with them always ended up losing. These idiots were excited about two hundred thousand RP that couldn¡¯t be brought back!


    ¡°Hmm? What is wrong with this? Why can¡¯t I pick my champion?¡± Luocheng asked, seemingly confused.


    The pretty judge looked over at Luocheng¡¯s computer, puzzled.


    Don¡¯t tell me your team has never even played a ranked match and you dare to come to a competition?


    It was still the banning phase, what do you mean ¡®pick your champion¡¯!?


    The other members of Team Skycrown looked at him, dumbfounded.


    Luocheng, that¡¯s enough! If your act is too fake, you will be found out!


    However, after hearing continuous laughter from the other side, they stopped talking.


    Qianqian who was standing at the side also couldn¡¯t take it anymore and turned around to laugh.


    She was really curious, did those people not watch the LPL? How could they not recognize Team Skycrown? Was there really that much of a difference between the screen and reality?

 Chapter 358 - Firstblood by the Support, Garen!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When picking their champions, Da Luo picked Darius, and it was the first pick.


    ¡°The noob¡¯s champion. Oh my, that champion is sooo strong!¡± K, who is the top laner, said sarcastically.


    Under normal circumstances, Darius was rarely picked in competitions. At the top of the gaming league, it would be extremely hard to see him.


    With that said and done, this champion was brutal, and he was often used to punish those kids that didn¡¯t do their homework!


    Wu Sen chose LeBlanc, a very aggressive and complex female champion.


    Zhou Yan picked the very easy Alistar as his champion to jungle.


    Alistar as a Jungler had already become a very old strategy, and after Zhou Yan had picked him, no one knew what he was doing with his champion. Maybe he was the Support?


    Even so, Qianqian knew that Zhou Yan was in charge of jungling and had already made appropriate preparations.


    After that, it was Lin Dong¡¯s turn to pick. Lin Dong chose a very unpopular ADC, Urgot, who was also one of the ugliest ones.


    Out of these four champions, there were already two of the ugliest ones in the whole game.


    Upon seeing Lin Dong¡¯s choice of champion, this did cause their enemy team to feel a slight sense of foreboding. This was because meeting these four lesser-used champions was a very rare sight¡­ even more rare than scoring a pentakill!


    As a four hundred attack range champion, it was extremely hard to peg him as a strong ADC, and yet, Lin Dong had actually chosen him!


    Soon, it was time for Luocheng to pick his champion. After a short pause, he had made up his mind to pick a very famous champion in LOL!


    ¡°For Demacia!¡±


    Garen!


    It was a quick picking phase, and the screen immediately switched into the loading screen.


    When Team Demolition realized that the Support was Garen, they literally stared right at the screen, barely believing their eyes! Even the judge also almost choked on the water she had been drinking.


    Garen!? Dude, what era was it now, and you¡¯re still using Garen to support!?


    Please don¡¯t reduce our competition¡¯s level. If you usually played normal matches in cybercafes and your power level is under four thousand, no one would have anything to say. Garen was indeed popular with kids, as they had completely no idea what a ¡®Support¡¯ was.


    You need to be clear about this, this is a COMPETITION!


    An organized and proper competition!


    After this, you would go to the Tencent Games Arena, and the champion of the whole country would get two hundred thousand dollars!


    And yet, here you are, choosing Garen as a Support.


    The beautiful judge had broken into cold sweat. My, and he had even said that he would help me win my matches, such misplaced confidence!


    ¡°I can¡¯t, I really can¡¯t!¡± Xu Ben had almost cramped up by laughing too hard.


    The ones who normally joined these competitions were at least in platinum or diamond rank, otherwise, where else would they get their confidence from?


    This was a proper competition and not some child¡¯s play. Garen? As a Support? These kids from Sandy County were probably still lower than level thirty. Please, get to level thirty, own at least sixteen champions, play until you get to either platinum or diamond rank, and only then, come and join this competition!


    Team Demolition had already laughed until they could barely breathe. This was the first time they had come across such a funny team in a competition.


    ¡­


    Although it was funny, the game had started nonetheless.


    The five champions all went out together as soon as they had spawned and bought their items.


    The judge wiped the imaginary sweat off her forehead. Thank goodness these players did not wait in their lanes immediately, or this would definitely pull down the standard of the competition.


    Luocheng had incredible speed and rushed to the front.


    His items were very normal, two vision wards, three control wards, and also, a health potion.


    He placed a ward at the river, it was clear his intention was to protect his Jungler, Zhou Yan, so that he could get the second buff easily and not be counter-jungled.


    After he had placed the ward, he helped Zhou Yan¡¯s Alistar to get the buff to start the match, and then went with Lin Dong¡¯s Urgot to the bottom lane.


    ¡­


    ¡°Should we buy a Sword of the Occult later? I¡¯m just worried that killing them will not be worth anything.¡± Xu Ben said as he controlled Sona.


    Xu Ben slightly regretted using Sona. The enemy¡¯s Support was Garen, and as a Sona, he would not need to do much.


    K was playing as the ADC, and instead of choosing Teemo, he had chosen Ezreal.Read more chapter on our novelhall.com


    Upon hearing Xu Ben¡¯s suggestion, K laughed, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t do that, they¡¯ve come so far from their home to play this match, let¡¯s not destroy their pride.¡±


    ¡°Look, he must have already gone into the bush to try and ambush us. Haha, they are so predictable!¡±


    Sona had placed a ward in the bush as soon as they had gotten into the lane, and the ward was placed right in front of Luocheng.


    Luocheng¡¯s reaction speed was exceptionally fast, and as soon as the ward was placed, he used his Q skill to damage the ward.


    Sona¡¯s ward was immediately destroyed after Lin Dong¡¯s Urgot followed up.


    ¡°Damn, they even know how to destroy wards!¡± Xu Ben said jokingly.


    This time, Xu Ben waited for Garen to leave the bush before placing the ward again.


    In response, Luocheng placed a control ward in the bush calmly and immediately disabled Sona¡¯s ward.


    Soon after, Sona only had one more ward remaining. Xu Ben was slightly thrilled that the enemy Garen had the brains to disable the ward.


    Even so, disabling the ward has no use. After they took control of the lane, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to go near the top part of the bush, how would Garen be able to ambush them?


    K was very smart and he waited for the minion wave to fight lower in the lane before he began last hitting.


    This time, Xu Ben placed the ward toward the bottom of the bush, wanting to see if Garen would try to destroy the ward again. If he wanted to destroy it, he would have to cross the minion wave and take the bait.


    ¡­


    ¡°After the next minion, we will reach level three, get ready!¡± Luocheng focused on Sona, who kept spamming her Q and A skills.


    Lin Dong nodded and killed all the minions.


    Luocheng smoothly controlled Garen, and while it might seem as though he had no direction and was completely exposed to the enemy¡¯s vision, when the last minion died, he immediately cast his Q skill twice and flashed toward Sona while continuously attempting to use his Q skill.


    The Q skill¡¯s damage and silence landed on Sona, and her health was immediately cut in half!


    Lin Dong was also not stingy about using his Flash and unleashed his combo! A+E+Q+W+Q, his combo was not even completed by the time Sona had died!


    A little over a second!


    In the blink of an eye, Sona, who had been running around, was immediately beaten down to the ground!


    First Blood!


    The first kill of the game!


    The first kill had been taken by Team Skycrown, and it was Garen who had gotten the kill!


    Suddenly, everyone was shocked.


    ¡­


    ¡°My friend, why did you not use your Flash? Are you that slow on using your skills??¡± K snapped back to reality and asked Xu Ben.


    ¡°I was Silenced, how could I even Flash! D*mn it, both of them Flashed to kill me. Also, how could Garen have that much damage!? My health was reduced to half with one swing of his sword!¡± Xu Ben replied.


    Garen¡¯s level two Q skill¡¯s damage was abnormally high, and with Sona being only at level two, her health capacity was pitifully low.


    In actuality, Garen did not immediately use his Q when he had Flashed to her. Instead, he had used Ignite on her, followed up by his basic attack, and only then, used his Q skill on her. With such speed, the average person would assume that it was a mere Flash and then a Q skill from Garen!


    In other words, Xu Ben could not figure out how Garen¡¯s damage could be that high, even if his Q skill could afflict one hundred damage.

 Chapter 359 - Even After One Hundred Games, You Will Still Lose!!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Those two idiots actually used two Flashes in exchange for my life.¡± Xu Ben exclaimed angrily.


    From a competition perspective, exchanging two Flashes and an Ignite for a Support which did not use any summoner spells at all was definitely not worth it. If they were ganked by the Jungler, there was a high chance that they would die.


    In Xu Ben¡¯s eyes, this was how the countryside players played. What happened just now was due to his momentary carelessness.


    The judge, Xiao Ya, was obviously shocked. How were they able to kill Xu Ben so quickly? Such aggressiveness! Even so, using both their Flashes would be bad for them in the long run.


    ¡­


    In reality, that was far from the truth. After the first blood, Ezreal stood at the back. Without his Support, he could only rely on his Q skill to last hit the minions.


    What Luocheng did next was disgusting.


    Every time Ezreal wanted to use his Q skill to last hit, Garen would be standing right next to the minion, using his body to block Ezreal¡¯s skill so that he would not get the gold or experience.


    This made K furious, and this was also his first time witnessing such a crazy playstyle!


    On his end, Luocheng still had some wards on him. As long as the ward¡¯s duration did not run out, the enemy Jungler would never get a chance to enter the bottom lane.


    Luocheng had put a ward in the bottom bush to get vision on both bushes as he had the advantage of levels.


    How did the nickname Bush Garen come to be, you ask? If you still didn¡¯t know how to annoy the enemy ADC and Support by using bushes, you should go back to playing with bots!


    Now, it wasn¡¯t that you couldn¡¯t play Garen in high-ranking games, it just depended on how well you could control the lane using the vision of the bush.


    ¡°For Demacia!¡±


    Bam!


    With a swing of his sword, Sona, who had been trying to get vision of the bush, was sliced by Garen¡¯s sword!


    That hit alone took down a third of her health, and he followed up with his auto attack immediately after. In just a second, half of her health had been shaved off.


    After that encounter, Garen immediately went back into the bush. Even if Ezreal wanted to give chase, he could not do it, for if he actually did attempt to do so, Urgot would demolish him!


    Ever since they had made it up to gold rank, this was Xu Ben and K¡¯s first time being pressured by a Support Garen, to the point that they were actually scared to last hit, and this really left a bad taste in their mouths.


    It was probably due to the fact that they were just not as skilled as them in terms of dodging skills, controlling the lane, and positioning.


    The two people on the other side were like crazed animals. If you tried to control the lane, they would run up and hit you like a truck. After about two hits, Sona¡¯s healing could not keep up. This really was the worst feeling!


    ¡°Hahaha! Both of you actually got pressured by two kids!¡± The plump guy who was playing the role of Mid laughed loudly.


    ¡°We just had a bad start and accidentally let them get the first blood. Now that our levels are almost the same, how could they defeat us? Just you wait until our levels are higher than theirs. At that time, they will be the ones dying repeatedly!¡± Xu Ben replied.


    ¡°Haha, you two noobs¡­ D*mn it!¡±


    Just as he was laughing at them, he was killed by LeBlanc¡¯s combo.


    Wu Sen¡¯s control over LeBlanc was inhumanly fast, and a level six combo was enough to kill the fatty without him even knowing what had happened!


    In a flash, the kill feed was already zero to two!


    Not long after, there was another kill announcement. This time, however, it was Da Luo who had been ganked by the enemy Jungler at the top lane. This was definitely not because he was a bad player, but instead, he knew that the Jungler was waiting to ambush him. Even so, he still played like he did not know anything and allowed them to kill him.


    ¡­


    The fatty in the mid lane went back to the lane to farm grumpily. Really, how could he have gotten killed?


    After he had cleared the minion wave, he began to push the lane. Earlier, LeBlanc had already cleared the minion waves and then returned back to her base. If he was quick in pushing, he would be able to get the enemy to lose experience.


    Since he was so close to reaching level six, he walked over to the Crimson Raptors camp.


    As it was still in the early game, it was naturally hard for him to farm the creeps, and so, he had already lost one-third of his health. Lucky for him, he already had lifesteal items.


    Right after he had finished farming the jungle, the minion wave arrived, and he turned to head back to his lane. Just as he rounded the corner, he heard a loud shout.


    ¡°For Demacia!¡±


    Fatty was immediately Silenced, and immediately after that one hit, he had less than half of his health!


    He was shocked, wasn¡¯t Garen at the bottom lane? How was he here now? This was the end for him, this guy had even used his Ignite!


    He took a look at Garen¡¯s level and deemed that it seemed to be still manageable as he was still level five.


    Making up his mind, Fatty tried his best to run into the tower range.


    After passing by the mid lane, coincidentally, a minion died, and right at that second, Garen reached level six!


    Fatty¡¯s expression immediately turned dark. This could happen too!?


    ¡°Demacian Justice!¡±


    A huge sword came crashing down from the sky and landed right on the fatty, killing him instantly!


    Fatty took a deep breath and looked toward Xu Ben and K who was in charge of the bottom lane.


    ¡°What are you two doing? Why didn¡¯t you tell us that he was missing!¡±


    ¡°I thought he had gone back to his base.¡± Xu Ben said bluntly.


    Since he had gotten the first blood, Garen leveled up rather quickly. Fatty was also killed once by him, and after getting pushed back, his level was pitifully low.


    Compared to the Support Garen from the bottom lane who had managed to reach level six, this was too hard on him!


    ¡­


    ¡°D*mn, it¡¯s the Garen again!¡±


    A well-timed Silence landed on Team Demolition¡¯s Jungler, following which, Garen immediately used the speed from his skill to run away like the wind, making the Jungler from extremely angry.


    ¡­


    Just as Ezreal and Sona had just finished killing the Krugs and were about to head back into their lane, Garen popped out from the bush beside them and smacked Sona in the face with his sword, immediately running away after.


    ¡­


    After some time, without them realizing it, Xu Ben and K started to fear the bushes.


    They really did not know, but how did Garen do it? Why was Garen in every single bush that they had no vision in?


    As long as you were close enough, Garen would come out and strike you once with his sword. If he had the chance, he would use Ignite and kill you!


    It was not just the bottom laners who were bothered, the mid laner and the Jungler were also annoyed by him.


    Why was there always a Garen in the bush¡­


    Team Demolition could not understand, how could such an unconventional hero, with such an unconventional strategy, make them so pitiful!?


    ¡­


    ¡°Are you out of your mind? Why did you chase Garen? All of us in the back were killed because of you!¡±


    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Xu Ben did not know how to explain himself.


    A while ago, Garen had used his Ultimate skill to kill the Jungler, and upon seeing that Garen had extremely low health, Xu Ben had chased after him, even using his Ultimate.


    Garen still got away in the end, and not only that, they had started fighting in the back. One of the backliner was killed by LeBlanc, and another one got hit by Urgot¡¯s Ultimate and also perished. The fight had ended before it even started!


    Xu Ben really did not know how to explain himself. A Support should never chase after enemies who were low on health, he should have known that. He should never waste his Ultimate and instead, save it for a big team fight, he should have also known that. His main priority should always be protecting the ADC, he should definitely have known that! Yet, in the end, he had still gone after Garen.


    That Garen really was ruthless. Prior to this, Garen had already jumped at him from the bush over thirty times!


    The feeling of knowing what you were capable of doing but not being able to act on it was the worst. They already knew that the enemy was just a bunch of kids and they were using one of the funniest strategies. They completely had no team synergies either, but even so, they still could not get the upper hand, and this was extremely annoying!


    After winning the team fight, Luocheng and his team went to kill the Baron.


    After killing the Baron, instead of returning back to their base, they did a five-man push in the mid lane while killing off the members of Team Demolition left and right.


    Destroying the tower, pushing the high ground, pushing the two main towers, and then ending it by destroying the nexus.


    ¡­


    Team Demolition were stunned as they watched their nexus shatter.


    It felt as though the enemy had not had that big of an advantage, so why were they the ones to immediately lose their nexus!?


    They had lost!?


    This competition was by elimination, and so, losing this match meant that they were saying goodbye to their participation in the weekly competition, not to mention the monthly competition!


    How could it be? Team Demolition was last season¡¯s monthly champion, they had defeated many famous LOL teams in Hangzhou!


    Yet, they had actually lost today, and furthermore, it was to a random team from an unknown cybercafe too!


    Why did it feel like it wasn¡¯t them who was playing?


    ¡­


    ¡°What were you guys doing? I already said that they were going to get the Baron, why didn¡¯t you go to defend!?¡±


    ¡°You have the audacity to complain about us? The bottom lane was lost because of a mere Support Garen! You can go and eat sh*t!¡± The Jungler fired back.


    ¡°Then why did you not come to gank!¡± Xu Ben was fuming.


    They would have been okay with it if they had lost to a strong team, but losing to a team from a rural cybercafe? The reason they had lost was also mostly because of Garen. To them, the past champions for the monthly competition, it was a huge embarrassment.


    ¡°Hey beautiful, now that we¡¯ve won, what happens next?¡± Da Luo smiled while walking toward the judge.


    Xiao Ya herself was still in shock. A team that had never seen a competition account before had won?


    You guys must have cheated!


    ¡°Oh¡­oh, this is the second bracket for the weekly competition. The monthly competition¡­¡± Xiao Ya finally snapped out of it and began to reply.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t told me your ID yet. Let me use Garen to Support you, I can assure you that we will win!!¡± Luocheng said as he patted his chest proudly.


    This sentence by Luocheng made Xu Ben frown.


    ¡°Um¡­ This¡­ This¡­¡± Xiao Ya wanted to tell Luocheng that Garen couldn¡¯t be used as a Support. You wouldn¡¯t even see him in the gold rank.


    However, he had already used Garen as a Support to destroy Xu Ben and K, the famous bottom laner duo in Hangzhou. This made Xiao Ya speechless for a moment.


    She did not even understand how a team from a cybercafe that she couldn¡¯t even remember the name of, had won!


    ¡°I thought we would fight a better team than when we played online. There is not much difference between this and when we played at the cybercafe next door.¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°F*ck, what do you mean by that! Do you have the guts to play a rematch? We will definitely wreck you!¡± Xu Ben¡¯s anger started to burst out.


    The facade just now, his image as a gentleman toward Xiao Ya, he did not care about that anymore. His image was already ruined, so now, the only thing on his mind was to triumph over this bunch of nobodies!


    ¡°One game, one win. Don¡¯t be a sore loser and ask for a rematch, otherwise, the competition will go on and on forever. We want to play against stronger teams in Hangzhou, alright? We don¡¯t want to waste our time playing against your bad team.¡± Da Luo replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°D*mn it! We are Hangzhou¡¯s strongest team! Come on and fight us in private if you have the guts to! This will not have anything to do with the competition, your fees will be completely covered by us!¡± The fatty said as his face turned red with anger.


    One more match?


    Qianqian had already started to hide her laughter.


    What do you mean a cybercafe¡¯s team? They were an LPL team. Not to mention ten more games, even if they were to play one hundred more games, Team Demolition would still lose to them!

 Chapter 360 - 1000 Yuan Per Class!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Of course, Luocheng was not going to waste his time playing another game with them.


    But they soon found out that Team Demolition was more persistent than they had thought in the days after that.


    This team, after being utterly defeated by Luocheng and his team, waited for them in the caf¨¦ every day. They did not stop babbling about having another private game until the fifth day, when Team Birdie finally went against Team Demolition¡¯s long-time nemesis, Team Buttpain.


    It was easy to tell the cultural level of this team judging by their ¡°glamorous¡± name.


    As usual, Team Skycrown staged an unorthodox formation, such as a Mid Ahri and a Support Anivia.


    When Team Demolition witnessed their strongest rival, Team Buttpain, being dismantled effortlessly by the illogical lineup, the five of them finally came to a realization. Team Birdie was not just any ordinary team at the provincial level, no, this team was without a doubt stronger than any other team they had played against before.


    As a result, none of them dared to mention the rematch from that point onward, instead, they began to obediently watch from beside them while pleading for guidance.


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, try this. It¡¯s the best cappuccino in town.¡± Xu Ben approached Luocheng with a fawning smile.


    Luocheng and his team were sitting leisurely in front of their computers while waiting for the next match.


    Speaking of which, playing LOL in this caf¨¦ was extremely enjoyable. Firstly, the internet speed and hardware here were exceptional. The glass window faced the busy road directly, which created an oddly harmonized environment, and above all, the caf¨¦ waitresses were all pretty girls wearing maid costumes.


    Team Skycrown had never experienced such luxurious treatment.


    Luocheng accepted the coffee and drank it graciously. ¡®Yuck, it tastes like isatis root extract.¡¯


    Seeing Luocheng had drunk the coffee that he served, Xu Ben immediately smiled while rubbing his hands. ¡°Bro, can you teach me how to use Anivia as a Support? Your placement of the ice wall was unreal. That was the first time I¡¯ve seen someone so good at using Anivia as a Support!¡±


    ¡°I was just meme-ing. That champion is flawed to be used as a Support to begin with,¡± Luocheng took another sip and said lightly.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t even playing seriously? Do you know how infuriated Fei Xu from Team Buttpain was?¡± Xu Ben was fully convinced now.


    Xu Ben admitted that he had underestimated this team when he had first met them. However, he was still baffled as to how a kindergarten-level supporting Garen could have beaten the ass out of him. He was, after all, a top Diamond-ranked player in the national server and had witnessed a lot of weird lineups himself. Luocheng¡¯s playstyle was definitely the first of his kind.


    Fei Xu from Team Buttpain had also scoffed at Luocheng¡¯s champion selection at the beginning, but his light-hearted mockery had quickly turned into frustrated grumbles after he had been stunned and blocked by Anivia numerous times, and Xu Ben couldn¡¯t be happier gloating at his misfortune.


    All in all, it was a pleasure to watch Luocheng play as a Support.


    Usually, the Support was the position with the least significance in a game, and Xu Ben was actually considered the weakest link in his team. And so, even though he wished to switch to a more admirable role and carry his team, his inadequacy forbade him from doing so.


    Nevertheless, Luocheng¡¯s Support was on an entirely different dimension. His impact in the game was more than any ordinary Support that Xu Ben had seen before this. He was often spotted in the mid lane out of nowhere and his speed of reinforcing his teammates was unbelievably quick. More so, he would sometimes play the Jungler¡¯s role and gank the enemy near the monster¡¯s camp, mid lane, or even the top lane. He seemed to always appear at the right time and at the right place.


    A roaming-style Support was very skill-demanding as being absent from the lane for too long might sacrifice the ADC¡¯s development. Xu Ben was riddled by how Luocheng managed to balance between securing his ADC¡¯s farming while dictating the tempo of the game. He had been envisioning such a playstyle for quite some time, but couldn¡¯t find a skillful player to show him the way, not until now.


    ¡°Bro, stop pretending. You must be from some sort of professional team. I am being completely sincere when I say I want to learn how to Support from you. Here is my gold card for this club, you can take it and spend it as you like. All your expenses will be put under my tab.¡± Xu Ben offered generously.


    Luocheng recognized the gold card in his hand. It was the same VIP card Xu Ben had flashed to them when they had first met.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be here long. We will leave as soon as we obtain the provincial championship.¡± Luocheng replied, indirectly rejecting his offer.


    ¡°Pro¡­ provincial champion¡­¡± The chubby guy at the side swallowed.


    ¡®For God¡¯s sake! Who is this Team Birdie from Sandy County? Their aim is the provincial champion?¡¯


    Xu Ben and K were both flabbergasted as well.


    ¡®Do you know how difficult it is to win a provincial-level competition? Why do you make it sound like it¡¯s just a piece of cake?¡¯ Team Demolition who had become a monthly champion once had been demolished the last time they had entered the provincial qualifier.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Since we are still in HangZhou, I guess it¡¯s fine to give you a tip or two for some extra income.¡± Luocheng was moved by Xu Ben¡¯s persistence and agreed to his plea.


    ¡°Thanks, bro. Wait, I should call you master now!¡± Xu Ben laughed hysterically.


    ¡°Hold it. As I said, I am not doing it for free. You are going to play two hours of ranked games, which is equivalent to three games. I will be watching from the side and giving you advice on how to improve your gameplay throughout. These two hours are counted as a single course,¡± Luocheng said.


    Luocheng was not so kind as to train these wealthy kids for nothing. He had not eaten well for the past few days, and the food in this caf¨¦ was simply too pricey for poor people like them.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Okay. How much is one course then?¡± Xu Ben asked.


    Luocheng raised his palm.


    Xu Ben said sheepishly as he looked at Luocheng¡¯s five extended fingers, ¡°500?¡±


    Luocheng was shocked and glared back at Xu Ben.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s 5000? That¡¯s too much!¡± Xu Ben almost cried.


    ¡°Er¡­¡±


    ¡°1000! Master, my spending is closely monitored by my dad and I don¡¯t have a lot left this month. 1000 per class is the best I can offer. 5000 is simply too expensive for me!¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± Luocheng said hurriedly, as if he was worried that Xu Ben might regret it.


    ¡°You are such a big-hearted person! Deal!¡±


    ***


    ¡®What the f*ck!¡¯


    Luocheng almost pissed himself. He had only been asking for 50 yuan!


    He remembered that Yang Qian Qian earned about 100 yuan per hour by giving tuition to elementary school girls. All he would be doing was just sitting there and moving his mouth, so he reckoned that 50 yuan was quite reasonable. Besides, he was willing to make some friends around here since they would still be hanging around for quite some time.


    Much to his shock, Xu Ben had counter-offered him 20 times more than what he would have asked, and that gave Luocheng quite a stun.


    ¡®This kid is filthy rich! A wealthy guy like him cares so much about this class, I am not going to embarrass him by revealing my humble initial offer.¡¯


    Who would pay 1000 yuan for a game training course?


    ¡®Sigh. I seriously don¡¯t understand kids nowadays.¡¯ Though he really wanted to chastise Xu Ben for his wastefulness, Luocheng figured he would be the wasteful one if he rejected such a lucrative job.

 Chapter 361 - Let Me Talk You into the Challenger Rank!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°As a Support in the bottom lane, if you wish to escape from the platinum rank, first, you need to learn how to make use of the level advantage. For instance, quick-2, and then initiate,¡± Luocheng stood beside Xu Ben and lectured him seriously.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve heard about this. Quick-2, quick-3, and first-to-6 are all important for initiation. These are the basics that I already know!¡± Xu Ben said proudly.


    At the bottom lane, Level 2 and Level 3 were two vital instances during the early game. Especially when both players reached level 2 earlier than their opponent, they might strike first and force the latter to surrender either their Flash or their lives. Subsequent farming would become much easier if one knew how to utilize this timing properly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing I want to tell you. My question is, do you know how many creeps killed will lead to level 2? And again, at which creep count will you reach level 3? If you help in securing the buff and accidentally pull a few creeps, how will it affect the leveling timing then? Also, at which creep wave will you basically reach level 6?¡± Luocheng fired these questions.


    ¡°Well¡­ er¡­¡± Xu Ben was startled.


    ¡®D*mn! The experience needed for level 2 or 3 may be countable, but all the way to level 6!? That¡¯s absurd!¡¯


    ¡°Like what you have said, level 6 is a critical point. But then, you don¡¯t even know whether you will reach level 6 first or when you will reach level 6. So how are you going to make use of this potential advantage? Players at Diamond rank are not idiots. If he or she is being calculative of the level and aware of the difference, then you would not be able to ambush them. In addition, observant Supports might even see through your intention and call his Jungler to come and gank you. If you are baited, then congratulations, you have just handed over a double kill to them,¡± Luocheng explained.


    Xu Ben was speechless and recovered after a while. He had seriously never considered what Luocheng had just pointed out.


    Xu Ben could be considered a veteran player, but asking him to count his and the enemy¡¯s experience bars was still rather challenging. After all, the calculation was going to be complicated by the enemy¡¯s MIA, recall, and other various factors. How could Luocheng expect him to do all that while in-game?


    ¡°Master, that¡¯s too difficult. Besides, I don¡¯t think any Support can be that precise, not even those professionals.¡± Xu Ben argued.


    ¡°Oh, really? Focus on the screen.¡± Luocheng pointed at the bottom lane.


    ¡°After these two melee creeps, the opponent¡¯s Leona will be level 6. Do you believe that she will come straight at you right after that?¡± Luocheng declared.


    Just as Xu Ben was about to refute him, the Graves from the opposing team used his Q-skill to kill off the two melee creeps.


    A halo of light shone around Leona, and she was instantly level 6.


    Leona had been marching forward a few seconds ago, and upon upgrading her skill, she directly cast her Ultimate skill on K.


    K was sitting right beside Xu Ben and had been listening closely to everything Luocheng had just said, preparing himself and so, he managed to hastily back away using the recoil from his Caliber Net the moment Leona charged forward. This allowed his champion to evade Leona¡¯s sudden assault.


    Xu Ben looked on at K¡¯s smooth control and turned back toward Luocheng in disbelief.


    ¡®D*mn! So he really can estimate the opponent¡¯s level up to level 6.¡¯


    One had to be extremely cautious when Zyra, Leona, and Annie, reached level 6, as they would be extremely powerful at this point.


    Most players at the Diamond Rank knew that level 6 was a golden moment for initiation. Mediocre bottom lane players who did not see it coming would usually be put down easily. The Ultimate skill gained at level 6 was indeed extremely vital.


    Xu Ben understood this, but he had never imagined anyone could accurately tell the timing of the opponents¡¯ level. By doing so, they could easily bait the enemy like what Caitlyn had just done, and lure the enemy to cast his or her ulti that was destined to miss!


    After Leona had yielded her ulti for nothing, the opponents would have to back off when both of them reached level 6!


    ***


    Luocheng did not comment much after that in the first game. He only gave advice periodically during crucial moments. For instance, when the enemy¡¯s Jungler was missing, was the enemy baiting, as well as the instance when they could attack without worries.


    Double kill!!


    K snatched the double kill with a huge grin on his face, showing Luocheng a big thumbs up right after.


    K and Xu Ben were both in Diamond 1 rank, and their goal was to reach the Challenger rank, but they had failed to do so thus far.


    It had been a while since they had had such a good game, cruising through the bottom lane.


    Leona from the opponent team had already given up and was asking for a mid-end.


    After they won the first game without many hurdles, Luocheng offered the same advice in the second game. He stood behind telling the two of them when the enemy would reach a certain level, when their opponents were going to come forward, whether the enemies were plotting an ambush, and when they should summon their Jungler to the lane to counter-ambush.


    The second game ended smoothly in a similar fashion, and their Ranking Points had climbed higher!


    The third game once again commenced in the same way as the previous two games. Unfortunately, their top lane was being bullied this round, and they were being constantly pressured at the bottom lane during the mid-game.


    Under Luocheng¡¯s guidance, Xu Ben successfully reclaimed the vision advantage and counter-ambushed the enemies who intended to invade their jungle area. They slowly regained control of the game behind several small victories along the way and had the last laugh in the end.


    This was a game in which their own Mid player had been asking for mid-end at the 10-minute mark. Even Xu Ben and K could hardly believe that they had managed to turn it around.


    ¡®We have saved the world!¡¯


    They attained absolute victory at the bottom lane in all three games. Just as they geared up for the fourth rank-game, Luocheng knocked their heads and said, ¡°That¡¯s all for today.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Come on! Last game!¡± Xu Ben said.


    The Challenger Rank was now within reach after Xu Ben and K had tried to push for it for months, and they didn¡¯t want to stop here after getting a long-awaited win streak.


    ¡°Are you expecting me to stand here all day and tell you what to do every time? You have to master these skills by yourself. You guys don¡¯t have the slightest awareness about advance ganking and counter-ambush. Besides, you two often miss the good window to secure the Dragon or push the lane. I admit those are still too high level for you guys as of now, so you¡¯d better start from learning about the enemies level first. After mastering that, try to take note of the opponents¡¯ Ultimate skill cooldown. Remember, I am asking for a precise assessment and not a rough estimation. After learning how to grasp these details, I believe you two will become untouchable, at least at this rank. In terms of your hero¡¯s control, I have nothing to add on.¡± Luocheng gave his verdict.


    Xu Ben nodded solemnly. The devil was in the details. He used to think a bad game was no more than poor coordination between teammates or a mistiming of an Ultimate skill here and there.


    Putting personal skills aside, knowing the enemy¡¯s cards before a fight would unquestionably raise the odds of winning by several-fold.


    ¡®F*ck it! I am willing to do anything for the Challenger title. I am going to master this skill in no time.¡¯


    Xu Ben was indeed rich. In fact, it was easy for him to just buy a boosted account, but claiming the Challenger Rank that way would not satisfy him. Xu Ben wanted to achieve it with his own hands, and he couldn¡¯t stop smiling thinking about this chance meeting that would soon make him and K an unstoppable bottom-lane tag team in Hangzhou!


    ¡®Money well spent! This course was definitely worth the 1000 RMB I paid for.¡¯


    Team Demolition always hung out and played LOL in this caf¨¦, and their bets with others during New Year¡¯s time could easily reach 10,000 RMB per game. The fee they were paying for this class was nothing if they were able to slaughter their opponents, especially the arrogant Fei Xu, by that time!


    ***


    The next day, Luocheng once again guided the two apprentices after he had finished his own training.


    They won yet another three matches!


    Xu Ben and K were overjoyed after the consecutive victories as they had never been this close to the Challenger Rank!


    ¡°Learn how to do the math by yourself in the future. No one is going to remind you every time you play.¡± Luocheng nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡°Noted, master. I have been trying. We even train against AI!¡± Xu Ben said proudly.


    To overcome most players and be able to look down on them, one must sacrifice their time in exchange for superior skill. A true genius who could immediately master a game was one in a million.


    Of course, it would be a lot easier if there was a master who could point you to the right path. Xu Ben felt that he was now reaping twice the results with half the effort as compared to before, and he believed that at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he reached the Challenger rank!


    ***


    ¡°Master, are you guys leaving soon?¡± K asked.


    K had always been around when Luocheng was teaching Xu Ben, so gradually, K had also gotten used to calling Luocheng master.


    ¡°Yeah. We have completed the weekly game and the next monthly game will be held after the 20th. The living expenses in Hangzhou are too expensive, so we¡¯d better return to Shanghai first. Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Luocheng asked.


    K scratched his head and said uneasily, ¡°Though you were teaching Xu Ben these past few days, I have learned a lot too. Xu Ben did pay you but I offered nothing in return. I feel bad for that. I don¡¯t have a lot of pocket money since my parents are pretty strict about my expenses, but how about this? Since you¡¯ve all come from Shanghai and I heard from Da Luo that you guys are currently looking for a new place, here¡¯s my father¡¯s assistant¡¯s name card. He has a lot of empty houses on hand at the moment. Xuhui, Jingan, Hongqiao¡­ Any place you could think of.¡±


    Luocheng opened his mouth wide.


    ¡®Are you f*cking serious?¡¯


    None of them owned a single property, and yet, his dad¡¯s assistant had ample empty houses? Not only that, but those were all in the most strategic places in Shanghai. Houses there usually cost about 40,000-50,000 RMB per square feet!


    ¡®Those expensive houses are not for the likes of us!¡¯


    ¡°K, stop kidding. We could never afford houses in those areas.¡± Luocheng crossed his arms in front of himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about it. I will tell my dad that you guys are good friends of mine from university. Your team is looking for a training base, right? So it¡¯s best if the place can house 5-6 people. I will even ask my dad to give you as high as a 70% discount!¡± K promised.


    ¡°How much would the rental fee be after the discount?¡± Luocheng started to get interested.


    ¡°I think maybe just around 4 to 5000 RMB,¡± K answered casually.


    Boom!


    Luocheng felt as though he had just been deleted by Caitlyn¡¯s Ultimate, and his brain was buzzing noisily.


    ¡®K, oh K, you are definitely teasing me. 5000 RMB even after a 70% discount? And you still dare to say ¡°just¡±¡­¡¯ K made it sound as easy as Luocheng had when the latter had said that they would get the provincial championship.


    The house they were currently renting now only cost 1000 RMB. What kind of place still costs 4-5000 RMB after a 70% discount? Luocheng could only imagine, and then realized that he didn¡¯t even dare to do so.


    Luocheng accepted the name card with a dry smile and shoved it silently into his pocket.


    ¡®Why don¡¯t you ¡°just¡± pass me your checkbook directly!? I wouldn¡¯t mind that!¡¯

 Chapter 362 - Why Don’t You Put More Faith in Your Future Self?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Birdie easily conquered the weekly competition and would be qualified for the provincial qualifiers once they won the monthly game half a month later.


    Their biggest headache when coming back to Shanghai was to search for a new base.


    Their original place was no longer available as the government had instructed for its demolition, and the owner had had no choice but to terminate the contract prematurely.


    This time, they wanted to look for much more proper accommodation which would be suitable for a long-term stay, as it would also serve as their future training center.


    They were a team that had competed in the LPL before, but without a presentable training base, the potential sponsors would be hard to convince. Nobody was going to give money to a team living in a sh*t-hole.


    Places like Jingan and Xuhui were the first to be crossed out from the list by Luocheng as these areas were simply too expensive.


    Most E-sports teams normally lived far from the city center. Although such options were usually much more affordable, the location was rather inconvenient. They would need to take an hour¡¯s metro if they wanted to get to the nearest town.


    And so, they narrowed their search area to places around the town, but they still failed to locate any desirable place after three days.


    The rooms they visited in the past few days were either too small, or they just could not afford it. Da Luo had not ceased reprimanding the property agents as bloodsuckers for the past few days.


    ***


    Walking in the city under broad daylight further flamed their tempers.


    Luocheng, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong grumpily hauled their sweaty bodies and fatigued legs through the streets.


    Life was definitely tough for these few young men. They could only look at those skyscrapers and luxurious residences helplessly from afar, not daring to approach it.


    Not everyone was greedy by nature, but they couldn¡¯t deny that money was the only thing that could turn their current hapless fortune around.


    Time had flown by, and Team Skycrown had been formed for almost one year now.


    When they had first started off, Da Luo had cried and sworn that they must one day become wealthy together. They were going to live in a well-renovated condominium without worrying about climbing endless stairs or air conditioning in the winter or summer. Sadly, one year had come and gone, but they were still stuck in the same misery. Once again, they were on a quest to look for a cheap room, and they were worried it might be worse this time¡­


    1000 yuan for a two-hour LOL course was not something you would find every day. They were still poverty-stricken and had no roof to live under!


    Sometimes they couldn¡¯t help but doubt themselves as to whether this choice of life was really worth the opportunities and families that they had opted to leave behind.


    ***


    ¡°By the way, this place is very close to the Jingan residence. I remember K said he had some recommendations for us over there?¡± Da Luo recalled.


    ¡°Are you crazy? The rooms here are already freaking expensive, let alone Jingan!¡± Lin Dong scowled at Da Luo.


    ¡°There¡¯s no suitable room around here anyway. Sigh. Since we are here, let¡¯s just go and take a look. I¡¯ve never seen what kind of house the rich live in,¡± Da Luo complained.


    Anyhow, Luocheng had shredded the name card the day he received it, as he had never put any hope on those unrealistic options.


    Luocheng understood K was just being kind, wishing to help their lowly LOL team. However, K didn¡¯t grasp their current difficulty entirely. Even with the 70% discount he had offered, they still couldn¡¯t afford the place. Not that they dared to spend 4000-5000 yuan on rental even if they did have the money.


    ¡°Oh! I know that place. We are just nearby. What? You will come to fetch us? No need for trouble. Don¡¯t worry about it, we will walk there ourselves,¡± Da Luo¡¯s voice came from behind.


    Luocheng glanced at him and realized that Da Luo had really dialed the number. K seemed to have given him a card as well.


    ¡°Grr! You really made the call?¡± Lin Dong glared at Da Luo who was apparently out of his mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s just around the corner. Sigh. Let¡¯s just go and enjoy the cool air while having some rest, I am seriously exhausted,¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Wu Sen chipped in.


    ***


    They reached the Jingan residence under Da Luo¡¯s lead. The place was surrounded by several cozy gardens paved with cobblestones.


    The buildings around this residence were of moderate height, and large fences entwined by vines and climbing plants circulated each block.


    Flowerbeds, fountains, rockeries, and man-made forest paths¡ªSuch a scene was stunningly different from the area they had been in earlier, where it was rather filthy with noisy vendors and piling trash.


    ¡°D*mn it! I don¡¯t want to leave now!¡± Da Luo said firmly.


    Such a perfect residence only existed in his dream before and he couldn¡¯t stop drooling over the shimmering condominium.


    ¡°Wait until I am rich.¡± Wu Sen could no longer hold back as well.


    Even though Lin Dong and Zhou Yan remained silent, the thirst in their eyes had betrayed them.


    ***


    They were rendered speechless as soon as they stepped into the designated unit. It would be a dream come true if they could really move into this place.


    The five of them instantly regretted coming over. They now required a greater sense of self-persuasion to accept an inferior option, which made the already difficult task at hand even tougher.


    The place was huge. Sunlight shone right through the classy French windows but the living room temperature was just nice. The house did not have a lot of furniture inside but the interior design was remarkable. The ceiling and floor were so smooth that it could reflect their images on it.


    ¡°Hey, guys. You must all be tired,¡± A guy in his forties welcomed them and said.


    ¡°Hello, mister.¡± The five of them remained slightly reserved. After all, this was the first time they had laid foot in such an exquisite house. Worse, their purpose was simply to take a look and enjoy the cold air. It was very impolite of them to have the assistant purposely come over for their spontaneous and fruitless request.


    ¡°Come in. Kai told me that the five of you are his schoolmates. I understand how difficult it is to find a good job or a good residence when you have just freshly graduated. The environment in this area is pretty decent. Have a look around, if you guys like it, I will call the landlord over to go over the contract.¡± The middle-aged man said.


    After they surveyed the house, it could only be described in one word¡ªperfect! The place was very spacious with a total of four rooms. It had a fully-equipped kitchen, a bathtub in the shower room, and a giant balcony that opened up to breathtaking sceneries. They could almost picture the enjoyment of sitting on the balcony and drinking beer while admiring the beautiful view¡­


    ¡°Argh~ I want to live here! I want to live here so bad!¡± Da Luo had finally lost it.


    Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen¡¯s eyes were lit up too. This place was simply fascinating!


    Luocheng now understood why this place was still worth 4000 ¨C 5000 yuan even after the discount. It was standard that such a place would be priced at above 10,000 yuan.


    To them, 10,000 yuan per month for a room was nothing short of a fairy tale!


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you all like this place. In that case, there¡¯s no need to visit the other units. Let me inform Kai that I have accomplished the task that he delegated to me,¡± The man said happily.


    ¡°Eh¡­ Mister¡­ Actually, we are just here to have a look. To be honest, we can¡¯t afford this place,¡± Luocheng felt embarrassed about the trouble they had caused.


    He had learned from the conversation he had overheard between Da Luo and Mr. Guang, that the latter had driven all the way here to show them the house. He was obviously not a property agent. They guessed he must be some sort of government officer judging by his attire. He appeared friendly and joyful, but Luocheng felt exposed whenever he met the older man¡¯s piercing sight.


    Luocheng was a little startled and he figured it would be best to tell him the truth.


    ¡°This room is vacant anyway. I know it might be too much of a burden for you guys, but trust me, you will be extra motivated if you have a good place to live in. I will provide you with an extra discount on the rental. It will roughly be 5000 yuan after the deduction.¡± Mr. Guang, who was still smiling, said.


    ¡°Um¡­ Even 5000 yuan is still pretty high,¡± Luocheng said lightly and shamefully.


    Mr. Guang was stunned and he took a better look at the five young men. He soon understood why Luocheng had said so.


    Luocheng did not budge from the beginning. They were not going to live here, plain and simple. This place was truly too expensive. Besides, they would owe K a huge favor if they were going to be spared nearly 10,000 yuan per month if they ended up renting this place.


    The other four stopped wandering the house as they saw Luocheng and Mr. Guang fall into an awkward silence. They apologized to Mr. Guang sincerely and hastily left the place.


    They had tried to pretend and barge into a world that didn¡¯t belong to them, and a sudden rush of embarrassment and unease took over Luocheng¡¯s mind. He disliked such feelings.


    He would rather not face the fact that he, too, wanted to live in this place as much as the others.


    ***


    They almost scrambled out frantically from the place, not even knowing how they walked out of the area. No one was around but they felt scorned somehow.


    ¡°Guys¡­¡±


    Not long after they had left the housing area, Mr. Guang caught up to them in his car.


    He extended his arm and offered with a grin. ¡°Here¡¯s the key.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Guang, thanks, but we seriously can not afford to pay for such an expensive place. Not now, and not in the foreseeable future.¡±


    Mr. Guang shook his head and replied courteously, ¡°You don¡¯t know that! If you don¡¯t dare to hold onto something that you yearn to own, don¡¯t you think that you will only waste more time being trapped in matters that you are not satisfied with in the first place? Take it. This represents your goal, your ambition. Now you know that you have to work hard no matter what to deserve this.¡±


    The keys lay silently in Mr. Guang¡¯s palm. It was so close and yet so far, and none of them dared to step closer to pick it up.


    They were not even good friends of K, the discount would not last for a lifetime. Could they earn enough to pay for a rental fee of 10,000-plus yuan when the discount was no longer offered to them?


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t let your courage and spirit be diminished by society at such a young age. Why don¡¯t you put more faith in your future self?¡±


    Why don¡¯t you put more faith in your future self?


    These words resonated in Luocheng¡¯s heart, and it moved him.


    ¡®If I don¡¯t believe in myself and E-sports, why did I give up on everything else just to bet on this career?¡¯


    His run-away from home for the second time was to prove to his family that his choice had been the right one all along.


    Luocheng tightened his fist and then walked up to collect the keys.


    ¡®F*ck it! Challenge accepted. Who wouldn¡¯t want to live in a palace?¡¯


    Mr. Guang nodded in satisfaction and said, ¡°The discount will last only for 6 months. After that, you will need to pay the original price. You can choose to continue the lease or move out by then. However, I doubt that you all would be willing to part with it after 6 months, so do your best!¡±

 Chapter 363 - Trolling No.1

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Sometimes, people needed a little push, a small motivation.


    ¡®It would be a sin to not grab the gift that was dropped from the sky.¡¯


    After being stuck in a lousy house for so long, Team Skycrown finally felt as though they had been revived in heaven when they moved into their new place.


    The rotten smell had been replaced by a refreshing scent that filled the living room. It must be coming from the unknown bonsai placed on the balcony.


    They had believed that they would lead a good life one day, and much to their surprise, this day arrived unexpectedly fast.


    Luocheng had the exact amount of money needed¡ª5000 yuan, all gained from teaching Xu Ben the art of Support, and he used up every cent to settle their first month of rental.


    Boxes of various sizes were being moved into the house. In the past, Da Luo and Wu Sen would throw their stuff all over the place as they were just not the organized and hygienic type. But upon moving their belongings into the new home, the two of them purposely cleaned everything and arranged all their items tidily, even taking a shower immediately after that because they didn¡¯t want to dirty the place with their sweat.


    The five of them had assumed an entirely different existence in just a day¡¯s time.


    After they had cleaned up the whole place and chosen their rooms, the five of them lay on the sofa comfortably.


    Their satisfaction greatly exceeded their tiredness. They looked at each other, then at the clean living room, and cheered almost simultaneously, ¡°This place is f*cking chilled!¡±


    ***


    As they didn¡¯t have many belongings, most of the baggage were just clothes and daily consumables.


    As for the mattresses and blankets, they reckoned it would be best to buy new ones since they were moving into a better place. They would visit the hypermarket tonight and find a place to celebrate along the way.


    Their new residence was situated in a strategic location. The hypermarket was just one block away from them and on the other side of the road was a busy street, full of bustling restaurants. The colorful signboards throughout the roads brought up the liveliness of the residence.


    But soon enough, they faced their first problem.


    The minimum spending on food per person in this area was at least 20 yuan, which meant the five of them would need to spend at least 100 yuan for one meal.


    Excluding breakfast, two meals a day meant that they needed to spend a minimum of 200 yuan. Add that up to one month and it would be equivalent to 6000 yuan. This wasn¡¯t even including snacks, alcohol, and supper!


    A better location equals a higher expenditure, and the five of them could only smile bitterly. The change in their environment increased not only their rent, but also, the degree of other expenditures as well.


    The basic rental cost them 5000 yuan and this could easily hit 6000 yuan after taking internet, electric, water, and management fees, into consideration.


    If basic meals were going to cost them another 6000 yuan, they needed to fork out more than 12,000 yuan per month!


    They could, of course, make enough money if the five of them picked up part-time jobs. Their current income was reliant only on the sponsorships gathered by Li Meiqi and Jian Feng. That was not going to be a lot before they made a name for themselves in the LOL world.


    Another alternative was to earn prize money through different competitions.


    In the Hangzhou tournament, the champion would be given 10,000 yuan. Moreover, Birdie caf¨¦ had promised them 30,000 yuan as a reward if they won the provincial championship as well as five high-spec desktops if they managed to secure the district championship.


    It was troublesome to move their antiques all the way into the new house, so Lin Dong decisively threw the five old desktops away. They now looked forward to claiming the new machines from Birdie caf¨¦¡¯s owner after they were done with the Champions War competition.


    ¡°We need extra income urgently, otherwise, we will not live past next month,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°I agree, but how do we get more money? Perhaps I should start accepting boosting requests again?¡± Da Luo suggested.


    Luocheng shook his head. He wouldn¡¯t let them. First of all, account boosting would not improve their skill level, and secondly, such actions were against LOL¡¯s rule.


    ¡°Lin Dong, check whether there are any high-class cyber caf¨¦s around this area,¡± Luocheng requested.


    An E-sports team was highly dependent on a cyber caf¨¦. This was especially true for the likes of Team Skycrown, which did not receive any backing from any game clubs or organizations.


    Cyber caf¨¦s, to a certain extent, had become the gathering place of true E-sports enthusiasts nowadays. The mobile phone has replaced a lot of cyber caf¨¦ customers as these people no longer needed the service for chatting, internet browsing, or binge-watching. Moreover, the generalization of electronics had most of the families equipping their homes with personal computers and high-speed internet. Cyber caf¨¦s had definitely lost their past glamour in this modern era.


    The only way out for cyber caf¨¦s was to now rely on video games, particularly competitive E-sports.


    Rich kids like Xu Ben and K definitely had their own set-up at home. And yet, why did they still go through all the trouble to visit a cyber caf¨¦? The reason was simple¡ªpeers. The temptation to be able to be present physically with a band of brothers while showcasing one¡¯s skills in front of people with similar interests was irresistible to competitive players. Such a venue provided them equal opportunity to look for allies or challengers.


    Competitive E-sports might be this dusking industry¡¯s final straw, and this was exactly what the owner of Birdie caf¨¦ was attempting to do¡ªTo make use of the LOL theme to attract die-hard fans of this game.


    Thus, Luocheng was confident that such a caf¨¦ existed around this Jingan residence too. High-end cyber caf¨¦s that emphasized competitive E-sports would need people like them to boost their reputation. By doing so, the caf¨¦ would then garner more attention, hence, creating a competitive atmosphere that true LOL players were keen to take part in.


    It was no fun playing alone at home. Don¡¯t you wish to amaze the bystanders by how you dominate your opponents? Or, imagine the inner joy when the guy or girl sitting next to you invited you admirably to join his or her party after watching your outrageous performance. Wasn¡¯t that the best feeling in the world!?


    ***


    ¡°Tomorrow, Meiqi and Jian Feng will be here. You guys find a cheap caf¨¦ and continue to push rank. I will go and check out this area with them to see whether we can find a caf¨¦ to support us,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°We are going to play team ranking right? Who will fill your role if you¡¯re gone?¡± Lin Dong questioned.


    The upcoming LPL pre-season qualifiers selected one of its participants from the Server War competition. In other words, the team that topped the server team-ranking would be given a seat in the qualifier.


    Team Skycrown had seldom played team rank previously as their opponents were usually too squishy and the waiting time was simply too long. However, it was rumored that more teams had started to queue for team rank recently, especially in server 1. A lot of first and second-tier professional teams had emerged frequently in this server. If that was the case, then team rank would become a far more interesting hunting ground for Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Team rank games usually peak at around 8 ¨C 10 pm. I will try to get back in time, but if I can¡¯t, I will ask someone to fill in for me,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Someone? Who?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Shallow Dream?¡± Da Luo followed up Lin Dong¡¯s question.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I have persuaded her to join our team. She is not going to show herself and of course, will not join us in any competitions, but she is willing to play with us routinely in a team or personal rank game. If we want to play on the US or Korean server, she doesn¡¯t mind giving us a hand too. Her favorite time frame is also around 8-10 pm,¡± Luocheng explained.


    After Luocheng mentioned Shallow Dream, Lin Dong laughed bitterly and lamented, ¡°Who is this Shallow Dream in actuality? She is insanely good, simply unreal!¡±


    ¡°D*mn! I seriously don¡¯t wish to be her opponent during a ranked game. It would usually be more of a loss than a win,¡± Da Luo couldn¡¯t help but grumble too.


    Lin Dong and Da Luo had both reached the Challenger Rank, and sometimes, they would bump into Shallow Dream in the opponent¡¯s team.


    Lin Dong had been tortured numerous times by her to the point that he had developed a trauma from just seeing that name.


    As for Da Luo, his main objective as a solo-top was always prioritizing on Shallow Dream, but no matter how many times he tried, Shallow Dream could always escape his pursuit and could even counter-kill him.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s current rank should have surpassed Xiao Bei and become the top ADC in the national server. She was probably aiming for the highest rank in this country now.


    She would have marched right into the top 10 if she had played a bit more.


    On the other hand, Luocheng¡¯s rank was relatively questionable. Until now he still hadn¡¯t reached the Challenger tier. Xu Ben might have asked for a refund if he knew that his master was ranked lower than him.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t have the capability, it was just that this guy was obsessed with different erratic playstyles.


    Garen as a Support, Ahri as an ADC, Thresh as the Jungler, Vayne solo-top, and many more¡­


    Some of these seemingly ridiculous champion selections did deliver unexpected chemistry at times, but most of the time, he was just throwing games.


    Most players in the national server had learned about Luocheng¡¯s ID as he had changed his ID to ¡°Trolling No.1¡± after the LPL.


    Whenever a player saw this ID in a ranked game, he or she would immediately feel a chill down their spine.


    A complacent player would simply type ¡°Hehe¡± when being drawn into the same team as Luocheng, while the more ill-tempered players would directly curse:


    ¡°F*ck! It¡¯s this guy again!¡±


    ¡°Troll, I dare you to play seriously!¡±


    ¡°F*ck my life! It¡¯s Trolling No.1, again!¡±


    ¡°Could someone please dodge the queue? I can¡¯t¨CI¡¯m in promos for Diamond 1, please help me, I¡¯ll even pay you in QQ Coins!¡±


    Honestly speaking, Trolling No.1 was more like Public Enemy No.1 in the Diamond 1 rank now. A lot of players wished to see him fail and free-fall to Diamond 5 with such silly playstyles. Unbelievably, this guy stood firm in Diamond 1 despite all the trolling he had done. His persistence in Diamond 1 was a torment to those who had been jeopardized by him here before.


    ***


    Teaming up with Shallow Dream was no doubt a pleasant experience.


    They had all witnessed her prowess first-hand before, and she was the type of player that they wished would never be their enemy.


    At the same time, they were curious about the true identity of Shallow Dream. If she were to emerge in the professional arena,whether on-screen or in the LPL, they could bet that she would stir a hype as great as Luocheng.


    On multiple occasions, Lin Dong had actually been tempted to trace Shallow Dream¡¯s ID and reveal the person behind it. However, he eventually gave up on the idea as a person¡¯s choice to remain anonymous should be respected.

 Chapter 364 - The Absence of An E-Sports Association

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Master, K and I are now in the Challenger Rank, haha! Challenger Rank!¡± Xu Ben¡¯s voice from the other side of the phone came bursting out in hysterical laughter.


    Under Luocheng¡¯s guidance, Xu Ben had improved drastically, as did his win rate. He had managed to reach the Challenger Rank slightly earlier than Luocheng had expected.


    ¡°Master, where are you now? I heard that there¡¯s an arrogant team that has surfaced near Shaoxing recently. They were bragging that the provincial champion was theirs for the taking. They even claimed that they had fought Team Dusk before and the scores were very close. Bloody braggarts. What¡¯s there to be proud of? I bet the LPL team only treated them as training bots.¡± Xu Ben was on fire.


    ¡°I am now in Shanghai looking for a high-class cyber caf¨¦. We plan to dock in and earn some extra cash while playing for free. What¡¯s the name of the team that you just mentioned?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Team Zhejiang,¡± Xu Ben answered.


    ¡°Team Zhejiang? Are they the official provincial team from your region?¡± Luocheng was stunned.


    Recently, some groups had begun to insert city or province names directly into their team name, and it seemed that these teams were acknowledged by the General Administration of Sport and CGA.


    To be able to name a team according to the province was no simple matter. In traditional sports such as basketball, soccer, swimming, and many more, athletes that were accepted into the provincial team were usually among the best in the country!


    Currently, in China, most LOL teams usually played under the name of their organization or internet club. Even though sometimes participating teams in nationwide competitions such as the Coca Cola Cup or Champions War would be regarded as a team from a certain province, they were just representing the area in that particular competition and did not have the right to use it permanently.


    Thus, Luocheng was startled when he heard that there was such a team called Team Zhejiang now.


    He remembered several years back when E-sports was still unpopular, he had asked some veterans as to why E-sports in this country did not have an official championship like other sports.


    The person who had given Luocheng the answer at that time was Li Tuchuan.


    Tuchuan had joined E-sports way earlier than Luocheng, and he had patiently explained to Luocheng that even though the government had listed E-sports as the 99th official sport in China, in reality, there wasn¡¯t any association founded to support its development.


    Almost all sports programs were tied to their respective associations. Without it, there wouldn¡¯t be any media coverage, support, or regulations coming from the administration. Even if someone in the authority had the intention to organize a national championship, it would be too difficult to realize since there was no appropriate association to oversee the project.


    Why was the country still lacking such an association even after E-sports had become so wildly popular in the country? This was no longer at a mere university level, but that of region, city, province, and all the way to the national scale.


    The International E-sports Federation had long been established, and other countries such as Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, and many more, already had their own E-sports association. It was a norm in these countries that official championships equivalent to that of the CBA were held frequently.


    CBA was the acronym of the Chinese Basketball Association, and it seemed that nobody knew what the E-sports association in China was called.


    Simply put, such an organization was non-existent. In China, any sports program under the Administration of Sport was not allowed to stand alone from its association, however, the Ministry of Civil Affairs had refused to approve the formation of the E-sports Association till this day.


    ¡°Why is that so?¡± Luocheng had asked Tuchuan back then.


    Tuchuan had laughed bitterly. ¡°You should have seen the sign ¡°Under 18 is prohibited¡± when you were younger, right? To put it frankly, the officer from the Civil Affair would not recognize any activity labeled as detrimental to teenagers.¡±


    ¡°This country is still not ready to accept E-sports, after all. Without the country¡¯s recognition, E-sports will always be viewed as a negative hobby. Family teaching here often follows the government standard, so if the government says no, it means no.¡±


    In Luocheng¡¯s memory, that had been their final conversation, because after that, Tuchuan had courageously left the country with his limited assets.


    As for Luocheng, he had been focused solely on playing at that time and did not realize the importance of these political matters.


    However, as he grew older and gained more life experience, Luocheng began to realize how vital these things were.


    There had to be a lot of teenagers like himself, whereby their ambition to be successful in this field was restricted by the so-called family value. Such a tragedy would not end as long as E-sports was not acknowledged by the authorities, and the professional players would never be truly accepted by society as well.


    The Ministry of Education and Civil Affairs indeed had the responsibility to prevent teenagers from falling prey to video game addiction, nonetheless, Luocheng wanted to tell the world that the one thing he was so passionate about was not just the game in itself, but the fact that it was a competitive sport!


    ¡®Please learn to differentiate E-sports from video game addiction!¡¯


    ***


    Back to the problem at hand.


    If the E-sports Association was non-existent, how could a team use the name ¡®Zhejiang¡¯?


    ¡°They named it themselves. Is there any problem? I guess it does no harm since no other team is using the same name at the moment, and besides, they are indeed unbeatable around the Zhejiang region for the time-being,¡± Xu Ben said.


    ¡°I see¡­ I thought they were directly under Zhejiang¡¯s authority,¡± Luocheng realized he had misunderstood.


    The team was simply using Zhejiang as a name, just like Team Skycrown, Team Dust, etc.


    It would be an entirely different scenario if they were representing Zhejiang instead. To represent a province in a sports event meant that you were actually shouldering the pride of the entire region. Provincial sportsmen and sportswomen often enjoyed better privileges due to the honor they might bring to their province.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t tell me they are actually very good?¡± Xu Ben asked.


    Luocheng replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t mind me.¡±


    After he hung up, Luocheng shook his head and laughed to himself. ¡®I am thinking too much.¡¯ For a brief moment, he had thought that the governing body had approved the development of the E-sports association.


    Currently, all the expenses spent on event promotions and the majority of the tournaments were borne by Tencent.


    Despite the popularity, lucrative prizes, and media attention, these events were still considered ¡°private¡± and ¡°non-official¡±.


    Luocheng sincerely hoped that E-sports would be fully accepted and acknowledged by the government one day. Only then would he and his compatriots see the light at the end of the tunnel.


    ***


    Through the Baidu maps, Meiqi located a high-class internet caf¨¦ easily.


    Just about one kilometer away from their residence, Feng Mei Condominium, there was an internet caf¨¦ named Demacia.


    The caf¨¦ had changed its name just recently, and the reason was simple¡ªthis caf¨¦ wanted to ride on the tide of LOL as well. The owner must have been thinking of turning this place into a landmark where pilgrims of LOL would gather and yell ¡°Demacia!¡±.


    ¡°This is the caf¨¦ we¡¯re looking for. It seems as though lady luck is still smiling on us. This place is quite near to our new home!¡± Jian Feng smiled in satisfaction.


    He was especially pleased with their new place. There were four rooms in the house, and the five members had selected their own rooms first. Team Skycrown had occupied three of the rooms and reserved one for Meiqi and Jian Feng.


    Meiqi planned to stay at the condo on days when she didn¡¯t have any classes. Jian Feng had drooled over the opportunity to share the same room with Meiqi, only to be kicked out and moved into Wu Sen¡¯s room bitterly.


    Four rooms and seven tenants, just nice!


    When six men and one woman lived under the same roof, it was hard for the guys not to imagine who would become the first to get laid.


    However, the six of them had trembled when Meiqi herself had made the first move and suggested seductively that she was going to decide who would be her companion every night.


    ¡®You win, my queen!¡¯


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± Meiqi led them into the cafe.


    Lately, Meiqi had grown familiar with such business after meeting with numerous caf¨¦ owners. On the contrary, Luocheng and Jian Feng appeared much less comfortable. They were akin to two inferior subordinates cowering behind their imposing lady boss.


    ***


    After they had obtained the contact number of the owner, Meiqi immediately made the call.


    Meiqi¡¯s soft and gentle tone was often difficult to resist. The owner seemed interested and promised to meet up later during the evening.


    The coffee at the Demacia Internet Caf¨¦ was just so-so, but other than that, the caf¨¦ did have a presentable bar counter, rest area, and VIP zone.


    The owner appeared on time. He was a handsome man in his thirties and introduced himself as Mr. Lei.


    ¡°So, will your team use our caf¨¦ name?¡± Mr. Lei asked.


    Meiqi shook her head. ¡°We are not going to change our team name. We will only accept sponsorship and wish to be stationed in your caf¨¦.¡±


    Mr. Lei frowned. ¡°Why should I sponsor you when you are not going to help promote my caf¨¦?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Lei, I think you still fail to grasp the actual situation. First of all, I believe your Demacia caf¨¦ is only known around this Jingan area. People who come to your caf¨¦ are those living nearby, so, simply adopting your caf¨¦¡¯s name is meaningless,¡± Meiqi explained.


    ¡°Hmph. Are you implying that your team is more famous than our caf¨¦?¡± The manager of the caf¨¦ who had joined the meeting snorted at Meiqi.


    The manager of this caf¨¦ was called Xiao Duo Duo. He was also a LOL player and had formed Team Demacia in the past. The team had been one of the top teams in Shanghai, but due to internal disputes, they had just disbanded not too long ago.


    Despite not having a qualified team, Demacia caf¨¦ was still a hot spot in Shanghai. A lot of players had purposely come to get a taste of the LOL-themed caf¨¦, and the owner¡¯s decision to change the caf¨¦¡¯s name was proven timely and wise.


    The barging in of this unknown team and their unreasonable request thus made the proud manager feel agitated. This team was acting high and mighty, refusing to play under their caf¨¦¡¯s name. ¡®If these people are really as great as they¡¯re bragging, why don¡¯t they just join a club instead? Why come to our caf¨¦?¡¯


    Meiqi had obviously noticed Duo Duo¡¯s discontent, and she replied calmly, ¡°Our team name is very important to the members so it has to remain. After we finish the pre-season qualifications, we will announce that Demacia Caf¨¦ is the team¡¯s main sponsor on our main page. By then, our fame will surely bring you more customers than you have ever imagined.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of that? What is your team called?¡± Xiao Duo Duo didn¡¯t even try to hide his disdain.


    ¡°Team Skycrown,¡± Meiqi answered steadily.


    ¡°How many subscriptions has your main page, Weibo, and WeChat, amassed so far?¡± Mr. Lei was far more reasonable and asked carefully.


    ¡°We are still working on it¡­¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°Then why the f*ck are you wasting our time?¡± The manager was infuriated.


    Despite his lack of manners, Meiqi did not budge. She paid no attention to the manager¡¯s rant and chose to forgive his ignorance.

 Chapter 365 - Just When We Are Short of Punching Bags

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Mr. Lei stared hard at Duo Duo as a gesture for him to tone down.


    ¡°Ms. Li, I am willing to collaborate with you, however, I just don¡¯t see how your team can bring any benefits to my caf¨¦.¡± Mr. Lei said politely.


    ¡°Mr. Lei, please don¡¯t reject us first. Can I talk to you in private?¡± Meiqi said.


    Mr. Lei nodded and walked over to a corner with Meiqi. He looked at Meiqi patiently as he listened to her proposal.


    ***


    The manager of the caf¨¦ was clearly still annoyed and he scowled at Luocheng, Jian Feng and reprimanded them, ¡°Please stop joking around. There are a lot of teams queueing up to stand in for our caf¨¦, it¡¯s just that our boss is rather picky about the selection. This is not a caf¨¦ you lowly punks could ever represent. Team Skycrown my ass. I have never even heard of this name and thought you guys were at least a monthly champ or a top-three provincial team judging by how boastful the lady was just now. Tell me, what do you guys have?¡±


    ¡°The capability to win,¡± Luocheng said confidently.


    ¡°Capability? Pfft. Are you in the Diamond Rank or Challenger?¡± Duo Duo asked in an ironic tone.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you tell me straight up what are the criterias for us to be endorsed by your caf¨¦?¡± Luocheng asked with a smile.


    ¡°At the very least, you have to be in the top three of the monthly robin-round of the Champions War in the Shanghai region, can you do that?¡± Duo Duo said.


    ¡°We entered the competition in another province, so we are not eligible for the Shanghai competition,¡± Jian Feng explained.


    ¡°For God¡¯s sake! Stop fooling around. If so, what about team ranking?¡± The manager questioned.


    ¡°We have only just started,¡± Luocheng answered.


    ¡°Gasp!¡± Duo Duo almost lost his temper.


    ¡®Unbelievable! Where do these guys come from? How delusional are they to call themselves a team? Open your eyes now, this place is the most popular LOL-themed internet caf¨¦ in Shanghai, alright? Get the f*ck out of here!¡¯


    ¡°We do plan on improving our ranking anyway. Just tell us your target and we will get there in no time.¡± Luocheng promised.


    ¡°Your humor beats me. Alright then. Of course, the higher the ranking, the better it is. But take a look at our promotional banner. That¡¯s the highest rank our previous team had managed to reach¡ªtop 50 in server 1!¡± Duo Duo pointed at the wall and said.


    Luocheng¡¯s line of sight followed his finger and saw the cropped-out LOL ranking table that was printed on a giant poster.


    47! They were once at the 47th position in server 1.


    Everybody knew that the Ionia server assembled a lot of top LOL players in the country. To be able to stand at the 47th position in this server meant that they were also probably one of the top 100 teams in China.


    ¡°So, what now? If you guys are unable to overtake this record and make us renew the banner, then you¡¯d better save your energy and get lost quickly!¡± Duo Duo sneered.


    ***


    Meanwhile, Mr. Lei was no longer frowning after he listened to Meiqi¡¯s proposal. In fact, he looked a little excited.


    ¡°No wonder he looked extremely familiar! So he was the world-class player who had wreaked havoc in last year¡¯s LPL. I also watched that game, it was such a mind-blowing performance!¡± Mr. Lei was pumped.


    ¡°Hush¡­¡± Meiqi lowered her voice, ¡°Sky Club has been harassing us non-stop. They¡¯ve continuously tried to defame us even after we were out of the LPL, and so, before we are qualified for the next LPL, our actual identity has to remain a secret. I hope you can understand our situation.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. No doubt, at one point, the issue between Team Skycrown and Team Sky was the center of attention. However, once Blood Eagle announced his return, the topic has since been redirected back to how dominant Blood Eagle is. We can¡¯t deny that Sky Club¡¯s PR does have a huge influence in the E-sports world.¡± Mr. Lei nodded.


    Although Team Skycrown had shone brightly on the LPL stage before, they were still currently being banned from the competition. No sponsor would risk betting on them before they had proven themselves once again on the big stage.


    Moreover, Xu Pingyang had taken even more drastic measures in hindering Team Skycrown, very determined to kill the team off in its infancy.


    Team Skycrown were still pretty fragile at the moment, and they could not take another hit like the one that had befallen Xiao Bei. Thus, they chose to stay hidden to prevent any leak of information before the pre-season qualifiers. They were aiming to save their best performance for the grandest stage¡ªLPL.


    After one year of dedicated training, they believed that they could take on any team now, including Team Sky that had Blood Eagle in it.


    ¡°So, are you interested in investing in us?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°Of course. When I changed the name of this caf¨¦ to Demacia, a lot of old-timers chastised my decision and claimed that I was digging my own grave. But do you see the outcome now? Most of them have left the scene, while my caf¨¦ is still going strong. Since I¡¯m riding on the LOL wave and my target is to set up a high-standard internet caf¨¦, the inclusion of such a top-tier team in my blueprint is definitely the best thing that could happen to Demacia caf¨¦. With this collaboration, I believe there will be more and more LOL fans coming here in the future, and that¡¯s when I can carry out my next move!¡± Mr. Lei agreed enthusiastically.


    ¡°Your next move?¡± Meiqi was puzzled.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trade secret,¡± Mr. Lei replied with a mysterious smile.


    ¡°Then¡­ Let¡¯s discuss the endorsement fund?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ***


    The money part soaked up the rest of their lengthy negotiation, but it was expected as this was meant to be a draggy bargain.


    After both sides had finally reached a consensus, Mr. Lei walked back to them with a cheerful smile. He tapped the manager¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Set up the VIP room for them. Resume the open challenge and raise the reward straight up to 10,000 RMB.¡±


    ¡°What? You are giving the VIP room to these clowns? Not only that, but you want to increase the prize of the open challenge to 10,000 RMB? You must be out of your mind, boss!¡± Duo Duo almost peed himself.


    ¡°I am dead serious.¡± Mr. Lei repeated firmly. ¡°From tomorrow onward, they will come over every day to play team-ranking and accept open challenges from the public. This team is my choice to represent our caf¨¦ from now on.¡±


    ¡°Boss¡­ You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Duo Duo looked at Meiqi disbelievingly.


    ¡®What had this busty girl said to Mr. Lei? How had she managed to change his mind? What had made Mr. Lei so confident as to set up 10,000 RMB as the prize money? This was insane!¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s all. I still have things to do so I will leave the rest to you.¡± Mr. Lei didn¡¯t say much after that. He walked out in a rush, leaving Duo Duo, who was still utterly baffled by such an abrupt decision.


    ***


    ¡°What is this open challenge and the 10,000 RMB prize about?¡± Jian Feng asked the manager.


    Grudgingly, Duo Duo replied, ¡°We have a unique member system since we are a LOL-themed caf¨¦. Other than the normal rate, we have also introduced weekly, monthly, seasonal, and even yearly memberships.¡±


    ¡°The weekly card is called the Bronze card, monthly is Silver, seasonal is Gold, and the annual card is Platinum. We also have the Diamond membership. Those who have applied for these cards are allowed to join the open challenges. They will be given prize money if they reach certain goals, and these goals include new winning streaks, SOLO-battle, new best team-ranking, or defeating the in-house team. Different challenges offer different prizes, for instance¡­¡±


    The manager pointed to another side of the wall. They realized that there was another poster hanging there, and on it was written ¡°20 Win-Streak¡±. Underneath it was stated the prize amount of 3000 RMB in large fonts, followed by smaller fonts of terms and conditions.


    ¡°Now, look there!¡± Duo Duo pointed in another direction. That wall was just on the opposite of the main entrance. Anyone would see it as soon as they entered the shop. For some unknown reason, Luocheng had not noticed it earlier when they had first arrived.


    Unsurprisingly, there was another poster hanging there. This time, it was a team logo that was printed on it. The line under it read, ¡°Do you want the reward? Defeat them and the money is all yours!¡±


    The manager then pointed at the glass counter directly under the poster and explained, ¡°There was supposed to be cash in there. Previously, the highest reward would only accumulate to 5000 RMB. I wonder what has gotten into Mr. Lei¡¯s mind today. I bet the 10,000 RMB will be gone in one day as your team is obviously unreliable!¡±


    ¡®This caf¨¦ is pretty unique. To think that they would even offer such a reward¡­¡¯


    This way, those who lived quite a distance away would still be willing to visit the caf¨¦ due to the unique challenges posed by the owner. There would always be confident players who were eager to test their skills.


    The thing was, to be able to take on the challenge, one must first apply for a membership.


    They now realized that Mr. Lei was indeed a smart businessman.


    If someone were to fail the challenge, the prize money would go up, and this was going to attract more challengers. Very few could resist the temptation of real money after all.


    All Mr Lei needed to do was fork out a part of the membership fees as the prize money, and this would create a positive feedback loop. Even if someone did manage to claim the reward, his loss would be marginal as compared to the customers and atmosphere that such challenges had fished out.


    If no one fell for this ¡°trap¡±, the money would still be there, and he faced no deficit either.


    A weekly card allowed only one challenge per week. Those who were aiming for the grand prize would definitely go straight for the more expensive memberships. If this caf¨¦ did manage to successfully create a competitive environment that suited LOL, then people like Xu Ben who had a ton of money and couldn¡¯t wait to prove himself, would not mind signing up for the Platinum membership.


    Think about those fitness gyms that charged their members 1000-2000 RMB per year. Many people would pay the fees but only attend a few times within that period. If Mr. Lei could turn his caf¨¦ into an attractive ¡°LOL-gym¡±, the business would certainly flow in by itself.


    ***


    After listening to Duo Duo¡¯s explanation, Luocheng roughly grasped their future role in this caf¨¦.


    It seemed that there would be plenty of teams coming at them, allegedly the guardians of Demacia, in the future for the lucrative 10,000 RMB reward.


    Besides, he knew that Meiqi must have told Mr. Lei their real identity, otherwise, the owner would not be so daring. Mr. Lei knew that unless another LPL team came to take the challenge, no other team would be able to defeat a top-tier team like Team Skycrown. Additionally, there was simply no reason that a team of the LPL level would purposely visit the caf¨¦ for 10,000 RMB. As a result, the prize money was basically secured.


    This prize might even roll higher in the future to further boost the caf¨¦¡¯s name and attract more players who were hungry for the money.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Meiqi had never seen any internet caf¨¦ like this, and she asked for Luocheng¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°It¡¯s great. It just so happens that we are lacking some punching bags right now.¡± A smirk appeared at the corner or Luocheng¡¯s lips.


    As the prize snowballed, stronger and stronger teams would emerge, trying to topple them. This kind of training might be exactly what Team Skycrown needed before the real competition.


    ¡®This conveniently solves our lack of adequate opponents to test our team¡¯s new strategy on.¡¯


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you worry. With them guarding the prize, not even a team from the LPL could pry the money away.¡± Jian Feng said to the manager as he laughed happily.


    ¡°Cut your bullshit. I don¡¯t see how this can last for more than a week. There are a lot of strong teams around, including professional teams who visit frequently. Just wait and see, I seriously doubt Mr. Lei¡¯s decision to employ you guys as the in-house defenders. This 10,000 RMB is going to be wasted for nothing.¡±

 Chapter 366 - Carrying a Gamer Girl in Team Rank!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When they returned to their place, Luocheng and Jian Feng took another good look at the gorgeous garden in their residence.


    The aromatic and quiet garden decorated by a pebble stone path looked exactly like those portrayed in the romantic scenes of movies.


    They had bought supper to eat at home, and as soon as the three of them settled down, Meiqi called the others with a cheerful tone, ¡°Come on out. I have some good news to announce.¡±


    A while passed, and there was still no response. Meiqi took a deep breath and then screeched, ¡°Get your asses out in the living room right now! I told you I have some important things to say!¡±


    Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong, hurriedly scrambled out from their rooms and sat obediently on the sofa in front of Meiqi in an instant.


    Meiqi began to talk after everyone had come out, ¡°We are now the official team of Demacia Caf¨¦. The owner has requested for us to be present in the caf¨¦ at least three time per week. It¡¯s up to us what we want to do there, be it training, team ranking, taking up challenges, self-training, etc., as long as we stay there for a minimum of two hours each time.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯re going to Hangzhou for the monthly matches later on,¡± Lin Dong reminded her.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I have informed the owner and he will not restrict us from taking part in tournaments,¡± Meiqi explained.


    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡±


    ¡°The owner didn¡¯t provide us with a lot of money. He¡¯s only offered 2000 RMB for the entire team per month, however, there¡¯s one rather attractive benefit.¡± Meiqi told them about the endorsement.


    ¡°Benefit? Do we get to meet attractive ladies?¡± Da Luo¡¯s eyes shone in expectation.


    ¡°So, you think there are others who are more attractive than me?¡± Meiqi smiled and asked flirtatiously.


    ¡°No! Of course not!¡± Da Luo was taken aback.


    ¡°The benefit I am talking about is the open challenge. If we can defend the money for a week, then 5% of the cumulative prize will be given to us. The owner has set the prize directly at 10,000 RMB this time. In other words, we will be given 500 RMB if we can get through the first week. If we manage to hold on for a month, there will be an extra 2000 RMB of monthly income. Basically, as the prize money grows, so does our commission.¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s such a huge bonus!¡± Jian Feng was excited.


    First of all, they didn¡¯t have their own computers at the moment.


    They would need to fork out extra money if they needed to pay to train regularly in a caf¨¦, not to mention, high-end caf¨¦¡¯s like Demacia would cost a few tens of RMB a day!


    Allowing them to use the VIP room itself was already a huge gain to the team. They didn¡¯t expect the caf¨¦ owner would even reward their performance by using a commission system.


    If the prize money kept snowballing and multiplied to several ten thousand, then 5% would become more than 1000 RMB. 1000 plus RMB per week added up to over 6000 ¨C 7000 RMB per month. This way, they would no longer need to worry about their housing rental!


    What a rewarding job!


    Furthermore, the owner had not placed any restrictions on them and asked only for 2 hours per day, 3 days a week.


    ¡°If the prize money is claimed, our bonus will be reset together with it. The commission would then pitifully drop back to 500 RMB, so you guys better not lose a single match!¡± Meiqi warned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t lose unless it¡¯s those from the LPL that challenge us.¡± Da Luo declared confidently.


    In fact, they would not sway even if their opponents were of the LPL level. They believed that no one could stop them now after more than half a year of intensive training, and more importantly, with the return of Luocheng.


    ¡°Great. This will sort of be our stable income for the moment and we have to hold on tightly to it. After we manage to enter the LPL and set up our own social platform, I¡¯m going to negotiate a new deal with him,¡± Meiqi told them her plan.


    The fame they would bring to Demacia Caf¨¦ would be enormous once they managed to return to the LPL. If they advanced further into the international championship, then the name of Demacia Caf¨¦ would even reach the world stage. Any successes Team Skycrown achieved in the future would be directly translated as the success of Demacia Caf¨¦. Chances were that it may even become the most illustrious LOL internet club in Shanghai or even China.


    Mr. Lei had certainly foreseen such potential, which was why he had been willing to invest even though Team Skycrown were refusing to reveal themselves at the moment.


    ¡°Our main mission for the next few days is to rack up our ranking to smash the previous record.¡± Luocheng gave his order.


    ¡°I remember that that challenge was worth a few thousand too,¡± Jian Feng recalled.


    ¡°This is going to be easy. Today our Team Rank jumped straight into the Diamond tier after seven win-streak,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Diamond Rank after only seven games? That¡¯s quick,¡± Luocheng thought that he had misheard Da Luo¡¯s words.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Among the five of us, Shallow Dream was the highest rank in Challenger. She is currently ranked no. 12 in server 1. Da Luo and I had also entered the Challenger rank although we are still at the bottom of the pack, around position 45-46. Wu Sen and Zhou Yan are almost there too as they are now sitting at the top of Diamond rank. They should already be in the Challenger Rank if it weren¡¯t for you asking them to try out different champions. Playing Team Rank with such a line-up is destined to be ranked high, even if we lose five games straight,¡± Lin Dong clarified.


    ¡°I see.¡± Luocheng nodded.


    Team Rank positions would be determined after five games. This positioning, to a certain extent, was decided by the team¡¯s individual rankings. Seven straight wins were undeniably an excellent performance. If they could keep the win streak alive, it was only a matter of time until they overtook those frontrunners.


    ¡°Oh yeah, Shallow Dream asked when you would like to take a stroll in the Korean Server again.¡± Lin Dong relayed the message.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Indeed, the Korean Server is more challenging.¡± Luocheng nodded again.


    Due to the lack of a stable network, it had been awhile since Luocheng had played in the Korean Server like he used to do back during the winter break. He heard that after JX¡¯s video was uploaded online, many players from the Korea site were infuriated. A lot of popular players had been hunting for Shallow Dream and Luocheng ever since then. Unfortunately, the both of them had not emerged after that, and this only served to further irritate those Koreans.


    ¡°I am too lazy to play those low-tier Team Rank games. Simply slotting in an amateur will do. The internet speed of the Demacia Caf¨¦ is pretty decent. I will be hanging out in the Korean Server with Shallow Dream after this. It¡¯s time to see what kind of new strategy the Koreans have developed during my absence,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Amateur?¡± Lin Dong, Da Luo, and Wu Sen opened their eyes wide.


    ¡°Yes, you heard me right. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking for the top spot. The 47th place should be easily attainable even without me.¡± Luocheng was firm.


    ¡°Well, bringing an amateur means we would be playing 4 vs 5. Though it¡¯s a little difficult, I guess we can still manage.¡± Wu Sen smiled bitterly.


    ¡°4 vs 5? Nah. The girl from Netfish Caf¨¦ contacted me asking us to carry her in Team Rank. I think her rank is around silver or bronze, so bringing her along probably means you guys are playing a 4 vs 6,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Be real!¡±


    ¡°Stop kidding!¡±


    Jian Feng and Meiqi could only smile helplessly. Their coach, Luocheng, was extremely harsh. This was the first time they had heard that a professional team was asked to carry an amateur player in Team Rank. More so, they were specifically asked to charge all the way up to the top 50 while compromising with his ridiculous demands.


    4 vs 6!


    Sigh! The other members had given up on protesting.


    ¡°Before this, not a lot of players were interested in playing Team Rank, but recently, the number has gone up dramatically. I bet it¡¯s due to the introduction of the new rewarding system,¡± Da Luo said.


    LOL servers in China had a lot of subdivisions, and as a result, the number of players queuing for a 5 vs 5 team game were usually sparse. If they started queueing at dinner time, it was common to see that the system would still be looking for an opponent after they came home from supper.


    Surprisingly though, the amount of Team Rank games had peaked greatly in the past week. This must be owing to the server expansion, the new rewarding system, as well as the rush for the pre-season qualifier spot.


    Joining earlier before the battle intensified would give the team positional advantage.


    XXX


    The next day, the team went to Demacia Caf¨¦ right after they had finished their dinner.


    Jian Feng and Meiqi tagged along and brought their notebooks. They also needed the internet to build up more connections and contact potential sponsors to help the team. They had vowed to sacrifice their time to help Luocheng and his team, and their first task was to master team management.


    The group immediately felt the heat the second they stepped into the caf¨¦.


    ¡°D*mn! The prize money has been raised to 10,000 RMB!¡±


    ¡°I remember it was still at 5000 RMB yesterday, so there could only be one reason¡ªAn extremely strong team has been recruited by the caf¨¦.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Ben, call our mates. Tell them that the prize here has just increased to 10,000 RMB. Let¡¯s get the money and go enjoy ourselves later tonight!¡±


    A group of people surrounded the glass cabinet and drooled over the cash money that was placed neatly inside. The red-colored banknotes in it had become the center of attention as expected.


    ¡°Hey! Stop pushing against me. Go and queue up if you want to take on the challenge. Scram!¡± A guy with curly hair who was holding an iPhone in his hand scowled at Lin Dong.


    This was the same guy who had called his friends and bragged about claiming the money, making it sound as though the large stack of notes were already in his pocket.


    ¡°Hi, Fei, they are¡­ our defender team,¡± Xiao Duo Duo walked over to them and said to the guy politely.


    His expression changed as he turned and stared at the five of them, obviously unhappy about their late arrival.


    The caf¨¦ was in a buzz. A lot of old customers had called in their friends and were clamoring non-stop about beating down the defender team. It caused Duo Duo a great headache that the defender team had not appeared after the promised time.


    The iPhone guy named Fei turned around and measured the five members of Team Skycrown. He smiled insincerely and asked, ¡°So it was you guys? Where did you guys bang around before this?¡±


    ¡®Bang around? Why does a LOL team sound like a gangster group coming from this guy¡¯s mouth?¡¯ Luocheng was displeased.


    ¡°We banged around Shanghai,¡± Luocheng replied sarcastically.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, I¡¯m asking you what kind of competition have you entered before, duh?¡± Fei rolled his eyes.


    Duo Duo was dejected. He had a bad feeling that the 10,000 RMB would not last more than a day. He, too, was entitled to take a part of the commission.


    ¡°Just one. The LPL,¡± Luocheng declared calmly.


    ¡°Bullsh*t. In that case, my Team ILUN has even played on the world stage before!¡± Fei did not believe what Luocheng had just said.


    Luocheng was wearing a pair of spectacles today. Considering that he would be facing a lot of LOL fans that paid close attention to E-sports development from here on out, he reckoned someone might eventually recognize him, and so, he had decided to put on a disguise whenever he reported for duty at the Demacia Caf¨¦.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t want unnecessary attention as fame would only bring misfortune to his team now. That being said, it wasn¡¯t as if he needed to hide since these people here were not going to believe him anyway.

 Chapter 367 - A 4 vs. 6 Game

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°My buddies will be here soon. Duo Duo, you¡¯d better get the cabinet key and money bag ready, I can¡¯t wait to spend some sweet time in Mykonos tonight.¡± Fei laughed brazenly.


    Mykonos was a popular night club nearby and the ladies were famous for their great figure and pretty faces. Fei almost had an erection simply by imagining what could happen tonight.


    Too bad he was a little low on money recently, and thus, it had been a while since he last visited the club. The expenditure there was unlike those cheap pubs near the red light district.


    ¡®After claiming the prize money, tonight will be the night I get to taste those delicious Japanese girls¡­¡¯


    ¡°D*mn you guys! Are you slowpokes coming or not?¡± Fei yelled impatiently into his iPhone.


    Da Luo, who had been sipping the free flow beverage drawled slowly, ¡°Better be quick. Why not ask your friends to rush here using Ghost? Otherwise, you will be ganked by the five of us.¡±


    Lin Dong slapped Da Luo¡¯s back and scolded him, ¡°Ghost is too slow! You should have asked them to use Teleport instead!¡±


    The others looked at the two silly guys and burst into laughter.


    Fei felt slightly embarrassed and rebuked, ¡°Hmph. You will beg for mercy later when my team is here to slaughter you guys in the game!¡±


    ***


    Finally, Fei¡¯s team had arrived.


    It had been more than a week since Fei¡¯s last visit to the caf¨¦, so he had to first apply for the Bronze membership before the challenge. All five of them paid the fees without another second of delay. Team Demacia was already in position, waiting for their first challenger for today.


    Duo Duo was overjoyed. The allure of the 10,000 RMB reward was indeed huge. It was only the first day and there were already five customers that happily subscribed to the Bronze membership which was worth more than 1000 RMB in total. Mr. Lei really was a witty business man.


    However, Duo Duo was still in serious doubt. He had close to no confidence in this unknown team that had been hired by his boss. If they lost this first match, the 10,000 RMB would be instantly snatched away.


    They may end up having gone for wool but coming home shorn!


    ¡°Haha! Duo Duo, has your boss earned a great fortune recently? Why is he generously gifting out such a huge sum of pocket money? The team your caf¨¦ called in last time was so weak that we managed to defeat them by using only half our effort.¡±


    A big guy in a flowery T-shirt walked in imposingly.


    ¡°Feng Da, it¡¯s you!¡± Duo Duo¡¯s eyes rounded as he looked at the new guest in horror.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me!¡± Feng Da said with a big laugh.


    Duo Duo¡¯s mood was the total opposite and he walked toward Team Skycrown in clear displeasure.


    ¡°You guys had better watch out. Feng Da is here,¡± He warned Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Felinda is here? Do they sponsor your caf¨¦?¡± Da Luo responded in excitement and scanned behind Duo Duo.


    ¡°Feng! Da!¡± Duo Duo shouted.


    Duo Duo did not understand the carefree attitude of this team. Feng Da was someone they least wanted to go against. This guy had swept away most of their prizes in the past. Once, this guy had even raged through the entire list of challenges and had claimed a few thousand RMB from their cyber caf¨¦ within a month.


    It was hard to deny Feng Da¡¯s talent in LOL or virtually any video game. He was the typical rich kid that did nothing other than play games or go clubbing.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s get this over with quickly. We still have Team-Rank training later on!¡± Da Luo urged.


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait to be killed, eh?¡± Fei said darkly.


    ***


    The players moved into their seats and joined the custom game room successively.


    Demacia Caf¨¦ housed a lot of middle to high-end players on normal days, and today, the crowd grew even larger due to the increased prize money.


    There was a giant screen in the middle of the gaming zone on which the ongoing game would be directly projected on. This allowed those in the area who were either playing or resting to observe the game with ease.


    A set of classy sofas were placed directly opposite to the screen and a few customers were seen sitting on it leisurely. It was indeed pleasant to watch the game on a comfortable chair while having some cold beers and snacks with your friends!


    ***


    ¡°So as I¡¯ve heard, The defenders were recruited just yesterday. Maybe they¡¯re a professional team of some sort that play part-time here. Mr. Lei is not that stupid to give away such a huge sum of money for nothing.¡± A regular who was wearing a pair of slippers gave his opinion.


    ¡°Mr. Lei would suffer a huge loss if he does not employ a professional or semi-professional team. The number of strong teams here are uncountable. Not only that, this place happens to neighbor the venue of several LOL official competitions, meaning that some professional teams¡¯ training bases are just nearby. This 10,000 RMB would definitely attract a lot of attention!¡±


    ¡°I remember that there was a time when the prize money had accumulated to 13,000 RMB. In the end, the money was claimed by Team Sunlight from the Xuhui district.¡±


    ¡°Team Sunlight, eh? I do hear that they are streaking hot recently. They could even go up against the previous LPL team.¡±


    ¡°They emerged just this year. Their playstyle is a little different from the usual conventional strategy. Some of the LPL team¡¯s strategy is outdated. They are shitty when compared to those teams in Korea. Team Sunlight normally trained in the Korean Server, and the excellence of Korean E-sports must have influenced and improved their gameplay. Without any surprise, their name will definitely appear in the LPL this year!¡± Another regular who was drinking a can of Budweiser beer chipped in.


    ¡°Where did you get such news?¡±


    The customer revealed a mysterious smile, sipped his beer, and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s watch the game. I wonder how this new defender team will fare.¡±


    ***


    In the custom game room, the defender team was on the left, while Fei, Feng Da, and their other members were on the right.


    The game would be carried out on the competition server, and the IGNs on the left were standardized¡ªDefender-Luo, Defender-Dong, Defender-Yan, and Defender-Sen!


    ¡°The final defender, please enter the room quickly,¡± Duo Duo ordered. He was the umpire of this match since he was a Platinum-ranked player himself.


    ¡°Give me a minute,¡± Luocheng replied.


    He opened up the QQ app and sent his ID and password to a recently added contact.


    Not long after, Defender-Cheng appeared promptly in the room.


    Luocheng glanced at the computer beside him and realized that the ID had just connected to the game. He looked at the other members of Team Skycrown and said, ¡°Give it your best. We won¡¯t get our bonus if you guys lose the first game.¡±


    Wu Sen, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Lin Dong, nodded grimly.


    ¡°I will go play in the Korean Server now.¡± Luocheng emphasized.


    ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Lin Dong laughed helplessly.


    Team Skycrown had switched their roles around after the previous LPL.


    Originally, Luocheng was supposed to replace Xiao Bei¡¯s position as the team ADC and join forces with Wu Sen at the bottom lane.


    Unfortunately, Wu Sen¡¯s playstyle was a little conservative and he was unable to play in sync with Luocheng¡¯s aggressive nature. It was Lin Dong, who liked to play Ezreal in the mid lane, that had better chemistry with Luocheng.


    Wu Sen was equally good at Mid, and so, they decided to switch Wu Sen to the mid lane. The bottom lane was then relinquished to Luocheng and Lin Dong, and this suited Luocheng as he could return to his favorite Support role.


    The choice of ADC¡¯s were relatively limited, and Luocheng was no doubt great in the ADC role, but he somehow felt that this position would restrict his way of viewing the game. On the other hand, he could attempt various kinds of unthinkable strategies from the Support perspective and this certainly gave Luocheng more satisfaction.


    Unsurprisingly, Luocheng had refused to take part in entertaining this open challenge.


    ¡®It would taint my world-class status if I were to play in such a lousy game.¡±


    And so¡­


    ***


    Netfish Caf¨¦.


    The waitress, Xiao Ya, happily picked her favorite champion, Soraka, and pressed confirm swiftly.


    ¡°Why did you guys standardize your ID as Defender?¡± Xiao Ya asked curiously.


    ¡°No particular reason, just for fun,¡± Defender-Dong replied.


    ¡°Oh, okay. K and Xu Ben are here as well. They would like to observe how your team ADC Lin Dong plays. Let¡¯s have a good game, guys. Also, please don¡¯t forget to come here on the 24th for the monthly round. Team Zhejiang has been pretty annoying recently and I am starting to lose my patience.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Ya, please let me play. I want to play with the masters too,¡± Xu Ben stood behind Xiao Ya and pleaded pitifully.


    ¡°Shoo. They¡¯ve promised to carry me so you¡¯d better stand aside and not disturb me. Luocheng has told me that it¡¯s okay to feed. In fact, if I don¡¯t feed enough, they are not going to carry me anymore. When I play with others, they often complain that my skill timing is bad, or my positioning is not good, blah, blah, blah¡­ Now that I¡¯ve found such a great team that doesn¡¯t mind me feeding and has asked me to do the opposite, of course I am going to pick my favorite hero. I have been looking to try Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer on Soraka!¡±


    Xu Ben and K felt a chilling sensation shiver down their spines.


    ¡®The heck!? You want to put a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer on Soraka? Can you not feed so professionally?¡¯


    ***


    The game officially began. Considering that this was a 4 vs 6 match, the four members of Team Skycrown did not dare to pick their Champions randomly.


    Da Luo had chosen the trendy Shyvana at the top lane.


    Shyvana had been an unpopular champion before this, usually being picked as a Jungler.


    But after someone had invented top-solo Shyvana, she had become a dominant force at the top lane.


    The ruler of the top lane had always been Renekton, and this ruthless champion was close to unbeatable there. Nonetheless, some players realized that Shyvana could totally overthrow not only Renekton, but also most top-solo champions, hence, she quickly became a mainstream champion.


    Wu Sen¡¯s mid-solo pick was Ziggs, one of the most disgusting champions to date. His skills were powerful but lacked control.


    Zhou Yan had selected Maokai for jungling. This was a forgettable hero that had been occasionally used as a Support in competitions. This champion would always annoyingly toss its sapling to bomb the opponent. Other than that, Maokai also had both initiation and knock-back skills.


    Lin Dong did not dare to use Vayne or Ashe¡ªthe type of ADCs that were usually squishy in the early game. He decisively selected Ezreal instead!


    The pressure would be mounted on him and not the others in this game. He reckoned Xiao Ya would probably upgrade and activate her Q-skill first to exchange fire with the opponent¡¯s ADC at Level 1.


    All and all, he was mentally prepared to play solo against 3 players at the bottom lane. Picking Ezreal who was good at escaping and CS was the wisest choice.


    The lineup of their opponent Team ILUN was equally powerful. They had a Top Renekton, Mid Orianna, Jungle Jarvan, ADC Corki, and a Support Sona.


    Honestly, Team ILUN¡¯s champion formation did have a huge winning probability in a 5 vs 5 custom game. Other than Corki, all their champions had at least one control skill, and such a lineup was especially hard to counter in late-game team fights.


    Plainly speaking, this could be considered a default LOL team.


    Duo Duo rolled his eyes several times during the Champion Select phase. The defender team was already at a huge disadvantage judging by the formation. ¡®This is a sure loss! Why did the Support choose to play Soraka? Zyra and Leona are definitely the better choices here. Right now, the defender team doesn¡¯t have a single solid CC skill¡­¡¯


    He analyzed the formation again and realized another horrible truth¡ªHis team¡¯s only control was Maokai¡¯s Nature¡¯s Grasp!

 Chapter 368 - This SP is a Joke!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng saw Shallow Dream¡¯s QQ icon light up at 8 o¡¯clock sharp.


    Shallow Dream seemed to practice a standard daily routine. She usually came online at around 8 o¡¯clock. Luocheng had asked for her QQ account for convenience¡¯s sake.


    He had initially planned to learn more about this mysterious partner through her QQ, but soon realized that she had blocked him from assessing her info. ¡®What a pain in the ass!¡¯


    ¡°Let¡¯s roast the Koreans as usual!¡± Luocheng sent her a message.


    ¡°Is your internet speed stable?¡± Shallow Dream questioned.


    ¡°Hehe. We are now stationed in Shanghai Demacia Caf¨¦. The internet speed here is extremely stable, I¡¯m guessing the game will run smoothly even if we play in the US server. We should try it out someday,¡± Luocheng updated her about his current status.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done that before. It¡¯s rather boring,¡± Shallow Dream replied coolly.


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡±


    Luocheng figured that Shallow Dream was the only one who dared to say so. The US server also had only one server, just like the Koreans. The best players all over the American continent would gather in it, including those from Canada. The competition there was undoubtedly way stiffer than the local server.


    ***


    After lagging behind for more than half a year, Luocheng and Shallow Dream¡¯s IDs had dropped all the way back into the Platinum Rank.


    ¡°I watched a video some time back. A guy called VVV who has self-proclaimed himself as the best ADC in the world rebuked us in a LOL talk show.¡± Luocheng sent the message.


    ¡°I watched that,¡± Shallow Dream answered.


    Luocheng had shared the video to Shallow Dream and highlighted the time point at which the guy had started to rant about them.


    When VVV attended the talk show, the host had brought up Luocheng and Shallow Dream¡¯s names and their marvelous streak in the Korean server. They had even displayed the video excerpt that had made it into the LOL main page.


    The comment given by the so-called world¡¯s best ADC VVV at that time was as follows, ¡°Oh, these two. I must say that the replay here shows only their best play and it¡¯s nothing special, really. The way they edited the highlight would definitely give people the wrong impression that they are better than most of their opponents from Korea, but don¡¯t be fooled. These two Chinese players are just above average at best. They will never reach the Challenger Rank. Those that they¡¯ve met in the Diamond Rank are not considered the best in the Korean server.¡±


    ¡°Beating a few players that never made it into the professional level is nothing to be proud of, if you ask me. They have conquered the Korean server you say? Don¡¯t make me laugh. Typical Chinese media¡ªamplifying the positive and covering the negative.¡±


    After VVV¡¯s comment was released, someone had translated his comment into Chinese and it quickly went viral in the social circle.


    A lot of people had requested for the two players to come forth at that time and prove to VVV by ravaging the Korean server one more time. Some had even asked JX to release a video to rebut VVV.


    Unfortunately, JX could no longer reach Luocheng and the issue had died down not long after that.


    The S Tournament was just around the corner and the Chinese fans were infuriated by VVV¡¯s arrogance. Sadly, there just wasn¡¯t any player strong enough within the country to challenge VVV, to be honest.


    ¡°Have you fought with him before?¡± Luocheng asked Shallow Dream.


    ¡°No, but I did watch some of his games. He is very strong,¡± Shallow Dream replied.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Luocheng was a little surprised. He could not recall Shallow Dream ever referring to any player as ¡°strong¡± before.


    Shallow Dream had even added the word ¡°very¡±, which meant that VVV was indeed powerful. He wondered what kind of performance he would have in the upcoming S International Tournament.


    While Luocheng was chatting leisurely with Shallow Dream, Lin Dong was beside him, yelling in panic, ¡°Zhou Yan, save me!¡±


    To none of their surprise, Lin Dong¡¯s bottom lane was being crushed by the opponents. They had dived into the turret area to force the first kill.


    Lin Dong had no other choice but to ditch the tower. Seeing the three pursuers with full health and full mana, Zhou Yan pretended that he had not heard Lin Dong¡¯s SOS call and went straight to another monster camp.


    Speaking of which, Lin Dong¡¯s juking ability was truly remarkable.


    He first slid to the left to evade Corki¡¯s Q-skill and R-ulti, then took a sharp right and a sudden pause to skip Jarvan¡¯s EQ-combo. Finally, within the millisecond when Sona was casting her R-ulti, he activated his Arcane Shift that had just finished its cooldown to return safely back into the inner turret.


    Zhou Yan had been farming the Krugs¡¯ camp at the blue side while watching Lin Dong retreat from the creep wave with his tail between his legs. He reckoned there was no point in saving Lin Dong and allowing Jarvan, Corki, and Sona, to pass by him without doing anything. After seeing that Ezreal had survived the pursuit elegantly, he quietly directed Maokai to the lane and finished off the creep wave.


    While the audience watching the game in the caf¨¦ hall bemoaned the Support¡¯s poor skills, they were equally shocked by the Jungler¡¯s indifference toward his teammate. The defender team had apparently given up on the bottom lane entirely!


    ***


    ¡°Sorry guys, I did not feed on purpose. In fact, I¡¯m trying really hard not to be a burden,¡± Xiao Ya apologized through the chatbox.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, it¡¯s all Lin Dong¡¯s fault. He never knows how to protect his teammate,¡± Da Luo replied while Proxy Farming. He faced little resistance at the top lane. It was too easy that he felt like cutting behind the inner turret and directly breaking the minion line in front of the inhibitor turret.


    The huge disparity in terms of champion selection and personal skill eventually led to Da Luo¡¯s total domination.


    Lin Dong almost cried seeing Da Luo¡¯s inconsiderate statement. ¡®You can say that only because you are facing a single opponent at the top lane!¡¯


    In fact, Lin Dong was confident that he could still develop properly in a 2 vs 1 situation. However, to maintain the same level of farming when facing 3 opponents simultaneously was simply too difficult. He could not absorb so much pressure at the same time. Not getting killed was already a win for Lin Dong under such circumstances.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Xiao Ya. You just need to focus on maintaining your HP and mana. Remember to stay behind me at all times. Teaming up with you is supposed to toughen me up, it will be boring if you play too well.¡± Lin Dong could sense Xiao Ya¡¯s guilt and tried to cheer her up.


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s great. I¡¯ve got enough gold now, it would be fine if I buy a Mejai¡¯s, right?¡± Xiao Ya typed.


    Lin Dong rushed to type ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± after seeing Xia Ya¡¯s message but the system message was much quicker¡­


    Defender-Cheng has bought a Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer.


    ¡®God, please just kill me¡­ I won¡¯t even blink my eyes.¡¯


    He should not have typed those comforting words. The logic of a gamer girl was hard to comprehend.


    ¡®Was she really ranked in Silver 1? She plays like a Bronze¡­ No, ¡°Plastic¡± 5!¡¯


    ***


    Duo Duo¡¯s face couldn¡¯t be any darker.


    The members of this team were indeed better than he had expected, all except the Support. ¡®Does he even know how to play LOL?¡¯


    If it were not for the room being locked during the game, Duo Duo would have barged in and given Luocheng a fury of punches!


    ¡°I initially thought that he was a pro. He was so confident that they were going to smash our previous Team Ranking, but it turns out that he¡¯s just a sh*tty joke. Anyone from this shop could have played better than him!¡± Duo Duo complained to the female worker beside him.


    The worker was clearly a LOL player too. She watched the comical Support with a twisted face and said, ¡°Why do I feel like he¡¯s playing even worse than I do. If it weren¡¯t for the ADC¡¯s resistance, I believe the bottom lane would have long been pushed in.¡±


    ¡°Who knows? This is 10,000 RMB we are talking about, I will lose the 500 RMB bonus if the money is taken today. If the caf¨¦ faces a deficit this month, my salary will be affected too.¡± Duo Duo was especially restless as he watched the game.


    It was not easy for him to attain the position he had today. This cyber caf¨¦ was made popular by Mr. Lei and his relentless effort.


    Without a reliable team to defend the prize money, Demacia Caf¨¦ would turn into an ATM machine for those good LOL teams around this region. Moreover, if they were unable to consistently sustain the reward, then nobody would spend money on membership subscriptions anymore.


    Through the glass, Duo Duo could see Luocheng¡¯s serious face as he sat in the middle of the team, and he became more irritated. ¡®Crap! Cut the act now, you silly clown!¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Da Luo, f*ck you. Stop Proxy Farming and come cover me now,¡± Lin Dong had completely lost it and yelled at Da Luo.


    ¡°Let me farm a bit more, I really miss bullying the noobs. Playing against those Taiwanese teams was truly stressful,¡± Da Luo replied.


    ¡°If we lose this, Meiqi will spend some time alone with you in her room!¡± Lin Dong threatened.


    ¡°Oh, coming right away!¡± Da Luo said nothing else and recalled at once after retreating into the jungle.


    The opponent¡¯s bottom lane duo was now marching toward their inner turret. Luckily, this Team ILUN did not know how to utilize their bottom lane advantage to pressure the other zones of the map. Personal skills would have no use if the team gold difference was too huge to be recovered.


    Da Luo charged in with his R-ulti from the blind spot at the back as soon as Shyvana reached the bottom lane.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s speed at covering distance was terrifyingly swift now. As soon as Da Luo moved in to initiate, Zhou Yan¡¯s Maokai had instantly blocked off the enemies¡¯ retreat route. In the meantime, Wu Sen stalled the opponent¡¯s Jungler and Mid in the jungle, effectively delaying their rescue attempt.


    Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Xiao Ya ganked Fen Da and Meng Niu from Team ILUN. They were not going to lose in this 4 vs 2¡­ wait, no¡­ this 3 vs 3 situation.


    Shyvana with a Sunfire Cape was unbeatable. With her R-ulti activated, her opponent¡¯s Corki could hardly hurt her., and instead, it was Corki¡¯s health that dropped rapidly due to the Sunfire¡¯s Immolate effect.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Maokai in turn rooted Corki who wished to run away with his W-skill and knocked him back, the former immediately releasing his ulti.


    Lin Dong followed up Ezreal¡¯s ulti with an auto attack and efficiently took down the squishy Sona!


    Lin Dong had finally gotten his first kill after the disastrous start.


    ¡°Leave the kill to me. This Corki is worth 500 gold!¡± Lin Dong yelled to stop Da Luo from kill-stealing the dying Corki.


    Five-d*mn-hundred gold! His life would become easier once he bagged this double kill.


    Zhou Yan and Da Luo naturally left the kill to Lin Dong, and the latter happily pressed his E key to take it, but his face froze the next second.


    Shut Down! Defender-Cheng has killed Feng Da!


    The 500 gold had just been credited into Soraka¡¯s account!


    ¡°Ah, my bad. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± Xiao Ya immediately apologized for the kill-steal.


    Looking at the 83 golds appearing on top of his champion, Lin Dong forced himself to swallow back the expletives about to burst forth from his mouth.


    ¡®My lovely lady, if only your healing reflex was as quick as your typing speed!¡¯


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan shook their heads at the same time as well.


    That was the pitiful fate one had to bear while carrying a noob gamer girl at the bottom lane. The pain was real when he couldn¡¯t CS properly and respawn helplessly in the fountain time and time again, yet he still needed to hold back his anger and force himself to comfort the girl with compliments like ¡°Good job!¡±, ¡°Nice play!¡±, ¡°Meija¡¯s? Fantastic!¡±, ¡°Great timing. The 500 gold is your reward!¡± .


    Girls, you have to know that each of these words were typed out with his tears and blood. Please marry such a man if you ever meet one. If he could still muster consoling words when you feed like mad in LOL, he was definitely a guy that was also willing to kneel in front and behind of you in reality.

 Chapter 369 - Even Soraka Can Whiff Ultimate

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After the bottom lane was pushed in, vision around the Dragon was easily controlled by the enemy team.


    To know how strong a team was, all you had to do was see how they controlled their vision. Fen Da and Fei Ge of Team ILUN indeed had their strengths, and laning wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem for them.


    It was a shame, though, that their rhythm was completely off-beat, and they couldn¡¯t build up on any advantages that they got, giving their enemy time to catch their breath and get their bearings straight. Even a single badly-initiated team fight could cause their brief advantage to go down the drain.


    This time, a fight over the red buff caused a homicide.


    The enemy Jungler tried to gain control over Zhou Yan¡¯s red buff, but he did so without proper vision of the area. The more experienced Zhou Yan caught on to his tricks quickly and got Wu Sen, who was in the mid lane, to camp out at the red buff with him.


    Their reinforcements came quickly, and as soon as the fight broke out in the jungle, the enemy bot lane duo and Mid came to back their Jungler up.


    Under these circumstances, Lin Dong had no choice but to give up on farming to help his team in the jungle


    Pinging Xiao Ya, Lin Dong rushed over to the jungle.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Maokai was fearless, and he rushed forward alone, setting up for Lin Dong and Wu Sen to deal massive damage. The enemy Corki was no coward either, hopping over the wall with his W-skill to attempt to kill Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal!


    ¡°Sh*t, you think you can scare me?¡± Lin Dong decided that enough was enough, and he faced the Corki head on. He still had a Soraka next to him, regardless of how behind she was, she was still good for healing, right!?


    Corki had pretty decent items, and a single combo from him cut Lin Dong¡¯s health in half, but thankfully, Xiao Ya was there to top his health up.


    The difference in equipment was too great, and if this continued, Lin Dong would surely be left at a disadvantage. However, Lin Dong wasn¡¯t afraid, because he knew that Xiao Ya still had her ultimate on her!


    As his health began to run dangerously low, Lin Dong suddenly sensed that something was wrong!


    Xiao Ya, your ultimate!


    Xiao Ya was still using her silence, casting her auto-attack against Corki, looking as though nothing was amiss.


    Lin Dong could see his health bar shrinking dangerously, and he was getting anxious.


    Hello!? Why are you still auto-attacking? Use your ultimate skill!


    Finally, Xiao Ya remembered the existence of her ultimate and hurriedly pressed her R key.


    Alas, just as the R key was pushed into the keyboard, Zhou Yan¡¯s Maokai had already died while solo-ing in front, and Lin Dong, unsurprisingly, had also met his end at the hands of a well-equipped Corki, while Wu Sen was covered in blood at the back.


    Suddenly, the entire hall was dead silent. The ones who were drinking beer and the ones who weren¡¯t, all of them were in shock at what had just transpired!


    I¡¯ve seen Sona miss ultimates, I¡¯ve seen Annie miss ultimates, but this was the first d*mn time I¡¯ve ever seen a Soraka miss her ultimate!


    My dear Support, you¡¯re a spy sent by the enemy team, aren¡¯t you!? So ditzy that you¡¯ve managed to turn the entire audience red!


    After their screens turned gray, Zhou Yan and Lin Dong gave each other a silent stare.


    Na?ve, they had been too na?ve. They had seen the green circle under Soraka¡¯s portrait, and thus, had subconsciously added the healing from her ult to their health total, thinking that they would be able to run away with a little extra health. Who would have known that this little girl would only use her ultimate after the both of them were dead!


    Woman, did you even read the ability description for Soraka, it was a team-wide heal, not a team-wide resurrect!


    Double kill!


    Triple kill!


    Wu Sen was feeling good this time. Starting by taking out the enemy Jungler, he quickly switched targets to the Corki, following up with a well placed ultimate to blow up the enemy¡¯s Support.


    Wu Sen¡¯s Ziggs was truly and utterly disgusting. With Zhou Yan creating the perfect environment for him to deal damage, his blue-buff-empowered bombs rained down on the enemy team by the ton, wiping those Team ILUN suckers off the map.


    ¡°F*ck, I told you guys to cut that Ziggs off, what the hell were you doing!?¡± Feng Da screamed.


    Trying to take care of a Corki had somehow resulted in them trading 2 for 3, losing 3 players in a 4 vs 5. They had lost this fight big time.


    ¡°This Jungler and Mid are pretty good,¡± said Fei Ge.


    Fei Ge was laning against Wu Sen, and Wu Sen¡¯s Ziggs was driving his Orianna crazy. He had already been at a monetary disadvantage, now, he might as well just AFK for the rest of the laning phase.


    ¡°They¡¯re way more than just ¡®pretty good¡¯.¡± Their jungler sighed.


    Jarvan should have had an easy time against Maokai, but for whatever reason, every time they met in the jungle, Maokai would always have the upper hand, and no matter where he tried to gank, the Maokai would appear within 5 seconds flat, often winning the fight, too.


    ¡°Who are you calling ¡®pretty good¡¯, can¡¯t you see that I¡¯ve almost pushed through their entire bot lane already! You guys had better step up your d*mn game!¡± Feng Da ordered.


    ¡°Bro, Ezreal¡¯s not doing that bad¡­¡±


    ¡°Not bad my ass, didn¡¯t you see how I killed him like the poor little dog he is!¡±


    ***


    Luocheng was happily climbing ranks in the Korean Servers, and since his elo had already dropped, the opponents they were facing weren¡¯t all that strong, giving them an easy win.


    This time, Luocheng and Shallow Dream weren¡¯t only queuing for the bottom lane, allowing their teammates to take their positions before filling into whichever role was left.


    After one round, Luocheng glanced at Lin Dong beside him, saying, ¡°How are you guys not done yet?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you try to 1 vs 3 in the bot lane!¡± Lin Dong whined.


    Luocheng looked over to Lin Dong¡¯s screen. At a glance, he calculated that the enemy team was up by roughly two or three thousand gold.


    Their advantage was mainly around the bottom lane and Dragon, whereas Team Skycrown had an advantage in both the top and middle lane.


    Not bad, a heavy tank taking up the front line and a Ziggs that was pumping out decent consistent damage and burst. Even if Lin Dong¡¯s equipment were not up to par, he could still hold his own in a fight, and as long as Wu Sen and Lin Dong had good positioning and didn¡¯t get CC¡¯d, they could still win a team fight.


    ¡°The enemy is going to group up soon, if you stay on the defensive, you should do well. If vision over the Dragon is being controlled by the enemy team, you should just give the Dragon up so that no one gets caught,¡± Luocheng warned.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s side was devoid of any crowd control, and except for Corki, the enemies¡¯ crowd control was quite potent. If their back line were to get caught, their team fight would go south immediately. This was a test of positioning.


    ¡°But with Jarvan, they will basically force a fight whenever they can¡­¡± Luocheng continued to muse.


    Just as he finished his sentence, the fleeing Jarvan suddenly turned around and flashed toward them, jumping toward Soraka and Maokai with an EQ-combo.


    ¡°Sh*t, he¡¯s on the aggressive!¡± Lin Dong shouted.


    Flashing and following up with an EQ-combo, that would mean leaving your team behind by 1,000 units! Forcing team fights was a good skill, but could your teammates follow up?


    Sona, Orianna, and Renekton had already rushed over, and Orianna¡¯s ball could be seen floating around Jarvan¡¯s head. She was waiting for Jarvan to use his ultimate before following up with her own!


    After this combo, Sona would surely follow up with her ultimate, and she would be able to CC 3 people!


    As expected, Jarvan jumped toward Ziggs and Ezreal.


    Lin Dong reacted quickly, using his E-skill to dodge as Jarvan¡¯s Cataclysm landed. The enemy Orianna didn¡¯t have too much time to think, one-shotting the Ziggs would be worth it too!


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Maokai and Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna weren¡¯t just there for decoration, and with Jarvan starting a team fight like this, the enemy would naturally rush over.


    Da Luo looked for the perfect opening to throw his ultimate out, diving upon 3 people in 1 hit. With his E-skill only raised to its second level, Renekton stormed in to kill Ziggs.


    Zhou Yan unleashed his skills precisely, and while under normal circumstances Maokai would go straight to root the opposing ADC, stopping them from dealing any damage, Zhou Yan didn¡¯t do so, and instead, rooted the Sona.


    With Jarvan forcing a team fight, Orianna following up with an ultimate, and Sona following up with hers, this combo-CC would kill anyone. If Wu Sen and Lin Dong got hit, the game would be a loss, and so, the focus shouldn¡¯t be on the ADC, but on stopping the Sona from using her ultimate.


    A single root snared Sona in place. Sona had wanted to flash toward her team, but just as she was about to, she was rooted to the ground, and along with a lunge from Shyvanna, she wasn¡¯t able to follow up with her crowd control ability, instead, taking the brunt of the enemy team¡¯s AOE damage! (AOE means ¡°Area of Effect¡±, describing wide range abilities)


    Shyvanna¡¯s burning ultimate, Ezreal¡¯s Trueshot Barrage swiping across the enemy team, Maokai¡¯s ultimate skill and set of abilities, as well as Ziggs raining his ultimate down from the sky.


    Such was the tale of a poor Support, running into the fight, thinking that she could finish the opposing team off with a single ultimate, but due to the lack of resistance, health, and awareness of incoming AOE abilities, she was finished off before she even got the chance, left to draw circles in a corner while her team continued to fight.


    The problem was, would a Maokai care about an ultimate¡¯s crowd control? Attack all you want! He could barely feel it through his thick skin.


    On the other side, the surrounded Wu Sen wasn¡¯t worried at all. As soon as Orianna used all of her abilities, he placed a Satchel Charge at his feet, launching himself back and bringing with him his health bar that was not even a third.


    Soraka had already healed him at this point, and Wu Sen knew that Orianna couldn¡¯t deal such a high damage, and with Xiao Ya healing him, he didn¡¯t even need to use his Flash. Blasting out of harm¡¯s way, he threw a myriad of abilities toward Jarvan who was tangled up with the rest of his team.


    How high could a Jungler¡¯s magic resistance be? For a 5/0/3, 150 CS Ziggs, Jarvan was practically defenseless.


    In mere seconds, Jarvan had been slain, and Ziggs looked at the half dead Ezreal that was being chased by Renekton, quickly spreading his bombs on the floor to slow the latter, relieving some of the pressure on Ezreal.


    Lin Dong was truly poorly equipped, not doing much damage to even an under-leveled Renekton, however, Ziggs managed to shave Renekton¡¯s health in half with a single combo. The malicious attack left Renekton in tears, and if he had thought that Shyvanna was merciless in her proxy farming against Renekton, then this Ziggs was downright evil!


    Not long later, Renekton caved, dying to Ezreal and Ziggs.


    Finishing off Renekton, the two massive tanks that were Shyvanna and Maokai retreated from the frontline, regrouping with their backline.


    Team ILUN was left with 2 players still standing, and all through this, Zhou Yan¡¯s Maokai had saved his W-skill. Upon regrouping with the rest of his team, he snared the fleeing Orianna, knocking her toward his team!


    Ezreal and Ziggs followed up quickly, however, Orianna did manage to take Soraka down with her, dying just like that!


    Sona and Corki were left, no longer daring to continue the fight. It didn¡¯t matter how low Maokai was, all they could do was flee.


    And thus, following the way Jarvan had started off the team fight, the battle ended with a 3 for 1 trade. All Team Skycrown had lost was a Support, but Team ILUN had lost 3 of their major carries.


    Needless to say, Team Skycrown killed the remaining players, even taking the Baron!


    Oddly enough, Team ILUN did not pick themselves up for quite a while, and even the spectators were beginning to wonder what had happened.


    They had been at such an advantage in terms of both gold and items, how had they lost so easily?


    If it weren¡¯t for the undercover Soraka feeding them a kill, it would have ended in a 0 for 3 trade.

 Chapter 370 - : A 4v6 is Still Winnable!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°They won!? How!?¡± A girl accompanying her boyfriend wondered out loud as she looked up at the screen, not understanding what she had just seen.


    Even this girl was able to see the difference between the two teams that was so great. The defending team should¡¯ve lost the team fight, no questions asked, and yet, how did the challenging Team ILUN lose so miserably? No clue.


    ¡°Bing Bing, care to explain what just happened!¡± The guests were all wondering the same thing.


    How¡­ Just how had they won?


    It suddenly felt as though everything was going the defending team¡¯s way during the team fight, and you had to bear in mind that the defending team also had a Soraka who could shock the blood right out of your face!


    ¡°The defending team¡¯s pretty alright,¡± said one of the guests.


    Bing Bing was a regular here, and everyone knew him. Whenever there was a competition, he would always be the one to explain what had happened.


    ¡°How do I put this, I couldn¡¯t tell either, it just felt really messy¡­¡± a fashionable girl said and trailed off.


    Bing Bing looked up to see everyone¡¯s eyes focused on him, and he straightened his posture a little.


    Honestly, he quite enjoyed the attention. Taking a sip of his Budweiser, he feigned seriousness, saying, ¡°Well I won¡¯t go much into the defending team¡¯s Support, she was more of a pothole than an actual player.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start from team compositions. Now, as long as Jarvan forces a team fight, Orianna and Sona can chain their ultimates to CC-lock the opposing team¡¯s backline, easily winning the team fight. On the defending team¡¯s side, even if Maokai was able to catch someone, no one would dare follow up, because as soon as the challenging team starts to use their crowd control abilities, it would be game over for the defending team.


    ¡°The challenging team had the upper hand in engaging first, and taking into account Ziggs¡¯, Ezreal¡¯s and Maokai¡¯s continuous damage output, forcing a team fight would be the right move. The longer they delayed it, the lower their health would go. It¡¯s a shame, though, that Jarvan engaging so suddenly wasn¡¯t exactly the smartest decision.¡±


    ¡°Why? Wasn¡¯t everything under control? First knocking up Maokai and Soraka, and then using his ultimate to trap Ziggs and Ezreal even though Ezreal managed to jump out.¡± Someone eating snacks asked.


    ¡°He rushed in too far. A Flash alone would put 600 units of distance between him and his teammates, coupled with his EQ-combo and going another 800 units, that would already be around 1000 units. Even if he was able to trap his opponents, none of the carries would be able to follow up.


    ¡°Although Orianna quickly cast her E-skill on Jarvan, she had her sights on one-shotting Ziggs, using her ultimate on only a single champion. However, Ziggs had a Barrier, and if she didn¡¯t kill him right away, Jarvan¡¯s ultimate would be rendered useless, and thus, Orianna¡¯s abilities and ultimate would share the same fate. Most importantly, Renekton and Sona were still 800 or so units away, unable to help their team.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention, the defending team¡¯s Jungler was quite something, not CC-ing anyone, instead choosing to focus his efforts on the Sona who tried to Flash forward and cast her ultimate. Let me ask you this, if you were jungling or a solo top, would you use your summoner spells on a Support?¡± Bing Bing asked.


    Everyone shook their heads. Using up your abilities on a Support, if you lost, there would surely be some hard questioning from your teammates.


    ¡°The Maokai used his CC on the Support, and this was the key turning point in the battle, making it so that the challenging team¡¯s third CC would be unable to have any major effect. This caused Sona to panic and use her ultimate on the Maokai, meaning that Jarvan, Orianna, and Sona¡¯s ultimate weren¡¯t able to do much in the team fight except bring the opposing team¡¯s APC¡¯s health down significantly.¡±


    Following Bing Bing¡¯s statement, everyone had a moment of realization.


    That was exactly what had happened, the three most important crowd controlling ultimates had only been used to reduce the health of their enemy¡¯s APC, Ziggs!


    With this, the spectators flashed back to the positioning of the four players on the defending team, forming a triangular shape of sorts!


    The two tanks in front formed the point atop the triangle, preventing Orianna and Corki from dealing any damage to their carries in the backline, who had in turn been positioned in a line behind the tanks, dealing massive damage from both sides. First, bursting down Jarvan who was in too deep, and then, luring Renekton away to his grave!


    ¡°You should know how tanky a Shyvanna who has activated her ultimate and has been building up to a pure tank with a Warmogs is, and the same goes for a jungling Maokai, but add to that a 20% damage reduction from Maokai¡¯s ultimate. With Shyvanna and Maokai in front, they were either trying to kill off Corki, Orianna, and Sona, or, they were trying to split off Fei and Feng Da from the rest of their team.


    ¡°Tell me, who do you think is tankier? Shyvanna and Maokai? Or Jarvan and Renekton?¡± Bing Bing asked.


    Everyone contemplated the answer. A Shyvanna with her ultimate was way tankier than a Renekton, and the burn damage she dealt was no joke either. She could easily absorb the damage from 3 other champions.


    Maokai was an easy decision, too. With an ultimate that reduced incoming damage, all he needed to do was use his ultimate and barricade the enemy team with Shyvanna, and thus, the Orianna wouldn¡¯t be able to get past them. Similarly, the Corki wouldn¡¯t dare to use his W-skill on them either, leaving them to hit the tanks to no avail.


    Even after the defending team¡¯s hyper-carries Ziggs and Ezreal had finished off the slightly under-levelled Renekton, Maokai and Shyvanna still had a pretty decent amount of health remaining. At this point, the 4 of them regrouped and rushed forward together, and the team fight was as good as won!


    When playing LOL, especially during team fights, a lot of players would lose track of the positioning of their champions, even those in Gold or Platinum Rank didn¡¯t really know how to play in a team fight!


    In actuality, if you observed your team¡¯s composition, compared it to the enemies¡¯ composition, and then figured out what would be the best course of action when you engaged in a team fight, you would see your success in team fights sky-rocket. Don¡¯t put all the blame on your teammates, accusing them of forcing team fights willy-nilly.


    As long as you played your part well, you would meet good teammates eventually, helping you steadily gain elo. The higher in ranks you climbed, the more your teammates would be able to play team fights according to the strengths of their team, and once you got to that point, don¡¯t become the guy that holds their team back. If you did, then maybe you didn¡¯t deserve that high of a rank.


    Team ILUN had put on a stellar performance during the laning phase, even against professional players like Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Wu Sen, they didn¡¯t get absolutely obliterated. They also knew how to fight to their strengths, grouping quickly to take advantage of their team composition.


    Sadly, their team fight cooperation and knowledge were lacking in comparison to Team Skycrown. Team Skycrown¡¯s messy composition against their hyper aggressive composition made two things very clear. One, no starting team fights, and two, divide and conquer. Thus, Team Skycrown were the victors of the battle, using this victory to take down the Baron as well!


    And as soon as Team Skycrown took the upper hand, they knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to count on Xiao Ya to plant wards, so they each bought Pink Wards and Green Wards to seize control of the vision on the map.


    During the remainder of the game, Team ILUN¡¯s jungle became their playground, and if someone was pushing in the side turrets without paying much attention, the Dragon was free money for them.


    While they still held on to the Baron buff, they pushed their lead even further. After Team ILUN lost all of their outer turrets and got caught numerous times in their own jungle, Team Skycrown¡¯s items saw a substantial improvement, especially the pitiful ADC, Lin Dong, who was finally getting the items he needed. His damage was frightening, coupled with the Hexplosives Expert, Ziggs!


    With two unmovable tanks and two terrifying carries, who cared if Soraka was even in the game or not!


    Also, Soraka had picked up some kills here and there with her team, and she now had 10 stacks on her Mejai¡¯s, can you believe that?


    Team ILUN wasn¡¯t weak by any means, each player had Diamond level skills even though they weren¡¯t all at Diamond I, but losing a 4 vs 6? Ouch.


    ***


    After the competition came to a close, the cafe manager Duo Duo had to clean his glasses.


    They had won!? Just like that?


    They had won a 4 vs 6 with that kind of team composition!?


    Over in the hall, the guests all shared the same puzzled expression.


    Even though Bing Bing had explained most of what had just happened, there were still things that Bing Bing couldn¡¯t understand nor keep up with.


    They had won a team fight, taken the Baron, gained control over the enemy¡¯s jungle, caught a few stragglers, pushed in the side turrets, and even after Team ILUN had lost that battle, it still seemed as though they had zero chances at making a comeback.


    The Battle Ring operated under the rule of one victor per match, and you could only challenge the same team once per week. Team ILUN had spent nearly a thousand bucks each to buy the weekly passes, all in hopes of winning the 10,000 RMB cash prize, but all they got was a whole lot of nothing¡­ Well, I guess they did get the chance to be publicly humiliated¡­


    Fei was still in disbelief. His dreams of the Japanese girls were gone, too, guess his right hand would be the one accompanying him tonight.


    On his end, Feng Da was eying the stack of cash sitting behind the glass pane, despair taking root in his heart.


    Their bottom lane had been doing so well, they had almost had them¡­


    How could they lose like this! He was just about ready to burst in anger, especially when he thought about the Soraka who died so much that she was worth as much as a minion, and yet, she had ended the game with 10 stacks on her Mejai¡¯s, can you even believe that!?


    ¡°Sadly, our challenging Team ILUN has failed, and the defending team has succeeded in maintaining their 10,000 RMB prize. The prize has now accumulated to a total of 10,500 RMB,¡± Duo Duo announced, a smile plastered on his face.


    ¡°F*ck, I won¡¯t stand for this!¡± Feng Da shouted.


    ¡°Feng Da, don¡¯t make a scene,¡± Duo Duo said quickly.


    ¡°D*mn it, who said I wanted to make a scene! But I sure as hell don¡¯t approve of this outcome.¡± Ever the alpha leader, Feng Da glared at Fei and the rest of his teammates. ¡°We¡¯ve already spent our money buying these passes, all of you had better report back here for training every night at 8 o¡¯clock sharp. We¡¯ll fight them again next week, they won¡¯t be so lucky next time.¡±


    Manager Duo Duo broke into a smile.


    Ooh, a rematch next week! It would almost be time for another payment of 1,000 RMB for their passes, nice!


    ¡°Feng Da, my friend, maybe it¡¯s possible for you to win against a casual team, but playing against a team of professionals and semi-professionals? The difference in skill level is just too immense. Some of my mates couldn¡¯t make it tonight, I¡¯ll call them over tomorrow and show you how I¡¯ll be the one bringing home that 10,500 RMB cash prize,¡± said a boy from the Royal¡¯s District, a smug look on his face.


    The boy was smoking a cigarette, and the only ones allowed to smoke in this club were those from the Royal¡¯s District. Duo Duo was about to tell him to put his cigarette out, but he quickly bit his tongue back after seeing who he was. This guy was one of the famous rich kids of the younger generation, even Mr Lei wouldn¡¯t be able to tell him what to do.


    The rich kid shook some ashes off of his cigarette as he glanced over to the defending team in the VIP lounge, and he continued, laughing, ¡°Duo Duo, ask Boss Lei, isn¡¯t 10,000 RMB too little? It wouldn¡¯t even be worth my time.¡±


    Hearing this, the corners of Duo Duo¡¯s mouth tugged upward slightly in an ironic fashion.


    Sh*t, it was already a 10,000 RMB gamble on a video game, was that still not enough!?


    When have you ever seen a single match worth a prize of over 10,000 RMB!? Even those breaking into the thousands already said wonders about the cyber caf¨¦¡¯s reputation!

 Chapter 371 - It’s Been a While Since We’ve Fought

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Demacia Cafe wasn¡¯t really a proper cybercafe, but it had become some sort of a gathering point for the rich kids in the area who wanted to play League of Legends.


    Rich kids, the easiest money you¡¯d ever make!


    A lot of these second-generation rich kids were only in it for the fun and they would bet ridiculous sums of money, but wouldn¡¯t have the skills to back these bets up.


    Gambling, cards, they were bored to death of it already, but betting piles upon piles of money on a LOL game? Now that was exciting.


    Sometimes, if these little princes started boasting too much, they would straight up pay professional players to pulverize you in game. What were you going to do about it?


    Even if one side had started hiring, it wasn¡¯t as if the other side didn¡¯t have the money to do the same¡­


    The original Team Demacia was quite a force to be reckoned with, but after a chance meeting with a crazy rich kid who had taken one look at Boss Lei and decided that he didn¡¯t like him, he proceeded to hire a group of professionals to beat Team Demacia so far into the ground that they couldn¡¯t get back up. Ultimately, Boss Lei had had no other choice but to disband the team.


    Slowly, Demacia Cafe became the most popular battleground in Shanghai for rich kids who were looking to fight it out in a game of LOL. You used to be able to find a lot of famous pro players going head to head here, and behind all these pro players were a bunch of little princes who were sick of old school card games and mahjong, using the Summoner¡¯s Rift as their gambling table.


    All bets were made in private, and since technically there wasn¡¯t a ¡°betting pool¡±, it didn¡¯t count as illegal.


    On his end, Boss Lei benefitted from selling the membership passes and he even got free advertising through the giant prizes offered, attracting LOL enthusiasts along with all the pro players that frequented the place.


    Prices here were already above the average, as long as someone came, Boss Lei would surely get them to pay up!


    The Budweiser was expensive, the cold drinks were expensive, even the nuts and snacks were expensive. You could only smoke in the VIP lounge, but to get into the VIP lounge, you needed the platinum card or higher. You could even get your own personal computer and personal lounge with your own glass-bead curtains! That is, only if you bought the diamond card¡­


    The main hall was open to the public, and you could sit on the sofa and watch the game on the big screen from the point of view of the Pro Player of The Week.


    Now, if you were watching a competition, wouldn¡¯t you get the urge to play too?


    A girl on the side sighed while saying, ¡°I¡¯m still stuck in Silver, how am I ever going to climb in rank¡­¡±


    The girl didn¡¯t even like playing, she more so enjoyed chatting with friends on the sofa, and without anything else to talk about, the conversation would steer back to games and the competitions.


    You, as a Platinum player, would definitely offer, ¡°You want me to carry you?¡±, right?


    ¡°Really? If you get me to Gold, I¡¯ll buy you drinks!¡±


    Congratulations, you¡¯ve successfully integrated into the society of Demacia Cafe, now, aren¡¯t you going to buy a membership pass? You¡¯ll lose out on a lot of money if you don¡¯t, you know.


    Most people had an income of over 4,000 to 5,000 RMB, and with an average income of 7,000 to 10,000 RMB, reloading a pass that only cost over 100 RMB each week wasn¡¯t that bad. Since a lot of day-job workers only had small social circles, gaming was all they would do in their spare time anyway, which meant that most of their money was spent on in-game skins too.


    But playing by yourself all the time can get a little lonely, making you feel uncool and friendless. Wouldn¡¯t you rather hang out at Demacia Cafe, enjoying the sense of community you get while gaming? You could make friends, in real life and on the rift, meet girls, and much more, all while watching a highly rewarding competition!


    ***


    Every week, there would be 3 chances to challenge another team, and unsurprisingly, the prize had now accumulated to 11,500 RMB.


    Luocheng and his team had gotten their reward of 500 RMB too, which meant that finally, they would have some meat on the table.


    After that first week, news had spread, and the LOL Teams from the surrounding area were all itching to take a shot at the grand prize.


    As they had to participate in the monthly competition which also meant pushing back any new challenges, the five members of Team Skycrown returned to Hangzhou.


    At the Netfish Caf¨¦, Xu Ben and his gang were awaiting their arrival.


    K was there, too, and smiling, he asked, ¡°How did you find the house? Not bad, right?¡±


    ¡°It was amazing, but to give us a huge discount like that, it won¡¯t affect the landlord¡¯s income, right?¡± Da Luo asked.


    K shook his head, ¡°My dad handles a lot of things. Some housing companies will use a few houses to try and get in through the backdoor, but my dad obviously doesn¡¯t give them any response. In the end, these companies won¡¯t try to simply sell or rent these places out, so basically, they¡¯re left empty as no one wants to move in.¡±


    K didn¡¯t elaborate much but everyone understood what he was trying to say.


    Some dirty companies probably wanted to bribe K¡¯s old man, but he didn¡¯t accept. Since these companies didn¡¯t dare to resell these ¡®gifts¡¯, they were just awkwardly abandoned, which was good news for Team Skycrown!


    The poor couldn¡¯t even get a roof over their heads while the rich had so many estates and yet refused to live in any of them¡­ They were truly from different worlds.


    ¡°What about that Team Zhejiang or whatever?¡± Asked Wu Sen.


    Xu Ben had been dissing the overly proud Team Zhejian for the past few days, and even Xiao Ya, who had merely been filling in the place of Luocheng as he climbed the ranks in the Korean server, looked down on those people.


    ¡°F*ck, do you want to die!¡±


    Suddenly, a man¡¯s yell came from the VIP room!


    Xiao Ya came hurtling out of the room in her maid¡¯s outfit!


    The curtains were pulled back, and a man with a face full of orange juice came barrelling after Xiao Ya.


    ¡°B*tch, I¡¯ll get you or my name¡¯s not Gao!¡± The man looked crazed, anger written all over his face as he chased Xiao Ya.


    Xu Ben was the first to react, running over to block him in front of the bar.


    Xiao Ya hid under the bar, not daring to come out. The commotion caused everyone in the cybercafe who had been surfing the internet to look over, some looking concerned, while others looked excited at the prospect of witnessing a free show!


    ¡°Hey hey hey, what do you think you¡¯re doing!?¡± Xu Ben pushed back the orange-juice-faced man.


    ¡°Xu Ben, screw off, I¡¯m going to kill this b*tch! She splashed the juice on me!¡± the guy yelled.


    Xiao Ya was still hiding behind the bar, and the male shopkeeper rushed over, a mix of apology and feigned politeness in his voice, ¡°It was a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding¡­ How about this, everything you¡¯ve paid for today is on the house, Xiao Ya must¡¯ve just slipped.¡±


    SMACK!


    The sound of a hand coming into contact with the shopkeeper¡¯s face rang through the caf¨¦.


    The poor shopkeeper couldn¡¯t react in time and stood there dazed.


    The stinging sound silenced the entire cybercafe, and everyone stared at the perpetrator of the slap and the aura of authority surrounding him.


    ¡°Get out of my way, like I care about your sh*tty money. I said I wanted to kill this b*tch, so everyone else had better move! And you, Xu Ben, if you try any f*cking shit with me, I¡¯ll end you too!¡±


    Luocheng was just as stunned as everyone else, staring dumbfoundedly at the man. He had always thought that high end establishments had more posh people which meant more talking and less fighting. Who would have thought that it was exactly the same as any other rowdy cybercafe, using their fists to solve problems, even going as far as to slap the poor shopkeeper.


    The shopkeeper probably hadn¡¯t encountered this sort of situation before, retreating to the side speechlessly.


    ¡°Gao Qinjin, have you eaten a lot of crap lately, because your mouth stinks. How dare you touch one of my people!?¡± K was upset, walking right up to Qinjin.


    Qinjin had a few people behind him, each as tall and as buff as he was. Looking at the logos on their shirts, they were probably from the same team.


    K had helped Team Skycrown out so much in the past, and so, Team Skycrown in turn went to backup K as well.


    Jian Feng who had just tagged along was still rooted in place, trying to persuade Team Skycrown not to start anything. After all, if their clothes were anything to go by, these weren¡¯t your regular thugs, these were rich kids that were used to getting whatever they wanted, and poor people like them did not want to pick a fight with these guys.


    But when Jian Feng saw how Da Luo eagerly went over, looking like he wanted a piece of the action, he knew that there was no stopping them.


    Fine, Luocheng could admit that their group didn¡¯t have the best track record, reminiscing on the fights they had had back in the good old days, they were easily provoked. K had not noticed the group behind Gao, but upon looking back over his shoulder, he realized that Team Skycrown was there to support him and he started to regain his confidence.


    K had quite the background and he wasn¡¯t scared of this Gao Qinjin, but anyone could tell that they were picking a losing battle. If a fight really did break out, everyone on his side would be left more than just a little bit sore.


    ¡°Qinjin, we should sit down and discuss this like men. Shouting and running all over the place, are you looking to start something?¡± K pressured Qinjin.


    During this time, Xu Ben walked over to the bar, taking the phone that Xiao Ya was using to call 110 and shook his head at the surprised girl.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk. Just hand over the girl and I¡¯ll leave.¡± Qinjin calmed down slightly.


    ¡°Talk to me,¡± K said.


    ¡°What¡¯s left to talk about, can¡¯t you see this stuff on me!?¡± Qinjin gestured wildly at the juice that he was covered in.


    ¡°He started to touch me first! I swatted him away but he still put his arm around my waist, so I splashed him,¡± Xiao Ya said, red creeping onto her face.


    ¡°Bullshi*t! How the hell was I supposed to know that you were behind me? I was gaming!¡± Qinjin denied vehemently.


    From there, Luocheng understood the gist of what had happened.


    Probably, this Qinjin guy had tried to make a move on Xiao Ya but she had splashed him in the face, and in his embarrassment, Qinjin had decided to retaliate in anger.


    This type of person, casually thinking that they could do whatever they wanted to just because they had access to their daddy¡¯s credit card.


    And to think that Luocheng had thought this to be a reputable place¡­ Having to stoop so low just to get a girl!?


    ¡°Xiao Ya, just apologize, it¡¯s not a big deal,¡± K said.


    ¡°Let me pour juice on you and then you can apologize, would you f*cking accept that?¡± Qinjin said.


    ¡°So, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Tell her to lick it off Gao¡¯s face.¡± A guy with coconut-like hair snickered from the back.


    Lin Dong¡¯s brows furrowed, telling a girl to do such a thing, these guys just wanted to mess around with Xiao Ya.


    ¡°Qinjin, go wash up, this is water under the bridge, my friends are here as well, so just go get ready and we¡¯ll start the next competition.¡± K tried to change the topic.


    ¡°As if taking care of a few noobs will take me long, let me get rid of this b*tch first.¡± Qinjin refused to back down.


    ¡°Who are you calling a noob, I¡¯ll solo you with one arm tied behind my back! I¡¯ll even let you jerk me off after I¡¯m down mopping the floor with you!¡± Da Luo wasn¡¯t having any of those insults, challenging the man.


    ¡°And who the f*ck are you?¡± asked Qinjin.


    ¡°They are our Team Birdie, your opponents this month,¡± said K.


    It was at this moment that Gao Qinjin finally glanced over at the five members of Team Skycrown, laughing coldly as he said, ¡°What, you want to butt in, too? Do you want a real fight before our competition?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m dying to! Let me tell you, Xiao Ya is part of our team as well, if you mess with her, then you¡¯re messing with us!¡± Da Luo was done warming up and he was raring to go.


    Can¡¯t imagine what fighting in a high end cybercafe would feel like it, the suspense was torturous!


    They didn¡¯t have anything to their name, anyway. Fighting and then leaving, the worst case scenario was that they just wouldn¡¯t come back here. After all, Team Skycrown was only here under the guise of Team Birdie!

 Chapter 372 - When in Doubt, Let Yu Luocheng Out!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Teammates¡­ Ha! Don¡¯t make me laugh, you guys recruited a female member!?¡± Coconut Head burst out laughing.


    While Team Skycrown was at Demacia Cafe, Xiao Ya had always hung out with them and she truly had become a part of Team Skycrown, even if she did occasionally become the enemy team¡¯s ¡°helper¡± by accident¡­


    ¡°Shut the hell up, we¡¯ll grind you to dust even with her on our team!¡± Da Luo shouted back.


    ¡°Sh*t, like that would ever happen! Regardless of the little lady, even in a straight fight we¡¯ll leave you crying on the floor, be it in real life or in League.¡± Coconut Head was beginning to get annoyed too.


    They were a semi-professional team, one of the strongest in Hangzhou, and Coconut Head couldn¡¯t just stand here and take it if some nobodies mocked him by saying a girl could beat them!


    ¡°Then cut the crap. You, me, right here, right now.¡± Da Luo had a glint in his eye.


    Ever since he was young, everyone had always told Da Luo that he was useless with his studies, but Da Luo didn¡¯t care, he even admitted that he was useless at school. People also told him that he wasn¡¯t any good at sports, challenging him to a 1 vs 1 at basketball, but he backed off knowing that he couldn¡¯t beat them either. However, mock his skills at gaming and Da Luo would f*ck them up! This was a matter of a man¡¯s dignity!


    The problem between Qinjin and Xiao Ya still hadn¡¯t been settled, and now, Da Luo and that Coconut Head were in a fiery argument as well.


    Qinjin¡¯s face turned black and he glared harshly at Coconut Head.


    Could you shut the f*ck up and let me deal with this girl first!


    Da Luo was a natural hot head and once he started arguing with Coconut Head, Coconut Head¡¯s fuse was lit up too.


    ¡°Come at me, we¡¯ll go to the battle ring right now. If I don¡¯t make you cry for your mama, I¡¯ll change my name! Solo me if you dare!¡± Coconut Head had also begun yelling.


    ¡°Are you braindead, challenging someone to a solo on League of Legends?¡± Da Luo pointed at the people behind Qinjin, ¡°Get your posse of noobs together, I¡¯ll defeat each and every one of them!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡±


    ¡°I will destroy you!¡±


    That set off the rest of Team Zhejiang, all of them rolling up their sleeves, ready to fight.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill all of you under your fountain and end it before you even get the chance to surrender! We¡¯ll demolish you with Xiao Ya on our team! No need for the monthly competition, we¡¯ll start right now, one round, winner takes all, loser retires and disbands their team! With these noobs taking up the name of Team Zhejiang, you¡¯re a disgrace to all League players in Zhejiang!¡±


    Da Luo was firing insults and provocations like a machine gun, activating Teemo¡¯s hidden passive, mocking the entire enemy team.


    Team Zhejiang were being driven mad as all they could do was swear with not a trace of depth in their words.


    ¡°Fine! If you beat us with that b*tch on your team, I¡¯ll forget that the orange juice thing ever happened. We¡¯ll back out of the monthly competition and unregister our team name, but if you lose, you¡¯d better disappear from the competitive scene and get that b*tch to come back here and lick this juice off!¡± Qinjin had been pushed beyond his limits.


    Qinjin was a video game addict as well, so to him, your skills at a game determined your dignity as a man. Being told that they would lose to a girl, he really wanted to see how this Team Birdie would be able to beat Team Zhejiang with Xiao Ya in tow. It wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t already know how ¡°good¡± Xiao Ya was, she wasn¡¯t even worthy of Bronze V!


    Getting rid of their competition and dealing with that b*tch, it was like killing two birds with one stone.Read more chapter on our novelhall.com


    ¡°Gao, the juice will have dried by the time we¡¯re done with the competition, how will she lick it off?¡± A skinny kid playing Support asked.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just have to splash him again,¡± Coconut Head answered smoothly, forcing a glare from Qinjin.


    ***


    Qinjin washed his face and seeing as the weather was pretty hot out, he took off his shirt as well, moving on to lead his teammates into battle.


    Team Skycrown was already seated when they arrived, and they then called Xiao Ya over.


    ¡°Xiao Ya, don¡¯t be worried, we¡¯re going to win.¡± Da Luo patted his chest, promising Xiao Ya victory.


    Da Luo would always lose his mind when he laid eyes on a pretty girl.


    ¡°But¡­but I¡¯ll hold you back! If we really lose this¡­¡± Xiao Ya stammered.


    Xiao Ya wasn¡¯t stupid. She knew she would be lucky enough to not be the cause of their defeat, don¡¯t even talk about helping them.


    Team Zhejiang¡¯s skill far surpassed their previous opponents and they were the tops of the semi-professional world, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be so bold to name themselves as such.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, whenever we meet delinquents, we send Luocheng out to handle them.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Luocheng¡¯s expression grew sour, what about him?


    He hadn¡¯t said a single word from the start, it had been Da Luo that provoked them, he was the innocent one here.


    ¡°Da Luo, good job!¡± K discreetly gave a thumbs up to Da Luo.


    K had been getting a headache as Qinjin wouldn¡¯t stop until he got what he wanted.


    Xu Ben stopping Xiao Ya from calling 110 was a good idea too, since Qinjin had quite the background, getting the police involved would¡¯ve just caused more trouble than help their situation.


    Just as K was wondering how they were going to get Qinjin to calm down while also protecting Xiao Ya, Da Luo had taken his jab at Qinjin, successfully activating Teemo¡¯s ¡°Annoy Enemy Team¡± passive, shifting Qinjin¡¯s focus onto the competition.


    Shifting focus, team-wide annoyance, provocation, Da Luo apparently had quite a few tricks up his sleeve, succeeding in smoothing over the entire incident. Looking at Da Luo who was quickly testing out his computer at his seat, K¡¯s admiration of Da Luo¡¯s techniques grew, thus giving him the thumbs up.


    But in reality, Da Luo was absolutely delighted as he adjusted his computer. The argument today had pumped him full of adrenaline, and Da Luo loved dissing his opponents before a match, making them pull their hair out, and then pummeling them in game. That was the epitome of happiness.


    As for what K was thinking¡­ really? All I wanted to do was yell at them. The competitions now are so much more formal than they were before, no more yelling, not even hand gestures were allowed, and this constricted Da Luo so much to the point that he was almost turning into a ¡°good kid¡±.


    He couldn¡¯t help himself, it wasn¡¯t everyday that such a high-end cyber cafe had such a down-to-earth vibe to it. What ¡°techniques¡±, what ¡°shifting focus¡±¡­this was all Da Luo¡¯s true colors shining through!


    ¡°Ok, the rest is all up to you.¡± Da Luo patted Luocheng on the shoulder.


    Luocheng laughed bitterly, what did this have to do with him!? How did a good, honest, monthly competition suddenly become a personal fight, even having to involve the feeding girl!


    Team Skycrown were always in sync with each other, not only while playing LOL, but even in situations like this. Da Luo would be the first to beat them down verbally, mocking their entire team, and then Luocheng would activate his demon mode in-game, making up for his silence during the verbal fight by driving them so mad that they would want to pick a fight in real life, which would then cue Zhou Yan to wipe them out, acing the entire enemy team!


    Driving the enemy to the brink of insanity, it was a form or art. Da Luo cussing out the opponents was him showing his true colors, but Luocheng¡¯s actions were an expression of his raw emotions, and their enemies¡¯ reactions were undeniably all under his control.


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®all up to me¡¯, I don¡¯t know how to beat them either,¡± Luocheng said.


    Taking that girl to the bottom lane would make it a 1 vs 3, it was just too hard, how was he going to drive them mad?


    ¡°Mop the floor with them, let them know how dirty you can play, is that so hard? It feels like all you need to do is just let loose a little and¡­¡± Lin Dong said.


    Luocheng grew irritated, did these people not speak English!?


    What did you mean by ¡°just let loose¡±!?


    Xiao Ya, who had been listening in on their conversation, calmed down quite a bit, blinking up at Luocheng and wondering why all of them wanted him to participate in the game so badly. After all, wasn¡¯t he better at playing Support?


    K and Xu Ben saw Luocheng sitting in Lin Dong, the ADC¡¯s seat, and both their eyes widened, filling up with expectations.


    From their previous lessons, they could already tell that Luocheng¡¯s ADC was pretty strong, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been able to teach K. They had thought it such a shame that they had never had the chance to witness Luocheng playing ADC, but it looked as though their chance had arrived!


    ***


    Luocheng had more experience in carrying girls through games. In the beginning when he was playing with Snowfall, she had made him cough up blood on multiple occasions too.


    His following interactions with Yang Qianqian¡¯s various wild ideas had let Luocheng experience the creativity of a woman¡¯s mind, for example, things like a Soraka with a Mejai¡¯s which always ended up as a complete failure. He often heard things like ¡°Should I buy a Black Cleaver or Phantom Dancer on my Support Lulu?¡± from Qianqian as she looked at Luocheng with a face full of excitement and naivety.


    At that point Luocheng would flatly reply, ¡°Obviously you build a Frozen Mallet, that way, you can stick onto people better while chasing them. Combine that with your Q-skill and your enemies will never be able to get away!¡±


    With this, Luocheng had a sudden epiphany.


    He had just been thinking, how could he aggravate this Team Zhejiang who had bullied this fair maiden?


    And now, he had gotten it.


    Sigh, he really had held himself back earlier, how could it be that he had only just thought of this idea¡­ Oh, whatever, it was all that nasty Lin Dong¡¯s fault!


    ***


    Since this was a personal match, switching out members wasn¡¯t a problem.


    Both sides were seated at their battle zones and they called in a worker who was friends with Qinjin and had less of a chance of being assaulted to act as the referee.


    Qinjin had already washed up. He wasn¡¯t about to sit through an entire match drenched in orange juice, that would be unbearable.


    Qinjin was going to the bottom lane too, a fiery anger burning in the pits of his stomach. He was going to beat these cocky guys into the dirt, and then when Xu Ben, K and this Team Birdie or whatever decided to stay in their lane, he was going to take care of that b*tch too.


    ¡°So how good is this Xiao Ya¡¯s techniques?¡± asked the scrawny Support.


    ¡°Qinjin will know all about it tonight.¡± Coconut Head¡¯s words were dripping with lust.


    The corners of Qinjin¡¯s mouth curled upward slightly as Coconut Head¡¯s words pleased him, and he replied, ¡°Bad, she¡¯s only about level 20.¡±


    ***


    Xiao Ya actually played a lot, but the girl really didn¡¯t have much talent when it came to video games, only matching the skill level of other guys who were at level 20 or at most, the new level 30¡¯s, even though she had played for so long.


    Luocheng could tell that Xiao Ya was getting increasingly nervous and he tried to calm her a bit, ¡°I¡¯ve helped you change your runes to make it easier for you, just build what I tell you to later.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll pick Sona since I play her the most,¡± Xiao Ya said.


    ¡°Yes, that would be great!¡± Luocheng nodded earnestly.


    For Sona, he didn¡¯t need the girl to do any damage, all she needed to do was stand in the back and pump out buffs and heals. That alone would be good enough.

 Chapter 373 - The Battle Mistress, Sivir!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Quite unfortunately, the sharp-tongued Coconut Head and relentless flamer Da Luo were both solo Tops.


    It has always been said that your role in League of Legends could tell you a lot about yourself, and I guess that really was the case.


    As much as Da Luo enjoyed his verbal assaults on the enemy team, he didn¡¯t choose his champion blindly.


    Initially, he had wanted to choose Jax, intending to hard push their top lane in. Coconut Head¡¯s skills wouldn¡¯t even be able to begin to try and stop Da Luo¡¯s advances.


    However, Jax wasn¡¯t invincible either. If he pushed the lane in and the enemy Top was of a tanky build, they could call their Jungler for a gank and easily take care of a decently equipped Jax. Not only that, during team fights, Jax wouldn¡¯t be able to protect their back line. He would only be good for sudden engages, and if the enemy team played really defensively, Jax wouldn¡¯t be contributing much during the grouping phase.


    Taking into account the fact that he needed to contribute more to the team during their 4 vs 6, Da Luo saw the enemy team choose Nasus, and he in turn picked Malphite.


    Nasus was your classic solo lane farmer with a Q-skill that could stack indefinitely, also, his tankiness and damage output could skyrocket during the mid to late game.


    How should I describe this champion¡­


    Recently, there has been an urban legend circulating the internet. They say that there was a high schooler who invited 4 of his friends to play through the night. The enemy team they were facing was probably a 4-man pre-made, seeing as all of them disconnected together. And so, the 5 of them had dragged the enemy team¡¯s remaining Nasus to hell and back.


    Not long after, though, the power at the cybercafe they were at had gone out, and so all they could do was go back to their dorms and call it a night. The following night, they had once again banded together to battle on the rift, but they realized the game client was prompting them to reconnect to an ongoing game. When they did, they saw the enemy Nasus howling in glee, ¡°You¡¯ve finally come! Oh, how my Q-skill has been thirsting for your blood!¡±


    Coconut Head played aggressively, but compared to other champions who dominated the early game, he preferred champs like Nasus who could 1 vs 3 come late game.


    Coconut Head had been worried that Team Skycrown would pick an early game champ to try and stop his Nasus from farming, but they had gone and picked Malphite!


    Coconut Head was cracking up.


    Malphite was your classic weak solo laner, thus, his Nasus would be able to stack up his Q-skill on minions in peace, and after he had gotten 200 minions with his Q, who in the world would be able to stop his rampage?


    ***


    The game was loading and Luocheng chose Sivir, the Battle Maiden, who though previously unpopular, was now one of the most picked champions!


    The Support was none other than Xiao Ya¡¯s Sona.


    Luocheng knew that the girl was terrified of champions with hooks, so he banned Blitzcrank and Thresh right off the bat. He really didn¡¯t want her to lose her rhythm by randomly getting hooked.


    The scrawny, monkey-looking guy on the enemy team took the role of Support, choosing Leona!


    Leona was terrifying in games lower than Gold rank as she was able to all-in at level two with an ADC that had a high burst damage like Graves or Corki, you could win even with below-average skills.


    Qinjin was still furious over the events that had transpired leading up to this point, and hence, he chose Graves, quite the aggressive combo!


    Both sides quickly entered laning phase and Luocheng immediately upgraded his Q-skill, Boomerang Blade, to level 1, outranging the Graves slightly. Using his auto attacks to poke Graves, Luocheng managed to reduce the latter¡¯s health slightly.


    A level 1 Graves and Leona didn¡¯t really have any kill potential, thus, Luocheng used Sivir¡¯s passive to help keep his movement speed up, poking Graves a little whenever he went up to CS. Whenever Graves wanted to counter with a poke of his own, Luocheng would have already retreated, and when Graves turned to walk back, Luocheng would turn and auto attack again, using his Boomerang Blade and ensuring that Graves was hit by the blade both ways.


    ¡°D*mn it, this is infuriating!¡± Qinjin was getting seriously annoyed, looking at his already half-empty health bar.


    ¡°We¡¯ll hit level 2 soon, get ready to go in,¡± Scrawny monkey said.


    Qinjin nodded, taking a look at his experience bar. He already had his hand placed on the CTRL key, ready to upgrade his abilities as soon as he leveled up.


    Xu Ben let out a small laugh from the sidelines, they wanted to use an early level 2 to engage?


    Too na?ve, my friend, my master knows better than anyone when you¡¯ll level up!


    Playing safe for a bit wasn¡¯t a problem, when the minion wave pushed in, Luocheng and Xiao Ya both successfully reached level 2.


    The minute he hit level 2, Luocheng started toying with the enemy even more, poking almost excessively. It didn¡¯t matter if they traded back, he had Sona to help top up his health whenever he needed it, whereas the Graves didn¡¯t have any healing at all.


    Leona had tried to use her E-skill,Zenith Blade, to engage, but it was completely useless against Luocheng who had used his own E-skill,Spell Shield, in turn. This enabled him to block Leona¡¯s CC with ease, regaining 60 mana points in the process!


    ¡°Luocheng¡¯s so cool! The Leona is pretty smart too, faking an E several times to try to bait out Sivir¡¯s Spell Shield, but he¡¯s not giving her any attention at all! When Leona actually does go in, his shield is up in an instant,¡± Xu Ben noted.


    Leona¡¯s E-skill came out pretty quickly, and the Scrawny Monkey over there wasn¡¯t a complete beginner either, knowing how to fake out his opponents before using his E-skill. It was just too bad that nobody was buying his act, and every E-skill he cast was basically gifting Sivir with a sixty-point mana refill.


    ¡°This is nothing, you haven¡¯t seen our leader use Morgana yet. His reflexes on Morgana are almost instantaneous, his Black Shields have forced tears from the enemy Blitzcrank. He can even shield himself from a Jarvan¡¯s EQ-combo without proper vision,¡± Jian Feng said with a tinge of excitement in his voice.


    When they had gone against Team Fudan 2, Luocheng¡¯s Morgana had shocked the socks off of everyone who were spectating!


    ¡°Zero vision and still blocking a Jarvan¡¯s knock up? Really!?¡± Xu Ben and K were stunned. How freaking fast did your reaction time need to be to achieve that!?


    Morgana¡¯s shield wasn¡¯t a simple E press to cast, you had to actually target a champion, which made it much more complicated than Sivir¡¯s barrier.


    Comparing it this way, Leona¡¯s E-skill was just no match for Luocheng¡¯s Sivir.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t want to kill them, he just wanted to keep Graves¡¯s health low enough to discourage Leona from coming in past their minion line.


    Xiao Ya¡¯s Sona stayed behind Luocheng for the most part, healing him and occasionally walking up to poke with a Q-skill or auto attack. Even if she wasn¡¯t causing any trouble for Luocheng to force it into a 1 vs 3, Luocheng still wouldn¡¯t be able to 1 vs 2 at the bottom lane without any help.


    100% CS. K had always thought that his CS-ing as an ADC was decent and steady, but after seeing Luocheng play ADC, he didn¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. After all, have you ever seen an ADC scoring a perfect farm while in a 1 vs 2 situation?


    As for Lin Dong, he was getting pretty upset.


    The previous times when Lin Dong had to face a 1 vs 3 situation at the bot lane, Luocheng would keep dissing him, so he had wanted to see just how well the latter could do in that sort of situation. But for whatever reason, Xiao Ya was actually doing well this game.


    Sona was a really good champion for playing safe, all she had to do was heal a bit from the back or something, and Xiao Ya was even trading damage with a combo of her power chords when Leona used her E-skill to get closer. If Xiao Ya could have played like this during the previous games with him, setting aside winning the lane, Lin Dong could¡¯ve at least been able to keep up in terms of levels and items!


    This Luocheng and his d*mn luck!


    ***


    The bottom lane was pretty peaceful and Luocheng and Xiao Ya focused on controlling the minion wave while playing defensively. Even though the enemy had better synergy between their champions, they didn¡¯t have any chance of engaging in a fight.


    The two tanks up in the top lane weren¡¯t giving each other any edge either. Nasus wanted to kill Malphite very badly but he had no chances of doing so. If Nasus didn¡¯t have any armor penetration on his Q-skill, it wouldn¡¯t deal much damage since the skill required physical damage. Da Luo¡¯s Malphite was even worse in the damage department, and so, all they could do was chill and farm up, getting so bored that they began continuing their arguments through the All Chat.


    From the start of the game until they both hit level 6, they had already sent 3 blocks of text flaming each other in the text window. This was quite annoying for their Jungler, Zhou Yan, who didn¡¯t talk much in game but used the chat to help time his jungle camps.


    Wu Sen and his opposing laner fought the most fiercely while both Junglers were also constantly lurking around the mid lane, buffs exchanging hands every other minute.


    ¡°Zhou, are you ready yet? I¡¯m almost at level 6.¡± Luocheng piped up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right over as soon as I finish this camp,¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    ***


    It was very quiet at the bottom lane with zero kills and zero deaths on both sides until level 6.


    As they were almost reaching level 6, Luocheng had the minions controlled under their tower, all they needed was for Zhou Yan¡¯s Jarvan to gank.


    ¡°The river and tribush are warded, just come over from the back of the lane,¡± Luocheng said.


    Even though he was playing ADC, Luocheng couldn¡¯t depend on Xiao Ya to remember the enemy ward placements, so he just naturally committed them to memory.


    Zhou Yan nodded, as soon as he hit level 6, he would enter straight from the lane.


    Sure enough, the minion wave was pushing toward them. Zhou Yan continued walking forward, and just as he was just about to enter the enemies¡¯ vision, Sivir let out a battle cry!


    A blue aura swirled around their team, surrounding Sivir, Sona, and Jarvan!


    Zhou Yan was zooming across the map, even faster than if he were to use Ghost, rushing toward the enemy bottom laners from the fog of war!


    Sivir¡¯s ultimate skill gave a 60% movement speed boost to all allies nearby, and Qinjin stumbled back in shock upon seeing the sudden appearance of Jarvan.


    Zhou Yan subsequently cast his skills with practiced precision, his EQ-combo looking to knock up Graves as he approached.


    Qinjin¡¯s reaction was fast too, Flashing away as soon as he was knocked up, but he wasn¡¯t running away, instead, turning to fight the incoming Jarvan.


    ¡°Their Jungler is behind them!¡± Luocheng raised his voice slightly.


    The only reason why Graves would turn on them was if someone else was camping in the bush, which explained why the enemy Jungler, Xin Zhao, had disappeared from the map for a considerable amount of time!


    As soon as those words were out of his mouth, out burst a Xin Zhao from the second bush, and he blatantly ignored the Jarvan, making a beeline for Sivir.


    Luocheng immediately realized what he was trying to do, and using his E-skill to block Leona¡¯s ultimate skill, he used the buff from his own ultimate to side step away from the enemy, regrouping with the slightly mispositioned Zhou Yan.

 Chapter 374 - Sona Double Kill!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Unfortunately, Xiao Ya didn¡¯t seem to have gotten the memo and was already rushing forward, getting hit straight on by Xin Zhao!


    In her panic, Xiao Ya cast her ultimate skill, stunning Xin Zhao, however, Leona had saved her own crowd control for instances like this, and with Graves using his E-skill to follow up, Sona was killed in one swift combo!


    They were suddenly faced with a 2 vs 3, and Xiao Ya hadn¡¯t contributed anything except an ultimate that briefly stunned Xin Zhao, and she became a graceful sacrifice once again.


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    Zhou Yan had been withholding his ultimate for the longest time and the window of opportunity when he chose to use it was nothing less than perfect, which was exactly when all the three enemies were focused on killing Xiao Ya. His ultimate was able to surround Graves, Xin Zhao, and Leona, and after blocking them in, Jarvan Flashed out hastily.


    Simply trapping enemies in Jarvan¡¯s ultimate didn¡¯t guarantee a win, in this type of situation, for him to stay in the Cataclysm that he had created with the three other enemies would only be digging his own grave!


    Ulti-ing in and then Flashing out, it was all to create a wall in front of Luocheng, giving him the perfect vantage point to deal the most damage.


    Boomerang Blade!


    The three of them had nowhere to run, taking in the damage of the attack in its entirety.


    Activating his W-skill, Ricochet, all 3 extra hits were just enough to hit the three helpless enemies.


    Jarvan himself turned to poke with his Q-skill, skewering the three trapped champions, and before long, all the enemies only had about half of their health remaining!


    ¡°Nice ulti, Zhou Yan!¡± K and Xu Ben¡¯s eyes lit up.


    A single trap enclosing three people and then Flashing out to let the ADC toy with his opponents outside the barricade, that move was simply spectacular!


    Scrawny Monkey¡¯s Leona had had enough, finally Flashing out and stunning Zhou Yan¡¯s Jarvan with her Q-skill.


    Jarvan was doing pretty well, and even after getting stunned, the short-ranged Graves and Xin Zhao with no dashes left couldn¡¯t retaliate at all. This left Leona to take the brunt of the damage dealt while Luocheng hid behind Zhou.


    ¡°Whoosh~¡±


    Suddenly, a blue-colored energy began to whirl and collect itself around a blue minion!


    The next thing you knew, Malphite dropped from the sky, jumping up again as soon as it landed and turning into a massive meteor with its targets being the two poor champs that were still stuck in Jarvan¡¯s Cataclysm.


    ¡°BOOM!¡±


    Graves and Xin Zhou were knocked high into the sky, both of them dying to a single Boomerang Blade that had been sent out by Sivir!


    DOUBLE KILL!!!


    They had gotten a double kill!!


    There was still a Leona left, don¡¯t even think about getting away!


    Combined with Da Luo¡¯s slow from his Q-skill, Luocheng chased down the Leona with a new-found fervor.


    Xiao Ya was already dead, no one would kill-steal him, right?


    TRIPLE KILL!


    Things had been looking a little dicey before Malphite¡¯s arrival, but after he came, the enemy was wiped clean off the rift, the sound of their ADC¡¯s triple kill ringing in their ears for quite some time.


    Qinjin¡¯s face had turned red in anger.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you f*cking Teleport down! D*mn it!¡± Qinjin scolded their Top, Coconut Head!


    ¡°I¡­I used up all my mana using my Q-skill¡­¡± Coconut Head replied in a regretful tone of voice.


    He had stayed in the lane for too long. Teleporting down without any mana would just give Luocheng a quadra kill, so he had decided to just standby and watched as Malphite flew down to the bottom lane.


    ¡°Yay, yay!¡± Seeing Luocheng get a triple kill, Xiao Ya exclaimed excitedly.


    She was still worrying whether or not she had cost them that fight, but who knew Zhou Yan could pull off such a cool trick, trapping 3 people with his ultimate skill and then Flashing out. Da Luo had also followed up magnificently with a quick Teleport, cleaning up their mess with a single ulti.


    To be honest, even if Nasus had had any remaining mana to spare, teleporting down wouldn¡¯t have done much. A Malphite that had passed level 6 contributed way more to a team fight than a post-level 6 Nasus ever could. Graves and Xin Zhao would have still died regardless of whether he had teleported down or not, at most, all he could¡¯ve done was help to peel for Leona.


    ¡°So much synergy! Waiting for them to use up their Flash and movement abilities, trapping them in Cataclysm, following up with a Teleport¡­¡± K and Xu Ben couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.


    If their team had this level of synergy, they would¡¯ve easily become the kings of Hangzhou and Zhejiang! Their master was indeed on a different plane of existence.


    In actuality, this should¡¯ve been a classic level 6 5 vs 5 team fight as Team Zhejiang had been holding up pretty well with their Jungler sensing danger and counter-ganking in response, not to mention both teams Top¡¯s had brought Teleport, and also, the mid laners had been on their way down to support them.


    Unfortunately, 4 of Team Skycrown members were there and their Top had run out of mana and decided not to teleport down, which was a smart choice. Teleport had a pretty long cool down, at least now if there were any other fights, Nasus will be able to rush over while the Malphite wouldn¡¯t be able to help his own team.


    On the other hand, the mid laners weren¡¯t there because they were having a skirmish of their own in the river, and Wu Sen had successfully sent the enemy mid laner all the way back to base.


    ***


    ¡°Xiao Ya, you got the assists, right?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yup.¡± Xiao Ya nodded, she had indeed gotten a portion of the gold from all 3 kills.


    ¡°Don¡¯t buy anymore wards, buy a few mana potions so that you can keep healing me, then just keep the rest of your gold for now,¡± Luocheng instructed.


    Xiao Ya was a bit confused but obediently followed what Luocheng had told her to do.


    Xiao Ya had gold generating runes, so, even without getting a Philosopher¡¯s Stone, she was gaining gold at a relatively fast pace, added on to the couple of assists she had gotten, she was now sitting on quite a pile of gold.


    After getting a triple kill, Luocheng bought two wards.


    The spectating Lin Dong had a realization as he saw what had transpired.


    When carrying girls, you shouldn¡¯t even hope for them to ward at all, because for them, warding a bush was no different than just face-checking, basically giving the enemy team a free kill. It had been like that when Lin Dong had played with Xiao Ya as well.


    So, class, Mr. Luocheng has a new lesson for us nerds, being, when carrying girls, make sure you ¡°look¡± out for yourself.


    ***


    With 3 kills, Luocheng had a clear advantage in the lane. He knew the cooldowns of his enemies¡¯ ultimates, plus with Sona giving him unparalleled healing, he was invincible!


    ¡°Xiao Ya, your ultimate should be up soon, right?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Xiao Ya look at the cooldown on her ultimate, it only had 5 seconds left, and she was a bit taken aback by how Luocheng knew that without even so much as glancing at her screen,


    ¡°When I cast my ultimate later, I want you to run up to Graves and use your ultimate, remember to get closer to him before using your ultimate!¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Xiao Ya had at least some skill when it came to Sona, thus, when Luocheng counted down from three, Xiao Ya rushed forward!


    Luocheng in turn activated his ultimate to speed up Xiao Ya.


    The girl could never hit using her ultimate skill, but with a 60% movement speed buff, she couldn¡¯t possibly miss Graves when she was right in front of him, right?


    The enemy Leona used all of her abilities in a vain attempt to CC Sona, but Xiao Ya still managed to cast her ultimate.


    Luocheng quickly circled over, walking past Leona in favor of taking down Graves!


    A single Boomerang Blade that carried frighteningly high damage cut almost half of Graves¡¯ health, followed up with her passive to help run him down!


    ¡°Xiao Ya, focus on Graves, not Leona!¡± Luocheng reminded.


    Xiao Ya¡¯s hands shook as she tried to target Graves, finally taking him down with an auto attack just as he turned to run away.


    You Have Slain an Enemy!


    ¡°Ah, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to take the kill!¡± Looking at the Graves that she had just killed, Xiao Ya hurriedly apologized.


    Lin Dong shook his head solemnly, thinking to himself, even if you¡¯ve had experience carrying girls, Luocheng, you still couldn¡¯t avoid getting your kills stolen by them, huh?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, hurry up and heal yourself, there¡¯s still Leona,¡± Luocheng said.


    Xiao Ya wasn¡¯t bad at Sona, and after healing herself, she even managed to use her power chord Tempo to slow Leona down.


    All this while, Luocheng continued to deal out major damage onto Leona, As Xiao Ya also continued auto attacking, she didn¡¯t quite know why her Sona was healing far less today, but on the other hand, she was also dealing more damage, accidentally KO-ing Graves who had had decently high health, even going as far as to dishing out a decent amount of damage on Leona.


    The both of them chased Leona to the enemy turret with Luocheng tanking in front.


    ¡°Xiao Ya, one more auto attack and she¡¯s finished!¡± Luocheng said.


    Xiao Ya didn¡¯t hesitate any longer, using their combined speed boosts to rush under the tower and attack. Indeed, Leona was just one hit away from death, Xiao Ya didn¡¯t even need to use her Q-skill!


    Double Kill!


    Xiao Ya majestically stole two kills!!


    In the back, Xu Ben, K, Lin Dong, and Jian Feng, were all shaking their heads in unison.


    If those two kills had been given to Luocheng, Luocheng would be practically invincible, killing anyone he would come across, but alas, they were both stolen by Xiao Ya.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ How did I get the kill again, I¡­I really didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Xiao Ya was almost on the verge of tears.


    She couldn¡¯t believe she had stolen the kill again. This match wasn¡¯t like any of the previous ones she had participated in before where she could feed with no worries. This time, if they lost this, it would be a matter of her dignity as a girl.


    Xiao Ya was scared, she had only realized that she¡¯d messed with the wrong person when Xu Ben told her that even the cops wouldn¡¯t be able to solve their problem. Thus, she had been playing very, very carefully this time, not attempting to do any cute stuff, and yet somehow, she still managed to steal their ADC¡¯s kills.


    ¡°How much gold do you have now?¡± Luocheng asked.


    During their previous fight at level 6, their team had taken the Dragon as well, boosting their team economy quite a bit.


    With Xiao Ya getting two more kills by accident in the bottom lane battle, she was probably pretty rich now.


    ¡°Quite a lot,¡± Xiao Ya replied.


    ¡°Okay, then buy this,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Huh!?¡±


    ¡°Just buy it.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, pay more attention to the bottom lane, we¡¯ll need your help,¡± Luocheng requested.


    Wu Sen and Zhou Yan both nodded their heads in unison.


    ***


    Team Zhejiang¡¯s second red buff would be up soon and Zhou Yan had obviously planned on invading, gaining control of the vision on the bottom side map on the way, snagging the second Dragon while he was at it.


    But the enemy team could foretell Zhou Yan¡¯s intentions and so, their Mid, Jungler, and bottom laners quickly appeared in the jungle.


    Zhou Yan was able to steal the red buff, but he also caused an unavoidable war!


    The skirmish at the buff happened very suddenly, and both top laners weren¡¯t able to react immediately.


    However, Nasus still had his Teleport, whereas Da Luo¡¯s hadn¡¯t come off from it¡¯s cooldown from his previous support at the bottom lane.


    In a 4 vs 4 situation, Team Skycrown would have the obvious advantage seeing as Team Zhejiang¡¯s bottom lane were already at a 0/5 deficit, but if Nasus were to teleport down, the tables would be turned!


    ¡°Sh*t, Nasus is teleporting!¡± Xu Ben yelled.

 Chapter 375 - The Epitome of a Bastard!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    K¡¯s mood started to become glum. Nasus was doing very well item-wise, Teleporting down and Ghosting to rush to the front line would make it a 4 vs 5, added on to that the fact that Xiao Ya¡¯s Sona had horrible positioning and an atrocious track record of missing ults, this was essentially a 5 vs 3. Their side was going to be aced with ease!


    An enemy ward was suddenly the epicenter of a blood-red whirlwind, one more second and an immovable Nasus would descend from the heavens, spelling the end of Team Skycrown!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t panic, instead, focusing on his positioning and dealing damage.


    Wu Sen and Luocheng¡¯s ADC flanked the enemy team from both sides, with Zhou Yan still tanking the enemy Xin Zhao in front. Sona still didn¡¯t really know what to do, waddling helplessly behind Luocheng and occasionally auto attacking Xin Zhao, unsure whether or not to use her ultimate skill.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, Nasus is here.¡± Xu Ben had to advert his eyes.


    But suddenly, the crimson whirlwind dissipated.


    Nasus would have blocked off Team Skycrown¡¯s only escape route, but for whatever reason, the teleport didn¡¯t go through!


    A smile crossed Luocheng¡¯s face, and he said to Xiao Ya, ¡°Rush up to the front and use your ultimate, then come back and hide behind me.¡±


    Sona gained a movement speed buff and without any further ado, she charged toward the enemy team under the guidance of Luocheng, aiming her ultimate toward the enemy ADC and Mid.


    The enemy Mid tried to dodge but his efforts were futile, getting caught by the edge of the ultimate, and Graves still didn¡¯t have his flash up, causing him to be struck by the attack head-on.


    Zhou Yan turned to fight while Luocheng maintained his footing while still dealing damage damage, a flurry of abilities flying toward the enemy backline, leaving them with only a sliver of health in no time flat.


    ¡°What the hell, Nasus didn¡¯t teleport!?¡±


    Xu Ben and K were stunned. They had been completely surrounded, how had they turned the battle around, and what about Nasus?


    ¡°Look!¡± K saw something as he looked over to Da Luo¡¯s screen.


    Xu Ben glanced over as well just in time to see Da Luo¡¯s Malphite retreating from under the enemy turret, a wild Nasus hot on his tail!


    The two of them weren¡¯t idiots either, and they immediately understood what had happened, their faces full of glee!


    It was Malphite! Malphite had used his ultimate skill to stop Nasus from completing his Teleport!


    Looking at Da Luo¡¯s Summoner Spells, it seemed that Da Luo had Flashed toward Nasus and then used his Unstoppable Force to knock up the latter as he had been channeling under the tower!


    That was the key turning point of the battle, for if Nasus had successfully teleported, Da Luo¡¯s teammates were finished!


    ¡°D*mn, Flashing under the tower, using his ulti to disrupt a Teleport¡­ if only our Top had this sort of intuition!¡± K and Xu Ben were ecstatic.


    This level of synergy and cooperation! Usually when in games with randoms, when other people were teleporting in, the other laners would just stand and stare, maybe if they had a few brain cells left they would ping their teammates, warning them to back away, but you couldn¡¯t exactly retreat from a raging team fight now, can you!?


    And then there were people like Da Luo who had noticed the enemy Nasus suddenly go under the tower and immediately ignoring his huge wave of minions, had then Flashed over to knock Nasus up with an ultimate skill, all to keep the latter from teleporting!


    This was the sort of sense, the sort of cooperation, that every team needed. Who, under normal circumstances, would assume that a Nasus backing away meant that he was going to teleport!?


    Most importantly, Team Skycrown had managed to maintain their team¡¯s positioning even when faced with a teleporting Nasus. It was as if they had known the Nasus¡¯s Teleport would be disrupted, how much trust would you need to have to be able to power through such a situation?


    A 4 vs 4, and all of them survived the fight except for ZhouYan who had sacrificed himself for the team.


    Luocheng had successfully killed Graves while Xiao Ya had accidentally stolen the kill of the Xin Zhao who had come in too deep. Wu Sen took care of Leona on his part, leaving only the enemy APC to run with his tail between his legs.


    Winning the team fight, pushing down the bottom turret, taking the Dragon, and subsequently pushing their team¡¯s economy to new heights.


    Xiao Ya was over the moon. Somehow, she had lived through the team fight, dealing a lot of damage to Xin Zhao as well, now, if only she hadn¡¯t stolen Luocheng¡¯s kill, then everything would¡¯ve been perfect!


    That ultimate just now, when she had stopped the enemy ADC and APC right in their tracks, had actually contributed something for once!


    Hearing Luocheng and Lin Dong compliment her on her ultimate skill, Xiao Ya grew even more confident.


    ***


    ¡°I have a lot of gold now, I¡¯m supposed to buy this, right?¡± Xiao Ya asked Luocheng as they returned to base.


    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s the one.¡± Luocheng nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy a ward or too, I shouldn¡¯t be leaving all the warding to you,¡± Xiao Ya said a tad bashfully.


    Xiao Ya used her remaining gold to buy a few wards.


    Luocheng was in charge of warding, but no matter how bad the enemy team was in a competition, they wouldn¡¯t be able to win without good warding. Zhou Yan contributed to most of their team¡¯s wards, and so, Luocheng mainly warded to ensure his own safety. With his speed-boosting ultimate and E-skill, Spell Shield, he generally had no fear of getting caught, and worst comes to worst, he would just have Xiao Ya to act as his noble sacrifice.


    Xiao Ya continued on to the bottom lane, and upon seeing Luocheng farming the minion wave that had just pushed in, she made her way to the tribush to place a ward.


    Just as she got to the bush, she came face-to-face with Graves who seemed to have just finished clearing the Kruggs camp.


    Xiao Ya got the shock of her life and immediately turned to run away.


    Qinjin, on the other hand, was filled with a murderous sense of glee. Women wouldl be women, stupid and incompetent, coming over to ward like that, she was basically feeding a kill right into his mouth!


    ¡°Monkey, hold the f*cking Sivir back, I¡¯ll kill Sona!¡± Qinjin shouted.


    It was time for their comeback, and this Sona was worth about 400 gold. Qinjin¡¯s creep score was relatively decent but he lacked kills. Give him a couple of kills and he would be able to take advantage of the girl¡¯s misplays during the late game team fights, for example, right now!


    Scrawny Monkey knew that this was a good opportunity for Qinjin to get some kills, and since it so happened that he was in the lane, he rushed forward to stop Sivir from providing any backup.


    Using his Exhaust and chaining his crowd control skills onto the Sivir, Scrawny Monkey stopped at nothing to try and slow Luocheng¡¯s advances, he wasn¡¯t worth much gold anyway, it didn¡¯t matter if he was killed by the Battle Maiden!


    ¡°Xiao Ya, don¡¯t panic, Exhaust him and then keep auto attacking!¡± Luocheng instructed.


    Xiao Ya used her abilities as she ran, and when she realized that Graves wasn¡¯t doing that much of damage to her, she started to calm down, casting her Exhaust on him.


    2.5 seconds of Exhaust and Graves was half useless. Sona on the other hand had godlike attack speed and damage, a single auto attack from her managing to hack away half a bar of health from Graves!


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Qinjin almost wet his pants when he saw the damage afflicted to his health bar!


    What kind of Sona had this attack speed, this damage!


    During the Exhaust¡¯s duration, Sona dealt a massive amount of damage, and Qinjin¡¯s Graves was almost at death¡¯s door!


    ¡°Xiao Ya, keep attacking and use your slowing Power Chord. He doesn¡¯t have his ultimate skill so don¡¯t be scared, just chase him!¡± Luocheng ordered.


    Xiao Ya knew how to use her Power Chords, and quickly setting up a slowing chord, she was delighted to see Graves lose a considerable amount of health from a single hit from her. She began to chase Graves more fiercely, not about to let him get away!


    You Have Slain an Enemy!!


    Those haunting words appeared on the screen. Sona had killed Graves!


    No one on Team Zhejiang was a pushover, and all of them were spectating the fight from their respective lanes.


    Even though everyone had expected Graves to be able to kill Sona with ease, Qinjin and his Graves were the ones to die in the end!


    What¡­what¡­just what the f*ck was happening!?


    Qinjin stared dumbfoundedly at his screen, unable to process what had just happened.


    Pressing his Tab key to check her items, he was shocked when he found a Black Cleaver among her potions and wards!


    The five members of Team Zhejiang had about a billion questions when they saw the Black Cleaver on Sona!


    Looking further into Sona¡¯s stats, besides the 4 AP from her masteries, Sona didn¡¯t have anymore Ability Power, but her Attack Power could rival even Graves¡¯s!


    Under normal circumstances, Graves should¡¯ve still been able to beat a Sona with a single Black Cleaver, but it was that Exhaust that had sealed his death. That 2.5 seconds had allowed Sona to cleave at his armor, and even an auto attack had dealt devastating damage!


    Qinjin¡¯s face contorted with rage and embarrassment.


    If you were an ADC who got solo-killed by a Support Sona with a Black Cleaver, would you still have the face to live on?


    ***


    Either way, everyone spectating the competition was equally stunned, and the air grew stagnant as people stared with their mouths wide open.


    K and Xu Ben did remember seeing Sona buy a Ruby Crystal. However, they had dismissed it thinking that she was going to build it into a Sightstone and had not paid any more attention to Xiao Ya¡¯s further purchases. And suddenly, she had a Black Cleaver in her inventory, cleaving her way through the unfortunate Graves¡­


    Sh*t!


    K and Xu Ben were silent for a few seconds before doubling over in laughter.


    Qinjin was ¡°The Best ADC in Hangzhou¡±, and yet, he had been solo-killed by Xiao Ya, who was playing a Support Sona¡­


    ¡°Qinjin¡­haha¡­hahahaha, I think you¡¯d be better off jumping out of that window, oh my God, I can¡¯t, this is hilarious!¡± K didn¡¯t even bother trying to hold back his laughter!


    Xu Ben was suddenly on the floor showing his undying respect toward Luocheng!


    Getting his Support girl so fed that she could build a Black Cleaver and solo-kill the enemy ADC with some help from an Exhaust¡­


    Xiao Ya had never stolen those kills! Instead, Luocheng had given her those kills after ensuring that he had enough money to keep up, and then by using the team-wide gold that they earned through team fights, he continued to maintain their advantage.


    And so when Xiao Ya had run into Qinjin, Luocheng was confident enough to calmly guide her as she ran Qinjin down!


    Disgusting opponents would at most make you feel like you had eaten something wrong, uncomfortable and gross, but it was b*stards like these who would get their Support girls fed and then subsequently letting them build a Black Cleaver, these were the bastards that made you feel the disgust and hatred deep within your bones!


    Really, being a man who was solo-killed by a Support girl, especially a man like Qinjin who had been ready to degrade the poor girl after he was finished, how were you going to face people after that! Every single last shred of dignity he had had, ground to dust by that solo kill!

 Chapter 376 - EZ Champion

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xiao Ya couldn¡¯t believe it either, and following Luocheng¡¯s orders, she built a Phantom Dancer next.


    A Phantom Dancer gave increased critical attack chance, making her attacks even more deadly. A Support Sona chasing down a jungling Xin Zhao, how haunting was that image!


    ¡°You guys play, I¡¯m done!¡± the Jungler Xin Zhao was the first to stand up, leaving just like that.


    D*mn it, wasn¡¯t this embarrassing enough? Coconut Head himself waited until he lost to a Sona that had built 3 God-tier ADC items before calling it quits.


    Qinjin¡¯s face grew even darker as he saw his mid laner flee as soon as he got the chance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go! I¡¯m fed, we can still beat them!¡± Coconut Head called out after the mid laner.


    Qinjin gave Coconut Head the stink-eye, who the f*ck cared if you were a little fed, the Sona had just solo-ed their Support, ADC, and Jungler, what was there left to beat!


    Qinjin stood up to leave as well, turning his back on more than just his teammates.


    ¡°Boss, don¡¯t forget to unregister your team name! And you¡¯d better not show up here to harass the female staff ever again, otherwise you¡¯ll be taken down in a 1 vs 1 too!¡± K chased after Qinjin who looked as though he wished that the Earth would just open and swallow him up.


    Hearing this, the bold and confident Qinjin faltered a bit as he climbed the escalator steps, almost tripping over!


    ¡°D*mn it, don¡¯t get too excited! I¡¯ll get Team Revelation to come here and teach you guys a lesson!¡± Qinjin was at his boiling point.


    ¡°Go ahead!¡± K shooed him away, not caring in the slightest.


    Xiao Ya¡¯s face lit up in delight as she saw Qinjin sulkily skulk out the door, giving Luocheng a peck on his cheek before she could think twice!


    ¡°Ohh!!!¡± The surrounding crowd went wild.


    Xiao Ya was blushing too, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.


    Luocheng laughed awkwardly while saying, ¡°I have a girlfriend, you know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it meant anything, I just wanted to say thanks.¡±


    ¡°Then what about me, what about me!?¡± Da Luo exclaimed.


    All of a sudden, Lin Dong, Wu Sen, and Da Luo, turned their faces to the side, asking for kisses. Poor Xiao Ya was almost burning up from the embarrassment.


    Anyhow, Xiao Ya really was grateful to these bunch of boys, she didn¡¯t think that they would stand up for her like that after only playing a few games with them, if it were any other scaredy-cat, they would have probably run away as soon as they saw rich brats like that Gao Qinjin.


    ¡°Back to the topic, Qinjin and Team Revelation are pretty close, don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll actually be able to invite them over,¡± Xu Ben noted.


    ¡°He won¡¯t. Even though Team Revelation is based in Hangzhou, they wouldn¡¯t meddle with petty stuff like this since they are our country¡¯s A-list players and all that jazz. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Yeah, ACE has pretty strict regulations for current professional players, even banning certain top players from participating in non-regulated competitions above grade two, because if they didn¡¯t, any random sponsor could use fifty or sixty thousand RMB to host a competition and they would participate. This would just devalue these top-tier pro players, and although this was obviously done to increase their value, this is what has been happening. Without any restrictions or net worth, professional players would just be like the rest of us!¡± Jian Feng said.


    The others looked at Jian Feng quizzically.


    Why would ACE have regulations for professional players? And also, didn¡¯t they disband?


    Jian Feng knew these guys didn¡¯t understand what he was saying, and so, he continued to explain, ¡°ACE is the abbreviation of the Association of China E-sports. It is a union of various esports companies in China, created with the main goal of furthering the esports industry, and their core values are to protect the rights of esports companies and the pro players in those companies. Teams and entertainment companies like Team Revelation, Team Daemons, and Sky Club, are all a part of ACE, and they aren¡¯t allowed to partake in non-official or non-recognized competitions, so unless Qinjin is able to convince ACE, he will never be able to get Team Revelations to come here.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve been playing for so long but I¡¯ve never heard of ACE,¡± K said.


    ¡°Yup, the association manages e-sports, team registration, member relocation, player punishment, team management, and overseeing competitions. As Team Revelation is a part of the association, they won¡¯t appear so easily. Also, even if Qinjin had the patience of a Buddhist monk and managed to get them to help¡­¡± Jian Feng rubbed his chin, his following words abbreviated into a sly ¡°hehe¡±.


    So what if you got Team Revelation, our 3 to 0 match against Team Revelation during the LPL was an undeniable fact, and besides, it had been awhile since Team Skycrown had gotten to face off against one of the top teams.


    ¡°Jian Feng, since you know so much, is our master¡¯s team a part of ACE as well?¡± Xu Ben asked.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re not even in an entertainment club, how could we be in ACE?¡± Lin Dong answered.


    ¡°We¡¯re just a bunch of mercenaries in the e-sports world, no restrictions, bar hopping around a few of the more famous cybercafes in the country I guess, haha.¡± Da Luo laughed.


    Luocheng vaguely remembered Li Tuchuan mentioning something like this to him, that years ago there was already an organization created to handle matters regarding esports under the National Sports Administration Bureau, but for whatever reason, it had faded into non-existence.


    The establishment of ACE was probably to play the same role as the previous organization, both wanting to solidify the place esports had in society and to regulate the rules regarding the competitions. This was clear from the way they handled their affiliated professional players.


    Unfortunately, ACE was still largely built around already-established Entertainment Companies, not an open e-sports association for all professional or semi-professional players.


    The differences between e-sports Entertainment Companies and E-sports associations were basically the same as the differences between private schools and public schools.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhou Yan asked, seeing the tense expression on Luocheng¡¯s face.


    ¡°Taiwan already has their own e-sports association for their professional players, I wonder when we¡¯ll get one too. I don¡¯t even know who¡¯s the head of this ACE thing, can they really shoulder the weight of the entire industry?¡± Luocheng mused.


    Their livelihoods as e-sports players were influenced directly by these Entertainment Companies, and as long as they managed the industry well, more and more sponsors would view esports as a worthy investment.


    If scandals or other unfavorable situations popped up left and right, it wouldn¡¯t just affect competitions, but also the outcome of the sponsors¡¯ investments.


    Team Skycrown had kept failing to secure a true sponsor, all because they had had an incident during the LPL, getting banned from the competition and making them unstable in the eyes of sponsors.


    As such, Team Skycrown had mostly given up on looking for big mainstream sponsors, opting to make cameo appearances in famous cybercafes around the country, challenging various teams to a battle on the rift to build up their notoriety and skills. If their opponents were too weak, Luocheng would manually increase the difficulty by giving their team handicaps, such as adding an inexperienced girl to the team. In doing so, even if they weren¡¯t able to find a worthy opponent, they would still have to give it their all if they didn¡¯t want to face defeat.


    As for Entertainment Companies, Team Skycrown already had their own disdain toward them, so either way, they wouldn¡¯t be joining an Entertainment Company anytime soon. They believed that they were their own people and they weren¡¯t going to put their futures in the hands of greedy businessmen. Even if it meant living a less stable life, they would find their own path.


    ¡°Actually, what was going on inside your heads while you were fighting? It was amazing to watch!¡± Xu Ben couldn¡¯t hide the excitement in his voice.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, you guys were so cool, pummeling them to the ground while still having to carry a girl!¡± K said.


    Team Zhejiang were basically semi-professional level players. Aside from the spoiled brat Qinjin, the rest of them had been doing really well and they shouldn¡¯t have lost as badly as they did.


    Thinking back to how they were mocking them as nobodies from the countryside, who would¡¯ve thought that they were all bark and no bite, so little respect!


    ¡°You¡¯ll figure it out.¡± Jian Feng laughed, not bothering to elaborate further. All great masters had to keep a few secrets up their sleeves after all.


    K and Xu Ben were jumping in anticipation, what kind of team were they? They had the potential to participate and win in 2nd-level pro competitions, it would be the same as taking on a bunch of kids from grade school and winning the title of Champion, just like taking candy from a baby!


    ***


    After the provincial and district competitions, K and Xu Ben re-confirmed the peculiarity of this team.


    Normal teams would train days and nights for weeks in hopes of winning, and those that do were revered as the best of the best in their district, destroying all opposition.


    But these ¡°best of the best¡± teams were nothing but mere distractions in the path of glory that Team Skycrown was walking upon.


    K, Xu Ben, and Xiao Ya, had thought that their Team Birdie would start playing seriously once they got to the district competitions, showing the other teams what they were really made of, but Luocheng was still playing around with the champions he picked for Support, all of them off-meta choices.


    In fact, their mid lane, top lane, ADC, and even jungle was filled with non-conventional champions, leading K and Xu Ben to believe that they were running the off-meta champions on purpose to throw their competition off. Teams couldn¡¯t just rely on whatever was mainstream to win their games, their tactics would be figured out sooner or later.


    Thus, K and Xu Ben came to the conclusion that they didn¡¯t care if it was a provincial competition, district competition or whatever else, they still thought that their opposition was too weak and not worth breaking out their best champions!


    Realizing this, their interest in this Team Birdie only grew, trying to search them up online, but to no avail. This wasn¡¯t too strange seeing as information regarding Team Skycrown online had been heavily restricted by Sky Club due to Xu Pingyang invoking his power at ACE.


    Of course, this harmed Xu Pingyang as well. He could¡¯ve had the chance to become the main acting secretary of ACE, yet now, he was not even the vice secretary, just one of ACE¡¯s nameless members.


    Poor him. He had held an important position in his previous e-sports Entertainment Company, but now, he was nothing, and it must¡¯ve dealt a heavy blow to him.


    ¡°Has something been on your mind recently?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    Easily taking first place, even if it wasn¡¯t worth celebrating, Zhou Yan didn¡¯t think Luocheng would have been this down, after all, they had just won over 30,000 RMB and five high-specs computers!


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Luocheng said, ¡°It¡¯s just that back then, I only knew how to win and how to lose. But now, things are different, and if I think of things as simply as I did back then, everything would be the same and we would still have to give up e-sports for one reason or another¡­¡±


    The appearance of Team Zhejiang had made Luocheng think of what Tuchuan had said before.


    Tuchuan had looked at the bigger picture, noting all the fundamental problems. No matter how passionate you were, how hard you worked, you still had the chance of losing everything in an instant.


    But wanting Luocheng to give up, for them to give up esports, that was impossible.


    If so, why not try to make a change?


    ¡°I want to go to the General Administration of Sports,¡± Luocheng said.


    Finally, Luocheng had said what he¡¯d been wanting to do.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to change anything. That¡¯s a national department we¡¯re talking about, they won¡¯t approve of an e-sports association just because you ask nicely.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than doing nothing, right?¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Even so, this should be handled by ACE and the LOL Committee,¡± Zhou Yan argued.


    ¡°Not entirely.¡± Luocheng shook his head.


    Zhou Yan looked at Luocheng, suddenly not recognizing the person in front of him.


    He still remembered the days when Team Wings was still around. Luocheng only craved victory, wanting to defeat any and all who dared stand in his path.


    But now, he wanted to do so much more¡­

 Chapter 377 - S International League Finals

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was September. China¡¯s representatives Team 71 and Team Daemons were to participate in the S International League.


    Preliminary rounds had already been underway for some time, and the crowd favorites, Team 71, still had a total score of zero victories, causing the LOL enthusiasts in the country to scrunch up their brows in worry.


    On the bright side, Team Daemons were doing okay with 2 victories and 1 loss, prevailing over Team Bones from Europe and the famous Team Pst from America.


    Team Daemons¡¯ outstanding performance naturally got themselves a cult following back in China, with many fans tuning in to watch their matches deep into the night. Since the competition was held in America, the time difference was a solid 12 hours.


    When you suddenly find men wandering the streets on their way to school or work with large eyebags and dark circles adorning their faces, don¡¯t assume that they¡¯ve reached that stage with their lady friend, no, no. And when their phone screens continue to light up their faces into the darkest hours of night, don¡¯t assume that the World Cup has come. These were the effects of the LOL World tournament!


    Girls should take note as well, it was best to prepare something healthy to help keep the body strong during this time, and then quietly go to bed. Don¡¯t disturb the fiery passion these men have, they were staying up late to witness our country¡¯s glory!


    In September and October, while you were drowsy at work, recounting how the god-like Jungler had stolen the Baron from America, be careful of your boss, and students had better be on guard against your teachers.


    Of course, if you noticed the same dark circles around your boss¡¯s eyes, or caught the teacher yawning through class, give them a nod of approval. They were working hard to support our country after all!


    ***


    Other than playing a few matches set manually to hard mode, Team Skycrown had been keeping up closely with the heart-pounding competition too.


    For whatever reason, if all competitions were against foreign countries, it didn¡¯t matter if you were fans of Team 71, Team Daemons, Team Revelations, Team Sky, or any other team, because everyone would be glued to their computers, day in and day out, all to see their country¡¯s representatives¡¯ matches.


    Demacia Cafe was open through the night during the S League season, and if there were any Team 71 or Team Daemons¡¯ matches being streamed on the big screen in the lobby, people would gather to watch in awe unblinkingly so they didn¡¯t miss a single second of the action.


    ¡°D*mn, why is Korea¡¯s Team Vic backing out of the Group Stage? That VVV or whatever is so full of himself, Team Daemons¡¯ Asmodai better wreck him in game!¡± Fei slammed his fist on the table, his voice full of anger.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, I heard a couple of teams from some other countries could go straight into the top 8 after ranking first in the qualifying rounds, and then the second and third place would go to the Group Stage, having to battle their way up,¡± The manager, Xiao Duo Duo said.


    As soon as the S International League began, a lot of enemies at the club would call it a truce for the duration, sometimes linking shoulders to cheer for First Blood!


    ¡°The team that took first place in the qualifying rounds from our country couldn¡¯t go straight to the top 8 bracket because there hasn¡¯t been a China Team who has entered the top 8 before,¡± Jian Feng gave a much-needed clarification.


    Since he had taken up the role as a team manager, Jian Feng has done his fair share of research on the esports scene, answering most questions people had regarding the administrative part of esports. He garnered quite a lot of attention during the competition season, as whenever there was a notable game going live, guests at the club would flock to him for explanations and play-by-play analysis.


    To be able to get straight into the top 8, that was a point of frustration for China too.


    Our country had two spots reserved for us. To pick our representatives, the first and second place winners of the LPL Spring Competition and LPL Summer Competition, a total of 4 teams, were pitted against each other in a S Qualifying Competition to determine the first and second places of our country.


    In other zones like Korea, Europe, North America, Canada, Sweden, and even Taiwan, the team that won first place during their S Qualifying competitions would be able to advance directly to the quarter finals of the S International League!


    The second and third placed teams would then enter the Group Stage, having to contend against each other and with the other first place teams if they were able to make it to the quarter finals.


    During this year¡¯s LPL, Team Daemons had won first place in both the Spring Competition and the Summer Competition, and yet, they weren¡¯t granted direct access into the top 8 bracket. The reasoning behind this was because no China teams had ever been able to enter the top 8 during the S Worlds Championship, and so, the eight predetermined teams of the top 8 were all taken by stronger teams from other countries.


    Other countries had this sort of privilege and yet we don¡¯t, this frustrated a lot of the League community in the country.


    But there wasn¡¯t any other choice, if a team from China was able to fight their way to the top, shoving other teams out of the top 8, only then would the S International League reserve a spot in the spotlight for us.


    ¡°Only the top 2 teams of the Group Competitions will be able to face the top 8, I don¡¯t know if Team Daemons will be able to make a name for themselves this year. I¡¯m getting nervous just thinking about it,¡± K said.


    K had originally come from Shanghai, just that he was studying over in Hangzhou.


    He had purposely flown back from Shanghai to watch the match with the gang at Demacia Cafe.


    K didn¡¯t watch much of the LPL, but as long as there was a China team in S Worlds, he would definitely be in front of a screen.


    ¡°D*mn, these foreign teams are so good, especially that team for Korea, it feels as though they¡¯re just breezing through the Group Stage matches,¡± Feng Da exclaimed.


    The third-place team from Korea was Team Xi, and they had defeated Team Daemons yesterday, winning by a wide margin, causing a lot of unrest within the country.


    During the all-star competition, Korea had beat Team Daemons so hard into the ground that everyone who witnessed the competition suddenly weren¡¯t feeling so good. They had thought that they could finally make themselves known to the world during the S League, but they kept crashing headfirst into roadblocks, one after another!


    If they had to fight this hard to beat Korea¡¯s third-place Team Xi, then they wouldn¡¯t stand a single chance at beating the arrogant VVV¡¯s Team Vic!


    ¡°Why do those Korean b*stards have 3 teams anyways!¡± Fei pointed out in distress.


    In the S International League, Korea had 3 teams. China only had two measly spots, why did the tiny Korea get three!?


    ¡°What are you going to do about it? Their skills at esports far exceed our own, and the WCG International esports Competition¡¯s main organizer was them. If we¡¯re being frank, they were the founders of the esports industry as a whole, if they didn¡¯t have the rights to 3 spots, which other country would?¡± Bing Bing explained.


    ¡°Even Taiwan got their own two representatives!¡± Jian Feng added on.


    ¡°F*ck, as if Taiwan wasn¡¯t a part of our country?¡± The already upset Feng Da was fuming.


    ¡°Um, just be happy that we weren¡¯t considered to be from the same zone, otherwise, China may very well have been represented by the two teams from Taiwan in the S International League. The teams from Taiwan aren¡¯t pushovers by any means, and if my predictions are correct, the only teams that could realistically put up a fight against Korea are Taipei¡¯s Team TPB and Team TPG,¡± Jian Feng said quietly.


    ¡°Hey, could you not look down on our skills like that? Either way, Taiwan should still be a part of China, shouldn¡¯t it?¡± K asked.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t me looking down on ourselves, if China was really counted as the same zone as Taiwan when it comes to esports, both representatives would most likely come from Taiwan. Taiwan doesn¡¯t consider itself as part of our country anyway, so they would probably just be representing the Taiwan area. This would be a disaster for our country since from the perspectives of those foreigners, it would look like China can¡¯t even send out a single team,¡± Lin Dong elaborated.


    ¡°Oh, then maybe let¡¯s not count ourselves as the same zone,¡± Xiao Duo Duo said.


    This was the raw truth, for if they were combined into a single zone, mainland teams wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to beat the two aces from Taipei. If they let Taiwan be the only representation of China in Worlds, they would be the laughing stock of the century.


    On the other hand, if they were treated as different areas, it would lead foreigners to think that Taiwan and mainland China were two separate countries.


    This already happened often in global events, and the two areas were being treated as two countries instead of one in the same and it led to countless altercations between them.


    ¡°S Worlds competitions are divided according to areas, not necessarily countries. Taiwan¡¯s esports culture has become their own separate entity, and they¡¯re quite a bit more advanced than us after all. S Worlds handles things more strictly and carefully, taking into consideration the tension between our mainland China and Taiwan. The same can¡¯t be said for the International E-sports Federation, however,¡± Bing Bing said.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the International E-sports Federation?¡± The others perked up, looking intently at Bing Bing.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, the federation listed participants with countries as their units a few years back, but they listed the Taiwan esports Association there as well.¡± Bing Bing continued.


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± The surrounding crowd broke out into a riot.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve changed it yet, there¡¯s not a lot of news coverage on the subject, and you can¡¯t find much of it online either,¡± Bing Bing said.


    ¡°This international federation thing is such bullsh*t, Taiwan counts as a province at most, how could they add it into the list of countries!?¡±


    ¡°They essentially had our blessing, too. Our country hasn¡¯t established a formal esports federation, and yet, Taiwan has. Plus, the International E-sports Federation was founded by Korea, so to put it simply, we¡¯re at the mercy of those Koreans and they refuse to change it. What are you going to do about it?¡± Bing Bing said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe such a thing exists!¡±


    ¡°I know, right? This is an injustice to our country¡¯s esports!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we rebel! If they want to play like this, we¡¯ll boycott any and all Korea-made games!¡±


    The crowd was very vocal about their feelings of upset at the situation.


    If it weren¡¯t for Bing Bing exposing this information, nobody would¡¯ve known that their country was treated so unfairly in the esports industry. They were being completely looked down upon!


    Luocheng spared a glance at the bespectacled Bing Bing, shocked that he knew so much.


    Locals knew the bare minimum, if at all, about the International E-sports Federation, and the situation which Bing Bing just explained had already been happening since Luocheng had still been a big name in the DOTA scene. Seniors players like Li Tuchuan and those who had come before him had already made countless complaints to the associated organisations, but they didn¡¯t even have an esports federation yet, and so, their efforts were completely wasted.


    ¡°¡®They wasted their time, they rejected any applications for change with ¡®You are a country that can¡¯t even assemble your own esports federation, what right do you have to object to the finding of another country¡¯s federation and right to join the International Association?''¡±


    ¡°¡®Also, even if we made you a single zone and gave you one additional spot, mainland China would still be left without a representative.''¡±

 Chapter 378 - No Other Choice!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Just like the World Cup, every year was full of hope and passion, and yet, also full of disappointment.


    It was the first time Team 71 had gotten into an international competition, gaining only one victory before being disqualified, but doing pretty well all things considered.


    But the spotlight was on Team Daemons. They had given an outstanding performance early in the competition, showing a lot of potential to advance into the next round, and yet, it wasn¡¯t meant to be.


    Their flame burned out too quickly, and they only got third in the Group Competitions, unable to proceed into the quarter finals.


    But unlike the World Cup which was met with a rain of hatred from upset fans, every single person in the LOL community knew that Team Daemons had already done their absolute best.


    Team Daemons didn¡¯t have any quirks in their team like the other teams did, they were just a bunch of kids who were in it for their passion toward gaming. They were humble and wouldn¡¯t be caught involved in scandals of any sort, unlike some other high-profile teams (*cough* Team Sky *cough cough*). Their attitudes and actions made spectators within the country feel sorry for their loss instead of getting angry toward their failure.


    ¡°Team Daemons were so strong, but why couldn¡¯t they keep up with the other international teams?¡± Questions quickly popped up in Demacia Cafe.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it felt as though they were playing pretty safely during the competition, not as freely as they used to.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s such a shame, if they won that last round, they would¡¯ve been able to advance to the top 8¡­¡±


    ¡°It was probably the overwhelming stress they were under. America¡¯s Team Far didn¡¯t have any chance of advancing further and player comparatively much more freely than Team Daemons, while Team Daemons on the other hand not only shouldered the responsibility of representing China to get into the top 8, but also whether or not our skills would be recognized by the international community. Having to perform to your fullest under that sort of stress is no easy feat,¡± Bing Bing said.


    Following Team Daemon¡¯s defeat, hype around the S Worlds died down a fair bit within the country. After all, if there wasn¡¯t a local team in an international competition, that sense of inclusivity just wouldn¡¯t be there, since no matter who the victor was, it would always be some other country.


    Of course, there was still a large group of people who would continue to follow the competition¡¯s every update. They were true LOL fans, and they craved the excitement of a competition where every second, every action, and every choice mattered, where five members from a team worked together to achieve something greater. These fans had their favorite teams outside of the country and would oversee them to the bitter end.


    ¡°Looks like these legacy teams are still doing alright, I wonder if Team Sunlight will be able to represent our country in Worlds next year,¡± Bing Bing said. Currently, he had the most insider knowledge regarding the e-sports scene.


    ¡°Team Sunlight? That team from the Xuhui District?¡± Duo Duo asked.


    ¡°Team Sunlight didn¡¯t even participate in the LPL, how could they get into Worlds? And besides, our defending team is going to be the one to go to Worlds, not them!¡± Jian Feng was the first to speak up, voicing his disdain.


    Following Team Skycrown¡¯s undefeated streak in Demacia Cafe, more and more people were comparing their seemingly invincible defending team and the outstanding Team Sunlight. LOL enthusiasts from Jingan and Xuhui had gotten into more than a few arguments regarding the subject of which of these Shanghai teams were stronger.


    ¡°Look, if our defending team doesn¡¯t get a new Support, Team Sunlight could sweep the floor with them with one hand behind their backs. Saying that they¡¯re going to Worlds, don¡¯t make me laugh.¡± Bing Bing drank his Budweiser with a smug smile on his face.


    Everyone in the club knew that the defending team was strong, but that was only thanks to the 4 other members who played at a godlike level. Their Support, on the other hand, trolled every game.


    At first everyone had just assumed that their leader was intentionally increasing the difficulty for them, but people soon started to realize that there was nothing intentional about the Support¡¯s feeding, he was just really, really bad!


    ¡°Haha, stop joking around Jian Feng, Worlds aside, I¡¯ll eat all the keyboards in the cafe if our defending team even makes it to the LPL,¡± Duo Duo said in amusement.


    ¡°Okay, you said it!¡± A rush of adrenaline filled Jian Feng¡¯s body as he grabbed Duo Duo by the collar.


    ¡°And so what if I said it!¡± Duo Duo wasn¡¯t about to get tossed around by some kid.


    ¡°Actually, it would be pretty d*mn cool if our defending team actually got to the LPL, we¡¯d be able to feel a bit of their glory by climbing ranked here,¡± Fei laughed.


    Feng Da disagreed, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no way, what do you take the LPL for? Not just anyone can get in, if they really manage to make their way there, I¡¯ll eat the keyboards with Duo Duo.¡±


    ¡°You guys better remember what you¡¯ve said, no backing down when they actually make it,¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°Does anyone else want to munch on some keyboards?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s insane.¡±


    ¡°I call BS, they were just joking around, it¡¯s not as if our defending team would actually make it to the LPL!¡±


    ¡°Actually, those guys from the defending team do look pretty familiar, don¡¯t you think? Especially that troll Support, he reminds me of that one team from the LPL¡­ I don¡¯t know why, but I just can¡¯t find the video of their match.¡±


    ¡°Ha, and people say I look like Bai Feng.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call yourself Bai Feng when you look like a block of coal.¡±


    The club was filled with people chatting, exchanging disses and harsh glares without any malice behind them. Eventually, all the seats were filled with people looking to solo rank deep into the night.


    ***


    S Worlds had ended, and as expected, Team Vic took the champion spot during this year¡¯s Worlds, the entire world bearing witness to the unmatched skills and techniques of their ADC.


    After S Worlds, the next competition that held any weight in the LOL scene would be the WCG.


    But then came the news that struck Team Skycrown like a bolt of lightning on a sunny day, shocking them speechless for quite some time.


    ¡°The international e-sports competition WCG has been cancelled¡­¡±


    Staring at the headline online, all five members of Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t quite believe what they were seeing!


    Before LOL became mainstream and before Seasons one, two, and three even existed, getting to participate in the WCG was one of the highest honors a professional video game player could get, and winning at that tournament was proof of one¡¯s unquestionable skills!


    Team Wing¡¯s second place had also been won at that tournament, their brush past first place leaving them in tears for the longest time.


    Getting banned from the LPL didn¡¯t matter, and not being able to participate in S Worlds didn¡¯t matter, because they knew that aside from the LPL and S Worlds, there was another tournament that had been going on for a whopping 14 years, holding strong amidst the drama and hatred within the e-sports community. That was the WCG, where they could finally win back their glory.


    But there wouldn¡¯t be a WCG this year¡­


    How were they going to win back their title as the champions, how were they going to fulfill that foolish kid¡¯s last dream?


    ¡°How could this happen¡­¡±


    Without the WCG, where would the e-sports players within the country go?


    Starcraft, Warcraft 3, Fifa, Counter Strike¡­ were all of these just going to be relics of the past?


    Who else would be willing to hold competitions like these except for the WCG and Samsung?


    The news weighed heavily on Team Skycrown. The WCG had always been their palace, but now that the WCG was in shambles, what was going to be left of Team Skycrown?


    ***


    Some time went by and Team Skycrown was finally back on its feet.


    ¡°Looks like we don¡¯t have any other choice,¡± Luocheng said, trying to maintain the calmness in his voice.


    That champion trophy, they had bet it all on the WCG. They had wanted to stand on the stage of the WCG one day to take that trophy back, but now, they were out of chances.


    The only thing left for them was to wait for the S Worlds Tournament held by Riot Games themselves, the battlefield for the bravest and toughest teams from the LPL!


    The S Worlds Champion!


    This was their only path. They were going to have to defeat all those teams that they had stayed up to watch during the tournament season, the elite of the elites!


    ¡°Do you have any confidence that you¡¯ll be able to beat those teams?¡± Jian Feng asked.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Da Luo and Lin Dong answered almost simultaneously.


    They were telling the truth. Those A-list international teams were so, so strong, exceeding even their wildest imaginations.


    But even so, they had to grit their teeth and fight on.


    They would rest at nothing until the title of World Champion was finally theirs!

 Chapter 379 - No Understand Korean!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After the conclusion of the S Worlds Tournament, Demacia Cafe returned to its usual challenge matches.


    The prize had accumulated to over 20,000 yuan, but not a single team has been able to beat the defending team to take the stack of cash back home.


    Following the defeat of almost every team nearby, fewer and fewer bright-eyed challengers were coming in each day. The strength of the defending team had received the approval and recognition of every LOL player in the surrounding area, so not many people were willing to basically donate their money away by facing them.


    Of course, Boss Lei wasn¡¯t going to let their battle stage be left idle like this.


    Mr Lei was part of the Shanghai Cybercafe Association, so he spent a little money advertising their defending team at a few distinguished cybercafes and clubs in the Shanghai area. The advertisement was simple. If you could beat their defending team, the almost 30,000 yuan cash prize was yours for the taking!


    A single game worth almost 30,000 yuan, who wouldn¡¯t want to try their hand at that sort of prize?


    As soon as the ads were posted around Shanghai¡¯s cybercafes and gaming clubs, the manager, Xiao Duo Duo¡¯s phone, was bursting with requests for a challenge as teams from all over jumped at the opportunity to check out this so-called ¡°undefeated¡± team at Demacia Cafe. Of course this included some second-rate and third-rate professional players looking for some fun.


    Just by freeing up a weekend and 5,000 yuan, you could stand a chance to bring back almost sixty times your investments, and with returns as high as that, no one could resist!


    During this time, Lin Dong and the rest of the team felt the obvious wave of pressure placed upon their shoulders with the sudden influx of challenging teams coming to dethrone them.


    While previous challengers only knew the basics of ganking and team fights, Team Skycrown quickly realized that their current matchups were against opponents who really know how to control the game!


    Their manipulation over the game was scary, using the snowball effect to try and win quickly by first pushing down a single lane and then using that advantage to take control over the entire map, eventually destroying their enemies¡¯ entire line of defense.


    These teams knew that the defending team¡¯s bottom lane was their weak point, and thus, spent the majority of the game focusing on the bottom side of the map, taking turrets, claiming the Dragon, and stealing buffs. The defending team was almost tempted to surrender at the 20-minute mark.


    Luckily, the 4 remaining members of Team Skycrown had the skills to backup their invincible claim, managing to always make a comeback from the worst situations to burst their opponents down during the mid to late game.


    The opponents synergized well, but compared to the first-grade teams found in the LPL, they just weren¡¯t as flexible or as careful. Their two front lines, Da Luo and Zhou Yan, were always able to catch every misplay the enemy made with their deep understanding of the game¡¯s mechanics, effectively prolonging the game so that their team could scale and overpower their opposition.


    During the past 6 months or so, Team Skycrown had faced teams with every fighting style you could think of, and they knew the mainstream compositions like the back of their hand, able to see through the fatal flaws of off-meta picks as well. You can¡¯t deny, some of the teams conjured up through a spark of inspiration could be pretty daunting, and apart from the calm, serious vibe that professional players let off, these teams could easily rival pro players with their skills, combos, and strange tactics!


    The guys from Team Skycrown had originally thought that there wasn¡¯t much purpose in fighting these cybercafe competitions since their opponents would always be too weak.


    But now, their views had shifted. With a 30,000 yuan jackpot behind them, Team Skycrown could feel the murderous glares from their opponents burn into their skulls. Just last week, some second-rate professionals had faced them, confusing Team Skycrown with unorthodox tactics and almost had them beat.


    Middle lane had been pushed through, the Baron was taken, the vision in the jungle was completely controlled, and there weren¡¯t many chances for a comeback with these factors in play. If it weren¡¯t for Wu Sen and Da Luo camping in a bush near the second tower to catch the teleporting enemy Nasus, their 30,000 yuan prize would¡¯ve been gone!


    The teams around Shanghai weren¡¯t to be messed with. If the prize money continued to grow, with the news spreading to a few big neighboring districts and cities, catching the attention of the top players in the mainland, Team Skycrown would be through. Unless a team really had a massive gap in skill level between them and all other teams, it just wasn¡¯t feasible to try and keep up a one hundred percent win rate.


    ***


    As Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Da Luo, and Wu Sen, were fighting for their lives, being mercilessly slaughtered and left out to be eaten by vultures, all the while biting back insults and complaints so that they could eventually make a comeback during the late game, Luocheng was sitting between all of them, climbing the ranks in the Korean server without a single care in the world.


    Going from Platinum to Diamond, and then from Diamond V to Diamond I, Luocheng was delighted to find shadows of Korean pro players lurking around his rank already.


    People in Diamond I and II of the Korean server would already be considered top players back in China, this was in part due to them being updated at the same pace as America, but also because the Korean server was just a single server for the whole country, totally different from China which had over ten servers.


    If you were to say so-and-so was the top player, the first reaction you¡¯d get from people would be ¡°Wow, which server are they from?¡±, and if they were anything but Ionia, Bilgewater, or Freljord, you would be dismissed almost immediately.


    But if you were to say that you were a top player in the Korea server, it wouldn¡¯t be just an abstract concept, since there was only one server, the rankings in the server could basically substitute as a nationwide skill-level ranking!


    There were over 200 players who were considered to be the ¡°top players¡± in the Korean server, and a lot of pro players and other top players from China often went over to the Korean server to play a bit of ranked.


    Back when Cat Eye, Qiu Shenping, had gotten into one of the top player ranking spots in Korea, he had gained quite a following. After all, there were only so many spots in that ranking, and one spot taken meant one less chance for someone else to get in. For a foreigner to take that spot, wouldn¡¯t that be seen as a challenge?


    However, it had been Xiao Bei who had climbed with that account, and so, after Xiao Bei had stopped playing, that account was quickly pushed out of the top rankings and Qiu Shenping eventually faded into the background of the e-sports scene.


    Luocheng and Shallow Dream had a very high win-rate, and unlike others who spent a really long time trying to get into Diamond, they only used a few days.


    The hardest part was getting from Diamond V to Diamond II!


    The skill gap between these ranks was immense as it was saturated with main accounts and smurf accounts of pro players, there were even professional play-by-play narrators. Besides that, there were copious amounts of players from other countries here looking to learn of the newest tactics from the Koreans. A lot of team leaders like Luocheng hid around this rank and this was quite a hindrance for Luocheng and Shallow Dream.


    ¡°Mid, ADC, and Support are taken, so I¡¯ll go jungle and you go top?¡± Luocheng asked Shallow Dream.


    Unless you typed in English, Chinese characters would all become blank squares in the Korean server. Luocheng and Shallow Dream mainly communicated through the QQ app, and though he had asked for a voice call several times now, Shallow Dream still refused him each time, and Luocheng would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t suspicious of her identity.


    ¡°I can¡¯t Top,¡± Shallow Dream said straightforwardly.


    ¡°It¡¯s cool, I¡¯ll camp you. You¡¯ll get fed all the same!¡± Luocheng announced confidently.


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen you! I hate you!¡± Suddenly the enemy Top typed English words into the all chat!


    Luocheng was pretty shocked. He hadn¡¯t played in the Korean servers for quite a while, and yet, he was still recognized. Had Luocheng destroyed him while he was carrying a girl? If he hadn¡¯t, why would this person keep a grudge for the better part of a year?


    Luocheng replied in his fluent English, ¡°die,ting,bu,dong,han,wen!¡±


    (T/N: ¡°I don¡¯t understand Korean!¡± in romanized Chinese.)


    ¡°¡­¡± Shallow Dream was probably in awe of Luocheng¡¯s perfect reply.


    ¡°China rat, when we were just about to obliterate you, you go and hide!?¡± Suddenly, this player Pakeblablablahamida said in a slew of Chinese.


    Luocheng was stunned for a second, this dude spoke Chinese!? Wow!


    Thinking about it further, the guy probably just used Google Translate.


    Luocheng went and found his own translating website and typed a phrase, asking who he was.


    ¡°¤¢¤Ê¤¿¤ÏÕl!¡±


    Shallow Dream couldn¡¯t watch ant longer and messaged Luocheng on the QQ app, ¡®You sent that in Japanese¡¯!


    Luocheng let out an awkward laugh, ¡°My bad, my bad, I was wondering why those words looked oddly familiar.¡±


    ¡°Oddly familiar?¡± Shallow Dream didn¡¯t get what he was saying.


    ¡°Um, you¡¯re a good kid.¡±


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m Team STG¡¯s Pake, your video made us very annoyed, you¡¯d better cut my name out!¡± The enemy team sent another line of Chinese, it looked like they were really using some sort of translating app.


    ¡°What translating app are you using? It¡¯s so accurate,¡± Luocheng asked.


    Google Translate was infamously bad, basically translating word for word, class Chinese-style English, and Luocheng cringed just thinking about it.


    ***


    Seoul, Korea.


    A handsome young man with long hair opened his translation app in frustration, reading the completely unrelated question on the screen. He was this close to grinding him into the ground!


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s him, Mr. Park?¡± A blond-haired man asked from beside him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure, I¡¯d recognize this ID even if I turned to dust!¡± Park Yisheng shouted.


    It wasn¡¯t Yisheng¡¯s fault that he reacted to Luocheng¡¯s ID the same way he would react to his parents¡¯ murderer. During the new year, Yisheng had made an appearance as a famous professional player from the Korean server on a popular LOL show.


    Acting as a guest, he gave the audience a play-by-play analysis of a bottom lane game and tips on how to improve. The audience had been so enthralled that they opened their books to take notes.


    ¡°Next, let¡¯s take our knowledge into a real game.¡± Yisheng didn¡¯t know it at the time, but this sentence was the start of his nightmare.


    Other show hosts would have probably gone into a custom game just to demonstrate a few techniques in a practical setting, but being as cocky as he was, Yisheng had decided to go into a ranked game, in a Platinum almost Diamond rank match.


    Too bad though that that was when Luocheng and Shallow Dream were climbing. It was really just bad luck that Yisheng had queued directly into the peculiar duo of Luocheng and Shallow Dream.


    The outcome was as expected, and without a good Support, Yisheng was left crying for his mom. Those Korean high schoolers who had brought all their notebooks? Their pens and their jaws were all on the floor.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com


    Pro players hated these sorts of situations. LOL was already a 5-man game, even if they could maintain a 90 percent win rate in Plat and Diamond, there was still a solid 10 percent chance that they would throw everything, and that 10 percent just so happened to show itself during a broadcasted show. The host was at a loss for words, what could he say to save Park Yisheng from the humiliation he was inevitably going to receive for being beaten very badly.


    Professional players who had appeared on the past programs had had smooth lanes, and if they lost, the host would just say so-and-so was actually really strong, it¡¯s just that their teammates were bad, once again making it clear that LOL was a team game first and foremost, relieving any awkwardness still hanging in the air from the loss.


    But the thing was, Yisheng¡¯s teammates that game didn¡¯t do horribly, so for him to feed in his lane¡­


    That was the first time in his professional career that Yisheng had made an appearance on a programme that showed his face, and when he saw the horrified expression on their faces, all he wanted was to crawl into a ditch and die.


    And to add insult to injury, the video had been clipped by JX and posted onto the main page for the China area.


    Luocheng obviously hadn¡¯t known that they were recording, because if he did, he wouldn¡¯t have killed them so much that they couldn¡¯t come up to soak experience.


    If he knew they had been recording, Luocheng would¡¯ve spawn-killed him under the fountain, duh!


    Rubbing salt into wounds, that¡¯s my favourite thing!

 Chapter 380 - Shallow Dream, Who Are You?

    Yisheng wasn¡¯t recording a TV program this time, he was just solo climbing in ranked after some personal training. His solo rank wasn¡¯t that high, and for whatever reason, he just couldn¡¯t climb any higher.


    Bottom lane had already been called, so he was left to go top. Top lane wasn¡¯t his strong suit, but he didn¡¯t pay it any mind due to his pride. With his sort of skill level, did it matter which lane he got?


    Following Luocheng¡¯s nonsensical answer, Yisheng was absolutely boiling. If he was Renekton, he would have run right up to him to bite him, stunning him for 1.5 seconds and letting him admire his attack combos plus an Ignite!


    It was just as well though, he was playing a top lane Renekton, and upon seeing the opponent pick an easily bullied Xin Zhao, suddenly he was feeling pretty good.


    A Renekton laning against a Xin Zhao, you couldn¡¯t determine the winner just from a glance, it all depended on their levels, however it was without a doubt that Renekton could absolutely beat Xin Zhao in terms of wave clear, mobility, and sustaining!


    Yisheng recognized the ID of his opposing laner, it was that dirty China rat¡¯s partner.


    He admitted that those two were strong, but if he had been able to play with a professional Support, he would¡¯ve never lost that game!


    They had even put ¡°Non-professional Floor Professional at His Own Game¡± as the headline, and this single sentence ignited an outrage among the good citizens of Korea.


    Professional players were professional players, on a completely different level from those filthy casuals!


    ***


    Luocheng was the Jungler and he ended up choosing Vi. Shallow Dream specifically informed him to camp at the top side before the game, and so, Luocheng waited behind the minion wave as soon as he finished his double buffs.


    When laning against Renekton, if you played a champion with an aggressive early game, they would pretty much just stick to clearing the minion wave, and so, having the minion wave pushed under turret was normal. The best way to gank would be to gank head on, and as soon as Renekton used up his E-skill, go forth and strike with no remorse!


    After waiting for a while, Yisheng did indeed use his E-skill to move forward, and as Shallow Dream took the initiative to exchange the damage dealt, Luocheng ran in headfirst. Having been slowed by Xin Zhao, even if Renekton Flashed, he would only be able to sit there and take it, after all, it was his fault for pushing so much.


    ¡°Watch out for enemies in the bush.¡± Luocheng charged up his Q-skill, ramming his fist forward as he closed the distance between him and Renekton.


    Yisheng Flashed without hesitation, going into hiding within the bush with Shallow Dream¡¯s Xin Zhao following suit.


    Luocheng was pinging to retreat like crazy!


    They didn¡¯t have a clear vision of the enemy Jungler¡¯s position, there was a high likelihood of him counter-ganking by hiding in the bush. Face-checking the bush like Shallow Dream was doing would give the Jungler an opening to turn and fight back. They should have fought in the minion wave instead. If he didn¡¯t come out, they could wait for their abilities to come off the cooldown, but if he came out, that meant the bush was empty, in which case, they could pounce on him.


    Unfortunately, Shallow Dream dove right into the jaws of danger!


    ¡°BAM!¡±


    As soon as Shallow Dream took her first step into the bush, Luocheng knew they were done. The Spider Queen, Elise, had been waiting for her prey to walk in, and with a full combo plus the damage from Renekton, Shallow Dream was completely annihilated before she could even Flash. Luocheng had charged up his Q-skill, but suddenly, he didn¡¯t think that it would be the best idea for him to go in, however¡­


    Double Kill!


    Screw it, the hot-blooded teen couldn¡¯t resist the opportunity for glory, and Luocheng had gone in for a 1 vs 2 but ended up getting pounced on by Renekton, unable to trade kills and even giving up his double buffs.


    ***


    ¡°Bro, it was obviously a bait.¡±


    Luocheng told Shallow Dream through the QQ app.


    Shallow Dream only replied with a grimacing emoji.


    Giving the Renekton a double kill like this, it was all Shallow Dream could do to not lose her first turret. Xin Zhao didn¡¯t particularly have an advantage in lane and even CS-ing was difficult, she would be better off DC-ing.


    ***


    Luocheng farmed up a bit more, holding strong until he hit level 6.


    After level 6, Luocheng decided it was time to regain his honor and made his way back to the top lane.


    Shallow Dream was level 7 while Renekton was at level 8, with an Ignite, they should have enough damage to kill that d*mned crocodile!


    Shallow Dream saw Luocheng coming in for a gank and she went up to bait, and sure enough, Yisheng took it, using both charges of his E-skill to dash forward.


    Luocheng once again came in from the front just in time, and Shallow Dream turned to attack, slowing Renekton and knocking him up.


    Just knock him up, daddy will handle the rest!


    Luocheng landed his full combo and pinged for Shallow Dream to retreat. Renekton had dangerous burst potential, if he got the chance, he could even trade his death for Shallow Dream¡¯s Xin Zhao.


    But what made Luocheng¡¯s jaw drop was that Shallow Dream had the gall to stay behind even after she had knocked up Renekton!


    10 seconds later, the voice of the announcer echoed across the rift, ¡°Double kill!¡±, rendering Luocheng speechless.


    Ganking a teammate being bullied by Renekton during an early game was already a risky move, but to think it had ended with them giving Renekton a free double kill.


    Luocheng thought Shallow Dream and himself could¡¯ve easily finished that Renekton off with the level of synergy they had, letting Shallow Dream regain the advantage, but in reality, Shallow Dream had just gracefully fed Renekton a second double kill.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, be honest with me, how many games of Xin Zhao have you played?¡± Luocheng sent Shallow Dream a message.


    ¡°One round¡­against AI¡­¡± Shallow Dream¡¯s messages were always extremely descriptive.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Shallow Dream, you win.


    Playing a Diamond game with a champion that you had only played a single game of AI on!?


    ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t play Top,¡± Shallow Dream defended herself.


    ¡°I thought you were just being humble¡­¡±


    Luocheng was at a loss. After feeding the Renekton a few kills, he had basically made Renekton invincible for the rest of the game.


    Luocheng might as well have gone to play a round of poker while he waited to surrender at 20, while Shallow Dream probably went to check on her soup or something, standing idly at the fountain for some time.


    The other lanes were probably flaming them, a string of indecipherable circles and squares and lines furiously popping up in the chat. Well, at least they were indecipherable to Luocheng¡­


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t into the habit of AFK-ing, but they were on the Korean server, they¡¯d only be throwing the game for the other Koreans, and so, Luocheng didn¡¯t feel too bad about betraying his integrity as a gamer.


    ¡°You¡¯re always talking about making soup, what soup are you drinking?¡± Luocheng closed the LOL client and went on to message Shallow Dream.


    ¡°Medicinal soup, it tastes horrible.¡±


    ¡°Bad kidneys?¡±


    ***


    After these past few days of playing ranked games with her, Luocheng realized one thing as clear as day.


    Shallow Dream was the classic example of an ADC main, with world class proficiency with her bottom lane champions, her mid lane wasn¡¯t too bad either, being able to hold her own in Diamond rank. As for her Jungler, she usually hard-farmed her way through the jungle and didn¡¯t really gank much, so probably around Platinum, and then there came her horrendous top lane, absolutely atrocious, a Bronze V at best!


    Luocheng was of the mindset that to play a game well, you had to know every facet of the game. He mained bottom lane, but could do well in any position handed to him, not really having a particularly weak role.


    However, there was an infamous curse in LOL which was the curse of the top and bottom lanes. Basically, if you were decent at playing top, chances were that you would be trash at bottom. Alternatively, if you were a God at the bottom lane, please, for the sake of everyone else, stay away from the top lane.


    Luckily, Luocheng had a firm foundation built up from playing other competitive video games, and after the time he had spent on professional training, he could confidently say that he could play most roles.


    Seeing Shallow Dream¡¯s Bronze V potential, Luocheng suddenly came up with a new way to increase the difficulty for his team.


    When Xiao Ya was busy, he would get Shallow Dream to play as their defending team¡¯s Top and kick Da Luo to be the Support, allowing him to practice a bit of patience and care while he was at it!


    When registering their team, Shallow Dream was a part of that list. Sometimes when Luocheng wanted to fully dedicate himself to researching videos and learning new techniques, he would let Shallow Dream take his place as the Support during practice matches and low-level competitions. Shallow Dream knew a lot about the inner-workings of Team Skycrown, so she was basically an honorary member of the team.


    Of course, Shallow Dream supporting Team Skycrown and Luocheng supporting Team Skycrown led to two very different playstyles. Shallow Dream tended to play on the defensive, sticking to the backline. With her on the team, their ADC could focus on dealing the maximum amount of damage without needing to pay much attention to their own safety.


    On the other hand, Luocheng liked to focus on more aggressive tactics. Lin Dong had to find his own spot during team fights since Luocheng¡¯s Support would always be the first to go in hard during team fights, casting all of his skills first before returning to protect the ADC, and sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t even do that, instead protecting the other carries.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to Beijing tomorrow, if you could, come help us fill in for the top lane,¡± Luocheng told Shallow Dream.


    ¡°What are you going to be doing in Beijing?¡± Shallow Dream asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the General Administration of Sports.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still hung up on not being able to create an e-sports association?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Luocheng was a little shocked.


    Thinking about it clearly, Shallow Dream seemed to have made quite the name for herself in the e-sports scene and was probably a veteran gamer, so it wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary that she knew a thing or two about the industry within their country.


    ¡°You¡¯re wasting your time,¡± Shallow Dream replied.


    ¡°I just want to go take a look for myself and figure out what¡¯s going on,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°You should know very well what¡¯s ¡®going on¡¯. The Department of Civil Affairs isn¡¯t going to approve of an e-sports association. In their eyes, it would basically be the same as encouraging kids to skip school to go play video games, giving them the perfect excuse to do so. Even if it got the green light from Civil Affairs, do you think the Department of Education would allow such a thing? The Education Department still bans minors from entering cybercafes, and even though everyone knows that there¡¯s a clear difference between video games and professional e-sports, has the e-sports community really set a distinct divider between the professional gaming and non-professional gaming sectors? Even within the community, misinformation and misunderstanding spreads rampant, so I wouldn¡¯t expect people looking in from the outside to even have the slightest clue of this difference,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t move, seeing this huge wall of text from Shallow Dream. It was the first time since Luocheng had met Shallow Dream that she had sent such a long string of text in one go!


    Shallow Dream had always been the type to be short and concise, but this had changed Luocheng¡¯s view entirely!


    Yeah, the e-sports community within the country didn¡¯t differentiate much between professionals and non-professionals, so how were they going to convince the rest of society?


    Other people knew that if a kid playing basketball was recognized by their district and got into CBA, then they weren¡¯t just playing around, they had chosen a career in basketball with endless potential.


    But what about e-sports? What made you a true ¡°professional¡±? What sort of special privileges did you get? What sort of people would they be?


    Luocheng didn¡¯t have a concrete answer to any of these questions, could he really blame the higher-ups for declining his offer?


    ¡°Who are you? Why do you know all of this?¡± Luocheng asked after a slight pause.


    The other side went radio silent for a long while.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to the Administration of Sports, it¡¯s useless,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Luocheng pushed.


    To know every contradicting detail within the e-sports as an industry and as a community, this wasn¡¯t some ordinary player, and Luocheng really wanted to find out who Shallow Dream really was.


    Could she be someone like Li Tuchuan, who had tried to advocate for change in the past, but had failed?


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in you coming to Beijing now, you¡¯re nothing, you can¡¯t even represent the strongest teams in China,¡± Shallow Dream replied.


    ¡°I just want to know,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you your answer. Next year, after the qualifying rounds of S Worlds, if you get a ticket into the competition, maybe then you can make something happen in Beijing,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°Just tell me who you are first.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know me, but the day we meet will come if you manage to climb high enough in the e-sports industry and if you get enough influence within the country or even on the global stage¡­¡±


    Luocheng still had so, so many questions he needed answers to, but Shallow Dreams¡¯ profile had already gone dim.


    Her words lingered in his mind.


    Why did he have to climb to the top or gain an influence over e-sports for them to meet?


    Who on earth was she? Wasn¡¯t she just a player who knew a lot about e-sports, or maybe even a veteran or leader like Tuchuan?


    How had she known about the Sports Bureau thing? Could she have had the same idea as he did, and had already gone to the bureau?


    But if she wanted to fight for change just like he did, why hadn¡¯t she shown up in the professional field or the e-sports scene?


    ***


    At the same time, Shallow Dream had sparked an epiphany in Luocheng.


    Indeed, he was a nobody right now, going to the Sports Bureau, what good would that do!


    Okay, just wait until I¡¯m the one representing the strongest team in the country to take part in the S International League, I¡¯ll go and make things clear then!

 Chapter 381 - Disgracing Professional E-sports Players?

    The prize had accumulated to over 30,000 yuan.


    Demacia Cafe had always been a Tencent-themed cybercafe, and with the snowballing value of this prize money, QQ users all around the Shanghai district got a notification on the bottom right corner off their screens, describing the over 30,000 yuan cash prize that was to be won at Demacia Cafe.


    As soon as the announcement hit, news of the prize spread through Weibo and the larger LOL community like wildfire, and before long, a bunch of professional players that were looking for a quick cash grab were itching to take on the challenge.


    The highest achievement that LOL players could get within the country was to win in the LPL, but with China as big as it was, it was impossible for there to only be 8 teams worthy of such glory. A lot of other professional teams had the same amount of popularity and fan following in their respective areas, having their names known throughout many streamings and video uploading platforms as well. If they were able to get some sponsors to back them up during their matches, their lives would go on significantly more smoothly, if not, well, just take a look at Team Skycrown.


    Thus, of course eyes would light up all over the country at the thought of winning 30,000 yuan on the battle stage of Demacia Cafe!


    Even for Team Skycrown, if they had heard news about a 30,000 yuan cash prize after a single win, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered how far they¡¯d need to travel, they would be over without a second thought. Dreams could only be fulfilled with money, so without money, don¡¯t even think about it!


    The first to make a move was Team Sunlight from the Xuhui District.


    Team Sunlight had a massive social media presence, and a single stream by any of their members could easily break twenty thousand viewers!


    They could be paid just for making an appearance.


    Besides LPL superstars, many professional players, game analysts, and hosts, often made appearances on players¡¯ screens as well, choosing to make their own living on various other websites. They would stream on QT, YY, or other similar platforms, and by doing so, they allowed players who wanted to learn the intricacies of LOL to be able to learn from a first person perspective and interact with their ¡°mentor¡±.


    Team Sunlight hadn¡¯t started off as popular as they were now. They slowly grown their fan base through streaming. A lot of LOL players might not remember who had gotten last place in the LPL, but they surely knew every member of Team Sunlight.


    ***


    ¡°D*mn, how are they so popular!¡± Jian Feng clicked into Team Sunlight¡¯s live stream, speechless as he looked at their viewer count.


    Luocheng looked over Jian Feng¡¯s shoulder, noting that the stream of them playing a 5-man ranked game had over a hundred thousand current viewers!


    The official LPL qualifying matches usually were only able to amass a viewership of roughly a hundred thousand viewers, and that was already one of the biggest local LOL events! How was this random stream from Team Sunlight reaching this level of popularity!


    To be able to gather a hundred thousand online viewers, this channel had reached a viral status, and the creator of the channel was going to rake in so much cash!


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, streaming channels like this can get an annual income of about several million!¡± Meiqi said.


    Meiqi was also wondering how she could successfully manage Team Skycrown. Even though a public platform had yet to be created, she had prepared everything that was needed to be prepared, all she needed to do was wait for the arrival of the day that Team Skycrown would get into the LPL!


    ¡°Several¡­Million???¡± Da Luo thought he had heard her wrongly.


    What the f*ck, these guys had pushed themselves to the limit and more to get into the LPL, but even then, the highest prize they could have won was only five hundred thousand!


    This single streaming channel, all they had to do was get a couple of top-tier players to wreck some noobs and they could easily get several million dollars annually, wasn¡¯t that a bit too much!?


    ¡°Those¡­those Team Sunlight people, are they making more money than the LPL stars?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re apparently making more money than Team Daemons,¡± Meiqi clarified.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Professional players on average made a lower income, that was an indisputable fact. One look at Team Skycrown and that should be abundantly clear.


    But why were these semi-professionals, people who hadn¡¯t even gotten into the LPL, why did the incomes of these people overtake even the strongest Team Daemons!?


    What the f*ck was this!


    ¡°Actually, this is sort of a marketing strategy, and they¡¯re doing really well for themselves,¡± Meiqi started to explain, seeing how the tension in the room was growing thick.


    ¡°With live streams like this, they are mainly from the perspective of the streamer, with the video being streamed live from their computer. This allows the viewer to feel a sense of involvement with the game as they¡¯re able to see the streamers real-time reactions, skills, and comments. Compare this to the LPL where matches between teams are done in a much more serious setting, involving a lot of advanced techniques that your average player wouldn¡¯t understand, this is also one of the reasons why people will look down on players in the LPL.¡±


    ¡°With these sorts of streams, streamers are usually playing solo ranked games in Diamond or Challenger or whatever, and so for the players at home who are stuck in Silver, Gold, or Platinum, they¡¯re able to feel a sense of closeness with the streamers. After a long-term exposure to these streamers, they¡¯ll gain a warped view where they think these streamers could easily surpass players in the LPL. After all, these streamers do require a certain level of skill to attract viewers, and certain flashy plays will just wow their viewers even more¡­¡±


    ¡°And onto that the viewer-streamer interaction that has become a staple for these streams, this style of gaming has seen impressive advancements, garnering a lot of attention from people all around the industry.¡±


    Da Luo was close to boiling, staring at Team Sunlight¡¯s Nine Days¡¯ stream.


    ¡°Meiqi, I¡¯m not liking what I¡¯m hearing. Every member of Team Sunlight has undeniable skill, they could obviously surpass that of the LPL stars!¡± Bing Bing stood up, voicing his thoughts on the situation.


    ¡°Yup, just like how Nine Days¡¯ skills up in the top lane can be described in one word, amazing. Didn¡¯t see Forgetful Laughter lane against America¡¯s Funny during the All-Star competition, he was trolling so hard.¡±


    They had watched the All-Star Competition and that game really hadn¡¯t been one Forgetful Laughter¡¯s best performances as he had played too defensively against the American.


    Luocheng was listening in on the conversation from the side and he moved to sit in front of Bing Bing¡¯s computer, watching Nine Days¡¯ stream intently.


    He saw words flash across the screen, all the comments from the viewers. 3 out of 10 were comparing Nine Days to Forgetful Laughter, but the creepy thing was, a large majority of commenters were saying that Nine Days could beat Forgetful Laughter easily.


    ¡°Let me tell you, isn¡¯t there a voting involved in the All-Star Competition? If the official organizer had included Nine Days in the candidate¡¯s list, Forgetful Laughter may not have been the one chosen since Nine Days has a huge fanbase in Duowan. Even if we don¡¯t look at the All-Star Competition, just look at S Worlds, Team 71 didn¡¯t perform well at all. Forgetful Laughter didn¡¯t lead Team 71 to any sort of victory and a lot of his plays were stiff and forced, making the viewers feel something was off,¡± said a teenager who was also watching Nine Days¡¯ stream.


    ¡°You¡¯re all full of sh*t!¡± Da Luo couldn¡¯t take it anymore and burst out in anger.


    Da Luo knew very well how strong Forgetful Laughter was. He had watched this Nine Days for about ten minutes now and he could tell he that the latter wasn¡¯t some pushover, but he still had a long way to go before he could even think about challenging Forgetful Laughter!


    Comparing a top laner who couldn¡¯t even get into the LPL with Forgetful Laughter, these guys must be delusional!


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t think so?¡± Bing Bing said with a tinge of malice in his voice.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re out of your d*mn mind, this noob can¡¯t compare to Forgetful Laughter at all!¡± Da Luo exclaimed.


    ¡°Da Luo, trust us, Nine Days has already posted a video of him beating Forgetful Laughter. It¡¯s been circulating around Duowan a lot so it has probably gotten a lot of views by now.¡±Read more chapter on our novelhall.com


    ¡°Look, a lot of LPL stars have gotten beaten badly by these so-called ¡®semi-professionals¡¯, and it¡¯s because the organizers have made some invisible barriers to stop the truly strong players from entering. If they had let Team Sunlight compete, I¡¯d put my money on them getting past the Group Stage of S Worlds, at least they would have done better than the two teams that we sent out this year.¡±


    Da Luo had had enough, bursting into a full on argument with Bing Bing and the rest of them.


    Luocheng just observed from the side, continuing to watch Nine Days¡¯ Stream. However, listening to those comments insulting the LPL Stars, he suddenly didn¡¯t know how to react.


    Simply put, if Team Sunlight really were as strong as people said they were, why didn¡¯t they try their hands at the LPL to compete against Team Daemons? Since Team Sunlight were so strong and mighty, why not?


    Posting a video of him beating Forgetful Laughter in a ranked game and then causing a scene by promoting the idea of LPL professionals being not as good as people thought, it was the lowest of lows.


    Basically, it was just like when Luocheng played on the Ionia server, from the get-go, he never really intended to play seriously to any extent. He had already lost count of how many people had won against his ¡°Trolling No. 1¡± account, so you were telling me that if all of these people made videos of these matches, they could all claim to be better than yours truly?


    It was safe to say that out of ten matches, Forgetful Laughter had beaten Nine Days in five, completely overpowered him in four, and accidentally let Nine Days snowball in one because their Jungler wouldn¡¯t gank¡­


    Forgetful Laughter didn¡¯t view Nine Days as competition whatsoever and he couldn¡¯t even be bothered to record their matches together. Nine Days on the other hand had recorded all 10 games, but then, he had only posted his winning game onto the internet, titling it ¡°Beat Forgetful Laughter in Ranked LoL¡± to attract his already fiercely loyal fans.


    Forgetful Laughter didn¡¯t make public appearances often and he didn¡¯t get a lot of chances to interact with fans due to his tight schedule of training and competitions. He couldn¡¯t prove his fans wrong either, since the other party had video evidence while he didn¡¯t even bother to record anything.


    ***


    Luocheng really didn¡¯t know what to say when faced with these misinformed people on the internet. It was exactly like what Shallow Dream had told him, there wasn¡¯t a clear divider between professionals and non-professionals in the e-sports community, allowing these low-tier players to have the gall to compare themselves to real LPL stars.


    You should know that there was no end to training for LPL players, they trained like soldiers train to maintain their formation and also build up their physical strength, running through basic techniques over and over again to strengthen their foundation. These weren¡¯t things that your everyday player could handle.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t want to say much. Streamers like Nine Days who stuck themselves in a lower rank so that they could seem better than they were shouldn¡¯t even have the right to compare themselves to real LPL stars.


    You streaming was a good thing for the LOL community, teaching new players how to play different champions, how to build up a high level of awareness within the game, allowing LOL enthusiasts to gather and discuss and create a sense of belonging within the fanbase. But posting misleading videos to garner false praise from fans and disgracing professional players in the process, that was absolutely unacceptable!


    Nine Days had better prepare himself for his personal doomsday!

 Chapter 382 - Exclusive Interview

    Luocheng admitted that amazing players were hidden like diamonds in the rough even among non-professionals, Shallow Dream for example. However, the chances of meeting such people were so minuscule that they might as well be ignored, but at the same time, they probably already had some form of experience in the e-sports scene already.


    But until now, Shallow Dream had yet to upload any videos of her winning against professional players, because both Luocheng and Shallow Dream knew that aside from that one game with Bai Feng, there hadn¡¯t been many encounters with professional players that had ended in their favour.


    It was always the players who couldn¡¯t get into the LPL but were still objectively stronger than most of the community that liked to stir things up. They shouldn¡¯t be allowed to do as they pleased, someone needed to step up to show them true strength, to snip their arrogant little bud at the stem!


    At first, he had admired Team Sunlight for being able to attract such a huge audience even though they hadn¡¯t yet participated in the LPL, but after learning how they had gained so much attention, Luocheng took back any praise that he had ever said of them. The e-sports community had enough problems already, they didn¡¯t need rats like these to continue fanning the flames!


    ¡°Hey, Luocheng, you have a phone call from our boss,¡± Duo Duo shouted out from behind the bar.


    Luocheng took a deep breath to steady himself before walking to the bar.


    ¡°Boss Lei?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Yeah, he said he had something to discuss with you,¡± Duo Duo said.


    Xiao Duo Duo was the manager, but Mr Lei was still the boss. Boss Lei didn¡¯t make appearances at the cybercafe very often as he was apparently really busy managing businesses not only regarding high-end cybercafes in the Shanghai area, but also in various other industries.


    Luocheng quite admired Boss Lei for thinking up all these unique marketing strategies to entice players and create a pleasing e-sports atmosphere in the club. It was just too bad that some people had been twisted by those dirty rats who had misconstrued what it truly meant to be a professional e-sports player.


    ¡°Luocheng, news on QQ has already spread to different districts, you¡¯ve been seeing a lot more challengers on the battle stage, haven¡¯t you?¡± Boss Lei said.


    Boss Lei knew that Luocheng was the Fighting Hawk and he had always thought that a first-rate player like him was wasting his talents staying in a dingy club like his. After all, his club couldn¡¯t be compared to other larger Entertainment Companies. Boss Lei probably thought that a God like Luocheng had probably gotten fed up having to face these random teams.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been pretty busy.¡± Luocheng nodded to nobody in particular.


    ¡°Right, the thing is, I plan on advertising our Demacia Cafe even further and I¡¯ve spent a little more money this time to invite some guys over from the E-sports Storm to come over to Demacia Cafe to interview you guys and share the news about our battle stage¡¯s challenging system. We¡¯ll arrange a team for you to go against.¡± Boss Lei said


    ¡°Okay,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°I wanted to ask, do you also want to make your announcement then?¡± Boss Lei queried.


    Luocheng always wore his glasses in Demacia Cafe. Ever since he had grown his hair out a bit, even though a lot of people said that Luocheng looked a lot like Team Skycrown¡¯s Fighting Hawk, they would quickly retract that statement after watching a few of his troll games.


    Even though Team Skycrown were playing as the defending team, their actual team name hadn¡¯t been made known to the public, and Boss Lei figured that as the prize money continued to surge and their true strength started to show in-game, their identities may be dug up before the start of the LPL Season.


    Rather than allowing that to happen, Boss Lei felt that it would be better if they just uncovered their identities publically, and by inviting people from the media, he could make Demacia Cafe a household name overnight!


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s make it public!¡± Luocheng nodded again.


    They had already discussed this several times before and Boss Lei had held his head high and constantly reassured him that no matter how dirty Sky Club played, there was no way they would dare mess with Boss Lei¡¯s property, and thus, Luocheng didn¡¯t have to worry whatsoever.


    Boss Lei wanted to expand his cybercafes soon as with the recent influx of new regulars, he could already see that there weren¡¯t enough computers to go around.


    A lot of them had bought weekly or monthly passes too. Most of the people who came to Demacia Cafe came to get a down-to-earth experience to play with their friends, but if they had to wait for spots like some other popular cybercafes, that would just ruin the atmosphere they had worked so hard to create!


    Boss Lei wanted to expand Demacia Cafe, but it wasn¡¯t enough to just rely on a single media outlet¡¯s publication, that would still leave them unable to build up a long-term customer base or popularity.


    However, if they used this opportunity to announce that their defending team was the one and only Team Skycrown that had been on a so-called ¡°hiatus¡±, they could make waves on the internet and the larger e-sports industry!


    Having LPL stars sit on the throne of their cybercafe, how cool was that!


    With this sort of news being spread, who would dare oppose Demacia Cafe¡¯s spot as the number one cybercafe in Shanghai!?


    Boss Lei walked the high road in life, and someone like the Fighting Hawk was exactly what he needed to skyrocket Demacia Cafe to new heights within the e-sports community!


    Luocheng¡¯s thoughts on the matter had seen quite a shift too.


    He couldn¡¯t stay quiet anymore, he was going to be the one to lead their country¡¯s e-sports industry to the global level after all, how could he continue to cower and hide in the shadows? Since they were able to find a cybercafe that didn¡¯t fear Sky Club in the slightest, not to mention the fact that they were able to find an ingenious manager who had incredible ideas on how to change the e-sports industry for the better, why not try to make his name known now? He wasn¡¯t going to let those petty and pitiful people pollute true e-sports by using their fame and popularity.


    Sky Club only knew one thing, which was how to make money. If they let this sort of organization shoulder the responsibility of building up the e-sports industry, their demise was pretty much inevitable!


    Team Daemons had worked hard to build up recognition for e-sports within China, but luck never seemed to be on their side as they had yet to gain an international victory.


    Even if their team was full of nobodies, people who were finding shelter in a small cybercafe, Luocheng knew that he could do something!


    At least through this encounter with the media, he would be able to get rid of this spread of misinformation once and for all!


    ***


    November came, and advertisements about Demacia Cafe were popping up all over the internet.


    Boss Lei was rich, like, really, ridiculously rich, and only God knows how much money he used to cover the Shanghai section of the internet in promotion, but one thing was for sure, everyone in the country was talking about the one and only Demacia Cafe!


    The Shanghai E-sports Storm had their own TV channel, and they collaborated with the CCTV to conduct an exclusive interview at Demacia Cafe to cover this sudden burst in popularity.


    Cameras, hosts, reporters, managers, even if it lacked a little of the atmosphere you would get from an in-person interview from the CCTV, with a whole camera crew at your doorstep waiting to shoot a program, it was exhilarating nonetheless.


    ¡°Cybercafes were all the rage some four or five years ago and it had been the turning point for our society to enter the digital, information-filled era that we live in today. Yet, with the rise of the smartphone industry that allowed people to have mini-computers at the ready whenever and wherever they wanted, the golden age of cybercafes fell into a slump. A lot of experts had predicted that the cybercafe industry would continue to lose its popularity and become obsolete as they were replaced by at-home computers and handphones.


    ¡°But, was this booming industry really going out of fashion?


    ¡°Today, on the Shanghai District Tencent news report, a League of Legends focused cybercafe has forgone the pay-per-hour system of traditional cybercafes and has instead opted for a system similar to the VIP members of various entertainment companies or clubs. Founded with the main purpose of gathering LOL enthusiasts from around the country and creating a pleasant atmosphere of e-sports, Demacia Cafe has created the best form of LOL competition spectating, similar to the systems found in entertainment companies and the like. According to reports, some hundreds of people had gathered here to watch the S International League deep into the night.¡±


    ¡°Besides that, this cybercafe has also created a unique challenging system which is known as Battle Stage. Any team can issue a challenge against the current defending team, and if they were to defeat the defending team, they would be able to take home the accumulating prize money that is sitting pristinely inside a glass case!¡±


    ¡°Until today, the cash prize has already accumulated to a whopping 30,000 yuan and there seems to be no signs of stopping soon!


    ¡°This new form of cybercafe management, the trendy Battle Stage challenging system, how this cybercafe has continued to grow and evolve in the slowly secluded cybercafe industry, attracting packs and packs of new customers to come in and spend, let¡¯s go in and find out together!¡±


    The black-suited television hostess filmed the intro with fluent, languid words while a larger man held a cannon-sized camera on his shoulders, keeping his hands steady until the hostess finished her speech.


    Demacia Cafe stood proudly as the background of the hostess, the bright, bold letters and atmosphere giving off a sense of closeness that was unique to the bonds formed between gaming friends!


    ***


    The media reporters had come unannounced, but Boss Lei had made everyone involved rehearse their parts multiple times, determined not to show any faults in his establishment.


    The hostess began by showing off Demacia Cafe with a continuous following shot, not holding back on compliments for the fine establishment either.


    Cybercafes had always made people think of dimly lit rooms filled with a cluttered mess of rolling chairs, keyboards, and spilled drinks.


    However, Demacia Cafe was decorated to look like a combination of a romantic cafe and a melancholic bar.


    Sure, you could come here to surf the internet, but you could also come here just to chat over a cup of coffee or share experiences of LOL while nursing a cup of alcohol. If the urge ever came, a computer would always be open for you to play a round yourself, or if you¡¯d rather watch from the sidelines, the lounge provided a comfortable viewing area for guests.


    Of course, the main attraction was still the Battle Stage. A few regulars had already made it a habit, and whenever there was a game going on at the Battle Stage, they would find their own spots and watch while drinking their beers. Some of the more talkative ones would be right there to provide explanations to whoever wanted them, or to just discuss whatever scandal was making its rounds on the internet without a care in the world.


    After a look around Demacia Cafe, the spotlight was then turned to the Battle Stage, the highlight of the interview.


    Boss Lei had already informed them that the media reporters were going to record a full game from the Battle Stage. Upon hearing this, Luocheng was once again impressed by the amount of wealth Boss Lei had to be able to do things like that. Television studios charge by the minute, you know!


    Of course if it was the television studio who wanted to get the inside scoop, the situation would have been different, but the chances of that happening were slim to none.


    Well, since it was going to be a broadcasted match, Luocheng couldn¡¯t let Xiao Ya keep playing in his stead.


    It was about time he took matters into his own hands, but it would have been better if it wasn¡¯t just an exhibition match that Boss Lei had arranged. After all, if it was Luocheng who was playing for Team Skycrown, they would reign undefeated!

 Chapter 383 - What It Means To Be A True Professional!

    The camera shifted toward the defending team, the hostess still using sweet and perfect words to introduce their Battle Stage¡¯s challenging system.


    The five-man team of Luocheng, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong, sat as still as statues in front of the screen, slightly awkward smiles plastered on their faces. In all honesty, this was their first time being interviewed like this, so it was inevitable that they would be a bit nervous.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s jump straight into a challenge match, it seems that there already is a strong team looking to fight for that 30,000 RMB cash prize!¡±


    The bulky camera immediately swiveled to the team that Boss Lei had arranged to make an appearance.


    Just as the reporter was going over to interview them, their regular customer, Bing Bing, walked over wordlessly.


    Boss Lei was stunned, what was this Bing Bing doing, hadn¡¯t they all agreed to do things as planned!? This was going to be broadcasted on television and the E-sports Storm!


    Boss Lei wanted to grab the kid before he did anything stupid, but as he was being filmed by the corner of the camera, he didn¡¯t dare to move a muscle. All he could do was watch helplessly as Bing Bing ran up to where Team Cameo were seated.


    ¡°Simply forming a team to challenge a long-term premade squad, the end results would obviously be you winning, increasing the prize money even further. This is just some dumb publicity stunt to attract customers with some cash,¡± Bing Bing said, his disdain for the defending team written clearly on his face.


    Boss Lei furrowed his brows tightly, what exactly was Bing Bing trying to do!


    The hostess wasn¡¯t bothered one bit by the sudden appearance of Bing Bing, reacting smoothly by handing the mic over to him while saying, ¡°It looks like this guest is one of the regulars here. So, you don¡¯t think your defending team is as strong as people say?¡±


    ¡°Even without considering the LPL teams, there¡¯s no way Shanghai¡¯s strongest team is Demacia Cafe¡¯s laughable excuse of a defending team. The reason the prize money hasn¡¯t been won yet is simple, it just wasn¡¯t worth the effort of the truly strong teams to come and take it,¡± Bing Bing said.


    ***


    ¡°Boss Lei, you didn¡¯t arrange this, did you?¡± Duo Duo let out a small laugh upon hearing what Bing Bing had to say on screen, but when he glanced over to see Boss Lei¡¯s expression, he felt that something wasn¡¯t right.


    ¡°What do you think? Hmph, the kid really was sent over by that darn Xuhui Cybercafe! I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s pulling this sh*t right now, I swear I¡¯ll end him!!¡± Boss Lei said, his words burning hot and bright in Duo Duo¡¯s ears, his professional demeanor suddenly gone.


    ***


    ¡°Oh? Then in that case, do you think the prize now is high enough to be worth the time of some ¡®truly strong teams¡¯ as you put it?¡± The hostess looked as though she was enjoying the gossip.


    You really had to give it to them, the improvisation of these hosts and reporters were very worthy of much praise. They were able to react to sudden situations such as this as if everything had been planned beforehand, even though the truth was that Boss Lei had never intended for Bing Bing to even appear, let alone stir up a drama like this. This Bing Bing was without a doubt sent by one of Demacia Cafe¡¯s biggest competitors from Club Sunlight!


    The homebase of Team Sunlight!


    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of money, it¡¯s a matter of glory and honor! The strongest team in Shanghai is Team Sunlight, and millions of fans would agree!¡± Bing Bing said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Team Sunlight, I¡¯ve definitely heard that name before. After all, yours truly did her fair share of homework before she started reporting news on e-sports. Team Sunlight is the most popular team outside of the LPL, its fanbase already exceeding the original Team Fudan, garnering tens of thousands of supporters on all major streaming platforms!¡± the hostess elaborated.


    ¡°With their skills, they could easily win out against most of the competition in the LPL. It¡¯s just that they didn¡¯t like the restrictions that came with the LPL and similar e-sports competitions, and they can¡¯t stand the organisers¡¯ complete control over the battling system either,¡± Bing Bing said.


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re implying is, your Team Sunlight is going to play in this challenge match, subsequently taking home the 30,000 RMB cash prize from Demacia Cafe?¡± the hostess asked.


    ¡°Exactly right. Previously, I¡¯ve tried to make a challenge on the behalf of Team Sunlight, but we kept getting pushed back in the schedule because the manager said that there were already other teams waiting in line. I¡¯d like to see how Demacia Cafe¡¯s defending team rejects our Team Sunlight¡¯s challenge this time!¡±


    Bing Bing¡¯s word¡¯s provoked the entire audience in Demacia Cafe!


    Honestly, none of the regulars had had a clue that Bing Bing was a spy sent in from Club Sunlight, he had been hiding his team very well in Demacia for so long. And now, here he was, shamelessly using Boss Lei¡¯s media connections to not only knock Demacia Cafe down a peg, but to also stir up discussion about Team Sunlight! Those dirty businessmen knew no bounds to their lies and deceit!


    Bing Bing had inadvertently stolen the spotlight of the entire interview, but Luocheng was listening to every word Bing Bing spat out, sitting quietly just out of focus of the camera lens.


    Luocheng¡¯s anger toward Team Sunlight¡¯s use of video streaming and misdirection to disgrace the integrity of e-sports had already been brewing, but now, he was witnessing with his own eyes how this Team Sunlight used a few of their pawns to get what they wanted and how they misconstrued facts to sensationalise their message.


    They thought they could easily get into the LPL?


    Luocheng didn¡¯t know whether to laugh at them or feel sorry for them.


    Every LPL contestant had sacrificed so much time and effort to be able to fight for the chance to sit upon that throne of glory. Team Sunlight didn¡¯t have the determination nor the skills to get in, and yet, they were parading around the internet, bragging about how they were above such competitions, even using Demacia Cafe¡¯s exclusive interview time slot to make empty brags!?


    Why were you coming to this insignificant little cybercafe? Why don¡¯t you go brag straight at the LPL contestants¡¯ faces? After all, didn¡¯t you say you knew for a fact that Demacia Cafe¡¯s defending team couldn¡¯t be compared to the LPL teams!?


    ***


    Boss Lei knew that things were getting out of hand, and if Bing Bing continued to be such a disturbance, this interview would never see the light of day.


    Well, let¡¯s play it by ear, shall we!


    ¡°Good, good. Since you say that our defending team isn¡¯t what it seems, we invite your Team Sunlight to come onstage.¡± Boss Lei laughed coldly.


    A beautiful show of hands, hiding under the radar for so long, all so you could spread your own message through the media at your enemies¡¯ expense.


    But, since you have declined on taking the high-road, let me show you the gates of hell!


    Boss Lei knew very well that their defending team wasn¡¯t just some ordinary team of career players. No, they were Team Skycrown who had lit up the skies of last year¡¯s LPL like fireworks in the dark, only to disappear just as quickly!


    They had originally planned to uncover Team Skycrown¡¯s LPL status as soon as they finished the challenge match against Team Cameo, but who could have predicted that Team Sunlight who could ¡°easily beat the LPL¡± would jump straight into the alligator¡¯s mouth!


    Team Sunlight was known for these tactics, avoiding LPL star teams at all costs but stepping on the heads of other non-professional teams.


    Bing Bing must have observed the defending team for quite some time to come to the conclusion that Team Sunlight could beat them, which was why he had decided to use the media¡¯s arrival as the perfect opportunity to show off.


    Unfortunately, Team Skycrown still held a trump card in their hands.


    Since you thought Team Sunlight could participate in the LPL with ease, then by all means, here¡¯s the LPL challenge you¡¯ve been waiting for!


    F*cking show me what you¡¯ve got!


    ¡°Well, Luocheng, what do you say we let them challenge us, hmm?¡± Boss Lei wasn¡¯t going to stand by and watch, they had come into his territory and caused a scene, revenge against Club Sunlight would be served!


    Luocheng nodded, trying to control the rage boiling up in his voice, ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask!¡±


    Team Sunlight, your games of trickery and deceit have come to an end!


    I¡¯m going to show you the true power of an e-sports professional player!

 Chapter 384 - : Show Them What You’re Made Of

    Chapter 384: Show Them What You¡¯re Made Of


    Team Sunlight had already been communicating very closely with Bing Bing. All they had been waiting for was for Demacia Cafe to come up to promote themselves, they didn¡¯t care about the 30,000 RMB cash prize whatsoever, their streams provide them with more than enough income, added on to their unique promotion methods.


    Team Sunlight¡¯s leader was Bing Bing, and the kid liked to hang around Demacia Cafe whenever he was free, especially since Demacia Cafe was Xuhui¡¯s Club Sunlight¡¯s biggest competitor. They had beaten the previous defending team into submission, and all of a sudden, this random team popped up from God knows where and somehow stacked the prize to a solid 30,000 RMB!


    Well then, keep stacking it up! 30,000 RMB wasn¡¯t a particularly large sum of money, at least not for high-class clubs like Club Sunlight.


    But then that Lei guy had gone and gotten the media involved, looking to do a large-scale promotion on the internet and television, now that wouldn¡¯t do.


    Club Sunlight had its main focus on LOL as well, if they were to let Demacia Cafe have the title of Number 1 LOL Club, who would still come to Club Sunlight? If they continued to spread their influence into the streaming scene, their Club Sunlight would be finished!


    This would be their only shot at stopping them now, there wouldn¡¯t be a second chance.


    ¡°Bing Bing says we¡¯re on!¡± Team Sunlight¡¯s Nine Days laughed.


    Nine Days had (or was trying to have) a goatee, which looked rather strange, but he probably thought it made him look like a hipster or something.


    ¡°We¡¯ve never seen any videos of them, is this defending team any good?¡±


    ¡°If they could get the prize money rolling to thirty thousand, they¡¯re probably not just your average team. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re above-average career players who haven¡¯t won any high-profile competitions yet,¡± their Jungler, Golden Ray said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t beat those self-proclaimed career teams anyway!¡± Nine Day replied smoothly.


    ¡°Yeah, and Bing Bing said that their Support is a total troll, the bottom lane should be a piece of cake!¡±


    Team Sunlight weren¡¯t lacking in the confidence department, they wouldn¡¯t have gotten the success they had if they didn¡¯t have at least decent skills, and a lot of professionals watched their streams too, after all.


    They had tried their hands at professional matches before, wanting to make a name for themselves, but as luck would have it, they couldn¡¯t play at their best then, getting beaten by some other teams. If they had been able to play to their true potential, the entire LPL would¡¯ve been done for! Those thoughts allowed Team Sunlight to hold their heads up high as they took bold strides into Demacia Cafe.


    They were on a mission, coming to trash the scene, but when they saw the hostess with her perky bosom, they couldn¡¯t help but get a little nervous.


    However, they had to maintain their aura of professionalism, and so, they weren¡¯t about to say anything weird.


    ¡°Enough with the chit-chat, let¡¯s settle this on the rift!¡± Bing Bing confidently announced.


    Free media coverage too, there couldn¡¯t have been a more opportune moment to reveal their power!


    Boss Lei huffed at the sight of Bing Bing¡¯s excitement.


    You¡¯ll get your just desserts.


    ¡°Luocheng, if there aren¡¯t any objections, let¡¯s start,¡± Boss Lei said to Luocheng.


    ¡°No rush.¡± Luocheng took a look at the camera and walked over.


    The hostess promptly shifted her focus onto Luocheng, after all, these two teams were going to clash as representatives of Shanghai¡¯s most well-known cybercafes.


    ¡°If i remember correctly, you said that your Team Sunlight could easily compete against LPL professionals?¡± Luocheng said in an eerily calm voice.


    ¡°We would never make such claims, it was the fans that said that,¡± Bing Bing replied with a glint in his eye.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who said it, I¡¯m here to tell you, garbage teams like yours who only know how to stir up drama shouldn¡¯t dirty the name of LPL Teams. You don¡¯t even deserve to walk the same ground as them!¡± Luocheng raised his voice in anger, pointing an accusatory finger at Bing Bing.


    ¡°You¡­you¡­¡± Bing Bing hadn¡¯t expected Luocheng to go off on them like that!


    ¡°This is the leader of the defending team, it looks like he has his own opinion of Team Sunlight¡¯s strength. Well then, enough with the pleasantries, let¡¯s settle this with a game of League of Legends, shall we?¡± The hostess swiftly changed topics to avoid a full-on argument breaking out.


    ¡°Hmph, yeah, what¡¯s with all the big talk, just get into a game! Team Sunlight already has LPL-level skills, playing against you losers will be a walk in the park!¡± One of the brain-dead fans piped up.


    ¡°Hilarious, even the troll Support has come up to talk. How about you get your Support a*s to Gold before you come out here to whine, huh!¡±


    Luocheng ignored all those idiots who didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, speaking plainly to Team Sunlight, ¡°Professional players playing against you measly little nothings? We won¡¯t even give you the chance to surrender.¡±Read more chapter on our novelhall.com


    With that, Luocheng led his team to sit at their stations.


    Not giving them any chance to surrender, they were going to be over with Team Sunlight in 20 minutes flat!


    Those weren¡¯t words just anybody could say. 20 minutes in LOL was a sort of cut-off point, and if your team couldn¡¯t even survive 20 minutes against another team, that spoke miles about how weak your team was!


    Bing Bing¡¯s face flushed red up to the tips of his ears.


    He had thought that no one could one-up him with what he had said on screen, who would¡¯ve thought that this defending team¡¯s leader would walk right up and declare that they would be K.O.-ed by 20!


    Even LPL teams didn¡¯t dare to talk like that and this little Silver-ranked troll Support had the gall to utter those words in front of an audience!? I swear I will make you my b*tch by the end of the game!


    Bing Bing knew that they shouldn¡¯t start arguing on-screen, for whoever lost their cool first would be ridiculed online, so he shut his mouth and led his team over to their spots, officially taking on the defending team.


    ¡°Are they really Team Sunlight?¡±


    ¡°Probably, hasn¡¯t Nine Days posted some videos? Isn¡¯t that Nine Days?¡±


    ¡°Wow, this is the first time I¡¯m seeing LOL Gods this close!¡± a fangirl said under her breath.


    ¡°We can finally see Nine Days¡¯ God-like outplays live, that¡¯s so sick.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope the defending team can even last the first 20 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if the bottom lane manages to not get totally destroyed, I¡¯m buying an annual pass here at Demacia Cafe.¡±


    Team Sunlight were immensely popular and thus, a lot of the regulars at Demacia Cafe were turning their backs on the defending team.


    No wonder Boss Lei couldn¡¯t wait to get the media exposure. If Team Sunlight were left to their own devices, Demacia Cafe would be out of business because everyone would be going to Club Sunlight to see their ¡°Gods¡±!


    ¡°The battle of the century is about to begin, I¡¯m sure the viewers at home are as excited as I am to bear witness to this exhilarating competition! We¡¯ll soon cut to footage taken directly from the Summoner¡¯s Rift, so grab a buddy and let¡¯s all cheer for these two teams!¡± The hostess said with a bright smile on her face.


    The screen cut to an overview of the battlefield. Boss Lei had specially hired professional LOL analysts to narrate over their battle, and the footage was quickly switched to show the two narrators.


    ***


    They quickly entered the Champion Selection screen and Luocheng glanced at his team members, ¡°Show them what you¡¯re made of.¡±


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, Wu Sen, and Zhou Yan nodded. This time, they didn¡¯t pick any off-meta champions, they were playing their mains.


    Seeing the defending team choose serious champions, Jian Feng couldn¡¯t help but jump in anticipation.


    Team Skycrown were finally going to show their true potential. They had been training here for so long, it was about time they showed these regulars how a real LPL player played!


    ¡°I¡¯m not imagining things, right? They¡¯re actually playing their mains!¡± Next to Jian Feng, K stared wide-eyed at the screen in disbelief.


    K spent most of his weekends in Shanghai now, sitting and mindlessly watching Team Skycrown compete. He had hoped to be able to learn something from them, but he had never gotten the chance to see them play their main champions.


    But this time¡­ this time, his chance had come!


    He quickly fished out his phone to call that idiot Xu Ben, he knew that the latter would go crazy!


    Oh right, he didn¡¯t know if he could even make it all the way here from Hangzhou¡­ hehehe!


    ***


    Da Luo had the first pick, choosing top lane¡¯s Exemplar of Demacia, Jarvan!


    On the opposite side, Nine Days made the interesting choice of Jax.


    A smile tugged at the corner of Da Luo¡¯s lips as he saw Nine Days choose Jax!


    Playing Jax against me? Jax was one of Da Luo¡¯s best champions and he knew every strength that he had, but also every weakness.


    For the middle lane, Wu Sen sniped his beloved Dark Sovereign, Syndra, laning against Team Sunlight¡¯s Ahri.


    Syndra could zone out Ahri easily with her balls, this might be easier than they thought.


    Jungler Zhou Yan chose Olaf while the opponent chose the high mobility Spider Queen, Elise.


    When it came to burst damage, Olaf wouldn¡¯t lose to Elise, but his ganks were definitely not as good as the agile Spider Queen.


    Bottom lane was facing Bing Bing¡¯s Support and Scorch¡¯s ADC, and they chose the aggressive combination of Leona and Draven.


    Seeing the enemy choose Leona, Luocheng immediately went for Alistar.


    Alistar wasn¡¯t picked much in the sea of strong Supports like Zyra, Annie, Fiddlesticks, Leona, Thresh, etc., but against specific matchups, an Alistar could make a lethal impact on the enemy team.


    Most importantly, Alistar could hard-counter Leona!


    Luocheng was already undefeated when he played Support, and with an Alistar¡­


    It was starting to look like they didn¡¯t even need 20 minutes to teach this self-important Team Sunlight and their Fans a hard lesson.


    Lin Dong as the ADC chose the currently very popular Sivir.


    In all honesty, if Luocheng was supporting, Lin Dong could even play a Teemo ADC and everything would still go just as smoothly.


    However, since Luocheng had given orders to hold nothing back, he chose Sivir as he had been playing a lot of games with her recently. He would let his main, Ezreal, rest for a little while longer.


    Ah, it felt good! Lin Dong finally didn¡¯t have to 1 vs 3 his way through the bottom lane!

 Chapter 385 - Why Is This Support So Good?!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Their match was going to be streamed across multiple platforms, and with Team Sunlight¡¯s own popularity, streams like this could easily break a hundred thousand viewers. Now with the additional help of Boss Lei¡¯s media coverage, the total viewer count across every website would probably break two hundred thousand.


    Two hundred thousand current viewers and two hundred thousand views were two very different things. Since not every player was waiting in front of their computers at every hour of the day, most would just wait to watch the playback when they had the time, and if calculated that way, their video could easily surpass one million views without a hitch.


    Team Sunlight had always had a large following, but their fans had never had the chance to see them face off against another real team. Now with their fight against Demacia Cafe¡¯s defending team going live, every other career team in the country was giving it their full attention!


    ¡°This Team Sunlight is starting off the match by choosing non-meta champions so that they can boast even more if they win!¡± Team Stardust¡¯s Earth grunted.


    ¡°That Demacia Cafe has become pretty popular recently, some of my friends specifically went over to check it out,¡± Wind said.


    Team Stardust was currently participating in the Champion War, their popularity had taken a nosedive after they had been disqualified in the Spring LPL.


    Even though they had gotten last place in the last LPL, they could easily destroy this Team Sunlight with no problem. Earth didn¡¯t know what f*cking right these kids had to have so many fans!


    ¡°Were you guys watching just now? Didn¡¯t those guys from Demacia Cafe¡¯s defending team look familiar?¡± Fire asked.


    ¡°I think I saw that Wu Sen guy,¡± Wind said.


    When the camera shifted, Wind indeed saw Wu Sen standing among the defending team.


    LPL players like them would be gathered backstage before and after competitions, so most of them knew each other, and since Wu Sen was originally one of their members, they could recognize him as soon as the camera panned over.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Wu Sen still in that Team Skycrown?¡±


    ¡°Something doesn¡¯t add up, why do those people from the defending team look like the members of Team Skycrown!¡±


    Even though the clothes and general styling of Team Skycrown had obviously changed, unlike other LPL teams whom they had just seen through videos and streams, the two teams had met face-to-face before, so they had a pretty clear impression of what they looked like.


    It wasn¡¯t just Team Stardust, LPL¡¯s fifth place, Team Dusk, had also recognized Team Skycrown from their interview too.


    ¡°I never liked that Team Sunlight, let¡¯s hope it actually is Team Skycrown,¡± Team Dusk¡¯s leader said.


    ¡°Yeah, let them know just how strong we LPL teams are!¡±


    Hatred toward Team Sunlight has been brewing for quite a while, especially among the e-sports community, mainly because Team Sunlight shied away from matches with real LPL star teams like cowards, so nobody could testify how strong they were or weren¡¯t. Now, however, Team Sunlight had barged through the doors of Demacia Cafe, and lo and behold, the disappearing Team Skycrown was right there waiting for them!


    Everyone in the LPL knew exactly how strong Team Skycrown were, and even though they had been banned and disqualified from the LPL, their strength was still recognized and respected by their fellow LPL competitors!


    Almost every star team from the LPL were sitting in front of their screens, waiting for the show to begin.


    ¡°I wonder if Team Skycrown¡¯s skills have gotten rusty. They haven¡¯t made an appearance in so long and they haven¡¯t been in any competitions either,¡± Team Revelation¡¯s Hao Yue said.


    ¡°Team Sunlight is one of the above-average teams out there, if Team Skycrown loses, it will just boost their popularity even higher,¡± Qing Ye lamented.


    ¡°It¡¯s starting.¡±


    ***


    Word of the match had spread quickly through the country and many LPL stars were tuning in to watch the battle play out as well.


    In Demacia Cafe, the defending team and Team Sunlight had entered their respective lanes.


    Luocheng and Lin Dong made their way to the bottom and since no fights broke out before the minions spawned, Luocheng chose to upgrade his E-skill.


    Alistar¡¯s E-skill was a group healing skill, and even though the healing done was very limited, using this skill correctly in-lane could cause quite a lot of trouble for the enemy team. For example, if the enemy Draven wanted to farm a low-health minion, Luocheng could cast his E just as Draven threw out his auto attack.


    The minion¡¯s health increased rapidly and Draven¡¯s auto attack left the minion with just a small sliver of health, getting killed by a nearby enemy minion instead!


    Knowing how to use your E-skill like that could easily infuriate the enemy team.


    ¡°Upgrading your E-skill first, let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll die by level two!¡± Leona¡¯s summoner, Bing Bing, laughed coldly.


    The bottom lane was always dominated by whichever side hit level 2 first. The reason was simple, the side that reached level 2 first not only had the advantage in terms of health and runes, they would also have one ability more than the enemy. In the early game when both teams were almost equal in Defense, Health, Magic Resistance, and Attack, the team with an extra ability and more powerful runes had the clear upper hand!


    When Alistar reached level 2 and attained both his W-skill, Headbutt, and Q-skill, Pulverize, his prowess in battle would be unrivalled to the point that even champions like Leona, who gained an early power spike at level 2, wouldn¡¯t be able to compare. However, the opposing Alistar had gone for his E-skill first, so it didn¡¯t matter if Alistar chose to level up his Q-skill or W-skill, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to compete against a Leona with her EQ-combo!


    ***


    In high-level matches, the victor in the bottom lane was mostly decided by the respective Supports. Whichever side¡¯s Support took better care of vision, positioning, and etc., would be the side that would win.


    Bing Bing had been planning his course of action for when he hit level 2, but he soon realized that Alistar and Sivir were clearing minions much faster than their team. Even though Alistar¡¯s E-skill didn¡¯t heal much, the entire wave benefitted from the healing, effectively slowing Draven¡¯s clear-speed and causing the minion wave to push toward them.


    Needless to say, Luocheng and Lin Dong were the first to reach level 2.


    Upon hitting level 2, Luocheng took on a more aggressive stance, sticking close to the front of the minion wave, the threat of a barging Minotaur pushing the enemy team back.


    Bing Bing and his ADC had no choice but to stay on the defensive.


    Their retreat allowed Luocheng to swiftly gain control over the bushes with a pink ward placed strategically on the edge. This patch of grass was mine!


    Bing Bing and his ADC were on the blue side. Players who frequented the bottom lane should know, the combination of an Alistar hiding in the bush and the minion wave pushed so close to the turret would cause CS-ing to become incredibly uncomfortable. Having the threat of a minotaur rushing out to pin you to the wall looming overhead was not a great feeling!


    A W-skill against the wall resulted in a roughly 1 second stun, add that on to the 1.5 second stun from a Q-skill and that would be a total of 2.5 seconds of CC which was more than enough for them to score a kill during the early game!


    Bing Bing finally figured out why Alistar had levelled his E-skill first, he had wanted to push the minion wave in so that he could gain full control over the lane!


    ¡°This Support feels¡­ different, somehow,¡± Bing Bing mumbled to himself.


    A Silver or Bronze Support couldn¡¯t have orchestrated such an operation, or maybe he was just overthinking it?


    The minion wave was stalling at a bad position, so even after hitting level 2, Bing Bing still didn¡¯t dare to engage in a fight. As for throwing out his skills toward the troll Support Alistar, he didn¡¯t think that would do much as the defending team¡¯s ADC was still ridiculously strong.


    ¡°Luocheng, you¡¯re going to be level 3 soon, the enemy Leona has at least half an experience bar to go!¡± K said.


    Even K knew how to calculate experience now. He also knew that once they hit level 3, there was no way Luocheng wouldn¡¯t do something, otherwise, his arrangements in the early game to control the bushes would have been pointless.


    ¡°CS carefully¡­¡± Bing Bing reminded the ADC.


    But just as soon as the words came out of his mouth, that d*mned Alistar had already walked to the lowest edge of the bush!


    Team Sunlight¡¯s ADC Scorch had already been minding his positioning carefully, he was not about to give that Alistar a chance to knock him into the wall.


    But in the single second that Leona had lost vision of the bush, Alistar had made his way to the very edge, bursting out from the left corner as Scorch walked up to CS!


    Draven was unceremoniously pinned against the wall, fully exposed to the wrath of Sivir¡¯s Boomerang Blade!


    Lin Dong has good senses as well, following up on your Support usually meant predicting your Support¡¯s next actions ahead of time to be able to use your abilities immediately after.


    Seeing the b*stard Luocheng adjusting his positioning, Lin Dong was already on standby with his own abilities. As he watched the Glorious Executioner get knocked toward him, Lin Dong swiftly gave him a taste of his combos!


    Bing Bing saw the situation quickly take a turn for the worse and immediately rushed up to Sivir¡¯s face with an E-skill, but there was no way a level 3 Sivir hadn¡¯t upgraded her E-skill, Spellshield!


    Sivir blocked Leona¡¯s E-skill without a problem and continued to auto attack!


    ¡°BOOM!¡±


    Pulverize! Luocheng didn¡¯t give Draven a chance to Flash out, and the oh-so-dapper Draven had walked over to Leona to seek help, but that just allowed Luocheng to knock the both of them up with a single Q-skill!


    Alistar¡¯s Pulverize had an extremely tiny range of only 365 units and a lot of Alistar¡¯s usually ended up missing their abilities when chasing more than one target. Most of the spectators had been expecting the Q-skill from this troll Support to hit miles away from where it should have landed, but instead, they witnessed both Draven and Leona get knocked sky-high!


    This sort of crowd control was fatal because all Leona had to do was Exhaust Lin Dong and he wouldn¡¯t have been able to deal enough damage to kill their ADC, but now that Leona was flying along with the Draven, her abilities and summoner spells were still disabled, allowing Lin Dong to come in for the kill!


    Without any other option, Team Sunlight¡¯s Scorch used both his Barrier and Flash as soon as the CC duration was over.


    Bing Bing¡¯s Leona used her Exhaust on Lin Dong¡¯s Sivir as well, fearing that they might Flash forward to kill them.


    All at once, Team Sunlight¡¯s bottom lane had given away 3 very important Summoner Spells.


    ¡°Whoa, I¡¯m seeing this correctly, right!?¡±


    ¡°Why is the defending team¡¯s Support suddenly so good? Forcing 3 Summoner Skills out of Team Sunlight¡¯s bottom lane at level 3!¡±

 Chapter 386 - It’s Been So Long Since We’ve Had The Advantage!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Manager Duo Duo couldn¡¯t believe his eyes either, this Support must have been on steroids today! Compared to his previous trolling and feeding, he was fighting like a God right from the gate. The Q-skill that knocked up both enemy champions was just an example of the high skill he was showing, and most people would easily miss that ability.


    After that wave of shock toward the defending team¡¯s Support, another unbelievable scene was displayed on the screen.


    Bing Bing and Scorch hadn¡¯t gone back. Instead, they had hidden under their tower, waiting for their health to regenerate, not for one second thinking that the opposing team would dive them!


    And yet, they painfully underestimated the aggressiveness of Luocheng when he was playing Alistar. As Scorch moved up to CS, Luocheng Flashed right into the tower range, once again knocking up both Leona and Draven with the edge of his Q-skill¡¯s range of 365 units!


    Luocheng¡¯s Flash Q-combo was quicker than lightning, and even Lin Dong struggled to keep up, quickly throwing out a Boomerang Blade.


    But it wasn¡¯t enough, they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Draven like this, if only they could stun him for one more second to allow Sivir to throw out one more auto attack!


    Every member of the audience in the club was suddenly tense, this Flash Q-combo under the tower was too reckless. Alistar wouldn¡¯t be able to circle behind Draven to knock him out, an Alistar like that would surely be CC¡¯d by Leona and he would die without a doubt. Trading kills like this was pointless.


    But the people quickly realized that Alistar never had the intention of knocking Draven out. Instead, he walked below Draven, and with a single shove, Draven was knocked up toward the wall above Blue Side¡¯s bottom lane tower!


    ¡°Beautiful!¡± Lin Dong was ecstatic, rushing forward to auto attack the Draven who was pinned to the wall, chasing him under the turret, and by doing so, Lin Dong easily picked up the kill!


    First Blood!


    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡±


    ¡°You can do that!?¡± Feng Da and his Support, Fei, were amazed!


    The angle at which Alistar Headbutted had surprised and wow-ed everyone who had witnessed it. The original Flash Q-combo would have only caused a 1.5 second knock up, but because the ADC had been too far away, it would have been impossible to kill Draven. If Alistar had just cast his W-skill straight away, it could have saved the Draven instead, knocking him into the safety of his tower. Circling behind Draven was out of the question as he would be giving the enemy a free kill. Level 3 champions couldn¡¯t tank that many tower shots after all.


    Just when everyone had thought that the Flash Q-combo was a waste, Alistar had done something completely unexpected, knocking the Draven into the unremarkable shoulder of the wall, a place that was just far away enough to allow Sivir to be able to attack without getting within range of the turret!


    Extending the crowd control duration while also not accidentally knocking the enemy further away, Alistar¡¯s corner Headbutt caused the live audience to stare in awe, leaving the almost two hundred thousand viewers at home at the edge of their seats.


    Alistar knocking an enemy straight into a wall and then knocking them up with a Q-skill was the standard procedure, but throwing out a Q-skill first and following up with the most glorious play, who knew you could knock an enemy into a wall that far away¡­


    It was just like getting bored with the censored videos within the country, but suddenly stumbling upon a position you had never seen before! A different angle of attack, the same control and stamina, it was bound to get your heart pumping!


    ¡°Something is wrong here, is this really that troll Support?¡± Feng Da and Fei gave each other the same confused look.


    It wasn¡¯t as though Feng Da and Fei had never seen how bad the defending team¡¯s Support was. Team Sunlight¡¯s bottom lane duo should have had a clear lead, there was no way they could have let their opponents get First Blood at level 3!


    ¡°Is it because the match is being streamed? I¡¯ve heard that as soon as the game goes live, they will enter a hyper-focus mode. Maybe we should try streaming a game someday too,¡± Fei mused.


    Feng Da and Fei weren¡¯t the only ones scratching their heads, everyone else in Demacia Cafe was also in a state of shock!


    From what they had just seen, the Alistar should¡¯ve been praised as long as he didn¡¯t W an enemy away just as they were about to be killed, so how had he pulled off such a God-like move!? Did they change players?


    That couldn¡¯t be, it was the same bespectacled guy-slash-troll who was playing!


    ¡°Coincidence, it must¡¯ve been a coincidence,¡± Duo Duo thought to himself.


    Even after two months, Duo Duo still didn¡¯t know what Luocheng was really like. People sometimes made accidental plays in the bottom lane, and after throwing the game for his entire life, he deserved a small moment to shine even if he didn¡¯t do it on purpose.


    ***


    After pushing the minion wave in, Luocheng and Lin Dong were both level 4. They backed away to recall with their pockets full of gold and left the Leona to soak up the experience alone.


    Lin Dong retreated into the bush and as Luocheng took a look at the mid lane¡¯s minion wave, he gave up the idea of recalling. Instead, he walked through the river and tribush, past the Dragon¡¯s outcove and the enemy¡¯s Red buff, making his way to the mid lane!


    Bing Bing had thought that Alistar and the enemy ADC had already recalled, promptly doing so himself after clearing out the minion wave, but he didn¡¯t know that Luocheng¡¯s Alistar was already at their mid lane¡¯s Wraith Camp!


    It was 5 minutes into the game and the 180-second wards that Team Sunlight had placed were all basically gone, and since the two Junglers had faced off around the top lane not too long ago, the enemy Ahri had resolved to stay close to the bottom of the lane. That way, she wouldn¡¯t be easily ganked by the opposing Jungler.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in,¡± Luocheng told Wu Sen suddenly.


    As soon as he said those words, Alistar materialized behind Ahri, pushing the clueless fox into their minions with a Headbutt!


    Team Sunlight¡¯s Mid, Nimbus, hadn¡¯t been able to react before he was chain-stunned by Wu Sen¡¯s Syndra¡¯s E-skill!


    Alistar walked up, following up with a knock up from his Q-skill, and Ahri couldn¡¯t even Flash, staying CC-ed before finally dying!


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Nimbus, Team Sunlight¡¯s Mid, had been scared half to death!


    Their opponent Jungler had already given mid lane a terrifying gank, so Nimbus had already been on high alert, only letting his guard down when he saw the enemy Jungler appear on the map.


    But why the f*ck was this b*stard Support Alistar coming in from behind him!


    In the even earlier days of Season 2, an Alistar jungle had amazing lane presence, being able to easily gank with his W-skill. All his laners had to do was throw out a random CC skill and Alistar could follow up with his Q-skill, having a Flash wouldn¡¯t even matter!


    Luocheng¡¯s Support Alistar did a perfect reenactment of Season 2¡¯s Alistar ganks, and Team Sunlight¡¯s Ahri did not know how to react.


    You could have the best map awareness in the world, but could you f*cking defend yourself against a level 4 Support who decided to roam their way to mid?


    ***


    The Jungler, Zhou Yan, looked at the two assists Luocheng already had with resentment, pouting his lips slightly.


    This was what competitions with Luocheng were like. Sometimes, Zhou Yan felt as though Luocheng was the real Jungler, because if you weren¡¯t, why the heck were you roaming more than me!


    Another thing that annoyed Zhou Yan to no end was that since a lot of high skill-level players were very cautious of Junglers and the abundant cases of counter-ganking, Zhou Yan really couldn¡¯t get any openings to gank the lanes. But because no one expected Supports like Luocheng, ganking came easy, and his calls to gank had a 1000% success rate.


    Both kills in the game were because of Luocheng¡¯s Alistar, or rather, because he had created the perfect scenarios for his teammates to go in for the kill!


    Jaws were hitting the floor of Demacia Cafe.


    A player that knew how to roam and gank with such impeccable timing, was this still the troll Support they all knew?


    They must have been hallucinating! Their defending team¡¯s Support wasn¡¯t this good.


    ***


    With the gank being a success, Luocheng recalled on the spot to buy his items.


    Upon returning to the fountain, Luocheng decided to buy Boots early to aid in his future roams and used his remaining gold to buy a few Wards.


    A Support Alistar didn¡¯t need a lot of items. He could completely shut down the Leona with just a level advantage, not to mention, the experience from 2 kills gave him a huge lead in levels over the enemy ADC and Support.


    Luocheng bought his Boots, Wards, and Potions, subconsciously pressing the Tab key to check on his teammates and found 5 Red Potions sitting in Lin Dong¡¯s inventory.


    Luocheng controlled Alistar back to the lane, asking, ¡°Why did you buy so many health pots? I have heals.¡±


    The CS-ing Lin Dong stopped in his tracks, replying suddenly in frustration, ¡°F*ck, I got so used to playing at a disadvantage that I just bought that many without thinking! I¡¯m not used to starting out a game so smoothly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Luocheng was speechless.


    Lin Dong was frustrated as well. When he played with Xiao Ya, he had to keep in mind that he was in a 1 vs 3 lane, so he always came back to the lane with a stack of Health Potions. As long as he still had potions, he could stay in the lane longer to keep up in experience and gold, even if Xiao Ya was feeding her head off, he¡¯d still be able to heal up with his endless supply of potions while continuing to CS. He could make a comeback in the late game once he had gotten a few kills anyway.


    Suddenly with Luocheng as a Support, they had a clear lead, and with Alistar¡¯s innate healing, all he really needed was one potion just in case. However, the muscle memory was still in him, and that was a hundred over gold down the drain!


    Potions? With Luocheng¡¯s aggressiveness, a fight would always end in the death of either them or their enemies, there wasn¡¯t time for potions!


    ***


    Both Lin Dong¡¯s Summoner Spells were up and Luocheng still had his Exhaust. All their enemies had was Leona¡¯s Flash.


    Once he had warded back in their lane, Luocheng¡¯s Alistar was done playing nice.


    Using the extra Movement Speed from his Boots, Luocheng once again walked right up to Bing Bing¡¯s Leona.


    Bing Bing was stuck between a rock and a hard place, should he use Leona¡¯s abilities on the Alistar right in front of them or should he save them for the ADC!


    All he knew was that they absolutely could not fight in lane, Bing Bing was aware that Luocheng still had his crucial Exhaust up and Sivir still had her Shield, starting a fight now would be giving them two more free kills.


    And what if Leona engaged against an Alistar?


    That was a surefire road to death. Leona could use her E-skill to go forward, but Alistar could Pulverize her on the spot and then knock her back into the minions. The short-ranged Leona would only be able to sit there and take it as her two enemies laid waste to her.


    The Champion that didn¡¯t fear the wrath of Blitzcrank or Leona? The Minotaur, Alistar!

 Chapter 387 - Public Enemy Number One

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Haha, only 6 minutes in and they¡¯re already left cowering under the turret!¡± Earth from Team Stardust burst out in laughter.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s leader Alistar is truly aggressive, but this is really on Team Sunlight. So many teams to challenge and they just had to challenge Team Skycrown, even Team Sky was destroyed by the Fighting Hawk¡­ To be honest, I thought Fighting Hawk mained ADC, I didn¡¯t think he would be this good at Support too. I don¡¯t think we¡¯d be able to handle the engages and roams from this bottom lane combo either,¡± Wind said.


    As the LPL teams were recounting the events of the match thus far, similar discussions popped up in Demacia Cafe.


    Team Sunlight should¡¯ve had a clean victory against the defending team, but they were obviously falling behind even though they had previously claimed to be on par with the LPL star teams.


    Their bottom lane was hard-stuck under the turret, not even daring to step out to farm. This sort of situation didn¡¯t appear often in normal ranked games, but who would have expected it to happen in a professional competition, especially by the famous Team Sunlight!


    ¡°Remember to check the internet connection and power source, I hear that some teams like to kick out the internet and power whenever they¡¯re in a bad situation, don¡¯t give them that chance!¡± Jian Feng said, deliberately raising his voice.


    The members of Team Sunlight turned slightly pale!


    They had used this tactic once against a particularly strong team. Being beaten as badly as they were now, they were strongly considering pulling the same stunt this time as well so they could start a rematch, but they were found out.


    ¡°Hmph, the wires are all secured beneath the floorboards, they¡¯re safe!¡± Boss Lei replied coldly.


    Did you think Demacia Cafe was some dingy streetside cybercafe? Like hell would a top-end club like ours let you use such lowly tactics!


    ***


    10 minutes in and Team Sunlight had pretty much lost all 3 lanes.


    Wu Sen had solo-killed Ahri in the mid lane, the bottom lane was as good as empty, and Da Luo was proxy farming up in the top lane. Not much else was needed to be said, the skill gap between the two teams only needed ten minutes to make itself as clear as day!


    However, since they had promised to finish Team Sunlight in 20 minutes, Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to back down.


    After pushing through the bottom lane, Luocheng started decorating the enemy¡¯s jungle with wards.


    Luocheng was already a master ganker with Alistar, and with him and Zhou Yan roaming together, the mid and top lane were left to play the rest of the game in monochrome.


    Hiding under the tower was pointless, big daddy Alistar will extract you himself, taking your precious tower down right after taking your life!


    13 minutes in and Team Sunlight had lost all of their outer turrets while Team Skycrown had a over 7,000 gold advantage.


    With the Baron spawning in, Team Skycrown swiftly claimed it, pushing their lead even further, and after a quick Ace, they moved in to take down the Inhibitor!


    18 and a half minutes on the clock, Team Sunlight had a minute and a half left before they could surrender.


    In this one and a half minutes, maybe they could think of an excuse as to why they were beaten so badly in front of the public!


    When the Nexus was finally destroyed, the guests of Demacia Cafe couldn¡¯t react for a very long while.


    Their defending team had always had a hard time in previous challenges, sometimes having to hide at home while the semi-professional teams busted down the door.


    But today, they were like a completely different team, completely dominating their lanes and working together like a well-oiled machine, all of their shot calls were clear and effective.


    On the other hand, Team Sunlight obviously didn¡¯t stand a chance against the defending team in lane, neither could they keep up with the level of synergy the defending team had. Leona had had several instances of Flash ulting only for no one to follow up, Ahri had been dashing here and there into the enemy team only to get one-shotted instantly, and the viewers had completely forgotten about the top lane¡¯s Jax save for the occasional announcement when he had died.


    It felt like watching a bunch of kids get into a fistfight with a group of adults, they were completely and utterly outmatched in every way!


    The 5 members of Team Sunlight hung their heads low after the match ended.


    They were basically a second-rate career team, how could they have lost to some random team from a random cybercafe?


    The match was being streamed live too! That meant that all of their fans had just witnessed first-hand how they had been grinded into submission!


    ¡°Why did Team Sunlight lose so badly, they didn¡¯t even last 20 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they said they could easily fight the LPL teams and not many teams within our country could compete with them, especially not cause them to lose at 18, right?¡±


    ¡°Weird, Team Sunlight performed so well in the past, so why¡­¡± A fan of Team Sunlight said.


    Jian Feng let out a sigh, he knew the time had come and he stood up to say, ¡°I know you lot don¡¯t watch professional matches, but how could you be so clueless.¡±


    ¡°In professional games, all players know each others¡¯ playstyles and weaknesses, as well as every strength or shortcoming of their own champions. Their fights aren¡¯t only determined by who has better skills, but determination and psychological warfare are at play as well, all they need to do is to just see who makes the first mistake¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think that just because the top laner didn¡¯t go in when the enemy was low on health that the player is a wimp. It could be because he suspects that the enemy Jungler might be waiting for him to make a wrong move. All of them thought they were the best, that professional players are nothing more than noobs with a job. To put it simply, even if you get into Challenger rank, you probably still wouldn¡¯t even have the chance of facing the LPL pro players in-game, so don¡¯t naively assume that you can take them on 5 vs 5.


    ¡°Team Sunlight are a bunch of low-tier nobodies who bullies noobs on live streams and claim that they are pros, and yet, they can¡¯t even hold 20 minutes against real LPL players! Before, when they never tried with their all, you could spread your lies with full confidence, telling everyone that beating the LPL teams would be a piece of cake for players of their caliber, even going as far as to say that they should be allowed to participate in Worlds. But now you see, 18 minutes and they¡¯re gone!¡±


    Jian Feng¡¯s words rang loudly in the empty heads of Team Sunlight¡¯s fans.


    With reality smacking them right across the face, what else could be said?


    ¡°We¡­We just weren¡¯t playing as well as we could, LPL players have flukes too! So what if they won one game, you know how hard it is to make a comeback when the enemy team starts snowballing early!¡± Bing Bing maintained a dark expression, still choosing to fight even though their loss was anything but an accident.


    ¡°Yeah, every team has bad games.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so what? You¡¯re allowed to act high and mighty but they can¡¯t have a bad game? They¡¯re just not used to the keyboards and mouses here, that¡¯s all!¡± In the club, people were still blindly supporting Team Sunlight.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, Team Sunlight had been streaming for so long that toxic fans couldn¡¯t differentiate between strong and weak players when they saw them.


    Jian Feng couldn¡¯t take it anymore, these people must have had sh*t stuck where their brains should¡¯ve been. Regardless of how ¡°bad¡± of a game you were having, you still shouldn¡¯t lose before 20 minutes!


    Luocheng let out a laugh as he saw these clowns fighting for their idols.


    Luocheng stood up from his spot and walked over to Team Sunlight, saying, ¡°In a professional match, a win is a win, a loss is a loss. Without any sense of sportsmanship or stability in your own abilities, how are you going to enter the LPL or even represent our country in the S International League? Who the f*ck is going to give a sh*t when you claim to have had a ¡°bad game¡±?¡±


    Professional battles meant war, the end result would decide whether you would walk home in glory or in shame, it wasn¡¯t a children¡¯s playground!


    Luocheng felt more and more disgusted toward Team Sunlight, these sorts of teams shouldn¡¯t even be called career gamers, let alone the LPL and S League! They would just pollute the already unstable professional gaming industry!


    Tumors like this needed to be removed completely from the competitive scene!


    ¡°Okay, since you say it was a fluke, I¡¯ll offer you the chance at a rematch,¡± Luocheng said with a mixture of calm and fury, ¡°Our team will always be here, ready and willing to accept Team Sunlight¡¯s challenge, no matter how many matches you want, we will happily comply. As long as you last more than 20 minutes, we¡¯ll count that as our loss!¡±


    ¡°And also, from today onward, our Team Skycrown will accept challenges from any team in the country. Didn¡¯t you say that you were better than pro-players, than the LPL star teams? Now, I offer all of you the chance to fight against our LPL professional team. If you have the ability, I welcome you to try and defeat us. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯d like you to kindly shut up and stop spouting bullsh*t about how you¡¯re better than the other players in the competitive scene!¡±


    Luocheng¡¯s words were clear, and the camera crew shot a closeup of Luocheng¡¯s profile, soaking up every last word!


    His words swept through the cafe and all two hundred thousand viewers at home like a hurricane!


    Team Skycrown!


    Team Sunlight had been challenging Team Skycrown!


    Anybody who had watched the LPL would remember this team, the terrifying team that had ended their game with Team Sky with a combined kill count of over 100!


    They had disappeared for the good part of a year and people had thought that they had disbanded after being banned from competitions.


    Who would¡¯ve thought that they were hiding in a cybercafe, accepting challenges from various teams. Even more shocking was that the LPL killer, world-class player Fighting Hawk, was challenging the entire China LOL community!!


    From today on, Team Skycrown would accept a challenge from any team in the country.


    No team would make an absurd announcement like that including the LPL teams, because they had to manage their public appearances, they couldn¡¯t just show up in random competitions in a small club.


    But while the other LPL star teams were scared, Team Skycrown was fearless, they had nothing to lose!


    Having hidden in the shadows for so long, Luocheng knew that when he announced their true identities as Team Skycrown, the whole cybercafe would be stunned into silence!


    ¡°It¡­it really¡­it really is Team Skycrown¡­¡± Feng Da and his mates were going mad!


    Manager Duo Duo¡¯s eyes were about to fall out of their sockets!


    The troll Support that had taken refuge in his shop for over two months was the leader of Team Skycrown, the world-renowned player that had left Team Sky a bloody, mangled mess!


    Oh my god! Duo Duo was about to faint!


    ¡°Boss Lei, Boss Lei, can you explain what¡¯s going on here? How is it that your defending team is the Team Skycrown that had shocked the world during the LPL!?¡± The hostess was exhilarated by this turn of events.


    The hostess had originally thought that Mr Lei had paid them to just come over for an interview, who knew there was such a big scoop waiting for them! E-sports had risen dramatically in terms of internet popularity, breaking news like this was going to go viral!


    Boss Lei quickly straightened his back and controlled his expression.


    In all honesty, Boss Lei himself had been shocked by Luocheng¡¯s provocation as well.


    Didn¡¯t they agree to only announce Team Skycrown¡¯s identity?


    Go ahead and announce it all you like, but why challenge literally every LOL team in the country!? Demacia Cafe was going to be the public¡¯s enemy number one! Luocheng, how could you¡­ how could you be so amazing!!! This sort of viral news was exactly what I¡¯ve been waiting for!!!

 Chapter 388 - Declaration of War!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Boss Lei was over the moon!


    What Demacia Cafe wanted was the coverage and popularity. With Luocheng¡¯s arrogant challenge toward the entire nation, countless teams would be ticked off, and even more would be interested to witness with their own eyes the strength that LPL players could demonstrate. They would surely travel miles and miles to pay a visit to Demacia Cafe.


    With a stunt like this, the cash was going to go rolling into Boss Lei¡¯s pocket, his Demacia Cafe was going to be packed!


    Without any drama, grudges, or revenge, how else were they going to get their big break? Even Boss Lei was becoming a fanboy of this charismatic leader!


    ***


    ¡°Whoa, what the hell is Fighting Hawk doing!?¡± Team Stardust who were watching the interview live were shocked by Luocheng¡¯s words.


    What kind of LPL professional team would simply accept challenges from any and all teams!? It didn¡¯t just devalue their real competitions, but they also risked exposing their true battle tactics and skills. Weren¡¯t Team Skycrown afraid that their strategies would be studied forward and back, causing them to be easily countered by the people from the LPL?


    Every other professional team had the same thoughts, no normal human being would do such a thing!


    ***


    ¡°He¡¯s so ballsy, if it were me, I probably wouldn¡¯t have the guts.¡± Team Revelation¡¯s Hao Yue gulped hard.


    Bai Feng was having heart palpitations of his own, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the interview on the screen.


    This guy was crazy.


    However, after that 100 kill count match in the LPL, he was probably the only one in the country who had the right to say things like that!


    ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t Fighting Hawk being a bit too much? This was a challenge against our titles as LPL stars as well,¡± Qing Ye said.


    Bai Feng shook his head, ¡°He¡¯s pioneering a path for us.¡±


    ¡°Pioneering? What do you mean?¡±


    Bai Feng understood. Luocheng was challenging non-professional players, especially those that messed with the public¡¯s perception of them just because they played video games as their job!


    Professional players inherently needed a lot of self-control. They would need to follow certain rules and abide by strict restrictions, after all, not just anyone who played well to get into the ranks of a challenger could call themselves a professional. This was what a lot of LPL players couldn¡¯t stand. Their country didn¡¯t have a clear divider to differentiate between professionals and non-professionals, and so, a lot of players abused this to claim they were more than they were, frustrating the true professionals.


    But now with Luocheng challenging every team in the country, this was an obvious attack against non-professional teams, he was going to start a revolution for LPL teams starting at the Demacia Cafe!


    He was spreading the message, if you had the guts to come and challenge them, he would show you what true professional players were really capable of!


    ***


    ¡°Whether he is stepping on the League community¡¯s nerves or trying to create a new future for e-sports, doesn¡¯t he understand that he shouldn¡¯t show his entire hand so quickly? Hmph, this kid is just asking to be taken out,¡± Team Sky¡¯s Guang Langjie laughed coldly.


    Team Sky had only recently heard of the news, quickly rushing to turn on the stream. Unfortunately, they had missed Luocheng¡¯s riveting speech, but from what they had heard from others, they knew Luocheng had reached the peak of idiocracy.


    Netizens weren¡¯t ones you wanted to provoke. The more arrogant you were, the more you would be hated, and a lot of times, professional players who were just a tad too confident or ¡°boastful¡± for these netizens would suddenly be on the headlines, being flamed!


    ¡°So what? It¡¯s good news for us, no one is going to try defending their team now!¡±


    ¡°How about we mess with them a little, knock them down before they can get up?¡± Sun Liang suggested slyly.


    The ACE signed contracts with all of their players. Spouting nonsense like this all over the media, straight up challenging every other LOL team in the country, it was definitely against the guidelines, and Sun Liang was thinking that they could take this opportunity to make a trip to the ACE Headquarters to report this incident!


    Xu Pingyang¡¯s face turned a steely green as soon as he saw Luocheng¡¯s face on-screen. After listening to what Sun Liang had said, he immediately phoned the ACE¡¯s Head Secretary.


    ¡°Hey, Liang? Did you see the interview at Demacia Cafe just now?¡± Xu Pingyang said through the phone.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m watching it right now,¡± ACE¡¯s Head Secretary said.


    ¡°A professional player openly accepting all challenges from all local teams isn¡¯t that great, right? If people start spreading news about how e-sports professional players think so little of your average player, we would be forced to come out and explain ourselves, maybe we should give him a little fine or something as a warning,¡± Xu Pingyang laid the kindness on thick in his voice as he didn¡¯t want the Head Secretary to know that he had it out for Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Xu Pingyang, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know the situation Fighting Hawk is in.¡± ACE¡¯s Head Secretary let out a long sigh, he was obviously aware of the rocky history between Xu Pingyang and Fighting Hawk.


    ¡°What situation?¡± Xu Pingyang asked.


    Now, almost every professional player was under ACE¡¯s unified management. There wasn¡¯t any team that could entirely tough it out on their own, rules were rules after all. Moving forward, players officially recognized by the ACE were probably going to be the only ones who could truly take on the title of a professional player.


    This was why, even though Team Skycrown had yet to join the ACE, if they wanted to participate in a competition held by Tencent, they would still have to apply for it through the ACE. This meant that the ACE still reserved the right to dish out punishments for misbehaviour.


    In conclusion, Xu Pingyang¡¯s report had no effect, and he begrudgingly put down the phone.


    ***


    On the ACE¡¯s side, the Head Secretary was staring intently at his computer, the same interview being shown on the screen.


    ¡°Mr. Liang, are we really just going to let him get away with this? He¡¯s still a past participant in the LPL, to some degree, he still represents the LPL as a professional player. This overwhelming arrogance that he is displaying could undermine all the effort we¡¯ve put in thus far to create a good reputation in the public¡¯s eye regarding e-sports,¡± the female Vice Secretary said.


    ¡°Xiao Qing, there¡¯s much that you still don¡¯t know. Fighting Hawk is quite a¡­ special player, and there¡¯s not much we can do to reign him in,¡± Secretary Liang said.


    ¡°How is he special? Isn¡¯t the entire purpose of our association to manage e-sports professional players like him?¡± The vice president pursued.


    ¡°Fighting Hawk isn¡¯t ours to manage, his banning and punishments are to be handled by the International E-Sports Federation,¡± Secretary Liang said.


    Xiao Qing was stunned. This was the first time since she had held this position that she¡¯d heard of something that they couldn¡¯t handle at the ACE, something that had to be settled by the International E-Sports Federation themselves!


    Since when did their country have this sort of player!?


    ¡°Also, him doing this isn¡¯t necessarily destroying the professional sector. Haven¡¯t we been looking for a way to have a breakthrough in our industry? However reckless it may be, him issuing a challenge like this might be just what we need. Rather than letting those messy media platforms toy with us, why not take a firmer stance, why not show them our true potential, why not let them kneel before us?¡± Secretary Liang said.


    ***


    Back at the Demacia Cafe, Luocheng¡¯s speech had sent waves of shock, fear, and excitement through the crowd!


    An LPL player, and none other than the world-renowned Fighting Hawk who was famous for his bloody match against Team Sky!


    More than a few people had thought that their defending team shared some similarities with Team Skycrown, but they didn¡¯t think an LPL-level team would plant their roots defending an open competition in some cybercafe. Who would¡¯ve thought that it really was them!


    ¡°Wow, they really are legends! Oh my gosh, I can¡¯t believe I get to see real Gods in the flesh!¡± A pretty lady who came by to drink coffee often was ecstatic.


    ¡°I know right, they¡¯re so hot! Especially when that guy was challenging everyone like that!¡±


    ¡°I thought you said Bai Feng was hot?¡±


    ¡°Bai Feng is too uptight, I like them a little on the wild side with more authority! I¡¯m going to get his number later!¡±


    A group of girls who had come for the coffee and League started chattering like magpies, gesturing wildly and jumping out of their seats. Others who knew a bit more about competitive LOL still hadn¡¯t recovered from their state of shock.


    They could barely believe that the troll Support they had been flaming for the past two months was actually the globally ranked Fighting Hawk!


    These past two months, he must have been intentionally increasing the game¡¯s difficulty as the leader to give his teammates the chance to train properly, so he was playing with only one hand¡­ no, one foot, deliberately creating a 4 vs 6 situation!


    Team Skycrown, these teams were little more than ants beneath your mighty reign, your leader shouldn¡¯t force you to try so hard!


    The regular customers were equally as excited, being in such close proximity with such God-like figures for so long and yet not having a single clue!


    Team Sunlight¡¯s brain-dead fans were all deadly silent. Team Skycrown was a real LPL team, and against a team as strong and powerful as them, Team Sunlight really was a grain of sand in Team Skycrown¡¯s mighty kingdom!


    Ending at 18 minutes, that was the leader Fighting Hawk showing you mercy, if he wanted to, he could torture you in a never ending game with over 100 casualties!


    ***


    Team Sunlight¡¯s Bing Bing was flabbergasted, staring open-mouthed at Luocheng!


    Thinking back to the competition between Team Skycrown and Team Revelation, if they took the glasses off this kid, this troll Support really did look like the world-class Fighting Hawk!


    What the hell!


    Team Sunlight had specifically tried to find a cybercafe to build up some popularity, stir up some news, but they just had to encounter a real f*cking LPL team, and none other than the most controversial Team Skycrown!


    They had claimed to be on par with LPL professionals, but they knew very well that they still had a long way to go before being on the same level as those in the LPL.


    Being beaten in 18 minutes had not been a coincidence at all!


    ¡°Hey, so are you still going to play? We¡¯ve already told you that we¡¯ll accept any and all challenges, just try and make it past 20 minutes this time!¡± Da Luo barked a laugh at Team Sunlight.


    Nine Days and Bing Bing didn¡¯t dare talk back. In all honesty, if they were against Team Skycrown, they had no confidence whatsoever. Even if they did agree to a rematch, it was highly unlikely that they could even reach 20 minutes!


    The stoney expression these two had told Team Skycrown and their fans everything, they were through!

 Chapter 389 - : Godlike!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°So what, you think you¡¯re all that just because you got into the LPL? You¡¯re still stuck in this rat hole of a cybercafe as lowly nothings, you¡¯re a joke!¡± Team Sunlight¡¯s Nine Days burst out in anger.


    If they couldn¡¯t beat them with their skills, they would beat them with their words. After all, nowadays, cyber society was all about flaming your opponents. It didn¡¯t matter whether you were in the right or wrong, as long as you were the one who yelled louder or had more followers, it wasn¡¯t as though you could be held responsible. Team Sunlight knew that they still had this advantage, they knew how to use the hearts of the masses to turn against people, and most of all, they knew that people flocked toward drama, hatred, and anything that was popular. If they could stir up a big enough drama, their defeat would be quickly swept under the rug, with the headlights turned to how a famous LPL team were now only able to bully others in a small cybercafe, which would in turn make them the laughing stock of the century!


    Bing Bing and his team knew that things weren¡¯t looking good for them, immediately changing their game plan and spitting toxic words out as fast as a machine gun, acting as if they had been in the right all along.


    Da Luo couldn¡¯t take it anymore, standing up to retaliate with a tongue just as sharp as theirs!


    There was no way the host could air this scene, and so, she quickly got the cameras to turn to face some curtains and made a solo conclusion of that day¡¯s events.


    ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that the infamous LPL stars Team Skycrown have been holding down the fort here at Demacia Cafe! Most of us have probably only had the liberty of seeing these summoners play through the screens of your computers, but if you become a member of Demacia Cafe, you¡¯ll have the chance to spectate their matches in-person!


    Much more convenient than spectating the big competitions! Also, don¡¯t forget, Team Skycrown is now accepting all challenges against them, if you think you have what it takes, come on over to Jing An, Shanghai¡¯s Demacia Cafe! And that¡¯s a wrap for today, I¡¯m your host Ting Ting, see you guys next time!¡± Ting Ting kept her smile on until the cameras turned off.


    The crew were basically done for the day, splitting smiles with yellowed teeth showing on their faces, giving an ¡°OK¡± to Ting Ting and completely ignoring the altercation between Da Luo and Team Sunlight!


    After all, all they wanted was content, anything other than that they could brush off completely.


    ¡°Team Sunlight, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve embarrassed yourselves enough? Why are you still here stinking up the place with all the bullsh*t you¡¯re spouting.¡± Feng Da had had enough.


    Feng Da had originally thought that Team Sunlight was a team with integrity and skill unlike regular LPL teams, but seeing their actions today, Feng Da was absolutely disgusted.


    You got GG¡¯d by 18 minutes, and yet, you still had the gall to stand there arrogantly. If it were him, he would be looking for a hole to hide in forever!


    ¡°Yeah, you were tortured like animals, so why are you still here spreading your bullsh*t. If you want, you can go another round right now. Like our leader said, once you get past the 20 minute mark, you win, but can you last that long?¡± Mao piped up too.


    As a LOL enthusiast, you could have your doubts about any team from any cybercafe or district, but with Team Skycrown, all you could do was bow down before their power!


    Their defending team was Team Skycrown, Feng Da, Mao and the rest of them still couldn¡¯t believe it!


    Your third-rate Team Sunlight couldn¡¯t even start to compare with LPL-level teams like Team Skycrown!


    The people of Demacia Cafe were still more than ecstatic, they weren¡¯t going to let these five dogs keep barking in the presence of their Gods. Feng Da was quite popular in the cafe himself, and with him taking the lead, everyone else followed suit, directing their fiery rage against Team Sunlight.


    Team Sunlight had to be insane. This wasn¡¯t the internet, did they really think that there were as many blind followers in the audience?


    Everyone had seen it with their own eyes. The leader had even offered you unlimited attempts at challenging them, giving you the win if you could last 20 minutes!


    They relied on their strength, and this strength was exactly what had impressed their fans, but as for you, other than boasting and creating more drama, what else was your Team Sunlight good for?!


    The shouting started out as a jumbled mess, but slowly, order was found within them. Xiao Duo Duo took on the role of a conductor, ¡°Sunlight trash¡± with a raise of his hand and ¡°disappear¡± as his hand lowered!


    ¡°Sunlight trash, disappear!¡±


    ¡°Sunlight trash, disappear!!!¡±


    Bing Bing, Nine Days, and the rest of Team Sunlight were on the verge of exploding, the guests really had to commend them for still being able to stand under the wave of poison that was being sent their way.


    It was like those fights kids got into, if they couldn¡¯t win, they¡¯d just sniff back their tears and turn to leave, muttering along the way, ¡°Just you wait, just you wait!!¡±


    That was exactly what Team Sunlight was doing, looking as though they¡¯d be back for revenge, but that was just an act to save some face and the last few shreds of dignity they had.


    When going to watch a football match live, a peculiar phenomenon would occur. A large majority of people weren¡¯t going for the game itself, but rather, to flame the teams. Anger like that was infectious, and even if you were a person of high integrity, even if you had had a good education and a pleasant upbringing, you would still unknowingly get swept up by the waves of anger from the bleachers, releasing your inner demon and shouting swear words you didn¡¯t even know you knew.


    Demacia Cafe was still one of the better high-end cybercafes. Company managers and bosses from the city gathered here, but they were yelling all the same, and then they would use the football phenomenon as an excuse for their behaviour.


    I have class, I have integrity, it¡¯s just that those people were too despicable and wicked, amen!


    Seeing Team Sunlight get forced out of the cafe by the unending voices of rage, Luocheng had a shocked expression on his face.


    To be honest, he hadn¡¯t expected the people at the cafe to be so protective of him and his team.


    But, like, sure, go ahead and flame them. However, why was there a sort of artistic echo at the end of every ¡°disappear¡± with a very rhythmic ¡°yeah disappear!¡±


    I get that you¡¯re really passionate and I¡¯m thankful, but did you really need a beat!?


    ***


    ¡°Haha, Mr. Leader, you¡¯re really something!¡± Mr. Lei gave Luocheng a big thumbs up.


    The main reason people came to Demacia Cafe was because they just liked it here. When their defending team was up against a team from another cafe, they probably didn¡¯t really hope for their team to lose, but the fame and popularity of Team Sunlight had blinded them and clouded their judgement.


    However, as soon as Team Skycrown stepped up next to Team Sunlight, the truth quickly made itself clear. Most people had some form of rationality, and they knew what it meant to be an LPL team, add that on to the 18 minute torture fest and badass declaration against the entire country from their leader!


    Comparing them both, Team Sunlight¡¯s Nine Days and Bing Bing really looked like a steaming pile of sh*t.


    ***


    Once the mob had successfully chased off Team Sunlight, they all came huddling around Team Skycrown!


    ¡°I totally called it! I figured out those guys were Team Skycrown ages ago, but you lot didn¡¯t believe me. Look, that¡¯s the Lone Gull whose Jax defeated the number one Renekton player!¡± A teen pointed at Da Luo.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I wonder who was the one who said that he could hold up in lane against the defending team¡¯s top lane!? Screw you!¡± His friend looked at him in disgust.


    ¡°F*ck, and you guys said the defending team¡¯s Support was trash, why don¡¯t you go 1 vs 1 against him now!¡± The teen, Qiu Guang, was upset as well, retaliating back.


    Those words hung boldly in the air, and everyone, including the manager, Xiao Duo Duo, had relentlessly mocked and berated their defending team¡¯s Support. Some people had even created a Support fan group, coming into the cafe daily, chomping on sunflower seeds and drinking tea, not to see how well Da Luo or Lin Dong played, but to watch what new tricks the Support could use to troll this time!


    But now, tears fell from their eyes once they learned the truth. Don¡¯t even think about solo-ing him, the host Bao Jun had once announced on the LPL that this guy was the God-like figure who had almost destroyed Blood Eagle in a 1 vs 1!


    ¡°I knew from the start that this guy was playing with his feet!¡± Feng Da slapped Qiu Guang over the head, laughing as he did.


    Qiu Guang glanced sideways at Feng Da, biting his tongue to keep him from saying things he wouldd regret. D*mn it, he wondered who was the guy that came to watch the troll Support no matter rain or shine, and who was the one who laughed the loudest whenever the Support made a mistake. Really, you never knew what grovellers people could become when they wanted to!


    ***


    ¡°Say, do you take apprentices? I¡¯m really talented! I got to Gold rank in only about three thousand games, can you teach me how to play Lee Sin!¡± a college-aged student with thick-rimmed glasses said.


    ¡°Hehe, do you mind carrying girls? I like going to the bottom lane, we can play together before midnight, and we can even play together after midnight~¡±


    ¡°Can you take a photo with me? My classmates on WeChat are going to be so jealous.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been hard-stuck in Platinum 1, I can¡¯t seem to get to Diamond, can you guys give me some pointers? All my buddies are getting to Diamond, I¡¯m the only one left, it¡¯s kind of embarrassing.¡±


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t even gotten the chance to sit down before he was bombarded with questions and requests, all 5 of them couldn¡¯t keep up.


    Furthermore, when there were cute, bubbly girls giggling in their ears, suddenly, the bad taste that Team Sunlight had left in their mouths was gone!


    You try having a sweet-smelling beauty whisper into your ear, ¡°I wonder if your LOL skills are as good as your skills in other¡­ activities?¡±


    Oh my God, blood was rushing right up to their heads!


    Luocheng had heard rumors that the wealthy women and young ladies in the cafe were actually really lonely and also, very open. He hadn¡¯t expected those rumors to be true. What was that phone number, f*ck, can you all just shut up for a second and let me write down this girl¡¯s number!? One¡­seven¡­two¡­and then¡­d*mn it¡­who¡¯s ugly face was that!? It scared me so bad I forgot the rest.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s on the house today, okay? Remember to keep coming back to our Demacia Cafe! Whenever our resident Gods have a competition, I¡¯ll be sure to notify you all through text and WeChat!¡± Boss Lei boomed in confidence.


    Everyone cheered even louder after hearing Boss Lei¡¯s announcement. It was originally just an interview, but now, it had become a free party!


    It had been a while since Team Skycrown had eaten a decent meal, city center cybercafes were really something else. High-class parties like this were just a dream for them before this.

 Chapter 390 - A Test of Endurance!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There were two ways you could gain notoriety.


    You could, one: Collect it little by little, or two: Burst out so suddenly that the world would go silent just to see what you would do next.


    Team Skycrown had always been part of the latter, from the start of the season and the LPL up until now.


    They didn¡¯t play to slowly grind up and eventually become better. No, they played for the adrenaline rush of winning a game!


    During their six-month long dormancy, countless media outlets had reached out to interview the banned Team Skycrown, but the latter had disappeared without a trace. Just as the legend of the 100-kill Team Skycrown had been about to fade into history, they caused yet another tidal storm like this!


    The low-profile cautious Team Daemons would never do something like this, they were too busy with practice.


    Team Revelations loved stuff like this, too bad that some of the bad behaviour from their members had shifted public perception of them, plus they were infamous for taking money that wasn¡¯t theirs.


    But the recently revived Team Skycrown had always had an air of mystery surrounding them, and with their bold announcement to the media, what shocked people was the complete lack of backlash from the larger online community.


    Well, there were some people who had some nasty thoughts that they decided to share, but they were quickly buried by words of praise and support.


    Jian Feng had been paying close attention to the reactions toward the video, realizing that the netizens were stacking on comments like crazy!


    ¡°Did you know, only 70 percent of the comments are negative!? It looks like Luocheng did a good job this time, the popularity we¡¯re going to gain from this video is definitely going to help us re-enter the LPL!¡± Jian Feng exclaimed.


    ¡°Um¡­ 70 percent are negative comments? Jian Feng, are you sure it¡¯s not 7 percent?¡± Luocheng grimaced.


    The video already had a couple thousand comments, if 70 percent of them were negative, didn¡¯t that basically mean that they were all freaking negative!? With over two thousand comments attacking him, Luocheng didn¡¯t dare look at it! Thinking back to what he had said, he hadn¡¯t been all that arrogant, he had just said that he would accept any challenges that he received.


    ¡°Dude, you don¡¯t understand what the Internet is like these days. Only 70 percent of the comments flaming you is already pretty tame, alright! You haven¡¯t seen the comments under the videos of some female streamers, the horrors they have to go through¡­¡± Jian Feng said.


    Luocheng¡¯s face twitched slightly. He kept having this nagging feeling that Jian Feng¡¯s use of the word ¡°only¡± was a bit too much. Was he supposed to find comfort in the fact that there were still 30 percent of the commenters who supported him? He wasn¡¯t that egotistic, was he!?


    ¡°This is just what the internet has turned into, a public platform for open discussion. The people who usually comment are basically just those who enjoy flaming other people for the hell of it, so basically, the comment function attracts roughly 50 percent of the people who think negatively of the product, while only about 25 percent of the supporters spend their time leaving a comment. So, a good video or TV series has roughly 75 percent of its comments being negative, but somehow yours only has 70 percent, meaning that this video is about to go viral, and in a good way!!¡± Jian Feng explained passionately.


    Jian Feng¡¯s words had Luocheng¡¯s jaw dropping to the floor. There were these f*cking types of calculations involved!? So did that mean that his radical and controversial speech had actually gained the support of the people?


    Oh, whatever. You can flame as much as you want.


    If he hadn¡¯t made a clear distinction on what needed to be divided, Luocheng felt as though there would still be something weighing heavily on his chest.


    Luocheng still remembered the early days of Counterstrike and Starcraft tournaments when most locals were just average players from around the country. Back then, these entertainment companies organized small competitions between some of their top players to battle against the Korean professional players.


    The local contestants in the competition had lost very badly, and it was then that they had really realized the difference between them and the real professional players!


    It was after that crushing defeat that people within the country started treating e-sports as a growing industry and career option. A few pioneers had even invested their own money to hold the first e-sports competition in the country, and after that, they started seeking financial support from various sponsors.


    These pioneers included old veterans like Li Tuchuan who had grown alongside e-sports.


    It was too bad that only a small handful of the first pioneers were able to continue on the path they had created. The rest had been pressured by family,work, or financial needs into giving up on their dreams.


    LOL players had it better. They could use the rules passed down from DOTA, Counterstrike, Warcraft III, etc. as soon as they entered the industry, but the ones who had LOL as their first entrance into the world of e-sports didn¡¯t know the struggles and hardships that those before them had had to go through in the 10 or so years prior to LOL¡¯s conception. They didn¡¯t know the blood, sweat, and tears that had been spent in making sure that China¡¯s e-sports was just as good as the rest of the world.


    After much suffering, the Chinese e-sports industry was finally blossoming under the rise of LOL. As he had experienced all the pain the e-sports industry had had to go through first-hand, he didn¡¯t want to see the next generation of e-sports revert back to its previous state.


    Since he wanted to get into the LoL Professional League, to get into the World Tournament, how could he not give back to the industry that he and so many others were so passionate about?


    What did it matter if there were a few negative comments here and there? Before they had gotten into Worlds, there were even more anti¡¯s who had mocked and ridiculed Team Wings, but they had been silenced when Team Wings had managed to stand on the international stage!


    Luocheng was going to make this 70 percent of people eat their words!


    ***


    Following Luocheng¡¯s media explosion, many more people came forward in hopes of watching these masters in action or to take on Team Skycrown themselves. Every weekend was especially busy for the Demacia Cafe!


    The first challengers were teams from around the Shanghai area. Of course they were upset about Demacia Caf¨¦¡¯s monopolisation over cybercafes here in Shanghai, but all they had to do to win back their customers was to beat the infamous Team Skycrown. The media would definitely love such a turn of events.


    Waves upon waves of challengers came crashing down onto Team Skycrown during the weekend and soon, Luocheng and his teammates were exhausted from all the matches. They had had to play seven games in a single Saturday, and there were still more queuing behind them.


    Team Skycrown took on another eight games on Sunday, they were really playing day in and day out to the point that even their lunch breaks were cut short.


    Boss Lei didn¡¯t think that the endless barrage of challengers were good for Luocheng and his team. High-stress games like the ones they were playing would tire anyone out, and if they overdid it, their reaction speed and decision-making abilities would surely deteriorate.


    Money was obviously a good thing, those challengers really didn¡¯t seem to care about the one two titans thousand yuan they had to spend, Boss Lei was happy, but he didn¡¯t want to completely wreck Team Skycrown¡¯s bodies!


    ¡°Let¡¯s cancel tonight¡¯s challenges. You guys have been playing all day, you must be tired,¡± Boss Lei said.


    ¡°Nope, we¡¯re good. We¡¯ve already issued our challenge so we¡¯re not about to go back on our words. What are we, a joke?¡± Da Luo was the first to decline Boss Lei¡¯s offer.


    ¡°Yeah, we could never find good training dummies before, and now, they¡¯re walking right up to our doorstep, with decent quality too!¡± An ear-splitting smile crossed Lin Dong¡¯s face too.


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t say much, he just sat there continuing to play. Similarly, Wu Sen was downing the free unlimited coffee to keep him awake.


    Team Skycrown really was ridiculously strong and not a single team could measure up against them. However, games like LoL also had a luck factor into which side would win. With Team Skycrown taking on almost twenty teams a week and having to maintain a 100 percent win-streak through it all, it wasn¡¯t a test of skill and strength anymore, it was a test of Team Skycrown¡¯s physical and mental endurance!


    After a single weekend, the five players of Team Skycrown were completely drained. Returning to their small apartment, they could barely even get properly undressed before falling face-first onto their beds for a well-deserved sleep.


    Facing a computer screen for 10 or so hours a day all while having to focus on the happenings of the game, they weren¡¯t playing around for the enjoyment and thrill any longer. Now, they were going through torturous training in order to improve.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some supper, just in case they wake up hungry.¡± Meiqi felt sorry for the five young men as she stood over their exhausted bodies.


    When she had first gotten into e-sports, Meiqi truly believed that being a professional player came with plenty of glory. You could earn the adoration of the public and all you had to do was play a few games and participate in some tournaments. What she hadn¡¯t realized was that behind all that fame and glory were sleepless nights spent practicing after doing the same thing all day.


    But still, if others worked harder than you, how were you going to beat them?


    Did you really think you could become a professional player just because you played a few random games against noobs everyday? You would just be kidding yourself, after all, you were only playing the game as a game instead of treating it like a battle where your life was on the line.


    One day, they would get what they had worked so hard for.


    ***


    ¡°Jian Feng, you¡¯re up early.¡± Lin Dong had crawled out of bed to go to the toilet and saw Jian Feng designing a website in the living room with his laptop open in front of him.


    As Lin Dong walked closer, he was shocked when he saw the two dark circles under Jian Feng¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Sh*t, you didn¡¯t sleep?¡±


    Jian Feng let out a soft laugh, ¡°I wanted to get your public platform up faster. This is our own website, it has 47 videos of us against other teams. I¡¯ve only uploaded videos that I think won¡¯t show too many of your skills and battle strategies.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t our leader say to just upload whatever? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re worried about people seeing our strategies and stuff,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not that great, right?¡±


    ¡°What are you scared of? Let them analyze us, they¡¯ll be helping us find holes in our strategies, that way, we¡¯ll be able to perfect them and face any challenges ahead of us with ease,¡± Lin Dong said confidently.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll put some of the more interesting ones in a highlights reel, just so people who want to see our team¡¯s special flair won¡¯t get bored watching us match up against noobs,¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re a computer science major, right?¡± Lin Dong asked Jian Feng.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Jian Feng scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He slightly regretted not paying more attention in university which forced him to look through his old books just to make a basic website. ¡°I don¡¯t have apps like Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, or Fireworks, if I did, the whole process would be much more simple.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy, I¡¯ll jailbreak them for you,¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Dude, jailbroken ones aren¡¯t great, a lot of functions will be missing¡­¡± Jian Feng said.


    A smirk crossed Lin Dong¡¯s face, ¡°I promise it¡¯ll be exactly the same as the real thing.¡±


    Lin Dong took Jian Feng¡¯s computer and plugged in his own USB, and shortly afterwards, all three applications appeared on his desktop.


    Jian Feng quickly clicked into them, realizing with a start that all three were indistinguishable from the paid versions.


    Some rich kid in class had bought these three apps saying that it had cost him almost ten thousand. Jian Feng didn¡¯t have any extra money, he couldn¡¯t afford luxuries like those, and so, he was stuck using the crappy free sites that he managed to find online. But now, all three apps were waiting for him in his harddrive, it was a dream come true!


    ¡°Br¡­bro, h-how did you do that!? You have to teach me! If I sell these to those kids in computer science, I¡¯ll be rich!¡± Jian Feng exclaimed.


    ¡°Hell no, I¡¯ll be dragged to prison because of you. Remember, no telling anyone about this, just use it in secret yourself. If other people ask, just say you bought it yourself, don¡¯t say I got these for you,¡± Lin Dong reminded.


    Jian Feng suddenly remembered what Da Luo and the others had said, that Lin Dong was a hacker. Jian Feng hadn¡¯t thought too much of it, he thought that hackers couldn¡¯t really do much, only now did he realize what an expert hacker Lin Dong was! He was on his knees bowing down to his new-found God, your humble follower can not repay you for your miracles and blessings, please, take this wilting chrysanthemum instead.

 Chapter 391 - : MSN Infighting

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng walked out yawning, and upon seeing Lin Dong¡¯s reaction, he asked, ¡°Nothing will happen, right?¡±


    ¡°Nah, people everywhere on the internet are jailbreaking things, as long as I don¡¯t sell it to people to make a profit, it¡¯s not like that woman is going to be monitoring my computer or the computers near me twenty-four-seven,¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Luocheng nodded, suddenly furrowing his brows after processing Lin Dong¡¯s words, ¡°You said that woman was monitoring your computers and the computers near you?¡±


    Lin Dong understood what Luocheng was implying immediately and rolled his eyes into the back of his head, ¡°Do you think the internet police use P2P? They¡¯re not going to check our downloads or activity on PirateBay!¡±


    ¡°I just¡­ hehe.¡± Luocheng laughed dryly.


    They were men, they had their privacy. Luocheng had really thought that there was some woman monitoring them from a remote place while their group of young men were busy complying to their bodily needs. How weird would that be!


    You should know that because Li Meiqi had moved in with them and their computers were all placed in the living room, these boys had had to take their laptops and hide in their rooms whenever they wanted to watch something just to avoid any weird, unintended encounters.


    ***


    The prize money continued to snowball and Boss Lei was as happy as a clam seeing all these people send themselves into the jaws of defeat.


    The higher the prize, the more people it attracted, and even more people were coming with the intention of becoming the victor.


    The rule was that whoever was the first to win against Team Skycrown would get the money. There wasn¡¯t a team under the sun who could maintain the legend of being undefeatable, after all, there were a few top-tier players in Shanghai who were gunning for the bounty that Team Skycrown had.


    Team 71 T2 couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and had faced off against Team Skycrown during the weekend. The former had actually played against Team Skycrown back during their practice competition, and the score for the two matches had ended up as a 1 to 1.


    However, after a year of growth and development, both teams had undergone some major changes, but still, Team 71 T2 didn¡¯t stand a chance under Team Skycrown¡¯s vicious attacks. Even though they did marginally better than most of the other teams and were able to make it past the twenty minute barrier to surrender, Team 71 T2¡¯s five players had ended the game with a grimace, being tortured in-game for 24 minutes wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience.


    On Team Skycrown¡¯s side, they felt rejuvenated after the intense match. Being able to play with professional teams was always a delight, the fights where every second and action counted, where even planting a single ward could mean life or death, where a thousand abilities could fly overhead during a team fight and yet, everyone would be able to escape with the smallest sliver of health left.


    Basically, by fighting with Team 71 T2, Team Skycrown was finally able to feel a little more satisfied with their game. If some other teams from the LPL were to show up, Team Skycrown would be even happier, they wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the rules about inviting LPL teams.


    Of course, other than accepting challenges in Demacia Cafe and playing ranked, Team Skycrown had also just gotten new computers and they were going to play a 2 hour invitational match as training when the crowd had died out slightly in the afternoon.


    Invitational training matches like these were chances for Team Skycrown¡¯s power to really shine through, and a lot of their more advanced tactics used to whittle down the enemy were only viable in games like these.


    Their training partner? The one and only Taiwan professional team¡ªTeam Mango!


    Team Mango was also a new professional team from Taiwan. They weren¡¯t all that well-known, but there were two famous e-sports players in their lineup, both friendly past rivals of Team Wings.


    There had been many friendly clashes between the two teams, and apart from Team Skycrown fighting with Team Mango, members from either team would also play together with each other. Team Mango had a lot of connections within the e-sports community, mainly from the two famous professional players in their team. Usually once it hits 2pm, the professional player MSN group chat created by Team Mango would start to get a lot of traffic, varying *Min Languages would be shouted back and forth, and then came the bets on practice matches for some extra change.


    Of course, the teams added into the MSN group were those that weren¡¯t as bad to be around, plus, with a high-profile e-sports player like Bai Hu as the makeshift ¡°leader¡± of the group, the few that wanted to stir up trouble wouldn¡¯t even get the chance.


    They couldn¡¯t deny, professional Taiwanese teams were incredibly strong. Team Skycrown had hung out with that bunch for almost half a year¡¯s time and their losses outnumbered their victories, their win-rate wasn¡¯t even at 50 percent. If the people back home found out about it, they would instantly become a laughingstock.


    But at the same time, their low win-rate also clarified the immense strength of the teams in the group, true diamonds in the rough!


    Most afternoons were filled with proper training matches, a battle between two opposing teams, more serious than other matches, and to ensure that they didn¡¯t leak their strategies, most games were done anonymously.


    Most of the time, everyone was on MSN playing against each other, it was quite a fun time.


    Team Skycrown had gotten quite familiar with everyone in Bai Hu¡¯s group, Team IFKU, who was their most common training partner. With a name like, you didn¡¯t need a brain to figure out that Team IFKU was probably the alternate name for some super-strong Taiwanese team.


    The day ended with two of their usual training matches and Team Skycrown was just about to go offline when their opponents held them back.


    ¡°Hey, China boy, lend us your Support for a bit,¡± a guy named Xiao Zhuai said.


    Xiao Zhuai was the Jungler of Team IFKU and also their leader. Through all their encounters on the rift, Team IFKU and Team Skycrown were pretty close to the point that they would even randomly borrow some people from Team Skycrown to fight other teams.


    ¡°Again? It¡¯s 500 per match,¡± Luocheng replied. Things like politeness and courtesy were far behind them.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you 500!¡± Xiao Zhuai said cooly.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking RMB here, don¡¯t give me your Taiwanese crap!¡± Luocheng shot back.


    500 NTD was only worth 100 RMB, Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to lose out on money like this.


    Team IFKU¡¯s Xiao Zhuai was your classic troublemaker, always provoking other teams and placing bets for one reason or another.


    Teams playing against each other for private bets was a little frowned upon by Taiwan¡¯s E-sports Association, so it was mostly just a few members teaming up to fight within their social group, but most likely one or both of them just didn¡¯t have enough money for cigarettes.


    ¡°Enough talk, are you gonna play or not? I¡¯m telling you there are gonna be a bunch of pros in this game!¡± Xiao Zhuai said.


    Luocheng gave it a thought. He hadn¡¯t participated in one of these matches in quite a while, and he had heard stories about how some of the new guys weren¡¯t giving their due respects. Someone should teach them a lesson or two.


    ***


    Gaoxiong, Taiwan.


    Five men in their boxers were huddling in the heater-warmed hall of an exquisite apartment complex.


    There were two rows of computers in the hall, it was basically a miniature cybercafe.


    The hall was a little messy, but overall quite clean, it would probably look better if there weren¡¯t wisps of smoke circling the room.


    ¡°You son of a-, if you want to smoke, get out!¡± Suddenly, a lion¡¯s roar came booming from outside the hall¡¯s entrance.


    Xiao Zhuai looked over with a singlet on his back and a cigarette in his mouth, freezing up for a second before quickly putting his cigarette out, acting innocent.


    Unfortunately, his gang of friends were already pointing in his direction, and the woman who had just burst in through the door looked at him like she could kill him with just her glare.


    Xiao Zhuai laughed dryly, ¡°There won¡¯t be a next time, old hag.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a f*cking cad, call me that one more time and I¡¯ll put your little plaything in my next soup!¡±


    Xiao Zhuai typed out a ¡®haha¡¯ before replying to the girl in front of him, ¡°I got that kid to come out, get Huo Ma to come over.¡±


    ¡°Which kid?¡± the raging girl asked.


    ¡°That leader from China. Huo Ma didn¡¯t believe that he was as strong as people were making him out to be, so tell him to get his sorry self over here so he can find out for himself,¡± Xiao Zhuai said.


    ¡°He¡¯s talking with Bai Hu. I¡¯ll call him over, but a clash between China boy and Huo Ma, it¡¯s going to be quite the fight, right?¡± the lady said.


    ¡°Probably. Actually, I¡¯ve been playing on the Mainland servers for a couple of months now, I¡¯ve looked up a couple of the better Supports in the LPL, but I can¡¯t seem to find one that matches him¡­¡± Xiao Zhuai said.


    Teams in the MSN group chat were anonymous, no one knew which teams were which, their team, Team TPB had only found out that these guys were from China by talking to them.


    But even after scouring through exhaustive lists of China teams, none seemed to include information about them.


    Especially the Support from China boy¡¯s team, he was a right legend. Xiao Zhuai himself was the Jungler from one of the two stars of Taiwan, Team TPB. The number of players that he thought were worth remembering could be easily counted on one hand, and that was in the entire world, not just Taiwan and Mainland China.


    After playing against this China boy¡¯s team, Xiao Zhuai had realized that this China Team was really, irrefutably strong. They wouldn¡¯t be able to beat them if they didn¡¯t try hard, especially their leader, he was a real pain in the behind!


    Now, basically everyone knew that this China Team had an off-meta Support with particularly strong skills to back up his quirkiness, but as the number one Support of Taiwan¡¯s rising star Team TPB, Huo Ma hadn¡¯t been too happy when he caught wind of another up-and-coming Support player.


    Someone could play the Support role better than him?


    Huo Ma wouldn¡¯t believe it since he was the one who had been awarded the title of Best Support in the S International League¡¯s top 8. If you had told him of a better Support from Korea, he would be forced to face the facts since Korea¡¯s Team Xi¡¯s Support, An Luoxuan, had performed spectacularly during the finals, so much so that even Huo Ma had been in awe. But these kids were spreading word of a particularly good Support from China, awareness, shotcalling, play-making, all just as good as himself, and this enraged Huo Ma to no end!


    He had mained as a Support for 30 years, all to become the world¡¯s number one Support! Yet, he had ended up getting absolutely outclassed by Modek¡¯s Support during the S International League, and just as he was recovering from that upset, out of nowhere, this China boy from Bai Hu¡¯s MSN professional player group chat pops up to irritate him further!


    ¡°Where is he, where¡¯s this little sh*t!? I¡¯m going to beat him so hard he¡¯s going to run back crying to his mama!¡± Huo Ma stomped into the hall, shouting all the way.


    ¡°He¡¯s online waiting for you.¡± Xiao Zhuai pointed at the computer next to him.


    ¡°Who did you invite to the match?¡± Huo Ma sat on his seat, realizing the foreign ID¡¯s in their lobby were a jumble of English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese.


    Of course, Huo Ma didn¡¯t bat an eye at this combination.


    The people from Bai Hu¡¯s MSN group were basically masters of the game recognized by the legend, Bai Hu himself. Who knew, maybe there were a few globally ranked pros from Korea and America!


    Each one of them had bought a name change, did they think he was an idiot!


    Huo Ma quickly entered his account and password, entering the premade lobby.

 Chapter 392 - A Game of Chicken Among Gods!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Skycrown would usually head over to Demacia Cafe after their training matches. Not many teams would come to challenge them during the day, and so, 4 pm to 6 pm was free time for them to train.


    Da Luo and Lin Dong had gone off to duo queue, the both of them hard set on getting into the top 30 of Ionia.


    Wu Sen was playing ranked on the NA server while Zhou Yan was on the Korean server. Luocheng would usually go on the Korean Server or one of their local servers to try out new tactics on his smurf account ¡°Trolling No. 1¡±, but since Xiao Zhuai had invited him to play today, that was what he was going to do.


    The matches between teams in Bai Hu¡¯s MSN group were quite intense with a lot of back and forth between godly teams, Luocheng always enjoyed the feeling.


    ¡°Mr. Leader, you¡¯re going to play ranked on the Korean server?¡± Manager Duo Duo brought over a warm cup, smiling widely as he talked to Luocheng.


    After the incident during their interview, Duo Duo¡¯s attitude toward Luocheng had taken a complete 180. He had used to call Luocheng a troll on a daily basis, but upon finding out that Luocheng was that world-renowned player, he was just one step away from kissing the ground Luocheng walked on.


    ¡°Just playing an in-match with some friends,¡± Luocheng said.


    After taking a sip of the drink given to him by Duo Duo, Luocheng glanced sideways at the shopkeeper who was still standing beside him.


    Luocheng rolled his eyes hard, he knew what these business people were after, ¡°Show it, there should still be a couple of people here.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡± The manager¡¯s face lit up.


    The room for the VIP teams at Demacia cafe was in its own glass-enclosed space with a door to enter and leave to keep random guests from getting in. Duo Duo was going to link their computers to the big screen in the lounge to allow their excited fans spectate.


    Now, there were quite a few gamers who didn¡¯t have anything better to do during the day, always waiting for Luocheng at Demacia Cafe, waiting for him to start playing and put on a show.


    Xiao Duoduo complied with the wants and needs of his customers, after all, Team Skycrown¡¯s presence was Demacia Cafe¡¯s biggest selling point.


    As the leader, Luocheng didn¡¯t really allow others to view his personal games, however, today was a rare occurrence, just as a little fan service for the guys who had stayed just for him.


    ¡°Weird, why is it all in Traditional Chinese?¡± After a long wait in the lounge, Feng Da was the first to question the background of the match.


    Feng Da was truly one of most loyal customers of Demacia Cafe, no matter what time of the day it was, chances were you¡¯d find him hanging around the place. It was almost as if he didn¡¯t have a day job or something.


    ¡°Yeah, what version is this?¡± a girl in formal attire and gold-rimmed glasses asked. The lady obviously worked somewhere close to the cafe, coming in to have a coffee and chat whenever she was free, and also to see what Team Skycrown was up to.


    Duo Duo was stunned as well, this was his first time seeing LoL in traditional Chinese, and giving it a bit more thought, Taiwan was probably the only place in the world where this version was used.


    So this meant that Luocheng was playing on the Taiwanese server!


    ¡°It¡¯s the Taiwan server, Mr. Leader is playing on the Taiwan server!¡± Duo Duo said hastily.


    Feng Da and the four or five other regulars lit up, it was their first time seeing the Taiwan servers!


    They had already heard of strong players from Taiwan, and a few of the die-hard LoL enthusiasts were beyond excited! Today was a lucky day, not only were they able to catch a game by the legendary Luocheng himself, but it was also a game in Taiwan!


    ¡°Leader Yu! Who are you playing with!?¡± Feng Da shouted toward the glass enclosure Luocheng was sitting in.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know them either, they¡¯re from an anonymous MSN group,¡± Luocheng answered.


    As he was talking, a gamer with the ID ¡°Huo Ma¡± in traditional Chinese entered the game.


    With everyone here, the host, Xiao Zhuai, started to find a match.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this Huo Ma, it sounds familiar,¡± Feng Da said to no one in particular.


    ¡°Oh, who cares, just keep quiet and watch.¡±


    The people on Luocheng¡¯s team were separated into the Jungler ¡°Xiao Zhuai¡±, Top ¡°III¡±, read as ¡°Third Gen¡± or ¡°Gramps¡±, Mid ¡°Death¡¯s Dance¡±, and Luocheng¡¯s ADC, ¡°Mirage¡±.


    The ID¡¯s of Luocheng¡¯s opponents were mostly familiar to him too, undoubtedly some other members of the group chat, and Luocheng guessed that the enemy¡¯s Jungler was ¡°Call me Daddy¡±, proving that he was one of Taiwan¡¯s top Junglers.


    Call me Daddy and Xiao Zhuai were infamous rivals and most bets were led by those two.


    Both Team TPB and Team TPG were extremely strong teams, the only teams from Mainland China who could even hope to stand up against them were Team Daemons and Team Revelations. It was a shame that the two teams from Taiwan had gotten into the global top 8, but neither Team Revelations nor Team Daemons were able to get in. On the global ranks, Team TPB and Team TPG had ranked much higher than any other local team.


    The gang that played with Feng Da followed news about professional players closely, and they got goosebumps when they saw the ID Huo Ma.


    Huo Ma?


    Could it be Team TPB¡¯s Support? The one that had gotten the award of Best Support during the S International League???


    If it really was him, this little match wasn¡¯t just for fun and games, this was a battle between Gods!


    ¡°Today is going to be great! Guys, look, I did some research on a couple of Taiwanese teams, that Godly Support from Team TPB is called ¡°Huo Ma¡±, our Leader is going to get it this time, queueing in a match with Taiwan¡¯s Support God, and they¡¯re on opposing teams too!¡± Mao excitedly shoved his phone in Feng Da¡¯s face.


    This was a once in a lifetime chance! The few of them were jumping in their seats, staring unblinkingly at the screen even before the minions had started to spawn, almost as if even the starting items of Gods had a special meaning behind them!


    ***


    In the far north of the ice-covered Moscow, a brown-haired, dark-skinned Russian boy was doing push-ups in a fireplace-warmed room.


    This was Fischer¡¯s habit, before a game of LoL, he had to do 30 push-ups just so he could keep his body warm. Rumor had it then he even did so backstage during the S International League.


    At his side, a man in a big featherdown jacket was nursing a warm cup of tea. ¡°Is the punching bag ready?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a boxer, not a punching bag,¡± The muscly Fischer got up from the floor and took his seat in front of his computer, pulling a large animal-fur jacket over himself.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Jacket Guy raised an eyebrow and took a look at Fischer¡¯s screen, ¡°There¡¯s a good player in the game? A Korean?¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re talking about China and Taipei, this, this, and this aren¡¯t too bad, the rest are either saving their strength or aren¡¯t playing their main roles,¡± Fischer pointed to ¡°Xiao Zhuai¡±, ¡°Call me Daddy¡±, and ¡°Number 1¡±, and then let his gaze fall on the guy called ¡°Huo Ma¡±.


    ¡°Huo Ma? Isn¡¯t that that godly Support Zyra guy? Looks like you¡¯ll actually have to try this game, otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to recover from bottom lane¡¯s disadvantage,¡± Jacket Guy said.


    Fischer just shook his head in reply.


    ¡°What, your side¡¯s bottom duo is strong as well? Which professional team are they from?¡± Jacket Guy asked.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the ADC should be USA¡¯s Harry, I don¡¯t know where the Support¡¯s from, though. From what W-Tiger has told me, he¡¯s a pro-player from China. Pretty decent, always with some weird trick up his sleeve to turn the game,¡± Fischer said.


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too out of the ordinary. All your players are from that group of yours, they¡¯re not going to try too hard since they don¡¯t want to expose their true identities, so him making good plays while you guys are playing safe isn¡¯t that strange,¡± Jacket guy said.


    ¡°Then sit next to me and watch, some things you just can¡¯t hide,¡± Fischer said.


    Jacket Guy laughed, ¡°Bro, if you¡¯re giving him such high praise, I¡¯m going to give up my chance to snatch some fresh hot pizza and watch.¡±


    Fischer gave a small smile in return, ¡°This Chinese guy may be a bit off-kilter sometimes, but when he starts getting serious, even you would have a thing or two to learn from him.¡±


    ¡°Okay, if you disappoint me, you owe me a slice of pizza. You should know, your boy Ivan is an important part of the second place European Team, I am very easily disappointed.¡±


    Fischer gave an empty laugh, eyes focused on his screen and buying mid lane starting items.


    Fischer had been in Bai Hu¡¯s MSN group for quite some time now. He had picked out a random name in Traditional Chinese and kept to his tactic of not speaking so that the others wouldn¡¯t find out where he was from.


    There were a bunch of people who didn¡¯t talk in their group chat. Sometimes people would call for a fight in Traditional Chinese, and then retype the invitation in English. Everyone followed this unspoken rule and no one tried to dig for the identity of others.


    ***


    ¡°China boy, you¡¯d better play seriously. The enemy team is pretty good, don¡¯t make us lose too hard.¡± A string of Traditional Chinese was followed by Xiao Zhua¡¯s ID.


    ¡°Got it, they have Huo Ma, how can I not be serious?¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve figured it out?¡± Xiao Zhuai asked as if he was shocked.


    Luocheng sat in the Demacia Cafe with censor bars filling his head. The two words, ¡°Huo Ma¡±, were literally right in front of him, did Xiao Zhuao really think he couldn¡¯t f*cking read Traditional Chinese!?


    Luocheng had been waiting for the chance to face off against Huo Ma. With an opportunity like this falling right into his lap, Luocheng was going to give it his all to try and take down the number 1 Support!


    Receiving the title of Best Support during the S International League, this guy was internationally known!


    Actually, Luocheng knew very well that besides Huo Ma, there were probably a lot more globally-ranked players playing under an anonymous guise. Everyone had masks and disguises on, and everyone was the best of the best among professional e-sports players, the burning desire to win in each of them showing itself even during their level 1 fights!


    They needed to hold back their true power so that they wouldn¡¯t be recognized, but they also needed to use that power to defeat international-level opponents who were at the same level as themselves.


    A smile tugged at the corner of Luocheng¡¯s lips, it looked like this was a game of chicken among the Gods of LoL.


    ¡°I¡¯ve watched so many of your guys¡¯ videos, I¡¯ll figure you guys out!¡±


    Luocheng was conjuring up ways to create a life or death scenario to lure out the real identities of the players of this game. Only under the immense mental stress of these situations would these sly scums of the earth rip off their protective bandaid and show their true potential, the truth will be exposed!

 Chapter 393 - Hooked On The Game!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The Taiwan server was already on Season 4, whereas back on the mainland, it would probably take a couple more months.


    These professional players had a certain degree of understanding toward the NA servers and they were already quite accustomed to the Season 4 changes, trying out new builds and strategies for the new season as well.


    The biggest changes for Season 4 were probably regarding Wards, Top Lane, Jungle gold and Support items.


    No matter how good Luocheng¡¯s ADC was, how troll his Jungle went, how fiercely his Top played, or how badly his Mid fed, nothing could change the fact that Luocheng was born to play Support.


    During Season 3, the Support role had been absolute trash.


    After forcing out a Sightstone, Luocheng still couldn¡¯t fix the weird scaling issues that Supports had, instead, hauling onto himself the entire responsibility of warding and gaining vision.


    Back then, the sentence ¡°I¡¯ll fill, but no Support!¡± floated around most ranked games.


    F*ck you, you called fill but then you f*cking reject Support!? Why call fill then, really! Out here acting as if you can play any role given to you! (To all my friends who have said this in-game, go face a wall and think about what you¡¯ve done, your Crazy Uncle is hella judging you!)


    And you can¡¯t forget the conversation of ¡°Go, go, we can fight!¡±, ¡°But they have 3 people, we only have 2!¡±, ¡°Since when did a freaking Support count as a person!?¡±


    Season 3 Supports, all your tears and pain will be remembered.


    Under those harsh conditions, Luocheng had really tried his hardest to think up ways to let Supports shine, to show his team what Supports could really do, even though Supports were squishy champions with low health and could easily get taken out in one shot if he took a single misstep. Luocheng felt that the Support role couldn¡¯t truly show off his inner demon most of the time.


    But now, Supports were making a comeback!


    Whether it was Relic Shield, Spellthief¡¯s Edge, or Ancient Coin, all of these could provide a substantial amount of gold for the Supports. From mid to late game, many Supports could even rival Junglers in terms of tankiness, and those who couldn¡¯t had their chance to shine by one-shotting the enemy squishies instead!


    All in all, Luocheng was very, very, happy with Season 4, it was as though it had been made specifically for him!


    ***


    Huo Ma was playing a Thresh Support.


    Season 4¡¯s Thresh still maintained its spot as the top pick among the Support lineup. Ridiculously long Crowd Control effects, strong peeling abilities, an engage that could not be rivalled, and a super slow from his ultimate to help attack or retreat, not to mention his lantern being one of the best tools to help engage and disengage¡­


    According to the statistics from the American server, Thresh had long maintained his title as the highest win-rate Support, all the while continuously sustaining his position in the top 10 most played Champions in LoL, and this in itself already showed how strong this Champion was.


    Luocheng really liked Thresh himself, too bad he was picked by Huo Ma. Luocheng took a good hard look at the rest of his team and picked one of the weirder Supports, even for his standards.


    Just for this choice alone, Feng Da and his friends all showed the same confused expression.


    ¡°Feng, I¡¯ve only hit level 20, but even I know that Ashe isn¡¯t a Support, right?¡± said the girl with the notebook.


    ¡°Um¡­ We just can¡¯t understand this sort of high-level play!¡± Feng Da said awkwardly.


    Regulars of the Demacia Cafe knew that Luocheng didn¡¯t play standard Support champions, and the one time he did was when he played the somewhat unpopular Alistar against Team Sunlight. So when Luocheng picked Ashe, Feng Da and his friends didn¡¯t even bat an eye. Honestly, they would find it even more odd if Luocheng didn¡¯t pick some weird champion.


    A guy known to the people in the cafe as Daisy piped up, ¡°Feng, how do you play an Ashe Support?¡±


    The kid was thin and lanky and the buff guys in the cafe liked to tease him, but they were also oddly protective of him, that was basically the origin of his name.


    ¡°Just shut up and watch, will you!¡± Feng Da didn¡¯t know the answer himself.


    Since it wasn¡¯t a proper match, none of the players were all that serious during the champion selection, but you could probably already tell by seeing Luocheng pick an Ashe Support.


    Luocheng had previously tried a Support Ashe during Season 3, and there was only one word for it ¡ª Garbage!


    When he got to Season 4, Luocheng discovered a new way to play Ashe as a Support. He had tried it out a couple of times with decent results, and the number of times he was called a troll in Ionia had dropped dramatically.


    Their ADC was Ezreal while the opponent¡¯s was Caitlyn. Luocheng didn¡¯t know who this Ezreal was, but whoever it was certainly matched up to Asmodai.


    For Runes and Masteries, Luocheng put 9 points into Defense, and the remaining 21 points were put into Utility.


    Gold income was very important for a Support Ashe, not so she could deal damage, but to make sure that she could do her job right. Luocheng brought an Ancient Coin to the lane so that he could gain an extra 3 gold whenever a minion died near him.


    Not much happened in the bottom lane during the early game, Luocheng used Ashe¡¯s long range abilities and auto attacks to keep Thresh¡¯s health low, deterring him from engaging in a fight. Huo Ma wasn¡¯t in a hurry with Thresh either, if he hooked them he hooked them, but it didn¡¯t matter if he missed either.


    This was the sort of integrity all professional players should have, no matter how many grudges you held against your opponent, you should never be blinded by rage and only go in when the time was right.


    Both sides farmed quietly until level 6, and then it was obvious that a fight was about to begin.


    ¡°Thresh is at level 6, be careful!¡± Luocheng pinged Danger on the enemy Thresh, warning his ADC that the enemy Support was very likely to engage them.


    Their ADC¡¯s name was in Traditional Chinese, Mirage, but he had never said anything in Chinese in the group, so it was tough to say whether or not he really was Taiwanese.


    Mirage started to move his Ezreal closer to their tower, but as soon as he turned around, Huo Ma¡¯s Thresh climbed out of the nearby bush, forming a 45 degree angle with Ezreal.


    This angle and positioning was the sweet spot for champions with hooks, because most people would instinctively step back, causing the angle of the hook to almost become 0 degrees. A hook at 0 degrees on a fleeing enemy was basically a sure hit!


    Luocheng used his W-skill, Volley, to apply a slow on the Thresh and Caitlyn, but it was still apparent that Ezreal was in a tight spot.


    Mirage didn¡¯t panic, even turning back to use his abilities on Thresh as he continued retreating.


    Finally, Thresh threw out his hook. Mirage seemed to be anticipating this moment, and using his E-skill, Arcane Shift, he blinked toward Luocheng as soon as Thresh started his animation.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Something wasn¡¯t right, Thresh hadn¡¯t thrown his hook directly toward Ezreal, instead, he had aimed for Ashe!


    A redirected Q-skill!


    This was the highest level of mastery one could achieve when using a linear skillshot!


    As LoL players get progressively better at the game, skills like Blitzcrank¡¯s Q-skill, Thresh¡¯s hook, as well as Lux and Morgana¡¯s Q-skill binding would miss their targets more and more. After all, these skills had a very clear path that they followed, as long as you knew how to position yourself to walk out of these abilities, it was highly unlikely that you would get caught by them.


    So, how would one be able to hit these skillshots?


    Number 1, your abilities had to be sudden!


    If you were playing Blitzcrank, you can¡¯t just cast your W-skill to rush toward your enemies. Unless you were able to force them into a corner, there was absolutely no way your opponent wasn¡¯t going to dodge your hook.


    Smart players will realize that as soon as your Blitzcrank stops, a Rocket Grab will follow soon after. If they were able to anticipate an ability, the chances of you hitting with the said ability would decrease dramatically.


    This was why the element of surprise was extremely important, you shouldn¡¯t allow the enemy any time to react. If they were to see a hook flying toward them, most would have to rely on their reflexes and muscle memory to Flash out of the way. Compared to when they were anticipating the ability, they would have a much longer reaction time, allowing your abilities to find their mark more often, and Lux players mainly relied on this to land her Q-skill on the people in-lane.


    Number 2, the art of redirection!


    Let¡¯s go back to the Blitzcrank example, you¡¯re all amped up with your W-skill speed boost, charging toward the enemy ADC, so the enemy Support will obviously react accordingly to protect their ADC.


    Time your actions wisely and then let your hook fly out in a different direction. Give up the thought of hooking the already anticipating ADC and instead, focus your efforts on the clueless Support!


    This was exactly what Huo Ma was doing!


    This really caused Luocheng to lose his marbles, someone should give this Huo Ma an Oscar! His aggressiveness in the early game, hitting level 6 early, and then a play like this, Luocheng was shaken to the core.


    Originally, this hook was extremely likely to hit Luocheng, Huo Ma¡¯s intentions were clear, Luocheng¡¯s Ashe was his target all along since Ashe didn¡¯t have any form of escape.


    Coincidentally, Mirage had used Ezreal¡¯s E-skill to blink toward Luocheng in order to dodge Thresh¡¯s hook, ending up exactly at the tip of Thresh¡¯s hook¡­


    That is to say, he blocked it for Luocheng!


    Seeing Mirage¡¯s Ezreal get dragged over by Thresh who followed up with his E-skill and Ultimate, Luocheng could only stand helplessly to the side, pointlessly trying to damage the enemy laners with his icy arrows.


    An Ashe Support did not fare well against hard-engage Champions like Thresh.


    Luckily, Mirage still had his Flash, and with both his Barrier and Flash, Ezreal managed to escape under the turret with only 100 or so health left!


    ¡°Target Acquired!¡±


    A red line appeared in the air, connecting right to Ezreal who was still under the tower.


    Suddenly, Luocheng¡¯s Ashe and Mirage¡¯s Ezreal were like Romeo and Juliet, running toward each other in fear that they may never meet again!


    ¡°Block it! Leader, block the ulti!¡±


    Daisy was pumping his fists!


    Feng Da and a couple others were still stunned by Thresh¡¯s magnificent Q-skill, but in the blink of an eye, Ezreal and Ashe were dancing around each other like ants on fire!


    This was the time when Ezreal and Ashe should be filmed under a slow-motion camera, maybe add the Titanic theme song into the background too¡­


    ¡°I can make it.¡± Luocheng quickly moved his mouse to position himself.


    But suddenly, Thresh was right in front of Ashe! Huo Ma had Flashed toward Luocheng and then used his E-skill, Flay, to shove Ashe aside!


    Luocheng had almost been in line with Ezreal, but a single Flay from Thresh had ruined their entire plan!


    This short distance was already too much, and Luocheng could feel Caitlyn¡¯s sniper round encased in flames whizz right past his ear!


    ¡°BANG!¡±


    Following Ezreal¡¯s cry of pain, Mirage¡¯s Ezreal was through, lying lifelessly under the protection of his tower!


    ¡°LOL!¡±


    ¡°LOL!!¡±


    ¡°LOL!!!¡±


    Even Luocheng was stunned, and the all-chat was filled with Americans¡¯ word of choice in this situation, the international ¡°LOL¡±!


    The first LOL came from the sniped-down Ezreal.


    This exposed that the guy was an American player, or at the very least, he often played on the NA servers!


    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡±


    ¡°This Thresh is Madlife, what a play!¡±


    ¡°I have found my new idol!¡±


    The sounds of shock that escaped the mouths of Feng Da and his friends rang out in the lounge of Demacia Cafe!

 Chapter 394 - Dazzling Crystal Arrow!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Flashing up to knock Ashe away from the path of the bullet, how good was this Thresh¡¯s awareness and instincts to be able to assess the situation and make a subsequent reaction in that short span of time!


    The cheers in-game were endless too, having a Support that was this good, their ADC was probably on the ground worshiping him right about now!


    Lin Dong was watching the fight while he was waiting to respawn, voicing his confusion, ¡°Boss, who is this Thresh!?¡±


    ¡°Team TPG¡¯s number one Support¡ªHuo Ma, he received the title of Best Support during the S International League¡­ D*mn it, this guy is good!¡± Luocheng lamented, his eyebrows knit into a bunch.


    Lin Dong nodded in agreement, ¡°He really is.¡± Since when was there a Support with such otherworldly awareness in their country? Even Luocheng couldn¡¯t handle him.


    Lin Dong¡¯s expression hardened, as if he was in deep thought.


    A split second later, Lin Dong knew what he had to do, and he shouted toward Da Luo, ¡°Da Luo, come over quick, Luocheng¡¯s getting owned!¡±


    ¡°What, really? Sh*t, I¡¯m out of this game!¡± Da Luo was suddenly energized after hearing Lin Dong¡¯s words, promptly quitting his game to watch Luocheng¡¯s computer even though they were in the lead.


    Hearing the commotion, Zhou Yan quietly called for a surrender and then wordlessly moved to sit behind his other teammates.


    Luocheng¡¯s face grew dark as he tried to keep his focus on the game!


    You bunch of motherf*ckers, I¡¯m getting beat and now all of you are interested!?


    Da Luo, what the heck! What are you doing by DC-ing in the middle of a ranked game? What about your teammates!


    Lin Dong intricately explained the details of Luocheng¡¯s previous battle to Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen. That scumbag Da Luo was laughing his face off, ¡°Boss, if I were you, I¡¯d go ahead and die as well. Choosing an Ashe Support and you can¡¯t even block Caitlyn¡¯s Ultimate, I can just imagine how angry that Ezreal is.¡±


    From their perspective, Luocheng was asking for it, choosing such a strange Champion even though he knew he was playing against the S League¡¯s Best Support, Huo Ma. He should have known what he was getting himself into!


    ¡°What do you lot know, this is my battle strategy. Just wait and watch how I kite them during mid game!¡± Luocheng said, his upset clear in the tone of his voice.


    Ashe Support was already a weak pick. To face such a strong counter to an Ashe Support like Thresh, Luocheng and Mirage really had to crawl their way through if they wanted to make it past the laning phase.


    Just hug the tower and wait for backup!


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Jungler Lee Sin finally decided to pay a visit to the bottom lane.


    Luocheng had held back his ultimate for so long, never getting a chance to use it, all he could do was wait for Lee Sin to gank!


    Level 6 was when Support Ashe started to show her strength, the stun from her Ultimate, Enchanted Crystal Arrow, couldn¡¯t be cleansed down in the bottom lane, and as long as the Jungler came to gank, it was basically a free kill.


    Seeing his chance, Luocheng stepped toward his enemies, using a WER-combo to hit the enemy Caitlyn.


    ¡°Holy crap, three shots in a row!¡± The guys in the lounge were cheering.


    Luocheng used Ashe¡¯s Ultimate differently from most other players, he didn¡¯t use his R straight away, instead, using his W, E, and R in unison!


    Volley was a wide spray of icy arrows while Ashe¡¯s E-skill was a white Hawkshot, and Luocheng followed the Hawk Spirit with a gigantic Enchanted Crystal Arrow! These 3 abilities firing in unison caused the battlefield to be showered in an ethereal shower of ice, and in the snowy flurry, the enemy ADC Caitlyn couldn¡¯t react fast enough, allowing Luocheng¡¯s Ultimate to easily hit its target!


    Feng Da looked at Da Luo who had shifted his viewing position from the VIP room to the main lounge, ¡°Why did Leader Yu use all three abilities? Isn¡¯t that a little excessive?¡±


    Of course Da Luo was happy that someone was teaching Luocheng a lesson. The guy had been on his high horse for way too long without someone knocking him down a peg or two, and so, Da Luo had purposely ordered a drink so that he could enjoy the show in the cafe¡¯s lounge with Feng Da and the others.


    ¡°The W-skill was in case Caitlyn used her mobility skills like her E-skill. Professional players are extremely careful in their positioning, especially in front of an enemy who still has their Ultimate. Luocheng put a slow on her first, making it seem like he¡¯s just walking up to poke so that he can catch them off guard with his ulti, and even if the enemy figured that out, their reduced movement speed would keep them from escaping.


    ¡°As for why he didn¡¯t just use his Enchanted Crystal Arrow immediately after the slow from his W-skill, Volley, Caitlyn still had her Flash, that was why Luocheng used his E-skill, to try and lure her Flash out!¡± Da Luo explained.


    Using her E-skill to fake out the enemy¡¯s Flash was one of Luocheng¡¯s classic maneuvers on Ashe, after all, Team Relevation¡¯s Mid¡¯s Flash had been lured out in exactly the same way during the LPL!


    ¡°At such a short distance, who would be able to react to a straight-up Ultimate?¡± Feng Da was confused as he still felt that it was a little excessive. Since their enemy was already within range of Ashe¡¯s Volley, surely they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge an Ultimate from her.


    Da Luo laughed, ¡°Well then, you think too little of our boss¡¯s current opponents.¡±


    Feng Da and a few of his friends were stunned and still, Feng Da maintained his expression of ¡°you peasants can¡¯t possibly understand the world of Gods.¡±


    ***


    Caitlyn acted coolly, her Flash unable to be baited out by Luocheng¡¯s W-skill, but following immediately behind that E-skill was Luocheng¡¯s Ultimate.


    In reality, the professional player behind Caitlyn had already had their finger on the Flash key, all they needed was 0.2 seconds.


    It was mainly because Ashe had overlapped many shots and due to the particles coming from her Volley, Hawkshot, and Ultimate Enchanted Crystal Arrow, Caitlyn¡¯s vision was muddied, otherwise, this famous Taiwanese ADC could have easily dodged Ashe¡¯s arrow from that distance!


    Being ulted by Ashe, Caitlyn was basically a sitting duck and even Huo Ma left her to die after assessing the situation.


    Ashe had an infinite slow on her passive, if Huo Ma got caught up in that, he would be dead as well.


    ***


    ¡°This China boy is playing really weird!¡± Caitlyn¡¯s Taiwanese player¡ªZhi Zhiguang lamented.


    He had used up all of his Summoner¡¯s spells but he still couldn¡¯t escape.


    A smirk creeped up on Huo Ma¡¯s face, ¡°A triple shot, interesting.¡±


    This was the first time Huo Ma had seen someone use Ashe¡¯s ultimate in this manner.


    But there really wasn¡¯t any other way, in their pro-player group, everyone had inhuman reactions. Even if you threw an Ultimate right at their face, it still wouldn¡¯t be a guaranteed hit.


    ***


    Lee Sin¡¯s gank helped the bottom lane to get back up after their crippling disadvantage, and Luocheng bought a full Talisman of Ascension, the final upgrade of his Ancient Coin.


    The trinket wasn¡¯t too expensive and was quite cost effective. A 20% CDR on a Support like Ashe who relied on her Ultimate heavily was extremely beneficial, and her Volley could be used at a higher frequency as well, not to mention it helped with her mana regen.


    Luocheng pressed his tab key and saw a Chalice of Harmony sitting in Thresh¡¯s inventory.


    The Chalice caused some confusion in Luocheng, not knowing what this guy was trying to pull.


    Ezreal wasn¡¯t an easy champion to bully in lane, he could play it safe and still farm easily with his Q-skill, so Luocheng started roaming heavily during the mid game.


    After pinging for his Ezreal to retreat, Luocheng left Ezreal to fend for himself in the dangers of the bottom lane and went off into their jungle and beyond.


    The opponent¡¯s Mid was terrified of Luocheng as an arrow came through the Fog of War and their own Mid Kassadin was able to follow up with a round of abilities and Ignite. Their enemy didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    One Ultimate and the bottom lane was at an advantage again, another Ultimate and their Mid Kassadin had picked up a kill, and his third Ultimate forced the enemy Jungler to expend his Flash.


    This was when the Ashe Support made her presence known, but their opponents weren¡¯t holding back either. While Luocheng helped his Jungler and Mid gain an advantage, Huo Ma and his ADC pushed down their bottom lane turret and controlled the vision around the Dragon.


    Luocheng had to buy a Sightstone.


    Luocheng was a little passive when it came to warding. Ashe and Thresh were like a rabbit and a fox, if they met in the Jungle, Thresh would land his hook and then pull in his teammate with his lantern. The low mobility Ashe was as good as dead then.


    Without control over vision, the first Dragon was taken by Call me Daddy¡¯s Elise.


    Even though they had to give up the Dragon, they weren¡¯t going down without a fight.


    Luocheng dealt out a team wide slow before using the active of his Talisman of Ascension, leading his team into battle while the enemy was worn down from the Dragon!


    ¡°Woosh!¡±


    An Enchanted Crystal Arrow flew straight down the river, its target set on the fleeing Elise!


    Call me Daddy was a real example of a world-ranked Jungler, he knew to instantly enter Spider Form, allowing him to dodge Luocheng¡¯s arrow by shooting up into the air, and all Luocheng could do was watch the glistening arrow fly past below the nimble spider!


    The speed, the technique, the guests in the lounge were going wild!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t think much of it, the Elise wasn¡¯t the only target in his arrow¡¯s path. The Spider Queen may have escaped, but the Ziggs behind her had nowhere else to run!


    ¡°Thunk!¡±


    The Enchanted Crystal Arrow shattered right on Ziggs¡¯ face.


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Lee Sin was the first to react, rushing in to stop the enemies¡¯ retreat.


    But for whatever reason, the 2-second long stun was cut short by a wave of green energy washing over Ziggs!


    His stun was cleansed!


    Huo Ma¡¯s Thresh laid down his Ultimate, barricading Luocheng and his team¡¯s attack route. Even though Xiao Zhuai had landed his Q-skill, he couldn¡¯t go in on it at all in fear of being separated from his team.


    Seeing his opponents flee just like that, Luocheng wasn¡¯t at his happiest.


    Feng Da was stunned, ¡°How did that Ziggs get rid of his stun? The ulti hit, didn¡¯t it? Plus he didn¡¯t have Cleanse or a Quicksilver Sash!¡±


    ¡°F*ck¡­¡± Da Luo let out his breath, ¡°That Thresh really is strong, building a direct counter against our boss.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Mikael¡¯s Crucible, able to cleanse a teammate of all stuns and slows. With that item, Luocheng¡¯s game-deciding Ultimate won¡¯t have much of an effect,¡± Da Luo explained.


    Feng Da¡¯s gang of friends didn¡¯t understand.


    A crucible? What even was that? Such an item existed in League of Legends?


    Feng Da was staring at his shoes. He knew of this item and he was pretty sure that the Chalice of Harmony built into it, but he had never seen the item in play before during all his time playing ranked.


    For players below Gold, knowing how to use a QSS or Cleanse to get rid of stuns was already impressive, but for an item like Mikael¡¯s, 70 percent of players probably hadn¡¯t even heard of the item let alone know how to use it!


    ¡°Um, Da Luo, could you maybe ask Luocheng to play a tad lower-ranked match¡­?¡± Daisy asked meekly.


    What the heck, Daisy had almost two thousand games of LoL under his belt, but he felt like he didn¡¯t understand anything while watching this match.


    ¡°Screw off, you¡¯ll never understand the world of Gods!!¡± Feng Da huffed.


    In all honesty, Feng Da himself was getting a little sweaty! How many times had he said that today¡­ He was still one of the top players, right? Why did he feel like the players on the screen were on an entirely different playing field!?


    Things like Thresh Flash-Flaying someone to let Caitlyn¡¯s Ultimate land.


    Ashe¡¯s W E R 3-hit combo to disguise his Ultimate.


    Elise¡¯s instantaneous Rappel to dodge Ashe¡¯s arrow.


    The Support instantly cleansing a teammates stun with Mikael¡¯s¡­


    Leader Yu, what kind of f*cking match was this? Why did this high-ranked Diamond player feel like you¡¯re playing an entirely different game!

 Chapter 395 - A Kick Above That of Gods!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng was getting a headache as well. Mikael¡¯s Crucible had been buffed in Season 4, and it was cheap to build and very suitable for AP Supports.


    You should know that no matter how safely an ADC played and positioned himself, he would eventually get CC¡¯d while trying to dish out damage. During that measly 1 to 2 second CC, an ADC would either be left with a sliver of health or outright killed, which was why most competent ADCs would get either a Banshee¡¯s Veil or Quicksilver Sash once they had a decent amount of damage.


    But for ADCs, most of the time, they didn¡¯t even have enough gold to build their standard items, how would they have extra gold to spend on a QSS, Banshee¡¯s, or a Guardian Angel?


    The new Season allowed Supports to earn more gold. A Support who was truly thinking of the good of their team wouldn¡¯t just buy damage items, they would rather let their teammates handle that, but with a Mikael¡¯s Crucible which cost around 1,600 gold, they could give one of their teammates a second chance at life as long as they were quick enough! This was why this item was used heavily in high-ranked matches, some would even go as far as to say that it should be a core item of Supports everywhere!


    He had to admit, after Huo Ma had gotten his Mikael¡¯s, Luocheng was now facing major troubles with using his Ultimate.


    ***


    Between two evenly matched teams, towers could very well be the deciding factor of who came out the victor. Neither side was going to pick fights under the enemy¡¯s turrets and they definitely weren¡¯t going to fight when the other had the upper hand either.


    After 25 minutes, both teams had gotten a few full items, it was just a matter of time before the Baron was taken, and vision had once again become an important pre-teamfight preparation.


    In the new Season, each player was limited to only 3 Green Wards and 1 Pink Ward on the map at a time, and so, vision was no longer the sole responsibility of the Support. Luocheng had already built a Ruby Sightstone and his Ashe¡¯s Hawkshot allowed him to check the whereabouts of the enemy team too.


    Many footsteps had already imprinted themselves in front of the Baron¡¯s pit, the tension was electrifying the air, only the Baron herself was yawning in her humble abode, waiting for someone to make the first step before she went over to duo rank with the Dragon.


    ¡°This Lee Sin sure is brave!¡± Feng Da said.


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Lee Sin stood in the bush between the Blue Buff wall and the mid lane. From his position, he could clearly see the 5 members of the enemy team in the river less than 700 units away from him.


    Luocheng and the remaining members of their team were all up the river stream. Xiao Zhuai was standing there by himself, wasn¡¯t he afraid of an enemy randomly warding the bush, thus leading to his demise?


    Lee Sin stood at the edge of the bush, as if he was one of the blades of grass, allowing the enemy¡¯s fearsome Top and one-shotting Mid to pass by him!


    Still, he stood there, fearless!


    From Luocheng¡¯s perspective, Feng Da and his friends could clearly see how the Lee Sin treated the enemies who brushed past him as though he was nothing. If it were anyone else, they would be miles away already, after all, a Thresh-hook in that sort of situation only had one outcome¡ªdeath!


    One, two, three, four, Lee Sin hid in the bush as the enemies walked past him one by one.


    Lastly, the enemy ADC Caitlyn walked by him too, and that was when Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Lee Sin started to react!


    At the same time, Luocheng readied his finger on his R key.


    The Blind Monk placed a Ward behind the Caitlyn, giving him a target to jump to as the Sheriff of Piltover walked toward the Baron!


    ¡°HAH!¡±


    The kick harnessed Lee Sin¡¯s core energy, landing on the clueless Caitlyn¡¯s behind and it sent her flying!


    A godly kick!


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up!


    Perfect f*cking timing, eat my arrow!


    Ashe had already shot out her Ultimate while Caitlyn was still midair, she didn¡¯t even get the chance to land before colliding with the enchanted arrow of ice!


    Caitlyn was bursted down before she could Flash, and even with Mikael¡¯s Crucible, Thresh had been knocked up with the Caitlyn as well, he couldn¡¯t Flash over to dispel her stun even if he wanted to.


    Lee Sin was deep within enemy lines, but before using his Ultimate on Caitlyn, he had first marked her with his Q-skill, Sonic Wave. Just as Luocheng had thought that Lee Sin was a goner, the Blind Monk regrouped with the rest of his team with a smooth RQ-combo!


    Some of the audience in the lounge were cheering and pumping their fists while others were simply dumbfounded!


    The combination of abilities were just too perfect, even before Lee Sin had kicked back the Caitlyn, the Crystal Arrow had already been fired, and even though they had had zero verbal communication, the Caitlyn was able to land in front of the rest of her teammates and perfectly in the path of Ashe¡¯s arrow!


    Between professional players, there were more ways to communicate other than just talking.


    Back then during their fight with Team Revelations in the LPL, Luocheng and Da Luo had made a similar play. At the time, the both of them had been sitting side by side and Da Luo had already given Luocheng a heads up before he kicked.


    This time, however, Luocheng and Xiao Zhuai had had zero communication save for Xiao Zhuai pinging the Caitlyn once, and that was the only hint that Luocheng had to cast his Ultimate as soon as Lee Sin Ward-hopped behind Caitlyn.


    Truly strong players needed to not only be able to predict their enemy¡¯s next moves, they also had to be capable of predicting their teammates actions. A vast majority of players would wait for Lee Sin to kick Caitlyn, wait to see if it turned out to be a good play, and only then would they finally use their Ultimate. But at that point, the Caitlyn would have already gotten the chance to get back on her feet and Flash away, and a golden opportunity would slip right through their fingers and end up as a regretful ¡°if only¡±.


    Seeing Xiao Zhuai camp in the bush near the enemy team, Luocheng had already figured out what he was trying to do, which was why he could use his Ultimate without hesitation within a few microseconds of Xiao Zhuai pinging Caitlyn. He didn¡¯t care that the frontmost enemy champion was a super tanky Top, he knew that Xiao Zhuai would be able to get Caitlyn where he needed her to be!


    Flawless judgement, unshakable trust, and the decisiveness and confidence a pro-player needed. The moment these two unstoppable forces worked together on the battlefield, that spark would surely be blinding!


    After the ADC¡¯s death, it was time for them to continue the pursuit, and Luocheng used the movement speed buff from his Talisman of Ascension to rush toward the enemy team and dished out a team-wide slow with his Volley.


    The slowed enemies were clipped of their wings and were unable to escape, a perfect three-for-one trade, and thus, Luocheng¡¯s team successfully secured the Baron, pushing them even further into the lead!


    ¡°This Lee Sin¡¯s pretty alright,¡± Zhou Yan, who was standing silently behind Luocheng, slowly said.


    Zhou Yan tried putting himself into that Lee Sin¡¯s shoes.


    If he were the one controlling Lee Sin, he was confident that he too could find the perfect wardless bush to stake out the enemy team, but as soon as the enemy AP carry would walk past, Zhou Yan wouldn¡¯t be able to control his urge to kick the opposing Swain over.


    In reality, kicking a Swain directly into your team wasn¡¯t the best idea as Swain was very tanky with his Ultimate. Bursting him down wouldn¡¯t be easy, plus he still had a Zhonya¡¯s.


    Zhou Yan admired Xiao Zhuai¡¯s determination and self-control for waiting until the ADC had showed up.


    What impressed Zhou Yan even more was that Xiao Zhuai positioned his kick perfectly to knock up Thresh, Swain, and the Top, a total of three people!


    It was a four-man Ultimate!


    Lastly, what made Zhou Yan shudder in respect was that Xiao Zhuai didn¡¯t use the conventional method of Ward-hopping and ulting the Caitlyn from behind, instead, he had added onto that a terrifyingly swift QR-combo, allowing him to send the Caitlyn flying while at the same time giving him an escape route out of the enemy team!


    Ward-hopping into enemy ranks and kicking their ADC over to their team was already a hard enough maneuver, there were so many factors that required immense precision and perfect timing.


    Well, at the very least, Zhou Yan was quite positive that he himself couldn¡¯t pull it off.


    To put it bluntly, all Zhou Yan would have been able to do was kick the enemy AP carry toward his team, leaving himself stuck deep within the enemy team. If that had happened, the following team fight definitely wouldn¡¯t have gone nearly as smoothly as it did.


    But this Lee Sin had turned the odds completely to their favor!


    They were both Junglers, but this Jungler beat him out in almost every aspect, viewing the bigger picture, timing, mechanics¡­


    This was a huge blow to Zhou Yan¡¯s self-esteem and it was difficult to put into words. It was as if an unbeatable master had suddenly confronted an even better prodigy, or even as though he had reached a new level of enlightenment on his path to becoming the best Jungler in the world!


    ¡°This Jungler Zhao Ting Hua has kept wanting to issue a challenge, I wouldn¡¯t ever want to match up against him,¡± Lin Dong muttered.


    If they had a Jungler like that on their team, how could they not win?


    ***


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s side won this round.


    Luocheng admitted that he didn¡¯t have much to do with deciding the victor. If he really had to give himself some credit, it would be regarding the fact that at least he didn¡¯t waste Xiao Zhuai¡¯s godly kick.


    Huo Ma¡¯s Thresh was strong, bullying Luocheng¡¯s Ashe hard in lane. Even in team fights, he had the perfect weapon to counter Luocheng¡¯s Ultimate, and if it weren¡¯t for Xiao Zhuai¡¯s victory-determining kick, the rest of the game would have been rough.


    A serious expression came over Zhou Yan¡¯s face, ¡°I hope I¡¯ll be able to face off against him someday, although I will admit I¡¯m definitely not as strong as he is¡­¡±


    Luocheng looked back at the bushy-browed Zhou Yan.


    Zhou Yan wasn¡¯t easy to read, always maintaining the same blank expression regardless of his emotional state, but this time, Luocheng could see an unmistakable glint in his eye.


    Want. There wasn¡¯t a single e-sports player out there who didn¡¯t want to become stronger, especially after seeing a player in your category that left you in absolute awe!


    ¡°It¡¯s too bad though, that Xiao Zhuai and Huo Ma aren¡¯t on the same team¡­ If they were, a match with them during next year¡¯s S International League would be exhilarating!¡± Luocheng said.


    As Zhou Yan was admiring the stronger Jungler, Luocheng was thinking back to the sense of danger he had had while he was laning against Huo Ma.


    Luocheng had a mental list of players in his head compiling all the opponents he thought posed a threat to him, and Huo Ma had already been a part of this list for quite some time. During this year¡¯s S International League, Luocheng had seen what his Support was capable of, and today¡¯s match with him only solidified in Luocheng¡¯s mind his worthiness to hold the title of ¡°Best Support¡±!


    There were only three more months left until the LPL¡­


    The best of the best were scattered across the globe, if they couldn¡¯t breakthrough even the LPL, how was their Team Skycrown going to conquer the world! How were they going to settle it once and for all regarding who was the best among all of the gaming legends!


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that this victory meant that he had surpassed the world-renowned Huo Ma¡­ He still had a long way to go!

 Chapter 396 - Back to School

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It didn¡¯t snow much in Shanghai but when it got cold, the wind would start picking up as well. If it weren¡¯t for the heating, even staying indoors would be miserable.


    Gamers didn¡¯t quite like the winter season. It was a nightmare especially for those in the e-sports scene. A little tip for you guys at home playing LoL without a heater, maybe skip those all-nighters playing ranked games for now because frigid fingers were going to be extremely detrimental to your ability to play, especially for all those ADC mains!


    Team Skycrown would never forget the winter they had spent in the relatively small campus of Shanghai University, especially on rainy days, how the heater-less rooms had chilled them to their bones¡­ There was no way they could perform well during their ranked games, and with every loss, their mood only further soured.


    Lucky for them, it was different in their new house. Their rooms were warm and clean, the living room even had built-in heating, they could even eat ice cream and play ranked games without a care in the world.


    Around December, Luocheng went back to his school for a bit.


    He wasn¡¯t going back for an exam, rather, the E-sports Club had actually invited him and it wouldn¡¯t be great for his image if he didn¡¯t go. After all, they were still his classmates.


    Luocheng arrived extremely early. Jiang Jiu had told him that there would be two classes at nine-thirty, and since it had been awhile since Luocheng had talked with some real professionals, he decided to head straight to the classroom.


    The teacher was halfway through his lecture so Luocheng slipped in through the backdoor and quietly took his seat right next to the entrance.


    The group of boys in the back had long forgotten the Mathematics teacher that was trying his best to teach his students Calculus, cheerfully discussing on how to build a top lane Gragas.


    ¡°I call BS, you can¡¯t build AP on Gragas, all you have to do is get a Sunfire Cape as well as a Spirit¡¯s Visage and you¡¯re basically invincible. Good wave clear, decent damage, and you can take up the front line and never die!¡± A boy with a perm was passionately arguing his defense regarding his newest build.


    ¡°No way, a Gragas going tank?¡± The resident adviser(RA) of their dorms, Yue Qing, replied in awe.


    In dorm 209, Qiu Jingtai, Jiang Jiu, and Yu Luocheng were the ones that played League of Legends, but what surprised Luocheng a little was that even their RA Yue Qing had started playing even though he had never played video games before!


    Each dorm housed 6 people, and out of the 6, a whopping 4 of them were avid players of League of Legends, just how popular was this game getting?


    ¡°The teacher probably isn¡¯t taking attendance today, how about we sneak out and start our all-nighter early? I have almost twenty-five thousand IP which I can use to buy a new Rune Page¡­¡± Permed Hair said, instinctively looking over to the back of the classroom as he did.


    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡±


    Seeing Luocheng sitting there nonchalantly as he turned back, Permed Hair jumped in his seat. The seat behind him had always been left unoccupied!


    His ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± echoed throughout the classroom, and creases started forming on the forehead of the usually gentle Mathematics teacher, his eyes boring holes into Permed Hair¡¯s permed hair!


    ¡°Do you have a problem?¡± the Mathematics teacher asked.


    The whole class turned back to look at Permed Hair as he tried to regain his composure.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Oh my God!¡±


    Jingtai and Jiang Jiu shouted simultaneously at the sight of Luocheng, and with everyone¡¯s focus now on him instead of the teacher, a small ruckus started to form in the classroom.


    The video of Luocheng in the LPL had already been circulating among official e-sports sites plus the television interview Luocheng had had was also garnering quite a bit of attention.


    Luocheng had originally just been one of their classmates who was decent at video games, but suddenly, he had left his university circle and started making frequent appearances on major social websites. Everyone¡¯s view of this classmate of theirs had started to shift, rising to a different level of respect and admiration.


    The girl sitting next to Bai Feifei gave her a small nudge, unable to contain her excitement, ¡°It really is Yu Luocheng, why is he back at school?¡±


    Feifei glanced back toward Luocheng who looked like an alien in this classroom setting, a wave of emotions dancing in her beautiful eyes.


    Seeing the reactions his classmates had, Luocheng was speechless.


    Did everybody really have to act like this!? You¡¯d think that I¡¯ve just crashed my own funeral or something!


    The Mathematics teacher quieted the class, carrying on with his endless lecture about calculus as if nothing had happened, but whenever the teacher had his back turned, there was one more male student silently inching his chair over, just to get closer to Luocheng.


    ***


    Class was finally over and all the hardcore LoL players were surrounding Luocheng¡¯s small desk.


    Everyone knew that Luocheng had gone off to make e-sports his career, and these young people weren¡¯t as stubborn as the older generation. From what they saw, being able to enter the LPL and even showing up on a television interview meant that his decision had been a resounding success!


    Seeing the passionate expressions on everyone¡¯s face, Luocheng had the sudden realization that following his decision to become a professional e-sports player, he had also become a part of a different world, completely detached from his old life. Relationships and conversations that had once been just between fellow classmates now had an added idol-fan dynamic to them. It had to be said though, Luocheng could get used to this feeling!


    ***


    Luocheng got to the e-sports club in the afternoon, and Qin Ting, who had heard word of Luocheng¡¯s arrival earlier, promptly gathered all the members. The whole thing had an oddly grandiose feeling to it.


    However, it did remind Luocheng of the time he had greeted Asmodai. Currently, he was pretty much getting the same treatment and he was loving every second of it.


    After all, in society as a whole, e-sports didn¡¯t receive the praise it deserved, and more often than not, it got criticized for being immature or violent. But in university, Luocheng felt like these young people viewed e-sports in a different light, they idolized pro-players like him as they would mainstream actors and singers, the E-sports Club even had a poster of him on their wall¡­


    Wait, I don¡¯t have any issues with you guys hanging up a poster of me wearing my team uniform, but what¡¯s with the border!? And could you not make it so dark!


    Throughout the afternoon, Luocheng acted just as Asmodai had done, he played a few showcase matches for everyone and interacted with some of the newer club members, just to let them know that their Shanghai University E-sport¡¯s Club was home to the legend that was Luocheng!


    ***


    After the club¡¯s activities ended, Jingtai and Jiang Jiu followed Luocheng around like children following their mothers in a crowded store.


    ¡°Luocheng, do you wanna call Feifei out to have dinner together?¡± Jiang Jiu asked.


    Luocheng scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to her in a bit, I don¡¯t even know if she¡¯d come.¡±


    While he was still in school, Luocheng and Feifei had had a decent relationship, sometimes sending each other a message to keep the other up to date on how they were doing, but after the LPL, Luocheng had pretty much dropped all contact with her.


    Feifei didn¡¯t really approve of professional e-sports, she had the same view as many others. With Luocheng pursuing a career in e-sports and her pursuing a PhD, even if they weren¡¯t sworn enemies, they certainly didn¡¯t have much in common.


    Jingtai shoved his phone in Luocheng¡¯s face, ¡°What do you mean call her, she¡¯s already agreed. Look at her reply.¡±


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes widened as he read the words on Jingtai¡¯s phone.


    Jingtai let out a sly laugh, ¡°So basically, I said, ¡®Hi this is Luocheng, my phone¡¯s dead so I¡¯m using my roommate¡¯s. I just wanted to ask, are you free tonight? We could get dinner together, it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve talked, and since I¡¯m back¡­''¡±


    Jiang Jiu gave Jingtai a big thumbs up, chortling his praise to Luocheng¡¯s number one wingman!


    To hell with this wingman, all Luocheng wanted to do was give Jingtai a good hard beating.


    The guy had never had the guts to chase a girl of his own, and yet, he just loved flirting with girls under a different name!


    ¡°The girl has already agreed, she even let you choose the place. It wouldn¡¯t do to just stand her up now, would it?¡± Jiang Jiu laughed.


    Jingtai was still beaming in pride at what he had done, ¡°Please call me Mr. Matchmaker.¡±


    ***


    Luocheng chose a small restaurant outside of campus, wordlessly waiting for Feifei.


    And she did indeed show up. What was different, though, was that her best friend didn¡¯t tag along like she usually did whenever other guys invited Feifei out, and Luocheng didn¡¯t know if her friend just didn¡¯t want to come or if Feifei had told her not to.


    The atmosphere was a little off. Previously, Luocheng would crack jokes to try and get a rare laugh out of Feifei, but he didn¡¯t know if Feifei would react well to those sorts of 18 and above jokes anymore. They hadn¡¯t talked for the better part of a year and starting off with that topic¡­wasn¡¯t too appropriate, right?


    Feifei was the first to start the conversation, ¡°Have you ever thought about coming back to school?¡±


    Luocheng shook his head, ¡°Not right now.¡±


    Feifei¡¯s voice grew softer, ¡°I heard you fell out with your family?¡±


    Feifei had heard this from Yu Yu as the two of them still maintained contact and had an alright relationship.


    Luocheng gave a bitter laugh, ¡°Well it wouldn¡¯t be the first time.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like the childish type who would get into disagreements with your family,¡± Feifei said.


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because I¡¯m not a kid anymore that I would clash heads with my family. You¡¯ve probably never argued with your family, huh?¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Not often. I mostly listen to what they say,¡± Feifei said.


    ¡°I can tell. You really like researching all that stuff?¡± Luocheng pointed at Feifei¡¯s book bag, full of study material to bring back to self-study later.


    ¡°I want to become an author.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you made the right choice by going into the Science Stream and majoring in IT,¡± Luocheng said dryly.


    You wanted to become a Jungler, but you were forced by your parents to learn to play Mid. Your parents told you that the Mid could carry the whole team, they had a high win-rate, they could climb ranked faster, but Junglers weren¡¯t useful and they were merely a second Support.


    But everyone had a role that they were good at and enjoyed playing, even the most looked down upon Support role had seen a resurgence in the new Season. Didn¡¯t that prove that Luocheng¡¯s decision to main Support had been the correct one as well?


    ¡°Sometimes I really admire you and your bravery to do what you want.¡±


    ¡°It comes at a steep price.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t even say anything back when my dad filled out my application form for me,¡± Feifei said.


    Feifei¡¯s values had changed, she no longer rejected anything that wasn¡¯t her academics. Her previous views and values had been forced onto her by her parents and society, but once a person gained enough experience, they would start to make their own judgements. These judgements and ideas were often viewed by parents as rebellious, and after a rebellion, these ideas would get pushed down by parents or even themselves and they would slowly come to terms with reality, becoming what people called ¡°mature¡±.


    A vast majority of people didn¡¯t have the courage to cast everything aside to do what they really wanted to, and among those that did, those that succeeded made up an even smaller percentage. But if you never took the chance and made your first step, never persevered despite failure, how would you succeed? Did you think those Platinum players didn¡¯t have countless other accounts with over a thousand games and a win-rate that was far, far below 50%?


    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± Feifei asked.


    ¡°Get into the LPL and get top 3.¡±


    ¡°And after that?¡±


    ¡°Get into an international competition and win World Champion.¡±


    Their goal had always been clear. It looked like a two-step plan, but there was so, so much more that they had to go through to achieve this goal.


    ¡°If the LPL is in Shanghai, I¡¯ll go and cheer for you even though I don¡¯t understand any of it¡­¡± A smile flashed across Feifei¡¯s face, a rare occurrence.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Luocheng returned a smile of his own.


    Feifei didn¡¯t approve of e-sports, but she was slowly starting to understand that e-sports wasn¡¯t just about the game, it was about the glory that everyone was fighting for.


    If even a traditional girl like Feifei could change, others would too. He had to raise this flag even higher, he had to make e-sports something people were proud to be a part of!


    ***


    Luocheng left after they finished dinner. Paving a path for e-sports wasn¡¯t something you could achieve in a day.


    Seeing Luocheng leave, Feifei made her way back to her dorm as well, and her best friend bombarded her with questions before she had even stepped through the door.


    ¡°Feifei, do you like him or not?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you let him go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Feifei shook her head, ¡°Probably because I couldn¡¯t even say anything when my dad filled out my application form for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on, silly.¡±

 Chapter 397 - Qi Qiao’s Mentor

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Come on, wake up!! It¡¯s already noon!¡±


    Bang bang bang!


    ¡°If you don¡¯t wake up soon, I¡¯m coming in to drag the two of you out of bed!¡±


    ¡°Wait! I¡¯m naked!¡± Da Luo let out a terrified scream.


    Meiqi wasn¡¯t buying it, ¡°Oh please, the two of you sleep naked? Together?¡±


    Hearing Meiqi¡¯s voice, Luocheng dragged himself out of his sleepy daze.


    Come winter season, mornings became even more difficult. Everyone¡¯s biological clock collectively shifted back a few hours, late to bed and late to rise, just to avoid the bitter cold of the Shanghai winter.


    In reality, the house wasn¡¯t cold, but the feeling of the heater¡¯s warm air embracing their cold bones was just too good. They weren¡¯t scared of freezing mornings, they were more afraid that their duvets would be too warm.


    Meiqi smiled at the group of disheveled men, ¡°I¡¯ve made you boys lunch, come on, go eat.¡±


    Lin Dong, Luocheng, and Da Luo were still yawning, but Meiqi¡¯s words made them sober right up.


    What the hell, this twenty-year-old girl had sacrificed her sleep to get up and make them lunch? Is your motherly instinct kicking in or something? You really didn¡¯t have to act more and more like a woman you know¡­


    ¡°Hehe, um, next time you can leave that sort of thing to our good ol¡¯ pal Zhou Yan, we wouldn¡¯t dare to bother you, milady.¡± Da Luo gave Zhou Yan a look.


    Zhou Yan got the message and nodded.


    Zhou Yan did most of the cleaning around the house, don¡¯t judge him by his burly appearance, he was actually quite the neat freak!


    Laundry, cooking, mopping, Zhou Yan was basically a model mother and wife, save having a baby of course¡­


    ¡°Yeah, let Zhou Yan do it, it¡¯s okay if we eat a little late,¡± Luocheng said with a smile.


    Wu Sen and Lin Dong didn¡¯t say anything, only nodding their heads in affirmation.


    ¡°But, but I forced myself to get up early, and then I had to buy groceries and prepare them for you guys¡­ I spent almost 2 hours on it just to make you guys something good to eat, and yet¡­¡± Meiqi was on the verge of tears.


    Everyone could see the tears welling up in her eyes, this wouldn¡¯t do.


    All of them hurriedly found their seats around the dinner table, scarfing down the food like a pack of hungry wolves.


    Meiqi¡¯s face lit up, but her inner thoughts were evil, ¡®Don¡¯t mess with me, you¡¯ll eat it all no matter how horrible it tastes. Where else am I going to find so many obedient little test subjects.¡¯


    ***


    The new Season was officially underway and Lin Dong and Da Luo both had Challenger borders, the Diamond-bordered Wu Sen was almost drooling at the sight.


    Ranks didn¡¯t immediately reset after a new Season had started, and so Luocheng began using his ¡°Trolling No. 1¡± account to start climbing ranks.


    To properly play ranked games, you had to have the attitude of no matter how hard your teammates fed, you must always treat them with love and peace. For example, say you¡¯re playing in the bottom lane and your ADC isn¡¯t doing too well, you must never berate them for their performance, instead, you should treat them as a naive girl, comforting and encouraging them with gentle words, just so they won¡¯t give up on life¡­ Oh, I meant so that they won¡¯t give up on the game.


    If you¡¯re playing at the top lane and you keep getting camped by the enemy Jungler, you mustn¡¯t flame your Jungler for not counter-ganking or ganking in general, you should instead grit your teeth and say, ¡°No hope top lane, I¡¯ll just farm under tower, the Jungler should help the other lanes more.¡±


    How many people would be raging behind their computer screens as they typed these words out, shouting to themselves, ¡°If I weren¡¯t trying to climb ranked, you¡¯d already be dead beneath my feet!¡±


    League of Legends was a game that tested your mental integrity as much as it did your game mechanics, teaching countless people how to become truly strong.


    The ones who were truly strong were those that could endure countless sufferings from no fault of their own.


    You had to admit, the average integrity of players on the Ionian Server was slowly rising. Luocheng¡¯s Trolling No. 1 account was basically infamous for throwing games, but somehow, he wasn¡¯t flamed in every match.


    In all honesty, there were many times that Luocheng was so much of a troll that he wanted to flame himself, but all he got was his teammates softly asking him what his train of thought was when he had built a Mejai¡¯s on a Support Darius. When Luocheng replied with a ¡°Oh, I bought the wrong item when I was trying to buy a Sword of the Occult¡±, he could just imagine his ADC getting up and uninstalling the game right then and there.


    Luocheng made a simple analysis for every rank in LoL while he was at the E-sports Club.


    League of Legends really wasn¡¯t too much of a mechanically complicated game. Back when Luocheng was playing Deng Hai 3C (a Chinese MMORPG), each player was in control of 6 to 7 champions, aside from each champion¡¯s 4 basic abilities, they also had a Silence, Cleanse, and other actives on their equipment. Additionally, those abilities weren¡¯t even just on the freaking Q, W, E, R, N, X, G, T keys, you basically had to be a master pianist to play the game with how much of the keyboard you needed to use¡­


    If you played a single Champion for about a hundred games, you would have basically mastered all the fundamentals of the Champion, but the difference between Silver and Gold was that most Gold players built regular items, whereas you would see a lot of Top and Junglers build full damage in Silver matches, with a Sword of the Occult or Mejai¡¯s popping up as soon as they got an early lead.


    In short, if you had been hard-stuck in Silver for too long, the problem was that you would never build items for your team, instead, you would only know how to pile on damage and take kills for yourself.


    Of course, builds were a secondary factor. The biggest reason was the toxicity that started to spew out as soon as a teammate started to feed. According to some guy with way too much time on his hands, a player¡¯s rank also represented that player¡¯s mental state while playing the game.


    In Bronze, it was a complete mess and they weren¡¯t even playing the game right. Silver was when things turned South, curses and rage would be flying around even before the start of the game. Even if you just didn¡¯t ban the Champion that they wanted you to ban, that meant a declaration of war.


    Gold players would have some form of logic behind their occasional outbursts while Platinum players stayed mostly silent, knowing well that if in-fighting started, their game would be as good as lost.


    If you were to throw Diamond-ranked games, your teammates wouldn¡¯t get mad and instead, would start comforting you and teaching you how to play!


    If you were below Platinum, understanding that you shouldn¡¯t get angry in ranked could easily boost your win-rate by a solid 10%, and this 10% was your ticket to escape the elo hell that was filled with brats and natural-born trolls!


    As for the Gods that built full damage in Silver and Gold and were able to 1 vs 9 the entire game? There was no need to doubt your own strength, and whatever you do, please don¡¯t think that those builds were strong. That was 100 percent the smurf account of someone way above Diamond. If Luocheng encountered such players while he was ¡°play-testing¡± some off-meta Champions in Top, ADC, or Jungle, he would just exit the game right then and there and hop off to some adult websites to have his fun there. After all, if he was going to get f*cked either way, why make it hard for himself?


    Luocheng had interacted with pretty much every level of player during his time in the Demacia Cafe, finding that because League of Legends was most people¡¯s first dive into the world of e-sports, a lot of players just couldn¡¯t keep their cool.


    However, that wasn¡¯t too strange considering e-sports in general was new territory for most people in their country. A good culture surrounding e-sports needed some time to be cultivated, at least their Demacia Cafe had succeeded, now they just needed to wait for that influence to spread even further.


    ***


    The Regional Qualifiers was the most direct pathway into the LPL. Team Skycrown had been seriously preparing for this ever since the Chinese New Year celebrations had ended in February.


    The old Season had passed and their previous strategies and team compositions were no longer suitable for this year¡¯s LPL.


    Team Skycrown naturally gave up all of their original tactics, spending their days and nights researching new battle strategies for the new Season.


    As soon as the Korean Winter League had ended, Luocheng compiled every video that came out of the competition and studied each match.


    The Pre-season Professional League in America had just ended too, competitions from these countries who had entered the new season before them provided extremely valuable research material.


    Research on battle strategies was still headed by Luocheng as he was the leader, coach, and now, even the analyst of Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Aijing, are you free? I¡¯ll treat you to some food.¡± Luocheng made a call to Team 71¡¯s analyst, Zhang Aijing, wasting no time in getting to the point.


    ¡°Oh, cut the crap. You just want to discuss strategies with me, right? You think you can buy all of my hard work with just a single meal!?¡± Aijing¡¯s complaints sounded loudly through the phone.


    ¡°Hehe, you know I¡¯m poor, so just go with it, please? How about I treat you to something a bit more lavish, how does coffee sound?¡± Luocheng asked awkwardly.


    Aijing rolled her eyes all the way back into her skull, since when was treating someone to coffee considered ¡°lavish¡±!?


    ¡°Fine, fine, you pick the spot.¡± Aijing begrudgingly agreed.


    Aijing knew exactly what Luocheng was capable of. A real professional player like him had a much deeper understanding of the game¡¯s mechanics and would be able to utilize and encision battle strategies much more easily as compared to her as she didn¡¯t have much first-hand experience.


    Luocheng had knowledge that you could only gain from playing the game, something Aijing lacked as a data analyst and battle analyst, whereas Luocheng needed someone like Aijing who could dissect the strengths and weaknesses of every item, Champion, and player. Both parties would benefit from working together, but of course, they would still keep a few cards up their sleeves since there was the possibility of facing each other during the LPL.


    ¡°Okay, come over to Jingan, to the Demacia Cafe.¡±


    ¡°Go to hell!¡±


    Did he really think Aijing was an idiot? Demacia Cafe basically the home of Team Skyscrown and you were telling me that you had to pay for the coffee there? Like hell was that ¡°lavish¡±. Aijing had dealt with cheapskates before but she had never seen one quite like Luocheng. Talk about being a world-class player, he sure didn¡¯t act like one!


    ***


    Since Luocheng didn¡¯t have much of a choice, he chose a cafe in the Zhabei District, a bit closer to Team 71¡¯s base.


    When Luocheng arrived at the outdoor cafe, he realized Aijing hadn¡¯t come alone. Next to her side was a cute and sexy girl bundled in a puffy white coat.


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up, could this be the famous female analyst Qi Qiao?


    He had heard that Qi Qiao had recently joined Gamefy, and this place was somewhat close to Gamefy¡¯s headquarters too.


    Two birds with one stone! He had successfully gotten two of the most famous e-sports girls to discuss strategies with him, who said e-sports players had no future? Really, you say that as if Physics and Chemistry majors could get girls!


    ¡°Hi, Fighting Hawk,¡± Qi Qiao said with a sweet smile on her face, the fluffy mountains on her chest really made Luocheng feel a little uncomfortable and he wondered just what did this girl eat as she was growing up.


    ¡°I was shopping with her when you called, she said she just had to see such a God face-to-face. You don¡¯t mind, do you?¡± Aijing said brightly.


    ¡°Of course now, it¡¯s my pleasure,¡± Luocheng gave a small laugh. He still had some integrity, it wasn¡¯t as if he would yell out ¡®D*mn it, now I have to pay for one more coffee!¡± after seeing Qi Qiao.


    Qi Qiao¡¯s dimple showed on her face, ¡°Actually, I came to get your autograph. I had a mentor back when I was in e-sports, and she especially liked you! I¡¯m sure she would be really happy if I sent her your autograph along with this journal.¡±

 Chapter 398 - Living In a Hard Drive

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Oh, Yi Qin¡¯s a fan of this guy?¡± Aijing pointed at Luocheng, slightly taken aback by Qi Qiao¡¯s words.


    Qi Qiao nodded excitedly in reply, ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t following the conversation, he didn¡¯t know who these two girls were talking about.


    Luocheng cleared his throat and got straight to business, ¡°Did you bring the map of the Summoner¡¯s Rift?¡±


    ¡°I left it at Qi Qiao¡¯s place. It¡¯s not everyday a cryptid like you shows its face, so today¡¯s lunch is on us. Qi Qiao¡¯s really good at cooking, so let¡¯s go over to her place, it¡¯s not far, just across that street,¡± Aijing said.


    The invitation came so suddenly, two girls inviting him into their home? Luocheng thought he was being pranked, but then again, if he didn¡¯t go, who would? He would walk face-first into hell if they told him to, he was a man after all.


    Qi Qiao really didn¡¯t live that far away and they finally reached after walking for roughly half an hour. Luocheng wondered why they hadn¡¯t just taken a 5 minute bus ride to get here, but instead, they just had to walk their way down that street, shopping and eating all the way there.


    ***


    Qi Qiao lived in a single bedroom apartment, and when Luocheng saw that the elevator was going all the way to the 18th floor, he remembered stating that he would ¡°walk face-first into hell¡± and started getting a little worried. Was this some sort of hint from the grim reaper? (T/N: The Chinese version of hell goes 18 levels deep, with the 18th level having the worst punishments.)


    ¡°You guys go on in, I¡¯m going to go get some groceries downstairs.¡± Qi Qiao always had a personable smile on her face, giving people a real sense of innocence when they looked at her.


    Just as Qi Qiao walked out of the door, she turned back to smirk at Aijing, ¡°You two had better not do anything weird in my apartment, okay? I won¡¯t be gone long, 15 minutes tops!¡±


    ¡°Anything¡­weird?¡± Luocheng couldn¡¯t process what she had said immediately, and when he finally caught on, he saw Aijing¡¯s face flushed to her ears, racing over to grab Qi Qiao as Qi Qiao ducked into the elevator.


    Wow, that Qi Qiao sure was something. Was I, the pure, trustworthy Luocheng, really that sort of person?


    And plus, 15 minutes wasn¡¯t enough time to let my enemy surrender!


    ***


    Stepping into the apartment, Luocheng put on one of Qi Qiao¡¯s many guest slippers, belatedly realizing that they were a pair of fluffy bunnies. He was pretty sure they looked extremely out of place on a guy like him.


    The living room wasn¡¯t that big, it only had a sofa and a computer.


    The bedroom door was wide open, and giving it a quick glance over, Luocheng saw some things on the pink rabbit bed sheets that probably weren¡¯t meant for his eyes. Aijing quickly made her way over and tidied up Qi Qiao¡¯s things, her face and movements stiff with awkwardness.


    Luocheng wanted to make an announcement to all the Qi Qiao fans nation-wide, your doubts on whether or not she had double D¡¯s have been officially dispelled.


    ¡°How could you simply look into a girl¡¯s room, rude!¡± Aijing scolded.


    Luocheng only gave a small laugh in response, promptly changing the topic, ¡°Who was that Yi Qin you guys were talking about?¡±


    Aijing was a bit shocked, ¡°You don¡¯t know her?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°She was the first female LoL video analyst. She was super famous about a year ago, she was basically the first goddess for you video game boys,¡± Aijing said.


    From what she knew, boys like Luocheng should have known plenty about Yi Qin, there wasn¡¯t a male LoL fan that didn¡¯t know about her, it was like a teenage boy not knowing who Mia Khalifa was¡­


    ¡°Oh, I was still in highschool then, I didn¡¯t have a lot of time to watch videos, plus I didn¡¯t really watch many analysis videos,¡± Luocheng said.


    Analysis videos were either for entertainment or to teach newbies the basics, Luocheng¡¯s skills already far surpassed that of these analysts so there wasn¡¯t much of a point to watching their videos. Of course, the main reason was because he didn¡¯t have much time during his high school years, but if the video had pretty girls in them, well, Luocheng would still indulge himself from time to time!


    ¡°Fine. She was Qi Qiao¡¯s mentor of sorts and was basically the face of LoL analysts and the top female analyst overall. Back when LoL wasn¡¯t that popular, she even got to host and analyze official competitions. Besides that, she made her own videos in English and translated a lot of foreign videos. She really was capable of everything,¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Is she pretty?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Aijing rolled her eyes at Luocheng, her expression showed her distaste to the entire male population. ¡°Her face is on camera, of course she¡¯s pretty. She has a very queenly look, plus she has a strong aura of professionalism. Most importantly is her ability to express just the right combination of beautiful and cute, honestly, even I could easily fall in love with her if I¡¯m not careful.¡±


    This really got Luocheng thinking, from what Aijing was saying, this Yi Qin really was the goddess of guys like him, so why hadn¡¯t he heard of her.


    ¡°Sadly, she left the country a while ago and never returned to the e-sports industry,¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Another case of someone leaving but still living on forever in some people¡¯s harddrives?¡± Luocheng muttered.


    ¡°She made a few videos while she was working in America too, her English is really good and she was pretty much on par with foreign radio hosts. I saw her a couple of times when we went to Los Angeles for the S League, she¡¯s becoming more and more beautiful by the day, she really helped us out when we had problems with the language,¡± Aijing said.


    Team 71 had represented China in the S International League last year, and as their analyst, Aijing had naturally gone with them. That was Aijing¡¯s first time going abroad, and even though they had lost quite badly, it was still somewhat of a win for Team 71 since they had gotten to experience so much there, Aijing especially had benefited a lot from that trip.


    Of course, after their crushing defeat, Aijing saw how foreign teams¡¯ understanding of e-sports were far more superior when compared to theirs. Her admiration toward Team Wings grew even more for being able to perform so well under such strenuous conditions.


    If they hadn¡¯t made their way there, how would they know that they still had much to improve on? Team 71 ranked top 3 in China, but when put onto a global arena, they came in dead last.


    ¡°If you guys get the chance to enter the S International League this year, you should go meet up with her once you¡¯re in LA. Qi Qiao did say that she¡¯s a really big fan of yours, Fighting Hawk,¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Yeah, of course we¡¯ll meet up if we get the chance, but we¡¯ll need to deal with your team first,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just have to see how much Team Skycrown has practiced this past year.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Top laners got a massive buff during this season. Mundo wasn¡¯t played much last year but now, he¡¯s suddenly one of the most popular champions in top, a lot of teams will probably use him as a split pusher while the rest of the team claims objectives like the Dragon or Baron, I don¡¯t think there are many counters for a Mundo in top lane,¡± Aijing got back to their main topic, pointing out the problems with the recent patch.


    According to the Korean and American game statistics, a Top Mundo had a ridiculously high win-rate.


    With Teleport, Mundo had an amazing overall game presence. During the late game, Mundo could easily go to the bottom lane and have his team push in the top lane or even take the Baron, the enemy team would lose out either way.


    Luocheng nodded, ¡°No matter if his opposing laner brings Teleport or Ignite, Mundo is still going to be a massive headache.¡±


    To lane with Dr. Mundo, should you bring an Ignite or Teleport?


    First of all, most Top laners couldn¡¯t do without Flash, and even if you didn¡¯t take Flash, you would definitely take Ghost in its place.


    As for your second Summoner Spell, if you didn¡¯t bring an Ignite, Mundo¡¯s Ultimate and a Spirit¡¯s Visage could let him heal back his full health bar in seconds, wasting any effort put into chipping him down, and he would no doubt become an unkillable damage-sponge during team fights. Added on to the fact that Mundo¡¯s Ultimate¡¯s cooldown was far shorter than the Ultimate cooldown of other champions, he could ult whenever he wanted to!


    The old saying was to not chase Singed, but chasing a Mundo in Season 8 seemed like a much worse idea!


    Shyvanna was the queen of the top lane, dethroning the previous reign of Renekton, but now, it was the time of the likes of Dr. Mundo and Rengar. It didn¡¯t matter whether the enemy had more physical damage or magic damage, as long as you got a Sunfire Cape and Spirit¡¯s Visage, you would be healing for more health than the enemy ADC could dish out!


    And then we came to the mid lane. Traditional Mid laners were a thing of the past, now, Supports like Lulu were making their claim up in the middle lane as their team¡¯s AP carry. Lulu¡¯s performance in the mid really made quite a few jaws drop.


    Other new Mid laners included the Bestial Huntress, Nidalee. Once a Support and occasional Top, she now did her hunting in the mid lane, besting many old Mid laner champions and becoming one of the best AP carries in the game.


    She could poke down squishy enemies from a mile away, exceeding even the previous king of pokes, Jayce. AP Mid laners who relied on burst damage couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Nidalee either as she was able to one shot an ADC that still had two-thirds of health in a teamfight without getting in range for them to counter her.


    But it wasn¡¯t too surprising, Top laners in the new season were as tanky as the Baron, it didn¡¯t matter if you were AP or AD, they could soak in all of your damage and not even break a sweat, while old AP carries would indeed have a hard time bursting down the enemy backline with a wall like that in their way.


    Lulu could kite well, do continuous damage, buff movement speed and provide a shield, whereas Nidalee was slippery and hard to kill, but could easily kill a squishy target with a single well-aimed Q-skill. These were the types of Mid laners that could come out on top.


    Of course, these two hadn¡¯t gained much popularity within the country. For one, their country got updates slower than the rest of the world, and so, most local players simply didn¡¯t know the strength of these champions. Secondly, these champions were incredibly difficult mechanically. For example, Nidalee was as good as useless if you couldn¡¯t land your spears, basically wasting the spot of an AP carry on your team.


    For Junglers, aggressive Junglers were the way to go during the last season, Lee Sin, Khazix, Jarvan, Elise etc¡­


    But with the gold increase in the jungle this season, more passive, farm-heavy Junglers were starting to gain traction among the professional community. Champions like Amumu were making a comeback onto the rift, and even the Top laner Olaf had jumped ship to enter the jungle.


    Top lane¡¯s changing of eras, the mid lane¡¯s shift in the meta, a complete revamp of the jungle, and Supports like Leona, Taric, Soraka, and Alistar making a huge resurgence¡­


    Just like how the visual upgrade LoL had received in past seasons made it seem like a completely different game, changes this Season had caused a complete shift in what would be considered meta champions.


    The reason why many past e-sports games saw their downfall was because they kept rehashing the same thing over and over again. League of Legends succeeded because it kept reinventing itself, creating new ways to play, and adding new champions. No other game would dare to put their servers down for maintenance every week in fear of backlash from the fans.


    The maintenance was to ensure a better game, to increase the replayability of the game, for as long as there were always fresh new things for the players to experience, it didn¡¯t matter if they had to shut down their servers for half a day, their fans would still be waiting right on the log-in screen as soon as they were back up!


    As the makeshift pioneers and top players of the game, professional players were akin to the celebrity models in the fashion world, their each and every action would be able to redirect the flow of trends throughout the entire community.


    At the same time, they were using their intelligence, diligence, and strength to prove to players that on this battlefield, their team and their strategies were the strongest, that they were the ones who would represent this era of video games!

 Chapter 399 - Number One

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng and Aijing¡¯s understanding of the Supports in the latest season was mostly identical. To begin, Leona, popularly known as the ¡°Tank Woman¡± in China would become the main attraction in the next season. She would be able to handle tanking and also DPS. Not only that, if the team needed a crowd-controller, Leona could still handle it. The only Champions that could counter her would probably be Alistar and Thresh.


    Thus, Zyra, Annie and Sona¡ªthese frequently used Supports would have nowhere to shine. This was especially true since Annie had been nerfed a lot this time round¡ªshe had lost her ability to do the exact 1.75-second crowd-control. Annie was not that popular amongst the mid laners, therefore, after being nerfed like that, there would be an even lesser chance for her to be picked and appear in the middle lanes. This, in turn, led to her becoming more of a burden than a support.


    At the very least, most teams wouldn¡¯t be picking her to be a Support in the matches from henceforth.


    This new version had totally made the tanks the next main MVP! The more HP you had, the more likely you would win!


    Aijing handed Luocheng a document which contained all the data of champions¡¯ spots on the map and frequency of them being on those spots.


    In return, Luocheng dug up all his rich experience from playing as ¡°Trolling no.1¡± and told Aijing which champions that had supposedly been swept under the rug but could definitely be dug up to shine as a wild card in the next season.


    After exchanging the crucial intel that they needed, both of them then started to pull away and talked less about strategies and tactics.


    As Aijing was from Team 71, she obviously wouldn¡¯t let slip of their strategies that easily since it was possible for them to face up against Team Skycrown in the next LPL.


    ***


    Unlike Meiqi, Qi Qiao¡¯s cooking was phenomenal!


    After leaving Qi Qiao¡¯s home, Luocheng¡¯s cell phone rang, it was Qianqian.


    ¡°Where are you?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still on the street.¡±


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t gone up on a subway yet. He was taking his time to take in all the information he had received earlier, picturing every champion and situation that could possibly appear on the Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    ¡°My break has started, do you want me to book a ticket to go home?¡± Qianqian asked.


    Last year, Luocheng had traveled up from Shanghai to Hangzhou to meet up with her, and then traveled back to Lecheng together. After hearing Qianqian mentioning about booking a ticket, Luocheng realized that a year had passed since.


    Time flew by really fast¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m not going back.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Qianqian couldn¡¯t say a word hearing this. She knew Luocheng and his family had a huge rift going on.


    ¡°Then¡­ aren¡¯t you coming to Hangzhou to see me?¡± after a short pause, Qianqian asked softly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a few matches coming up in the next few days.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Whenever a new season kicked in, every team would be violently researching for a new strategy to win. Thus, to gather all kinds of intel about these teams¡¯ strategies, Luocheng would need to participate in matches and tournaments. He couldn¡¯t afford to let his guard down because there was no doubt that the other teams would do their best to tear Team Skycrown down, and to counter that, Luocheng would need to continue fighting and do constant preparation.


    ¡°Then¡­ perhaps I could come and visit you instead?¡± Qianqian asked again.


    ¡°I¡­ I might not be able to spend a lot of time with you, though¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. I suppose I¡¯ll head home then. Good luck with your matches.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    Luocheng felt rather guilty as he put down his cell phone. After becoming a professional player, his free time was gradually shrinking day by day.


    He couldn¡¯t even remember when was the last time he had had the time to play games casually with Qianqian like the old days. Had it been weeks? Or was it months ago¡­?


    ***


    Night time.


    After returning to Demacia Cafe, Luocheng noticed that there was a team waiting for a challenge.


    Now that the prize money had risen up to 50,000 RMB, many teams who had participated in countless official matches wouldn¡¯t let go of a chance that could net them each 10,000 RMB, and the teams that were coming forth to accept the challenge were also gradually stronger.


    ¡°Leader, you¡¯re finally back.¡± Duo Duo quickly jogged toward Luocheng with a smile.


    Luocheng looked at the team of players who wore casual outfits as they sat on their lobby¡¯s sofa and asked, ¡°So, who are we up against this time?¡±


    ¡°The second place of Beijing¡¯s LOL League, they are second-tier leaguers. They said they were representing Noxus Cafe, an E-sport Club from Beijing.¡±


    Luocheng stared at him with wide eyes.


    Noxus!?


    Come on, now! We¡¯re in China, alright? So, what¡¯s with all these weird fancy names? First Demacia and now Noxus? Were they trying to create a new Valoran or what?


    ¡°Noxus Cafe was actually converted from one of the biggest internet clubs in Beijing. Their experience in managing the internet cafes and clubs are greater than our boss. Now, they¡¯ve also developed an area in Beijing to establish E-sport Clubs like ours. They saw our interview and are now trying to defeat us, you know, to ¡°put us in our place¡±.¡±


    ¡°Are they strong?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about strong but I¡¯ve heard that their main team is strong. They did manage to defeat Team Dusk in the G League.¡±


    ¡°They defeated Team Dusk?¡±


    Team Dusk was fifth place in LOL¡¯s Top Five. So¡­ this Noxus team could defeat them? That meant that they were indeed quite strong!


    Could it be that LPL-level teams had now started to move into these high-class internet clubs?


    Jian Feng walked past them, and as he saw Luocheng¡¯s troubled eyes, he stopped and explained to him, ¡°The main team of the Noxus Cafe is, in fact, the original Team Beijing. They have always been strong and had garnered a lot of fame, proving themselves in the LPL qualification matches. Yet, they couldn¡¯t get through into the LPL even when there was a playoff. This year, they recruited a new player from Hong Kong, a new player with formidable skills. Do you still remember who the number one player on the national server was?¡±


    ¡°That should be Hades, right?¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°He¡¯s not the number one now. I don¡¯t know what happened to him, whether he had quit playing in the national server or he had other plans, but now? The number one player is this ¡®Remember I¡¯m the Strongest¡¯, nickname ¡®Number One¡¯.¡±


    The number one in the national server!


    Sure, there were a lot of fluctuations in the national server¡¯s ranking, yet, whoever could become the top of this ranking was definitely one of the top of the top!


    Back then, the person who occupied this spot had been Hades!


    Well¡­ sure, Forget Laughter had occupied this space a few times too, but other than that, there was no one else who could climb up to be Number One. Even if they could, it was probably due to some dirty, unlawful means.


    ¡°Could this ¡®Number One¡¯ be some kind of hack? Why have I never heard of him before?¡± Luocheng asked.


    In the world of the internet, there were various kinds of people trying to pretend to be someone they were not. Especially in the world of E-sports, there were always people pretending to be some hotshot in the field to bluff their opponents into yielding a match.


    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s real. Legend has it that this guy had at least 2800 points in the hidden rank.¡± Jian Feng replied.


    ¡°2800! No shit? That¡¯s really OP!¡± Luocheng replied in astonishment.


    His ¡°Trolling No.1¡± persona was strong, and yet, his points were only around 2200. Even Shallow Dream had only about 2600 points.


    And now this guy had 2800 points! That was freaking OP!

 Chapter 400 - A Challenge from Noxus

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng had thought that Demacia Cafe was the only one that ran business like that. He didn¡¯t think that there would already be an E-sports club chain in Beijing, and its name was Noxus!


    There had been various kinds of conflicts between Beijing and Shanghai for many years, and for nearly a century, the citizens between the two cities often bickered about which of their hometown was the ¡°real city¡±.


    Beijing¡ªthe capital city of China. This should be enough to tell everyone who was the boss. It¡¯s foundation dated all the way back to ancient China and it had a sturdy standing in global politics.


    Shanghai, on the other hand, was the fastest growing city in terms of economy, trades, and population in China. It possessed the strongest economical advances in the country, becoming the New York of China.


    If a Shanghai citizen were to hear that you were from Beijing, he would become a snob and smirk, ¡°Oh, from Beijing, huh? Hehe.¡±


    And this was the kind of rivalry that was also going on between Demacia Cafe and Noxus Cafe in Valoran.


    Noxus Cafe had been founded much earlier than the Demacia Cafe, and back then, Demacia Cafe had been nothing but a high-end internet caf¨¦ without its own LOL team.


    After the previous interview and strong impression that Team Skycrown had made, Demacia Cafe had become the number 1 hot spot for LOL players and fans in Shanghai. There were numerous players from other states visiting the place every day while their girlfriends spent their time shopping in Shanghai, creating so many business opportunities that Mr. Lei couldn¡¯t stop laughing like a maniac.


    Since they were now not only named the best internet caf¨¦ in Shanghai but also the number 1 LOL club in the country, the senior clubs in Beijing were pissed! They owned several teams under their belts including the top-tier teams in the country, and after spending so many years scuffling in the mud, they had finally acquired a place in the LPL and defeated the famous Team Dusk.


    They were the seniors and strong. Why couldn¡¯t they become the number 1 LOL club in the country? Your stupid Team Skycrown had even been banned from participating in the LPL this year, how dare you call yourselves the strongest team? How dare you organize open-challenges? Every professional team knew that no amateurs could defeat the professionals!


    Thus, Noxus Cafe had come, but they were not here for a friendly match! They were here for the title of the ¡°Number 1 LOL Club¡±! It didn¡¯t matter if you had Team Skycrown on your side.


    Yes! They were Team Beijing, and they were here to kick their arses!


    ¡°So¡­ they¡¯re here to take the challenge?¡± Luocheng asked as he took a glance at the several hostile faces on the sofa.


    ¡°No. They¡¯re here to declare war.¡±


    ¡°Declare war? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°They contacted their mass media¡ªBeijing¡¯s GTV to broadcast this match between us, Demacia Cafe, and them, Noxus Cafe, on the internet and in their internet cafes. They also wanted us to contact our media, Gamefy, to do the same, broadcasting to their sites and also our internet cafes. It¡¯s equivalent to a match between Beijing and Shanghai, all for the title of the Number 1 LOL club in China!¡± Duo Duo replied anxiously.


    Luocheng was shocked. He had thought that this match was just going to be ¡°tougher¡±, he didn¡¯t think that Noxus Cafe had wanted to make things so complicated!


    Asking two famous game media companies to broadcast the match between the two cities largest LOL clubs, this would certainly ignite all the tension of the LOL players and fans in Beijing and Shanghai.


    It was quite common to see Beijing and Shanghai sports fans of other genres, especially soccer and basketball, bicker and scuffle in stadiums during large sports events. It was a rather bizarre occurrence to see Beijing fans hurl insults in their official tongues while the Shanghai fans would bicker right back in their dialects in the stadium!


    ¡°And what does Boss Lei have to say to this?¡± Luocheng asked.


    This wasn¡¯t something Luocheng could decide alone. He needed his boss¡¯, Mr. Lei¡¯s, consent. Besides, only Boss Lei, one of the richest internet caf¨¦ giants, could contact and ask Gamefy to broadcast the match.


    ¡°He¡¯s right there. See? He¡¯s on a call right now¡­ I suppose he¡¯s not going to reject such offers.¡± Duo Duo replied as he pointed his finger at a spot in the club.


    Luocheng looked at Mr. Lei chatting away on his phone. From the looks of it, Luocheng could see that there was nothing but excitement in his eyes, he didn¡¯t look threatened at all!


    Thus, Luocheng walked toward the 5 Noxus Cafe players. They were chatting happily with one another but when they noticed Luocheng approaching them, they stopped and displayed their hostile attitude once again.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Fighting Hawk?¡± A young man wearing a strange cotton cap asked as he glared at Luocheng.


    ¡°Yes, I am. So, which team are you?¡±


    ¡°The real Team Beijing. Second squad.¡± A teenager replied. He looked like he was around 17 to 18 years old, seemingly a little nervous when talking to Luocheng, as though he respected him, but also refused to concede to being weaker than him.


    ¡°The real Team Beijing? As in, the official one?¡± Luocheng was surprised as he heard that. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s the official Team Beijing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the official one!¡± the young man in the cap replied.


    ¡°Oh, then do you know what¡¯s the difference between the ¡®real¡¯ Team Beijing and just ¡®Team Beijing¡¯?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°The previous ¡®Team Beijing¡¯ was just an obnoxious team that had taken on the name of the city without any approval from the authorities, no professional bodies would recognize them. A for us? We, the Official Team Beijing, represent the city as a member of ACE.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re recognized by the General Administration of Sports, then?¡¯ Luocheng asked.


    To represent Beijing as a team, they not only needed the support of the Association of China E-sports (ACE), they also needed recognition from the General Administration of Sports. Only the General Administration of Sports had the ability and resources to stamp them as a team representing a city or state. If they were to use the name of the city without all these recognitions, they would be just another low-tier team, and the most they could do was to just call themselves ¡°Team Beijing¡± and not ¡°Official Beijing Team¡±. Besides, if they were not the strongest team in Beijing, the other teams in the city would most definitely cause a ruckus!


    ¡°Oh, so you know this too?¡± the young man in the cap looked at Luocheng in surprise.


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t acquired the recognition from the Association of China E-sports and General Administration of Sports, it¡¯s best not to call yourself ¡®Team Beijing¡¯. It¡¯d be a shame if you were forced to rename your team later by the authorities.¡±


    ¡°Did I say that we didn¡¯t have the recognition? The vice president of the General Administration of Sports has recognized us. Our first squad is formed by the strongest players from not only Beijing, but also the entire northeast China and Shandong. On top of that, we¡¯ve got the strongest player from Hong Kong, ¡®Number One¡¯. Don¡¯t get too cocky just because you¡¯ve participated in the LPL! We, Noxus Cafe¡¯s Team Beijing, will definitely destroy every senior team in the country including you, Team Skycrown!¡± the young man in the cap replied with a snobbish attitude.


    ¡°What? The General Administration of Sports has recognized your team? And only them?¡± Luocheng was surprised. He had thought that if ACE hadn¡¯t given its recognition, no team could represent any city or state.


    ¡°Of course. We are going to represent China in the Asian Indoor Games!¡± the high-school boy replied with a smile.


    E-sports was, at this point of time, not included in any major sports event. There was news that the Asian Indoor Games had intended to include it as one of the games, finally connecting it with the rest of the ¡°real sports¡±. It had caused quite a stir back then too. This in turn also meant that the General Administration of Sports had finally recognized E-sport as proper sports¡ªone that could be recognized for a segment in the larger sports events.


    Even though the Asian Indoor Games was not as renowned as the other major sports events like the Asian Games and Winter Olympic Games, they were still representing the country to play in a sports event, and the honor that came from that was not what any corporate-sponsored leagues could compare to!


    However¡­ Why Noxus Cafe¡¯s Team Beijing? Why them?


    ¡°Luocheng, good of you to finally join us. I have contacted Gamefy and they are more than willing to livestream our match. They have even created a site specifically to broadcast this. Now, this broadcast site won¡¯t be just for the viewing pleasure of our audience, they can also show their support with a click of a button, and these will be represented by flowers shown on the screen. This will definitely be an exciting match! Now, what do you think, Captain Yu?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s someone here to take up the challenge, there¡¯s no reason for us to reject them. So, do you want the match to be LAN or online?¡±


    ¡°Online. We will be facing-off with you in our Noxus Cafe while you will be in your own cafe here. Come on now, don¡¯t tell me you expect our Beijing fans to travel all the way to your club and internet cafes for the match¡­¡±


    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll play from our own home bases.¡± Luocheng replied.


    You have your support and we have ours. Let¡¯s see who is the one who has the skills to represent China and the entire E-sport community. Team Skycrown has not faced off with top-tier players and teams for quite some time now, so let¡¯s treat this match as a warm-up for LPL then!


    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll have a meeting with the other internet cafes¡¯ managers and bosses. If you want to do it, let¡¯s make it as loud as possible. We don¡¯t like small parties like you, Beijing-dwellers, do!¡± Mr. Lei replied, talking like the super Shanghai millionaire that he was!


    He had gotten a whiff of business opportunity now after all!


    This wasn¡¯t some business rivalry. There was no way internet clubs between Beijing and Shanghai could compete for subscribed members. This would, however, kick up a storm on the internet when two of the best LOL teams faced off on a livestream! There was a lot of money to be made here!

 Chapter 401 - The Incredible Middle-laner

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Team Beijing? We¡¯ve met them before.¡± Da Luo suddenly spoke up.


    ¡°When?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°You know that one time we fought together with Shallow Dream? She was the Support back then. Wu Sen was in the mid lane getting wrecked and then, their Jungler and Mid suddenly ganked us at the bottom lane. Good thing that Shallow Dream¡¯s Sona managed to cast a few skills to aid us. However, the opponent¡¯s Kassadin had great equipments and was able to come kicking with a storm of skills and Ignite. We lasted for a whopping 30 minutes before losing the match.¡± Da Luo replied.


    Luocheng looked at Wu Sen.


    Wu Sen nodded, ¡°That Kassadin was good. There was no way for my Orianna to stop him from levelling up. Heck, I couldn¡¯t even stop him from creep-scoring at all.¡±


    No way, being defeated by a Kassadin? Kassadin, the Void Walker, was known to be fairly weak in the first 6 levels. Even a Level 6 Orianna with Shockwave mastered would still be more powerful than Kassadin. However, if he survived all the way to the end-game, Kassadin could shine brightly with his terrifying ability to assassinate opponents and his great support capabilities.


    ¡°Besides that, I¡¯ve met with this guy a few times already. He¡¯s strong. I can¡¯t defeat him at all. His offenses were quite aggressive and he seemed to not take his time in growing his Champion at all. He would either leap out and kill you so that you won¡¯t get much gold, or he would be defeated rather early due to his recklessness. Yet most of the time, he was able to wreck his enemies. He¡¯s strong but his scores aren¡¯t very high, probably due to the way he handles his matches. However, it would seem that he has gotten better and his rank is now higher than Hades.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Like the game¡¯s frequent updates and changes, it was a common sight to see high-ranked players come and go. It was rare to see players remain on the top spots for longer than 5 years.


    Senior players often needed to concede when there were newcomers that were stronger than them. They possessed quicker reflexes, skilful controls, and more aggressive PVP attitudes. The only thing they lacked was the baptism of countless losses in major leagues.


    This ¡°Number One¡± was the typical ¡°newcomer¡±, and it was quite obvious from the way he defeated Wu Sen that he had already been immersed in the atmosphere of professional players. With a level head and trained skills, he was quickly becoming the new star in E-sports!


    Like in his DOTA days, Luocheng was, at first, just a ¡°skilful newcomer¡±. After facing off with professional players time and time again, Luocheng had been able to acquire his top form and then grow tremendously in a short span of time, surpassing all the senior players, rising to the international level and becoming the strongest E-sport player.There were tens of thousands of players playing the game at any given moment. Occasionally, a genius would come up on top and become a renowned player. ¡°Number One¡± was probably like that.


    ¡°In an official match, if you¡¯re facing him, how confident are you that you will win?¡± Luocheng asked Wu Sen.


    ¡°Without the aid of a Jungler, I would say I¡¯ll lose. This guy is strong. When I faced him, it was as though i was facing the dreaded Hades himself.¡± Wu Sen replied.


    Wu Sen was not the type who would grab much attention in a match. He wasn¡¯t as skilful in the middle lane like Lin Dong, however, there was one good thing about him, and that was he was honest about himself. If he knew he couldn¡¯t win, he would accept that fact and block-gather minions while calling out to Zhou Yan to help him gank the opponent.


    Mid laners tended to be hot-headed, for example, Ancient Dust from Team Stardust. He was indeed, really skilful, but he was too reckless. No matter how strong you were, if a Jungler were to ambush you, it was game over.


    Wu Sen¡¯s honesty had helped Team Skycrown to make better and rational decisions when drafting up a strategy.


    Of course, there were other issues too. If Wu Sen¡¯s conservative middle laning was entirely pinned down by the opponent¡¯s aggressiveness, entering the jungle and acquiring Blue Orbs would become a challenge, thus, making it more difficult for them to acquire economic advantages.


    Due to never having heard of ¡°Noxus Cafe¡¯s Team Beijing¡¯, Luocheng had thought that they were just some low-tier show-offs. Yet, from the way they had defeated Team Skycrown, even with Shallow Dream on their side, he concluded that this ¡°Team Beijing¡± was in fact, the real deal.


    Nonetheless, they needed to figure out a way for Wu Sen to turn the tables. If they faced a drastic disadvantage while two major game medias were livestreaming the match, there was no way they could reacquire any advantages that they possessed at this time.


    ¡°After being defeated by him last time, I took the liberty of going through some training to increase my ability to withstand pressure. If I were to face-off against him again before the LPL, I¡¯m sure I could at least end up with a draw. But if I were to face him next Saturday¡­¡± Wu Sen trailed off.


    Wu Sen had indeed been training very hard since. His skills and ability to take out creeps and grow his Champion were much better than Lin Dong¡¯s, and not only that, his proficiency in the Support role was also reaching the top-tier level. Alas, it was still too early for him to face-off another mid laner one-to-one.


    ***


    After hearing what Wu Sen had to say, Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but to re-evaluate his view on this ¡°Team Beijing¡±. He quickly rolled out the footage of the matches when Shallow Dream had joined them and started his research that night.


    Then, he quickly went online to search for Team Beijing¡¯s matches, researching all the way until midnight.


    When Luocheng sleepily stepped out of the Demacia Cafe, Mr. Lei was also in the club. Seeing his golden boy spending his time in the club until late night, Mr. Lei couldn¡¯t help but approach him with a concerned face.


    ¡°Captain Yu, what¡¯s wrong? Is this going to be a tough match?¡± Mr. Lei asked.


    ¡°Their Mid is absurdly strong. His ability to steamroll is exceptional. More importantly, they know how to utilize the advantages that he creates to score in the jungle and the Dragon¡¯s area. In other words, there was very little room for error due to their incomparable teamwork. If I can¡¯t find a way to breach this economic disadvantage that they have doomed us with, we¡¯ll lose.¡± Luocheng replied in a grave voice.


    Indeed, Luocheng had underestimated Team Beijing. It was not by chance that they had been able to defeat Team Dusk, and unlike the loud, boastful Team Sunlight, they indeed had the talent to represent the country in the Asian Indoor Games!


    This Team Beijing was almost like what Team Skycrown had been in the last LPL ¨C They were a wild card that could take out any senior team with ease!


    ***


    One week. Luocheng took an entire week to figure out a plan to defeat Team Beijing.


    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll go to the mid. You¡¯ll be the ADC, and Wu Sen can be the Support.¡± Lin Dong suggested.


    After all, Wu Sen had only just started playing as a mid laner recently. He had great potential in the middle lane but Luocheng had realized this too late. Due to that, Wu Sen didn¡¯t have enough time to perfect his skills to be a mid laner.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to face-off, can you beat him?¡± Luocheng¡¯s question was curt.


    ¡°At least I won¡¯t be defeated so easily. I might still be pinned down, though. The last time I crossed his path, it was more of him winning than me.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no point in changing positions.¡± Luocheng shook his head.


    In this new season, the ADC¡¯s role in claiming victory had become smaller and smaller. Back then, a good ADC could ensure a match¡¯s victory, yet now, if the Mid could secure himself a super-tanky set of equipment, not even choosing Luocheng as the ADC would change anything. There was just so little a professional player could do against a game¡¯s newer version change.


    ¡°Da Luo, could you at least gain some momentum on your end?¡± Luocheng asked Da Luo.


    ¡°As long as their Jungler doesn¡¯t come and camp me, I have about a 70% chance of gaining some advantage in the first 20 minutes. It depends on good ol¡¯ Zhou¡¯s performance in the jungle.¡± Da Luo replied.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°60% chance of gaining an advantage.¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    Luocheng nodded his head upon hearing it. Zhou Yan was a careful man, he did not boast of his own capabilities, and thus, his words were gold.


    Therefore, Luocheng knew what to do.


    ***


    After a week of fierce marketing by the Noxus Cafe, word about this ¡°Beijing versus Shanghai¡± match was spreading like wildfire. Not only that, several famous LOL official Weibo¡¯s had also been talking about this. Basically, you could not find a single soul who didn¡¯t know about this match.


    Sure enough, this had also sparked the chauvinistic hateful bickering from Beijing and Shanghai fans to one another. The match hadn¡¯t even begun and there were already so many people fighting about it on the Baidu forums, brutally fierce debates under every LOL related thread almost every day.


    This, in turn, kicked up a storm in other sports-related forums too,resulting in soccer and basketball fans of Beijing and Shanghai bickering with each other. The debates and bickering started from sports and escalated to social status of their own home city, and then to other philosophical levels!


    It was really strange. There weren¡¯t that many ¡°angry chauvinistic youngsters¡± that existed in China. Most of them were just trolls ¨C Trolls who just wanted to set the world aflame and enjoy the view. They wanted to see this rebellious portion of the population fighting with the intellectual elites in the country, and all of this was done in the name of ¡°fun¡±. It was just like any other online platform, all they needed to do was drip a few drops of ¡°academic sources¡± and hyperlinks into these fierce debates, and then, watch the fireworks.


    This ¡°Match between the top LOL players from Beijing and Shanghai¡± had become just another interesting topic for an afternoon tea session, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Peaceful times were boring after all. Their daily lives were all ¡°school session on¡±, ¡°school session off¡±, ¡°catch the morning train for work¡±, and ¡°catch the evening train from work¡±. They were bored. Bored! If they couldn¡¯t get some fun from their mundane lives, then they sure as hell would start an online flame war for laughs and giggles.

 Chapter 402 - Battle of the Riches

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The webpage for the match had already been created a week before the two parties had agreed to the match.


    On the page, there was a huge slogan¡ª¡±Shanghai VS Beijing. The battle between professional LOL players! Which city is the best?¡±


    On the left side, there was the Noxus Cafe¡¯s Team Beijing and its 5 members¡¯ brief biography. They had put up every piece of information that they could, including the members¡¯ pictures and Noxus Cafe¡¯s marketing video.


    On the right was Demacia Cafe¡¯s Team Skycrown. Similarly, there was a brief biography of all the 5 members. They only had the pictures of the members and didn¡¯t have any marketing video, but nonetheless, they had included Team Skycrown¡¯s interview and a few pictures to introduce the club.


    The very middle of the webpage was the live stream column with two bars on each side to show support rate, visualized in flower symbols.


    This was a QT live streaming page and as such, anyone who was a QQ member could head in and vote with their ¡°flowers¡±. Every QQ member by default had been given a free flower to vote with, so if they wanted to cast even more votes, they would need to buy more flowers with their Q Coins.


    Before the match even started, there were already at least tens of thousands of flowers on each team¡ªShanghai had about 56% flowers while Beijing had 43%. It was quite apparent that no matter how much Team Beijing tried, Team Skycrown¡ªa team that had participated in the LPL before was much more popular.


    There were 3 days more before the match started and yet, the ¡°flowers¡± kept coming in. Despite that, the support rate still somehow remained the same, therefore, the Shanghai faction had started to mock the other side on the internet to show their ¡°superiority¡±.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re the one who picked a fight with us and yet, you Beijing buffoons don¡¯t even support your own team. What a joke. If you don¡¯t have any fans in Beijing then let us know. We could throw some flowers to you from our side to balance out the support rate if you want. Otherwise, people would be laughing at you, o¡¯ my dear Capital City.¡±


    After this thread was started, a flame war broke out. Thousands and thousands of replies and comments were added on the thread in just half a day. Beijing flamed the thread with points about qualifications, history, and politics, while Shanghai bickered with their economic growth, international standings, and living standards.


    Nonetheless, this had undoubtedly provoked the Beijing side quite a bit. On the ¡°Filthy Rich¡± ranking board, a fairly rich user had thrown in 10,000 flowers to support Beijing, shocking everyone from Shanghai as well as the Demacia Cafe supporters.


    And so, the original 43% had now shot up to 56%!


    ¡°F*ck! Just who is this guy? 10,000 flowers in one go, what a filthy rich bastard! He¡¯s spending money like water!¡± Da Luo looked at the ¡°flower¡± bar in shock.


    The ¡°Filthy Rich¡± ranking board had been prepared for the hardcore fans. When they voted with a tremendous amount of flowers, their name would show up in the top ten, thus, there were quite a number of fans who had forked up a lot of cash to vote as they were eager for their name to show up on the ranking board.


    Yet, this guy now stood on top with his 10,000 flowers as he smirked down at the lowlives below from up above!


    ¡°This guy must be from the Noxus Cafe. Remember. Their members are mostly rich people. Every time they walk in to play LOL, they would be charged by head counts. One player would need to pay yuan 1,000 whereas a Support pays yuan 200. It¡¯s quite easy for an internet caf¨¦ to acquire a few dozens of thousands yuan in just one night, and if that person spends all that money on booking a private room in their neighbourhood¡¯s internet caf¨¦, that¡¯s like a few thousand yuan income in one go.¡± Duo Duo deduced.


    Da Luo and Wu Sen could hardly believe what they had just heard.


    The hell!? Dozens of thousands yuan in just one night!?


    Rich people¡­ it was so difficult to understand them. Perhaps to them, money was indeed nothing but a number for them to spend in entertainment!


    ***


    And it was just like what Xiao Duo Duo had said.


    If it was the usual match, the number of ¡°flowers¡± was equal to the number of supports on each side.


    However, the organizers were quite smart in creating the ranking board system and they announced that the support rate would be shown on the web page throughout the match. This, in turn, made the ¡°Filthy Rich¡± ranking board super popular.


    QQ users usually had a few QQ Coins accumulated in their account, and so, if they spent some in the voting system, their favourite team would then have an additional supporter. Therefore, this allowed for the richer ones to vote more and climb up to the top ten!


    There were a lot of rich kids in the Noxus Cafe. Right now, Team Beijing had about 30,000 flowers¡ª10,000 from the normal supporters, 10,000 from that super rich kid, and the rest were from the members of Noxus.


    It was almost the same with Demacia Cafe. About 10,000¡ª20,000 flowers had been voted by the usual supporters while the rest were from the rich kids. Heck, even Feng Da had voted over 1,000 flowers in one go!


    ¡°Show-off! You think we Demacians can¡¯t do better!?¡± Feng Da pointed his finger at the screen as he screamed at the top of his lungs.


    Meanwhile, a crowd was kicking up a storm in the Beijing comment section to sing praises to the kid who had voted 10,000 flowers.


    ¡°Geez, it¡¯s getting more and more out of control! This is much crazier than the LPL!¡± Lin Dong¡¯s jaw was rolling on the ground as he looked at the comments pouring in like a tsunami.


    Luocheng himself hadn¡¯t thought that this match would become so important. If they lost this match, it would not only be a disgrace, but also a hit to their morale in their next LPL.


    On Friday, another rich kid appeared on Noxus¡¯ side yet again, throwing in another 10,000 flowers and resulting in Beijing¡¯s ¡°flowers¡± skyrocketing to 60,000 while Shanghai¡¯s side had only 40,000.


    Seeing that their support rate was now breaching 60%, everyone at the Noxus Cafe was celebrating as more and more visitors visited their clubs. At the same time, there was an interview going on in Noxus Cafe¡¯s headquarters.


    The interview¡¯s main focus was on ¡°Number One¡±.


    Number One was young¡ªperhaps even younger than 20. In other words, he was in the golden age as a professional player. With young age, he would have faster reaction and agile controls, and if he possessed a sturdy mind that could withstand pressure and had years of experience under his belt, he would be a great threat to the other senior players.


    ¡°I respect Fighting Hawk. He is essentially the king of E-sports after all. Yet, as you all know, E-sports isn¡¯t like the medical, Fengshui field, that values seniority. As the years go by, new E-sports players will eventually replace the older ones, and in doing so, we¡¯ll have progress. Thus, to answer your question earlier about whether I¡¯d feel pressured when facing Fighting Hawk¡­ my answer is yes. Of course I¡¯ll feel very pressured. However, it¡¯s only a matter of time before I beat him.¡± Number One answered the beautiful GTV interviewer with a smile.


    Number One¡¯s smile was charming. There was a dimple in his smile¡ªa dimple that was telling the world that he was young and confident!


    ¡°Sh*t! Boss, this brat just said that you¡¯re old!¡± Da Luo was pissed.


    It was true though, Luocheng was indeed much older than this kid. He was a senior amongst seniors. However, he had only reached 20 years of age this year, thus, he still had the skills and reactions that were younger than a 24-year-old¡¯s!


    ¡°So, the person that you want to beat the most is Hades?¡± the GTV interviewer asked.


    ¡°Not just Hades. The entire Team Daemons.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the strongest team in the country. They are unbeatable so far. Your determination and courage to challenge them is remarkable.¡±


    Da Luo¡¯s nerves snapped after hearing this.


    ¡°This little brat! Team Daemons are our rivals! Not his! D*mn it! I¡¯m so going to beat the crap out of this brat! If I can¡¯t beat him, I¡¯ll forfeit my name!¡±


    ¡°This kid¡­ he¡¯s so shameless.¡± Lin Dong muttered coldly.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t affected by these kinds of taunts. There were plenty of people wanting to challenge him, in fact, these challengers could line up and enclose the land of Valoran by the layers.


    The only thing that he was unhappy about was this:


    Why the h*ll did the likes of you get the chance to participate in the Asian Indoor Games?


    ***


    Finally, the day of the match had arrived!


    It didn¡¯t matter how fiery it was before the match. The real deal was today!


    The true battle! To the death!


    At just 7pm, there were already hundreds of thousands of viewers clogging up the webpage¡¯s traffic. This webpage supported mobile viewing as well, increasing the number of viewers seeing as everyone in China owned a cell phone.


    300,000 viewers in the first hour!


    This number almost rivalled that of the LPL viewership!


    Well, it was also quite difficult to differentiate between the real LOL fans that wanted to watch the match and the normies who just wanted to see what was going on.


    It was understandable too. These two teams were the top tier LOL teams in the country, it was normal for anyone to be curious.


    ¡°O¡¯ my master, I¡¯m here¡± Xu Ben called out with a smile.


    It was the weekend so he had taken a ride to Demacia Cafe all the way from Hangzhou to support Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Xu Ben, you¡¯re here. Come. Toss some cash into this, will ya? The flower ratio is so pitiful over here!¡± K threw a glance at Xu Ben and said.


    K came from a family that held wealth and power. However, he didn¡¯t receive a lot of spending money from his family and it was only enough to handle his monthly expenses. This month, he had decided to spend less on himself and had thrown in 2000 flowers earlier. Even though he was now on the ¡°Filthy Rich¡± ranking board, it wasn¡¯t enough for the Shanghai supporters to catch up to Beijing¡¯s 30,000 flowers gap.


    There were 300,000 viewers at the time, and each account had at least 1 flower. The ratio of the flowers was about 170,000 to 130,000. Rich kids from Beijing had spent about 40,000 to 50,000 flowers while the ones from Shanghai only could afford 20,000.


    This had resulted in the Beijing rich kids belittling the Shanghai ones.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Shanghai has loads of crazy rich people? The hell is wrong with the number of flowers on your side there, huh?¡±


    ¡°D*mn it, this is so pitiful. I¡¯ll drop all of my spending money this month into it right away!¡± Xu Ben quickly logged on to his QQ account and started topping up.


    Feng Da looked at Xu Ben and shook his head, ¡°What can a mere student do? If you¡¯re spending just 1,000 or 2,000 flowers, then forget¡­ what the f*ck!?¡±


    Feng Da, Mao, and the others couldn¡¯t believe their eyes! Shanghai¡¯s flowers suddenly soared up from 130,000 to 160,000!


    That was 30,000 flowers in one go!


    A storm was kicked up in the comment section!


    This guy was like a fighter jet amongst the other filthy rich kids!


    Feng Da and Mao¡¯s jaws dropped all the way to their feet.


    The hell!? You were just a university student and you had at least yuan 30,000 as spending money for a month!? Holy mother of God! Did your parents know that you were such a hardcore spender!?


    Da Luo, Lin Dong, Luocheng, Wu Sen and Zhou Yan were speechless after seeing what Xu Ben had done.


    They knew Xu Ben was rich, but they hadn¡¯t known he was THAT rich!


    After seeing K tapping on Xu Ben¡¯s shoulder in amazement, Team Skycrown had to shove the dark desire of kidnapping Xu Ben for ransom money down their throats really, really hard!

 Chapter 403 - Vayne is Banned

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Master, you must win! If you win, I¡¯ll be able to gobble down the cup noodles happily this month!¡± Xu Ben said to Luocheng.


    ¡°Damn it! He¡¯s just a student and yet he¡¯s sacrificed this much. I can¡¯t just sit by and do nothing. Good thing I¡¯m banned from playing at Dongguan right now¡­¡± a young man quickly stood up from his VIP seat and rushed over to the main computer in the lobby. In mere minutes, he had topped up his QQ account to do the flower-voting.


    Luocheng and his gang knew who this guy was, his name was Jack. He had a strange in-game name ¨C¡±Jackass¡± and thus, everyone just referred to him that way as well. He was usually a quiet person and rarely talked to others, but all of a sudden, they had now received 10,000 flowers from his QQ account. Team Skycrown was surprised!


    This was getting crazy!


    ¡°Hey, pretty boy. I¡¯ll drop 5,000 flowers for you if you play a few games with me tonight.¡± Adelle, another member of the Demacia Cafe threw a suggestive glance at Team Skycrown.


    The ¡°pretty boy¡± was, of course, Lin Dong. This beautiful lady seemed attracted to young handsome boys like Lin Dong. Nonetheless, this was not the first time that Lin Dong had encountered flirtations like this.


    ¡°Well¡­ are we just going to play games?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°If you¡¯d like, we could do something more¡­ intimate. But I fear my appetite might suck you dry.¡± Adelle giggled.


    A round of laughter was heard in Demacia Cafe as Lin Dong¡¯s face turned a bright red.


    Adelle, dressed in a skin-tight alluring miniskirt, walked toward the lobby¡¯s terminal and logged onto her account. She didn¡¯t even need to top up as there were already several hundreds of thousands Q Coins in it. In an instant, she had thrown in 5,000 flowers to the live streaming website.


    In the last few days, there hadn¡¯t been many people buying and tossing flowers from the Demacia Cafe. Now, there were rich kids appearing one by one to show their support. At first, Da Luo and the rest had thought that these people were just rich-kid-wannabes. They didn¡¯t think that they really were the real deal!


    In the previous matches and leagues, it had been difficult for the players to meet with their fans at a close distance, yet now, Luocheng and his gang were standing right in front of them. They were the real Team Skycrown in the flesh, but not only that, their supporters and fans were also there by their side, joking and chatting like real friends¡­


    Everyone here liked to play LOL which was why they visited internet clubs like Demacia Cafe. Not only that, visiting the club also granted them the chance to befriend the top-tier players. This was the crucial hour that Team Skycrown needed support, thus, they all showed up. Why wouldn¡¯t they? They were both their fans and friends!


    This atmosphere was something that Mr. Lei needed. It was something that the E-sports club needed. This atmosphere that encouraged people to support one another was something that would definitely help in boosting the image and business of the Demacia Cafe. Even though everyone knew that Mr. Lei was now suffering some losses at the moment, it wouldn¡¯t take long before all his investments would be returned tenfold!


    Team Skycrown were really touched as well. Seeing the usual patrons of the Demacia Cafe all stand up and toss in flowers for them, in mere minutes, they now had 40,000 more flowers than Beijing¡¯s Noxus Cafe.


    They knew that there weren¡¯t really many rich people amongst their patrons aside from the likes of Xu Ben. The other patrons, although not as rich, were still Team Skycrown¡¯s fans. Therefore, they had decided to spend a bit of cash to support them with flowers. It didn¡¯t matter if all they could do was deliver hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of flowers¡­ every single flower they voted symbolized their love for E-sports and Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Go get¡¯em, Skycrown! Let¡¯s show them that Demacia Cafe¡¯s Team Skycrown is the best team!¡± The usually stingy Xiao Duo Duo too had cashed in over 1,000 flowers on the livestreaming website, surprising Lin Dong and Da Luo.


    ¡°Yeah, Demacia Cafe¡¯s Team Skycrown is the best!¡±


    ¡°Demacia!¡±


    ¡°Demacia!!!¡±


    This was the first time Luocheng and his team had got to watch their fans showing their fiery passion and support at such a close distance, and a rush of warm, indescribable feelings surged up in their hearts.


    The society had been giving E-sports the cold shoulder for the longest of times. There weren¡¯t many fans of E-sports showing up in stadiums to support their teams. Not only that, most of them tended to choose to stand on the sidelines and just watch.


    Now, after witnessing his fans at close range, Luocheng realized that perhaps, it wasn¡¯t that the people were giving E-sports the cold shoulder. No. It was just that E-sports didn¡¯t know how to approach its supporters.


    The so-called professional players had a tendency to hide themselves amongst the bustling crowd in cities and towns. Even after they showed up in major leagues and matches, they would disappear into the crowds yet again once the matches were over.


    Why do you keep such a distance when there were so many people who wanted to give you a warm hug? Why hide yourself in the base and train in solitary when you could step out and play in public? Allow the others to watch you. Sure, they might tease you and laugh at you whenever there¡¯s a mistake, yet, when an outsider came to taunt you, these fans would be the first to defend you. Why? Because they knew your real capabilities and they were your true supporters¡­


    E-sports didn¡¯t have to be such a lonesome road.


    Luocheng, looking at these rich kids, students, and white-collars standing around them with their burning passion for E-sports and their overwhelming support for Team Skycrown, couldn¡¯t help but feel touched.


    Indeed, E-sports today was unlike how it was in the past. Now, there were more people watching the matches to support their favourite teams, and to return the favor, all the team could do now was to give it their all and win!


    Society was a cruel place. In their daily lives, work and school had given them a tremendous amount of pressure. They didn¡¯t have anywhere to express their hardship and let off steam. Thus, if their favourite teams, the teams that came from the clubs they frequented could defeat the spiteful opponent, they would cheer their lungs out.


    This was a great way to release their daily stress and break off their chains!


    ***


    This time when Team Skycrown went into the VIP room, the door wasn¡¯t shut tight. In other words, the patrons were allowed to enter the room with them and watch them play the match at a close distance.


    However, none of the patrons stepped into the VIP room with them. They didn¡¯t want to disturb Team Skycrown as this match was very important, almost as important as the LPL!


    Therefore, everyone decided to watch the match in the lobby. If there were no seats, they would then sit at the computers at the lobby or sit in their private room, watching the match quietly with their friends.


    Demacia Cafe was fully packed that night!


    Back then, whenever there was a match going on, the club would limit the entries via selling, making it really difficult to watch these kinds of high-ranking matches. But for today, Demacia Cafe had allowed a totally free entrance and let anyone walk through the door. It didn¡¯t matter who you were, as long as you wanted to watch the match, just walk right in!


    ***


    The match was handled quite professionally. They had professional commentators and a professional referee, just like a match in the big leagues. It was quite apparent that the two clubs had spent quite a fortune on this match.


    The screen had now gone on to the Banning Screen. Noxus Cafe had the right to pick their champions first as well as banning the enemy champions.


    The first champion they banned was¡­ Vayne, the Night Hunter!


    It was an instant ban too!


    There was already some noise coming from the commentators after Vayne was banned.


    There were two commentators ¨C the male commentator was Miracle, while the other was Jojo, a female commentator who had recently become popular in the industry.


    ¡°This is such a weird ban coming from Noxus Cafe. Why would they ban Vayne? She¡¯s just a weak ADC on the field. Especially in this age where it¡¯s crucial for people to ban Sivir and Lucian. If they needed to ban an ADC, they should at least ban any one of those, right?¡± Jojo couldn¡¯t make sense of Noxus Cafe¡¯s decision to ban Vayne.


    Miracle threw a look at Jojo.


    This young lady sure didn¡¯t know what the hell she was talking about, huh?


    ¡°It¡¯s quite clear that you haven¡¯t watched last year¡¯s LPL.¡± Miracle said.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps there are some newbies here who don¡¯t know this, so let me clear this up for all of you. See that guy over there in Team Skycrown? That¡¯s Fighting Hawk ¨C a super player who could literally butcher you if you¡¯re not careful. Last year when Team Sky faced off with them, they were killed 100 times by the Fighting Hawk, and the champion that he used at the time was none other than Vayne, the Night Hunter!¡±


    Miracle purposely took a pause before continuing.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s quite clear that if they were allowed to ban just 2 champions, if any LPL team needs to face Team Skycrown head on, Vayne will be banned by default!¡±


    ¡°What? That cannot be!¡± Jojo wasn¡¯t familiar with this part of the LPL history. She was a new commentator after all.


    ¡°It¡¯s real! I¡¯m telling you, this is real! Nowadays, there is an unspoken rule amongst the professional players ¨C if you dared to allow Fighting Hawk to use Vayne, whenever you see him on the field, it¡¯s better for you to just leap straight at him and feed him. In fact, every member on the opposite team should just feed him. There¡¯s just no way you could win. Seriously though¡­ if they had dared to not ban Vayne, they would have my respect. My highest respect!¡±


    Miracle was close to many professional players, therefore, he knew these kinds of gossip, and the word was that Fighting Hawk¡¯s Vayne had scared everyone shitless!


    At that moment, they were deeply grateful toward the developer for inventing the Banning system. Otherwise, there was no way for them to survive in front of the Fighting Hawk.


    In short, the rule was that when you see Team Skycrown? Ban Vayne. Ban her! If you dared to not do that, you had better be prepared to be slaughtered!


    ¡°Noxus Cafe¡¯s Team Beijing is smart. They know better than to play with the tiger¡¯s balls, and so, they banned Vayne without any hesitation. They are smart indeed.¡± Miracle said as he nodded.


    Following suit, Noxus Cafe banned the second champion.


    It was Elise, the Spider Queen.


    There were many senior players who had picked Elise as the Jungler in this new season.


    In this new season, everyone had a mere 60-second protection. This had increased the difficulty for players to handle early-phase jungling and ganking, thus, it was much wiser for them to pick Elise who had great agility, crowd control, and damage.


    Team Beijing needed to ban this champion because Zhou Yan¡¯s spiders could jump out of anywhere in the map. They needed to play it safe.


    ¡°Oh, they did their homework.¡± Lin Dong looked at the banned champions.


    ¡°Yes. They did.¡± Luocheng nodded.


    Banning Vayne was to counter Luocheng. Banning Elise, the champion that Zhou Yan had used quite well in the open challenges, would ensure that there wouldn¡¯t be any champion that functioned quite as well as the Spider Queen.


    And then came the third ban, Shyvana, the Half-Dragon. It was the champion that Da Luo had been practising very hard with recently¡­ If he could pick his Shyvana, he could face off with 3 champions after the growing stage!


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see who they¡¯ve picked.¡± Luocheng said.


    ***


    The first champion they picked was Rengar, the Pridestalker!


    Rengar had become quite powerful in this new version. If he was able to get his paws on a Sunfire Cape and Spirit Visage, Rengar¡¯s DPS would be off the charts! He wouldn¡¯t just be able to kill champions with ease, he would also be super tanky with all the HP and recovery.


    Picking Rengar after banning Shyvana was a brilliant move. Why? Because this would leave Da Luo with a very limited choice of champions. He couldn¡¯t use Jax, the champion that he was most familiar with, because in this version, Jax¡¯s potential was not as great as Rengar. If he were to face off with Rengar, it would be an impossible fight.


    A team¡¯s strength was quite easily spotted in the banning phase. Banning and picking champions may seem simple and easy, and yet, this phase was actually a mind-chess and psychological warfare.

 Chapter 404 - Yu Luocheng; Kassadin!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lin Dong had forfeited his favourite champion Ezreal and opted for Sivir, a champion that was much more suited for teamwork.


    After seeing Team Skycrown pick their ADC, Team Beijing¡¯s ADC quickly picked Number One¡¯s favourite champion¡ªZed, the Master of Shadows!


    Number One was a skilled player. His strengths were not just PvP and controls, but also support. Aside from instant-killing his enemies, Number One was quite capable of providing support for his team in the end-game too.


    Ancient Dust was quite good at instant-killing his foes as well. Unfortunately, he was a hot-head, easily getting overconfident after playing a match for quite some time.


    Number One on the other hand was different. He was the number one player in the national ranking, so in other words, he was a calm and stable player.


    A player like him that was skilful and level-headed? This was the worst kind of foe one could encounter in a match.


    ¡°I suppose everyone is familiar with Number One. One could say that he is basically the upgraded version of Ancient Dust. Many ADCs and APCs would definitely find him a pain in the ass!¡± Miracle was still as brutal as ever.


    ¡°The player who is facing Number One is Wu Sen. He was originally Team Stardust¡¯s Support. Now, can this player, who has changed his role to the APC only recently, handle Number One¡¯s fierce and careful offenses?¡± Jojo asked.


    ¡°Hard to say. It depends on his champion¡­ Not many champions can take on Zed in the middle lane. Well, there¡¯s still Lulu. Now, is Team Skycrown going to pick Lulu as their Mid? Or perhaps, they will send a Support to aid her in the middle lane?¡±


    And then came the 4th champion¡­


    Wu Sen was quick in choosing his champion. It was Kassadin!


    ¡°Oh! Wu Sen has chosen Kassadin. The strongest Kassadin in the country is Hades, but not only that, Number One¡¯s Kassadin is quite powerful as well. He could in fact take on countless top-tier Mids with his Kassadin!¡± Miracle bellowed out in astonishment.


    Many professional players had their own favourite champions. When facing off their favourite champions in a match, it was something many viewers liked to watch. Why? Because it was quite easy for them to lose their cool!


    ***


    A young man started laughing as he sat on his VIP chair in the Noxus Cafe.


    ¡°Does Team Skycrown have a death wish or what? They picked our Number One¡¯s Kassadin!¡±


    It was Li Ji, the person who had tossed in 10,000 flowers earlier on the live streaming site. He was a fan of Number One¡¯s Mid skills, and he loved to watch his skilful maneuvers, especially when Number One used Kassadin and Zed. There was no one that could handle Number One¡¯s offenses when he picked these two champions!


    ¡°Number One, how many times do you want to kill Kassadin? I¡¯ll pay you several dozen thousands yuan for each kill!¡± Li Ji laughed.


    Everyone was shocked when they heard this.


    Tens of thousands for each kill? This was basically a kill-for-hire!


    ¡°Then, perhaps you¡¯ll have to go home with your wallet empty tonight!¡± Number One replied with a calm smile, ¡°I¡¯ve killed him at least 5 times the last time we faced off.¡±


    ¡°If you can kill him 5 times again, I¡¯m willing to part with yuan 50,000. Treat yourself to a grand supper tonight.¡± Li Ji replied.


    Li Ji was a filthy rich kid. To him, money was nothing but a bunch of numbers. It was easy for him to spend over tens of thousands of yuan in just one night in Beijing. He had been to every kind of club in the city and had grown bored of those other high-end places. Now, he was obsessed with League of Legends.


    Usually, professional players weren¡¯t wealthy, and so, everyone knew that Number One was going to give it his all after hearing Li Ji¡¯s words.


    ¡°Hmm? They changed their positions?¡± Team Beijing¡¯s Jungler, Ping Feng said.


    Looking at the screen, Number One couldn¡¯t help but frown. Demacia Cafe¡¯s Luocheng had changed sides with Wu Sen¡­ Number One hadn¡¯t expected that he was going to face off with the Fighting Hawk right away!


    ¡°Their Mid is now assigned as the Support, Demacia¡¯s new Mid is now the Fighting Hawk!¡± Everyone in the Noxus Cafe was stunned as they stared at the screen.


    Team Beijing hadn¡¯t expected any position changing to happen as it was rather uncommon in official matches after all.


    ***


    ¡°Oh my, this is unexpected. Fighting Hawk is going to handle the middle lane!¡± Miracle jumped from his seat in excitement.


    Everyone in the Demacia Cafe was surprised too. Captain Yu was going to station himself at the middle lane!


    They had seen him as the ADC before.


    They had seen him as the Support as well.


    Yet, they had never seen him as a Mid, ever. Not only that, Luocheng was using an assassin-type champion like Kassadin too.


    K¡¯s eyes were lit up. This was the first time they would see Luocheng play as the Mid. On top of that, he was facing off the top 1 player in the national ranking, there was so much to see in this match!


    Finally, all the champions had been decided and the screen had now changed straight to the battlefield.


    Cheers could be heard flooding through the Demacia Cafe. In the meantime, the live streaming site was going crazy as well!


    Luocheng¡¯s ADC was a legend in the previous LPL. He was greater than Bai Feng in terms of skills, yet now, he was going to the middle lane¡­


    Could it be that he was also equally skillful in being a Mid!?


    ***


    ¡°Boss, look! He¡¯s playing as the Mid?¡± Asmodai was stunned as he stared at the screen.


    ¡°Just what kind of position does he main at? He plays ADC, Support, Mid¡­ even the Jungler¡­ it¡¯s really risky for one to play every kind of position like this!¡± Anubis said.


    Everyone had his own strength. It was only by focusing on that single spot, a single role, that one could shine. Taking up multiple roles like this was no different than ruining his own career!


    ¡°The guy was an all-rounded champion in E-sports back then. He climbed to the top of the world with DOTA before this and LOL has similar mechanics, so it¡¯s easy for him to do the same.¡± Hades replied in a serious tone.


    Being the King of E-sports was not about being the best in just one thing. He would need to master multiple roles, and Hades knew this.


    However, there was something else that Hades was curious about¡ªJust what role was Fighting Hawk¡¯s strongest?


    If he couldn¡¯t find out the answer to that, it was going to be a shot in the dark for them when they faced off against Team Skycrown in the future.


    ***


    Luocheng had not let his Mid skills go rusty. In fact, after the LPL, he did think that he would one day be taking up the role of a mid lane AP. This role could bring his team to glory.


    After spending 4 months training, Luocheng realized that there were some challenges in playing as the Mid. He needed to spend a lot of effort in killing spawns, hitting the jungle, and predicting his opponents¡¯ locations in the jungle. Taking out spawns required a lot of energy and this prevented Luocheng from actively strategizing effectively in the middle of a match.


    After watching Wu Sen play as the AP carry several times, Luocheng eventually gave up on his AP training and went back to being a Support.


    There was a reason as to why so many captains were Supports.


    A Support didn¡¯t need to help on the front line as much as the others, and thus, he had extra time to observe the entire match and command his peers. By doing that, he could raise up the efficiency of his entire team in a match.


    Hence, Luocheng decided that it was best for him to remain a Support.


    Yet, this match was special. Wu Sen was not confident in facing Number One, therefore, Luocheng needed to be in the middle lane.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t think that he could do any better than Wu Sen, but he was never scared of anyone ever in E-sports.


    And this match? A mid laner¡¯s mental constitution was much more important than his skills.


    ***


    The players had been summoned into the Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    The 5 members of Team Skycrown walked towards their respective position.


    This was different from the other seasonal matches. This time, Team Skycrown did not stick together. They needed to spread out to the top lane¡¯s bushes, blue orb, bottom lane bushes, the entrance of the Crimson Raptors, and the triangle bushes.


    If they were to face off with their foes like this, Team Skycrown could then form a pentagon formation.


    By doing so, they could stop their foes from invading into all of their turfs.


    In the latest version, a First Blood could only grant them so much gold, other than that, it was quite difficult for a team to bag a few kills in the early phase of the match. They could only get about 600 gold with 3 kills. Thus, it didn¡¯t matter if they stuck with their old formation.


    This time, they needed the buffs from the orbs.


    Back then, Team Skycrown had been a bit relaxed in picking their positions.


    Now, they had chosen a formation, and seeing this, the viewers knew that something was different with Team Skycrown today.


    After planting the wards, Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf successfully acquired the Red Orb. Lin Dong and Wu Sen had reached the bottom lane while Luocheng was now facing off with the top player in the country!


    ¡°Kassadin versus Zed. Who is stronger?¡± Jojo asked.


    ¡°Zed is undeniably stronger than Kassadin. Kassadin is nothing but an easy kill before reaching Level 6, but after Level 6 though, he could turn into a fierce tiger!¡± Miracle replied.


    Indeed, the champions¡¯ difference in strength was quite obvious. At Level 1, Kassadin could only aid the creeps for a moment before retreating back to the rear.


    At Level 2, Number One crossed the creeps, trying to get to Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin. Luocheng had opted not to creep score, merely standing at the creeps¡¯ rear to receive the EXP.


    ¡°Wow, Number One is so awesome! He has totally overpowered Kassadin there!¡± Jojo was surprised.


    Due to Luocheng¡¯s reputation, Jojo had thought that this was going to be a bloody and exciting match from the start. She didn¡¯t think there would be such a large gap in terms of champions¡¯ strength.


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Luocheng done any creep-scoring? His foe has already done it 7 times.¡± Duo Duo was anxious as he looked at the screen.


    ¡°If he did that, he¡¯d be feeding to the enemy. If you touch the enemy¡¯s creep, Zed would come forward with an auto attack followed by an E-skill. Then, he would continue with another auto attack before casting his Q-skill. By then, Kassadin would only have half of his health left, meaning that now, Zed can rush in with his E-skill¡­ Kassadin could be slain right away¡­¡± Feng Da explained.


    And Feng Da was right. When facing off against Riven or Zed, Kassadin should not expect to do any creep scoring. Doing that was no different than committing suicide. As a Mid Kassadin, you only had the Q-skill at your disposal, thus, if your foe rushed in with a set of skills and an Ignite, your Kassadin with only half of his health would be sent straight back to the fountain in no time.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t care about attacking the enemy¡¯s creeps at all. All he could hope for at the moment was to occasionally do some creep scoring using his Q-skill. His Q-skill, Null Sphere, wouldn¡¯t use up a lot of his Mana, besides, he was carrying a few bottles of potions with him too.


    The viewers had started to talk.


    Oh¡­ This world champion was nothing but a wimp¡­ The Fighting Hawk was going to be slain in no time¡­


    Luocheng ignored all of them.


    What was the true essence of playing Kassadin?


    Don¡¯t try to be a hero before reaching Level 6. Remember! Before reaching Level 6, you were no different than the creeps.


    You must suppress your desire to hit the opponent¡¯s creeps. Why? Because the moment you stopped and picked up the gold that they dropped, your ass would be piledriven to death by the enemy.

 Chapter 405 - Locked-on

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Captain Yu is so calm. He¡¯s been denied over 20 CS, and yet, he doesn¡¯t seem anxious at all. He¡¯s still finding opportunities under the tower and CS-ing from time to time!¡± Mao exclaimed.


    Luocheng ignored every kind of taunt and attack that Zed kept throwing at him. All he needed to do now was to just remain focused, and so, he kept on with his CS. If he couldn¡¯t do it in time, there was no need to force himself to do it. It didn¡¯t feel like he was in a match at all¡­


    Not getting to watch the exciting match that they were expecting, many viewers had started to laugh and call him a coward.


    ¡°Come on now, lads. This is the kind of coolness a professional should have. It¡¯s not easy for Kassadin in the early phase of a match!¡±


    ¡°Well, if it was me, I would just rush out and take on my foe. D*mn, he hasn¡¯t even gone out of the tower at all.¡±


    As people were gossiping, Luocheng kept looking at his EXP bar.


    The people who thought that he was a ¡°professional coward¡±, all Luocheng could do was respond with a smirk.


    Every time Number One denied him his CS, especially the cannon minion, beneath Luocheng¡¯s calm demeanour was an intense monologue, ¡°F*ck! It¡¯s just a darn cannon, man! Come on, it¡¯s just 43 gold. 43 gold! Just let me have it!¡±


    Nevertheless, this Number One was quite a player! He knew the importance of denying his enemies gold, starving them economically.


    The first item that Luocheng acquired was a Tear of the Goddess. Even though it was quite common for mid laners to acquire a Seeker¡¯s Armguard, Luocheng believed that it would be better for him to get himself a Tear of the Goddess. After all, Kassadin had a tendency to lack Mana in the end-game. Not only that, with a Tear of the Goddess, he could acquire an Archangel¡¯s Staff which could grant him additional protection. This was quite important because Kassadin tended to also have moments when all of his skills were under cooldown.


    In this new season, ganking the enemies would not be as easy as the previous season.


    Both sides were extremely careful, and after 10 minutes, both Team Skycrown and Team Beijing had only slain 2 champions each.


    All during that time, Number One had been continuously CS-ing. In fact, he had scored himself 110 CS in that 10 minutes which was quite terrifying. The bigger the difference in CS between the two players, the more difficult it would be for Luocheng to catch up. Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin couldn¡¯t kill the creeps any quicker while at the same time, Zed could now defeat a few wolves already.


    Not only that, Zed had already gotten himself a Blade of the Ruined King and a Brutalizer. It was apparent that they intended to acquire the upcoming Blue Orbs.


    Finally, the time came and Kassadin had reached Level 6. Luocheng was now finally fighting back, managing to score more creeps. He was now able to maintain the difference of CS in between 20 to 30 creeps.


    Realizing that his opponent had now gained momentum, Number One started to shift his attention to the jungle. Yes, after Kassadin had reached Level 6, there was no way that he could kill him alone. He needed to bait him to the jungle.


    When the third Blue Orb appeared, this signified that the early phase of champion growing had finally ended. The battle for the jungles was going to erupt at any moment now!


    ¡°Zhou Yan, heads up. Zed¡¯s coming your way.¡± Luocheng cautioned.


    Now, Zed was a super assassin. With just one set of skills, he could instant-kill just about any champion that he wanted to. Therefore, if they wanted to guard the Blue Orbs, the both of them needed to stay close to each other. If either Zhou Yan or Luocheng went their separate ways, they would both be toast.


    Nodding his head, Zhou Yan sent his Olaf to Luocheng¡¯s side.


    There was no sign of the enemies at the top and middle lanes. Thus, it was quite obvious that all of their opponents had now gathered at the Blue Orbs.


    It would be a 3 vs 3 situation, they could handle this.


    This Blue Orb was crucial for Kassadin. If it were to be taken away, his ability to kill creeps would be severely hindered! In fact, he would be missing out another 50 creeps.


    50 creeps! That was almost equivalent to 1,000 gold. This much gold was quite important for an AP Mid to start steam-rolling his way to victory!


    ¡°I¡¯ll drop a ward.¡± Luocheng said.


    The ward had now lost its effects, leaving them without any vision around the Blue Orbs. They would never know if the opponents were closing in on them without the wards.


    ¡°Leona is missing.¡± Wu Sen, who was handling the bottom lane, warned them.


    ¡°How long?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°About 20 seconds now¡­¡± Wu Sen had seen his opponent Teleporting back to the base earlier, however, the Leona Support that should have arrived by now was nowhere to be seen. This meant that she had disappeared from the bottom lane for a whole 20 seconds!


    There was no way a professional player would waste 20 seconds waiting by the fountain. No, Luocheng knew that Leona was now heading his way, she was definitely somewhere around him!


    Suddenly, a glaring red beam appeared out of nowhere!


    It was Vi, the Piltover Enforcer, and she was coming in with her skills locking onto Luocheng!


    Without hesitation, Luocheng quickly Flashed away from his oncoming opponent and quickly moved 1,300 yards away, pulling Vi straight to his teammate.


    Without warning, a woman clad in full armor appeared from the walls behind, and with a powerful grunt, Leona, the Radiant Dawn, quickly Flashed toward Luocheng!


    Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin was quickly stunned, delaying his time to react to oncoming attacks.


    Following that, Leona quickly rained hell on Kassadin with her Shield of Daybreak and Zenith Blade!


    ¡°Roar!¡±


    In the meantime, Rengar leapt out of hiding with his Kirai Saber, another set of fierce attacks wrecking Kassadin like a storm!


    And finally, Number One¡¯s Zed appeared! Like his teammates had done, he too quickly Flashed toward Luocheng.


    Seeing Zed¡¯s skills come crashing in, Luocheng had given up on fighting back. His Kassadin was dead, there was no use denying it.


    Even if his HP was doubled, with Leona¡¯s stun and the combined attacks of both Rengar and Zed, Kassadin would still die.


    In fact, even before Zed¡¯s Death Mark had exploded, Kassadin was already dead. Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo and Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf were still standing there stunned at what they were seeing.


    Holy sh*t, they straight up Flashed their captain twice and rushed in with 4 skills like a hurricane, all of that just to kill one Kassadin!


    ¡°D*mn it, you two! Run! What are you doing? Want to die together!?¡± Luocheng yelled at them.


    Zhou Yan and Wu Sen quietly fled. Their opponents had come in with all this fierceness and momentum just for that Blue Orb¡­


    D*mn it, 4 skills raining down like hell!


    You want this Blue Orb? It¡¯s all yours.


    ¡°D*mn¡­ they¡¯ve put all of their attention on Captain Yu! They didn¡¯t even give him any chance to strike back at all, raining down tens of thousands of crowd-controls and Ultimates!¡± Miracle was also shocked at what he had just witnessed.


    ¡°Not only that, I realize now that Noxus Cafe¡¯s Team Beijing is quite something. Just now, Vi sent a powerful Flash that couldn¡¯t be avoided, and then, Leona came in with a long-ranged attack. With Vi successfully stunning Luocheng, there was no way that he could evade the attack. Right after, Rengar and Zed rushed in with their powerful strikes, the guy was dead even before the stun was over!¡± Jojo exclaimed.


    ¡°Although it was an overkill, this also shows that Team Beijing really loves our dear Fighting Hawk!¡± Miracle replied.


    Team Beijing¡¯s fabulous combo had earned the viewers¡¯ comments flooding in on the live streaming website.


    Luocheng had already been very quick in reacting to the oncoming attacks, pressing his R-key the moment he saw Vi and casting his Flash! He had even moved away, a whole 1,300 yards. Under normal circumstances, Vi wouldn¡¯t have been able to collaborate with her team mates at all, and yet, things hadn¡¯t turned out that way¡­


    It didn¡¯t matter now, Kassadin was dead!


    ***


    Luocheng¡¯s face was all grim. If he had known this earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have needed to Flash at all. It didn¡¯t matter if his Kassadin was dead now and it didn¡¯t matter if they had lost the Blue Orb. These things didn¡¯t matter. All that he had on his mind right now was that his Flash was now in a 5-minute cooldown, this was his biggest problem!


    Luocheng knew how terrifying his opponents were just by looking at their line-up.


    Vi could come down with her crowd control and then strike in with her Q and R-skills, then, Zed could use his W-skill, Shadow Mark, to switch positions with the target. This was equal to Flashing their enemies twice in a row! If these two worked together, they could basically kill anyone they wanted. It didn¡¯t matter how agile Kassadin was, even if he blinked away with his Riftwalk, the most distance that he could move away was just 700 yards!


    If he still had his Flash¡­


    Without it, his opponents could basically kill him anywhere they liked ¨C at the middle lane, the jungle¡­ anywhere!


    ***


    Now that they had lost the Blue Orb, Luocheng quickly bought himself a Seeker¡¯s Armguard and quickly strolled up to the lane to continue growing his Kassadin.


    The enemies¡¯ skills were still under cooldown, so in other words, right now was a safe time for Luocheng to come out and play. He needed to acquire his Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass as soon as possible, otherwise, he would be slaughtered again and again.


    Now that Zed had gotten another 60 CS, he must have acquired better equipment by now. Realizing this, Luocheng felt a shiver down his spine.


    ¡°I should have chosen Lee Sin. At least with him, I can kick Zed out of the way when he hits you with his skills.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°Just continue growing your Olaf and stay close to me. This will at least give them a bit of pressure.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Zhou Yan nodded his head. He knew that if Zed and Vi really wanted to kill Kassadin, his Olaf couldn¡¯t do much to help him at all.


    Thus, Luocheng continued on with his grinding for gold. He knew that there was no way that he could buy himself an Archangel¡¯s Staff now. Now, he must aim at getting himself the Zhonya¡¯s.


    After a while, according to his calculations, Luocheng was aware that Vi and Zed¡¯s skills¡¯ cooldown were over. Therefore, he carefully dropped his ward again.


    Sure enough, his ward detected Vi in a matter of seconds.


    Seeing this, Luocheng quickly rushed to the towers. He wasn¡¯t very far away, all he dared to do was move around the attack range of the towers.


    Just as he was preparing to continue with his CS, suddenly, Vi rushed in with a Flash and her Vault Breaker. The second these attacks landed, she quickly lashed out with her Assault and Battery!


    ¡°Godd*mnit!¡±


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but to curse out loud before Riftwalking away diagonally toward Tower 1 and Tower 2.


    Vi¡¯s attacks were quite a nuisance. If you were locked on, it didn¡¯t matter how far you moved away, you would still get hit.


    Number One¡¯s Zed had ignored the towers entirely, activating his Living Shadow and going straight at his target!


    Luocheng was quick too, and when Zed appeared, he quickly cast a Null Sphere to silence Zed.


    However, Vi and Zed both possessed extremely powerful DPS. Even though their skills didn¡¯t land, the continuous barrage of normal attacks had already stripped away a huge chunk of Kassadin¡¯s health.


    Luocheng had given up again, and with another powerful strike, Zed took away Kassadin¡¯s last drop of HP.

 Chapter 406 - Don’t You Know I Am Poor AF

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After an excruciating scream, Luocheng¡¯s screen turned gray again.


    Vi cast a Flash and continued on with her Vault Breaker. This enabled her to move about 2,000 yards from the bushes into the towers. It didn¡¯t matter if you were good in controls or had great reflexes, it was all over when Zed pressed in with a killing blow. It was all over!


    Luocheng was dead. The only compensation for now was that Zhou Yan had been able to block Vi¡¯s escape route right after that. There was no way he could stop Zed from leaving though. All he had to do was use his Death Mark¡¯s Shadow to switch sides with his shadow and in just a blink, he was walking out scot-free.


    ¡°Do you need more support?¡± Zhou Yan turned to Luocheng and asked timidly.


    Luocheng did not have the mood to talk anymore.


    His Kassadin! Kassadin, the Void Walker! The assassin who could pluck the opponents¡¯ champions from within floods after floods of their creeps and then leave without kicking up any dust! Now, he needed more support just to stay alive!?


    ¡°This match¡­ there¡¯s no way to continue on with this match. Team Beijing has been focusing on attacking Fighting Hawk too much. They kept rushing into the towers with a hurricane of skills just to kill him, there¡¯s no way they could fight back at all. Not an iota. Not only that, the Kassadin that they had slain earlier still hadn¡¯t used his skills as well. If it were someone else¡¯s AP carry¡­¡±


    ***


    ¡°This is horrible.¡± Xiao Duo Duo mumbled weakly.


    Everyone in the lobby nodded in silent agreement. There was no way they could have countered the opponents¡¯ attacks at all. If they had had Lee Sin on their team, things could have been better as he would be able camp under the tower and counter-attack any enemy that came his way. Yet, they did not have a Lee Sin. They only had an Olaf, a champion that could not offer his teammate any kind of protection at all.


    Zhou Yan was already fighting creeps around Luocheng, protecting him, and yet, all he could do was just stand there and watch as his captain got killed¡­


    If Kassadin couldn¡¯t grow stronger, there was not much that they could do as a team. It looked as though the great Captain Luocheng was going to lose.


    Of course, this was not due to him lacking any skills. If one got targeted like this, there was no way that he would be able to avoid visiting the fountain all the time, and Luocheng had been walking out of his camp to score creeps like the brave man that he was.


    On the other hand, Noxus Cafe¡¯s Number One had started to smile confidently.


    Want to face him in the middle lane? It did not matter who was on the other side, the opponent would always be defeated.


    His Zed¡¯s score was now 2/0/1. He had a 200 creep score, a Blade of the Ruined King, a Brutalizer and a Last Whisper. Whoever dared to cross his path would all be raped to death.


    Now, let¡¯s take a look at Kassadin¡¯s score. It was 0/2/1. His level was even two levels lower than Zed¡¯s, there was no way he could catch up. In fact, Zed could just go AFK now and still win this.


    If this situation persisted, Kassadin would not only be unable to stack up his Tear of the Goddess, but even if his Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass was successfully acquired, his DPS was not going to be of any help at all.


    ***


    ¡°Let¡¯s just team up. Their assassination capabilities are too great.¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°Yeah, we are about to destroy their tower on the bottom lane anyway.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll change lanes.¡± Luocheng said.


    Under normal circumstances, upon reaching Level 6, Kassadin could actually be a great Support.


    Yet, in professional matches, there was no point in you moving about to support your teammates. The moment the opponents realized that you had vanished from the map, they would start signalling one another and begin to support each other.


    Choosing to move away from his position at this time was not a good call as doing so would endanger any lane that he was going to support. Thus, the only way to deal with this was to switch his lane. He needed to head to the bottom lane, Lin Dong and Wu Sen could have the middle lane.


    The bottom lane had a longer distance, allowing the wards to better do their jobs. This could help him detect Vi and Zed from at least 1,000 yards away, making it very difficult for them to slay him.


    In the middle lane, due to his need for the towers¡¯ protection, this resulted in him being chained under the towers which did not help in protecting him in any way either seeing as the two opponents did not seem to be bothered by the towers at all.


    Sticking close to the towers was actually increasing his chances of dying.


    ***


    At first, everyone in Demacia Cafe had been praising Luocheng¡¯s calm demeanour, and now, they were praising his good sportsmanship.


    Well, what could he do other than being a good sport? They had been preying on him from the start, going as far as to chase him through the towers. Just what kind of grudge did Team Beijing have against Luocheng!?


    If I couldn¡¯t face you, well¡­ I could avoid facing you.


    And so, Luocheng had now made his way to the bottom lane.


    He was willing to play against two opponents who wanted a fair fight, not against two butchers who only knew to target him like pathetic morons.


    Upon reaching the bottom lane, there were two waves of minions coming his way.


    Usually when the odds were against them, players would tend to quickly kill all of the enemy minions that came their way. In a way, it was to psychologically soothe themselves, the faster they could get the gold, the better, seeing as the tables could be turned faster that way.


    Luocheng quickly kited these minions close to the tower while keeping them at the edge of the tower. Then, he slowly finished them off using his Null Spheres. This could stack up his Tear of the Goddess and ensure his own safety. Many players often forgot this crucial point when playing League of Legends. The enemy¡¯s minions would not show up any quicker even if you finished them off at lightning speed, the important thing here was to make sure that he had control over the rhythm and kite the enemy¡¯s minions effectively.


    Zhou Yan had good equipment and could now not only slay champions, but also kill the creeps in the jungles. He now owned not only a significant amount of health, but also, a great deal of DPS.


    Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo was doing great too. He could do 170 CS in 20 minutes. As soon as he acquired his Sunfire Cape and Spirit Visage, his Dr. Mundo was going to be kicking arses in no time.


    Lin Dong had also gained significant growth from the bottom lane earlier, managing to acquire most of his equipment as well.


    Being an ADC, one needed to ensure that he maintained things at a steady pace and remained calm while continuing on with the creep-scoring. Why? Because it was unrealistic for him to want to slay any champion in the early phase of a match. Their gold income was mostly from killing minions and creeps. They must acquire their equipment in the first 28 minutes, otherwise, there was no way that their DPS could keep up with their opponents¡¯.


    In this match, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Lin Dong had now acquired great equipment, and so, they had decided to go on the defensive while leaving Luocheng to continue growing his Kassadin at the bottom lane alone.


    All five of their opponents had planned to gang up and push the tower in the middle lane, however, despite how strong they were in ganking and slaying one champion, they were not strong enough to push a tower.


    When he realized that they couldn¡¯t even put a dent on the tower, Number One¡¯s Zed completely forfeited the idea and went down to the bottom lane to disturb Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin once again.


    ¡°For f*ck¡¯s sake! You again.¡± When Luocheng saw Number One¡¯s Zed at the bottom lane, he couldn¡¯t help but let loose a curse.


    It was quite unrealistic for Zed to kill Luocheng alone this time. Wu Sen had dropped numerous wards and sent several dragons to protect Luocheng.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s strategy right now was simply this ¨C stalling!


    Their opponents¡¯ Zed was too good at assassination. If they pushed onward to the opponents¡¯ towers, Team Skycrown risked losing any member to the enemies whenever Zed showed up. Meanwhile, Kassadin had not acquired enough items to allow him to leap into the enemy¡¯s ranks to instant-kill any of their opponents.


    Luocheng knew this, and without an Archangel¡¯s Staff, Zhonya¡¯s and Rabadon¡¯s, there was no way that he could join forces with his teammates. Sure, joining his teammates could give them the impression that they now had 5 members on their side when pushing the towers, yet, the reality was that his Kassadin was basically an upgraded version of a minion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve acquired my Zhonya¡¯s and Archangel¡¯s Staff. I¡¯ll pretend that I¡¯m still sticking with the bottom lane while you guys head to the middle lane and push on.¡± Luocheng told Wu Sen.


    Lin Dong¡¯s ADC was Sivir, The Battle Mistress. This champion had powerful offensive skills and also agile abilities to retreat fast. With the 60% movement speed buff, all four of them could quickly push on and suppress their opponents in one go.


    Lin Dong nodded. He knew Luocheng was talking about kiting Zed away. In fact, Kassadin¡¯s speed was actually much faster than Zed. If they got into a 4 vs 4 fight, it was possible for Kassadin to rush in in time to deal a killing blow at the last minute. Well, when that happened, whether Zed would come in to kill him or not, it all depended on their luck.


    This wave of tower-pushing was important to Team Skycrown. Once Kassadin was able to slay a few champions, it would be much easier and faster for him to become strong enough to go back to the frontline. Nonetheless, if they wanted to break through this stalemate, it all depended on Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin¡¯s performance.


    ***


    For the longest time, Team Skycrown was on the defense. Their line-up, Kassadin, Dr. Mundo and Olaf, was more about the end-game.


    In the middle lane, Team Skycrown and Team Beijing were now finally clashing directly.


    Seeing that the timing was right, Lin Dong gave Wu Sen a wink.


    As soon as his Ultimate was launched, Wu Sen¡¯s Taric wielded his gigantic hammer and stormed straight into the enemy line.


    It did not matter who he was able to stun with his Dazzle, the important thing was to stop them from leaving!


    Following suit, Olaf the Berserker quickly tossed in his Undertow just as Sivir threw out her Boomerang Blade. After this round of attacks, a third of Leona¡¯s health was depleted.


    Seeing that things were going awry, Leona quickly cast her skills in retaliation, and the others in Team Beijing also launched their attacks in synchronization with Leona in the nick of time.


    In that instance, skills and spells were flashing everywhere on the screen. It was so chaotic that it was difficult to see who was hitting who anymore!


    Then, suddenly! Luocheng was Riftwalking toward the middle lane like a bolt of lightning! It was as though his Kassadin had gone mad!


    Enemies¡¯ head! He must pawn the enemy champions¡¯ heads!!!


    He had been suppressed hard in this match. Sure, Luocheng did not think that he was unbeatable and it was common for anyone to be beaten like a pulp in a ranking match, yet, he could not afford to lose this match.


    No, this was not about being that ¡°Top 1 LOL Club in the country¡± bullsh*t title.


    Then, was it about not wanting to disappoint his supporters? Well, it wasn¡¯t just that.


    It was all because Mr. Lei had quietly whispered this to him before the match.


    ¡°The total income of the donated flowers on the live streaming website will be given to each team by percentage as the winning prize!¡±


    Holy Mother of God! Luocheng had indeed seen how much cash these filthy rich billionaires had thrown into this match earlier. Not only that, Noxus Cafe also had a lot of billionaires tossing cash into the pit as well! Just how much money was there to be made? 10,000 RMB? Wait, no. 30,000 RMB¡­ 40,000 RMB¡­ all of those ¡°flowers¡± were real, actual cash!


    Number One. I don¡¯t care just how good you are at PvP. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re the top 1 on the national ranking. Those empty titles that you yearn for so much? If you want it, just take it. Take it all!


    However, the money that they could earn from this match¡­ heh!


    Don¡¯t you know that I am poor as f*ck!?

 Chapter 407 - The Slayer and His Prey

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Speeding to the middle lane, Luocheng could not help but feel a burst of excitement. Each of these champions¡¯ heads were like real-world cash to him.


    In the midst of the fight, the situation was so chaotic that no one could differentiate who was friend or foe. Under these circumstances, if the mage-type assassin champion rushed up and tried to slay his enemy, he might actually be exposing himself to the risk of being slain instead. Kassadin, after all, had a long cooldown phase for his skills, and during that time, there would be no other active skills that he could use.


    After picking his target, Luocheng quickly rushed toward the opponents¡¯ Jungler, Vi!


    The opponents¡¯ ADC had been unable to pick a stable position to protect himself during this chaos, but Luocheng had no interest in taking him out at all. Besides, Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo was already clashing with Lucian, the Purifier. There was no need for Luocheng to waste his DPS on him.


    Luocheng had been dashing all the way from the bottom lane with his Riftwalk, and this meant that his attack now had been stacked to the fullest!


    It was quite easy for anyone to forget this seemingly unimpressive Ultimate skill.


    This skill could stack his damage up to four times and he could use it right after the cooldown was over, only needing to use around 100 Mana in exchange for the additional DPS!


    Luocheng¡¯s equipment could not grant him a lot of Magic Damage at the moment. In fact, he had not been buying any equipment that could grant him Magic Damage at all, only using his Boots of Speed until this moment, unwilling to trade them away. All this was so that he could acquire his Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass as quickly as he could.


    Seeing that her health was about to be completely depleted, Vi quickly fled.


    Luocheng let out a cold smirk.


    Oh, did I say you could leave!?


    Without wasting a moment, he quickly pressed his R-key again. Riftwalk!


    In an instant, Kassadin leapt into the unknown and then reappeared again 700 yards away, landing right on Vi¡¯s face!


    This blink was quite powerful and Vi¡¯s HP was now only a few drops away from being emptied.


    Force Pulse!


    Wielding his Nether Blade, a powerful violet energy slashed through Vi¡¯s body!


    The moment she had been hit by Kassadin¡¯s Riftwalk, Vi had quickly Flashed away, but despite how quick her response was, Luocheng was quicker! Right after slashing out his Force Pulse, he had sent out his Null Sphere as well. Even though Vi had tried to blink away from Kassadin, the latter¡¯s Null Sphere had still been able to take away her last drop of remaining health!


    The moment Vi was slain, Luocheng could feel a surge of comfort in his body!


    That¡¯s the payback for your Flash, Vault Breaker, and Assault and Battery, you b*tch!


    After that, Luocheng quickly sent his Kassadin straight into the team fight that was happening not far away.


    The opponents were apparently well trained. Upon seeing that this had gone awry, they quickly retreated neatly backward.


    Of course, Luocheng was not going to allow them to escape. As he rushed to the frontline, the cooldown for his Null Sphere and Force Pulse were over, and in a giant leap, Kassadin landed in the middle of his foes.


    Bam!


    A Force Pulse and Null Sphere quickly disrupted their movement!


    ¡°Great move!¡±


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf let out a battle cry before tossing his gigantic axe at the enemies.


    Dr. Mundo, after evading a round of attacks, quickly dashed onward to continue pursuing his foes.


    All three of their opponents still had their skills ready to use, and right after Kassadin had leapt to their side, they quickly unleashed all of their skills at him!


    Now was Luocheng¡¯s chance!


    Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass!


    Thanks to his timely actions, every single one of their attacks had now missed their target! Not only that, now that they had stopped to attack Luocheng, they had missed their chance to retreat!


    After activating his Zhonya¡¯s, Luocheng stood still in the middle of the opponent crowd, needing to wait until his teammates arrived so that he could continue on with his killing spree.


    Suddenly, a mist of blood appeared at their rear and excruciating cries could be heard from behind!


    It was Zed!


    D*mn it! He was quick!


    A good support was all about one¡¯s instinct. If you felt that there was something off, you ought to head straight to the area where your gut told you to. If you waited until the fight had started, it would be too late. This Number One¡­ he had good instincts.


    Zed¡¯s slaying abilities were immensely horrifying, and as Luocheng¡¯s Zhonya¡¯s was activated, he could see his teammates being shrouded in blood vapours while Zed¡¯s Razor Shuriken spun in the sky!


    In just a few seconds, Lin Dong¡¯s Sivir had been slain.


    All that Luocheng could do at the moment was just frown and watch.


    Sivir was slain by a set of Zed¡¯s offensive skills and Ignite. He was swift in his Shadow Slash the moment he reached the rear of his enemies, shortening his Living Shadows¡¯ cooldown time by 6 seconds! Thus, his Living Shadows could soon be activated again.


    Sure enough, in a matter of seconds, Zed had quickly blinked and switched sides with his Shadow, dropping yet another Shadow in front of Wu Sen¡¯s Taric.


    With the combined strength of Zed and his Shadow, Number One was able to cut open Taric¡¯s throat and kill him as well!


    ¡°Double Kill!!¡±


    A Double Kill. That was a Double Kill!


    Then, in just 2 seconds, Zed was able to escape from Olaf and Dr. Mundo with all of his HP still intact. His entire performance had been so slick and clean, it was practically a work of art!


    Everyone in the Demacia Cafe was in awe as they saw this. They knew Zed¡¯s skills were quite fascinating to watch, however, there were many of them who had played as Zed before, but they still did not know how to fully utilize Zed¡¯s Living Shadow. All they could see earlier was a crimson silhouette dashing straight into Team Skycrown¡¯s formation, and then, blood vapours had suddenly burst out before several Shadows appeared out of thin air! Then, the crimson Zed had quickly zipped around via his Shadows!


    Some had observed that Number One¡¯s Zed had switched places with his Shadows a total of 4 times, sending their jaws rolling on the floor.


    ¡°You two. Split up and retreat.¡± Luocheng ordered Da Luo and Zhou Yan calmly.


    Zhou Yan and Da Luo did not have much health left, and worst of all, Zed still had not used his Blade of the Ruined King yet. In other words, Zed had the ability to slay another prey. If Da Luo and Zhou Yan fled together, the both of them could be hunted down and slain at once!


    This would mean that Zed would have bagged 4 kills in one go!


    Without hesitating, Zhou Yan and Da Luo turned and fled in different directions.


    As expected, after evading a few attacks that were sent his way, Number One quickly pursued Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf.


    Zhou Yan calmly retreated to the streams as he tossed his True Ice Axe at his pursuer to slow him down.


    That lasted for about 10 seconds. After all, it was quite difficult to shake Zed away when he now owned a pair of Boots of Mobility. Zhou Yan needed to make sure his next Undertow hit his target.


    And so, Olaf quickly cast another Undertow at Zed.


    In the meantime, Zed quickly sent a Shadow onward, and the moment Olaf¡¯s axe almost hit Zed, his body quickly switched sides with his Shadow, evading the Undertow!


    D*mn it. Seeing that the Blade of the Ruined King was now used on him, Zhou Yan knew that he was good as dead. Therefore, he did nothing and just stood there, embracing his fate.


    ¡°Oh man, this is so cool! Using his Living Shadow to dodge the Undertow and then taking out Olaf. That¡¯s our Number One! Only he can give us this blood-pumping performance!¡± Miracle exclaimed in amazement.


    ¡°Yeah. Even though he arrived late, Zed was able to kill 3 champions. Now, Team Skycrown is basically doomed!¡± Jojo was excited too.


    Number One¡¯s skills were really impressive. All that the viewers had seen were Shadows flying about on the field, and then, two champions were slain in a flash. Next, he had quickly pursued another champion and skillfully switched sides with his Shadow to evade the oncoming Undertow. And then, just like that, Olaf was slain!


    Luocheng was now in danger.


    He had jumped to his foes¡¯ side, stalling them from escaping and then activating his Zhonya¡¯s to bait their skills from them while waiting for his teammates. Yet, he had not expected Zed to completely wreck his teammates like this. After Zhonya¡¯s effect was gone, there was no way he could take on three champions alone.


    All that he could do now was to quickly escape while activating his Seraph¡¯s Embrace.


    The moment his Riftwalk was done with its cooldown, Luocheng leapt into the corner and then quickly cast his Force Pulse and Null Sphere combo while sending another Ignite on its way, all targeted at the enemies¡¯ Support.


    By doing so, he had managed to stall Leona and then flee via the high ground.


    Rengar and Lucian were still pursuing Kassadin. Luocheng did not dare to look back.


    5.


    4.


    3.


    2.


    1!


    Leona, the Radiant Dawn¡¯s health, was depleted to zero by Luocheng¡¯s Ignite, killing her.


    ¡°Oh, that was quite good. With precise calculation, Team Beijing¡¯s Support is now slain, Rengar and Lucian won¡¯t be able to catch up to Kassadin now.¡±


    Two enemies slain, but at what cost? Three allies. If Luocheng had not cast out that Ignite earlier, things could have been much worse, though.


    Even though Luocheng had slain two opponents, Zed had taken three lives on his side. There was no way Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin could win against Zed who now had better equipment.


    ¡°This was a total loss.¡± Shaking his head, Luocheng safely teleported back to their homebase.


    ¡°Yeah, this mofo was so quick!¡± Lin Dong responded furiously.


    Lin Dong had seen Zed reaching the streams. He had thought that it would still take some time before Zed reached them and yet, seconds later, Zed had arrived with his ferocious strikes. Lin Dong had been completely unable to react before he was slain.


    ¡°He must have blinked forward using Flash.¡± Luocheng answered.


    With so many obstacles blocking his path, Zed could not have reached his destination so fast without using his Flash.


    ¡°This match is going to be a tough ride.¡± Da Luo said.


    Zed was now literally unstoppable. In just a few strikes, Lin Dong was struck dead, and Lin Dong¡¯s champion was Sivir! With Sivir¡¯s Spell Shield, Zed should not have been able to take her down that quickly. If Zed was not the ADC, all four of the other opponents should not have been able to take her down at all!


    ¡°My DPS is too low. I need to get myself better equipment.¡± Luocheng said.


    An Archangel¡¯s Staff and Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass were only enough to keep Kassadin alive, they could not aid him much in terms of offensive damage.


    Now, it was difficult for him to decide what equipment to acquire next. Should he get a Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap? Or should he get a Void Staff¡­


    This was the same as the dilemma of choosing between Tsing Hua or Beijing University after high school. Nevertheless, when you grew older, you would realize that this was not that big of a deal.


    Looking at his Boots of Speed, Luocheng realized that it was too early for him to get a Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap and Void Staff.


    His problem now was the same from before, being that he lacked gold! If his DPS was higher, he could have taken out Lucian as well! With that, he could not only make it even in terms of kill-count, he could also get himself better items!

 Chapter 408 - A Bizarre Death

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was now quite a headache for Luocheng to decide where to develop his Kassadin further. No matter where he went, to the top lane or to the bottom lane, Number One always followed.


    ¡°D*mn it. Could it be that someone has paid good money for him to purposely target me? Can¡¯t he just go kill Lin Dong instead!?¡± Luocheng was so frustrated.


    Being an assassin, you should be putting all of your attention on the ADC. ADCs were easier targets for assassins, whereas Kassadin possessed the ability to blink away and switch sides in an instant. Could you kill him?


    To kill a Kassadin, as long as you weren¡¯t stupid and always wasted your R-skill all the time, it was rather easy to kill him, especially if you had two to three teammates working together. Besides, it was quite impossible to kill Luocheng with sheer force as he now owned not only a Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, but also a Seraph¡¯s Embrace.


    Nevertheless, Number One was persistent like a disease, pursuing Luocheng and nothing else. This made it very difficult for Luocheng to grow his Kassadin.


    ¡°Number One has been targeting Fighting Hawk for quite some time now, huh?¡± Miracle commented.


    Some players¡¯ skills were so extraordinary that one could say that they were the souls of their teams. If they were left unchecked, these super players could become a major threat in the end-game, and so, many teams would tend to plan out some very drastic measures to counter them.


    However, what Team Beijing was doing at the moment was a little too much¡­


    So far, the dragons had only been killed by Team Beijing. Team Skycrown, on the other hand, did not dare to force their way onward in a full five-person team. The lack of any sort of advantage in the middle lane had left them with an economic crunch. Zed now possessed a Blade of the Ruined King, Black Cleaver, Last Whisper, and Bloodthirster. These items had granted him invincibility in any fight, he could kill just about anyone he liked. No one could defeat him. Ever! There was no need for him to acquire better equipment anymore as Luocheng would not be taking him on anytime soon since he was not capable of doing so. In fact, if Luocheng were to clash with Zed directly, it was quite likely for him to be slain instead.


    Luocheng only had a Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass, Seraph¡¯s Embrace, and a Needlessly Large Rod. He still had a long way to go to have a full set of proper equipments in his inventory. His teammates were not able to provide much assistance due to the disadvantageous situation they were facing now, thus, all he could do at this point was to stall the match as much as he could.


    Regardless, Da Luo¡¯s equipment was now getting better and on top of that, Zhou Yan had a lot of HP, making him very tanky in fights. One of them could toss his True Ice Axe at the enemy while the other one could do the same with his Meat Cleaver. Due to that, Team Beijing could not come charging in blindly to take them down. Besides that, they could not push any tower with their current abilities. Pushing towers was perilous and risky, not to mention, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo all had better equipment than them in general.


    Team Skycrown had the chips to play a drawn-out game.


    Team Beijing wanted to go get the Dragons? Fine, let them. The game had now lasted for 30 minutes, killing the Dragons would not have given them any financial advantage.


    Thus, here came the stalemate.


    While all of this was happening, the flower count was rising sharply. After Zed¡¯s three kills earlier, Team Beijing had received a lot more flowers than their opponents now.


    Although there were still people tossing in flowers for Demacia Cafe, they were not pouring in as much as before. In fact, this was Luocheng¡¯s hardest fight ever since Demacia Cafe had started organizing the tournaments. It was the first time the fans at Demacia Cafe were seeing their favourite Team Skycrown face such a crunch, to the point that they were now focusing on leading economically in the match.


    ***


    ¡°Number One, stop chasing Kassadin. We need to push on. If this goes on, it will not end well for us toward the late-game.¡± Team Beijing¡¯s Jungler suggested.


    ¡°Yeah, Leona and Vi can go hit their ADC, lure them to Baron Nashor.¡± Number One nodded in agreement.


    It was time. They had been pinning Kassadin hard so that they could force Fighting Hawk to use an underdeveloped Kassadin in this match.


    The outer towers on both sides had already been destroyed. Now, Team Beijing just needed to take down Team Skycrown¡¯s second tower.


    Dr. Mundo and Olaf were quite a nuisance with their blade throwing, resulting in Team Beijing being unable to push on. Now that Number One had agreed to join in the fight, they could win.


    ¡°Do your best, Number One. Li Ji is giving you another 20,000 flowers!¡± Cheers could be heard from Noxus Cafe¡¯s lobby.


    20,000 flowers again!


    Number One¡¯s eyes were now lighting up. It seemed that taking on Team Skycrown was the wisest move they had done in months. They would be swimming in prize money after this!


    Right now, Team Beijing had about 51% of the flowers on the live streaming site. Now that the two teams were meeting at the Baron Nashor, this would be their most important face-off yet.


    Just as everyone was paying attention to the upcoming fight at the Baron pit, suddenly, there was a sharp dive in the percentage of Team Beijing¡¯s flowers ¨C from 51% diving down to 47%!


    Each side had over 20,000 flowers now, and so, a few thousand flowers would not make much difference in affecting the quota.


    In other words, someone had poured a massive amount of cash into the pot yet again!


    ***


    With Leona, Rengar, and Vi, it was quite easy for Team Beijing to win any fight out in the jungle.


    Team Beijing was doing quite well in baiting their opponents. When Team Skycrown arrived in the area, Rengar leapt out from his stealth mode, and not bothering to drop down any Vision Wards, he rushed straight toward Lin Dong¡¯s Sivir!


    Although Wu Sen was quick in stunning Rengar, the Pridestalker had successfully stalled Team Skycrown, adversely affecting their formation!


    Then, sure enough, Leona quickly blinked over and showered down her offensive skills at her opponents. At the same time, Vi had also activated her Ultimate and dashed toward Lin Dong with all her skills in tow!


    With Team Beijing¡¯s line up, they could kill anyone in the glimpse of an eye if they put their mind to it. There was no way for that one target to survive their combined attacks, and even though Lin Dong had acquired a Quicksilver Sash to avoid being instant-slain, it was all in vain¡­


    Wu Sen had already Exhausted Zed when he had gotten close to him. Even so, Zed¡¯s DPS was still too high, and Lin Dong was only able to counter-attack with just one skill before being slain!


    ¡°Holy moly! This is too wild! The fully protected ADC was slain in an instant! It seems that Team Skycrown¡¯s formation this round will be totally destroyed. The ADC was their crucial member in dealing damage to their enemies!¡± Miracle exclaimed in excitement.


    Just like how Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin had been slain earlier, Lin Dong was not able to evade the touch of death itself this time. All he saw was a group of champions storming toward him and then ¡°Wham!¡±! His screen showed nothing but ashen white.


    They were going to lose this match and Lin Dong could not help but to shake his head in dismay.


    There was nothing Dr. Mundo and Olaf could do to put a dent on their enemies with their DPS. Sure, they had good equipment, but those were gears for tanks. With their ADC dead, all they could do now was to just keep chasing and continuously attack Vi. With Taric buffing them, all three of them had impenetrable defense and health. After Lin Dong was slain, they were now focusing on pursuing Vi.


    ¡°I¡¯ll shield you. Xiao Ju, you take on Olaf.¡± After Leona had cast her last remaining skill, she quickly retreated behind their ADC.


    Lucian¡¯s powerful DPS was essential in taking down tanks. After spending all of his skills, Zed still needed the others to defend him, otherwise, with the combined forces of Olaf and Dr. Mundo, the great Zed could still be ganged up on and beaten to death.


    Nodding his head, Xiao Ju skillfully stepped forward to take on Olaf, the Berserker.


    Olaf was focusing on pursuing Vi. All he knew right now was to continuously attack Vi.


    ¡°Wham!¡±


    Just as Xiao Ju was about to attack, thinking that they were now a few steps closer to victory, suddenly, a shadowy silhouette leapt out from the side and landed a kick from the Void on his face!


    Before he could react, his screen had turned to a mono-coloured screen!


    ¡°You Have Been Slain!¡±


    Xiao Ju could not believe his eyes as he stared at his screen speechlessly.


    ¡°Hey, attack him! You¡¯re the ADC, right? What are you doing!?¡± Leona noticed that their ADC was not attacking and was puzzled by his incompetence.


    And as he turned back and looked, he saw that their ADC was dead. Not only that, he could see the Void Walker standing not far away!


    Dead?


    Dead!?


    Their ADC was dead!?


    Just a few seconds ago she could still see Lucian attacking his enemies relentlessly like Pegasus Saiya unleashing his Pegasus Meteor Punch! Yet suddenly, he was now dead! What the hell!? Was this a bug!?


    Team Beijing¡¯s Number One, Jungler, and Top had not even realized this yet as they kept on pursuing their prey.


    It was really strange. They had been dealing a lot of damage all this time and yet they still could not land another kill.


    Suddenly, Kassadin leapt out from hiding, unleashing a series of skills onto Number One!


    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡±


    Number One was astonished as he saw that most of his HP had depleted in just one go. And that was the least of his worries too as Olaf came storming at him, wielding his gigantic axe!


    Number One quickly zipped through a wall using his Living Shadow and fled. Luocheng did not care to pursue him though, instead, he went the other way and pursued Leona with his teammates.


    Leona had already been slowed down by Dr. Mundo¡¯s Infected Cleaver. As soon as his skills¡¯ cooldown was over, Luocheng quickly stepped up with his Force Pulse and Null Sphere, depleting Vi¡¯s HP by a huge chunk.


    ¡°Gimme the kill. Give me the kill!¡± Luocheng yelled out to Da Luo.


    You ought to know, Da Luo was a killing-frenzied junky. If you didn¡¯t stop him, he would definitely take away the kill instead of giving it to the other teammates who needed the EXP and gold, and right now, Luocheng needed to pawn an enemy¡¯s head more than he did!


    Heeding his captain¡¯s words, Da Luo quickly focused his attention on Rengar, forfeiting the kill to Luocheng. Rengar was a fast runner, and so, as soon as he saw that things had gone awry, he quickly turned tail. With his immense pool of health, it would not be easy to kill him in a short span of time.


    ¡°Let them go. We¡¯ll take the Baron Nashor down instead.¡± Luocheng ordered.


    ¡°Baron Nashor?¡± Zhou Yan, Wu Sen and even Baron Nashor were shocked after hearing this.


    Come on. You could have killed a Jungler. What do you need to kill a Baron Nashor for? D*mn it, Lin Dong had died for this! And now, he had probably died for nothing!


    Then, they paid attention to the scoreboard¡­ and voila! They finally saw that Lucian was dead!


    ¡°What!? But how!? How did their ADC die!?¡± Lin Dong was taken aback by what he saw.


    Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Da Luo too were staring at the improbable truth lying right in front of them¡­


    Yes. How? How had the enemy ADC died?


    And it wasn¡¯t just them, even the folks at Noxus Cafe were stunned when they finally noticed Lucian¡¯s death.


    Demacia Cafe¡¯s fans were standing there, staring at the screen in awe. Lucian¡¯s death had been so unusual.


    The player of Lucian,Xiao Ju himself, also had no idea what the hell had just happened. All he had seen earlier was just something stepping on him and then, he was dead the next second¡­


    It had taken less than 0.5 seconds for him to fall down lifelessly.


    This was impossible. His HP had been full. Full!


    It was a strange death indeed.


    No. It was bizarre!


    A bizarre death!!!


    ***


    Consequently, Team Skycrown had shifted their attention to the poor Baron Nashor.


    They had lost their ADC? Not a problem. Dr. Mundo was still there. His Meat Cleaver was like the Dragons¡¯ worst nightmare, his every cut on Baron Nashor would take away a huge amount of its health.


    Zhou Yan kept on clicking on the Baron without looking at its HP meter.


    He was familiar with the Mini-Boss and he had memorized the amount of damage a Smite could do. As soon as the Baron¡¯s HP dropped low enough, he could Smite it down without mercy.


    ¡°So, how did Lucian die?¡± Da Luo asked with a puzzled look.


    Luocheng did not have time to entertain his question as he had just seen Zed lurking around in the area. This b*stard was trying to attempt a sneak-attack or perhaps, he wanted to kill-steal their Baron. He had to be chased away!


    Thus, Team Skycrown was able to kill the Baron Nashor without much issues before teleporting back to their homebase.


    After all this, still, no one was able to figure out just how Lucian had been killed!


    The Observer¡¯s camera was actually looking at Lucian¡¯s surroundings earlier as well. Everyone ¨C viewers on the live streaming site, spectators from both the Noxus Cafe and Demacia Cafe had seen a Lucian with full HP just moments before he died.


    The camera had only moved away for less than 1 second and voila! Lucian was dead!


    Indeed, Kassadin did not need a full second to unleash all of his offensive skills, and yet, his equipment was trash! How had he killed Lucian in under 0.5 seconds with his shitty equipment!?


    This was impossible!


    Did he cheat?


    However, was there any cheat that allowed a champion to kill another in under 1 second in League of Legends? There was no cheat or external plug-in cheating softwares for League of Legends, and even if there was, it was just the creep respawning timer or a skill-cooldown timer¡­ right?

 Chapter 409 - Instant Kill In 0.5 Seconds!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yu Luocheng jumped forward and threw a handful of CC skills at Zed. Number One, who was on Zed, didn¡¯t dare take it lightly anymore, obediently retreating and giving up on Baron.


    After completely taking down Baron, Team Skycrown immediately recalled to base to regroup and prepare for their upcoming team fights.


    Team Beijing was also being very cautious. Seeing that their opponent had Baron buff, they wouldn¡¯t initiate a team fight with them.


    Team Skycrown was not overly greedy either, dispatching the outer turret to increase the gold gained in the team, and at the same time taking control of the vision for that area.


    They had not expected Team Beijing to be so strong. Many teams would usually be flustered after losing the advantage of a Baron. And once their jungle area was invaded, the chances of being caught alone were higher.


    Second or third tier professional teams would often make these mistakes, but Team Beijing had not, which was a testament to their strength that made them worthy of being in the LPL.


    Once the outer turret was taken down, Team Skycrown had a gold lead of 6,000. To be honest, even with a 6,000 lead in late game, victory was still not guaranteed. Team Skycrown was not about to be complacent and let their guard down anytime soon.


    ***


    Number One frowned as he gave out orders to the rest of his team, ¡°Xiao Ju, be careful of your positioning, don¡¯t suddenly die again. Heng Yi, get ready for the teamfight, you¡¯ll initiate! Their Baron buff is about to wear off.¡±


    In the early stages of the game, they had been focusing on suppressing Kassadin. In the end, that guy managed to build it all back up in just that one wave. But it couldn¡¯t be helped, Kassadin was just such an appalling champion!


    Number One knew that they had to buy time, as their lineup would be stronger in late game. As long as they focused their assault and quickly dispatched their opponents, they could basically win the team fights. All they needed to do was to make sure that they did everything within the timeframe of Baron buff wearing off.


    ¡°It¡¯s time. Rengar, go!¡± shouted Number One.


    Heng Yi nodded his head as his Rengar went invisible. For a moment the opponents near him were displayed in a red color, only their body heat and beating hearts were visible.


    This time, Rengar¡¯s target was Lin Dong¡¯s Sivir, and he suddenly jumped at her from the side!


    Wu Sen reacted quickly, immediately stunning Rengar. But the rest of them rushed in at this time, and they didn¡¯t know how to react.


    Lin Dong activated his ulti, giving his team a boost of speed to reposition themselves. Team Beijing had also gotten smarter. They were not blindly throwing all their abilities out, and were instead letting Rengar tank some of the damage first before exchanging blows.


    Lin Dong shouted to nobody in particular, ¡°Can you see Zed?!¡±


    Number One¡¯s Zed was really terrifying. Lin Dong has already tasted the brutality of seeing his own champion die a vicious death, which is why he was being unusually cautious.


    ¡°Just focus on attacking, I¡¯ll keep an eye out for him,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    Just as the words left his mouth, a shadow sprung forth, appearing right at Lin Dong¡¯s blind spot!


    The first thing you learn as an assassin is how to remain undetected. Number One¡¯s ability at finding the best blind spot to launch his kill was really unmatched. This angle was exactly like stabbing someone in the back while their attention was completely focused on launching their attacks. It was almost impossible to prepare for this kind of ambush!


    Lin Dong was completely unaware. He trusted Yu Luocheng and continued to focus on his attacks. Taking a step back, Wu Sen spotted Zed and cold sweat started pouring down his forehead.


    ¡°Lin Dong, watch out, I can¡¯t Exhaust him!¡± shouted Wu Sen, a slight touch of hysteria in his voice.


    Wu Sen was standing in front of Lin Dong and wouldn¡¯t be able to turn around in time to throw an Exhaust.


    Lin Dong pulled the camera angle back, only to realize that the terrifying Zed had appeared behind him. More horrifyingly, the only ally champion near him was Wu Sen¡¯s Taric. The others were all up front, they wouldn¡¯t be able to help him!


    ¡°He he he¡­¡±


    A bone-chilling laugh that raised all the hair on their arms rang out as Zed activated his ulti, dissolving into the shadows and appearing behind Lin Dong.


    ¡°The moment you can see me, you¡¯re already dead,¡± muttered Number One, his lips lifting into a smirk.


    The greatest pleasure about playing Zed was the feeling of taking the head of an enemy in the middle of their army, and retreating with your own perfectly intact.


    This time was no different, his ulti had been locked onto her. Even without using the skill from Blade of The Ruined King, he would be able to take down Sivir who didn¡¯t even have Barrier up. He would then be able to R back to his original shadow, perfectly executing a kill without shedding a single drop of his own blood.


    Sivir didn¡¯t have anyone else near her, and Number One knew that Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin would be aiming for his own back line. However, compared to his Zed, Kassadin¡¯s killing rate was definitely lower, because he purposely had his Support hold back his skills.


    Woosh!


    Suddenly, a mysterious shadow jumped out from the side.


    And the next thing he knew, the health of Number One¡¯s Zed had been reduced!


    Number One¡¯s mouth turned downwards as he realized that it was Kassadin.


    He clearly saw Kassadin jumping in from another angle, activating Deathfire Grasp and immediately following up with Force Pulse and Null Sphere. All these abilities landed directly on Zed.


    The three skills launched so closely to each other that it almost seemed like a single skill. The links were seamless, and the entire process took less than 0.3 seconds!


    Seeing his health dropping dramatically in an instant, and seeing the burst from Kassadin in less than 0.3 seconds made Number One realize how their ADC had died so easily in the last team fight.


    Yes!


    0.3 seconds at most. This Kassadin used the shortest amount of time to release everything¡ªDeathfire Grasp, Force Pulse and Null Sphere. The damage from the combination was breathtaking. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he experienced it himself, Number One would never believe that there was someone who could flawlessly perform such a feat in such a short time!


    For a moment, a chill went down Number One¡¯s spine. Instead of trying to finish Kassadin off, he pressed R and took the chance to flee, completely abandoning the idea of performing his assassination.


    Run!


    He needed to run. Even with a magic resist item like Quicksilver Slash on him, Kassadin would most likely still be able to instantly kill him with just one burst of damage. He would die, even with his magic resist, so their ADC, Lucian, who didn¡¯t have any at all, wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    ¡°F*ck, where do you think you¡¯re going!?¡±


    Feeling the relief of narrowly avoiding death, Lin Dong watched as Yu Luocheng brought down a significant portion of Zed¡¯s health. He turned and Flashed, throwing the Boomerang Blade. Number One¡¯s reaction was equally fast, Flashing to get out of the crossblades¡¯ return path and disappearing into his shadow.


    ¡°Ignore him, he¡¯s already useless. Kill them,¡± said Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t bother chasing down Zed to deliver the death blow. His focus was on those arrogant teammates of their opponents. Yu Luocheng¡¯s damage was now very high, so he could completely ignore Rengar¡¯s magic resist. His objective was to bring down Vi and Lucian!


    Yu Luocheng was extremely cunning, jumping right into the middle of their opponents. Unleashing his Force Pulse, it hit and slowed three of them who were trying to retreat, and then he activated his Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass for the first time.


    After breaking their front line, Da Luo¡¯s Mundo had recovered enough health, and he quickly followed up on Yu Luocheng¡¯s assault. With a blind throw of his knife and Randuin¡¯s Omen, he managed to halt Leona and Renger in their steps.


    The opponent gave up easily, choosing to retreat.


    This time, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t hold back and went for the kill. Letting out a loud roar, he took their heads!


    The two kills were attributed to his teammates, and Yu Luocheng swept them up without any further gratitude. Even without securing the kill on Number One, the advantage of this game was completely established by Team Skycrown.


    Pushing all the way in, Team Skycrown took the chance to go all the way into their opponent¡¯s base and take the Inhibitor while they were two champions down.


    The moment they brought down the Inhibitor, the crowd in Demacia Cafe let out a deafening cheer. The time was almost at thirty minutes, and this was just too f*cking satisfying!


    ¡°They somehow managed to win this team fight,¡± said Jojo.


    Jojo didn¡¯t have too deep an understanding of League of Legends. While Miracle didn¡¯t see Yu Luocheng¡¯s burst damage that almost killed Zed, he could guess what had probably happened.


    ¡°Not ¡®somehow¡¯. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Fighting Hawk was waiting for Zed to assassinate someone so he could intervene at the right moment. After silencing Zed and beating him down, Fighting Hawk managed to stop both Zed¡¯s assassination attempt and his important ulti!¡±


    ***


    With the Inhibitor taken, Team Skycrown retreated quickly, taking the jungle route and killing the creeps in there.


    After regrouping, they once again appeared near their opponent¡¯s base, facing off against them at the middle lane. Team Beijing¡¯s top lane had already been pushed. Once the Super Minions arrived, Team Beijing would have to send someone to defend. At that time, Team Skycrown would be able to push the middle lane again.


    Miracle mused, ¡°Now they¡¯re at a deadlock again. The Shanghai team is cautious, they¡¯re not rushing into the base immediately¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin paced outside their opponent¡¯s base, he didn¡¯t bother hiding and boldly showed himself. He took note of the ADC¡¯s position and also checked his items. It seemed that Lucian was building Guardian Angel but he didn¡¯t have enough gold yet.


    Yu Luocheng took a look at his own items. First he calculated the 35% magic penetration he had from Void Staff, 15 from his Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes, and probably about 10 from his runes¡­


    Ah, Lucian. You f*cking still dare to walk towards this wall!


    Yu Luocheng moved Kassadin forward. It was obvious that Lucian was intending to use his skills to clear the minion wave, and his position was actually quite difficult to hit¡­


    Woosh!


    Suddenly, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin jumped into the turret range.


    Bamf!


    Yu Luocheng pressed Flash immediately.


    Using his ulti to jump towards his opponent and using his Flash, Yu Luocheng¡¯s movements confused all of the people who were watching¡­


    And soon, the entire Demacia Cafe and Noxus Club let out a cry of surprise.


    He died!


    Team Beijing¡¯s ADC¡ªLucian, is dead!


    This time, it wasn¡¯t a mysterious confusing death as the observer camera angle was on Yu Luocheng. Everyone saw his Kassadin use Rift Walk to jump under turret in the middle of the five enemy champions, and use his Flash to get back out.


    And Lucian, who had full health, died!


    It was too fast!


    It really happened in the blink of an eye!


    In the past, when people saw a godlike play, their eyes would widen in disbelief. But this time, everyone was wide-eyed in fear instead.


    Jumping in, killing, Flash back out. The entire process definitely did not exceed 0.5 seconds!


    What the h*ll was 0.5 seconds?


    Maybe an ordinary player could be stupefied, and a professional player could probably Cleanse in that timing¡­


    But can you imagine being able to execute the entire complicated process of jumping in, killing, and retreating in such a short span of time?!

 Chapter 410 - : Godlike Kassadin

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The fact that such a complicated process had been carried out in just 0.5 seconds left a strong impression on everyone, they were unable to calm down at all!


    There were also a lot of professional Mid players watching the game, and even they had yet to recover their wits.


    At Beijing¡¯s Noxus Club, Number One was still staring blankly at the screen. His Zed was right next to Lucian¡¯s corpse. Even though it happened within a short period of time, he had clearly seen all of Kassadin¡¯s movements.


    A piece of void energy was Kassadin¡¯s landing point. He had already thrown out Deathfire Grasp before his figure fully materialized. The moment it landed on Lucian, Force Pulse and Nether Sphere made their appearances!


    Under normal circumstances, you would still be able to see Lucian¡¯s health dropping in stages, no matter how fast you released the skills. First, it would decrease from Kassadin¡¯s ulti, followed by a 15% drop from Deathfire Grasp. Then, it would further drop from Force Pulse, and finally from Null Sphere.


    Altogether, the damage was caused by a total of four skills¡­


    But what Number One saw was Lucian¡¯s health bar immediately draining to zero!


    There were no words to describe the speed. It felt like all the skills had been launched together with the press of a single button! This guy must have placed all those skills on one button, there had to be some special key that allowed him to configure it that way¡­


    That had to be it. There was no way anyone in this world would be able to do something like that so quickly. Impossible!


    Unbidden, another thought floated through Number One¡¯s mind.


    A one button setting? If everything was programmed onto a single button, how was he able to first hit Lucian with Deathfire Grasp, and then follow up with his other two skills?


    If the fireball from Deathfire Grasp missed Lucian, it wouldn¡¯t have triggered its unique passive of increasing all subsequent magic damage taken by the target by 20%. It would then be even more difficult to kill Lucian who had a Null-Magic Mantle!


    It was impossible for someone to be able to launch a combo in such a short span of time, because it was equivalent to pressing all the keys together. No one had a finger speed fast enough to do it.


    However, it couldn¡¯t be a one button setting either, because Kassadin¡¯s Deathfire instant kill had its steps. You had to first use Deathfire Grasp and wait until the fireball hit the target, before pushing out the other two skills. Only then would the skills that hit Lucian be able to instantly kill him.


    And also¡­


    After killing Lucian, he used Flash to immediately escape¡­ it all looked like a simple set of steps, but the problem was the speed that it was executed at.


    When using Zed to instant kill, it took at least one second to execute the combination of Ignite + Blade Of The Ruined King + E + Q. And that was provided that you were incredibly proficient, but even that was very slow when compared to Kassadin¡¯s speed in killing Lucian!


    At this moment, while he continued to stare blankly at the screen, Number One suddenly remembered a conversation he had a year ago with an e-sports senior.


    ¡°Number One, e-sports is all about the speed of your finger movements. In other words, your click-per-second. I¡¯ll give you a basic speed test. Use one finger to press a key. Let¡¯s see how many times you can press it in one second.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy, I can press the key eight times in one second. I used to play in arcades, so something like that is easy for me.¡±


    ¡°Eight times in one second? Alright, that¡¯s considered a pass I guess.¡±


    ¡°Eight times in one second is just considered a pass? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!¡±


    ¡°Hehe, do you know what the highest record is?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Twice as much as yours!¡±


    Click-per-second was basically a neglected measure for e-sport players, similar to Warcraft¡¯s APM*.


    Number One had tried it out before, and he could click eight times per second. In most click tests, this speed was already considered a top score, which is why he had proudly announced it to his senior.


    However, when the senior told him that the record was sixteen times per second, Number One was completely dumbfounded!


    Sixteen clicks in one second¡­ was there actually someone in the world that could do it?!


    That person must be an alien!


    No matter how light your fingers were, it was impossible to reach sixteen clicks per second. This speed would even make some of the low-quality keyboards revert to its default settings.


    Kassadin¡¯s burst of skills took 0.5 seconds to launch five sets of skills, which meant ten clicks in one second. Ten clicks per second may be possible for certain people, but in this case, we¡¯re talking about five different keys¡ª1, R, E, Q, and D!


    Number One felt just like he did when he first heard about the record of sixteen clicks after thinking that his own ability of eight clicks per second was so great.


    It seemed like something so simple, but only those who had tried countless times would know what it meant to be able to hit ten clicks per second!


    ***


    Team Beijing was unable to defend their base after their ADC was instantly killed.


    Once the middle lane Inhibitor was taken down, Number One¡¯s confidence was also completely shattered by that onslaught of skills in 0.5 seconds.


    Team Skycrown pushed towards victory, breaking the Inhibitors in all three lanes, leaving Team Beijing with no hope of a comeback.


    Right up to the point where Team Beijing¡¯s base was taken down, everyone¡¯s minds were still stuck on that glorious moment of Kassadin¡¯s assault.


    VICTORY!


    As the victory sign floated on screen, Yu Luocheng took off his headphones with an ear-splitting grin on his face.


    He initially thought that everyone in Demacia Cafe would crowd over to them. Who knew that they would be looking like him like they¡¯d seen a monster instead? Feeling self-conscious, Yu Luocheng scratched his nose nervously¡­ did he have something in his nose?


    While Yu Luocheng was worrying about his handsome image, Feng Da, Mao Ge, Xu Ben, and K who were in the cafe all had the same thought in their minds: ¡°Are you really a f*cking human!? What kind of alien are you and why would you play the same game as us humans?!¡±


    Having played LOL for so long, they had seen so many Top 10 players, godlike plays, and all kinds of executions plays. Who would have thought that someone could launch a set of skills in just 0.5 seconds?!


    The match took a total of forty minutes.


    In the first twenty minutes, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin had been pressured to the point he couldn¡¯t do sh*it. He died multiple times and his items had been lagging way behind.


    The next twenty minutes weren¡¯t very interesting either. His teammates were more exceptional than him¡­


    And then, this 0.5 second thing happened.


    No matter how dazzling and eye-catching Zed¡¯s maneuvers were, how much the Top could carry, how great the Jungler was at awareness, none of it mattered anymore. The only thing everyone would remember was this 0.5 second maneuver.


    Not only was everyone cheering at the victory, a god had also been born in their hearts!


    ***


    Miracle couldn¡¯t contain his excitement as he exclaimed loudly, ¡°Congratulations¡­ congratulations to Demacia Cafe¡¯s Team Skycrown for obtaining victory. I must admit that although they were in a deadlock for the majority of the game, I don¡¯t have to say much about how interesting this match was. Let us use our warmest comments and flowers to support our godlike Kassadin!¡±


    The match result had already been announced, but the flowers were still being thrown up, the entire comment section was exploding!


    Can you imagine that the comments section which was previously refreshing at a calm rate, was now refreshing at an alarming rate with thousands of comments bursting forward?!


    Scrolling down, you would see exclamation marks everywhere!


    At the Noxus Club, the entire room was rendered speechless. What began as a match full of confidence, with a twenty minute advantage in Team Beijing¡¯s hands, had ended in their loss.


    It wasn¡¯t that they were unsatisfied with the loss, nor was it an accidental loss. They were unable to describe this feeling of losing, especially after witnessing a Kassadin who could kill the ADC in 0.5 seconds. There was no concept of victory after witnessing such a scene, their minds had halted at that moment.


    Ancient Dust was known to be an instant killer, and Number One was known as the upgraded version of Ancient Dust. He killed faster and more accurately, plus his hands were also more stable.


    And today, their countless instant kills, their countless perfect retreats had just fallen through a hole¡­


    Because they were well aware that although they now knew that Kassadin could be played this way with Deathfire Grasp, they would never be able to execute the speed needed for this game play!


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Number One, this is just a warm up match. There will be chances to play against them in the LPL, and we¡¯ll get them back then!¡± said someone in an attempt to comfort him.


    No matter what, Number One was still considered to be a godlike Mid player in the Noxus Club. Everyone supported him, protected him, and loved his smooth execution and perfect retreats.


    Nodding his head, Number One managed to force a smile on his face.


    In the LPL, they would have a real professional exchange. More than an hour ago, Number One still had the confidence that he could beat any team, but now all of that confidence was gone with the wind.


    Just like when he previously only managed to hit eleven clicks per second no matter how much he tried, Fighting Hawk¡¯s Kassadin¡¯s winning play of 0.5 seconds was something that he would forever be unable to surpass!


    ***


    Walking out of the Noxus Club, Number One took a deep breath to calm himself down. He slowly took his phone out and dialled a number.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me, Number One.¡±


    A deep baritone male voice replied from the other end of the call, ¡°Oh hey, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve learnt my lesson. The strongest e-sports player in the country¡­ he really is terrifying,¡± said Number One, speaking honestly from his heart.


    There was a kind of opponent who caused chills to crawl up the spine of anyone who faced them. Number One¡¯s purpose of entering the world of e-sports was to get stronger, to become someone who could defeat every opponent placed in front of him.


    Even when he knew that he couldn¡¯t surpass the record of sixteen clicks per second, he¡¯d still persisted in practising it for a long time¡­


    But there are times when you¡¯re completely helpless, like when you think that your click-per-second rate was already very, very fast, the sun would shine through the clouds and open your eyes to the fact that there would always be people outside your reach!


    ¡°Talent is inherited and hard work is essential. His speed was not as fast as it used to be, he¡¯s relying on his muscle memory at the moment. I watched the match earlier. There are probably only about five people in the world who can pull off that maneuver he threw out,¡± said the man Number One was talking to.


    ¡°Five?¡± replied Number One, smiling bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s to say that there are only five people in the world who can match Fighting Hawk¡¯s speed of sixteen clicks per second?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve misunderstood. Fighting Hawk¡¯s click-per-second rate should only be about fourteen clicks. The one who¡¯s at sixteen clicks isn¡¯t someone who¡¯s in the country,¡± said the man.


    That sentence made Number One¡¯s inner emotions which had calmed down suddenly roar up again like a torrent of waves!

 Chapter 411 - What They Wanted, Was The Championship!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Demacia Cafe was blanketed by silence for a long time, and finally the cheers came exploding out!


    Team Skycrown had used their strength to convince the people in the Internet cafe, and now the whole place felt a certain sense of honor and pride. Even those casuals who don¡¯t usually spend a lot of money, spent a lot on flowers today, just for the sake of getting into the atmosphere.


    The first club in China has definitely baptized their name and established their reputation after today¡¯s match.


    Mr. Lei was all smiles as he walked out. Even though he didn¡¯t really understand LOL, he knew enough to know that Yu Luocheng and his team had put on an outstanding performance. Otherwise, the whole of Demacia Cafe would not have maintained their silence for so long.


    ¡°Master, you¡¯re definitely the master that I acknowledge!¡± shouted Xu Ben as he ran up to Yu Luocheng, already seeming to be a devoted follower of his.


    Many players used Kassadin, so most people knew his strengths and weaknesses.


    Initially, they thought that Team Skycrown was going to lose this round, and the awesome prize money was going to be taken away by other people. Then Yu Luocheng changed his third item and came out with a Deathfire instead!


    The first time, Lucian¡¯s mysterious death was obviously pulled off by Yu Luocheng¡¯s items. It was such a pity that the camera was not focused on him at that time, so no one saw it happening.


    After that, everyone saw Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin significantly bringing down Zed¡¯s health, but they didn¡¯t see anything else as only a slight corner of the camera was on him.


    And the final time, when all eyes watching the match were on him, Yu Luocheng displayed his godlike skills, instantly sending the audience of over three hundred thousand people into an uproar.


    Now everyone finally knew what a world-class player was like. No one else in the county could pull off that Kassadin play!


    ***


    ¡°A total profit of a hundred thousand yuan was made from the flowers. The cafe will take half and the other half is ours. With this fifty thousand yuan, we¡¯ve already caught up with the subsidies of the LPL teams. This is so freaking satisfying!¡± said Da Luo with a sh*t-eating grin on his face.


    You really can¡¯t underestimate the capabilities of two major clubs. There was at least a hundred thousand yuan invested in this competition. This sort of horrifying numbers was unprecedented, and even the media had not been expecting such amazing support for this public match!


    If you think about it, there were at least a thousand members in both the clubs. If all the members who watched were to throw out a thousand or two thousand yuan each, that was still nothing.


    Normally, even ordinary people can throw out up to a few hundred yuan. Adding these together, you would get a few tens of thousands. More importantly, there were a lot of big spenders in these high-class clubs. Once they got involved, you could get at least five to ten thousand per person!


    Team Skycrown was in a bad financial situation. More than half of the ten thousand yuan they obtained from Demacis Cafe was used to pay off their rental. The rest was not really enough to even feed themselves, not to mention they also had their daily travel expenses¡­


    They needed money for daily necessities. Even things like the phone and Internet bills required money. When they wanted a cold drink because of the hot weather, when they wanted to eat some fruits, when they wanted to have a drink on a happy occasion, they wished that they could spend freely, but they had to be very calculative with their money for the whole year.


    More importantly, as they used this ten thousand to support the entire team¡¯s daily lives, none of the seven members of Team Skycrown were able to receive a salary.


    Neither Jiang Feng nor Li Meiqi had received a single penny, and it was the same for the rest of Team Skycrown. You could tell how hard their life has been from the fact that they had not been able to get themselves a single new shirt or a pair of shoes.


    And now they had instantly earned fifty thousand yuan with just one game, this money was incredibly important to them!


    After the game, Mr. Lei didn¡¯t say much. He headed to a restaurant and booked a table, inviting Team Skycrown to have a good meal. They had already been planning to celebrate on their own, but it was rare that someone would do this for them, and after all, it wouldn¡¯t be polite to decline.


    Eating in Shanghai was expensive, and Team Skycrown usually couldn¡¯t afford to go to these kinds of fancy places. With such a wealthy guy like Mr. Lei buying them a meal, their minds were at ease as they ate their fill!


    ¡°Haha, thank you very much for your hard work guys. With this match, our club is really the top in the country now. If it all goes well, I¡¯m planning to add restaurants and resting areas in the cafe, to make it more of a leisure club,¡± said Mr. Lei as he drank until his face was red, clearly showing how happy he was.


    Could he be anything but happy at this point?


    His club that was representing Shanghai had defeated an opponent representing Beijing. The match was broadcasted and hundreds of thousands of people had watched it. Later on, there would surely be more people who would watch the replay. With millions of people watching, there would surely be more people flocking to his club!


    When running a business, the only thing that scares you is people not knowing your brand. As long as people know of you, then you don¡¯t have to fear not succeeding.


    ¡°Mr. Lei, I¡¯m telling you, this is nothing. Just wait until we get into the LPL. Then, everyone who plays LOL in the country will know Demacia Cafe!¡± boasted Da Luo, clearly high on the drinks as well.Read more chapter on novelhall.com


    Wu Sen laughed loudly as he repeatedly slapped Da Luo¡¯s back. ¡°What whole county? We¡¯ll get into the S International League, then the whole world will know!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be relying on you guys, I knew that teaming up with a professional team will be great!¡± said Mr Lei happily.


    The golden age of Internet cafes was long gone. Following the advancement of technology, they had fallen into a dark age as broadband entered homes, mobile phones became more powerful, and mobile games soared in popularity.


    Having been in the Internet cafe business for ten years, Mr. Lei was well aware that the industry had been in a constant downfall. How was he going to attract more people to come to his cafe?


    Nowadays, people liked spending their time leisurely, kicking back and relaxing in a club while drinking afternoon tea or coffee and listening to music. The cost to run this kind of a place was also higher. But if you were to combine leisure with the e-sports industry, a completely different type of business would be born.


    Mr. Lei believed that only e-sports could save the declining market of Internet cafes!


    ¡°On that note, Mr. Lei, our contract will need to be changed slightly when we get into the LPL¡­¡± said Li Meiqi with a smile.


    In fact, with Team Skycrown¡¯s current reputation, they were worth more than the amount Mr. Lei had given them. Many people would come to Demacia Cafe because of them, so there was no reason for the team to get such a low salary.


    The average amount of money a customer would spend at Demacia Cafe was about a hundred yuan. And in the afternoon, when people opted to have coffee, tea, or snacks, they would spend around four to five thousand yuan.


    At night, people would spend even more. The big shots would order whatever they wanted, and it would come up to a few thousand yuan. They would also drink wine that cost about seventy or eighty thousand yuan per bottle, then finish it all in just a few mouthfuls¡­


    It was hard to estimate the amount of money Mr. Lei earned every day, and Team Skycrown should definitely be getting more!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry. If all goes well, I¡¯ll agree to everything you wanted previously, hahaha!¡± said Mr. Lei. He was in a good mood and incredibly pleased with Team Skycrown.


    Upon hearing that, Li Meiqi¡¯s eyes brightened. Her initial suggestion was for Team Skycrown to get a share of Demacia Cafe¡¯s earnings!


    The reason you would never earn more while being employed was simple. It¡¯s because when you work for a company, you don¡¯t get a share of their profits, and are instead stuck constantly working for a fixed salary. No boss would easily share their profits with anyone, as their revenue would always continue to grow.


    It was the same with Demacia Cafe. Just a few months ago, it was just a relatively high-class Internet cafe with a continuously declining revenue. But ever since Team Skycrown joined, Mr. Lei managed to earn back the money he spent on advertisements and other things, plus the cafe¡¯s earnings were definitely rising.


    At this time, most bosses would seize the chance to continue earning more, without having to increase their costs by paying out a higher salary.


    But with Mr. Lei agreeing to give Team Skycrown a share of the club¡¯s earnings, their income would only continue to increase as per the club¡¯s rising performance.


    According to Li Meiqi¡¯s rough estimate, a month¡¯s worth of expenses for a regular team, be it through a salary or something else, was at least a hundred thousand yuan a month!


    How could a team without any club support earn a hundred thousand yuan per month? The prize money from the LPL was only five hundred thousand yuan, and that was before taxes were deducted¡­


    Competition prize money was only an extra benefit, and the competition rankings could only be used to increase their standings. For income, teams still had to rely on the clubs that sponsored them.


    Li Meiqi would definitely need to have a proper discussion with Mr. Lei on exactly how much Team Skycrown¡¯s share would be. She needed to strive to make sure the team got the best deal possible. How much capital Team Skycrown would be able to increase their worth for wholly depended on their own influence!


    ***


    The prize money in the pool was replenished once again, and Demacia Club had already set up the drive to win. It¡¯s estimated that the prize money in the pool had exceeded the first and second prize money of some other professional competitions.


    After Team Skycrown defeated Team Beijing, the number of teams who came to challenge them decreased. Many people realized that they would just be wasting their money, so they would not go looking for death without being absolutely certain of their own victory.


    As for Noxus Club, the loss didn¡¯t seem to cause much damage to their business. Instead, with the exposure of this confrontation, those who previously didn¡¯t know of Noxus Club now started to go there.


    This match was actually a friendly match, and in fact could even have been planned by the bosses of both clubs. It created two professional teams that were recognized by the majority of people¡ªDemacia¡¯s Team Skycrown and Noxus¡¯ Team Beijing.


    It was easy to see the players from these two teams. As long as you went to their respective clubs, you would probably see the stars of the teams training there.


    You could bring along a mousepad if you wanted an autograph. Or you could just bask in their godly aura that could possibly even help you get ten consecutive wins in your ranked games. Admittedly, something like that was probably just a placebo effect, but people who liked the game or the players wouldn¡¯t mind going to the clubs just for that¡­


    ***


    February quickly came to an end, and Team Skycrown would once again be spending New Year¡¯s in the club. As the LPL loomed closer, they needed to put more effort into their training.


    Unsurprisingly, Team Skycrown managed to qualify for the Spring season of the LPL. The eight strongest teams in the country would be competing in Shanghai to qualify for the S International League as well as the prize money of five hundred thousand yuan!


    There were some notable changes in this year¡¯s LPL lineup, though the top four major clubs¡ªDaemons, 71, Sky, and Revelation¡ªstill retained their seats.


    Noxus¡¯ Team Beijing had successfully stood out during the qualifiers, and it wasn¡¯t surprising that they had become one of the top eight teams in the country. Demacia¡¯s Team Skycrown didn¡¯t disappoint either, once again managing to get into the same professional league they left last year.


    At this time last year, they were full of joy, excitement, and tears. This year, they made a comeback, and their goal was not as simple as defeating their old enemy, Team Sky¡­


    What they wanted, was the championship!

 Chapter 412 - The LPL Begins!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The advancement of the LPL is sometimes very unpredictable. Even if you play LOL every day, a live broadcast screen could suddenly appear during one of your games. At this, many people would realize that the professional competition had started.


    Of course, those who had just joined the big family of LOL may be confused by this and wonder what the h*ll was going on. And then, they would just hit the play button, going into their own AI game.


    The LPL professional competition is broadcasted live on the game interface, and although many LOL players would turn blind eye to it, there were just so many people who played LOL in the country. There were in fact many people who were waiting for the competition to begin!


    In places like Demacia and Noxus Club, everyone¡¯s favorite time was when the professional competitions were taking place. It was all the more exciting if their club¡¯s team was competing.


    The people at Demacia Club had unknowingly started to regard the five young, handsome youths as their own team, and they were thrilled to see Team Skycrown at the opening ceremony!


    They may not bother watching the other teams¡¯ matches, but how could they not watch Team Skycrown play?


    During the period of the competition, the club once again ushered in a large number of customers. Mr. Lei had already bought the shoplot next to him in anticipation of Team Skycrown¡¯s appearance in the LPL.


    A hall spanning a mere two hundred square meters could no longer accommodate the amount of customers flooding in. A second competition lounge had been opened, and all the sofas there were occupied too¡­


    A youth who had just arrived asked, ¡°Does our team have a match on the first day?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t have any matches today, but they¡¯ll be playing tomorrow. But Team Sky has a match today,¡± said Xiao Duoduo, the store manager.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since Team Sky made an appearance. I wonder what their strength is like now?¡±


    ¡°F*ck, the commentator is so long winded. Hurry up and just start the game already, I want to watch it!¡±


    As everyone was waiting anxiously, the camera suddenly switched to the stands. The five members of Team Skycrown could clearly be seen amongst the audience, wearing their uniforms with the LOL gaming mouse sponsor logo on it. They were sitting in the front row¡­


    With one glance, Feng Da spotted Yu Luocheng and laughed. ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s Captain Yu!¡±


    ¡°Yo, look at that, Da Luo is still digging his nose haha! He doesn¡¯t know that the camera is on him, so disgusting,¡± said Mao Ge, chuckling as he observed Da Luo¡¯s movements.


    The commentator was still warming up the crowd when the cameraman aimed the lens at the crowd. The moment it landed on Yu Luocheng, the two commentators changed the topic.


    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t this Team Skycrown¡¯s captain? He¡¯s quite the looker,¡± said Xi Ling, the female commentator, with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But to the professional players of the LPL, his face is a source of fear. Especially for the captain of Team Sky who is preparing for their match right now,¡± said Bao Jun.


    Even after a year, Bao Jun still clearly remembered the match he was talking about!


    ¡°Hehe, is this the so-called aura of a master?¡± said Xi Ling.


    Both commentators continued to tease Yu Luocheng.


    He scratched his nose as he sat there, thinking to himself, ¡®I¡¯m just sitting here and I¡¯m still a target? Also, when the camera was on me just now, did my hair look okay?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°Haha, our Captain Yu is so awkward. When the camera lands on any of the professional players, the commentators will mention their names¡­¡± said Xiao Duoduo with a slight laugh.


    Sitting in the audience stand and not yet playing still felt the same as being in the competition. This caused the two new members of Team 71 who have yet to show their faces to feel such embarrassment.


    ¡°Eh, why do the LPL professional players fear our Captain Yu? Is he that fierce? No way, I think he¡¯s kinda cute,¡± said a girl who looked to be in college.


    She came to the club not long ago, after being introduced to it by a friend. However, she was very pretty, and many people had already crowded around her.


    ¡°Tian Tian, you don¡¯t know. During the LPL last year, our Captain Yu beat the living sh*t out of the second strongest team in the country¡ªTeam Sky. He beat them so hard that he got a hundred kills on them!¡± said Mao Ge in a clearly boastful tone.


    ¡°Ah? The team from our club is actually so powerful!¡±


    ¡°But of course.¡±


    Everyone was very proud as the regulars were pretty close to the members of Team Skycrown. So whenever a new customer came to watch the game, people like Fan Da and Mao Ge felt a special sense of superiority!


    ***


    The LPL had officially begun, and Team Skycrown had purposely stayed back to watch the first match because their most-hated team was on stage.


    Team Sky!


    This year, Team Sky was different from the previous year, because their captain¡ªBlood Eagle¡ªhad returned. It was said that Team Sky had not lost a single match since Zhao Tinghu¡¯s return. They had even won their match against Team Daemons.


    The seemingly quiet Team Sky had suddenly come alive again, and they were now even more fierce and unstoppable than ever before!


    From his spot in the front row of the audience, Yu Luocheng could clearly see each member of Team Sky. Sitting right in the middle of the five computers was Zhao Tinghua, who had disappeared for quite some time.


    This guy Zhao Tinghua, Yu Luocheng understood him only too well.


    Most of the time he would have a faint smile on his face, and Yu Luocheng could always tell whether it was fake bravado or real confidence under that mask. The smile currently on Zhao Tinghua¡¯s face was a little odd. In the past two years, Yu Luocheng had not seen anything like it before.


    It felt like back when Team Wings fell into a difficult position during their match against Team Swiss. They were fiercely pressured in that game and every action was in the palm of their hands. That match was extremely difficult, but they had managed to win three out of five games. Their victory over Team Swiss was all thanks to Zhao Tinghua who had carried the entire team¡¯s income.


    During that game, Yu Luocheng, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo had been incredibly frustrated, and they internally suffered in agony throughout it. Zhao Tinghua alone was able to discard his usual play style and routine. He used his absolute confidence to lead Team Wings to defeat Team Swiss who had managed to pressure them so badly¡­


    At that time, the smile on Zhao Tinghua¡¯s face was like the one he sported now¡ªone of enjoying his own confidence.


    Team Sky vs Team 71 was the first match of the LPL. Both were strong veteran teams in the top four. Plus, Team 71 was even the team that had previously beaten Team Sky for the S International League qualification. Where did Zhao Tinghua¡¯s self confidence come from?


    From his previous studies and observations, Yu Luocheng was clearly aware of Team 71¡¯s strength, and they were as terrifying as ever. They had even set up unique counters for each team, according to their respective play styles. Even Team Daemons didn¡¯t dare underestimate them.

 Chapter 413 - Blood Eagle’s Kha’Zix

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    If each team refrained from using their main tactics and strategies during the qualifiers of the new competition season, then the LPL was the time when they would truly display the full extent of their skills as well as their understanding of the new season!


    As far as understanding of the latest season was concerned, there was no doubt that Team 71¡¯s analyst was on another level as compared to Team Sky¡¯s. From the game interface displayed on the screen, everyone could see that Team 71 were making picks that differed from their usual lineup.


    When they saw Xie Yi from Team Sky choosing Gragas for Mid, Team 71 immediately picked Lulu for their own Mid!


    In the previous seasons and patches, Lulu would usually be picked as a Support. She used to be one of the hottest and strongest Supports, but she had been nerfed in the current patch. As she wasn¡¯t that good of a Support anymore, it was now entirely possible to use her as a Mid.


    In the early matches, you wouldn¡¯t see Mid Lulu much in the local games. For Team 71 to pick this champion, they must have enough confidence in playing her well.


    Both sides made their picks quickly, as they already had their own play styles and routines. As long as it was not obviously being targeted, they will pick it.


    Blood Eagle Zhao Tinghua¡¯s champion pick was The Voidreaver¡ªKha¡¯Zix!


    Following the nerf on Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s W and overall kit, he hasn¡¯t appeared in quite a while, even though a Mid Kha¡¯Zix was quite popular back in the day¡­


    However, now Kha¡¯zix in the jungle is gradually getting more popular in other countries. Kha¡¯Zix was a fascinating champion, so when Blood Eagle chose him, the entire arena burst into cheers!


    Among the Jungler champions, Kha¡¯Zix was the only one who could go pure damage, the other champions would have to build tank¡­


    ***


    In the new season, the success rate of Jungler ganks have declined due to the warding trinket that had been introduced, which significantly reduced the route of the Junglers.


    As the overall status of Junglers had declined, how would a team like Team Sky, whose Jungler was the core of the team, be affected? Would they be weaker?


    These doubts swirled in Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind, and he got his answer six minutes into the game¡­


    ¡°Beautiful! Blood Eagle¡¯s gank let him get two kills! In a good game, Kha¡¯Zix is really terrifying, especially if the one playing him is our Blood Eagle!¡±


    After taking a double kill and one jungle creep camp, Blood Eagle immediately built the Spirit of the Elder Lizard.


    The extra damage on monsters from Spirit of The Elder Lizard was scary, and his ganks were then not as frequent as before. From the Krugs and the Wraith camp, to the Wolves and the Wight, he gained quite a significant amount of gold from clearing these four camps just once. Only after that did he choose another lane to gank¡­


    A good Jungler must always have a good grasp on their own pace. They must know when to farm jungle creeps, when to gank, and when to counter gank. The most terrifying Jungler was one who got the kills, had a high amount of assists, and at the same time was leading in his farm of the jungle. This type of Jungler would be the one to cause a fatal blow to their opponents in the mid game!


    From the time the blue buff respawned for the second time, Team 71¡¯s jungle area had become Blood Eagle¡¯s backyard. He was ahead in kills, item builds, and even in levels. Lulu was not able to get the blue buff, and Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s damage was too high.


    No one was able to withstand a set of skills thrown out by him!


    The moment Lulu missed out the blue buff, it became impossible to keep up with Gragas¡¯ farm at the middle lane¡­


    ¡°Their jungle area has collapsed, Team 71 has to initiate a fight first,¡± said Lin Dong.


    ¡°Yeah, Team 71¡¯s pacing is messed up. The problem is even if they can surround them and initiate a team fight, can they defeat Team Sky¡¯s lineup?¡±


    The most scary thing to happen in a match was to have your pacing messed up. There were some lineups that were suitable to push in early game and put pressure on their opponents. But there were also some lineups that were more suitable to do so after twenty-five minutes, as they would be more effective after having built two or three complete items.


    Team 71¡¯s only early game champion was their Mid Lulu, but due to their blue buff getting taken, she wasn¡¯t able to put enough pressure on Xie Yi¡¯s Gragas at the middle lane¡­


    As Yu Luocheng and Lin Dong expected, Team 71 initiated an early team fight. Even if Xie Yi¡¯s Gragas can¡¯t kill anyone, his ulti was able to throw their enemies in various directions, lowering their health. Blood Eagle¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix would then find a chance to jump in to finish off the kill and jump right back out¡­


    Blood Eagle had built the Sword of the Occult, and the only other person who had built this item before was Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne. The boldness of Blood Eagle building this item made his fans who were already crazy about him worship him even more!


    As the team fight progressed, Gragas consumed his ulti again and froze the lane. When the enemy defended the turret, they continued to farm, and when the enemy retreated, they pushed the lane.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like a Jungler Kha¡¯Zix, instead it feels like he¡¯s Mid or a Top Kha¡¯Zix,¡± said Lin Dong.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head in agreement. Zhao Tinghua¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix was developing very well. It should have been Mid Gragas who held the highest damage, but when the fight started, it felt like Kha¡¯Zix was the core of the team, and the rest of them were just his stepping stones.


    The game did not drag on for very long, because by around the twenty-minute mark, the well-knit Team 71 was obviously in a losing situation.


    Team 71 could play very well in the laning phase, and was disciplined in the middle game, but would only truly be in their element in the late game. However, Zhao Tinghua was like a trickster with an explosive ability, his aggressiveness could mess up their perfectly well thought out plan.


    He boldly interrupted all of their farming during the laning phase. Just like that, Blood Eagle¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix would easily lead Team 71 around by the nose. If they weren¡¯t careful, they would be helpless to do anything but follow his pace for the remainder of the game.


    Once this happened, Team 71 had already lost. They were forced to team fight too early, and Lulu was not able to match the AOE that a strong champion like Gragas had. And when Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s terrifying damage output was added on¡­


    Every team needed a core.


    Without Blood Eagle, Team Sky was a completely different team. After watching this match, Yu Luocheng knew that in this year¡¯s LPL, Blood Eagle would be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of them winning the championship!


    All the tactics and strategies studied by Zhang Aijing were all a joke in Zhao Tinghua¡¯s hands. With his unique and unpredictable play style, he was able to lead his entire team towards victory¡­


    Zhao Tinghua was all smiles after the match. To him, victory was to be expected, and you can say that he had maintained his smile since the beginning.


    He patted Forgetful Laughter¡¯s shoulder as he walked past, and said in a light voice, ¡°Top is strong, but it¡¯s hard to carry a team full of people who are slow to respond.¡±


    Forgetful Laughter knew that Zhao Tinghua always had something to say, being arrogant and all. He didn¡¯t pay him much heed, and instead said, ¡°Wait till you win the championship, then you can come back and lecture me in this tone.¡±


    Zhao Tingua hadn¡¯t meant much. He just wanted to let Forgetful Laughter know that even if he was a great player, he could not save the other four noobs.

 Chapter 414 - Don’t Want To Be Enemies

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After the match, Yu Luocheng left the arena with a thoughtful look on his face.


    A call came in, and Zhang Aijing¡¯s voice was heard, ¡°Luocheng? Do you have some time?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Yu Luocheng, nodding his head.


    Later that evening, Zhang Aijing took Yu Luocheng for a drink at a place not too far from the competition venue. She was holding her notebook and didn¡¯t beat around the bush, opening it to show Yu Luocheng a particular page.


    Slightly suspicious, he didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at her.


    ¡°This is the data from the match Blood Eagle played earlier,¡± she said, pointing at different sections of the page as she spoke, ¡°This is the KDA, gold, and his total damage. And this is the control he had over the jungle area.¡±


    Yu Luocheng studied the numbers seriously. Blood Eagle had the highest kills in his team, as well as the highest gold, and his total damage was second only to Gragas¡­


    The stats were incredibly perfect. In a regular competition, a Junger was almost like a second Support. The later the game, the weaker the role actually got. The fact that Zhao Tinghua was able to be an existence his enemies needed to fear was really terrifying.


    ¡°Do you remember my previous allocation of points for Zhao Tinghua?¡± asked Zhang Aijing, her voice solemn.


    Her expression was serious, with no hint of the playfulness she usually had when dealing with Yu Luocheng. Normally, she would joke or tease him a little, and sometimes talk about things unrelated to LOL. But tonight, she was completely different. From the moment she opened her notebook, she spoke of nothing but the match that took place earlier that day.


    Both Yu Luocheng and Zhang Aijing were clearly aware that there was only one reason behind Team 71¡¯s loss.


    Zhao Tinghua was just too strong!


    Compared to Xiao Xiong, Team 71¡¯s Jungler, Zhao Tinghua was on a completely different level. However, Xiao Xiong¡¯s overall ability was almost at 21 points. Adding on the years of experience he had of participating in big competitions, there was no reason for him to crash and burn so badly!


    ¡°It¡¯s not like his teammates purposely gave him the kills or farm, the rest of the lanes were doing their normal things. The only one who stood out was probably their Mid, Xie Yi. But you should remember that in the LPL last year, the threat in Team Sky was Xie Yi, and his Mid capabilities were really something¡­


    ¡°This year, Xie Yi¡¯s performance was completely following Zhao Tinghua¡¯s pace. The ganks at the lanes, the invasion in the jungle area, the damage in teamfights¡­ they aren¡¯t like Team Revelation where they deliberately drag the game on to let Bai Feng as an ADC have enough time to farm up his items.


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua relies on his leadership capabilities to make all the players unconsciously follow his pace, and he uses them as stepping stones for his plays throughout the game,¡± said Zhang Aijing, her voice still heavy and solemn.


    Every tactic had its core. Team Revelation was never that strong because the entire team relied on Bai Feng alone, paving a way and advantage for him. The moment Bai Feng was targeted and singled out, it would be difficult to carry out Team Revelation¡¯s entire plan.


    During the previous year¡¯s LPL, Team Sky didn¡¯t have a core tactic that they could use, which was the main reason behind their loss. Even so, if they had not been banned, they would have still easily nabbed themselves a spot as one of the top four teams in the country.


    And now that Blood Eagle had returned, Team Sky had really been reborn.


    Unlike Bai Feng, Blood Eagle was not a late game ADC. He didn¡¯t need anyone to purposely pave a path filled with advantages for him, and he didn¡¯t need anyone to sacrifice any resources for him either. Blood Eagle could rely on his own strength to carry the entire team.


    Since laning champions could be singled out, then how do you go about targeting the Jungler? Take his buff in the early game? This kind of tactic would likely put your entire team in a risky situation!


    ¡°And then, I recomputed the statistics of the game, and compared it to the data from some of the games Team Sky played this year,¡± said Zhang Aijing as she flipped to another page in her notebook.


    She leaned closer to Yu Luocheng, using her finger to point at the information she wanted to show him. The enticing smell of perfume on a matured woman hit him immediately and his eyes involuntarily glanced at her white neck¡­


    He thought to himself, ¡®Ugh, serious business here, serious business. Don¡¯t get distracted!¡¯


    Turning his attention back to the data, he noted that Blood Eagle had maintained a good record in the past competitions.


    Gank success rate: 45%


    Counter gank and kill success rate: 40%


    Jungle control rate: 60%


    Current data:


    Gank success rate: 51%


    Counter gank with kill success rate: 50%


    Jungle control rate: 80%


    You have to compare everything just to unravel this mystery.


    This afternoon¡¯s game made Yu Luocheng feel that Zhao Tinghua was really strong, his strength was not any lesser than Taiwan¡¯s Xiao Zhuai. He was definitely deserving of the title of the strongest Jungler in the country.


    After seeing Zhang Aijing¡¯s numbers, Yu Luocheng couldn¡¯t help taking a deep breath. With a gank success rate of more that 50%, this basically meant that where Blood Eagle went, people would surely die.


    More importantly, in a situation where everyone now had a warding trinket, Zhao Tinghua¡¯s success rate in ganking had jumped up to 51%?!


    The success rates of Jungler ganks were now declining across the country, and a drop of at least 20% was not surprising. However, Zhao Tinghua¡¯s rate had not dropped, instead increasing to a scary extent of 51% that even most professional players were unable to reach¡­


    Where did this guy go last year? How could he have such an amazing breakthrough?!


    ¡°You should know that his jungle control rate of 80% isn¡¯t just referring to his own area¡­¡± said Zhang Aijing.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head in understanding.


    With a jungle control rate of 80%, it meant that you needed his consent to do anything in the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift, even if you wanted to take the three wolves or four wraiths. And don¡¯t even dream about taking the buffs that would affect a team¡¯s gold¡ªDragon and Baron!


    This kind of a Jungler could really make an opponent lose sleep!


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about the others, our Xiao Xiong¡¯s individual ability index is at about 6.8 points. Blood Eagle knocked him out easily, which means that he is already above 8.8 points.


    ¡°In the entire LPL, there is no other Jungler whose individual ability index surpasses 7 points. So, in other words, besides Belial, the Jungler from Team Daemons, the Junglers from the other seven teams are basically already defeated,¡± said Zhang Aijing.


    An individual ability index of 8.8 points.


    The individual ability index of all the LPL players was only about 6 points, and only those at the top level were at 7 points. The only ones who had 8 points were star players Hades, Bai Feng, Forgetful Laughter, and Blood Eagle. There were only two others who were almost at 8 points¡ªAncient Dust and the new rising player, One.


    The fact that Zhao Tinghua was at 8.8 points was terrifying, because just as Zhang Aijing said, Belial from Team Daemons was the only Jungler with more than 7 points, while the others were somewhere between 6 and 7 points.


    In other words, all the other team¡¯s jungle areas were basically Zhao Tinghua¡¯s backyard! This was an absolutely crushing realisation!


    ¡°This is my calculation for Blood Eagle¡¯s current data, have a look¡­¡± said Zhang Aijing.


    Blood Eagle: Captain of Team Sky


    Individual ability index: 8.8 points


    Team-fighting capability index: 8.4 points


    Tactical and leadership index: 8.5 points


    Skill and dexterity index: 1.0


    The skill and dexterity index referred to his performance in the matches that he played. A score of 1.0 meant that his performance had been very stable all the way.


    With this, Zhao Tinghua¡¯s overall points have exceeded 25 and was on the verge of hitting 26 points!


    In this season of declining Jungler ganks, it was amazing that Zhao Tinghua¡¯s ability index had not dropped, but instead increased by almost two points!


    ¡°You know that the further you go, a 0.5 point increase in the ability index is already very obvious, especially when the stats of the other players in each team are basically stagnant¡­


    ¡°His overall points have already surpassed Hades¡¯. In this season and patch where Mid is not the same as it used to be, if Hades doesn¡¯t have any major breakthroughs, then it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if this year¡¯s LPL championship falls into Zhao Tinghua¡¯s hands!¡± said Zhang Aijing, her voice still heavy.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t think that Zhang Aijing¡¯s assumptions were too far-fetched. A Jungler was the pace setter of the entire game, and all tactical execution required a strong Jungler to carry them out.


    Zhao Tinghua¡¯s individual abilities were almost invincible, which meant that he would be leading all the other teams around by their noses. All their tactics and strategies would mean nothing in front of him, and they would all fall to his rhythm. If they didn¡¯t have any effective countermeasures against him, then it was only a matter of time before they lost.


    If you were facing a powerful ADC, then you could head to the bottom lane to camp. If the Mid was particularly skilled, you could gank without much thought. If the Top was strong, then you could camp until the cows came home.


    But how do you intend to target such a flexible and strong Jungler? What could you do? It¡¯s like all you could do was to watch as your jungle gets invaded, your lanes fall, and the gold gap becomes bigger and bigger.


    ¡°Why are you suddenly sharing this with me?¡± asked Yu Luocheng, looking at Zhang Aijing as the confusion continued to burn in his mind.


    Theoretically, these numbers were Zhang Aijing¡¯s treasure. After entering into the LPL, they were both on different teams, and something like this should be kept hidden and fiercely protected.


    Looking at Yu Luocheng¡¯s confused face, Zhang Aijing snorted and said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, I just think that since our Team 71 has already lost, these statistics are not as valuable anymore¡­ and on that note, since the two of you used to be teammates, you should understand him better.


    ¡°How did he suddenly become so strong? It¡¯s not that he wasn¡¯t strong before this, but he¡¯s basically like a demon king right now. Anyway, I can confirm that our team doesn¡¯t stand a chance against him. It¡¯s now all up to your team and Team Daemons.¡±


    When it came to talking about Zhao Tinghua, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t even know where to begin.


    He couldn¡¯t be more aware of Zhao Tinghua¡¯s many accomplishments in the e-sports industry, and some of them were even things that Yu Luocheng lamented.


    Moreover, this guy seemed to be getting smarter as time went by. He didn¡¯t have the recklessness and impatience that he used to have in the past, and it was more difficult to find any flaws in him now¡­


    ¡°I remember that you weren¡¯t actually in the same team back when you were playing DOTA. How did the two of you end up in Team Wings after that?¡± asked Zhang Aijing, her voice filled with curiosity.


    Indeed, she didn¡¯t understand how the two strongest DOTA players were not rivals, but teammates instead.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head, choosing not to answer.


    ***


    There were some people you don¡¯t want as your enemy, because you know very well that the goddess of luck won¡¯t always be with you when you go against that other person.

 Chapter 415 - We Just Want The Championship

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°F*ck, why did we draw them again?!¡± said Hao Yue angrily, clearly unsatisfied.


    ¡°You really can¡¯t avoid what you want to. This is our chance to wash our shame away!¡±


    At the hotel, some members of Team Revelation were complaining, while others were full of confidence.


    This year, they would be going up against Team Skycrown in their first match of the LPL. Last year¡¯s three to zero defeat was really hard to accept, and now they had the chance to reclaim their pride!


    This year¡¯s season was using the best of two¡ªBO2¡ªformat, which meant that teams would play two games. Winning both games would earn a team three points. If the score was one to one, then both teams would get a point each. Losing both rounds would result in zero points.


    The rankings would still be determined by the points held by each team. Last year, Team Revelation didn¡¯t score a single point during their match against Team Skycrown, which made their ranking fall.


    Luckily, both Team Sky and Team Skycrown ended up being banned from the competition, which allowed Team Revelation to obtain the third place ranking for the first time.


    The ranking didn¡¯t really matter, but this year absolutely had to be different from last year. Recently, there were rumours flying around that Team Revelation was unable to perform well, and if they couldn¡¯t show good results in this round, the rumours would definitely not die down.


    As soon as it was time for the competition, Team Revelation cleared their minds and headed towards the arena. The participating teams were all accommodated at the same residence, so as soon as they walked out, they saw their opponents¡ªTeam Skycrown.


    Both teams greeted each other amicably, but not in an overly-friendly way because they were still opponents at the end of the day. If they had too good of a relationship, then they would feel bad going all out and being aggressive during the match.


    Once they got off the bus arranged by the organizers, a wave of fans immediately crowded around them.


    It was necessary for professional players to interact with their fans, so the organizers had not arranged for the bus to purposely avoid them, but instead made sure that the players had time to interact with the fans.


    ¡°So many pretty girls!¡± said Da Luo, his eyes lighting up and excitement in his voice.


    What young man full of vitality wouldn¡¯t like those girls in short skirts? Especially those that came over with such enthusiasm.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re all headed for Bai Feng,¡± said Lin Dong, a pout on his face.


    When they thought that they were the ones at the center of everyone¡¯s attention last year, who knew that the crowd was actually headed towards Team Revelation¡¯s Bai Feng instead? At that time, their team took a blow, and they also clearly remembered that d*mn photographer.


    They especially remembered Li Meiqi¡¯s bold gamble with that huge sum of money, as well as the words she had uttered indignantly.


    A year later, they were now more mature. Because no matter whether they won or lost, and whether or not there were people paying attention to them, they would continue to work their hardest.


    Also recalling the events of the past year, a smile graced Da Luo¡¯s lips. He wasn¡¯t really in the mood to interact with anyone else, because¡­ they would still beat the popular Team Revelation, just like last year!


    Getting down from the bus, the five members of Team Skycrown headed towards the arena. Only, they didn¡¯t make it past a few steps before Da Luo realized that there were fans who were blocking them.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you Lone Gull? I finally get to see you in person! Great God, I love playing Top, could you please sign this for me?¡± said a youth who looked to be in university, smiling widely.


    This youth clearly came prepared with a mousepad and pen in his hand.


    Da Luo was taken aback, disbelief written all over his face¡­


    There was someone who wanted his signature?!


    Da Luo¡¯s gaze flickered to Lin Dong who was standing next to him. His expression clearly displayed his thoughts of ¡®Do you see this? Do you? There¡¯s someone asking for my autograph!¡¯


    Similarly, Lin Dong¡¯s reply clearly showed on his face too, stating, ¡®This is nothing, you¡¯re more excited than the person asking for your autograph!¡¯


    Amongst the crowd, a chubby girl could be heard crying out, ¡°Team Skycrown is here, and the one walking at the front is Fighting Hawk!¡±


    As Yu Luocheng walked towards the arena, his mind was filled with thoughts of all that had transpired in the previous year. The images were continuously pouring into his mind, and so he didn¡¯t even notice that there were people crowding around them.


    When he snapped back to reality and turned around, he saw a girl who probably weighed at least one hundred and eighty¡­ kilograms rushing towards him in excitement. He almost fell backwards to the ground in fright.


    Fortunately¡­ fortunately this mammoth was only interested in obtaining his autograph for her LOL-obsessed younger brother. When she exhibited no other extreme actions, Yu Luocheng breathed a sigh of relief.


    However, there were more and more people surrounding them. Mousepads and notebooks were being shoved at them. All these people worshipped Team Skycrown so much, that nothing would stop them from getting to their beloved idols!


    Standing to the side, Li Meiqi watched as the five members of Team Skycrown were overwhelmed by their fans, a smile on her face.


    This year, they were no longer an unknown, nameless team. They were the team that had accepted any challenge from teams from all over the country, and they had not lost a single match in more than four months!


    They had no club support and no training ground, had been banned, blacklisted from the media, and looked down on by the fans. But so what? As long as they continue to persist, the sun will shine down on them one day!


    Despite not yet playing a single game in this year¡¯s LPL, Team Skycrown already had so many supporters. Their fame had even exceeded that of the veteran Team Revelation¡¯s. However, Li Meiqi was well aware that all the games before this competition were just warm ups for Team Skycrown.


    She had watched as this team grew through their sweat and tears. She had watched as they poured all their efforts into realizing their dream. No matter whether it was competitions or the challenge from Team Beijing, it wasn¡¯t enough to explain the preparation and growth that Team Skycrown had gone through.


    Only by once again standing on the stage of the LPL that they had previously been banned from, would they be able to display their true strength!


    ***


    Music that trembled like thunder echoed throughout the arena, and gorgeous colourful lights shot out, sweeping past faces that were filled with excitement and anticipation.


    The backstage adjustments didn¡¯t take long, and both teams soon stepped onto the stage at the commentator¡¯s invitation. Last year, the commentator had to take the time to deliberately introduce Team Skycrown, who was still unknown at that point of time.


    This year, the commentator opened with, ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone is very familiar with the two teams here, so I don¡¯t have to introduce them at all. Let the captains of both teams draw lots to decide which side they¡¯re on!¡±


    Yu Luocheng and Bai Feng walked out, and while they were choosing sides, Yu Luocheng¡¯s gaze fell on the audience stands.


    The professional players were sitting at the front. He saw Hades, Asmodai, Forgetful Laugher, Zhao Tinghua¡­ and looking further, Yu Luocheng saw more than a few familiar faces.


    As though they were aware of Yu Luocheng¡¯s gaze on them, Jian Feng who had tied on a headband stood up. He unfurled a banner that he was holding together with the rest of the other students from the e-sports club.


    ¡®Fighting Hawk is invincible, Team Skycrown will win!¡¯


    The large banner was held up high in the middle of the crowded stands, and everyone sitting in that particular section were all students of Shanghai University.


    And there was a girl with black, shoulder-length hair that caught Yu Luocheng¡¯s attention¡­


    Wasn¡¯t that Bai Feifei?


    Yu Luocheng was surprised, having assumed that she had just mentioned it casually, and not really expecting her to actually come. The question was, does she understand what¡¯s going on? Or was she just here to feel the atmosphere?


    Looking at the other side, Yu Luocheng also spotted more familiar faces¡ªthe regulars from Demacia Cafe. It was rare to see them coming to the venue. But thinking about it, Demacia Cafe was probably fully occupied right now with people who were waiting for him to show his skills in the LPL.


    Come to think of it, didn¡¯t Xiao Duoduo say that he would eat his own keyboard if Team Skycrown managed to play in the LPL? He wondered if Feng Da and Jian Feng made sure that the little b*tch actually ate it.


    Classmates and friends had come in person to support Team Skycrown, and this made Yu Luocheng appreciate them. There was too much discrimination and contempt before this, making Yu Luocheng who played professionaly cut off all relations with his previous classmates and friends, but it was different now.


    If¡­


    If¡­ if his family could also be sitting in the stands, supporting him like the others, then that would have been a perfect scenario.


    Another whole year had gone by without any words being said between them. Not a single phone call had come for him. His heart was heavy with guilt, but his passion for e-sports would not be shaken.


    His family wouldn¡¯t acknowledge it because he himself did not have enough glory yet.


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t expect that he would get their approval by running around having unstable orders, nor did he expect them to acknowledge him based on his popularity on the Internet.


    He only hoped that when he reached the peak, they would then have at least some understanding that this glory was something that required a lot of effort and hard work!


    ¡°Captain Yu, I trust you¡¯ve been well,¡± said Bao Jun, smiling slightly.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head.


    ¡°Is the goal this year to be in the top four and enter the finals? Before reaching the LPL, your performance has already been outstanding. People were making highlight reels from your games, and every clip was captivating. If I¡¯m not mistaken, this is the goal you intend to reach, right Captain Yu?¡± asked Bao Jun.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head, saying lightly, ¡°We just want the championship.¡±


    The LPL top four?


    That was not what Yu Luocheng was aiming for. This year¡¯s championship was theirs, no one could stop them from entering the S International League which would be their real battlefield.


    When Yu Luocheng said this, it created an uproar in the stands.


    We just want the championship!


    This was a domineering phrase. In the history of the LPL, Team Sky and Team Daemons had always occupied the top two seats, and Team Daemons¡¯ first place ranking was completely unshakable.


    If they wanted the championship, then their goal was to defeat all seven teams in the LPL!


    ***


    In the past, the LPL professional players thought that Fighting Hawk was someone who kept a low profile. But sometimes they were hard-pressed to not admire his courage!


    Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t bother to hide his ambition at all, and his expression was also amazingly indifferent.


    Then, how did the other professional players and the fans who supported other teams feel?


    Confidence is something that everyone has, the problem is whether or not you have the ability to go with it. Otherwise, you will have to pay a heavy price for speaking so brazenly today!

 Chapter 416 - You’re Playing Support?!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The match began and both teams entered into the ban phase, with Team Revelation banning first. Without a doubt, the first champion they banned was Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne.


    This champion absolutely needed to be banned. The other LPL teams all shared a firm belief that if Vayne was to be unleashed, they would end up like Team Sky!


    If it was the previous season, Team Revelation would also ban Ashe. They still hadn¡¯t forgotten the last match where Ashe played middle lane. Using his ulti to pace the entire team led to Team Revelation being helpless and unable to counter with anything.


    However, the pick rate for Ashe had decreased in the new season. This was mainly because the tanks in this season were terrifying, able to break deeper into the enemy line. A champion like Ashe who didn¡¯t have any repositioning skills would die no matter what.


    The first champion that Team Revelation picked was Lucian!


    After all, they were an ADC-centered team, so choosing a suitable ADC was very important to them. In this season, Lucian practically had no nemesis at the bottom lane, and there weren¡¯t many champions able to compete with him.


    Team Revelation made a smart move by banning Sivir. Lucian and Sivir were the two champions who could dominate the bottom lane, putting the other champions playing against them at a disadvantage. Banning Sivir was basically giving Team Revelation a strong advantage for the bottom lane!


    ¡°Team Revelation is strongest with their bottom lane, and Team Skycrown also seems to be more aggressive with their bottom lane, because Fighting Hawk¡¯s ADC also dominates the sky¡­¡± mused Bao Jun as he watched the picks and bans on the screen.


    Both teams were strong in their bottom lane, everything just depended on which team would be able to obtain control over the other. Bottom lane always seemed to be the most peaceful lane, but it was also one of the battles that could affect the rhythm of the entire game. This is because it¡¯s connected to one of the key objectives¡ªthe jungle creep, Dragon.


    ***


    In terms of picking champions, Team Skycrown did so without much thought. They chose The Serpent¡¯s Embrace, Cassiopeia! As Cassiopeia was a champion rarely seen in competitions, Wu Sen must be confident and have his own reasons for picking her.


    Zhou Yan had picked Elise for his Jungler role.


    Elise was known to be his best champion, and since Team Revelation hadn¡¯t banned her, there was no reason for Zhou Yan not to pick her, He would let Hao Yue see just how fast and awesome he could be on this champion!


    For Top, Da Luo chose the ugliest champion¡ªThe Troll King, Trundle.


    Trundle had been reworked this season. His status as the ugliest champion had not changed, but with the development and changes in the tank items for top laners, he was now a particularly fierce champion for Top.


    Their opponent had picked Shyvanna, so Da Luo gave up on Rengar and chose Trundle instead. The reason was simple: he intended to fully control the top lane!


    The current Da Luo had an increased champion pool. He could adapt to his opponent¡¯s choice of champion and make his pick based on that, to achieve the most effective counter. Unlike previously, when he could only play Jax and constantly utilized the four-one split push tactic¡­


    At the bottom lane, Lin Dong picked The Glorious Executioner, Draven, as their ADC.


    ¡°Fighting Hawk actually picked Draven, this champion is rarely seen at all, especially in competitions. So now it just depends on what Support Team Skycrown will pick,¡± said Bao Jun.


    Everyone knew that Yu Luocheng¡¯s Vayne had reached otherworldly levels and avoided it at all costs. And now, Yu Luocheng had picked a champion out from cold storage¡ªDraven. Could it be possible that he could also play Draven in such a godlike way? Everyone was clearly anticipating what he would do with this champion.


    ¡°The champion is locked in¡­ eh, something¡¯s not right. Why is Fighting Hawk playing the Support role?!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun, suddenly realizing what was going on.


    The champions were all locked in, and the swapping of champions and roles had also been done.


    But what shocked everyone was the fact that Yu Luocheng was playing Support!


    ***


    One from Team Beijing was wide-eyed as he watched the scene in front of him. ¡°F*ck, doesn¡¯t this guy play Mid?¡±


    When they faced each other, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin had left a deep impression on One, and he had been ready to settle things between them in the LPL.


    But he didn¡¯t expect Yu Luocheng to play Support instead!


    Zhang Aijing was blown away too. ¡°What role does he actually play?!¡±


    At last year¡¯s LPL, his ADC had shocked everyone¡¯s eyeballs out of their sockets. Zhang Aijing had purposely decidacted a lot of time to studying Yu Luocheng¡¯s ADC, wanting to know how he had achieved skills that could crush those professional players.


    After that, she got the news that Yu Luocheng was playing Mid. Even though she had not seen any of his replay videos, she had clearly seen Fighting Hawks¡¯ terrifying strength as a Mid during the match against Team Beijing. He had been intensely pressured in the beginning, but still managed to make a comeback in the end.


    That¡¯s why Zhang Aijing came to the conclusion that as team captain, Yu Luocheng either played Mid or ADC, since he definitely needed to take one of the carry positions. Considering that they would meet in the LPL, she had spent countless days and nights on analysing him, and had also tried to get more details from their usual chats¡­


    And now, in his first LPL match, she suddenly found out that this little b*tch ran off to play Support?!


    Do you know how much time I have spent analysing your Mid and ADC? And now you go and play Support! Have you considered my feelings? Zhang Aijing was close to tears!


    Over at Team Dusk, Team 71, Team Daemons, and even Team Sky¡­


    All at once, that group of people glanced at each other.


    Their unwritten rule of banning Vayne was because everyone thought that Fighting Hawk would play ADC. After that he went to play Mid, and his terrifying Kassadin had scared countless people. Everyone started discussing whether or not to also ban Kassadin in this season¡­


    As a result, all analysts, coaches, and team members were slapped in the face by Yu Luocheng running off to play Support. It goes without saying that everyone had astonished expressions on their faces right now.


    Alright, alright. Now that the Support role has been strengthened, there is a reason for you to play it. But what¡¯s the meaning of you choosing Kennen then?!


    Kennen¡­ is this even a Support champion?!


    A Kennen and Draven combination?!


    I dare to ask, when you rank at bottom lane, have you met this combination before? What kind of play is Team Skycrown trying to pull?!


    In terms of champion choices, Team Skycrown was really astounding, picking all sorts of champions that had been cold storaged.


    On the other side, Team Revelation was feeling depressed.


    For the sake of winning this match, they hadn¡¯t missed any of Team Skycrown¡¯s replays from their previous competitions. Even if they had somehow managed to guess that Yu Luocheng would play Support and had then researched the most probable lineup and combination¡­


    Who knew that in their first match of the LPL, these guys would suddenly seem like another team with baffling choices of champions?


    Team Skycrown, don¡¯t you have a conscience? Apart from Elise, there are no other normal champions in your f*cking lineup!

 Chapter 417 - This Unique Lineup Is Effective

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The match officially began, and both teams were behaving similarly. They stood in a star formation, looking at each other across the river from where they stood.


    Team Revelation didn¡¯t have any deeper meaning in the way they were positioned, they only wanted to protect their buff. Team Skycrown also had the same intention of defending their own area.


    In the new season, there were some obvious changes in level one team fights. Taking First Blood would only get you an extra two hundred gold, and even if you were to take three kills in the beginning, you could only get six hundred gold at most.


    Since the gold amount wasn¡¯t so significant anymore, there were less level one team fights now. Players would rather hurry to lane and farm instead, including those that assisted the Jungler in leashing for their buff.


    They would still make the same three strikes, as though only for the sake of being symbolic, and then they would rush to lane so that they wouldn¡¯t lose any experience from that two or three minions.


    Of course, if you were playing in this season and happened to spot a Jungler taking down the first Buff without using Smite, you¡¯re allowed a little laugh at the old codger.


    Once he reached the bottom lane, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen started to auto-attack the minions. Like a Top Kennen, the first skill he added was his W.


    As per the old saying, whoever reaches level two at the bottom lane first is the boss, even if it was against a strong combination like Taric and Lucian.


    Both sides were consciously attacking the minions, hoping to reach level two first. As an old timer, Bai Feng knew that the opposing combination was also very strong, and the hike to level two was extremely important. That¡¯s why he was diligently attacking to reach the higher level first.


    Both sides seemed to reach level two at the same time¡­


    In the previous version, it was always quite a peaceful farming phase at the bottom lane. If you don¡¯t poke me, I won¡¯t poke you either.


    Now in the LPL, the bottom lane will start to heat up once the players reach level two.


    The moment both sides reached level two, Lin Dong directed his Draven to activate his Spinning Axe, catching it when it ricocheted back. The health of even a tanky champion like Taric was easily shaved off by the Spinning Axe.


    Using Kennen as a Support, Yu Luocheng was practically already playing the role of an ADC.


    He didn¡¯t farm, but instead continuously used his basic attack and skills to harass them. Sometimes it was thrown on Taric, and other times he poked Lucian who had a shorter range. It¡¯s not like Kennen needed money to throw his skills, so it didn¡¯t really matter even if he missed anyway!Read more chapter on novelhall


    With one opponent champion throwing spinning axes and another throwing shurikens, Taric and Lucian who had shorter ranges were in for a bad time.


    Lucian was indeed a strong champion, able to burst damage in a short period of time, surpassing many other ADC champions¡­


    However, if you were comparing damage output, then Draven would always be at a boss level. The damage from his Spinning Axe was horrifying and would definitely not lose to Lucian¡¯s damage!


    Having played ADC for such a long time, Bai Feng had used Lucian to beat down every other ADC in the country. It didn¡¯t matter whether you were using Vayne, Ezreal, Graves, Sivir or Caitlyn. Lucian could always rely on his excellent passive and flexible repositioning skills to completely control everything.


    The reason was simple. This champion¡¯s damage output was already high, and as long as he could fully utilize his passive, he would be able to deal an even more terrifying amount of damage.


    Initially, Bai Feng thought that with Vayne and Sivier being banned, there wouldn¡¯t be any major threats at the bottom lane. Who knew that their ADC would actually pick The Glorious Executioner¡ªDraven?


    Draven had a major flaw, and that was the fact that he didn¡¯t have any repositioning skills!


    Nowadays, the ADCs who entered the game needed to be like Sivir who had an excellent ulti to escape. Or they needed to have a shield to reduce the damage taken, or have flexible repositioning skills. Otherwise, they could easily be cut down by even champions who were just tanks¡­


    Each champion had their flaws, but also their strengths. Draven¡¯s strength lies in the exceptionally high damage in his repertoire.


    At level one, Spinning Axe had a bonus physical damage of 45%, which was almost equivalent to Lucian¡¯s double shot from his passive. Lucian needed to use an ability before being able to trigger it, but as long as Draven can catch his axes, he can immediately deal the same amount of damage in the next second¡­


    What¡¯s more frightening was if Draven was able to catch all his axes after twelve seconds. Once his Q refreshes, he would then have two Spinning Axes in his hands¡­


    With two Spinning Axes active in his hands, the damage dealt by Draven was definitely way higher than Lucian¡¯s. No matter what happens, Bai Feng cannot allow this guy to pick up two Spinning Axes.


    ¡°Qing Ye, his Q is almost refreshing already. Stun him, don¡¯t let him hold two axes. The moment he does, we¡¯ll be in trouble,¡± said Bai Feng, clearly aware of the looming danger.


    You have to admit that as a partial ADC, Lin Dong was really doing a good job at pressuring the bottom lane where Lucian was almost invincible.


    Qing Ye nodded his head in understanding, his eyes trained on Draven seriously. Draven had to walk to the designated place to catch his axe, and he needed twelve seconds for this skill to refresh.


    If he didn¡¯t manage to catch his axe, then the next attack naturally will not have a Spinning Axe. And if he didn¡¯t drop a single axe in the next twelve seconds, then his Q would have cooled down and he can have another Spinning Axe¡­


    Qing Ye cursed, ¡°D*mn it, this brat is playing quite smoothly, catching his axes so steadily.¡±


    While the axe was dropping, there was an obvious indicator as to where it would go. Determined to not let Lin Dong continue catching his axe, Qing Ye was waiting for the moment when he would throw it. Then, he could stun him.


    The time for the skill to cool down was approaching, and Qing Ye still wasn¡¯t able to do anything, so he forcefully pushed forward. When he saw the path of Draven¡¯s axe diverting slightly, a grin flashed onto his face. He immediately fired a prismatic sphere at Draven to stun him.


    Whether it was a coincidence or not, Yu Lucheng also stepped forward at the same time. He threw out a basic attack and followed up with his W skill, landing two stacks of Mark of the Storm on Taric.


    He then immediately connected the attack with his Q, Thundering Shuriken, bringing the stacks up to three!


    Do you know what happens when Kennen fully stacks his passive at three stacks?


    That¡¯s right, it stuns the target!


    ¡°Fighting Hawk seems to have completely seen through Taric¡¯s intentions, and now Taric who has gone too far front has been stunned where he stands!¡± said the commentator.


    When Lin Dong saw Taric getting stunned, his eyes lit up. Yu Luocheng really was meticulous, and his attention to detail left people with no choice but to admire him.


    Lin Dong himself was an ADC, he knew what Taric was trying to do by forcefully coming forward. He wanted to interrupt Lin Dong from activating his second Spinning Axe.


    Yu Luocheng had anticipated that Taric wouldn¡¯t be able to resist coming forward to interrupt him, and he went forward decisively, throwing his set of skills and stunning him.


    At this time, Lin Dong coincidentally activated his second Spinning Axe.


    When the first axe landed, Taric¡¯s health dropped by a quarter!


    A second axe flew out immediately and landed, which left Taric with only half his health!


    This damage really is scary!


    Qing Ye didn¡¯t dare to go forward to serve up his own head on a silver platter, so he tucked his tail between his legs and retreated.


    When your opponent¡¯s Support only has half his health left, then of course you need to pressure him more.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen was already almost past the minion wave, and Lin Dong who had already activated his second Spinning Axe was also already in the middle of the minion wave. Even though Bai Feng¡¯s Lucian could take a few hits, he didn¡¯t dare to move forward to farm.


    ¡°This unique lineup is actually really effective, Everyone, you must be wondering how this combination of Draven and Kennen is able to overcome the strong duo of Taric and Lucian. Kennen¡¯s early game burst damage is really high, especially since his passive can stun his opponents.


    ¡°If you¡¯re even slightly careless, you¡¯ll end up with three stacks of Mark of the Storm on you. More importantly, Kennen¡¯s skill consumption uses energy instead of mana. So throughout the time he¡¯s throwing his skills, it doesn¡¯t matter whether it hits or not, as long as he doesn¡¯t push out the lane too much¡­


    ¡°And with Draven being one of the strong ADC champions with more damage, the damage from his Spinning Axe is also unmatched in lane¡­¡±


    With great consumption and high burst damage, the only thing holding back this lineup from completely overtaking Taric and Lucian was their lack of repositioning skills.


    Taric is actually a very hardcore champion. He can walk up, stun once and knock once, and the enemy will have to retreat three steps. But what just happened to Qing Ye reduced his Taric into becoming more of a nursing mother, just waiting to build his health and defense instead of daring to go forward to stun his opponents.


    ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve been using this lineup for quite a while, but it¡¯s still quite invincible. If our opponent wasn¡¯t Bai Feng with his deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of champions, we would even be winning in terms of experience,¡± said Lin Dong as he continued to catch his axes with full confidence.


    Yu Luocheng nodded. Naturally, this combo was something that he had come up with. Whether it was consumption, damage or level six, this combination was terrifying in terms of damage.


    The only criteria required for this tactic was having a player who could play Draven well.


    It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Draven is one of the most difficult champions to use. Usually, it¡¯s still easy to have enough energy to catch the axes during the laning phase. But once the team fights start, it¡¯s already hard enough to find a good position for an ADC to attack, but you also need to Animation Cancel when you want to hit your enemies.


    You had to be quite an outstanding ADC to be able to do all this. Plus, there was the fact that you had to deliberately keep track of your falling axes and positions. That kind of hand-eye coordination was not something a normal person could do.


    As it happens, Lin Dong liked to challenge himself with difficult coordinations. He trained with this champion till it was an extension of himself. Initially, Yu Luocheng had used Taric or Leona to pair up with him, but later on, he found another champion that was more suitable.


    Both had Qs that could harass the enemy and drive them crazy, while also having high burst damage at the same time. They wouldn¡¯t succumb to their opponent¡¯s forceful attacks.


    Of course, this was only talking about the strengths during the laning phase, but their role was far from being only limited to the time that they are in lane¡­


    ***


    Bai Feng was a really outstanding ADC player. He knew that if there were problems during lane, then it was reasonable to control the flow of the lane and have the Jungler give them a gank.


    Their Jungler¡ªHao Yue¡¯s Riven¡ªshot out from behind the turret, and this was not anticipated by Yu Luocheng or Lin Dong.


    They had pushed too far in. Riven¡¯s sudden appearance, as well as the use of Flash to retain them in their positions, left them helpless. Yu Luocheng sacrificed himself to secure Lin Dong¡¯s escape.


    In this gank, the kill was specifically given to Bai Feng, which immediately eased his financial burden from being pressured early on¡­


    Bai Feng¡¯s strength was really admirable, as Yu Luocheng and Lin Dong¡¯s duo was really invincible at the bottom lane. Ignoring the Jungler intervention, a professional player being pressured to this extent was normal. But Bai Feng¡¯s farm did not exceed a difference of 10 CS, and Riven¡¯s successful gank had closed this gap.


    ¡°Bai Feng is steadily closing the gap,¡± said Lin Dong, looking at the status tab.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± replied Yu Luocheng, nodding in agreement. He looked at Zhou Yan and Wu Sen.


    D*mn it, did you think that if you call your Jungler to gank, I won¡¯t call my own people to come?


    It¡¯s almost level six, Yu Luocheng definitely wouldn¡¯t let go of this chance to get kills, turrets, and Dragon!

 Chapter 418 - Make Team Revelation Surrender At 20?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Professional players always take games like League of Legends to the next level.


    Most of the time, victory is not because you alone had awesome control of your champion, but because of the brothers who had your back while you activated your ulti to go fight against the enemy!


    The champion Kennen is strong in initiating a team fight. Even if you try to take precautions against him, when he activates his ulti and comes towards you like an electricity bomb, you really can¡¯t do anything much against him¡­


    Bai Feng obviously knew this fact, hence why he relayed for Hao Yue to continue to camp behind when he reached level six, waiting for Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen to forcefully initiate a fight.


    Yu Luocheng was the kind that if he already activated his ulti, he would go all in either way. Even though he saw Riven coming, he would still stubbornly stand his ground.


    Activating his ulti, he managed to catch Taric and Riven who were charging in.


    Riven also immediately activated her ulti and unleashed her own set of skills right in Yu Loucheng¡¯s face!


    Ha!!


    A wave of energy swept forward, heading straight for the electric Yordle¡¯s head. Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t dare to show off anymore, hurriedly using his Flash to narrowly escape that blow from Riven that was sure to have taken his life!


    ¡°D*mn it, Riven¡¯s burst is also d*mn high!¡± said Yu Luocheng, cold sweat dripping down his face as he looked at his very low health bar.


    At level six, Riven¡¯s burst damage was incomparable to any others. He was already left with so little health after taking just a few hits from her.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s objective had been reached, and the rest would depend on the rest of his teammates!


    Suddenly, Elise jumped out from the bush and landed near Riven who had been previously stunned by Kennen¡¯s ulti. She immediately followed up with Cocoon to stun Taric who was about to run away.


    Before her skill landed, Wu Sen¡¯s Cassiopeia burst forward from the river, blasting them with her Petrifying Gaze.


    The continous CC skills thrown gave Riven and Taric no chance to move at all. The three champions who followed after made quick work of them, easily taking the two kills!


    As the saying goes, since you can play well, might as well put on a show while you¡¯re at it.


    Yu Luocheng had already anticipated that Riven would be camping behind the turret, and it was all calculated. After all, he had three brothers who had his back.


    Of course, this stunt cut a little too close for comfort. If he didn¡¯t have Flash, then his life would have been forfeited!


    Team Skycrown held a fast pace as usual. They immediately pushed the lane once they got the kill, wanting to demolish the enemy¡¯s turret as quickly as possible.


    After taking down the turret, the four of them cut through the jungle through the blue buff area with the intention of getting Dragon.


    ¡°Team Skycrown has taken the turret, and now it looks like they intend to also take the Dragon. If they get Dragon, then they will have a gold lead of three thousand¡­ but will Team Revelation let them have the Dragon that easily? Gragas is already rushing towards their direction,¡± said Xi Ling as she watched the scene.


    Gragas was at top condition, this champion¡¯s CC is disgusting and his burst damage is terrifying. In comparison, Team Skycrown¡¯s condition was not that great, especially Kennen. He refused to recall back to base even with such little health left. One ulti from Gragas would probably be enough to kill him.


    Under the current circumstances, Team Skycrown still wanted to forcefully take the Dragon?


    Gragas¡¯ beer belly shook as he walked from the direction of the blue buff towards the Dragon Pit. Just as he walked into the lane and headed past the blue buff to the river, a web suddenly came from the other side of the wall. It stunned Gragas who had been intending to stop Team Skycrown from taking the Dragon!


    Bao Jun exclaimed in excitement, ¡°Beautiful! It looks like Team Skycrown had no intention of taking the Dragon, the four of them were actually lying in wait for Gragas behind this wall!¡±


    The eyes of the other professional players watching the match lit up at this moment¡­


    With the Fog Of War in effect, the wall after the blue buff in the river was indeed a blind spot. Gragas assumed that his opponents were taking Dragon and headed towards the river. Who knew that the four of them were actually hiding in his blind spot and waiting for him?


    With Elise¡¯s stun, the other three easily followed up with their own skills. Gragas didn¡¯t even have time to do anything and was instantly killed!


    ¡°Gragas¡¯ death this time once again shows us that vision is life! But Team Skycrown making use of this blind spot is really interesting too, I¡¯m afraid that even more cautious professional players would also walk into this trap¡­ sigh. With Gragas dead like this, Team Skycrown can really take Dragon without any worries!¡±


    ***


    ¡°One, if it was you, would you have realized it?¡± asked Team Beijing¡¯s Jungler.


    One shook his head.


    Team Skycrown using this blind spot was really unexpected and interesting, because just three seconds ago, their opponent still had a ward in the Dragon Pit.


    The ward only had three seconds left, and yet Kennen had used his Sweeping Lens to sweep it out, but not destroy it¡­


    After three seconds, Team Skycrown had stopped hitting Dragon and instead ran and hid behind that wall, watching as Gragas walked from the direction of their own ward.


    In other words, from Gragas¡¯ point of view, he already saw Team Skycrown hitting Dragon, and once the vision was gone after three seconds, he assumed that they were still there hitting Dragon.


    So, of course there was nothing stopping him from walking over without worry. No one knew that the four of them had changed their goal the moment vision was gone¡­


    Team Skycrown¡¯s unified thinking was amazingly terrifying! What other team would think of using their opponent¡¯s rapidly diminishing vision to create an illusion like this?


    One also pondered on this, if he were on Gragas just now, he would also have fallen for this trick. Of course, he would have at least thrown out a Q and R before he died, significantly bringing down their health so that they wouldn¡¯t¡¯ be able to take Dragon.


    With a three thousand gold lead in the first ten minutes, Team Skycrown then began to shave off the turret at the middle lane.


    Cassiopeia, Elise, Kennen, and Drave were all ranged champions. The moment the minion wave pushed in, they could easily attack the turret back and forth.


    ¡°Drag it out and hold out,¡± instructed Bai Feng, glancing at the situation at the middle lane.


    Their Mid is a Gragas, and his wave clear capabilities were good. As long as they could clear the wave fast enough, their opponents would have a hard time attacking the turret. Bai Feng had already pushed his own wave to their opponent¡¯s turret. If they could hold out at the middle lane, then they would gain the advantage.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much left on the turret,¡± said Hao Yue.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there soon,¡± replied Bai Feng, pushing the wave further.


    Leaving the minions to finish off the turret, he hurriedly rushed to the middle lane. Gragas, Riven, and Taric were all defending the middle lane, while Team Skycrown was still maintaining their position and pushing the lane.


    Seeing that the turret didn¡¯t have much health left, Hao Yue and the others didn¡¯t bother to struggle anymore, deciding to give it up as they regrouped to retreat to the inner turret.


    At this moment, an ugly figure suddenly emerged from the small path beside the lane between the outer and inner turret. The figure was holding his huge magical club high up in the air, his bloodlust-filled eyes trained on the three champions under the turret!


    ¡°Sh*t, our retreat has been cut off!¡± exclaimed Hao Ye as he watched the menacing troll appear, his face paling.


    It was their opponent¡¯s Top!


    The appearance of Trundle really threw them into a panic. The outer turret only had a little health left, it would be gone with just a few pokes. And right at this moment, a terrifying monster appeared.


    They had four champions pressuring and pushing the lane from the front, and a monster was at their backs!


    Roar!


    A pillar of ice shot out from the ground, and Da Luo was smart as he didn¡¯t immediately charge it, but used his skill to block off Riven and Taric¡¯s path.


    Ignoring Gragas, Da Luo chose to charge at Riven instead.


    Their opponent¡¯s Mid Gragas was also good, launching his ulti at a good time to break up the formation that Team Skycrown was preparing for an all out attack¡­


    Unfortunately, the ulti didn¡¯t blow up Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen, who had purposely walked in an arc to avoid it.


    ¡°Ahhhh!!¡±


    Electrical Surge, Lightning Rush, and Kennen activated his ulti as he rushed into Taric¡¯s and Riven¡¯s face!


    Taric and Riven had already used their Summoner Skills in the previous fight, and their way back was cut off by the pillar of ice summoned by Trundle. As they watched Kennen rushing in, it felt like all they could do was to give in to fate¡­


    Kennen¡¯s ulti finished up with a stun, and with the others rushing into the fray, Riven and Taric were both killed!


    After killing the two of them, they pushed on to the second turret. Bai Feng was rushing over, but their base had already been beaten down to this extent. Shyvanna had also been beaten to hell by Da Luo, and with only a Giant¡¯s Belt and Chain Vest, Shyvanna didn¡¯t dare to do much.


    They had to give up this turret.


    The importance of the two turrets in the middle lane doesn¡¯t have to be emphasized. With the two thousand gold from bringing them down, plus the gold earned from the two kills, Team Skycrown had increased the gap by at least five thousand in an instant!


    The game was only at the twelve-minute minute, and Team Skycrown already had a gold lead of five thousand. Everyone¡­ including Yu Luocheng as a Support, already had one finished item in their inventory.


    Top had Sunfire Cape and Mercury¡¯s Treads, Mid had Athena¡¯s Unholy Grail and Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes, Jungler had Sorcerer¡¯s Shoes and Liandry¡¯s Torment, ADC had Bloodthirster and Berserker¡¯s Greaves, and Support had Talisman of Ascension and Sightstone!


    In comparison, other than Bai Feng¡¯s Lucian having Trinity Force, the other members of Team Revelation still didn¡¯t have enough to complete their items.


    The huge difference in gold at this early stage had left all the professional players in disbelief!


    You guys¡­ were you guys really intending for Team Revelation to surrender at twenty?!


    At thirteen minutes, Team Revelation¡¯s blue buff was taken by Team Skycrown. This blue buff was extremely important for Gragas, which would affect his subsequent development in the game.


    At fifteen minutes, Dragon had respawned. Team Revelation didn¡¯t even dare to think about contesting it, and immediately just let it go.


    In a short time, the gold difference had increased to six thousand.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s pace was so fast that it was hard to keep up with. After taking Dragon, they saw that their opponent¡¯s Top was farming at the top lane. So they immediately cut through the jungle area, heading directly for the bottom lane.


    First, they let Trundle stand guard at the narrow pathway of the bottom lane¡¯s inner area, blocking Riven who was intending to rush down from the middle lane to defend the base.


    Trundle used his typical tactic of going back and forth, resulting in their opponent not even daring to stand under turret to defend, forcing them to give it up.


    After Trundle made his rounds, the other four rushed in. This tactic once again allowed Team Revelation to realize why Team Skycrown had chosen this lineup.


    Using Trundle to block their road back, followed up by the Support Kennen who used Talisman of Ascension to speed up to deliver his ulti that cannot be avoided, and Cassiopeia and Draven would follow closely behind to attack. With this assault, as long as there were people under the turret, all of them would die¡­


    If you defend the turret, both will die.


    If you don¡¯t defend the turret, you are freely giving gold to your opponents!

 Chapter 419 - Repeat Victory!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    During the last LPL, Team Skycrown fielded a combination of Soraka, Malzahar, and Lee Sin. This allowed Team Praetor to overrun all opposition, and gave Team Revelation a savage kick to the nuts.


    This year, Team Skycrown planned to reprise those same strategies. Although it dragged a little in the current patch, making it much harder to bust down the outer towers, once they got rolling, they remained unstoppable.


    Most importantly, the team had developed new tower-breaking tactics: Hammer-and-Anvil, and Delaying Interception!


    The Hammer-and-Anvil stratagem had been used before to bring down the first-tier Mid tower: Four champions laid siege to the tower, wearing it down as they abandoned the rest of the lanes. While the enemy team was distracted by this, Da Luo would sneak down from the Top lane and pop out behind said tower.


    This put the tower¡¯s defenders in a very awkward position: They had little hope of using the tower to score themselves a couple of kills in trade, because the Skycrown players would always prioritize destroying the tower over getting champion kills. And yet, falling back was a painful notion for the defenders, because losing that tower would mean falling behind by nearly a thousand gold.


    As a result of a moment¡¯s indecision, Team Revelation had lost both their defending champions along with the tower, and there was nothing they could do to prevent their second-tier Bottom-lane tower from following suit.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s Top, Jungler, and Bot-lane duo were quick to fall in whenever a team fight broke out, like a rigorously trained platoon of soldiers who responded to orders with neither question nor hesitation.


    Team Revelation had stumbled, ever so slightly, and then the next thing they knew, four enemy champions had appeared in the Bottom lane, moving to advance.


    When they finally moved to fend off the attack, Trundle forced them into another humiliating situation, pinning them down by ambushing them en route and splitting their formation right down the middle. Those champions who could reach the tower had been forced to withdraw anyway, lest they be insta-killed under the tower with Team Skycrown¡¯s chain CC and burst damage.Read more chapter on novelhall


    They¡¯d seen four-one split pushes before, and various supplementary attack tactics¡­ but that was the first time Team Revelation had ever experienced being ambushed in the lane in order to support a split push!


    ¡°What inspired tactics!¡± Zhang Aijing stared up at the screen, eyes shining.


    Four-one split-pushing had its drawbacks: If the enemy team managed to force a team fight, you¡¯d be outnumbered five to four, and you¡¯d be screwed unless your last guy was Shen, who could still teleport in to join the fight.


    A supplementary attack meant, for example, if someone got ganked in their lane, everyone who couldn¡¯t run over there in time would instead push their lanes hard, in order to assault the enemy tower. This, too, was not without its caveats: The enemy¡¯s concentrated numbers would allow them to break two towers in a row, and all of a sudden your base would be in jeopardy. The scattered forces of your own team wouldn¡¯t be able to quite match that.


    Aijing had long been in search of a way to perfect either of these strategies. Who would have expected Team Skycrown to suddenly demonstrate these two methods of assaulting towers? She found herself in awe of Yu Luocheng¡¯s genius.


    When you had the advantage, begin by pushing in the minion waves along two lanes, and then immediately gather your team in one of those lanes.


    Seeing an incoming mass of minions, the enemy would invariably respond by heading over to clear them off, for the sake of protecting their tower while also farming some gold. Meanwhile, Team Skycrown would mount a brutal charge down the other lane.


    Revelation was a well-seasoned team of veterans, and responded to each crisis comparably better than a different team might have done. If they continued numbly sending out two champions to hold the tower, they would just lose it all again.


    Of course, Aijing understood that actually executing such a strategy was only possible beneath the command of a canny leader. Everyone on the team had to demonstrate absolute unity, and the highest level of teamwork.


    ***


    The jungle-based economy was completely under Team Skycrown¡¯s monopoly now. They slew the Dragon at regular intervals, the gold difference widening ever further each time. Then they carried on with the Hammer-and-Anvil tactic, systematically toppling all the towers along the Top lane. Team Revelation had no holdings left standing beyond their walls.


    The gold difference had now gone past ten thousand. To see such a disparity at twenty minutes into the game, the match was already as good as decided.


    Now that the enemy had lost all their outer towers, it was the ideal moment to seize the Baron.


    The Skycrown players changed their Trinkets to Sweeping Lenses, and cleared all enemy wards from the jungle. They had Vision Wards scattered throughout the wilderness, and knew every move the Revelation players made in there.


    The Team Revelation players didn¡¯t dare to step outside to farm any minions at all, because they had no idea where Team Skycrown might be lying in wait!


    As they cowered behind their walls, they suddenly noticed that Kennen and Cassiopeia, currently farming in the lanes, were now wreathed in the violet aura of the Baron Buff!


    ¡°The other three were stealing the Baron¡­¡± Hao Yue was fed up with this.


    Seeing Kennen and Cassiopeia running about out in the open, he¡¯d assumed that the enemy team was presently cleaning out the jungle. Instead, they¡¯d already been taking the Baron!


    Truth be told, even if they¡¯d known, it wasn¡¯t as though they could have done anything about it. With a gold difference of ten thousand between them, heading out to challenge Team Skycrown would only result in giving them an Ace.


    ***


    ¡°No mercy at all, I see.¡± Asmodai sighed as he watched Team Skycrown advancing behind the might of the Baron Buff.


    They¡¯d taken control of the game since that team fight down in the Bottom lane. They pushed hard, and then teamed up right away. They moved with purpose, and they knew what they were doing.


    Before the twenty-minute mark, the kills had been five to one. The only death they¡¯d suffered was when Riven ganked them during the early game, taking down Yu Luocheng¡¯s Kennen. After that, Team Revelation had no further opportunities whatsoever to get any more kills off of Team Skycrown.


    There was no hope of catching any of them on their own. The only option was a team fight!


    The problem lay in the gold difference between both teams. Starting a fight with Team Skycrown was something Team Revelation had to handle with the utmost caution. And so, one side continued to snowball1 against the other, the advantage only growing with each passing moment.


    From the moment they lost the Bottom lane, their first tower there, and then the Dragon right after that, it seemed Team Revelation¡¯s defeat had already been decided.


    ***


    To no one¡¯s surprise, the Baron Buff transformed Team Skycrown into angels of death.


    The Inhibitor Towers had become inconsequential to them. Even a Support Kennen had assembled such wonders as a ¡®Talisman of Ascension¡¯ as well as ¡®Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass¡¯.1


    Luocheng activated the Talisman of Ascension¡¯s movement speed buff, and charged headlong into the fray. Never mind how many champions he could lock down¡ªwhen Kennen rushed past the tower and then went golden, all of Team Revelation¡¯s champions turned and fled.


    Following the same plan as always, Team Skycrown toppled the tower first before proceeding further. After the tower, the Inhibitor was the next to fall.


    Hao Yue couldn¡¯t endure another moment of this torment. Activating his own ulti, he rushed to meet the enemy.


    Before he could even come within reach of Draven or Cassiopeia, the two of them unleashed their overwhelming damage upon him, eliminating him instantly.


    Bai Feng¡¯s Lucian remained at a safe distance, making his own feeble attacks. With the pathetic gear he was packing, he didn¡¯t even give pause to Trundle, who by now was built like a brick house.


    ***


    ¡°It looks like Team Skycrown is a hard counter to Team Revelation,¡± Forgetful Laughter said to Aijing, beside him. ¡°Their pace is too fast to follow, and Lucian has been completely left behind¡ªneutralizing about half of Team Revelation¡¯s combat power.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Still, the sheer power of Team Skycrown¡­ it kinda scares me,¡± Aijing said earnestly.


    Thinking back to the year before, Team Skycrown had used an array of brilliant tactics to defeat Team Revelation. Each game was over within thirty minutes. As an additional consideration, Bai Feng¡¯s equipment had been steadily improving with time, quietly presenting the possibility of a comeback. This suggested that in spite of an economic advantage, Team Skycrown didn¡¯t take any chances.


    This year¡¯s match, however, showed no hint anywhere of Team Skycrown possibly having the game taken away from them. They were in full control here, and their teamwork was simply breath-taking. When to storm in, when to fall back, when to push the waves, when to sweep the jungles¡­ it was as though every detail had already been laid out ahead of time.


    In comparison, Team Revelation had demonstrated nothing in the way of coordinated strategy. From start to finish, their only accomplishment was killing off Kennen that one time at the beginning of the game.


    Finishing the game in twenty-three minutes, despite the pace of the game being greatly slowed down this competitive season. It was hard to believe that you were watching a team which had stood among the best four in the country several years in a row, being defeated by a team that had been in the LPL for barely a year!


    ***


    One might suggest that perhaps, during the first round, Team Skycrown had been in top form, and had managed to hold on to their advantage all throughout the game, so that was the main reason why Team Revelation looked bad.


    As it happened, the second game was finished in twenty-five minutes. The spectating pro players were too shocked for words.


    Twenty-three minutes for the first game, twenty-five minutes for the next one¡­


    In the second game, Team Skycrown had employed a Lane-Swapping strategy: The Bot-lane duo had gone up to the Top lane to bully Team Revelation¡¯s Rengar. At Level 3, Zhou Yan had brought Elise over and, together with Luocheng and Lin Dong, they¡¯d killed Rengar right underneath his own tower, before reducing the tower itself to ruins.


    Once that was done, the duo had returned to the Bottom lane, leaving a financially destitute Rengar to be torn to pieces by Da Luo¡¯s Renekton.


    That time around, Team Skycrown hadn¡¯t pulled out any new tricks¡ªjust a simple lane swap and tower dive, and they¡¯d neutered the enemy Top-laner, so that he became easy pickings for a player of Da Luo¡¯s caliber, who¡¯d easily won the lane.


    Twenty-five minutes, and then it was over.


    The whole time, it was as though Team Revelation had been caught in a dream, never knowing what to do with their own champions. Typically relying on long-term scaling builds, it was peculiar to see them losing their towers so quickly. When they tried to shore up their losses by delving into the jungle to hunt for wild creeps, that only made them easier to pick off.


    It had been a discombobulating experience. Despite Bai Feng¡¯s considerable individual abilities, an under-developed ADC nevertheless asserted scant little impact on the outcome of a game.


    Typically, an ADC champion only achieved its full potential after the twenty-five-minute mark.


    But the game had ended in twenty-five minutes.


    For all of Bai Feng¡¯s skill, none of it could be brought to bear.

 Chapter 420 - Hidden Cards

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    They¡¯d lost. D*mn it all, they¡¯d lost again! And they¡¯d lost even worse than last year! After the game had ended, Hao Yue of Team Revelation was unable to dredge up the right words to express his chagrin.


    Bai Feng stared at his screen for a long while, appearing calmer and more collected by comparison.


    To the side, Qing Ye sat slumped in his seat. He¡¯d been hoping to turn things around this time, but they¡¯d only ended up getting crushed even worse.


    ¡°Captain¡­¡± Qing Ye turned to Bai Feng.


    Bai Feng shook his head, and quietly remarked, ¡°They¡¯re completely out of our league, now.¡±


    Bai Feng was not as quick to temper as Hao Yue and Qing Ye, nor did he think that the two defeats they¡¯d just suffered were the result of simple mistakes on their part.


    He¡¯d kept his cool this whole time, because in both games, he¡¯d already known that losing was only a matter of time.


    Last year, he¡¯d believed that if only he¡¯d had another five minutes to grow stronger, he could have saved his team with a spectacular comeback.


    This year, the impression he¡¯d received was that, even if he¡¯d been allowed to wield his full power, they¡¯d still have lost regardless.


    It was alarming how much Team Skycrown had improved. Every one of their members, whether in terms of individual ability, teamwork, or tactical gameplay¡­ they¡¯d already surpassed Team Revelation in every aspect. Against an adversary like this, all you could do was admit defeat, and admire how far they¡¯d come in one year!


    ***


    ¡°Hey, hey¡­ Number One!¡± The Jungler of Team Beijing, Ping Feng, nudged the guy beside him.


    As though jolted from a dream, Number One turned to him.


    ¡°Did you also get the feeling that this isn¡¯t the same team that we fought, last time?¡± Ping Feng whispered.


    It had been a terrifying sight to see. After sitting through both matches, Ping Feng was shivering with chills.


    This team which had just beaten Team Revelation¡­¡¯terrifying¡¯ was the only word fit to describe them. They shared a level of teamwork that was positively alarming!


    They¡¯d been up against Team Revelation, one of the top four teams in the nation! But in the face of their onslaught, Team Revelation had been made to look like a bunch of clueless noobs!


    Team Beijing was rather formidable as well, and they fully expected to get into the top four themselves.


    And yet, without a second thought, Team Skycrown had taken down one of the top four in a 2-0 series¡ªand with both games only lasting twenty-five minutes or less!


    During the group stage of that tournament, Team Beijing¡¯s game against Team Skycrown had taken more than forty minutes. That time, they¡¯d seen nothing like these lightning-fast, meticulously co-ordinated tactics out of Skycrown.


    Was this even the same team?


    From Ping Feng¡¯s point of view, the Skycrown they were seeing today was a completely different team from the one they¡¯d faced that time!


    Number One¡¯s expression was grim.


    The media had held an interview with them. Lots of people had been there to see the game in person. That day, Team Beijing had faced Team Skycrown¡¯s original roster.


    That time, why had both teams chosen to hold out until the late game, going well over forty minutes? If Skycrown had used these tactics on them during that series, it would have been GG in a hurry, no need to talk about the late game.


    They¡¯d been keeping their trump cards hidden!


    Realization struck Number One: Team Skycrown had been holding back on purpose!


    Now that he understood this, another chill ran through him.


    They¡¯d been deliberately foregoing their best techniques and strategies¡ªand yet they¡¯d still managed to overcome Team Beijing!


    Impossible! It had to be impossible!


    Number One shook his head vehemently. He was convinced that Team Skycrown had fought their very best that day. They couldn¡¯t possibly have held anything back under those circumstances!


    So Team Revelation had been eliminated. No matter¡ªsoon, Team Beijing would be facing Team Skycrown in the LPL again. Then, he¡¯d show them what he¡¯d been holding back as well!


    ***


    ¡°Looks like Team Skycrown has grown stronger and wiser over this past year. Congratulations on their latest victory!¡± Bao Jun exclaimed from the commentary desk.


    Beside him, Xi Ling nodded. ¡°It¡¯s pretty incredible. I¡¯m afraid to think about what sort of training they¡¯ve been putting themselves through, to be able to take down Team Revelation so easily. Looks like things will be shaking up in the LPL this year. We might not even get the usual finals match between Sky and Daemons!¡±


    Only Team Sky and Team Daemons would have been expected to pull off such a telling victory against Team Revelation. Team Skycrown¡¯s spectacular performance earned a deafening round of applause and cheering from the crowd!


    Yu Luocheng rose from his seat, and felt as though all the spotlights were being turned their way. This blinding light in the wake of victory¡­ it was a familiar sensation.


    This was only the beginning. This time last year, they¡¯d dropped out of the running. Now they were here to make a triumphant return¡ªand they¡¯d be taking everyone down!


    ***


    ¡°Going all out, that¡¯s how I like to play. Hahahaha!¡± Da Luo got up as music began to play on stage. He seemed giddy with delight.


    ¡°Too right!¡± Wu Sen nodded in fervent agreement.


    Lin Dong and Zhou Yan grinned at each other, and then turned to look at Luocheng.


    Luocheng demanded a lot from them. Calling him severe would not be overstating the point.


    Any time they played a game which would be broadcast publicly, Luocheng strictly forbade them from using any of their key strategies.


    To tell the honest truth, in all the games up till now, they¡¯d been relying solely on their own individual abilities. They¡¯d avoid taking supporting actions which could reveal their tactical style, even if it meant standing by and watching as their teammates were slain¡ªfor example, when Luocheng had to go up against Kassadin.


    Normally, if Luocheng was being singled out to the point that Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf was insufficient back-up, then the champions from the other two lanes should also lend their aid. This meant that even if Luocheng got ganked and deleted, his four teammates would soon arrive in the Middle lane to finish off the enemy Mid and Jungler.


    Unusual champion picks which led to compelling team compositions¡ªthese were also kept secret at any cost.


    With all the LOL analysts out there these days, not to mention Team Skycrown not training in private the way other pro teams did, holding their training and challenge matches right there in the Demacia Caf¨¦¡­ They had to guard their secrets most jealously.


    Despite these limitations, Luocheng absolutely did not allow them to be defeated. After all, the opponents they faced there had no pre-determined strategies of their own to speak of. If they could lose to other teams in terms of teamwork or individual skill, how could they hope to stand among the nation¡¯s best?


    Now that they were in the actual LPL tournament, the five players could throw off these fetters. Now was the time for them to put to use everything that they¡¯d built up over this past year, and put on a glorious display for all the world to see!


    They would show all the other teams in the LPL how the original members of Team Wings had made it all the way to the top of the world!


    It had been three years since then, but in ¡®League of Legends¡¯ there were also no teams¡ªin all the nation¡ªwho could hope to bar their advance!

 Chapter 421 - Asian Indoor Games

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At the Gentle Dawn Hotel, the five players of Team Daemons gathered in a small meeting room on the fifth floor.


    Although they were now staying at the hotel accommodations provided by event staff, standing by to play in the tournament itself, Team Daemons nevertheless kept up their training routine. They would have another match the following afternoon, against their old nemesis Team Sky.


    Team Sky represented their most serious rival, because Blood Eagle¡¯s skill as a Jungler was no laughing matter. If he found an opening early on in a game, it would be difficult to get back in control.


    Furthermore, seeing the last two games they¡¯d played, it seemed that Team Sky had improved greatly¡ªespecially Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle, whose ability to dominate the jungles was a truly alarming matter for Team Daemons.


    ¡°Belial, you¡¯ve been sifting through their videos. Any thoughts?¡± Coach Huang Kang began.


    ¡°Our main problem is Blood Eagle. Heaven knows what sort of training he¡¯s been doing to become this powerful. That Flash at the fourth minute was superhuman stuff, and it resulted in a Double Kill off of Team 71. Then the invasion at the seventeenth minute¡­ his senses have become even sharper. Despite having no wards in the area, he somehow knew that the enemy Mid hadn¡¯t gone home straight away, but was instead farming creeps in the jungle.¡±


    Belial was a small guy with black-framed spectacles. He appeared to be little more than a boy, but the truth was that he¡¯d been famous among gaming circles since he was twelve-years-old. When he got into competitive gaming, he continued to make a name for himself, and so Pandemonium Entertainment had signed him on.


    ¡°Judging from those couple of games,¡± Coach Huang said, ¡°Blood Eagle doesn¡¯t just gank the Mid and Top lanes, but also the Bottom lane as well¡ªin fact, he¡¯s been more successful there than in the other lanes.¡±


    Nowadays, most professional Junglers were of the opinion that going down to the Bottom lane was more often than not a waste of their valuable time.


    Pro Support players always made sure to keep the Bottom lane warded, so that no matter which direction a Jungler came from, odds were low of getting a successful gank.


    Even if you managed to find an avenue of attack, using three champions to try and catch two was an iffy proposition, especially because the ADCs usually still had their Summoner Spells available.


    Looking at it from a larger perspective, even if your gank worked and an enemy champion was killed, you¡¯d soon find the enemy Mid and Jungler arriving on the scene. Then, because you¡¯d chased the enemy too far, you¡¯d get killed in return, and they¡¯d take the Dragon next.


    As such, during professional tournaments, Junglers typically paid less attention to the Bottom lane. They preferred to try their luck on the more promising Top and Middle lanes, or to just keep farming.


    With the start of the new competitive season, ganking the Bottom lane had become much more plausible because Support players were no longer tripping with wards, what with having to spend their money on equipment as well. The sixty-second wards from a Trinket were a far cry from proper wards.


    It seemed like Blood Eagle had carried out a comprehensive examination of warding practices in the Bottom lane. Several times, he¡¯d arrived at the Bottom lane just as the enemy ward expired, enabling him to catch his prey off-guard.


    And so the Bottom lane, which ought to have been the most difficult lane for any Jungler to gank, didn¡¯t seem like that much of a reach for Blood Eagle: Out of seven gank attempts, two had been made in the Bottom lane, and both times had met with success.


    ¡°Asmodai, Mephistopheles, the both of you will have to watch out. Assume he¡¯ll be going for our Bottom lane too,¡± Coach Huang solemnly cautioned.


    Both players nodded.


    ¡°Asmodai, is it still troubling you?¡± Hades asked, looking at him.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Asmodai nodded.


    ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡±


    ***


    The most anticipated match-up in the LPL was, without a doubt, Team Sky vs. Team Daemons. This was because they were universally regarded as the two best ¡®League of Legends¡¯ teams in the nation, and the previous year they had both gone on to represent China in the ¡®League Worlds¡¯ official international tournament.


    According to the schedule, those two teams would have a clash later that evening at seven. The players on both teams were already present in the arena.


    There were clearly many more spectators here to see this match, compared to previous ones. The excitement rumbled continuously within the hall, even though the game had yet to actually begin. Evidently, each team had managed to win the hearts of a great many LOL enthusiasts!


    The Team Daemons players all wore a green-and-black uniform. When they stepped onto the stage, a storm of cheering erupted, and quite a few people were holding up signs with the players¡¯ names.


    As for Team Sky, Zhao Tinghua commanded an unimaginable fan following. Someone had even hand-drawn an enormous picture of an eagle, with a portrait of Tinghua where its head should be. To have such dedicated fans was truly something to be proud of.


    Team Sky had retained their white-and-blue uniforms, and they brushed past Team Daemons with a mild air of hostility.


    In truth there existed little real enmity between professional players. They saw each other regularly at big tournaments, not to mention everyday Ranked play as well. It was common for players from different teams to be regular duo partners.


    Of course, their private lives were a private matter¡ªthere would obviously be no compassion during a serious game. Back then, the original Team Wings had been on friendly terms with Team Daemons too. However, when they¡¯d fought each other at the highest level of competition, and only one team could make it out alive, it had been all-out violence with no remorse!


    Both teams had been arch-rivals for some time, now. All the players were well-acquainted with one another. However, following that scuffle between Guan Langjie and Asmodai, things had been tense between the two teams.


    Back then, they¡¯d at least exchange greetings on sight. Now, they just breezed past each other, and didn¡¯t say anything more than was absolutely necessary.


    Of course, their quarrel was nothing compared to the bad blood between Team Sky and Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Asmodai, don¡¯t let that fool rile you up.¡± Mephistopheles patted him on the shoulder.


    Asmodai nodded, sat down in front of his computer, and began configuring the settings.


    ***


    ¡°Captain, where are you? The match is about to begin!¡± Lin Dong barked into his handphone, at a Yu Luocheng who was still nowhere in sight.


    ¡°You guys watch it first. I¡¯ll look at a recording later.¡±


    ¡°No way! You¡¯re not coming to watch such a big game in person?¡± Then Lin Dong hung up, wondering what Luocheng could be doing. Of all people, he should be the one who¡¯d take the most interest in the Sky vs. Daemons game.


    ¡°If you¡¯re wondering about the captain, I saw some girl absconding with him earlier,¡± Wu Sen informed him.


    ¡°Yang Qianqian?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think so. Hair was tied up. Face looked sorta familiar, but I couldn¡¯t place it. Pure-looking girl.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Found another woman, maybe?¡± Da Luo cocked an eyebrow.


    ¡°Surely not¡­¡±


    ¡°Who knows.¡±


    ***


    In the public park outside the Gentle Dawn Hotel, Luocheng rested upon a stone bench and viewed the city lights, not far in the distance.


    There was a girl standing beside him, her hair tied up so that it fell like willow fronds across her back, a fetching sight to see.


    ¡°How did you find this place?¡± Luocheng asked in bewilderment.


    ¡°I asked one of my friends on the swim team. He told me all the LPL players would be staying here,¡± Yu Yu answered.


    ¡°And so you came here. Do you have a competition going on in Shanghai?¡±


    Yu Yu shook her head. Whenever she had some time off, it had become a habit for her to visit Shanghai University, even though Luocheng was no longer there. She liked to soak up the leisurely mood of university life. Sadly, whenever there was an upcoming competition, she¡¯d have to run around the place, training constantly.


    ¡°Hand over your phone,¡± Yu Yu said, looking at the phone in Luocheng¡¯s hands.


    ¡°What for?¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t comply.


    ¡°What did you change your number for? You didn¡¯t even tell me about it, nor anyone back home.¡± Yu Yu glared at him.


    ¡°You¡¯re all a nuisance to me,¡± Luocheng declared impassively.


    If he didn¡¯t see it, didn¡¯t hear it, then it couldn¡¯t bother him. That was Luocheng¡¯s way of life, these days.


    From now on, he would no longer bow to the outmoded views of his family. Even so, Luocheng had feelings, too. Between their castigation, censure, and coaxing, he worried that it would stress him out emotionally, and leave him unable to focus on the game. That was why he¡¯d decided to cut all contact with them completely.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Yu Yu¡¯s chest was heaving with anxiety. She didn¡¯t know what demon had possessed Luocheng, to the point that he¡¯d abandon his own family for the sake of such utter nonsense!


    ¡°By the way, is Swimming a part of the Asian Indoor Games?¡± Luocheng inquired.


    ¡°Of course it is. Do you want to watch me compete?¡± she snapped in reply, unsure of why he was bringing this up.


    ¡°Not particularly.¡±


    ¡°How have you become even more despicable?¡±


    Luocheng rubbed his nose. Him, despicable? And here he was just thinking about how Yu Yu was being more disagreeable than ever. A full-grown adult like her, and still so old-fashioned, echoing their parents¡¯ stubbornly backwards world-view!


    The Asian Indoor Games¡­ If he could take part in that, too¡­


    It wasn¡¯t that Luocheng wanted to sever ties with his family forever. While he was making his way down this path that he¡¯d sincerely chosen, all he wanted was to not have to put up with his family members¡¯ ire and ridicule. He feared that this would eventually cause him to resent them.


    Now, as he ascended towards ever greater heights of glory, what he wanted was to let those couple of television-addled fossils know that gaming was an international sporting event, and that he, Yu Luocheng, was not just wasting his time on idle pursuits¡ªhe was competing against the champions of other nations, fighting desperately for victory!


    The Asian Indoor Games¡­ Now that he knew Yu Yu would be there as well, he only wanted to participate in the event even more!


    The only thing was, he didn¡¯t know how to convince the General Administration of Sports to let him take part.


    Luocheng decided he¡¯d need to have a chat with those Team Beijing people. He definitely couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity, and not just for his own sake¡ªfor Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong, it was also a matter of monumental significance!

 Chapter 422 - Dark Omen

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Throughout the arena, everyone in the audience was craning their necks to peer up at the screen.


    ¡°Huh, Mars of Team Sky went in too soon. Obviously the two Daemons players were ready for him, so he got deleted right away. Looks like Blood Eagle will have to call off this gank¡ªoh, not good¡­ Blood Eagle is going in anyway! He¡¯s Stunned Belial¡¯s Amumu, and then one skill combo is enough to finish the kill!¡±


    Blood Eagle was playing very aggressively. Although one of his teammates had already fallen, he¡¯d still dared to attack.


    Still, one couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by Pantheon¡¯s early-game damage. A single skill combo had been enough to do in an Amumu at half health. Even Charon¡¯s Renekton, up in the Top lane, took grievous harm from each use of Pantheon¡¯s E-skill ¡®Heartseeker Strike¡¯.


    Gravely wounded, Pantheon circled around the stone wall as he fled. Charon¡¯s Renekton caught up with him just as he reached the tribush.


    Renekton still had maybe half his health left, whereas Pantheon had just about run out of health and mana. It was the end of the line.


    Renekton dove into the tall grass, only to smack head-first into a metal shield. This was followed by a skill combo, which brought Renekton down to critical health as well.


    He¡¯d pushed boldly into the brush like that, because he¡¯d been sure Pantheon wouldn¡¯t be able to kill him off with a skill combo. Nevertheless, Charon was alarmed by the critical damage he¡¯d taken from Heartseeker Strike.


    ¡°You¡¯re dead, now!¡± Charon cackled.


    That had cost Pantheon the last of his mana, and he had no hope of defeating Renekton with basic attacks alone. Meanwhile, Renekton¡¯s E-skill was about to come off cooldown. With that, he¡¯d be able to lunge in, unleash a skill combo of his own, and bring an end to Zhao Tinghua!


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua stuck his neck out too far, this time!¡± Lin Dong muttered from beneath the stage. ¡°There was no need to go in just now¡ªsure, he managed to take down Amumu, but now he¡¯s going to get killed in exchange. Never mind that counting as an Assist for Amumu, it¡¯s also a Shut Down on him. Big mistake!¡±


    That was the truth of it. Tinghua had been too reckless, this time.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s all out of mana,¡± Wu Sen observed. ¡°If he still had mana, he could try to drag out the fight a moment longer and maybe come out of this on top.¡±


    They watched as Tinghua¡¯s Pantheon came round the corner and rushed for the nearby minion wave. Depleted in both health and mana, he was as good as dead.


    Then he stopped, and turned around to deal a basic attack to Renekton.


    The crowd was stupefied. Even if he was done for, he could at least die with some dignity! To have the gall to strike Renekton now!


    Charon¡¯s Renekton naturally hit him back, deciding to just finish the job right then. After all, Pantheon was one last basic attack away from death.


    But it was at that exact moment when Pantheon regained the use of his Barrier, which he used to absorb the damage from that attack.


    No matter. One more Q and he¡¯d be dead.


    Charon hit Q to use ¡®Cull the Meek¡¯, but Tinghua was even faster with his Flash, just managing to dodge the skill.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use!¡± Charon remained untroubled by Tinghua¡¯s Flash dodge, because ¡®Slice and Dice¡¯ would very soon be ready. With incoming enemy minions to serve as stepping stones, he¡¯d be able to dash twice!


    Meanwhile, after Flashing into the minion wave, Pantheon even stopped to cut down a wounded minion!


    As that minion fell, some kind of energy swirled up around him, and a little of Pantheon¡¯s health and mana was restored!


    Despite having regained only that infinitesimal wisp of mana, Pantheon whirled around and used his Q-skill to hurl a spear forth!


    The tables had turned!


    Renekton was already lunging in, and the spear caught him in mid-air, somehow doing exactly enough damage to reduce his health to zero!


    Renekton fell!


    No one in the audience had expected that Renekton would be the one to go down in the end!


    Cries of shock rang out across the hall, because Zhao Tinghua¡¯s god-like skills had brought every LOL player to the verge of collapse, ready to fall on their knees in worship!


    ¡°Oh my god!¡± Da Luo and the fellows beside him stared with their mouths agape.


    That situation just now¡­ even a child could tell that Pantheon, out of health and mana, should have met his end there!


    But that unbelievable play had flipped everything upside-down!


    At critical health and zero mana, an enemy in pursuit, he¡¯d Flashed over to the minions and killed one for himself¡ªthus levelling up and regaining just enough mana for another Spear Shot, which had been enough to cut down Renekton, also already badly wounded!1


    Pretty much everyone playing LOL would just flee in blind panic when they were near death. Flash would only be used purely to get away. Who on earth would think of Flashing over to last-hit a minion, so that they¡¯d just manage to level up, thus regaining just enough mana to strike back?


    That was a Double Kill. After seeing that, it was a long while before the audience settled down again. Meanwhile, the vanquished Charon continued to stare blankly at his screen, uncomprehending.Read more chapter on novelhall


    To be able to keep track of one¡¯s experience bar while running for their life¡­ what¡¯s more, being able to come up with the idea of Flashing over to last-hit a minion, level up, get some mana back, and then retaliate¡­


    This latest death he¡¯d suffered had left Charon utterly defeated.


    For some inexplicable reason, after this latest demonstration of Tinghua¡¯s puissance, every team which had an upcoming match against Team Sky was now feeling the chills.


    An opponent like him was too much to handle!


    ***


    Team Daemons lost the second game as well.


    Pretty much everyone was of the opinion that they¡¯d lost the first game due to some major mistakes in their Bottom lane, after which it had been downhill all the way.


    Team Daemons had been expected to get something back in the second game, but Tinghua foiled these predictions by carrying the whole game single-handedly, starting with a magnificent Double Kill up in the Top lane, which he¡¯d used to help his team secure a dominating advantage in all the lanes.


    Pantheon Junglers were occasionally seen in regular games, but they were a rare sight in serious competitions.


    Zhao Tinghua was the first to use Pantheon in the LPL. He wreaked havoc from Top to Mid, and then used his ulti to crash down on the Bottom lane, halting the enemy¡¯s momentum. No one could stop him, and in the end Team Daemons lost the series to Team Sky with a score of 0 to 2.


    In years past, Team Sky had always lost to Team Daemons, and that¡¯s what everyone had gotten used to seeing. This year, Team Sky had suddenly become an overpowering juggernaut, capable of beating even Team Daemons 2-0. It was an unfathomable turn of events.


    After sitting through both games, Wu Sen, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan and Da Luo could all feel a sense of dread weighing down upon them. Zhao Tinghua¡¯s return to Team Sky was a dark omen upon the horizon.


    They¡¯d faced Team Sky the previous year, and the only thing that could be said about them was that they were a step up from Team Revelation. Tinghua¡¯s addition to the team had changed things completely. Every player on Team Daemons was someone to be reckoned with, and their teamwork was nothing besides impeccable¡ªand yet, they¡¯d lost to Team Sky.


    Team Sky¡¯s performance this year had exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations¡ªincluding Team Skycrown, who had been planning to wipe the floor with them.


    Currently, the team with the highest total score was Team Sky, with perfect 2-0 victories across the board.


    Team Skycrown would be going up against Team Beijing again the next day. Looking at the tournament schedule, their next opponent straight after that would be Team Daemons!


    If they could triumph against Team Daemons, they would also hold one of the top scores in this stage, ultimately leading to a grand showdown against Team Sky in the LPL finals!


    The LPL tournament was like a mountain. In the end, only two teams would meet at the very peak.


    Currently, Team Sky was on an unstoppable charge for the top. Team Skycrown would definitely be making their way up there, too¡ªwhere they would kick the other team right back down again!


    ***


    Back at the hotel, the Team Skycrown players didn¡¯t find Luocheng waiting in their room.


    ¡°Let me try and find him.¡± Lin Dong threw on a coat and went out.


    One phone call later, Lin Dong found him in a garden nearby, sitting beneath the dusky light of a street lamp.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Lin Dong asked in bewilderment, walking over to him.


    ¡°Nothing. My little sister just paid me a visit.¡± Luocheng shook his head, as though to cast away his worries.


    ¡°She wants you to go back?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. How did the match go?¡±


    ¡°Daemons lost. Both games.¡±


    ¡°They lost both games?¡±


    Luocheng was startled to hear this. From what he understood of Team Daemons, not even Tinghua¡¯s dramatic power boost could have caused them to lose so completely. Team Daemons had flawless teamwork, and there should be no team that could prove their equal. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of skilled individual players, but moreover a seasoned, measured sort of temperament which other professional players lacked.


    Lin Dong gave a general outline of how both games went. Luocheng frowned, his expression sober.


    ¡°Originally, I thought that after taking down Team Sky, we¡¯d be facing Team Daemons in the finals,¡± he said. ¡°To think that Team Sky would be the final opponent this year¡­¡±


    The feud between their two teams could only be settled in an official match, anyway. What Luocheng didn¡¯t get was how Team Sky had suddenly become so powerful.


    ¡°I asked around, and word is that Xu Pingyang spent a pretty penny bringing in some trainers from abroad,¡± Lin Dong said. ¡°Then he threw down some more money so that the Team Sky players had to train day and night. He¡¯s going all out to get first place this year, because he¡¯s eyeing the position of secretary-general of the Ace League.¡±


    The Ace League was a major organization in e-sports. If Xu Pingyang managed to claim the highest position of secretary-general, e-sports would take a downturn in the eyes of the world.


    Making money was important, but so was maintaining professionalism. There were some people who milked something only while it was profitable, and then tossed it aside without a second thought, leaving behind an unsalvageable mess. For the players of Team Skycrown, who hoped to find a lasting future in the world of e-sports, this was an unimaginably bleak prospect.


    Xu Pingyang could not be allowed to bag the position of secretary-general of the Ace League. Yu Luocheng would absolutely never allow it!


    ¡°What an adorable dream he has! As long as I¡¯m here, Sky Club will never lay their hands on first place!¡± Luocheng declared.

 Chapter 423 - Old Rivals

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At the Gentle Dawn Hotel, a young man with somewhat disheveled hair dozed in front of a public computer terminal, as though he¡¯d been there all night.


    A video was playing on the computer screen. A young man with black hair stood among a sea of foreigners, standing out from them like a star in a midnight sky.


    The video had been taken with someone¡¯s handphone. Not particularly high-definition, and the recording was kinda shaky.


    ¡°Sir¡­ excuse me, sir!¡± A receptionist in a long pink gown smiled as she shook the young man awake.


    ¡°Sir, why don¡¯t you return to your room, now? There¡¯s controlled heating and ventilation in there. If you stay out here, you might catch a cold.¡± The girl continued to display her professional-grade smile.


    The young man groggily came to, and then smiled in sheepish apology.


    ¡°You¡¯re one of those professional players, aren¡¯t you?¡± The girl glanced at the ID card he wore, and her smile grew a little brighter.


    ¡°Yup.¡± The young man nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s this video you¡¯re watching, here? Doesn¡¯t look like a LOL competition.¡±


    The young man rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he answered, ¡°Oh, this was the World Cyber Games Solo Championship, where players fought to be named the World Champion of Gaming.¡±


    ¡°There are so many foreigners¡­ so this is an international gaming tournament¡­¡± the girl remarked with an air of fascination.


    The young man nodded. Unconsciously, his eyes wandered back to the boy in the video, who was holding up a trophy cup. Complicated emotions played out in the young man¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?¡± The girl seemed to have a certain interest in such events.


    ¡°A jack-of-all-trades: Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and DOTA¡­ he got first place twice, and second place once.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! He managed to win against all those foreigners?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Is that guy you?¡± she asked.


    There was a pause, and then the young man shook his head bitterly. ¡°I was the guy taking this video, on my phone.¡±


    That year, they¡¯d entered the event together. When that person was crowned the World Champion of Gaming, his glory burned so bright that it had been blinding.


    He¡¯d stood at a corner of the stage while the awards were being presented, feeling completely irrelevant and unnecessary. Winning fourth place in Starcraft had been worth nothing at all.


    And so, he¡¯d made this handphone video recording, holding back tears as he swore never to be subjected to such humiliation again. The day would come when he would surpass that person¡¯s fame.


    In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed. At last, he would be given another chance to face him in a serious match. The thought of it inexplicably set his pulse racing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll defeat you!¡±


    On that day, he learned that if you weren¡¯t number one, you were nothing.


    Collecting himself, the young man returned his attention to the receptionist girl. ¡°I¡¯ll return to my room and sleep. I¡¯ve still got a game tomorrow. Thanks for waking me up.¡±


    ¡°Alright. What¡¯s your name?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Xie Lianda. You can also call me ¡®Number One¡¯.¡± Disconnecting the line, he made for the lifts.


    Tomorrow there would be a decisive match in the LPL tournament. He knew that person was an extremely capable player¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t allow himself to lose again!


    No one could understand how it felt to be a main-line Starcraft gamer, losing first place to a part-time player!


    ***


    He reached his floor. The elevator doors slid open. Lianda saw a man coming down the long corridor, heading this way.


    Lianda froze. What a coincidence.


    Luocheng stepped out from the foyer of Team Beijing¡¯s apartment, and smiled when he saw Lianda approaching. ¡°Number One.¡±


    ¡°Looking for me?¡± Lianda asked, puzzled. Could it be that he¡¯d remembered him from the World Cyber Games Solo Tournament?


    Luocheng got straight to the point: ¡°Yeah, I wanted to ask about you guys representing China in the Asian Indoor Games.¡±


    ¡°Sure, what about it?¡± Lianda asked indifferently.


    ¡°How did you get approval from the General Administration of Sports? Could you give me some details about that?¡±


    ¡°Korea is organizing the Games, and e-sports have been included among the events. The Sports Administration found someone to take charge of that, and the person-in-charge selected Team Beijing to represent. That¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°How did you guys get selected?¡±


    ¡°Why, you want in?¡± It wasn¡¯t difficult for Lianda to figure out what Luocheng was after¡ªit might as well have been written across his forehead.


    Luocheng himself readily acknowledged that he really, truly, definitely wanted to take part in that event. He¡¯d be representing his country in an officially recognized gaming competition. If he hoped to change his family¡¯s perspective on the issue, the only way was to achieve a big win in a nationally sanctioned e-sports event like this one!


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t beat around the bush¡ªhe just came right out and admitted it.


    ¡°There will be various games under the e-sports category. The person-in-charge is my instructor, and he¡¯s sending me and my team to participate.¡±


    Luocheng frowned slightly. It sounded as though Number One had secured this opportunity through his connections.


    So this sort of thing was decided internally?


    There were so many gamers across the nation, and you wouldn¡¯t even hold some selection matches? Just hand-pick a few people to take on a major event like this¡­ that didn¡¯t seem right!


    Where was the sportsmanship?


    As though he could read Luocheng¡¯s mind, Lianda huffed. ¡°The participants were not selected at random. The main priority is being able to keep to standards and regulations. After all, this is the first time e-sports has been included in a sporting event. The Sports Administration doesn¡¯t want to see any irregularities crop up along the way.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that since this will be the first time e-sports is being featured in an official sporting event, the top priority is for everything to go smoothly, and our actual achievements during that event are a secondary concern?¡± Luocheng felt he¡¯d gotten the gist of it.


    Perhaps the General Administration of Sports was testing the waters regarding e-sports in China. If everything went off without a hitch, and there wasn¡¯t any kind of serious backlash, then perhaps e-sports would continue to be included in future sporting events¡­


    Certainly, e-sports diverged tremendously from more traditional sports. The Sports Administration had every reason to be cautious about this. The field of e-sports itself already couldn¡¯t bear to suffer any more mishaps, either.


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but sigh, knowing all this. It didn¡¯t seem possible for him to get into this one. This round of the Asian Indoor Games was being handled entirely behind closed doors. Even the support staff were subject to stringent oversight.


    Lianda watched Luocheng turning dejectedly to leave, and coldly muttered, ¡°And how do you know we won¡¯t gain any achievements?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± Luocheng protested.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t remember anymore?¡±


    ¡°Remember what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Lianda turned and walked off towards the room at the end of the corridor. The expression on his face was gradually souring with bitterness and anguish.


    It stood to reason. Who would go out of their way to remember someone they¡¯d defeated?


    But that wouldn¡¯t be his role anymore!


    Tomorrow, he¡¯d deal him a good and proper defeat!


    ***


    On the second week, it was Team Skycrown vs. Team Beijing!


    Both teams were very popular, and the ardor of their fans was no longer just some quiet thing lurking in the shadows¡ªnow, both teams had their own home bases: Demacia and Noxus!


    It was a unique setup, a departure from the more traditional arrangement for professional players. Once other agencies had heard of the enormous returns being reaped by their patrons, they¡¯d leapt to imitate the business model, so that instead of conducting all their activities purely over the internet, from within closed-off private facilities, they would instead establish leisurely net caf¨¦s and casual gaming centers.


    Of course, Sky and Daemons still commanded the highest esteem, but there was no doubt that the Skycrown and Beijing teams drew the most enthusiastic supporters. Signs were being waved all throughout the hall, and some even had war paint on their faces, as though they¡¯d come to see a football match instead. They wanted the whole world to know that they were Skycrown fans.


    Lin Dong nudged Da Luo. ¡°Hey, you see that guy over there, with that whole painted mess going on? Recognize him?¡±


    ¡°Must be that kid who was playing Tristana. Really, now¡­ skipping classes to show up for this game, and even hosting an entire art gallery on his face¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha, maybe he¡¯s worried about being spotted.¡±


    Having passionate fans like these was actually something worth bragging about. The team¡¯s morale was soaring.


    For the two official commentators, this was obviously their first time witnessing such a scene. They weren¡¯t even needed to stir up any kind of hype¡ªif anything, they themselves were being affected by the atmosphere. It was kind of embarrassing.


    ***


    Zhou Yan glanced towards Yu Luocheng. ¡°Did you ask him, yesterday?¡±


    He knew that Luocheng had paid Number One a visit. Truth be told, everyone in Team Skycrown would totally love to play in a major sporting event like that. Imagine if, by chance, they appeared on the sports channel¡­ then everyone they knew would have to call them TV celebrities!


    And then, if they sent word home, their families would definitely have to admit that they were making something of themselves, and smiles would blossom.


    All this while, they¡¯d been waiting for such a day to come.


    Luocheng shook his head. ¡°Everything¡¯s been decided internally. I don¡¯t expect we have any chance.¡±


    ¡°Damn, so they got in through their connections? I can¡¯t stand that sort of people!¡± Da Luo snarled. ¡°Let¡¯s give them a good ass-kicking today¡ªsee how they¡¯re gonna have the gall to represent China in an international tournament after that!¡±


    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Lin Dong didn¡¯t sound pleased, either.


    They fully admitted that they were jealous! Jealous that those people could take part in such a big competition!


    Well, just because they were jealous, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t give them a bloody good thrashing right now!


    Taking their seats, the Skycrown players began testing and configuring their computer settings.


    This would be different from the last time. This time, it was a serious LPL professional tournament. Neither team would be holding anything back. They were really going to give it their all!

 Chapter 424 - Another Weird Support!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    They were in the Banning Phase. Seeing which champions the enemy team was getting rid of gave Yu Luocheng some idea of which champions they were planning to field.


    In a professional-level match, the mind games began right from the Banning Phase. With all the players representing the highest level of gameplay ability, getting a good result out of the banning and selection of champions was of paramount importance.


    The first Ban from Team Beijing was Trundle, a Top-lane champion.


    Trundle was causing every team in the LPL some consternation, especially with the new tactics Team Skycrown had been demonstrating. If they managed to get ahead during the early game, the other teams had no idea how they¡¯d stave off the unstoppable onslaught to follow.


    ¡°Clever of Team Beijing to ban Trundle,¡± Miracle remarked. ¡°They realize that he¡¯s a key component of Team Skycrown¡¯s strategies. With him out of the picture, they won¡¯t be able to pull out those tricky little plays that they used against Team Revelation.¡±


    Miracle was fast becoming a specialist on the subject of Team Skycrown. He¡¯d been at the scene for the vast majority of their games.


    And who else should be sharing the commentary desk with him but Qi Qiao¡ªa woman who had no secrets left to hide from Luocheng. Her sweet voice was a mesmerizing siren song to all LOL fans. The combination of her cute face and massive knockers made her an idol in this world. Luocheng could attest to the magnificence of her assets from firsthand experience.


    ¡°What¡¯s so tricky about it, though?¡± Qi Qiao inquired. She¡¯d seen that match too, and new tactics were cool and all, but she wasn¡¯t sure she was fully appreciating all the intricacies of it.


    ¡°Tactics like these depend greatly upon teamwork. We¡¯ve already seen some other teams attempt to duplicate those same techniques, but because it¡¯s still new to them, the execution came off kinda sloppy, and it totally backfired, so that they ended up losing both lanes instead.


    ¡°There are a lot of little details to watch out for. Every player on the team has to have a clear idea of what to do¡ªand what not to do¡ªevery step of the way. There also needs to be absolute faith in leadership, so that each command is carried out without hesitation. On top of that, everyone on the team has to be able to react to the moves the enemy is making.


    ¡°Without military-style training, it¡¯s hard to become familiar with the use of strategies like those,¡± Miracle explained.


    It was exactly as Miracle had said, and that was why Team Beijing had gotten the sensation that Team Skycrown had been playing very differently ever since the LPL began¡ªbecause the tactics they were now using were so complicated, if the team wasn¡¯t fully prepared to implement them in practice, using them could easily end up being more hindrance than help.


    And yet, they were actually managing to pull it off.


    Used when your team held the advantage in a game, it was an invincible strategy. Team Beijing would not allow themselves to suffer the same tragedy as Team Revelation had, and so they¡¯d shut off Trundle straight away.


    The rest of Team Beijing¡¯s bans were more typical stuff.


    For their ADC, they chose Sivir. Sivir and Lucian were the most popular ADC champions in this patch, to the point that if neither champion was banned, then both would be facing off in-lane.1


    To put it bluntly, people were getting sick of seeing those two all the time.


    Team Skycrown was mixing things up by bringing out Draven in an earlier game. That had been a good bit of fun.


    As limited as ADC champions were, Support champions meanwhile displayed much more variety.


    ¡°And now it¡¯s F-Hawk¡¯s turn to choose. Is he going to do something astonishing again?¡±


    ¡°I bet he¡¯s going to pick some champion that¡¯s never been used for Support in the LPL before¡ªI¡¯ll bet five bucks on it!¡± Miracle was certainly keen about this.


    All the players of Team Beijing had their eyes affixed to their screens. Luocheng¡¯s choice of champion was a big deal to them. Last time, when Team Skycrown had taken on Team Revelation, that fellow had used a Kennen Support!


    With a speed-up from his ¡®Talisman of Ascension¡¯, followed by an aggressive charge with ¡®Lightning Rush¡¯ and ¡®Slicing Maelstrom¡¯, it was wholly unorthodox and appallingly savage.


    Although it had been a Kennen in the Support role, his damage had been nothing to sneeze at¡ªespecially after he¡¯d picked up that ¡®Zhonya¡¯s Hourglass¡¯ towards the end¡­ that had been a nightmare for everyone.


    Team Beijing had elected not to ban Kennen, because they felt that if they banned everything they¡¯d seen Team Skycrown using, that would be playing right into their enemy¡¯s hands.


    The truth was that they remained deeply worried that Luocheng would pick Kennen again. Who would¡¯ve thought that Kennen could still be so effective, even in the Support role?


    Thung! That was the sound of Luocheng making his choice.


    ¡°Sure enough, F-Hawk doesn¡¯t disappoint us! It¡¯s another unusual Support choice!¡± Miracle hollered. ¡°Qi Qiao, you owe me five bucks, alright?¡±


    ¡°No one agreed to your bet!¡± Qi Qiao snapped in reply. ¡°Anyway, some bet five bucks is¡­ But really, that F-Hawk is such a card. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s going with Shen this time. Is he really going to play that champion as Support?¡±


    ***


    All five players on Team Beijing furrowed their brows at the sight of the champion Luocheng had selected.


    The professional players in the crowd were also staring wide-eyed. Every kind of expression was in evidence.


    What was this F-Hawk guy trying to prove? Three matches now, and every single time he¡¯d picked a champion that had never been played as Support in the LPL before.


    As ancient wisdom teaches us: Don¡¯t go acting like a damned fool.


    Playing in the LPL with sub-optimal champions, you could expect to either lose badly, or perhaps very badly. It wasn¡¯t that no one had ever experimented with unusual Support choices, but the results had always been disastrous.


    These champions Luocheng was playing as Support¡­ he was basically flirting with catastrophe. Looking at it from the point of view of the pros, Shen was a poor fit for the Support role.


    There were two types of Support champions: The first type included champions like Leona, Alistar, and Taric¡ªbristling with HP, and boasting substantial crowd-control abilities.


    The other type comprised champions such as Zyra, Sona, and so on¡­ champions who could poke, heal, or deploy area-effect crowd-control abilities.


    It was true that Shen had some CC, and his Taunting effect often proved instrumental when used well. The problem was that he was a melee combatant, and when ¡®Shadow Dash¡¯ was not available, he was next to useless in a fight. Compared to Leona, Alistar, Taric, and Thresh¡ªall champions who brought much more CC to the table¡ªhe was vastly inferior.


    And what about Shen¡¯s ultimate skill? If there was a fight at Level 6 in the Bottom lane, the most Shen could do with it would be to shield the ADC for a bit. It would be nowhere near enough to stand against a determined assault from the enemy¡¯s two Level-6 champions, and you might very well lose the whole lane as a result.


    In short, playing Shen as Support was the path to defeat!


    And yet, Luocheng had locked in his choice. The first thought had been that he was just hovering over that champion to be cheeky¡ªbut now he¡¯d really chosen Shen, after all. What could you do about it?


    ***


    The match began. To see someone fielding Shen as a Support champion during a professional tournament, it was like spotting a clump of grass sticking out from amongst a bed of flowers¡ªone couldn¡¯t help but linger on it.


    It had to be said that Yu Luocheng had a talent for drawing attention. Who played Support like this?


    Of course, from Team Skycrown¡¯s perspective, it was all just business as usual.


    Luocheng played every single champion as Support. If not for that, a rapscallion of his caliber would long ago have been recognized as one of the best LOL players in the nation. His Korean account was already within reach of the very top!


    Once you started experimenting with alternative Support champions, you could never stop. Reputation had never been a concern. With all the time Luocheng had spent fooling around like this while playing Support in the Diamond tier of the Ionia server, if it ever got out that he was the owner of the ¡®Trolling No. 1¡¯ account, there might very well be quite a few professional players in the crowd who might break into a riot.


    As he tried out countless play-styles and item builds, any combination that seemed viable to him would be introduced into their training games, and the team would work to develop it further.


    In other words, whichever champion Luocheng selected during a serious competition, it was never on random impulse. The whole team had already become familiar with it through the experience of countless rounds.


    Team Beijing wasn¡¯t a bunch of fools. They assumed that this probably wasn¡¯t some last-minute flight of fancy.


    But the match had already started. How were they to analyze what their opponents planned to achieve by using Shen?


    ***


    The game began. Everyone rushed to the typical starting positions.


    Luocheng¡¯s Shen hid in the clump of brush at the southern end of the river, and then moved to sneak a peek into the tri-bush.


    He stuck a ward in there, and found the enemy¡¯s Support Annie glaring at him with unblinking eyes. He withdrew hastily to the bush he¡¯d been occupying before.


    ¡°Shen¡¯s at Bot. This bush, here.¡± Pi Ka, Team Beijing¡¯s Support player, made a quick report.


    ¡°Right. Prepare to ward,¡± commanded Xie Lianda, a.k.a. Number One.


    At one minute and thirty seconds, everyone else planted their wards, and then went into their lanes.


    Shortly after the second minute, Team Beijing¡¯s Bottom-lane duo arrived on the scene, but the opposing Caitlyn and Shen were still nowhere in sight. As such, they got right to farming, hoping to reach Level 2 first and gain an early advantage.


    Sivir and Annie could deal tremendous burst damage together. If this combination was allowed to reach Level 2 first in an ordinary game, it could be a fatal mistake.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. Why haven¡¯t they showed up yet?¡± Pika wondered.


    It had been awhile already, but the enemy¡¯s Bottom-lane duo had yet to appear. A horrible thought struck them, and they inspected the Top lane.


    That was when Caitlyn and Shen appeared there, forcing their Top-laner Shyvana completely out of XP range!


    ¡°Oh, Team Skycrown swapped lanes!¡± Miracle exclaimed. ¡°F-Hawk played a cute little trick there, deliberately showing his face in the warded Bottom lane right at the beginning, in order to fool the enemy into thinking that they¡¯d be seeing the usual laning match-up. Once the bait had been cast, he Recalled and then switched places with his Top-laner.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Shen and Caitlyn would have an easy time against Shyvana. That mitigates the problem of their sub-optimal composition,¡± Qi Qiao observed.


    It had certainly caught Team Beijing by surprise. Now their Top-laner wasn¡¯t gaining any XP at all, while Team Skycrown¡¯s Top-laner Rengar was most likely clearing out the Wolves camp at the moment. Once that was done, he¡¯d have the gold to buy a few more potions. Recalling to the Fountain and then returning to his lane, he¡¯d be just in time to join the duo in pushing the minion wave right up to the tower. That would allow him to farm safely beneath the tower.


    Things were going badly for Team Beijing.


    How could they not have foreseen this, damn it!

 Chapter 425 - Completely Outplayed!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ping Feng, you might not be able to get the blue buff now.¡± Xie Lianda, more commonly known as Number One, said.


    Ping Feng controlled his Jungler, Vi, and walked toward the blue buff, getting frustrated even before he got there.


    He did not need to check it anymore as the blue buff had definitely been taken by the enemy team. This was because he could see Team Skycrown¡¯s Top, Rengar, appear in the bottom lane with the blue buff, and he had also reached Level 2.


    Da Luo¡¯s Rengar appeared very late in the lane and it was clear that the buff he had was not from Team Beijing¡¯s side of the map but from his own. This was due to Zhou Yan going for the enemy¡¯s blue buff at the start of the game.


    Just as Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin was in the midst of taking Team Beijing¡¯s blue buff, Da Luo¡¯s Rengar had had to deal with the enemy¡¯s two bottom laners. He had then decided to solo the blue buff on his part of the map and subsequently go back to their base while reaching Level 2 before heading back to his own lane. As long as he timed it nicely, he would be right on time to clear a wave of minions and successfully reach Level 3.


    Team Beijing had initially thought that Team Skycrown would have used the conventional strategy which was the five-man defense method, never expecting that Team Skycrown would steal their blue buff! The one thing that Team Beijing¡¯s Jungler, Ping Feng, did not understand, was how had they gotten past the ward that he had placed at the river without being seen?


    With three buffs to start the game and good ganking techniques, Team Skycrown had gotten the advantage for the early-game.


    It went without saying that without a buff, Vi would be one level below Lee Sin, and if they were to meet in the jungle, Vi would have a hard time dealing with him.


    Not only that, if both team¡¯s Top was pressured, Rengar, which held the blue buff, would have it easier. His level and last hits would not be lacking behind either.


    A small advantage in the early-game could cause a big effect on the late-game as it enabled a team to snowball through the game. These small details could lead to a kill or two which could alter the whole game! Of course, Team Beijing would not overlook this.


    ¡°After reaching Level 6, they might dominate the lane. If that is the case, history will repeat itself, just like what happened in their second game. Both players in the top lane would have a disadvantage in levels as well as their gold, and once that happens, we will lose our top lane.¡± Number One voiced out his estimation.


    It was very obvious that the switching-lane tactic was used against Team Revelation before.


    Team Revelation¡¯s bottom laners were strong, and in the second game, Luocheng had not gone head to head with Bai Feng, instead choosing to use the switching-lane tactic to let both the top laners fight against each other.


    In terms of strength, Da Luo had had an immense amount of training for this. His gold and levels would not be dragged down too much. Instead, Team Revelation which had to deal with three enemies attacking their bottom lane couldn¡¯t handle it, and when their lane was dominated, it was the same Top but he was no longer their opponent. Also, with Da Luo¡¯s strength, they could uphold the advantage and take the win.


    With three buffs to start the game, Da Luo¡¯s farm was not bad in the bottom lane. If they were to take the lane, there was a high chance that Shyvana might die again.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got it.¡± Ping Feng, the Jungler said.


    Ping Feng looked at the lane and realized that there were two waves of minions attacking the tower. It was obvious that Shyvana was having a hard time defending.


    As a Jungler, Ping Feng had great intuition. He knew that he needed to help defend the tower because if the enemy Jungler were to join in, killing Shyvana would be a piece of cake.


    Ping Feng played very carefully and placed a ward in the tribush.


    It was very obvious that Ping Feng was playing very cautiously because he would definitely be one level lower than Lee Sin after losing that buff in the early-game. If he were to meet Lee Sin, he would be damaged with a combo of skills and have to return to base with very little health, causing his gold income to be affected once again.


    Vi entered the top lane to help Shyvana while also gaining some experience.


    Suddenly, Ping Feng saw that Lee Sin had appeared in the middle lane!


    Ping Feng immediately looked over at the mid lane and saw that Number One had gotten hit by an Ignite and was running toward the tower with a small sliver of health.


    Luckily, Number One had used a health potion in time, so he did not die.


    ¡°Is your Flash still unused?¡± Ping Feng asked in a panicked voice.


    Number One nodded his head.


    He still had his Flash but the situation just now had indeed been very dangerous. If he had not remained cautious and had continued to go in to pressure the enemy Mid, he would have died right then and there.


    ***


    Although Zhou Yan¡¯s gank had not succeeded, in a competitive view, you didn¡¯t have to kill the opponent every time. As long as the enemy was forced to go back to base and you got the opportunity to help your teammate push the tower, denying the enemy from getting more experience would also help your teammate to gain the upper hand.


    Number One controlled his Draven and guided back onto the lane.


    As of that moment, his Draven had a Doran¡¯s Blade. Even though he had had to go back to base after getting injured severely, his experience would not be lagging behind too much as he had done quite well in the lane.


    As he was going back to the mid lane, Number One realized that the enemy Lee Sin had not gone away but instead remained there to continue pushing the tower. Also, he was leeching off of his Mid¡¯s experience which made Number One rather suspicious.


    ¡°Their Top, Shen is missing!¡± The Jungler, Ping Feng, reminded him.


    Number One¡¯s heart started beating extremely quickly, he knew something was off.


    Suddenly, Shen appeared out of nowhere!


    Whoosh!


    Shadow Dash!


    Luocheng¡¯s Shen had suddenly come out of the jungle in between the first and the second tower, immediately using a Shadow Dash to taunt Number One to stay under the tower!


    ¡°Whoa! Where did Fighting Hawk come from? He came out from the jungle in between the two towers!¡± Miracle shouted in awe.


    Number One had already tried to use his Flash but Luocheng¡¯s gank was too strong and unexpected. Number One had only hesitated for a moment, but because of that slight hesitation, he had been taunted under the tower.


    The problem was, Number One¡¯s Draven had not been inside the tower range. He had been between both the towers but yet, he was still successfully taunted by Shen!


    The moment he was taunted, Number One already knew that he was not going to survive. With one Q-skill from Lee Sin and another Flash followed up by an E and Q-skill, Number One was killed from his full health in between the two towers.


    FIRST BLOOD!


    The first kill had happened!


    The audience forgot to cheer after watching that spectacular execution while the professional players had widened their horizons.


    Who had ever seen this kind of kill!?


    Seizing the chance of when the enemy Mid was coming back to the lane to go to the wall near the first and second tower of the middle lane and waiting for the assassin to go back in and taunt after using his Flash. The cooperation between the two players was breathtaking!


    There were many ways of ganking in LOL, but even this kind of ganking had never been seen before!


    It was clear to the mid laners who were watching the match that this scene gave them a sense of insecurity. They knew that getting ambushed at the space between the two towers would spell demise for them. You would die almost every time unless, of course, you were a God or you got really lucky¡­


    However, the biggest problem was that everyone would usually prepare to be ganked when pushing a lane, always looking at other lanes to make sure that the enemies were not missing so that they could avoid getting ganked. Who knew that he would get killed at this point of time!


    ¡°The tower will be taken.¡± Number One said with a sour face.


    The three-man gank had not occurred at the top lane but instead, at the middle lane. After the Mid died and a wave of minions came, the tower would definitely be destroyed. Even if the Jungler, Vi, came to help, she would not be brave enough to defend the tower alone as it would be too risky.


    It was still early in the game and the mid lane tower had been taken. This was still the new season tower which had extra health, but too bad that the tower would not hold against a team that was famous for their crazy tactics!


    ***


    After helping the mid lane gank once, Luocheng went back to the top lane to help Lin Dong.


    Lin Dong¡¯s CS was coming up nicely and he had his B. F. sword in about eight minutes.


    Luocheng¡¯s level was not lagging behind, successfully reaching Level 6 before nine minutes.


    Once he had gotten to Level 6, Team Beijing¡¯s members started to get nervous.


    There was a disgusting part about Shen. When he had reached Level 6, the enemy had to fight Shen whenever he wanted to fight, and in this kind of situation, unless you had more than two people, ganking would not be possible.


    At the nine-minute mark, Luocheng and Lin Dong walked toward Baron¡¯s position and it seemed as though they had every intention of going into the jungle.


    For the enemy to come into the jungle at this time, they must want to get the blue buff that had just respawned!


    ¡°They want to get the blue buff!¡± Ping Feng said.


    You stole our blue buff once and now you want to take it again, do you think that the jungle is your house?


    Ping Feng used this chance to call his teammate from the top lane. Even if the Draven did not need the blue buff, it would not be a wise decision to let the enemy have it.


    The three of them got into place for an ambush.


    At this time, Number One noticed that Team Skycrown¡¯s Jungler, Lee Sin, had appeared in the bottom lane river.


    ¡°That was extremely smart, Team Skycrown has really made such a smart move. They actually used this time to watch the Dragon and the Blue Buff!¡± Miracle praised them from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, they put on a show to pretend that they wanted to take the Blue Buff, baiting the enemy Jungler and Mid to go to the buff to defend. With that, Lee Sin could use his skill to go to the bottom lane. Rengar and Gragas are both already in position, and once Shen uses his Ultimate to go to them, they can take on the Dragon with four people!¡±


    After faking trying to take the blue buff, Luocheng¡¯s Shen indeed used his Ultimate skill to go to Lee Sin, and all Team Beijing¡¯s two bottom laners could do was to watch from the side without being able to do anything.


    The blue buff and the Dragon, choose one.


    If you were to go to the bottom lane to defend, the two of us will take your blue buff. But if you want to defend the blue buff, then thank you for the Dragon¡­


    Team Beijing had not expected them to fake trying to take the blue buff, and thus, the Dragon was taken from them right in front of their eyes.


    It was a complete outplay done by Team Skycrown, and it was at that moment that Team Beijing finally understood the reason behind them choosing Shen as a Support.


    This Shen was like a thorn in their side. At the start, getting killed by him had already made them angry. Now that he was Level 6, it didn¡¯t matter how Team Beijing played, Shen would always be one step ahead of them!

 Chapter 426 - Undeniably Stealing the Baron!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After taking the mid lane tower as well as the Dragon, Team Skycrown had the advantage on team gold.


    If they had only lost a tower on the side lanes, Team Beijing would not have such a hard time fighting back. However, the mid lane was the core of the game, and with the tower that had initially given around 2,000 units of vision gone, this would make it hard for Team Beijing to go to certain important spots to gain vision.


    Without vision, even if you met a Support in the jungle, you would not be brave enough to kill him as there might be some other players in a bush near the Support. Never assume that a Support which came into your jungle was there to play around and look around the bushes on his own. If you believed it and took the bait, get ready to be killed.


    ***


    Vision was extremely important. Everyone on Team Beijing had to bring wards with them now, the Support and the Jungler was also tasked with having a vision ward and three stealth wards on them at all times.


    It did not matter which season of competition it was, vision had always been the core of the game. The new season did not have the Oracle¡¯s Elixir anymore which made vision suppression a little bit milder, but the wards were still there as a tool to control the vision. If you caught an enemy off guard somewhere that they were not supposed to be, you could set up an ambush and surround them.


    Team Skycrown made an outstanding play, not letting Team Beijing get back their rhythm. At around sixteen minutes, Team Skycrown made a three-man push at the mid lane and a one man push on each of the side lanes.


    Caitlyn, Lee Sin, and Gragas had high pushing capabilities as well as defensive abilities. If Da Luo¡¯s Rengar pushed the bottom lane and forced the enemy to go on the defensive, he could then go to the mid lane to kill their enemies.


    It was the same for Luocheng. If there was anyone defending, he could use his Ultimate to teleport to the mid lane and help with pushing.


    Really, you can¡¯t do much against a Support that had a Sunfire cape before sixteen minutes. Ironically, this was the only item that Shen possessed at the moment.


    ***


    Split pushing, ambushing their enemies in the jungle, controlling the Dragon¡­ after the eighteen-minute mark, Team Skycrown was already ahead by 6,000 gold!


    The Beijing Team was having a hard time in this game. Number One¡¯s skills were great but he did not have anything to show off for in this game. Solo kills and pressuring on lanes could very well be put aside as Team Skycrown did not want to play the conventional way of farming in their lanes. Have you ever seen a Support that would gank the enemy Mid at Level 3!?


    Upon taking the mid tower, Team Skycrown had used many tactics. Small-scale pushing, stealing the Dragon, ever going as far as to steal the blue buff. Once Team Beijing had gotten back their rhythm, Team Skycrown chose to split push.


    Who cared about a player¡¯s skill or execution? The team which controlled the flow of the game and had the least mistakes would ultimately have the upper hand for the whole game.


    ¡°If this goes on, we will definitely lose!¡± Ping Feng said.


    Team Beijing¡¯s members all nodded their heads in agreement.


    In this game, all of Team Beijing¡¯s members felt an immeasurable amount of pressure on their chests and it felt as though it was extremely hard to breathe.


    At first, they had not believed that Team Skycrown had hidden their strength before the LPL. But today, they could tell that there was a significant difference of Team Skycrown from before and during the LPL!


    Which team would try to make the enemy Mid go back to base due to low health and gank the mid lane in between the two towers? Even the strategy of stealing the blue buff and the Dragon was unheard of! These tactics may seem easy to pull off, but in reality, only professional players knew how hard it was to coordinate the attack!


    ¡°I know.¡± Number One made his sentence extremely simple.


    His silence showed his nervousness. He was trying extremely hard to think of a counter to Team Skycrown so that they could make a comeback. Too bad the enemy was too careful and disciplined to let them have the chance to do anything.


    In these types of situations, just one person¡¯s skill would not be able to save the game, not to mention, his economy was not that great either.


    ¡°Pay attention to the Baron.¡± Ping Feng reminded them.


    The support, Pi Ka, nodded his head as he walked cautiously to the Baron and placed a ward.


    Upon placing the ward, he saw that Shen was peeking out from the corner of his screen and chose to retreat immediately.


    This Shen had a Flash. With a Shadow Dash from Shen and if another enemy popped up from behind Shen, he would definitely die there.


    After using the time to get vision on the Baron, all that was left to do was defend the lanes.


    With the tower being destroyed, farming near the remaining towers was a good choice. Even if the enemy chose to split push, you could still support the other lanes in time.


    If they could get lucky during the enemy push and win a team fight, they would have a chance to make a comeback.


    Number One¡¯s core items were ready. With this set, killing a squishy enemy would be easy, plus he had his Flash and Ignite ready. Once he found a good spot to attack and kill the enemy mage or ADC, even if he had less items and money, it didn¡¯t mean that he could not fight back!


    It was a shame that just as Number One was thinking of this plan, Team Skycrown stopped pushing aggressively, frustrating Number One.


    ¡°Both Shen and Rengar have their Ultimates and there are still two more minutes until the Baron respawns. Their lanes are pushed so nicely and yet they are not pushing! How could that be?¡± Number One thought to himself.


    ¡°Do they want to take the Baron?¡± Number One suddenly thought of this possibility.


    It would not be possible for Team Skycrown to take the Baron without them noticing as they already had a ward planted there. Their Jungler, Top and Support were all on the map, so under these circumstances, it would not be possible for them to take the Baron.


    ¡°Why are they not pushing and standing around in the lane?¡± Number One tried very hard to estimate what Team Skycrown was thinking. Team Skycrown¡¯s behavior was too erratic and unpredictable, and this made trying to predict their moves close to impossible.


    Just as Number One was caught up in his thoughts, the three champions on the map suddenly moved toward the Baron.


    Since they all moved in the same direction and at the same time, they must want to take the Baron! Number One called out to his ADC who was about to go to the bottom lane to farm.


    ¡°They want to take the Baron, gather up and get ready for a team fight!¡±


    Number One took the lead and everyone moved toward the Baron pit.


    Suddenly, a buff appeared on Team Skycrown¡¯s champions!


    Number One who was walking toward the Baron couldn¡¯t believe his eyes!


    How¡­


    How could they have killed the Baron so fast!


    All of Team Beijing were instantly stunned.


    It was just five seconds ago that they had seen Team Skycrown heading toward the Dragon. Their DPS combined was still not high enough to kill the Baron in five seconds!


    ¡°They¡­they were stealing the Baron all this while!¡± Ping Feng finally realized.


    But there was a ward in front of the Baron, how had they taken it?


    Ping Feng did not understand until he saw that Shen had less than one-thirds of his health. As soon as it hit them on what had just happened, the whole of Team Beijing felt a chill down their spines, Team Skycrown was too scary!


    They had been tricked!


    Number One laughed bitterly.


    How could he have been so stupid? He had been too naive in thinking that putting a ward at the entrance of the Baron pit would ensure the Baron¡¯s safety.


    Team Skycrown, you really have exceeded my expectations with this strategy to take the Baron.


    It was at this moment that Number One began to lose hope.


    ***


    That is correct. There was a ward at the entrance to the Baron pit which Luocheng had seen the enemy Support planting.


    Almost everyone would think that when there was a ward outside of the Baron pit, the Baron would be safe. In reality, this was not the case. With Caitlyn¡¯s attack range, it would be easy for her to attack the Baron from behind the pit, and at the same time, Shen could use his Shadow Dash to taunt the Baron, taking in the aggro from it. By using this maneuver, the ward outside the Baron pit would not be able to catch these actions, thus, fooling their enemies!


    First, they just had to attack the Baron until it had less than half of its health left. Next, the teammates who were pretending to loiter in their lanes could come rushing to the Baron immediately. With five people attacking all at once, getting rid of the Baron¡¯s remaining health would be a piece of cake. Furthermore, with Lee Sin, the kind of support which could deal tremendous amounts of damage there, even if Team Beijing realized and rushed over, they would only be greeted by a dead Baron!


    This play of stealing the Baron had already riled up the audience, gaining an immense amount of applause. Those LPL competitors were not stingy with their applause either.


    They knew that there was a ward there but they went ahead and did it anyway!


    After seeing this strategy to steal the Baron, all the LOL players present had no idea how to express the feelings they had right now.


    What was the first step in acquiring the Baron?


    Of course it was not to go right up to it and try to kill it immediately. No, it was to gain vision and then get rid of the enemy¡¯s wards.


    Everyone was used to the thought of getting rid of the enemy ward before killing the Baron, but after Team Skycrown¡¯s fight today, all of the LOL players present were newly educated. You didn¡¯t need to get rid of the enemy ward every time you fought the Baron. Even if you knew there was a ward there, ignore it and let it be, as this would make the enemy drop their guard. After that, fight it with two people first with the other three acting. After that, gather everyone together and kill it.


    How would you be able to face this strategy of killing the Baron?


    How would you still have the confidence to face this kind of opponent who was a genius?


    This Baron provided 1,500 gold to Team Skycrown, and Number One knew that after this, the game was lost.


    If it was any other team, even if they had 10,000 gold less compared to the enemy, they would still have the confidence to fight and even try to make a comeback.


    But facing Team Skycrown which was a team that was completely different from the others? After seeing their tactics firsthand, how could he have the courage to face them?


    So strong!


    This team was really strong. Number One had not believed that they had saved their strength for the LPL, but after fighting it out, he finally realized the difference in power between his team and Team Skycrown.


    It was like a child trying to fight against an adult, was there even a comparison?


    So this was Fighting Hawk and his team¡­

 Chapter 427 - : The Skill Which Was Forgotten

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Taking advantage of the big gold difference after taking the Baron to attack the enemy high ground was a very basic strategy that was known by every single professional player. Almost every team would use this tactic after taking the upper hand. It wasn¡¯t that the professional players were not skillful enough and were scared of pushing the high ground even with the lead on items and gold. The fact was that as a professional team, you could not leave any space for error!


    That was the reason why Team Skycrown had taken the Baron before attacking the high ground even though they had a huge lead on gold. This kind of cautiousness would not leave any room for Team Beijing to get a chance to make a comeback.


    By using the Baron¡¯s buff to attack, the win was basically already in their hands.


    Team Beijing did not do much defending. Having been under the pressure from Team Skycrown the entire game, they would not have any chance left in this situation. No matter how Team Skycrown played now, they would have already won.


    ¡°Congratulations to Team Skycrown for winning the first match!¡± Miracle shouted with a loud and enthusiastic voice.


    The crowd went wild, and those who had come just to support Team Skycrown all stood up to clap.


    Team Skycrown did not disappoint their fans, instead, they had exceeded their expectations!


    In their last encounter with Team Beijing, it had taken them more than forty minutes to deal with them. This time, it had only taken them a mere twenty minutes to end the game. Team Skycrown¡¯s excellent teamwork made everyone envious.


    ¡°Hah, master really is awesome! He used Shen as a Support to make Team Beijing lose!¡± K, who had gone all the way to the venue to watch said with a big smile on his face.


    K was a man from Shanghai, meaning he had already disliked Team Beijing for a long time now. Previously when Team Beijing had been defeated, he had celebrated with a few cans of beer. Today, Team Skycrown had brought out their real strength to deal with them and had ended it within twenty minutes. Those people from Team Beijing must be dumbfounded!


    ¡°Hm? Does that mean that you are his student since you called the Fighting Hawk your master?¡± Someone sitting beside K turned to him in shock.


    K then realized that there were quite a number of people looking at him and he laughed, ¡°That is correct!¡±


    ¡°Handsome, how did you meet him?¡± A girl asked.


    ¡°It is very easy. Team Skycrown always appears at the Demacia Cafe. They¡¯re there almost every day, so if you go there, you might be able to meet him.¡± Someone else from Shanghai said.


    ¡°Really? I have always wanted to get an autograph from a professional player but I¡¯ve never gotten the chance to do so. If Team Skycrown is really always at Demacia Cafe, can we talk to them directly?¡± A girl who worshipped professional players asked.


    ¡°Of course, sometimes we would even ask them to play with us when they are not training. After that, all of us would gang up on them. Hahaha, they were killed by us so easily, that was fun!¡±


    ¡°Wow, really?¡± The girl¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.


    Normally, professional players were hard to get close to, saddening many players who worshipped them. Who knew that Team Skycrown was special and always appeared in an internet cafe? If you wanted to meet them, you could. You might even get the chance to play against them! Not a small amount of people would want to ask a professional player to teach them or even give them tips, or even just to be there for the sake of it.


    ¡°We are also from Demacia Cafe. We are good friends with Team Skycrown as well.¡± Those from the Demacia Cafe answered the questions from the people around. Suddenly, people started to get heated up even though it was rest time.


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s team leader really is strong. Long ago, I used to think that Supports were useless. After seeing him play, I finally realized that Supports can also be awesome. My friend, can you please ask your master to give me a spot in his friend list? I would like to observe him playing when I have nothing to do.¡± A man with pimples who was standing beside K asked.


    ¡°His friend list is probably already full, even so, you could come to Demacia Cafe to watch him play. Captain Yu usually likes to mess around. He likes to use a smurf account to play until Diamond rank and then he would play a random champion.¡± Xiao Jun said with a big smile.


    ¡°Play a random champion!?¡± The surrounding people heard Xiao Jun and were shocked.


    Playing in a Diamond ranked match with a random champion as a Support!? This must be the first time that anyone had ever heard anything like this.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can come to Demacia Cafe to see for yourself. I have seen Captain Yu use almost every champion.¡± Another regular from Demacia Cafe also said and smiled. After he smiled, he looked toward Luocheng who was on stage and sighed, ¡°But back to the point, when Captain Yu plays seriously, he really is unbeatable. In this game, his Shen was the one who was controlling the flow of the game the entire time. Those who don¡¯t know what was happening might even think that he was a Jungler or Top.


    ¡°Ah Meng, I have told you many times that Captain Yu really is awesome. The games that you normally see him play, he wasn¡¯t playing seriously. After this competition, do you see how great Captain Yu is now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true.¡± That player named Ah Meng nodded his head.


    Ah Meng had not been around the Demacia Cafe for long, only going there because of the crowd and just to watch how the professional players played. Who knew that going there would enable him to see the famous Fighting Hawk torturing enemies in Diamond rank? That made him feel completely uneasy¡­


    There were many people in the Demacia Cafe who came just to watch him play. All of them were either eating popcorn or chewing on some gum, and once he died, everyone would start to make fun of him or even try to teach him how to play. This made Ah Meng slightly annoyed.


    In reality, those who frequented the Demacia Cafe and saw Luocheng losing so much had started to suspect that something was going on.


    During the LPL, Luocheng had used his Support to lead his team to victory against Team Revelation as well as today¡¯s Team Beijing. Everyone could finally tell that he was always just trying out some new strategy or even a new champion. When he went into a competition and fully committed and became serious, you could finally see how much terror and skill he was hiding behind his back this whole time! And you, who was watching from the sidelines, could only clap and applaud!


    ***


    Team Beijing was indeed very strong. In the LPL, they had won the matches against Team Dusk with a two to zero. This new team had let everyone know that they had what it took to be in the top four.


    Even so, Team Beijing could only eat Team Revelation¡¯s dust as they lost to Team Skycrown. It was almost as though he was being looked down upon.


    If Team Skycrown had won the first match by switching up the lanes and starting the game with three buffs to enable the snowball effect, then the fact that Team Skycrown had used their surprising strategy to engage in team fights of small scales to get the upper hand and ending it at the twenty eight minute mark could only be described as an extreme feat!


    After the two matches, Team Skycrown had beaten Team Beijing two to zero, and this outcome was unacceptable to Team Beijing.


    As the word ¡®DEFEAT¡¯ appeared on the screen, Number One stood up.


    Three to four years ago, he and Fighting Hawk had participated in a solo competition. Both of them were top-tier players but Fighting Hawk had ascended the throne while he had been cast aside, forgotten.


    Xie Lianda had sworn to himself that he would become stronger and stand in the center of attention.


    He would not allow himself to be that pathetic anymore.


    He knew that it would be a challenge to beat Team Skycrown, but even if they were at a disadvantage, they would be almost around the same strength.


    Alas, reality was cruel. Team Skycrown¡¯s real strength was far greater than Team Beijing¡¯s expectations and they did not have the chance to make a comeback in both games. The overwhelming pressure had lasted the entire game.


    ¡°Number One¡­¡± Ping Feng stared at Number One who had sorrow in his eyes. He wanted to comfort the latter but did not know what to say.


    Ping Feng knew about Number One¡¯s past and that this match was important to him. It was just that¡­ they lost really badly, so much that it was hard to bear.


    If they had won at least one round, it would not have been this hard on them.


    ¡°Captain, it¡¯s fine. There are still many competitions.¡± The Support Pi Ka also spoke up to comfort him.


    ¡°They are coming over here.¡±


    The winners from the competition had to go over to the losers to shake their hands, as was the rule set for a friendly match.


    Number One slowly returned to his senses as he saw Luocheng, the Fighting Hawk, walking toward his direction.


    To be honest, Number One hated these types of handshakes the most. It felt as though it was a way to laugh at the loser. He had already been through this three or four years ago and now, he had to experience this once again. Number One had also gotten sick of Luocheng¡¯s face.


    Number One extended his hand reluctantly and shook Luocheng¡¯s hand, desperately not wanting to see him again.


    He hadn¡¯t managed to surpass him in the past and also, he still could not surpass him currently! How did this guy not become rusty over the years, this was so annoying!


    ¡°Number One, do you still play Starcraft?¡± Luocheng suddenly asked with a smile on his face.


    Number One lifted his head in surprise after hearing this.


    ¡°Some¡­ sometimes,¡± He answered.


    ¡°If you have the time, we should play again sometime. It¡¯s been such a long time since I¡¯ve played it, the main reason being that the player base is getting smaller and smaller, it¡¯s very hard to find a suitable player to play against.¡± After saying this, Luocheng continued to walk and shake the hands of the other members of Team Beijing.


    Xie Lianda shook the hands of the other members of Team Skycrown awkwardly, his mind was still replaying the words that Luocheng had said.


    He¡­ he knows that I started off from Starcraft?


    He has seen my records!?


    There was no way he could know this. In his team, only Ping Feng knew that he was a former professional Starcraft player, no one else knew of this¡­


    Number One stood there trying to regain his senses for a very long time.


    He had really thought that Luocheng had forgotten all about him from long ago.


    ***


    The Starcraft league, how many people still remembered it?


    How many people knew that some people had given up almost everything for the Starcraft competition and still, could only watch as the situation became worse day by day, and finally, it had been forgotten¡­

 Chapter 428 - I’ll Give You the Spot If You Are the Strongest!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°He used to play Starcraft?¡± Zhou Yan had heard what Luocheng had said and asked.


    Luocheng nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, the Championship for the China Starcraft community had him as one of the competitors. I won in the end but he was still very strong. Now that he has come to LOL, his skills as a professional gamer can finally be shown to the world, it¡¯s just too bad that Team Beijing¡¯s teamwork is not that good yet. They could not grasp the flow of the game that easily. They were like us during last year¡¯s competition. Winning and becoming the top four team is definitely possible, but if they want to triumph over Team Daemons and Blood Eagle¡¯s Team Sky as well as Team 71, it might not be possible.


    Zhou Yan nodded. ¡°Then he must be very gifted as a professional player and also an old competitor. At that time, our country¡¯s potential for Starcraft was very low. The teams that were formed to face the Koreans were beaten black and blue, the only two who could possibly win would be the two of you, I guess.¡±


    After both teams had gone back down the stage, the next team in line was Team Dusk and Team Meteor. These two teams could be called veterans and their battle power was not something to be gawked at.


    Even so, after their match was over, everyone needed to take a break, so Luocheng and his team did not stay to watch. They were planning to watch the replays and look into it later.


    They were sent back to the hotel by a bus that had been specially prepared by the competition organizers. This feeling was really the best.


    Once they were on the bus, Team Beijing were also onboard as they too wanted to go back to the hotel.


    Everyone sat down and made some small talk. Luocheng could see that Number One was making his way toward him.


    ¡°Fighting Hawk, do you want to join the Asian Indoor games that badly?¡± Number One, Xie Lianda asked.


    Luocheng was stunned for a second and nodded.


    This Indoor Games meant a lot to Luocheng and he really wanted to participate in it.


    ¡°We know that your team is very strong and we know that you have not brought out your trump card before meeting Team Sky or Team Daemons.¡± Lianda had a feeling that even if they had already shown their prowess, this was still not the best from Team Skycrown!


    ¡°I could give the right of participating in the Asian Indoor Games to you¡­¡± Number One said as he looked at Luocheng seriously.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Luocheng was astonished.


    ¡°I know that you really want to participate in the world championships and you clearly have better skills than me. I could give this spot to you.¡±


    This sentence from Number One instantly made the two teams in the bus go dead silent.


    Ping Feng was the first to react, pulling Number One over to him, ¡°Number One, how could you give up your spot so easily!?¡±


    Ping Feng had been shocked by Number One¡¯s words.


    Number One had only become famous in LOL this year. In the past, he had set aside the competitive gaming scene.


    This was not because he was not skilled, but because he had only played LOL for such a short time.


    Prior to this, he had been engrossed in Starcraft and Warcraft 3. Even if he did not get an impressive prize in the competitions, he was already recognized as the player in the top 3 in both games.


    LOL was currently famous in the gaming community and had taken up most of the gaming scene, but strictly speaking, from his skills and former achievements, a player like Number One was definitely a genius in competitive gaming. No one was more worthy than him to participate in the Asian Indoor Games!


    Ping Feng knew that the Fighting Hawk, Luocheng, was very strong and also a God in competitive gaming. If he had not retired and still brought the flag of his country to the competitive gaming scene, he would have been undeniably chosen by the higher ups to be in the Asian Indoor Games.


    But clearly, he had retired for more than two years, and in these two years, Number One had given so much effort in helping their country show off their competitive gaming skills. Who said that just because Luocheng had come back they would have to give him the spot? Even the higher ups would choose Number One over him!


    ¡°Yeah, captain, the spot was not easy to get.¡± Pi Ka, who was the Support, suddenly stood up.read comics on our webnovel.live


    Was Number One crazy? This spot in the Asian Indoor games was immensely valuable. If a player was lucky, he could turn from a nobody into someone who was looked up to and paid attention to by the media in an instant, how could he let go of it so easily!?


    Luocheng was still trying to gather his thoughts, staring at Lianda.


    The Asian Indoor games. Luocheng really wanted to participate in it. He wanted to show his parents, his friends, and his loved ones, that he could do it, and to give up on the past and accept the future.


    He also wanted to do something for the gaming community and the Asian Indoor Games this time was the best chance for him as he would definitely be on media such as the sports channel and even newspapers!


    After knowing who had been selected to participate, Luocheng did not have much hope for himself anymore. At the very least, people from the competitive gaming scene had finally gotten into the Asian Indoor Games. The professional gaming profession had finally come into the light and eyes of people around the world, slowly changing their perspective about video games.


    The point was, Number One suddenly saying these words stunned him.


    As Number One¡¯s teammate had said, it was very hard to get the spot to be in the Asian Indoor games. Those who were chosen were definitely those who were outstanding, there was no way that anyone would let this chance go!


    ¡°Do you really mean it?¡± Luocheng looked at Number One almost dumbfounded.


    Number One nodded his head.


    The members of Team Beijing all stood up, and Ping Feng was extremely agitated, ¡°Captain, how could you give the spot to someone else! You¡¯ve waited for this chance for three whole years! Even if he is strong, the things that you have done for the gaming community, the absurd amount of competitions that you have participated in, the desperation you went through while trying to find a sponsor¡­ With the meager amount of prize money, our team could only barely stay together! The only thing that he did was get champion in something no one else could have and then leave. Who would believe in him! I don¡¯t agree!¡±


    The Asian Indoor Games did not just include LOL, it also had other games in it. Starcraft, Warcraft 3, CS, DOTA, everyone knew that. You, Fighting Hawk, had only won the world champion in the past, but in these two years, when those Koreans, Swedish people, and Americans had put up a challenge against our country, who was there to intercept them?


    Was it the Fighting Hawk?


    Of course not! It had always been Number One fighting them. Even when he could not win against them, he was trying his best, training to win!


    It was so hard¡­ so hard for the sports ministry to acknowledge esports as a real sport. With Number One¡¯s two years of hard work, the sports ministry had finally given in.


    What does Fighting Hawk have that even after he retired, Number One had to give him the spot?


    After retiring, even if his skills in LOL were strong, was he great in Starcraft, Warcraft 3, and even CS?


    The bus was suddenly quiet, Ping Feng¡¯s words were clearly directed at Luocheng.


    Yes, as an old competitive player, he did harbor some hate for Luocheng.


    You would never understand this feeling. Especially when enemies from the other countries were laughing and trampling over you and you could not talk back, when they had no one to rely on, they wanted to find someone and say his name, but where had this person gone? In the end, it was Number One and Lu Jian that were left holding the line!


    After getting scolded by Ping Feng, Luocheng had nothing to say.


    It was true that after he had left the competitive gaming scene, there was no one who could bring up the country¡¯s name like he did. The people like Number One who had fought really hard for the country earned his utmost respect.


    Luocheng did not ask about why the sports ministry had given Number One the spot. It was probably because he had put in a lot of effort, and if that was the case, he would be nothing close to them, and so he did not argue with him about it.


    ¡°Number One, if you give out your spot, I will not participate in the Warcraft 3 competition either.¡± Ping Feng said gravely.


    ¡°Ping Feng¡­¡± Number One shook his head at Ping Feng, letting him know that there was no need to continue.


    Strength was strength, Number One did indeed put in a lot of effort for the gaming community, but he clearly had never stood on top of the world before, unlike this person in front of him.


    Ping Feng looked like he was about to say something else, but Number One cut him off, ¡°Have you forgotten what the Korean player, Lee Jinhe said?¡±


    Ping Feng grit his teeth. How could he have ever forgotten what that Korean had said? He had laughed that the strongest Starcraft player in the country could not even reach their country¡¯s professional level, going as far as to ridicule them saying that there were no real professional players in their country, only a bunch of people who wanted to win the prize money!


    The Asian Indoor Competition would take place in Korea, and without a doubt, Lee Jinhe would be there.


    ¡°I can¡¯t win against him, but if you really want the words that he said to become a reality, then you can continue to be stubborn.¡± Number One admonished Ping Feng.


    ¡°Lee Jinhe? That guy who was rather well-versed in every competitive game in Korea?¡± Luocheng started to get suspicious.


    Number One nodded.


    ¡°Last year, our country¡¯s competitive team had to go up against the team from Korea and Lee Jinhe was able to defeat many of us at our best games on his own. It was then that he said something in Korean to his teammates that got us really mad. He thought that we could not understand Korean but Ping Feng had actually lived in Korea for a few years.¡±


    ¡°That guy was always an *sshole. The past few years, he¡¯s always been wanting to challenge our boss.¡± Lin Dong suddenly remembered about this person and continued, ¡°At that time though, it seemed like he had not gained world recognition yet and did not have the qualifications to challenge our boss, right?¡±


    ¡°He is extremely strong now. He was the champion of the World Cyber Games two years ago.¡± Ping Feng said.


    ¡°That strong?¡± Da Luo asked with a hint of disbelief.


    After everyone had retired, they had bothered less with the competitive gaming scene.


    ¡°It has been a long time since I¡¯ve played. Even if you let me play, I don¡¯t have the confidence that I can definitely win against my opponents.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°The games are not set but LOL is definitely in there.¡± Number One replied.


    ¡°Number One, are you absolutely sure that you want to give him your spot?¡± Ping Feng asked.


    Luocheng was also paying close attention to Number One, he still could not believe that Number One would really let him have the spot.


    Number One nodded his head., ¡°The spot is yours.¡±


    Number One stopped for a moment purposefully, and before Luocheng could celebrate, he continued on to say, ¡°But only if you can prove to me that you and your team are the country¡¯s best LOL team!¡±


    ¡°The sports ministry will definitely not turn down someone who can guide their team to become the champions to represent the country in participating in the world Esports championship. If you can become the strongest in the country, my spot will definitely be yours!¡±

 Chapter 429 - Team Daemons versus Team Skycrown

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The way Number One saw it, if Luocheng could not establish the fact that he was still the strongest, he would have no need to give him the spot.


    But if he could prove that his team was the strongest in China, then Number One would be satisfied with the decision.


    The hotel was not very far from the competition venue and the bus has arrived already. Number One got down the bus immediately after saying the words that he wanted to say.


    Ping Feng and his other three teammates still could not understand why Number One had done this and had decided to go to him and try to talk him out of it.


    Number One didn¡¯t bother with them, instead walking straight to the hotel. Luocheng too was left there, stunned.


    ¡°Did he really just say that he would give you his spot?¡± Lin Dong and Da Luo could not believe it.


    Luocheng and Number One did not have any prior relationship before this and this type of thing would not be given so easily even if they did have a deep relationship.


    Luocheng could not understand why Number One was doing something so strange and out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Never mind that, we shouldn¡¯t think about it too much. Since he said that he would give you the spot, just take it.¡± Lee Meiqi said.


    ¡°Yep, I guess your skills have finally made Number One submit to you.¡± Da Luo said with a laugh.


    Luocheng was clearly puzzled. Did you think this was a fairytale?


    Luocheng believed that there was a reason behind Number One giving him the spot. Since Number One was willing to give him such a gift, if he had the chance, he would definitely take the time to talk it out with Number One.


    Of course, this gift was not going to be given to him for no reason¡­


    The best in China?


    They had triumphed over Team Revelation as well as Team Beijing, but even so, the two best teams were still Team Sky and Team Daemons. They had been playing LOL for a long time, even way before Team Skycrown had started. As they possessed more experience, it would not be easy for Team Skycrown to reign as the champions.


    In their next match, they would be facing Team Daemons!


    During the competition last year, it was due to good luck that they had not met Team Daemons. This was because Luocheng knew clearly that Team Skycrown had no chance of beating Team Daemons last year, but this year, they might stand a chance of winning. Luocheng was looking forward to it because to him, he would only experience that intense feeling from playing in a competition against an extremely strong team!


    ***


    The schedule for the competitions were not that tight, and so, the competitors had ample time to rest.


    But then again, when did the competitors ever have time to rest? In between matches, every other team who did not have an event going on were definitely practicing non-stop to maintain their speed and reflexes.


    Seven o¡¯clock in the evening on Saturday, it was finally Team Skycrown¡¯s match against Team Daemons. This was definitely a match that would get the most viewers.


    The competition organizers had analyzed that if Team Skycrown¡¯s competition started now, their fan base would be around 150,000 to 200,000. Also, with their constant wins and also Demacia Cafe¡¯s advertisement, it was still growing.


    Team Daemons¡¯ fan base was frightening as well and if they joined the match now, they would have over 600,000 people watching them play!


    600 viewers might be the highest record that they had ever gotten. Majority of the games which had around 600,000 players would without a doubt be one of the most-played games ever, and to have 600,000 viewers just for a competition of the game? The numbers were ridiculous!


    In reality, LOL had already conquered the world, and with the data from Riot Games, there were over 27 million people playing every day!


    If all the players formed a country, the population would be at number 45 out of the 244 countries in the world. Every month, the amount of LOL players would be over 67 million people!


    How many countries in the world have a population of over 67 million people!?


    It could be said that LOL had really taken over the world.


    The match between Team Skycrown and Team Daemons would definitely be a match that everyone had been waiting for in the LPL.


    Team Sky and Team Daemons were very eye-catching as they were the two of the most famous teams in China, but because they were old rivals, there was a lack of new content between these two teams.


    It was different for Team Skycrown, however. This team had brought in mystery with a new face. With no clubs backing them, the things they had done were very flashy, not to mention the national-level player, Fighting Hawk¡¯s appearance had also attracted an immeasurable number of new players.


    Every team had a soul, and he was Team Skycrown¡¯s soul.


    In the beginning, Luocheng had used a Support champion that could not do much, but by using that very same champion to turn the tides to their favor and also directing the game, he had proven that he was not a normal and conventional Support. There were already many unconventional Supports that had struck the hearts of people after appearing, and so, this brought life to the already vibrant competition!


    Now, predicting the next Support champion that Team Skycrown would be using had become something fun for the player base to do. In Miracle¡¯s words, ¡°Captain Luocheng would definitely pick a weird Support! I bet five bucks!¡± Now, this phrase was something common that people would say.


    A team that had maintained its position at the top of the competition and had the fame of over 600 viewers next to being the underdog team. The competition organizers were looking forward to seeing the number of viewers for this match.


    The only two competitions that could ever top the views would either be the NBA or the World Cup. The Olympics might not even be able to come close!


    The competition organizers were definitely working hard on the media right now, too bad that they could not broadcast the game using the traditional ways, otherwise, it would be perfect.


    ***


    After having their dinner early, Team Daemons were already rushing to the venue.


    They arrived at the venue earlier than Team Skycrown. The coach of Team Daemons, Huang Kang, had a map of the Summoner¡¯s Rift in one hand and a pencil in the other.


    The strategy they had in their hands had to be by a professional analyst. A team without a coach and an analyst would definitely put a big impact on their overall team strength. Team Revelation had higher potential than Team 71, and without Xiao Wang, their star player, the other members of Team 71 would only have around eighteen to twenty points which was considered low.


    They were strong only because they had a good analyst and that was the main reason why they were still in the top three in the country¡¯s LOL scene.


    Team Daemons¡¯ strength was that all of their players were exceptionally good. Their captain, Hades, had around twenty-five overall points.


    What did these points mean?


    Most of the mid laners in the LPL were at around twenty points. If it was just the mid lane, every single one of LPL¡¯s mid laners would be demolished by Hades easily!


    Even if everyone was a professional player and the chances of getting annihilated were extremely small, Hades would definitely be able to do it.


    The only one who would be able to last against him would be Team Sky¡¯s Xie Yi, and this was only possible thanks to Blood Eagle pressuring Hades¡¯ champion growth.


    Even though Team Daemons had lost to Team Sky, this did not shake the belief of the people who thought that they were still the strongest team in the country. Due to Team Skycrown¡¯s Captain, Luocheng¡¯s words, ¡°We only want the first place¡±, this had shown that their team would have a heated battle against Team Daemons to decide who was China¡¯s best LOL team!


    ¡°Belial, when you are controlling the flow of the game, you must remember, it isn¡¯t just the Gale Crane, Zhou Yan, who is backing up their lanes, but there is also that crazy roaming Fighting Hawk. His style is of a roaming Support. When you try to catch the Mid or gank the enemy jungle, remember that in just ten seconds, the Fighting Hawk will definitely arrive.¡± The coach Huang Kang said as he looked toward Belial.


    As he said that, he drew a circle in the middle of the map and continued, ¡°If a fight happens in this area and Mephistopheles does not arrive in time, you should be prepared to face the Fighting Hawk that will be in the vicinity in ten seconds.¡±


    ¡°Ten seconds, isn¡¯t that too crazy? Normally, a Support would not get boots immediately.¡± Anubis, who was at the side watching, laughed as he said.


    Anubis was a core player in the reserve team. He would usually play ranked games with Asmodai as well as research tactics with the main team.


    ¡°Anubis, with that way of thinking, you have completely underestimated Fighting Hawk. This is also the reason why you could not control the flow of the whole team when playing Support like him.¡± Coach Huang Kang said.


    ¡°Ten to fifteen seconds at most. As long as the fight does not occur at the top lane, Fighting Hawk would definitely make his way there. Under normal circumstances, a Support which wants to support a team fight from the bottom lane would need about twenty seconds, but the fact is that Fighting Hawk¡¯s instincts as a Support is too good. Do you remember how he killed Number One? Before the fight had even happened, he had already started moving toward the location¡­¡±


    ¡°This also means that before any fight has even happened, the Fighting Hawk would have already started moving toward the fight, and once a player that might start a fight appears on the map, he would immediately start walking toward that area. Hence, when the champions in the other lanes start a fight, he would have already walked about one-thirds of the distance needed.¡± Huang Kang said very seriously.


    ¡°Yes, that is true. When he is playing Support, while he is controlling the lane, he would also look at the big picture. This guy knows how to think in all roles which means that even as he is playing as the Support, he would place himself in our Jungler¡¯s shoes. If he thinks that a gank is possible, he would make preparations beforehand. Ten seconds for a Support to arrive is not unfeasible. Anubis, this is where you need to learn from him.¡± Hades said.


    Hades knew Luocheng exceptionally well. His strength did not just lie in his execution and skills as a player, but how he always thought one step ahead of his opponent!


    In the past matches, the reason Team Revelation and Team Beijing had lost so badly was only because they had overlooked the existence of the Support.


    When the Mid, Top, or even the ADC was missing, they would give out a reminder, but when the Support went missing, who would pay attention to it? Most people would think that the Support had gone to a bush to put down some wards so they did see it as something dangerous.


    By the time you finally returned to your senses, this Support would have already gone to the mid lane and gotten two assists, after which he would go back to the bottom lane to continue supporting the ADC. At that point in time, the regretful feeling of not attacking the enemy ADC who had been alone would be useless,


    Team Daemons was definitely worthy of being the strongest team. With the past two matches, they could analyze that Luocheng¡¯s Support was the core of the team. If they put this into consideration, they would not repeat history and lose to Team Skycrown.

 Chapter 430 - The Boss, Team Daemons!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°With that said, coach, Fighting Hawk¡¯s champion decision is also a bit of a headache. When we¡¯re in the Banning phase, should we pressure him for a bit? We don¡¯t need to ban Vayne because he would not be playing the ADC, but I think that his habit of picking a different champion every time really is annoying.¡± Mephistopheles said.


    Mephistopheles could be counted as the top Support in the country. He also thought that the champion pool that he could play was very wide, the champion pool being the number of champions that you could use properly in a competition.


    A professional player normally had his best champion, but most of the competitors could only master up to three champions at once. It was not as though they could not use any other characters, but it would be hard for them to use other unfamiliar champions at the competition¡¯s level. That was why even though they could only play their three best champions, it was not something to laugh at, because for a professional player, they only needed to know how to play three champions to be at world-level.


    Mephistopheles definitely had the largest champion pool that he could use. If it were other professional players, after banning your favorite champion and then picking your second favorite, leaving you with your reserve, it would make you uncomfortable. It was the complete opposite for Mephistopheles as he knew how to play many champions, thus, it would not work no matter how hard you tried to pressure him.


    This was Mephistopheles¡¯ pride. Even so, after comparing himself to that genius, Luocheng, he did not have any face to say that he had a wide range of champions to use. D*mn, which Support in the LPL could use a different Support every single match? Some players even played a single champion for the entire competition.


    It was not even comparable. In terms of the amount of choices in picking Support champions, Mephistopheles felt that he could not win against him. The coach Huang Kang had done the most research not on Team Sky, their nemesis, but on Luocheng¡¯s team, Team Skycrown.


    Gathering his thoughts, he said, ¡°Even if we are unable to anticipate his next champion, he would definitely choose a Support that has the upper hand in the early-game and also possesses great crowd control ability. That is an offensive-type Support. Their tactics won¡¯t differ too much so we don¡¯t need to pay too much attention to that.¡±


    Team Daemons was sure that Luocheng was the core of Team Skycrown, and also, it was him who was controlling the flow of the game the entire time. If they pressured him enough, winning would not be such an impossible feat anymore.


    ¡°Team Skycrown has two playstyles at the start of the game. The first one is the switching lanes tactic, they definitely have put a lot of research into this tactic. The trick is to annihilate the enemy¡¯s original plan and formation. Next, interrupting the enemy Jungler¡¯s ganks. After that, using the fact that the enemy pays no heed to the Support and ganks. Once they get the outcome that they want, they would push the towers, getting the advantage of team gold and then controlling the jungle. Moving on from there, they will control the Dragon, making the snowball bigger. Compared to last year, they have almost perfected it and are using one of the best methods to get vision and kill their enemies. Finally, they would drag out their advantage and not let the opponent have a chance at a comeback.¡±


    ¡°The second tactic is playing normally in the lanes. After that, when a gank appears, they will go to the area immediately to provide assistance. This is also related to why I said that there would be ten seconds until they get help. In the early-game where everyone does not have many items, the power of a Support should not be taken lightly. Sometimes, they would gank better than Junglers due to them having a lot of controlling abilities. This type of playstyle would usually drag on until the mid-game teamfight. If we let their Support do as he wants, they would take the advantage by having more people push the tower and control the jungle, and that is exactly what they want.¡±


    ¡°They will definitely use these two tactics as their openers. If they don¡¯t get the upper hand in the early-game, during the mid-game, they will definitely use the four-and-one pushing method or the one-three-one split push method to drag out the game to find a chance.¡±


    ¡°If that were to happen, you have to focus on controlling the minion wave well and predict when to start a teamfight that would end in our favor. After clearing the wave, immediately retreat and group up. If there is a chance, immediately kill the minions and get back, do not stay too long for them to get the chance to pick you off.¡±


    ¡°How about the late-game?¡± Charon asked.


    Huang Kang had already analyzed Team Skycrown¡¯s early and mid-game strategy, but once the late game was brought up, he could only shake his head and say, ¡°Up until now, there still haven¡¯t been any teams that could drag out the game till that stage. With no information, we can only make vague speculations. The Fighting Hawk and Lone Gull would probably try to find a chance to start a teamfight, I recommend that you should drag out the game into the late stages if you do not have the confidence to win. Ultimately, the late-game is all about team composition as well as cooperation. Their composition will probably be conventional, but if we¡¯re talking about team cooperation, you should have the confidence to beat them.¡±


    The whole team nodded, making sure to remember what the coach had said.


    You could tell that as the country¡¯s best team, even if they were facing the newly-formed Team Skycrown, Team Daemons was going to give it their all!


    ¡°Hades, I need you to listen up. If you get the chance, go for it, but you don¡¯t necessarily need to get the kill. If you have the upper hand in CS, that would be great too.¡± Huang Kang reminded him.


    Team Skycrown had an unpredictable and unfathomable Fighting Hawk, but Team Daemons had a God-level player, and it was Hades.


    Hades was practically the best Mid in the whole country, and anyone could tell at a glance that Team Skycrown¡¯s Mid, Wu Sen, would definitely be pushed back.


    Huang Kang was hoping for a dragged-out game because he believed that in the late-game, the Mid would always be more important than a Support!


    ¡°Coach, you can count on me.¡± Hades nodded his head.


    Hades has waited for a long time for this day to come. Finally he could exchange blows with Luocheng!


    If Hades was hiding any skills that he had up his sleeve to prevent anyone from countering it in the late stages of the competition, he would definitely go all out in the next game!


    ***


    As coach Huang Kang was giving them some extra pointers, Team Skycrown was also making a last-minute analysis. For this, Luocheng purposely had Aijing come with him.


    For all professional players in the LPL, Team Daemons was still somewhat of a Boss that was standing tall over them. Even if they brought out the whole army of the country¡¯s analyzers, it would still not be enough.


    Other than Team Sky which had been able to bring out crazy amounts of power once in a blue moon to win them in a few matches, there were no other teams that could achieve this impossible feat.


    This absurd Boss in the LOL world would make you regret meeting them if your level, gear, and mindset were not good enough. There was practically no one who could shake Team Daemons from their seats.


    ¡°To be frank, it will be really hard for you to go against Team Daemons. After playing against them a lot, we ourselves have never won before. The scariest part about them is that all of their players have absurd skills. All of these players average at around twenty-one to twenty-two points, and with that being said, most of the teams who went against them would lose in all aspects and all the lanes. It¡¯s a very common occurrence.¡± Aijing said.


    Losing in all aspects also meant losing the jungle to them. Upon hearing this, Jian Feng felt cold sweat drip down his face, they were not normal at all!


    ¡°Furthermore, is there anything else I need to say about the big Boss, Hades?¡± Aijing scanned the expressions of the members of Team Skycrown.


    The five players of Team Skycrown all nodded in unison.


    Hades was really too formidable. Number One¡¯s strength was already hard for Wu Sen to handle, it had been Luocheng¡¯s Kassadin that had made it easier on him. Hades¡¯ strength would probably be two marks higher than Number One, this guy was really one of the big bosses in LOL and he was standing tall and firm above everyone else!


    Hades¡¯ knowledge toward laning, the steadfastness of last hitting, speedy assistance, the strength of his executions as well as his team fighting were all top notch! Even if he was being suppressed mindlessly, he would still be able to get the upper hand in the mid to late-game stages of the game. There are many good mid laners who have both their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Ancient Dust. He had excellent solo abilities and had many different stylish solo-kills, but he was mediocre in teamfights. Number One too had great solo skills and fantastic cooperation with his team, but even so, he was bad at pressuring his opponents. You could tell from when Luocheng had gone to the mid lane to gank the last time he had played against them. Team Sky¡¯s Xie Yi had a great game sense and expert calculations but he was average when it came to laning capabilities.


    This was not the case for Hades. He practically had all of the LPL player¡¯s strength in him alone. It was extremely hard to find a weak point in Hades, not to mention, coupled with his years of experience as a professional player, his mental status was steady and not impulsive. He was also good at reading his opponents.


    As a player in Team Daemons, he already had immense strength. Basically, they could face any team and it would still be a breeze for them. After all, they had a king in LOL that could sit atop the mountain and look over everyone else.


    ¡°Back to the point, should we have two people in the mid lane to pressure Hades?¡± Wu Sen asked.


    Aijing immediately shook her head, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend trying to pressure him that way. If you tried to pressure him, you would only delay the growth of the Jungler because he would not be scared if your ADC and Support take the mid lane. After you¡¯ve tried to pressure him for the whole time, you will only find that he would be not far behind in CS and would also be two levels above you.¡±


    ¡°That is true, Hades is too strong at pressuring his enemies. If our lane is taken by the enemy team¡¯s two players, we would lose a lot, we need to play it cool.¡± Luocheng replied.


    As soon as those words came out of Luocheng, everyone else from Team Skycrown focused their attention on him.


    Luocheng, the Luocheng who usually only used the word ¡°attack¡± had actually said ¡°We need to play it cool¡±? This was not what they were expecting!


    ¡°What are you looking at? When we¡¯re playing against Team Daemons, you guys had better play it cool!¡± Luocheng became impatient.


    Luocheng was usually very carefree when playing in competitions, it was rare for them to see him being so serious.


    Even so, they were going to go up against Team Daemons, no one in their right mind would not be agitated or nervous. As it is, it was the best way to prove themselves after last year¡¯s big incident!

 Chapter 431 - Make It Bigger and Better!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Seeing that your team has performed absurdly well in the past two games, I think that coach Huang Kang must have done a lot of research on you since you were also one of their old rivals. The politics in the professional gaming world really is scary¡­¡± Aijing said.


    ¡°Miss Aijing, using scary to describe us isn¡¯t really that fitting, is it?¡± Lin Dong cut her off.


    ¡°Stop playing around. The only reason you were able to take down Team Revelation as well as Team Beijing was because you did throughout research on them. For example, Team Revelation is only great at late-game, which is why you pressured them and stopped them from going into the late-game. Team Beijing¡¯s Number One is not great at pressuring or fighting an uphill battle, and that was why you pressured him specifically. To take down a team, you have to focus on their core and then destroy them from the core. This tactic would only work when it is done by players like you who have been in the competitive scene for a long time. The new players only want to show off their skills.¡± Aijing continued.


    Using ¡°crazy¡± to describe Team Skycrown was actually an understatement, Aijing would not be bluffed by the fact that they had only joined the LPL just recently.


    Aijing continued with a straight face, ¡°If I was a member of Team Daemons, under insufficient confidence to pressure you in the early-game, I would choose to drag things out. We would fight a war of attrition and steadily farm until the teamfight to drag out the game. The cooperativeness of the five members in Team Daemons is much smoother than all of you, and if you tried to fight them that way, you would definitely lose.¡±


    These words from Aijing reminded Luocheng that fighting a dragged-out battle with Team Daemons would not be a wise decision as team fighting was Team Daemons¡¯ strength.


    If they were to get ACED in the late-game, the game would immediately be over!


    ¡°Since all of you excel in gaining the advantage in the early-game and snowballing, I would recommend doing just that. Do not drag it out till the late-game as you would definitely lose when it comes to that. To make it simple, you have to obtain a lead in over 6,000 gold before the thirty-minute mark. If the game drags on longer than that, the advantage in gold will become more and more irrelevant, because if they start to farm, Hades would be able to deal with all of you by himself.¡± Aijing said.


    Aijing¡¯s analysis was spot on, at least she was on the same wavelength as Luocheng. Before the thirty-minute mark, they would have a chance to beat Team Daemons, but once it passed that time, they would start to lose the advantage and the chances of winning would be slim to none. The things that Team Daemons could do as a team would not be possible for most other teams. This was not just simple cooperation and instinct, it was something learnt from being in countless battles!


    ¡°Aijing, is there anything else?¡± Luocheng asked earnestly.


    A hint of uncertainty flashed over Aijing¡¯s face. She really did not want to tell them this, but after thinking that since Team 71 had been hopelessly pitted up against Team Daemons, she bit her lip and braced herself. She decided to give Luocheng a hand since Luocheng had helped her out a lot in the past.


    ¡°This¡­ I¡¯m not too sure but after analyzing all of the players in Team Daemons, Asmodai has not been doing so well. On average, his gold income has always been lower than the enemy ADC, and also, in teamfights, he did not do enough damage. Compared to his stats last year, it was a big difference.¡± Aijing explained.


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that Asmodai has lost his touch. We could use this to find a way to break through their advantage.¡± Lin Dong caught on very quickly.


    Aijing nodded in affirmation.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Luocheng said.


    Asmodai¡­


    As he recalled how he once wanted to step down and leave the competitive gaming circle, losing the chance to compete with Team Daemons¡¯ professional players anymore, he got even more fired up at the thought of fighting against the best team in the country.


    He still remembered clearly that when he was in his senior year, he had faced Asmodai by chance. He recalled the way the latter had aggressively played Ezreal, leaving a deep mark in Luocheng¡¯s memory.


    Following that, when he played competitively and used Caitlyn, the way that he had controlled her was fantastic. The perfect movement and also the way he had gotten the upper hand, Luocheng could remember it clearly like it was just yesterday.


    In that game, he had been with him in the bottom lane. True professionals would not need many words to play almost perfectly in synchronization with each other. Luocheng had really enjoyed that game, but what he loved even more was playing against strong players!


    Last year, Luocheng had looked forward to meeting them in the LPL. It had been a shame that the unfortunate incident had happened. Now, after a hellish training, Team Skycrown finally had the chance to go against them. This sort of enemy that was worth fearing and respecting would be one of the best opponents one could have!


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s get ready to go against our old enemy!¡± Luocheng saw that everyone was ready and his face lit up.


    Long ago, there were both standing at the top of the world, fighting for first place.


    This time, it would be the first time they fought against each other in LOL. All of the members were excited like Luocheng, they had finally found the feeling they had had when forming their team in the beginning!


    ***


    There were more than two hours till the competition started and the area outside the venue was already crowded.


    Those people were definitely here to watch the two teams compete against each other, so it was safe to say that there were many people who were just sticking around because they could not get a ticket.


    It was a shame that there were no standing tickets for professional competitions. If there were, the sale of the tickets would have long exceeded those for concerts!


    Now, the number of teenagers who followed idols were getting lower and lower, and the power of LOL was much stronger than any idol¡¯s charm would ever be. The members in Team Daemons would get recognized by fans even in the subway or public transport. The many older people who did not know what was happening merely thought that the members of Team Daemons were maybe from a drama or something¡­


    What did that person say¡­ League of Legends? I saw that trailer, but why is that person not in it?


    The members of Team Daemons really were famous, and without bodyguards, it would be hard for them to even enter the venue.


    Of course the bodyguards would not be happy. The competition organizers could have prepared a special entrance for the participants, so why did you need to walk this way and create a disturbance!?


    Alright, so the competition organizers may have been slightly playful. They wanted to know if the superstars could make a huge crowd, and that would definitely give them a big sense of achievement!


    You could almost picture the competition organizers standing at the glass window and thinking to themselves as they looked at the players supporters.


    ¡®Look, the crowd that the professional players made are much bigger than the ones made from stars of movies directed by those movie directors. If one day, we made a LOL movie series, that would immediately top the box office charts! Why don¡¯t all of you from the movie industry just move aside for us?¡¯


    Since it was all about the views, what was the current amount of views for the LPL?


    It was an extremely big event, even bigger than the Chinese Basketball Association or even the Evergrande Group. Not many people could achieve that.


    ¡°Evergrande? What Evergrande?¡±


    ¡°There is a competition today, didn¡¯t you know?¡¯


    ¡°This I definitely know for sure, it¡¯s the LPL championship!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 432 - : Asmodai’s Retirement Agreement!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Just as Team Skycrown had made their last preparations, Team Daemons had also finished what they needed to do.


    They arrived at the venue earlier as intended but it was a shame that they had miscalculated, and there was already a crowd outside waiting for them.


    After being surrounded by fans for nearly an hour, this made their strategic meeting slightly shorter than it should have been. This time, after being surrounded by their fans, it led them to the realization that you should never dive into the bush by yourself as you could never know the number of enemies waiting for you!


    ¡°Asmodai, the assistant secretary is looking for you.¡± One of the members of the organizing committee said as he walked over to Asmodai.


    Asmodai looked at Coach Huang Kang who in turn nodded his head. He then followed the organizing committee to the office.


    It was Secretary Liang who had called, it had to be a summon from the Association of Chinese E-sports. Now, most of the clubs and players were under the association¡¯s jurisdiction. This association really made the LOL competitive scene more professional. In the worst case, it would not be as bad as in the past where a bad team and a professional team would not have any difference.


    Upon entering the office, Asmodai immediately spotted the female secretary who was about thirty years old.


    The woman was slightly plump and was one of Team Revelation¡¯s best managers. It was due to her influence in the gaming community that she had been promoted to becoming the ACE¡¯s secretary.


    Notably, this spot had once been Xu Pingyang¡¯s, but thanks to that incident with Xiao Bei, Xu Pingyang would temporarily be unable to hold a high position in the managing team.


    ¡°Were you looking for me?¡± Asmodai opened up his mouth to ask the female secretary.


    She nodded as she gestured for him to sit down.


    Asmodai knew that something was up but he could not quite put his finger on it.


    ¡°I looked over your early retirement form.¡± The female secretary pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She had a document in her hand. ¡°Guan Tan, you¡¯ve been in the competitive gaming industry for over six years, that is considered quite a long time for a player, right?¡±


    Asmodai nodded his head as he maintained his silence, his eyes locked onto the document in the secretary¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Why do you suddenly want to retire?¡± The secretary asked.


    ¡°How many reasons would a professional player have to retire?¡± Asmodai smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Is your pay too low?¡± She asked curiously.


    It was proven that all professional players had a low salary, which was a big difference when compared to superstars. This was also one of the main reasons why most professional players retired to take on other jobs which was tied to competitive gaming which consequently had better pay.


    Unfortunately, this was also something that he had no power over. Even if you were to get one of the lower jobs in the LOL professional scene, you would still have a higher pay than most of the professional players.


    ¡°If I¡¯m quitting because of my low salary, I would not have stuck around for six years.¡± Asmodai replied.


    Six years¡­


    To be honest, those currently in the LPL had not been in it as long as him.


    These six years were his golden years, and he had given it all up for the competitive gaming scene.


    ¡°Then why? Is it as the rumors say?¡± the secretary pressed on.


    Her words made Asmodai feel very remorseful. However, there was no professional player that would admit that they had gotten ¡°old¡±


    He was indeed over twenty years of age, but because he looked very handsome, it gave the impression that he was slightly older than twenty years. Yet, the golden age for professional gaming would be around sixteen to twenty-two years old, and for a twenty-four-year old, Asmodai could be considered ¡°old¡±.


    In just half a year, Asmodai realized that his reaction time had gone down drastically, he could not focus properly, and his skills had also become sloppy!


    This was a professional gamer¡¯s nightmare. It was the same as aging rapidly in life, it could not be prevented!


    At the start, Asmodai had thought that he was only under too much pressure, and he tried to let himself relax. But soon after that, this relaxation had made him become gradually confused. How could he be uncertain as an ADC?


    In that match against Team Sky, they should not have lost. Blood Eagle really had improved a lot but it was not something that they could not handle. The only reason Team Daemons would lose to Team Sky two to zero was because his own skills were deteriorating.


    ¡°Truth to be told, you have been playing in competitions for over six years. The pressure on your mental state is really high, it might be time for you to retire to let yourself calm down. What are you planning to do after your retirement? Are you interested in another job related to competitive gaming? We, as the Association of Chinese E-sports, would still have priority for professional players like you.¡± The secretary said.


    Asmodai had lost sight on what to do once again, his eyes were still trained on the retirement papers in her hands.


    If he was being honest with himself, he had to control himself very hard to prevent himself from tearing the papers apart.


    Even though that thought had flashed through his mind, when it came to actually doing it, he lost his courage.


    This was because if he continued what he was doing right now, he would drag his team down. He had become old, but his teammates were still full of energy. They still had not reached their target after the hard work they had put in all these years. Maybe if he was switched out, Hades could carry them to unreachable heights.


    However¡­ when he thought about them reaching those heights while he could only stand and support them from the sidelines, Asmodai felt inexplicable sadness. The few dots on the retirement papers were his tears from when he had written it. He had sacrificed a precious six years of his life but he still could not reach his dreams and reach the height of a world-class player. No matter how strong a person was, they would still be unable to swallow this sadness!


    Regarding his life after retirement, what would he do? Asmodai had yet to figure it out.


    He did not play competitively for the money nor the fame to become a coach or an analyst¡­


    That was why when she asked him what his plans were, Asmodai was unable to answer.


    ¡°Your teammates probably don¡¯t know about this right?¡± The female secretary asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Asmodai nodded his head. He knew that if he told Hades that he was retiring, Hades would definitely do everything he could in his power to stop him.


    ¡°The agreement has already been signed, here you go. Go and prepare for your match, we will settle your problem properly.¡± She dismissed him.


    Asmodai did not say anything further and left the office.


    ***


    ¡°What did the ACE want from you?¡± Hades asked as he looked at Asmodai who looked as if he had something on his mind.


    ¡°Nothing much, some details were wrong so we were correcting it. The match should start soon, are they here?¡± Asmodai asked, changing the topic.


    ¡°Right there.¡± Anubis pointed to the side.


    Just then, Team Skycrown who were wearing their team jerseys walked over to them.


    The one who stood at the front was the Fighting Hawk, Luocheng. Asmodai glanced toward him and as he saw Luocheng¡¯s warm smile, he could not help but to smile back at him.


    ¡°Asmodai!¡± Luocheng tapped his shoulder happily.


    ¡°You guys are late.¡± Asmodai masked his feelings with a smile to make it seem as though nothing was wrong.


    ¡°We¡¯re not even ready yet. When we came here, we were blocked. Let¡¯s stop this chit-chat for now and continue in the competition!¡± Luocheng patted his back and continued to walk ahead, paying his respects and also giving his regards to the other teammates of Team Daemons.


    Asmodai maintained his smile.


    Continue to talk on the battlefield?


    Asmodai had waited for this day for so long!


    ***


    Luocheng greeted his friends and started to get ready for the competition. They were old friends as well as old rivals. When they meet on the battlefield, they would not hold back!


    This was because there could only be one champion!


    The only thing was, Luocheng had no clue that this would be the last match of someone that had been playing for six years of competitive gaming!


    ***


    The match was about to start and the audience were in their seats, the music hyping up the atmosphere.


    The emcees were already onstage to hype the crowd as the players were getting ready.


    The five members of Team Daemons were all serious, their opponent this time was worthy for them to go all out!


    Anubis was cheering them on excitedly. Just then, he caught sight of Asmodai¡¯s bag and realized that the latter had forgotten to bring his favorite mouse along with him.


    For a professional player, their keyboard and mouse were their most important weapons for battle!


    Anubis pulled out the mouse wanting to give it to Asmodai, but just as he was about to, he found an agreement on which the front page stated ¡°Retirement Agreement¡±!


    Anubis was shocked by this document and as he fumbled to take out the papers, they scattered on the floor.


    Charon who had been beside him saw this, scolding Anubis for being so clumsy as he squatted down to pick it up for him. As he was in the middle of picking them up, Charon became completely stunned.


    Asmodai saw this and his expression turned dark. He hurriedly went over to snatch those papers back from their hands.


    ¡°Asmodai, you¡­¡± Charon looked at Asmodai and could not even muster a single word.


    Asmodai had wanted to cover it up because he knew very clearly that his teammates would have a huge reaction after seeing the agreement. After all, they had been together for more than four years and their bond was akin to brothers now.


    Alas, everyone has already seen it. Hades was clearly confused, Anubis with his yellow hair was no different, a shocked coach, Huang Kang, and also Charon, who could not believe what he was holding.


    Everyone thought of the same thing at the same time¡­


    Asmodai¡­Asmodai was going to retire!?

 Chapter 433 - The Last Match of His Whole Career!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Mephistopheles was the first one to walk over and grab Asmodai by his shoulders, scolding him with anger clear in his voice, ¡°Asmodai, why did you do it!?¡±


    ¡°Asmodai, how could you decide this by yourself?¡± Hades said.


    Charon was even more aggressive and he picked up the documents and shredded all of it with his bare hands.


    Since everyone knew about it now, Asmodai had nothing to hide anymore. He looked at the clearly angered Charon who had just torn the documents and said, ¡°The original copy has already been signed by the assistant head secretary. That was just a copy.¡±


    ¡°Asmodai, what are you doing? How could you make this decision without telling us? I¡¯ve said this many times, that time when we fought against Team Sky, it was me who was slow in supporting. I did not show the prowess that a captain should have, it was my fault alone!¡± Hades said firmly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right Asmodai, you look down on yourself too much. It must be because you did not have enough rest. After finishing the LPL and resting for a while, you will definitely play better!¡± Belial added.


    ¡°Coach, you should talk him out of it!¡± Hades said with a panicked expression.


    Hades and Asmodai were Team Daemons¡¯ founding players. Both of them had fought in the professional gaming scene for so long, having worked hard together, even swearing to get number one in the whole world together¡­


    Before all of these things that they had vowed to do had happened, how could he retire!? Hades would not support his decision no matter what Asmodai said.


    ¡®Asmodai, are you sure about this?¡¯ Coach Huang Kang asked seriously.


    Huang Kang had seen the signature on the retirement papers. This also meant that the association had already approved of his retirement.


    ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t need to talk me out of this anymore. I know my body¡¯s condition better than anyone else¡­ Also, after playing for so long, I really am tired of it.¡± Asmodai said.


    ¡°My *ss! You¡¯re still in good condition and can still go on. Asmodai, do not listen to all those rumors and lies. You are really strong now and you will just get stronger as time goes on. Who cares about the golden age for E-sports? Those people don¡¯t even know much about Esports and dare to criticize the professional players. Asmodai, listen to me, without getting into the top eight teams in the world, don¡¯t even think about retiring!¡± Hades burst out.


    Hades was usually a calm and collected person, but today, it seemed as though he could not control his own emotions.


    Retiring?


    Which professional player would be able to really accept that? The one thing harder to accept was seeing your own teammate which had had your back for years retire without being able to do anything¡­


    The five of them had played DOTA and also switched to LOL together, it had been a whole four years.


    They had not emerged as champions in DOTA. Even if they had not gone into the world championship for DOTA, it did nothing to hinder the fire in their souls for being a competitive player.


    Finally, they could show off to the world in LOL and had become the best team in China. This was the result of their persistence and hard work, there was only one other thing that they had yet to achieve!


    All of the past best teams in China had not made it into the top eight in the world. This was not glorifying but a disgrace to their country!


    That night when they had partied after getting the title of the country¡¯s strongest team, they had sworn to God that the five of them together would definitely get into the top eight teams in the world and become world-renown players, none of them would be able to leave before that!


    In the first year, they had lost really badly and were demolished in the qualifiers. Being a world-level team was harder than they had thought.


    In the second year, even if they were a bit slow, everyone still gave them a chance. They could definitely get even further and have a shot at being the top eight in the world!


    And yet, it was at this time that Asmodai had chosen to leave¡­


    Hades did not approve of this, Charon did not approve of it, Belial did not approve of it, and Mephistopheles sure as hell did not approve of it.


    From the beginning when they had started playing competitively in the competitive gaming scene, from them making a name for themselves as Team Daemons, they were five teammates who were inseparable, they would do everything together. It did not matter whether it was the glory of being the top team in the country or sharing the embarrassment of being destroyed in the world championship!


    ¡°Listen to me¡­¡± Asmodai saw that all of them were clearly agitated and tried to cool everyone down.


    The match against Team Skycrown would start soon, he did not want this issue regarding him to affect everyone¡¯s mental state. Today, they were facing their old rivals, the very team that they wanted to surpass the most!


    Everyone had looked forward to today¡¯s match. If they were not able to play this match in perfect condition, it would be one of their biggest regrets!


    ¡°My retirement does not mean that I will be leaving you guys. Other than being a professional player, I can still become like Coach Huang Kang and help you guys analyze the situation as well as look after your training. I can also help to stream in our club to pull more fans to our side. If you obtain a higher achievement, it would still be a team effort and we would still celebrate together¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I will not be leaving. I have nowhere to go anyway. I¡¯m just tired and want to take a break. I do not want to be overly nervous when playing in competitions anymore. But when you guys play in a competition, I will definitely still be there with you.¡± Asmodai said with a heavy heart.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Hades still had something that he wanted to say.


    Hades was sure that when Asmodai said that he was tired, he was lying. He knew better than anyone else that Asmodai had always wanted to become a world-class player.


    Last year when Asmodai had seen the Fighting Hawk retire, he had trained extra hard after getting back to the club. It was definitely because after seeing the one who could challenge the top fall, it had made him want to achieve something greater even more.


    In the past year, no one had trained harder than Asmodai, all for the sole reason of getting into the top eight in the world.


    But it was as they said, his age and the pressure made him unable to play like he used to. After losing touch in the competitions and constantly making mistakes in training, Asmodai had to accept the reality that he had indeed become old.


    Compared to the newer professional players and those with lightning-fast reflexes, other than his experience of playing the game for so long as well as his competition attitude, he did not have many traits worth noting anymore.


    Looking back, the promise they had made at the start that said that the five of them would be playing together until they reached the top had been really childish. As they grew older, there would definitely be people who would retire eventually, it was just that it had never crossed Hades¡¯s mind that Asmodai would be the one retiring first! His ambition was bigger than his own, it would be such a grueling process if he needed to accept that he had already become old!


    ¡°Guys, don¡¯t be like that. We have a very important match right now, get your head in the game. We have already lost to Team Sky, if we lose this match again, we might not be able to get into the world championship.¡± Asmodai said.


    If they lost because of him, Asmodai would beat himself up. It would not just be his own dream that would be destroyed, he would destroy his teammates¡¯ dreams too.


    Everyone remained silent. In their eyes, if they lost Asmodai, getting into the top eight in the world championship would mean a lot less to them.


    ¡°Hades, Belial, Mephistopheles, Charon, stop trying to talk me out of this. I have already made my decision. If you really treat me as a brother and if I mean something to you, treat this as if you¡¯re doing a favor for me, alright?¡± As Asmodai said this, his eyes started to get watery.


    Everyone was unwilling to let him go, and he himself did not want to leave either.


    The six of them looked at Asmodai and saw that his eyes had started to get watery. Every single one of them felt a throbbing pain in their chest.


    They did not fear losing, they did not fear being crushed. The only thing they feared was this kind of situation that was happening¡­ Damn Esports, why can¡¯t a player play longer!?


    ¡°This match means a lot to me. If you treat me as one of your teammates, please forget this incident for a while and play the match seriously. Stop staring at me, look that way, look at who our opponents are! Charon, in the DOTA finals, you were pressured by Lone Gull, do you want to lose to him even in LOL? Belial, Gale Crane will be playing as their Jungler. Before the match, you always said that you would control his jungle and show him who¡¯s the boss. Hades, who was the one who made you unable to call yourself the best player in China? Isn¡¯t he going to play against us!? Get yourself together, all of you! For me, playing this game properly is the best way for me to retire!¡± The more Asmodai spoke, the more emotional he got.


    The memories that they had flashed by, the more they remembered, the more they weren¡¯t able to accept the harsh reality that someone would be retiring.


    Hades wiped the tears from his own eyes. Retirement really was hard to escape from.


    Asmodai had already made his decision. If they made him stay, the one staying would only be a person who was bound by regret. If they made him stay, it would make things harder for him.


    In that case, as teammates, as his best brothers, the only thing they could do for him right now was to give it their all for this competition. Counting this match, this match would be the last match of his six-year long professional player career!


    How could Hades allow people to say that Asmodai had retired because his skills were deteriorating!? That would be a professional player¡¯s biggest shame.


    The last competition, the best ceremony for retiring.


    Alright, this team that they were up against really did have the qualifications to be his enemies in his retirement fight!


    Hades took a deep breath and put out his hand slowly in front of everyone.


    ¡°Hades¡­¡± Charon looked at Hades, stunned. He could not believe that Hades had been convinced by Asmodai¡¯s words and had even agreed to it!


    Hades did not say anything else. He only looked at the last three people.


    He believed that the three of them would understand, the match had really begun!


    The second one to put out his hand was Mephistopheles. As Asmodai¡¯s Support, he was the one who understood Asmodai the most. If they could show off Team Daemons¡¯ real prowess, Asmodai could leave the competitive circle with a smile on his face. This was the best way for a competitive player to go!


    Belial looked at Asmodai for a second and then put out his hand, stacking it over Hades¡¯ and Mephistopheles¡¯ hands.


    Charon, who still had the pieces of the retirement documents in his hands wanted to start scolding them but he held back and said, ¡°You piece of sh*t, I will definitely crush them and give you all the glory!¡±


    After saying that, Charon too put his hand over the three of theirs.


    Asmodai gradually became exhilarated as he saw that everyone had already made up their minds to face the next match with all they had. He let out a sigh of relief, forced out a smile, and put his hand on top.


    The last match of his whole career, which also meant that it would be the last match that they would be playing together¡­


    I will definitely give it my all!

 Chapter 434 - The Reason to Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s give the players of Team Daemons a round of applause, all of you probably know their names already, shout it out with me!¡± The commentator, Bao Jun, said loudly.


    The important matches were normally commented on by him. The number of people who were watching the match between Team Skycrown and Team Daemons were over seven hundred thousand, and the only one who could pull this off would be him and him alone.


    ¡°Hades!¡±


    ¡°Charon!¡±


    ¡°Belial!¡±


    ¡°Asmodai!¡±


    ¡°Mephistopheles!¡±


    These five IDs had already been famous for a long time. It could be said that when LOL had started to become a professional player¡¯s battlefield, Team Daemons was already there. It didn¡¯t matter if it was the age of the team, the team¡¯s rank, or even the team¡¯s achievements, Team Daemons was definitely the best LOL team there was in China.


    To appease the crowds, the five of them had already wiped the remains of what had happened just now clean.


    You could also feel that there was a clear difference in their aura from when they were backstage preparing and when they walked into the spotlight.


    Normally, what everyone would see was the calm and collected Team Daemons with their expressions that were as cool as a cucumber. Today, it seemed as though they had fire burning in their eyes, and as they entered the stage, they did not pay attention to the camera but toward Team Skycrown who were already seated at the other side.


    They had met on the competitive battlefield again. It was as though Team Skycrown was an opponent that they could never shake off!


    ***


    Luocheng and his teammates had already stood up, looking on as the five of them entered the stage.


    The one that was in front of them all was none other than Hades. Hades was always someone who would keep his cool in almost every circumstance. One reason was because his personality had always been always mature and calm. The other reason was that because as a seasoned player, he had been through a lot and there were not many matches where you could see him visibly shaken.


    As soon as he got on stage, Luocheng could feel Hades¡¯ stare boring through him.


    In his eyes, Luocheng found hope!


    ¡°Boss. Are you confident?¡± Lin Dong looked at Luocheng who had visibly changed his expression and asked.


    ¡°Not really,¡± Luocheng answered.


    Lin Dong knew Luocheng¡¯s behavior very well. Usually when he went against any team, if his eyebrows were straight and relaxed, it meant that he was very calm, but if his eyebrow twitched uncontrollably, it meant that this guy was being cautious.


    Well, what could they do? Their current opponent was the LPL¡¯s strongest team, and with Hades, the strongest opponent in LOL against them, feeling no pressure would be impossible. Not to mention, back when they played DOTA, Hades was also the one who had given Luocheng the biggest headache.


    The match had not started and Luocheng was already in this state. It was clear that he took this match very seriously.


    Luocheng had to admit that after retiring for so long, the aura of Hades who had played countless matches had already surpassed that of himself. Upon seeing an opponent that was worthy of being feared and respected at the same time, Luocheng started to worry.


    Having left the competitive scene for quite some time, Luocheng was positive that he had not returned to what he used to be. If it was before, his reflexes and also execution speed would be one step ahead of what he could do now. More often than not when he played a ranked match, not many skills that he thought he could do had been miscalculated by him.


    After seeing Hades¡¯ personal statistics, Luocheng could tell that he had improved by a lot. His reflexes were crazy good and the only two who could catch up to him would be Number One and Bai Feng.


    His speed was as good as anyone¡¯s, but the smoothness of the skill execution was still lacking. This could only be improved after training for a long time, which would also include the understanding of the champions as well as the estimation of what the enemy would do. The confidence in one self¡¯s execution was also needed.


    In fights between competitive players, the details would make or break the man.


    ¡°The feeling I¡¯m getting from them is different as compared to normal.¡± The detailed Zhou Yan felt something was off and voiced it out.


    ¡°Yes, I also feel the same. When we greeted each other, they were still normal. Why did it change to hardcore-mode all of a sudden?¡± Da Luo said half-jokingly.


    Team Daemons¡¯ team shirt was green and black. It might be because of them having heavy hearts and their spirit wanting to win that caused the five of them to really look more different as compared to the usual. Their seriousness also portrayed an ambition that they normally didn¡¯t have.


    Their usual calmness and coolness could not be seen, it was all for the sake of winning!


    This kind of aura that Team Daemons were emitting made people start to become nervous.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with them? Are they still angry about the last time?¡± Lin Dong said.


    That was such a long time ago during the finals of DOTA. Team Wings had triumphed over Team Daemons, making it to the world championship.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it¡¯s been almost four years. Does Team Daemons want to pay us back for that incident from four years ago?¡±


    ¡°We have to be careful, they are a bit different today.¡± Luocheng said seriously.


    Pressure from an enemy team really did exist, thus, upon encountering such a strong enemy after such a long time and getting shocked by their awesome skills and contemplating how bad they would lose after meeting them, it would definitely cause nervousness and anxiety when meeting on the battlefield!


    Too bad that there could only be one winner.


    Whether it was Team Sky or Team Daemons, they had to trample on their enemies because they each had a reason that they had to win!


    To destress, Luocheng tugged off his pendant from around his neck and put it in front of him. Feeling the coldness of the pendant, he calmed himself down.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s invite our two team captains to show good sportsmanship!¡± The commentator said.


    Luocheng walked along the stage toward where Hades stood.


    They both met in the middle of the stage and shook each other¡¯s hands firmy, not saying a word to each other and promptly returned to their seats after they were done.


    You could tell from their looks that the both of them really wanted the victory. There was no need for anymore words as they would be meeting on the battlefield!


    In actual fact, they were all scared of each other, but when they thought back to the reason why they couldn¡¯t afford to lose, the fear and respect on their faces immediately morphed into a grim, determined face!


    ***


    ¡°The match will start soon. Is everyone looking forward to how the two teams will interact as much as I am!?¡±


    After the players took their places and the music started, with the booming music all around them, they could not help but become excited!


    Was Esports really not worthy of being mentioned?


    E-sports had some weight to the games. Every single victory or loss would be recorded clearly, be it bad or good. The outcome of every game would impact their lives greatly, this feeling would be like living in their teens! Those who were older would not understand the importance and significance of E-sports and would become the society¡¯s gear wheels, grinding day in and day out¡­


    The crowd went wild! The shouting was ear-piercing, the applause was thundering, this scene had already surpassed football and basketball, the two most well-known sports in history! The only difference was that this was not taking place in a sports arena, it was held with ten metal machines!


    The battle of wits, the exchange of blows, all would be done by the ten champions that appeared on the screen.


    The flashy spells, the magnificent executions, the cooperation due to their understanding with each other as well as all the thrilling kills¡­ All of these combined was the League Of Legends, this IS Esports!


    ***


    The screen changed and everyone could finally see both sides join in the picking phase.


    It could be because Bao Jun was such a good commentator or even because the crowd was paying extra attention to the two teams, but even though it was just the banning phase, everyone was already very tense.


    The decisions of both teams had an underlying motive!


    The first ban from Team Daemons was the champion Luocheng had used when he was up against Team Revelation, Kennen, The Heart of Tempest!


    ¡°The first one to get banned was Kennen! For the ones who did not watch the past matches, do not be confused, they are not banning Kennen as a Top. When Team Skycrown had gone up against Team Revelation, Fighting Hawk¡¯s Support Kennen was one-of-a-kind. This type of champion would definitely not be chosen by Team Daemons, which is why he would be removed from the game! They have already banned a Support from the start, from this decision, we can see that Team Daemons have a personal grudge against Fighting Hawk.¡±


    ¡°On Team Skycrown¡¯s side, the first champion that they have banned was clearly planned out, being Hades¡¯ Kassadin. If my memory serves me right, starting from last year¡¯s LPL, all of the Teams that faced Hades were eliminated by this champion. This champion was practically made for Hades, that¡¯s for sure!¡±


    Team Daemons¡¯ second ban was on Dr. Mundo.


    Team Skycrown was very good at playing the four-to-one strategy as their Top¡¯s solo skills were outstanding.


    Dr. Mundo was the key in their four-to-one strategy because if Da Luo was able to farm for twenty-five minutes, he would become practically invincible. By banning Dr. Mundo, they made things slightly more troublesome for Da Luo but this would effectively put a stop to Team Skycrown¡¯s late game four-to-one push tactic.


    Team Skycrown did not change who they were targeting and still banned Gragas, one of Hades¡¯ champions.


    Gragas was famous in the country due to one of Hades¡¯ games. Nothing else needed to be said, Gragas had to be banned!

 Chapter 435 - Hades’ Riven

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Entering the picking phase, the first champion that Team Daemons picked was Riven!


    ¡°Riven! Team Daemons actually brought out Riven! Riven is an all-rounder type champion right now, she can Top, Jungler, and even Mid. Before you see the entire lineup, you can¡¯t be sure which lane she will be going to. If¡­ if this Riven is played by Hades, that would be crazy awesome!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun.


    Riven was very different from the majority of other champions, she was a very interesting champion. The unleashing of her combo had a particular order of steps, and whether it connects or not made a huge difference in her damage output. The difference was like night and day!


    Once Riven was locked in, the whole crowd went wild.


    Master players love Riven, she¡¯s basically an unbeatable soldier!


    Her flexible Broken Wings and E skill allowed her to easily close the gap between her and her opponents across the battlefield.


    With the shock and stun effect from her W skill coupled together with the knock up from her third cast of Q, her enemies have no time at all to chain any skills before they are completely immobilized and instantly killed!


    In terms of defense, her E has a short shield effect that allows Riven to have a better survival rate. This would surprise her enemies, allowing her to turn the fight in her favor.


    After you get the maximum cooldown rate of 40%, Riven¡¯s shield from her E would only be down for 0.8 seconds. Master players who know how to calculate skill cooldowns wouldn¡¯t have to build tank items on her, she could still go all in during a team fight and get out unscathed.


    Riven¡¯s ulti, combined with her attack range and damage, plus her passive Runic Blade, allowed her to have a massive burst damage.


    Highly flexible movement skills, high burst damage, high defense with shield, good CC skills¡­ this champion¡¯s only weakness was that she was not beginner friendly.


    How fast can you chain Riven¡¯s abilities?!


    Which combo does Riven need to chain in order to get maximum damage?


    Which skills does she need to use in order to move the fastest?


    What kind of combo will result in continuous stun and high damage output at the same time?


    There was just so much to research, she was just too strong. It was to the point that the creators had no choice but to harden their hearts and nerf her. But even after she had been nerfed, there were still countless Riven enthusiasts using her on her new kit!


    ***


    ¡°Hade, are we going for a Jungler Riven?¡± asked Belial, watching as Hades immediately locked in Riven.


    A Jungler Riven was one of their strategies, and Belial also had a deep understanding of this champion.


    It was previously said that Kha¡¯Zix was the only Jungler champion who could go full damage without any tank items. But after the rework on Riven, the discussion regarding these two champions became a hot topic. The jungle used to be dominated by Lee Sin, but now with Riven and Kha¡¯Zix, Lee Sin won¡¯t be so lonely anymore.


    Hades considered it as he stared at the screen, and then he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll take Riven.¡±


    ¡°For Mid? You don¡¯t want to see what they pick for Mid first?¡± asked Charon, slightly surprised.


    Riven is a champion that can be used in the middle lane, but it also depends on what Mid your opponent has chosen. A ranged Mid would be quite a threat to Riven, and normally a Mid Riven was only chosen after seeing the opponent¡¯s pick.


    ¡°No need,¡± said Hades, firm in his decision.


    Other professional players who play Mid Riven would normally have to see what their opponent Mid was picking first, but Hades¡¯ Riven had never been pressured by this sort of thing anyway!


    Charon and Belial both looked at Hades, it was obvious their captain was taking everything out of his arsenal for this match.


    As though it was contagious, the other members of Team Daemons were also filled with confidence. Besides those champions with obvious weaknesses, the others all picked their best champions, not bothering what their opponents were picking to counter them at all!


    Any champion can be countered, Riot Games didn¡¯t design a perfect, all-rounder champion. Whether you can play well depends on whether you are clear on your selected champion¡¯s strengths and weaknesses, and work with its weakness until the crowd goes wild.


    It¡¯s right to think twice before making a decision, but sometimes overthinking can destroy your confidence. In decisively picking their champions, Team Daemons was sending a message to Team Skycrown: ¡®Even if you pick a champion to counter mine, I will still wreck you all the same!¡¯


    There were actually quite a few champions who could counter a Mid Riven, and The Dark Sovereign, Syndra was one of them. Coincidentally, that was Wu Sen¡¯s favourite champion.


    Wu Sen didn¡¯t hesitate, with a 70% chance in mind that Riven would be a Mid, he picked Syndra!


    ¡°My Elise has been taken by Belial,¡± said Zhou Yan.


    Both Team Daemons¡¯ Mid and Top were ADs. It¡¯s possible that Belial was trying to make up for the lack of AP damage, or maybe he knew that Elise was Zhou Yan¡¯s best champion. Whatever the reason, Belial had very decisively chosen Elise as his team¡¯s second pick.


    Belial¡¯s decision left a sour taste in Zhou Yan¡¯s mouth, as Elise was his best champion. There was no other champion he would rather use, and Elise was the best choice to face a Jungler like Belial.


    ¡®Let me teach you how to play Elise properly!¡¯ That¡¯s what Zhou Yan felt like Belial was trying to tell him by choosing Elise like that.


    The more familiar you were with a champion, the more aware you were of which other champions it would be scared of.


    If you want to teach me how to play Elise properly, then I¡¯ll teach you how to completely counter her. Zhou Yan didn¡¯t hesitate too much in his pick either, locking in a Jungler champion that was strong and popular in the new season, The Berserker¡ªOlaf!


    Zhou Yan would not pick Lee Sin. Although his counter ganking in lanes was strong, he would also be second to Elise in initiating fights. His clearing speed in the jungle was also incomparable to her. The only champion who could really give pressure was Olaf.


    Of course, nothing is absolute. In terms of ganking, Elise was still far superior to Olaf.


    ***


    It was as though both teams had agreed to not pick their ADC and Support first. That was unusual for the professional scene, as teams would usually pick a stable ADC and Support once they saw their opponents picking other roles.


    Top, Jungler, and Mid have been settled, now they were left with the pick of ADC and Support.


    In the new season, Sivir and Lucian were the ADCs usually seen in the professional scenes. Meanwhile, the typically-used Supports were Annie and Leona, the two champions with big crowd control skills. If the combinations were played well, even the audience would feel the fatigue from these champions.


    So will that also be the common lineup in today¡¯s match between Team Daemons and Team Skycrown?


    For ADC, Lin Dong was considering picking Draven.


    Draven was a champion that would let him farm stably at the bottom lane. It was also able to wreck Lucian, who was a popular champion at the bottom lane right now¡­


    But he also quickly realized that his opponents in this round were the very experienced Asmodai and Mephistopheles. He was sure that they would definitely have a deep understanding of Draven too.


    More importantly, Draven didn¡¯t have any repositioning skills. Their opponent Mid was Hades, and he had picked Riven. For Lin Dong to pick an ADC without repositioning skills to face Hades¡¯ Riven, that was equivalent to making himself an AI in front of him.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t dare to pick Draven, and he didn¡¯t pick either of the mainstream champions¡ªLucian or Sivir. Instead, he picked Ezreal! Lin Dong liked this champion very much, and it matched his Sky Swan¡¯s elegance.


    Of course, there was another reason to pick this champion. In this game, Yu Luocheng would surely be more aggressive. With this guy¡¯s attitude, he would definitely spend more time roaming and giving assistance to the other lanes.


    If Lin Dong didn¡¯t want to be left being pressured alone like a dog, he needed to pick Ezreal who could CS aggressively!


    There were two key points in this match, and one of them was the champion that Hades had picked. The whole arena was in a frenzy as soon as this champion appeared. Who wasn¡¯t interested in seeing Hades use Riven?


    The second key point was, which Support champion was Fighting Hawk going to choose?


    The strong Support champions in the new season had allowed Yu Luocheng who initially main Support to have some development in that role. During his time in the professional scene, he had surprised people again and again with his choice of Support champions.


    People couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®This sort of play also can Support, and it¡¯s working!¡¯


    If you keep using the same champions, they will definitely be banned. With his new play style and innovation in the Support role, Yu Luocheng was telling all the LOL players that this role is actually a carry.


    However, the criteria to this was that you needed a team that fully trusts and cooperates with you. You would also need to spend countless days and nights on research, otherwise your new strategies would be considered trolling in other people¡¯s eyes.


    Do you think that Yu Luocheng only trolled one or two times? Go and ask those people in Diamond I, which player doesn¡¯t know Trolling No.1?


    To be able to troll to the extent that the entire server knows you, then one day you would become incredible!


    Naturally, as the captain of an incredibly strong team, as a public figure and object of worship for many people, especially girls, Yu Luocheng would never admit that the ID ¡®Trolling No.1¡¯ was actually his.


    You never know, there might even be someone here who had rushed for Challenger but been c*ckblocked by him when he threw the game or messed up the fight. Even if anyone had managed to glimpse his shadow behind Trolling No.1, that was their problem.


    He was the captain of a star team in the LPL!


    The Support champions he picked now were definitely not for trolls. They were the result of his countless experience and training.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally our Captain Fighting Hawk¡¯s turn to pick!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun. He spoke with excitement in his voice, which in turn also riled up the crowd in the arena.


    What kind of Support champion would this guy pick this time?!


    How does he intend to wow the crowd today?


    Ping!


    With a loud signal, Yu Luocheng had selected his champion.


    You really can¡¯t relate to captain Yu¡¯s broad imagination. With more than a hundred champions available, you shouldn¡¯t be so naive as to think that the champion in your mind would be the one that he will pick.


    When the screen displayed the champion that Yu Luocheng had selected, you could tell how wide the eyes of the crowd had gone!


    From their expressions, you could obviously tell what they were thinking inside, and what they wanted to choke out amidst their surpris: ¡®Holy sh*t, that also can play as Support?!¡¯


    That¡¯s right, Yu Luocheng had not changed his uniqueness at all, grabbing the attention of the entire arena by once again picking an off-meta champion!


    The moment Yu Luocheng selected this champion, many stunned audience members quietly stuck their hands into their pockets, pulling out five yuan and passing it to their friends sitting beside them.


    In their minds, that loss of five yuan was worth it!

 Chapter 436 - Fight If You Want To!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Having followed his master¡ªYu Luocheng¡ªfor quite some time, Xu Ben had seen him using all kinds of champions for Support.


    There was one particular champion that Xu Ben wanted to learn how to play Support with, and that was the first champion that Yu Luocheng had played in the Hangzhou Netfish Cafe: The Cryophoenix, Anivia.


    Initially, Xu Ben thought that Yu Luocheng was just playing around with this champion for fun and to troll people. He never imagined that Yu Luocheng would be so bold as to actually use it when facing off against Team Daemons!


    Anivia?!


    That¡¯s right, Yu Luocheng had selected this champion!


    At first, Anivia was a champion that LOL players never used. It wasn¡¯t until a British player developed his play with her that everyone saw how fearsome she could be.


    Anivia was a typical Mid champion, and was also one of the hardest champions to use in the game. If you weren¡¯t good at using her, then you were bad. There was no in between. That¡¯s how difficult it was to learn how to use her!


    Not many Mids used Anivia, and there were even less who knew how to use her well. In the new season, she was even less suitable for the current meta, and had been forgotten by most people.


    Who knew that someone would pick her at the LPL? And what¡¯s even more surprising is that she was being used as a Support!


    ¡°Do you dare to lock in this champion? Fighting Hawk, are you really doing it?!¡± said Bao Jun in a high-pitched voice.


    Seeing Anivia being used as a Support in the LPL was truly unbelievable. Can this champion really be used as a Support?!


    As though he heard the challenge in Bao Jun¡¯s voice, Yu Luocheng locked in Anivia at the exact same moment the commentator spoke.


    The Cryophoenix, Anivia!


    On Team Skycrown¡¯s side, they had a Top Shyvanna, Jungler Olaf, Mid Syndra, ADC Ezreal, and Support Anivia.


    On Team Daemons¡¯ side, there was a Top Rengar, Jungler Elise, Mid Riven, Support Annie, and ADC Graves.


    Nowadays, first-tier teams would pick Lucian or Sivir for their ADCs, while second-tier teams would pick either Caitlyn, Ezreal, or Vayne. Both Team Skycrown and Team Daemons had not chosen any of the stronger ADC picks.


    The audience was left feeling incredulous, and they were especially confused by Asmodai¡¯s Graves pick. But the confusion from that was nowhere near the confusion caused by Yu Luocheng¡¯s pick.


    Even if Asmodai had chosen Teemo as his ADC, it still wouldn¡¯t have been as weird as Yu Luocheng choosing Anivia as his Support!


    The lineups of both teams didn¡¯t seem to have any obvious synchronization. Perhaps neither of them had a deliberate, seamless strategy¡­


    Now matter how surprised or speechless you are, the reality is that Anivia had been chosen as a Support.


    A few seconds later, Team Skycrown and Team Daemons were displayed on the big screen. All of them had quickly purchased their items and were now walking separately to their positions, which were facing the river.


    Just by looking at how they had positioned themselves for the level one team fight, it was easy to see the quality of both teams.


    The five members of Team Skycrown were standing in different places, at the entrances of each path leading back into their jungle. This was the most classic position, and seeing as how they covered all paths, they were most likely going for defense.


    Meanwhile, Team Daemons was standing in a neat line with almost the exact same distance between each member, and walking towards Team Skycrown¡¯s buff area.


    They were really going for a level one fight!


    After the release of the new season, level one fights had become practically non-existent. With Team Daemons changing their usual strategy of standing scattered in their own jungle, it seemed that they were going to give an aggressive push at level one in their enemies¡¯ jungle.


    ¡°Oh, Team Daemons is just the best! I don¡¯t know if Team Skycrown can feel the chill emanating from the direction of the Baron¡¯s Pit right now?!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun excitedly.


    Team Daemons was on the blue side, and they weren¡¯t heading towards Team Skycrown¡¯s red buff. Instead, they walked towards the river, choosing to hide in the Baron¡¯s Pit.


    The Baron¡¯s Pit had a C-shaped opening, and you would be invisible if you hid there. That¡¯s exactly what the five members of Team Daemons were doing. If Team Skycrown chose to scatter, it would be dangerous for them!


    Players who used the scattered strategy rarely stayed stationary in their positions at the entrance. They would usually move around the area to gain more vision in the places covered by the Fog Of War. By doing so, they would be able to catch a glimpse of their opponent¡¯s shadow and inventory.


    Team Daemons¡¯ Top and Mid were standing close to Baron¡¯s Pit. Elise and Annie both had very strong engage power. If you weren¡¯t careful and got too close, you would surely die!


    ¡°Team Skycrown has not seen a single member of Team Daemons at all, and they seem to be slightly concerned. In this situation, they definitely won¡¯t dare to just waltz into any bushes without any vision! There could be enemy champions in those bushes, just waiting for the chance to jump on them!¡±


    Indeed, Team Daemons¡¯ non-appearance had an obvious effect of making Team Skycrown feel uneasy.


    ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t stick to those walls with no vision behind them. And don¡¯t even think of trying to get vision further out!¡± instructed Yu Luocheng.


    If they were facing any other team, Yu Luocheng would calmly let his team defend the entrances of the jungle without a care for where the enemy would jump out from.


    But they were up against Team Daemons. Do you really think that a well-oiled machine of a team like them would patiently wait in the fountain and only come out at one minute and thirty seconds into the game?!


    They were definitely up to something. Team Daemons had to be hiding in a strategically hidden spot, keeping an eye on Team Skycrown and waiting for the right time to strike!


    But where were they hiding?!


    ¡°Boss, it seems that they have the same intention as us. They want to push a level one fight too!¡± said Lin Dong.


    Yu Luocheng nodded his head.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s scattered strategy was just a front. The plan was to purposely let their opponents have vision of them. Then, once the timer hits a minute and thirty seconds, they would shoot straight for their opponent¡¯s blue buff to steal it away from Belial¡­


    But Team Daemons¡¯ strange disappearance had cast a shadow of doubt on Yu Luocheng.


    If a weaker team had done this, it would probably be because they were relaxed and had taken the bait.


    When playing against a stronger team, it was scary when you couldn¡¯t see them on the map at all. You would feel that they could be hiding in any of the bushes, waiting to ambush you. This fear would prevent you from taking even a single step!


    Yu Luocheng knew that the fear was purely psychological, but he¡¯d rather be safe than sorry. If he carelessly took a step out, he might really meet the five of them and get killed.


    The loss of a kill is insignificant, but if the Jungler¡¯s level and buff were also disrupted and taken, then there would be a serious problem in the following time.


    Out of the countless games he had played, this match was giving Yu Luocheng the most pressure. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have picked Anivia. He had been working himself to the bone to practise using her. She was the champion that he had been training with for the sake of beating the leader of Team Sky.


    Finally, Yu Luocheng felt that something was wrong. ¡°Group up and follow me!¡±


    All their opponents were missing, which would imply that they must be hiding somewhere together. Since we¡¯re both grouping up somewhere, then let¡¯s fight the level one fight if that¡¯s what you want!

 Chapter 437 - Ferocious Level One Fight!

    The five scattered members started to regroup at the center.


    ¡°Team Skycrown is really being cautious. When all the members are gathered together, the opponent won¡¯t suddenly directly engage from the river. If their Top had walked in using the river path, Team Daemons would have caught him immediately. A top professional player should have this kind of attitude, which is to maintain vigilance at all times. For those players who are still face-checking, sigh¡­¡±


    The commentator and the crowd were watching from a clear point of view, the screen showed no trace of the Fog Of War.


    During the group up, the hardcore members of Demacia Club were all panicking for Da Luo, incredibly worried that he was walking into a trap.


    The game was already at a minute and thirty seconds, and there was still no sign of Team Daemons. Yu Luocheng was trying to pinpoint their location from the mini map.


    ¡°Boss, we don¡¯t know their position, and they¡¯ve also seen us on the map. Should we still swap lanes?¡± asked Lin Dong.


    From a professional perspective, you were digging your own grave with an Anivia Support!


    Zyra and Annie were two champions that were able to transition from Mid to Support because they had good CC skills and early burst damage.


    Anivia¡¯s CC skills could totally be used as a Support. Plus, her Q had slowing and stun effects, and her Crystalize summons an impenetrable wall of ice at the target location. Not to mention her ulti which had an AOE slow effect¡­


    But the main reason she was not suitable to play Support was because of the mana consumption problem.


    Throw a combo of skills at early game and Anivia¡¯s mana bar would be halved. Don¡¯t even bother talking about how much inferior her burst at level six is compared to Zyra or Annie.


    In lane, Anivia didn¡¯t have as much strength as you would think. Swapping lanes was their last strategy. This would allow Anivia, who was weaker in the early stages, to farm up to be more useful in mid game when she had her items.


    For Anivia to Support, they needed to swap lanes.


    To ensure the success of their lane swap, Yu Luocheng and Lin Dong had initially planned to stand near the middle lane and wait for their opponent to enter the lanes first, before making the switch.


    Who would have expected that Team Daemons would go missing right from the start of the game? This implied that something was going on. In this situation, if they just sat around waiting for their opponent to appear, they would probably end up being down by one buff.


    Since a truly strong team could completely wreck their opponent with the difference of just a level or a buff, every detail of this match had to be handled perfectly!


    ***


    ¡°Team Skycrown is walking towards the Baron¡¯s Pit. The route they chose is to go through the Baron¡¯s Pit to enter their opponent¡¯s jungle, and head towards the blue buff. If I¡¯m not mistaken, they¡¯re using the strategy of swapping lanes, while also trying to steal their enemy¡¯s blue buff!¡± said Bao Jun as he watched the scene unfold on the screen.


    In normal games, many players didn¡¯t understand the situation with the blue buff. It was difficult for them to imagine why an entire team would move mountains just for it.


    The five members of Team Skycrown were completely in-sync with each other as they walked.


    Suddenly, the crowd started cheering and roaring, ¡°Oooohhhhh!!¡±


    Why? Because among all the LPL matches so far, which match actually had a level one fight?


    In the new season meta, level one fights became a rarity. Professional players wouldn¡¯t choose to level one fight with their weaker champions.


    Now, the long lost art of a level one fight was about to erupt, as Team Skycrown was getting closer and closer to Team Daemons who was hiding in the Baron¡¯s Pit.


    And Team Daemons had most likely already caught sight of Team Skycrown!


    ¡°Team Skycrown, Team Skycrown. Do you not feel the chill on your necks from the predatory gazes of the five pairs of eyes on you?!¡± said Bao Jun, his voice filled with excitement.


    The actual laning phase had yet to begin, and the Summoner¡¯s Rift was about to witness such an exciting ambush!


    ¡°Captain Yu, don¡¯t go there!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an ambush waiting! Master, there¡¯s an ambush!¡±


    The people in Demacia Cafe were at the edge of their seats as they watched. As spectators, they could clearly see Team Daemons¡¯ positions. An extremely anxious person like Feng Da could not help but yell out futile warnings, hoping that the sound would somehow transfer into the headphones that Team Skycrown was wearing.


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    Finally, Team Daemons struck!


    Belial¡¯s Elise changed into her human form, immediately adding her E skill and shooting out Cocoon as soon as Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia came into sight. The white colored webbing shot out from the opening of Baron¡¯s Pit, trapping Anivia where she stood.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s awareness was extremely high, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn¡¯t avoid that sort of webbing which shot out from an impossible angle.


    It¡¯s an ambush! They were in the Baron¡¯s Pit!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s heart thumped wildly in his chest. He didn¡¯t even have time to warn the rest of his team about the ambush, immediately adding his Q skill and launching a massive chunk of ice towards the enemies.


    The moment Elise acted, the remaining four standing behind her also made their moves, throwing all of their attacks onto Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia had been walking in front of the whole team, and his teammates saw his life drop drastically in that one second. And what¡¯s worse was that Annie was behind Elise, waiting with a stun at the ready!


    Mephistopheles saw all the Team Skycrown members gathered together and chose to immediately Flash out. His Annie¡¯s Incinerate released a cone of fire in front of her, catching three of the members standing behind Yu Luocheng.


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia was standing more forward, so Mephistopheles wanted to hit more targets with Annie¡¯s stun, and catch him in the skill too. In that one second, Yu Luocheng was instantly killed.


    With Graves¡¯ burst damage, even if they only caught Yu Luocheng, there was no way he could walk out alive¡­


    ¡°Scatter, get ready to fight back!¡± shouted Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Oohh, Fighting Hawk¡¯s reaction speed was amazingly shocking, throwing out his Flash Frost, catching 1, 2, 3¡­ it caught three of them right in front of him!¡± said Bao Jun.


    The match seemed to be very weird at this point, with Annie standing alone in front of her enemies, stunning three of Team Skycrown¡¯s members. And the other members of Team Daemons who wanted to follow up were stunned in place by Yu Luocheng¡¯s Flash Frost.


    The enemies were face to face, their eyes blazing with hatred, but the accurate stuns left them unable to move!


    The competition version of the game is always the more stable version of the previous version that normal players play. This is to avoid the newer bugs that appeared in the latest LOL patches, and to prevent the strategies developed by the professional players from being ruined by the newest patch.


    In other words, Mephistopheles¡¯s Annie is before the nerf, and her stun duration is still 1.75 seconds. Whereas the duration of the stun from Anivia¡¯s Flash Frost was only 1 second.


    Team Daemons had used the 0.75-second difference to launch their crazy assault on Team Skycrown!


    Hades immediately instructed, ¡°Ignore Anivia, get the others!¡±


    You could really get a headache from going against Yu Luocheng. If he was playing any other support champion, he probably would have gotten First Blood.


    But it just had to be Anivia, the one champion that had the passive Rebirth!


    After receiving fatal damage, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia would transform into Eggnivia. Other more inexperienced teams would then surely throw all their focus on the egg. And what awaited them next would be Team Skycrown fighting back, because they would still have all of their skills.


    You can¡¯t fight! Don¡¯t focus all your attacks and waste your time on the egg that is begging for a beating. You can surely kill her with no problem, but then you would definitely lose the level one fight!


    ***


    Everyone watching already had a surprised expression on their faces. A dazzling bird egg that was left alone¡­ other passersby definitely would have fiercely shattered it.


    And their other teammates waiting to resurrect at the fountain would probably shout, ¡°Why are you hitting Anivia? She has two lives!¡± or ¡°F*ck, get rid of her first! Why are you hitting others, can you even kill them?!¡±


    The five members of Team Daemons didn¡¯t bother touching the egg, letting the people watching admire the determination of the strongest team in China!


    What they considered was not the head of the bird, but whether or not they will win the remaining fight. A solo player would probably be able to hold their discipline in this, but for the whole team to do so was really rare.


    Asmodai¡¯s Graves still had his abilities, and took the chance while Annie¡¯s 0.75 second stun still remained. He walked forward, shooting a Smoke Screen right into the members of Team Skycrown who were stunned.


    At the same time, Hades¡¯ Riven Flashed up without using any of her skills.


    The damage that Riven could unleash in a level one fight was definitely the highest among all the champions, and Hades was decisive in his play. His three Qs had already been unleashed once, before Yu Luocheng had managed to land his stun.


    So when she recovered from the stun, she was already on the second part of her Q¡ªBroken Wings!


    With lightning speed on her Q, and a basic attack, followed up immediately with another Q, Hades was able to unleash his third recast of Q towards the battlefield during the 0.75 seconds.


    Being able to reach the second recast of Q in 0.75 seconds was a bit difficult because Riven¡¯s animation for this was longer than that. For Hades to even include another basic attack in that time¡­


    Three members of Team Skycrown were beaten back, and Wu Sen¡¯s Syndra only had less than half her health left!


    ¡°The attacks were so perfectly connected and coordinated. Looks like Team Skycrown was less ferocious in this round, two to three of their champions have been completely controlled!¡±


    In this situation, whoever retreated would be the one to lose the level one fight. Relying on the stronger lineup they had for a level one fight, Team Daemons went in more fiercely and aggressively, making the blood of everyone who was watching boil in excitement!


    Mephistopheles¡¯s Flash and stun, hitting three members of Team Skycrown. The lightning speed of Hades¡¯ execution on Q the moment he recovered, recasting Q three times which connected with Annie¡¯s stun. There was no disconnect in the execution of these skills at all!


    Author¡¯s note: It¡¯s not very easy to find material for this novel. Today, I barely managed to get some ideas after watching some videos. Please don¡¯t complain about the late updates. I¡¯m not a professional player, so I have to rely on the Internet to find materials. The number of LOL videos I¡¯ve watched while writing this novel could probably circle the world twice, it¡¯s much more than the amount of island movies that other people keep watching.

 Chapter 438 - No Mercy On The Battlefield!

    Team Skycrown were also well trained, Da Luo immediately added a point to Burnout. As Shyvanna surrounded herself in flames, Da Luo charged in, right into the middle of their enemies!


    It was impossible for either side to retreat in this kind of level one fight. The winner would depend on who had the higher damage.


    Da Luo could see that Team Daemons was eager to kill off Wu Sen¡¯s Syndra, which is why he charged in and stood in between them. The fire around him would cause 20 magic damage per second, lasting up to 3 seconds.


    If it burned three of them at the same time, he could deal more than 100 damage, and this amount was incredibly important in this level one fight.


    The reaction of Wu Sen¡¯s Syndra was not slow. Seeing his health almost completely taken down by Riven, he immediately Flashed out to run.


    An Ignite was thrown onto Wu Sen, and his health drop was even more significant. As the Ignite burned his health down, the Health Potion he downed forcefully restored his health slightly. Everyone could see Wu Sen¡¯s last bit of health fluctuating violently, looking as though he could die at any time!


    Bao Jun elaborated on what just happened, ¡°That was dangerous, Syndra almost died to the Ignite. Fortunately for Team Skycrown¡¯s Crow, he consumed a Health Potion the first chance he could! Friends, don¡¯t panic if you get Ignited at level one. As long as you drink a Health Potion in time, you can recover enough health.


    ¡°The damage for Ignite at level one is 70 damage over 5 seconds, and although the Health Potion will be affected by the Ignite, you can still recover 75 health over 5 seconds as long as you drink it in time. Wu Sen almost died just now, but he consumed the potion in time to save his life!¡±


    Apart from Riven, which other champion is unreasonably strong in a level one fight? That¡¯s right, The Beserker¡ªOlaf!


    His Undertow at level one was as bad as having a bug on the skill.


    His AOE damage slows everyone as it passes through, and if you pick up the axes, then the cooldown period shortens to the point it surprises everyone. It¡¯s incomparable to any other champion¡¯s level one chasing capabilities!


    When Team Daemons shot out from the Baron¡¯s Pit, they were standing quite closely together, all in a line. Zhou Yan immediately added a point to his Q and threw one of his axes directly at them.


    The three members at the back were instantly slowed. Asmodai¡¯s Graves who was standing in front got the full brunt of it, and his health dropped significantly!


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf was skilled in throwing his axe. The distance that he threw wasn¡¯t that far, hitting three champions at the same time. Walking up to pick up the axe, his Undertow¡¯s cooldown was refreshed again.


    Later on, he would be able to increase his damage output to a more terrifying degree!


    Shyvanna and Olaf were champions with one of the highest armors and health in early game, and they stood in front of the others to tank. The back line of Team Daemons were completely disabled.


    The fight was extremely chaotic for the moment, and First Blood was taken amidst the chaos of skills thrown and basic attacks.


    ¡°Super nice! The E from Belial¡¯s Elise landed on Ezreal, and then she Flashed, hit a basic attack, and took Syndra¡¯s life, who previously almost died to the Ignite!¡±


    The execution by Belial was indeed beautiful. Moving a distance of two and a half Flashes, Wu Sen was helpless to do anything and could only watch as he died to that basic attack that slowly hit him.


    ¡°Da Luo, Zhou, follow me!¡± said Yu Luocheng hurriedly as he watched Ezreal get zoned out from the fight.


    Yu Luocheng had already been reborn and he had about half a bar of health left. At this time, most of the members of Team Daemons had reached his back line. After killing Annie with one more axe throw, Zhou Yan quickly regrouped with Yu Luocheng¡¯s reborn Anivia and Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna.


    Team Daemons really pulled ahead with the advantage in this level one fight. They managed to throw out three CC skills and push Team Skycrown into a very dangerous fight.


    ***


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about running!¡± said Charon. He directed The Pridestalker¡ªRengar¡ªto use the bush as leverage, jumping onto Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf.


    The other members of Team Daemons still had a lot of health left, they weren¡¯t planning on letting Team Skycrown retreat after this trade!


    Charon¡¯s Rengar had added a point to Bola Strike, a skill that could slow down his opponents. After jumping onto Zhou Yan, he immediately threw it onto him.


    When Zhou Yan killed Annie, he had Flashed and thrown his axe. With the slow effect on him, he was now moving very slowly.


    The others from Team Daemons were hot on his trail, not intending to let him leave at all!


    From their positions, Yu Luocheng and Da Luo were trying to beat them back, helping to cover some of the damage that was thrown onto Zhou Yan as they fought to retreat.


    Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal who was previously zoned out from the fight didn¡¯t give up on his teammates either. Seeing that the three of them were being chased down by Team Daemons, he followed them closely, throwing out basic attacks and skills to harass them from behind.


    Team Skycrown was heading towards the tribush at the left side of the Baron¡¯s Pit, but when Yu Luocheng saw how little health Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf had left, his heart sank¡­


    There was no use running!


    As long as the opponent Rengar could chase them into a bush, he could use his passive to jump straight onto Olaf.


    Looking at the cooldown on his own skill, Yu Luocheng made a decision and said, ¡°Get into the bush, we¡¯ll turn it around and kill Rengar!¡±


    If they tried to run, Zhou Yan would die for sure. But since Da Luo still had Ignite in his hands, there was definitely hope to take away half of Rengar¡¯s health.


    ***


    Team Daemons was really chasing all the way, and the three members of Team Skycrown were synchronized in their movements. The moment Rengar charged into the bush after them, they instantly turned around in unison.


    Yu Luocheng chained his basic attack with his Q¡ªFlash Frost. The massive chunk of ice floated slowly towards Rengar, slowing him in his path and landing on the remaining members behind him.


    The orb shattered, coincidentally stunning both Rengar and Graves, as well as Riven who was at the front of the chase!


    ¡°Wreck him!¡± shouted Yu Luocheng.


    Charon wasn¡¯t paying attention to Anivia¡¯s skill cooldown, and this stun was extremely fatal to Team Daemons.


    ¡°D*mn it, just fight!¡± said Charon.


    Seeing that an Ignite was lit on him, he didn¡¯t bother using his Flash. Instead, he forced his way into the bush and jumped straight onto Olaf. They needed to trade. If Charon Flashed and ran, he would die to the Ignite, as he had already used his only Health Potion.


    Olaf and Rengar died almost simultaneously, the kill score was now two to two!


    ¡°Both teams are meticulous on the details, there are no mistakes on either side. It was wise of Team Skycrown to turn around, because where there are bushes, Rengar would be the king of hunting, and there would have been nowhere to hide!


    ¡°Team Daemons still wants to fight?! This¡­ this is too savage, isn¡¯t it? But if they were to just settle for that trade of lives, then their ambush would have been for nothing. They still have enough health left, they need to chase this win!¡±


    Team Skycrown had stopped for an instant to kill Rengar. This allowed their enemies to close the distance between them, and Hades had now managed to catch up.


    Riven could utilize her three Qs to move faster. When Yu Luocheng and Da Luo killed Rengar, they then tried with all their might to retreat to the turret. Unfortunately, the positioning and terrain didn¡¯t allow for it.


    Hades shouted at Asmodai, ¡°As, kill Fighting Hawk!¡±


    Asmodai nodded his head, his fingers at the ready to press his skills.


    The third recast of Hades¡¯ Q flew out, heading towards the head of Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia. Seeing the situation turning grave, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t hesitate to use his Flash.


    Asmodai¡¯s intent to kill was strong, following immediately with his own Flash, and throwing out a basic attack with his Buckshot.


    Anivia¡¯s fragility was clearly reflected in this moment. Yu Luocheng only had a third of his health left, and this was completely demolished by Asmodai¡¯s A and Q!


    ¡°As, beautiful!¡± crowed Charon happily.


    Asmodai¡¯s estimation of Graves¡¯ damage was extremely accurate, he even knew how much damage each bullet from his Q could deal. Any other ADC would probably have hesitated to chase their opponent this far, because if just a single bullet missed, they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Anivia.


    ¡°There¡¯s still Shyvanna!¡±


    Team Daemons was filled with bloodlust, they were not going to show Team Skycrown any mercy.


    It was hard to imagine that both teams were all smiles and greeting each other like old friends before the game, and now they were so ruthless to each other, showing no mercy on the battlefield!


    ***


    ¡°Da Luo, kill Riven!¡± shouted Lin Dong.


    To protect Yu Luocheng, Da Luo had fallen into their enemies¡¯ range of attack. He had quite a bit of health left, and the flames surrounding him were still burning his enemies.


    Da Luo glanced at Lin Dong¡¯s position and saw that this bugger was still inside the Baron¡¯s Pit.


    ¡°F*ck, you¡¯re too far, how am I supposed to do it?¡±


    ¡°Sh*t up, just do as I say!¡± Lin Dong shot back, impatience and slight anger in his voice.


    Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal had been harrassing Team Daemons from behind. In order to regroup with the others, Lin Dong had entered the Baron¡¯s Pit and threw out his skills towards the tribush on the left of the pit.


    Bamf!


    Flash!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal Flashed directly from the position in the Baron¡¯s Pit, right into the vicinity of the tribush. With an A and a Q, he significantly brought down the health of Hades¡¯ Riven!


    Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna scrambled to follow up, throwing out a hasty A to take away the last bit of Riven¡¯s health.


    Bao Jun shouted excitedly into the microphone as the scene played out on the big screen for all to see, ¡°Wow, so many exchanges of skills and kills, the kill count is now at three to three!¡±


    The crowd present was cheering non-stop. The beginning of the fight had already been a power struggle between both teams, and now neither one was letting up!


    ¡°They still want to fight, oh my god, they¡¯re still fighting?!¡±


    The fight had not ended yet.


    The E on Belial¡¯s Elise had refreshed, and the Cocoon was headed straight for Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna. Asmodai and Elise had chased all this way, they were going in for the kill. Da Luo had fled to his own jungle area, running towards the Krugs, but he was finally taken down by Elise¡¯s Ignite.


    Three to four!


    Team Daemons didn¡¯t intend to stop, they needed to take advantage of the lead from this level one fight.


    While Asmodai and Belial had been killing Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna, Lin Dong had kept up his attacks. Beat the sh*t out of Elise first!


    He only needed a little more damage, and Lin Dong glanced at his Q cooldown¡­


    His Q was almost up, if that hit Elise, she would be dead!


    ¡°Q, Ezreal¡¯s next Q, will it hit? Will it hit?!¡±


    Bao Jun was almost chirping at this point, his usual warm and gentle tone was long gone. It was hard to fault him. After all, this level one fight was really too extreme.


    Q¡ªMystic Shot!


    Lin Dong released it at an angle that was impossible for Belial¡¯s Elise to dodge.


    This Q will definitely hit!


    It was going to take away the last bit of Elise¡¯s health!


    Suddenly, Belial¡¯s Elise changed shape, activating Rappel and lifting herself up into the air.


    This Rappel into the sky was too on point!


    The entire arena went into a frenzy at this. You could see Ezreal¡¯s Mystic Shot almost grazing Elise¡¯s form.


    Such a close call!


    Belial¡¯s execution in instantly shapeshifting and retreating to the sky was simply stunning!

 Chapter 439 - It’s Not Over Yet!

    Belial blew out a shaky breath, cold sweat sliding down the back of his neck.


    That was close, too close. When Ezreal¡¯s Mystic Shot came flying at him, his skill cooldown had coincidentally just refreshed. Belial almost fumbled in his haste to press the E key.


    Thankfully, Elise¡¯s E¡ªRappel¡ªmade her untargetable the instant it was activated. Otherwise, that graze from Ezreal¡¯s Mystic Shot would have taken his life.


    Asmodai hurriedly stood in Ezreal¡¯s path. If Elise didn¡¯t have a target to land on, she was basically still vulnerable and would drop back down onto her original position.


    If Ezreal caught up to her at this time, Belial could still die.


    Lin Dong was also relentless, not planning to show them any mercy either. With his Q not hitting its mark, he started towards where Elise had stood.


    Asmodai took this time to use Graves to keep up his attack on Lin Dong, who frowned as he watched his health drop. It was possible that Graves would kill him. Lin Dong kept calm, not rushing to trade with Asmodai.


    Seeing that Ezreal had finally retreated, Belial came down from the sky and also started to retreat.


    With a one kill lead, Team Daemons had come out on top in this fight and was now in the lead. Ezreal was the last remaining member of Team Skycrown left standing. If they could, Team Daemons would wipe them out completely, but it didn¡¯t seem like there were any more chances for them to do so.


    Suddenly, Asmodai shouted, ¡°Bel, watch out!¡±


    Belial froze. Right at the moment when he moved to retreat, he realized that there was a black vortex appearing underneath his feet!


    In a burst of dark purple light from underneath him, a Dark Sphere hit him with magic damage, taking away the last bit of health Belial¡¯s Elise had left.


    ¡°What¡­ this¡­¡±


    Even Bao Jun was stunned speechless. He thought that the chase had ended with Belial¡¯s stunning evade. He hadn¡¯t expected that the fight which was almost at a close would be reopened by the champion who died first at the beginning of the fight.


    Team Skycrown gleefully cheered together, ¡°Awesome, Wu Sen!¡±


    The fierce, raging battle had everyone all tensed up, including Yu Luocheng. No one realized that Wu Sen, who was the first to die, had respawned. Plus, he even arrived at such a f*cking great timing, hitting Elise with a Dark Sphere just as she turned to run with that last bit of health.


    More importantly, Wu Sen had appeared from Asmodai¡¯s side. From his position, it was entirely possible to intercept Asmodai from the tribush area.


    Wu Sen shouted at Lin Dong, ¡°Kill him, kill him!!¡±


    Lin Dong¡¯s eyes brightened, Team Daemons was about to go down!


    Wu Sen kept chasing Graves, and Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal did the same, chasing him from the tribush to the river.


    ¡°This¡­ this really is a turn of events!¡±


    The arena was still in a frenzy. When would you see such a ferocious level one fight in the professional scene?!


    And not only that, most of the champions only had about one skill at this stage, and the way each player utilized their one skill was super entertaining and interesting!


    The thing that sparked the most interest was the determination of both teams in this level one fight. It was a consistent push and pull with neither side losing or winning. This fight was so chaotic, to the point that even the first champion to die had already revived and caught up to give assistance.


    If Syndra who had died in the beginning had already resurrected and caught up, then what about Team Daemons¡¯ Annie, who also died at almost the same time?


    Suddenly realizing the danger, Yu Luocheng hurriedly warned Wu Sen and Lin Dong, ¡°Be careful of Annie!¡±


    Asmodai had been retreating, backing up to one of the bushes at top lane. Taking note of his low health, Lin Dong and Wu Sen naturally chased after him. From the bush, out jumped a little loli!


    Whoosh!


    A cone of fire spewed out, stunning Lin Dong and Wu Sen, giving Asmodai¡¯s Graves some space to finally breathe.


    Seeing his health drop further, Lin Dong hurriedly used Barrier, trying to survive a little longer.


    Wu Sen screamed and cursed in anger. Just a bit more¡­ just a little bit more and he would have taken care of Graves. God f*cking d*amnit, Annie just had to come out right at that moment to assist after buying the Boots of Speed!


    Annie had taken First Blood and with the additional gold from one assist, Mephistopheles saw that he had just enough gold to buy the Boots before rushing to support his teammate¡­


    Without the Boots, Mephistopheles wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up!


    The tables have turned again, and now Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal was the one in danger. Lin Dong¡¯s health was very low, just letting Annie touch him once or twice would be enough to kill him off.


    Watching as Graves, who had just that last bit of health left, limped off towards the top lane, Lin Dong gritted his teeth. ¡°Even if I die, I will bring you down with me!¡±


    Lin Dong was not going to run. After recovering from the stun, he went straight for Graves. He aimed his Mystic Shot for the long distance it needed to cover. The bolt of energy whistled as it flew, landing on Graves!


    ¡°Nice! This Q turned out to be an accurate double prediction. Asmodai¡¯s Graves executed a beautiful dodge backwards to avoid Ezreal¡¯s Q, but Sky Swan predicted this and aimed his Q at a slightly different angle to hit Graves at the spot he dodged to!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun excitedly.


    Lin Dong¡¯s two important Qs were completely accurate. It was understandable that the first was dodged by Elise. But the second Q didn¡¯t disappoint and killed off Graves.


    Of course, Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal wasn¡¯t able to withstand Annie¡¯s attacks either, falling to them after he killed Graves.


    Five to five!


    Now, all the members of both teams have died once each. Only the respawned Syndra and Annie were left on the map, and they were soloing!


    Two level one champions¡ªwho would win?


    ¡°Two mage champions, their basic attacks are too low to deal any significant damage. Half the time, they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill anyone with it. So now the question is, will the other members catch up in time to give any assistance¡­¡±


    As soon as Bao Jun said that, the camera focus shifted and the screen cut to Hades¡¯ Riven.


    As soon as the screen switched, the audience could see how familiar and skilful Hades was at using Riven. To allow himself to reach the fight faster, Hades¡¯ Riven utilized her three Qs to jump over walls!


    Hades easily conquered the higher terrain. To be able to navigate with such ease requires a certain amount of practise, it wasn¡¯t as simple as jumping over it however you wanted to. Jumping over the thick wall behind the blue buff was also a difficult feat¡­


    ¡°Riven¡¯s wall jump is a technique that has unexpected effects, which is one of the reasons why she¡¯s getting more and more popular as a Jungler. However, this wall jumping requires a lot of practise to be accurate.


    ¡°When it comes to the higher terrains or thicker walls like those at the buff, just a slight misstep and you won¡¯t be able to cross it. Under such a tense and pressuring situation, it¡¯s amazing that Hades was still able to cross through two of the most difficult terrains, one after another!¡±


    The audience who were watching were also in shock, and the same thought was floating in the minds of the players who don¡¯t really play Riven, ¡®What the¡­ so you can even play Riven this way!¡¯


    Even without Flash, Riven can still go through the thicker walls!


    Hades had used his familiarity and skills on this champion to reveal what a real Riven player really needed to be able to do.


    A Support and a Mid were still exchanging blows, and Riven¡¯s Runic Blade flashed coldly. Relying on the speed from her skill, he was going after Wu Sen¡¯s head!


    Seeing Hades¡¯ bloodlust approaching him quickly, Wu Sen had no choice but to give up on killing Annie, turning around to run.


    Yu Luocheng moved Anivia, wishing he could grow another four pairs of wings to let himself fly faster. With Hades¡¯ chasing, full of murderous intent, Wu Sen would probably not stand a chance once his Q was up!


    Wu Sen was heading towards the turret, and Hades was scarily able to catch up to them in such a short time¡­


    ¡°This¡­ he¡¯s still chasing, Hades is really out for blood!¡±


    In a typical professional game, both teams would be more steady in their play. It was normal to see some pursuits, but they would normally stop before it went too far. A fierce match like this was really very rare!


    And they were still going at it¡­


    Their level one fight had yet to end, and the minion waves on each lane had also been fighting for quite a while already. None of the champions on both sides had gone into their lanes yet.


    It felt like they were trying to settle the entire game with their level one fight!


    And in some ways, that was indeed true. Whoever won the level one fight would be the team that dominates the game. If both sides were equal in terms of strength, then the advantage in kills would affect the buffs, levels, gank in lanes, jungle control, and Dragon control¡­


    A tyrant like Hades would have Wu Sen¡¯s head no matter what, even if it meant chasing him to the turret at the middle lane or tower diving!


    Finally, his Q¡ªBroken Wings¡ªrefreshed.


    Hades¡¯ Riven closed the gap and approached Wu Sen in an instant. Although Wu Sen had entered the safety of the turret range, Hades was still not giving up!


    On the second recast of Q, and using Animation Cancel to cancel the later part of the Q animation, his blade swung and hit Wu Sen once.


    You could clearly see Hades pressing down on Q again before the basic movement was complete. The moment the damage from the second recast landed, Hades completed the third recast of Broken Wings!


    Wu Sen was knocked up into the air, his body suspended for a second. In that second, Hades readied his second basic attack and swung his blade to take away the last bit of Wu Sen¡¯s health.


    Everyone saw the turret hitting Riven twice, bringing her health down significantly. While everyone¡¯s hearts were in their throats at that, Hades¡¯ Riven slid out of range. Just a little bit more and the turret would have killed him!


    ¡°Fighting Hawk! Fighting Hawk is coming in hot from the side, it¡¯s not over yet!¡±


    Bao Jun and the entire arena were going crazy!


    What sort of deep hatred do your teams have against each other to result in such a shocking and terrifying level one fight? Not only did both teams wipe each other out, they even continued to fight after respawning.


    Have you considered the feelings of the minions on both the red and blue sides? They have been fighting in lane for the past few minutes and yet are still being ignored!


    A shiny, massive chunk of ice slowly floated across the area.


    Anivia¡¯s Flash Frost seems to float slowly, but its range is actually quite wide. If the ice was shattered with good timing, it would be hard to avoid it.


    How can Yu Luocheng let Hades, who had killed under turret, escape? His Flash Frost floated towards the direction that Hades had moved to.


    ¡°The angle is on point, will it hit, will it hit?!¡± shouted Bao Jun, his hand gripping the table in anticipation.


    In his long career as a LOL commentator, this was the first time that Bao Jun had gotten so emotional during a match. You could really tell just how moving and thrilling the fight between these two teams was!

 Chapter 440 - : Early Game Pressure!

    Hades kept retreating, and suddenly, he dashed to the side. A shield appeared on him, allowing him to dodge the Flash Frost!


    ¡°F*ck!¡± cursed Yu Luocheng.


    Hades had managed to get enough experience from the minion wave in front of him to get to level two!


    While Flash Frost was flying towards Hades, he had still been at level one. But when that minion died at such freaking good timing, Riven immediately added a point to her other skills and managed to dodge the chunk of ice.


    This annoyed Yu Luocheng but at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but admire the speed of Hades¡¯ hands.


    ¡°Holy sh*t, it¡¯s finally over!¡± said a spectator wearing a Teemo hat, breathing out a long sigh of relief.


    Eyes wide, the thousands of people watching from the stands were left stunned and trying to process everything that just happened. Finally¡­ finally this level one fight had ended. What an exciting and explosive match!


    From the beginning, both teams had godlike control on their skill shots. There were various beautiful maneuvers, dodging, Flash and initiate plays, counter attacks, unexpected assistance from other teammates¡­


    Who ever said that LOL competitions were boring compared to others?


    When have you ever seen such an epic level one team fight?


    Six to five!


    To gain that one single kill advantage, both teams had fought for almost two minutes, ignoring their own lanes. The feeling after fighting that last battle was like the final stand, Mars hitting Earth, or confronting an erupting volcano!


    ***


    The climax was finally over.


    At two, almost three minutes now, both teams went to their own jungle to get the buffs. This was rarely seen in the LPL.


    The score was currently at six to five. In a normal big game, someone would usually only get First Blood at about ten minutes into the game. By the twenty-minute mark, there would normally be maybe two or three kills, definitely not more than five.


    But today¡¯s match had just started and there were already eleven kills!


    The speed and skillful execution of a professional player was clearly displayed in this level one fight. It was an enjoyment for all the LPL players. Watching this kind of struggle where neither side was willing to give up stirred up something inside their souls.


    From this level one fight, you could really feel how desperately both teams craved for victory. Otherwise, why would they be so merciless? Once the whole team was wiped out, they still continued to fight after they respawned.


    After the fight ended, both teams seemed to have calmed down temporarily. The battle just now was still fresh in everyone¡¯s minds.


    Will they continue to fight without any reserve or will they farm peacefully? The extreme level one fight must have completely reignited the flames inside of both teams, it will surely be a wonderful and exciting match!


    ***


    ¡°Report on the kills and Summoner¡¯s,¡± said Yu Luocheng, his brow furrowing deeply. He began to mentally count the casualties and income.


    Both teams had used most of the Summoner¡¯s Skills, and Yu Luocheng even remembered the timing of when most of the skills had been used. The first to Flash was Annie, at around one minute and thirty seconds. Then, Riven followed, and after that was Elise¡­


    ¡°Charon¡¯s Rengar still has Flash. Da Luo, be careful.¡±


    Yu Luocheng quickly replayed the scenes in his mind, noting down a few important timings and Summoner¡¯s Skills. Da Luo nodded his head¡­ Rengar still had Flash, then the gank that Zhou Yan needed to focus on first was not his lane.


    ¡°Asmodai¡¯s Flash will be ready at six minutes and fifty-eight seconds!¡± continued Yu Luocheng.


    Asmodai¡¯s Flash on Graves was only slower than Yu Luocheng¡¯s by a few milliseconds, so he only needed to remember the timing of his own Flash to know when Asmodai¡¯s would be up.


    Annie¡¯s Flash would be ready at six minutes and thirty seconds, and Asmodai¡¯s at six minutes fifty-eight seconds.


    If Zhou Yan wanted to gank the bottom lane, he had two chances to do so. One was when both sides¡¯ wards went down, and the other was before their Flash was ready. The success rate of a gank in these two situations was extremely high!


    The timing of their opponent¡¯s Flash was extremely important to the Jungler, so Zhou Yan would usually remember it. Adding on the fact that Yu Luocheng was keeping track of where the enemy warded, Zhou Yan now had a higher chance of succeeding in his gank.


    The top lane didn¡¯t need to be ganked, his aim was more on the middle lane Riven, as well as the bottom lane Annie and Graves, who all didn¡¯t have Flash.


    Hades was like a boss at the middle lane, so it would be better to gank the bottom lane first. If you don¡¯t have full confidence, then you should leave Hades alone.


    Plus, they at least had Yu Luocheng at the bottom lane. Anivia is a champion that is stronger than expected, especially when the Jungler came to assist.


    ***


    With his two kills, Lin Dong managed to buy another Doran¡¯s Blade. Wu Sen didn¡¯t get any kills, but he had assists. Hades had two kills, with which he bought an extra Doran¡¯s Blade and Doran¡¯s Shield. Such items would definitely cause problems to Wu Sen¡¯s middle lane.


    In this situation, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the Jungler to help out, because Riven¡¯s level was higher and had better items too. Even a two on one fight would still be difficult.


    Zhou Yan already had a rough outline in his mind. You can¡¯t mess with Hades, so take care, Wu Sen. If you don¡¯t get wrecked, that¡¯s considered a win!


    Luckily, Syndra¡¯s range was longer, and she could depend on her skills to farm. Other Mid champions would probably have to hug turret and take what they can from there instead. If you don¡¯t find another way to play, then your lane will be suddenly dominated without your knowledge later on.


    ***


    Relying on the advantage he got from the items he bought, Hades was playing really well. He stood in the front of the minion wave, and Wu Sen didn¡¯t dare to get too close.


    Wu Sen could only get experience, as there wasn¡¯t much sense in using his skills to attack Riven at this point. Riven had her E, which was a shield, and all Syndra¡¯s skills were being used to farm at a range. With her lower level and inferior items, the gap in early farming was getting bigger and bigger.


    ¡°Wu Sen, can you hold on?¡± asked Yu Luocheng, glancing at the situation in the middle lane.


    The level one fight ended with a score of six to five. It may look like just a one kill difference, but the most important fact was that Hades had gotten two of those kills.


    Giving two kills to Riven was a huge advantage, and with a champion like her that can snowball in early game, it was like a nightmare come to life.


    In this situation, Wu Sen could only resist the pressure where he could, but hopefully his gold and level wouldn¡¯t fall behind too much¡­


    ***


    At level four, the minion wave was pushed towards the turret. Wu Sen breathed a sigh of relief, it looks like he could farm peacefully for a little while.


    Just as he breathed, he let out a shout in the next moment.


    Elise!


    Belial¡¯s Elise suddenly appeared from behind him!


    Having already taken both buffs, Elise was now at level three!


    Riven was at level four, almost level five, and with this big wave of minions at the turret, Wu Sen wouldn¡¯t have a chance to even think about retreating.


    ¡°Oh! Turret diving, Elise has definitely picked the best move, using Riven¡¯s pressure in the lane, and straight diving under turret to kill the Mid. Syndra doesn¡¯t have her Flash right now, and Elise is a champion that dominates early game turret dive!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun.


    Zhou Yan, who had been taking the Wight camp, frowned. Even he didn¡¯t think that Belial¡¯s Elise would choose to turret dive. Seeing Wu Sen getting pressured, and Riven killing him instantly with a combo of skills, Zhou Yan hurriedly made his way towards the middle lane¡­


    Elise tanked the turret damage first, and once she unleashed her set of skills, she used Rappel to launch herself up into the sky after the turret landed two hits, avoiding the rest of its attacks.


    Hades¡¯ Riven pushed forward without stopping, leaving Wu Sen with no place to retreat. She unleashed her set of skills and killed him instantly!


    Belial and Hades¡¯ coordination was seamless. At only level three and four, they had completed a beautiful turret dive. Both also had a good amount of health left, with Elise at two thirds and Riven at half.


    Even if Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf got there in time, he wouldn¡¯t dare to make a move against these two, and would only take the experience from the minion wave. If he was careless, then he too would die miserably, just like Wu Sen.


    Wu Sen had already been pressured, losing a wave of experience and gold. By the time Riven reached level six, Wu Sen would probably only be at about level four or five. If that was the case, then this lane was as good as gone¡­


    Fortunately, Wu Sen was in a good mindset. If he died, then he died. He wasn¡¯t overly frustrated about it. He returned to lane and used the time that Hades recalled back to his own base to hurriedly try to catch up on experience and gold.


    ¡°Here you can see that Team Skycrown¡¯s Jungler has a lot of love for their Mid. He purposely brought down the health in the Wraiths camp and gave it to the Mid to make up for some experience,¡± said Bao Jun as he took note of the happenings.


    Zhou Yan did this because as an elder brother, it was the only thing he could do to help Wu Sen. Going against Hades was like going against a mountain, and there was also a Jungler as strong as Belial to deal with¡­ it was hard to blame Wu Sen for his middle lane performance, and there wasn¡¯t much they could do.


    With Hades playing too d*mn smoothly, the situation had become really grim. He now had three kills, and after recalling to base, he was sure to come out even more brutal.


    Such a large amount of burst damage on Riven in early game was similar to a bug-like existence on the map. Forget about her unleashing a set of skills, your health would almost completely run out with just a few touches from her!


    In this case, it was absolutely impossible for the Jungler to camp the lane. If the Jungler came, it would be giving her a double kill. Zhou Yan was wise to give up on the middle lane and let Wu Sen survive on his own, while he went to the bottom lane.


    The wards on both teams had run out, and neither side had their Flash. Zhou Yan knew that the middle lane was not salvageable, so he needed to take the chance to build advantages on other lanes.


    It didn¡¯t matter much if one lane crashed, or if Belial brainlessly killed the middle lane. By sacrificing Wu Sen who attacked two of the bigger guns in the lineup, Zhou Yan could then use this chance to open up more opportunities for the other lanes. After all, LOL was a team fight-oriented game!


    As for Wu Sen, he had already been mentaly prepared for this. With a 1/3 KDA, he wouldn¡¯t be worth much gold anymore even if he died.


    Wu Sen didn¡¯t plan on taking any kills, and focused on his CS instead. Later on, he would have the same advantage as his other teammates. He would then take some kills during team fights and quickly build his items.


    Wu Sen believed that Riven wouldn¡¯t buy the Sword of Occult just for the sake of getting the stacks that weren¡¯t worth money to him!


    ***


    Team Skycrown had played four games in the LPL, and this was the first time they were in such a disadvantageous position.


    As expected of Team Daemons, the pressure they put on Team Skycrown was really immense. You could tell just how frustrated the members of Team Skycrown were from the pinched expressions on all their faces!

 Chapter 441 - Hades, The Merciless Killer

    Between five and six and a half minutes, that was the best timing for a gank at the bottom lane, when the wards on both sides were down and none of them had Flash.


    They had to let go of the middle lane. Zhou Yan started to swim downwards, he needed to get them an advantage at the bottom lane.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± said Zhou Yan.


    ¡°Are the others following from behind?¡± asked Yu Luocheng.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like you¡¯re selling drugs, yeah? Want me to go up and bait myself?¡± joked Lin Dong.


    Yu Luocheng shook his head.


    Nowadays, LOL players are becoming more savvy. If you¡¯ve played ranked games in Platinum or Diamond and above in the Ionia server, you¡¯d know that one wrong step alone could result in you getting caught by your opponent. And no one would even bother about you if that happened.


    To put it bluntly, for you to suddenly be so reckless when you were being so cautious all this while, it can only be because you were f*cking up to something!


    This has provided some consolation to players who played in Internet cafes with unstable connections. Even if the weak connection caused them to misstep, it¡¯s not certain that their opponent would catch up¡­


    In other worlds, if you want your opponent to fall for your tricks in this era, you had to sell it properly. Putting on too fake of an act would get you nowhere.


    Asmodai and Mephistopheles were veterans. If Lin Dong went forward to try anything, they would definitely throw out a set of skills and turn around to retreat, letting their Jungler hit empty air.


    Good players had to also know how to act well.


    Yu Luocheng firmly believed himself to be a master actor. Even with Zhou Yan camping his lane, his movement and actions didn¡¯t change. He had no intention of charging in, and it felt like his Jungler didn¡¯t exist in the lane at all.


    Seeing Annie, Yu Luocheng suddenly sent a Flash Frost towards her. Mephistopheles¡¯ movements were also not just for show. He just navigated the little lolita girl slightly, easily dodging the chunk of ice that was sure to stun her if it hit.


    As soon as Yu Luocheng released his skill, it was obvious that the positioning of Asmodai and Mephistopheles had slightly shifted to the front.


    Taking advantage of the moment when your opponent didn¡¯t have their skill up to push forward or hit the wave was a skill that had to be mastered at the bottom lane, especially if your opponent was using a champion like Blitzcrank.


    You could go forward with peace of mind, knowing that there was a ten second cooldown on the skill. You could do a lot in that time!


    With the same logic applying to Anivia, this champion was really utility heavy. Once she missed her skill, it was the same as not being a threat anymore as a Support. This includes her E skill since the double damage which applies to enemies hit by Frost Flash was now useless.


    In this situation, Asmodai and Mephistopheles were not about to let go of the chance to pressure the lane.


    However¡­


    You guys came forward, you took the bait!


    As Yu Luocheng stepped back, Annie stepped forward with a stun at the ready to disrupt Lin Dong¡¯s farming. When she did so, Yu Luocheng suddenly turned.


    Crystallize!


    An impenetrable wall of ice shot up from the ground, directly in between Annie and Graves, cutting off this little lolita girl and uncle.


    When Mephistopheles saw the wall come up, he didn¡¯t think much of it because he wasn¡¯t that afraid of it at all. Graves needing some time to catch up wasn¡¯t much of a setback. But then he saw an axe flying out from the bush and his face turned pale.


    ¡°This wall is really in the best spot. Even though she now knows that there¡¯s an ambush behind it, Annie has no way to back her ADC up. The duration of the ice wall from Crystallize is five seconds, and if you place it well, Annie who doesn¡¯t have a Flash will most likely perish before it goes down!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun.


    The wall had left Annie with no place to go, making everyone suddenly realize Anivia¡¯s power as a Support!


    The range of releasing Crystallize was quite far. With a wall in place to directly seal off your opponent¡¯s retreat, there was nothing you could do once the Jungler arrived. In this situation, you had to either trade a Flash or a kill.


    Mephistopheles didn¡¯t want to struggle. When they caught their opponents, Supports like Taric, Thresh, or Leona still had some distance between them, so as long as Mephistopheles didn¡¯t go too far forward, he probably still had some chance of survival. But in this situation, he had a wall directly behind him, and going around it would take a few seconds¡­


    He previously thought that it would be hard if he was to be trapped like this. Now that it had actually happened, Mephistopheles realized how disgusting Anivia was as a Support. The problem was that the wall was part of Anivia¡¯s kit, and looking at the width of the wall, it seemed like Anivia had added more points into W.


    Crystallize had a cooldown of twenty-five seconds. As long as there was someone camping behind them, plus being blocked off by the wall, you would have to Flash. If Anivia used Flash and sealed off the road, then you¡¯d have to trade a kill again¡­


    ¡°Olaf will come to camp again, our lane is the easiest to gank right now. Bel, come over and counter gank,¡± said Mephistopheles.


    ¡°Alright,¡± replied Belial, nodding.


    ***


    Mephistopheles¡¯ expectation was not wrong. After Olaf¡¯s earlier successful gank at the five-minute mark, he camped once again at six minutes, trying to squeeze as much as possible in the time that they didn¡¯t have Flash.


    An eye for an eye¡ªYu Luocheng understood this well.


    Mephistopheles purposely pretended to ward, and though Yu Luocheng felt that he was being too fake, he couldn¡¯t help throwing up a wall, trapping Annie.


    Once she was trapped, Annie threw out a stun right onto Yu Luocheng¡¯s face. Elise and Olaf appeared simultaneously, targeting each other¡¯s Support and fighting to kill them immediately!


    The burst damage from Olaf¡¯s E was terrifying, Mephistopheles¡¯ Annie was killed quickly. At the same time, Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia took an onslaught from Elise, dying instantly!


    However, when Belial and Asmodai realized that Yu Luocheng had changed into Eggnivia, they frowned in annoyance.


    This egg¡­ should they hit it nor not? If they hit it, they would be pelted with attacks from the others. But if they didn¡¯t hit it, they would feel like their previous attacks had gone to waste!


    ¡°Back, back!¡± said Belial.


    He felt that the situation was not in their favour, their opponent Support basically had two lives and they didn¡¯t have their own Support. Plus, it was obvious that Anivia was also baiting.


    Belial realized that he deeply hated those champions who naturally had two lives like Zac, Anivia, and Aatrox. Think about all the times you¡¯ve wasted your effort throwing an Ignite, and even after you gave out your Flash to take away your opponent¡¯s last bit of health, only for them to become an egg in front of your eyes. How would you feel?


    The excitement and adrenaline from a kill, but just because your opponent naturally had two lives¡­


    This wave was another loss!


    Seeing Anivia revive with enough health, Belial could only grit his teeth and leave. Not taking Anivia¡¯s passive into account was his mistake.


    Wu Sen suddenly spoke up, warning them, ¡°Careful, Hades is heading to the bottom!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s hearts jumped in panic, hurriedly backing up.


    Yu Luocheng was looking at the map, but the ward on the river side didn¡¯t capture Riven¡¯s silhouette.


    ¡°Where is he coming from?¡± asked Yu Luocheng in a hurry.


    ¡°His own jungle side.¡±


    The left side of the Dragon area had a ward, and it didn¡¯t show Hades coming downwards at all. However, Hades had disappeared from vision for a while, and the bottom lane fight had ended. It would be pointless for him to come give assistance now.


    Unless¡­


    Just as Yu Luocheng was guessing where Hades had disappeared to, a bloodthirsty figure burst out from the tribush behind the turret!


    ¡°Watch out!¡± shouted Yu Luocheng.


    Just as he got those words out, Hades¡¯ Riven moved from the tribush to the turret in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°HA!¡±


    With a burst of runic energy from her sword, Yu Luocheng and Zhou Yan who were under turret were stunned.


    The runic blade danced dazzlingly¡­


    ¡°HA!¡±


    The blast of energy came to a close.


    DOUBLEKILL!!


    ***


    Fast!


    It was too fast!


    That was the only thought in Yu Luocheng¡¯s mind when the screen turned grey. His internal trembling left him unable to snap back to reality for a long time.


    At most, that was 0.7 seconds!


    Zhou Yan was also silent. To get a double kill under turret was too sudden!


    The entire arena was silent too, the only one you could hear exclaiming in excitement was the commentator. Everyone was speechless, this double kill had successfully stunned the entire crowd.


    ¡°Replay it, let¡¯s watch the replay!¡± said Bao Jun, unable to explain what had just happened.


    Not long after, the replay was shown on screen at a slower speed.


    At this speed, you could see Riven appearing from behind the turret and suddenly moving 900 range, which is about half a Flash. She unleashed Broken Wings, killing both Anivia and Olaf!


    ¡°Oh my god, that¡¯s so fast, and this is on slow mo! I can¡¯t even tell the sequence in which the moves were unleashed!¡± shouted Bao Jun.


    In slow motion, Riven still managed to kill off Anivia and Olaf who had half health left in an instant. How fast was Hades¡¯ Riven at unleashing his skills?!


    ¡°Did anyone understand that super fast sequence that Hades released just now?!¡±


    ***


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s eyes darkened in contemplation as he muttered to himself the sequence of Hades¡¯ move¡­


    ¡°First he Q, moved a little bit, E and ulti at the same time he Flashed. W to stun, taking two of us, and then the second Q, Wind Slash from his ulti, and the third Q at the same time?!¡±


    Such a complicated maneuver chained together, it really was a shockingly beautiful maneuver!


    Even having Flash in hand was useless, you would still only see the after shadow of Riven¡­


    Yu Luocheng knew that Hades was scary, knew that he was strong. This was also the first time he had properly gone up against the strongest player in the country.


    But Hades¡¯ strength had far exceeded Yu Luocheng¡¯s expectations, making him break out in cold sweat. With this kind of hand speed, it was easy enough to kill off his own back line!

 Chapter 442 - They’ve Seen Through It!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    This double kill was quite fatal to Team Skycrown, and Dragon was also taken as expected.


    After taking Dragon, Hades and Belial started to invade the jungle area more frequently. A Jungler Elise and Mid Riven teaming up together, they were practically unstoppable. If you got caught by Else, Riven wouldn¡¯t even need to activate her ulti to finish you off.


    With the blue buff being controlled and four people invading, Team Skycrown had no choice but to let it go.


    ¡°Zhou, don¡¯t you want your red buff?¡± asked Da Luo, frowning as he looked at Zhou Yan.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to get it. We¡¯ll definitely die if we 3v3,¡± said Zhou Yan as he shook his head. The expression on his face showed how pressured he felt.


    To a Mid, the blue buff that spawned at seven and a half minutes was crucial. It directly affected the gold you needed for your items, and Wu Sen was already heavily relying on his skill shots to farm. With the blue buff taken, his income was lagging behind again compared to Riven.


    And now they couldn¡¯t take the red buff either. The reason for that was simple: Rengar was missing from the map. It would be hard for Shyvanna, Olaf, and Syndra to win over Elise, Rengar, and Riven, who had high burst damage in the jungle area.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just give it up. If this goes on, it won¡¯t be any different from losing. Contest them, Zhou!¡± said Wu Sen in a serious tone.


    One buff would affect one level. The blue buff was already taken, they definitely couldn¡¯t let go of the red buff too!


    Wu Sen started to walk towards the red buff in their own jungle area. As he and Zhou Yan approached, they saw Elise and Riven, but Rengar was still nowhere to be seen.


    Wu Sen stood on the other side of the wall, using his skill shots to bring down Elise and Riven¡¯s health. After throwing out just a few shots, a black shadow suddenly appeared from behind Wu Sen, the hunter sharply slashing his unsuspecting back!


    Wu Sen¡¯s health dropped significantly in an instant, and when he turned to flee, he was rooted to the ground by Rengar¡¯s Bola Strike.


    There wasn¡¯t much you could do to fight back against a Rengar who has activated his ulti. You couldn¡¯t take any precautions, it was all up to whether or not he was in the mood to cut you down.


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan¡¯s reactions were not slow, especially Da Luo. He seemed to have his ulti ready to go at any moment. Just when their opponent was about to kill Wu Sen, Da Luo immediately activated his ulti and flew forward. He tore in between them, also blocking Elise at the same time, not allowing either of them to hit Wu Sen.


    Wu Sen still had his E, and he pushed a Dark Sphere under their feet. Coincidentally, Elise, Rengar, and Riven were standing in a straight line!


    The Dark Sphere burst through Rengar and Elise, stunning the both of them. As it was about to reach Hades¡¯ Riven, his lightning quick reflexes in using E helped him avoid this beautiful stun.


    When he saw that Syndra was already a ways off, Hades instructed, ¡°Kill Shyvanna first, I have enough damage!¡±


    Her ulti was activated and the beautiful dance from Broken Wings was then quickly launched at Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna.


    Hades¡¯ items were already good, even a tank like Da Luo couldn¡¯t withstand an assault with such high burst damage. Da Luo didn¡¯t dare hesitate for even a second. He Flashed to evade and let Riven¡¯s combo hit empty air.


    The scene became slightly chaotic then. Rengar took damage first as he was in front, followed by Elise breaking to the front, and then Hades came in with his damage. With the current items Hades had, his damage was still high even without using any skills.


    It was obvious that the three members of Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t win this fight. After getting chased out of the jungle, their opponents weren¡¯t greedy enough to continue chasing them, and instead went for the red buff.


    Unsatisfied, Da Luo was smart enough to take another route, cooperating with Zhou Yan to harass them and steal back the red buff.


    Unfortunately, their positioning wasn¡¯t that great, and wanting to steal things from Elise wasn¡¯t that easy. Seeing that they were about to leave, Da Luo got even more annoyed.


    ***


    Frowning as he watched from beneath the stage area, Coach Huang Kang said, ¡°It¡¯s already been ten seconds.¡±


    ¡°What ten seconds?¡± asked Anubis, not understanding.


    Ten seconds?


    Huang Kang was obviously talking about that otherworldly super speed assistance. That Support who only needed ten seconds to rush to the battlefield!


    Suddenly, Anubis shouted out loud, ¡°F*ck!!¡±


    Just as the three members of Team Daemons chose to retreat, a blue phoenix suddenly appeared on the map!


    An ice wall appeared, running horizontally from the red buff to the Dragon pit, sealing off the path between Riven and Elise.


    Flash Frost!


    Slowly, a massive chunk of ice floated over to Elise. Elise¡¯s Rappel was still on cooldown, and no matter where she moved, she would be hit by Anivia¡¯s Flash Frost.


    ¡°Nice!¡± shouted Wu Sen.


    He followed up Yu Luocheng¡¯s Flash Frost with Dark Sphere, stunning Elise. Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf came up, killing Belial¡¯s Elise with a swift hit of his axe, transferring the red buff back to himself.


    Hades¡¯s Riven was on the other side of the wall. He had initially wanted to rescue Elise but the ice wall prevented him from doing so. Seeing Elise killed, Hades could only jump down to the Dragon pit¡­


    ¡°This guy¡¯s speed to reach here is too d*mn fast!¡± cursed Belial as he watched himself get killed, wasting the red buff that he had just gotten, as well as giving his opponent another kill.


    ¡°10 seconds¡­¡± muttered Hades.


    Just as their coach had said before, Fighting Hawk¡¯s assistance timing would be not more than fifteen seconds. They were held up at the red buff area for just a little while, and that guy had already reached them in ten seconds.


    Mephistopheles¡¯ Annie had already reached the middle lane, and he said with slight shame in his voice, ¡°My bad, I was half a beat too slow.¡±


    Mephistopheles had been calculating how much more experience his opponent needed before reaching level six. He didn¡¯t expect that Yu Luocheng would reach the jungle area with the Boots of Mobility to give assistance while he was distracted.


    Like Yu Luocheng, Mephistopheles had also bought the Boots of Mobility upgrade after he returned from leveling up, but he had been just a few seconds slower.


    And because of his slightly slower assistance, Elise¡¯s life was forfeited and the red buff was taken back. No matter how you look at it, this was a loss for Team Daemons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just concentrate.¡± said Hades without even a hint of anger in his voice.


    Mephistopheles nodded his head. This time he at least got to understand Fighting Hawk¡¯s support path. Just as Coach Huang Kang said, he would already be coming towards them before the fight broke out. With the Support having so little distance, as long as the ADC doesn¡¯t stand too forward, nothing would happen.


    During the LPL matches, all the Supports would always protect their ADCs during the laning phase to ensure that they could farm up. They would normally only appear during bottom side jungle fights or when teams were contesting Dragon. A fight on the other side of the world would already be considered out of support range.


    However, Fighting Hawk wasn¡¯t like other Supports. He immediately used the level two jump in income to buy the Boots Of Mobility, clearly intending to roam the entire map to assist his team.


    Team fights in LOL were made in such a way that even one extra champion in the fight would guarantee a win. For those little boys and girls who think otherwise, please go back and play some rank games before coming to further discuss this.


    With Riven¡¯s undoubtedly superior items, no matter how you fought in a 3v3, she would still win.


    But if you had your Support with you, then the outcome would be completely different. The Support basically had CC skills, and it was over once you were caught, no matter how good your items were. If the fire was focused on you, you would still die.


    There was only one reason behind Team Revelation and Team Beijing¡¯s losses, and that was Yu Luocheng¡¯s assistance. Unless the bottom lane was in a big fight, all the other small-scale team fights would inexplicably have an extra member of Team Skycrown in it.


    ¡°Remember, if your assistance is slow, and unless your lane is doing extremely good, don¡¯t ever give up in giving assistance. The moment Fighting Hawk roams and gives assistance everywhere, he will not return to lane once he succeeds. He¡¯ll continue to push the lane that succeeded!¡±


    Coach Huang Kang¡¯s words were still ringing in Mephistopheles¡¯ head. Team Skycrown¡¯s strategy was to make sure that their opponents had less members during team fights.


    Their roaming Support not only led to successful ganks, but also concerned the fact that they pushed the turret with those two extra champions.


    Like now, Anivia¡¯s assistance had successfully led to Elise¡¯s demise. Plus, Rengar¡¯s health was low and Riven was in an average state of health. Team Daemons only had two people in their middle lane, but Team Skycrown had four!


    In this situation, they would definitely push the middle lane. As Riven is a melee champion, she won¡¯t be able to withstand the assaults. If she clears the wave and tries to defend, she will definitely be killed eventually!


    The decision was made. Mephistopheles would give up his 2 on 1 pressure on Ezrreal and hurry to the middle lane to defend the turret.


    It was just as Coach Huang Kang said. Once they landed a kill, Team Skycrown¡¯s Shyvanna, Syndra, Olaf, and Anivia all consumed their Health Potions and returned to the middle lane, pushing the minion wave towards the turret.


    ¡°What is this pacing, what even is this pacing?! Team Skycrown is suddenly pushing! If it was any other team who was slower in responding, they would have not only thrown away a kill, but even the turret too!¡± exclaimed Bao Jun as he watched the mysterious scene unfold.


    LPL professional players would always make this mistake. Once they landed the kill and saw their own state, they would recall to base to heal up and buy their items.


    Team Skycrown never had that habit. Once they kill, what else was there to do other than take the turret?


    In League of Legends, you need to be clear about what to prioritize. This is a push turret game, killing was just a way to clear the turret better. Many LPL teams were too focused on farming in early game, getting their items, and initiating team fights. They would only push turrets once they won a team fight.


    In actuality, once an early gank has succeeded, you need to take the chance when the other party has yet to react, and defend to take down the turrets. Every champion would get 150 gold, which was better than getting 300 gold on an assist, and this is before considering the significant strategic meaning of the turrets on the map¡­


    Mephistopheles¡¯ timely appearance stopped Team Skycrown¡¯s push. Seeing that it was hopeless to push, they finally retreated back to base to heal and buy items.


    ***


    ¡°They saw through our strategy,¡± said Wu Sen helplessly.


    If they had managed to take down the middle lane turret, then Riven wouldn¡¯t be pushing the lane so recklessly, and Wu Sen would have been able to farm in peace.


    Unfortunately, Team Daemons were more experienced than they expected.


    ¡°Yeah, they didn¡¯t insist on fighting in red buff just now, they knew that I had caught up. Otherwise, we would have been able to slay Riven as well,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    This match was very, very hard. Taking Elise¡¯s head wasn¡¯t anything worth bragging about. Not being able to take Dragon and the turret, Team Skycrown would have less gold than Team Daemons.

 Chapter 443 - Divine Wall Dividing The Battlefield!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Daemons was familiar with the Jungle Suppression Tactic that Team Skycrown used, and they were also quite skilled at using it themselves.


    In about five minutes, Team Daemons would most likely be able to kill off someone from Team Skycrown.


    Why?


    That was the buff duration and also the Flash cooldown timing.


    Having watched countless matches played by Team Daemons, Team Skycrown had a deeper understanding of how Hades played. They had purposely spent more time on studying his style and how to counter him.


    Playing against him today, they now knew what a terrifying player he was!


    As long as his Riven had Flash in hand, someone from Team Skycrown was sure to be instantly killed. And he really knew how to choose his target, always looking for someone who didn¡¯t have Flash.


    Riven is a champion that wasn¡¯t overly-reliant on her ulti. Even without it, as long as her items are good enough, the damage output she can deal is huge.


    The Dragon respawned every six minutes. Though Team Daemons didn¡¯t have the stronger push factor like Team Skycrown did, they knew how to control the other objective¡ªDragon.


    The Dragon was practically like an ATM for Team Daemons, and by using the Jungle Suppression Tactic, Team Skycrown¡¯s jungle had also become a source of their gold income.


    Once the jungle area has been controlled, it was only a matter of time before the outer turret was lost. The gold gap is already at about seven thousand or more, and Riven is ahead of Team Skycrown by one complete item.


    As long as he had Flash, Team Skycrown would be treading in dangerous waters. Even if Yu Luocheng reserved Exhaust for him, it was possible that it wouldn¡¯t do much as Riven¡¯s damage is just too high¡­


    ***


    ¡°Coach, didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯d probably have a seventy or eighty percent chance of winning if we don¡¯t give Team Skycrown the early advantage? Now we¡¯re already ahead by seven thousand gold and Hade is also fed. This should be a sure win, right?¡± said Anubis.


    Huang Kang remained silent as he watched the match. He seemed to be deep in thought, as though he was harbouring some doubts in his heart.


    ¡°Dragon has been theirs all the while, four turrets are down, they are also in the lead with kills, and their CS isn¡¯t that far off. With this situation they should already be ahead by at least ten thousand gold, so why is it only at seven thousand?¡± muttered Huang Kang as he did the calculation mentally.


    Of the seven thousand lead, three thousand gold was on Hades¡¯ Riven. Riven¡¯s items were already good, vividly displaying the style of a captain.


    After all, this was Asmodai¡¯s last real professional competition, so how could Hades not pull out all the stops to send him off?


    With three thousand on Hades¡¯ Riven and an average of four thousand on the remaining members, that would mean that each person was leading by at least one thousand gold. At twenty minutes into the game, this was definitely an important lead in gold¡­


    If they were up against any other team, Huang Kang wouldn¡¯t be worried at all. With this kind of a lead in gold, it was just a matter of time until they claimed victory.


    But why was his gut telling him that something was not right? His whole body was stiff with anxiety and tension. Was it because the team that Team Daemons was playing against had once achieved the most glorious achievement in the world of e-sports?


    No, it was definitely not because of the shadows of the past. It was because of Team Skycrown¡¯s defense¡ªthey were being too organized!


    Team Skycrown had not made any mistakes in the process of their defense. In using the turrets as their defense point, as long as Team Daemons lost a single fight due to anxiety or recklessness, then the outcome would likely change immediately. After all, Team Skycrown was great at knowing how to seize opportunities.


    Team Skycrown was not making any mistakes, in fact, they were waiting for a chance.


    Team Daemons was waiting for a chance to push too, but they were also afraid to act rashly. Getting wiped out just once would make the gold lead fall by a few thousand, and any momentum they had gained would be destroyed.


    Once one side has the advantage, and the other side is strong in their defense, how would this stalemate be broken?


    Naturally, by the Baron!


    This version was unlike the previous season, where you had Oracle¡¯s Elixir to easily de-ward. That was the reason why the Jungle Suppression Tactic had weakened. But it wasn¡¯t like you couldn¡¯t use the normal vision control to lay an ambush at the Baron area.


    Using the minion wave to force a Baron fight, whether it was an ambush or actually taking it, was the most classic tactic to break any stalemate, and Team Daemons had already been patrolling the Baron pit area for a while.


    Team Skycrown had been led around by the nose by Team Daemons all along, but this didn¡¯t make them panic at all.


    In fact, all of the Team Skycrown members were under tremendous pressure at the moment. They had played countless matches where they were at a great disadvantage, where their gold gap was more than twenty thousand, and they surrendered at twenty minutes, but this gold gap of seven thousand was just too hard for them to make up for.


    Minions on the lane were equivalent to gold. They could earn more by going to the creeps in the jungle, but even their jungle was under Team Daemons¡¯ control. Plus, they also had the Dragon, which gave them about an extra thousand gold. If this went on, the gap would only continue to grow.


    As a Support, Yu Luocheng was clearly aware that he wouldn¡¯t be very useful in late game. As a captain, he had been looking for Team Daemons¡¯ weaknesses all along. But this strong veteran team really had too much experience.


    They wouldn¡¯t make the same mistakes as Team Revelation or Team Beijing where their vision was blocked off. Team Daemons pushed the side lines together, and was even vigilant in the corners of the maps where the bushes were.


    Yu Luocheng had used those bushes to get one over so many master players before.


    Anivia is a champion that is suitable for shadow plays, an unprepared enemy would be unable to dodge her Q that came from the bush. Even if they did, an ice wall would follow, and once that hit, Anivia just needed to activate her ulti and there would be no way to run.


    Unfortunately, there hadn¡¯t been a chance to use this strategy at all!


    ***


    ¡°Boss, they¡¯re going for Baron,¡± said Da Luo as he roamed the Krugs area.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare, they¡¯re just baiting us. But once their gold is a bit more, and the stats of Baron increase, it¡¯ll be dangerous if we get led on,¡± replied Yu Luocheng.


    Even if you knew that the enemy is baiting you by walking near the Baron pit, you would have no choice but to let go of that wave at the bottom lane to rush over to guard this vital objective.


    Step by step, and dropping a ward every few steps.


    As they neared the Wraith camp on the red side, Team Skycrown was more alert. It was possible that Team Daemons was lying in wait for them nearby.


    Woosh!


    With a loud signal, Team Daemons came rushing with accelerated speed, covering the distance from the river at a fast pace. Annie had activated her Talisman of Ascension to increase the speed of their movements.


    Team Daemons was going all in for a fight!


    ¡°Be careful of Rengar!¡± shouted Yu Luocheng.


    Just as he said that, Rengar jumped out from the middle lane to the narrow path of the red buff camp. He immediately jumped onto Wu Sen, throwing a set of skills on him and taking his health down by two thirds!


    There was no defense against a Top Rengar with such bloodlust. When he jumps into the middle of the fray onto one of the key champions, nothing could be done about it. Then, his team will follow up closely.


    With the effect of the Talisman of Ascension, you can see the rest of Team Daemons rushing towards them quickly. Annie was walking at the front of the group with a white mist surrounding her.


    If you don¡¯t know what that means on Annie, you will be dead by the time you find out!


    Annie was running fast, thanks to the combined speed from the item as well as her Boots of Mobility. She took the chance to plunge into the middle of Team Skycrown while Rengar held their attention.


    If a Support Annie released her ulti at a great time, it was a world-saving ulti.


    Yu Luocheng was well aware that Mephistopheles had his Flash. Seeing the distance between his teammates, Yu Luocheng who hadn¡¯t bought a Talisman of Ascension knew that they had to fight this battle.


    His teammates were retreating, but Yu Luocheng did not.


    Mephistopheles¡¯ Annie had already caught sight of Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia, but he completely ignored him. With one Flash, Mephitopheles¡¯ Annie skipped over Yu Luocheng, her ulti slamming heavily on Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Da Luo!


    Luckily for Lin Dong, he was quick to react, using his E to avoid the ulti. If not for that, with Annie¡¯s damage, an onslaught of skills from her would bring his Ezreal¡¯s health down by half!


    ¡°Team Skycrown is about to get destroyed, Rengar and Annie¡¯s engage was perfect! It managed to hold Team Skycrown down, and their formation is completely scattered! Hades is coming in to clean up!¡± shouted Bao Jun in excitement as the fight broke out.


    The long, dull game finally burst like a broken dam, the audience was now nervous and excited.


    Team Skycrown was in a dangerous position, their ADC and Mid had been zoned out. Yu Luocheng as a Support had been left at the forefront of his team. It was just a matter of time before he was killed!


    All of a sudden, Bao Jun screamed, ¡°Oooh! This ice wall, this ice wall!!¡±


    In the battlefield, an ice wall had shot up between the wall from the red buff and the Wraith camp. It sealed off three members of Team Daemons behind it, not giving them even the slightest bit of space.


    The battlefield was divided!


    The most classic ability of the Cryophoenix¡ªdividing the battlefield!


    ¡°Divine wall, this really is a divine wall! I finally understand why the captain has chosen Anivia as his Support champion. Compared to Zyra¡¯s ulti to knock up and slow for two seconds, if Anivia¡¯s wall is placed properly, this backhanded ability is even more terrifying!!¡±


    Team Daemons initially had two members going in to initiate and hold Team Skycrown down, then the remaining three members would follow up. This should have been the perfect initiate on their side.


    Who knew that because of one ice wall, it has become a closed cage formation?!


    Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia hadn¡¯t executed many eye-catching maneuvers throughout the entire game. Even at the bottom lane, he only paired up well with the Jungler to have a couple of nice kills¡­


    But being bland the whole time didn¡¯t matter. As long as one single beautiful ice wall was thrown out to divide the battlefield, then this was no mere ice bird, but a real Cryophoenix, it was just too glorious!


    ***


    Charon, Hades, and Asmodai were blocked off by the wall. Once he hit the ice wall, Hades immediately turned to use his three Qs to jump over the wall at the Wright camp.


    Once he was over the wall, his Q was used up, and even if he wanted to display that enormous burst damage, he was unable to. So, Hades turned his attention to Yu Luocheng¡¯s Anivia.


    Seeing Hades jump over, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately Flashed out. Even if they were longtime e-sports rivals, Yu Luocheng was not insane enough to use a Support Anivia to go against a Mid Riven in a solo match.


    Now switching places with Riven, there was still a wall dividing the two!

 Chapter 444 - The Support Restrains Three Carries!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Hades frowned. This Fighting Hawk, his Flash position was just so so sly.


    Why did he say so?


    Fighting Hawk was in the Wright camp and he didn¡¯t choose to Flash into the middle lane. Instead, he chose to go to Hades¡¯ previous position across the wall. In other words, he exchanged places with Hades.


    With Flash in hand, Hades had used the full advantage of his three Qs to flip over the wall. Once he landed, he couldn¡¯t follow up by unleashing his terrifying damage because he had used up his Q, and needed to wait for it to refresh.


    He intended to jump over to solo kill Fighting Hawk, but this guy had Flashed out the same moment that Hades landed.


    Other more impulsive Mid players might have immediately followed up with a Flash, launching an onslaught that would surely kill this d*mn Support that deserved to die.


    The question was, would Hades trade his Flash for this kill?


    At this stage, Riven¡¯s Flash was extremely important in team fights. Trading it to kill a Support was such a waste, and not to mention the following damage he could deal would be weakened.


    This Fighting Hawk just had to Flash back to where he came from, as though he wanted to 1v3.


    ¡°Ohh, Crystallize, slow effect from the ulti, and Flash Frost! Captain Yu has Flashed directly into that position, and is using himself to attract the attention of the three of them!¡±


    The screen cut to where Yu Luocheng was standing. Everyone saw the exchange of positions across the wall that was between Hades and Yu Luocheng.


    Once their positions flipped, Yu Luocheng didn¡¯t run, but instead activated his ulti to slow Elise and Graves who were blocked by the wall!


    ***


    ¡°Why could Captain Yu Flash there? Isn¡¯t that just digging his own grave?!¡± shouted Mao.


    The position of Yu Luocheng¡¯s Flash was just too weird. Why would he Flash to that side instead of towards the middle lane? That way, he wouldn¡¯t be caught by Elise and Graves.


    ¡°Idiot, as a Support, he¡¯s obviously pulling the attention of their Mid, ADC, and Jungler. He¡¯s clearly trying to buy time for his team to kill off Rengar and Annie!¡± said Feng Da, violently slapping the back of Mao¡¯s head.


    Don¡¯t simply assume things if you don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Yu Luocheng¡¯s Flash was obviously a ploy to sacrifice himself to protect his team.


    Anivia had a lot of CC skills, and Team Daemon¡¯s formation has been scattered due to her ice wall. However, Riven had already managed to jump over it and Elise could probably Flash over too.


    The situation with Graves was a bit hard to say, as the difference in gold was too much. The five seconds in dividing the battlefield couldn¡¯t be taken back, and Rengar was quite resistant in a fight.


    At this time, the best thing to do is to just continue to restrain them!


    As Bao Jun said, Yu Luocheng was holding the attention of the three of them. They weren¡¯t expecting a lot of damage from Anivia, all he needed to do was restrain the opponent ADC, Mid, and Jungler for as long as possible.


    Yu Luocheng chose Anivia as Support. Unlike other Support champions, she has two lives. These two lives gave him more time to restrain the enemy, and more importantly, he even had a Guardian Angel.


    This way, his Anivia had three lives!


    These three lives would definitely hold the enemy ADC for quite a while, and also waste the majority of their time. And in this span of time, Yu Luocheng¡¯s skills would also continue to work¡­


    Anivia¡¯s kiting and CC abilities were really too strong. The impassable ice wall, the stun from her Q, and the slow effect together with big range from her ulti. With the fight being in such a narrow space, Anivia¡¯s CC can be maximised to the fullest.


    So, will the enemy come for him or not?


    If they did, it would take him at least ten seconds to take down three lives. If they didn¡¯t, then his CC would annoy the h*ll out of them!


    ***


    The later the game, the more you realize how disgusting of a Support Anivia is. If she was a Mid, you would have to use everything to kill off both her lives.


    But she had to be the least important role in a team fight, a Support of all things¡­


    As long as Anivia has passed the early game and built a Guardian Angel in mid game, with this kind of item, won¡¯t she last even longer than a tank?


    And apart from Leona, who else can compete with her in terms of CC? Leona¡¯s skills were restrictive, easy to miss, and unable to bring the effects that Anivia had, like dividing the battlefield¡­


    Of course, that was provided that you have a good understanding of Anivia. Otherwise, you would just be a bird that locks out your teammates and sends them to their deaths.


    ***


    Asmodai stared grimly at his screen, he couldn¡¯t help but admire Fighting Hawk Yu Luocheng¡¯s capabilities. Even as only a Support, he was able to contribute so much to his team.


    It was hard to believe that a single person was able to restrain the three main damage dealers and even ensure that he doesn¡¯t die!


    For an instant, Asmodai didn¡¯t know what to do and could only wait for the ice wall to end.


    The restrain Yu Luocheng had over the ADC was only seven seconds long, and in this time, Elise didn¡¯t deal any damage either. Hades¡¯ Riven had gone for Da Luo¡¯s Shyvanna, throwing out some assault on her.


    And Rengar who had been enclosed in a cage, his health was dropping rapidly. It was as though he was standing alone to tank all four members of Team Skycrown. If not for his items which were super tanky, Charon¡¯s Rengar would have been killed in that moment when they were split up.


    At a glance, Charon saw that his teammates were only now following up, and decided to pull back. Trading places with Elise, he relied on his items and passive to gain some health back.


    Mephistopheles¡¯ Annie had already died. Once she Flashed in, it was impossible for her not to die from the hacking of Olaf¡¯s axes.


    And Hades¡¯ skills were finally refreshed for the next bout of combos. He had been loitering about the battlefield, with his fingers already on the Flash key.


    In this narrow path, Anivia was able to beautifully utilize her abilities to the fullest. Similarly, with Flash in hand, it was easy for Riven to kill anybody in this narrow path.


    The first target in Riven¡¯s eyes was Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal.


    So what if you have E¡ªArcane Shift¡ªto jump away, I won¡¯t even give you the time to jump!


    For Fighting Hawk to be able to restrain three people, this really made Hades admire him. This assistance was really the most perfect contribution that a Support could give to the team, but this was also a mere delay in the tempo of their slaughter.


    His Runic Blade would still splatter the blood of those who had to die!


    This time, Hades unleashed his first two Qs, keeping his third recast of Broken Wings. Seeing Olaf and Ezreal rushing towards him, Hades pretended to retreat and let Ezreal attack him. At the moment that Ezreal stepped forward, Hades went back in with an E and Flash.


    This movement covered almost 900 range, nobody could dodge this, no matter how fast your fingers were.


    ¡°HA!¡±


    Riven released her ulti¡ªBlade of the Exile¡ªat the same time as her W, Ki Burst. With a stun lasting 0.75 seconds, Ezreal was sure to die!


    Hades¡¯ Riven threw out an A and followed up immediately with the third recast of Broken Wings, knocking Ezreal upwards. He launched an Ignite and another A, and finally a Wind Slash to finish it off.


    Riven¡¯s complete combo was not even finished yet, but with this W+A+Q+A+R combo, Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal was already almost dead within one second. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lin Dong had Barrier, his remaining health would definitely have been taken away by the Ignite.


    ¡°That damage, too scary!!¡±


    The entire arena sucked in their breath.


    The Flash killing that Hades performed was really like a predator killing its prey. It was amazing how he was still able to unleash this kind of detailed maneuver in the midst of such a chaotic battle.


    ¡°D*mn it, just a bit more!!¡±


    Hades watched as Ezreal retreated with that little bit of health, annoyance boiling in his heart.


    There was still a slight deviation in the calculations of his damage. If he had slightly more armor penetration, he definitely would have been able to kill off the ADC, and this team fight would have been a win for Team Daemons.


    Leaving Ezreal with only a tiny bit of health, Hades turned around and realized that Asmodai¡¯s Graves was being blocked off by Shyvanna. He couldn¡¯t focus his damage on others, he needed to deal with Shyvanna¡­


    Ezreal and Syndra both had quite a long range. If you didn¡¯t kill them instantly, they could possibly still deal damage.Their Annie had been sacrificed earlier due to the divide, and Charon¡¯s Rengar wasn¡¯t looking too good either, with only one fourth of his health left.


    Elise was protecting Asmodai, and was hard pressed to deal with the two squishy champions. The situation had suddenly become quite severe.


    They couldn¡¯t lose this fight. If they did, then their opponent would immediately take Baron!


    After taking Baron, Team Skycrown¡¯s gold would be recouped by a lot. And if you were to look in terms of lineup, Team Skycrown actually had a slight advantage. You especially cannot underestimate the effect of Anivia¡¯s ulti when unleashed in a team fight.


    As long as you gave Fighting Hawk¡¯s Anivia a chance to build Liandry¡¯s Torment, the additional four percent of magic damage it dealt would be extremely terrifying in terms of damage output from their team.


    Without any more skills, Hades could only start to pull back. Chasing down an Ezreal who had Flash didn¡¯t make any sense and had no benefit, not to mention all his skills were on cooldown at the moment.


    Just as he turned, he came face to face with The Berserker¡ªOlaf!


    The axe came in a downward swing, and the true damage from Olaf caused Hades¡¯ health to drop by a huge chunk. Suddenly, Riven only had about half of her health left and Syndra was unleashing her skills from a distance.


    Each skill that landed would be fatal, as once all the attacks were focused on Riven, she would easily be taken down.


    Roar!


    Suddenly, Hades saw Charon¡¯s Rengar heading towards his direction.


    Startled, Hades hurriedly said, ¡°Char, don¡¯t come over!¡±


    The entire team knew that they were giving their all in this match, for Asmodai¡¯s sake. They had to beautifully send off their teammate who had been with them for four to five years.


    Unfortunately, they were too rash. They shouldn¡¯t have underestimated Anivia¡¯s usefulness. The few skills thrown by Fighting Hawk had completely disrupted their initially perfect plays, and with the items he had, he had managed to restrain the three main damage dealers.


    So what if they had a gold lead of seven thousand? It meant nothing if they couldn¡¯t even deal any damage and instead let their enemies sink their teeth into two of their teammates.


    Charon didn¡¯t have much health left either, it didn¡¯t make much sense for him to come over to take the damage¡­


    Bamf!


    Suddenly, Charon Flashed directly into the bushes in the narrow path.


    Roar!


    The hunter jumped smoothly, pouncing down directly on Lin Dong¡¯s Ezreal.


    Shutdown!!


    Lin Dong was unable to react at all, dying to the claws of Rengar with just a hop and a skip.


    Hades froze, and then his heart burst with enthusiasm! ¡°Char, that was awesome!¡±


    Almost everyone thought that Rengar had rushed over to rescue Hades¡¯ Riven. Nobody expected him to pull off such a sly move, Flashing into the bush and using it to propel himself towards Ezreal who was shooting his Q from a distance.


    Lin Dong had Flash on him, but Charon¡¯s maneuver was just too beautiful. It was so unexpected that Lin Dong couldn¡¯t even press Flash before he was taken down!


    The entire arena was in a frenzy, this was a Rengar who could fly. The smooth and swift movement was just too cool, it had made everyone watching the battle completely explode in excitement!

 Chapter 445 - MVP

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Formation-wise, Team Skycrown often favored champions with a longer attack range such as Ezreal as the ADC or Syndra as the Mid.


    The main role of most teams¡¯ Support was usually to protect the backline. On the contrary, Team Skycrown had an unorthodox Support, namely Luocheng, who could contribute so much more. The prerequisite for this strategy to work depended on the ability of the backline to stay safe in the early-game. After all, the Mid and ADC were still the two most vital positions in a MOBA game like LOL.


    Charon¡¯s unexpected Flash into the bush followed by a leap had successfully killed off Team Skycrown¡¯s main attacker, Ezreal. Syndra, with only minimal HP left, was forced to retreat, leaving behind the Jungler Olaf and Da Luo¡¯s tanky Shyvana.


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan had been latching on to Hades¡¯ Riven in hopes of shutting her down as quickly as possible. However, Da Luo realized that his damage output could hardly surmount to Riven¡¯s life steal that was granted to her by her Bloodthirster.


    That was the sad truth about playing solo-Top in the current patch. Once the Top had fallen heavily behind in terms of item build during the late-game, it was no surprise that they would no longer be able to threaten the enemy¡¯s core.


    Zhou Yan was also focusing his attack on Riven, but his only effective damage came from the true damage of Olaf¡¯s E-skill.


    After an extended pursuit, the two of them finally managed to put down Riven who was only one kill away from Legendary, but in the process, the both of them had sustained enormous damage from Elise and Graves as well.


    Hades¡¯ first item had been an Infinity Edge, and the critical damage he was dealing with the item was unbearable even to a Tank.


    On top of an Infinity Edge, Riven now also possessed a Phantom Dancer and a Last Whisper. It no longer mattered how tanky Da Luo¡¯s Shyvana was.


    ***


    The situation took a turn for the worse after a seemingly favorable engagement. Team Skycrown¡¯s biggest problem had been the lack of sufficient firepower.


    Da Luo¡¯s Shyvana and Zhou Yan¡¯s Olaf were killed successively. Luocheng¡¯s Anivia first transformed into Eggnivia, consequently killed, and then resurrected again by his Guardian Angel.


    Mana still remained the biggest headache of a Support Anivia. No doubt, Luocheng¡¯s Anivia could last in a team fight seemingly forever and adequately stall the enemy, but as its mana was depleted, there was nothing else he could do. Thus, after being reborn the second time, Luocheng decisively fled the scene.


    They had lost this team fight.


    The gap in team gold was simply too huge. If they had managed to finish off Rengar and Annie a few seconds earlier, the outcome would have been different.


    The biggest upset came from Charon¡¯s Rengar¡¯s impromptu leap. Nobody could have foreseen it, not even Luocheng, and this gave him a firm reminder that they should never underestimate any member of Team Daemons.


    ¡°My bad. This is on me,¡± Lin Dong looked down and said in regret.


    This teamfight could have gone either way. The perfect ice wall placed by Luocheng had caught the opponents by surprise and effectively separated them. He had then sacrificed himself to hold down all three enemies, creating an enormous room for his teammates to ambush the remaining opponents.


    His unexpected charge had forced the first mistake from Hades¡¯s Riven in this game. The latter had miscalculated his damage and was unable to instant-kill Ezreal. Ideally, the other four players of Team Skycrown should have counter-killed Hades swiftly and launched their retaliation immediately after. That would have teed up nicely to the time Luocheng would be brought back from his second resurrection.


    Team Skycrown had executed this strategy numerous times in practice games, causing a lot of trouble to the Taiwanese teams. After all, not many champions could hold back the opponents for as long as 20 seconds.


    Unfortunately, a slight difference led to an entirely different conclusion. The death of Ezreal and the banishment of Syndra from the imminent teamfight had provided sufficient breathing room for Hades to recover. Although he was eventually killed, he had laid enough damage on his pursuers and had succeeded in making both Da Luo and Zhou Yan¡¯s tanky heroes vulnerable to Graves¡¯s AOE damage.


    The only survivors in Team Skycrown were the barely alive Wu Sen and Luocheng¡¯s Anivia with zero mana.


    The teamfight had taken place at the blue buff area, and upon winning the fight, Team Daemons would not hesitate to go straight for the Baron.


    After slaughtering the Baron, the gold gap between the two teams had grown beyond 10,000 and it was next to impossible for Team Skycrown to turn the game around at this point.


    Lin Dong felt extremely awful now. He blamed himself for not being more vigilant.


    ¡®How could I have neglected the bush in front of me and fail to see it coming? I should have taken Rengar¡¯s leap into consideration!¡¯


    If he had been more careful earlier and had used his skills from afar instead of marching on, he should have still been able to wound Riven heavily. Moreover, Wu Sen would also have been able to attack from a safer position instead of being chased away. His mistake had cost them their best chance to kill Hades, and he shouldered the biggest blame for this defeat.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s play on.¡± Luocheng calmed the team.


    Others would have surrendered under such circumstances. Team Daemons charged on to secure an inhibitor turret after claiming the Baron. Next, they would undoubtedly go straight for the Nexus on the next minion wave and wrap up the game.


    Play on?


    What else was left to play? His teammates knew Luocheng was only withholding his professionalism as a true gamer.


    Anivia depended greatly on its passive and Guardian Angel to be effective. Luocheng had neither at the moment, and in the next 5 minutes, Luocheng could no longer orchestrate another miracle of strangling three opponents simultaneously. The strong yet cautious Team Daemons would also never give him enough time to recover Anivia¡¯s resurrection skills.


    ***


    With barely any suspense, Team Skycrown¡¯s Nexus was promptly destroyed by Team Daemons.


    Rengar once again led the assault, and Team Daemons successfully team-wiped Team Skycrown in the final battle on the latter¡¯s high ground, wasting no time in securing the win.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, this is the first time Team Skycrown has been wiped in an official league game. Their win-streak has finally come to an end as well, but that¡¯s totally forgivable. They are facing the strongest team in China, after all. I dare say if it were not for the advantage gained during the Level 1 teamfight, this game would not have ended in such a hurried manner. Team Daemons should definitely expect a more difficult game up next. Overall, Team Skycrown has matured tremendously well over the past year. From the toughness shown after losing the early teamfight to the strong laning basics and rotation awareness, this team can now be considered top-notch in China. It¡¯s been such a long time since I¡¯ve watched such a memorable competition. Anyway, congratulations to Team Daemons for getting the first game!¡± Bao Jun commented in high spirits.


    The cheers from the crowd were equally deafening seeing as majority of the audience were Team Daemons¡¯ supporters.


    Nonetheless, Team Daemons¡¯ fans were obviously concerned as the game progressed.


    Usually, they didn¡¯t have to worry much when their team was leading by more than 7,000 gold. They simply needed to cheer wholeheartedly behind their team¡¯s bullish performance.


    However, they couldn¡¯t do the same in this game. The reason behind their insecurity was Team Skycrown¡¯s impalpable resilience.


    Charon, who would become careless when the team had a huge lead, was unusually wary throughout the first game. Equally, Belial¡¯s Elise had also not loosened up for a single second and was in a constant tug-of-war against Olaf in the jungle.


    Hades who topped the kill list had also come short in several attempts to take over the game. Why was he remaining extra cautious with such an overpowering item build?


    It wasn¡¯t that he lacked the confidence. Hades was just being careful to not to provide Team Skycrown with the slightest chance to topple their advantage. His rare passiveness and attentiveness impacted their fans, almost as though they could also feel the enormous pressure brought by Team Skycrown to their favorite team.


    One simple mistake would give Team Skycrown the opening they needed to come right back into the game.


    This was evident in the final teamfight where Anivia¡¯s ice wall had almost given Team Daemons a fatal blow. If it hadn¡¯t been for Charon¡¯s heroic act, Team Daemons would be the ones being wiped, subsequently losing the Baron. The advantage that they had all game would be instantly surrendered to Team Skycrown.


    Regardless, Team Daemons had now taken the first game despite the momentary scare.


    ***


    During the break, the host walked down into the auditorium to interact with the fans.


    At the same time, the first game¡¯s MVP, Hades, had been invited into the pressroom. He was currently being interviewed by a pretty host.


    MVP, most valuable player, was an honor given to the overall best player in a match.


    ¡°Hades, it¡¯s rare to see you pick Riven in an important competition such as this. People would usually think of another player, namely Zhao Tinghua, when we mention Riven. Surprisingly, your mastery of this champion is better than most of us would have expected. The fury of that eye-catching skill-combo had silenced the crowd at times. So, do you have anything to say to the audience after being voted as the MVP in the first game? Of course, we understand that this is not the first time you have been crowned MVP. You are the best mid player in this country, after all,¡± The host asked with an elegant smile.


    As a general rule, a host needed to be watchful with his/her choice of words during a live broadcast. Words like ¡°best¡±, ¡°strongest¡±, and ¡°greatest¡± were best avoided, because such strong words were viewed as an offense to other professional players.


    Nevertheless, no one would object when Hades was called the best solo-mid player. Indisputably, he had been the one who had dictated the last game.


    Hades did not get carried away by the host¡¯s exaggerated compliment. Only he and his team who had gone through the last game understood how hard-fought that victory was. They had almost become the losing side.


    Hades replied humbly, ¡°Without Charon¡¯s decisive leap, we might still be battling in front of the computer right now, and I wouldn¡¯t be the one sitting here as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I believe you are talking about Team Skycrown¡¯s captain, Fighting Hawk. Undeniably, Fighting Hawk¡¯s Anivia in that late teamfight was an eye-opener! His capability to hold back three champions as a Support this late in the game was truly remarkable,¡± The host recalled the enthralling teamfight and lamented.


    The 7,000 gold lead had nearly evaporated due to this single execution. Team Daemons had only ever heard about Luocheng being a slick Support before facing Team Skycrown, but now, they had learned that he could actually will the course of the game to his team¡¯s favor!

 Chapter 446 - We are only Allowed to Lose Once

    The MVP interview didn¡¯t last long. Hades did not rejoice after the narrow victory, instead, he was troubled by a new dilemma as he headed to the backstage.


    Normally in a game, the importance of a carry was greater than the Jungler, and the Jungler was greater than the Support.


    Simply put, the impact of a Support was fairly limited, and even though a lot of professional players had never stopped emphasizing the importance of this position, the best a Support could do in a teamfight was still restricted only to initiation, protection, or tanking¡­ in the past.


    He remembered that Coach Huang Kang had instructed them to drag on the game if they didn¡¯t have the confidence to defeat Team Skycrown. The coach believed that they could overcome any opponent in the late-game by utilizing Team Daemons¡¯ unparalleled chemistry.


    However, Hades realized that such a notion was no longer true, not in front of Luocheng¡¯s outrageous Anivia. The support role that Luocheng had played in that last game was more terrifying than an off-lane champion.


    Team Daemons had reached the bottleneck at the moment, and they could no longer establish an absolute advantage solely based on their current game plan and early-game strategy. More so, they had never faced any team like Team Skycrown who had maximized their Support potential, and as a result, Team Daemons may be slightly inferior in terms of teamfight capacity as compared to Team Skycrown.


    In retrospect, they would have lost the previous game if it were not for their 7,000 gold advantage. The Baron, and subsequently the Nexus, would have been Team Skycrown¡¯s for the taking.


    Hades searched for Coach Huang Kang as soon as he returned to the backstage, and as expected, their coach was equally restless with his brows furrowed.


    ¡°We could have lost without that successful Level 1 skirmish. Besides, I made a mistake. Team Skycrown is more resilient in the late-game than we initially thought,¡± Huang Kang changed his stance and corrected his misjudgment after watching the first game.


    Hades nodded and was glad that their coach was able to identify the key issue at hand.


    They could not have truly comprehended Team Skycrown¡¯s quick growth spurt without getting first-hand experience by playing against them. Hades now finally grasped the true depth hidden under this streaking team.


    ¡°I finally understand why he has chosen the Support role.¡± Huang Kang took out a pen and started to scribble something into his notebook.


    ¡°Assuming that the role of each champion in a teamfight is represented with a number that tops at 1, then the impact of a Support player would usually be far less than 0.5.¡±


    In most professional teams, each player understood their role and would play to their strengths. Not many players were like Hades, who could singlehandedly take over the game.


    When a team had reached its peak, how would they bring their game to the next level and surpass the upper limit, a score of 4.5?


    A lot of teams focused on developing their ADC, Jungler, Mid, and off-lane carry, but as previously mentioned, there was only one Hades, one Blood Eagle, and one Xiao Wang in each position¡­


    ¡°Fighting Hawk does not select any of the mainstream positions because it¡¯s difficult to widen the gap with other teams by using these champions now. However, it¡¯s a different story for the Support position which still offers a lot of potential. The limit of other teams¡¯ Support is always 0.5, but his Support is as dangerous as a Jungler. His contribution to the team is greater than 1 considering his versatility in both defensive and offensive ends.¡±


    ¡°I believe this is the core idea of him playing as a Support. He has created an enormous value out of the most unthinkable position. Supports in the previous patch were heavily nerfed due to the gold restraint, but that has been greatly improved in this current patch, which has paved the way for him to perfect a revolutionary playstyle.¡±


    While most professional players were still trapped in the past and limited the Supports to mere secondary or tertiary roles, Luocheng had been constantly inventing and testing new ideas.


    Supports like Zyra and Annie had always been regarded as AP carries in the past. No one had ever thought that they would one day become regular Support champions.


    Similarly, Luocheng had introduced a new perspective on the Support role through his Anivia in this match. This greatly shook the opponents as they would now wonder what kind of outrageous Support he was going to bring to the table this time?


    New playstyles often troubled a team with a long tradition. Their vast experience could also be their Achilles¡¯ heel as they may not be able to easily adapt to novel strategies within such a short timeframe.


    This was even more true when competing against an unpredictable team like Team Skycrown. Their never-seen-before strategy was complemented by equally strong individual skills.


    ***


    While Team Daemons was busy analyzing, Team Skycrown was also reflecting on the previous game.


    As the team captain, Luocheng didn¡¯t think that Lin Dong was the biggest reason they had lost the game. Their defeat at Level 1 was mainly due to his own poor judgment. Hades would not have gotten so many kills if he had asked the team to play more defensively, and thus, he bore great responsibility for giving Hades the chance to dominate the field.


    A strong team would not recklessly initiate a teamfight at Level 1 because there were simply too many uncertainties. There was a chance that a team would not be able to recover after falling back this early. Solid laning and well-timed ganks, although dull, were still the safer approach in a professional match.


    ¡°What a fantastic teamfight toward the end despite falling behind by 7,000 gold. I bet you guys could have beaten them if you had developed properly! So, stop thinking about the loss and get ready for the second match.¡± Li Meiqi encouraged the team.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t be dejected. You guys will definitely win the second game!¡± Jian Feng tried to cheer them up as well.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t be affected,¡± Luocheng replied with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as though we have never lost a game. Remember how we got beaten up when we first played with the Taiwanese people? I was almost sure that I am already too old for this game¡­¡± Da Luo put on a wide smile.


    He had had a memorable game against Charon. Though it was hard to tell who held the upper hand, Da Luo was enthused to spar against a worthy opponent.


    Charon¡¯s Rengar was the decider in the first match, but Da Luo swore that he was going to return the favor in the next one!


    Lost?


    It was a term that Team Skycrown had grown utterly familiar with. There were many players that were far more powerful in the MSN group, and getting beat up consecutively in a day had become a norm for Team Skycrown.


    This even dated back to when they were still Team Wings. It was not as though they were unbeatable in the country when they had stepped onto the international stage. They had lost countless battles along the way, too. Yet, it was through these mountains of defeats that they were able to recognize their incompetency and improve on it.


    When they were stationed in Demacia Caf¨¦, Luocheng had even handicapped the team so that they could learn how to strive through various kinds of hurdles and failures.


    Failure was a part of the journey to success. However, one line kept resonating in Luocheng¡¯s mind.


    ¡°If you wish to participate in the Asian Indoor Games, then first prove to me that you are the best in China!¡±


    Against Team Daemons, Luocheng could accept a single defeat. After all, they had been the pinnacle of this country¡¯s E-sports for quite some time, there was no other way besides taking a hit if Team Skycrown wished to defeat them.


    He would not allow his team to lose another game though. Otherwise, he would not be able to prove that Team Skycrown was capable of bearing the ¡°strongest LOL team¡± label.


    In the past, Luocheng had been crazy about competitive E-sports and had focused solely on his personal achievement. He strived only for the best and cared only about winning.


    Fast forward to today, Luocheng, who had experienced so much, was no longer the na?ve child he once was. The victory he was chasing now was tied to many other things. He had practiced and fought hard to reach this stage, claiming he was doing it for himself, but was that really the case?


    ***


    ¡°Asmodai, could you stay if we win the next game? We will go through to the international tournament after winning the next game, we could enter the quarter-finals for sure this time. Please retire after that and don¡¯t give up on us prematurely,¡± Charon pleaded to Asmodai sincerely.


    Asmodai tapped Charon¡¯s keyboard lightly. He was well aware that Charon¡¯s maneuver was the key to their last victory and he was proud to have such an outstanding teammate. In this match, everyone had outperformed themselves. Asmodai could tell that his teammates were bringing their A-game for him.


    On the contrary, his performance was still bland. He was being carried by the team and not the other way around. As an ADC, he should be the one who had the team on his back, but alas, Asmodai could tell that he was no longer as sharp.


    He believed he had been trying his best in facing Team Skycrown and Fighting Hawk, yet, his performance was nothing spectacular. He had been too hesitant when Anivia¡¯s ice wall had appeared, wasting too much time on contemplating whether to charge in or focus on Anivia.


    Fighting Hawk¡¯s Support was much more prominent than a carry.


    ¡®Meanwhile, my ADC¡­¡±


    He was truly subdued by such a generational talent.


    Hades could see through Asmodai¡¯s sorrow and he said to him, ¡°Asmodai, there¡¯s one more game to go. If you really have decided to leave, then you should leave with dignity. Don¡¯t become a forgettable player! Wouldn¡¯t you feel regret if you did not leave behind a legacy in your final match?¡±


    ¡®Regret?¡¯ Asmodai was no doubt regretful that he had to make this decision. A whole six years of professional E-sports career. He had fallen and bounced back from uncertainties numerous times. Of course he had wished to stand on the grandest stage and receive applause from E-sports enthusiasts from all around the world.


    His final year of this professional career had passed by in the blink of an eye, and Asmodai was terrified despite knowing that this day would eventually come. He was like a dying man knowing that his time would be up in the next game, in less than an hour. No one was ever fully prepared for stuff like this.


    Nevertheless, he had decided to set all of his emotions aside. If he could not play unburdened in the final match of his professional career, then he would have betrayed the heart and soul he had been pouring into the game this entire time.

 Chapter 447 - You Are Not the Only Unconventional One

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    During the interval, the host was keeping the audience occupied while waiting for the game to resume. The host displayed either the sound or silhouette of a LOL champion, and those who could guess right would be given a small prize.


    ¡°I wonder why they are so excited over those little gifts,¡± Someone from the Demacia Caf¨¦ muttered.


    ¡°Right!? What¡¯s so great about Teemo¡¯s hat? Have they never considered its color?¡± Mao asked reciprocally.


    ¡°Do you think Captain Yu will be alright? I hope the defeat in the last game will not give them mental strain.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t be affected!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say. They are facing Team Daemons, you should know how darn strong that team is.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Hades¡¯s Riven was absurd in the last game. If he continues such performance into the next game, it¡¯s going to be extremely tough for TeamSkycrown.¡±


    The customers from Demacia Caf¨¦ quickly engaged in a heated debate.


    ***


    At the backstage, Luocheng was sitting at a corner contemplating what would be the best lineup to use in the next match.


    ¡°Luocheng, your phone is ringing.¡± Li Meiqi nudged him and passed over his phone.


    Luocheng took it and peeped at the caller ID.


    ¡°Guess where I am now?¡± A sweet, excited voice came through as soon as he answered the call.


    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Luocheng was a little surprised.


    ¡°That was a quick guess!¡± Yang Qianqian¡¯s voice immediately toned down. She was slightly unhappy that Luocheng had been able to figure it out so swiftly. She didn¡¯t provide the slightest clue when they were on the phone the night before.


    Qianqian had indeed come here with Yang Ying. The latter had taken some time out of his busy work schedule so that he could come watch Luocheng¡¯s important match. Of course, he had done that mostly due to his sister¡¯s part-persuading and part-threatening request.


    How could Luocheng tell right away? Well, it was actually difficult not to, judging by the deafening cheers echoing behind Qianqian¡¯s voice.


    Luocheng looked toward the crowd from the backstage and searched for the girl who was also on a mobile phone like him. However, it¡¯s hard to locate his girlfriend when the number of girls with long hair in the auditorium was this vast.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t make it in time for the first game. I heard that you saved the world once again. It¡¯s too bad I didn¡¯t get to see it.¡± Qianqian wished she had arrived earlier.


    ¡°We lost too much in gold. Though we had anticipated a difficult game, it¡¯s a different story to actually overcome Team Daemons on the stage.¡± Luocheng nodded.


    Luocheng was still searching. The arrival of Qianqian and Yang Ying gave him a mental boost. He believed that not only new friends from the Demacia Cafe but also old acquaintances from Shanghai University E-Sports Club must be in the auditorium as well. Players from Fudan University should be around somewhere as well. He remembered seeing Lin Siyong sitting in the front row in one of their previous games. Not only that, familiar faces from other well-known university teams had entered his vision successively too.


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough. You know what? Before this, most people only knew that you were good at LOL and could compete with the professional players but not many could have imagined that you would be on the LPL stage competing against the best team in China one day. It¡¯s that Team Daemons! Wang Qin, Zhong Xiaoyun, and Zhao Kesong had their jaws dropped to the ground when they heard the news. They were never a fan of professional E-sports but nowadays, they would stay in front of the computer whenever your game is broadcasted live. They even showed off during our class reunion, bragging about how they had teamed up with you to beat other classes in the past¡­¡± Qianqian couldn¡¯t hide her joy.


    After Qianqian entered the hall, she realized that almost everyone was talking about how exciting the previous match had been. She was especially thrilled when she heard someone mention Luocheng¡¯s Anivia.


    Like most girls, Qianqian loved to hear compliments that were directed at her partner. Although Team Skycrown had lost the first match, Qianqian could tell that they must have put up a respectable performance. Their hard work for the past two years had definitely paid off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stress yourself too much, you guys did well,¡± Qianqian comforted Luocheng. She was here for another reason.


    Luocheng could easily submerge into his own emotions when he was being overly tenacious. He had once locked himself up for more than 10 days and had played LOL the whole time other than eating and sleeping. That happened last year after he had finished the infamous game against Team Sky.


    This game against Team Daemons was very vital to Team Skycrown, and in the face of such a powerful enemy, Luocheng would want to win the second game at all costs. Qianqian was worried that he might once again fall into his own abyss of emotions. She knew that was exactly the reason why Luocheng had quit competitive E-sports the first time.


    It was best not to grip too tight onto things that were beyond one¡¯s control.


    Qianqian understood that it would be too harsh to ask Luocheng to completely let go of what had happened a year ago. There was no way she could ever feel the pain he had had to go through after the tragedy. She could only hope that Luocheng did not carry the past on his shoulders as a psychological burden.


    Her purpose for telling him about the good old times was to remind him of the very reason he had started to play LOL. He was doing this out of his pure love toward MOBA, toward E-sports.


    He had done enough to reach this stage of the LPL, fighting on even grounds against Team Daemons, and Qianqian wanted him to realize that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Like I have promised you, the same thing will never happen again.¡± Luocheng¡¯s assurance chased away the dark cloud that shrouded Qianqian¡¯s mind.


    Luocheng hung up and glanced toward the stage.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, your little girlfriend called to console you?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Luocheng appreciated Qianqian¡¯s concern, but regardless, he did not plan to let the second game slip away no matter what.


    The five members of Team Skycrown put the first game behind their minds and were poised to play the second game. They walked up the stage and took their respective seats.


    The voice of the commentator Bao Jun was once again heard in the auditorium. He clearly hadn¡¯t gotten over the first game and made another quick recap.


    ¡°What kind of fantastic performances will these two teams bring to our audiences this time? Even I can not sit tight now,¡± Bao Jun commented.


    Bao Jun no longer commentated alone in the second game. This time, there was another female emcee with a crisp tone. Her name was Li Hua and she seldom made personal videos, usually only appearing in important matches like today. Despite the low exposure, she was still able to amass great popularity among the fans. Her voice perfectly inherited the charm of the former top female commentator, Yi Qin, and not many male players could resist her pretty voice which was complemented by her elegant outlook.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you sit tight?¡± Li Hua asked teasingly.


    Bao Jun didn¡¯t mind the playful banter and explained, ¡°I have watched a lot of professional matches, and most of the time, both teams would play out carefully and usually have low kill rates, which make the games slightly boring and repetitive. But that¡¯s not the case in Team Daemons vs Team Skycrown. Every teamfight between these two spells excitement! Do you still remember the Level 1 teamfight where¡­?¡± Bao Jun narrated animatedly as Li Hua coordinated well to lead the audiences¡¯ focus onto the upcoming match.


    In fact, the atmosphere would still boil over the roof without the commentators¡¯ excitement. Both teams were two of the hottest teams in the LPL now, the clash between the two giants was destined to create glaring sparks.


    In this upcoming match, would Team Daemon bag a 2 to 0 score against their opponent and regain the second place in this LPL season? Or would it be Team Skycrown that defended their ground and leveled the match at 1 to 1?


    ***


    The background music blasted through the speaker abruptly and the audience could clearly see that the game had now entered the banning phase.


    Team Daemons was decisive and immediately banned Anivia first. Before they could find any effective strategy to counter the Anivia Support, they would not release such a dangerous champion into the game.


    Team Skycrown was equally swift to deny them of Riven. They were determined not to let Hades select this champion again. He was too big a threat to their squishy core. It was a death sentence whenever Riven used her Flash to charge in.


    Both teams had shown clear intentions from the start, banning the two most outstanding champions from the last game used by the respective team captains.


    The subsequent bans were less straightforward. Both teams were just trying to grab the champions that would strengthen their lineup the most.


    As compared to the previous seasons, the formation in this patch was less varied because the optimum item build for most heroes had yet to be developed.


    The hottest top-solo picks were Shyvana, Rengar, and Dr. Mundo. It was like a zoo up there, only those beasts could survive the ferocious top lane now.


    In this match, Da Luo finally got to pick his favorite Dr. Mundo. He had always equipped Mundo with a Teleport so that Team Skycrown could adopt the 4-to-1 split push strategy and become more flexible.


    This time however, he decided to forgo the Teleport and picked Ignite instead. Without Ignite, it was highly possible that he would be bullied heavily by Charon. When both players were evenly matched, the Ignite skill could make a lot of difference.


    For their second pick, Team Skycrown selected Lee Sin. This champion was obviously a Jungler after the Mundo pick. Team Daemon decided not to rush the Jungler position after Team Skycrown took Lee Sin, and so, they selected Karma and Ezreal!


    In the past, Karma had been one of the least used champions for several seasons. A lot of players had questioned the need of this hero in LOL when they first learned about her at level 30.


    Thus, the appearance of Karma stirred quite a bit of commotion among the crowds.


    After the most commanding Support of this patch, Leona, had been banned, neither of the teams had selected the next best choice, Thresh or Annie. It was a shock to many that Mephistopheles had selected Karma as their unconventional Support.


    ¡°Is he being serious with this pick? It¡¯s like he is provoking the Fighting Hawk, saying that you are not the only one being creative with Supports around here!¡±

 Chapter 448 - The Ever Unpredictable Team Skycrown

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Is Zhou Yan playing Lee Sin?¡± Belial was doubtful.


    If they had opted to pick the Jungler position first, why hadn¡¯t Team Skycrown picked Zhou Yan¡¯s most powerful champion, Elise, when she was still available in the pool?


    No doubt Lee Sin was the more superior Jungler by default in this patch, but Belial knew that Elise was still the champion that Zhou Yan had the most confidence in. There must be a reason as to why Team Skycrown had passed on Elise so blatantly.


    ¡°Hades, what¡¯s on your mind?¡± Belial asked.


    Hades was still pondering. He had a lot of options to play in the mid-lane, so even if the opponents had banned his three most-used champions, there was still a rabbit ready to be pulled out from his hat.


    Obviously, Team Skycrown was aware of this too. Thus, they did not specifically prohibit mid-lane core and this left Hades ample options to choose from.


    ¡®Kassadin?¡¯


    Hades¡¯ Kassadin was world-renowned, and he himself was sure that he could demoralize the opponents¡¯ backline during late-game with this champion. However, he decided not to pick Kassadin.


    They were facing none other than Team Skycrown who was exceptionally good at snowballing early advantages into late-game invincibility. Kassadin was a champion that required a prolonged farming window. If they were to be oppressed in the early-game, then it was very likely that they would not have a chance to regain control.


    He was unwilling to gamble on Asmodai¡¯s final professional match. He needed a champion that could guarantee their victory.


    ¡®So what should I pick? Gragas?¡¯


    Gragas was also a champion with great potential as a late-game carry. His Ultimate was often the key to completely turning over a team fight. Yet, it still lacked the assertive quality that Hades was looking for.


    ¡®Orianna?¡¯


    Again, another super-late-game champion. Team Skycrown played at a faster pace compared to any other team, meaning that there would be no room for Orianna to develop properly.


    After some deep consideration, Hades finally selected the most disturbing hero in this patch.


    It was Ziggs! To say that this champion was an overkill in this season was not at all an exaggeration. His damage and pushing capacity was off the charts, moreover, Ziggs¡¯s skill combo was close to unguardable, not to mention his insanely long-ranged Ultimate!


    The moment Hades confirmed the champion, Wu Sen from Team Skycrown instantly turned restless.


    ¡°D*mn! Since when did he pick up this champion!?¡± Da Luo groaned.


    Ziggs was one of Da Luo¡¯s least favorite opponents. Not only did he have high damage and a short cooldown, but once he got his hands on the blue buff, his skills would be seemingly endless. One would still be hit no matter how great he/she was at juking.


    Among the LPL players, Xie Yi was unanimously the best Ziggs user. Other teams would ban this champion immediately whenever they were up against Xie Yi¡¯s team.


    On the other hand, Hades had seldom used Ziggs in the past. Ziggs¡¯s playstyle which emphasized long-range poking simply did not fit in with Hades¡¯s close-range combatant style.


    Had he been training this champion for a long time and waited until this moment to unveil the hidden trump card?


    Asmodai chanced a glance at Hades thoughtfully. The switch in style marked Hades¡¯ new turning point in his career.


    During the previous season, Hades had realized how drab his champion pool was when facing the world-class mid-player. To overcome this, Hades had tried out all possible Mid champions during the off-season. Among them, he preferred Ziggs the most as this champion provided him with an entirely different dimension as compared to his usual heroes Kassadin, Zed, Gragas, and Ryze.


    ¡°Poke-oriented? Hades, as far as I know, is used to taking the enemy¡¯s life at a close range, regardless of a face-off skirmish or silent ambush. This should be the first time he has ever brought out such a poke-oriented Mid in an official competition,¡± Bao Jun noted.


    ¡°I agree. In fact, most professional players are usually obsessed with certain styles and become less flexible in official tournaments. However, since LOL is an ever-changing environment with new patches coming out periodically, some champions that might not be usable in the past may suddenly become the meta champion in the new season. This is a lesson to all professional players that they should never be rigid with the strategy and be able to adapt with different champions. The change in Hades¡¯ mindset by selecting Ziggs is a good example to be followed by others.¡±


    The audience¡¯s mood was always reflected by the best player¡¯s action on the stage, and the selection of Ziggs by Hades fired up the crowds.


    No matter what, Ziggs¡¯s dominance in the current version was indisputable. He had great poking damage, high AOE output, a convenient relocation skill, solid pushing ability, and last but not least, a long-range Ultimate to support his teammates. Such a versatile mid champion was hard to come by, and a lot of players had immediately fallen in love with Ziggs after his unique playstyle was made popular.


    Those who had used this champion before were eager to see Hades demonstrate his own rendition of Ziggs.


    ***


    On the other hand, the champion selection of Team Skycrown was rather anti-climactic.


    Normally, they were the ones who would draw the ¡°ooh¡±¡®s and ¡°aah¡±¡®s from the audience with their lineup, especially on the Support choice. That was not the case in this match. They had picked all the mainstream champions of this season so far, so now, the only question that the audience had was how would such a lineup pan out.


    ¡°Dr. Mundo, Lee Sin, Elise, Gragas¡­ Right now, I still can¡¯t picture how their final formation will look like¡­¡± Bao Jun observed Team Skycrown picks and analyzed.


    ¡°You seemed to have forgotten something. Team Skycrown has selected four champions, so now, the last pick is definitely reserved for the ADC,¡± Li Hua reminded him.


    ¡°Whoa! I wouldn¡¯t have noticed if you did not mention it. What is Team Skycrown thinking? A solo-top Dr. Mundo, fine. A Mid Gragas, that¡¯s reasonable too. But I do think that it¡¯s a little greedy of them to pick both Lee Sin and Elise simultaneously. Which one of them is going into the jungle? If one of them is the Jungler, then the other must be the Support!¡± Bao Jun spoke hushed tones.


    At a quick glance, Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup seemed justifiable, but looking deeper into it, there was an underlying anomaly.


    Perhaps Elise would be the Support? In the previous season, this had been one of the trendy picks. Strictly speaking, the Support position was still regarded as mainstream for Elise. The switch of styles had happened when some players discovered that Elise was actually more prominent in the Jungler role, but that did not diminish her suitability as a Support.


    Some of the audience had already surrendered five bucks to their friends. A lot of those in the audience had bet on whether Luocheng would go for another unorthodox Support in the second game. Since Elise did not fall into that category, those who believed in Luocheng¡¯s individualism had lost the bet.


    Soon, Team Skycrown confirmed their ADC, which was Draven.


    Lin Dong had practiced painstakingly using this champion, thus, he picked him with utmost confidence. With Draven under his control, even powerful champions like Sivir or Lucian would not be his match.


    ***


    Although Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup were all champions that were usable in this current season, team-wise, there was no familiar complementation between their heroes.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re entering the loading screen now. We should see our players appearing in the Summoner¡¯s Rift at any moment.¡±


    The map came into vision after Bao Jun and Li Hua further explored the philosophy behind both teams¡¯ champions selection.


    Bao Jun immediately noticed a baffling surprise as soon as they entered the game.


    ¡°What¡­ on earth!?¡±


    The audience was still generally puzzled. Most didn¡¯t know why Bao Jun had exclaimed although some of the more attentive audience had noticed it as well.


    The second Summoner¡¯s skill on Elise was Smite. Besides, the ID on top of Elise was Gale Crane, meaning that Elise was the Jungler and not the Support.


    In that case, was Lee Sin the Support?


    No!


    Team Skycrown had once again perplexed the audience with their signature unpredictability.


    The second Summoner¡¯s skill on Lee Sin was also a Smite! The ID on top of Lee Sin was Luocheng¡¯s ID, Fighting Hawk. If he had chosen Exhaust or Ignite, those in the hall would be impressed that this maverick had once again pulled out an unconventional Support!


    Yet, he was equipped with a Smite¡­


    This usually led to an AFK in pub games.


    Suddenly, a lot of players doubted that their pub teammates must have been trying new strategies when they selected Smite as their second Summoner¡¯s skill¡­


    ¡°Good gracious! Is this a double-Jungler strategy?¡±


    The entire nation had been guessing what kind of Support Luocheng was going to use in this match.


    The majority of them had been disappointed when Elise was selected and many grieved as their eager anticipation was not met. The remaining few had daringly guessed that perhaps Lee Sin was the Support this time.


    All of them could not have been more wrong.


    There was simply no Support in this match to begin with!


    ¡°Captain Yu, Fighting Hawk, should I call you a genius or a clown!? Can you at least try to play one normal game? Your opponent is the best team in China, Team Daemons!¡± Bao Jun was completely dumbfounded.


    Those in the hall who had gambled were bewildered as well. If there was no Support, how were they going to decide who had won the bet?


    ***


    Team Daemons had noticed it as well earlier through the loading screen.


    The atmosphere inside their chamber almost dropped to the freezing point.


    Team Daemons had never been afraid of playing against any team. Their experience was vast and had perceived most lineups and strategies before.


    Yet, again and again, Team Skycrown had presented them with great unpredictability. They seemed to enjoy toying with Team Daemons¡¯ foundation. The unprecedented double-Jungler formation had successfully unnerved Team Daemons. They still remembered how Team Skycrown had gorged up the supposedly superior Team Revelations in the past with their savage tower-targeting playbook.


    ¡®Can you guys be more normal? Why do you always use such crooked playstyles? Worse, it f*cking works every time!¡¯

 Chapter 449 - Double Jungler Strategy! Team Skycrown’s Shocker!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Double Junglers. I think their target is you, Hades,¡± Charon said.


    Two Junglers would not only secure most of the monster camps, but also apply enormous pressure to the mid-lane.


    A champion like Ziggs feeds on exhausting the opponent¡¯s health while constantly pushing the lane. With two Junglers, furthermore it was a deadly combo of Lee Sin and Elise, roaming in and out from both sides, it was going to greatly jeopardize Hades¡¯ development in the middle lane. Belial would not be able to help if both Junglers ambushed the mid at the same time.


    ¡°Double Jungler strategy¡­ Why didn¡¯t we think about this possibility earlier?¡± Coach Huang Kang slapped his forehead.


    Luocheng¡¯s philosophy as a Support was heavily roaming-oriented to begin with. His gank initiation was often more effective than that of a Jungler.


    ¡®So, why have we never considered the likelihood of him playing as one?¡¯


    After all, this was not the first time he had ditched the ADC to absorb the opponent¡¯s pressure alone at the bottom lane.


    ***


    ¡°Captain Yu, you have completely overthrown our perception toward professional players. Can you please tell me, which position do you actually play in this team?¡± The commentator, Bao Jun, was equally astounded.


    Just when people thought that they had seen through him and were busy guessing his next out-of-the-box Support champion, Luocheng underwent another drastic transformation and played as a Jungler instead.


    This guy had been a legend in the previous year¡¯s LPL as an ADC, and this year in the Demacia Club, he had played mid-solo when facing Team Beijing. And now, just as most of the audience had gotten used to him playing as the Support, he once again pulled out a shocker.


    A Jungler¡­


    This could be the very first time Fighting Hawk had played in this position and Team Daemons was completely stunned by the turn of events.


    Teams in LPL always had fixed formations. Professional players usually played only one role and aimed to become the best player in their respective lanes. It was rare to see someone like Luocheng who played different positions in successive games during an official tournament!


    ¡°How arrogant could this Fighting Hawk be? I bet he will troll hard in this game!¡± Guan Langjie from Team Sky sneered.


    Those in the professional circle knew well that changing positions abruptly usually ended up in a disaster. Players who were being touted as all-rounded were, in fact, terrible in all positions.


    Though there were examples where players had changed their position in the middle of their careers, this usually meant that they had to completely give up their previous habits and train for a prolonged period. It was especially unusual for a player to change roles as frequently as Luocheng did.


    The members of Team Sky were sitting in the auditorium. Both teams in this match were their biggest rivals in this LPL Championship, there was no reason not to watch this game from the front row.


    Team Sky snorted at Luocheng¡¯s action of switching roles so drastically from one game to another.


    Such a change would only harm the team chemistry. After being accustomed to each other¡¯s long-time playstyle, the teammates would be the first to feel out of place when one player suddenly switched positions. Doing this in a casual team-ranking game was acceptable, but during a professional match? That was no different from suicide.


    Furthermore, did this Fighting Hawk even know how to jungle?


    Though the Jungler role seemed simple, in which you only needed to focus on neutral monsters farming and ganking, it actually took a whole lot of effort to master its efficiency. The precise timing on monster respawn and gank initiation was difficult to master and required lengthy training. Without proper practice, a Jungler would only be a walking camp-hoarder with no real contribution to the team.


    Fighting Hawk seldom played in this role prior to this, and perhaps he would not even be qualified to play as a reserve Jungler in any LPL team. Opting for the double Jungler strategy without proper planning might backfire hard. Not only might the other Jungler of the team be affected, but he may also handicap his own ADC who would be outnumbered at the bottom lane.


    ¡°Team Daemons is an experienced team. They won¡¯t panic despite the unexpected strategy used by Team Skycrown. If Team Skycrown loses this game as well, we only need to take one game in our next encounter and the champion trophy will be ours!¡± Guan Langjie laughed.


    Team Sky had remained undefeated so far. Team Daemons had lost straight games to them, so they could no longer compete for the first place.


    The team closest to them now was Team Skycrown, and judging by the current development, Team Skycrown was about to lose to Team Daemons again. This meant that when Team Sky would meet Team Skycrown in the next match, the former would only require one victory to secure the top spot. As long as they did not lose to the other top 4 teams in the subsequent matches, they would be this year¡¯s champion for sure!


    ¡°Speaking of which, I remember our captain had a solo game with Fighting Hawk before. He used none other than Lee Sin in that game!¡± Jupiter from Team Sky recalled.


    The Battle of Lee Sins. That particular clip was still one of the highest-viewed videos in the famous LOL channel.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t count!¡±


    Solo games and a standard LOL match were completely different. In short, Guan Langjie refused to believe that a group of immature players could effectively execute the double Jungler strategy.


    ***


    The game had officially begun. The most notorious thing about double Junglers was the ability to monopolize early-game buffs.


    It was impossible to compete for buffs with opponents that owned two Smites.


    This time, Team Skycrown had learned their lesson and decided to carefully avoid a Level 1 team fight.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise moved around in Team Skycrown¡¯s side jungle while Luocheng roamed the river with his Lee Sin.


    Patrolling the river allowed Luocheng to decide whether he should steal the opponent¡¯s monsters or go back to his side based on the enemies¡¯ movement.


    Team Daemons had also given up on creating a fight this early. They would not be able to catch the more vigilant Team Skycrown out this time.


    If they chose to set up an ambush, Team Skycrown would most probably ignore them and go straight in to steal their buff.


    After setting down their wards appropriately, it was time to get the buff.


    In the second match, Team Skycrown was on the blue end, meaning that the red buff was near the bottom lane.


    The Jungler was the fastest to reach Level 2, and after taking down the buffs, Luocheng and Zhou Yan began to sweep the remaining camps around their respective zones.


    ***


    ¡°D*mn it! They¡¯ve switched lanes again!¡± Charon cursed in annoyance.


    This time, Team Skycrown had placed Draven to face-off with their Top Shyvana, while Dr. Mundo had been swapped to the bottom lane to take on the double-team.


    That way the ADC in the top lane could maintain his farm. Besides, Lin Dong¡¯s Draven would also level up quicker since he was alone in the lane. More importantly, Draven could easily oppress Shyvana and pin the latter under the first turret.


    As predicted, Charon was bullied mercilessly and had to hide in the bush not long after the start of the farming phase.


    Draven¡¯s axes were extremely dangerous and Shyvana¡¯s health bar dropped by a large chunk with only a single hit. Worse, Lin Dong seemed to be able to catch the returned axes every single time.


    Similarly, Da Luo¡¯s Mundo was constantly being forced back by Karma, but yet, he was still able to CS some minions with his mid-range cleaver without sacrificing too much of his mana (Infected Cleaver costs health points instead). Thus, he was not much better but not much worse either as compared to Shyvana.


    ¡°Team Skycrown has outwitted their opponent so far. The biggest weakness of the double Jungler strategy is usually regarding the ADC¡¯s development. Being outnumbered, the bottom lane could be easily crushed since ADC¡¯s are generally unable to withstand two opponents. The switch adequately addresses such a glaring problem, and from what we can see now, Shyvana¡¯s condition is as dire as Dr. Mundo at the bottom lane. This greatly reduces the potential loss brought on by having two Junglers in a team. I believe the two assassins from Team Skycrown are going to reveal their fangs soon, Team Daemons had better be prepared to face the first wave of ganking from Team Skycrown!¡± Bao Jun commented.


    In the mid lane, Ziggs did not dare to push too far up or charge at Wu Sen. Hades only had a single ward, and this was not enough to protect him in the presence of two Junglers. Hence, he chose to control the minion wave and farm steadily. Other than that, he also needed to ready himself to move into his own side¡¯s blue buff at all times.


    They needed to be cautious not to let the two Junglers invade their area as Team Skycrown could quickly empty their monster camp and buffs with two Smites.


    Belial purposely placed a ward near the monster area when he went over the second time, not daring to get the buff alone without knowing the whereabouts of Elise and Lee Sin.


    ¡°They did not cross the river¡­¡± Belial said. He was puzzled. Why hadn¡¯t they come in deeper with two Junglers? What was their purpose of using this formation if they didn¡¯t plan to counter-farm?


    ¡°I wonder why¡­¡± Hades was unable to guess the true purpose of Team Skycrown as well. He had given up on guessing the moment Luocheng had decided to use the double Junglers playbook in this second game.


    Belial happily secured his buff after the opponent did not show up on his turf, however, since he was very wary of any ambushes, he checked around the area first before attacking the monster, and this had cost him quite some time.


    Belial had almost reached Level 3 after getting the double buffs, but he still needed another monster before reaching Level 3 in this patch. He moved carefully toward the Wight¡¯s at the nearby camps and decided to gank once he had leveled up.


    ¡°He¡¯s appeared. Bottom lane.¡± Belial saw Lee Sin¡¯s icon pop up at the bottom lane after he had taken the blue buff.


    ¡°That¡¯s odd. Why didn¡¯t he try to gank but make a detour to the bottom lane instead?¡± Belial questioned.


    Either way, he was relieved to see that Lee Sin had shown up and did not dwell on the matter further, continuing to farm.


    ¡®It sure takes longer to kill the Wight without Smite.¡¯


    ***


    Mephistopheles and Hades had pushed the minion wave right into the first turret. The number of minions this round was huge and they wished to pry away as much health from the turret as possible. If it weren¡¯t for Lee Sin¡¯s timely arrival, Asmodai believed that they could have either destroyed the turret or at least forced Mundo to recall.


    Luocheng relieved some of Da Luo¡¯s pressure and gained some experience himself.


    ¡°Da Luo, get ready,¡± Luocheng said solemnly after glancing at Lee Sin¡¯s experience bar.


    Da Luo nodded lightly.


    He and Luocheng had executed this same play numerous times in the past. Even if Luocheng had not said anything, he would have still gotten the cleaver on Mundo¡¯s waist loaded!

 Chapter 450 - Spectacular 3 Lanes Advantage

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng guided Lee Sin to last hit a melee minion with a punch, and his champion reached Level 3 the moment the creep was killed. Luocheng swiftly planted a ward in front and Lee Sin agilely dashed toward it without any delay.


    Tempest!


    Lee Sin¡¯s palm smashed the ground and crippled both Mephistopheles and Asmodai with his E-skill¡¯s second cast. The two Team Daemon members finally sensed the incoming danger and quickly backed off.


    This was when Dr. Mundo tacitly threw his cleaver right at the retreating Karma!


    The double slow effects were deadly, and Mephistopheles wasted no time and immediately Flashed backward.


    Unfortunately, the total 60% of reduction in speed greatly hindered his escape even after he had used the Flash, and Luocheng proceeded to hit the slowed Karma with Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Wave.


    ¡®Flash? It¡¯s useless. You are not getting away with the double slow debuffs!¡¯


    Lee Sin¡¯s initiation never worked well if it began with his Q-skill, Sonic Wave. It was most effective to first approach the enemy using his W-skill, then slow the enemy with two E-skill casts, and then pursue the enemy using a red buff. The Q-skill should be used last to prevent the target from escaping with a Flash. As long as the range was properly estimated, the target would have no way to run.


    Mephistopheles and Asmodai subconsciously thought that Luocheng was only there to ease up the bottom defense line. Despite being watchful, it was hard for them to completely withdraw from the frontline and not pressure the crumbling tower a little more.


    This had given Lee Sin the opening to charge in as soon as he reached Level 3.


    A Karma and Ezreal tag-team relied heavily on their Q-skills to push back the enemy, meaning that these two champions lacked sufficient damage to fight head-on in the early-game. Not only that, they were both only at Level 2 while Lee Sin was one level ahead of them.


    Mephistopheles was unable to shake off Lee Sin after his champion was hit precisely by Wind Storm. As Mundo followed up the attack with Masochism activated, the squishy Karma fell to her death quickly. Her health had already been halved after being kicked by Lee Sin and she was killed after a few auto-attacks by Mundo.


    Tragically, Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal had been hit by the double debuffs as well!


    The battle power of Dr. Mundo and Lee Sin had far exceeded his now and unfortunately, there was still a long distance before he could get back to safety. Asmodai was probably going to fall as well!


    As expected, Luocheng went straight into the bush after they had killed Mephistopheles¡¯s Karma, rounding up the minions blocking his path and then charging straight toward Ezreal!


    Asmodai was cornered. Mundo was on his back while Lee Sin was restricting his movement from the side.


    ¡°Asmodai, come to me!¡± Belial was rushing over to the bottom lane.


    He was already on his way after he had finally killed off the Wight. He had indeed expected the sudden assault but he was a tad too late. Lee Sin was simply too explosive and Mephistopheles was killed almost instantly.


    Asmodai gave up on returning to the turret and selected the river route.


    Da Luo was still in hot pursuit. He refused to give up before the opponent¡¯s ADC had surrendered his Flash.


    His Infected Cleaver¡¯s cooldown was up soon, he only needed to slow him down one more time and his life will be theirs¡­


    Q-skill!


    The cleaver flew over and Ezreal had no chance to evade it.


    ¡°Hah!¡±


    At the last moment, Vi came to Ezreal¡¯s rescue. She positioned herself accurately in front of the ADC, absorbing the Cleaver¡¯s damage in Ezreal¡¯s place.


    ¡°What a timely rescue! If Belial had arrived a second later, Ezreal would be forced to use his Flash, but since both pursuers from Team Skycrown still have their mobility skills, they might easily get a double kill on Team Daemons!¡±


    Da Luo was not intimidated by Belial. He tracked back a little before promptly throwing another cleaver to stall Vi.


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin hurried in and used Sonic Boom on Vi.


    Level 3 against Level 3. Luocheng was not afraid to take on Belial and executed a series of combo-skills on the Vi.


    The two-man team from Team Skycrown was brutal! They were not satisfied with getting only the Support, and now, they were all over the opponent¡¯s Jungler too!


    Belial was surprised by their aggressiveness.


    His purpose of charging out had been to protect Ezreal. He had not wanted to fight Team Skycrown at this point judging by Lee Sin¡¯s good form, moreover, Lee Sin was healing pretty fast while Mundo with his Randuin¡¯s Omen as a starting item still had two-thirds of his health left. A Level 2 Mundo was considerably powerful especially with his W-skill activated.


    Belial¡¯s intention to chase Mundo away had now turned him into the two pursuers¡¯ new prey.


    Knowing that Vi¡¯s Q-skill had been used, Mundo directly cast his Ignite on Belial, and with Luocheng shielding him, Da Luo courageously continued to auto-attack Vi.


    Asmodai was helpless. His Ezreal was only at Level 2 and this champion was too feeble to get involved in such a ferocious clash.


    Belial would have fought back if it weren¡¯t for the debuff. He knew that he had lost this fight the moment his Vi had been inflicted by Da Luo¡¯s Ignite.


    Belial did not hesitate for long. After exchanging a few hits with Lee Sin, he decisively pressed his Flash skill. Another cleaver or Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill could easily end his life.


    ¡®These two lunatics might dive in to kill me if my health goes any lower!¡¯


    Lee Sin and Mundo were both good at stalling the enemy, and getting hit by either champion¡¯s Q-skill would spell certain death!


    ¡°Sh*t! They must have practiced such plays before!¡± Belial who had managed to get away said indignantly.


    He now understood why the Jungler had not farmed in the neutral camp but had gone to help out at the bottom lane instead. They had purposely waited for the minion wave to reach their turret and then launched the surprise attack.


    It was difficult to get away safely from such an ambush because the minion wave had moved too far from the turret. Basically, one could hardly get away once they were hit by the first slowing skill. For teams that couldn¡¯t react in time, this play would easily secure two kills for Team Skycrown.


    It couldn¡¯t have been executed so perfectly if they had not rehearsed this play multiple times.


    Belial hated this kind of eccentric playstyle the most. Either Lee Sin or Elise could fight him equally in the jungle as long as their levels were not lower than his. Vi wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if she was caught in the jungle without her Flash.


    ¡°Such an aggressive play, Team Skycrown has really caught Team Daemons by surprise. They¡¯ve gained the kill on the Support, forced two Flashes from Team Daemons, greatly damaged the Jungler, and even exhausted all of the opponents¡¯ summoner¡¯s skills. What a huge loss to Team Daemons. It seems that Team Skycrown¡¯s new strategy is working. I wonder how long Team Skycrown has been working on this. It¡¯s hard to believe that even an experienced team like Team Daemons is being fooled!¡±


    ¡°We were still pondering earlier as to why the second Jungler did not go to counter-farm Belial, but it turns out that their target was on the bottom lane all along. Luocheng made use of Lee Sin¡¯s early-game advantage to rush to Level 3 and then retaliated when the enemies reached their outer turret¡­¡±


    The two commentators could no longer hold back their excitement. It was truly fascinating to watch Team Skycrown play, they never played by the rules!


    ¡°Top lane¡­ Oh, something has happened in the top lane too!¡±


    The camera switched quickly to the top lane right after the bottom lane had settled down. The audience could clearly see that Shyvana was recalling behind the inner turret with only a few drops of HP left!


    Though they had not seen it, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what had just happened. Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise must have sandwiched Shyvana from behind when the minion wave reached the outer turret.


    Charon¡¯s summoner¡¯s skills were on cooldown, meaning he must have executed his Flash in order to avoid being ganked.


    ¡°This is bad¡­ What a catastrophic development for Team Daemons. Both of their top and bottom lanes have been ravaged mercilessly by Team Skycrown. In addition to that, Charon is going to lose the valuable experience points on this wave of minions. There¡¯s no way he can stop Draven when he gets back on the lane!¡±


    Split-gank! Team Skycrown rolled out their rhythm perfectly.


    At the bottom lane, they utilized Lee Sin and Mundo¡¯s array of skills to slow the greedy enemies and counter-ambush them.


    At the top lane, Team Skycrown¡¯s long-range ADC harassed Shyvana and forbade her from going near the minion wave. In contrast, they were the ones pushing hard here so that Elise could round from the back and tower-dive!


    Elise was the best champion to tower-dive in the early-game. Her fury of skills helped to trim the enemy¡¯s life greatly which allowed Draven to finish the job!


    Shyvana was powerless without her Ultimate and Charon had no choice but to flee like his compatriots at the bottom lane.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s new strategy had given them an enormous advantage at the side-lanes.


    In actual fact, the opponent¡¯s Jungler should have been able to cover at least one of the lanes, however, because Belial was being overly cautious when clearing the monster camps, looking out for the enemy¡¯s two Junglers, he lost ample time in the process and failed to protect either lane.


    As for the mid-lane, the more dominant Hades had played it safe owing to the threat from the double Junglers. Due to that, he missed the golden window to obstruct Gragas from farming.


    In other words, Team Daemons had lost out in all three lanes.


    ¡°That was brilliant! Da Luo, Captain Yu, you guys are my idols!¡± Feng Da flushed in excitement and yelled jubilantly.


    Team Skycrown was like a completely different team in the second game. They had created enormous advantages at the side lanes right from the start.


    As for the mid-lane, it was also counted as a win when Hades did not get to dominate the lane as he usually did.


    Needless to say, Team Daemons had completely lost its tempo and it was difficult for them to match Team Skycrown¡¯s superiority from here on out.


    Not many teams had managed to gain so much advantage from Team Daemons this early into the game before.


    Team Skycrown was truly spectacular in orchestrating such an elegant tactic against the best team in China! It was hard not to be subdued by their genius strategy!

 Chapter 451 - Playing Illogical Cards?!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Who was it that said the double Jungler strategy was destined to fail?¡± Number One, Xie Lianda said casually as he turned his head, looking at the captain of Team Sky, Guan Langjie.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a small advantage. We¡¯ve played against Team Daemons countless times. A small trick like that may disrupt their rhythm, but their farming and defense capabilities at mid-game is not something your type of teams can imagine!¡± Langjie shot back, clearly not satisfied.


    ¡°Wow, this is the first time I¡¯m hearing Team Sky say that Team Daemons is good. But why do I feel that it¡¯s just a way to put yourself higher by placing the opponent higher just because you¡¯ve beaten this team before?¡± Forgetful Laughter from Team 71 said, the tone in his voice clearly meant to be insulting.


    ¡°Ceh, so what. Do you have the capability to beat Team Daemons? You can¡¯t, but our Team Sky did!¡± Langjie shot back, not willing to back down from his own ego and pride.


    ¡°Yeah sure, we can¡¯t beat Team Daemons¡­however, none of us have been killed a hundred times in a professional competition. Oh, not even in normal games, or ranked games, not once¡­¡± Zhang Aijing said, sliding into the conversation smoothly.


    The moment Aijing said this, the rest of the players around them laughed.


    The relationships between the other teams and Team Sky had always been this way. Whenever Team Sky used to brag arrogantly about their achievements, no one had anything to say in retaliation¡­


    But now, no matter how arrogantly Team Sky boasted about their achievements and how great their performance was, as long as they started acting up, all one just needed to do was to say quietly, ¡°at least we didn¡¯t get killed a hundred times¡±.


    These hundred kills had basically become a stigma on Team Sky for the past year, and everyone had touched on it at least once.


    ¡°We¡¯ve taken the championship in the Demacia Cup!¡±


    ¡°You were killed a hundred times!¡±


    ¡°Team Sky has the most points in the current lead in LPL!¡±


    ¡°Your team was killed a hundred times.¡±


    ¡°Our Team Sky is the strongest team in the country!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s why you were killed a hundred times?¡±


    As a result, any glory from Team Sky was easily shot down, and the only thought inside their mind was, ¡°D*mn motherf*cking sh*t!¡±


    With Aijing¡¯s one sentence, Guan Langjie¡¯s face turned as red as a tomato, whether in rage or embarrassment no one knew, but he couldn¡¯t say another word.


    Once he had quieted down, everyone else resumed watching the match in total seriousness.


    Aijing had been really annoyed by Guan Langjie¡¯s racket, this strategy of double Junglers had really opened her eyes.


    What were the strengths of Team Daemons?


    Mid Hades, he was practically a big boss. As Wu Sen was now, where he wasn¡¯t failing to farm from the pressure in-lane, that was already considered to be a big contribution to the team.


    Top Charon, his individual ability was good, and after farming up, he would be a beast!


    The Jungler Belial, he was undoubtedly the second best Jungler in the country. Pairing up together with the strongest Mid¡ªHades, they would be invincible and would deliver fatal blows to all the enemy lines!


    These three people had defended Team Daemons¡¯ unshakable position, and Asmodai at bottom lane was one of the few ADCs that could go against Bai Feng!


    This team was invincible, how would you go about defeating them?


    The strongest point in Team Skycrown would be their bottom lane, but was the bottom lane one that could build up to bring the entire team to victory?


    Obviously not, the bottom lane was a duo lane. Even if there was a slight gap in strength, it was unlikely to make any significant difference. After all, the ADC¡¯s damage was just left there¡­


    Aijing had been trying to figure out all the while how Team Skycrown was going to defeat Team Daemons.


    In the first game, Luocheng had pulled out his best card by using that Support champion, Anivia!


    Going through the lane-swap that didn¡¯t make sense in the early-game, they waited until the mid and late-game where Anivia¡¯s development had reached a stage that no other Support champion could. AOE, dividing the battlefield, taking a huge amount of damage, and at that point, Anivia was no longer just a Support!


    Unfortunately, because of the gap in the beginning, although Anivia was a Support that could have saved the entire game whether in terms of individual or team fighting capabilities, they were still defeated by Team Daemons.


    After losing one game, Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t take this lying down for sure!


    That¡¯s right, double Jungler!


    Fighting Hawk was not a meek Support player. If you asked him to quietly stay in the bushes to watch over the ADC while he farmed, it was an impossible task!


    Roaming, unexpected roams.


    Team Daemons knew that the Fighting Hawk excelled and was hardworking in his roaming, almost on par with a Jungler¡­


    Fine, then I won¡¯t pretend anymore. Let me openly jungle for you all to see!


    Who said that a Support had to be supporting the ADC?


    Can¡¯t I support the top lane which is being pressured? The top lane was for stronger champions anyway, once you had taken the buff and were able to grasp a good timing, you could completely mess up Team Daemon¡¯s rhythm.


    Not only that, the other Jungler could also start his gank at the top lane, so now, let¡¯s see which lane your Jungler intends to help first.


    With two Junglers, you didn¡¯t need to loop-gank or side-gank, all you needed to do was to just come out in the open through the lanes behind the minion wave.


    Bottom lane would pretend to help Mundo defend his lane that was being pressured, but in fact, was waiting to reach Level 3 to go all-in. No matter what, a fight would happen. There wouldn¡¯t be any duo bottom lane that had such a strong awareness.


    As for the top lane, when the minion wave pushed in and Elise was walking back and forth in front of you, what could Shyvanna do?


    If you just took the experience while huddling under the turret, you could still be killed by a turret-dive, that was a no-brainer.


    If you ran away from the turret, your level would lag behind, and once you returned to the lane, you¡¯d be crushed!


    Both lanes already had outcomes such as this.


    All of this was already interesting and unexpected, but the most unexpected thing was not happening in either of these lanes, but in the middle lane!


    That¡¯s right, the double Jungler strategy was most likely to deliver fatal blows to the mid-lane, becoming a situation where you could die over and over. Everyone had initially thought that Team Skycrown had come out with the double Jungler strategy all for the sake of controlling Hades at mid-lane, but they hadn¡¯t even gone to the mid-lane¡­


    If you took out the duo Jungler and did not go to the middle lane, that was taking advantage of your jealousy toward our duo Jungler and making you more anxious, not daring to overstretch and pressure the lane!


    Hitting three birds with one stone! Team Skycrown, pulling off this brilliant strategy, was completely one stone for three birds.


    Aijing was becoming more and more impressed with Luocheng, how had he come up with this kind of strategy to go against Team Daemons¡­


    And that was not even thinking about how long these guys had been secretly practising!


    If you think about it, they had already lost one round. How could Team Skycrown not pull another fantastic skill out to display?


    Aijing had felt that Luocheng was still hiding something before this, and now, being driven into the corner by Team Daemons, it looked like he had finally taken it out!


    ***


    While Aijing was busy blowing Luocheng¡¯s tactic out of proportion, Luocheng, who had recalled to the base to buy his items, was ecstatic inside.


    This double Jungler tactic was indeed hitting three birds with one stone, but Luocheng hadn¡¯t thought that he would be able to hit all three birds. Obviously, everyone¡¯s performance in this competition was outstanding, and if they didn¡¯t make any mistakes, then it would be easy to get an advantage from this wave!


    That way, the next advantage could be implemented even more perfectly!


    ¡°Let¡¯s swap lanes too!¡± Mephitopheles said.


    Draven was at the top lane and he had managed to force Shyvanna to recall back. By the time Shyvanna returned to the lane, the level difference would make Charon¡¯s Shyvanna would be even more pressured, and the gank under the turret from Elise would definitely happen again.


    Secondly, Mundo¡¯s level at the bottom lane was getting higher. If their duo at the bottom lane lagged behind in levels, they might not be able to sustain the lane.


    That minion wave was really a critical hit to Team Daemons.


    ¡°Better not, we¡¯ll lose the Dragon.¡± Asmodai replied.


    Why would you choose to duo at the bottom lane instead of the top lane?


    If the top lane was a duo lane, then your opponents at the duo bottom lane could call for their Junglers, making it a team of four to capture the Dragon. And while both of you were in the top lane, by the time you rushed down, you wouldn¡¯t even make it in time to see the Dragon¡¯s corpse.


    It was obvious that Team Skycrown had another trap laid together with their lane swap, and that was to bait Team Daemons into swapping lanes to suppress the development of their ADC.


    The result of the swap would definitely be the loss of the Dragon.


    Hades nodded his head, deciding not to swap as they would lose the Dragon faster if they did.


    Asmodai¡¯s leveling was still fine, and with the Support away from the lane, it allowed him to get more experience and level. He would wait for Mephistopheles to return to the lane before trying to control the lane¡­


    Unfortunately, just as they had predicted, Mundo, who was now at a higher level, was trying harder to stop him from farming. He could throw a Q-skill from quite far away and the Doran Shield gave him much more sustain.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird, they¡¯re a bit quiet.¡± Belial said, clearly uncomfortable at this knowledge.


    With the duo Jungler strategy, the one most affected was Belial. Even within his own jungle, he was more wary.


    The funny thing was, the two Junglers didn¡¯t invade his area, and this led Belial to be able to farm in peace with a peace of mind.


    However, the more quiet the other side was, the more Belial felt like something was up!


    Finally, Belial couldn¡¯t take it anymore, walking down the river toward the bottom lane.


    The minion wave at the bottom lane was still pushing and Belial had a feeling that it was necessary to head downward to protect the bottom lane. Lee Sin and Elise¡¯s gank capabilities were scary, if the both of them were to roam to the bottom lane together, even Ezreal with two Flashes wouldn¡¯t be able to escape, what more, a Karma who didn¡¯t have any repositioning skills.


    Walking past the Dragon pit entrance, Belial halted his steps suddenly.


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Belial cursed suddenly.


    His team members were startled, then hurriedly glanced at their mini map. They found out suddenly that Lee Sin and Elise had appeared in the Dragon Pit!


    Lee Sin was Level 5 while Elise was Level 4!


    These two guys were trying to steal the Dragon before they had even hit Level 6!


    It was obvious that they had been at it for quite a while, for when Belial came into view and saw these two attacking, coincidentally, they had just landed the last hit on the Dragon!


    ¡°Too fast, it really is too fast!¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown had used this trick so fast even though Team Daemons had actually warded the Dragon Pit. Although the two wards were not directly placed in the Dragon pit, one of them was placed in the lone bush at the river, while another was placed in the tribush¡­ These two wards were actually very well-placed and would have been able to seal off the way to the Dragon Pit for Team Skycrown¡­¡±


    ¡°However, was it really necessary for Lee Sen and Elise to walk into other people¡¯s territory?¡±

 Chapter 452 - Show Off

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    You still dared to ask, does Lee Sin even need to use the front door to go to the Dragon?


    With just a ward and a W-skill, or even a more simple use of a Q-skill, he could easily stick himself to the Dragon.


    And it was the same for Elise, no problem, just one Rappel and she would land down on the Dragon.


    And so, both the Junglers had used another path to enter the Dragon¡¯s Pit, stealing the Dragon in complete darkness right under their noses!


    With a Level 5 Lee Sin and a Level 4 Elise, taking the Dragon wasn¡¯t that difficult. The two champions had multiple damage-dealing skills, adding on both their Smites¡­


    Sly, this Dragon-stealing was just too sly. Team Daemons were more wary of getting ganked in-lane, but these two had been stealing the Dragon instead! Even a veteran team like Team Daemons hadn¡¯t expected that!


    Even the other professional players watching were all in awe.


    This card they had played really was too sly, no one had expected it at all.


    ¡°D*mn, if Team Skycrown didn¡¯t train this tactic at all, I¡¯ll chop off my hands!¡± Qing Ye from Team Revelation was the first to recover.


    It was just an unreasonable card to play!


    Team Skycrown had always been like this, dealing cards that were unreasonable. Just when you expected them to invade the jungle area, they would gank the lanes instead. When you expected them to gank the lanes, they were stealing the Dragon.


    You were helpless against them, because none of the professional players would even think of stepping into the Dragon Pit before the six-minute mark. Even if it hit the six-minute mark, you would still take at least three people as an insurance to take the Dragon. But this combination of Lee Sin and Elise in their double Jungler play, they still had half of their health remaining even after taking the Dragon!


    Belial stood rooted, looking at these two guys.


    However, he didn¡¯t dare to engage. They both still had half their health left, if he got caught by Elise¡¯s E-skill, Cocoon, he would easily be taken down by the burst damage these two had, and besides, he didn¡¯t have his Flash either.


    In this situation, even if Belial had accidentally stumbled upon them, all he could do was watch as they openly walked away.


    There really wasn¡¯t anything to be done!


    The Dragon was an objective that the earlier you took it, the more obvious the effect. After all, a hundred gold difference for your teammates, it was possible that the difference would enable them to complete an item faster than their opponent!


    ***


    After seeing the enemy take the Dragon in front of his eyes, Belial was at a loss at what to do for a moment.


    Should he gank? Needless to say, with the opponent playing double Junglers, the speed that they could counter-gank him would be much faster, and as long as one of the Junglers appeared, his gank would be considered to be a failure.


    Should he counter-gank? Only God knew if the two of them were going together to gank or not, and if you jumped in blindly and there were two of them, you were just commiting suicide.


    For the many years that Belial had focused on being a Jungler, the biggest headache was going against double Junglers, and it had to be two Junglers that were strong and had am excellent sense of rhythm!


    Usually, Belial was confident in the steps needed in the jungle and he was also very good at adapting.


    This time, he was just lost. Who knew what other secret card they would be pulling out to play next!


    ***


    Taking the Dragon at six minutes, now, there was just one more minute before the buffs respawned!


    In the start of the game, Team Skycrown¡¯s Junglers hadn¡¯t tried to steal their buff, but now with the second buff, Belial was sure that they would come to steal it!


    The second blue buff was normally given to the Mid because it was important for their development.


    Belial had already warded the area near his own blue buff previously, instructing his other members to prepare to protect Hades¡¯ blue buff.


    As expected, before the blue buff respawned, you could see the two shadows sneaking into the area.


    Hades¡¯ Ziggs had already planted explosives on the ground as a trap, preventing Luocheng from flying in. At the same time, the bottom lane of Team Daemons were already on their way to give assistance as they needed to guard this blue buff.


    Hades¡¯ development was super important, once he was fed, he would be able to bring the team to victory. If the blue buff, which was extremely important to him got taken away, it would be hard for him to carry the game!


    For this blue buff, Team Daemons were super determined. They needed to destroy, they needed to take it!


    What could Team Skycrown say to this, there were already four people appearing to guard the blue buff, wanting to take it was also a bit hard for them.


    Planting a ward, Luocheng and Zhou Yan contemplated for three seconds and finally decided that it was better to let go of it.


    Their opponent¡¯s lineup had too much CC, whether it was Ziggs, Ezreal or even Karma, all of their skills could be anywhere, especially Ziggs.


    Hades¡¯ Ziggs was really something. If you walked forward, he could just throw his Bouncing Bomb. When you saw this small thing coming at you, even if you tried to avoid it, it would still detonate and hit you. It felt like the cartoon of a cat and mouse that you used to watch in the past. When there was something in the sky that wanted him, that shadow would always be on top of your head, no matter where you ran, front, back, side, it would still hit you in the end.


    Being able to raise his capabilities to this level¡­ It was not just a matter of throwing it wherever. This took a lot of time to practice plus you needed to predict where your opponent would move and the possibilities that they would reposition themselves.


    With Zigg¡¯s continuously throwing his skills, it really was unbearable. After being hit a few times, Team Skycrown no longer dared to come forward to steal the buff.


    ***


    After taking the blue buff, Hades walked back toward the middle lane, frowning soon after, because he found that the two Junglers had used this chance to push the minion wave ahead and were directly under the turret now.


    In this situation, it was impossible for Hades to use the usual narrow path to get back to the mid-lane. If Elise were able to land a stun on him, he would definitely die, plus the path was really narrow.


    But if he took the roundabout way, the turret in the middle lane would definitely take heavy blows.


    Hades was also quite domineering, and if it were any other Mid-player, they would just take the roundabout way. After all, there were three enemies in the middle lane, they were preventing the Mid from coming back to defend.


    Hades directly unleashed his skills from his position, using the advantage that he had with his long range to deal with the three members of Team Skycrown from his side!


    Hades was indeed quite daring. He was facing a Gragas who could probably ulti you forward to them, an Elise who could limit your movements from afar, and a Lee Sin whose kicks were deadly, but he wasn¡¯t showing any fear at all.


    ¡°Do we want to force the kill?¡± Wu Sen asked, watching Hades in the narrow path. He felt that the chance to kill him was high.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything, we can¡¯t be sure how many of them are behind him. He still has his Satchel Charge, Flash, and Barrier, it won¡¯t be that easy to kill him. The turret is more important!¡±


    As the first team dubbed as the turret killers, if they focused on the kills instead of the turrets, it would be quite inappropriate!


    Hades was obviously using himself to bait the three who were pushing the turret, trying to disrupt them from dealing any further damage to it. If they really went after him, it was worth it for Hades to sacrifice himself to defend the turret, and this was possibly the reason Hades was doing this in the first place.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t about to take things for granted. To them, taking down this turret was extremely important as it was one of the keys to victory!


    Unfortunately, the minion wave didn¡¯t last too long and the turret still had one-third of its health left. They needed to find another chance to take the turret down.


    ¡°Remember, the outer turret in the middle lane is extremely important. Don¡¯t let Team Skycrown take it even before the game hits ten minutes, otherwise, we¡¯ll fall right into the various traps that they have already laid out for us.¡±


    Coach Huang Kang¡¯s words were always replaying inside Hades¡¯ mind.


    If nothing went out of expectation, the next thing the two Junglers would do was roam the jungle area. If they didn¡¯t have their outer turret, Hades¡¯ farming range would be limited to a small area. Even if he wanted to take the Wraith or Wolves camp at that time, he would be too worried as to whether there was anyone lying in wait for him.


    That was why Hades would not let anyone take this turret down.


    ¡°HA!¡±


    A turn and a Sonic Wave came forth, and Hades who was under the turret had never expected Fighting Hawk¡¯s Lee Sin to suddenly turn around and attack. If this Sonic Wave landed, Hades didn¡¯t have a good feeling about it!


    As expected, the moment it landed on Hades, Luocheng¡¯s body flew over in an instant!


    What was the most beautiful maneuver a Lee Sin had?


    It was when you dashed onto the enemy, planted a ward behind him, and then subsequently roundhouse-kick him to the back toward your own teammates!


    On the big screen, you could clearly see Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin flying forward, his body like the wind, toward Hades¡¯ Ziggs!


    As soon as Hades refocused, he realized what Luocheng was planning to do!


    This time, it was considered to be the real confrontation between the Fighting Hawk, Yu Luocheng, and Hades!


    Hades responded quickly, throwing a Satchel Charge at his feet at the same time that Luocheng touched him, throwing himself backward quite a distance when the bomb detonated.


    The repositioning from the bomb was simple, it was for the purpose of bringing Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin into the turret¡¯s attack range!


    Lee Sin¡¯s second Q-skill had a tracking effect, and as long as he was already in motion, no matter where the target moved to, Lee Sin would always reach his target.


    Hades was still a distance away from the turret previously, and with the repositioning that he did with his bomb, Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin was now deeper in and within the turret range.


    Just behind, Belial¡¯s Vi was already preparing his Ultimate, Assault and Battery. His massive gauntlets would land on Luocheng the moment he reached, and he would then trap him under the turret!


    ¡°This is a trap, Hades was just waiting for Fighting Hawk¡¯s second Q-skill to reach him, and then he would trap him under the turret for the purpose of killing him! The problem is that Captain Yu is already in motion¡­Oh, OH MY GOD!¡± Bao Jun trailed off before screaming.


    ¡°OOH!¡±


    At the same time, the entire arena let out their own screams, some even sounded strangled!


    ¡°Holy sh*t, Captain Yu¡¯s Lee Sin is just too f*cking much!?¡±


    ¡°That was immensely superb, that finger speed, it was so phenomenal!!¡±


    ¡°F*ck, this guy, he even dares to play around with Hades!¡±


    Right when everyone had thought that Luocheng would be trapped by Hades under the turret by his move, Luocheng made a spectacular move. Just as Hades landed himself at the turret, Lee Sin had actually planted a ward behind himself while in motion and smoothly changed his flight path with a W-skill back onto that ward.


    So now, you could see Lee Sin¡¯s glorious flight path, elegantly dancing in a ¡®V¡¯ shape in front of the turret, leaving Ziggs where he was after instantly Flashing!


    Flashy!


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin was so flashy, he really was such a show-off!

 Chapter 453 - It Looked Cool!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lee Sin was a champion that was very difficult to master in League of Legends. It was almost impossible for a new player to play him well because this champion had many skills, movements, and too many combos and routines.


    An impressive Lee Sin needed to be able to cast a Q-skill and dash over, and then use his W-skill to get to the back of the enemy and roundhouse-kick them back. This maneuver was already difficult because it required fast finger speed.


    The faster your fingers were, the stronger the Lee Sin. There were some, that before the second Q-skill had even reached the enemy, they had already planted a ward behind them and cast their W-skill almost instantly to it, kicking the enemy before they even had a chance to react, and that would be the best glorious operation.


    For Luocheng to plant a ward while halfway in motion, gliding into a smooth ¡®V¡¯ shape, the requirement for that was even higher, not to mention this was in a competition!


    When Hades was hit by Luocheng¡¯s Q-skill, his mind instantly assumed that Fighting Hawk would unleash his QWR-combo, Dragon¡¯s Rage, to kick him toward his teammates.


    This was why Hades had reacted quickly by planting a bomb beneath himself, pushing himself backward before Luocheng could reach him to bring him into the turret range.


    Pity, Luocheng¡¯s skills were higher, and upon seeing that bomb, he managed to turn his path around halfway with the ward and W-skill¡­


    If it were any other professional player with slower reaction and finger speed, he would probably have died miserably under the turret once his ploy had been seen through.


    ¡°Is Fighting Hawk making fun of Hades?¡± Li Hua, the female commentator asked in an odd tone.


    ¡°He definitely is! There¡¯s an unwritten rule in our LPL, that other than Hades, whoever taunts the others will die a miserable death. As for whoever taunts Hades, in the end, it will ultimately be thrown back in that person¡¯s face.¡± Bao Jun said.


    ¡°All I want to say is, what was the point in that maneuver? It just seems like Fighting Hawk wasted a ward.¡± Li Hua said.


    ¡°Er, this¡­that is¡­¡±


    In that play just now, Hades was able to prevent Luocheng from kicking him backward and could have even turned the tables on him, only, Luocheng had used his smooth maneuver to escape that trap.


    But what was the point of that flashy movement?


    When Luocheng was interviewed later and asked this question, he replied in a serious tone that of course there was a point in it. This was a psychological tactic. If a Lee Sin was flashy in front of you and you couldn¡¯t do anything, your mind would be very frustrated, and although Hades was a calm person, after being taunted like that, he would also have a feeling of dissatisfaction.


    Having talked for a long time about the technical movements in it and the inner mind games, Luocheng felt that everyone was still giving him skeptical looks, and so, he lost his serious expression, raised his eyebrows, and shrugged. Alright, I admit, I thought it would look cool!


    So sometimes, there was no need to worship those superior godlike players. Just when you had pondered and studied seriously regarding the reason behind those complicated moves that they do, that maybe they had some bigger reason or secret behind it, it was actually maybe that he just wanted to look cool.


    They didn¡¯t manage to get the blue buff or bring down the turret in the middle lane, thus, they definitely wouldn¡¯t give away the red buff!


    Why would you even use the word ¡®give¡¯?


    Pulling out a double Jungler play would mean that all of the buffs should belong to them, when was there ever such a thing as stealing buffs!


    Team Daemons had very good awareness and they didn¡¯t scatter once they were able to stop Team Skycrown from their two goals. They had already predicted that their enemy¡¯s next target would be the red buff.


    Mephistopheles¡¯s Karma was already on the way there because no matter what kind of fight broke out, there was always advantage in numbers.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming to assist.¡± Lin Dong who had been farming well at the top lane warned the others.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t go in too deep. The both of us will take it by force.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Team Daemons had obviously not planted too many wards in advance around the red buff area and Luocheng sent a kick directly onto the red buff monster, using his Smite immediately.


    Zhou Yan walked in front, also throwing a combo of skills and using his Smite, it was practically an instant-kill of their opponent¡¯s red buff. Belial was standing nearby unsure of whether to engage, and upon seeing that, his face darkened.


    Belial naturally still had his Smite and had been walking up and down the red buff area. Too bad for him, the two Junglers had cleared the buff too fast, not giving him a chance to react at all even though he already called his team to come and help him defend it.


    ¡°Hold them back!¡± Hades instructed firmly.


    Leaving right after taking the red buff, if they didn¡¯t take this chance to fight and gain back the previous advantage, they were going to have a bad time in the following fights.


    Charon¡¯s Shyvanna at the top lane was already coming from the tribush and Karma was also on the way. Belial saw that the time was right and in no time, Vi activated her ulti!


    A thin red line appeared and you could see a gigantic gauntlet flying over, heading for her target¡ªThe Blind Monk, Lee Sin!


    Luocheng was irritated, the one who had taken the red buff was Elise, why the h*ll was Belial¡¯s ulti aimed at him!?


    It was obvious that Team Daemons was focusing on Luocheng, for without his double Jungler tactic, they wouldn¡¯t have crashed that early in the game.


    Luocheng¡¯s reaction was fast, and the moment Vi made contact with him, he activated his own ulti, delivering a bone-crushing kick on her, throwing her back!


    It was obvious that Belial had used his ulti and was planning to follow up with his Q-skill to control Luocheng¡¯s movement, but Luocheng didn¡¯t give her a chance to do so. Returning it with a kick, Belial¡¯s Vi was thrown backwards and away.


    Vi crashed right into Hades who had come to assist her. Subsequently, Hades¡¯ Ziggs was knocked up and didn¡¯t have time to follow up with a combo!


    At the same time, Charon¡¯s Shyvanna had appeared. Unfortunately, she had no other CC skills apart from her Ultimate in which she came flying in with.


    Luocheng used his W-skill to avoid Charon¡¯s rush and he simply rounded around, sending a Q-skill toward the Krugs.


    Once Zhou Yan saw this maneuver, he left the tribush in relief, fleeing the danger zone with his red buff.


    Meanwhile, Luocheng used his second Q-skill to fly over to the Krugs, over the wall. Even if Team Daemons wanted to hold him back, it was an impossible matter. Lee Sin was just too hard to kill.


    Team Daemons was once again left without success. They had fought in the jungle where they didn¡¯t have much control over and could only use whatever CC that they had, but once they let Team Skycrown have the advantage, their lineup was just too hard to kill. Their own poke composition was hard to hold anyone down.


    ***


    Watching as Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin made his escape, Hades brows furrowed up deeply.


    In terms of lineup, Team Daemons had some of the best combinations because they were going for a poke composition.


    A Support Karma, an ADC Ezreal, and a Mid Ziggs. With this kind of lineup, it was also easy to become a push composition, and if ever Team Skycrown was unable to react in the early-game, the game was as good as theirs. This was because although in the eyes of others where this lineup wasn¡¯t suitable and didn¡¯t have much CC, if Team Daemons could grasp the advantage, then it would be difficult to defeat them.


    Now, Team Daemons was very cautious. Draven was farming well in the top lane, while Charon¡¯s Shyvanna¡¯s levels and items were obviously lagging behind.


    As for Asmodai and Mephistopheles at the bottom lane against Lone Gull¡¯s Dr. Mundo, Mundo was farming really well as well and his farm was only lagging behind by about ten creeps. His level was higher than their own ADC and it was possible that Shyvanna would not be able to perform as well as Mundo in the late-game.


    If this went on, they were sure to lose. They couldn¡¯t let themselves be led around by the nose by Team Skycrown!


    The only way to not be caught up in Team Skycrown¡¯s rhythm was to guess what the latter would do next.


    As a professional player, one of the skills that needed to be mastered was how to think in the other person¡¯s shoes, and so, Hades put himself in Luocheng¡¯s situation, trying his best to guess what they were going to do next.


    They had already taken the Dragon and the buffs were basically taken too. In the eight-minute to twelve-minute mark, it was impossible that Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t do anything. They would definitely make use of their double Jungler play to get an even bigger advantage over them.


    What the h*ll were they up to?


    There were no buffs, the Dragon had yet to respawn, what would they do?


    Hades stared at the portion of the map that was covered in the Fog of War, searching for any signs of Lee Sin.


    Luocheng was playing Lee Sin, and the entire team¡¯s rhythm was being led by him as the captain. In fact, the primaryJungler¡ªZhou Yan was even more cooperative with the second Jungler, Luocheng.


    ¡°If I were Fighting Hawk, what would I do between the eight to twelve-minute mark¡­ clear the jungle? No, it can¡¯t be. Gank a lane?¡±


    The monster camps have been exhausted for now, meaning ganking was the only thing left¡­


    Then, which lane would they gank?


    Top lane, Shyvanna?


    There was no particular need, Shyvanna was also slightly more tanky now. Killing her without an Ignite would be a waste of energy.


    The duo at the bottom lane?


    That was also almost impossible seeing as both of them at the bottom lane had their Summoner¡¯s Skills, adding on to the fact thatBelial would always be nearby babysitting the lane.


    ¡°They want the middle turret¡­They want the middle turret¡­¡±


    Like a slap to the face, Hades suddenly understood!


    The middle lane turret only had a third of its health left, if Team Skycrown wanted to gain a bigger advantage, they would definitely aim to break down that turret. Next, they would definitely aim to gank his middle lane!


    With two Junglers, there was no way any of the lane ganks would be unsuccessful. If that was indeed their aim, they could even turret dive and his Ziggs wouldn¡¯t have anywhere to run to.


    More importantly were the two champions that they had picked as their Junglers!


    Lee Sin and Elise, adding on a powerful Gragas, the turret was just a decorative item in their eyes!


    ¡°They¡¯ll be coming after my mid!¡± Hades said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve warded it for you.¡± Belial said.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless!¡±


    It was useless to ward. Even if you were to see Lee Sin and Elise heading over, so what? Elise and Lee Sin were too flexible, if they came around the turret, his Ziggs would be a sitting duck. Even with Belial around, with such strong champions, they would definitely dare to turret dive in for the kill, especially since a Vi without her ulti was not a threat to them at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother planting any wards that are not needed in the middle lane because even if they do come, they will be more alert if there were wards. Let them come to the mid. Mephistopheles, go down to the bottom lane and walk around a bit, let Lone Gull see you, and then come over back to the mid. Char, you do the same at the top lane. Walk through our red buff then make a turn back from somewhere else, hide behind the turret and wait for them to dive in!¡± Hades instructed, the plan forming quickly in his mind as he gave out the directions to the others.


    Belial and Mephistopheles nodded their heads.


    Fighting Hawk, I¡¯ve seen through your thoughts, let¡¯s see how you escape from me this time!

 Chapter 454 - : Sonic Wave Through The Minions!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°There¡¯s no ward here, let¡¯s go around and kill Asmodai!¡± Zhou Yan said.


    The turret at the middle lane was important, it concerned the success rates of the ganks to the other lanes in the late-game. It could be said that if they managed to take down this turret, they would be halfway to victory already.


    That was why no matter what they had to sacrifice, Team Skycrown needed to take that turret down.


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin was following Zhou Yan closely from behind, and they crossed the river, passing by their opponent¡¯s Wraith camp.


    They clearly remembered that there were no wards in this area. Hades was also always within their sight, it was impossible for him to sneak away and plant a ward.


    To dive the turret and secure the kill, Elise and Lee Sin didn¡¯t need the minion wave. Elise would tank the turret first, and once she threw her set of skills out, whether or not it hit wasn¡¯t important, the important thing was for Luocheng to follow up from behind to land his kick on Hades to throw him right in front of Wu Sen¡¯s Gragas.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in!¡± Zhou Yan gave the signal to Wu Sen.


    Elise¡¯ human form appeared from behind the turret, shooting a web right at Hades.


    Hades reacted quickly, dodging to the side, and Elise¡¯ E-skill missed her mark.


    Zhou Yan was not concerned about Hades dodging the web, and he walked toward the turret in order to tank the damage from the turret for Luocheng as well as to bait out Ziggs¡¯ bombs.


    Once he had exhausted his skills, Zhou Yan took a few more hits from the turret, waiting for Luocheng to direct his skills to the front of Hades.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t plant a ward in front of Hades because he knew that Hades still had his Satchel Charge and Flash.


    When you were ganking a big boss like Hades, if you didn¡¯t count the cards in his hands properly and tried to kill him, you would be slapped right back in the face.


    Luocheng walked straight in, and upon seeing that Hades didn¡¯t use any of the afore-mentioned skills, he proceeded to kick Ziggs out of the turret and followed up with his Q-skill!


    To first cast your Ultimate and then Q-skill successively, this really needed confidence to pull it off because the connection between the skills needed to be extremely fast, and at the same time, you needed to clearly understand the distance and angle at which you were kicking your enemy.


    There was no helping it, after all, all Luocheng had was a ton of confidence, and of course, Luocheng couldn¡¯t deny that this combo was extremely cool.


    Hades¡¯ Ziggs landed in front of Wu Sen¡¯s Gragas, and Wu Sen had already been prepared. As if he was taking the last baton in a relay race, he launched his meaty body for a Body Slam toward Ziggs, intending to follow up with his Ultimate to instantly crush him!


    It was at this time that Hades Flashed, and his Flash was incredibly on point, dodging the huge amount of damage that could have afflicted him from Gragas¡¯ skills, and at the same time, he activated his Barrier to avoid dying from Lee Sin¡¯s kicks.


    The consecutive release of his skills was fast, and without a second¡¯s delay, Hades Flashed backward to the turret and threw all of his skills at Elise who was still at the turret.


    Ziggs packed quite a bit of damage, and Elise was down to her last bit of health in no time.


    Zhou Yan Rappel-ed into the sky to avoid further damage, and just as he went up into the air, he realized that Vi had made a sudden appearance from behind the turret.


    ¡°She¡¯s here so fast!?¡±


    Zhou Yan¡¯s face changed as he saw Belial walking toward the top lane, how could he have appeared in the middle lane so fast.


    Elise¡¯s E-skill in Spider Form needed to select a target to land on, otherwise, she would automatically come back down on her original spot in two seconds. There were no enemy minions around the turret, which made Zhou Yan annoyed and embarrassed that he had overlooked the fact that he could have Rappel-ed nearer to the Wraith camp, that way he could have easily escaped!


    ¡°I¡¯m dead, Cheng, you be careful.¡± Zhou Yan said with a deep sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m also in danger¡­¡± Luocheng replied seriously.


    Just as Zhou Yan was being targeted by Vi, Luocheng had seen Mephistopheles¡¯ Karma coming in from the side.


    Karma¡¯s CC was incredibly disgusting and because Lee Sin¡¯s skills were all on cooldown right now, Luocheng could only watch as Karma unleashed her skill-shots at him.


    Hades only had a little bit of health left and he managed to survive. After Karma had stunned him, he saw Hades throwing his large and small bombs toward him.


    That Bouncing Bomb and Hexplosive Minefield, adding on the Satchel Charge, Luocheng¡¯s health was down to its last drop.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t dare to hesitate, Flashing to flee was the only obvious choice. Zhou Yan was confirmed to be dead, he couldn¡¯t jump out of that no matter what.


    Seeing Hades¡¯ Ziggs with that little amount of health left hiding under the turret, Luocheng became extremely unsatisfied.


    To think he had actually been ambushed instead!


    It was obvious that they had seen through their plans.


    ¡°Since we can¡¯t get to the middle lane, the fight will probably drag on.¡± Wu Sen said.


    A double Jungler lineup was not really suitable for the late-game. Luocheng didn¡¯t want to drag the game on too long either because they would probably be the ones at a disadvantage instead.


    Only, if you didn¡¯t kill Hades, how would you take down the middle lane turret?


    That was the key for them to obtain victory¡­


    No way, they had to kill him!


    Glancing briefly and seeing that Hades had retreated quite a distance behind the turret with about one fourth of his health left, Luocheng took a detour around, going back through the same path that he had first sneaked in from.


    Luocheng had seen Hades recalling behind the turret and this guy was still on high alert, purposely positioning himself behind the new minion wave.


    It was obvious that none of Team Daemons had realized that Luocheng had actually dared to so boldly come back once again. Belial was helping Hades to clear the minion wave while Mephistopheles was making his way back to the bottom lane.


    ¡°You have to wait for the minion wave to pass.¡±


    There was a row of minions standing in between Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin and Hades¡¯ Ziggs, it was impossible for Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill, Sonic Wave, to go through the minions and hit Ziggs.


    And if he waited until the minions who were walking extremely slowly to walk all the way past, Hades would have returned to his base already¡­


    He needed to go now!


    Luocheng¡¯s gaze sharpened, roughly calculating the distance and angle¡­


    Touching on the ward, he planted it instantly, and Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin flew toward this ward in the blink of an eye!


    ¡°HA!¡±


    The sonic blast burst forth from Lee Sin¡¯s foot, the blast heading right for Hades¡¯ Ziggs.


    However¡­


    The path of the Sonic Wave was clearly going to be blocked by the minions, and the two commentators seeing Luocheng¡¯s action of returning and launching this move were completely bewildered.


    ¡°Fighting Hawk?¡± Hades¡¯ eyebrow raised as he saw Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin appear.


    Hades didn¡¯t bother to interrupt his recall because it was obvious that there was a line of minions in front of him that would ensure Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Wave wouldn¡¯t hit him.


    But in the next second, Hades¡¯ face froze!


    He tried to dodge immediately but the Sonic Wave still landed on him, and it took away the last bit of health he had left.


    But, how was that possible!


    Smite¡­hehe, Smite¡­.


    Hades¡¯ eyes were wide in shock, staring at his screen which had turned gray¡­


    ¡°OH! This¡­this¡­!¡± Bao Jun was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t utter a word without stuttering!


    The entire arena was stunned speechless, their eyes wide.


    Fighting Hawk had killed Hades!


    The words and announcement from the game were clearly displayed on the gigantic screen.


    But the question was, how had Fighting Hawk managed to land such an earth-shattering kill!?


    Everybody knew that Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill would have been blocked by the minions walking past, that was why there was no panic when Lee Sin had appeared.


    There had been a whole row of minions in between Luocheng and Hades, how had Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill gone through all of that!?


    It was at that moment that Luocheng used his phenomenal skills to tell everyone in the audience, to what extent a Lee Sin could show off!


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk so much and just watch the replay, I feel like I¡¯m still not all there right now.¡± Bao Jun said.


    ¡°This maneuver is seriously spectacular, and more importantly, Fighting Hawk has completed the most difficult kill in history, which is to kill Hades!¡±


    The replay was quick to be displayed on the screen, showing how Luocheng was hiding in the Fog of War and there was still quite a distance between him and Hades. At the same time, the minion wave was slowly walking past, without a doubt they would block the path of Luocheng¡¯s Q-skill.


    Finally, Lee Sin made his move. First he used his W-skill to move to the ward he planted, closing the gap and getting Hades into his range.


    The Sonic Wave flew out accurately towards Hades.


    Hades hadn¡¯t dodged because there was no need to, after all, there were minions in front of him¡­


    However, just as the white sonic blast scraped the ground harshly and was about to hit the minion in front of it, a brownish yellow single claw slashed down from the air!


    This slash had killed the ranged minion immediately¡­


    The Sonic Wave flew past this ranged-minion¡¯s corpse, passing through the gap in the row of these fresh minions. It felt like a cannonball that had managed to weave its way through a narrow path, slamming right into its target!


    Smite!


    The moment he had launched his Q-skill, he had used his Smite to kill off the minion that was blocking the skill¡¯s path, completing a God-of-all-Gods skill that passed through the minions!


    Let¡¯s not even talk about how a normal player wouldn¡¯t be able to think about getting a kill this way, the difficulty in that maneuver could have just killed so many of the LPL professional players who played Lee Sin!


    Unleashing a skill that was only less than a second and Smiting that minion, as well as maintaining the angle of the skills to go through that gap without hitting the front or back minion¡­


    How in the f*cking world!? Even if the minion was Smited, there was only a gap as wide as your thumb between the first and the third minion!


    God knows how this guy actually managed to get that skill to pass such a small gap!


    ***


    The other professional players who were sitting in the front row all stood up at the same time without realizing it.


    Number One¡¯s jaw had hit the ground and had yet to close.


    Zhang Aijing hurriedly grabbed her spectacles out from her bag, you need to know that her vision power was only one hundred!


    Forgetful Laughter¡¯s throat was obviously trembling, it was obvious that he couldn¡¯t help but swallow heavily!


    The most exaggerated reaction of all was from Team Sky¡¯s substitute Jungler, Birch. He had been drinking water when it all happened, and he almost choked on it!


    What¡­ What kind of godlike maneuver was this!?


    Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill could be played like that!?


    Almost all the professional players watching had their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets!

 Chapter 455 - How Did They Train!?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was one thing for you to surprise amateur players, but to surprise the professional players was not something you could easily do any day!


    You could especially tell from the expression on Hades¡¯ face, how dazzling Luocheng¡¯s play with his Smite was¡­


    Luocheng stroked his mouse and keyboard, the corner of his mouth quirking up unconsciously. He couldn¡¯t help but think that the maneuver that he had just performed was unbelievably cool, it couldn¡¯t compare to the previous ¡®V¡¯-shaped dance he had done.


    When you played Lee Sin, if it wasn¡¯t about showing off, what else were you playing him for?


    If you couldn¡¯t showcase the elegance and chic-ness of this champion, don¡¯t even bother picking him!


    Of course, playing elegantly and chic-ly was one thing, being able to safely come back was another thing.


    As his mouth curved upward and he was patting himself on the back for landing a kill on Hades, he noted that the bottom lane duo had cut through the jungle area and was surrounding him. Looking at the middle lane, Belial¡¯s Vi was also on the way and Luocheng didn¡¯t have anywhere to run to.


    ***


    Luocheng knew how to run in circles, and from the Wolves camp, he kept the chase with Belial up toward the sides, and after about ten minutes, Belial finally managed to kill Luocheng, this sloppy blind monk, but he had been played, hook, line and sinker!


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have left the middle lane unguarded.¡± Hades said to Belial frowning, and the dissatisfaction was clear in his voice.


    Belial had pushed a wave before giving chase to Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin, but who knew that Gragas and Elise would take this chance to push the minion wave into the turret, quickly pushing through and taking it down.


    By doing so, Team Skycrown had successfully taken down the key objective which was the middle lane turret, and this fact made Belial¡¯s face go red with anger¡­


    Under normal circumstances, Belial wouldn¡¯t have made such a simple mistake. You couldn¡¯t compare the value of one kill against one turret after all.


    However, upon seeing Fighting Hawk on the Lee Sin who kept showing off, he was inexplicably pissed and especially fueled to kill him.


    Hard to blame him too, even Hades who knew that today was the day that he was going to play against the Fighting Hawk hadn¡¯t slept very well the previous night, more so Belial who had already been played a few times by Luocheng.


    In other words, all the e-sports players in the world held some form of dissatisfaction in their hearts when they heard about him holding the title of Champion of Gaming. All of them wanted to play against him at least once to settle their differences once and for all¡­


    ***


    Once the turret was brought down, Team Skycrown picked up the pace and became more offensive.


    They carried on themselves a few Vision Wards and Sweeping Lens, starting to invade the jungle area.


    The reason for invading was not to take the camps of the monsters there, but rather to cut off the route for their enemies to give their own team assistance as well as to quickly bring down another enemy turret!


    ¡°Go around and turn back!¡±


    Team Daemons clearly remembered when they were playing against Team Revelation, Team Skycrown had used an extremely difficult tactic. They had let Trundle stand guard at the narrow path that the opponent needed to cut through to the turret, and the rest of the team had pushed the minion wave in. It made the opponent afraid to defend the turret.


    After demolishing the turret at the middle lane, Team Skycrown was prone to using this tactic as always.


    Indeed, Dr. Mundo was standing on the path that Team Daemons needed to cross, endlessly throwing his knives like there was no tomorrow. Charon had already used his Ultimate and he became frustrated at the fact that he just needed a little bit more damage and he could have killed Mundo.


    How annoying was Dr. Mundo?


    As long as you didn¡¯t kill him on time, with that little bit of health left, you didn¡¯t need to wait long before you f*cking saw his health regenerating to almost a full bar!


    This was why the current season¡¯s Dr. Mundo was crazy, with a Sunfire Cape and Spirit Visage, Daddy Mundo will go where he pleases!


    ¡°They¡¯re pushing the turrets again, can¡¯t Team Skycrown just man up and have a good teamfight against Team Daemons?¡± The loyal fans of Team Daemons roared, extremely unsatisfied.


    In the eyes of the countless audience, Team Skycrown¡¯s tactics were particularly underhanded. They didn¡¯t fight straight up with the enemies, making use of the limited vision control, ambushing, darting back in after disengaging, basically whenever Team Daemons was in a disadvantageous situation.


    The moment Team Skycrown invaded the jungle area, they may not win even if the fight had the same amount of people in it. The moment they took over the major points of the territory, the turret would also come down in time!


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy, this is a strategy game, not some charging-in-recklessly game. So what if Team Skycrown knows how to utilize the tactics they have? Do they have to meet head on!?¡± There were of course others who were not satisfied with those kinds of complaints.


    The new season and changes to the game had actually paced the game slower with the fortification buff on the outer turret newly in place. Without true sight and vision control from it, adding on the fact that the gold for first blood had been lessened, there was an obvious drop in pacing in the game. Even teams with a big difference in strength would have to play against each other for at least thirty minutes now.


    However, in the hands of Team Skycrown, you would find that their rhythm was now even faster and aggressive as compared to previously. A fortification buff on the outer turret was nothing in their eyes with their bulldozing lineups. As long as the structure was marked, it would definitely go down within five minutes.


    Team Daemons and Team Skycrown were clashing with each other lightly whenever they met but a complete 5 vs 5 had yet to happen. Each player¡¯s small actions and awareness were particularly eye-catching.


    ***


    ¡°Coach, they¡¯re in a bit of a pickle. This is Team Skycrown¡¯s drag-and-snowball tactic, once the gold difference picks up even more, the turret is basically just a decoration. Even the Dragon will be their ATM.¡± Anubis shuffled on his legs worriedly as he stated his opinion.


    Anubis was naturally anxious because Team Daemons had to win two games against Team Skycrown and obtain the 3 points. That was the only way they could possibly win runner-up as they had lost to Team Sky previously. It was obvious that Team Sky would also keep up their momentum and not lose in the following matches.


    If they came to a draw with Team Skycrown 1:1 and assuming Team Skycrown would later on lose to Team Sky 0:2, then they would have the same score as them!


    Only the top two teams would be able to enter into the World Championship, and the highest chance to get in now was only the three teams here. They had waited for this competition every year, waiting to get into the Worlds every year. Every year they were ambitious, and every year they would lose, and so, they would try again the next year, persevering¡­


    Putting aside the Worlds at the moment, more importantly, this was Asmodai¡¯s last run in the professional scene.


    If it ended in a loss, Asmodai would leave the scene of e-sports with so much regret and he would probably choose to not stay back.


    Everyone knew that Asmodai¡¯s abilities were regressing, and even if he spent more time than anyone else, he couldn¡¯t enter his concentrated state any longer, unable to enter into a true professional mindset. The reason they had lost against Team Sky was also because of his bad positioning during a teamfight.


    Every professional player had those kinds of days and no one had uttered a single blame against Asmodai. They kept their silence and understanding on his regression, but no one had expected that with their indifferent mindset and silent cheers for Asmodai to work hard, he had suddenly decided to retire.


    The reason was not as simple as he was tired.


    The guy who had used all of his free time to watch replays of the Worlds, to practise CS-ing and positioning whenever he was free. The person who, when drunk, would always talk about how he had to become a World-class qualified player, how could he feel tired toward e-sports!? He was so very ambitious and that passion had always been building indefinitely.


    Yet, in the end, they were forced to accept this unacceptable fact.


    Anubis hadn¡¯t really paid much attention to Hades¡¯ development in this game, and he wasn¡¯t so concerned about Fighting Hawk¡¯s Lee Sin. He placed the most concern on Asmodai¡¯s ADC.


    Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal had the same CS as Draven, 220.


    However, there was a clear gap in items because Draven¡¯s team had the lead in gold by a huge margin.


    If it was the old Asmodai, in a situation at the bottom lane where it was a 2 vs 1, he could have easily pressured the lane like a dog, but in this game, Asmodai was doing none of that, and even in terms of giving timely assistance during teamfights, he was always late by half a beat.


    Hades and Fighting Hawk¡¯s plays were extremely outstanding, including Belial and Gale Crane, they all incited the crowd into roars and cheers.


    Then, what about Asmodai?


    Why was he always slower, not bringing out the full potential of his ADC? This was his last competition, was he intending to pass the farming phase and watch as the team fell behind even more in the gold difference, finally trying helplessly to launch an assault at the late-game?


    It shouldn¡¯t be this way!


    The Fighting Hawk that you¡¯ve always put on the pedestal is right in front of you, go and settle it once and for all with him!


    Anubis was caught up in these thoughts, Asmodai was going too slow and too stable. What was he thinking!? He knew that this was his last competition and he knew that his opponents were tough, so why didn¡¯t he have his resolution?


    If it was Anubis in there, he would have already regrouped with the team, if he couldn¡¯t take a triple kill, he would at least get a double kill!


    ¡°They need to always be one step ahead of Team Skycrown, otherwise, they¡¯ll be in for a rough time after this.¡± Coach Huang Kang said, drumming his fingers on the table uneasily.


    Team Skycrown was especially united when Luocheng was there, and this kind of unity was one that not even his Team Daemons could reach. Their execution was also practically flawless to the extent that it was just too strong¡­


    At this point, it was up to Hades.


    To see whether he could pull off what he had previously, when two people had rounded the middle lane turret to get the kill. He needed to predict what Team Skycrown would possibly do next and plan an ambush to counter them, pulling off a beautiful teamfight which could turn the entire game around for them!


    ***


    As the team captain, Hades sometimes did feel the heavy pressure and burden on his shoulders.


    What they wanted was not a draw. If it was a draw, their position to enter the Worlds would be shaky, one wrong move and the qualification would be lost.


    Looking at the fast invasion and fast retreat of Team Skycrown, Hades¡¯ heart became even heavier.


    After that game with one hundred kills that had shocked the entire e-sports world, how had they trained for the entire year¡­ How could they have brought up their abilities so d*mn fast!?

 Chapter 456 - They Need To Initiate!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Dai, how much more for your Last Whisper?¡± Hades asked.


    Asmodai¡¯s build was different from other ADCs. After getting his Trinity Force, he didn¡¯t immediately go for a Last Whisper, instead, he bought a Statikk Shiv.


    Ezreal¡¯s clearing wave capacities weren¡¯t that fast, he would need to rely on his ulti for a faster clear. Deciding to buy a Statikk Shiv first had a good effect at the bottom lane, and even if he faced a Draven that had an advantage, he wasn¡¯t at too much of a disadvantage himself.


    Statikk Shiv was a good item for ADCs who didn¡¯t have much CC in their hands, and adding on the fact that Ezreal¡¯s Q-skill could proc the effect was a bonus. Of course, Hades himself prefered a Statikk Shiv.


    After the Statikk Shiv, you would need to buy a Last Whisper. It was obvious that Mundo at the top lane was on a tank build, and in this season, a lot of the ADCs spent a lot of time facing Tops. If you didn¡¯t have a Last Whisper, you would realize that the damage you were able to deliver in a teamfight was like peanuts, especially against champions like Mundo, where if you didn¡¯t kill him in one shot, his health would just regenerate¡­


    ¡°I should have enough after this wave.¡± Asmodai replied.


    By playing as the ADC day in and day out, Asmodai was completely familiar with the price and gold needed for each item. As expected, once the wave was done with, Asmodai recalled back to base for his Last Whisper.


    Trinity Force, Last Whisper, Statikk Shiv, with these three items combined, Ezreal¡¯s total damage was obviously taken to a whole new level.


    ¡°Take the middle lane wave and get a Vampiric Scepter. We¡¯re about to go head-on in a teamfight, we can¡¯t let them keep pushing us like this.¡± Hades said seriously.


    They needed to engage in a teamfight. Team Skycrown excelled at these kinds of non-confrontational tactics, and up till the point when they had enough gold lead, they would use their advantage in the superior items they had to win the teamfights. It was easy for them to continue holding the advantage and continue to win if they took this route.


    The more you shied away from initiating the fight with them, the easier it was for them to snowball.


    One glance told him that Asmodai¡¯s ADC¡¯s development was not bad and he had acquired enough damage. They needed to take this chance to initiate the fight with their enemies!


    ¡°Your Void Staff is not out yet.¡± Asmodai said, his voice heavy.


    The champion, Ziggs, had three core items, Athena¡¯s Unholy Grail for mana and cooldown reduction, Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap for damage, and Void Staff for magic penetration. These items would guarantee the most effective damage output from him.


    Asmodai felt that with Hades himself not being able to purchase a Void Staff, there was no reason for the latter to let him farm the gold. After all, Hades contributed more to the team than he did in terms of damage anyway.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be enough for me to buy it. If I¡¯m not wrong, they¡¯re coming for our bottom lane turret now. You have to hurry it up.¡± Hades said.


    Asmodai didn¡¯t bother refuting anymore, quickly heading toward the middle lane to get that bit of gold. At the same time, he took the red buff and some of the other monster camps that initially should have been given to Hades for that extra gold.


    Just as he had purchased the Vampiric Scepter, Team Skycrown made their appearance at their bottom lane.


    As expected of Hades, he had managed to once again see through their ploy.


    Team Daemons were quick to rally to defend this time, they weren¡¯t giving Team Skycrown any chance to block off their path this time.


    Da Luo¡¯s Mundo was doing the same thing again, but he was overwhelmed by the amount of skills thrown at him this round, his health reducing by one third immediately.


    Da Luo was worried that he would die to an Ignite eventually and thus, he retreated.


    ¡°Their defense this time was quite fast.¡± Da Luo muttered unhappily.


    ¡°Do we retreat or force it?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    Luocheng hesitated. It was obvious that Team Daemons had seen through their plan, it was impossible to take the turret at this time.


    However, if they delayed it for too long and Ziggs was able to acquire all his items, Team Skycrown would be subjected to a lot of painful bombing.


    That is to say, if they walked back right now, there was a possibility that Team Skycrown would lose a lot of health before the teamfight started. There were only two ways they could initiate the fight, the first was for Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise to target the squishy opponents, and the second was for Luocheng to go in and kick the ADC or Mid from the enemies, letting Gragas follow up with his Ultimate to scatter them. The second choice was not that wise as Gragas¡¯ ulti was meant to make damage, not just scatter the enemies.


    A large wave of minions pushed toward the turret, and Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin was not like the normal Jungler Lee Sins who would flank at the side to harass their opponents, but instead, he was standing in the middle of his team.


    Both sides were at a standstill and Luocheng was hard-pressed to give up on this attack.


    Whether it was Ziggs or Ezreal, they both had strong poke capabilities. If they proceeded like this, the ones forever at a disadvantage would be Team Skycrown.


    ¡°Retreat, we¡¯ll wait for the Dragon to respawn.¡± Luocheng said.


    The five of them moved into their opponent¡¯s jungle, clearing out the camps along the way.


    Just as they were retreating, Belial¡¯s Vi suddenly launched a punch directly into Zhou Yan¡¯s face.


    Zhou Yan had just killed the Wight, and he didn¡¯t expect Vi to come through the wall to attack him.


    Mystic Shot, Bouncing Bomb, Hexplosive Minefield, slow¡­


    You could see a lot of skills being thrown onto Zhou Yan¡¯s champion, and before you could blink, he only had half of his health left!


    You couldn¡¯t help but be surprised at Team Daemons¡¯ assault. A bunch of things being thrown over, and if you were slow in reacting and allowed yourself to be hit by Ezreal and Ziggs¡¯ ulti, you would be killed instantly!


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t have enough vision on this side and he was afraid that the two ulti were incoming, so he Rappel-ed up into the sky to hide from any more skill shots.


    Team Skycrown were getting ready to take the Dragon, but they turned around when they saw Zhou Yan had gotten caught.


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t have his Flash and he didn¡¯t have a target for his Rappel. There was a minefield waiting for him to land down to the ground, and it was highly likely that he would die to their hands. Vi still had her Ultimate after all.


    ¡°Fight!¡± Luocheng shouted decisively.


    If they brushed off this fight, Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise would die. Next they would have to give up on the Dragon, and looking at the minion wave, their middle lane turret would also be going down. With all these combined, Team Daemons would be able to claim back the 3,000 gold difference!


    It was already hard enough to gain that 3,000 gold lead in advantage against Team Daemons, they needed to fight this round!


    ***


    ¡°Team Daemons is really clever here, they let Vi engage, and then Ziggs, Ezreal, and Karma attacked Elise through the wall. This way Team Skycrown will find it hard to counter-attack, because how would they be able to look through the wall to find Ziggs and Ezreal, who are the real threat!¡± Bao Jun watched as the fight broke out, the excitement clear in his voice as he exclaimed loudly.


    Teamfight!


    They were finally having a proper teamfight!


    The entire arena was on fire, they had been waiting for this teamfight until they they thought they would go crazy. Everybody watching had very high expectations for Team Daemons and Team Skycrown¡¯s teamfight, adding on the explosive opening that they had had in these two games, it was really thrilling and mind-boggling!


    Would Gale Crane¡¯s Elise die?


    There was only two seconds on Rappel, how would Elise run after touching down?


    At this point, the other four members of Team Skycrown had already turned back, it didn¡¯t take long for them to return. It looked as though Team Daemons had already been prepared for this, and Charon¡¯s Shyvana immediately activated her ulti, pouncing on them!


    This pounce actually caught all four of them, and the dragon flame which burned under her had caught all of them inside of it as well.


    Wu Sen had been standing in front of the team, and as soon as he saw something was wrong with the situation, he ignored Shyvana and rushed forward, throwing his ulti toward Ezreal and Ziggs to scatter them!


    His goal in doing so was to rescue Zhou Yan, otherwise, the latter wouldn¡¯t have anywhere to run to at all!


    A huge barrel of wine flew through the air, the purple liquid bursting out and causing a huge wave, blasting Ezreal and Ziggs into the distance, preventing them from landing anymore hits onto Elise!


    Asmodai¡¯s reaction was quick, and the moment Gragas raised his hands to throw the barrel, he cast his E-skill to move to the side, beautifully avoiding Wu Sen¡¯s ulti.


    When Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise landed on ground, Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal continued to attack her through the wall.


    Zhou Yan came downward in a panic, if it hadn¡¯t been for Hades¡¯ Ziggs getting blasted away, what little health he had left would have definitely been taken away!


    ¡°Oh! Look out below!¡±


    A piercing scream and you could see Hades¡¯ Ziggs throwing a gigantic bomb outward!


    The giant bomb went up into the air, casting a large shadow on the group that had been caught by Shyvana¡¯s ulti previously!


    Boom!


    Flames burst out from the explosion, the shockwave pushing everything backward. Ziggs¡¯ Ultimate was basically a nuclear bomb in the Summoner¡¯s Rift, the flames licking upward were just gorgeous, and the damage it dealt was just amazing!


    Hades¡¯ development on Ziggs was good, and if he had had magic penetration, it was possible that his ulti could even shave off half of Lin Dong¡¯s Draven¡¯s life!


    Lin Dong was still caught up with Shyvana, all the damage that he possessed had to be focused on Charon¡¯s Shyvana. If he got any nearer and was carelessly attacked by Ezreal¡¯s Q-skill or some of Ziggs¡¯ skills, he was basically dead!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Draven had bought a Bloodthirster and both Spinning Axes were in his hands.


    When Draven held his two Spinning Axes and attacked, you could see the axes rotating on back to his hands like a boomerang with a nice yellow indicator on the ground.


    The axes were dancing, Lin Dong¡¯s hand speed was really amazing. In this situation, he did not miss catching a single axe, and even with Shyvana chasing him, he was able to lifesteal his health back and maintain his attacks!


    Charon¡¯s health was dropping continuously and this made him anxious, wanting to return to the fountain to regenerate his health and buy a Thornmail so that this Draven could get killed by his own attacks!


    Draven¡¯s damage was really too high, he could easily solo against Shyvana with not much pressure.


    On the other side, Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise, who had just a little bit of health left, was still scurrying downward. He only had one fourth of his health left, just a few more hits and he would be dead.


    He stepped into the bushes and Luocheng suddenly reminded him of something.


    Zhou Yan turned around, and with a glance, he saw a deep yellow energy projectile coming toward him with the intent to kill, directly sealing off the entire path that Zhou Yan was on!


    Whoosh!


    ¡°Nice, Asmodai¡¯s ulti tracked down Gale Crane¡¯s Elise who had hidden from their sight, taking her down!¡± Bao Jun exclaimed.


    Once Zhou Yan had died, Luocheng¡¯s heart sank a bit more.


    The location that Team Daemons had picked for the teamfight was perfect, all Ziggs and Ezreal needed were obstacles in front of them to aid them in their damage output without getting damaged. They had chosen to hide behind the wall behind the Wight camp and shoot from there as it was difficult to touch them from this side!


    He finally understood what Zhang Aijing meant when she had told him not to intentionally head into a teamfight with Team Daemons so easily. From the perspective of initiating, Team Daemons had really chosen the perfect time to initiate the teamfight.

 Chapter 457 - Ezreal VS Lee Sin!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lee Sin was a champion that looked elegant and flashy, and a lot of players who liked a challenge were particularly fond of this champion. However, you had to admit that this champion scaled badly and was not suitable for the late-game.


    In late-game teamfights, Lee Sin was a champion that was weak.


    Low damage, no CC, kicks flying everywhere, flying to wards and such¡­ people could just easily ignore you¡­


    As for kicking the enemy backward?


    All I can say is that you think too much!


    Yes, that maneuver was cool, but not every Lee Sin could find themselves in the chaos of teamfights and accurately pick an enemy to deliver that important kick. Moreover, imagine if you did manage to land one kick, but all the enemy had to do was just Flash backward¡­ you would have basically fallen into the lion¡¯s den¡­


    Luocheng had yet to find the opportunity to be that cool, and Team Daemons was not that stupid.


    ***


    ¡°HA!¡±


    Without warning, Belial appeared!


    This guy really knew how to save his skill shots. Even as he watched Elise flee right in front of his eyes, he held on tight to his ulti. Seeing that Shyvanna was sticking to Draven, Vi made the decision to launch a Q-skill and follow up with her ulti, appearing directly in front of Lin Dong¡¯s Draven¡¯s face.


    Indeed, Lin Dong could use his axes to lifesteal his health back and damage Shyvanna, she alone was not that difficult for him to handle. However, if you were to add another champion, especially a champion like Vi who could armor-break, Lin Dong was clearly outmatched!


    This long-ranged Vault Breaker made it hard for Lin Dong¡¯s Draven who was a champion with no repositioning skills. He had to activate his Barrier in order to mitigate some of the damage received.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Luocheng sent his Q-skill, Sonic Wave, which landed directly on Vi, subsequently re-casting his Q-skill, now a Resonating Strike, and appeared in front of Lin Dong.


    Tempest and Cripple followed these strikes, the slow effect from the second cast of his E-skill catching both Vi and Shyvanna!


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve kept your ulti. I was wondering what you were up to, Belial.¡± Luocheng said coldly.


    Motherf*cker, if you still didn¡¯t use your Ultimate, I also don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing here then!


    Double Jungler was not a mistake, but he would never forget that his main role was as a Support.


    Especially with a champion like Lee Sin, if you had an advantage in the early-game, you must fight, because once it dragged on into the late-game, you wouldn¡¯t be able to easily go in front of the enemy to fight or simply kick the key-players over. You were just asking for a lot of damage on your champion without reason, and so, the best thing to do right now was to come back and protect the ADC!


    Don¡¯t look at Lee Sin and assume that he didn¡¯t have any ability to protect another. For an ADC to have someone in front of him who could slow the enemies down, that was already a good thing!


    The protection that an ADC needed was not some super strong CC skills or something that could bring the sky down. All they needed was a tanky champion to stand in front of them, and with just that much distance, the ADC would have a lot of space to work with their damage!


    At the very least, when Lin Dong saw that Luocheng had flown over to protect him, his heart soared. If he managed to get a double kill, Lin Dong would happily lend him that secret tape of his!


    Having been punched by Vi, Lin Dong had dropped one axe, and so, his damage was obviously not as high as it was previously.


    He kept up his Animation Cancel, continuously attacking and catching his axes. This was actually quite a difficult feat to manage, and even Luocheng admitted that he would play like a clown struggling to catch all the balls thrown in the air if he was the one playing Draven.


    When Lin Dong¡¯s health dropped to one-third, it stopped reducing at last because Belial¡¯s Vi finally couldn¡¯t take it any longer.


    Draven¡¯s damage was just that terrifying, a mere few hits was already explosive. Looking at his health that was dropping rapidly, Belial had kept a Q-skill just in case, and seeing that Luocheng was blocking him from the front, he had no choice but to use his Vault Breaker to launch himself backward to flat land, avoiding the damage from Draven.


    Draven had deliberately stayed his hand, and one R¡ªWhirling Death was thrown out, the gigantic axes sweeping forward and rounding back, hitting Vi both ways, almost taking her down!


    ¡°Luocheng, go and kill him, I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Lin Dong said to Luocheng in a panic, seeing that Vi had very little health left.


    Luocheng planted a ward, flying toward it immediately!


    He stopped for just a moment, tracking Belial¡¯s position, and just as the latter stumbled, Luocheng launched a Sonic Wave at him.


    The edge of the blast clipped Belial, and it was impossible for him to run!


    Lee Sin was a champion that was particularly strong at the chasing game. If you couldn¡¯t guarantee that you had enough health, you could only watch as your enemy ran away. So, for a Lee Sin, the biggest contribution to the teamfight was definitely not about damage or kicking people backward, but it was about protecting the back line and cleaning up!


    Of course, picking this champion, you couldn¡¯t help but be showy and flashy. Luocheng had finally reined in that pissy attitude of his after countless beratings from Lin Dong and Da Luo.


    ***


    Luocheng had bought a Sightstone, because to a Lee Sin, wards was life. Otherwise, why would Lee Sin have a quote that said: ¡®My sight might be gone, but my vision holds true.¡¯


    Belial¡¯s retreat path was slightly unusual, and when Luocheng launched toward him, he slammed into Asmodai, who was in his own battle on the other side.


    Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal had been attacking Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo like crazy, and Da Luo who had activated his ulti was basically just a rabid dog that had set fire to himself. No matter how many of your skills were thrown at him, he would still rush forward, hacking away with the kitchen knife he held.


    Asmodai already had a set of items which was not bad, and he was continuously attacking Mundo. However, it was futile as he realized that this guy¡¯s health just kept rising up.


    Team Daemons only had one Ignite on their team which belonged to Charon¡¯s Shyvana, but it had already been used on Lin Dong¡¯s Draven. Hades¡¯ Ziggs had brought in a Barrier, and so after activating his ulti, Da Luo was basically invincible with no one able to do anything. He was tanking both the ADC and Mid¡¯s attacks with his tattered shirt on his huge body as he shouted: ¡®Come to Mundo!¡¯.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother about me, I need to die anyway, just kill Ezreal.¡± Lin Dong said to Luocheng as he looked at his remaining health.


    Lin Dong had already been Ignited, and with what little health he had left, he didn¡¯t have much time to deal much damage. Instead of accidentally being killed by a stray bomb from Ziggs, he would rather focus his remaining time on dealing as much damage as possible to Shyvana.


    Sometimes, picking Draven was not a good choice, because no matter how much you protected him, he would still be cut down. After all, the biggest weakness of an ADC would be not having a repositioning skill.


    After taking in Ziggs¡¯ ulti, Draven¡¯s health had dropped by half. With Shyvana and Vi coming in after that, if he hadn¡¯t been Ignited, he might have stood a chance by lifestealing from Shyvana slowly. However, once the Ignite came into play, he was dead no matter what¡­


    He would just accept his fate. Beating down a tank Shyvana to one fourth of her health as well as killing off the Vi, Lin Dong¡¯s Draven had already done a lot!


    Thus, Luocheng didn¡¯t bother with Lin Dong anymore, and his target shifted over to Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal.


    Asmodai was continuously kiting Mundo, and it was obvious that Mundo didn¡¯t have enough damage. Ezreal¡¯s Statikk Shiv and Bloodthirster build allowed him to lifesteal more effectively and his kiting was extremely flexible. The moment Ezreal hid behind a minion wave, Da Luo¡¯s cleaver was unable to reach him as it couldn¡¯t go through minions.


    At this point of time, they needed another person¡¯s damage.


    Luocheng had sufficient health because when the teamfight had been so chaotic, Lee Sin had just stood at the side as though he was watching a movie. Rather than kicking someone which didn¡¯t deal much damage or benefit, it was better for him to stay and protect the backline, just like when Shyvana and Vi had completely ignored him in favor of chasing after Lin Dong!


    Luocheng used Safeguard to fly to Mundo, encircling him in a shield at the same time.


    Asmodai was startled as he saw his opponent count increase by one and his brows furrowed, what about the 1 vs 1 that was agreed on?


    ¡°Da Luo, you and Wu Sen chase after Hades¡¯ Ziggs, don¡¯t let him attack so comfortably!¡± Luocheng instructed, watching Hades¡¯ Ziggs launch his bombs from afar.


    Hades and Asmodai had found the perfect position in this fight, allowing them to deal tons of damage in the chaos. They needed to control them and give Gragas the chance to secure the kills!


    ¡°Can you beat Ezreal?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Luocheng replied.


    At the same time, Hades and Asmodai were also in a heated discussion.


    ¡°Dai, I¡¯ll get Mundo¡¯s attention, take this chance to kill off Fighting Hawk¡¯s Lee Sin!¡±


    Asmodai watched as Mundo left, and his usually dim eyes suddenly burst to life.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t a duel between ADCs, to have the chance of a 1 vs 1 with Fighting Hawk in this teamfight, to Asmodai it was something that sent thrills down his spine.


    Luocheng still had two thirds of his health left while Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal had slightly less than half. It was really hard to say who would kill who in this fight.


    Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal was consistently on the move, and Luocheng was unsure whether Ezreal still retained his E-skill, Arcane Shift.


    What was the most important thing for a Lee Sin in a solo fight?


    His Q-skill must always be accurate!


    Without his Q-skill, the damage that Lee Sin could deal later on was limited, and the damage dealt could be easily lifesteal-ed back by the ADC.


    Luckily, Luocheng had built the Spirit of the Elder Lizard. This item prevented Luocheng from being incompetent during this time, and with Ezreal only at half health including his Barrier, he should roughly have about one thousand health points left, thus, Lee Sin should be able to do this!


    Luocheng needed to calculate the damage to determine how to deal the most damage effectively.


    Asmodai for his part had already thought about his positioning in the short time that he had.


    When fighting against Lee Sin, the most important thing was to dodge his Q-skill. As long as he didn¡¯t get hit by his RQ-combo, Lee Sin wasn¡¯t a threat to his Ezreal that could lifesteal.


    He remembered when they had first met in the Freljord server at bottom lane, Asmodai had been using Ezreal while Luocheng was using Zyra as a Support!


    At that time, when Luocheng had consciously used his plants to block Thresh¡¯ hook, it had stunned both him and Anubis speechless.


    It was that incredible move that had ignited the fight in Asmodai, making him use a double Flash to secure the kill, showing an aggressive momentum.


    Luocheng had also used his quick reaction and hand speed to pull off that final counterattack which had in turn taken Ezreal¡¯s head¡­


    That kind of neck-to-neck showdown left Asmodai feeling a little nostalgic.


    Just a little carelessness, and now, he was retiring.


    Just nice, he would use this very solo fight to end his six-year career here!


    Ezreal VS Lee Sin!

 Chapter 458 - Purge from

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Lee Sin is going up solo against Ezreal, looks like whoever lives or dies will determine the outcome of this teamfight!¡± Bao Jun shouted.


    There was only one purpose for him to shout like that, that was, to tell the d*mn people controlling the camera to not even think about switching the view over to anywhere else!


    Being a commentator for such a long time, it wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t know what the audience loved to see the most.


    Of course it was a scene where it would leave you in awe, a show that would move the mountains and the skies!


    Ezreal and Lee Sin were both champions who were flashy and showy. A fight between these two champions was bound to be amazing!


    ***


    The reason that Luocheng liked the champion, Lee Sin, was not merely for the idiotic reasoning that he was a cool champion.


    Lee Sin was a champion that needed to have complete control of the overall situation, and his flexibility in lending a hand made him useful basically everywhere in the Summoner¡¯s Rift.


    His eyes were indeed covered with a blindfold, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was really blind. He needed to increase the sensitivity of his sense of smell and hearing!


    Smell the rain of blood and hear the sounds of the soldiers¡¯ trembling blade!


    Lee Sin needed to listen to all three lanes to sniff out the enemy camp, his pacing was strong and it was the victory of the entire team¡­


    What was most memorable and shocking to people was that one kick could often be the thing that led them to victory!


    Luocheng was not able to do just one kick to secure victory like Xiao Tuo from Taipei, that amazing, shocking move that had stunned everyone speechless.


    His Lee Sin was more of a rhythm-maker, giving support everywhere, restraining enemies everywhere, and being the shield for other champions during critical moments!


    The ADC already had good items, with Asmodai having his three complete items plus a Vampiric Scepter.


    Meanwhile, Luocheng only had the Spirit of the Elder Lizard, Sightstone, Aegis of the Legion, a Chain Vest, and some other small items¡­but that was enough for a Lee Sin who didn¡¯t need much items!


    Come, the last time they battled, it had been a 2 vs 2 where Xue Yiyi had left in a huff suddenly, leaving Luocheng unable to settle the score with Asmodai. Now, there was no external influence, and whatmore, whoever survived here would determine which team would enter the Worlds Championship!


    The Worlds Championship. Asmodai had been trying his hardest for the glory for a very, very long time, strongly desiring and thirsting for it, even if he knew that he would never be able to take part in Worlds with everyone else, he wholeheartedly hoped that his teammates would be able to fulfill this wish for him.


    And Luocheng¡­he was very much aware of the price to pay for someone to return to the e-sports scene so determinedly.


    He had never put e-sports down in his heart at all, because only by holding the mouse and keyboard could he feel his heart beating vigorously!


    He didn¡¯t like the way Yu Yu had looked at him, as though he was some hopeless idiot and an a*shole! How come you got to swim while I needed to learn all those things that I have no interest in!?


    As long as they managed to claim the title of the strongest team in China, he would be able to show them through the Asian Indoor Games!


    Even more so, he would not forget that he owed the Championship for Worlds to a child who had given up an organ and his life. Other than the Worlds stage, where else could he be buried peacefully!


    ***


    A minion wave was nearing, and Luocheng launched a W-skill, Safeguard, on one of them.


    Ezreal was a champion whose damage relied on his Q-skill and passive triggering. By hiding behind the minion wave, one would be able to avoid Ezreal¡¯s Q and E-skill damage.


    Luocheng was not in a rush to attack Ezreal, that would just be boldly taking damage from the latter for no reason.


    Hiding behind the minion wave, Luocheng made the gesture for Resonating Strike!


    The distance between Asmodai and Luocheng was only about seven hundred yards, and in this distance, it would be hard for Asmodai to avoid it with his side-stepping, especially taking into account players like Luocheng who had done sufficient research in angles!


    Seeing that Fighting Hawk¡¯s Lee Sin had an obvious lifting-foot action, Asmodai¡¯s finger which had been hovering over his E key slammed down!


    For a duel between Ezreal and Lee Sin, it depended on who had more skills to dodge the skill-shots!


    Asmodai would not let Luocheng land a kick on him!


    Essence Flux, Arcane Shift!


    Right at the moment Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin raised his leg to kick, Asmodai suddenly changed positions!


    The Arcane Shift was released with a follow up of his E-skill, both skills were seamlessly connected as though there wasn¡¯t any gap in between them.


    A lot of champions when releasing skills could chain the skills, this way, the release of the skills were continuous and could even cancel the after-effect of the skills in animation.


    Take Asmodai for example, if he had waited for his W-skill to finish before casting his E-skill, he would definitely have been hit by Luocheng¡¯s Q-skill. For a professional player, those few milliseconds were of the utmost importance!


    With his position changed from the Arcane Shift, Asmodai frowned as his heart sped up in the next second!


    How could it be!


    He had clearly raised his legs, how could he have canceled the release of his Q-skill!


    Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill required him to move his legs forward, and it was obvious in the way that he had raised his legs that he was about to kick up the white sonic blast.


    Asmodai had been waiting for this movement from Luocheng, and the moment he saw it, he had used his E-skill to avoid it, this was supposed to be a 100% success rate¡­


    How, how could this guy who had obviously raised his leg, suddenly be able to withdraw the Q-skill, this was completely out of the norm!


    As Asmodai entered a state of shock, the audience was completely mystified by his E-skill.


    Many players just assumed that professional players were like that, but it was not the case. There were just too many hidden details in their actions that the normal players were unable to comprehend, just like why Luocheng was just standing at his position, making strange movements with his leg.


    At the same time, the other more masterful players were in the same state as Asmodai, their minds thrown into chaos!


    ¡°How can it be!? He already lifted his leg, how could he have cancelled his skill!?¡± Hao Yue,Team Revealation¡¯s Jungler, was also in shock.


    Having played Lee Sin for so long, he never knew that there was a way to cancel his Q-skill, and that was just a pose with the lifting of his leg¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, he never even pressed his Q!¡± Forgetful Laughter exclaimed as his sharp eye focused on the image.


    ¡°If he didn¡¯t press it, then how could he have made that movement¡­F*ck, it can¡¯t be¡­¡± Hao Yue suddenly realized, his eyes widening comically!


    The others also realized it at the same time, and they were struck dumb for the second time!


    One of the things easily overlooked in League of Legends, and it was often something used by others to tease or ridicule their opponents¡­


    But who would have expected that someone would actually use the CTRL+ any number to pull off a trick!


    The taunt keys!


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin had used his W-skill to jump to the ward, turning around and making it look as though he was going to launch his Q-skill, but in actual fact, he had pressed the taunt hotkey, playing the champion¡¯s taunt which was a kicking pose!


    Asmodai would never have expected Luocheng to pull out this trick!


    ¡°Wonderful, that was amazingly wonderful. Fighting Hawk used the champion¡¯s taunt to trick Asmodai into using his very important repositioning skill, this is unbelievable!¡± Bao Jun exclaimed, his own shock very clear in his voice.


    Holy sh*t, are we really playing the same game? In such a fierce and tense battle, being able to avoid an opponent¡¯s skill by just focusing on the movement was already out of this world. Who knew that even a professional player would use these taunt keys to trick others!


    This really was an emperor-level player!


    ***


    ¡°I know, I know! This was the trick that made Luocheng famous in the beginning!¡± Qin Ting, who was sitting with Yang Ying, Yang Qianqian and a few others, shouted excitedly.


    Using the champion¡¯s taunt moves¡­ Yang Ying, Qianqian, and the others who had seen Luocheng play in the National College League remembered this.


    Luocheng had been using Fiddlesticks as a Support, hiding in the Krugs camp, and he had pressed CTRL + 2, scaring Ceng Feilong¡¯s entire team. That move that gave you the impression that he was about to release his ulti really had no predecessor or successor!


    And now, at the peak of the LPL competition, Luocheng had pulled off his familiar set of tricks. This beautiful raise of a leg had actually even managed to trick a veteran professional player like Asmodai. When you realized that all he did was use the champion¡¯s taunt move, you would suffer, feeling as though you had just swallowed a fly. You would definitely be losing morale in the following fights!


    There were not many higher-end players in the crowd, and a lot of them didn¡¯t understand the wonder of this. Bao Jun was trying to explain this very quickly, but before he could finish, everyone saw Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal smoothly avoid the Q-skill that Luocheng had followed up with after his feint by side-stepping.


    ¡°Beautiful side-step, that dodge was just wonderful . Asmodai was not thrown into a panic by Fighting Hawk¡¯s performance and he side-steps smoothly to avoid that dangerous skill-shot!¡±


    The side-stepping movement was actually a fast turn to let the trajectory from the skill fly in front of him.


    Professional players like Asmodai already had good instincts and timing to dodge skill-shots, thus, side-stepping was even more of a no-brainer for him.


    He marveled at Luocheng¡¯s feint, and at the same time, his mouse was moving rapidly, a swift walk forward and backward. It was like he knew that the skill would fly in front of him, and the only thing he needed to do was stop for a moment and turn, letting the skill pass harmlessly in front of him!


    Just a simple two moves, but it contained the internal psychological pressure and maneuvers of a professional player!


    ***


    Luocheng was now left without any skills to throw, and it was impossible for him to fight head-to-head with Ezreal, that was just asking for Ezreal to attack him.


    Asmodai took a deep breath. Being able to avoid that Q-skill after that fake move by Lee Sin, it was both luck and skill combined. Even though he had dodged that menacing skill-shot, Asmodai didn¡¯t need much persuasion to advance on Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin!


    A Q-skill flew true, triggering the unique passive from the Statikk Shiv which hit Luocheng!


    The effect from Statikk Shiv, Critical effect, and the effect from Trinity Force, the trigger from these damages saw Luocheng¡¯s health dropping by a significant amount, and Luocheng hurriedly retreated to the back of the minion wave, using them to avoid the other skill-shots.


    He needed to wait for his skills to refresh, for his next set of skills to be ready.


    D*mn it, he couldn¡¯t miss his next kicks!


    Just now, that had been such a perfect feint, but who knew that Asmodai¡¯s subconscious reaction was that good. Even after his E-skill was launched, he was still able to side-step¡­ just as expected from an experienced ADC!

 Chapter 459 - Supreme Martial Art!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Having been chased down by Asmodai for a while now, Luocheng¡¯s health had dropped down by half already. The only armor item in his inventory was a Chain Vest, and for Ezreal who had a Last Whisper, this didn¡¯t do much for defense.


    He paused for a moment, and then Luocheng suddenly turned around with a kick!


    This kick was like a Brazilian-level kick rather than their own national football-level kick, and even though Asmodai side-stepped subconsciously to avoid, he was still clipped by the edge of the Sonic Wave.


    However, it was obvious that Asmodai was not afraid of Luocheng¡¯s kick. With his damage and lifesteal, even if Luocheng flew over, it would be hard to say who would die instead.


    Luocheng took note of Asmodai¡¯s position.


    With Ezreal having about one thousand health points left, it was almost impossible to kill him. Even if Luocheng used a RQ-combo, the damage he could deal was only about eight hundred. If Asmodai didn¡¯t have his Barrier, Luocheng would still have dared to try and push his luck¡­


    But it was obvious that Asmodai still had his Barrier, and in that case, it was impossible for him to kill Asmodai.


    Glancing again at Asmodai¡¯s position, he also took note of Hades¡¯ Ziggs¡¯ position.


    There were only three champions left in Team Daemons, one of them was Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal, a low-health Shyvana, and a two-thirds health Ziggs.


    Hades was fighting Wu Sen and Da Luo, dealing a massive amount of damage. Even for Da Luo, stepping through the Hexplosive Minefield damaged his body by quite a substantial amount.


    ¡°This won¡¯t work, even if we kill Asmodai, Hades¡¯ Ziggs can come in and clean up.¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t think that Hades would find the perfect position to attack. He was dealing the highest damage and at the same time, managed to preserve his health. If he had a blue buff, Ziggs would be the ticking bomb that could wipe the floor with Team Skycrown.


    Eh?


    He took a few steps forward, this was a good chance!


    A bold thought flashed through Luocheng¡¯s mind. Luocheng was a player who dared to take risks, and when he thought it was feasible, he would try it out boldly!


    Resonating Strike!


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin flew up, dashing toward Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal.


    Asmodai did not draw back in fear, standing his ground firmly as he continued to attack. What he didn¡¯t expect was for Luocheng to kick over and plant a ward 600 yards behind him.


    Was he intending to roundhouse-kick him?


    There was no reason to, there was nobody to follow up in that position. What was the point in kicking him over that side? Wasn¡¯t it better to kick him toward the wall where he could close the distance easily, and Asmodai wouldn¡¯t fly too far away.


    Something wasn¡¯t right!


    He was not the target at all!


    Asmodai suddenly realized this, and he turned around to see Hades¡¯ Ziggs was behind him about 800 yards away. He was near the inner turret of the middle lane attacking, not allowing Mundo to come any closer.


    And if Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin kicked toward Hades¡¯ direction¡­


    ¡°Hade-¡­¡± Asmodai wanted to call out to Hades, but Luocheng¡¯s actions were faster. Asmodai didn¡¯t manage to warn Hades in time and could only watch as Lee Sin flew gracefully toward the ward, looking as though he had merely touched the tip of the ward, and then his entire body just disappeared from his position once again!


    Flash!


    First, he used his W-skill to move to the ward he had planted, moving a distance behind Asmodai, and then subsequently using his Flash to appear directly beside Hades!


    Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal had become the perfect springboard for Luocheng!


    What a supreme martial art move!


    Under this maneuver, it was as if Lee Sin¡¯s toes didn¡¯t touch the ground at all. Just a second ago, it seemed like he was 4 Flashes away from Hades, and then suddenly, he was right beside him!


    He floated upward, his muscular right leg sweeping out like a coiled dragon, slamming heavily on Hades¡¯ Ziggs!


    The power behind this kick was amazing and the angle was perfect. You could only see Ziggs cough up blood as he flew outward, going through the wall behind the Wraith camp, landing right in front of Wu Sen¡¯s Gragas!


    ¡°Nice!¡± Wu Sen yelled, his eyes bright.


    Wu Sen, who had been struggling against the damage dealt by Ziggs, immediately rolled with the situation, turning his meaty body into a human bomb and launching himself directly at Hades!


    Boom!


    It felt as though Ziggs was slammed heavily and trapped in between the wall and Gragas¡¯ belly by Wu Sen¡¯s E-skill, the damage dealt was outstanding!


    Coupled with a Barrel Roll, Ziggs¡¯ health was down to almost nothing!


    All that was needed was one more auto-attack and an Ignite, but before Hades died, he threw out a Hexplosive Minefield!


    Wu Sen¡¯s development was not too far off from Hades, and with Luocheng¡¯s godly and amazingly cool kick, Wu Sen was finally able to kill Hades once, just as he wished!


    ¡°Oh, my Lord in heaven!¡±


    The professional players sitting in the front row all stood up almost simultaneously along with the rest of the audience to applaud!


    It was necessary to grasp the correct timing for Lee Sin¡¯s Ultimate.


    It was one thing to grasp the timing, it was an entirely different matter to be able to keep in control and be fast enough to pull off the maneuver!


    Luocheng had used Asmodai as his springboard, moving in three consecutive steps. You could almost see the gorgeous afterimage of his position from the tribush, flying all the way to Hades¡¯ side!


    The lightness and gracefulness, adding on the roundhouse-kick from his ulti like a coiled dragon¡­ combined together, it formed a breathtakingly amazing scene!


    Seeing this Lee Sin pull off such an amazing martial art move, it was just simply astounding!


    At this moment, who else would dare to doubt that the captain of Team Skycrown who was said to be an all-rounder really was as they said!? How many other Junglers in the LPL could display such exquisite judgement and amazing maneuvers!


    That¡¯s right, even Hades who was a boss-level player in the country was lost in thought, his mind just constantly replaying that unexpected kick!


    ***


    ¡°What else can I say, I don¡¯t even know how to comment on that! I can only say, that is just as expected of the world¡¯s top e-sports pro-player. Making such a difficult maneuver seem so easy to do, it seems like it¡¯s not only as the ADC that he¡¯s able to showcase his talents, Fighting Hawk¡¯s Jungler Lee Sin is also not below Blood Eagle¡¯s! It¡¯s hard to think that other than these two, there are other people who can perform such a wonderful kick by Lee Sin in a chaotic teamfight!¡± Bao Jun exclaimed, unable to restrain himself.


    Everytime he was a commentator for Fighting Hawk¡¯s competition, it would always ignite more passion in everyone¡¯s blood, because in the competitions he played, you would see completely different understandings of LOL from other professional players!


    His champions were unique and his Support champions were never picked twice. He even broke away from the traditional 2-1-1 formation when going against the strongest team in the country, going as far as to employ a double Jungler strategy!


    If you didn¡¯t try it, how would you know that some of the tactics won¡¯t work?


    Watching so many games which usually went on for twenty minutes only to see that they were getting more stable with one or two kills, watching for thirty minutes and they were still farming and having boring exchanges, it was as though Team Skycrown was injecting fresh blood into the LPL, letting all the audience of the LPL, fans and players alike, have their hearts thumping in their chests and their blood boiling in excitement, inadvertently lighting the passion in their bodies!


    ¡°Nice, that was just too f*cking nice. This guy was born to play e-sports, he should have f*cking played in the LPL earlier. When we were playing in the college league, I suspected that he could doze off while playing. This is his f*cking true level!!¡± Yang Ying used three ¡®f*cks¡¯ to describe how he felt.


    Qianqian who was beside him was not looking at the screen, but rather at Luocheng who was seated at the stage.


    She clearly remembered while they were in high school, this boy, who always looked so lazy, you could only see him concentrating when he was playing LOL!


    In just the blink of an eye, he had become a professional player who was playing on the LPL stage. Qianqian realized that it was not just an occasional concentration when playing, but rather, he had a strong passion and talent toward e-sports. This was the real him in this competition, serious, calm, focused, but at the same time, bold, arrogant, and overbearing!


    At this moment, Qianqian had an inkling. She felt that for Luocheng to choose this path and turn his back on his family was the correct decision. His family would definitely see his glorious self because he had already managed to obtain the cheers and applause of the entire country¡¯s LOL fanbase when he had only just returned to the scene!


    In this arena, there was not one person who wasn¡¯t talking about him, not one person who was not surprised by his godly kick!


    Without his family holding him back, Luocheng was in character with his ID, the brave Fighting Hawk, spreading his wings and soaring through the sky of e-sports!


    ***


    The battle seemed to have ended thanks to Luocheng¡¯s kick, and on the screen, there was a yellow figure continuously attacking.


    Without realizing it, the entire battlefield was now filled with the corpses of their teammates, the only one left was a yellow body with very little health remaining¡­


    His figure was not very tall, his skills were elegant, and his face held an unwilling expression!


    He was still attacking like a crazed man, but the ones pushing were not only the huge wave of minions that came, but also the three opponents¡ªGragas, Lee Sin, and Mundo¡­


    As the minions entered the turret range, so did the champions, and his skill-shots were limited. His damage was high, but no matter how high it went, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stand up to three champions.


    ¡°Asmodai still isn¡¯t retreating? If he stays under the turret, he may lose his own life.¡± Li Hu said.


    The turret was subsequently taken down and Team Skycrown continued to push into the base. Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal was still attacking and kiting, his skill-shots aimed at Luocheng and Gragas, but Mundo would always stand in front and absorb the damage together with the large minion wave.


    Victory for Team Skycrown had already been determined, the time required to respawn was just too long. Even after taking the Inhibitor, there would still be time to take the Nexus down immediately.


    Watching as their turrets and structures were taken down one-by-one, looking at his own fluctuating health bar¡­


    Asmodai was staring at the screen so intently, almost as though he was desperately trying to recover something.

 Chapter 460 - Not Afraid Of Losing, But Of Leaving!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Skycrown took down the Inhibitor and thereafter, they took the Baron.


    After a short break, Team Skycrown had taken down all of the outer turrets of Team Daemons. At this point, even if they fought with Team Daemons in their home ground, Team Skycrown had the absolute advantage.


    In a duel between masters, winning the teamfights would mean winning the game. Just like when Team Daemons had the advantage, they wouldn¡¯t make a single mistake, thus, Team Skycrown was also the same. They systematically took down the structures on the second lane all the way and moved on steadily to the third lane.


    Without realizing it, the Super Minions were all over Team Daemons¡¯ base.


    The high-defense high-health minions were coming endlessly, and after taking down the third turret, they moved toward the Nexus.


    Watching as the turrets were attacked, Team Skycrown disposed of the structure with haste. Hades and Asmodai who were still alive were continuously attacking around the Nexus, trying to drive them back even if just a little.


    Their skill-shots were easily blocked off by the Super Minions, but even so, Asmodai unleashed his ulti, killing off Lin Dong who was about to deliver the final blow to the Nexus.


    On the other side, Hades saw Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin was going to land a hit.


    He immediately unleashed all the skills he had onto Luocheng, even his ulti was used. He was determined not to let Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin any closer to the Nexus by even a step.


    Luocheng had seen the shadow of the bomb which was coming down from the sky, and knowing that he was going to die either way as well as seeing Hades¡¯ low health, he made his decision and lifted up his leg to land a heavy kick, throwing Hades toward the Super Minions.


    Luocheng¡¯s Lee Sin died from the explosion of the giant bomb, and at the same time, Hades, who had flown right into the middle of the Super Minion wave, didn¡¯t have much health left. No matter how skilled Hades was, he was unable to wrench himself free from those damaging minions, and he could only watch as his champion was hammered to death.


    With Hades dead, the Super Minions from all three lanes seemed to become even wilder, rushing toward the Nexus with their hammers raised high.


    Finally, only Asmodai¡¯s Ezreal was left standing.


    After Asmodai had killed Lin Dong¡¯s Draven, he raised his head, only to come face-to-face with the Super Minions.


    ACE!


    In this wave, Team Daemons had used their all, completely destroying Team Skycrown even with the disadvantage they held.


    Only, even though the enemy champions had been slain, how could they save this situation?


    An Ezreal with only his Statikk Shiv as his AOE, how would he be able to clear these minions that were coming forth endlessly?


    It was a loss¡­


    Hades looked at his gray screen and lowered his head, not daring to look at Asmodai.


    All this while, whenever they faced defeat, Team Daemons would still face it upfront. But for some reason, losing this game was way, way worse than any other game they had ever lost before!


    ***


    ¡°Dai¡­¡± Mephistopheles muttered as he sat beside Asmodai, his eyes on him.


    Asmodai¡¯s eyes flashed unfocused for a moment, but it was quickly swept away by something bigger, as though something had snapped in him. His pupils became larger and his eyes were bloodshot.


    It wasn¡¯t over, it wasn¡¯t over yet!


    The Nexus was not broken yet!


    Asmodai guided Ezreal to return to the fountain and changed his boots¡¯ enhancement from Furor to Homeguard, also changing one of his completed items to a Runaan¡¯s Hurricane.


    Runaan¡¯s Hurricane.


    When you built this item, it meant that there was a vast amount of minions overrunning your base. You had to sacrifice some of the items that you would use to kill champions in exchange for items that were used to clear minions instead.


    Only, when you changed to this item, it also meant that the match was not salvageable anymore.


    From the fountain, Ezreal rushed outward and stood in front of the Nexus, attacking every minion that pushed forward.


    There was only that little bit of health left on the Nexus, it was so fragile that it wouldn¡¯t be able to stand the impact of another hammer.


    Asmodai hit every single minion he could, the objective was to pull all the aggro toward himself. That way, the Super Minions would focus on attacking him and not the Nexus, and the match wouldn¡¯t end this way!


    Asmodai¡¯s fingers were flying across his keyboard and he was completely oblivious to his teammates who were watching him with bitter eyes.


    The Super Minions had been attracted by Asmodai, and five to six of them turned their attention to Ezreal.


    Don¡¯t underestimate the damage from these Super Minions, when more than three had their eyes on you, even if you were a tank, your health would decline rapidly, what more a squishy ADC.


    Ezreal¡¯s lifesteal was fast, and with Runaan¡¯s hitting three targets at a time, the effect was not bad, but Ezreal¡¯s health was still dropping.


    He managed to halt the Super Minions from attacking the Nexus, but he was unable to stop them from destroying him.


    The fountain was only 800 yards away from him, and with Asmodai having Homeguard, he just needed to step in and he would be fully regenerated in an instant.


    Only, could he really afford to step away from the Nexus?


    Behind him stood the fragile glowing crystal¡­


    ¡°Dai, forget it¡­¡±


    ¡°Dai, we¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Not sure why, but looking at Asmodai who was still frantically clicking his mouse, the four members of Team Daemons took a deep breath, the air was sour!


    They had lost?


    In fact, did Asmodai really care about winning or losing this game?


    No, he had never been afraid of losing. Being in e-sports for six years, the most memorable six years in his life, he had lost countless competitions. For all the trophies that could have been, he had shed many, many tears as well.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid of losing¡­ he was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to lose in the future!


    The Super Minions still kept pouring in, and just as Asmodai¡¯s health was about to hit rock-bottom, a fresh wave of minions appeared from the Nexus. Asmodai hurriedly cast his E-skill to reposition himself behind them and once again tried to frantically clear the Super Minions from his position.


    At this moment, it was like having a short breath of relief.


    ¡°This struggle, it¡¯s almost pointless.¡± Bao Jun¡¯s voice echoed gently throughout the arena.


    There was no sense in this struggle. Their minions were weak and couldn¡¯t withstand even a few attacks from the Super Minions.


    Soon, the Super Minions had once again broken through to the Nexus.


    Asmodai had exhausted himself defending the minions coming from all three lanes, and finally, he stood in the middle, not being able to defend. He merely used his own body to take the damage from the Super Minions.


    ***


    Mephistopheles had been staring at Asmodai the whole time while Asmodai had turned a blind eye to him, attacking the Super Minions relentlessly.


    ¡°Dai, it¡¯s useless, we¡¯ve lost.¡± Mephistopheles felt that Asmodai was acting strangely, and he placed a hand on Asmodai¡¯s shoulder.


    Hades had also stood up, but he caught Mephistopheles¡¯ hand before it reached, shaking his head.


    ¡°He¡¯s trying to fight for more time in what¡¯s left of his professional career¡­¡± Hades said quietly.


    As the words flowed into Mephistopheles¡¯ ears, it was like a bitter seed in his heart!


    He couldn¡¯t bear to leave, he wasn¡¯t willing to leave at all. Even if it was meaningless to keep attacking those Super Minions, he didn¡¯t want his career to end like this.


    ¡°Just give me a little bit more time¡­¡± Mephistopheles understood the meaning in Asmodai¡¯s eyes that were full of insanity and unwillingness.


    This match, Asmodai¡¯s performance had been flat and dull.


    He hadn¡¯t brought out any outlandish or amazing performance even though this was the last game of his career. He had just done what an ADC would normally do, farm, develop, teamfight¡­


    He had indeed had the chance to solo against Fighting Hawk, but the timing was too short, and Fighting Hawk had taken the upper hand, using him as a springboard to land a kill on Hades.


    Was it really going to end like this!?


    Six years felt like a very very long time, enjoying countless victories and suffering countless defeats, experiencing countless joy and shedding many tears. But why was it so short this time, so short to the point it felt as though the Super Minions from the entrance of the base had walked to the Nexus in just a few seconds!


    Executed!


    The line jumped out on the screen.


    You have been executed!


    Asmodai didn¡¯t die by their opponent¡¯s hands, but under the hammer of the Super Minions.


    The Super Minions stepped over Ezreal¡¯s corpse, lifting their hammers high in the air as they shook a little, bringing it down heavily on the crystal!


    This hammer on the crystal was no different than the hammer that was brought down onto Asmodai¡¯s heart. He had wondered if a miracle would happen, if the Inhibitor would respawn at this moment, then he could still have a few more minutes, being able to have another chance to teamfight against Team Skycrown.


    But a miracle didn¡¯t happen, and the Nexus crystal exploded and shattered, the whirlwind sweeping in!


    The hands that had swept across the keyboard and mouse halted, feeling like they had frozen.


    It was over.


    It was really over this time, and the giant words of ¡®Defeat¡¯ had appeared on the screen.


    The word was like a summary of his career, six years in the professional field. A sharp pain pierced Asmodai in the stomach suddenly, his fingers trembled under the pain and his eyes burned!


    The red in his eyes spread, and all the feelings in the past six years, all of it came in a rush as the tears slid downward. It slid off his face and onto his keyboard, the very same gaming keyboard that he had used his first paycheck to buy.


    The keyboard couldn¡¯t touch water, if it did, it would most likely short-circuit, but what if it was tears?


    It didn¡¯t matter anyway. This keyboard wouldn¡¯t be used in the future, he¡¯d might as well just destroy it along with himself.


    ¡°Dai, don¡¯t be like that¡­¡±


    Mephistopheles looked at Asmodai who looked devastated, his tears flowing freely on the stage, and he felt a prickle in his own eyes.


    The camera passed by them and caught Asmodai¡¯s face coincidentally.


    The triumphant cheer from the audience suddenly quieted down at that moment.


    Even Bao Jun who was still halfway announcing the congratulations of Team Skycrown¡¯s victory paused at the view of which the camera had caught.


    At that moment, next to the commentator¡¯s desk, the Deputy Secretary General of ACE slid over a report with something written on it.


    ¡°I hope you can read out some of it. He has made a lot of contributions to the e-sports field, and now he¡¯s retiring. I hope that his deeds will not be left unknown.¡± The Deputy Secretary General said in a low voice.


    Bao Jun was startled for a moment, finally snapping back to reality.


    The tears that a player shed on the competition stage that was not due to victory nor defeat, but it was because he was leaving.

 Chapter 461 - The Sacrifice Of A Pro Player

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Bao Jun¡¯s tone grew heavy, with his respect toward the professional players, and he started to read the report from the Deputy Secretary General of ACE.


    ¡°To our beloved audience and our LOL fans who are watching from home, as I congratulate Team Skycrown for obtaining victory in their second match, I would also like to announce some sad news. That is, the ADC from our strongest team, Team Daemons¡ªAsmodai, will be withdrawing from the e-sports professional scene from today onward¡­¡±


    ¡°In the earlier days, before Bai Feng of Team Revelations had appeared, who was the strongest ADC in China? I think nobody would hesitate to say that it was Asmodai. He was the one who taught us how to play Ezreal, Graves, Vayne, and many other old-timer ADCs as well as Caitlyn who was nerfed later on. It was he that taught us that even Twitch was a champion that was able to carry the entire game¡­¡±


    ¡°It was also him who had led our ADC trend for almost a year, no matter what his abilities are like now, no matter how many better ADCs are standing out now, I hope that you remember his ID with the most respect and fondness. Remember the contribution that he has given in our local LOL scene, remember that today, he will be leaving our LOL professional arena!¡±


    When was there ever a time that the spotlight was on the losing team after a competition?


    Luocheng heard the words from the commentators just as he took off his headphones, and his eyes searched frantically and finally found the person who was wiping his eyes non-stop with his sleeves.


    He was retiring!


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t believe his own ears.


    He was retiring¡­


    Then this was his last game!


    Luocheng¡¯s mind was in chaos and everything else around him was drowned out in white, the only thing he could see was Asmodai¡¯s figure.


    He recalled back when he had still been in university, when Asmodai had challenged himself, to raise the banner of e-sports¡­


    Why, why had he suddenly decided to retire?


    Were the rumors true, that his capabilities were declining!?


    In these two matches, Luocheng hadn¡¯t faced Asmodai and Mephistopheles head-on at the bottom lane, and so, he couldn¡¯t tell whether Asmodai¡¯s strength had really declined.


    At the very least, that side-stepping had led Luocheng to think that Asmodai still retained the quality of a professional player.


    Luocheng stood where he was, not moving. Da Luo who had just removed his headphones obviously hadn¡¯t heard what Bao Jun had just announced, and he was moving toward the center of the stage when Luocheng stopped him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go shake their hands.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Luocheng nodded his head, walking in front of his team.


    When Luocheng, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, Da Luo, and Lin Dong came to stand in front of Team Daemons, Asmodai had already rubbed off the stains from his face that he himself thought to be ridiculous, a smile that didn¡¯t quite reach his eyes plastered on his face.


    He thought he had covered it up, but he wasn¡¯t aware that the camera had already caught the footage of him previously.


    ¡°You¡¯re really retiring?¡± Luocheng asked, his throat dry.


    The question was hard to choke out, and it was obvious. Only another professional player would understand how difficult it was for someone who had such passion for e-sports, who enjoyed the wisdom and actions, how hard it was to say retirement.


    Asmodai had turned away, but he replied, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a bit tired. I¡¯ll be taking a break.¡±


    Everyone who was there knew that he was lying. He was like a demon just now, a dying man who was struggling till the end with that desperate look.


    ¡°Our 1 vs 1, it was a draw. We should still be able to have a chance to meet again, if you¡¯re not there, there will be a lot of things missing.¡± Luocheng said.


    Asmodai didn¡¯t say anything, he didn¡¯t know how to respond to that.


    He knew that he was being an embarrassment, his back facing the cameras and thousands of spectators.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t say anymore, shaking hands with the other members of Team Daemons¡­


    ¡°Fighting Hawk.¡±


    Just as Luocheng and the others were heading backstage, Asmodai turned around, those eyes which were unreadable, focusing on Luocheng¡¯s back.


    Luocheng paused in his steps, turning around to look at the twenty-four year old man.


    In his eyes, Luocheng saw the familiar expression of solitude and helplessness. It was the same look he had seen in Coach Qin¡¯s eyes when Huang Yu had injured his hands¡­


    Was it something that all the people who had chosen the path of e-sports would have in their eyes, this helplessness and solitude¡­


    ¡°Why did you choose to retire at that time, and what made you return?¡± Asmodai asked from afar.


    A person who loved e-sports down to the bone, how could they even mention the word retirement. Asmodai couldn¡¯t understand why Luocheng had chosen to leave in the first place, he was clearly stronger and better than so many other people. The loss of the championship once was nothing, he wasn¡¯t someone who would easily accept defeat!


    Luocheng was startled, it felt as though this question wasn¡¯t pertaining to just Asmodai when it was asked.


    Why had he retired?


    Because at that time, he didn¡¯t know what the point of victory was anymore. He had lost his loved ones and felt like a stranger toward his own friends. When he closed his eyes, it automatically drew out the image of the game, nothing else mattered.


    And now, why had he chosen to return?


    Because now he knew what he wanted, he knew what he was chasing and what he loved. Come to think of it, it was quite funny. He didn¡¯t know why he had set such a high goal for himself, saying that he wanted to do something for the e-sports industry. Wanting to change the society¡¯s view of something that was perceived as dangerous and addictive in nature. He was just an ordinary person who had won several trophies and titles, and a student for a few years¡­


    He and Asmodai had said that they would reach the top in the field of e-sports, their goal was high and ambitious. Maybe his comeback would just be a bunch of sacrifices made to the immature e-sports industry and he too would retire from the field in tears.


    Whether or not it would happen that way, Luocheng didn¡¯t know. He just knew that if he didn¡¯t choose this path while he was still young, if he didn¡¯t go all out against the skies and fight for it fiercely, he would forever hate himself as well as the person who tried to stop him!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t make his comeback for Xiao Bei, and it was definitely not because he felt he had the responsibility to fight for the championship. He believed that even without Xiao Bei, there would come a day when he would embark on the path of e-sports once again.


    You know your own heart the best.


    However, Xiao Bei had exchanged his life, which was the push he needed to overcome his hesitation on returning to the field. To a professional player, this little bit of time was so very precious, letting Luocheng still have sufficient time to fight for it, rather than waiting for him to grow older where his finger speed and reaction time would have long declined!


    He who had never challenged himself, who had yet to reach that state of competitiveness, who had not been able to claim victory, who had not been able to obtain the championship¡­


    Asmodai stood there, waiting for Luocheng¡¯s answer.


    Luocheng was aware that he was waiting, and after a long while, he opened his mouth to answer, ¡°I retired for myself, and the comeback, was also for my own sake!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Let¡¯s give a warm round of applause to our top China teams¡¯ exit, two very exciting matches. Presumably even for those overseas who are watching our LPL, I¡¯m sure they have been surprised by our two teams. Looking forward to seeing if our Team Skycrown would have the chance to enter the Worlds, let the foreign teams see the power of our Republic of China!¡± Bao Jun said loudly, his tone heated.


    ¡°A draw, 1 to 1, and both teams have obtained 1 point each. This is the only match that Team Skycrown has lost in this LPL, and if I remember correctly, their next opponent is Team Sky who has been on a victory streak. That will probably be the last confrontation in our LPL. In the past, it had always been Team Daemons against Team Sky in the finals, will Team Skycrown bring us a different champion this year!?¡± Li Hua said.


    A different champion?


    That¡¯s right, all these years, Team Daemons had completely dominated the championship, but this year was unexpected. They had lost to Team Sky with a 2 to 0, and now, they had drawn with Team Skycrown with a 1 to 1.


    Thus, for Team Skycrown who had only lost one game and Team Sky who had been on a victory streak, the championship would now fall into either one of their hands.


    No matter which team won, it would be a different champion this year. Could it be possible that these two teams were already stronger than Team Daemons?


    If Team Daemons could win the third place in last year¡¯s group stage, then these two teams who had been tempered and trained to be stronger, could it be possible that they would qualify for the group stage into Worlds, and for the first time in China LOL e-sports history, bring back the trophy for being one of the top eight in the world!?


    Maybe, it was possible!


    The next game would be Team Sky against Team Skycrown, and following the announcement by the two commentators, the millions of LOL spectators had become even higher!


    ***


    ¡°I thought that you would be beaten 0 to 2, but being able to win one match, that¡¯s incredible!¡± At the backstage, Zhang Aijing smiled as she spoke to Luocheng and his team.


    Once the competition ended, the other professional players left the stands and headed toward the backstage.


    ¡°Team Daemons was just caught off-guard by the strange tactics you used. If it was a normal play, the score would definitely be 0 to 2.¡± Guan Langjie walked past Da Luo, his face full of disdain as he said those words.


    This year, their Team Sky had beaten Team Daemons 2 to 0. Langjie didn¡¯t know what the big deal was that Team Skycrown had won just one match against Team Daemons.


    Da Luo grew angry at the sight of Team Sky¡¯s members, and his hand shot out and pulled Guan Langjie¡¯s collar, bringing his face near to his as he stared into his eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t talk like you¡¯re all that in front of me, believe me when I say I will deliver a kick that will flatten your a*se!¡±


    Langjie was not afraid at all. After all, this was the backstage, he was sure that Da Luo wouldn¡¯t do anything stupid here.


    ¡°Let go of me, I¡¯m not the one to blame for your previous ADC so don¡¯t take it out on me. So what if I¡¯m not happy with your team? Other than using brute force, what else can you do?¡±


    ¡°Last time we beat you like dogs, and now you still don¡¯t know how to tuck your tail between your legs?¡± Lin Dong said, walking over and pushing Da Luo away.


    Aijing was also watching Langjie with unsatisfied eyes, muttering a number under her breath.


    Guan Langjie¡¯s face turned red instantly, you could even see the steam coming out from his ears, ¡°Our captain wasn¡¯t around that time!¡±


    ¡°So what if Zhao Tinghua had been around?¡± Da Luo said, laughing coldly.


    ¡°If he was there, don¡¯t even dream of ever taking the championship!¡± A voice came from beside the studio, it held an indifferent tone, but at the same time slightly provocative.


    A tall figure stepped out from behind the darkness and into the light.


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes became turbulent while Da Luo became even angrier. Zhou Yan went silent and Lin Dong also stopped talking.


    Blood Eagle, Zhao Tinghua!


    Their most trusted teammate who had once competed with them in the World Competition!

 Chapter 462 - Zhao Tinghua At His Peak

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I¡¯ve waited for this day for too long, I knew that you would return to the field!¡± Zhao Tinghua said, pointing at Luocheng with that usual attitude of his.


    ¡°You know what kind of person you¡¯re doing work for.¡± Luocheng said.


    Xu Pingyang was a completely immoral devil, he would squeeze where and all that he could to ensure that he could live a luxurious life for himself. He would use any despicable means as long as it meant that he would win!


    Xiao Bei¡¯s matter would not end here, he would receive the punishment that was due. Luocheng would not spare any effort in order to defeat Xu Pingyang and his little club!


    ¡°I know what kind of person he is, but at least he provided an environment where I can play e-sports without any worries, unlike some people who talk about wanting to do some things, but end up pedalling inward like a turtle hiding in its shell!¡± Tinghua said coldly.


    Seeing that Luocheng had no response, Tinghua continued coldly, ¡°We¡¯ll meet on the rift. I already know how you made it to the throne of e-sports, in these two years, you¡¯ve clearly wasted away. I¡¯ve trained to be stronger, don¡¯t tell me how strong you are with that one hundred kills. As long as you don¡¯t surrender, a hundred kills will be just a matter of time!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. If you think Xu Pingyang is so simple, then you really are jokers.¡±


    Having said that, Tinghua turned and left.


    Guan Langjie resembled a dog that had been left alone, now suddenly having a leash on him again as he turned and tailed Tinghua off the premises.


    ¡°I thought that guy wasn¡¯t watching us but it seems like he was doing it from backstage.¡± Lin Dong muttered.


    ¡°This guy must be nuts in the head and sick, that arrogant attitude is just getting on my nerves!¡± Da Luo huffed angrily.


    Fights and quarrels between Da Luo and Tinghua were not a rare sight, they fought as much as they cooperated back when they were still in the same team.


    ***


    Packing the rest of their things, Team Skycrown prepared to return to the hotel with seemingly satisfying results.


    As long as they managed to defeat Team Sky next, the championship for this year¡¯s LPL was basically theirs for the taking. Luocheng could also participate in the Asian Indoor Games as he wanted to.


    ¡°Luocheng¡­¡± Zhou Yan patted Luocheng on the shoulder as they were packing, speaking in lower tones. ¡°Something¡¯s not right with Tinghua.¡±


    ¡°I know, his eyes were bloodshot.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Luocheng had seen Tinghua¡¯s usually brown eyes that were clearly bloodshot, and this was usually caused by staying up late and excessive mental fatigue. It was as if a person had stayed awake for two days consecutively.


    However, his entire person didn¡¯t look tired, in fact, he looked like he was full of energy!


    ¡°Bloodshot?¡± Zhou Yan parrotted.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you find his condition to be similar to me once upon a time?¡± Luocheng said, quirking an eyebrow.


    Zhou Yan lapsed into a short silence, recalling, and he suddenly snapped up in realization!


    ¡°You¡¯re saying he¡­¡± Zhou Yan trailed off.


    ¡°He went for training abroad, so his abilities for sure have improved. From the way he played in the previous games, he has an abundance of experience. There seemed to be no set tactics used by Team Sky, but that was because Tinghua¡¯s own playstyle which is aggressive and unpredictable had completely destroyed their opponents¡¯ own tactics. This is also not because Tinghua was going everywhere and crushing things wherever he went and disrupting the entire match, but rather, he already knew what tactics they were using and the best way to counter it.¡± Luocheng explained.


    Zhou Yan nodded his head. That ability of Tinghua¡¯s that completely destroyed the opponents¡¯ rhythm was too strong.


    Some of Team Skycrown¡¯s tactics could be used against other teams, but Luocheng wouldn¡¯t use them lightly against Zhao Tinghua and his team, because this guy was born to break all the rules!


    ¡°Alright, but what does that have to do with his bloodshot eyes, though?¡± Zhou Yan pressed, still slightly confused.


    ¡°A person¡¯s concentration is limited, if we¡¯re focused on playing e-sports for 8 consecutive hours, you will be mentally exhausted after that. This can be seen in the difficulty in focusing, slower response and reaction, errors in judgement¡­¡± Luocheng elaborated.


    Zhou Yan finally seemed to understand what he was saying, and his face paled slightly.


    Luocheng slid his mouse into the bag as he continued, ¡°To get stronger, a lot of people train for over 8 consecutive hours, sometimes 12 hours, some even hitting 14 hours¡­They will force themselves to focus and concentrate harder after that 8 hours of exhaustion, and this is actually a form of mental damage to your concentration. Subjecting your mind to the computer screen and enduring the destruction for a while is fine, but in the long term, you know what happens.¡±


    Zhou Yan nodded his head.


    ¡°Tinghua¡¯s action speed is really fast, and his reaction speed is also fast to the point that it¡¯s above a professional players level. At first, I thought that he had found some trick to increase his speed by such a large margin, making him stronger all of a sudden. After looking at him though, it looks like he¡¯s just embarking on the same path that I once walked.¡± Luocheng said, his voice tinged with heaviness and regret.


    ¡°No wonder his gaze was so distant and odd. Will he be alright?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. These were all things that the doctor in England told me and I¡¯ve overcome it¡­but one thing¡¯s for sure, Tinghua¡¯s strength has increased a lot, it¡¯s to the point that it¡¯s unimaginable already.¡± Luocheng replied, zipping up his bag and hoisting it over his shoulder.


    Luocheng had personally walked on that path before, and the strength that was brought by falling in so deep was the result of a terrifyingly drastic increased activity in your brain. It made your brain secrete a hormone similar to the effect of a stimulant, making you not get enough sleep, letting you be as tense as a bowstring, and letting your brain always look at the competitive scene, turning a blind eye to reality.


    If the catalyst, which were the consecutive victories, continued to build up, eventually, everything would start to spiral out of hand!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t know how serious the consequences would be. He only knew that this state of almost forgetting himself was the thing that had enabled him to step onto the highest peak of e-sports, leading Team Wings to become a world-known team that had shocked the entire world, from a dark-horse team all the way into the finals!


    ¡°Is his situation that bad yet?¡± Zhou Yan asked, slightly concerned.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be much problems in the beginning if he adjusts a little after that, other than the normal tiredness after a competition. After half a year or a year at most, the illusions of the computer screen will start to appear whether you open or close your eyes.¡± Luocheng said.


    Almost every professional e-sports player had a state of their own, and when their state was in the best possible condition, they gave off a feeling of invincibility. After such a long period of being stagnant, Tinghua had broken through his limit, becoming a player who could compete with the world masters. However, he had walked the same wrong path that Luocheng himself once did.


    It was hard to blame him, the thirst to become stronger was like a poison. The stronger the desire, the more powerful the poison was!


    ¡°Will he be as strong as you were?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    Luocheng at that time had basically been an invincible existence. A lot of people had assumed that he would stop after he became the strongest player within China, but who would have thought that he would burst right into the Worlds, even going on to defeat those world-class players.


    Zhou Yan had watched Luocheng step over all those players, and if Tinghua had also stepped onto that path, did that mean they would be going against an opponent who was even more terrifying than Hades!?


    ¡°Yes.¡± Luocheng said as he nodded his head.


    Judging from the games that Tinghua had played in the competition, his reaction speed was already close to his own when he was at that point in his life.


    Fortunately, LOL was not like Dota which relied more on the hand and action speed, otherwise, the gap in strength would be very obvious.


    ¡°Can you win?¡± Zhou Yan pressed.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t answer.


    Whether or not he could win, Luocheng himself was unsure. All he knew was that he needed to win this championship, no matter that the one standing in his way was once a very good teammate or the strongest e-sports player who had stepped onto the peak!


    Zhou Yan saw that Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to answer, and so he switched the topic and said, ¡°I think there was another meaning behind Tinghua¡¯s words when he talked about Xu Pingyang.¡±


    ¡°What have you heard?¡± Luocheng turned slightly to look at him.


    ¡°From what I understand about Tinghua, he wouldn¡¯t say anything randomly. He said we¡¯ve been thinking too lightly of Xu Pingyang, maybe he knows something.¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    ¡°We can only take it one step at a time at this point.¡± Luocheng pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ***


    Two busses, the one in front was for Team Skycrown and Team Daemons as well as some workers from the competition.


    The bus at the back was for Team Sky and the other professional players who had been watching the match.


    Tinghua sat alone at the back, his gaze fixed outside the window. The seat beside him sank down slightly, and a thirty-year old thin, skinny man sat down beside him.


    ¡°What did you tell them?¡± Xu Pingyang asked rudely.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Tinghua replied without any emotion in his voice.


    ¡°You know what I hold, you¡¯re a smart person. You don¡¯t have to be dumb like them. Besides, you still have a few siblings you need to feed, hmm?¡± Xu Pingyang said.


    ¡°Boss Xu, you¡¯re talking about useless things.¡±


    Xu Pingyang smiled lightly. He could tell that the hatred that Tinghua held for Luocheng ran deep. He didn¡¯t even need to add any oil to the fire, they would definitely still fight to their last!


    He was only afraid that Tinghua would throw his perfect plans out and expose him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already removed your name from the appeal, I advise you not to bother rekindling any old friendships. Think about your promising younger siblings, you won¡¯t want them to rely on playing games to earn money, right?¡± Xu Pingyang said, his ugly teeth showing as he grinned.


    Tinghua didn¡¯t bother responding to him and continued to gaze out the window.


    Tinghua would never bother disguising the disgust and resentment he had against Xu Pingyang, and Xu Pingyang did the same in not hiding his cautiousness toward him.


    Tinghua wanted money as well as an environment that wouldn¡¯t affect his passion for e-sports.


    On the other hands, Xu Pingyang relied on Tinghua to make money.


    Making money peacefully, both sides got what they wanted!

 Chapter 463 - Change In ACE Head Secretary

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When they reached the hotel, Yang Ying and Qianqian were already there waiting for them.


    Yang Ying patted Luocheng on his shoulder heartily, a smile full of admiration for him as he said, ¡°Kiddo, you¡¯re becoming more and more unbelievable.¡±


    Luocheng gave him a cheeky smile in return.


    In actuality, playing against Team Daemons was highly stressful for Luocheng. If they had lost both games, it would be hard to think about getting the championship.


    ¡°Although, hahaha, no matter how awesome you are, I, Yang Ying, was once a person who beat you at solo mid!¡± Yang Ying laughed as he boasted.


    Yang Ying had always taken pride in that one time he had beaten Luocheng¡¯s Lux with his Fizz, and now that Luocheng was quite well-known among the LOL players, Yang Ying would always bring up this matter when he met with any of the LOL fans.


    Looking at his ecstatic expression, Luocheng didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him that at that time, he had been playing one-handed while his other hand was busy feeding his mouth and chewing on chicken feet.


    Yang Ying was sensible, so he went off to find other things to entertain himself with in the hotel, leaving his sister at Luocheng¡¯s side.


    ¡°There¡¯s a hot spring here, why don¡¯t you go for a dip?¡± Luocheng asked Qianqian with a raised brow.


    ¡°No way!¡± Qianqian didn¡¯t know what was going through Luocheng¡¯s mind. Initially, she was about to gush over his beautiful performance today, but seeing him with those words and that face, what a hooligan!


    The game with Team Sky was next week, being able to draw with Team Daemons was a result that was acceptable to Team Skycrown. After winning the next crucial game, they would be able to enter the Worlds!


    ¡°How many days can you stay?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Qianqian must have taken leave from university to come over to watch the competition. Other than Yang Ying, Qianqian, and the e-sports club, regulars from Demacia Cafe had also come to the arena to show their support, and this made Luocheng feel very grateful.


    Luocheng had been playing before the e-sports industry had risen, and at that time, even if you said you were a Dota god, only a few people would acknowledge you at all. Dota didn¡¯t have proper competitions, no media exposure, and its influence was not as big as LOL. On the other hand, LOL professional players were treated like glorious stars, and the huge contrast between these two which Luocheng had experienced also made him very thankful.


    After the competition, Luocheng didn¡¯t continue to train, instead, accompanying Qianqian in circles.


    Unfortunately, this wasn¡¯t the city centre and there weren¡¯t many things to see. Luocheng repeatedly invited her to take a dip in the hot springs but Qianqian firmly declined each time.


    When Luocheng sent a text to Lin Dong asking him to head over and bunk in with Da Luo and Wu Sen, hoping to secretly bring Qianqian over, that bastard Yang Ying came in a car and said that he was there to send Qianqian back to the university!


    In short, Luocheng would never forget that parting wave Yang Ying had given him, as well as that expression of ¡®don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you were thinking of, we are all men¡¯.


    Fine, as it happens, the competition organizers didn¡¯t allow friends to be brought into the hotel anyway.


    ***


    Early the next morning, Team Skycrown began their training. They needed to find opponents to train against. It was difficult to find a comparable team to train against, and it seemed that Taiwan was carrying out their own Southeast Asia competition, so there were very few teams that had time to spare.


    Luocheng and the others were getting bored of waiting, and just as they were thinking that they needed to head into solo que to train, he got a call on the hotel phone.


    ¡°So early in the morning and we¡¯ve got room service? That¡¯s awesome! Hehe, the organizers are so considerate of us handsome boys, yeah?¡± Da Luo smiled naughtily as he ran over to pick up the phone.


    After answering the phone, Da Luo shouted to Luocheng from the next room, ¡°Team Daemons wants to have a practice match!¡±


    Luocheng slapped his own forehead, wondering why he had been so stupid. They had completed their match against Team Daemons, there wouldn¡¯t be much reservations between the two teams, he could have invited them to play a practice match too!


    There was little to doubt in Team Daemons¡¯ strength and their experiences could teach Team Skycrown a lot of things. Luocheng hurriedly agreed and they headed over to the training hall provided for them.


    Team Daemons frequently played against Team Sky, thus, Luocheng naturally wanted to take the advantage to inquire more about Team Sky from Hades.


    Reaching the training hall, the members of Team Daemons who were decked out in their green-black uniforms were already there.


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes swept over them. Hades, Charon, Belial, and Mephistopheles were there, and there was Anubis with his blonde hair.


    Asmodai wasn¡¯t present, and from the placement of the seatings they were in, Anubis would be replacing Asmodai¡¯s position as the ADC.


    Anubis was very young, only about eighteen years old. In Ionia server, Anubis¡¯ name was also in the top rankings. He was a player with high-speed response and extremely detailed delicate maneuvers.


    Because he often duo-queued with Asmodai, he would play as the Support. An ADC that was proficient in the Support role would also be able to synchronize better with his own Support.


    Luocheng understood that in the next match, Team Daemons would be using Anubis in the ADC role, so they probably wanted to let Anubis familiarize himself with the team as soon as possible before the next match!


    ***


    For the entire afternoon, Team Skycrown and Team Daemons were both in the training hall.


    In the past, their training matches were always two games, whether win or lose, that was it.


    But this time, they played at least five matches with Team Daemons winning three rounds and Team Skycrown only managing to win two rounds.


    It wasn¡¯t that Team Skycrown didn¡¯t use their all to play, but rather, Luocheng found that with fresh blood in Team Daemons, the entire team had suddenly become very dynamic and aggressive!


    Anubis¡¯ ADC was vastly different from Asmodai¡¯s, his ADC in the early-game dared to poke people. With one or two critical hits, the frontline already had a layer of their health torn off, and this led to Team Skycrown¡¯s members losing quite a bit of health even before the fight had started¡­


    In the practice matches, Luocheng played Support for all five games, not using his double Jungler tactic.


    The double Jungler tactic was an unorthodox tactic, and if the enemy already had precautions, it was no different than losing directly. Team Daemons was a very adaptable team, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t dig his own grave like that.


    After the five matches, Luocheng was satisfied.


    It had been a long time since he had been able to play so heartily!


    This practice match was vastly different compared to yesterday¡¯s game, everyone was playing more openly, and you could often see extremely interesting plays from both teams!


    No restraints, no excessive tensions, it was only free and comfortable!


    Win or lose, it didn¡¯t matter at all. What Luocheng wanted was for his own team to be able to cultivate a higher level of professionalism so that the team could face stronger teams with a calm and clear mind, knowing exactly what to do!


    ***


    Once the game was over, Team Skycrown and Team Daemons headed into the hot springs together.


    The hot springs was a benefit given to the competition contestants by Tencent, taking a dip after the competition, it was so good to the point that you could feel it in your bones.


    Of course, if there was a day where there would be a professional female-players competition, the next-door hot springs would be filled with groups of pretty girls splashing water and in towels¡­ that would be so much better.


    Backing up from there a little, if there were phones or some tarot cards provided in the hotel, that would prove that the organizers really understood these otaku boys, and in the future, only Tencent would be allowed to organize it!


    Sadly, there was no such thing!


    ¡°Come to think of it, if Xu Pingyang becomes the Head Secretary, our professional days will become a bit harder.¡± Charon, who was sitting beside Belial said.


    Luocheng heard this and was startled.


    Xu Pingyang was going to be the ACE Head Secretary?


    Team Skycrown had yet to join ACE, but the organizers, Tencent Games, had already given a lot of authority to the ACE. In the future, the interest of professional players would depend on ACE.


    Luocheng was clearly aware of Xu Pingyang¡¯s motive, he would obviously use the e-sports industry with the intent to make money, not considering anything about the professional players nor bother about their futures. How could they let Xu Pingyang sit in that role!?


    ¡°Tell me about this matter.¡± Luocheng asked hurriedly.


    ¡°Xu Pingyang has a really extensive set of resources for online gaming, you should know that from the time you were in Sky Club. Basically, Sky Club has their finger in almost every competitive online game. Initially, Xu Pingyang was supposed to fill the role last year and become the Head Secretary when Team Sky appeared on the World¡¯s stage. As luck may have it, he was looked over because of the dispute with your team.¡± Charon explained.


    ¡°Yeah, he was supposed to have been dismissed for it, how is he back in the selection this year?¡± Da Luo said indignantly.


    The future professional players fate would gradually be managed and controlled by the ACE due to the authority handed over from Tencent Gaming to them. So to all the professional players in China, a good Head Secretary was so very important.


    And to Team Skycrown, if Xu Pingyang ever became the ACE Head Secretary, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to dream of staying in the e-sports industry!


    He would find all sorts of reasons to make life difficult for them.


    Luocheng still remembered what Number One had said, that the Asian Indoor Games would still be related to ACE, and if Number One wanted to recommend a spot for Luocheng, it had to go through ACE. The problem was that if Xu Pingyang was the Head Secretary, would he even agree?


    If he didn¡¯t get strangled, it would already be considered good. This guy had always been trying to kill off Team Wings, and now, he was still up to his dirty tricks!


    ¡°What other way is there, he has too many resources. Those who voted for him for the sake of their own interest and the gaming deals will of course push Xu Pingyang for the role, there¡¯s no stopping that.¡± Mephistopheles said.


    If you think about it, there were many gaming studios and competitive teams who were under Sky Club. If it was by way of referral, of course they would all push for Xu Pingyang to be the secretary because this way, everyone would be able to make money.


    The only problem was that with someone who only wanted to make money in power, even though he had the power to make the industry look prosperous, the interest of the players would not be guaranteed. Thinking back on how they were first exploited, the final results would be disastrous.


    If there were no players who were willing to play professionally, this industry would really be short-lived!

 Chapter 464 - Where Is The Seventh Copy Of The Contract?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Where¡¯s your boss, how come he didn¡¯t try to take the position himself?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    They had all seen Team Daemons¡¯ boss before and he wasn¡¯t such a bad one, otherwise Team Daemons wouldn¡¯t be so solid in their position for such a long time.


    The lifespan of an e-sports team was usually very short-lived and not normally stable.


    A lot of sponsors were reluctant to invest money in random teams, mainly due to the instability of the teams.


    If they invested money but then something happened to the team and it disbanded causing them to lose the members, or if they violated some rules, their money was basically wasted.


    This was the reason that small teams could not survive, while larger teams barely had enough sponsors.


    The problem was, how could an industry grow if they only relied on the bigger teams to support it? Fresh blood was always needed to come in.


    The bottom line was, e-sports didn¡¯t have a clear specification or a benchmark.


    Just throw a few people together and you could make a team, go through a few weeks of training and you could call yourself a professional player and team. But once you lost a competition, this team would disband due to arguments and finger pointings, or maybe it would be due to no stable income or other resources¡­


    The regulations of e-sports were determined by the ACE. A simple example, if you were to let Xu Pingyang decide this kind of thing, this guy would lower the threshold to a new low for the sake of pumping money into unstable talents and non-objective players, messing up the entire circle of e-sports and finally making the sponsors so insecure that they wouldn¡¯t dare to invest in newer teams, only continuing to invest in the bigger and already stable teams and clubs.


    Daemons Club was also an old veteran club, and with their reputation, it was entirely possible that their manager or boss would be able to take the role of the ACE Head Secretary!


    ¡°Our boss did want the role, but the problem is, with Xu Pingyang showing the trophies and honors that you guys have won, how could our club fight against him?¡± Charon laughed bitterly.


    For a moment, everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Luocheng.


    Everyone was well aware that the trophies and honors that had established the status of the Sky Club had all been won by Luocheng himself.


    Once Xu Pingyang had managed to secure it all, he had made sure it sat as a crown in his own club.


    Tencent and ACE had based it off of these to judge Xu Pingyang on being the head secretary, and with Sky Club¡¯s achievements, it was hard to go up against them.


    ***


    After their soak in the hot springs, Luocheng went back to the hotel. He grabbed a bottle of Coke and sat on the balcony, gazing at the distant city lights.


    ¡°Hey, are you still thinking about what happened just now?¡± Meiqi asked as she walked over to him.


    Meiqi had heard the story from Lin Dong about what had transpired in the hot springs.


    ¡°There are some things that I want to get back.¡± Luocheng said.


    The World Champion of Gaming trophy that was issued by the World E-sports Association was still within the Sky Club, and the Worlds runner-up trophy was also still there.


    Xu Pingyang had taken the glory and honor that he and the others had worked so hard to obtain, going as far as to cheat them, this was really unbearable!


    Also, the most unforgivable act was that he had clearly murdered an e-sports player but he hadn¡¯t received any punishment!


    Was it because the e-sports system was not perfect, that¡¯s why he could get away with his crimes?


    The closer the match with Team Sky was, the more unhappy and angry Luocheng got!


    ¡°At that time when it happened, how could he so easily take all those things that belonged to you?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°When we joined the team, we signed a contract. This contract was for a period of two years, and for those two years, we needed to play for their club. Regardless of whether we win or lose, every month, we would only get 1,500 RMB. Competition prize money would belong to us and trophies would also belong to ourselves. Team trophies would be split between the team and the club¡­¡±


    ¡°After two years, we could choose to stay or we could leave to join other clubs. Personal trophies could be taken, but if we wanted the team trophies, we would have to pay half the cost to them, and vice versa, if the club wanted it, they would have to pay half the cost to us.¡±


    Luocheng briefly elaborated the contract terms and conditions to Meiqi.


    After listening, Meiqi said, ¡°This contract sounds reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it seems reasonable. However, we didn¡¯t expect that Xu Pingyang would look at our young ignorant selves and then add some hidden conditions inside it. At that age, how could we have understood the large list of jargons and legal terms that were used in the contract. We just wanted some guarantee to have a stable life and play the game with a peace of mind, so we signed.¡± Luocheng continued.


    ¡°What kind of hidden conditions?¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°The biggest one in the contract was, Party A, which was the club, what they needed to provide was: Taking care of our living accomodations, food and basic income. As for Party B which was us, we needed to play professional Dota locally within the country representing them.¡± Luocheng said calmly.


    ¡°Locally?¡± Meiqi was quick to grasp the key point here.


    Luocheng nodded his head. ¡°That¡¯s right, locally. When Xu Pingyang showed us his true face, the hidden statement said that apart from personal trophies and teams trophies, everything else belonged to the club, and these personal and team trophies didn¡¯t include the ones we had won overseas. In the beginning, we hadn¡¯t expected that we would be able to play professionally overseas, so when the word ¡®locally¡¯ came out, we didn¡¯t really give it much thought. At that time, 1,500 RMB was a huge figure to us sixteen year olds, and it was basically heaven-sent already. But even after we managed to reach the Worlds and the reputation of the club had increased by such a huge margin, our salary was still so pitiful.¡±


    ¡°B*stard!¡± Meiqi cursed suddenly, ¡°How could he be such a sleazy b*stard!¡±


    Luocheng had already gotten used to Meiqi¡¯s foul words and he continued lightly, ¡°This is still nothing.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s even more!?¡± Meiqi growled.


    ¡°I remember when we signed it, the term was for two years. However, following that, I don¡¯t know why it suddenly became five years.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Nowadays, some uni students have even more than that amount to use, not to mention you were basically working for him!¡± Meiqi crossed her arms angrily, pushing her bust up and making it even more prominent.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, it was two years but became five years¡­ and after five years, I didn¡¯t even know who I was anymore.¡± Luocheng said,


    ¡°Sue him, that b*stard, we have to sue the sh*t out of him. My dad has a lot of good lawyer friends, we¡¯ll sue the h*ck out of him!¡± Meiqi said.


    Luocheng smiled bitterly, those sixteen year old kids had really been played like dogs in this cut-throat society. They wanted to sue, but the problem was that they didn¡¯t even know where to begin. The court might have even treated their group of teens like a bunch of crazy kids.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be the way it ends. Luocheng, you have to sue him. Do you still have the initial contract? If you have it, we can definitely bring him down, then we can take back everything that belongs to you! All those trophies that you had, they are definitely worth more than hundreds of thousands now, we have to get it back. We can¡¯t let Xu Pingyang use your things to attain his own happiness!¡± Meiqi said.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t respond to that.


    Meiqi looked at the expression on his face and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have it anymore, do you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, when we went for Worlds, we left the contracts in the place we were staying at. We don¡¯t even know when Xu Pingyang took back the contracts, but most likely it¡¯s all with Xu Pingyang now, and the term is stated as five years¡­¡± Luocheng laughed bitterly.


    ¡°Not even one? Weren¡¯t there five of you?¡± Meiqi asked.


    Lin Dong was walking past them and he came over, glancing at Luocheng. It was obvious that he had overheard them talking.


    ¡°Lin Dong, aren¡¯t you a computer expert? Can¡¯t you go and check if Xu Pingyang has a copy on his computer¡­¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already checked before, that guy is too old-school, he doesn¡¯t put anything in his computer.¡± Lin Dong said, shaking his head.


    With no contract, this was basically a dead-end. Whatever Xu Pingyang said would go, and all three fell silent for a moment.


    Suddenly, Meiqi¡¯s head snapped up as she was hit by a sudden thought, her eyes brightening!


    ¡°There¡¯s one more copy and I know who has one in their hands!¡± Meiqi said excitedly.


    Hearing her excited exclamation, everyone came back to reality immediately.


    Luocheng¡¯s face was confused as he looked at her, whether or not they had the contract in hand, wouldn¡¯t he know? What the h*ck was she going on about one more copy?


    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t said that, I wouldn¡¯t have remembered. Do you remember that time when the ACE Head Secretary came looking for me?¡± Meiqi asked.


    Luocheng nodded his head slowly, still confused. Before they had started the LPL, Secretary Liang had come to find them. At that time, it was Meiqi who had been in charge of speaking to him, and the secretary had basically wanted them to join the ACE. Meiqi had taken into consideration their feelings toward clubs and other ulterior motives at that time, temporarily not agreeing to it.


    ¡°I spoke to the secretary for quite a while and he told me about ACE taking the reins, but they had existed way before this. It was even before your Team Wings was established and there weren¡¯t many clubs under their management yet, but the materials and contracts from those clubs were under their records and jurisdiction.¡± Meiqi clapped her hands excitedly as she explained. She was so happy that she wanted to dance, it was as if a mysterious case had been solved by her. Her bust was bouncing as she jumped, as though her clothes couldn¡¯t keep it in!


    ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± Luocheng asked, arching his eyebrow.


    ¡°Think carefully again, when you brought the contract to be stamped, how many copies were there?¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°Wait, let me remember!¡± Lin Dong suddenly said, furrowing his eyes in concentration as he closed his eyes.


    No one dared to interrupt his dive down memory lane, his memory was definitely the best out of all of theirs.


    ¡°Seven copies!¡± Lin Dong shouted suddenly, his expression mirroring Meiqi¡¯s. ¡°I remember now, there were a total of seven copies getting stamped. It was at Xiao Bei¡¯s store at that time, I remember he asked me if I was crazy, didn¡¯t we only have six people in our team.¡±


    Team Wings had five people, if each one had a copy, that would make five. Xu Pingyang would have one, so the total was six, so why was there a seventh copy?


    Where was that copy!?


    Could it be possible that just as Meiqi had said, it was in ACE¡¯s hands for their records purpose!?


    If so, who had the copy of the contract in their hands!?

 Chapter 465 - He Who Strikes First, Wins

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I¡¯ll call and ask now whether Secretary Liang has the contract in his hands or not!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed with glee written all over his face.


    Contract!


    The contract was just too important to them. In the beginning, they had suffered because they had no evidence. They had no chance of turning the tables at all, but as long as they could find the original contract, they could bring Xu Pingyang to court!


    Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Luocheng¡¯s eyes were shining, and they were able to breathe a sigh of relief after so long. If they really could find the contract¡­


    Lin Dong hurriedly dialed the number, but just as he was about to push the call button, Meiqi snatched the phone away from him, slamming the flip-lid shut.


    Lin Dong looked at her in confusion.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just call like that and ask, we don¡¯t even know whether the contract is in Secretary Liang¡¯s hands, plus we don¡¯t know if Xu Pingyang has any moles in the ACE. If there is, the moment this topic is brought up, Xu Pingyang would definitely get his people to get rid of the contract!¡± Meiqi explained.


    A chill went up Lin Dong¡¯s spine.


    Indeed, there might have been Xu Pingyang¡¯s people inside the ACE, how could he have acted so hastily.


    ¡°You guys, don¡¯t worry about this matter, just focus on your match instead. I¡¯ll think of a way to ask Secretary Liang about the situation.¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Lin Dong started.


    ¡°Let Meiqi settle this. If there really is a copy of the original contract in the ACE records, then this is the only evidence we have to sue Xu Pingyang. Xu Pingyang is cunning and sly, able to get out of almost anything that we have thrown at him. We can¡¯t act recklessly like before!¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Yeah, leave it to Meiqi.¡± Zhou Yan agreed.


    ¡°Trust me, if there¡¯s a copy in ACE, I will find it and get it in our hands!¡± Meiqi said.


    ***


    Professional players needed to focus all their concentration during the game, not only when they were on the venue, but they also needed to maintain that state of concentration for the entire duration of the game.


    That was why, you couldn¡¯t afford to miss out on any daily trainings before the match.


    The days after that incident had Team Skycrown consistently looking for opponents for their training matches.


    Their long awaited death-match against Team Sky was next Saturday at 7PM, whether or not they would be able to regain everything they had lost was one thing, the most important thing was that they needed to get the championship for the LPL!


    Training, more training, normal games, ranked games, cross-server team games, arranging team matches with other professional teams¡­ In those five days, Team Skycrown dedicated every moment available to training while the media was hyping up the final game in the meantime.


    ***


    On Thursday, just as they had finished eating lunch, Luocheng led his team who had had a good fill into the training hall.


    Just as they walked in, they found that the spots they had been using this morning had been taken over by another team.


    ¡°F*ck, what the h*ll is this bunch doing!¡± Da Luo said angrily as he saw Team Sky, the fire burning in his belly.


    Team Sky!


    The five members of Team Sky were wearing their white and blue uniforms, seated in the seats, looking as though they were about to play a game.


    ¡°What are you doing in our seats?¡± Da Luo was the first to voice out his dissatisfaction as he came forward, pointing toward Team Sky. ¡°What a dog in the manger you¡¯re being!¡±


    ¡°Hm, why are you guys still here?¡± Guan Langjie asked with a surprised look on his face as he turned around to see them.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we be here?¡± Lin Dong shot back unhappily.


    ¡°Zhao Tinghua, what¡¯s the meaning of this, take your people and scram!¡± Da Luo said.


    Tinghua turned around and looked at them, saying, ¡°Are you guys just pretending not to know? Wouldn¡¯t this affect your mood for the competition?¡±


    ¡°Know about what? What we do know is that your group of dogs are sitting in our places!¡± Da Luo said.


    ¡°Talking like that, are you picking a fight!?¡± Langjie stood up, pointing his finger at Da Luo¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s nothing more that I want!¡±


    Tinghua ignored Da Luo whose bark was worse than his bite at the moment and looked at Luocheng instead. ¡°Are you intending to abstain?¡±


    ¡°Abstain my a*s, I¡¯ll f*ck you up until your mother won¡¯t recognize you, hurry up and f*ck off from our seats, we still need to train!¡± Da Luo¡¯s mouth shot back like a machine gun.


    ¡°Abstain?¡± Luocheng repeated, his brows furrowing as he gave Tinghua an odd look.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not like you have anything on hand anyway. Even if you went, it would be a waste of time.¡± Tinghua said and then ignored Team Skycrown. Glancing at his own members, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll use the second training room.¡±


    Luocheng and the others were confused, none of them had any idea what Zhao Tinghua was talking about.


    ***


    After playing the whole afternoon, Luocheng received a call from an unknown number in the evening.


    ¡°Good day, may I know if this is Mr. Yu Luocheng?¡± The voice of a man came through the receiver.


    ¡°I am.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Have you prepared for tomorrow¡¯s hearing?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°Hearing¡­ What hearing?¡± Luocheng asked in return.


    ¡°Did you not receive the summons given to you by the court? The lawsuit and other legal documents.¡± The man replied.


    As soon as he heard about the court summons, Luocheng suspected that the other person on the phone was a scammer.


    In this day and age, there were all kinds of tricks of people pretending to be public security officers, how could Luocheng believe this kind of ridiculous scam?


    The call was cut off then and Luocheng didn¡¯t bother about it.


    Walking a few steps further, Luocheng felt that something wasn¡¯t right. If the other party was indeed a scammer, how had he known his name, and his full name at that?


    Just as he was pondering, his phone rang once more and he picked it up again.


    ¡°Luocheng, there will be a hearing at 3 o¡¯clock tomorrow afternoon on this matter. If you and the other defendants don¡¯t appear, we will consider it as an abstention on your end and you will have to compensate the plaintiff for the loss as stated in the contract.¡± The man¡¯s voice came through again.


    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t understand, what do you mean plaintiff and defendants?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°More than half a month ago, plaintiff Xu Pingyang submitted a lawsuit to our court. We accepted the civil lawsuit and the summons were issued to you half a month ago. The receiver was a Ms Meiqi. If you don¡¯t have sufficient evidence prepared, you may choose to abstain which would avoid some loss of time and resources.¡± The man replied.


    Luocheng listened with dread.


    Plaintiff Xu Pingyang?


    The court summons was received half a month ago!?


    Suddenly, Luocheng recalled what Zhao Tinghua had said to him earlier in the afternoon¡­


    ¡°The message has been communicated.¡±


    The other side hung up the call, not leaving him any other words or a number. It didn¡¯t sound like a scam either, if you have questions please call back.


    Luocheng stood there for a long while, his mind not recovering.


    ¡°Talking with your girlfriend again, why are you wearing such a strange expression. Did she break up with you? Aih, that¡¯s great, I heard a lot of beautiful girls are wanting to warm your bed, can¡¯t be monopolized by one girl all the way, yeah?¡± Meiqi teased as she sipped on her drink, walking past Luocheng¡¯s side.


    Luocheng snapped back to reality, he hurriedly caught up to her and grasped her hand.


    Meiqi was startled, thinking in her mind, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I hit the mark!?¡±


    ¡°Court summons, you received court summons!?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Meiqi was stunned, and asked, ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°What the h*ll is going on!?¡± Luocheng exclaimed.


    ¡°I was worried that it would affect your performance in the game so I didn¡¯t say anything about it. I wanted to tell you guys after the game with Team Sky to find a solution. I didn¡¯t expect Xu Pingyang to pull the strings and somehow bring the court date forward¡­¡± Meiqi said, her head hanging low.


    Meiqi explained seriously the situation that had led to her receiving the court¡¯s summons to Luocheng. It was when they had defeated Team Beijing, a letter using fast courier had been delivered to their hotel and Meiqi had received it. Seeing the court stamp on it, she had opened it.


    After reading it over, Meiqi had been stunned for a long time, only coming back to her senses after half a day.


    ¡°What was on it?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°It was regarding the contract that you signed with Xu Pingyang. Didn¡¯t you say that the term was changed to five years suddenly? That is to say that until now, the contract is still in effect. Xu Pingyang accused you of not complying with the contract¡¯s subsidiary clause.¡± Meiqi said.


    Subsidiary clause¡­


    Luocheng clearly remembered that Xu Pingyang had added an additional clause stating that he didn¡¯t allow Luocheng to join any other clubs or teams after leaving Sky Club.


    ***


    ¡°D*mn, I will kill that b*stard!¡± Da Luo¡¯s angry voice burst out from the room.


    So shameless!


    Xu Pingyang was so shameless, even to the point of using a contract that should have expired to continue to stir up trouble.


    Worse still, to do it at a time like this just before they had their match against Team Sky, this was deliberately looking for trouble!


    To put it bluntly, they just didn¡¯t want Team Skycrown to win. Even with such a shameless method, they wanted Team Skycrown to be restless!


    Lin Dong lay on the sofa, his face burning red with anger. He just couldn¡¯t understand, why didn¡¯t this type of f*cking shameless son of a b*tch just get hit by a car or poisoned at home!


    ¡°Meiqi, did you ask about the contract that day because of this matter?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Meiqi nodded her head, saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t want this to affect your performance in the game, so I was trying to sideline and find some evidence that could help.¡±


    Xu Pingyang¡¯s underhanded method had definitely caught Team Skycrown by surprise. Initially, they had thought that if the seventh contract was found, they would be able to bring Xu Pingyang down. Who knew that he was ahead of them by one step, even bringing them to court.


    ¡°If we lose the case, what will happen?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°The team will have to disband and compensate them for the losses.¡± Meiqi replied.


    Everyone fell silent at the news.

 Chapter 466 - Losing The Match Means Losing Everything!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    So absurd, so very absurd.


    Because of a ridiculous contract that they had signed in the past, it was still biting them in the a*s after all this time.


    Xu Pingyang had already taken so much from Luocheng¡¯s hands, and it wasn¡¯t just money that was involved¡­


    Yet now, he still bared his fangs to bite them, intending to completely destroy them!


    Luocheng sat on the sofa, his mind replaying all the images from the few years ago. After a long time, he finally calmed down.


    Whether it was about accusing Pingyang¡¯s sly and cunning behavior, or whether it was about him using this strange contract to destroy them, the most important thing right now was whether or not it would affect their game this Saturday!


    ***


    In the afternoon the next day, Luocheng, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Da Luo, had no choice but to head to the court.


    There was a judge in charge of the proceedings, and when they entered the courtroom, they saw a young female judge.


    At the same time, they also saw Xu Pingyang and his assistant, Sun Liang.


    Sun Liang sat at the side whilst Pingyang grinned widely, revealing an unsightly row of yellow teeth that was due to long-term smoking.


    His teeth were like an old person¡¯s, the gap in between each tooth was obvious, and when he grinned, you couldn¡¯t tell whether he was trying to imitate a ghost or not, and whether he had any disgusting motive behind it.


    His hair was also a lost cause, probably due to that hard-working brain of his trying to figure out how to extort people for more money, he was practically bald.


    ¡°Long time no see, long time no see!¡± Pingyang greeted them with a face full of smiles.


    ¡°F*ck¡­¡± Da Luo glared fiercely, but before he could do anything, Luocheng was glaring at him instead.


    This rash personality of Da Luo needed to be reigned in, this was a courtroom, any trouble they made here wouldn¡¯t make any favourable impressions.


    Before they had come, Da Luo had already exploded and blew off some steam. Seeing Pingyang¡¯s face and his wide ugly smile just added oil to the fire, and he dearly wanted to just use his bare hands to strangle that thin neck of his!


    Luocheng¡¯s face was void of any expression, taking a seat where the judge had designated them.


    The judge, seeing that both plaintiff and defendants had arrived, went ahead with the beginning of the proceedings.


    The content of the charges weren¡¯t that complicated, the judge outlined the main points of the contract, the most important one being the timing.


    Xu Pingyang held the original contract and a copy in his hands, passing it to the judge and stating the facts of the case presented.


    Pingyang seemed to have prepared everything for the case, and clearing his throat, he said, ¡°Four years ago, our club signed a contract with the four of them. The contract stated that the club would pay them a salary of 1,500 RMB a month¡­¡±


    ¡°The subsidiary conditions were that once a player leaves the club, he will not join any other clubs or teams nor form a competitive relationship with the club, failing which the club has the right to have the player withdraw from the competition.¡±


    ¡°The term is five years!¡±


    As soon as Pingyang finished his statement, Da Luo couldn¡¯t stand it, standing up and pointing his finger at him, ¡°What nonsense! When we signed, it clearly stated two years, not five! You changed the contract!¡±


    ¡°Order!¡± The judge said sharply, clearly annoyed.


    Da Luo took a deep breath.


    The judge projected the contract onto the screen, circling the important point before saying, ¡°Now, the defendant has stated that the contract was modified. The timeline was supposed to be for two years, please show your evidence to support this claim or any other witnesses.¡±


    The moment the contract was raised, Luocheng and the others went silent.


    Pingyang saw this and his face split into a wider grin.


    A few years ago, Team Wings had been utterly played by Pingyang. After a few years, it looked like they hadn¡¯t grown or learned anything at all, still all bark and no bite.


    The problem was that in court, the more you yelled or caused trouble, it wouldn¡¯t solve anything at all. Only if you were calm would you be able to solve anything.


    Well, the contracts in their hands had also been taken by Pingyang already, they didn¡¯t have a copy at all. Instead, the contracts he held had their signatures and fingerprints, this was obviously in his favor.


    This case was in the bag and he would definitely win. Their Team Skycrown would not be able to survive, at least not before August 13th, and their team wouldn¡¯t be able to take part in the LPL.


    August 13th, hehe, the name going down to the S International League was already set, what more could they do!


    And if next year they wanted to participate in the LPL again, he would find other ways to do something!


    ¡°The time period was changed, when we signed the contract, the contract clearly stated two years. Judge, would you please check to see if there are any traces of it being tampered with by computer editing.¡± Luocheng stated his view as he let the others calm down.


    The judge nodded her head and asked for her staff to do so.


    The results came back quickly, and the results that the judge relayed back to them put them in quite a spot once again.


    ¡°There is no trace of the contract being edited in terms of the timing, and the appraisal team has stated that the contract printed indicates that it was printed more than three years ago,¡± The judge said.


    Luocheng stared coldly at Pingyang.


    What had Pingyang done to make it seem as though the contract had been completely untampered with!


    Pingyang sat there and smiled with that sense of superiority that lorded over everyone else.


    Luocheng had sat down for a long time yesterday, recalling the moment when he, Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Zhao Tinghua had signed the contract. It was definitely two years, but after signing it, it had suddenly become two years.


    He didn¡¯t know whether the contract had been tampered with before or after they had signed it.


    They were still young at that time, and after reading the contract, they didn¡¯t expect it to change after they signed it. They didn¡¯t check it after that either as there were just too many words on it. They were more concerned about playing the game.


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel sad for himself and the others, living such a sheltered life all the while had made them lack the necessary skepticism, cautious attitude, and legal knowledge that they needed. After being cheated by people, there was still endless pain and troubles.


    On the other hand, it seemed as though Pingyang had everything planned out. It was just a matter of when to use which cards he had in his hands!


    They had nothing at all! No evidence nor witness.


    The seventh copy of the contract that they had thought of last week still wasn¡¯t in their hands yet.


    The seventh copy of the contract was in ACE records and Jian Feng was already working on ways to extract Team Sky¡¯s files from that year. As long as the copy of the contract was with them, they would be able to break through Pingyang¡¯s lies and fight back fiercely!


    However, the person in charge of the e-sports contracts four years ago was in Guangzhou. Jian Feng had only managed to get the address of that person, but there had been no telephone number.


    Jian Feng was forced to take a flight on the same day to Guangzhou to find that person to ask him where the contract for Team Wings was placed.


    ***


    A confrontation with Pingyang was always about fighting, and Lin Dong and Da Luo couldn¡¯t control their emotions while debating in the court.


    The judge was forced to intervene, proposing a mediation between the two parties.


    A mediation, it was near impossible for Pingyang to agree to it. Team Skycrown wouldn¡¯t agree to the ridiculous conditions either, and so, it was naturally up to the judge to decide.


    She adjusted her glasses, her eyes on both parties on both sides of the room.


    From her experience in court, it was obvious where the problem stemmed from. Pingyang had tricked these easily impulsive and young children all those years ago, but the evidence in her hands was there, and her decision couldn¡¯t be made based on her own personal judgement.


    ¡°Verdict: The contract is effective from August 13th, in other words, there are still four months before the five-year term expires. According to the information provided by the plaintiff, the defendants have formed a team last year and participated in the same competition as the plaintiff, forming a competitive relationship. This violates the addendums to the contract, and the defendants have no further evidence to provide. The court requests that the defendants disband their team and withdraw from the competition to eliminate the competitive relationship. In terms of compensation, the court finds it unreasonable, and the plaintiff has no grounds to claim any compensation from the defendants. To the defendants, Yu Luocheng, Lin Dong, Luo Haohui, do you agree to the sentence?¡±


    ¡°No issues on that as long as their participation is halted, not bringing further losses to our club.¡± Pingyang said, a look of glee on his face as he looked to the judge.


    The judgement passed made Luocheng and the rest feel as if thunder had just struck them. They had sacrificed so much for this team, how could they just disband like this? For the sake of the championship in the LPL, for the sake of getting into Worlds, how could they just quit when they were asked to quit!


    Da Luo was so angry that his entire face was red and steaming, it wasn¡¯t that he wanted to defy the judgement and the law, but when justice was needed, the law was always on the other side. Da Luo wanted to bash in the idiotic judge!


    ¡°Da Luo, control your temper. We¡¯ll go back and gather our emotions. We still have practice tonight, tomorrow, we still have a match!!¡± Luocheng grabbed Da Luo¡¯s shoulder tightly, saying coldly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to carry out your obligations!¡± Pingyang said, his eyes narrowing as he passed them while Sun Liang smiled gleefully.


    ¡°Obligations your head, mother f*cker!!¡± Da Luo roared in anger.


    Zhou Yan hurriedly grabbed Da Luo who was going nuts, but his eyes were on Luocheng.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s eyes were showing how helpless he was feeling as well as how devastated he was.


    This verdict, what was the difference in sentencing them to death?


    ***


    The four of them didn¡¯t know how they made it out of the courtroom, being in such a daze.


    Da Luo kicked the iron railing beside him hard and the entire metal structure vibrated from it.


    Lin Dong sank to the ground, looking defeated.


    Zhou Yan sat at the side, not uttering a single word.


    The afterglow of the evening fell on the dusty street. A car drove past and the dust kicked up from the speed, covering the four of them, young people who had just lost their direction in life¡­


    How many more bumps would they experience on this road?


    Tomorrow was the game, but what they had just gotten was a death sentence.


    How could anybody not be disappointed?


    Luocheng was leaning against the wall, his chest feeling constricted.


    A sound came from his pocket and Luocheng pulled out his phone slowly, answering it.


    Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Lin Dong turned at the same time, watching Luocheng on the phone. They hoped it wasn¡¯t anymore bad news.


    ¡°Yeah, alright. I know.¡± Luocheng nodded his head, hanging up the call.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Zhou Yan asked hurriedly.


    ¡°It was Meiqi.¡±


    ¡°What did she say!?¡±


    ¡°She said to play the game tomorrow properly. Don¡¯t even think about losing this important match after we win the appeal in court.¡±


    ¡°Appeal?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, appeal!¡±


    ¡°We can win!?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I don¡¯t care how messed up you are today, or how angry and filled with resentment you are. You guys had better bet everything on the match tomorrow. If we lose the match tomorrow, we lose everything, remember that!¡±

 Chapter 467 - LOL Frenzy, Thousand Spectators!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After the court hearing yesterday, Wu Sen could feel that apart from Luocheng, the other three¡¯s emotions were super unstable!


    Xu Pingyang, that son of a b*tch was really something, timing it perfectly for Team Skycrown just before they were going to play against them. Distracting their attention to this extent, causing them to be unable to concentrate on their training!


    The concentration required in professional competitions was extremely important, and at the same time, the mental state of the players were too. Once their usual state and training were affected, their mental state would obviously be unstable, and it would affect the actual match.


    Wu Sen was also at a complete loss on how to resolve this matter with the four of them, he only knew that they didn¡¯t sleep well yesterday night.


    This was not a good sign!


    ¡°How are they, are they still alright?¡± Wu Sen asked in the afternoon, not being able to hold himself back.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t reply.


    During the training matches, Da Luo and Lin Dong were obviously not focused, and they had made quite a few glaring mistakes.


    As soon as it happened, Da Luo had slammed his hands on the keyboard in frustration, as though the keyboard held Xu Pingyang¡¯s face and he had to be smashed.


    As the time drew nearer, the bus from the organizers arrived at the lobby of the hotel.


    The six members, including Meiqi, headed toward the venue.


    You needed to fight for seats in the arena for a good spot, and every game had almost thousands of people gathering.


    Due to it being the final championship match adding on the reputation between Team Skycrown and Team Sky, an arena which only housed one to two thousand people was definitely not sufficient.


    To accommodate the LOL fans, the organizers had specially arranged for the match to be carried out in the famous exhibition hall in Shanghai. The hall could easily fit four thousand people.


    As for the people who would be watching the live broadcast online, there would be millions.


    ***


    Wearing a uniform with the Demacia Club logo on it, the players got off the bus, passing by numerous staff, guests and players, walking into the venue.


    A silver-white building, a towering building with an European touch, a diamond-shaped exhibition hall which had a surface of tempered glass painted against the blue sky¡­ This was a building that was able to house four thousand people, the smooth silver steel walls, white marbles inlaid with beautiful white patterns, and metal brackets with rotating arcs, giving off a modern feel of all-time!


    This competition was a big investment on the organizer¡¯s part because this hall which could hold four thousand people had no concept of tickets. As long as the players queued up in time for the game, they would be able to enter the hall for free to enjoy the e-sports fest!


    The exhibition hall was near the city area, and two hours before the game, you could already find tons of people outside, the lines were as long as a few dragons!


    The roads were almost all blocked off, and those traveling in cars had to make detours to get around the area.


    ***


    Honks sounded, and a middle-aged man sitting in the car leaned out. Seeing the mass of people in the distance which was causing a blockage, he shouted, ¡°What¡¯s happening, what big-shot star is having a concert here?¡±


    The girl who was in the passenger seat also glanced up, but all she saw were various dresses and head gears.


    ¡°If the car can¡¯t go in, why don¡¯t we just park here and walk in? Sigh, Feifei, you are also another one. You should just watch a movie with your mother and I on the weekend, why talk about coming here to watch a classmate in some competition!? Now it looks like we¡¯re stuck here because of some concert, look at the amount of people, there could be thousands of them. There aren¡¯t many stars who can attract such an amount of people with a concert.¡± The middle-aged man who was driving said.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening up front, can¡¯t we just move forward!? I have a plane to catch!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the hold up, what¡¯s going on!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see the road up ahead is blocked off, detour, detour!¡±


    As the noise got louder, Bai Feifei got down from her father¡¯s car, walking into the crowd. The middle-aged man also got down, taking the lead and leading them inside. Luckily, the weather these few months was cooling, otherwise, with such a crowd, they would think twice about doing this.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re all waiting to go in.¡± Feifei said as she looked at the long lines.


    The middle-aged man glanced inside and he was startled to realize that the heaps of young people were in actual fact gathered for the competition in the hall.


    ¡°Are all these people crazy? Why would so many of them gather here for an e-sports competition¡­there¡¯s so many people!¡± The middle-aged man exclaimed, his face was completely stunned.


    How many people were there!?


    Ever since Feifei and her father had gotten down from the car, they had walked at least ten minutes. The path they were on was just packed with people like a can of sardines!


    Feifei¡¯s father was a big-shot of a large company, in addition to his busy business, he liked to watch football matches and he would stay up late for the World Cup.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was for e-sports, which he didn¡¯t even play, to be able to gather such a huge amount of people to come and watch. To what extent was this League of Legends hot?


    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re too late, we can¡¯t get in¡­¡± Feifei said as she stood on her tiptoes to try and see the front.


    There was at least a distance of five hundred meters from the venue, if you counted the amount of people in the queue, you could hardly hope to get in the first four thousand.


    ***


    ¡°Holy sh*t, with so many people in line, I can¡¯t go have a meal with you. The people from Demacia Cafe and I had promised that we would be there in person to watch Lone Gull play Top in this game!¡± A man who had styled his hair with obvious care said as he came down from the car, his eyes sweeping across the crowd in astonishment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already got someone to help us book a spot in front with some help from money.¡± The other guy said as he too got down from the driver¡¯s seat, opening the back seat door.


    A woman with a knee-length skirt stepped out, and she was also surprised by the amount of people she saw.


    ¡°I say, Shui Mo, you didn¡¯t need to come with us. It¡¯s not as if you understand the game.¡± The man in a casual shirt said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, there are so many people here and the atmosphere is good. I¡¯m curious, how hot could this game be, it almost feels like a concert venue.¡± Shui Mo smiled lightly as she said.


    ¡°What else could there be other than League of Legends now? This is the game that the whole world is playing. From elementary students to uncles, everyone in our country is playing this game.¡± The man with stylish hair said.


    ¡°It¡¯s that popular, then what is this competition?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a professional competition, similar to the strongest football team in our country or the finals in basketball. Here is where the professional players stand out from millions of other players, their strength unparalleled. Today, I especially came to see Team Skycrown¡¯s Top because I also play Top, hehe!¡± The man with stylish hair said.


    Shui Mo didn¡¯t really understand half of the things that came out from his mouth, she just followed her boyfriend. Her boyfriend and his friends were obsessed with this game, especially Peng Fei, who had made a fuss about coming today.


    She didn¡¯t understand how such a big-shot person like him could be so obsessed with an online game.


    ***


    Lecheng, a riverside district, was said to be a small community. This riverside community was actually quite old, and the red tiles had obviously eroded due to the wind and rain.


    ¡°Gui Jun, can you do auntie a favor?¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from the entrance, stopping a young man who had yet to enter university.


    ¡°Sure.¡± The young man said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to operate a computer, and I heard that the League of Legends competition is today at 7PM. Could you help me tune the channel?¡± Li Yun asked.


    ¡°No way, auntie, do you also play this game?¡± Gui Jun was surprised. LOL was really turning the world around.


    ¡°No, no, I heard from Cheng¡¯s classmate, Wang Qin, that there¡¯s a big competition today, and I can watch him on the computer¡­¡± Li Yun explained.


    Gui Jun was even more surprised. Tonight was the match between Team Skycrown and Team Sky, they had predicted that a lot of people would watch it. He himself was a Platinum player, how could he not pay attention to such a big event.


    Only, how the h*ll could Luocheng be in the competition. Could it possibly be that Fighting Hawk was indeed that kid, Luocheng!?


    What the h*ll!?


    If it was really him, wouldn¡¯t that make him the neighbour of this master LOL God!?


    ¡°Oh, it isn¡¯t tuning a channel. It¡¯s just opening a browser to watch the live broadcast. I¡¯ll help you find it.¡± Gui Jun came back to his senses, hurriedly going upstairs to help Li Yun open the page.


    As soon as the page was displayed, it just so happened to be the introduction of both teams.


    It started with the top laner¡ªDa Luo, and ended with Luocheng.


    On the screen, a clear frontal picture of Luocheng was displayed. He looked handsome and calm, completely in his element!


    Li Yun saw Luocheng¡¯s information displayed across the screen, and she suddenly felt as though there was something in her eyes.


    It had been a year¡­ Unknowingly, another year had passed. Other than letting Yu Yu deliver some things, she hadn¡¯t had many chances to talk to him over the phone. Li Yun didn¡¯t know how her family had become like this, if it was from the first time when he had left home due to his recklessness and rebellion, but it was obvious that he had grown and matured.


    Why would he still be at odds with this family? Was it possible that their thinking had been wrong!?


    ¡°Auntie¡­this¡­is this really that kid, Cheng!?¡± Gui Jun stared at the screen, still out of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s him, it¡¯s really him!¡± Li Yun confirmed, nodding her head.


    ¡°At first, I thought it was just someone who looked similar to him, I never thought that it really was him!¡± Gui Jun exclaimed suddenly.


    Li Yun was looking at Gui Jun with a puzzled expression, why was he getting so excited?


    At that moment, Li Yun voiced her confusion and doubts from inside her heart.


    ¡°Aiyah, your son is the captain of Team Skycrown, that¡¯s almost the same level as being a star!¡± Gui Jun said, his voice still full of excitement.


    You couldn¡¯t blame him for his over-excitement. After all, the first LOL God, Fighting Hawk, was actually his very own neighbour!


    Can¡¯t help but brag about it, this would scare his friends around him to death, hahaha!

 Chapter 468 - Whose Fault Was It?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°What about him being captain?¡± Li Yun asked, still not quite understanding the significance of this position. It was just a game, at most, she knew that Luocheng was good at the game.


    ¡°How do I explain this, aunty. There are differences between a game and e-sports. For example, isn¡¯t playing chess a game? In ancient times, wasn¡¯t there an addiction, and that was chess. However, now if you¡¯re the top chess player in the country, you would be known as a master chess player. You don¡¯t understand how big League of Legends is. Every youngster in Europe, US, Canada, South Korea, China, basically the entire world is a competition. Your son being able to participate in this competition basically means he¡¯s at the top tier! Look, look at the competition venue, it¡¯s not just some small stadium. Look at the amount of spectators¡­¡±


    Li Yun looked at the screen. After the introduction of the team was done, the camera had switched to the stands and Li Yun was scared out of her wits when she saw the thousands of seats filled to the brim.


    This¡­was this a concert!?


    How could there be so many people who were crazy about a game!?


    The scene could only be described as an explosion. Some players had even made signs and were raising it high in the air, but it was full of words that Li Yun didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Aunty, I¡¯m going first, you can watch it.¡± Gui Jun said, hurriedly taking his leave after ensuring the page was on.


    D*mn it, the fact that Fighting Hawk was his own neighbour, how could he not tell his LOL-ranking friends immediately!? Gui Jun ran all the way downstairs as though there was fire on his heels!


    Li Yun nodded her head, sitting on the chair as her eyes were glued to the screen.


    If it was really such a detrimental game, then why was the scale of the game as exaggerated as a football or basketball game and as lively as concerts.


    Professional commentators, professional player introductions, and professional gaming platforms.


    To be honest, in Li Yun¡¯s mind, the competitions that Luocheng had been in she imagined to be in dingy, dodgy internet cafes, with some verbal fights between the players, gangsters, hooligans, and what-nots. She had never imagined that the competitions that Luocheng was participating in would be so ground-shocking and spectacular!


    ¡°The players are now ready, the screen will take us to the players one by one. Let us use the warmest applause to let your favourite professional player hear it!¡± The commentator said.


    Li Yun¡¯s eyes were still glued to the screen, her eyes watching each of the players.


    ***


    Team Skycrown started from Da Luo¡¯s end.


    Da Luo¡¯s popularity was sky-high within the Demacia Cafe patrons, and many spectators present also liked to watch him play in the competition.


    The reason was simple, Da Luo¡¯s maneuvers were cool!


    Back when the team had yet to be formed, Da Luo¡¯s Top plays were extraordinarily outstanding. Playing Jax to a god-like extent, teaching Vulcan from Team Sky with his so-called number one Renekton a lesson¡­


    This season, a Top Jax was even more difficult to use, however, Da Luo¡¯s performance on the new champion, Dr. Mundo, had still exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations!


    He had a deep understanding for Mundo, and although Team Skycrown didn¡¯t give chances to many opponents to last longer than 25 minutes, if you gave Da Luo¡¯s Mundo 25 minutes to farm, his Mundo would be a boss existence! That was why nobody had ever questioned Team Skycrown¡¯s late-game strength!


    The camera was focused on Da Luo and the entire arena went into an uproar!


    Top laners, they had a certain loneliness but were able to save the entire world¡¯s wild heart. That was Da Luo¡¯s style, and he rarely ever needed the Jungler¡¯s help at the top lane. Oftentimes, he was like a mad man, bulldozing his way through the few turrets into the enemy camp. He wouldn¡¯t ask to retreat in one piece, but rather, he would ask for more people to come after him to kill him. That way, his teammates could directly attack the enemies¡¯ turrets and base without worry!


    ¡°Lone Gull! Haha, I finally get to see him live, the God inside my own heart!¡± Peng Fei exclaimed excitedly in the arena.


    The man in the casual shirt beside Peng Fei had also raised his hands in appreciation, applauding as he spoke to his girlfriend beside him, ¡°The videos that I usually watch is of him playing, and the only in the country who can stand against Lone Gull is Forgetful Laughter!¡±


    Shui Mo had been looking at the screen curiously at first, but when she saw the face that appeared on the gigantic screen, she suddenly felt as though someone had doused her with a bucket of cold water.


    Why was it him!?


    Shui Mo couldn¡¯t believe her own eyes.


    In her memory, Da Luo was a simple and honest normal worker. Unfortunately, he was slightly immature in some places, and that wasn¡¯t what Shui Mo wanted in a partner.


    Although¡­she had to admit that her current boyfriend seemed to treat her well, but it was on the surface only¡­


    At this time, Shui Mo recalled the last time she had seen Da Luo. He had been kneeling down on the street, proposing to her, but she had rejected him.


    She had thought that this ordinary guy who had once chased her would just disappear into the crowd, never to be seen again. Unexpectedly, who would have thought that she would see Da Luo here, to see him on the level of a star as he was being cheered on by the thousands of spectators!


    Peng Fei had been talking about Lone Gull ever since he had entered the venue, and you could tell how much he admired this person!


    What was happening, just what was going on!?


    A year and a half ago, he had just been working in a furniture shop. In the blink of an eye, he had completely changed into a different person, so dazzling, making people unable to look at him directly!


    Suddenly, Shui Mo remembered that at that time, Da Luo had brought up being a professional e-sports player¡­


    Her thought at the time was, ¡°Childish, nothing more than just wanting to play games.¡±


    Now, in front of her eyes, in a venue which could hold 4,000 people, there were at least five thousand people lining up outside waiting to get it in in order to watch the game that she had thought to be childish and immature.


    Who was the immature one now?


    ***


    The camera shifted to Lin Dong and the applause was as loud as ever.


    Once the Mid and now shifted to the ADC, Lin Dong had used his unique maneuvers and plays to tell the entire country that Bai Feng was not the only strong ADC.


    Also, because Lin Dong was partnered up with Luocheng, the LOL fans and players had happily dubbed Lin Dong as the world¡¯s most lonely and stress-resistant ADC¡­


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, who asked Lin Dong to have such an impactful Support?


    Such a lonely bottom lane, always facing-off two opponents by himself but still being able to not fall behind the opponent¡¯s ADC in terms of farm, how many could be found in China?


    In addition, as a lot of girls played Support, Lin Dong was basically a friend of women in Demacia Cafe!


    The one sitting next to Lin Dong was Luocheng.


    Luocheng¡¯s head was lowered and he didn¡¯t really notice the camera in front of him.


    Before Luocheng could even greet the spectators, the arena burst out into cheers that were even louder than before!


    A lot of signs were lifted higher among the crowd and glow sticks were waving madly, the entire crowd was in a frenzy!


    ¡°Oh oh oh, my g*d. Fighting Hawk¡¯s popularity is simply¡­¡± The commentator¡¯s voice was completely drowned out by the cheers and noise from the crowd.


    When the camera was directed at Luocheng, the cheers were several times louder than the other players. This usually only happened when Blood Eagle or Hades appeared on-screen!


    When the noise reached Luocheng¡¯s ears, only then did he realize that the camera was in front of him and his face was splashed on the gigantic screen. He forced a smile on his face reluctantly.


    That forced smile was not unusual in the eyes of others, and the audience still gave him their cheers.


    However, for the middle-aged woman who was looking at the screen with his face, that smile was bitter and hiding too much pain. The smile was not pure as before, nor as free and easy as it had been.


    If she thought about it, after so many things had happened, he was no longer a child that was able to smile so freely anymore.


    The crowd¡¯s cheer was very enthusiastic, and from the commentator¡¯s words, Li Yun understood that Luocheng was the most dazzling star on stage!


    Yes, this firmly solidified Li Yun¡¯s understanding of Luocheng¡¯s participation in this competition!


    This event was obviously formal, grand, and had a lot of supporters¡­


    On screen, he was wearing a uniform, and as the captain, he was saying something to his team, most likely reminders or encouragement. In the face of thousands of audience members, he was so calm. He resembled a protagonist on a stage, intertwining music and light, and he was displaying such concentration and seriousness that Li Yun could hardly believe she was seeing¡­


    Why, why had she never seen this side of him before!?


    All these things only showed her one thing, and that was the narrow-mindedness, stubbornness, and ignorance that had gotten in his way!


    Li Yun dearly wanted to call Luocheng¡¯s father over, to let him see this scene.


    However, would he understand?


    Don¡¯t talk about e-sports, even if Luocheng had received other achievements in other industries, his father would most likely not acknowledge it¡­


    ***


    On the stage, soft rock music drifted into his ears, vibrating his ear drums.


    Luocheng stared at the computer screen, unaware that his mother had finally gained some understanding in e-sports and was sitting in front of a computer screen, watching his game.


    He glanced at the others and found that Da Luo, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Da Luo, were all looking anxious and unstable.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped, they had lost that court case. From a legal point of view, their team would soon be disbanded.


    Luocheng had told them that they had to win the game and to leave the rest to Jian Feng and Meiqi, the two of them would handle the appeal¡­


    However, as they understood it, the chances of the appeal was still low unless they could find concrete evidence.


    There was still no news on the seventh copy of the contract.


    If they didn¡¯t get any definite news, he feared that it would be difficult for the four of them to concentrate.


    Of course, when a lawsuit was hanging above your head, so trivial and troublesome, how many professional players could fully focus their concentration on the game?


    ***


    ¡°Miss, miss, you can¡¯t go on the stage¡­¡± Backstage, a staff member was trying to stop a girl.


    ¡°I¡¯m the team manager, there¡¯s something important I have to tell them!¡± Meiqi ignored the staff¡¯s outstretched hand, determined to walk onto that stage toward where Team Skycrown was sitting.

 Chapter 469 - Born For The Sake Of E-sports!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Sky had maintained a winning streak up till now, so in other words, for Team Skycrown to claim the championship, they needed to win two games.


    Meiqi wouldn¡¯t tolerate them slacking, and even more so, not their absent-mindedness!


    She walked hurriedly to the stage and the staff didn¡¯t stop her further advance. After all, the team manager going into the soundproof room of the players was allowed in South Korea, even the coaches would be right behind them during the match.


    ¡°Look, what are you looking at!? Look at yourselves! The match hasn¡¯t even started and you guys look like your parents have died. Don¡¯t tell me the lawsuit is affecting your performance in the game! Last year, even though you knew there was no chance of winning, didn¡¯t you still beat the sh*t out of them!?¡± Meiqi yelled at the five members of Team Skycrown.


    Luocheng and Lin Dong had been discussing strategies, and with Meiqi making a sudden appearance like this, it completely stunned them all.


    ¡°Lift your head up high and make sure you play a good game for me. I swear on my own name that your appeal will not fail and no one will disband your team as long as you guys are not beaten by those bird-sh*ts over there!¡± Meiqi continued.


    The five of them didn¡¯t know how to respond after being scolded over their heads by a woman.


    After a few moments, Da Luo finally responded, his face in a pinched expression, ¡°We never said that we wouldn¡¯t play properly. Even if the team is disbanded, I¡¯d still f*cking want to beat them into the dirt, do you know how long I¡¯ve waited for this day!?¡±


    Lin Dong nodded his head solemnly, saying, ¡°Sis, we¡¯re discussing our tactics seriously right now.¡±


    Meiqi glanced at Luocheng who also nodded his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no matter how it affects us, as long as we¡¯re let into the game, even if the sky falls down on us, we¡¯ll be putting all of our concentration into this match!¡±


    ¡°Good! Seeing your depressed faces didn¡¯t seem like it!¡±


    ¡°Sis, you should hurry up and leave the stage, otherwise, the staff will come and chase you away. Do you know how many people are watching this match!? With you coming in and yelling at us like a harpy, who would dare to marry you after this?¡± Lin Dong joked.


    ¡°If I can¡¯t get married then I¡¯ll just pick one from the five of you!¡± Meiqi snorted, and having said her piece, she turned sharply and made her way down the stage, ignoring the stares from the five pairs of eyes.


    Luckily, they were not as vulnerable nor as easily affected as she had thought¡­


    Meiqi was pleased, Team Skycrown was refined and they were even stronger than Meiqi had imagined.


    Xu Pingyang was entirely too naive, thinking that using this kind of underhanded tricks would affect the performance of Team Skycrown?


    For the sake of today¡¯s match, how long they had practiced and how much work they had put into their practice, adding on last year¡¯s sacrifice that they had used as their baptism¡­


    She believed that even if Xu Pingyang managed to disband their team, it was just delaying the inevitable time for Team Skycrown to obtain the championship. After the contract expired in August, they would surely return to the professional league, and no one would be able to stop them!


    Only, would Meiqi even allow Team Skycrown to be disbanded?


    Half a month ago, Meiqi had tried all kinds of ways to look for favourable evidence for Team Skycrown, even going multiple times to her father¡¯s lawyer friend!


    Meiqi was well aware that they didn¡¯t have enough experience in life, and regarding this lawsuit and contracts, they wouldn¡¯t be able to clarify a lot of things regarding these matters. As the manager of the team, it was up to her to find a solution to it!


    All they needed to do was defeat their opponents in the competition, and she would definitely handle the rest of it for them!


    ***


    Just as she returned backstage, Meiqi received a phone call.


    ¡°The contract is in the ACE database, but the database is under the control of the head secretary, stored in a secured safe.¡± Jiang Feng reported to her.


    ¡°Then¡­look for the head secretary and get it!¡± Meiqi said excitedly.


    ¡°Secretary Liang is no longer the head secretary for ACE. The post will be handed over soon, and the control over these documents are no longer in his hands but the next head secretary.¡± Jian Feng explained.


    ¡°The next head secretary?¡± Meiqi repeated, her brows furrowed. She suddenly realized the problem, saying, ¡°Isn¡¯t the next head secretary Xu Pingyang!?¡±


    As long as Team Sky won the LPL championship, Pingyang was a shoe-in for the next head secretary of ACE. After all, the championship would belong to the club, and that club would naturally be the most influential club among all the others in the LOL field!


    ¡°That¡¯s right, if Xu Pingyang becomes the head secretary, the contract would be in his hands. If that¡¯s the case, we really won¡¯t have any chance to turn this fight around at all!¡± Jian Feng said.


    Meiqi was at a loss for a moment.


    Really, if you lost this game, you would lose everything. Knowing this, Meiqi hurriedly ran toward the stage again, intending to let them know.


    Right now, Team Skycrown was not only going for the name of being the strongest team in China nor the glory and disgrace of their enemies. Now, even their existence was tied to this match!


    ¡°Miss, you really can¡¯t go up there anymore. The match has already begun, your team will have penalties if you insist on violating the rules!¡± The staff stopped her, informing her of the consequences seriously.


    Meiqi was forced to stop, and she stood backstage, watching the five members of Team Skycrown from afar.


    Hopefully, hopefully they really weren¡¯t affected by the lawsuit at all. Hopefully they really would be able to put aside everything and concentrate their all into this, winning the last two games. They would get rid of this ghost that Xu Pingyang kept hanging over their heads, and they would also prove to everyone in the country that they had left the LPL last year in order to win the championship this year as their comeback!


    A year or more ago, who knew who Team Skycrown was.


    Everyone¡¯s mind only had Team Daemons and Team Sky, but soon, the next time a discussion went down, it wouldn¡¯t be Team Daemons or Team Sky any longer! It would be Team Skycrown, because they were the strongest team in China!


    Meiqi had absolute faith in them and she believed that they would surely achieve this!


    ***


    Taking a deep breath and facing the familiar atmosphere.


    The faces that held excited expressions as well as all eyes which sparkled like bright stars!


    This feeling, it was so comfortable.


    Luocheng was not an arrogant person, but anyone would have such a prideful feeling, to let everyone who was watching witness their unparalleled talent in this field!


    Enjoying the surprise on the spectators faces in this spectacular scene, enjoy the chants and cheers of their own IDs, enjoying the feeling that victory would bring to this body, as if electricity was coursing through his body!


    From nothing to four thousand spectators with their eyes glued to the screen, millions of spectators at home watching on their computer screen and mobile phones to follow their team¡¯s status in the competition¡­


    From being looked down on by second-tier teams to becoming a black-horse existence that breezed through the LPL.


    From being ruthlessly banned from competitions, leaving the competition venue with heavy hearts, to standing in the finals proudly, playing to a draw with Team Daemons and finally facing Team Sky!


    He was no longer just an outstanding ordinary player in a university campus, but a professional player who had bet his entire youth in the professional arena!


    He took another deep breath and all the images in his mind cleared off. He glanced at the person sitting in the opponent¡¯s seat in front of him.


    As though there was some connection in their hearts, the moment Luocheng raised his head to look at Zhao Tinghua, Tinghua had also raised his head, and their eyes met!


    In the past, when their eyes would meet, the entire arena would get into an uproar because that was a testament to their perfect cooperation in the game. Now, it meant a necessary confrontation!


    Luocheng understood too well regarding Tinghua¡¯s temper, and Tinghua was also too familiar with Luocheng¡¯s thoughts on sportsmanship in this field.


    Luocheng was also clearly aware that Tinghua had entered the peak of his entire career right now, and the latter was likely to be as invincible as he once was previously, but so what?


    Whoever stood in his path to e-sports, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t hesitate to step on them, no matter how deep his past feelings had once been!


    ***


    ¡°What position will you play, will it be the Support?¡± Zhao Tinghua muttered to himself.


    He wanted to know what role Luocheng would pick in this match to stir things up!


    Support!?


    From the beginning, Tinghua had believed that Luocheng would never limit himself to the position of a Support. His versatility and talent, having been his teammate once upon a time, Tinghua was very well aware of all of it.


    Top, Mid, Jungler, ADC, Support¡­ Tinghua would not be surprised at whatever role he chose to play. In fact, for him to pick a different position for each game wouldn¡¯t be impossible!


    This guy had already created many impossible things in the past, you couldn¡¯t measure him using the normal standards of professional players!


    For other professional players, it was possible only when they had been in the e-sports scene for a few years. Or maybe they were so outstanding that they were drafted into becoming professional players, but their experience was very little!


    According to Tinghua¡¯s understanding, Luocheng had already started playing Red Alert when he was only eight years old. He had started playing with sixteen, seventeen year olds in the earlier gaming platforms, and was within the rankings of players with 100% win-rates in China.


    Later on, he had gone into Counter Strike and Starcraft. At that time, Counter Strike didn¡¯t have any professional concept. StarCraft had been dominated by the Koreans who had smashed them, and this guy, at the age of ten, had played against professional Starcraft players¡­


    At that time, there were a total of ten players, and one of the two games that was won had been played by him.


    Because the game was played online, the players in the country as well as the Korean players had been unaware that the Fighting Hawk ID belonged to a ten year old kid who was playing in a dingy internet cafe!


    At the age of twelve, he had immersed himself into Warcraft 3 and Dota. Warcraft 3 was the predecessor of Dota, and there were a lot of players from the US side. And this guy here had been one of the first few who could single-handedly control 8 heroes with his APM charted at a crazy speed that exceeded 300!


    At the age of fourteen, he began officially playing Dota. At that time, CGA Platform had been the most popular. The better players were already very familiar with him, and at the age of fifteen, his standards were already no different than the professional players at that time.


    At the age of sixteen when he had officially joined the ranks of professional players, he was unstoppable. Like a wild card in the country, he swept and stepped over all the strong players, taking the world by a storm!


    At eighteen, he had received the award of World Champion of Gaming from the International E-Sports Federation.


    This guy was born for the sake of e-sports!


    How could those half-baked professional players and those self-righteous ordinary folks be his opponent!? They weren¡¯t even qualified to dream about it!


    Only he, Zhao Tinghua, was qualified to face him!

 Chapter 470 - Standing On The Opposite Side

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was fortunate and unfortunate at the same time, to be in the same team as someone who was so strong that you couldn¡¯t help but admire them!


    Tinghua was also equally talented at that time in e-sports, and he had little competition when he played Warcraft 3. After switching to Dota, his talents were even more prominent, displayed to its fullest. Accurate calculation and aggressive playstyle, that was how he had gained the strongest title as Blood Eagle in Dota.


    However, like a poster that changed headlines frequently, the glory and miracles that Tinghua could have built in e-sports was unfortunately overshadowed by Luocheng¡¯s dazzling talent which was just too bright!


    There were many times where Tinghua had thought to himself, if he was not on the same team, if he became his opponent instead, would he have been able to share the spotlight with Luocheng? Would the e-sports world put Blood Eagle and Fighting Hawk at the front together!


    At first, these were just fleeting thoughts in Tinghua¡¯s mind.


    But in a flash, this turned out to be an inevitable reality!


    Tinghua didn¡¯t feel sorry at all, instead, he was excited for such a golden opportunity!


    After playing professionally for so long, professional competitions were not something that was out of reach for novices anymore, but a level of confidence that was expected!


    And now, Tinghua¡¯s hands were shaking like a new player in a professional competition!


    Was it from the excitement of having a battle against someone they had been unable to settle the score with, or was it the fear of facing the strongest player who was born for the sake of e-sports? Or could it be the resentment that was left in him after Luocheng had retired?


    All of that didn¡¯t matter!


    Even when it concerned the Worlds, Tinghua had not hungered for victory as much as he did now against Luocheng. More importantly, Tinghua knew that Luocheng had a reason that he had to win. This meant that he would go all out, and it was possible that he would unleash that wild potential that he had kept hidden all along!


    This guy¡¯s wildest ambition was greater than anyone here, and only on the surface did he look to be calm!


    He was more arrogant than anyone else, and Tinghua didn¡¯t know where he had learnt to have such a deep, calm attitude.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t know that in the past year, Tinghua had actually been in China. The reason he chose not to play was simple. Luocheng was just like a lion who had woken up, and it was not worth taking a shot at him at that time. Only now when he had returned to his original state, when he had been forced into a corner, only then would he be worthy of Tinghua using all his strength to face him!


    ***


    Luocheng had never directly spoken to Tinghua because he was well aware of what he wanted to do.


    He wanted to be the enemy and so, he would be. Luocheng wouldn¡¯t regret anything, this just meant that he would carry the heavy burden with the team!


    He broke off his gaze and focused his attention on the screen.


    One mouse, one keyboard, one computer, and a monitor.


    The world in the monitor was like his second world, and he really existed inside it.


    Inadvertently, he was once again going into this battlefield. It was as though everything remained the same as it did in the past, but also very different from before.


    The competition was still a competition, but the enthusiasm from the people and the recognition was completely different.


    Probably, he was not born in the wrong era, but the transformation needed to go through a burning experience, like a phoenix rising through the ashes, before it could reach Nirvana!


    ***


    ¡°Our beloved audience, what you are watching now is the LOL Professional League brought to you by Tencent!¡±


    ¡°On your right, it¡¯s this year¡¯s dazzling team, Team Skycrown! After a year of hiatus, this team has brought consecutive shocking and groundbreaking games! I believe that their strength has deeply impacted all of our hearts. After their amazingly shocking results of tying with Team Daemons, they will now face our LPL winning-streak team, Team Sky!¡±


    ¡°This year, Team Sky has had a bloody nature, beating Team Daemons with a straight 2 to 0 which shocked everyone, becoming the highest scoring team in all of LPL history, being so far ahead!¡±


    ¡°Which of the two teams is stronger or weaker, and who will win the championship for this year¡¯s LPL? Let us wait and see!¡±


    The commentator¡¯s strong voice trailed off, and two pillars of fire sprayed up from the stage suddenly!


    The flames burned brightly, and this fire would soon be carried over into the Summoner¡¯s Rift by the player¡¯s champions. This fire would sweep through the rift, bringing never-ending bloodshed and renewed battles!


    Ban/Pick!


    After a heated prelude, the screen finally jumped to the banning phase!


    With more than one hundred champions, in the end, there would only be ten champions the summoners would pick!


    Five champions for each team from the pool of over hundred champions. Usually in normal games, the lineup would always be unpredictable and unruly. But with trial and error, there would always be more and more awareness in offense and defense, as well as a more balanced lineup!


    The choices in the lineup of professional players was a trend, and tens of millions of LOL players around the world would unconsciously follow suit.


    Team Skycrown had already undergone long research and practice, and although their plays were unprecedented and unique, the teams that imitated them found that their win-rate would shoot unimaginably high!


    But in actuality, Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup was just not suitable for the normal amatuer players. This was a point that Luocheng had specifically stated in his interview, saying that the result would be similar to a child imitating their parents.


    Players who had watched Team Skycrown in the competitions were now speculating and also anticipating.


    They were trying to guess what lineup Team Skycrown would use this time, and what sort of new twist would they bring along!


    ***


    First ban, Team Skycrown needed to aim it at Zhao Tinghua!


    Targeting a specific person didn¡¯t necessarily mean banning his champion.


    As a part of Tinghua¡¯s disruptive plays, it required the assistance and cooperation from his Mid. With the Mid and Jungler¡¯s intervention and ganks, pacing the game was a play that was frequently used by the better amatuer players.


    Tinghua¡¯s control over the jungle area was based on having a strong Mid because it wasn¡¯t as though he could beat the opponent Jungler all the time. If his opponent¡¯s Mid, Top, and bottom lane were quick to assist¡­


    The first ban was to ban Team Sky¡¯s Mid¡ªXie Yi¡¯s LeBlanc!


    Starting with Tinghua to initiate and followed up by Xie Yi¡¯s LeBlanc, this system of Team Sky would now be unsuccessful. Team Skycrown was incredibly smart to see that the key problem was not what champion Tinghua would have chosen, but who the follow-up champion Mid would choose¡­


    It was obvious that Xie Yi had worked very hard at mastering LeBlanc, all for the sake of synchronizing with Tinghua¡¯s way of killing in the jungle area and catching people!


    Banning LeBlanc was equivalent to limiting Tinghua¡¯s invasion strength, making it harder for him to do so.


    ***


    On Team Sky¡¯s side, their first ban was Anivia.


    In so many games of the LPL, Anivia was a champion that had not been picked at all, what more ban.


    However, Team Daemons and Team Sky had both wasted a valuable ban on this unpopular champion. This was a testament to how much pressure Luocheng had caused on the professional players with this champion!


    That¡¯s right, a changing-lanes reviving phoenix was a big threat. Team Sky would not be the same as Team Daemons who had seen such a disgusting play and use of this champion during the late-game¡­


    For the second ban, Team Sky banned Caitlyn.


    Team Skycrown was notoriously fond of swapping lanes, and with Caitlyn who could push out a Bloodthirster, she was born to fast-push a lane. Team Sky needed to slow down Team Skycrown¡¯s rhythm in the game!


    The third ban, Team Sky banned Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo!


    Team Skycrown had always used a fast-pace push, but they weren¡¯t afraid of the late-game, because by then, they would have a nearly invincible Mundo!


    ¡°These three bans, it¡¯s really showing how well they know us.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Luocheng nodded his head in agreement.


    No matter how arrogant or how conceited Team Sky was, they always maintained their studies and research on their opponents to understand them. Each of these bans was a stab to the core of Team Skycrown. Even if it was a fast push, there were not only these two champions that they could use in the late-game. Even so, from the bans on hand, they could already tell that Team Sky understood their playstyle!


    Pick, Team Skycrown would pick first!


    The first champion was their ADC¡ªThe Battle Mistress, Sivir.


    The first pick would usually not be the Mid champion because there were some criterias to this lane. First pick would normally be either the Support or one of the two strongest ADC¡¯s in the game!


    Sivir for ADC, at first glance, it would seem as if she had no repositioning skills, however, she was an extremely difficult champion to kill, and her ulti contribution to the team was simply unmatched by other ADCs.


    ¡°Normal lanes?¡± Lin Dong asked as he looked over to Luocheng.


    Luocheng was looking at the picks on their opponent¡¯s side, and he would only decide after seeing what champions were picked.


    Needless to say, one of their opponents picks would definitely be Top or Support.


    As long as two champions appeared, Luocheng would roughly be able to guess what champion Tinghua would pick!


    Nowadays, the first-tier Junglers would be Elise, Lee Sin, Kha¡¯Zix, Vi, and Pantheon among others. What champion Tinghua picked would ultimately be the deciding factor on whether they swapped lanes.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do the normal lanes, there¡¯s a 70% chance of him choosing Kha¡¯Zix,¡± Luocheng said, finally deciding!


    With Kha¡¯Zix in Tinghua¡¯s hands, it would be a harvest festival. It was even more terrifying than a Mid or Top, and you needed to invest a lot of time to track him down.


    However, even if you did see him, you wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him from leaping from corpse to corpse, like a grim reaper wielding his scythe to harvest his victims¡­


    If they maintained normal laning, that would just give Tinghua plenty of time to build up his Kha¡¯Zix.


    The better his build, the harder the teamfights would be for Team Skycrown during the late-game!


    ¡°How do you know that he will pick¡­¡± Wu Sen was about to voice his doubt when their opponent¡¯s third and fourth floor picks appeared.


    Wu Sen hadn¡¯t even finished his sentence yet and the third floor had locked in the champion Kha¡¯Zix with little to no hesitation!


    Kha¡¯Zix was a champion that could be chosen under a lot of circumstances, and the more control over the rift they had, the more terrifying it was for Kha¡¯Zix to jump in and clean up everything.


    Tinghua had that confidence, and he didn¡¯t care whether Team Skycrown had anything up their sleeves for the late-game!

 Chapter 471 - The Champion That Determines Victory With One Hook

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing Captain Yu will pick Teemo Support!!¡±


    ¡°Teemo your a*s, you think a pro-player like him has yet to reach level thirty like you?¡± A man seated beside the elementary school student said as he patted his head.


    With Luocheng¡¯s various different champions in the LPL matches, a wonderful trend of picking various unusual types of champions as Support had started up in the country which was simply unsightly.


    This was one of the reasons many people held some hatred in their bones toward Luocheng.


    Can you imagine, it was already hard to reach the final game in the promotional games, just one more game and you could reach Platinum already. Fifth floor had begged for the Support position and you had a good feeling about this game, but then suddenly, the fifth floor picked Anivia!


    Holding out some sliver of hope that the fifth floor was some big-shot, turned out that this phoenix was beaten to the ground into an ostrich instead, really, what a terrible game.


    In short, the world simply shouldn¡¯t go around trying to imitate a godlike player!


    Luocheng¡¯s champion pick had once again become the hot topic of discussion among everyone, some people were even saying that even if the captain of Team Skycrown were to simply play, he would still be able to turn the tides.


    This was plainly just exaggerating Luocheng¡­


    ***


    ¡°Boss, what tactic are we using this round?¡± Wu Sen glanced at Luocheng and asked.


    ¡°Moving castle.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Once he mentioned the moving castle strategy, everyone quickly understood. The champion that Wu Sen had picked was Lulu!


    Lulu was a champion that could be picked first as she didn¡¯t have any naturally outstanding restraining skills and CC. If you wanted to talk about restraining and CC skills, Morgana would be said to be one of the best ones to pick.


    The problem was, Morgana had already been banned in one of the first few bans during the banning phase.


    Morgana was a champion that Luocheng wouldn¡¯t release into the rift because she was a difficult champion to deal with, adding on Kha¡¯Zix who could easily jump into the middle of all of them and clean up once she had unleashed her ulti. Xie Yi was also overly familiar with this champion and he could easily coordinate with Tinghua¡­


    Since Morgana was out of the options, Lulu was a more golden existence as compared to an Orianna at the middle lane.


    After the second floor had picked Lulu, the next champion selected for Team Skycrown was Pantheon.


    As soon as Pantheon appeared in the lineup, Team Skycrown had successfully confused everyone yet again.


    A Jungler Pantheon had always existed, but by the end of last season, it was so rare to see it, and even less in professional leagues.


    This time, for Zhou Yan to give up on his Elise and choose a Jungler like Pantheon, there had to be another motive here!


    ¡°Maybe Lone Gull will be playing Pantheon at the top lane!? I¡¯ve always liked Pantheon, always killing the top lane when he¡¯s on the opposition, but dying like a dog when it¡¯s your own teammate, always making me lose.¡± A guy wearing a hat among the crowd commented.


    ¡°Idiot, Pantheon is not a champion that¡¯s suitable to be played in the top lane. That¡¯s because even if he¡¯s strong, it¡¯s only until before he hits Level 6. A player who knows how to use Pantheon will be able to pick up the pace during the mid-game, otherwise, Pantheon will be basically useless then, unable to keep up with those Top who can farm and scale better.¡±


    Pantheon was indeed suitable to be used in the top lane for ranked games, but not for professional matches. Hence, for Team Skycrown to pick Pantheon, it must be for Jungler!


    The lineup for Team Skycrown had basically been determined.


    Sivir for ADC, Panthen for Jungler, Lulu for Mid¡­


    Why hadn¡¯t anyone suspected that Lulu was a champion chosen for Support?


    Ah, what nonsense, who had ever seen Captain Yu use such a passive Support before? However, it couldn¡¯t be denied that Lulu was also a Support that could be used in many maneuvers.


    The last two picks would be the Top and Support.


    After the first three champions were chosen, the latter two basically had no other choice.


    Da Luo saw that the opponent had chosen Rengar, and he decided on Shyvana without hesitation.


    His choice didn¡¯t really surprise many, after all, Dr. Mundo had been banned and Rengar had been taken. The remaining choices would be Renekton, Trundle, or Shyvana. Overall, Shyvana had a better synchronization with Team Skycrown¡¯s purpose.


    The last to pick, was of course Luocheng.


    Normally, teams would place their Support on the first or second pick. This was because picking a Support like Taric or Leona didn¡¯t cause much of a restriction.


    Team Skycrown was not like that, however, and Luocheng¡¯s picks were forever a mystery.


    ¡°Ohh!!!¡±


    When the fifth pick lit up, the entire arena was sent into a frenzy!


    Previously when Tinghua had picked Kha¡¯Zix, the same kind of boiling atmosphere had appeared.


    ¡°What will our esteemed captain choose? I¡¯m sure it will definitely blind all of us once again!¡±


    Finally, the champion¡¯s avatar appeared!


    The deep yellow color of the face appeared, a metalic head!


    The Great Steam Golem¡ªBlitzcrank!


    In ranked games, Blitzcrank was definitely a mainstream Support. However, with more and more AP champions joining the ranks of Support, Blitzcrank was not very suitable for the professional leagues nowadays.


    Moreover, if this champion couldn¡¯t hook the target, he was just a little better than being a minion. His role in a disadvantageous situation was limited, because even if he could hook anyone, it wasn¡¯t for sure that they would be able to win against the opponent!


    Luocheng was not taking the mainstream path as usual, picking such an old-school champion in a professional match!


    Did he really want to win with one hook?


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this counts as a mainstream Support anymore, and I must admit that there were many other champions for Support that have flashed through my mind. Didn¡¯t expect our esteemed captain to actually let us see Blitzcrank today¡­¡±


    ¡°Blitzcrank is actually a very simple champion that uses his Q-skill to grab things. Only, what¡¯s the difference with using Blitzcrank in a pro game compared to a ranked game?¡±


    ***


    The opposite side¡¯s lineup had also been determined, and Luocheng¡¯s pick on Blitzcrank had left them unprepared.


    If it was anyone else using Blitzcrank, Team Sky would have snorted because they were experienced players who would definitely not get hooked by a Blitzcrank.


    But what if the player using Blitzcrank was someone who had gotten 100 kills on them before?


    ¡°They should be doing normal lanes.¡± Tinghua said.


    If the plan was to swap lanes and do the fast-push routine, the Support chosen would have to be Taric, Lulu, or Zyra. Champions who could bring down the health of the turrets, choosing a melee champion like Blitzcrank, it would definitely be normal laning.


    Jupiter and Guan Langjie nodded their heads. If it was normal laning, they wouldn¡¯t need to be so concerned about Blitzcrank. Their Support was a Leona after all, let¡¯s see how you can hook this!


    ¡°Alright, in just a little while, we¡¯ll be able to see the rift on screen!¡±


    The four thousand audience members became silent after a while.


    From a seat on the second floor, a man stood at the railings, the multicolor lights reflecting off his balding head as he watched the big screen.


    ¡°Hmph, what stubbornness. You really think our team will lose to you?¡± Xu Pingyang smirked.


    Pingyang had made Team Sky, and he was clearly aware that Team Sky was the strongest.


    For last year¡¯s disgrace, Pingyang would pay it back double. He didn¡¯t want just victory for his club, but he also wanted to completely shatter this team, to let them know that opposing Xu Pingyang was basically looking for death.


    As long as Team Sky won one match, they would be the champion for this year. Taking the head secretary position in ACE was equivalent to managing all the professional players and teams. Wouldn¡¯t the money just keep rolling in in the future?


    Thinking about how the entire gaming and e-sports industry would soon be in his grasp, Pingyang couldn¡¯t help but hum a tune.


    Xu Pingyang was not worried about the tense atmosphere for the competition, because no matter what the outcome was, everything would be according to his plans¡­


    ***


    As the game was displayed on the screen, the camera angle was pointed at Team Skycrown¡¯s side. More interesting was that Luocheng was given a big special display of himself on the big screen.


    He was using the Boom Boom Blitzcrank skin, the silver robot wearing a pair of deep red boxing gloves that made him look extra powerful!


    Buying their items, they left the base.


    It seemed that Luocheng¡¯s playstyle had never been the same as everyone else. The first skill he added was not the usual Q-skill, but his W-skill¡ªOverdrive!


    With Overdrive activated, Blitzcrank ran faster than most of any other champions, and this guy took the lead, running straight into the opponent¡¯s jungle area¡­


    Placing a 180-second ward, Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank then quickly returned to his position across the river.


    This kind of warding was actually a bet on time.


    Betting that the opponent would be slightly slower, allowing them to place a ward before they reached their positions so that they could have a read on their opponent¡¯s movements.


    Most of the professional players nowadays would stand in a more scattered position, and so, placing a ward at the entrance of the jungle area would allow you to see one champion¡¯s position.


    ¡°Team Sky has obviously not noticed the small action that our esteemed captain has done.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but under normal circumstances, who would expect a Blitzcrank to use Overdrive and fly there to place a ward. This should be last season¡¯s tactics.¡±


    ¡°No, there wasn¡¯t any Blitzcrank that added its W-skill first in the last season. If this was a normal amatuer game, I¡¯m sure their teammates would have asked to surrender at 20 already.¡±


    You still dared to ask, when you saw a Blitzcrank that didn¡¯t up its Q-skill first, how would you feel?


    However, adding a Q-skill for Blitzcrank at Level 1, was it really useful? At least, in professional games, the players would be standing scattered around at the beginning and there wouldn¡¯t be much chances for a hook to land.


    The two commentators were quite absorbed in this small action taken by Blitzcrank because the captain of Team Skycrown was known to play this game very differently as compared to others. This led to everyone looking at the game in countless different angles, and he had proven time and time again that these simple actions that he took were extremely effective and purposeful, because this ward had coincidentally caught the movement of Team Sky¡¯s Mid and ADC.


    ¡°They guessed that we were going to the lanes like normal.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Yeah, I picked Blitzcrank, so they deduced that the probability of swapping lanes was extremely unlikely.¡± Luocheng smiled lightly.


    As soon as the game had started, Luocheng had already been calculating his moves.


    That¡¯s right, Team Sky really was as stupid as Luocheng had anticipated!

 Chapter 472 - Grub To Get Stronger!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Skycrown had yet to make an appearance on the map, and with their opponent¡¯s lineup, it was impossible that they would invade their jungle area. Getting hooked by Blitzcrank would basically mean they would be a fat meal for their opponents, there was no way Team Sky had the guts to do it!


    Waiting quietly for the announcement of ¡®minions have spawned¡¯, Luocheng and Lin Dong recalled to their base and followed the newly spawned minions, marching into the top lane.


    Excuse me, our Team Skycrown¡¯s top lane is the duo lane.


    As for Da Luo who was solo-ing at the bottom lane, he was already used to 1 vs 2 situations.


    Maybe one day, he would be back at the top lane and 1 vs 1-ing, but even then, he would probably curse and be unused to it, roaring for the enemies¡¯ f*cking Jungler to come at him!


    ***


    ¡°D*mn it, they swapped lanes again, seriously!¡± Guan Langjie cursed from his position at the bottom lane, feeling utterly annoyed.


    Jupiter¡¯s face was equally black.


    He wasn¡¯t like Da Luo who always played under pressure, and more importantly, the Support on the other side was a Blitzcrank.


    If you were just a little bit careless with your positioning, you could be hooked from under the turret. Even though it wasn¡¯t certain that you would be killed immediately, it still wouldn¡¯t feel good to be beaten up at all.


    For the first and second wave of minions, Lin Dong and Luocheng had chosen to freeze the lane. Waiting for the cannon minion in the third wave, the two of them then forced the lane forward, pushing them toward the turret. At this time, there were a few tens of minions together with a cannon minion that would soon reach the turret.


    ¡°Captain, come and back me up!¡± Vulcan said as he saw the big wave of minions coming closer, and he was slightly panicked.


    The opponent Jungler was a Pantheon, and if all was within their assumption, Pantheon would already be rounding from the back. Taking advantage of the big wave and using his Aegis of Zeonia, turret-diving at three minutes would be as easy as killing creeps in the jungle.


    Tinghua who was at Level 3 was already nearby.


    He had guessed that Pantheon would definitely be in that bush, so he took the path behind to make a roundabout to his turret. In this situation, the priority was ensuring the safety of the Top, otherwise, they would lose the turret and probably even a kill.


    Only, after glancing at Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank, Tinghua had some doubt.


    ¡°Back it, let them have the turret.¡± Tinghua commanded.


    ¡°Why?¡± Vulcan was confused. The captain¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix had joined him and was taking experience in the lane, defending the turret. This was a situation that was ideal and calculated, why did they need to give up the turret?


    Tinghua didn¡¯t bother explaining too much, going back into the jungle to farm.


    Vulcan finally had no choice but to withdraw from the turret he was defending, only being able to watch with a pained face as the turret killed the little minions whilst he dared not to go nearer to take any experience.


    Such pain, Vulcan had only just reached Level 2. For other players who didn¡¯t understand this, being at Level 1 when you were near to four minutes was really a bad situation that would make people want to throw in the towel.


    ¡°Luckily for them, Tinghua still has some brains.¡± Lin Dong said as he watched Mars¡¯ Rengar retreat, his tone chillingly cold.


    Choosing to abandon the turret and not defend it was the right call by Tinghua, because even if both of them had been under the turret, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape the doom of being killed!


    Take a look at Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup.


    A super-stable CC Jungler Pantheon!


    Pantheon¡¯s set of skills at Level 3 could easily take down someone¡¯s health by half, and in this case where the three of them had the place surrounded, Pantheon would definitely not miss any of his skills!


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Pantheon would walk directly up, using a Spear Shot to land one hit and taunt the aggro of the turret on him, letting the turret focus on him. Using his passive to block the turret attack and immediately following up with his W-skill, Aegis of Zeonia, he would then stun either Rengar or Kha¡¯Zix, subsequently using his E-skill, Heartseeker Strike.


    The W-skill would refresh his shield immediately and Pantheon would then be able to block one more turret hit.


    Once all his skills were cast, he could then retreat with just two hits from the turret.


    At this time, Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank would be able to launch his Q-skill, Rocket Grab, hooking the stunned opponent from under the turret and throwing an Ignite and a few basic attacks. Sivir would poke a little, and if all went well, they would have easily secured a kill.


    As for the other person under the turret¡­


    It was best to just ignore him. If the attack was aimed at Kha¡¯Zix, a Level 2 Rengar couldn¡¯t even compare to a minion, and he would only be able to watch as his teammate was killed!


    Team Skycrown had actually used this routine a lot of times on the Taiwan side.


    This was a double layered trap.


    The first trap was that all three of them would dive the turret and force the kill, the person defending the turret would die, and the turret would be theirs to take.


    The second trap was that even if your Jungler came, there would be no effect. They would still secure a kill and for Pantheon to freely dive in and take both kills would also be extremely safe. Even if a Flash came into play in the unfortunate event, the one who dared to use the Flash to come in for the kill would also be just serving his head on a silver platter, because the Support was a Blitzcrank and he had added W as his first skill.


    ***


    Not even four minutes in and the top lane outer turret was taken down.


    This tactic of Team Skycrown¡¯s was really disgusting.


    They had seen people raise pigs for slaughter in the jungle area, but they had never seen someone use another person¡¯s turret for that purpose. Everytime, before it had even reached the four-minute mark, they would take down the top lane¡¯s first turret. They were really living up the name of turret-killers.


    As expected, taking the top lane turret was the rhythm they used to switch back to their normal lane.


    It was wise of Vulcan to retreat, unlike those other teams in the LPL who had stayed. If he hadn¡¯t, by the time he respawned and reached the lane again, he would have to face an almost Level 4 Da Luo.


    Da Luo¡¯s playstyle had always been more aggressive, constantly staying ahead by at least one level. Even if he was a level below you, he would still dare to engage against you.


    So, young man, let it go, don¡¯t go dragging yourself through mud just because it was a professional league game¡­


    After returning to their normal lanes, Team Skycrown¡¯s turret was still standing with about one fifth of its health remaining.


    At this time, you could really see the difference between a good and a bad Jungler.


    Tinghua was really clever, he had decisively let go of the top lane turret, knowing that Team Skycrown would use this time to return to their normal lanes. With that, he had already anticipated and prepared to counter-gank at the bottom lane, and at the same time, defend the Dragon from behind the bottom lane turret.


    Team Skycrown was on the blue side and there was a bush behind the turret. He had been hiding in it since before Team Skycrown had made an appearance back at the bottom lane.


    A wave of minions entered the range of the turret, and Ezreal and Leona were forcefully hitting the turret. The moment the turret went down, Tinghua made an appearance!


    This flank was out of Luocheng and Lin Dong¡¯s expectations.


    ¡°Lin Dong, back it.¡± Luocheng said to Lin Dong, making a decision.


    Flanking them this way, somebody definitely had to die. Luocheng naturally wouldn¡¯t let Lin Dong¡¯s development get pulled down, so he deliberately slowed his pace by half a beat, forcefully pulling Tinghua¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix to hold him back, not letting him catch up to Lin Dong.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t have his Flash, and even if he did, he would still die in this situation, thus, it would be better to keep it for a more meaningful future use!


    ***


    First Blood!


    Kha¡¯Zix raised his raptoriales high in the air, bringing it down in an arc onto Blitzcrank¡¯s body, swiping clean through him.


    A huge long gash appeared on the gleaming body of the robot, the sparks of short circuit wires bursting out as the robot turned into a pile of useless scrap iron.


    A smile spread over Tinghua¡¯s face, like a praying mantis raising its claws to lick the blood off it!


    ¡°Team PIPO from Europe also liked to play the swapping lane tactic, don¡¯t think that using such a tactic in the LPL can disrupt our professional path in the country!¡± Tinghua rounded Luocheng¡¯s corpse of Blitzcrank, the meaning behind was not covered up at all in that gesture.


    ¡°Oh, five minutes into the game and the first blood has happened! And it is Blood Eagle who has taken Fighting Hawk¡¯s head, can you smell the scent of the rivalry in the air!?¡± Miracle exclaimed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know, Fighting Hawk and Blood Eagle were originally teammates, they were world-renowned. And now that they have appeared on opposing sides, there will definitely be emotional factors mixed in there.¡± Qi Qiao said.


    Old grudges indeed. To say that Tinghua wasn¡¯t aiming for Luocheng was unlikely. From the time he had hidden in the bottom lane, it was obvious for all to see!


    ***


    Tinghua¡¯s move this time was extremely successful, not only taking a turret, but also taking the Dragon at the same time.


    Suddenly, Team Sky had the lead in gold!


    It seemed that other than Team Daemons who had gained a snowball advantage at Level 1, no other team had managed to get the upper hand on Team Skycrown in the early stages.


    There was no denying that Tinghua¡¯s ability to disrupt other¡¯s routines and rhythm was really strong.


    This game had felt like a grudge from the very beginning.


    No matter whether it was the top lane, mid lane or bottom lane, all of them were overly aggressive!


    The top lane had just broken out and both the Top¡¯s were killed with an exchange of Ignite, and meanwhile, both the Mid¡¯s had engaged and were now playing chase in the river!


    Xie Yi was slightly stronger in terms of ability compared to Wu Sen, and with the blue buff on Xie Yi¡¯s Gragas chasing Wu Sen downward to the bottom lane, Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu ran and accelerated her movement speed, kiting as she continued to run.


    In a chase like this, it was not necessary that the one being chased would die, but rather, it depended on whose teammates reached them to assist first!


    As the fastest assistance-giving Support, having the bonus movement speed from Overdrive made it entirely possible for Luocheng to reach the scene in 7 seconds!


    Xie Yi kept up the chase until the Dragon pit, but then, he suddenly found a silver Blitzcrank Flashing directly in front of Lulu from the unseen area!


    Blitzcrank¡¯s hook flew beautifully, and although Xie Yi had already anticipated the assistance from the bottom lane¡¯s Blitzcrank, he hadn¡¯t expected him to Flash up suddenly to hook him!


    Do you know that the larger the size of the champions in League of Legends, the more harmful it was than good? Because to avoid things like Blitzcrank¡¯s Q-skill and Ashe¡¯s ulti was incredibly hard.


    Gragas was fatter, and even if he dodged at the right angles, his fats would still be caught!


    When the Q-skill arrived, you would die for sure.


    Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu just needed to polymorph, followed by a Q-skill and some basic attacks. There was no need to even cast an Ignite, Xie Yi¡¯s life would be easily forfeited.


    ¡°Careful, Tinghua is nearby¡­¡±


    Luocheng had just opened his mouth to remind Wu Sen, but before he could finish, the purple Kha¡¯Zix jumped out from the side bush!


    The long sickles swiped across Wu Sen¡¯s head, and it felt as though Lulu was beheaded right there and then. Wu Sen didn¡¯t even have any time to react at all, and he was killed instantly by Tinghua¡­


    Luocheng, who had already thrown all his skills out, could do nothing.


    What was even more outrageous was the fact that the kill boosted Tinghua to Level 6, and he didn¡¯t choose to retreat, instead choosing to upgrade his skill right in front of Luocheng!


    When Kha¡¯Zix upgraded his skill, there would be an obvious pause of at least 1 second, with him striking a pose as well.


    Of all the places Tinghua could have chosen to up his ulti, he had to do it in front of Luocheng!


    This kind of sarcasm and provocation¡­


    It was as if he was telling Luocheng, your teammate¡¯s life was only good as a grub to make him stronger!

 Chapter 473 - A Moving Castle (Part 1)

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng ignored Tinghua¡¯s taunt. He was not the type that would lose his head after being mocked.


    After all, it went without saying. Would you be so reckless in using Blitzcrank to fight against the opponent¡¯s Jungler Kha¡¯Zix? Luocheng would have most definitely returned the favor if he was using Lee Sin.


    The number of kills between the two teams remained close. More so, Team Sky was one Dragon ahead of Team Skycrown. Such a small advantage might not be a deciding factor this early, but as the game progressed, Zhou Yan and Wu Sen began to feel the mounting pressure as a result of Tinghua¡¯s exceptional control over the entire jungle area.


    He had been wandering freely around Team Skycrown¡¯s side of the jungle in the past minute or so. Not only did he steal their income, but he had also gained a headcount over Zhou Yan. After he was killed, Zhou Yan lost the blue buff and the situation had turned dismally bleak for him.


    ¡°What a classy performance from Blood Eagle. His prowess as a Jungler did not diminish any bit from facing such a ferocious team like Team Skycrown. To be honest, I somehow think that he is even more ruthless today!¡±


    There were two types of successful Junglers. The first were those who constantly invaded the opponent¡¯s jungle and straight-up destroyed the opponent¡¯s position. Ganking from behind after invading the opponent¡¯s jungle was also a very proficient strategy for champions like Kha¡¯Zix, Elise, and Lee Sin, who came with high mobility.


    The second type were the ones that constantly set up counter-ambushes. This style was more conservative as the Jungler would always hide in the bush behind his teammates after sweeping the camps. He/she would either initiate if the opponent was alone or round to the back if there were two incoming champions.


    In a 2 vs 2 situation, the countering side usually had the upper hand as the initiators would have usually used up all their CC or mobility skills. They were basically doomed if the counter-attackers were able to stall them.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s playstyle tilted slightly toward the latter. His frequent counter-ambushes often brought unexpected gain to his team.


    However, when his opponent was the first type of Jungler with unmatchable skills like Tinghua, the effectiveness of his counter-ambush would be greatly neutralized because his whereabouts were always within Tinghua¡¯s radar.


    Tinghua was now two kills ahead of Zhou Yan, and the latter would be no match for Tinghua in a solo fight at this point of time.


    ***


    ¡°It¡¯s odd. Captain Yu is nothing like his usual self.¡± The regulars from the Demacia caf¨¦ who knew Luocheng¡¯s playstyle well sensed the irregularity.


    Following the destruction of the top lane¡¯s turret, Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank rarely displayed his signature Rocket Grab after that.


    Come to think of it, he had actually only used his Q-skill once up to this point. When the audience had seen him pick this champion, they had imagined all sorts of god-like grabs from under the turret, maybe catching the mid player out of nowhere, or even singling out the ADC from a packed crowd.


    But in reality, he was currently playing more like a melee minion. He stayed close to Lin Dong¡¯s Sivir and nurtured the ADC obediently like a pre-programmed bot.


    It was just unconventional for him to play so typically! Judging by Luocheng¡¯s cunning nature as a Support, it was really unusual to see him behave this quietly alongside the ADC for such an extended period. Blitzcrank¡¯s speed after being equipped with boots was as quick as activating Ghost. With such a speed boost to back up his team, why had he chosen to lay low instead?


    Without Luocheng¡¯s gank, the match leaned heavily toward the intense competitions that occured between the Mid players as well as the Junglers. As a result, the difference in kills began to pile up in Team Sky¡¯s favor.


    The second Dragon was going to spawn soon, and Tinghua was particularly sensitive about the timing of each wild creep. On the other hand, Team Skycrown had lost their bottom lane¡¯s outer turret. It would be difficult for them to compete for this subsequent Dragon.


    ***


    Da Luo¡¯s Shyvana could be seen rushing toward the Dragon camp from the top lane.


    At the same time, Team Sky¡¯s Rengar, who was controlled by Vulcan, had also vanished from the map.


    It was around the 11-minute mark and quite apparently, both teams had been prepared to clash near the Dragon¡¯s pit.


    ¡°Team Skycrown seems to have arrived a little too late. Team Sky has already begun the attack on the Dragon. Zhao Tinghua¡¯s damage is so high now and the Dragon¡¯s health has dropped rapidly under the attack of four of Team Sky¡¯s members. It¡¯s going to fall really quick!¡±


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Pantheon was idling nearby. However, he did not use his ulti to kill-steal the Dragon, instead, he just waited patiently.


    Team Sky left the pit once they had finished off the Dragon.


    It was always risky to stick around after securing the Dragon. Team Sky had chosen to play it safe and was happy enough to have slaughtered the monster ahead of Team Skycrown.


    Just as Team Sky was withdrawing, Zhou Yan suddenly turned his sights onto the retreating Lucian and Leona near the bottom lane!


    ¡°Jupiter and Guan Langjie!¡± Luocheng ordered promptly.


    Lin Dong pressed his R button as soon as he heard Luocheng¡¯s command.


    It was hunting time!


    Sivir¡¯s high popularity in this patch was not because of her powerful skills, high damage, or magical shield. Rather, it was due to her Ultimate that could provide the entire team a speed boost of 60%!


    The speed of Blitzcrank in Overdrive mode after getting Boots of Mobility was unimaginably quick, and coupling that with a 60% increase in base-speed¡­


    Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank was practically flying. Even though he was still 1000 units away from the opponent¡¯s ADC and Support, he would catch up to them in no time.


    ¡°That¡¯s insanely quick! Blitzcrank is speeding in as if he was gliding through the air!¡±


    Luocheng¡¯s champion reached the front of Lucian and Leona from as far out as the Dragon¡¯s cliff in the blink of an eye.


    At the same time, Lucian and Leona had only managed about half the distance of a Flash radius, while Blitzcrank had already traveled for about 2000 units of in-game distance!


    Who needed the Q-skill? Luocheng walked directly into Langjie¡¯s path, quickly knocking Lucian up with a beautiful uppercut.


    Seeing that the ADC was in danger, Leona panicked and immediately cast her Ultimate on Luocheng.


    Did it stop the assault? Of course, it didn¡¯t!


    Other than Blitzcrank, the other members of Team Skycrown were also enjoying the speed buff granted by Sivir¡¯s ulti.


    The one who followed closely behind Luocheng was none other than Zhou Yan¡¯s Pantheon! He stunned Lucian with his W-skill, Shield Vault. To completely lock down Langjie, Lulu used her ulti on Pantheon from behind and the enlargement elegantly knocked Lucian up yet again.


    Leona was out of tricks and Jupiter could only watch helplessly as his team¡¯s ADC was swiftly killed by the entire Team Skycrown troop. He had no choice but to Flash away to save himself now.


    Almost instantly, Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank whirled around with no warning. ¡°Quake in fear, fleshling!¡±


    He had yet to use his Rocket Grab. Luocheng had been waiting for this exact moment to drag the fleeing enemy back!


    Jupiter¡¯s last-ditch escape plan had been foreseen by Luocheng, and Blitzcrank¡¯s right hand was projected precisely to where Leona had landed.


    In the end, Jupiter¡¯s Leona was also killed right after Lucian had fallen.


    Team Skycrown had wordlessly passed the kills to their ADC and AP, and upon claiming the two heads, they rode the minion wave and conveniently took down Team Sky¡¯s outer turret at the bottom lane.


    The game had gone slightly past 12 minutes now, and Wu Sen had finally gotten his first blue buff of the game.


    This ambush by Team Skycrown had caught Team Sky out. In their defense, they had made the right decision to back off as soon as they had taken down the Dragon. However, due to the fact that they had retreated disjointedly, Team Sky had painfully lost two players, an outer turret, and the blue buff.


    ***


    ¡°I think Team Skycrown is bringing us yet another surprise,¡± Zhang Aijing finally spoke up after a long deliberation.


    The front rows were mostly occupied by professional players. Almost every LPL player had attended this match.


    Everyone knew that Aijing was a renowned analyst, and the players kept quiet and listened closely when she spoke.


    ¡°How so?¡± Wind from Team Stardust asked.


    ¡°In the next wave, I believe that Team Skycrown is going to target the mid-lane turret. A lot of Team Skycrown¡¯s strategies relies on getting rid of the mid outer turret. They will surely do the same in this match, mark my words.¡±


    Aijing didn¡¯t want to reveal any more than that. After all, nothing was more impactful than seeing the strategy play out with your own eyes.


    ***


    The victorious teamfight drew Team Skycrown level with Team Sky in terms of gold, and they returned to their respective lanes to continue farming.


    This did not mean that they were being conservative. This was just a good habit of theirs in professional matches, which was to push the lane up first before creating another teamfight. If they had an advantage over the creep line, losing a teamfight meant that they were just losing one or two guys. However, if they forced a fight while the lane condition was unfavorable, the domino effect would be huge as they would lose their turrets and income subsequently.


    After pushing the creep lines back, Team Skycrown¡¯s players simultaneously disappeared from the two side lanes. Meanwhile, Xie Yi¡¯s Gragas was busy clearing the minion wave in the middle lane.


    Suddenly, a giant halo appeared behind Gragas! The huge circle mark signaled that something horrible was going to land there very soon!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got your back,¡± Tinghua was apparently prepared for this and had waited quietly in the fog. He was waiting for the moment when Pantheon would land.


    Xie Yi nodded and placed his fingers on the skill buttons.


    However, before Pantheon landed, Xie Yi realized a more imminent danger¡ªa large troop had suddenly dashed out from his blind spot.


    There were four champions with a large group of melee minions!


    They came forth like a bullet train,simply running toward Xie Yi without using any relocating skills!


    Xie Yi was flabbergasted.


    ¡®What crazy speed! They are too fast!¡¯


    Too fast indeed. When Xie Yi finally reacted by throwing Gragas¡¯s ulti to knockback the enemies¡¯ formation, he realized the Explosive Cask had missed the frontline and had actually pushed Blitzcrank and Shyvana further toward him!


    Just like before, Blitzcrank ran up to Gragas and knocked him up with his E-skill. Then, he still had all the time in the world to turn back and use his Q-skill to pull Xie Yi away from his teammate.


    Xie Yi immediately gave up on resisting and looked at Tinghua sullenly.


    The Blood Eagle was equally bewildered.


    How were you going to counter-ambush when your enemy came in a whole group?


    It was common to see the Support help the Jungler gank the middle lane or the Jungler and Mid coordinate to gank the side-lanes during the mid-game. But a gank that involved the whole team at this timing was rare or probably unheard of. This was more like a stampede over the enemy rather than a gank!

 Chapter 474 - A Moving Castle (Part 2)

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The other members of Team Sky couldn¡¯t react in time, and without surprise, the turret at the middle lane was demolished by Team Skycrown with ease.


    The five hungry beasts of Team Skycrown dispersed instantly as soon as the tower had fallen. The Jungler went back to hunting his monsters while the others went back to their respective lanes or fountain to purchase items. That brutal manslaughter that happened a moment ago almost seemed like a distant memory.


    On the giant screen, the Summoner¡¯s Rift had become eerily peaceful.


    However, the impact created by Team Skycrown¡¯s swift operation had greatly astounded the 4000 audience on the scene. Everything had happened too fast until the audience was unable to react in time with cheers or applause.


    ¡°That was traumatic, the way they gushed in like a giant wave. Nobody could have stopped that!¡± Coach Huang Kang of Team Daemons lamented.


    Now, the players finally understand what Aijing meant by her words a moment ago.


    A pleasant surprise indeed. Boosted by Sivir¡¯s ulti and Lulu¡¯s speed buff, in addition to the already lightning-quick Blitzcrank, there was no need for him to use his Q-skill in such a situation. Luocheng could go straight up to the enemy¡¯s face and execute his E-skill without missing, then only move back to drag the enemy along.


    More importantly, they had a key champion in their lineup¡ªPantheon.


    Pantheon¡¯s Ultimate could effectively cut off the enemy¡¯s escape route. The enemy would have no way to run even if he/she still had a Flash available.


    The LPL players present today were those that had stood out from the millions of players in this country and they owned years of experience in this game.


    However, even they, on the grounds of a professional player, couldn¡¯t help but wonder why they had not thought of such a strategy before.


    META was the most difficult thing to strategize in each patch. LOL only had a few signature playbooks up to date, for example, the 4-1 split-push, global teleport, poking, farming and pushing, or speed-pushing.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s core strategy was derived from these well-known strategies. However, it felt even more powerful when it was being executed by them.


    Furthermore, their playstyle was not one to be easily imitated. Without prolonged practice and proper communication between teammates, the copycat would only be making fun of themselves.


    ***


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Pantheon no longer roamed the map. Instead, he was now leading the creep wave at the top lane. This was Team Skycrown¡¯s philosophy¡ªPush, teamfight, and then go back to pushing.


    Meanwhile, the other four members of Team Skycrown were holding the middle lane against Team Sky. Out of the blue, they were now adopting the famous 4-1 split-push.


    Pantheon¡¯s large-radius Ultimate meant that he could easily come to the middle lane to give aid. Besides, he had forced a Team Sky member to stay in the top lane with him, and without the number advantage, Team Sky dared not carelessly initiate a teamfight. It was unwise when the enemy team had a Lulu that was good at kiting.


    ¡°After pushing through, I think Team Skycrown is going to repeat the same trick again, which is to cut off the opponent¡¯s creep line and secure the inner turret before Team Sky can come back to defend,¡± Aijing predicted with her sharp instincts as a professional analyst.


    This was a classic play used frequently by Team Skycrown in this year¡¯s LPL.


    First, one member was assigned to force the creeps back at both side-lanes. Then, they would lure the enemy to the middle lane and stall them there. As soon as the creeps at the side-lanes had gone in deep enough, they would quickly cut across the jungle while leaving the top-solo champion at the intersection to barricade the opponents. Team Skycrown would have long brought down the tower when the opponents arrived. Having a fight there without the turret would then be no different than clashing in the jungle, which was a fight Team Skycrown were willing to take on anytime.


    ¡°Sh*t! Team Skycrown has a bagful of tricks. It¡¯s truly annoying to play against them!¡± Hao Yue from Team Revelation said in annoyance.


    Now, Pantheon was pushing the top lane and Rengar was there to defend. It was hardly surprising that Team Skycrown would soon rush to the top after finishing this creep wave.


    Sure enough, as anticipated, Team Skycrown made their move, and all members changed course almost simultaneously without much delay.


    ¡°Gosh! If only our team could also execute such plays so cleanly!¡± Earth exclaimed.


    Only a true professional could understand the excellence of another professional team. Team Skycrown played as though they were under the control of a single player. Not many LPL teams could play this efficiently.


    Team Sky reacted quicker this time having predicted Team Skycrown¡¯s intention, and they rushed to the top lane as well after clearing the minion wave. Theoretically, their path to the top lane was shorter so they should be there in time as long as they did not stop to claim any monsters halfway.


    Upon entering the jungle, Team Sky saw Da Luo¡¯s Shyvana heading to the top lane as they had expected.


    Langjie laughed seeing the image of Shyvana. ¡®Wish to block us, eh? It looks like your crawling speed is too slow to catch up this time!¡¯


    It was easy to defend against Team Skycrown once their next move was known. Team Sky would pass the intersection first before Da Luo even reached there.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, jump now!¡±


    Luocheng glanced at the fog and ordered Zhou Yan decisively.


    Zhou Yan, without another word, instantly cast his ulti over the jungle zone.


    A force accumulated under Pantheon¡¯s feet and dented the ground underneath. The Unbreakable Spear launched into the air and projected a giant mark above Team Sky who was on their way to defend their tower.


    At the same time, Lin Dong also activated his champion¡¯s ulti.


    On the Hunt! The entire team was given a 60% increase in base-speed.


    Boom!


    Their speed was going off the charts! Team Skycrown had once again turned into a moving castle, crashing straight into the jungle where Team Sky was at.


    Among the troops, one champion dashed forward with sparks crackling around his fists.


    A base-speed induction of 60% followed by a 40% increase in movement speed. The stacks of the speed buffs straight out turned Blitzcrank into a flying machine, not to mention the aid of his Boots of Mobility and W-skill, Overdrive!


    That was still not the end of it. After all, one must not forget about Lulu¡¯s speed boost!


    The boost was given by Wu Sen to Luocheng after the latter had activated all his skills. He was already moving about 1000 units per second in that state, and now, coupled with Lulu¡¯s skill, it pushed that speed even further by another 30%!


    As a result, all the audience practically saw was a grey figure flashing from the left corner of the screen to the right corner within seconds. Pantheon had not even landed by then!


    Such speed was comparable to or even beyond Homeguard. The entire team that followed behind Blitzcrank was also charging in imposingly at a great speed, sending a shiver down their opponents¡¯ spine!


    ***


    The crowd was stunned.


    Team Sky was faring no better. Jupiter clumsily threw a skill near the intersection but tragically, Blitzcrank ran past his Leona¡¯s Solar Flare just as she raised her arm.


    That was too much!


    Luocheng¡¯s Blitzcrank was unstoppable! Gragas rolled out his ulti intending to separate Blitzcrank from the rest of the troop, but¡­


    Blitzcrank halted intelligently in the nick of time to evade the cask!


    Xie Yi was not to be blamed. The Explosive Cask was a projectile skill that was difficult to bulls-eye the enemy to begin with. What¡¯s more, he was now trying to throw the cask at a champion who was running faster than having the Homeguard buff!


    ***


    ¡°My god! Using Flash and a skill to dodge an ulti is lame-sh*t as compared to this!¡± The professional players¡¯ zone in the auditorium erupted!


    When was the last time you saw someone avoid incoming skills by simply moving around? None at all!


    Luocheng had used his sick maneuvers to evade two successive Ultimates!


    After the enemy surrendered the two ultis for nothing, Team Skycrown¡¯s moving castle became even more impenetrable, and in this situation, Team Sky¡¯s members were akin to four hapless chicks waiting to be grabbed by Luocheng.


    Luocheng scanned but couldn¡¯t locate his number one target¡ªZhao Tinghua.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped. He was moving too fast and did not have time to plant a ward. He had used his body to open up the vision, and through this, he had ensured that his teammates could catch up to him safely.


    It didn¡¯t matter if Team Sky scattered and fled, because with Pantheon¡¯s ulti, someone was going to be caught eventually.


    ¡°Target Lucian!¡± After a brief consideration, Luocheng decided to kill their ADC.


    Now, nobody in Team Skycrown cared whether Lucian had his Flash or not.


    Luocheng went right past Leona. That¡¯s correct. Right. Past. Her.


    Jupiter had tried everything to slow Blitzcrank down, but in the end, all of his skills missed the target entirely. He watched grimly as Langjie was knocked up by Pantheon and Blitzcrank in quick succession, subsequently being forcefully dragged back by a robotic arm like a lifeless toy.


    Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu also strolled past Leona as if she was merely thin air. A Q-skill cast by the Sorceress easily ended Langjie¡¯s miserable fate.


    ***


    A moving castle!


    Team Skycrown was just like a moving castle. Rengar from Team Sky was coming in from afar with his ulti activated in hopes of catching Team Skycrown¡¯s backline. Unfortunately, he soon realized that he couldn¡¯t even touch the tail of anybody from Team Skycrown, and before long, his ulti had expired!


    More thrilling to see, Team Skycrown had directly cut through between the mid lane¡¯s turrets and had made their way to the bottom lane inner turret.


    With Shyvana tanking the tower, Team Skycrown forcefully demolished it with little resistance.


    Team Sky was left behind at the middle lane high-ground, losing all their desire to defend after seeing how quick Team Skycrown was in dismantling their tower. They couldn¡¯t have caught up anyway!

 Chapter 475 - Miraculous Prediction!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Team Skycrown was truly a team that did not play by the rules. They blatantly walked through the enemy territory after getting the kill and took down the turret on the bottom lane.


    In the face of such a strategy, personal skills and team combo no longer mattered. Team Skycrown had no intention of getting into a teamfight. They had only one objective in mind¡ªthe turrets. The moving castle demolished tower after tower wherever they went, and they would always retreat steadily afterward.


    ***


    The line-up selected by Team Skycrown was remarkable. It was something the audience had never seen in the past, and the scene where the entire troop moved across the map at a blazing speed was mesmerizing to the crowd. Team Skycrown had completely overturned how people viewed this game in the past.


    They now realized that laning, ganks, and 5 vs 5 teamfights were just secondary in LOL¡­


    The entire auditorium was in ecstasy. The buzzing crowd reflected just how impressive Team Skycrown¡¯s performance had been.


    Once the atmosphere was set ablaze, any movement by the player would immediately lead to a thunderous response from the enthused crowd.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s spirit was heightened by the positive response from the audience that was prompted by their outrageous play.


    They returned to the fountain swiftly and bought their next item. After clearing the minion wave and respective monster camps, they tacitly came together once again.


    The entire team was a well-oiled machine, and they were not going to be caught by the opponents thanks to the sufficient vision secured by Luocheng¡¯s wards.


    Team Skycrown gathered to take down the Dragon this time, following which, Pantheon wasted no time and moved on to push the bottom lane.


    Team Sky had actually wanted to initiate a fight with Team Skycrown as the latter was without their Ultimate at the moment. However, they couldn¡¯t find a reasonable opening to initiate, and any reckless decision might very well end up in disaster for them.


    ¡°They are aiming for the Baron next!¡± Aijing exclaimed.


    Team Sky¡¯s rhythm had been completely disrupted by Team Skycrown. After all, they had run out of available measures to recover from the widening economic gap between the two teams regardless of how experienced they were.


    After missing several chances to trap their opponents, Team Sky could only scramble off as Team Skycrown had their ulti cooldowns reset.


    ¡°The green light beside Sivir has lit up! This signifies that Team Skycrown is once again ready to turn into a moving castle and crush anything and everything that crosses their path!¡±


    The generator was up and ready. What was Team Skycrown¡¯s target this time?


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Pantheon had almost reached the enemy¡¯s high-ground via the bottom lane.


    From the observer¡¯s viewpoint, the audience could clearly see Kha¡¯Zix and Gragas had rounded to the back and were preparing to ambush Pantheon.


    ¡°Zhou Yan, time to retreat!¡± Luocheng roughly calculated the distance and shouted to Zhou Yan.


    Zhou Yan nodded and activated his Ultimate.


    The crowd held their breaths as soon as they saw Pantheon¡¯s mark appear, and they braced themselves for another Team Skycrown signature stomp.


    Langjie freaked out as soon as he saw Pantheon leap into the sky, but he was soon relieved when he realized that the other members of Team Skycrown were still lingering near the middle lane.


    ¡®D*mn you all! I am on high-ground now. Come at me with that f*cking speed buff of yours if you dare!¡¯


    Zhou Yan¡¯s landing spot from his ulti was odd. It appeared more like he was running away rather than targeting any one of the enemy.


    That¡¯s right, ladies and gentlemen. Zhou Yan did not aim the skill at any Team Sky¡¯s player, but simply used it to shake off Gragas and Kha¡¯Zix that had approached from his back.


    ¡°He used his ulti to run. Should we charge now?¡± Xie Yi was finally sporting a grin.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s strategy depended greatly on Pantheon¡¯s Grand Starfall to block the enemy¡¯s escape route. This was no doubt their chance to launch an attack while Pantheon¡¯s Ultimate was on cooldown!


    However, Tinghua did not share Xie Yi¡¯s optimism as he felt that something was off. He checked the map where the other members of Team Skycrown had been just a moment ago and figured out that Sivir had quietly activated On the Hunt, instantly turning the entire team into sprinters and disappearing into the fog of war.


    ¡®Sh*t! They¡¯re going after the Baron!¡¯


    After grouping up with Pantheon, Team Skycrown had rushed toward the Baron¡¯s lair from the middle lane with Sivir¡¯s speed buff.


    The previously easy-going Team Skycrown hastily transformed into a steaming hot battle tank in the very next second after activating all sorts of speed boosts.


    They used only 5 seconds at most to reach the Baron¡¯s pit from all that way out. Subsequently, Team Skycrown triggered the rest of their skills and threw it on the pitiful Baron. They not only moved quickly, but were equally efficient in pinning down the giant serpent.


    ***


    ¡°Team Sky was totally baited! What a great mind-game played by Team Skycrown. Pantheon pretended to push the bottom lane and lured the members of Team Sky there. He then escaped through the air before they could sandwich him! Team Skycrown must have planned this beforehand because they immediately detoured toward the Baron pit once Zhou Yan had caught up with them. Team Sky was completely fooled! They are now scrambling toward the pit, but it¡¯s all too late. They are not going to make it!¡± Miracle had lost control and yelled excitedly.


    It was a cheeky yet smart play. Team Skycrown had not shown any outstanding personal skill nor team play in this match thus far. Instead, they played the psychological game and totally outsmarted Team Sky who had not lost a single match in this term¡¯s LPL.


    Tinghua, despite being well-farmed, had very little opportunity to showcase his slick personal skills. He was owning a 3-0 kill score and more than 100 CS, but he just couldn¡¯t find the opening to slash through Team Skycrown in a teamfight.


    When they finally reached the pit after using all available means (Flash/Blink/Ghost/etc.), Team Sky saw no Baron but only a Team Skycrown that had gained the Hand of Baron!


    Fight or flight?


    Team Sky was being put in a very difficult situation here. If they did not fight the buffed Team Skycrown now, it was only going to get tougher later on when the opponents had all of their ultis back.


    Finally, Tinghua decided to gamble. ¡°Charge!¡±


    Vulcan¡¯s Rengar activated his ulti and went straight past Team Skycrown¡¯s frontline.


    His target was obviously the ADC. The major attacking threat of Team Skycrown came from the marksman, and so, taking out the ADC first would be the same as tearing a limb off from Team Skycrown.


    Rengar¡¯s invisibility allowed him to sneak in quietly, but that didn¡¯t mean he was bulletproof.


    Luocheng had a good habit when he played as a Support, which was to always carry a Vision Ward around when the opponents had a champion with invisibility.


    Seeing that their opponents intended to force a teamfight, he did not randomly use his Q-skill, but instead, calmly planted his Vision Ward first.


    As soon as the ward was planted, the silhouette of Rengar holding a saber was immediately revealed!


    He was moving fast toward Lin Dong and was extremely close now. Luocheng clicked the Q button reflectively once Rengar was seen.


    However, the aim of his Rocket Grab, oddly, leaned toward his own ADC rather than the enemy.


    ¡®Did his cursor sway? Otherwise, what was the purpose of sending the arm toward your own teammate?¡¯ A lot of the audience inside the hall were ready to laugh at him. This was when Rengar decided to jump on the ADC!


    Luocheng had released his champion¡¯s claw a few seconds earlier, thus, it seemed as if Rengar was jumping comically toward Blitzcrank¡¯s robotic arm voluntarily.


    ¡°Oh, my, God!¡± The roof of the auditorium was almost blasted off by the roaring crowd of 4000 people.


    That was unbelievable! Rengar, taking advantage of his Unseen Predator effect, had planned to assault the ADC without being noticed. But before he could land the blow, Rengar was forcefully dragged back by a claw that came out of nowhere.


    What a miraculous prediction!


    None of the previous highlights on Blitzcrank¡¯s hook could be compared to this. One could easily imagine the exasperated expression on Vulcan¡¯s face right now even though the camera did not give him a close-up shot. His mind, like the audience, had to be filled with one common question now.


    ¡®How the f*ck did that happen?¡¯


    A blocked shot on the NBA court always drew a big round of applause from the spectators. The impact of Luocheng¡¯s miraculous grab was likened to him blocking and even snatching the ball from Vulcan, who had lost his balance and could only fall beside Luocheng in embarrassment!


    Rengar was destined to be separated from his team whenever he used his Ultimate, Thrill of the Hunt. If he failed to deliver any meaningful damage before the skill ran out, Rengar was no different from a tamed puppy!


    Vulcan was being controlled and Team Skycrown knew that he had just used his Flash on Lin Dong, so they attacked him mercilessly.


    Vulcan, who only had a Spirit Visage and Prototype Belt, could do little to overturn his inevitable fate.


    As the important tanker of Team Sky, Rengar died without creating enough space for his backline, meaning that Kha¡¯Zix still lacked sufficient room to attack safely.


    Lulu had enhanced Blitzcrank¡¯s speed yet again so that the robot still had roughly 700 units per second movement speed.


    Luocheng would not charge aimlessly even though Blitzcrank was extremely fast. A reckless Blitzcrank that simply grabbed the enemy without purpose was definitely a noob. This was because he/she must have not considered whether his/her teammate could catch up. That was equal to feeding the enemy pointlessly.


    Luocheng stayed near his team and waited for his Q-skill to cooldown. Once it was done, he rushed to none other than Langjie, the ADC.


    Lucian appeared to still have a Blink skill left, however, that did not really matter when the opponents were approaching with the Ghost effect.


    Langjie was traumatized by Blitzcrank after what had happened earlier, and he gave up on fighting and immediately tried to flee using his Flash and Blink.


    ¡°Haha, what a coward! Langjie is acting like a clown when Luocheng hasn¡¯t even used his Q-skill!¡± Xiao Wang, who had long despised Langjie, laughed unsympathetically.


    ¡°Langjie has only done two things in this match¡ªeither getting caught and killed, as well as escaping before he is caught, only to still die in the next teamfight.¡±


    Unexplainably, most players were pleased by how Team Skycrown had bamboozled and destroyed Team Sky in this match. For instance, even though Team Revelation and Team 71 usually didn¡¯t see eye-to-eye with each other, Hao Yue was not irritated at all as he usually would have been when Xiao Wang grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from his snack pack. They were too busy laughing at how sheepish Langjie looked.

 Chapter 476 - Mentality over Skills

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    While the other LPL players were enjoying themselves in their seats, the game had taken a little turn.


    This was due to Xie Yi¡¯s Gragas.


    Bang!!!


    Xie Yi¡¯s Explosive Cask fell and hit three Team Skycrown¡¯s players, the attack completely disrupting Team Skycrown¡¯s formation.


    At the same time, a praying mantis had closed in from the sky, directly jumping onto Zhou Yan¡¯s Pantheon!


    Pantheon still had about half of his HP left, but Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s explosiveness was too terrifying, and Zhou Yan was unable to escape from being instantly killed by Tinghua¡¯s combo.


    Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s E-skill immediately reset and Tinghua swiftly charged onto his next target, Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu.


    Wu Sen reacted in the nick of time, casting his ulti and Barrier on his champion to mitigate most of Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s damage.


    Luocheng gave up on targeting other Team Sky members after Kha¡¯Zix infiltrated their backline.


    Tinghua had leveled up rather quickly. He was now Level 11, same as Team Skycrown¡¯s side-lane champions.


    Apparently, Tinghua had evolved his ulti, Void Assault.


    After he failed to kill Lulu in one fell swoop, Kha¡¯Zix recast his ultimate and turned invisible to continue trailing the fleeing prey.


    He had to take down Lulu in order for his E-skill to be reset, otherwise, there was no way that he could escape the round-up by the remaining Team Skycrown members.


    Wu Sen kept running. He had used Whimsy and did not have a better choice other than running against the invisible Kha¡¯Zix.


    It was definitely not easy to kill a Lulu that had Wild Growth and Barrier cast on her, and Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s damage was still a tad short.


    Xie Yi, seeing that Tinghua was in a tight spot, quickly rolled over with Gragas¡¯ body slam and used Barrel Roll to help Kha¡¯Zix reduce some of Lulu¡¯s health.


    Tinghua decisively Flashed over and finished off Lulu with his Q-skill.


    The E-skill refreshed instantaneously but Tinghua did not dare to stay any longer as he only had 1/3 HP left.


    Kha¡¯Zix leapt into the air, vanishing into Team Skycrown¡¯s jungle. Tinghua, who had killed two champions, managed to retreat into safety, but his teammate was less fortunate.


    Xie Yi¡¯s Barrel hit a giant robot that turned back on him immediately. Without any skill to relocate, he was inevitably captured by Luocheng¡¯s Rocket Grab.


    Lin Dong¡¯s ADC and Da Luo¡¯s Shyvana rapidly followed up and instantly tore apart Xie Yi¡¯s Gragas.


    ***


    ¡°Tinghua is so good with Kha¡¯Zix. How did he manage to take two heads and still get out of such a situation?¡±


    It was a 2 for 2 encounter. Both teams had lost two players in that teamfight.


    The three survivors of Team Skycrown were still in tip-top condition, and they proceeded to push the mid while still being backed by the Hand of Baron. Meanwhile, Team Sky was left with a Support that only had half of her HP left, Kha¡¯Zix with only 1/3 HP, a Lucian who had peed himself, and the mid turret that they were unable to defend.


    Team Skycrown gained a larger lead over Team Sky thanks to the 1,500 gold from the Baron and 1,000 gold from taking down the mid turret. On the other hand, Team Sky had earned practically nothing other than the 600 gold Tinghua had obtained by killing two opponents.


    ***


    ¡°What a useless bunch! Why are they playing so horribly!?¡± Xu Pingyang could no longer sit tight in the VIP room.


    Ever since his team had been killed 100 times last year, Pingyang had not been able to raise his head high in the LOL field for a long time. Nothing seemed to have changed even though the almighty Zhao Tinghua had returned to the line-up this year.


    All turrets outside the base had been demolished, and they had fallen behind by 10,000 gold. The game had yet to reach the 30-minute-mark but Team Sky would not be able to overturn this huge disadvantage.


    Tinghua¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix was, no doubt, excellent. He could easily walk into the enemy¡¯s turf and kill at will. In stark contrast, his other teammates were useless. Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t care less about the enemies and focused only on the turrets. Perhaps you could kill one or two of our men, but you are still going to lose this match once we destroy your Nexus first!


    ***


    The green light lit up and the troop was On the Hunt once more. The destructive aura of the charging troop was too much to bear.


    Luocheng¡¯s speed was even quicker now. Blitzcrank could now ¡°fly¡± to the enemy¡¯s face, throw out an uppercut and ¡°fly¡± back about 700 units before the opponent had landed, dragging him back with Q-skill.


    In fact, the precision of the Q-skill became less important when Blitzcrank was able to move at such an insane speed.


    Not many had played a Blitzcrank that was capable of speeding at more than 1,000 units per second prior to this. The millions of LOL players in China were astonished by what Luocheng had brought onto the stage today.


    ¡°Boss, beware of Tinghua right beside you!¡± Lin Dong warned Luocheng.


    Luocheng had noticed. However, he ignored Kha¡¯Zix and hooked the dying Rengar toward him without the slightest hesitation.


    As the delivery was on its way, Kha¡¯Zix jumped onto Blitzcrank and easily emptied Luocheng¡¯s remaining life.


    Tinghua¡¯s maneuver was inhuman, and it felt like he bounced off as quickly as he had landed. Kha¡¯Zix, once again, ran off agilely after he had killed Luocheng¡¯s champion.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t mind at all. On the contrary, he was beaming with confidence despite looking at his grey screen.


    ¡®It¡¯s useless, Tinghua. You have been isolated by me.¡±


    Isolation was supposed to be Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s innate ability, and this was what made him almost invincible in the jungle area.


    Nonetheless, Luocheng had cleverly given Tinghua a taste of his own medicine. His brand of isolation was to destroy Tinghua¡¯s teammates. Without the team to support him, what was the use of having the best farm in the team? What was the use of getting Legendary? Could he stop the Super Minions from spawning and rushing in to their base? Could he prevent their ADC from being slaughtered consistently?


    8/0/5


    Tinghua¡¯s kda was impeccable.


    His skills clearly surpassed other LPL players by quite a margin, evident by his ability to remain unkillable in such a one-sided game.


    If this was a DOTA match, Luocheng believed that Tinghua could have carried his team to victory now. DOTA was a MOBA where one player could single-handedly dictate the outcome of any given game.


    But this was LOL! The League of Legends!


    Luocheng was not chasing after the eye-catching triple-, quadra-, or even penta-kill. He also didn¡¯t seek for a dominating, godlike, or legendary streak. All he was after was how to make the team stronger as a cohesive unit!


    Tinghua, like Luocheng, had shifted to LOL from DOTA. When he picked Kha¡¯Zix, he had chosen to put the individual ahead of the team. The team was only a backdrop that complemented his one-man show.


    On the contrary, when Luocheng had decided to switch into the Support role, he had vowed to contribute to his team. He passed on the core roles and let the other members get most of the money. He willingly did all the dirty work and created the space for his teammates to get the triple or quadra-kill instead. This was because he desired nothing else but victory!


    He no longer prioritized personal glory and stats. It was okay to have zero kills, to be downed numerous times, or to be unable to even kill a neutral monster¡­ To him, the team superseded the individual!


    It was a state of mind that not many could achieve.


    DOTA had taught Luocheng to become the best of the rest while LOL had taught him to make the people around him better. This was far more difficult than improving one¡¯s own skills.


    The former required only personal skills, while the latter required a transfigured mentality. Which one would turn out to be more powerful?


    Luocheng had provided a crisp answer to Tinghua in this match.


    That was why no matter how Tinghua had provoked and taunted him, Luocheng chose to ignore him. The result of the match was the best response that Luocheng wanted to show Tinghua.


    Just like in a ranked-game, assuming you¡¯ve lost to my team but still wanted to challenge me in a solo game¡­ The best response was to give a faint smile.


    So what if I am not as good as you individually? You still lost the game.


    Of course, this was merely the official answer Luocheng would give to the media during an interview. In actual fact, his initial mindset when he chose the Support role was as follows. ¡®An ADC is just a dog that I have petted. He will bite whoever I want him to bite. Look, it has bitten another champion to death. This satisfaction is out of the world!¡¯


    ***


    Before Luocheng was revived, his four pets¡­ *ahem* teammates, had managed to destroy Team Sky¡¯s Nexus.


    The dominant victory cleared the dark cloud that had shrouded over them since yesterday.


    Xu Pingyang had thought that he could demoralize Team Skycrown with all sorts of dirty tricks under the table, but he had underestimated their determination to win the championship this time.


    Pingyang¡¯s skinny face must have turned purple by now. Team Skycrown had hindered his business once in the past and they were humiliating his team again this time. Besides, the outcome of this match weighed more as it might influence whether or not he would get the secretary-general position of the ACE. His money would be gone in vain if Team Sky made a blunder.


    ¡°Those sons of a b*tch, I swear I am going to give them hell!¡± Pingyang bellowed in rage in the VIP room.


    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t get too agitated. They are going to be dissolved soon anyway. Even if they win the next game, it means nothing once their team gets disbanded, and the championship will still belong to Team Sky.¡± Sun Liang comforted his boss.


    ¡°I want to see them humiliated, not the other way round! Tinghua promised me that he was going to win but look at the final score!!!¡± Pingyang was raging mad. He had bet big with other club owners and was going to lose a ton of money at this rate.


    ¡°Call them over!¡± Pingyang could not hold back his anger and yelled at Sun Liang.


    ***


    Team Skycrown returned to the backstage with big grins on their faces.


    Meiqi wanted to tell them the good news she had just received but felt that it might not be necessary after all.


    From the way they had enjoyed the match, Meiqi knew that they would still give their best in the next match even if the team was to be disbanded!


    They had surfed through the toughest time together and they would certainly survive the next rough patch.


    The contract would expire in August, and so, they would eventually be freed from Xu Pingyang¡¯s evil grasp five months later!


    What mattered more was the present! Team Skycrown was only one win away from clinching their long term goal¡ªThe LPL champions!

 Chapter 477 - We Only Need One More Win!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng looked toward the VIP room. He knew that Xu Pingyang was inside, he could even feel the sounds of him cursing even from where he stood!


    It was no surprise. Team Daemons had taken the champion seat for every single LPL championship up till now, and this year, Team Sky had finally won Team Daemons two to zero with much effort. Yet, in the end, Team Skycrown had taken the win instead.


    He got what he deserved.


    Luocheng believed that one day, karma would be there to take down people like Xu Pingyang.


    The host was trying to calm the crowd. The big screen showed the audience¡¯s reactions. The first to be shown were the LPL competitors, and they seemed more casual as they were not wearing their team shirts.


    It was clear that the match earlier had exceeded their expectations, and most of them were still discussing what had happened just now.


    This was also because it was a tactic that they had never seen before in any competitions whatsoever. They were trying to wrap their heads around the idea that if Team Skycrown used this tactic against them, would they still be able to hold the fort?


    They were skeptical. How much had Team Skycrown strategized to plan this tactic out!?


    After watching their match, it was not just a simple match of knowing your opponents, it was extremely fun to watch!


    ***


    The break time was not long and soon, both teams returned and stood in front of the audience.


    ¡°For you guys!¡± Meiqi tensed up as she watched the five of them go up.


    ¡°You guys have to win! The future of living a luxurious life lies in the performance that the five of you will be showing in the next forty minutes!¡± Jian Feng, who just came, also gave them encouragement.


    ¡°We will!¡±


    The five of them nodded in agreement.


    Even if they did not fear losing, they would not let the chance slip by!


    They walked toward their side of the arena. With the win just now and the vibe they were giving out, the members of Team Skycrown were keeping their cool and showing off their confidence!


    They were a team without sponsors or clubs backing them. They didn¡¯t even have 10,000 yuan as a monthly salary. But still, they survived. Without a club backing them up, they did not have anyone to coach them on what they were doing wrong, they also did not have any contracts saying that they had to compete in any amount of championships. Even so, they would not back down when facing an enemy that had more than enough backup. They had walked among normal people as well as met an immeasurable number of teams and even competed against them. They had prepared long enough.


    Soon, they would become superstars in China¡¯s LOL community. Also, they would represent the country in the S International League, they just needed to win this match!


    ***


    After walking onstage, Da Luo followed closely behind Luocheng.


    He was somewhat excited because he had waited a long time for this day to come.


    Prior to all this, he worked in a furniture company. Everyday, he worked hard, running from this side of the city to the other side just for work. When he could finally rest, he would find himself dirty and tired. The main point was, at that point of time, he had had no ambition whatsoever. It felt as though he was just a machine working non-stop.


    But what about now?


    A few million people in the country would be looking at him. There were more than 4,000 people before him watching his every move, and this sort of excitement made him feel alive!


    Da Luo puffed up his chest when suddenly, someone appeared on his mind!


    This person had already disappeared from his life for more than a year and a half. This was when Team Wings had been disbanded. That incident had really broken his heart!


    Da Luo shook his head. How could he think about her now¡­?


    Hmm? That¡¯s not right!


    This face¡­


    How could it be so nostalgic, it was completely the same as the one in his mind!


    Da Luo stopped for a second and stared at the screen!


    On the big screen, the cameramen had panned over to where the pretty girls were!


    It was at that moment when Da Luo saw a familiar yet unfamiliar face on the big screen!


    Shui Mo!


    How could it be her!?


    Da Luo thought that he was hallucinating due to his excitement, but he did not expect that she really was sitting amongst the 4,000 people. She sat there with her glasses on her face, looking directly at him who was on the stage!


    ¡°Da Luo, what is it?¡± Lin Dong, who was behind Da Luo, spoke up.


    Upon hearing that, Da Luo jerked to his senses. He rushed to keep up with Luocheng who was already a slight distance away.


    Shui Mo, it really was her.


    Could she have also started to play LOL!?


    This was great! Da Luo felt as though he was full of energy and was ready to battle!


    Da Luo was not an idiot who still thought that there was a chance for the relationship to recover. He was just a very prideful man.


    He hoped that when he took the top spot, he could give the woman who had said that he had no direction or ambition a shock!


    He was no longer a furniture-mover¡ªhe was one of the most famous players in the competitive gaming world!


    He had an insurmountable number of fans and there were hundreds of thousands of people copying how he played. There were also many people who respected him from the bottom of their hearts!


    ***


    Lin Dong, who was behind Da Luo, was curious after looking at him becoming so excited.


    It couldn¡¯t be¡­ Was the beauty Meiqi, who the five of them all had thought about before, going to give him a chance if he won the match!?


    That would not be appropriate. The win would be theirs as a team. How could it be that only Da Luo would get a prize? If so, she had to also think about the other three of them.


    For Luocheng, he could step aside as he already had a girlfriend.


    Lin Dong chose his seat and looked at Luocheng who was sitting beside him.


    ¡°Are you nervous?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°A little.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Now that LOL is booming on the market and is even included in the co-curriculum in the sports day for universities, would there be a possibility of exchange students for professional gaming?¡± Lin Dong asked in a low voice.


    When they lived near Shanghai University, even if they lived close to it, they were never able to experience a normal life on campus. Lin Dong had really wanted to be a part of it, almost craving for it¡­


    ¡°There will be a day. As long as we climb higher.¡± Luocheng said.


    Luocheng would never forget. On that night when they had drunk beer, Lin Dong had stood at the gates of Shanghai University, staring at the campus with longing eyes.


    Everyone had their own ambitions and mindsets. Luocheng had gone to university only because his parents had wanted him to. That feeling was like being forced into marriage in the olden days, even when there was no love between anyone.


    However, Lin Dong had different experiences and Luocheng remembered that he had brought it up before.


    After becoming a hacker and also coming out of rehabilitation, there were no schools that accepted him.


    This mark made him unwanted in any school wherever he went, and it prevented him from having a normal life where he could complete his studies like he wanted to.


    That was why studying and getting into a university had always been a dream that Lin Dong wanted but could never achieve.


    Lin Dong had always thought, when would he ever get the chance to be like Luocheng¡¯s sister who could study somewhere nice and fulfill his wish?


    ***


    The players were ready and the host left, allowing the commentators to speak once more.


    ¡°In the last match, Team Skycrown used their terrific performance to show us that they are an unstoppable team. Now, in the second match, will they be able to repeat history and demolish the enemy!?¡±


    ¡°In this second match, Team Sky would have definitely prepared well. Team Skycrown is indeed an opponent worthy for them to prepare to their fullest!¡±


    ¡°I feel that all of the teams in the LPL also have this feeling. Team Skycrown¡¯s strength is shocking. They really are an unbeatable team. The ones that have criticized them, scolded them, and laughed at them, can only keep their mouths shut after today¡¯s match!¡±


    The two commentators, Miracle and Qi Qiao, seemed as though they had been brainwashed by Team Skycrown, not holding back their praises for Team Skycrown.


    They were, in fact, the two commentators that had watched Team Skycrown grow to what they were now.


    From them winning in the online competition and also fighting Fudan University to obtain the right to be in the LPL, being the underdog in the LPL and winning Team Revelations, and then disappearing without a trace after crushing Team Sky¡­


    Now, they were unstoppable and broke the balance the LPL originally had until now. They had gotten a draw against Team Daemons and had won the first match against Team Sky!


    One more win, they just needed one more win to become the most looked-upon in the LPL. If they could just win one more match, they would tip the scales of balance!


    ***


    The words from the commentator made Li Yun, who did not know anything about competitive gaming, realize that this was a match that was the most important match in his whole career, it was a battle for the spot of the champions!


    Li Yun could only stare at the screen cluelessly in the last match.


    Even so, from the words of the commentator and from the emotions that the audience were showing, she could tell that her son was performing excellently on the battlefield. This match might even have more cheers and applause from the audience than Yu Yu¡¯s swimming championships.


    Li Yun¡¯s feelings were suddenly stirred up. She could only sit there, watching a competition that she could never comprehend¡­


    ¡°Li Yun, are you home?¡±


    Just as the match was about to start soon, Li Yun heard someone knocking on the door. From the voice, it might be Lao Guan.


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Li Yun did not really want to answer because the match was starting soon. She hoped that Lao Guan was not here to ask about the issue with the money. Due to the state that their family was in right now, she really could not get the money to pay him back right now.


    Li Yun opened the door and Lao Guan said with a smile, ¡°My daughter is getting married soon. When the time comes, remember to come over to drink some grounded tea.¡±


    Drinking grounded tea was a tradition in their city. When their kids got married or any significant events happened, it would usually take place. Seeing that Lao Guan was not here to talk about the money, Li Yun let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Lao Guan, you know about the situation that my family is in right now. We can not afford to pay back the 40,000 yuan right now.¡± Li Yun was not the kind of person who had thick skin. When she owed people money, she would feel guilty. In these recent years, she could not bring herself to buy any new electronics or furniture for their house. She also could not bring herself to buy some expensive clothes. She hoped to pay him back as soon as possible. Previously when Yu Jing was admitted into the hospital, they had borrowed 40,000 yuan from Lao Guan. Not to mention, the debt from the expensive kidney transplant operation¡­ It was so hard to deal with that it became hard to breathe.


    ¡°Hm? Wasn¡¯t that little Yu¡¯s money?¡± Lao Guan accidentally blurted out the truth. When he finally remembered that Luocheng had told him not to tell anyone about it, it was already too late.


    ¡°Little Yu¡¯s money?¡± Li Yun did not understand.


    Lao Guan saw that he could not hide it any longer, and so, he told Li Yun about everything that had happened back then.


    ¡°Remember to come, I¡¯m leaving first.¡±


    Lao Guan hurried away and left Li Yun, who had forgotten to close the door, still standing there.

 Chapter 478 - The Tricky Support!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    How could it be? That 40,000 yuan¡­


    Li Yun stood there in a daze for a long time.


    How could that 40,000 yuan have been given to Lao Guan from Luocheng?


    Where did he get that amount of money!?


    Other than being good at that video game, he hadn¡¯t done anything else¡­


    Suddenly, Li Yun remembered that the summer after Luocheng had finished his third year, he always went out early and came back late.


    Li Yun suddenly thought of something else, hurriedly shutting the door and running in to find her cell phone.


    Even with Yu Yu¡¯s help, Yu Jing¡¯s fees for living in the hospital, the fees for the operation, and the fees for rehabilitation were still too much to handle.


    Li Yun had gone to everyone she knew well, trying her best to borrow money. After borrowing from the people that she knew well, she even went to the people that she barely knew. After borrowing money from so many people, the list became longer and longer. She borrowed 30,000 yuan from her big brother, 40,000 yuan from her younger brother, 10,000 yuan from her third uncle, 20,000 yuan from this friend¡­there were even people that she borrowed a few thousand from, even tiny amounts like 20 yuan.


    With this issue on her mind every day, she did not have a single day in which she was not worried.


    Thank God that Yu Yu sometimes would get some prize money from winning competitions. That way, she could slowly pay back the debts that she had accumulated, otherwise, she would not know how to continue living.


    At the start, when Li Yun had wanted to pay her sixth uncle the 30,000 yuan that she owed him, he had said that it had already been paid back.


    That had made Li Yun wonder. The list stated that she still owed 30,000 yuan to him, it had not been scratched off yet, how could it have been paid back already? Her sixth uncle had responded saying that Yu Yu had already sent him the money, but when Li Yun had asked her about it, she had said that she knew nothing of it.


    Li Yun had been extremely confused at that time. She should not have made this mistake; how could she not have written it down when she had paid it back already¡­


    With what Lao Guan had told her today, Li Yun thought of a possibility. Luocheng might have started to find ways to help his family out with the debt!


    At that time, Li Yun called them one by one¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Li Yun. The 20,000 yuan that I borrowed from you for Yu Jing¡¯s operation¡­ No, no, I just wanted to confirm it, don¡¯t worry, we will definitely pay you back¡­ yes, yes, Yu Yu really has a bright future ahead of her.¡±


    ¡°Sis, it¡¯s me, the 30,000 yuan that I borrowed from you when Yu Jing needed it for his operation¡­ Oh, it has been paid back already and it was from Yu Yu¡¯s account¡­ It¡¯s nothing, Yu Yu did not tell me when she transferred the money, I was worried that she did not transfer it to you¡­ Hehe, yeah, I did get a really great daughter¡­¡±


    Li Yun called the people that she had borrowed money from one by one, and after asking everybody, she was speechless.


    60,000 yuan!


    The 30,000 yuan that she borrowed from her sixth uncle and another 30,000 yuan that she borrowed from her older sister, there was a total of 60,000 yuan that was already paid for!


    They all said that Yu Yu had sent them a message asking for their account number and then especially reminding them not to talk about this after leaving the receipt to show that it had already been paid,


    The problem was, Li Yun was very clear about the amount of money that Yu Yu had. All of the prize money she earned was given to Li Yun to pay off the debts, but the 60,000 yuan that was already paid for¡­


    Lao Guan¡¯s 40,000 yuan added up with her older sister and sixth uncle¡¯s 60,000 yuan, altogether it was a total of 100,000 yuan!!!


    Li Yun could not believe it¡­


    She sat in front of her computer, and on the computer screen, coincidentally, Luocheng¡¯s face was shown.


    Li Yun looked at him. She suddenly felt an immense feeling of missing him and also regret that no words could describe.


    He was never as childish as they had thought¡­


    It was just that his maturity had already exceeded theirs.


    It was as though they were still childishly assuming that he was just always playing video games, but he had chosen not to argue and instead, worked hard when no one was looking!


    It was the first time, the very first time, that Li Yun prayed for her son wholeheartedly to win the second match! This was because even as someone who did not know much about the game, she could tell that this win was extremely important to him!


    ***


    It was time for them to pick the champions and the crowd was extremely excited. Every single champion that got banned or picked was like a close battle!


    ¡°Yes, Team Sky has obviously done some thorough research about Team Skycrown¡¯s moving fortress tactic after the strategic break in between the matches¡­ Alright, they have banned Sivir, the battle mistress!¡± Miracle said.


    There were two core champions for the moving fortress tactic. One of them was Pantheon, and the other one was Sivir. To prevent the same thing from happening again, Team Sky banned Sivir after much consideration.


    The problem was that the number of champions that Team Skycrown knew how to use really was too much. After using a spot to ban Sivir, what about Anivia? What about the Support, Shen? What about Zhou Yan¡¯s Elise? And what about Lin Dong¡¯s Draven?


    Also, would Luocheng really still continue playing as a Support?


    What if he felt like it and chose Vayne!?


    That was one hundred kills!


    It was a whopping one hundred kills!!! After that match, Team Sky had gone crazy. Every single time they went into a match, they would definitely ban Vayne. It had taken them a long time to get over the fear of playing against Vayne. They had even almost gone to Riot Games to try to get the champion removed.


    They really didn¡¯t know who to ban now!


    In the end, Team Sky banned the one champion that could threaten them the most, that was their double Jungler tactic when going up against Team Daemons.


    They banned Elise, who was crucial to the strategy!


    ***


    Soon, they entered the picking phase once more. Would Team Skycrown use the same tactic again? Everyone was looking forward to their decisions!


    ¡°Da Luo, time to pick your champion.¡± Lin Dong nudged Da Luo, who was sitting beside him.


    Da Luo did not lose focus. It did not take long for him to decide. There was no one who chose to ban Dr. Mundo, so he would use that champion to show the girl who had told him off long ago!


    Clicking on Dr. Mundo, he confirmed it. This decision did not need to be explained! Who cared about what the enemy chose?


    After careful discussion and planning, Team Sky¡¯s Xie Yi chose Orianna to use as their Mid. On his part, Zhao Tinghua picked a new champion who was the rising star in jungling, Wukong!


    Wukong was normally used as a Top, but even so, when laning against some of the stronger champions, Wukong could not be used to his full potential!


    However, when used as a Jungler, Wukong could exert his full potential. He would not lag behind when compared to Elise or even Lee Sin, and in the late-game, his strong crowd control could turn the tides to his favor!


    Since Tinghua had chosen Wukong, Zhou Yan was not anxious to pick a Jungler. He let Luocheng and Wu Sen pick their champions first.


    Wu Sen chose his champion very quickly, locking in LeBlanc!


    Luocheng also made his decision relatively quickly, Lulu as a Support!


    This champion pick definitely made the audience shocked out of their minds!


    Lulu as a Support!?


    Was this still the Fighting Hawk that everyone knew??


    This guy never used passive Supports¡­


    Alright, Lulu could be counted as an all-rounder that could deal damage as well as provide sustainability to her teammates. The problem was, adding buffs and shields was definitely not Luocheng¡¯s playstyle!


    After a few shocked gasps, Luocheng locked in his champion!


    Feng Da, who thought that he knew Luocheng very well, hoped that he could swallow the words ¡°He will definitely not use Lulu!¡±


    He had really used Lulu¡­


    Did Luocheng really want to play as a normal Support??


    On another hand, Lulu as a pure Support was actually quite strong. She had movement speed buffs and also good team buffs. If she used her Ultimate at the right time, it could be game-changing!


    In the midst of all the chaos, Lin Dong also chose his champion, it was Lucian, the purifier!


    Dr. Mundo, Lee Sin, LeBlanc, Lulu, and Lucian¡­ why did it look as though they had no underlying tactics!


    However, the lineup was decided, and the audience was visibly disappointed. Even if Lulu was hard to control, from the audience¡¯s perspective, it wouldn¡¯t be that exciting.


    They entered the last tweaking stage. Thirty more seconds until the match began.


    ¡°Okay, the fight for the throne will commence soon. Let us use a round of applause to start off this match¡­ Oh my! What is this?? What did I see!?¡± Suddenly, Miracle¡¯s professional tone turned into a shocked one!


    ¡°They¡¯ve changed it, Fighting Hawk and Crow have switched champions!!¡±


    ¡°It will be Lulu in the middle lane, so it was going to be Lulu as the Mid¡­ If so, that means Fighting Hawk is going to use LeBlanc as a Support!¡±


    LeBlanc as a Support!?


    There were millions of people watching the LPL. In the vast amount of people, there were many people who were not highly ranked. When they saw that Luocheng was going to use LeBlanc, they were lost for words!


    This¡­ this champion could also be used as a Support!?


    What was wrong with the community right now, how could a mage become a Support!?


    Who cared about those lesser-used champions? Even LeBlanc wouldn¡¯t be used as a Mid. As an abnormal Support, Lulu was picked as a Mid instead!


    This had never ever happened before in history!


    ***


    The professional players¡¯ faces lit up when they saw Luocheng make this decision!


    In their eyes, LeBlanc as a Support could not be in the sidelines anymore, she would be strong now that Luocheng was the one using her!


    Fighting Hawk was aggressive, his executions were flawless, and his skills were amazing. LeBlanc was a champion that needed precise controls and also great precision. In the hands of Fighting Hawk, how would she be played out?


    The finals were going to start soon and everyone had believed that Luocheng would use the champion that he was most familiar with¡­ the one that had the most possibility of bringing them to victory!


    LeBlanc as a Support!


    A Support champion that you could never underestimate!

 Chapter 479 - Half Health From the Support’s Combo!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Upon entering the game, the screen panned over to Team Sky¡¯s side.


    Team Sky¡¯s team composition looked conventional and it was obvious that they had a tactic revolving around teamfights.


    Their Mid was Orianna, their Top was Renekton, Wukong as the Jungler, Blitzcrank as the Support, and Twitch as their ADC.


    Their lineup had a lot of crowd control skills. Once they started a teamfight, after Wukong used his Ultimate to hit two or three enemies up into the air, Orianna would follow up with her Ultimate. Once they had hit Team Skycrown with these combos, this would definitely tip the tides in Team Sky¡¯s favor.


    Furthermore, they had Twitch, which was the champion in LOL that did the most damage in a teamfight. Team Skycrown had to pay special attention when the teamfight started!


    ***


    Since he had picked LeBlanc as a Support, Luocheng would not need to use the strategy of switching up lanes anymore.


    Of course, if he switched up the lanes and used LeBlanc as a Support, the enemy Top would definitely be pressured heavily. This was due to LeBlanc¡¯s terrifying damage output!


    It was a very normal start to the game, both teams were playing very cautiously.


    When there was this much tension in the air, it showed that both teams really wanted to win.


    Both teams reached their lanes. Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc had reached the bottom lane earlier than the enemy bottom laners.


    ¡°Team Sky actually dared to use Blitzcrank as a Support against Captain Yu? What are they thinking!?¡± The people from Demacia Cybercafe showed their trust in Luocheng.


    It was quite normal for them. Amongst the audience, they were the only ones who could normally play and talk with Team Skycrown. Everyone else would have to line up just to get their autographs!


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe they were scared of Captain Yu using Blitzcrank, so that might be why they chose it. Anyway, Team Sky¡¯s Blitzcrank is also quite strong. Before Captain Yu¡¯s appearance, he could definitely be the strongest Blitzcrank in the country.¡±


    Team Sky¡¯s pick of Blitzcrank may have been a bit of a gamble.


    When playing Blitzcrank in a competition, they definitely had confidence in their own ability to play the champion. The reason being was that if you couldn¡¯t play the champion correctly and were unable to grab the enemy to contribute to the team, you would just be a sight for sore eyes in the eyes of the audience!


    By picking Blitzcrank, Team Sky might not have wanted to let Luocheng use the champion for some tactic that was unseen before. On the other hand, they also had a deep understanding about the champion themselves, having used the champion in past matches in the competition.


    ***


    In the past, the bottom lane would normally be the most peaceful lane. The ADC would farm safely and happily while the Support would stand in the bush. They would peek out once in a while to show themselves but that was about it.


    Now, on the competitive side of things, the bottom lane had changed a lot. From the moment the two teams would meet in the bottom lane, both teams would use their skills to suppress the enemy from getting last hits and also get the upper hand on levels.


    It was the same old saying, the one who reached Level 2 first would be the winner!


    The champion that Luocheng used was the tricky LeBlanc. This champion seemed as though she could not do much in the lane. Unless the skill that she leveled up first was her second skill, Distortion, not only could she ignore Blitzcrank¡¯s hook, she could also farm the minions while she was at it!


    From a tactical perspective, Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc and Lin Dong¡¯s Lucien would be the first ones to get to Level 2.


    Luocheng stole the initiative with a trick up his sleeve.


    He did not push the lane too aggressively in the first stages. If he did that, even if they did get to Level 2 first, the enemy would still be able to hide behind the minions, making it challenging to push past the minion wave.


    He cleaned up the minion wave while making sure that it stayed in the middle. Just as he reached Level 2, Luocheng ignored Blitzcrank and went straight for Twitch!


    The play that he made earlier was akin to him taunting the enemy Blitzcrank.


    Hook me, come on, TRY to hook me!!


    If you were Level 1 and the enemy LeBlanc had already reached Level 2, at this time, your Q-skill would only be helping the enemy get closer to your ADC. Consequently, you would see the ADC¡¯s health drop tremendously!


    Why would LeBlanc as a Support become so great??


    There were definitely people in the audience who had this thought passing through their mind. Even so, when they saw Luocheng go past the minion wave, ignoring the enemy Blitzcrank and using both his first and second skills on the enemy ADC, there was a loud cheer from the entire audience!


    The Sigil of Malice had landed on Twitch!


    After LeBlanc¡¯s flawless maneuvers, she immediately unleashed her mirror image!


    Not only did the mirror image have the same basic attack power as the main body, the sigil¡¯s effect triggered and dealt the second part of damage!


    LeBlanc¡¯s Q-skill, Sigil of Malice, had two parts of damage to it. The first part would be dealt immediately and put a mark on the enemy. This mark would stay on the champion for three and a half seconds, and in this timeframe, if the enemy with the mark was hit by LeBlanc, the second part of the damage would trigger. That was why, once LeBlanc hit Level 2, it would feel as though you would take damage from three skills!


    With this set of three skills, it took down half of Twitch¡¯s health, whom Langjie was controlling. This damage output was shockingly high!


    Luocheng had done well, not to mention, he also had runes which helped out. Langjie, who had half of his health shredded in a second, became a rat that could only run away with his tail between his legs!


    ¡°This Langjie really is stupid. Is this the first time he¡¯s meeting LeBlanc as a Support? She was clearly already Level 2, how could he still have the audacity to farm the minions? Does he think he is some bigshot and LeBlanc would not dare to come up and whack him?¡± Team Stardust¡¯s ADC spoke up.


    If anyone would be a bigshot, that person would be Luocheng. As soon as he got to Level 2, it was the same attitude from him, attacking while he could. His confidence and his skill got him great results. He immediately pushed Blitzcrank and Twitch from the area so they could not get experience!


    They were lucky that the lane had naturally been pushed back. If Luocheng and Lin Dong both stepped up and stood in front of the minion wave, Langjie and Jupiter might die at the foot of the tower.


    ***


    ¡°His skill is already up, don¡¯t go too far in front. If you can¡¯t get the last hit, it¡¯s ok.¡± Jupiter saw LeBlanc, who was idling in the bush, and reminded Langjie.


    Jupiter had played LeBlanc as a Support before, which was why he knew that LeBlanc¡¯s high burst damage was from a combo of skills. Distortion, which had a cooldown of eighteen seconds, was crucial to the combo.


    That was why LeBlanc as a Support would not be as scary as she seemed. As long as you could push when her skills were on cooldown, you would be fine.


    Of course, Jupiter would not make it hard on himself. Since they had lower levels, initiating a fight forcefully would only incur losses and plummet them into an endless abyss that they would be unable to make a comeback from.

 Chapter 480 - LeBlanc’s Unbreakable Control

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Langjie played it extremely safely until he reached Level 4. When he got to Level 4, it became slightly easier for him.


    The problem was, he was already Level 5 but he only had fifteen last hits. There was a significant difference between them.


    Now, the only way they could get back the lane depended on the Support!


    Upon reaching Level 4, Luocheng had finally leveled up his E-skill, Ethereal Chains.


    He moved his cursor over to Twitch to check on the latter¡¯s remaining health.


    Under normal circumstances, the set of skills that he would use would start with the Q-skill, Sigil of Malice, and then follow up with the W-skill, Distortion, to land on the enemy. This way, there would be the effect of three skills. After that, he could recast his W-skill to return to his original position!


    But to the players that knew LeBlanc well, they would always maintain their distance with LeBlanc. This was because if you got into the range of her Q-skill, you would not be able to fight back.


    After reaching a higher level, Langjie became sharper. He always maintained the distance between him and LeBlanc so as to not give Luocheng a chance to use his skills. Furthermore, there was a Blitzcrank there to protect him. Of course, Luocheng would not go past the minion wave. If he was hooked by the Blitzcrank, there would be a lot of damage done to them!


    That was why he needed to use another tactic!


    Twitch¡¯s health was not at a very convenient level, and so, Luocheng waited patiently to get the chance to kill him, like a hunter stalking his prey.


    He made sure that he had enough mana to execute his set of skills.


    He walked back and forth near the minion wave, using his basic attack to harass Blitzcrank whenever he could to add four gold to his income.


    ***


    Jupiter also played the best he could.


    Every Blitzcrank needed a good chance to make a play. A single movement mistake by the enemy, the minion wall moving, the angle of the hook, and most importantly, the correct timing!


    LeBlanc had a lot of damage as a Support. Even so, she was a champion that had very low maximum health. If they could just hook her over and stun her, after a few shots from Twitch, they would get the kill easily.


    Team Sky was certain that if they continued being pressured, the enemy would definitely reach Level 6 before them. The minion wave that would come when they reached Level 6 would be their end, because they knew that LeBlanc had combos that could definitely kill them!


    He was waiting for the right time to pull LeBlanc to him. He just needed to pull her once. He did not need to kill her, he would be satisfied with just lowering her health by a lot!


    Jupiter paid his utmost attention to Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc. As expected, Luocheng came in to attack him with a basic attack yet again!


    Every single Support which had the item Spellthief¡¯s Edge would have the urge to attack the enemy as soon as they got a charge to get the extra gold.


    Luocheng was no exception, and this was how Jupiter was trying to find an opening!


    Of course, it would be when she tried to attack!


    Every champion had an attack animation when they cast their basic attack. LeBlanc¡¯s attack animation was especially obvious. It was when she held up her staff!


    Jupiter had to give credit to Luocheng for his perfect skill in hiding in between the minions. Normally, no one would hook at this time because there would be a high chance for them to hook a minion!


    However, Jupiter had the confidence that he could do it!


    Blitzcrank¡¯s grab had a small special detail. When he used his rocket grab skill, the skill would show up on his left hand, but instead, it would fire from his right hand. If he did it correctly, he would be able to grab the enemy from even a tiny gap between the minions!


    Rocket Grab!


    Jupiter¡¯s Rocket Grab soared through the sky and through the bush toward LeBlanc who was in between some minions.


    The rocket hand hit right on Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc, and it was through a tiny gap between all the minions!


    The audience was flabbergasted. That play that he had made just now might be one of the hardest things to do with this champion!


    It had landed!


    A big smile appeared on Jupiter¡¯s face!


    When Langjie saw Jupiter¡¯s play, his eyes lit up as well!


    Finally, finally they had found a chance. They had to kill him even if they had to use their Flashes!


    Langjie had prepared his skills to fight against LeBlanc¡¯s frightening burst of skills.


    ***


    Luocheng did not appear to be flustered at all after being hooked.


    When he saw that his LeBlanc was hooked by Blitzcrank, he did not wait until Blitzcrank could punch him into the air. Instead, he Flashed to escape Blitzcrank¡¯s grasp!


    Luocheng¡¯s Flash was not aimed toward the back, instead, it was aimed right onto Twitch!


    Sigil of Malice!


    Her Q-skill landed on Twitch, and subsequently, she used her second skill to step on Twitch elegantly!


    After these two skills, Luocheng followed up with his E-skill, Ethereal Chains!


    A golden chain appeared from LeBlanc¡¯s staff. At this angle, Twitch would be unable to dodge it¡­


    LeBlanc was almost similar to Lee Sin in terms of their skills having two parts to them.


    The first part of the Q-skill was to deal damage and also leave a mark. The second part of the skill was to do more damage as well as silence the enemy.


    The W-skill¡¯s first part was a movement skill paired with some damage. The second part was to go back to the starting point.


    Luocheng had used the skill very cleanly, using his QW-combo to get right in front of Twitch. With that, he could trigger the second part of the Q skill!


    After getting silenced, Twitch could not Flash out of the situation!


    Having chained Langjie, Langjie was unable to dodge it no matter how hard he tried. The three skills and the two parts of the skills were all triggered, and this amount of damage destroyed Langjie¡¯s shield!


    At first, he had wanted to use Flash to try to run, but before the one and a half seconds of silence could end, Ethereal Chains was used to follow up!


    This was basically a three second control!


    In these three seconds, Lin Dong did not need to use any form of movement skills to get up to Twitch¡¯s face!


    Luocheng¡¯s combo easily destroyed the shield from Twitch and also took him down to half health. With an Ignite, Lin Dong¡¯s Lucian could kill Twitch easily!


    First Blood!!!


    The four thousand people in the venue all cheered and clapped!


    Langjie and Jupiter looked at each other, the tension between them clear as could be!


    Clearly, they had had the upper hand in grabbing LeBlanc, but it was their ADC who had been killed instead. How could they stand it!?


    ¡°Why did you grab him? Did you want me to die!?¡± Langjie said in dissatisfaction.


    There was not much meaning in grabbing LeBlanc. Even if he grabbed her, she could run with her W-skill. After hearing those words from Langjie, Jupiter was not happy. For him, it seemed as though Langjie was not careful and had gotten locked down by the opponent. How was that his fault?


    But speaking of his faults, he had indeed gotten a little flustered. Fighting Hawk was inhumanly good. Normally when getting grabbed by Blitzcrank, an ordinary player would use his Flash to get away and run with his movement skill. There was no one who had seen someone who Flashed in and also used a combo of skills after getting grabbed by Blitzcrank!


    In actuality, Luocheng had already calculated it. If he could bait him and get Blitzcrank to hook him, getting him neared to Twitch, he could Flash to Twitch and kill him within seconds. Who knew Jupiter was stronger than he had expected and had grabbed him from between the minion wave!? He was lucky that he had already thought of what to do after getting grabbed.


    If Jupiter had known that Luocheng had let himself get hooked on purpose, he would have wasted all of his time focusing on Luocheng!


    ***


    ¡°How did you not even use your Flash?¡± Vulcan, the top laner asked, annoyed.


    Vulcan was also a skilled LeBlanc player. He knew that her silence and combos were actually hard to chain up. At least, when she got hooked, there would definitely be a problem when using Flash. The most she could have done was to lock Twitch down, but somehow, Twitch had been killed by Lucian!


    ¡°How could I know, I already clicked Flash!¡± Langjie said angrily.


    This suspicion stayed in Langjie¡¯s mind. He could not understand. LeBlanc¡¯s skills definitely had a hole in them. With the time between skills and the cast times as well as every factor he could possibly think of, there was definitely a 0.2 second space for him to Flash out, but he had not used it. As a professional player, there was no way that he could not use his Flash in 0.2 seconds. Even normal players knew that after getting silenced, spamming their Flash would definitely get them away!


    ***


    The same question also made the competitive players which sat in the front row confused.


    LeBlanc¡¯s combo would definitely have left a space for using Flash unless Langjie had already given up on running¡­


    ¡°The sequence for his skills is different. He actually Flashed to Langjie and used his skills in the sequence, QEW!¡± Hades, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.


    Everyone would definitely listen to one of the best players in the nation. All of their attention was placed on him.


    LeBlanc was also a champion that belonged in the middle lane. No one knew champions that belonged in the middle lane like Hades did!


    That was also the reason why everyone perked up their ears and listened carefully!


    ¡°First, he used his Q-skill, Sigil of Malice. After that, he immediately used the E-skill. While the E-skill was bouncing, he cast his W-skill in that instance. With that, the effect would be that W-skill¡¯s silence would occur first, and at the same time, the chains would also lock onto Langjie. After the one and a half second silence, the locking effect would take place. This combo was basically a perfect chain and would be inescapable unless that person could press Flash in a window of less than 0.1 seconds.¡±


    LeBlanc¡¯s unbreakable control!


    Once you got caught, there was no possibility of escaping from it!

 Chapter 481 - The Art Of Deception!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In a normal game, after getting a kill, it would normally mean that you had just gotten four hundred gold. This made the kill seem slightly insignificant.


    You had to remember that in League of Legends, the reason you aim for a kill was not just for that measly four hundred gold. The main reason was to do something else that was more important especially with the enemy currently dead and not being able to stop you, like killing the Dragon in the bottom lane!


    In fact, most of the League of Legends players had to change their mindset. The main objectives for the game was to get the towers as well as the Dragon. The dragon should be killed as soon as it spawned on the third minute. The more people on it, the better.


    At the same time, the towers standing there were just basically begging to be destroyed. Too bad that most of the time, there was always an enemy champion there defending it. Killing the enemy champion was basically just a stepping stone to do something greater, how could you just run away and go back to your base!?


    If you got a kill in the bottom lane, you had to take the Dragon!


    If you got a kill in the mid lane, push the tower if possible!


    If you got a kill in the top lane, immediately push the minion wave to prevent the enemy from gaining any experience!


    Of course, all of these did not apply when you killed the enemy but had dangerously low health and there were no teammates near you!


    ***


    Team Skycrown had always made killing the Dragon and pushing the tower their top priorities. After getting first blood, the Mid, Jungler, and both of the bottom laners went to the Dragon to meet up.


    With one less champion, the enemy would definitely be scared to go in recklessly. After taking down the Dragon, the advantage of gold was not just a measly four hundred and two hundred more gold, it was for the whole team too!


    Tinghua did not relent. He knew that the majority of Team Skycrown were trying to take down the Dragon, which was why he felt that it was safe to appear in the top lane. He used the fact that Vulcan¡¯s Renekton had pushed the minions to the enemy tower to try and force out a kill.


    Renekton had his Ignite ready. Once Mundo reached Level 6, he would be extremely hard to kill as he would be very tanky, but with an Ignite, Mundo would be unable to heal himself properly!


    Vulcan and Tinghua¡¯s teamwork was impeccable. Renekton started off by pouncing toward Mindo and using some skills, subsequently Igniting him. He only retreated after taking some tower damage for Tinghua¡¯s Wukong. Tinghua¡¯s Wukong walked right up and used his Q-skill to reduce Da Luo¡¯s armor for three seconds. As soon as Da Luo got out of his attack range, Tinghua used his E-skill to close the distance, and after a few basic attacks, Mundo was killed!


    After killing him, Tinghua did not leave. Instead, he cleared the minion wave that was coming in from behind the turret¡­


    With this, Da Luo would lose two minion waves of experience. After getting back into the lane, he would be unable to fight against Renekton which had a higher level than him!


    Tinghua was very experienced and he knew that pushing the top lane tower early would not have much benefit. That was why he left the tower intact, letting Da Luo lose more experience!


    These types of situations were hard to prevent. That was, unless Da Luo could guess that Wukong was already on his way and had run away before the latter could reach.


    ¡°Da Luo, is everything okay over there?¡± Zhou Yan looked at the level of Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo and asked softly.


    This gank had made Da Luo lose a lot of experience. This probably meant that he would get crushed by Renekton easily later.


    ¡°Come and help me gank. I think this guy might want to battle it out.¡± Da Luo pouted.


    Normally when playing ranked matches, have you not gotten tower-dived before?


    The Jungler did not need to go to many places, he just needed to gank the top lane. If ganking once was not enough and only one type of gank was not enough, there were always many types of positioning that he could try.


    At this time, most players that had no patience would ask the enemy team in the all-chat: ¡°Do you have nothing else better to do than to ambush me, you b*tch!¡±


    Luckily, Da Luo was used to getting ganked. Once he saw that Tinghua had left the tower intact, this basically meant that he would be back again!


    There were many times that the tower was not a safe haven and instead, it might even be a prison.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhou Yan nodded. In this situation, he had to protect Da Luo¡¯s farm. If he doesn¡¯t, when the enemy¡¯s top lane snowballs, they would lose this game easily!


    ***


    Da Luo could only try his best to get some last hits. Very quickly, Renekton had pushed a lot of minions to the tower.


    Vulcan felt great about the game right now. Today, he had played Renekton well, managing to pressure Da Luo and he also had twenty more last hits, even being a level higher than him!


    After seeing Tinghua who was not too far from him, it was clear that Tinghua was on his way to him.


    If you were a Jungler, it would be best to grab one lane and control it well. Never assume that ganking once successfully would mean that your teammate could destroy the bottom lane.


    In fact, after killing the enemy, it basically meant that the enemy had used all their skills including their Flash. With the gap of levels and items, this meant that there was a high chance that you could gank again and almost certainly succeed!


    Tinghua came in to gank from the back.


    It was the same old tactic, allowing Renekton to tank the tower damage so that Tinghua can get in closer for the kill. With their current damage, they would still be able to kill Mundo even if he used his Ultimate!


    Da Luo was surrounded and pinned down at the tower. Even with his trusty knife in his hand, he did not know who to throw it at.


    As he saw that Renekton had used his ultimate and was walking toward him, Da Luo made a swift decision to go for Renekton. He allowed Renekton¡¯s Ultimate to deal damage to himself so that the tower would attack Renekton.


    Throwing a knife toward Renekton¡¯s face, Da Luo attacked Renekton relentlessly!


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way!¡± Zhou Yan shouted.


    Lee Sin was actually a really great anti-ambush champion. It didn¡¯t matter where he was, he would be able to jump to Da Luo with his ulti in a second!


    Whoosh!


    Tinghua did not stop and he used his E-skill, Q-skill and then his Ultimate in quick succession!


    Zhou Yan reacted rather quickly, having already been prepared. When Tinghua used his Ultimate, he immediately kicked Tinghua in the face!


    With this kick, all hopes of Tinghua killing Da Luo was shattered!


    A fantastic sonic wave. It bounced off Renekton, who was taking damage from the tower, and hit Tinghua!


    Da Luo and Zhou Yan had a clear aim. They had to kill the enemy Renekton. With Renekton¡¯s current low health, it was time for them to give chase!


    Vulcan hastily pressed his Flash and prayed for himself to get out of that situation safely with his last tiny bit of health.


    Zhou Yan did not stop chasing. Once his skill cooldown time was up, he used his skills to catch up to Renekton as he just needed one more skill to take Renekton¡¯s life. Suddenly, a round shield suddenly appeared on Renekton!


    ¡°F*CK!¡± Zhou Yan could not help but curse.


    It was extremely close. The timing of Orianna¡¯s arrival was uncanny, and with her shield, Renekton was saved!


    Zhou Yan was not satisfied. He had been waiting for his Q-skill to get off its cooldown. If he could kick Renekton even once, the latter was as good as dead.


    At the same time, Tinghua had used his Flash to kill Da Luo who had low health and took off with around half of his health left!


    Zhou Yan did not know what to do. If they didn¡¯t kill Renekton, they would be drawing the short end of the stick.


    ¡°Wu Sen, surround them!¡±


    Suddenly, Luocheng spoke up.


    Although Wu Sen¡¯s support was slower than Orianna, it didn¡¯t matter anymore. This was because Luocheng, the fastest Support in the whole LPL, had arrived!


    Of course, no one knew what a Support from the bottom lane was doing in the top lane!


    Tinghua ran from Team Skycrown¡¯s jungle. Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu could definitely cut him off. To prevent him from going through the tower, Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc had arrived at the tower and they started to surround Tinghua!


    Once Tinghua saw Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc, he was not scared, casting his Q-skill on Luocheng!


    It had to be said, but LeBlanc was just too squishy. After Wukong¡¯s E-skill that was followed by a basic attack and his Q-skill, LeBlanc had already lost half her health¡­


    Luocheng did not immediately use his skills because Tinghua¡¯s Wukong had not moved!


    It was obvious that this was a clone!


    Luocheng walked ahead and thought that Tinghua would use his real body to run back into the bush. By doing so, he could effectively shake off Luocheng.


    Upon walking into the bush, he clicked on Wukong.


    After one and a half seconds, Luocheng noticed that Tinghua¡¯s clone was still standing there!


    It was clear to him that this b*stard had faked him out!


    This was Wukong¡¯s S deception!


    What was Wukong¡¯s S deception?


    When Wukong used his W-skill to leave a clone of himself, the real body would enter an invisible state. Upon doing so, the clone would stay in place, and one and a half seconds later, it would disappear.


    After many people had learned about how Wukong¡¯s ability worked, the player would cancel the animation with the S key. Then, the real Wukong would stand in place to give the enemy illusions that he was just a clone. When the enemy had been deceived and ran toward one direction, he would run in the other direction!


    Luckily, Luocheng held his hand. He clicked on Tinghua¡¯s Wukong to lock on when it stood there and stopped moving. If it was a clone, this lock on would disappear after one and a half seconds, but if it was the real one, it would stay locked on!


    Without a word, after knowing that it was his real body, Luocheng turned back and attacked him with basic attacks!


    Never throw out your skills if you knew that the enemy was pretending to clone himself. With Tinghua¡¯s skill, he could definitely use his Q-skill to dodge all of the skills that Luocheng dished out.


    Since he was pretending, he had to stay there and not move. That was why attacking with basic attacks would be enough. Also, Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu was on her way!


    Luocheng¡¯s calmness made Tinghua uneasy, and he hastily walked toward Luocheng.


    With that, Luocheng used his QEW-combo on Tinghua!


    Too bad, the one which got the Ethereal Chains on him was a clone and so, not much damage was dealt.


    Tinghua used the fact that he was invisible to duck into the bush. At this moment, Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu had arrived and Tinghua had to give up on the original path of escape. After waiting for his E-skill to get ready, he used most of his skills on LeBlanc!


    The damage was extremely high as it made Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc start to play passively!


    It was clear to everyone that Tinghua was trying to trade with Luocheng.


    ¡°Now, it is time for you to guess my real body!¡± Luocheng scolded him.


    LeBlanc¡¯s passive was also to make an illusion. If Tinghua wanted to trade kills, he also had to find the real body!


    Playing with the art of deception?


    Let¡¯s see who can do it better!

 Chapter 482 - Artful Daze

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Tinghua was quite familiar with LeBlanc, the Deceiver, including her Mirror Image skill. Now, if he wanted to take out Luocheng, he needed to know which one was the real LeBlanc!


    When Mirror Image was activated, LeBlanc would become invisible for 0.5 seconds, and once her Mirror Image appeared, she would head straight toward the other direction while the original stood still. In other words, the LeBlanc who was slower to move was the real one!


    Sure enough, Tinghua saw LeBlanc turn from one to two LeBlancs. One of them headed straight toward the bushes while the other was slower to move. Yes, it was slower!


    That was him!


    Tinghua quickly pressed his A-key and cast his attacks at this LeBlanc!


    Her armor was pierced in an instant and in no time, the weakened LeBlanc¡¯s HP had dropped and was depleted like crazy. In just a few attacks, Luocheng would be dead¡­


    ¡°Oh man, please don¡¯t let it be the real one!¡± Someone was sighing on the professional player seats.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s got to be the real one.¡± Ancient Dust said.


    Tinghua thought the same. He was sure that this LeBlanc that he was about to kill was the right one.


    However, there was no 300 gold sign appearing over his head. Tinghua¡¯s face turned grim! Sh*t, that was a fake!


    This son of a b*tch! This cursed man had been quite good back in DotA and Warcraft, he should have known that this multi-tasking was not an issue for him!


    ***


    ¡°Oh, Blood Eagle was hitting Luocheng¡¯s Mirror Image! How embarrassing!¡±


    ¡°The trickeries of LeBlanc can only show its magic in skilled hands! Fighting Hawk is quite the pro, deceiving Blood Eagle¡¯s sharp eyes!¡± Miracle commented.


    On the other hand, the audience was furious.


    How could a professional like him make such a mistake!?


    Of course, there were veteran players who had witnessed how Luocheng had tricked Blood Eagle and were shocked at what they saw!


    They had played League of Legends to no end in their daily lives, and the seasoned eyes of veteran players could see which LeBlanc was the real one.


    However, Luocheng¡¯s Mirror Image had fooled most of the seasoned players in the scene!


    The question was¡­ how? How!? That Mirror Image was standing there like a block of wood, it was so unthinkable that it was a fake!


    ***


    The trick of Wukong¡¯s Warrior Trickster was to press the S key to stay put. When you were staying put, others would instinctively think that that was the clone. When you pressed the W-key again, there was a high chance that your opponent would start attacking your clone right away.


    Yet, LeBlanc¡¯s Mirror Image was different. When her HP got depleted to less than 40%, she would then split into two.


    Back then, there was a famous trick under every LeBlanc player¡¯s sleeves¡ªto stand completely still while ordering the Mirror Image to run!


    In the earlier version, when Mirror Image appeared, it was set to stand in its place completely still by default. You needed to use the Alt-key to control it and make sure your real avatar stayed put while sending your clone running for its life. When the opponent pursued it, the real avatar could then slowly walk in the other direction.


    Now, the difficulty of performing this had been increased as the clone was set to run toward a direction by default, revealing that the slower image was the real LeBlanc. No one could know when their HP would drop lower than 40% after all.


    Luocheng knew Wukong very well. Its clone, skills, and the cooldown time of the skills. He had made preparations beforehand when he knew that Tinghua was on to him. He had already placed his finger on his ALT-key at all times, and when his Mirror Image had appeared, he immediately ordered it to stay put. Following that, he had quickly guided his avatar to flee.


    Thus, Tinghua could not gauge accurately on which one was the real LeBlanc. All he could do was to rely on his skill and had directed his attack at the one that he thought was the real Luocheng!


    Not only that, Wu Sen was cunning as well. He knew that the LeBlanc that Tinghua was attacking was just a Mirror Image, yet, he still put a shield on it!


    After this move, Tinghua, who was at first doubtful, was sure that this was the real LeBlanc. And the result? He had gotten the wrong target and was slain by Wu Sen!


    Tactics. Tactics was not just about intellectual warfare, but also psychological warfare!


    Tinghua¡¯s Wukong was a tricky foe, however, so was Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc. They were Champions that were skilful in the art of deception, and it appeared that Luocheng was a better player at this art.


    On the screen, it looked like a guessing game of ¡°who is the real Champion¡±. There were many layers of guesswork, skills that not many LOL players could understand. That was why there were so many who were laughing at Tinghua, calling him an idiot, while they themselves had not even seen through the first layer of Luocheng¡¯s tricks.


    ***


    There was no use for Tinghua to feel frustrated. To be frank, risking his life to take down LeBlanc this way had been a long shot anyway. Even if he could have found the real LeBlanc, Luocheng could still go back to his original spot by using his W-skill. If that were to happen, it would still be equally difficult trying to kill him.


    In short, this support from Luocheng was too unexpected.


    When one looked at the bottom lane again, Lin Dong had the creeps controlled up to the towers and was gaining experience easily. Jupiter and Langjie could not achieve much other than scratching off a few bits of health from the tower.


    Zhou Yan was able to, as expected, kill Renekton by utilizing his Q-Skill, then, he could quickly escape from Orianna¡¯s wrath. This time, Team Skycrown¡¯s strategy had earned them a kill.


    Luocheng had acquired a decent amount of gold. He would be able to buy himself a Sightstone soon if they could keep this up.


    After buying equipment at the base, Luocheng quickly rushed toward the bottom lane again. It was not fair to ask Lin Dong to handle the bottom lane on his own. After all, Jupiter was a skilful player, and they could not risk having Lin Dong falling to his clutches.


    ***


    The bottom laners were about to reach Level 6 soon.


    A Level 6 LeBlanc was going to be a fearsome foe. Her Ultimate skill alone could wreck her opponents like a truck!


    ¡°Let¡¯s take out Blitzcrank. He used his Flash earlier and it did not hit me, his Flash is still under cooldown.¡± Lin Dong suggested.


    The point of levelling Lucian and LeBlanc to Level 6 was to overpower Twitch and Blitzcrank from the opposite team. Thus, they shifted their attention to Blitzcrank.


    LeBlanc could easily deplete two-thirds of Blitzcrank¡¯s HP by unleashing all of her skills on him as well as a touch of Ignite. If Lin Dong stepped in, he could deal the finishing blow.


    There were so many things a Level 6 LeBlanc could do!


    She could cast two Sigils of Malice using Mimic now, thus, her DPS potential was enormous if she unleashed all of her skills onto one foe.


    Of course, she could also Mimic her Distortion skill. In fact, Mimicking Distortion was one of the ways that could deal more damage. However, to use Distortion, LeBlanc needed to dash toward the enemy, increasing the risk of exposing herself to danger!


    Luocheng did not hesitate when he saw the opportunity and quickly struck!


    His way of using LeBlanc was different from the others. The last skill he used was Distortion¡­ meaning that when he used Mimic to attack, he was attacking Blitzcrank with Distortion first.


    After that, he quickly cast a Sign of Malice on him!


    Bzzt!


    Jupiter was not a slowpoke either, and when he saw Luocheng rush at him with all his attacks, he quickly pressed his ulti and detonated his Static Shield, attempting to silence LeBlanc!


    A powerful electric current surged up to surround him, damaging the creeps and Champions around him.


    Yet, when the electric current reached Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc, she suddenly vanished and teleported back to her previous spot!


    She was able to skip back to her previous spot using Mimic in the nick of time, resulting in Blitzcrank¡¯s attack missing him entirely!


    It was such an elegant display of skill!


    After Static Field was detonated, LeBlanc swiftly dashed forward again and landed her attack on Blitzcrank¡¯s face, activating the Mark of Malice that was on him. This meant that her attack not only dealt additional damage, but also silenced him. Then, LeBlanc hit the poor robot with her Ethereal Chains!


    Langjie¡¯s Twitch quickly activated his Ultimate as soon as he saw LeBlanc coming. However, Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc was able to skip back to her original spot yet again, resulting in Twitch missing all of his attacks!


    As she moved back, Ethereal Chains had rooted Blitzcrank, giving Lin Dong the opportunity to step in with his attacks and Ignite, killing Blitzcrank. Then, he unleashed his ¡°Pegasus Meteor Fist¡± on Twitch, forcing him to flee for his life!


    This beautiful display of skill had dazed the audience!


    In fact, no one in the professional player seats could see clearly how he had done all those combos!


    How did he do it? Unleashing his skills consecutively like that?


    LeBlanc¡¯s Ultimate skill was Mimic¡ªrepeating her last-used skill. Yet, he was able to move back and forth with W, then Q, then W, then W, then E, and then W! It was as though he was defying the laws of nature in the Summoner¡¯s Rift!


    ¡°He used his ulti first. She was mimicking the Distortion she had used earlier!¡± Hades pointed out the secret behind this combo.


    Using Mimic first.


    That was an unusual move for LeBlanc users, and yet, this was the safest way to deal DPS with minimal risk. By doing this, he could make his LeBlanc unpredictable!


    It almost felt as though four LeBlancs were dancing around Jupiter, confusing him like the moron that he was!

 Chapter 483 - Walking Two Dogs with Ethereal Chains

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After defeating Blitzcrank, Luocheng and Lin Dong quickly rushed the creeps toward the opponents¡¯ towers.


    It was about time to take down the towers at the bottom lane. If they could tear them down, it would be much easier for them to hunt the Dragon. Seeing the both of them reach his tower, Guan Langjie¡¯s Twitch hurriedly fled for its life.


    Meanwhile, Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo had been ganked by Zhao Tinghua¡¯s Monkey King. Tinghua was coming in strong at Da Luo, hitting him with his Ultimate right away. He seemed to have decided to keep on with the momentum until Da Luo¡¯s defense on the upper lane had completely broken down, and this was a good move.


    Team Skycrown¡¯s only real offensive champion in the early-game was Mundo. If he could stop Mundo from growing stronger, Team Skycrown¡¯s lineup could then be weakened and taken on by Wukong and Renekton.


    ***


    Luocheng was finding every opportunity he could to attack Langjie and Jupiter, kicking up a storm of blood at the bottom lane, while Tinghua was rocking up his own version of a hurricane at the top lane. They had the same idea in mind¡ªto force one of the lanes¡¯ defense on the opposing side to collapse.


    Tinghua was not in a hurry to hunt the Dragon, instead, he kept hitting the enemies at the top lane while guarding the Blue Orb at the middle lane. Xie Yi was much stronger than Wu Sen, thus, whether one was able to acquire the Blue Orb or not could determine which side was stronger.


    Orianna was a terrifying foe to take on in teamfights. If one allowed her to kill more than 200 creeps and acquire her equipment, taking on Orianna would be a hellish task!


    ***


    As time ticked by, they finally had entered the mid-game, and each side had started to show increasing signs of ganking.


    Zhou Yan knew that he could not do much to aid the top lane, and so, he shifted his attention to the middle and bottom lanes.


    ¡°Heads up. I¡¯ll lure Twitch over.¡± Taking a glance at the Twitch that was cowering beneath its tower, Zhou Yan alerted Luocheng and Lin Dong.


    Then, Zhou Yan swiftly moved between the wards and zipped toward the opponents¡¯ towers at the bottom lane. Twitch was aiding the creeps and hitting the oncoming minion wave, not anticipating Lee Sin to show up.


    Dragon¡¯s Rage!


    In just one kick, Lee Sin had knocked Twitch out of the attack range of the tower. Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc then came out of her hiding and unleashed a set of skills on the poor Plague Rat.


    Finally, Lin Dong arrived to deal the finishing blow!


    ¡°D*mn it! They¡¯re aiming at me again!¡±


    Langjie was so pissed off that he could freak out and descend into insanity on the spot!


    0/3/0


    Things were not looking good for him. His creep score was 50 creeps less than Lucian¡ªLucian, The Purifier, had a decent score of 4/0/2. Their DPS were not on the same scale at all.


    Almost as though he was unwilling to concede defeat, whenever Team Skycrown bagged themselves a kill, Tinghua¡¯s Wukong would trash a tower at the top lane or force himself forward to slay Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo.


    Up till now, Da Luo had been slain a total of 4 times already. Although his Mundo had been taking down as many opponent minions as he could, his kill count was still much lower than Twitch¡¯s and Lucian¡¯s.


    Two champions¡ªone of them was an ADC while the other was a top-laner. They were both occupying crucial spots on the map, and still as of yet, it was quite difficult to see which side had more advantages.


    Well, if one were to be picky, Team Skycrown might have a bit more advantage due to the income they acquired from the Dragon.


    A few moments later, Team Skycrown had destroyed the second turret at the bottom lane, sending their minions straight into the inner sanctums of their opponents¡¯ base.


    No matter how you looked at it, destroying the bottom lane¡¯s towers were much more important than destroying the ones at the top lane. This was already far into the mid-game, thus, killing Baron Nashor could grant them a great advantage. If they could take out the bottom lane¡¯s tower, the opponents would then be forced to retreat to defend their base. This would buy Team Skycrown some time to kill the Baron.


    Even if they ignored the Dragons, the opponents would still be forced into a passive stance near the dragon pit due to them wanting to hunt the Baron themselves.


    Luocheng and Lin Dong started to engage with their opponents near the Dragon right after sending the minions to the opponents¡¯ base.


    Nevertheless, Team Sky was still a fairly experienced team. They did not make such an amateur mistake especially after being on the receiving end of Team Skycrown¡¯s ¡°Moving Castle¡± strategy.


    Hence, they had moved straight to the Baron pit, sacrificing their bottom lane entirely.


    When the camera panned over to Baron Nashor¡¯s lair, the two opposing teams of champions had already started to exchange blows.


    Suddenly, on the other side of the lair, Renekton wielded its massive blade and leapt straight into Team Skycrown¡¯s formation.


    Team Sky was going in on the offence first!


    Thanks to Tinghua, Renekton had already been developed a lot, thus, a set of combo landing on his sturdy body only scraped off a few bits of health from him. It was pretty much the same as tickling him gently.


    At the same time, Tinghua¡¯s Wukong suddenly vanished into thin air!


    Luocheng began to feel anxious.


    He was not worried about Renekton¡¯s sturdy defense or thick pool of HP¡ªthe darn crocodile could not do much damage after all. He was more worried about Tinghua¡¯s Monkey King.


    With the Spirit of the Elder Lizard and Black Cleaver, Wukong could penetrate their armor with ease, and the second Wukong used his Ultimate, it was almost certain that Orianna would use her Ultimate as well. They could not risk that happening!


    Luocheng swept his eyes around the surrounding area, trying to locate Tinghua.


    Wukong, the Monkey King, was a famous choice for a Jungler. There were many other champions that were much better than him at ganking but they still chose him. Why? Because they could use his Warrior Trickster skill to ambush his enemies stealthily. During a team brawl, a skilful Monkey King would make you stand there, pondering over his next move.


    Silence. Yes, he had to Silence Wukong before the latter could unleash his Cyclone!


    Paying full attention to finding Tinghua, Luocheng suddenly realized that he had made a very fatal mistake¡ªhe had stood too close to a bush, and Tinghua could very well be crouching near the darn bush right about now!


    Just as Luocheng was about to move away, the Monkey King leapt out in front of him!


    Sure enough, Tinghua had locked his eyes on Luocheng for quite some time now, and as soon as he had gotten close enough, Tinghua had quickly cast his E-skill, Nimbus Strike, on the latter!


    Of course, he also knew that Luocheng had great reflexes, thus, he was not going to give him any chance to Silence him and quickly unleashed his ulti after pressing his E!


    Countless strikes were let loose with the Monkey King¡¯s staff! It was as though his staff had split into several copies and were striking everything in their paths! Everything that was struck was sent flying away!


    To ensure that his attacks hit more targets, Tinghua had Flashed toward Lin Dong and Wu Sen right after attacking Luocheng.


    His main targets were, of course, not Luocheng.


    After all, Luocheng was just a Support. His real targets were the Mid and ADC!


    Not only that, Tinghua¡¯s Wukong had The Ball on him, and upon seeing this, Luocheng felt as though hundreds of tonnes of weight was pressing on his heart.


    If Orianna unleashed her Command: Shockwave right after Wukong¡¯s attacks landed, their ADC could be slain almost instantly!


    Under these circumstances, Lin Dong would not be able to do anything at all. Dashing forward by using an enemy as a stepping stone¡­ no one could foresee and evade that!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Lucian was sent flying after being hit by Wukong¡¯s staff, but luckily, Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu was able to come just in the nick of time to cast Wild Growth on him, giving Lucian some breathing space and opportunity to retreat.


    It was chaotic. There were attacks and skills flickering all over the place, in the Baron¡¯s lair, bushes, and even the hills. It was quite difficult to distinguish friend from foe!


    So¡­ what could a Support possibly do while all this was happening? Especially when he did not know where his allies were?


    Well, the first thing he needed to do was to not attack his enemies. It was no use to try taking down an enemy amidst this chaos. No. The first thing he needed to do was to locate his team¡¯s ADC and to see if the ADC was being attacked.


    A Support was not tanky. Unless you were Leona or Alistar, you should always reserve some skills for self-preservation and aid the ADC. Never talk a stroll during a teamfight or you would be slain in seconds.


    Like the ADC, a Support should always fight cautiously. There was no need to be a hero, instead, just wait patiently until the enemies¡¯ attacks and skills were unleashed first, then find an opening to counter back.


    In short, always stand near the ADC and stay on the defensive!


    Lin Dong had killed a lot, making his equipment the best amongst the team.


    Luocheng¡¯s main responsibility now was to ensure that he did not bite the dust.


    It was quite obvious that Renekton as well as Wukong was aiming for Lin Dong. Despite having a buff from Lulu, it was still quite difficult for Lin Dong to survive until his skills¡¯ cooldown was done.


    Seeing the large crocodile inching closer toward his ADC, Luocheng quickly cast his Q-skill, Sigil of Malice, at Renekton. Then, he tethered the Butcher of the Sands with Ethereal Chains!


    This would in turn Silence Renekton for 1.5 seconds and then Root him for another 1.5 seconds.


    At the same time, Luocheng Mimicked his Ethereal Chains and aimed them at Wukong!


    Although Tinghua tried to evade them, his Monkey King still got caught and tethered by LeBlanc¡¯s Ethereal Chains.


    From afar, it looked as though LeBlanc had shackled up two ferocious beasts using her chains¡­ it was quite hilarious to look at!


    ¡°Very nice! Fighting Hawk is now walking two dogs using his Ethereal Chains. This has stopped Team Sky from instant-killing his team¡¯s ADC!¡±


    LeBlanc, her Ethereal Chains, a chained monkey and crocodile. Indeed, this looked like a beautiful magician was taking out two dogs for a ¡°walk¡±.

 Chapter 484 - LeBlanc, The Bullfighter

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was crowd-control over crowd-control. Reining in both Renekton and Wukong was quite challenging.


    Zhao Tinghua¡¯s Wukong had a very high DPS, almost killing off Lin Dong earlier with his combos. After being reduced to a few drops of HP, it was difficult for Lin Dong to do any effective retaliation.


    In this new season, it was difficult for the ADC to survive on the battlefield. It did not matter where you were sent to¡ªtop lane, jungle, or the bottom lane. Heck, even the Support was becoming tankier by the day, making the ADC¡¯s life increasingly excruciating to live through.


    Luocheng had done everything he could to support his fellow teammate, and yet, when facing these two beasts and The Ball, Lin Dong was still being shredded to death.


    After the ADC was slain, the only one left that could face off with the enemies was Wu Sen.


    Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu kept moving about while using Glitterlance, firing bolts after bolts of magic attacks at the enemies with Pix, her Faerie Companion. Their magic bolts were piercing through their first targets and hitting the ones standing behind them.


    Luocheng, Zhou Yan, and Da Luo were now focusing their efforts in guarding Lulu, kiting the enemies back and forth. They had even depleted a lot of Renekton¡¯s HP. Unfortunately, they were not fast enough to kill the near-death Wukong.


    A few moments later, Zhou Yan quickly cast his Q-skill, landing Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Wave on Orianna. When he saw that his Sonic Wave had landed, Zhou Yan quickly cast Resonating Strike, Tempest, and Dragon¡¯s Rage at Orianna.


    Unfortunately, Orianna had shielded herself with Command: Protect.


    D*mn it! Thanks to The Ball¡¯s shield, Xie Yi¡¯s Orianna had been saved. On the other hand, things were not looking too good for Zhou Yan. When Blitzcrank, who was nearby, retaliated with Robot Grab, Zhou Yan was defeated as well!


    In the blink of an eye, cards were stacked against Team Skycrown!


    ¡°This is quite expected. Team Skycrown doesn¡¯t have much of a chance when getting into a teamfight. Besides, Dr. Mundo hasn¡¯t been fully developed yet. Hence, they could not rely on the Madman of Zaun to carry them like how Renekton is doing so for Team Sky!¡±


    Thus, Team Skycrown was now on the disadvantageous side once more. Lulu and Mundo continuously cast their skills again and again at their enemies as the opponent Blitzcrank dashed toward them at full speed!


    Blitzcrank was one of the quickest Champions when pursuing prey. Most Champions could not move as fast as the Great Steam Golem, and as long as Jupiter could get close enough, he could pawn another head for the team.


    Feeling that he could finally avenge his team, Jupiter dashed forward without giving it much thought. His movements were delicately precise, evading Mundo¡¯s cleaver while dashing forward at a great speed.


    ¡°Run!¡± Realizing that things were not going well for them, Luocheng ordered his team members to flee.


    In order to save his teammates, Luocheng purposely moved slower, intending to lure the oncoming enemy.


    Nevertheless, Jupiter was a seasoned player. As soon as he saw LeBlanc¡¯s awkward movements, he decided to not waste his Robot Grab on her and kept on dashing forward.


    Then, he quickly cast his E-skill, knocking LeBlanc away with his Power Fist. Right after that, Jupiter quickly Silenced her, and in a mere instant, LeBlanc¡¯s HP had been mostly depleted.


    Meanwhile, Renekton was tailing closely behind Blitzcrank. As soon as he saw LeBlanc being knocked away, Renekton stepped forward to slash the poor Deceiver!


    ¡°Kill ¡¯em! Kill ¡¯em! Kill ¡¯em!!!!¡± Langjie was psyched!


    Finally! Finally they could slay this annoying LeBlanc! They had to kill her!


    After getting hit and slowed down, Luocheng knew that it would be difficult for him to exchange blows with Blitzcrank, and so, he quickly cast his ulti to Mimic his Distortion and flee!


    Jupiter had no need to use Rocket Grab to pursue LeBlanc as he could catch up to her by simply just running toward her.


    After fleeing for a while, Luocheng saw that the cursed robot and crocodile were about to catch up. Thus, he quickly pressed the final skill he had under his sleeves¡ªhis W-skill, the real ¡°Distortion¡±!


    In less than a second, LeBlanc quickly dashed out and escaped the persistent robot pursuer.


    However, Jupiter had also finally unleashed his Robot Grab at LeBlanc.


    He knew that Luocheng had used up most of his skills and was being forced into a corner. Thus, it was impossible for him to miss!


    As Blitzcrank¡¯s robotic hand was hurled over the bushes, Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc had lost every hope of escape. Jupiter had a really great understanding on how Blitzcrank worked, and he was able to keep Luocheng in his grasp even after LeBlanc had Distorted twice!


    The audience held their breath as they saw this. The excitement and tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife!


    Team Skcrown had lost two Champions. If they suffered one more casualty, the Baron Nashor would fall into Team Sky¡¯s laps! Team Sky would get enough scores to win the match too!


    Could anyone change Team Skycrown¡¯s depressing fate of defeat?


    ***


    Right when Blitzcrank¡¯s robotic hand was practically a few inches away from LeBlanc, Luocheng¡¯s eyes focused on the flickering Distortion that LeBlanc had left behind¡­


    Then, he swiftly hammered the R-key with his finger!


    Just as the robot hand was about to grab her, LeBlanc had vanished into thin air!


    Yes indeed! Luocheng had now moved back to the spot he had dashed from using his Distortion skill, and now, he had escaped Blitzcrank¡¯s grasp by Mimicking the same skill!


    Not only that, the spot that Luocheng retreated back to was now inside the opponents¡¯ fog of war. Renekton, Twitch, and Wukong instantly lost sight of LeBlanc! The only one left at the rear was Orianna, who was still buffing her teammates¡¯ movement speed.


    Naturally, Luocheng quickly struck out with his Sigil of Malice and Ethereal Chains! Xie Yi tried to shield himself with his Command: Protect, however, he was not quick enough.


    ¡°Holy Moly! That¡¯s a kill! Fighting Hawk was not only able to escape the Robot Grab, he was even able to pawn an opponent¡¯s head for the team!¡±


    A loud cheer erupted from the audience! It was quite an amazing feat to behold!


    A moment ago, Luocheng had been fleeing away from his pursuers using a Mimicked Distortion, moving from one screen to another.


    Orianna and Twitch stayed at the rear to prevent LeBlanc from escaping using her tricks. Yet, they did not expect Luocheng to not only be this fast in fleeing but also taking out one of them while he was running away!


    ¡°What! What..!?¡±


    Xie Yi was so shocked that he could not talk properly. He had underestimated LeBlanc¡¯s DPS. He knew The Deceiver could zip back toward him using her Distortion, and yet, he had still stood beside the Distortion. Oh, that had backfired real quick indeed!


    After slaying Orianna, Luocheng quickly ran for his life.


    Of course his opponents would not just let him walk away scot-free after the stunt he had pulled. Twitch was already lying in wait nearby, and as soon as LeBlanc got close enough, Twitch quickly struck with his venom!


    ¡°You¡¯re dead! Dead!¡± Langjie was pursuing Luocheng like a mad man.


    How could you blame him? Langjie had been suppressing his anger for so long. Killing him now could at least ease his grudge of being slain 100 times previously!


    In just a few moments, Luocheng saw his health bar dropping like crazy! If this kept up, LeBlanc would be slain by Twitch¡¯s venom!


    Thus, he quickly cast his W-skill again and dashed away!


    He was not going to give that clown the pleasure of killing him.


    Langjie was pursuing Luocheng excitedly when suddenly, LeBlanc vanished! In an instant, she had now moved back to the bush behind Blitzcrank!


    Without wards, you would think that LeBlanc had mysteriously disappeared! You would not know where she had fled to!


    Luocheng had calculated his every move. He would not use his Distortion carelessly without thinking ahead. Whenever he used Distortion, his opponents would be stunned by LeBlanc¡¯s sudden disappearance!


    Renekton, Twitch, and Blitzcrank were stunned when they saw LeBlanc blink away the fourth time. They looked around and were at a loss at where they should head to. Then, Jupiter recalled that the last time LeBlanc Distorted away, she had been standing right behind him¡­ at the bush behind him!


    ¡°Here we go! Whimsy!¡±


    Just when Jupiter was about to go after Luocheng, suddenly, Lulu appeared next to him and turned him into a critter! Without wasting a second, Lulu cast Whimsy on Luocheng as well, granting LeBlanc a movement speed buff. In an instant, LeBlanc had fled away at high speed toward the towers!


    ¡°D*mn it! Contaminate!¡±


    Langjie quickly cast his E-skill and activated Twitch¡¯s Contaminate. LeBlanc only had a few drops of HP left, if he could hit her with this skill, he could slay her.


    But¡­ Luocheng had successfully fled through their towers! All three Team Sky members were chasing after her fervently and were still unable to pawn her head! It was quite hilarious to look at!


    ¡°Sh*t! He¡¯s still alive! Alive!!¡±


    ¡°This is so amazing! His Distortion was brilliantly utilized! First, he escaped the Robot Grab. Then, he killed Orianna. And then, he even escaped Twitch! It was like he was toying with Team Sky! Not only that, the perfect collaboration with Lulu who saved the dying LeBlanc!¡±


    The commentators were extremely excited as they commented on what was going on.


    It was like an underdog escaping from a near-death scenario and killing off one enemy in the process. In the hands of Luocheng, LeBlanc had turned into the most skilful magician on the planet and could appear anywhere as she wished!


    The audience were dazed by his artful display of wit and skill! It was already quite amazing to see him finishing off Orianna earlier, and to top it off, he could still manage to escape completely! He had thought of every single escape route!


    This was as though LeBlanc had become a bullfighter, donning a red cloak and toying with the stupid bulls in Team Sky. First, lure them to one location and then zip to another spot, wasting their energy and cool-downed skills.


    Every single member of Team Sky had a long face that could touch their feet.


    Yes, they had the upper hand. So what? Now it felt as though they had already lost!


    Sure, Luocheng¡¯s stunts could not change much in their team¡¯s gold and kill count. However, there was one thing that he had managed to do for sure¡ªincreasing his team¡¯s morale!

 Chapter 485 - Destructive Cyclone!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    There were some champions who had bones of steel, while some other champions were born to make a fool out of others, like The Deceiver¡ªLeBlanc!


    Of course, there were certain risks of playing around with people¡¯s intelligence, because their opponents were professional players after all. It was obvious with LeBlancs¡¯ exaggerated maneuver that without Wu Sen¡¯s timely speed boost, shield, and polymorph, Luocheng would have died right there and then.


    This fight had made Team Sky lose any face they had had, but the most important issue was still this one¡­they couldn¡¯t even fr*aking win a teamfight!


    In terms of lineup, if Team Skyrown couldn¡¯t maintain their formation properly, they could easily be scattered by Wukong and Orianna. Not only that, Renekton would be a big contributor to the fights and Twitch was the main damage dealer in it, those were not issues easily resolved!


    At first, Luocheng had thought that he and the team would be able to handle it if Tinghua chose to dash in to initiate a fight. In the end, the position Tinghua chose to dash in from wasn¡¯t able to be figured out, and if a fight like this broke out again, the difference in advantage would be even more clear!


    They couldn¡¯t play it that way, they definitely couldn¡¯t initiate a teamfight!


    The disadvantage that they were in still wasn¡¯t that obvious yet, it still wasn¡¯t too late at this time to decide to split-push. Luocheng glanced at Da Luo, asking, ¡°How long more to Teleport?¡±


    ¡°50 seconds.¡± Da Luo replied solemnly.


    In this round, Da Luo had been targeted by Tinghua to the point that he was almost useless. He had only managed to build a Sunfire Cape, not even his Spirit Visage was up yet. These items definitely couldn¡¯t keep up with the current teamfights, even Twitch¡¯s damage would be able to take down Dr. Mundo.


    ¡°Go farm, push the lane. We¡¯ll drag and you can Teleport down when needed.¡± Luocheng said to Da Luo.


    Da Luo nodded his head, he needed to farm. A Mundo with no items was basically paper in a teamfight!


    ***


    While Luocheng chose his countermeasures, Tinghua also had his own ideas.


    It was obvious that if it wasn¡¯t for that obvious mistake from his teammates, they would have won the last teamfight, maybe even getting the Baron.


    In a teamfight, the advantages they had were obviously much bigger. If Renekton stood in the front, no matter what item Lucian had, the new trend in the new season was tanks all around, ADCs were not as important anymore.


    It was seen in the previous teamfight that Lucian¡¯s farm was not that far off from Renekton¡¯s, even going slightly above it. However, the moment a slight focus was on Lucian, it would be hard for him to deal much damage.


    On the other hand, Renekton just had to dash into the middle of the fight, and he was practically invincible. The front-liner was stable and with the Mid standing at the back, the small difference in items between the ADCs was insignificant and their damage output was much better!


    This was Tinghua¡¯s plan, to focus on the Top and let the bottom lane go. Let the tank directly destroy Team Skycrown¡¯s team fighting capabilities which were weaker than theirs!


    In fact, Tinghua¡¯s plan was correct. As long as Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t handle the huge meat tank standing in front, there was no chance of victory for them at all!


    They had to take advantage of this time when Renekton was unstoppable with his damage and tankiness to keep forcing teamfights onto Team Skycrown, using this strong pressure to not let them have any space to breath at all!


    ***


    The so-called 70% control-rate of the jungle area¡ª in this round, other than not managing to control the Dragon area, Team Skycrown¡¯s jungle had become Tinghua¡¯s backyard. All the jungle creeps were taken and all the buffs were in their opponent¡¯s pocket.


    Team Skycrown just gave up on those lost resources and entered into a defensive formation instead.


    With a champion like Lulu, it was a good way to stop their opponents from forcefully taking the turret.


    With one side attacking vigorously and the other side defending, this allowed Da Luo to take the lane for himself.


    Team Sky also didn¡¯t manage to find any suitable chances, and they could only depend on the jungle to widen the gap in gold difference.


    Team Skycrown was not in any hurry either, other than the Baron which they wouldn¡¯t let go, they were willing to forgo the rest of their jungle. They just intended to defend their turrets and gain more time for Da Luo to farm!


    Da Luo¡¯s farming capabilities were very strong, and after playing so many high-pressure games, it was only natural. Five minutes later, Mundo¡¯s CS had already exceeded Renekton¡¯s.


    With a Sunfire Cape and Spirit Visage in hand, it was only unfortunate that these items were not enough at this point.


    ¡°Hold on a little longer, I just need another 1,000 gold for my Randuin.¡± Da Luo decided to build Randuin¡¯s Omen first, because being a Mundo with the shield would be more terrifying when sticking to the enemy. His target in a teamfight was to be Orianna, he definitely needed to zone the main damage dealer from the fight a few lanes away before he could stop!


    ¡°Their Renekton and Twitch are out to get you.¡± Luocheng warned.


    There were no wards on the map that could show their movements and Luocheng was relying on pure instincts.


    As expected, as soon as Da Luo had cleared a particularly large wave, the invisible rat made an appearance on the map, chasing Da Luo¡¯s Mundo!


    There weren¡¯t many minions in the lanes and Luocheng wouldn¡¯t choose to push the middle lane. There wasn¡¯t even enough time to take the Baron, Da Luo couldn¡¯t afford to be caught, otherwise, the next step for Team Sky was to push the turret and force a teamfight!


    The four of them quickly cut through the jungle area, heading for the bottom lane toward Da Luo who was about to get caught.


    ¡°Careful, they could be waiting to ambush us.¡± Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc walked in the front, reminding the others.


    Just as he had said that, a robotic hand shot out from a completely unexpected angle!


    The electrical claw hooked onto Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin, and when he was pulled behind the wall, Luocheng realized with a start that there were four of them hiding there!


    The other side didn¡¯t hold back anything at all and Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin didn¡¯t have any time to cast any skills at all. First, getting silenced and struck, then knocked up and stunned¡­


    The audience sucked in their breath, Zhou Yan had been caught, he was basically going to be instantly wrecked by their opponent!


    ¡°Hugify!¡±


    In that thrilling moment, Wu Sen¡¯s skill was thrown out, and it was his Ultimate onto Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin!


    Lulu¡¯s ulti had the effect of enlarging the target champion, knocking up the surrounding enemies in range as well. The ulti that landed on Lee Sin instantly knocked up all four of the enemies who were around him!


    ¡°Nice!¡± Luocheng exclaimed in surprise.


    Wu Sen¡¯s ulti was cast at a crucial moment, if it was just a millisecond slower, Lee Sin would definitely have died to the four of them. Adding on to the knock up from the ulti, it had effectively controlled their four opponents!


    Zhou Yan¡¯s mental judgement was indeed excellent. When he was caught and pulled over, his entire person had remained calm the whole way. Taking the chance when Lulu ulted him which also shielded him, he planted a ward and flew to the back of Blitzcrank!


    Dragon¡¯s Rage!


    An eye for an eye!


    Blitzcrank had caught him from the other side and dragged him into his teammates, so now, it was Lee Sin¡¯s turn to send Blitzcrank flying into his teammates, let¡¯s see who would die first!


    With a godly kick from Lee Sin, he vehemently sent the robot across the wall into the opposite wall!


    Luocheng, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen saw Lee Sin, who was calm in the face of danger, he was so gracious to even send over a nice gift¡­ who were they to deny such a gesture! And they prepared to launch their skills at their incoming prey.


    Jupiter¡¯s Blitzcrank didn¡¯t have much tank items nor health on him, and once he was rooted by Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc, he was killed within two seconds!


    On the other side, Lee Sin was also getting beaten up. Wukong¡¯s damage was high but limited, while Renekton¡¯s damage was not very effective against the tanky items that Lee Sin¡¯s had on him. The only real damage dealer would be Orianna, but it wasn¡¯t as though she would use her ulti on a Lee Sin, because if she did, they didn¡¯t deserve anything in this teamfight at all!


    Zhou Yan carried on for about 4 to 5 seconds, and then he sent a Sonic Wave toward the Krugs.


    The other three members of Team Sky could only watch as Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin flew across the wall with one fourth of his health left, escaping with his life intact!


    At the same time, Da Luo who was at the bottom lane used Teleport!


    He wasn¡¯t fooled by Langjie who was trying to bait him with his cat-and-mouse game, instead, directly using Teleport in the latter¡¯s face onto the ward that Zhou Yan had planted for his Dragon¡¯s Rage!


    That was smack dab in the middle of their enemies when Da Luo Teleported in, and Team Sky¡¯s formation had long been chaotic.


    Da Luo didn¡¯t bother saying anything, turning his focus on chasing Xie Yi¡¯s Orianna!


    Without Twitch around, the damage dealt by their opponents was not painful at all!


    Blitzcrank had already been killed, Twitch was still thousands of miles away, and the fight had suddenly turned into a 5 vs 3 with the favor leaning toward Team Skycrown¡¯s side!


    Team Skycrown was after victory, and if luck continued to stay on their side, this match could most likely be the key for them to obtaining the championship!


    Lulu sped up Da Luo¡¯s Mundo, and he was invincible at this time. The ring of fire around him burned merrily as he charged toward the three enemies!


    The chase continued down the lane and into the river, it didn¡¯t seem like it would stop anytime soon.


    Luocheng glanced at the mini map feeling that Twitch would have already made his way nearby when suddenly, he noticed Wukong was not moving from his spot at all!


    That¡¯s not right, they were planning to turn around!


    Unfortunately, before Luocheng could call out a warning, Tinghua¡¯s Wukong emerged from his invincibility under the cover of the clouds, the magical golden staff held in his hands as he headed toward Lulu who was standing more to the front!


    Cyclone!


    The golden staff kicked up clouds of dust, sweeping in circles and hitting everything that entered into his path!


    Tinghua and Orianna both had their Ultimates, and this counterattack was extremely fatal to Team Skycrown. This was because when chasing down the enemy, you would not have kept any formation, and this wasn¡¯t any different for professional players!


    Wukong¡¯s ulti had managed to strike Luocheng, Lin Dong and Wu Sen, knocking the three into the air and it could be said to be a perfect, godlike CC!


    However, that was just the beginning. Orianna had already placed her ball on Wukong before this started, and the magic ball sent out a shocking pulse, dragging in the three of them before they managed to land on the ground!


    Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc didn¡¯t have her Flash anymore, and when this deadly combo was cast, he was killed instantly!


    His screen turned gray and white immediately.


    Lin Dong¡¯s reaction was faster, and when he saw Wukong¡¯s E-skill which brought him closer, he had already pressed his Flash instantly, narrowly avoiding this disastrous combo. Wu Sen was not as lucky, even with the shield he cast on himself, the horrifying damage dealt took away the last bit of his health easily.


    Tinghua¡¯s counterattack had made the situation extremely chaotic and Wu Sen barely survived before finally getting killed. He slammed the keyboard in his irritation¡­


    How could his finger speed be so slow! When Wukong had turned around to counterattack, he still had the chance to polymorph him, but the result was that he was able to unleash that destructive cyclone that reversed the entire situation!

 Chapter 486 - Delaying Their Victory!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It was like a scene of disaster.


    The lineup that Team Sky had was really too strong. With a Wukong who had already built a Black Cleaver, no matter what armor you had, it would be of no use. Moreover, his ulti had hit the three champions that were more squishy!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t blame Wu Sen for not being able to polymorph the Monkey King because he himself hadn¡¯t managed to react in time as he had not expected Tinghua to choose that moment to turn around and begin his counterattack. If he had reacted faster, he could have used Distortion to escape, maybe even silencing or restraining Wukong in the process.


    Couldn¡¯t blame anyone, one could only say that Tinghua¡¯s timing of turning around to counterattack was perfect. His combo was way too fast, just a second ago, he was running like a mad man, the next second, he was sweeping everything in his path, giving them no time to react at all. He had also considered Lulu¡¯s polymorph skills, and his ulti was launched while the clouds of dust had covered him, rendering Lulu completely unprepared to target him at all. If Lin Dong hadn¡¯t used his Flash, the entire fight could have ended in an ACE, and the game would be near the finishing line!


    ***


    Langjie¡¯s Twitch had caught up by now, the Plague Rat with his ulti and poisonous bolts had come to clean up Team Skycrown.


    Langjie was already laughing madly, as though he himself had become the source of a plague. At his feet was the village that had mocked and humiliated him, an ear-splitting grin on his face which only held malice and vengeance. Laughing and cursing, and at the same time, he kept throwing poison at the crowd in front of him. Each time a person fell to it, he would laugh and laugh, more and more hysterically!


    How long had it been, how long had it been since he had been able to kill so merrily. In the early stage of this game, he had been pressured too much, and now, it was as though all of that was gone, replaced by the ecstatic joy of going on a killing spree!


    The backline of Team Skycrown¡¯s team was a mess, what with Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc instantly killed, Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu meeting a tragic death, Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin fleeing from the poison bolts, and Lin Dong¡¯s Lucian that was finally defeated by the poisonous bolts from Twitch¡­


    No matter how good the items an ADC had, if they couldn¡¯t make use of the environment, they really weren¡¯t any different than other champions.


    Lin Dong was helpless in that situation, and even with such glorious items, he couldn¡¯t escape his fate of dying!


    Out of the whole team, only Zhou Yan was left with the tiniest bit of health remaining, and Da Luo, who was isolated from them all.


    ***


    ¡°Da Luo, run, don¡¯t die! It¡¯s a 2 for 4.¡± Luocheng said.


    Team Skycrown couldn¡¯t afford to get ace-d, once there was nobody to defend, the game was basically lost.


    Da Luo nodded his head, letting go of the unreasonable chase, and he, who still had his ulti¡ªSadism and was regenerating health as he went, retreated to the bottom lane alone.


    It was obvious that Team Sky would choose to go for the Baron. Their Renekton and Wukong had sufficient items on them, Orianna and Twitch had enough damage, and so, the smartest choice was to take the Baron now. Having the Baron buff, all of Team Skycrown¡¯s outer turrets would be taken down easily and the gap in gold difference would be even higher!


    ¡°Da Luo, push the bottom lane, I¡¯ll head over to steal the Baron.¡± Zhou Yan said to Da Luo.


    Many times, Junglers needed to put all their eggs in one basket, and that was to steal the Baron!


    Lee Sin was a champion that had a high chance of being able to steal the Baron. If he sacrificed himself and successfully acquired the Baron, they would be able to turn the disadvantage around immediately!


    Zhou Yan looked for a route toward the Baron Canyon while Da Luo gave up on the idea of harassing their opponents.


    If Zhou Yan could steal it, that would be great, but if he couldn¡¯t and the both of them were left there, this match was as good as over!


    With him pushing the lane by himself, Da Luo hurriedly forced the wave forward toward the base of their opponents.


    Team Sky was taking the path from the Dragon pit to the Baron, and the walk had wasted quite a bit of their time¡­


    Da Luo continued to push the lane and the cannon minion reached the base when Team Sky was just about to finish the Baron!


    ***


    Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin was hovering above the Baron¡¯s Canyon. In many cases, the outcome of the match was decided with this Smite, whether the Smite was perfectly executed or not!


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t have much health left, and at most, he could last a mere second in the middle of them.


    He double-checked the damage of his Smite¡­


    As a Jungler, the damage at every level of Smite should be memorized in their minds, but at this anxious time, he worried that his memory would be affected by his nerves¡­


    The members of Team Sky were also smart, they were using their bodies to block the path to the Baron, not allowing Zhou Yan to get a chance to kick out his Q-skill at the Baron.


    Zhou Yan was waiting for the opportunity and he had consistently planted wards in order to get the best line of sight.


    His mouse cursor was on the Baron, the left button clicked on the beast, watching the display of its health.


    To steal the Baron, you couldn¡¯t wait until its health was down to less than 1,000 HP and only then hitting it. By then, your opponent could also instantly Smite the Baron with its remaining health. So, when the Baron had about 2,000 HP, you needed to make a move already, because when you go at this point, the Jungler on the other side would be anxious and would likely Smite first, making it easier to follow up with your own Smite and steal the Baron!


    2,500


    2,200


    1,900¡­


    1,500!


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t choose to kick his way in, instead, he chose to plant a ward and cast his W-skill to it as he knew there wasn¡¯t much hope for him to survive, and so, keeping his W-skill or not didn¡¯t make much of a difference¡­


    There were four enemies below, death within an instant, and whether it was possible to steal the Baron at this moment, there was no space for hesitation, no space for mistakes, and even more, no space to let Baron fall into their enemies¡¯ hands!


    Boom!


    A deep yellow clawmark formed the skill for Smite, landing heavily on the body of the Baron!


    ¡°Die! Die!!¡±


    Zhou Yan screamed in his heart!


    This Baron, this Smite, it concerned the whole year of effort that Team Skycrown had put in, and even more, it was related to their entire fate in e-sports!


    ¡°Did he get it, did Gale Crane get the Baron!?¡± Miracle¡¯s voice had raised a pitch, clearly indicating his nervousness and excitement.


    A large group stood up from among the crowd suddenly, as though by standing up, they would be able to be the first to see who had managed to grab the Baron!


    The air was tense as everyone in the arena held their breath¡­


    And that one Smite had burned!


    Boom!


    Almost at the same moment the deep yellow claw from Zhou Yan¡¯s Smite had fallen, another Smite joined it from the sky!


    The audience had no way of knowing whose Smite had come first!


    A piercing scream, and it was obvious that the first Smite had been too early, failing to kill the Baron. The second Smite had fallen, killing off the Baron!


    This had always been the case with this b*tch of a Baron, no matter how much you stuck to her, how much blood, sweat, and tears you poured into her, it was somehow still possible that she would run off with some other person!


    Unfortunately, this was not the case with Zhou Yan¡­


    Just like the disdainful taunt on Tinghua¡¯s face.


    No one had been able to steal a Baron from his hands, and in this world, there was no one who could ever steal a Baron from Tinghua!


    The best punishment for a loser who forced his way in was to send him back to the fountain!


    Tinghua¡¯s Wukong held that arrogance, lifting the staff held in his hands high and slamming it down onto Lee Sin¡¯s head¡­


    This staff had also knocked Zhou Yan¡¯s mind into a frantic state!


    He was clearly calm and had calculated the health, how¡­how could he have missed out by so little.


    How could Tinghua have been so calm, releasing his Smite right after his? Could it be that he had also calculated the damage from Zhou Yan¡¯s Smite, or did he bet that Zhou Yan would have been unable to hold back from unleashing his Smite?


    Zhou Yan had always kept an expressionless face, but the moment he lost the Baron, his eyes changed, his entire face burning with anger, panic, and uneasiness.


    The purple Baron buff gave a high morale to their opponents, and it was a bad omen in the hearts of the five members of Team Skycrown¡­


    This was the omen of failure, it felt as though something was stuck in their throats and they wanted so badly to spit it out, but it was a fishbone, and it stung!


    ¡°Da Luo, can you take down the Inhibitor?¡±


    Just when Zhou Yan was caught up in the shadow of depression, Luocheng¡¯s voice woke him up.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Da Luo said, the certainty strong in his voice.


    If there was anything that could continue to support Team Skycrown¡¯s fight, it was Da Luo¡¯s lone army that was deep in the enemy¡¯s lane.


    Zhou Yan hadn¡¯t managed to steal the Baron, however, Da Luo had taken the opportunity to tear down the turrets, leading his wave of minions toward the Inhibitor!


    Once Team Sky had taken the Baron and saw the condition of their base, they hurriedly recalled back.


    8 seconds.


    It took 8 seconds for them to recall, Da Luo couldn¡¯t possibly take down the Inhibitor in 8 seconds. Whether by doing this they could get Super Minions to assist them later, would depend on these 8 seconds!


    Holding the rusty butcher knife in his hand, Mundo desperately hacked at the Inhibitor along with the minions.


    After 8 seconds, the four members of Team Sky rushed out from the fountain, and the Inhibitor still had a quarter of its health remaining!


    At the same time, Blitzcrank had also respawned. He was definitely a threat to Mundo, and if the latter got hooked, he wouldn¡¯t have the chance to hack at the Inhibitor!


    Da Luo¡¯s Mundo was alone in the enemy¡¯s base and he was surrounded by Master Yi, Orianna, Twitch, Blitzcrank, and Renekton!


    In the face of the five of them, Da Luo completely ignored them and continued to hack at the Inhibitor with his basic attack. Even if all of their attacks were thrown at him, he could still survive by activating his ulti!


    Blitzcrank was about to launch his hook!


    Jupiter deliberately walked nearer to the Inhibitor, not wanting to give Da Luo any chance to come closer to it!


    The mechanical gauntlet of Blitzcrank flew out, the angle was targeted at the spot that looked to be one that Da Luo would be unable to dodge!


    Bam!


    Flash!


    The claw brushed past Da Luo¡¯s body, and in that second, Da Luo Flashed from one end of the Inhibitor to the other, effectively dodging it!


    The arena had already been lit during the fight to steal the Baron, and waves after waves, after the Baron was done with, Da Luo was trying to forcefully bring down the Inhibitor alone and had moved everyone¡¯s heart.


    Thrilling, moving, this was concerning the outcome of the match like electric shocks, over and over it slammed into the players and audience¡¯s hearts!


    ¡°Tear it down, you have to tear it down!!¡±


    The four members of Team Skycrown who were waiting to respawn all chanted in their hearts!


    Da Luo¡¯s Flash had given him another chance at hacking the Inhibitor, one last time!


    The Inhibitor crystal was reduced to fragments under his butcher¡¯s knife¡­


    Seeing the fragments flying everywhere, listening to the sweet voice announcing it the moment the Inhibitor went down, Da Luo grinned widely, his white teeth shining through!


    The Inhibitor was broken! It was broken!


    With this, the Super Minions would be able to further delay the steps to Team Sky¡¯s victory. Da Luo¡¯s goal had been met, as for whatever health he had left, treat it as a reward from him to however they wanted to deal with it, hahaha

 Chapter 487 - Don’t Dream Of Returning To Base!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Beautifully done, Da Luo!¡± Luocheng and Lin Dong shouted at the same time at the top of their lungs!


    It wasn¡¯t over yet, there was still a chance. With the Super Minions being deployed and buying more time, they could still be able to find a way to turn the game around. Not only needing to destroy their Inhibitors, they needed to smash into the base, beating the cancer that was Team Sky!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s still me!¡± Da Luo grinned as he patted Zhou Yan¡¯s shoulder in reassurance as he was resurrected in the next few seconds.


    Zhou Yan let out a breath of relief.


    As the Jungler, he had to bear the weight of the team on his shoulders. The pressure was too great, especially during the times when taking or stealing the Baron was involved. The speed of releasing Smite concerned the victory or defeat of the game, and Zhou Yan had suffered a lot under the burden just now.


    Fortunately, Da Luo had lived up to the expectations and had managed to take down the opponent¡¯s Inhibitor.


    With the Super Minions pushing the lane, Team Sky didn¡¯t dare to let their guard down too much. They had the Baron buff, and so, they were looking for opportunities all over the map to engage in a teamfight with Team Skycrown. However, they couldn¡¯t fight too long in the turreted lanes either because the Super Minions at the bottom lane would push the lane quickly, if they didn¡¯t defend, there wouldn¡¯t be any base left!


    Team Sky was still a veteran team with much experience, and so, they decided to push out the other two lanes before switching to the bottom lane to attack!


    The five of them gathered at the bottom lane, clearing the lane which would spawn the Super Minions. This way, they wouldn¡¯t lose too much control over the other lanes!


    ¡°Da Luo, you take lead. We¡¯ll defend.¡± Luocheng directed.


    With the Super Minions, they could afford to slightly delay their attack pacing. If Da Luo chose to push the middle lane, with their speed, they would be able to reach in time if a fight broke out.


    As long as they could tide over until the Baron buff expired, Da Luo¡¯s Teleport would also be ready by then. They could use that Teleport to disrupt their opponent¡¯s rhythm!


    There was a wave of minions coming in the middle lane, and Da Luo activated his Burning Agony, easily disposing of them.


    ¡°Mundo is in the middle lane, get ready!¡± Tinghua instructed Jupiter as he glanced at Dr. Mundo in the middle lane.


    Jupiter nodded his head.


    Since he had dared to pick Blitzcrank as a Support, he had to have absolute confidence in hooking an enemy champion during this stalemate!


    In a game where they had the advantage, Blitzcrank wouldn¡¯t need to specially consider pulling the squishy champions. As long as he could hook somebody, the battle was already won!


    Getting a hook on a professional player was highly unlikely. Even if Luocheng was the one on Blitzcrank instead, he needed to have super terrifying speed to pull it off¡­


    However, if a Flash was available, there was no need to talk about anything else!


    When was it possible for a Flash + Q-skill to confirm-hook an enemy? The answer to that was when the enemy had cleared off a wave and had started heading back.


    By pretending to retreat and then turning around suddenly to Flash and Rocket Grab, you could definitely score one out of the entire team!


    Jupiter¡¯s focus was on the inner turret of their opponents, and the chance for him to pull it off was coming soon. He saw Lucian coming forward, intending to throw out some skills!


    Jupiter remembered clearly that Lucian had just used his Relentless Pursuit, now, he didn¡¯t have any other repositioning skills. In the last fight, he had also used his Flash to avoid Wukong!


    He would be the one!


    Jupiter walked backward a few steps, and then, he Flashed suddenly!


    The mechanical gauntlet flew and stretched, seemingly extending endlessly, heading straight towards Lin Dong¡¯s ADC!


    Lin Dong¡¯s eyes flashed with surprise and he frantically moved back and forward!


    With the way he moved, the claw barely grazed his shoulder as it shot past, and the entire arena exclaimed in surprise!!


    Lin Dong had indeed managed to avoid the grab, but Zhou Yan who had been standing beside him was unable to, and was subsequently hooked.


    The hook was initially meant for Lin Dong, but with him dodging it, it had instead gotten hold of Zhou Yan.


    Zhou Yan had already gotten used to being hooked in this game, and being grabbed didn¡¯t even make him panic as he flew forward because he believed that Wu Sen would grab the first chance he could to cast his ulti on him!


    Only, this time, he couldn¡¯t let Wu Sen cast the ulti on him. It was obvious that their opponents wouldn¡¯t be throwing all their skills onto a Lee Sin.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s reaction was really fast, and under normal circumstances, anyone else who had been hooked would be knocked up by Blitzcrank¡¯s E-skill if they didn¡¯t have Flash.


    However, when Zhou Yan was being pulled toward Blitzcrank, he planted a ward before he was dragged and managed to fly back to it before Blitzcrank landed that punch, avoiding the CC!


    Watching Lee Sin escape, Vulcan felt extremely unsatisfied, immediately activating Renekton¡¯s ulti as he charged toward Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin!


    Pressing his E twice, he bit down on Lee Sin, stunning him on the spot. Orianna and Twitch¡¯s skills all slammed onto Lee Sin as a follow up.


    Zhou Yan¡¯s health was cut down by half instantly and it looked as though Team Sky was intending to force the fight while they still had their Baron buff!


    Seeing Zhou Yan take such brutal injuries, Wu Sen couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, casting his ulti on Lee Sin. The ulti was just in time, knocking up three of their enemies!


    Team Sky had already thrown in their forces, so even if Zhou Yan had managed to retreat beyond the turret, they would have dived in to kill him!


    The fight exploded near the base, and Tinghua¡¯s Wukong went invisible as he pushed forward for a distance, using Lee Sin as his E-skill¡¯s springboard, then Flashing to stand directly in front of Wu Sen and Lin Dong, the Mid and ADC!


    Awoo!


    With a sweep of his staff and the Randuin¡¯s Omen effect simultaneously launched, the armor-reducing effect from the Black Cleaver made quick work of their defenses.


    Randuin¡¯s Omen, Black Cleaver, Spirit of the Elder Lizard, and Banshee¡¯s Veil¡­ Tinghua¡¯s items were all luxurious with high damage as well as high armor and magic resistance. There was also a lot of health from them so even if he broke away from his teammates, he didn¡¯t need to be worried about getting killed.


    Tinghua held the front all by himself, chasing off the two main damage dealers of their team¡ªWu Sen and Lin Dong. For a moment, Zhou Yan had fallen into a precarious situation!


    ¡°Zhou, kick Orianna out!¡± Luocheng shouted!


    Wukong had already dashed in, it was pointless to kick him again. They needed to force the kick on Orianna to get her out of the fight, not giving her the chance to deal any damage!


    Zhou Yan still had Lulu¡¯s ulti on him and his survival rate was high. He turned around and launched Dragon¡¯s Rage, kicking Orianna vehemently out of range.


    Wukong¡¯s ulti combined with Orianna¡¯s ulti was not a combination that Team Sky could pull off this time, and after kicking Orianna, Zhou Yan hastily retreated to their base.


    He had Homeguard and would be able to return to the fight soon.


    Team Skycrown now didn¡¯t have any frontline and they were moving passively. Team Sky managed to push all the way to the base.


    After zoning off Team Skycrown, they were clever enough not to give too far a chase, letting Renekton tank the turret¡¯s damage.


    Team Skycrown had no other option but to watch as their turret was brought down in front of their eyes.


    ¡°Da Luo, don¡¯t come back. Keep pushing.¡± Luocheng glanced at Da Luo, and instructed him in a hurry.


    It was not possible to defend the Inhibitor anymore, it was better to just give it to them and let Da Luo continue his push into the base.


    ***


    The four members of Team Skycrown continued to defend as a wave of minions freshly spawned. Borrowing their strength, Team Skycrown quickly launched their counterattack, shaving down a significant amount of health from Team Sky¡¯s members.


    The Super Minions were blocking Team Sky¡¯s path, and even if they wanted to, it was impossible to push toward the Nexus turrets. They had the Baron buff, they had a tank like Renekton, but they still needed their minions to block off some of the damage before they dared to charge in. Moreover, the two turrets defending the Nexus were not something that you could tank no matter how tanky you were. The damage from those two turrets were extremely fatal, and the further in you went, the more terrible the damage from the turrets were¡­


    Team Skycrown were defending with their lives, not giving Team Sky the chance to charge in. Meanwhile, with Da Luo pushing a lane, he took the minion wave right up to Team Sky¡¯s base!


    There was a large wave of minions behind him and the speed of demolishing the turrets was not slow!


    Team Sky¡¯s bottom lane had already broken, if they managed to break the middle lane as well, they would be extremely passive after this. Watching as Da Luo reached the base, Luocheng¡¯s eyes flashed!


    Team Sky definitely couldn¡¯t charge in, they needed to go back and defend, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have gotten anything from this assault, merely trading Inhibitors with Team Skycrown.


    That is to say, as long as they could delay their return, they would be able to break two lanes!


    ***


    As expected, Tinghua found that they weren¡¯t able to attack the inner turrets even with the Baron buff on them, so they decided to retreat and head back to defend.


    Luocheng was also a little b*tch, and about 5 seconds after Blitzcrank had started recalling to his base, LeBlanc flew from the wall using Distortion, appearing right beside Blitzcrank¡­


    Luocheng didn¡¯t bother using any skills, just using his normal attack to hit Blitzcrank once.


    The base attack of an AP champion was extremely low, the estimated damage was not even as fast as the health the Baron buff could regenerate.


    However, even with such an ordinary attack which didn¡¯t deal any damage, it was enough to interrupt Blitzcrank¡¯s recall!


    ¡°D*mn it!¡±


    Jupiter was extremely pissed and wanted to hook Luocheng over, but instead, he re-cast his W-skill and returned to his original position.


    Jupiter had no choice but to walk into a bush to recall once again.


    The other members of Team Sky were also recalling back from different places, Zhou Yan and Luocheng¡¯s thinking were alike, and that was, don¡¯t let them succeed in returning to their base!


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    A Sonic Wave landed on Tinghua¡¯s Wukong and his recall was interrupted!


    On the other side, Orianna¡¯s recall seemed to be almost complete. Zhou Yan grit his teeth as he flew over with his Resonating Strike!


    Planting a ward, Zhou Yan used Wukong as his springboard, quickly shifting his position to be in front of Orianna, slamming his hand on the ground with Tempest, and thus, Orianna¡¯s recall was interrupted at the very last second!


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Xie Yi cursed loudly.


    The Inhibitor turret was going down, if they didn¡¯t make it back soon, even their Inhibitor would be going down!


    ¡°Hurry up and go back!¡± Langjie shouted out in frustration.


    ¡°What ¡°go back¡±, turn and fight!¡± Tinghua yelled, overriding Langjie¡¯s words.


    They dared to come out from behind the protection of their turrets, so why shouldn¡¯t they just kill them and then push all the way in!


    Who cared about one Mundo!? Was this Mundo even able to tear down their base!?


    Tinghua hid in another safe spot, once again recalling back.


    Only, Tinghua¡¯s recall was like a wolf pretending to sleep¡­ while the others were not paying attention, its eyes slowly opened, showing a fierce light!

 Chapter 488 - The Final Stand!!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°So exciting, so exciting!!¡±


    ¡°Team Skycrown¡¯s Lone Gull has been pushing alone and he is almost about to clear the second Inhibitor. In a professional match, with two inhibitors broken, it basically means that there¡¯s no chance for victory!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the other members of Team Skycrown are also aware that this is the crucial turning point, and so, they¡¯re trying their best to stop Team Sky from going back to defend, this is very nerve wracking!!¡±


    At this point in time, the difference in winning and losing was really just a few key details. Which side could deal with it better, or which side would be favoured by Lady Luck!


    Nothing was more eye-catching than the thrilling anxiety right now, where Team Skycrown was crawling out from their nest for the sake of helping their teammate carry out this sacred mission!


    Only, an image suddenly changed everyone¡¯s thoughts!


    Tinghua¡¯s Wukong had been returning to base, but he suddenly launched himself toward Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin and Luocheng, Orianna by his side, and Xie Yi landing his ulti on both Luocheng and Zhou Yan.


    Orianna¡¯s damage at this point was already at its peak, having hit Luocheng, this paper-like Support directly, half of his health was gone immediately. If it weren¡¯t for Luocheng deliberately keeping a displacement skill, he would have most likely died to Orianna¡¯s barrage of skills.


    Luocheng used Distortion to run, but Zhou Yan didn¡¯t have such luck. He didn¡¯t have much health left already, and being hit directly by Orianna, his health was in a critical condition!


    Zhou Yan¡¯s eyes frantically searched for an escape route, but when he turned, he discovered that Blitzcrank had turned back from recalling too!


    Blitzcrank forcibly hooked him back, and Orianna and Wukong followed up with their attacks, quickly disposing of Zhou Yan¡¯s Lee Sin.


    Opportunities and dangers coexisted together, Luocheng was well aware that with them coming out from their base to interrupt their enemies recall, it was possible for it to backfire on them, but they didn¡¯t have any other choice¡­


    They would rather die slowly but still have the chance to seize this championship!


    ¡°Hold on, you have to hold on!¡± Da Luo knew that his teammates had fallen into a trap, and seeing the health left on the Inhibitor, he shouted out, his emotions rather unstable!


    As soon as Da Luo finished those words, more bad news came as Langjie¡¯s Twitch appeared behind Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu!


    Wu Sen had already exhausted all of his skills to protect Luocheng, and his basic attacks couldn¡¯t possibly compare to Twitch. Twitch¡¯s damage was abnormally strong after all!


    The poisonous bolts landed on Wu Sen, and he tried to escape in a hurry¡­


    Yet, the bad news kept coming. Blitzcrank activated the Talisman of Ascension to speed them up while Orianna boosted them with her ball, and now, the average speed of Team Sky was boosted to about six to seven hundred!


    Wu Sen¡¯s Lulu knew that she couldn¡¯t escape, and so, she decided to take on Twitch. Unfortunately, even with an Ignite, Wu Sen was unable to kill Twitch.


    Once Zhou Yan and Wu Sen died, Team Skycrown was once again in trouble.


    Lin Dong saw that his route back to the turret had been blocked off, so he fled into the jungle in desperation.


    Luocheng followed Lin Dong closely. If Lin Dong¡¯s ADC were to die, Team Sky could basically push all the way into their base and destroy their Nexus!


    An illusionary chain bound Tinghua while another Ethereal Chain rooted Blitzcrank who was speeding toward them!


    ¡°Oh no, oh no! At this rate, Team Skycrown will be annihilated, they have no way to run back to their turrets!¡±


    From the blue side¡¯s red buff all the way to the middle lane, the chase continued to the blue buff¡¯s jungle area. Team Skycrown had paid a rather hefty price for leaving the safety of their base to interrupt their enemy¡¯s recall. They had lost two teammates, and now, the ADC and Support were being chased.


    Orianna was able to accelerate her teammates, and this was the fatal blow to Team Skycrown¡¯s remaining two members!


    Blitzcrank and Twitch were scaling the walls from their base, blocking off the route for Team Skycrown to escape. Orianna, Renekton, and Wukong were chasing behind them, and under these circumstances, Luocheng and Lin Dong didn¡¯t have much possibility to escape, death was only a matter of time!


    ¡°You run, I¡¯m dead for sure.¡± Lin Dong said to Luocheng.


    LeBlanc had many repositioning skills, and with Luocheng¡¯s fluent control, there was definitely a chance for him to survive this lion¡¯s den. However, for Lin Dong, he knew that there was no chance for him to survive this at all, and he could only hope to exchange one head for his. The other side still had their Baron buff, and apart from Tinghua, their health was all still quite full¡­


    Luocheng furrowed his brows, not replying with a single word.


    If the camera had been on him, Li Yun, who was sitting in front of the computer, would definitely know that Luocheng had encountered a painfully difficult situation now.


    Li Yun knew that Luocheng liked to frown when he had something he was worried about, but no matter how painful or difficult it was, he wouldn¡¯t have furrowed his brows to this extent, to the point where his brows were basically joined together!


    At this time, even Li Yun could understand the situation from the view of the map.


    The blue icons indicated Luocheng and his teammates, while the red icons were those hateful opponents. There were five red icons on the map, and they were like devils holding butcher knives, surrounding those small villages, not giving them any chance to live.


    Meanwhile, the two small icons who had no assistance were desperately running to escape. The problem is that there was limited area on the map, and no matter how much Li Yun wished they could move out of the edge of the map, from the commentator¡¯s words that Li Yun understood, Luocheng and his teammate were unable to fly!


    ***


    The camera suddenly panned over to Team Sky¡¯s base and you could see Da Luo still desperately hacking at the Inhibitor. There was very little health left on the smaller crystal structure.


    Finally, Da Luo managed to take it down.


    However, there was no joy or laughter on his face, because as soon as he turned, he would see his teammates either getting killed or already killed¡­


    He was just one person, what could he do alone?


    He could do nothing! He had no damage, just armor, magic resist, and health. The moment he and the other two members were killed, they could do nothing but watch as their own Nexus was shattered!


    ¡°No f*cking way¡± Da Luo grit his teeth. Upon taking down the Inhibitor, he ran like a mad man toward the left bottom side of the map!


    At this time, Da Luo hated the fact that Teleport had a cooldown of 70 seconds. If he had it, he could Teleport directly in front of Luocheng and Lin Dong¡­


    ¡°Hold on, hold on. Both of you better f*cking hold on for me!¡± Da Luo didn¡¯t care about anything, activating his ulti as he headed toward Luocheng and Lin Dong¡¯s position!


    Mundo¡¯s ulti, it was a fight to win or die!


    Perhaps, this really was Team Skycrown¡¯s fight to win or die!


    Not for the sake of regenerating his health, but just so Mundo could run a little bit faster!


    Da Luo was clicking his mouse like mad, daring to charge in that direction even though it was actually quite a distance away. From the inner part of the enemy¡¯s top lane toward the left blue side blue buff¡­


    With this distance, it was possible that when he reached, his last two teammates would be dead, but what¡­what if he managed to make it in time!?


    He didn¡¯t realize but the two of them were also heading in his direction. He could do this, he would make it on time!!


    ¡°Da Luo, get back to the base and defend! We can delay them, it¡¯s possible that we can still defend!¡± Lin Dong hurriedly tried to stop him as he watched Da Luo activate his ulti and run toward them.


    Da Luo was being too rash and dumb about this, they had 5 of them on the other side. Even if they could barely meet near the Baron Canyon, it was possible that all three of them would die together!


    ¡°F*cking nonsense, just run to me!¡± Da Luo retorted angrily.


    Da Luo was not stupid, he knew very well that once these two died, they wouldn¡¯t have a chance in hell to crush the five members of Team Sky!


    Moreover, even if they were destroyed, at least they would die together!


    Da Luo would rather face fighting a fight with no chance than recalling back to base and being helpless, only being able to watch as the enemy destroyed everything in their base!


    Lin Dong was silent, and from the tone in Da Luo¡¯s voice, he could feel the heavy reluctance in it.


    Who would be satisfied, who the h*ll would be satisfied!?


    Team Sky was obviously a group of scumbags. If they didn¡¯t have Tinghua, no matter how many more LOL competitions they played, they didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to fight against Team Skycrown!


    Whatever the Sky Club owed them, they would definitely be taking it back!


    Lin Dong bit his lip hard, using the pain to forcefully calm himself.


    What were they going to do?


    The road back was blocked off, and with Team Sky¡¯s speed, if it was to their expectations, they would be intercepted at the river in front of the Baron¡¯s Canyon. At that time, Da Luo would most likely have just reached the top of the canyon.


    ¡°Up toward the tribush!¡± Luocheng told Lin Dong.


    Drag it as long as possible, even if they died, they needed to drag it on longer. As long as the Inhibitors were still up, there was still a slim chance!


    As soon as he said that, Blitzcrank appeared in front of Luocheng and Lin Dong.


    Luocheng threw out his Ethereal Chain, tying up Blitzcrank who continued to pursue him while he used his W-skill to dodge the hook from the yellow robot!


    However, behind Blitzcrank, Renekton and Wukong, under Orianna¡¯s speed boost were speeding over. The two of them didn¡¯t have any repositioning skills, how were they going to escape now!


    Lin Dong bit his lip till blood trickled, trying his best to run toward the top side tribush¡­


    Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc was behind him all the way, blocking all the skills that were aimed at them.


    The problem was, he was just a Support.


    ¡°Continue to move, don¡¯t hesitate, don¡¯t look back. We need to waste as much of their time as possible!¡± Luocheng said, his voice full of determination and steel.


    Saying that, Lin Dong watched as Luocheng pressed down on his W.


    That would be the recast of his W which would transport his LeBlanc back to the previously marked position¡­


    The problem was that the mark was right in the middle of the entire Team Sky.


    An instant¡­ it was just an instant, and Luocheng¡¯s LeBlanc was killed by the five members of Team Sky.


    Not knowing the reason, but when he saw Luocheng jump back into that snake pit to gain more time for him to escape, Lin Dong felt as though a heavy boulder was placed on him!


    No matter how strong a person was, sometimes, even if he was only vulnerable for one or two seconds, all he would gain was a pause from the enemies!


    This was just too f*cking cruel!


    Lin Dong maneuvered his Lucian toward the top lane side, toward the tribush which would most likely be his grave. Although he was clearly trying to deceive himself, he would hold on until the very last second!


    Load your gun, it is time to face the enemy.


    Just like a cowboy duel¡ªFast Draw in old times, your back against your enemy, count to ten and turn around to fire at each other, shooting bullets amongst the sand flying around, determining death or glory with it.


    The only difference was that Lin Dong¡¯s Lucian was not facing an opponent who was drawing a gun like him, but a group of bandits with guns.


    Either way, don¡¯t let your hands shake!


    Da Luo was still shouting in his ear and had been all the while.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming! I¡¯m coming! I¡¯m coming¡­¡±

 Chapter 489 - Call Me Immortal Mundo!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    With his back against the edge of the Summoner¡¯s Rift, The Purifier raised his two guns and fired repeatedly at his enemies!


    Blitzcrank, who was at the forefront, took most of the hits, his health dropping dangerously low. Twitch hid behind Renekton to avoid the damage.


    Renekton stood in front and tanked the bullets, withstanding all of Lin Dong¡¯s damage. Not only did he not retreat, instead, he charged in more aggressively!


    Lin Dong¡¯s Lucian quickly withdrew his guns, and with his Relentless Pursuit, he dashed from one bush to the other, avoiding Renekton¡¯s massive jaws as he fired a double-shot at him!


    Renekton still had Randuin¡¯s Omen on him which caused Lin Dong to slow down after that attack.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t pay much attention to it anymore, whether he was slowed in this situation, death was still only a matter of time anyway.


    He glanced at Blitzcrank and suddenly decided to switch targets. The bullet and a skill landed at the same time on the yellow steam golem!


    Xie Yi seemed to have been prepared for it, and just as Lin Dong shot at his changed target, the shield had been thrown onto Blitzcrank, protecting him from harm.


    Wukong pounced forward, and the invisible Twitch followed him in. Lin Dong¡¯s target once again changed to Guan Langjie¡¯s Twitch.


    He shot a few shots at Twitch, but unfortunately, that d*mn critical hit didn¡¯t appear, otherwise, he definitely would have been able to severely injure the plague rat.


    Twitch didn¡¯t have much health to begin with, but the chase had allowed him to regenerate some with the Baron buff. If they didn¡¯t have the buff, Twitch and Blitzcrank would have already died!


    There was no wiggle room at all, Lin Dong¡¯s Lucian was also getting slower, finally falling to the ground¡­


    The screen changed to the usual grey white, and Lin Dong laughed bitterly, glancing at Da Luo who was still shouting like a mad man ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡±.


    ***


    He had made it, but unfortunately, Lin Dong and Luocheng were already dead, their corpse not far from him.


    Da Luo¡¯s Dr. Mundo roared angrily, his body filled with rage, and the flames burned brighter and hotter than ever around him!


    On the gray stones of those red telephone booths in England, there would always be a well-dressed gentleman doctor. He would have been busy the entire day, and then the light that shone on him would cast his own shadow. The shadow looked extremely horrible and terrifying, its shape several times larger than his original size, his muscles exaggerated and clearly visible, his hair dropping from his head!


    At a corner, in the shadows of the sunset, the gentle doctor would suddenly tear off the white coat from his body, his muscles swelling out and his eyes bulging, his entire body lit with a crazy flame.


    He would brandish a rusty butcher knife in his hand and start to chase people like a raving lunatic. People would think that he had some sort of mental illness, but the fact was that his intermittent memories made him recall his friends, wife, and children dying a tragic death under his enemies¡¯ blades and fire!


    At this time, Da Luo¡¯s mood resonated with the mad doctor¡¯s, the mad doctor and Mundo were one and the same, and he was not afraid of the five enemies standing before him!!


    The angry flame lingered around him and even though he was tied up by many CC skills, it was still not enough to stop him from giving chase.


    Blitzcrank desperately shot a Rocket Grab at him, but Da Luo¡¯s Mundo jumped on him, the bloody kitchen knife gripped tightly in his hand as he angrily tore through the steam golem, easily disposing of him!


    ¡°Oh my god, is Lone Gull intending to 1 vs 5!?¡±


    An inexplicable silence fell on all four thousand of the audience, you could even hear a pin drop.


    Everyone was staring at the screen, seeing an outraged and resentful Mundo hacking madly at the enemies!


    Following Blitzcrank¡¯s death, he turned to chase Orianna!


    After being stunned by Renekton, he turned his anger onto the crocodile.


    When Wukong came up to harass him, his target turned toward the monkey king instead.


    With Da Luo pushing deep into most of the lanes, his level and income were extremely well off. His armor, magic resist, health, as well as regeneration, enabled him to face off the five of them without dying in a short time!


    Da Luo hacked at all the enemy champions that were within his reach, and when he found Team Sky ignoring him in order to take their Inhibitor instead, Da Luo pursued them all the way without rest, from the top lane tribush to the Baron¡¯s Canyon, to the jungle area¡­


    Like a crazed lunatic, he chased the group of champions that were completely ignoring him!


    ¡°Come on, come at me! Bunch of cowards and sissies, fight me!¡±


    Da Luo had started shouting unconsciously as the four remaining members of Team Sky continued to completely ignore him. A Mundo had limited damage, but the time taken to kill him was long and a waste of time. Team Sky chose a better option, which was to take Team Skycrown¡¯s Inhibitor instead!


    But suddenly, Team Sky once again showed their devious side! As they pretended to focus their attacks on the Inhibitor, they suddenly turned around to slam an assault behind them!!


    Da Luo was deceived by them and his health dropped rapidly under their assault!


    ¡°An ace, Team Skycrown is going to be ace-d!!¡±


    A complete wipe out, was it going to be a complete wipe out?


    The four thousand people sitting in the stands felt as though they were riding a roller coaster, their hearts going up in their throats and falling down to their stomachs!


    ¡°No, not yet! Lone Gull has Flashed out, dodging the damage from that last skill, he¡¯s now regenerating his health!!¡±


    ¡°Mundo is regenerating and his health is returning quickly. However, now that he doesn¡¯t dare to stop Team Sky from taking their Inhibitor down, why doesn¡¯t he choose to recall!?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in recalling now. Team Sky would still continue to push into the base, the only way is to head them off in the middle¡­oh, what¡¯s this!?¡±


    Miracle suddenly shouted!


    His scream was very loud and bordering embarrassing and unprofessional, but he didn¡¯t care one whit about that, because he had seen something very, very amazing!


    Da Luo had chosen not to recall even though he had such a small amount of health left. and even though recalling would enable him to regenerate faster¡­


    He didn¡¯t recall, the real purpose was to stop Team Sky from recalling back to their own base!


    ¡°Oh my God, the base¡­ Team Sky¡¯s base!¡± Qi Qiao had also seen it, and her scream was comparable to Miracle¡¯s.


    At Team Sky¡¯s base, the Super Minions had already pushed inward to the Nexus turrets!


    The middle lane Inhibitor had been broken as well as the bottom lane¡¯s Inhibitor. Team Skycrown had two waves of Super Minions that reached Team Sky¡¯s base, and while Team Sky was busy giving chase to Team Skycrown previously with the aim of not letting their opponents push all the way into their base, the long chase had led them to neglect the minions who were slowly pushing in!!


    The middle lane Super Minions were already deep in the base while the bottom lane Super Minions were fighting against Team Sky¡¯s own Super Minions. It was obvious that because Team Skycrown had broken the Inhibitor earlier, they had accumulated two waves of Super Minions which were now rushing into the base¡­


    As long as the bottom lane Super Minions managed to take out Team Sky¡¯s Super Minions, Team Sky who only had one remaining Inhibitor would not be able to withstand the assault from such a big wave of Super Minions!


    Da Luo was still buying time. He hadn¡¯t recalled because he couldn¡¯t allow Team Sky to return to defend, even more so, he couldn¡¯t allow Team Sky to break their Inhibitor, which was why he had to hold them down here no matter what!


    Roar!


    Da Luo hovered near the members of Team Sky, throwing his knife at them from afar.


    Suddenly, Twitch appeared at his side, attacking Da Luo with his basic attack!


    Da Luo¡¯s fingers were fast, activating his ulti immediately!


    The cooldown on Da Luo¡¯s ulti was only 40 seconds. Previously, it had taken him about 10 seconds to run, and with his own abilities to tank from his items, the entire 1 vs 5 fight had taken over 20 seconds!


    Now, with him buying time, his ulti had already been refreshed!


    Langjie chased Da Luo¡¯s Mundo madly, but Mundo¡¯s health just kept replenishing!


    Facing a mere Twitch, Da Luo didn¡¯t feel any fear at all, simply turning on his ulti and consequently turned the tables on this rat who was giving chase!


    Team Sky¡¯s members were all in shock, never expecting Mundo to still have his ulti!


    ¡°This¡­this Mundo really is immortal, he wants to kill Twitch instead!?¡±


    Among the members of Team Sky, most of their Summoner¡¯s Spells had already been used, and without Ignite, it was difficult to kill this immortal Mundo. Da Luo¡¯s immortal Mundo had surprised the entire arena who was watching as Mundo, who clearly was about to die, suddenly started regenerating his health so quickly and had turned around to hack at Twitch instead. This forced Team Sky to bust their a*ses trying to protect their ADC!


    Without their ADC, how could they take the Inhibitor and more!?


    You come, I push. Da Luo saw the group coming, and so, he let go of the intention to kill Twitch, retreating slightly to avoid being killed instantly!


    ¡°Base, base!¡±


    Suddenly, the members of Team Sky realized something!


    They had indeed seen the Super Minions rushing into their base, but they hadn¡¯t realized nor expected that the Super Minions would have been able to take down the two Nexus turrets! That was their last line of defense!


    Langjie, Jupiter, Vulcan, Xie Yi and Tinghua were shocked to the point they almost peed their pants.


    They hadn¡¯t realized that they had been delayed for so long, and if they didn¡¯t go back now, their base was going to be demolished by the Super Minions!


    ¡°Oh my fr*aking God! I feel like my whole body is on fire like Mundo!¡±


    ¡°Team Sky is recalling, they¡¯re going back to defend!!¡±


    Twitch didn¡¯t have much health left, if they still chose to hit Team Skycrown¡¯s base, it was possible that he would die under Mundo¡¯s hands. That was why they needed to return to base to defend first!


    ¡°Scatter and recall, don¡¯t let Mundo interrupt!¡± Tinghua¡¯s frivolous confidence was gone from his face, and now, he shouted at his teammates in a frenzy!!


    Team Sky scattered their positions and recalled, Da Luo couldn¡¯t find any of them for a time.


    However, Da Luo had no intentions of giving up. He was looking through the entire jungle area!


    Twitch, he had to find Twitch!


    He had to be in one of the bushes, he had to be recalling in one of them!


    Da Luo was using his trusty kitchen knife to search, and as he threw, a ward was planted, giving him vision in one of the bushes out of the way.


    There was nothing where the ward was placed¡­


    However, it didn¡¯t matter, if he wasn¡¯t in this bush, on to the next one!


    Da Luo hurriedly walked to the other side, and as he ran, he blindly threw his Q to a corner!


    Bam!


    Bullseye!!


    It was a bullseye!!


    There was someone, there was f*cking someone hiding here and recalling!!

 Chapter 490 - : Go Crazy For Me!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Da Luo was overjoyed, and another Q-skill was thrown!


    Bam!!


    Bullseye again, it was two consecutive Q¡¯s that hit without any vision! Da Luo could already feel himself going crazy, hurriedly heading toward it and seeing Twitch coincidentally¡­


    Da Luo quickly gave chase, wanting to kill Langjie¡¯s Twitch.


    Another chopper and it will definitely hit from this angle!


    Suddenly, a shield and speed boost was thrown on Twitch, and he escaped with that little bit of health left.


    Da Luo was annoyed and he continued to give chase, realizing that Twitch and Orianna were no longer intending to recall, but instead, running back all the way to their base.


    Tinghua¡¯s Wukong and Vulcan¡¯s Renekton most likely had already returned to their base and Da Luo knew that it was impossible for him to stop them already, and so, he decided to return to base.


    ¡°Pity, just a little more to kill Twitch!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a pity. The Super Minions had almost gotten the Nexus down if Team Sky had been just a little later.¡±


    The audience as well as the commentators were upset, while the millions of viewers from back home were still glued to the screen!


    This final championship match was too f*cking tensed, a Mundo going 1 vs 5, this scene was hard to imagine!


    ***


    Da Luo chose to return to base. Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen all breathed a sigh of relief. Just a little more, just a little more and they would have won!


    After recalling back to base, Da Luo quickly bought an attack speed item which puzzled Lin Dong.


    Da Luo didn¡¯t explain, he just bought his item. Both eyes that were so immersed on the screen suddenly lifted up to look around.


    He looked toward the crowd, to a very far off place.


    He seemed to be looking for someone¡­


    The camera angle had shifted to Da Luo because his Mundo had created a great shock to the millions of LOL players within the entire country!


    Among the crowd, a girl who was leaning on her boyfriend froze¡­


    Even if his gaze was not toward this side, Shui Mo felt that he was looking for her¡­


    He definitely knew that she was here since she had appeared on the screen before the match had started. Because he had seen her at that time, he must be looking for her, Shui Mo had that hunch.


    Yes, Da Luo was looking for Shui Mo among the many people gathered here.


    He was not missing that woman nor was he looking for any spiritual comfort in her, he just wanted to know for sure that she was really here¡­


    Because moving forward, he would honor what he had said.


    It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have any pursuit, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have a goal, but it was going to be a stage to make the world go crazy, you simply didn¡¯t understand at all!


    Look at me, watch me, I will make everyone go crazy for me!


    At this moment, the finger that was hovering over the F key trembled violently, but it didn¡¯t affect his subsequent action¡­


    3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second!


    Teleport¡¯s cooldown had been refreshed!


    ***


    Xie Yi and Langjie were desperately cleaning up the Super Minions, they were lucky that they had managed to return to base on time and their Nexus was preserved. There was probably about two thirds of its health left!


    Langjie moved his Twitch to hit the last minion, and this was the last minion in their base¡­


    Suddenly, a strange whirlwind appeared on this minion, rendering all attacks on it useless!


    Complete invulnerability!


    Langjie desperately attacked this minion, but it couldn¡¯t die. Why couldn¡¯t it die? It was because Da Luo had chosen this minion to be his point of Teleport!


    A wind of time and space swept through!


    A messy white coat, a blood-stained cleaver, bare feet, and hair defying gravity¡­


    A maddening smell oozed from the body, and that pair of eyes burned with a chilling anger as well as a dominating loneliness!


    ¡°Mundo!!¡±


    The moment he appeared, Mundo had the effect of Homeguard which accelerated his speed by 200%, turning him into a flame of hurricane, instantly rushing into the base of Team Sky!


    ¡°OH MY H*LY GOD!!!!¡±


    ¡°Mundo, it¡¯s Mundo!! He Teleported right into Team Sky¡¯s base while having the Homeguard effect!! He is too fast, too fast!!¡±


    Both the voices of the commentators were high pitched and broken, their exclamation piercing through everybody¡¯s ears!


    All four thousand people who were present in the arena, their brains were still muddled, but the moment Mundo landed in Team Sky¡¯s base, the entire place exploded again!


    People who were sitting all started to stand up, what a suffocating scene to watch!!


    ***


    Lone Gull will tell you: Mundo will go where he pleases!


    Da Luo¡¯s Mundo rushed into the Nexus of Team Sky where there were still four healthy members of Team Sky standing right there. However, none of them were the goals in Da Luo¡¯s eyes anymore, he only had one goal in mind, that was the Nexus of Team Sky!!


    ¡°Da Luo!! Da Luo!!¡±


    Lin Dong shouted madly!


    Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Luocheng, all their eyes were bulging out of their sockets, even they couldn¡¯t dare to believe that Da Luo would charge into the enemy base alone, even letting them see the hope of victory!


    The four of them had forgotten to breathe, completely forgetting the need to breathe!!


    ***


    When the five members of Team Sky saw that roaring whirlwind, their mind was already collapsing! They just watched as a speedy Mundo hacked at their Nexus crystal!


    The Nexus health had regenerated just that little bit, and now¡­With Mundo hacking his way, the health of the crystal fell to half!


    It was still dropping, the Nexus¡¯ health was still dropping!


    At this time, Team Sky couldn¡¯t understand it. The Nexus crystal had more health than a Baron, how come by just getting hacked a few times, your health was dropping so rapidly!!


    Vulcan¡¯s Renekton, Langjie¡¯s Twitch, Xie Yi¡¯s Orianna, and Tinghua¡¯s Wukong, all of them ran like mad toward this Mundo who was turning the tables on them!


    They threw all their skills like mad on Da Luo¡¯s Mundo, squeezing out every bit of damage they could¡­


    Tinghua even used his Smite on this lunatic Mundo, you could really see how much he wished that he could Smite this crazy being like a jungle creep!!


    How tanky was Mundo!?


    At this time, Da Luo was using his Mundo to explain to the entire country¡¯s LOL players, how could daddy Mundo not die!


    Four of them, the four members of Team Sky were attacking Mundo like crazy, but his health was dropping very slowly! Well, at least slower than their Nexus crystal¡¯s health!


    ¡°Lone Gull!! Lone Gull!!¡± Miracle couldn¡¯t help but scream. Fr*aking hell, as a commentator he was being driven mad by this game!!


    ¡°Mundo!! Mundo is going to do it!!¡± Qi Qiao was also screaming!


    The entire arena, definitely the entire arena, stood up, their eyes glued on the screen, shouting like crazy the words ¡°Lone Gull¡± and ¡°Mundo¡±!


    Shui Mo remained seated, staring blankly at the crowd who were going wild around her.


    Yes, at this moment, she was lost.


    Why, why were they calling out Da Luo¡¯s name?


    Why, why were they going crazy!?


    In the entire arena, only she was lost and remained seated. So, was it because she was the only sane one here, or was she the only one who was ignorant?


    ***


    Go crazy for me!!


    Go crazy for me!!


    Da Luo¡¯s eyes were burning, and the tears pooling in his eyes were also burning!


    None of you can stop me, this Nexus belongs to Mundo!


    One, two, three, four¡­


    With that attack speed item and the 8 second speed boost, Da Luo¡¯s attack on the crystal was fast, and he was indifferent to the attacks from the four of them!


    Just one more, Team Sky, f*ck you, Xu Pingyang, go and f*cking die!!


    Da Luo slammed the last attack down fiercely!!


    The image froze, and the entire scene was of Da Luo standing alone in front of the Nexus with Team Sky surrounding him¡­


    Boom!!


    The whirlwind of destruction swept from within the Nexus crystal, and in the next moment, it burst outward, shattering the entire crystal structure into fragments!!


    VICTORY!!


    ***


    Bang!!


    Da Luo was like a prisoner who had broken free of all his restraints as he took off his headphones, pumping both his hands into the air, roaring loudly to express his innermost feelings!!


    ¡°Da Luo!!¡±


    ¡°Da Luo!!¡±


    ¡°Da Luo!!¡±


    ¡°I f*cking love you to death!!¡±


    Zhou Yan, who was the closest to Da Luo, jumped up from his chair, screaming as he embraced Da Luo.


    Luocheng, Wu Sen, and Lin Dong were also all mad with joy at the victory. Tearing off the headphones from their heads, pushing away the chairs that were in their way, they rushed toward Da Luo with their arms in the air!


    The five of them huddled together. Da Luo had saved the world, Da Luo had saved the entire team, Da Luo had made them all burst into tears!


    In response to this bitter, tenacious, and persevering team, the entire arena had burst into cheers, and the applause would rock the entire city!!


    It was too shocking, the stimulating and nerve-wracking game had deeply shocked all the audience on the scene¡­


    In many cities across the nation, shouts were coming from university dorms¡­


    Internet cafes, big and small, in different provinces and cities were boiling¡­


    An otaku was yelling inside a random room¡­


    Everything, everything was because of this last soulful image in the professional league of LOL!


    One person, a ball of flame, a butcher¡¯s knife, rushing into the enemy¡¯s base¡­


    The image of that crazy figure had been etched into everyone¡¯s mind!!


    That¡¯s right, everyone knew now, in Team Skycrown, it was not only the Support¡ªFighting Hawk who was strong enough to be awe-inspiring. Their Top¡ªLone Gull was someone who had also saved the world, he had made millions of LOL players go crazy for those 10 seconds!!

 Chapter 491 - Champions!

    ¡°That¡¯s great!! Great!! We won!!¡±


    Li Meiqi shrieked in happiness, and watching as the five big boys huddled together, she was so touched that she was about to cry.


    Finally, they had finally won the championship just like they wished to. They were China¡¯s champions, they were the strongest LOL team in the country!!


    Luocheng, Zhou Yan, Lin Dong, and Wu Sen all lifted Da Luo into the air!!


    This was the Lone Gull they knew!


    One person delaying an entire team, one person turning the entire game around, and one person saving the entire world!


    That last Teleport had really made everyone go crazy!!


    ¡°This is really so touching and so tearful. The performance by Lone Gull¡¯s Mundo at that last two minutes was one of the most epic scenes in our entire LPL, who would have thought of such an outcome!!¡±


    The two commentators had been thrown for the loop so many times, Team Skycrown throwing the Baron, not pushing all the way into the base, being forced into desperate situations¡­And finally, they had relied on Dr. Mundo to turn the entire game around, was there anything more terrifyingly amazing than a 1 vs 5 win!?


    The entire arena was on their feet, not only because of the amazing victory, but because of the awe and respect they held for players like Da Luo. Da Luo¡¯s perseverance, courage, and that madness exactly like the Madman of Zaun, had let everyone know what exactly Team Skycrown¡¯s style was!


    This championship, without a doubt, belonged to Team Skycrown!!


    ***


    On the other hand, the five members of Team Sky were completely rigid in their expression.


    It was impossible to imagine, entirely impossible to imagine, that the Mundo who had been wrecked by Zhao Tinghua previously would be able to single-handedly take down their entire team!


    A nightmare, this Mundo was their entire team¡¯s nightmare!!


    The five of them didn¡¯t have any expression on their face. This confusion, sudden failure, and this incredible hard-to-believe feelings would haunt them for a very long time!


    Meanwhile, in the VIP lounge room, the bald-headed profiteer had completely broken down in rage. He broke the ashtray that was on the table, taking out his anger by scolding the other members in the room with him!!


    ¡°Boss¡­boss, don¡¯t be so angry, didn¡¯t we have a killer backup plan? We will definitely win that case and their team will disband, the championship is still in our hands.¡± Sun Liang said, trying to comfort him.


    ¡°Just wait, just wait! If I don¡¯t destroy their team completely, I won¡¯t be satisfied!!¡±


    Xu Pingyang was about to blow his top. Everytime a key competition came around, Team Skycrown would make an appearance, and everytime, they would always triumph over his own team. He didn¡¯t know why he even spent so much money to raise these five members!?


    When he heard the commentators shouting ¡°Congratulations Team Skycrown for winning the LPL championship¡±, Xu Pingyang couldn¡¯t hold in the white hot anger inside him, kicking the sofa beside him in anger!


    ¡°Ouch! F*ck! F*ck!!¡±


    Xu Pingyang wouldn¡¯t have known that the sofa was made from hardwood, and that angry kick had made him swallow the curses he spewed.


    ***


    Team Skycrown walked toward the stage, shoulder to shoulder.


    Champions, this was their most hearty victory since their return to the scene!!


    Luocheng stood in the centre of the team, his face holding the biggest, purest smile on it. This was the first time he had smiled in sincere happiness this year.


    When did you feel the most alive?


    That moment was now, the most touching sounds in his ears, the audience in front and around him that were cheering in joy for them, the victory which you felt to your very bones. It stimulated the blood running through his veins, like the electric pulses sent from the brain to the heart, letting his heart beat violently to the point that he could hear it clearly as it beat!


    How long had it been since a victory brought about such an intense feeling!?


    The camera kept zooming in on them, giving the five champions of LPL a perfect showing!


    Li Yun, who had been sitting in front of the computer and watching this scene, couldn¡¯t help but be touched by the image being shown on screen.


    In Li Yun¡¯s memories, Luocheng had become less lively as he aged, and especially since he had retired from the professional league, Li Yun had never seen his real smile.


    This time however, he was smiling with no reserves at all.


    This was the smile a child should have. Li Yun recalled the time when Luocheng was much younger, he had been active, cute, and naughty, but made it hard for people to reprimand him. He had an innocent laughter which made you feel as though nothing was not worth the payment just to see the smile of this child.


    As long as he was doing well and happy, all was good.


    Li Yun felt sincerely proud of him, also feeling extremely ecstatic that he had won the competition!


    ***


    The boiling atmosphere at the arena continued for a long while, it had been such a long time since there was such a game in the LPL competitions. Even the organizers couldn¡¯t help but to be caught up in the awe and amazing talents of Team Skycrown!


    They had broken the norm of Team Daemons by winning, and they would be the new dazzling star in the S International League!


    However, even more than that, they hoped that this team would finally be able to help China obtain the name of the strongest eight and advance the position of China in the field of e-sports LOL, then, that would truly be the pride of the entire nation!


    ¡°What an amazing game! At first, I thought that this team was held together by Fighting Hawk. Now, it seems as though this team can spread their own wings and will probably still bring us many amazing surprises in the future!¡± The head organizer, Ai Ke, announced.


    It was true that when Team Skycrown had entered the LPL, they had injected fresh blood into the LPL, making one¡¯s blood boil whether you were in the arena physically or watching from your home. This kind of team was worth supporting and also worth the organizers support and promoting!


    ¡°That¡¯s right, boss, I have some documents that you should look at.¡± Ai Ke¡¯s secretary said as he pulled out the few papers in his hands.


    Ai Ke quickly glanced through the paper in his hands and he frowned deeply, saying, ¡°What the h*ll is this Xu Pingyang doing again! Wasn¡¯t it enough the last time he caused trouble!?¡±


    Ai Ke walked straight toward the VIP room, still holding the documents in his hands.


    Pushing the door to enter, he saw the bald man in a huff, the ruined items strewn on the ground.


    Seeing this scene, Ai Ke couldn¡¯t help the sneer that came across on his face. Was it necessary to pretend to be calm when the entire scene was littered with the evidence that betrayed that false smile on his face!


    Ai Ke threw the legal documents on the table, saying, ¡°You¡¯d better stop doing whatever it is.¡±


    ¡°This¡­I¡¯m just protecting my club¡¯s rights and interests. Can¡¯t let someone who signed an agreement with my club cause losses due to unprofessional ethics.¡± Xu Pingyang quipped.


    Ai Ke knew that with legal issues, if Xu Pingyang had evidence, they wouldn¡¯t be able to help Team Skycrown much, and he coldly said, ¡°Many wrongdoings will end up killing you!¡±


    Xu Pingyang watched Ai Ke leave, the smile on his face slowly turned into a disdained frown.


    ¡°Boss, it seems that the previous contract is still in the database of the ACE Head Secretary.¡± Sun Liang suddenly said, realizing it.


    Xu Pingyang was startled.


    That¡¯s right, when the initial contract signing had taken place, a copy would have been given to ACE for it to be legally binding.


    There was still a real copy of the contract in ACE, if that contract were to be taken out, all his lies would be found out.


    ¡°I previously heard someone inside saying that Team Skycrown¡¯s manager was looking for something, could it be that they already know¡­¡± Sun Liang trailed off uncertainty.


    Xu Pingyang slapped his thigh.


    How could they let Team Skycrown get their hands on that copy of the contract! If they obtained it and appealed, he would be finished!


    This was now a major problem.


    Team Sky had not taken the championship, meaning that the ACE Head Secretary position wouldn¡¯t be his, and the contract wouldn¡¯t fall back into his control¡­


    If¡­if Team Skycrown managed to get the contract¡­


    Xu Pingyang¡¯s thoughts halted there and the cold sweat continued to pour down. No, there was no way in h*ll they could get their hands on the contract!


    ¡°Boss, Xiao Lian is on our side, do you want me to sneak in tonight to ACE¡¯s office and steal the contract back out?¡± Sun Liang asked in a low voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to steal it, that cabinet door is locked. Only old Liang has the key and he won¡¯t hand over the key as long as I¡¯m not head secretary.¡± Xu Pingyang replied.


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°Destroy it, just destroy it straight out. Tonight, you will head over there. It¡¯s a wooden cabinet, just burn the whole thing.¡± Xu Pingyang said determinedly.


    ¡°Won¡¯t that cause bigger problems?¡± Sun Liang said, slightly concerned.


    The office was actually an easy fire hazard, and by burning a wooden cabinet¡­


    ¡°Idiot, just burn it, and when it¡¯s almost done, call a fire brigade. Just don¡¯t burn the entire room down and it¡¯ll be fine. There are only documents in the cabinet, it¡¯ll be easy to light a fire!¡± Xu Pingyang said.


    Sun Liang glanced at Xu Pingyang and realized that his eyes were glinting¡­


    To be honest, Sun Liang just wanted to steal the papers. He didn¡¯t expect Xu Pingyang to be more extreme¡­ no keys, so just destroy the entire cabinet!


    This reminded Sun Liang of something someone had said before. Xu Pingyang had done a lot of questionable and shameful things before hitting his riches, and it looked like it was true. A normal businessman wouldn¡¯t do this kind of thing!


    ***


    With the joy of victory, the five members walked backstage.


    At this time, regardless of what lawsuit or disbanding of the team that awaited them, obtaining this championship was enough for the five boys right at this moment.


    ¡°Come over here, I¡¯ll give each and everyone of you a hug!! Love you guys to death!!¡±


    Meiqi gave them each a hug. None of them had thought of this luck and were engulfed in the sweet and soft fragrance!


    ¡°I¡¯ve got another piece of good news to share. I¡¯ve confirmed that a copy of that contract is in the cabinet of the ACE Head Secretary. Since you guys won the championship, Xu Pingyang won¡¯t be getting the position. Wait another two days for Secretary Liang to come back then we¡¯ll be able to get it. Everything will be revealed then, Xu Pingyang is toast!¡± Meiqi said happily.


    The five of them were stunned.


    This¡­this really proved the saying that good things come in pairs!


    ¡°That¡¯s to say, we won¡¯t need to disband!¡± Lin Dong said excitedly.


    ¡°Not only do you not need to disband, you¡¯re entering the Worlds and going to play against other countries!!¡±


    ¡°Wahahaha, that¡¯s great!!¡± Da Luo burst out laughing loudly suddenly.


    All the bad news and atmosphere was swept away immediately, these two matters really were a godsend for Team Skycrown!


    Just as everyone was ecstatic and celebrating, Lin Dong¡¯s phone suddenly sounded.


    He picked it up thinking that it was just some friend messaging to congratulate him.


    However, when he saw that it was an unknown number and read the content of the message, all traces of his smile drained from his face immediately.


    ¡°Xu Pingyang is going to destroy the evidence tonight!¡± Lin Dong choked out the words forcefully.

 Chapter 492 - Jackpot!!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After such a big competition had ended, a Mundo frenzy was inexplicably set off across the nation.


    Dr. Mundo was a champion that looked like some crazy lunatic, and when the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift was gripped by this crazy being, the entire game seemed to transform into a mental hospital which gates couldn¡¯t close and leaked out the atmosphere.


    ¡°The new champion, Team Skycrown, the former e-sports emperor rises once again!


    ¡°Team Skycrown, god-like Support, devil-like Top!¡±


    ¡°Last year banned, this year champions, Team Skycrown has once again made history in the LPL!¡±


    Once they had won the championship, the internet media started their aggressive ¡®bombing¡¯.


    The treatment before and after the competition was worlds apart, to the extent that Team Skycrown didn¡¯t dare to believe it themselves.


    They had won championships and glorious honors before, but those hadn¡¯t been LOL. LOL was now really high profile, meaning the moment you won a championship, you would really feel like you were the most dazzling one in the world!!


    ¡°Oh, oh, Thunder Club, yes, I¡¯m the manager of Team Skycrown. I see, you¡¯re Jiang Long, the manager of Thunder Club¡­?¡± Meiqi sat in the bus which was returning to the hotel, talking on the phone non-stop.


    ¡°Thunder Club, wasn¡¯t that the club that wanted to buy our team previously?¡± Lin Dong asked, suddenly remembering the details.


    Meiqi glanced at Lin Dong out of the corner of her eyes and she placed her hand on the receiver part of the phone, ignoring the boring drabble from the other side as she asked in a quiet tone, ¡°How much were they offering previously?¡±


    ¡°50,000 RMB.¡± Lin Dong said.


    Meiqi cocked an eyebrow, a sly fox-like smirk forming on her lips, and went back to her call, ¡°300,000 RMB is too little, at least 500,000 RMB. Think about it and once you¡¯ve thought about it, give me a call again. I¡¯ve got a call from SFYTQ¡¯s manager right now to discuss sponsorship.¡±


    ¡°5-500,000!?¡±


    Lin Dong was gaping after he heard that, his jaw almost hitting the ground!


    Even with the LPL championship, the prize money was only 500,000 RMB, and adding on to the fact that they needed to deduct taxes, they were left with about 400,000 RMB. What was Meiqi discussing with Thunder Club until she could reach 500,000 RMB¡­ you gotta understand that Thunder Club¡¯s asking price last year was 50,000 RMB, even going as far as to say that there won¡¯t be one cent extra!


    ¡°Meiqi, you accepted their deal? 500,000?¡± Luocheng wasn¡¯t keen on joining any clubs and hurriedly asked Meiqi.


    ¡°No way, even if those guys offered me 10 times the amount, I wouldn¡¯t agree to it. They want to collaborate. Aren¡¯t you guys always at the Demacia Cafe streaming? They want to use the title of champion to advertise live on their platform. Basically, during our team¡¯s usual ranked games or training, they want to stream it on their platform¡­They offered 300,000 RMB for this and I didn¡¯t agree. It feels too cheap, plus, we don¡¯t really have the interest or energy to do a live stream, so it¡¯s best to find other buyers.¡± Meiqi explained.


    Holy sh*t!!


    The few people in the bus, including Jian Feng, all their jaws hit the ground!!


    Sh*t, this was something that was previously not worth anything, and now, the asking price was 500,000 RMB for this!?


    Why¡­why weren¡¯t they grabbing it!?


    Wait, this money was theirs!!


    ¡°Sis, asking for such a high price, will they buy it?¡±


    In Lin Dong¡¯s opinion, this type of thing was very valuable, and being able to sell it for 100,000 RMB was already nothing short of amazing. Selling for 500,000 RMB was practically highway robbery and Lin Dong had met the Thunder Club¡¯s manager before. When he was displeased, the extra flesh on his face would wobble. Presumably the moment Meiqi had hung up the phone, his face would be jiggling a lot!!


    ¡°If they don¡¯t buy it, there will be others. Don¡¯t worry about it, the live broadcasting platform has a better circle than you think. What is important in this era? Network resources and network traffic, so if their platform receives high traffic, they can feed a large number of people accordingly. Pop up advertisements, game-related products, snack packagings, Taobao, commentaries, boosting accounts, you guys can¡¯t even imagine all of this. We¡¯re not a club and we don¡¯t have a stable workshop to produce any of these items. Plus, you guys don¡¯t like to deal with the commercial things and there are too many bothersome things anyway. Selling the license like this directly is best, and even if we raise the price a little, they would still make a lot of money off our fame which is their own issue.¡± Meiqi further elaborated.


    Luocheng, Lin Dong, Da Luo, Zhou Yan and Wu Sen all had their mouths wide open, this really opened their eyes to how little they actually knew¡­


    However, the one thing you could tell from the sparkling in their eyes was that if the deal went through¡­


    500,000! 500,000 RMB!!


    They had never seen such a huge amount of money in their entire life, how many BBQ buffets could 500,000 RMB buy!? Ugh, okay, that was not the point.


    Also, they didn¡¯t need to move out anymore, they could continue living in that big luxurious apartment!!


    They had held back their desire to shop for anything in the past two years, and now, finally they could splurge on whatever they wanted to. They were once so poor to the extent that they didn¡¯t buy any new clothes for the new year, even winter clothing cost about a few hundred each, how could they spend that much.


    Now, the days would be different, hahaha!


    In actuality, their initial decision to not join any club had been the correct decision. If they had joined a club, all this money wouldn¡¯t even be distributed to them, all they would have gotten was the salary and prize money¡­


    500,000 RMB, if they really thought about it, splitting it between the 7 of them also meant that one person would get about 70,000 each, that was awesome!


    Not to mention, the prize money for the championship was also about 70,000 RMB per person, holy f*cking cow, they had hit the jackpot just like that!!


    ¡°This is only the beginning, there are still a lot of sponsors who are calling me. Wanting to hang a brand on our Team Skycrown will cost a lot of money. Anyway, it won¡¯t take us long before there is the Worlds, so whatever sponsors like Wrangler or Thunder¡­hehe, even SFYTQ, all of them will actively look for us.¡± Meiqi smiled brightly as she said this.


    The price of sponsorship will be extremely high, after all, the standards of the S International League is equivalent to that of the NBA already. An advertisement that would be seen by tens of millions of people around the world, do you feel throwing out a few hundred thousand would be enough!?


    Luocheng, Da Luo, Zhou Yan and Lin Dong were all just greenhorns in this sense, it was impossible to have these kinds of benefits back when they were playing games. They were only playing for the sake of their goals and their enthusiasm and passion for e-sports. How could they imagine that once they won the championship, their income would be so high to this extent!?


    They could never have dared to imagine, jackpot, it really was a jackpot!!


    ***


    ¡°F*cking b*stards, f*ck it all!¡± In the Sky Club office, Xu Pingyang threw the phone down onto the ground in anger.


    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I already talked to SFYTQ before this, but now they¡¯ve run off to make good with Team Skycrown instead, f*cking sh*t!!¡± Xu Pingyang was close to exploding!


    Money, that bountiful money was f*cking gone!!


    ¡°SFYTQ¡¯s manager has no brains, don¡¯t they know investing in a team without a club is equivalent to wasting their money!? Idiots, f*cking idiots!!¡± Xu Pingyang screamed.


    A team had to be reliant on a club, or there would be no sponsors.


    The reason was simple. For the sponsors to sponsor a team, of course they hoped that the team would bring them a long-term advertisement effect to enhance their brand awareness and to enhance the popularity of their brand. If there were changes in the team members, when it disbanded after a defeat, internal conflicts which couldn¡¯t be resolved, players retiring from the professional league or other variable factors which couldn¡¯t be foreseen, the money they invested would just be a waste.


    Yes, the threshold to enter the industry of e-sports seemed low as though anyone who wanted to join could just do so. However, in actuality, the threshold that they held was extremely high, and if you couldn¡¯t pull off brilliant results in the competitions, they would definitely die off slowly¡­


    Team Skycrown was not supported by any club, and the rumors that Team Sky had spread stated that they would disband, which was why no sponsors wanted to simply invest.


    But now, Team Skycrown had won the championship and this championship was credible, because usually, a champion team that didn¡¯t have the confidence nor perseverance wouldn¡¯t have lasted without a club!


    SFYTQ¡¯s manager must have considered all these factors and had even included the risk of the team¡¯s dissolution when offering the sponsorship¡­


    Only, for SFYTQ¡¯s manager to throw a vote for such a risky venture in a team with no club, this made a giant e-sports player like Xu Pingyang extremely pissed seeing as they had even negotiated the price already!!


    ¡°Hello, is this Mr Fang? Previously, your Thunder Club wanted to sponsor us¡­¡±


    Xu Pingyang hadn¡¯t even finished his sentence when the other side just mumbled that they had something urgent to do and hung up the call, which just added fuel to the fire on Xu Pingyang.


    SFYTQ had been the first choice for their sponsor as they had a wealth of money. The second would have been Thunder. Although they gave a lot less compared to SFYTQ, Xu Pingyang hadn¡¯t expected that even his backup option would not be available. When did Xu Pingyang start to get treated like this! Sky Club was a top e-sports club, and yet, these dogs weren¡¯t choosing Sky Club but rather a team that was going to dissolve soon!


    ¡°Tonight, destroy that contract tonight! I want to let these crazy sponsors know how stupid it is to support a team with no club. I want them to come and beg me on their knees just to get a discussion with me!!¡± Xu Pingyang said as he grit his dirty yellow teeth.


    ¡°Boss, that¡¯s not¡­really a good idea. Why don¡¯t we wait a few days, I¡¯ll get the keys somehow¡­¡±


    ¡°Just do it!¡± Xu Pingyang drew out a wad of bills, throwing it on the table.


    Sun Liang saw the money and his eyes lit up.


    This money looked like it was enough to cover his one month expense on his ¡®entertainment¡¯!


    Thinking with his lower body, Sun Liang nodded his head.

 Chapter 493 - Caught In The Act!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The ACE head office was actually quite easy to get into especially after his friend had deliberately left the key behind.


    Sun Liang had never done this kind of thing before, but Xu Pingyang had offered a lot of money in a time when he was extremely short on it.


    He just needed to sneak in, pour some oil, light a fire, then let it burn for a while before reporting the fire¡­ that shouldn¡¯t cause much of an impact.


    He had even thought of an alibi for the cause of the fire. He would put a cigarette butt on the ground, this kind of little thing wouldn¡¯t be investigated too deeply.


    Bypassing the security, Sun Liang successfully sneaked into the office which was already dark.


    The wooden cabinet was definitely locked, and if anyone tried to break into it, the noise would definitely alert the security. It would be quite hard to pry it open anyway, the lock was very sturdy.


    The easiest way would just be to burn the entire thing.


    Sun Liang poured the prepared oil carefully, not wanting to let the light from the flames alert anyone. He also purposely made a line of fuse so that he would have time to leave after the fire started.


    After he had carefully carried out his work, his face broke out into a smile.


    The deed was done, and once the money was in his hands, he could be throwing it on the woman¡¯s face, see if she smiled or not?


    Lighting up a cigarette, Sun Liang snuffed it and flicked it toward the place that he intended to burn, and then he lit the trail that he had left.


    The lighter clicked and the small light illuminated the room. Once it hit the trail, it immediately lit up and burned lively. The wooden cabinet would soon catch flame, it felt like a Brand¡¯s ulti!


    Ka ka ka!


    Suddenly, there were three strange sounds.


    Sun Liang jumped, hurriedly looking around. He realized that the light above his head was blinking!


    After flashing for a while, the bright white light shone brightly in a stable stream, prickling Sun Liang¡¯s eyes with the sudden harsh light.


    Immediately, familiar shutter lights were flashing!!


    As Sun Liang¡¯s vision slowly returned, he looked around and he almost peed his pants in fear.


    ¡°You¡­you guys!!¡± Sun Liang¡¯s face received a hard punch, hard enough to leave a dent.


    A sports shoe stepped onto the slowly burning trail, easily snuffing out the flames.


    Meiqi was holding a camera, her face full of smiles as she saw the haunted look on Sun Liang¡¯s face.


    ¡°Wanting to burn evidence, don¡¯t you know I have already applied for the protection of evidence. Setting a fire in the ACE office, it¡¯s already an arson attempt, including proof of destruction of evidence, congrats, don¡¯t even dream of coming out of jail between three to five years.¡±


    Everything would be witness and evidence.


    When they found out that Xu Pingyang intended to destroy the contract, Lin Dong and the rest of them had wanted to stop it. Meiqi, however, suggested that they let them burn it, catching them in the act instead.


    To ensure that everything went perfectly, Meiqi also involved her brother who was a policeman.


    No matter how much Sun Liang had planned ahead, he wouldn¡¯t have dreamed that he would be caught here. His face was pale white especially when he saw the handcuffs¡­


    Just a minute ago, he had been fantasizing about the white smooth skin of the woman, and in the next second, it had become handcuffs. Sun Liang was going nuts.


    ¡°Sun Liang, did Xu Pingyang instruct you to do this?¡± Da Luo said as he came up to give him a kick.


    Sun Liang was silent, he was probably frightened to an extreme extent.


    ¡°You want to betray Xu Pingyang, it takes guts.¡± Da Luo laughed coldly.


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Meiqi¡¯s brother said lightly.


    As part of the police force, their demeanor was completely different. He didn¡¯t bother saying anything, merely putting the handcuffs on him directly and extremely tightly!


    ¡°This is a big building and the property damage caused by arson could be about tens of millions. The fourth to eighth floor is also a hotel, if the fire had spread and caused casualties, this would also be a serious crime. Just with these two factors, five years in prison is getting off lightly. No one in the building would let you go on this. Of course, if there was someone who had instructed you to do this and you tell the truth, the mastermind will be the one bearing the more heavy weight¡­Well, in my understanding, your boss, Xu Pingyang, is also involved in some cyber frauds and commercial crimes. If you want to avoid ten years in prison¡­Well, that¡¯s nothing then. Let¡¯s talk slowly at the station.¡± Li Xi swiftly gave Sun Liang an injection shot, the rest wasn¡¯t urgent.


    First, they would throw Sun Liang into the lockup for a few days, only giving him some bread and water, let him feel panicked and insecure, then only talking to him again slowly. At that time, he wouldn¡¯t need to ask a lot, Sun Liang himself would spill the beans. These kinds of people were not from the underworld, it would be easy to deal with.


    He brought Sun Liang out of the office, the police car already waiting downstairs. Watching as Sun Liang was shoved into the car, Da Luo was still very unsatisfied and wanted to kick him to death like the dog that he was.


    ¡°Just leave this guy to me, don¡¯t worry about the rest. I¡¯ll take him to the cyber police for interrogation as well.¡± Li Xi said.


    ¡°Cyber police?¡± Meiqi asked.


    ¡°The cyber police have been keeping an eye on Xu Pingyang for a long time. Cyber fraud is real, but the problem is they hadn¡¯t been able to gather enough evidence. This kid is Xu Pingyang¡¯s lapdog, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to dig a lot of information from him.¡± Li Xi explained.


    Meiqi didn¡¯t know the details of the issues much, but since the police had accepted it, she wouldn¡¯t question it.


    They had managed to secure the evidence, so after this, Xu Pingyang would fail the court case!


    ***


    ¡°Have you done it!?¡± Xu Pingyang asked as he sat in a dark room in Sky Club, calling Sun Liang.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s done¡­¡± Sun Liang¡¯s voice was a bit odd.


    ¡°Then where are you?¡± Xu Pingyang continued.


    Xu Pingyang then heard some calls in the background.


    He understood immediately and cut the call. His heart whispered, that guy must have gone to find prostitutes again. After getting some money, instead of using that money to earn more money, you only know how to do those kinds of things. The more money you got, the more girls you can play with, idiot.


    Xu Pingyang naturally didn¡¯t know that Sun Liang was already in the interrogation room, and as for the strange sound, it was screams from the next room which was definitely not soundproof. Xu Pingyang was the one who had thought in the wrong direction.


    Also, he never expected that they already had their eyes on him from a year ago. His tax avoidance issues, his cyber frauds, his network terms, his investment problems, the money squeezing, and the largest internet hacking platform problems!


    ***


    Early in the morning, the fragrance of porridge floated out from the kitchen. The translucent curtains blocked the morning rays as the warm light poured in. In the clean and spacious hall, five computers were arranged neatly, giving a very comfortable feeling.


    ¡°All of you get up, I made preserved eggs with lean meat. Come, come, hurry up and eat!!¡± Meiqi¡¯s voice called out from the kitchen.


    Meiqi was donned in cute pink bunny pajamas, leaving very little for imagination. She also wore an apron which added to her sexiness and charm. The tone of her voice was also like a newly-wed wife calling her lover to get up and eat her hand-made breakfast.


    It¡¯s just that reality and dreams were very different, there wasn¡¯t just one man in this apartment, and instead of a gentle voice calling out, the group of boys who had finally gotten the weight off of them couldn¡¯t get out of bed, so¡­


    ¡°F*cking wake the h*ll up, if you don¡¯t get up, I¡¯m pouring the porridge in your bed!!¡±


    With that roar, three doors opened in unison and the boys who were just clad in their boxers thundered toward the bathroom, washing their faces and brushing their teeth, peeing and combing their hair in a rush, finally stumbling out to the dining hall to sit!


    Meiqi felt as though she was feeding pigs, giving each of the six boys a big bowl, sweetly saying, ¡°I plan to hire an assistant for our team, there¡¯s too many calls to take, too many people to meet. Jian Feng and I are just too busy that there¡¯s not enough time.¡±


    ¡°Hire, what kind of salary?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°Can we even afford it?¡± Wu Sen asked.


    However, after eating a few mouthfuls, they realized that Meiqi was smiling widely, and they stared at her blankly.


    F*ck, they were so used to being poor that they had forgotten that the team had a small fortune now!


    Firstly, Boss Lei from the Demacia Club had given them a lump sum of 100,000 RMB, considering it as a deposit so that the team wouldn¡¯t leave the cafe!


    The LPL champion team, the strongest team in China, could Boss Lei still afford to be so stingy?


    His club was already walking the high rope, it needed the glory to sustain his club.


    This 100,000 RMB that he forked out was not particularly for anything, it was just to stop other people from poaching Team Skycrown from his place.


    Of course, he had still given to them the initial amount that was agreed on in the contract. As the club¡¯s profit would be distributed to Team Skycrown as well, they now had a stable income.


    And then there were Team Skycrown¡¯s sponsors, live broadcast entitlements, Weibo entitlements, WeChat publicity among others, and there were already countless companies that wanted to discuss with Meiqi and Jian Feng about the prices. Meiqi was still considering all of it¡­


    In view of the long-term interest, Meiqi not only asked for higher prices for licenses, there were also conditions. After all, if they ruined Team Skycrown¡¯s reputation, that wouldn¡¯t do. They couldn¡¯t let those people who only knew how to make money from players simply use Team Skycrown¡¯s reputation!


    ¡°Her name is Dai Lan and she will be the assistant for the team. She is an english major eight grade so she¡¯ll be able to deal with the overseas contacts. You guys will be heading into the S International League next, a translator is a must. My english is OK but it¡¯ll be a bit impossible for me to go to the US with you, there are just too many things going on. I would have liked to do a bit of travelling after the competition, but in the end¡­¡± Meiqi grumbled, her face sulking.


    ¡°Big sis, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    ¡°Big sis, you¡¯ve done well.¡±


    ¡°Big sis, a good person lives a long life¡­¡±


    Meiqi glared at them, growling, ¡°Get lost, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m showing nudes, what do you mean a good person lives a long life!¡±

 Chapter 494 - : Xu Pingyang Arrested!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Is there any news on that side?¡± Luocheng asked Meiqi as he took a spoonful of porridge.


    ¡°My brother mentioned that the cyber police has taken over.¡± Meiqi replied.


    ¡°How did it get passed on to the cyber police?¡± Lin Dong didn¡¯t really understand how it happened.


    Lin Dong had quite an aversion to the term cyber police!


    ¡°He mentioned that Xu Pingyang used Sky Club to be the cover for his biggest gaming club, secretly establishing China¡¯s largest hacking company which is involved in a fraud of more than 10 millions of virtual gaming currency. The cyber police have had eyes on him for a long time, but cyber fraud is very complicated. Wanting to press charges is difficult if you want to implement it according to the law. They probably want Sun Liang to release the dam¡­¡± Meiqi explained.


    ¡°Then¡­ isn¡¯t Xu Pingyang going down!?¡± Da Luo said excitedly.


    All the eyes of those present lit up!


    Hacking had long been a poisonous problem in China¡¯s online gaming industry. Luocheng and the rest had been in Sky Club for a long while, but they never knew that Xu Pingyang had such a thing hidden behind it. No wonder there were some rooms that they were forbidden from entering!


    ¡°No idea, still waiting for the news, but hopefully this will be the final nail in the coffin for that dog.¡± Meiqi said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Lin Dong, you hacked into Xu Pingyang¡¯s computer to spy, will the cyber police find fault with you?¡± Luocheng asked, suddenly remembering this.


    ¡°Spy?¡± Lin Dong asked, confused.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t spy on him, how did you know that he was going to destroy the contract?¡±


    ¡°Someone sent me a text.¡±


    Luocheng was stunned. Initially, he had thought that Lin Dong had used his hacking to get this important news, but he didn¡¯t expect that someone had informed him.


    The problem was, who was the one who had informed them and in short, saving the entire Team Skycrown!?


    This doubt lingered in Luocheng¡¯s heart, and for a while, he wondered if it was Zhao Tinghua, but then again, it couldn¡¯t be¡­


    ***


    Very soon, it was the date of the appeal and the contract was successfully in their hands. The length of the contract clearly stated 2 years, and once Xu Pingyang knew that Sun Liang had been caught, he didn¡¯t even dare to turn up in court. He could only quietly compensate for the mental loss suffered by Team Skycrown in accordance with the court¡¯s decision.


    Being tortured by such disgusting methods, did you think it would be enough to just pay some money and it would be settled?


    Nobody was satisfied. If Xu Pingyang¡¯s money could bring back Xiao Bei, only then would Luocheng forgive him.


    During this time, Team Sky was consistently exposed to negative news on the internet, and the main aim was Xu Pingyang.


    All this was great news for Team Skycrown and made them happy, everyday they heard reports about how Xu Pingyang was sued by some company and had to cough up compensations which amounted to tens of thousands. Because he had blackmailed sponsors, he now had to compensate countless tens of thousands. Lin Dong gleefully added the amounts together, and the total came up to almost 20 million!


    20 million RMB!


    How rich was this b*stard Xu Pingyang, still capable of paying 20 million RMB!?


    What was even worse was that Xu Pingyang was already so rich, but yet, he was still frantically trying to exploit people like Luocheng, ones who still earned so little after a few years.


    There was more and more news about this poisonous cancer which was Xu Pingyang, a lot of clubs couldn¡¯t believe that Xu Pingyang had squeezed such an amount of money through games, he was basically a rich gaming overlord.


    Due to the many business ethics issues, Sky Club lost about three million worth of sponsors. The other smaller sponsors also withdrew from sponsoring their other different games, and this led to Xu Pingyang¡¯s Sky Club becoming an indebted company!


    ¡°F*cking sh*t, d*mn it all, Sun Liang¡­Sun Liang, this dog, I will not let you go!!¡±


    In the club, you could hear the boss¡¯ terrifying rage from the office almost everyday.


    Xu Pingyang was about to collapse, he really was on the verge of collapsing. The old things were constantly being dug up and exposed, falling into the hands of the cyber police. Just in this half a month, Xu Pingyang had been called into the station almost twenty times for a drink, and sometimes, even in the middle of the night when people were sleeping, they would also call him in!!


    20 million¡­ in this half a month, in order to get rid of this dilemma, Xu Pingyang had lost a total of 20 million RMB. This 20 million was basically his entire property and fortune that he had amassed over the years. Those d*mn gaming platforms and portals had actually turned around and f*cking sued him in the face. It was basically shooting himself in the leg after the discussions were agreed upon¡­


    And just now, Xu Pingyang had f*cking received another call from the police, requiring him to once again go in.


    Xu Pingyang considered himself to be a boss and always tried to have a decent-person image, but with the police car coming to his door so many times, this led him to wonder how he was going to mix around in the business circle next time. In China, whether or not you were guilty, as long as you walked into a police car, everyone in your circle would look at you as though you had committed some crime!


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter this time!? I¡¯ve already explained what I can. As my lawyer has stated, if you guys make any more trouble for me, I have the right to file a complaint against you!¡± Xu Pingyang was completely consumed by his rage, seeing a uniform-clad police, he shouted angrily.


    ¡°Mr. Xu, I advise you to be a bit more polite. This time, we are investigating a criminal case. If the investigation works out, we¡¯ll be handing you over to the criminal police!¡± Li Xi, who was in charge of the case, berated Xu Pingyang.


    ¡°Criminal, what criminal case?¡± Xu Pingyang was confused.


    ¡°Come with us.¡±


    Li Xi didn¡¯t bother entertaining any further nonsense, pushing Xu Pingyang into the police car.


    Xu Pingyang was forced into the car and a lot of people were looking out from the windows of Sky Club.


    Wang Kuan, who had established the largest guild in the game Perfect World, said in a small voice, ¡°It looks like the boss is in a bit of a pinch.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t you see our hacking room was checked by the police over and over again. Sigh, last time, people never cared about hacking, yet now, hacking is a crime.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Q-coins are considered to be real money now. If there was fraud or theft, it has to be dealt with. To be honest, the boss raised a big group of hackers, and we, even though we have been in the club for so long, never knew.¡± Zhang Ting from the live broadcasting department said.


    The few people that stood at the window watched as the police car left the office area. Recently, Sky Club had had a lot of problems. If the cyber police found concrete evidence that Xu Pingyang was indeed the leader of these hackers, the fraud of 10 million would definitely have him in jail for sure. As for today, they had had another criminal case, how many damaging things had Xu Pingyang done?


    ***


    ¡°Hurry up, look at today¡¯s news!!¡±


    Early in the morning, Meiqi was shouting excruciatingly loudly.


    Everyone was woken up by her shouts and blearily made their way to the dining table, prepared for that very ordinary porridge again.


    ¡°Get over here, who asked you to eat. Hurry up and look at this.¡± Meiqi opened her notebook, pointing to something for Luocheng who had reached her the fastest.


    Luocheng leaned over and his eyes widened to full awareness as he saw the big words splashed across the screen.


    ¡°Number 1 gaming club changes boss!¡±


    ¡°The top gaming club has changed bosses and will be headed by the original ACE Head Secretary¡ªLiang Qi. Liang Qi has expressed that Sky Club has received a very painful blow. Other than their initial popularity and traffic to their channels, they were not willing to let this club go. Liang Qi has expressed that no matter what has happened with Sky Club, the department will definitely still maintain the club. The players will still be able to receive their initial benefits, wages, and treatment as usual and it will not affect their training or participation in competitions.¡±


    After reading the news, Luocheng was doubting whether or not he had read it wrongly. He hurriedly splashed cold water on his face before flying back to read it again.


    He had not seen it wrongly, Sky Club had really changed its boss!


    After the news article, there was also another article. Xu Pingyang, former Sky Club owner, has been sued by Tencent organizing comittee for a crime involving major hacking and threathening a professional player which forced the said player to commit suicide!


    ¡°Internet hacking gang¡­no wonder Xu Pingyang made it rich so quickly¡­¡± Meiqi muttered.


    Luocheng¡¯s attention was not on the hacking group, but on the other issue that Xu Pingyang was being sued for¡­


    Threatening a professional player which forced the said player to commit suicide!


    Wasn¡¯t this incident referring to Xiao Bei¡¯s incident!!


    Could it be that after being interrogated for a month, Sun Liang had also confessed this matter!!


    During last year¡¯s incident, there had been some media announcements, but after all that, the police had ruled it as a suicide case, making it impossible for Xu Pingyang to bear any criminal responsibility.


    Now, in front of his eyes, the police had dug up this incident and the Tencent organizers knew the truth behind the matter, they would definitely not let Xu Pingyang go because such a dirty incident had happened in the e-sports circle that Tencent had worked so hard to build. This guy had definitely committed a big sin!!


    Luocheng had yet to recover from the joy this news had brought when his phone suddenly rang.


    Seeing the unknown number, he took the call with some skepticism.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m the leader of the LOL programme, Ai Ke. Is this Team Skycrown¡¯s captain, Yu Luocheng?¡± Ai Ke¡¯s voice came through.


    ¡°Yes, this is. Hello.¡± Luocheng was a bit surprised. Why was the head of the LOL programme looking for him? And this was the first time he had called him.


    ¡°Have you seen the latest Tencent news?¡± Ai Ke asked.


    Luocheng nodded, but then realizing that the caller wouldn¡¯t see it, he replied with a hasty yes.


    ¡°There has been a conclusion on this matter. Xu Pingyang has pleaded guilty in the station. Our senior management has decided to issue a public apology to your team regarding the suspension in the previous year. We will also be awarding the 50,000 RMB subsidy money and also the prize money for placing 5th, and the 100,000 RMB which was not given to your team due to the suspension. In addition, on behalf of the LOL competition organizing committee, we would like to contribute 200,000 RMB as compassionate funds for your member, Xiao Bei. That¡¯s a total of 350,000 RMB, and since he donated his organs to your family member, we will be debiting the amount into your account to distribute. Furthermore, Sky Club will also be issuing a public apology and compensation, an executive from the ACE will be in touch regarding this.¡± Ai Ke said, his tone sincere and serious.

 Chapter 495 - No E-sports Administrative Center

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Ai Ke had personally handled Xiao Bei¡¯s case. Now that he knew what had truly conspired, he had felt uneasy and had gone to report his findings to the higher-ups.


    After hearing what the other had to say, Luocheng was absolutely speechless.


    Their case¡­ they finally had closure, Luocheng was ecstatic beyond belief!


    After getting off the phone, Meiqi saw the glint in Luocheng¡¯s eyes, and so, she asked him what had happened.


    Luocheng told her what had happened and suddenly, Meiqi was wiping the corners of her eyes as well¡­


    Everything they had been through, they finally had firm ground to stand on, and the sly, evil dog that was Xu Pingyang was going to get the retribution he deserved!!!


    ***


    On the other end, Ai Ke hung up the phone in his office and passed Luocheng¡¯s bank account number to his assistant.¡±


    ¡°Boss, we shouldn¡¯t be the ones bearing this responsibility. After all, we were just following company policies,¡± the assistant said.


    Ai Ke gave his assistant a look, not replying further.


    Sometimes, not everything could be done according to the rules. Continuing on like that would only create a cold battlefield filled with deceit, cheaters, and betrayal, things like that could never last¡­


    ***


    The competition organizers worked with incredible efficiency, and just a few days later, they released a public apology and repaid Team Skycrown all the money that Ai Ke had previously mentioned.


    As figures in the public eye, reporters swarmed over to Team Skycrown after the official statement, asking them how they would use their huge sum of 350,000 RMB.


    The people had expected them to say something about how they would use this money to improve their team¡¯s financial situation, but as the representative of Team Skycrown, Jian Feng told the media something very different.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gone to Xiao Bei¡¯s hometown before to help him create his ID card. The area was ridden with poverty, so 100% of this money will be donated to Xiao Bei¡¯s village.¡±


    Team Skycrown had no use for the money anyway, but they hadn¡¯t expected this news to receive such high praise from the netizens.


    A champion team required more than just their skills recognized, their qualities as people also had to be recognized as well, and Team Skycrown found themselves with a massive influx of new supporters!


    ¡°Then, what do you guys have planned for the future??¡± The media asked once again.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already made our decision and our goal isn¡¯t the LPL champion spot¡­¡±


    Jian Feng didn¡¯t elaborate, leaving the media and viewers alike waiting for their next move.


    Because their conquest wasn¡¯t going to end at just the LPL champion! There were still many more important competitions waiting for their arrival!!


    ***


    ¡°Congratulations. I¡¯ll do as I said and give the spot to you over at the sports administrative center. However, you might not have too much time to rest. As you know, e-sports competitions like these aren¡¯t going to be just about League, I hope you¡¯ll take some time to warm yourself up on the other games that you¡¯ve won in the past,¡± Number One, Xie Lianda, told Luocheng through the phone.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯ll play a couple other games in my spare time,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t have to worry too much either, other games will be handled by other players, you¡¯ll just have to perform well in League. Also, if you want to get into international competitions, you should get a new ID since the people over at the General Administration of Sports had wanted you to overlook that section¡­¡± Xie Lianda said.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯d already retired then.¡± Luocheng nodded to no one in particular.


    ¡°Most importantly, you were still under Sky Club back when you were using your Fighting Hawk ID but now Sky Club isn¡¯t doing too well. This is pretty bad news for a careful Sports Administration, but mainly, other departments will look into it a lot, so we can avoid any unnecessary hassle by going under a different ID and purely participate as the leader of the LPL champion team,¡± Lianda continued.


    Luocheng had thought so too.


    With Sky Club facing such major legal trouble, their club¡¯s reputation in the e-sports scene was definitely going to be taken back by the International E-sports Federation; his Fighting Hawk ID didn¡¯t really have any backing anymore.


    Luocheng himself wasn¡¯t planning on ¡°reliving his glory days¡± either so to speak, after all, he wasn¡¯t his past self anymore, and his team wasn¡¯t his old team.


    They had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to participate in the Asian Indoor Games, Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to fuss over an ID, let¡¯s just listen to the professionals!


    ¡°Okay, whenever you have time, we should go to the Sports Administration.¡± Lianda had said what he had to say, he was going to the General Administration of Sports to do some follow-up business.


    After listening to Lianda, Luocheng was reminded of something important that he still had to do.


    If he remembered correctly, Shallow Dream had told him that after he got first place in the LPL, he might be able to do something at the Sports Administration!


    Could she have been talking about the Asian Indoor Games.


    ***


    The S International League was held during September and October, before then, Team Skycrown was going to participate in various smaller competitions to train themselves up.


    Other than his usual training games, Luocheng was planning on entering the Asian Indoor Games that were held in Singapore in July.


    Luocheng hoped his trip to Beijing would be successful¡­


    He wasn¡¯t too familiar with the city, and so, Xie Lianda was the one who brought him to the General Administration of Sports.


    There were a lot of departments within the Sports Administration and they were all connected to the Sports Association in some way, like football and basketball, these giants had immeasurable media turnouts whenever they had a competition.


    Luocheng got to thinking, what if the sports channel CCTV-5 aired a LoL competition and they were showing his Team Skycrown, that would be sick!


    Entering a government agency, Luocheng did feel a bit like a fish out of water as he hadn¡¯t had any connections to any of the people there.


    When he was still young and naive, he had never thought about what these government ¡®Departments¡¯ and ¡®Administrations¡¯ even did, it felt like without them, their China would still be functioning as per normal. However, now that he was actually having to deal with these sectors, the Sports Administration felt like a huge, oppressive mountain, while e-sports was just a small mound of dirt that hadn¡¯t even been recognized yet, and he was just one of a couple hundreds of thousands of the people struggling to survive on this mound.


    Who was managing all these associations, who decided whether or not e-sports had the ability to create an association, who was in charge of the Asian Indoor Games, and who was in charge of the name lists and how many spots¡­


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t the slightest clue.


    It was obvious that Lianda wasn¡¯t a frequent visitor of this place, upon entering the main hall, they went to look at the directory, not knowing exactly where to go.


    ¡°The Administrative Center of Winter Sports, the Administrative Center of Water Sports, the Administrative Center of Judo Wrestling and Weightlifting, the Administrative Center of Boxing and Taekwondo, the Administrative Center of Track Sports, the Administrative Center of Swimming, the Administrative Center of Baseball, the Administrative Center of Archery, the Administrative Center of Football, the Administrative Center of Basketball, the Administrative Center of Volleyball, the Administrative Center of Ping-Pong, the Administrative Center of Ball Sports, the Administrative Center of Manless Flying Models, the Administrative Center of Chess, the Administrative Center of Wushu, the Administrative Center of Qi Gong, the Administrative Center of Hiking, the Administrative Center of Motorsports¡­¡±


    Among the mass selection of Administrative Centers, Luocheng painstakingly scanned every last one of them.


    He kept searching, searching for the Administrative Center of E-sports¡­


    But even after he had gotten to the very last row, his ¡°Administrative Center of E-sports¡± was still nowhere to be found.


    Now Luocheng was upset, what kind of bullsh*t was this, even Qi Gong had an administrative center, so why didn¡¯t e-sports, a world-wide phenomenon with several billions of f*cking people allowed an administrative center!!!


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m a contestant in the Asian Indoor games, I just wanted to ask, I don¡¯t think my health will allow me to compete in the near future and I¡¯d like to recommend another contestant to replace me in the competition, who should I go to?¡± Xie Lianda found one of the workers and decided to ask him.


    The worker was halfway through a cigarette, typing away at something on his phone.


    He was still quite young, probably around the same age as Lianda and Luocheng, a fresh grad from university that was able to get into government work.


    ¡°Oh, a contestant¡­ couldn¡¯t you just go find the person in charge of your competition? If you don¡¯t know how to get there, just ask one of the guards,¡± said the young man wearing a flower-print dress shirt.


    ¡°Um¡­ well, you see¡­ we¡¯re competing in e-sports, and e-sports doesn¡¯t have its own administrative center¡­¡± Xie Lianda said quietly.


    The young man thought it over, scanning Lianda and Luocheng from head to toe.


    Then, an older woman next to them pushed up her glasses and muttered, ¡°Does the Asian Indoor Games even have e-sports? Are you sure you didn¡¯t remember it wrongly?¡±


    ¡°They do, we¡¯ve confirmed it with the bureau,¡± Lianda raised his voice a little, getting agitated as well.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll go ask. Hey, Xiao Ting, who¡¯s managing the Asian Indoor Games in July? And who¡¯s in charge of the e-sports sector?¡± the old lady asked.


    ¡°Let me think¡­ I think it¡¯s the people over at the Administrative Center of Chess, go ask them.¡± The girl named Xiao Ting replied.


    ¡°Oh, oh. Kid, go to the Chess Center and ask Mr. Zhao.¡±


    ***


    The two of them left the office and Luocheng couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer.


    ¡°Does e-sports not have its own person in charge?¡±


    ¡°There probably is, but there¡¯s no specialized administrative center for them in the Sports Administration, meaning there¡¯s nobody who¡¯s officially in charge. Let¡¯s just go ask the Chess Center for now,¡± Lianda said.


    ¡°So who¡¯s managing that?¡±


    ¡°They most likely don¡¯t know themselves¡­¡±


    All Luocheng could do was give a bitter laugh.

 Chapter 496 - E-sports?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    (T/N: Most, if not all references to chess are referring to Chinese Chess which has different rules to Western Chess)


    They arrived at the Administrative Center of Chess where two old men were engrossed in a game of Chinese Chess with knitted brows.


    Lianda called over a woman in her thirties, asking her where they could find the Mr. Zhao that the other lady had previously mentioned. The pregnant woman pointed toward one of the old men playing chess.


    ¡°If you need anything, it would be best to wait until this game is over, otherwise, he would most likely chase you two out in his anger,¡± the woman cautioned.


    Without any other options, the two boys took a seat and watched as the game unfolded.


    Chess was a competitive game as well, you needed extremely strong logic and calculating skills to be good. It shared this with LoL in which players would always have to plan their actions 2 steps ahead if they wanted to come out victorious.


    The battle of wits between the two old men was at a constant state of back and forth, the once full chess board was now only left with a few surviving pieces. Luocheng had never been good at chess, but seeing these two play, even he was in awe. He was definitely witnessing two world-renowned Chess Masters at play, the boldness of their moves, their concentration and strategies, he could feel the power emanating from them!


    And yet, when Luocheng saw Mr. Zhao make an illegal move with his horse without his opponent noticing, he very quickly retracted all his previous praise.


    Is this how you play f**king chess?! That horse was clearly blocked!


    You could almost hear the record-scratch playing in Luocheng¡¯s mind, the whole atmosphere dropped.


    ¡°Check and mate, hahaha. Mr. Zhao, your chess skills are on a whole new level of bad!¡± The old man wearing a flat hat laughed out.


    ¡°Tsk, I¡¯ve only learned for three days and I still got you backed into a corner, do you really still have the face to say you¡¯ve been playing for three to four years?¡± Mr. Zhao said with a pinched face.


    He glanced over at his two spectators, Luocheng and Lianda.


    ¡°And what do you two kids want?¡± Mr. Zhao asked.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re e-sports players for the Asian Indoor Games. Here¡¯s the thing, I can¡¯t participate for some personal reasons, so I hoped that I could have the leader of the LPL¡¯s champion team, Luocheng, to replace me,¡± Lianda explained.


    ¡°The e-sports team? The name list has already been sent over, we can¡¯t change it anymore,¡± Mr. Zhao replied.


    ¡°What?¡± Lianda was stunned.


    He had just asked his brother a little while ago, the name list was still being worked out, but now it¡¯s already confirmed and sent out?


    ¡°It was set two days ago. If you had come before then, you would have still been able to change it,¡± Mr. Zhao said.


    ¡°Then¡­then¡­¡± Lianda didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Luocheng hadn¡¯t expected this outcome either, he was more than a little disappointed.


    ¡°E-sports team, does the Asian Indoor Games even have e-sports?¡± asked a young man who was playing chess beside them.


    A long towel was draped on the man¡¯s body and his hair wasn¡¯t even dry yet. From the looks of it, he had just come out of the water.


    ¡°Come on, Cao He, e-sports has been in the Games for a couple of years now, you didn¡¯t know?¡± Mr. Zhao said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard. Just by sitting there moving a mouse and typing on a keyboard, playing a few games, and then suddenly you¡¯re the champion¡­ then why are we training for diving so hard, huh!¡± the Cao He boy said.


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that¡­¡± Mr. Zhao kept a pleasant expression on his face.


    ¡°And why can¡¯t I? We practice day in and day out, I can barely catch my breath most days, so I don¡¯t understand why the council decided to list e-sports as an official sport! Real sports like swimming and diving require athletes to push themselves to the limits, mentally and physically. Can some stupid games compare to that?¡± Cao He had an obviously long-held resentment toward e-sports, and after his first few words, the floodgates were opened and the pent up hatred he had started to spill forth.


    ¡°Cao He, the Olympic Council has already given its seal of approval, so please just let it go and focus on your diving,¡± Mr. Zhao said.


    ¡°Maybe all that water has gotten into his head!¡± Lianda said coldly.


    ¡°Kid, do you even know who I am?! How dare you talk to me like that!¡± Cao He bolted up, glaring holes at Lianda.


    Cao He was roughly 187 centimeters tall, the tank top he was wearing showed off all the muscles he had gained from years of training. In comparison, Lianda was only a bit taller than 170 centimeters, so he would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t intimidated by Cao He.


    However, Lianda wasn¡¯t going to back down, he held his firm stare on Cao He, anger seething off of him as well.


    ¡°Alright, alright, all of you fight for our country¡¯s glory, there¡¯s no need to differentiate between different sports. Cao He, go back to your section and don¡¯t cause a scene.¡± Mr. Zhao tried to calm the two young men.


    ¡°This little nothing really thinks he¡¯s hit it big. You¡¯re not even an athlete, got it?¡± Cao He walked past the shorter Lianda with his head held high, not even trying to hide the disdain in his voice.


    After Cao He left, Mr. Zhao shook his head and sighed. ¡°Such bad temper, why couldn¡¯t he be more like his brother?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the diving champion, Cao He?¡± the pregnant lady from before said.


    ¡°Yes. He enjoys chess, so he often comes over to sit and play when he doesn¡¯t have anything else to do. And you two, why argue with him? He¡¯s famous so he¡¯s ought to be a little on the prideful side. He was just venting a little, after all, the Asian Indoor Games is giving out fewer diving medals compared to e-sports, but that can¡¯t be helped since the main organizer is Korea. E-sports is their strong suit, so they¡¯d obviously give themselves a few more awards,¡± said another boy playing Chess.


    ¡°Young people are so quick to anger. You two should go back as well. E-sports already doesn¡¯t have a great image so you shouldn¡¯t cause a fuss as its representatives, understand?¡± Mr. Zhao told Lianda.


    ¡°So we¡¯re just supposed to keep quiet and take it?¡± Luocheng rebutted coldly.


    Just because he could dive, everyone here was protecting him?


    Did they have brain damage? Or could they really not tell that the ¡®his brain is filled with water¡¯ jab was directed at all of them and their oh-so-high-and-mighty professions!?


    ¡°How rude! You¡¯re talking as though we have a prejudice against you. I was going to lend you guys a hand and get that name list back, but with your arrogant behaviour¡­¡± Mr. Zhao was getting ticked off!


    ¡°Mr. Zhao is responsible for managing your e-sports competitions so you should give him your respect. Did you think we just took on this responsibility because we had nothing better to do? You don¡¯t even have a proper Administration Center,¡± The pregnant lady chided them.


    Because of the sudden addition of e-sports, Li Ying had gotten a lot more on her plate.


    She was already six months pregnant. Previously, they hadn¡¯t had much to do in the chess department and her work had been quite easy. She came in everyday to compile some files, type up some reports, and then she could continue chatting with her co-workers and go shopping on the weekends.


    But then their higher-ups had put them in charge of e-sports as well, causing their workload to be more than doubled overnight.


    Li Ying had no interest in e-sports whatsoever but her younger brother in university was always going on about L-O-L or whatever, and he had had to retake countless classes, he was useless!


    These games that caused students to give up their school work were somehow listed as an official competition, she didn¡¯t even know anymore.


    It was fine if they made an association, but all the work fell onto a pregnant person like her!


    So when Cao He was chewing them out, Li Ying naturally stood by his side. As for the two young men, Li Ying hadn¡¯t liked them at first, and now, they were speaking so rudely to Mr. Zhao!


    ***


    From the looks these people gave them, Luocheng knew that they had never welcomed them.


    Even after the Asian Indoor Games included e-sports in their official competitions, the people working behind the scenes still didn¡¯t take e-sports seriously at all, and all Luocheng could do was laugh.


    You think you¡¯re all that just because you¡¯re a diving champion?


    Us e-sports players could fill your little diving pool with our spit alone, just because the government gave you sponsors, gave you benefits, and gave you recognition as a national athlete, you think you¡¯re better than us. You think you¡¯ve done a lot for your country while our efforts were all only spent on playing some stupid games¡­ this type of ignorance and sense of supremacy, maybe they really did hit their heads too hard on the water.


    The two of them stumbled out of the Sports Administration.


    Lianda hung up the phone, his entire person fuming with rage.


    ¡°F*cker, the old geezer lied to us, the name list hasn¡¯t been sent over yet! And my brother told me that even if the name list was sent over, we could still change it, it would just involve a bit more work and a few forms. The old man told us we couldn¡¯t change it just because he didn¡¯t want to!!¡± Lianda half-shouted.


    What else could Luocheng say.


    Luocheng had mentally prepared himself before they had come here, but these people didn¡¯t take e-sports seriously whatsoever. That was fine, but they had outwardly discriminated and belittled them, Luocheng felt worse than when he lost in competitions.


    When the thing you were proudest of and most willing to work hard for was seen as worthless by other people, it was hard to put that emotion into words, he felt as though a fire was burning in his stomach!


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I promised you¡­ I didn¡¯t expect it to turn out this way,¡± Lianda said sheepishly.


    Luocheng gave a dry laugh and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    It was okay, it was truly okay. Someday, he would prove that e-sports was far more well-received than traditional sports; someday, those traditional sports were going to stand beneath e-sports, they would bow down to e-sports along with their pride and ignorance!


    Even if it wasn¡¯t now, it was definitely going to happen in the future. Even if he wasn¡¯t the one to bring e-sports to glory, someone in the future was going to teach these people who had berated, ignored, and mocked e-sports a lesson!


    E-sports wasn¡¯t united, they needed to create unity.


    Everyone in e-sports needed to stand together side-by-side. In times of conflict between the people and the country, they had to abolish the divider between clubs and teams. The only thing separating them would be which team represented which country!


    Just as Shallow Dream had said, come here after you¡¯ve won the LPL championship, and only then would you know what you had to do.


    Maybe this wasn¡¯t what Shallow Dream had intended, but Luocheng knew now what it was that he needed to do!

 Chapter 497 - Weibo’s E-sports Wave

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Luocheng, come look at this Weibo post!!¡± Lin Dong shouted to Luocheng as he entered the house.


    Luocheng had left Beijing early the next day to return to Shanghai.


    The air in Beijing was filled with haze and smog, putting a huge damper on Luocheng¡¯s mood, but that being said, the weather in Shanghai wasn¡¯t much better either.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Luocheng asked, puzzled.


    Walking over to Lin Dong¡¯s computer, Luocheng saw the post.


    Luocheng thought that the profile picture of the poster looked a bit familiar, and upon looking more closely, he realized that it was that diving f**ker from before, Cao He!


    Luocheng read the post out loud. ¡°Is e-sports even a real sport? If it is, then all us athletes would just go and play video games all day, why would we need to train so hard!¡±


    This kid even dared to post it on Weibo!


    Luocheng and Xie Lianda were already livid from the events that had conspired yesterday, and this retard had the gall to post it on Weibo as if he wanted the whole world to know he was against e-sports!


    ¡°There¡¯s already over a thousand comments, this dude is just looking for trouble!¡± Lin Dong said.


    Lin Dong scrolled further down the page with Luocheng¡¯s eyes following, and they soon found the comments below the post that was exploding. They could practically feel the crammed jumble of words screaming in their ears, it was a riot!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, there are so many people commenting.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ll tell some other e-sports players to share the post. You know how many LoL players are out there!? Tens of millions of players out there follow every single League related post! Once this post gets into their hands, it¡¯ll be one of the biggest internet wars of the year. Look, it¡¯s still updating, and if my guess is correct, this little troll is going to get on Tencent¡¯s trending page by tomorrow!!!¡± Lin Dong said gleefully with a wide grin on his face.


    Bullying us e-sports players, even going as far as to talk so arrogantly on Weibo, this b*tch was just asking to die!


    Lin Dong admitted that he had done a little something to make sure that the post was shared around more, but the rest was completely out of his control, and Cao He was bombarded with countless angry replies from e-sports fans all around China!


    ¡°Look at this one!!¡± Lin Dong laughed as he clicked into the profile of a Shanghainese internet personality, happily reading it to Luocheng.


    ¡°Apparently some people have dived headfirst into sewages a few too many times, how could e-sports not be considered a sport? E-sports has already been recognized in several official international competitions, professional players are expected to train vigorously every single day to outshine the rest of the competition, in no way do they have it easier than you simple-minded athletes, but sure, keep on dismissing e-sports.¡±


    Lin Dong scrolled down further, showing Luocheng another post:


    ¡°Come to think of it, diving is also just jumping into a pool of water, so what do you have to say about e-sports? At least e-sports pro-players create success with their own hands and endless hard work, unlike some individuals who live off government fundings and yet can¡¯t seem to have any substantial results. Some people get first place in some random non-international competition and start getting cocky!¡±


    The people on Weibo worked with incredible efficiency, not even a full day had passed and countless people were commenting, attacking, and sharing this Cao He¡¯s post.


    At night, when Luocheng found several thousand comments under Cao He¡¯s post all dissing Cao He and supporting e-sports, Luocheng breathed much easier, his stress from the day before completely vanishing.


    It looked like e-sports¡¯s internet community still had good intentions at heart, and most importantly, Luocheng found out from a few more famous accounts that the people knew the difference between competitive e-sports and regular gaming. They weren¡¯t nearly as clueless as the dim-witted Cao He.


    Of course, there were still many people who had poor views on the topic, for example. ¡°I play e-sports as well, but I still don¡¯t think e-sports should become officially recognized. If kids stopped focusing on their studies and turned to e-sports, neither their parents nor the country as a whole would agree.¡±


    Toward these types of people, Luocheng just scoffed.


    They were talking as if professional basketball or football players were still obediently doing their schoolwork. It was true that e-sports hadn¡¯t been around as long, but when the day came that e-sports could stand on the same ground as basketball and football, would ¡®kids should focus on school instead¡¯ really still matter?


    Everything started off with people protesting, but was it just because people were stuck in their old-fashioned, conservative ways, or was e-sports really as horrible and detrimental to society as they said it was? If it were really such an atrocity, how would you explain the LoL All Star Competition being held in a six-thousand-person stadium? How would you explain the viewership for the S International League being higher than any previous NBA game?


    As for the matter of if the country recognized e-sports as an official sport, many students would drop out of school to play games instead¡­


    Don¡¯t be so immature, don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re a university graduate, you¡¯ll earn a lot of money and have a high place in society. People like you can¡¯t be saved by even the best of education.


    Truly good education taught students how to fight for what they wanted, how to stay determined until they reached the end, how to plan out the next step to help them eventually achieve their goals.


    Schools were never opposed to students going into basketball, football, diving, music, art, dance, or e-sports, but did you choose any of those paths? Or were you too scared to even mention it to your parents?


    How many children only got good grades because their parents told them to? How many students went to university because their parents told them to? When they finally got into their parents¡¯ dream university, they suddenly found themselves without their parents¡¯ constant monitoring and discipline, they didn¡¯t have rankings or praises from their teachers or school reports, so what was their reason to continue studying?


    Nothing! Some didn¡¯t even know what they wanted to do, and their life after graduation could never turn out the way they wanted it to.


    But of course, from the ages five to twenty-something, a vast majority of people only studied because their parents wanted them to study. They had never even thought about what their dreams were, what they wanted to become, or how they could find a sense of belonging in society!


    As a college-dropout who went into e-sports, Luocheng had never thought his decision to quit school and pursue e-sports was anything to be ashamed of. If he had the talent and passion, why would he stop himself from achieving success?


    Whatever they sacrificed, they had to make it. Luocheng and his friends were ready. No matter how hard they had to work, they were all prepared, and as long as the people didn¡¯t completely ostracize them, they would show everyone the beauty of e-sports!


    They were no longer just fighting for a game, they were fighting for glory!

 Chapter 498 - I Won’t Apologize!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Tsunamis of rage from fans flooded Cao He¡¯s Weibo, yet, he still stood his ground, maintaining his claim that e-sports had no place in the professional sporting world. Cao He talked a lot about how sports was supposed to train your body and other nonsense, hoping that his followers could rationally think about sports.


    However, his attitude only caused players to become even more upset, and the comments were rushing in even faster than before. Ultimately, Cao He had no choice but to delete his original post.


    After he did so, the arrogant little Cao He thought that this would be the end of his predicament, but the internet community didn¡¯t relent, wanting a formal public apology from the diving champion.


    In just a moment, people were in heated debates on whether or not Cao He needed to apologize.


    This just once again proved that you should never anger the internet, and if you did, you had best be prepared to face the consequences!


    Luocheng was getting a kick out of reading all these posts. He hadn¡¯t been in such a good mood ever since his short trip to Beijing, but the protectiveness and passion these players had toward e-sports comforted Luocheng¡¯s nerves. Among the rows and rows of rage, there were your standard angry netizens, but there were some that went much darker. Cao He probably enjoyed reading the post, but he would also be spitting froth when he got to the last sentence.


    ¡°Can you people be more rational? What Cao He meant when he said e-sports wasn¡¯t an official sport was that sports needed to train one¡¯s body. Factually speaking, e-sports does not help strengthen a player¡¯s physical health, and with professional e-sports players sitting in front of their computers motionlessly for hours on end, their bodies would surely start to deteriorate, proving that e-sports should NOT be considered a true sport. In conclusion, Cao He means that activities that require one to use their brains are not sports, you have to use your limbs instead. So I urge you, please stop bullying brainless retards like Cao He. Retardism is a serious disability, please give our disabled friend some respect for his determination to continue diving¡­¡±


    Luocheng was in stitches by the time he finished the post, what a twist!


    Indeed, Cao He had read the comment all the way in the Beijing Aqua Academy, proceeding to go dive as usual after reading through it, but because he hadn¡¯t recovered emotionally from the comment yet, he ended up belly-flopping onto the water¡¯s surface, and the splash he caused was really quite the spectacle for the other people around him.


    Most importantly, the members of the female swim team were resting by the pool as well and they had a clear view of the absolute fail Cao He had just made, laughing out loud at the scene.


    Cao He crawled out of the water with his face completely dark.


    ¡°Cao He, what are you doing, that was a beginner¡¯s mistake! You had problems with your breathing! Take a deep breath and adjust before jumping, don¡¯t just dive straight away like that!¡± his coach scolded.


    ¡°Must be because of the stuff on Weibo.¡± Chen Bing laughed from the side.


    Chen Bing was one of Cao He¡¯s good friends that trained with him, but unlike Cao He, aside from being an amazing diver, Chen Bing was also an avid lover of video games. World of Warcraft, Dynasty Warriors, DotA, LoL, he played all of them, after his strenuous daily training, of course.


    Part of Cao He¡¯s dislike toward e-sports was actually because of Chen Bing. Chen Bing performed better than him, however, he played games during his free time while Cao He spent his free time practicing. Even so, Cao He still couldn¡¯t dive as well as Chen Bing could, and he would often mutter to himself about how Chen Bing¡¯s diving career was going to be destroyed by those video games.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Cao He was already angry, and with Chen Bing fanning the flames, he was furious.


    Cao He may have raised his voice too high seeing as the whole pool heard him, and even the women lounging by the pool jumped a little in their skin, all starting to whisper to each other instead.


    Seeing that there were girls present, Cao He pushed his rage down.


    D*mn it, his ¡®Prince of Diving¡¯ image was ruined! He had been trying so hard to only show the most handsome and most gentle sides of him in front of the girls, this Chen Bing was such a pain in the ass! Those two e-sports kids were too, they must¡¯ve been behind what had happened on his Weibo.


    ¡°Cao He, why don¡¯t you just post an apology and settle everything. Otherwise, who knows how long this will go on for?¡± Their coach spoke up.


    ¡°Did I say anything wrong!? Why should I apologize!?¡± Hearing his own coach telling him to apologize, he was obviously upset.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a matter of right or wrong. If you cause such a fuss on the internet, the Sports Administration is definitely going to find out. If this little ¡®scandal¡¯ affects your ability to participate in competitions, you¡¯re going to lose out on much more.¡± The coach tried to reason with Cao He, but sadly, it was to no avail.


    ¡°I won¡¯t apologize, I¡¯d rather die! Let them say what they f*cking want to!¡± Cao He scoffed and waltzed toward the changing rooms.


    Cao He would usually talk to the girls before he left, but he wasn¡¯t in the mood today, keeping his head low as he walked by them.


    The girls on the swim team were resting on some chairs, all sat in a row as they watched Cao He walk past. Once he was out of earshot, the youngest fifteen-year old of the group asked with her eyes wide, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on with Cao He? I hear he¡¯s been in some trouble?¡±


    ¡°Trouble?¡± Yu Yu asked, a puzzled expression crossing her face as she dried her hair.


    ¡°Oh, is our little Yu Yu worried about her Cao He?¡± Ai Ping, one of the older girls on the swim team teased.


    ¡°Ooh~¡± The girls were suddenly very excited.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yu Yu said, crossing her arms and looking away as she did.


    The girls saw that Yu Yu was upset, not pushing the subject any further.


    It was pretty obvious to everyone that Cao He had a crush on Yu Yu, but it was also pretty obvious that Yu Yu wasn¡¯t interested at all.


    Then again, people change. The Aqua Academy prioritized results, and if one day Cao He came back with a golden trophy from a prestigious competition, their short-lived love story just might get a continuation. After all, Cao He¡¯s family background was quite impressive, he was also good-looking, and several other girls already had their sights set on him.


    But with what had happened on Weibo recently, a lot of people realized that there was more to Cao He than his flirty exterior.


    ¡°So, what happened?¡± the fifteen-year old asked.


    ¡°Something happened on Weibo. Not sure why, but Cao He suddenly posted about how the recently popularized e-sports wasn¡¯t a true sports, he said something like ¡®If they could play video games and become a champion, what do people like us train all day for?''¡± The all-knowing Ai Ping said.


    ¡°Is there anything wrong with that statement? Winning champion just by playing video games doesn¡¯t seem right, does it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, it¡¯s weird.¡±


    The older Ai Ping looked at her younger teammates who were clueless about the real world and shook her head. ¡°You guys¡­ E-sports is super popular right now. Go ahead and ask any random guy in any random university, they¡¯re all either playing LoL or DotA or something else. These video games were just that¡ªgames. However, e-sports now has its own professional players. Playing e-sports, winning prizes, winning international competitions, these are what these pro-players live for, not too different from us athletes. The only difference is that our country hasn¡¯t fully recognized it as a sport, but even so, 17 people are going to represent China to compete in the Asian Indoor Games. Cao He was basically asking for it when he decided to diss e-sports online for no reason, and with how much of the internet community are gamers, they could easily grind him to dust.¡±


    ¡°Really? I always thought e-sports was just playing video games.¡± The youngest girl suddenly had a moment of realization.


    ¡°Me too¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t know e-sports was so popular nowadays.¡±


    ¡°Do they train as hard as us?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it. You try spending ten out of your twenty-four hours a day in front of your computer, you¡¯d go crazy no matter what you were doing, let alone spending all that time on gaming. Plus, most of their free time is spent playing as well, day in and day out. E-sports players don¡¯t have a lot of the benefits that we have either¡­ For most of them, not winning prize money means not being able to pay that month¡¯s rent.¡±


    ¡°If you put it like that, Cao He was being really mean by posting that¡­¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t think so¡­ e-sports just isn¡¯t a sport. You¡¯re just moving your fingers all day, it has to be easier than us swimming all day.¡±


    The girls were chatting up a storm, talking over each other and gesturing wildly to try to get their points across, but Yu Yu sat silently next to all the commotion.


    She really didn¡¯t know much about e-sports, she only knew that they were video games¡­ video games that had ruined the lives of a lot of young people, her brother included.


    However, Yu Yu hadn¡¯t expected all the backlash Cao He was getting from a single Weibo post. Could it be that e-sports wasn¡¯t what she had thought it was?


    It didn¡¯t matter anyway. How could her big brother run away from their home again and again!? He didn¡¯t have any sense of responsibility.


    What she really couldn¡¯t stand was how she had put an effort to go and find him, and yet, he acted like he didn¡¯t want anything to do with her, so annoying!


    ¡°What are you all talking about? If you have the energy to gossip, why don¡¯t you go swim a few more laps! Do you want to get into the Olympics or not!¡±


    The female coach¡¯s booming voice scared the girls into timid little mermaids, all of them quickly hopping back into the pool.


    She walked over to the diving coach, looking at her girls pretending to work hard and shaking her head. ¡°These kids¡­ can¡¯t take my eyes off of them or else they¡¯ll slack off.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, they¡¯re already training really hard, they all know that the Olympics is coming. If they don¡¯t perform well then, all their previous efforts would be for nothing.¡± The male coach laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be good if a few of them can even get into the preliminaries.¡± The female coach sighed.


    ¡°That Yu Yu girl¡¯s pretty alright, good performance, and she¡¯s very stable.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I just hope she won¡¯t be a disappointment. If she could bring back a huge trophy, everyone will be happy.¡± The female coach was quite pleased when Yu Yu was mentioned, she saw so much potential in her.


    ¡°Haha, she will! This Cao He kid however, he¡¯s got a good foundation, but that attitude¡­ he¡¯s been all over the place with what has happened recently¡­¡±

 Chapter 499 - : Lifetime Imprisonment, the Case of Xu Pingyang

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A fit young man walked out of the General Administration of Sports¡¯ Management Center, dark clouds forming above his head as he looked at the ground.


    Turning the corner, he took his phone out of his pocket, but his hands and face were quaking with rage!


    ¡°Apology¡­ the higher ups want me to make an apology! Is there something wrong with them!? I¡¯m a national athlete but they want me to apologize to some dumb gamer!?¡± Cao He¡¯s blood was boiling. He hadn¡¯t expected the news to reach their higher ups, and he certainly hadn¡¯t expected them to ask him to make an apology to the media!


    How could he not be angry!? He was an athlete and had devoted so much of himself to win trophies and glory for his country, but because he had said that e-sports wasn¡¯t a sport, he now had to go and say sorry to the e-sports community!


    Cao He was going crazy. If his coach hadn¡¯t calmed him down and advised him to just follow orders, he had planned to quit the Asian Indoor Games entirely! He didn¡¯t care who took his spot, just don¡¯t go crying to him when you brought home one medal less!


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have a choice, and so, he begrudgingly logged onto his Weibo and typed out a lengthy apology, tagging some notable e-sports representatives like Yu Luocheng, Xie Lianda, Asmodai, and various others on his post as well.


    When Cao He found out that Luocheng and Xie Lianda were the two that had come to the Sports Administration in the first place, this apology made Cao He ascend to a whole new level of outrage.


    Those two dipsh*ts didn¡¯t deserve his apology!


    Cao He managed to finish his apology, gritting and grinding his teeth while doing it, but he wasn¡¯t sorry at all.


    In fact, this whole ordeal just deepened his hatred.


    ¡°Oh come on, why are you being so stubborn about this? E-sports has a lot of people supporting it, so why go through all this trouble? I¡¯m sure you know you have a title and reputation to maintain, you shouldn¡¯t stoop down so low. You can participate in the Asian Games, championship tournaments, and the Olympics¡­ Can e-sports do that? Once you get a trophy from the Asian Games or the Olympics, the people and the media will be supporting you, e-sports is not going to take that away from you,¡± Cao He¡¯s coach, Lu Weiheng said.


    Weiheng was an experienced coach for the national team, and right from the start, he had never thought e-sports was an official sport.


    And exactly because he had this attitude toward e-sports, he was too lazy to even give it a second thought let alone belittle it.


    To restate facts, diving champions got to go on TV, they got sponsorships and funding as well as prize money from their country, they were basically local heroes! It didn¡¯t matter how many e-sports players were out there, they were just playing silly games that harmed young children and teenagers, there was no need for them to get on their level.


    As for the Asian Indoor Games, it wasn¡¯t any competition of particular note. The organizers were from Korea, so they didn¡¯t have a say in whether or not the Koreans wanted to include e-sports but who cared? If you had the guts, come and compete against us in diving, swimming, ping-pong, or badminton, China would beat them with one hand tied behind its back!


    After hearing what his coach had to say, Cao He finally calmed down.


    It was true. A national athlete like him didn¡¯t need to argue with some kids who earned money by playing video games. The apology meant nothing, it was just a cork to shut those stupid netizens up. Once he got the title of Olympic Champion, then they would see that e-sports had no right to even speak up to true professionals like him!


    ***


    On Weibo, Cao He couldn¡¯t handle the continuous outrage from the netizens, finally releasing a formal apology and wishing e-sports a better and brighter future.


    Everyone and their moms knew that the kid only did so because of the pressure from higher ups and the e-sports community. The apology obviously wasn¡¯t genuine and no one really cared.


    Noise about Cao He and his post slowly started to die down after his official ¡®apology¡¯, but this situation made something very clear. A vast majority of netizens still had some sort of sense of justice toward e-sports. They may think that playing video games all day long was bad, but people like Cao He, who berated professional e-sports, couldn¡¯t just be allowed to continue spreading such a message.


    So what if this generation liked playing video games?


    So what if this generation didn¡¯t follow idols or singers and instead chose to follow e-sports stars?


    Looking down on e-sports meant looking down on all the 80¡¯s and 90¡¯s kids who loved video games!


    ***


    After Cao He¡¯s mini scandal, Luocheng¡¯s follower count on Weibo had seen a massive increase.


    He didn¡¯t try to manage it or anything, it¡¯s just that most people who were into e-sports also knew of him and had decided to give a follow. They had seen Luocheng in the pits of despair when he walked out of the Sports Administration. They had also seen Luocheng¡¯s rage when Cao He came out with that post, and during this time, many other e-sports pro-players gained quite a number of followers as well, they had all reacted to the situation the same way Luocheng had¡­


    Luocheng realized that when they were under attack, e-sports players and enthusiasts had each others¡¯ backs, all of them had banded together, creating a force so strong that it shook the media and other traditional sports to the core!


    The reason why their country¡¯s e-sports community wasn¡¯t united, could it have been because Chinese e-sports players hadn¡¯t yet performed well enough on the global stage?


    This got Luocheng thinking, if¡­ if his team could get into the top 8 of the S International League, with Europe, Asia, America and all the other countries paying attention to China¡¯s e-sports situation, the General Administration of Sports and players all over China would have no choice but to do the same!!


    Going off of that, if his team managed to claw its way into the top 4, the international finals, and possibly even win the S International League World Champion, how many people would be united under this title of World Champion, and how far would the effects of such a feat spread throughout the media and the internet.


    Just take the Asian Indoor Games for example. The main organizer was Korean, and since e-sports was somewhat one of Korea¡¯s specialties, they included e-sports in the competition to give themselves a few more medals. If China¡¯s e-sports became as notoriously invincible as Korea¡¯s, it didn¡¯t matter how many medals Korea prepared, they would just be giving China more glory, and so, could the Sports Administration still ignore them then?


    They had to shine in global tournaments, only then would their government truly view e-sports with any form of importance and support it!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t need insincere apologies from the people that looked down on e-sports. He wanted these ignorant and prideful people to be completely eradicated, he wanted to be able to stand on the same ground as other ¡®national athletes¡¯ and earn the same respect without being discriminated against, without being shunned by parents, and without being forgotten by the global sports community!


    Not participating in the Asian Indoor Games was fine. He believed that even if their country didn¡¯t recognize the growth of e-sports, other countries would quickly advocate for the inclusion of e-sports in their sporting competitions. When China started to fret over the sudden news, their group of determined pro-players would already be ready for whatever the world decided to throw at them!


    However, right now, all this talk was pointless. First, they needed to give those international teams a little surprise. This September during the S International League, Team Skycrown would lead China¡¯s e-sports into the limelight!


    ***


    (Side note: In reality, the LPL is divided into the Spring Season and the Summer Season, with the Spring Season being further divided into a Group Stage and a Play-Off Stage. Only the Group Stage of one of the seasons is written into the web novel and that sort of takes care of all the domestic competitions since these stories should have a constant sense of progression in them. Writing basically the same things over and over again doesn¡¯t really add much, and to truly showcase each team¡¯s abilities, the champion of real competitions isn¡¯t decided so quickly, just want everyone to know so no one gets confused~ If you want to know more about the competitions, make sure to stay updated on the official LPL website!)


    ***


    Just as Cao He¡¯s little Weibo mishap had subsided, the People¡¯s Court was having a public hearing on Xu Pingyang¡¯s case.


    This was something very close to their hearts, so how could the members of Team Skycrown not show up?


    Thus, their gang of night-owls set their alarms to wake up bright and early, had breakfast, tidied up their hair and outfits for the day, and happily made their way to the People¡¯s Court.


    The hearing for this case was quite upscale, many people came, and there were even more armed policemen.


    Let the trial commence!


    Two policemen escorted Xu Pinyang who was clad in grey prisoner¡¯s clothes to his seat.


    Xu Pingyang still had a completely bald head, and from the looks of it, his time in custody had been pretty rough. The last few strands of hair on his head had mostly all fallen and he looked as though he hadn¡¯t slept a wink in days. He had clearly been washed and cleaned up for today¡¯s hearing, but overall, he still looked like a wreck.


    The Xu Pingyang they were familiar with always had a smile plastered on his face, be it out of genuine goodwill, or more likely than not, out of mischief. This time, they finally had the chance to see Xu Pingyang at his lowest, causing Da Luo and Lin Dong to almost start applauding.


    Karma had finally hit him. Watching as the judge meticulously listed out every single one of Xu Pinyang¡¯s crimes, watching the lawyers present one piece of hard evidence after another, watching Xu Pinyang lose all his will to even protest¡­ At that moment, the years of hatred that had gathered within Team Skycrown was swept away all at once!


    ¡°The verdict for Xu Pingyang¡¯s large-scale cyber scams and robberies has been decided. As the defendant has been involved in crimes of over ten million, Xu Pingyang is hereby sentenced to¡­ Lifetime imprisonment!¡±


    The judge had a powerful voice, and the words ¡°lifetime imprisonment¡± echoed throughout the court.


    Hearing the words come out of the judge¡¯s mouth, Xu Pingyang was left in a daze and his legs gave out from beneath him, leaving him crumpled on the floor with his mouth open and eyes wide, wondering where he went wrong.


    Lifetime imprisonment¡­ lifetime imprisonment!!!


    Xu Pingyang had never thought that his account stealing workshop could completely change his life. Once by giving him wealth beyond imagination, and once more by giving him such despair that he could not handle!!!


    You could only imagine how much Xu Pingyang regretted his decisions at that moment. Not long ago, he was a king in the e-sports clubs, he drove a Benz, lived in a mansion, had girls at his beck and call¡­ But all of that vanished in a blink of an eye, and the rest of his life was reduced down to the four grey cement walls of his prison cell!


    The verdict shocked Team Skycrown as well. They had thought Xu Pingyang was going to get a few years of prison time for sure, but they hadn¡¯t expected him to spend the rest of his life there.


    ¡°Why did he get such a harsh verdict? Hasn¡¯t he already paid off everything he could?¡± Lin Dong asked Li Meiqi¡¯s brother, Li Xi.


    Li Xi was the one who had caught Sun Liang and handed him over to the cyber police, so he obviously knew a little about the ins and outs of these types of things. He glanced at Xu Pinyang being dragged away like a stray mutt and said quietly, ¡°Cybercrimes these days are extremely serious, account stealing, trojan, viruses, all of these could incur serious monetary loss equivalents and more robberies and scams in real life. People like Xu Pingyang have already been observed by law enforcers for quite some time, and with crimes in the ten millions, he could even be given a death sentence, so a life sentence is already going easy on him. His money isn¡¯t going to help him either, the cyber police are determined to put an end to cyber scams, briberies, account stealing, etcetera¡­ They¡¯re not going to hold back.¡±

 Chapter 500 - Team Skycrown’s Team A!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Xu Pingyang was given his just desserts from the crimes that he had committed.


    This relieved a lot of stress that Luocheng had been building up, plus, it finally gave Xiao Bei some form of closure.


    The punishment was heavy. Cyber laws in their country were slowly being built up, those that thought a few stolen accounts and trojan horses weren¡¯t going to harm the bigger picture were incredibly naive. With the way things were progressing, these cyber criminals were going to become the law¡¯s next big target.


    ¡°Who was in charge of this case?¡± Lin Dong asked Li Xi.


    ¡°You mean who solved it?¡±


    Lin Dong nodded.


    ¡°The cyber police here in Shanghai are a bit more advanced than other parts of the country. I¡¯m not quite sure who was in charge of the case per se, but as for who did the most heavy-lifting on the technical side of things, if I¡¯m not too mistaken, it was probably those two amazing policewomen,¡± Li Xi said.


    Lin Dong¡¯s face fell.


    Hearing someone mention the cyber police, especially those two women, Lin Dong felt as though he was meeting Hades for the first time again, an indescribable sense of hatred and fear boiling up inside of him.


    But thinking harder about it, those two most have had a hand in solving this case, otherwise, who knew when they would be able to get rid of the malignant tumor in the gaming community that was Xu Pingyang.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t push the topic. It was a rare occurrence for all of them to be in such high spirits, he didn¡¯t need to rain on everyone¡¯s parade over those two female white-hats. His little lockdown was going to be over soon anyway¡­


    Luocheng was all smiles as well. Even though he had missed out on the opportunity to play in the Asian Indoor Games, this turn of events had washed all his previous worries away.


    ***


    Staying true to what they had told the media, Team Skycrown donated all the money they received from the organizers and Xu Pingyang to Xiao Bei¡¯s hometown, giving the children there a chance at a proper, modern education. Hopefully when the children grew up and made it big, they would still remember that they would never have had the success that they had without the help of the e-sports community.


    After making their donation, the internet had quite a lot to say about Team Skycrown¡¯s generous act, giving their champion team a huge boost in online popularity and notoriety.


    In the LPL, Team Skycrown¡¯s unique and innovative battle tactics had made them the shining stars of the entire LoL Professional League, and with the world-shocking 1 vs 4 play Da Luo had made at the end, players everywhere were going wild! Players quickly found out that Team Skycrown wasn¡¯t under any e-sports club, instead finding their homes in Demacia Cafe where they frequently played against the public. These people were down-to-earth and relatable, it was no wonder so many fans quickly flocked to their side. Meiqi was even starting to wonder if she shouldn¡¯t have sold their streaming rights to the Thunder Club.


    The way their income would be allocated within Team Skycrown had already been decided. The 5 players each took a larger cut out of their sponsorships, hosting fees, investments, and prize money. Meiqi and Jian Feng would both get a smaller portion of the money as well as receive a fixed income, the cut the two of them got had already been decided on by Meiqi.


    Since Luocheng and the others didn¡¯t know much about business, they had originally thought that all their money should have been divided equally among all of them. Jian Feng and Meiqi included, they had played an extremely important role in their current success after all, but as someone from a wealthy background, Meiqi knew how far Team Skycrown had come business-wise, and to avoid any future financial altercations among them, she set some firm rules before they advanced any further. They would be handling this in the most professional manner as possible so as to ensure the steady growth of the entire team.


    Many teams fell or disbanded because they never had any rules or clear goals in mind, and so, Meiqi laid everything down before her boys very clearly, explicitly telling them that their personal emotions should never be involved in matters of money. If they didn¡¯t want to complicate things both financially and interpersonally, they had to follow her rules.


    Everyone naturally stayed silent, but they all felt a little bad that Meiqi and Jian Feng were getting a smaller share because they had been there with them every step of the way, managing and building their team as best as they could.


    But of course, Luocheng knew that she was right. Some things shouldn¡¯t be changed to accommodate one¡¯s feelings. It was immature and it would only lead to more troubles for their team further down the line.


    500,000 RMB was quite a large sum. All money was managed by Meiqi and nobody had too many opinions on that matter. She would punctually give out basic salaries and cuts of their earnings to everyone at the end of each month, even preparing a spreadsheet detailing how each person¡¯s money that month was calculated.


    In reality, no one in Team Skycrown felt the need to comb through all the details. Meiqi took her role in their team very seriously as it was something meaningful for her, and as for the money, she probably didn¡¯t even care. 500,000 RMB was an astronomical amount of money for Luocheng, Lin Dong, Zhou Yan, Wu Sen, and Da Luo, but for a rich girl like Meiqi, it was basically nothing. Her purses were thirty or forty thousand, an ear stud cost her four to five thousand, an outfit would be another one to two hundred thousand, all custom made with brands from all around the world¡­


    Perhaps every guy in the team had had the thought flash across their minds to get romantically involved with this pretty (and insanely rich) young woman, but when they saw that the price tags on her new bags had more digits than their bank accounts, the thought quickly died out along with any bravery they had.


    Alas, may dreams continue to be dreams!


    ***


    They were decently frugal with their money. They couldn¡¯t just have 500,000 RMB sitting in a single bank account, so the 7 of them split the money immediately.


    Meiqi was in it for the long haul, as in she had already considered the off-season period where they didn¡¯t have any competitions as well as the possibility of Team Skycrown falling into a decline when divvying out their monthly salary, choosing to give their money out more frequently but in smaller portions so that Luocheng and friends could play each match without worrying about whether or not they would have food on the table that night.


    Of course, Meiqi had to admit that she was also slightly worried that these unruly men might fall into the hands of alcohol and lust if they had enough money. She couldn¡¯t possibly imagine what those little perverts had in mind, especially all the older men in Demacia Cafe, always trying to pollute the innocent minds of her Team Skycrown. Meiqi wasn¡¯t going to let that happen, after all, these were her servants! *cough* I mean, friends!


    ***


    ¡°Haha, our champion has returned!¡±


    The manager Xiao Duoduo welcomed Team Skycrown back with bright smiles.


    Jian Feng spared a glance at the manager, walking with a little more confidence. He still remembered the first time they had entered Demacia Cafe and how much Duoduo hadn¡¯t wanted them there.


    Now, Demacia Cafe thrived off of Team Skycrown¡¯s victory in the LPL, they were literally walking cash cows! Jian Feng couldn¡¯t help but smile at the thought of Boss Lei handing them another sum of cash to make them stay.


    Luckily, the boss of Demacia Cafe had treated them quite well and Team Skycrown had already decided to plant their roots here.


    ¡°Duoduo, remember when you said if our defending team got into the LPL you¡¯d eat all the keyboards? Now that we¡¯ve come back as LPL champions, I hope you¡¯re hungry, cuz you might as well eat the entire bar! Would you like black pepper sauce or ketchup?¡± Jian Feng laughed.


    Duoduo faltered for a brief moment before plastering on a much more forced smile, laughing dryly. ¡°Everything¡¯s on the house tonight, whatever you want to eat, say the word and we¡¯ll prepare it for you!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±


    Satisfied, Jian Feng walked away with long strides after teasing Duoduo, only to be called back by him.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, now that you all are LPL champions, your status has completely changed. Our Boss Lei was thinking about possibly cancelling your open challenges. There aren¡¯t that many teams in the country that actually stand a chance against you guys, so stacking up the prize money doesn¡¯t really mean that much anymore. We were thinking of creating a Defending Team A to take on the challenges instead?¡± Xiao Duoduo said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but if there are any strong teams that want to challenge us, they should still be allowed to come,¡± Luocheng said.


    The Team Skycrown now was much more different compared to theTeam Skycrown from a month ago. A lot of teams had the fighting spirit, but not so many had the guts. If this went on, their open challenges wouldn¡¯t mean much anymore. They needed to give other teams a chance to keep these challenges going.


    Of course, Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to completely shelve his team either. If those challenging teams managed to beat Demacia Cafe¡¯s Team A, let them take a shot at Team S. Luocheng would accept their challenge any day of the week. He hadn¡¯t been joking when he said that during his interview.


    A lot of the inspiration Luocheng had in building new battle strategies actually came from these random challengers. There was no way Luocheng was going to deny their requests, and if he had to increase the difficulty himself then so be it, but they were going to fight to the end!


    After Team Skycrown was crowned champion, many high level pro-players were asking them if Team Skycrown was going to create a second team.


    Each team still had 5 fixed members, and at first, Luocheng wasn¡¯t planning on making a second team. However, after seeing what had happened to Asmodai, Luocheng knew that no matter how strong a team was, they could never win against the fight of time. To prevent such a thing from happening, the only solution was to never stop nurturing new talent.


    When everyone in Team Skycrown retired, was their spirit going to retire with them?


    That couldn¡¯t happen! They needed new members to join so that they could rise again like a phoenix from its ashes.


    Team Skycrown wasn¡¯t a formal club so they would have a bit of difficulty building another proper professional team, but Luocheng thought that they could use Demacia Cafe as a platform to help make this vision come to life. Cafes like these would obviously last longer than a normal team, and it could be the homebase of Team Skycrown¡¯s second team, practicing, playing competitions, streaming, and open challenges. They could have a decent salary as well, after all, Team Skycrown was now the strongest team in China! There weren¡¯t going to be many people coming to the open challenges, but if the challenges could continue, their legacy would continue as well.

 Chapter 501 - Creating An E-sports Association?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°As for choosing the members of this new team, I¡¯ll let you all be the judge. If that¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯ll go share the news on Weibo and Wechat. I hope you¡¯ll post something on Weibo as well, something about the Demacia Cafe looking for new talents to become the honorary Team A of the famous Team Skycrown, something to that effect,¡± Duoduo said.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re building an A Team, we can¡¯t be too lax when it comes to choosing new people. I¡¯ll personally make the final decisions on who¡¯s joining, but you guys can set the starting requirements yourself,¡± Luocheng said.


    Boss Lei wanted to make an A Team, it was obvious that he wanted to expand Demacia Cafe¡¯s reach even further.


    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea,¡± Jian Feng piped up.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Luocheng looked quizzically at Jian Feng.


    ¡°Only our main team needs to have fixed members, our A Team could be much more flexible,¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is, any LoL team, as long as they¡¯re strong enough, can become this cafe¡¯s A Team, but if they¡¯re defeated, the team that beat them will take their spot instead. It would a free-for-all of sorts, teams would fight for the glory and opportunity to represent Demacia Cafe and Team Skycrown as their A Team. Congratulations if you won, but no hard feelings if you lost either, they¡¯re welcome to try again some other time,¡± Jian Feng explained.


    Duoduo¡¯s eyes lit up!


    That was it! They could make the title of Demacia Cafe¡¯s Team A a form of glory up for grabs to the public! The notion of a single undefeated team was getting old, so if your team was strong and could hold your ground against countless challengers, you would then become Team Skycrown¡¯s A Team! You would get the chance to train with the legends themselves, but if your luck ran out and you lost, your title would then be given to your opponents.


    If they played their cards right, many teams would come to defend and fight for the title of Team Skycrown¡¯s Team A! The benefits for the cafe itself were obvious, but this format of choosing an A Team would also allow Team Skycrown to get a constantly self-renewing supply of the strongest punching bags to train themselves up!


    Jian Feng¡¯s idea was brilliant and Duoduo immediately turned to give Boss Lei a call. Boss Lei seemed interested in the proposal too, naming Jian Feng in charge of all the logistics regarding the new open challenges as well as promising a cut of their total profits.


    Jian Feng was happy with the turnout, and he went off with Duoduo to start planning the whole thing out.


    Team Skycrown went about their day basically the same as before, each of them going into ranked games to train with their games being streamed onto the big screen in the main hall.


    Due to their previous contracts, Luocheng was only allowed to stream on the platform Thunder Club had created to attract more visitors.


    Luocheng naturally did as he was expected to, broadcasting his games during their previously decided time slot.


    Luocheng¡¯s streams were different from the others as he played on the Korean server.


    His games on the Korean servers felt like a breath of fresh air for the people over at Thunder Club.


    Countless other streamers were playing on local servers, and with Luocheng¡¯s popularity and extra promoting from the club, viewership could easily break eighty thousand.


    Eighty thousand current viewers, this was a number most larger media platforms would never be able to achieve. When Luocheng streamed on the Korean server, his games would be filled to the brim with excitement and action as well! If they managed to break a hundred thousand, that would be such a huge milestone for their streaming platform!


    ***


    Playing on the Korean server, Luocheng needed his partner-in-crime.


    He was streaming after all, and the Korean server was dangerous territory. If anything went awry and Luocheng lost, all the fame and glory he had spent the last year painstakingly building up would vanish in an instant. He did still somewhat care about his public image.


    If he was duo-ing and made a slip up, his player 2 could still turn the game around, it was sort of a safety-net for him.


    Logging on to QQchat, Luocheng sent Shallow Dream a message.


    ¡°Help me!!!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Shallow Dream¡¯s messages were always short and to the point, giving people an icy feeling when talking to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stream on the Korean server, about three games or so, can you join in and help?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re scared you¡¯ll feed?¡± Shallow Dream could always tell what Luocheng was thinking.


    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m still the leader of the LPL champion team, you know.¡± Luocheng laughed dryly.


    ¡°When?¡± Shallow Dream asked.


    ¡°This Saturday night. The expected viewership is going to be over 100,000, it¡¯s going to be a big event,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Saturday¡­¡±


    ¡°How about I give you half of the earnings from the stream!¡± Luocheng just wanted his reputation!


    Sigh, this is what happens after you get first place. If you let loose and let someone else beat you, articles about how you were a fraud would cover the internet the very next day, it wasn¡¯t like it hadn¡¯t happened before, so Luocheng was taking all the precautions he could!


    ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t want money¡­ send me some nice Shanghainese snacks instead,¡± Shallow Dream answered.


    ¡°¡­¡± Luocheng couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. If he had known that he could win Shallow Dream over with just a few snacks, he would¡¯ve said that in the first place.


    Hang on a minute.


    She wanted him to send her something!


    That meant she was going to tell him her address!


    Holy crap, this mysterious final boss was finally going to reveal something about herself!


    ¡°No problemo, just give me your address.¡± Luocheng pushed his bubbling excitement down, calmly typing out his reply.


    Shallow Dream didn¡¯t seem to catch on to Luocheng¡¯s hidden intentions, sending him a paragraph of her address, even including a telephone number.


    Luocheng¡¯s jaw was on the floor. He couldn¡¯t believe that she had actually given him her address and phone number, why had she been acting all mysterious before, then?


    Luocheng looked more closely at the address and his expression quickly turned into a blank stare.


    Wasn¡¯t this the freaking General Administration of Sports¡¯ address!?


    Even the phone number was the Sports Administration¡¯s hotline, what the hell was Shallow Dream playing at!


    Hang on, was Shallow Dream a part of the Sports Administration!?


    So many questions floated into Luocheng¡¯s mind, there was no way Shallow Dream worked at the Sports Administration, right?


    But come to think of it, it wasn¡¯t completely implausible, She did seem to know a lot about this stuff, even when she had told him all the stuff about how e-sports was being treated before¡­


    ¡°The Sports Administration? What¡¯s your job there?¡± Luocheng quickly asked.


    ¡°I have a friend there. Send your stuff there, I¡¯ll receive it,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°What does your friend do there?¡± Luocheng pushed.


    He had already been to the Sports Administration once and not only did he get nothing done, he had taken a pretty heavy blow to his pride. If Shallow Dream had an insider friend over there, why didn¡¯t she tell her friend to come and help?


    ¡°You¡¯re still not over the Asian Indoor Games thing?¡± Shallow Dream asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°I have some news. Good news. If you want to hear it, I can tell you, but I hope you¡¯ll keep it a secret for the time being since it hasn¡¯t been finalized yet,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    ¡°What news?¡± Luocheng hurriedly asked.


    ¡°We might get permission to create an E-sports Association by the end of this year, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡±


    ¡°But first, e-sports in China needs to prove its potential. That is to say, they can create an E-sports Association also help our players participate in a few competitions, international competitions, but first, the people going to the Asian Indoor Games have to bring back some impressive results,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    Of course!


    The Asian Indoor Games were our country¡¯s trial run to see whether or not e-sports should be recognized! If they performed well, all spotlights would be on them!


    F*ck, that d*mned old man, not letting him participate in the competition!!!


    Luocheng was more than just a bit upset at that Mr. Zhao.


    Luocheng told Shallow Dream what had happened that day, wanting to know if there was anything she could do to help him.


    ¡°Mr. Zhao didn¡¯t do all that entirely on purpose. Making edits on the name list isn¡¯t as easy as you might think. He would need a lot of signatures from a lot of people, it¡¯s not just something you can do yourself,¡± Shallow Dream said.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s words all but confirmed Luocheng¡¯s suspicion that she had some form of connection to the Sports Administration!


    Right now, Luocheng could only make a silent prayer that Xie Lianda would be able to lead the 17-person e-sports team to victory in the Asian Indoor Games. The entire future of e-sports within their country rested on their shoulders!


    Shallow Dream didn¡¯t go any further on the topic, merely promising Luocheng that she would accompany him during his stream.


    After Shallow Dream went offline, Luocheng was still left wondering what kind of person was this Shallow Dream. How could she have access to so much information that others didn¡¯t?


    ***


    Xin Ran Park, Chaoyang, Beijing.


    ¡°Tang, I¡¯m not going to the celebration party this Saturday.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, are you not feeling too well? Or do you just not like such crowded places?¡± Downstairs, a woman in an apron preparing dinner in the kitchen called out.


    There was no response from upstairs.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll just go tell them, it¡¯s not too big of a deal.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Do you have a date?¡± The lady in the kitchen couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°In any case, drink some soup before you go out. The seasons are changing quickly around this time of the year, it might get quite chilly after the sun sets.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going out.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that boy messaged you again, didn¡¯t he? The kid has a lot of potential. In just a year he managed to become the LPL champion, I wonder what kind of exhilarating performance his team will put on during the S International League. Those foreign teams are like nothing within the country¡­¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, are you going to watch the S competition live? I hear it might not be held in America this year.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about time you went on a trip abroad, breathe in a little of that foreign air¡­¡±


    The person upstairs still gave no response, it sounded like a scene straight out of a movie with the lady talking to herself in the kitchen.


    However, the lady in the kitchen didn¡¯t seem to mind the silence she was met with, she just wanted to know that the person upstairs was listening.

 Chapter 502 - Korea’s Attack Pt. 1

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    E-sports had always been one of Korea¡¯s strong suits. They had an incredible number of clubs, sometimes, a single club might come out with two opposing yet extremely powerful teams.


    Their e-sports community was already fully established, allowing important e-sports news to spread quickly throughout the whole country.


    Of course, some local pro-players that could understand Korean also joined these groups through some of their personal connections to help them learn more about the Korean e-sports scene.


    During the afternoon of this Saturday, some news was spreading through the Korean e-sports groups like wildfire.


    The news was first brought up by Park Yisheng as he had gotten word of some very important information from one of his Chinese friends, that Luocheng was going to start streaming tonight at 7 o¡¯clock.


    Yisheng still had his own grievances with Luocheng. He was beaten to an absolute pulp on one of the most popular LoL programmes by this guy, he wanted revenge, he needed revenge!


    ¡°The leader of the China Pro League¡¯s champion team is going to stream his games in our server tonight, I wonder if anyone is interested in getting the chance to play against him? By the way, this guy¡¯s the one that criticized our e-sports skills here in Korea.


    He knew that Koreans had a certain amount of pride over their e-sports skills. If others threatened their title as number one in the e-sports world, small sparks like that could start uncontrollable wildfires of rage!


    ¡°This is the guy that did us wrong, I don¡¯t like this kid¡¯s style,¡± Team Vic¡¯s S Team Jungler, Li Jingsiong, said straightforwardly.


    Jingsiong hadn¡¯t actually met Luocheng before, it was just that the video that he had made really irked him. Koreans didn¡¯t even care enough to play in the China servers after all.


    ¡°These Chinese people are honestly pretty funny. They think of our Korean servers as some form of ¡®hard mode¡¯ for League of Legends, so from their self-centered perspective, performing well on our side makes them feel good about themselves. However, isn¡¯t that just them admitting that we¡¯re better than them?¡± Team STG¡¯s Xue He said.


    Xue He and Yisheng were teammates. Yisheng usually played ADC while Xue He mained top lane, the two of them often duo-ed with each other in ranked games.


    ¡°We need to teach them a lesson. Let him know what Korean e-sports pro-players are really like!¡± Yisheng said.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy! He¡¯s going to be streaming his games on our territory this Saturday, that¡¯s when we¡¯ll strike!¡± Jingsiong laughed.


    ¡°Haha, sounds interesting! I¡¯m in! Once our attack is a success, someone should make a video of it and put it on the internet. We¡¯ll title it ¡®Chinese E-sports Champion Team Leader Gets Tortured In Korea¡¯, we¡¯ll drive China¡¯s e-sports into the ground!¡± Team Bok¡¯s Li Jinai said.


    ¡°Simida!¡±


    ¡°Simida!!¡±


    (T/N: A (pretty) racist way to describe Korean, akin to describing Chinese as ¡®Ching Chong Ling Long¡±)


    Korea had always been on top of the international e-sports scene, with the peak of their power being shown by Korea¡¯s Team Vic¡¯s recent victory in the S International League.


    Team Vic had two sub-teams, a K Team, and an S Team, and Li Jingsiong was the S Team¡¯s Jungler.


    Team K was even stronger, winning the title of champion at the S International League the year before. Any random member of their team was a world-class professional e-sports player, be it glory or pure strength, no other LoL team could even begin to hope to compare to them.


    Their Team 2, or as they called themselves, Team S, were extremely strong as well.


    This ¡°backup team¡± had even managed to make it into the S International League, beating out many other teams during the group stage and almost making their way into the global Top 8.


    Team Vic were the true kings of e-sports in Korea, and on the highest ranks of the Korean server, you couldn¡¯t go two games without seeing a challenger player with the ¡°Vic¡± ID tag hanging over their heads!


    In the world of Korean e-sports, you would only be recognized as a truly strong player if you queued against Team Vic during ranked games.


    In Luocheng¡¯s video of his one-sided game against the Koreans, not a single Team Vic member had shown up. This caused a lot of pro-players to merely scoff at Luocheng¡¯s skills, but for some reason, the video had gone viral all around Korea, and even a year later, people would still occasionally bring it up.


    The Korean pro-players couldn¡¯t let it go, they had to get their revenge on Luocheng for disrespecting them like that. And so, after Luocheng¡¯s video, Korean player VVV had made a Chinese account and started climbing solo-queue on the Ionian server, recording every match he played. It only took 50 games for VVV to break his way into Ionia¡¯s Challenger rank! But his crusade didn¡¯t stop there, rushing his way into China¡¯s top 10!!!


    Getting to Challenger in just 50 games, he was showing off skills of the highest caliber with win-rates your average player could only dream of.


    When VVV released his video along with his sarcastic commentary and editing, he was met with the wrath of LoL fans from all around China.


    Luocheng¡¯s original video had been edited by JX, he hadn¡¯t intentionally bad-mouthed the Koreans in any way, only prefacing his games with the fact that he was on the Korean server. It was the netizens that had stirred up all the unnecessary drama.


    But VVV didn¡¯t hold back, commenting in his video on how the overall professional e-sports community in China was severely lacking in all aspects, going on to say how the Ionian Challengers would only be able to make it to Diamond II or III in Korea. As for all the other servers, VVV arrogantly claimed that even most Platinum players from Korea could make it to Challenger in China.


    Netizens protested loudly, wanting the conceited VVV to take the video down, but they only got this response from him: I¡¯ll give you Chinese pro-players 200 games, if a single player from China makes it into the top 50 of Korea, I¡¯ll delete the video and make a full public apology, bowing to show my sincerity. If none of you can do it, then the video stays up, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t apologize to weaklings.


    Shallow Dream had previously mentioned this to Luocheng, but back then, Team Skycrown was in the midst of training for competitions, they hadn¡¯t had any spare time to deal with it. Plus, Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to help fix someone else¡¯s problems.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t possibly have known that his impact on Korea never really dissipated, he couldn¡¯t have known that the Korean e-sports community created a team of the top 50 pro-players to all queue against him while he was streaming!


    Oh, you wanted to stream?


    You wanted to play three games?


    I¡¯ll have you begging on the floor for all three!!!


    Before Team Skycrown had taken on the title of the LPL champion, there wasn¡¯t much of a point for Korea to attack Luocheng like this, but now that he wasn¡¯t just the leader of some team from China, he represented the entire Chinese e-sports community, if he were to get slaughtered three games in a row, he would be a cultural disgrace!


    Quite obviously, for news from China to get to Korea, there was definitely a middle-man pulling the strings.


    That person was none other than Bin Bin from Xuhui district¡¯s Team Sunlight.


    After their run-in with the media, stream viewership for Team Sunlight was decreasing by the day. Their income took a huge hit, and they had no other choice but to change their ID¡¯s and go stream some lower level games on the Korean server.


    They were nothing if not good businessmen, getting the contacts of a Chinese exchange student in Korea who played LoL. Bin Bin got him to help write out a post sharing all the details about Luocheng¡¯s schedule to the man that hated him the most, Park Yisheng.


    Once Yisheng got wind of it, it didn¡¯t take long for the entire Korean e-sports community to get up to date too.


    It was the weekend so everyone was planning on playing some ranked games either way. Even some more out of the loop Korean players joined in the fun once they knew they were going to stop the leader of China¡¯s champion team.


    Thus, the Korean resistance amassed an army of 50 people in no time.


    That being said, LoL wasn¡¯t an MMORPG or anything, how could they continuously kill a single player?


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t as hard as you¡¯d expect. There were only so many high-ranked players, most of them had to queue for quite a while before they could finally play a game with a full set of 10 people.


    Luocheng¡¯s Korean account was Diamond I, almost Challenger, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to queue into a game. So, all they needed to do was have all 50 people at the ready, wait until they got news from China that this champion leader was queuing up, and all start queuing as well. The likelihood that they would get into the same game was extremely high¡­


    Among the 50 people, the more notable ones included Team STG¡¯s Park Yisheng, a world-class player, Team Stg¡¯s Xue He, also a globally recognized powerhouse, Vic Team S¡¯ Li Jingsiong, as well as Team Bok¡¯s Li Jinai.


    STG, Vic-S, and Bok were all in Korea¡¯s OGN¡¯s top 8 LoL teams; more than half of the 50 people were also pro-players in Korea¡¯s top 16 teams. That meant that on Saturday, once the clock struck 7 pm in Beijing, a war amongst pro-players was going to break out in Korea with their main target being the insolent Chinese champion team leader who dared mock their power, Yu Luocheng!


    News of the stream spread around Korea on Saturday around four or five in the evening, and many Korean players were tuning in to many of these pro-players¡¯ streams, hoping to be able to finally exact revenge on the player from China. They were certainly in for a treat.


    ***


    Over in China, the Chinese e-sports community didn¡¯t have a care in the world, completely oblivious to the Koreans waiting for this champion leader to fall into their trap. All they knew was that Luocheng was going to be streaming on the Korean server tonight, it wasn¡¯t everyday that they had the chance to watch something like that¡­


    Viewership far exceeded Luocheng¡¯s expectations, even a hundred thousand would¡¯ve been a huge milestone for the Thunder Club, but even before Luocheng had even gone live, the QT channel already had 80,000 viewers waiting.


    You should know, the viewer count usually doubled after the streamer officially went live, that meant that their stream could quite possibly break over 160,000 online viewers!


    Even his personal streams could reach such incredible numbers, almost rivaling Hades¡¯ record of 200,000!


    ***


    ¡°Holy crap, I¡¯m telling you man, if you retired from competitions and went into streaming, you¡¯d be living the good life!¡± Lin Dong looked at the viewer count and raised his eyebrows high.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of f*cking people. Hopefully you won¡¯t get some horrible feeding teammates, it¡¯ll be pretty embarrassing if you lose,¡± Da Luo teased.


    Luocheng let out a small laugh. ¡°Of course I came prepared.¡±


    The two boys looked at the smirk Luocheng had on his face, understanding in an instant that the guy had gotten Shallow Dream to duo with him!


    With her, there was no freaking way Luocheng could lose!

 Chapter 503 - Korea’s Attack Pt. 2

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As soon as Luocheng came online, the viewer count in the QT room started to grow dramatically.


    Seeing the numbers easily surpassing 100,000, Luocheng knew that he made the right choice in deciding to invite Shallow Dream to duo with him.


    It was true that Luocheng was the leader of the LPL champion team, however, LoL wasn¡¯t like any other game. No matter how mechanically skilled you were or how well you played, there was always the possibility of you losing due to a feeding teammate, and so, a player¡¯s strength would only show its true colours after multiple matches.


    Playing in the Korean Diamond I rank, if his teammates didn¡¯t randomly disconnect and there weren¡¯t any major early-game mishaps, Luocheng could confidently say that he had a solid 80% win-rate, but whether or not he could perform well three games in a row, that was up to whether or not Luocheng had been a good boy that week.


    That¡¯s why with larger events like these, Luocheng had brought along his most trusted partner to make sure that he could show the world what he was really made of.


    ***


    There weren¡¯t any analysts in the QT channel, it was left to Luocheng to commentate over himself.


    Luocheng logged into the game, turning on his mic.


    ¡°Greet everyone, Fighting Hawk, greet everyone,¡± The host told Luocheng through his headphones..


    Luocheng straightened himself up and cleared his throat. ¡°Yes, hello everybody, I¡¯m Team Skycrown¡¯s Fighting Hawk.¡±


    Just a few simple words and the chat went wild. The managers had already restricted each person to only be able to send one message every 5 minutes, but it was still scrolling by faster than Luocheng could even process. He had wanted to try and spot a few cute girls through their ID¡¯s but he didn¡¯t even have the chance


    ¡°Wait a few more minutes, guys, my partner¡¯s going to be right here. They¡¯re usually pretty punctual, so we¡¯ll start at 7 o¡¯clock sharp,¡± Luocheng told everyone.


    Shallow Dream was indeed very punctual, and her Korean ID flashed green as soon as 7 o¡¯clock came. Luocheng immediately invited her into his lobby.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Is it Sky Swan?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m at Demacia Cafe right now, Captain Yu isn¡¯t duo-ing with Sky Swan.¡±


    ¡°Woah, isn¡¯t this that awesome ADC that busted down the gates of Korea with our Leader all that time ago!?¡±


    A few long-time fans quickly spread the news, typing into the chat window, ¡°This¡­this is definitely the Number 9 Challenger player in Ionia, Shallow Dream!¡±


    Quite a few people still didn¡¯t know much about the higher ranks of their country. Many of them quickly searched up the ID that was leaked, and lo and behold, the ninth spot on Ionia¡¯s top Challenger players list was none other than Shallow Dream, an ADC main whose MMR was only second to Bai Feng, even going as far as to have a higher win-rate than Bai Feng.


    On the top Challengers list, a vast majority of them were professional e-sports players and it was obviously expected for the top 10 players to take gaming as their career,however, the ranked ninth Shallow Dream was an enigma. No matter how hard you searched and scoured the internet, you just couldn¡¯t find out which pro-player¡¯s account it was.


    Most likely, countless teams and even competition organizers had invited the Shallow Dream account to participate in their tournaments, even offering fairly high prices just for them to show up, but sadly, not many had had the luxury of playing more than a few games with the mysterious player.


    ¡°D*mn, Luocheng would be able to invite the old God. They didn¡¯t even accept my friend request!¡± Back at his training site, Xie Lianda was very unhappy about this.


    Lianda¡¯s number 1 spot had already been stolen by that Hades, because no matter what, Hades was still the biggest boss of China.


    As Luocheng was the one streaming, naturally a couple of pro-players were tuning in as well. When everyone saw that Luocheng was able to invite the most elusive yet powerful player within the country to act as his special guest, their eyes lit up! With these two teaming up, Korea had better be ready for what was about to come their way!


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start queuing up. Hopefully we won¡¯t have to wait for too long,¡± Luocheng said into his mic.


    As soon as he did, the people over at Xuhui Cafe started to snicker.


    We wouldn¡¯t dare keep you waiting, in fact, we¡¯ve prepared over 50 people to make sure of this! Start queuing up if you dare!


    ***


    Luocheng clicked ¡®Find Match¡¯, and at the same time, fifty or more pairs of hands did the same, each with a big grin on their face, waiting for the show to begin.


    With the familiar sound of a match being found, Luocheng and Shallow Dream were swooped into the ban screen.


    The speed surprised Luocheng a little. Even though there were many pros in the Korean server, his account was already almost Challenger, there should¡¯ve been a much longer wait.


    He counted it up to his luck, maybe there were just a lot of people queuing up just then.


    Luocheng was first pick, so he banned the strongest champions of the current patch without much hesitation. When playing ranked with randoms, he didn¡¯t really need to give much thought to who he should ban, you couldn¡¯t really go wrong with cutting off Lee Sin, Kha¡¯Zix, or Elise.


    On the enemy team, most of the stronger champions this patch were banned. It didn¡¯t look like they gave it too much thought either, however, the Vayne ban did leave Luocheng with a few questions.


    Why ban Vayne? That champion was extremely difficult to play with randoms.


    Luocheng had a pretty decent Vayne, but he also needed his teammates to last at least 20 or so minutes for him to get a few items. A game with randoms obviously wouldn¡¯t be as coordinated as an actual team, so Luocheng wouldn¡¯t normally pick the ADC to play. Shallow Dream was the same way too. If you didn¡¯t want to lose, don¡¯t pick Vayne, even your ¡°hard mechanics¡± wouldn¡¯t be able to carry you in this day and age.


    ***


    ¡°Who¡¯s in the game? Tag yourself in the group.¡±


    In the Korean group, with over 50 people queuing at the same time, it was as though 50 people were rushing their way out of a single door, there was bound to be at least a couple of people who made it through.


    As expected, they could tell from how the opposing side had banned Vayne. Li Jinai and Xue He were both in Luocheng¡¯s enemy team. One of the other three was also a member of their stakeout while the other two ID¡¯s were familiar but weren¡¯t in on their plan.


    Yisheng was very annoyed that he wasn¡¯t a part of the game, but seeing that his teammate, Jack of Hearts, was in Luocheng¡¯s team, all of his anger was washed away.


    Yisheng was over the moon!


    It was time for the slaughterhouse, you Chinese pig!!


    Yisheng cackled to the skies.


    Jack of Hearts didn¡¯t know about their plan, but seeing as Yisheng was his teammate, the latter quickly went over to Jack of Hearts¡¯ chatroom.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound right, I¡¯m a man with principles.¡± Jack of Hearts wasn¡¯t too pleased with their arrangement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you somewhere fun tomorrow night.¡± Yisheng gave him a look all men knew.


    Jack of Hearts''¡±principles¡± completely flew out the window, and he happily agreed to Yisheng¡¯s terms.


    Jinai was playing Support, Xue He was Top. With Xue He and Jack of Hearts in the game, Yisheng¡¯s Team STG was all set to control the tides of battle. And thus, the game began.


    ***


    Luocheng and Shallow Dream defaulted to their most comfortable roles, the bottom lane. They didn¡¯t always play bot when playing ranked with randoms, for as the saying goes, nothing may be worse than a duo going bot. After all, with two skilled players going into ranked, they should try their best to take control over two different lanes to make sure they didn¡¯t have any major difficulties later in the game.


    Luocheng and Shallow Dream trusted these Korean Challenger players, and so, they let them pick their roles first, and as luck would have it, they both ended up with the bot lane.


    ¡°You ADC.¡± Shallow Dream told Luocheng.


    ¡°What, you¡¯re planning on eating while playing again?¡± Luocheng asked.


    As he asked, he had already picked the Arrow of Retribution, Varus.


    Shallow Dream chose Lulu.


    Seeing their opponents choose a Leona Support, Luocheng and Shallow Dream started to discuss how they wanted to play their early game.


    ***


    Entering the game, everything was normal. Luocheng got Shallow Dream to tell their Jungler to start at the Blue Buff in Korean.


    Luocheng found it weird too, why did Shallow Dream speak Korean? He thought she had some decent translating app or something. Luocheng had tried asking her for it several times so he could have a better time watching some videos, but Shallow Dream just thought he was crazy.


    ¡°What¡¯s Captain Yu and his partner doing?¡±


    In the Demacia Cafe, players lounged in the hall with an ice coffee in their hands, looking up at the big display screen showing Luocheng¡¯s stream.


    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re camping in a bush to try and get first blood?¡±


    Luocheng and Shallow Dream weren¡¯t playing as they usually did. The Jungler was starting at the Blue Buff, so they didn¡¯t need to help them leash Red. The duo quickly made their way to hide in the bottom lane bushes, really looking like some preschoolers who had yet to reach Level 30, waiting to get first blood.


    Minions had already made their way to lane and the two still didn¡¯t move. They waited until the enemy Support Leona and ADC Lucian appeared, and then suddenly attacked!


    ¡°The hell, who fights someone at Level 1 in enemy minions!?¡±


    Lulu used her Q-skill while Luocheng¡¯s Varus used his E-skill to slow the enemy. They were only Level 1, yet, Luocheng and Shallow Dream stood in front of the minion wave, attacking the insanely strong duo of Leona and Lucian!


    Unexpectedly, it was Leona and Obama who lost the trade! They were cowering under their towers, not even walking up to get experience!!!


    Everyone was completely stunned!


    How did that happen???


    ¡°Look, Leona is a strong champion, but her Level 1 is pretty bad. If you¡¯re using a ranged champion, just start wailing on her. A Level 1 Lucian isn¡¯t too great either, he has a shorter range too, so just muster up some courage and attack them at Level 1 past their minions, they¡¯re not gonna be able to trade back,¡± Luocheng knew that everyone was confused, so he explained it through his mic.


    The skirmish immediately became one of the highlights of the stream.


    Leona was an absolute beast in the bottom lane, so much so that countless players were getting bullied by her every single day! But apparently, they just needed to fight at Level 1, it was as though Luocheng had shown them a whole new world!


    The professional players from China watching were equally as surprised, Luocheng was one hell of a strategist, being able to think up a plan like that.


    The bot lane duos in the LPL were sweating as well. Thankfully this guy hadn¡¯t pulled off a stunt like that during his competitions, they might have just AFK-ed right then and there! Just take a look at Leona and Lucian who were still at Level 1 with 0 CS and you would know how disgusting these two were!

 Chapter 504 - Let the Show Begin!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Riot always made game balance a priority when designing champions, hence, there weren¡¯t any champions that were stupidly strong throughout the whole game, and similarly, there weren¡¯t any champions that were stupidly weak throughout the whole game. There were just champions that made you want to uninstall as soon as you saw them.


    Leona absolutely dominated the bottom lane in Season 4, her power was unmatched. There weren¡¯t many Support mains playing ranked with randoms to begin with, so if you picked Alistair, Thresh, or Morgana, you might still have a fighting chance against the bot lane Goddess, but if you were playing anyone else, you might as well just disconnect.


    However, Leona really wasn¡¯t as invincible as people thought, she was at her weakest at Level 1. If you could get behind the enemy minions, avoid the minion aggro, and get your long-ranged ADC in on your plan, you could easily push a Leona so far back that she couldn¡¯t even get experience off minions!


    This tactic wasn¡¯t only useful against low-Level players either, this time, the cowering enemy Support was none other than Team BOK¡¯s Li Jinai!


    Team BOK was one of Korea¡¯s OGN¡¯s Big 4. No matter how you put it, Jinai was still one of the more internationally famous Support mains. He had picked Leona to try and overpower Luocheng by his lane presence alone, but he had never expected this sudden turn of events.


    ¡°How annoying, the Chinese rat still had some dastardly tricks up his sleeves,¡± Jinai complained.


    His teammates were right beside him, all huddled around the computer screen to watch the game play out. They weren¡¯t even trying to hide their snickering, further frustrating Jinai.


    ¡°One of the self-proclaimed masters of our glorious country of Korea is getting zoned to the tower, as a Leona, now this is certainly not something you see everyday!¡± Team¡¯s BOK¡¯s Jungler, Kim Zuoshen said.


    ¡°Oh? Wasn¡¯t that already official? Why is it back to being self-proclaimed? Could it be because of that game on the OGN?¡±


    They were brothers by choice if not by blood, but like every sibling out there, the other members of Team BOK-TH were relentless in their teasing.


    ¡°Stop chatting around me like a bunch of b*tches! I¡¯ll show him who¡¯s boss once I get to Level 3!¡± Jinai said.


    ¡°That is, if you can get to Level 3¡­¡±


    ***


    In the bottom lane, Jinai and his ADC were still being pressured extremely hard by the powerful duo of Luocheng and Shallow Dream. If it were anyone else, first blood might have already been taken. Jinai had self-restraint, so he knew that they would only be able to win after they hit Level 3.


    Quite unfortunately, once they had painstakingly crawled their way to Level 3 and were starting to look for an opening to attack, their opponents wisely took a few steps back, taking a few minions along the way to help push them to Level 4¡­


    And thus, Jinai and his ADC remained under the torturous grasp of their enemy laners.


    ¡°Jinai, wanna play some poker?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m playing ranked!¡±


    ¡°So what? You¡¯re basically AFK-ing under the tower anyway.¡±


    ¡°Pfft~¡±


    Jinai was about to burst from all the rage his teammates were inciting. Finally, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, rushing in to cast his E-skill onto Luocheng¡¯s Varus!


    Leona¡¯s first ability when engaging shouldn¡¯t be her E-skill, instead, she should first activate her W-skill. That way, not only could she make herself more tanky, the delayed burst of damage from her W-skill would come out faster too, reapplying her passive and overall increasing her damage output by a lot.


    Jinai was a professional, so he was naturally very familiar with these details, activating Leona¡¯s Eclipse the moment he pressed his W.


    Jinai¡¯s Zenith Blade hit with deadly accuracy, pulling his Leona right onto Luocheng¡¯s Varus.


    Luocheng¡¯s reaction speed was indescribably quick as well. He knew he couldn¡¯t dodge it, and so, he aimed his crystalline bow toward the sky and shot down a Hail of Arrows directly beneath his feet, applying a slow to Leona as soon as she came over.


    After getting hit by Leona¡¯s E-skill, you would naturally expect to be hit by an auto-Q-auto-combo, the damage from that plus the burst from her W-skill would pretty much take away half of your health bar¡­


    However, Luocheng wasn¡¯t worried in the slightest!


    Who was his Support?


    The skilled Shallow Dream didn¡¯t react any later than Luocheng did, and Leona¡¯s clean W-E-Auto-Q-Auto-combo should have hit Luocheng indeed, no questions asked, but as Jinai was flying through the air, he was suddenly polymorphed into a docile sheep by Shallow Dream¡¯s Lulu!


    He was completely helpless!


    Flying toward Luocheng¡¯s face was no longer an armor-clad sovereign of the Sun, and after she had been morphed into a little sheep, Luocheng put some distance between them and started fighting back with a barrage of auto attacks!


    In actual fact, Leona didn¡¯t have much mobility especially without her E-skill!


    With Lulu¡¯s slow from her Q-skill, Glitterlance, and the slow from Varus¡¯ Hail of Arrows, even after reverting back to her normal self, Leona was a living bullseye for Lulu and Varus, and her health was depleting like crazy.


    It was way too easy for a Level 4 Lulu and a Level 4 Varus to beat a Level 3 Leona. Once her shield went down, Leona was left with only a sliver of her health bar, she had no other choice but to use her Flash to try and escape.


    However, Luocheng wasn¡¯t going to let his prey run away! Flashing forward himself to continue auto-attacking Leona, he finished her off with a Piercing Arrow right through her back!


    ¡°Whoosh!!¡±


    A thousand-mile arrow. The shot must have been perfectly calculated beforehand, proccing the bonus damage from Varus¡¯ W-skill and easily getting Luocheng a kill off of Jinai¡¯s Leona.


    As for what Lucian had been doing during this whole fight, he had tried to get some damage on Luocheng but quickly found that there was no way that he could kill Varus, and so he resorted to dashing away from Lulu¡¯s Q-skill with his own E-skill and continued to hide under his tower.


    ¡°Hohoho!!! And the first death of the game is gone just like that!¡±


    ¡°That Lulu sure is something!!¡±


    You could take a PhD course on Lulu¡¯s polymorph. Against assassins that jumped in with their Ultimate, getting immediately polymorphed by Lulu was a nightmare.


    Lulu¡¯s prompt W-skill just now was a godsend for Luocheng, rendering Leona incapable of using any of her abilities and effectively turning her into dead meat.


    ¡°Come to think of it, that Support¡¯s ID is a bit familiar!¡±


    The people in Demacia Cafe were already starting to recognize Luocheng¡¯s enemy Support.


    Players from China paid quite a lot of attention to the OGN as their playstyles and techniques were much more advanced, so Team BOK wasn¡¯t an unknown name among the Chinese e-sports community. Taking a closer look at the ID, holy crap, wasn¡¯t this Team BOK¡¯s Support, Li Jinai!?


    If a random player from Korea had given away first blood, everyone¡¯s reactions would probably be minimal, after all, everyone knew just how strong Luocheng was. But Luocheng had just slaughtered the Support of a top 4 team from the OGN, this was on a whole different level!!!


    Among the global LoL team rankings, 5 of the top 10 were Koeran teams, the remaining 5 were divided among Europe, the Americas, Taiwan, etc. To this date, the official organizers had yet to include any team from China in the top 10 rankings!


    Team BOK was in the top 4 of the OGN and so was naturally in the global top 10 as well. Being able to be the Support in such a team was serious business!


    He was the one their Captain Yu had killed, and everyone felt a strange sense of pride in their leader, as though that Leona had had a 500g bounty on her head and they had just gotten the sweet bliss of a Shut Down!


    ***


    Back in Team BOK¡¯s training base in Korea, Jinai whipped his head back and scolded through gritted teeth. ¡°If any of you so much as mentions poker again, I¡¯ll f*cking murder you!¡±


    Koreans were naturally more animated in the way they spoke, and Jinai was now the spitting image of a raging monkey.


    Both he and his ADC were being hard pressured and they were at a complete disadvantage in terms of level and gold, it was going to be a rough ride from here.


    Back in China, Luocheng was having a pretty smooth game, secretly quite pleased with himself for getting Shallow Dream to play with him. To be completely honest, their two opponents were actually quite strong, and if he wasn¡¯t deliberately trying to win, they probably would¡¯ve gone even.


    The bottom lane was doing very well, but Luocheng hadn¡¯t expected all his other lanes to lose as hard as they did.


    The bottom lane was always at a 2 vs 2, neither side¡¯s Junglers came to intervene, but the other lanes were bloodbaths. Top, Mid, and Jungler were in a constant war with their enemy counterparts, with their battlefield being the top side jungle, far out of reach of Luocheng and Shallow Dream.


    If the battles were in the mid lane, Luocheng and Shallow Dream would honestly try their best to rush over and provide backup. However, all their fights were around the Baron, and in the enemy jungle, they would basically have to traverse the whole map to even get to their teammates. By the time they got there, any advantage they might have had would all be down the drain.


    ¡°What are you doing!? If you can¡¯t beat them then stop fighting!¡± Luocheng was rather unhappy.


    After all, how happy could you get when you had a bunch of feeding teammates.


    Even if you wanted to save the world, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to save a teammate that wanted to feed.


    Following the top lane¡¯s solo-kill, the enemy Top and Jungler went to camp out their team¡¯s Jungler and then made their way to assist the mid lane.


    15 minutes in, Luocheng already had a Trinity Force and some components of his Blade of the Ruined King. With these items, any single auto-attack from Varus would hit like a truck, but his Jungler, Top, and Mid had all completely lost their lanes.


    With all other roles doing poorly, their bottom lane wasn¡¯t getting off easy either. They had lost the Dragon and their tower. Even though Luocheng had a Trinity Force and a Blade of the Ruined King at 19 minutes, he still couldn¡¯t get any damage off of the super tank that was the enemy Renekton!


    ¡°They¡¯re feeding so badly!!!¡±


    ¡°See, I told you! Not even a God like him could save himself from a bunch of horrible teammates!¡±


    ¡°Captain Yu and his partner are already doing the best they can, the bottom lane was pretty much open for most of the game, but the other lanes were losing way too horribly¡­¡±


    Their game was quickly taking a turn for the worse, and Luocheng and Shallow Dream were doing all that they could to try and carry their disaster of a team.


    However, in the Korean Diamond I rank, you couldn¡¯t just 2 vs 6 a game just because you wanted to. Everyone¡¯s true potential wouldn¡¯t be able to shine through in a game like this.


    In Korean Diamond I, everyone knew how to effectively control vision and their gold income as well as how to speed-push turrets, and so, comebacks were extraordinarily difficult. Alas, they couldn¡¯t come up with a plan, and the first game of Luocheng¡¯s stream ended in a defeat.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s too bad.¡± Luocheng let out a dry laugh and looked at his camera.


    The viewers at home could see that there wasn¡¯t anything else he could¡¯ve done either, even Gods could get trolled by some bad teammates.


    ¡°Your teammates sucked, don¡¯t worry about it Captain Yu, pull yourself together and play the next match!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, you said they were Diamond I!? They were playing worse than me and I¡¯m only Platinum!¡±


    The chat started endlessly scrolling by again¡­


    Luocheng couldn¡¯t do anything else but to queue up for the next game.


    Just like before, 50 pairs of hands in Korea followed Luocheng¡¯s lead!


    The Korean e-sports community was going to mop the floor with Luocheng three games in a row!


    Entering the game once again, this time, Li Jinsiong was smiling from ear to ear.


    From the ban screen, he was the first pick on Luocheng¡¯s opposing team.


    As a gold medalist player from Team VIC-S, ignoring the fact that they had double agents in the enemy team, even if they were in a fair fight, he was still going to show that so-called China champion team leader who was boss!


    Our great country of Korea wasn¡¯t some place noobs like you could come and go as you pleased!

 Chapter 505 - Someone Disconnected?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Who¡¯s at the other end? Who was it?¡±


    Yisheng, who was in the crowd, started to ask.


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± The guy who had Kunti as his ID replied.


    This guy called Kunti was from a team in Korea called Team Kimchi. That team could only be qualified as a sub-par team in Korea.


    This person was one of the hunters. If Korea also used Q cash, it could be said that he was already paid with it.


    ¡°Are you going to fake disconnecting to try and reconnect again?¡± Yisheng asked.


    ¡°I could do that. The problem is, I am playing as the Support. The both of them are not going to the bottom lane.¡± Kunti replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. If we lose the bottom lane, they still would be unable to win against us. I¡¯ll get Jingsiong to go to the bottom lane more. They will definitely lose after we take a few more Dragons even if they resist!¡± Yisheng said with a big smile on his face.


    This might be the time for revenge!


    ***


    To prevent losing the tower early like their previous game, Luocheng and Shallow Dream made up their minds to not go to the bottom lane temporarily for this game.


    Also, since it was a livestream, he should play the other lanes otherwise it would get boring.


    ¡°Jungle! Captain Yu should play Jungler!¡±


    ¡°The mid lane! Captain Yu, play the mid lane as Kassadin! We want to see it!¡±


    ¡°ADC! I love watching people play ADC!¡±


    With many opinions from different people, Luocheng thought about it and decided to take on the role of the Jungler. That way, he could control the flow of the game.


    In the rank he was in right now which was Diamond 1, the ones that influenced the game the most would be the ADC and the Mid. Since most of the champions were tanky, it would come down to who would have more time to dish out more damage. Whoever dished out more damage would probably win the teamfight.


    With that said, the ADC might not be able to fully carry the team to victory. If the lane was lost, nothing else would matter anymore.


    All in all, Luocheng would definitely be better than the enemy Jungler in a normal ranked match. Under favorable circumstances, he would be able to control the flow of the whole match, not needing to play as passively as he did in the last game.


    Not only that, Shallow Dream also had the power to turn the tides in their favor in the mid laner position. Even if he did not fight much, with both of them ganking the enemies, it would be more effective than playing in the bottom lane.


    This did not mean that they were not proficient in playing duo at the bottom lane. When they worked together, they never encountered enemies that they could not handle. The main problem was that it would be extremely unlikely that the bottom lane would be the key to victory in a normal ranked game.


    ***


    During the picking phase, Luocheng did not hesitate and chose Kha¡¯Zix since the enemy did not ban the champion!


    This champion was always formidable!


    Before Lee Sin was added into the game, there might have not been any Junglers that were good enough to stop Kha¡¯Zix from going berserk.


    Everyone knew that the Blood Eagle, Zhao Tinghua, was proficient in using Kha¡¯Zix, but as no one had seen Luocheng play Kha¡¯Zix before, the atmosphere became really lively as soon as he locked this champion in!


    The third person to pick their champion was Shallow Dream, and she chose Orianna as her champion.


    The only one that could probably play Orianna better than her in the country would be Wu Sen. On average, if she remained vigilant, she could maintain two hundred last hits in twenty minutes and three hundred last hits in thirty minutes in almost every game.


    If Orianna was allowed to farm, she would be scary in the late-game during teamfights. Even if she did not get many kills, her teamfight capability would still be terrifying!


    Upon looking at Shallow Dream farming, he started to miss playing with Wu Sen.


    Shallow Dream would definitely clear the raptors and the wolves too, and with this, she would heavily impact the Jungler¡¯s economy. This also meant that if Luocheng wanted to get farmed up, he would have to invade the enemy jungle to farm.


    ***


    As soon as the game started, Luocheng wanted his team to get three buffs to start the game off. This would give the bottom laners a chance to show off.


    After giving it more thought, it would be better for him to not take the risk. If he lost his grip on the early game, it would be extremely embarrassing.


    It was right to think that way. This was because when Luocheng tried to steal the enemy red buff, the enemy Support, Kunti, was already there waiting for him.


    Suddenly, a line of red text appeared in the middle of the screen.


    How the hell!? Someone disconnected!?


    In the first minute and thirty seconds, the Support Taric had disconnected, what kind of bullsh*t was this?!?


    Luocheng looked at Taric who walked back to the fountain and wondered¡­ Why were the games that he was playing today so weird? In the last game, his teammates had dragged him down, and now in this game, there was someone who disconnected right at the start of the game¡­?


    Was it really going to be a 4 vs 5?


    If it was a 4 vs 5 in his own country, Luocheng would still be confident that he could win, but in Korea, a 4 vs 5 in Diamond 1 would be too hard.


    Luocheng could only let the ADC help him take the red buff and then he walked toward the blue buff.


    Shallow Dream also played very carefully. It did not take much time after Luocheng had taken the red buff and Shallow Dream had already placed a ward in the bush to the left of the mid lane to prevent the enemy from stealing the buff. The enemy Jungler was Lee Sin. If he was the one who took the red buff, there was a big possibility that they would come to their jungle.


    With that ward placed there, Luocheng could relax and calmly take the blue buff after killing the wolves.


    It seemed as though the enemy had no intention of invading the jungle. After taking the blue buff, he went to gank the lane.


    Normally, a Jungler that had taken both buffs had three choices.


    The first choice was to continue farming. This choice was usually chosen when your teammate¡¯s lane was getting pressured and also when you had no ganking ability.


    The second choice was to invade the enemy jungle. This was normally only done when you had great fighting capabilities and the enemy Jungler was a herbivore. Of course, when invading the enemy jungle, you had to keep track of the enemies from the lanes.


    The third choice was to gank or countergank.


    Most people tended to go with the third choice. After taking both buffs, there would be a slight advantage on levels, and at the same time, the effects of the buffs would increase your fighting capability.


    Thus, Luocheng chose to gank. He saw that the enemy had placed a ward in the bush near the bottom of the cliff, and he had also seen that the enemy Mid had placed a ward at the left side of the mid lane. Upon looking at the minion wave, the enemy Soraka was pushing rather heavily, the chances of killing her was quite high.


    He also did not know why but he would constantly see Soraka at the top lane. Subsequently, Soraka would keep chasing Renekton, and this playstyle confused Luocheng. This was because after one gank, Soraka would be practically useless.


    Luocheng appeared where his blue buff was, and with the ward there, he only had one way to gank, and it was from the back of his tower.


    The only way that this gank would work was that his teammate had to be engaged in a fight with Soraka.


    In such a high ranked game, the teammates that you get matched up with were usually quite good. As soon as Renekton realized that Luocheng was behind him, he made it seem as though he was focusing on creep scoring¡­


    As soon as he reached Level 3, Renekton pounced at Soraka fiercely, spamming his skills on her.


    Soraka in turn also had great reflexes, Silence-ing Renekton as soon as she could and also began to spam her Q-skill and auto-attacks.


    As the both of them were engaged in a heated fight, Luocheng took the opportunity to jump out from the front.


    Soraka panicked and hid in the bush. Luocheng already had his buff but he did not take the risk and chase her into the bush. Instead, he took advantage of the minion wave and quickly placed a ward in the bush!


    With a glance, he could see Lee Sin that had already been lying in wait for an ambush!


    Luocheng smiled coldly. Did you really think that I didn¡¯t know you would be there?


    Luocheng did not pay any heed to Lee Sin and walked straight up the minion wave to cut off Soraka¡¯s escape path.


    As soon as he saw the chance, Luocheng Flashed ahead and used a Auto-Q-W-combo, removing the remainder of Soraka¡¯s health in an instant.


    The Lee Sin was also not too bad, managing to land a kick on Luocheng. Luocheng in turn did not back down and continued to fight with Lee Sin in the bush.


    The bush was split into three parts in the top lane. Luocheng went into the bush and came back out many times while fighting. With this, his passive, Unseen Threat, would be refreshed!¡±


    When the enemy lost sight of Kha¡¯Zix, his passive would refresh. The next attack would deal extra damage and had a slowing effect. Luocheng took advantage of this feature greatly. Upon refreshing his passive, he waited until his Q-skill was ready. Slashing a claw right across Lee Sin¡¯s face, Lee Sin¡¯s health dropped immensely in a second¡­


    Just as this was happening, Renekton leaped in. Lee Sin saw that he would not have a chance to get a kill anymore and could only Flash out.


    However, Luocheng did not give up. He chased Lee Sin by going through the bush, waiting until his ulti was ready and then he pounced fiercely.


    Lee Sin had wanted to place down a ward to run but was grabbed by Luocheng¡¯s claws!


    Double Kill!!!


    ***


    ¡°Damn!!!¡±


    ¡°How was he able to take on that fight!?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s strong, how did he know that Lee Sin would be trying to countergank from the bush??¡±


    ¡°He is the captain for a reason. If it were me, I would have chased Soraka into the bush and would have gotten killed by the both of them¡­¡±


    ***


    Luocheng knew that the audience was getting uneasy, so he explained to everyone using his microphone.


    ¡°Let me explain what happened just now. I don¡¯t know if anyone has realized it yet, but when I was taking the blue buff, I was constantly switching my perspectives between the middle lane and the top lane. This was to check the placement of their wards¡­¡± Luocheng calmly explained.


    ¡°As a Jungler, you should not keep your eyes only on the jungle monsters, but also keep an eye out for what is happening in the lanes. This is to make preparations for the next gank and also to make sure that the enemy will not try to invade the jungle when taking both the buffs. After that, you have to know the placement of the wards of the lane that you plan to gank.¡±


    ¡°This is why I chose to gank them head-on. Also, I knew that there was someone waiting there from Soraka¡¯s level.¡± Luocheng continued to explain.


    By looking at Soraka¡¯s level!?


    How did this relate to having enemies waiting in ambush???


    Many people had completely no clue.


    ¡°The experience gained from the top lane can be calculated, and at a certain number of waves with a certain number of minions, you can then get to Level 3. Earlier, Soraka still had to kill two more minions to get to Level 3, why is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. This was because someone was there leeching experience, and that person was hiding in the bush. Lee Sin is able to clear the jungle faster than me, which was why he was there before me.¡±

 Chapter 506 - There Was A Traitor!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The Jungler relied heavily on going with the flow. This flow referred to when reaching Level 3 and also getting both buffs. This transitions into being able to buy the Skirmisher¡¯s Sabre as well as boots. You should be able to buy these items on your first recall back to base. After that, roam all three lanes and just go with the flow.


    Luocheng¡¯s explanation toward the early game as a Jungler became an eye opener.


    This strategy was probably not even realized by Junglers in diamond rank, making those players who had a high rank feel as though they had obtained a valuable treasure!


    It was not a waste of time at all. With just this tactic, many Junglers would be able to gain a significant boost to their strength!


    As expected from Captain Yu, he had a completely different perspective from a normal person!


    Luocheng taught the Junglers how to avoid the wards in the lane, which could be done by looking at the top lane while taking the buff. This was because it was very obvious when placing a ward in the lane. Even if you missed it, you should ask your teammate. If your teammate was skillful or at around diamond rank, they should be able to tell you where the ward was placed.


    If you wanted to be able to tell if the enemy was trying to countergank, that would need a lot of skill. In the early-game, you could tell from the level of the enemy in the lane. After that, you could only rely on game sense accumulated through playing the game again and again.


    A professional player¡¯s flow, the double kill obtained, those were not coincidences. That was because they knew how to use whatever available resources and they could expect the unexpected!


    To put it simply, this was a game of wits, and it would become more apparent the later into the game it got.


    ***


    A first blood obtained by another followed up kill. With this, Luocheng would be ahead by 700 gold. Also, now that his boots of mobility was buffed and its cost was decreased to 800 gold, Luocheng could easily buy the items that he needed as well as three more wards!


    Wards. This was probably the item that was the best for ganking, but most Junglers tend to overlook it.


    The enemy Lee Sin was clearly two levels below himself. With these two stealth wards in the enemy jungle that was placed for vision, not only could he choose the best time to gank Lee Sin, his teammates on the lane would be safe as well as they would know where Lee Sin was.


    For the last ward, Luocheng chose to place it in the tiny bush to the right of the mid lane.


    The ward placements were simply amazing. With this kind of placement, there was almost no place that could not be seen in the summoner¡¯s arena!


    If the Mid placed a ward toward the top and the Jungler placed the ward near the bottom lane, if they placed down more wards, it would basically mean that they would gain vision of the whole map. It did not matter which lane the enemy Jungler went to gank, the options he had would definitely be limited.


    By buying all these wards, Luocheng refused to give Lee Sin even one single bit of hope!


    By the time Luocheng had finished buying his items and gone into the lanes to place down those wards, the vibe he was giving off was basically that of a hunter setting up a trap in the jungle to wait for Lee Sin to jump into the trap.


    After three minutes, the enemy Jungler, Lee Sin, suddenly had low health for some reason. A bloodthirsty Kha¡¯Zix appeared and zoomed right past the enemy Mid that wanted to help out and scared him away.


    Shallow Dream was in the mid lane, and since she had queued with Luocheng, how could her support be slower than the enemy¡¯s Mid? When Luocheng went into the enemy¡¯s jungle to kill Lee Sin, she purposely went closer. She knew that with two buffs and also the advantage of two levels, it would be easy for Luocheng to kill off Lee Sin. The one thing that she had to do now was to block off the enemy Mid to prevent him from helping his Jungler.


    Around six minutes after the game had started, Luocheng had already gotten three kills!


    ***


    With this extremely great start, Jingsiong, who was attacking the bottom lane, started to frown!


    The one who had disconnected was the Support. In a normal game, the side who disconnected would always result in a loss.


    As Jingsiong was too caught up in pressuring and killing the enemy ADC, he looked at the kda score and realized that Kha¡¯Zix already had three kills!


    Kha¡¯Zix was different from most other Junglers. The more Kha¡¯Zix gots kills, the stronger Kha¡¯Zix would be later in the game!


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Jingsiong started to scold his teammates.


    Jingsiong knew the person playing Lee Sin personally, and he was quite a skillful Jungler in Korea too!


    As a professional player, letting the enemy farm you in the jungle in the early-game? Did you still have the audacity to stay in the professional player circle!?


    Really, if this person did not steal his jungling position, the enemy would have already been crushed by himself!


    Jingsiong was the golden Jungler in Team Vic-S, but this time, his position had been taken by someone else, which was why he was playing as the bottom laner.


    Jingsiong didn¡¯t even get the time to complain when another person was killed in the mid lane!


    With Kha¡¯Zix and Orianna cooperating, they had successfully killed Ziggs that had overextended. With his skills, it would not have been easy for Ziggs to be killed, but Luocheng was already Level 5 and almost reaching Level 6. With a combo of skills as well as the buffs included, he had been killed by Luocheng¡­


    Four kills!


    It was only around the seventh minute of the game and Luocheng already had four kills on his Kha¡¯Zix!


    Luocheng basically had the aura of a grim reaper, and those players who had trained for so long could only marvel in awe!


    Jingsiong really could not stand it any longer.


    This bunch of people had come in specially to hunt and yet, the early-game was already a zero to four. Who was hunting who now!? This was a total wipe to their former plans!


    This game could not be played in this way!


    Park Yisheng could not remain calm himself. How did that China rat have such good luck? He had gotten so many kills at such an early stage!


    How could Yisheng allow Luocheng to continue his killing spree? Kha¡¯Zix was one of the strongest Junglers there was, if he continued to farm in the early-game, the Support would not be able to play the late-game!


    ¡°Kunti, Kunti, get on to your lane now!¡± Yisheng sent a message to Kunti.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t you tell me to just disconnect and stay that way?¡± Kunti said.


    ¡°That b*stard had a great early game. Get back to playing in your lane like normal. People already know that you are on our side now. Also, tell us your Jungler¡¯s position on the map once you do. Don¡¯t let him get kills anymore.¡± Yisheng said.


    Kunti was stunned¡­


    D*mn, even Kunti thought that Park Yisheng was really shameless.


    The one thing that Junglers were scared of the most was of people knowing their location. If he followed Yisheng¡¯s orders and reported his position, the Jungler would not be able to exert his potential.


    ***


    ¡°The Support has finally reconnected. After this, it should probably get easier. If the Support follows the ADC and does not feed intentionally, after reaching Level 6, the late game would be easier to play.¡± Luocheng spoke into the microphone.


    Now, the only lane that Luocheng had not been to was the bottom lane. The enemy top lane and mid lane had already been visited by him. As for the enemy Jungler? He had already been beaten black and blue by Luocheng. Since the ADC would not have much damage before twenty minutes, he should be more vigilant in roaming. By buying more time for the ADC and the Support, the game would be in their hands.


    After disconnecting, the rate of leveling up was quite quick. By playing efficiently, you could get to Level 6 extremely quickly. Luocheng saw that their bottom lane had already been pushed, but since their area of vision was great, he could let them slowly farm after the Support reconnected, so he did not care too much.


    The only problem was that no matter where he went to gank, even with his excellent movements when trying to gank the mid lane, they always evaded!


    This could not be! With this strategy, it had an above 90% chance that it would work, how could they have run off?


    Did they have wards here?


    Luocheng had memorized the placement of the wards in the lanes. With that being said, how could the champions that were in the lane who needed gold buy that many wards? The only one who would normally do it would be the Jungler, Lee Sin¡­


    The suspicious thing was, did Lee Sin even still have enough money to buy wards?


    After looking at his economic condition, it seemed as though he had not bought any wards.


    ***


    SHUT DOWN!


    Finally, at around the thirteen-minute mark of the game, just as Luocheng was trying to steal the blue buff, he was surrounded by four enemies. That was around 500 gold bounty¡­


    Luocheng could not believe it. His passive had been refreshed, which also meant that the enemies did not have wards there. If that was so, how could his plan of stealing the blue buff have been seen through? Did the enemy have a greater game sense than himself?


    Alright, the enemies were great Korean players, it made sense that the game sense in Diamond 1 should be at this level. It looked like he had to be more careful later.


    Luocheng silently praised the standards of Korean players. In the next six minutes, other than killing the jungle monsters, he was not able to gank successfully, and this made Luocheng immensely unhappy.


    After a mere few months, had the standards of the Korean E-sports advanced that much?


    It was clear that the enemy did not have any wards there, and even after scanning a few times, he did not see any. Why did it feel like the enemy always knew his location¡­?


    It was a shame that Luocheng was caught again. He was ambushed by three people with Flashes and their Ultimates.


    Luocheng was really bitter. He really did not know how to explain what had happened to the 100,000 people watching him.


    ***


    Lin Dong was watching by the side. The people in the Demacia Cafe were also nervous for Luocheng.


    Suddenly, Lin Dong¡¯s phone started to ring. It was Team Beijing¡¯s captain, Xie Lianda, also known as Number One.


    ¡°Lin Dong, is Luocheng right beside you?¡± Lianda asked.


    ¡°Yes, he is streaming right now, are you seeing this?¡± Lin Dong replied.


    ¡°How the f*ck am I not watching this! Faster put the phone next to Luocheng¡¯s ear.¡± There was a hint of panic in Lianda¡¯s voice.


    Lin Dong did not understand what had happened, but he obediently put the phone next to Luocheng who was trying his best to win.


    ¡°Luocheng, you have been betrayed!¡± Lianda said in a loud voice.


    ¡°I know.¡± Luocheng replied calmly.


    In the last game, all of the other lanes had fallen, and in this game, the Support had disconnected. Wasn¡¯t it obvious?


    ¡°What I meant was, there is someone planning all of this!¡± Lianda said.


    ¡°All of this?¡± Luocheng was startled.


    ¡°A friend of mine who is also a professional player in Korea told me about this. There are many Koreans that are watching your stream right now. Also, there are many people waiting to ambush you. There is an *sshole in your team that has been reporting your location to the enemies!¡± Lianda said.


    Once Luocheng heard that, he almost swore!


    Dang, that was why those enemies had a great game sense all of a sudden, figuring out all his strategies of jungling! There was actually a traitor!


    Okay you Korean pieces of sh*t, since you dared to plot against me, if I don¡¯t let all of you die a painful death, my name is not Luocheng!!!

 Chapter 507 - It’s That Easy to Kill Someone!

    Chapter 507: It¡¯s That Easy to Kill Someone!


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem? Did someone set him up?¡± Lin Dong, who was at the side, asked as he was confused.


    How did it work?


    A few people would let an account reach a certain rank, and after that, they would get a lot of people to queue for a game all at once. Once there was a rat in the enemy¡¯s team, what happened next would not need explaining.


    Of course, they would not feed that obviously. They would mostly fail or mess up during an important moment to screw up the rhythm of the team.


    This might be the people that you hated to see the most. A normal ranked game had been tampered with and made into a mess.


    ¡°I think it was because of that incident last year¡­¡±


    Right then and there, Xie Lianda also explained to Lin Dong about everything he knew from his Korean friend.


    Lin Dong had put the phone on speaker so of course, Luocheng also heard everything. In his mind, he was already planning something for those Koreans.


    An attack from Korean professional players once he had started streaming. Why would this happen? Was it really because he had slaughtered them last time? Would they seriously plan all of this just because of that one incident?


    So that was why the first game was lost that badly, there had been someone behind the scenes!


    That also explained why the game had been so unforgiving to him after the Support had finally reconnected. So, there was a rat on the inside reporting to the enemies!


    Even if Lianda had not said it, Luocheng already knew that the Support was fishy.


    Alright, since you plan to keep reporting my position on the map, I won¡¯t gank anymore, let¡¯s force a teamfight!


    At the eighteen-minute mark, Shallow Dream already had more than two hundred creep scores, with another kill in the bag, she almost had enough money for both Athene¡¯s Unholy Grail and Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap!


    Luocheng waited patiently for Shallow Dream to get her Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap and after that, the two of them faced the enemy head-on in a teamfight.


    The one who was called Kunti did not dare to be that obvious about his betrayal. All of them had gathered in the mid lane, and with the turret¡¯s health steadily decreasing, it was obvious that something was about to go down soon.


    Luocheng¡¯s style of playing Kha¡¯Zix was unlike normal players. The second he saw even the slightest error in the enemy Mid¡¯s movement, he would pounce at the chance immediately!


    With Spirit of the Elder Lizard, Black Cleaver, and Last Whisper, Luocheng had a terrifying burst damage in the early stages of the game!


    Luocheng did not expect any of his teammates other than Shallow Dream to help him in killing the enemies. Since he had a high damage output, he used his skills to swipe on the enemy Mid, and with just one swipe, the enemy Mid had less than half of his health now.


    Shallow Dream reacted in time, and as soon as she saw that Luocheng had jumped into the group of enemies, she gave Luocheng a shield.


    Luocheng¡¯s real intention was not to just kill the enemy Mid, his plan was to get Orianna¡¯s magic ball smack dab in the middle of the enemies!


    As soon as Luocheng landed on the ground, he used his Ultimate to turn invisible, making his way into the middle of the enemies by using his invisibility.


    At this moment, Shallow Dream used her ulti, and everyone could see that there was a very obvious shockwave that appeared with Kha¡¯Zix in the center. The magic ball pulled the enemy Mid, Jungler, and Top toward it forcefully!


    With the items that she had, Orianna had used her combo on the enemies that were currently grouped together, and in an instant, she had killed the enemy Mid.


    After the enemy Top and Jungler took these hits, they also had very low HP.


    In the midst of everything that was happening, Luocheng used the second part of his ulti to evade the enemies¡¯ first blows.


    In actual fact, his E-skill was already refreshed by the enemy Mid dying. He would not use his E-skill to run, because if he did so, he would not have the chance to kill the enemy later!


    The Renekton on his side had also used his Ultimate to charge into the group of enemies, his target clearly being Soraka.


    Soraka had great reflexes and she used her skills to Silence Luocheng¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix. With them getting controlled by Orianna¡¯s skills, they had lost their best chance to kill off Kha¡¯Zix.


    Renekton took over and replaced Luocheng by jumping headfirst into all the enemies while Shallow Dream controlled her magic ball with amazing precision and released an outstanding amount of damage.


    When Luocheng realized that Lee Sin had less than half of his health remaining, his eyes lit up with fire!


    A dark shadow descended from the sky and landed right in front of Lee Sin. Nothing else needs to be said, have a taste of my full combo of skills!


    Lee Sin could not find a way to run, immediately becoming a soul that was harvested by Luocheng. At the same time, he also became a springboard for Luocheng.


    With his E-skill being refreshed, Luocheng did not find any more suitable targets to kill, and so, after this messy fight and killing some enemies, he jumped out of the fight.


    Renekton was not as meaty as Shallow Dream thought, and upon taking an immense amount of damage, their fellow ADC and the Support were held up by the enemy Support. Jingsiong¡¯s Sivir had used her Ultimate to attack the rearguard, killing the ADC and the Support in one fell swoop.


    The items that the ADC possessed were really low tier. He had one less big item as compared to the enemy and no one needed to bring up the Support. The Support had a pitifully low level and did not even get to do anything before getting killed by the enemy ADC.


    The enemy still had a way to win. Even if their Mid and Jungler were dead, their Soraka and Morgana just had to circle around the fed ADC, Jingsiong.


    With skills to add health, mana, and shields, Soraka and Morgana, these two Supports were with Jingsiong and were helping him as much as they could. Jingsiong had also made the smart decision to avoid Orianna who was careful in her movements and also stayed away from her high damage output, cleaning up the rear first.


    By this time, Luocheng had already become the carry and also the initiator. Naturally, he was unable to protect the rear. When he realized that the fantastic early-game had already been transformed to just him and Shallow Dream left standing, instead of getting annoyed, his eyes began to shine!


    Renekton did not get to do much before dying while the ADC and Support were not helping kills-wise. Suddenly, only two of them were left after the fight. There were still three enemies against them, but although it looked bad, this was the kind of matchup that Luocheng liked the most.


    Why?


    Which one provides more security? Ten other people that might sell you out at any second or someone that you could trust right beside you?


    It was also great that they were the only two left, the situation looked quite okay. They didn¡¯t need to protect teammates that might drag them down, this also meant that the shackles on them had been broken off!


    Luocheng had a very serious expression. His eyes looked to be staring through the screen at his prey, trying to find their weakness.


    Shallow Dream had the blue buff so she could keep spamming her skills. All of her controls on the magic ball were exact and precise, not just preventing the enemies from getting closer, but also dealing damage to the enemy that was the most threatening.


    The magic ball was dancing with Orianna¡¯s control and became a weapon that shredded the enemy¡¯s health, and right after, transforming into a shield to protect her body.


    As she was used to playing ADC, her motions and controls were especially precise and thorough. With Orianna¡¯s skills of speeding herself up and slowing the enemies down, the enemies who tried to get a hold of her all returned with scars on them!


    With Shallow Dream slowly chipping off the enemies¡¯ health, Luocheng had found his next chance to get another kill.


    Luocheng issued a signal to Orianna to kill Soraka, pouncing straight into the three enemies toward Soraka!


    He knew very clearly that Soraka had healed Morgana and had also given the ADC some mana. This was the best time to kill her! The main thing that he needed to watch out for was to not get controlled by Morgana.


    Luocheng¡¯s Kha¡¯Zix descended from the Sky, its claws glowing as it soared through the air and cut right across Soraka¡¯s throat.


    As a Top Soraka, a lot of protective items had been bought, but even so, Luocheng had a full build to shred the enemies¡¯ defenses, and with a burst of damage, Soraka was no more.


    Morgana did not think that Kha¡¯Zix would be that brave. She threw a Q-skill right toward Soraka¡¯s dead body as soon as she could.


    Morgana had thought that Kha¡¯Zix would use his E-skill which had just been refreshed to run, but she never expected that he would run clockwise to evade the skill. Subsequently, he pounced right toward Morgana!


    If Soraka with that many items could not withstand Kha¡¯Zix¡¯ attacks, how could a Support with barely any items and low health defend herself? The claws swiped right across Morgana¡¯s body, and she dropped to the ground with anger in her eyes!


    His E-skill was refreshed yet again, and with just a sliver of health remaining, Luocheng did not run away but instead, pounced toward the next target, Sivir!


    At the start of the game, everyone could see that Luocheng had excellent skills as Kha¡¯Zix and had fought a great fight, leaving unharmed.


    After that, he had gotten an assist. After the E-skill was refreshed, he had jumped in again to kill off Lee Sin. Right after that, it was Soraka and Morgana which had been killed. With a three for three, this showed everyone that it was just that easy to kill the enemies!


    Only, Luocheng¡¯s last jump¡­


    With such a tiny amount of health, could he really kill the Battle Mistress that had two thirds of her health left?


    Jingsiong saw Luocheng¡¯s actions and said that he was an idiot.


    With swift execution, Jingsiong used his E-skill, Spell Shield, that completely protected him against Kha¡¯Zix¡¯ highest damaging skill.


    If Jingsiong did not die, it would be Kha¡¯Zix¡¯ death!


    Jingsiong pulled back and slammed his basic attacks on Kha¡¯Zix, and his Statikk Shiv¡¯s effect took away all of Kha¡¯Zix¡¯ remaining health with no mercy!


    SHUT DOWN!


    After killing off three enemies, Kha¡¯Zix had still died.


    However, Luocheng did not fret as he still had Shallow Dream, who had an extremely high damage output, left behind him.


    In the next second, Shallow Dream¡¯s Orianna did not wait for Jingsiong to celebrate getting 500 gold and appeared right behind Luocheng¡¯s body with her magic ball flying right toward Jingsiong!

 Chapter 508 - A 1 vs 3 By Shallow Dream!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Needless to say, Jingsiong was good at playing as an ADC.


    He knew that the reason why Luocheng had pounced at him was to take some damage for Orianna who was behind him. That was why, after killing Luocheng, he walked straight to the bush and pretended that he was running. However, he turned around suddenly¡­


    Since Orianna did not have her Ultimate right then, her damage could only come from her Q and W-skills. In reality, these two skills were easy to miss, and so, most of the players that were experienced in using Orianna didn¡¯t use their Q-skill to attack but instead, used the movement of the Q-skill to deal damage. After that, depending on the enemy¡¯s placement, they might use the W-skill .


    One thing to remember was that Orianna¡¯s Q-skill must not be used to deal damage directly. There was a high chance of whiffing the skill. When flying, the magic ball still dealt damage, plus, if you estimated the path that the enemy was going to take when using the skill, the chances of hitting the skill was going to increase.


    Jingsiong understood this point, which was why he was careful in his positioning. If it was an average Orianna player, their Q and W-skills would definitely have missed.


    Just as Jingsiong was thinking that his movements were great, Shallow Dream¡¯s Orianna shot out a QW-combo right on him. The magic ball opened up and did an immense amount of damage on Jingsiong¡¯s ADC!


    That was how confident she was. Shallow Dream was smart with her placement of the skill, placing it right in the middle of Jingsiong¡¯s path.


    Now that there were more people playing LOL, there would be more people who could calculate the trajectory of the skills, allowing them to dodge it with ease. To deal with this situation, those skills could just be cast right on the enemy. If they used the conventional way to dodge, they would definitely be hit by the skill.


    SHUT DOWN!


    It was also a kill that was worth 500 gold!


    The only reason that Luocheng used himself as a meat shield was to give Shallow Dream a chance to get a kill.


    His Kha¡¯Zix could not kill them all, so it was up to the Shallow Dream to see if she could finish the job!


    ¡°ACE!!!¡±


    In exchange for four deaths, they had gotten five kills. This teamfight had ended in Luocheng¡¯s team¡¯s favor.


    At the start, it had been a miraculous start. He had gotten to kill the Top, Jungler and also the Mid. It was clear that he had wanted to end the game in twenty minutes. Who knew that this match would be so heated and they could only come out with a four for five?


    ¡°Luocheng, the Koreans really want you dead. Didn¡¯t you want to stream three matches? They want you to lose all three games and put the clips on the internet and spread the word that you are the captain for the winning team. Needless to say, you cannot lose all three games. Heck, even if we lose two games out of three, we would still be laughed at.¡± Xie Lianda said to Luocheng through the phone.


    Luocheng really was sad. He had planned this stream¡­ Did he dig his own grave?


    After thinking carefully, it was true. He was indeed the LPL¡¯s winning team¡¯s captain. If he lost three games in a row in Korea¡¯s Diamond 1 matches, this would drag the name of Chinese Esports down the drain!


    He could not afford to lose this game!


    The matchup did not look good. On the surface, they looked as though they were winning, but in fact, the ADC had not managed to farm enough, not to mention that the Support was also a traitor. That teamfight just now was basically a 2 vs 5, how could they win!?


    Why was the ADC important? Why was the ADC always the core of the team? That was because if the ADC was still alive, it did not matter if it was pushing; killing the Dragon or even the Baron would be easier. However, if the Mid was still alive, other than killing one or two minion waves, he would not be able to make a game-deciding game, and this was the biggest thorn in Luocheng¡¯s side.


    Then, how could they win?


    Luocheng knew that this had just become related to the country¡¯s ¡®image¡¯. He was also deeply disgusted by how low the Koreans would stoop to. He privately messaged Shallow Dream and told her about the whole situation.


    ¡°So, what should we do now?¡± Shallow Dream replied.


    ¡°We have got to get rid of the Support.¡± Luocheng replied.


    He was not that scared of a 4 vs 5, but he was, in fact, scared of a 4 vs 6.


    The people who played in the bottom lane would get the feeling a lot. When you were paired with a Support that was bad, he wasn¡¯t just useless, he would also put you off your game and mess up your ADC position. At this time, you would prefer to play in the bottom lane by yourself and farm on your own.


    It was the same logic. In a 4 vs 5 fight, everyone would place their skills in a very appropriate fashion if there were just the four of you. The positioning and movements would also be calculated properly. But if you added in the fifth person and he did some stupid sh*t, you would just lose the game.


    It was as the saying goes: If you found out that your teammate was just trolling, just treat him like a dog. Do not treat him like a person. If he wants to die, let him die. If he wants to jump in, let him jump. You should just sit back and play normally.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know Korean? Tell him to clear the lanes, push the lanes or something! Even if he gets caught and is killed by pushing, it would still be far more useful than sticking with us in a teamfight!¡± Luocheng said.


    He had to get this idiot out of the big picture, otherwise, it would be too much of a hassle in a teamfight. Other people when they played ADC would think that they had an earnest and good Support helping them and that was the reason they were relaxed. Who knew that this guy was actually a traitor?


    ¡°Okay, if he is present, we are not going to initiate a teamfight.¡± Shallow Dream said.


    The call of initiating a teamfight or not lay with Luocheng and Shallow Dream. After that, they especially told Renekton to not start the teamfight, even if someone took a wrong step and got caught, do not jump in. With this, the teamfights would be much easier to handle now.


    Kunti was told to go and push the lane. On his part, he also did not dare to act too suspiciously, so he really did what they told him to, taking the minions in quite far as well.


    The Jungler on the other side naturally did not know that this was a set-up, and so, he went in to kill Kunti.


    As soon as Luocheng and Shallow Dream saw that there was one person gone, Luocheng charged ahead and used his E-skill to pounce right into the enemies!


    It was the same way to initiate the teamfight, the same way to get in and out. The only difference was that this time, Jingsiong had a vision ward on him. As soon as Luocheng landed, he placed a vision ward where Luocheng had landed, and with this, Luocheng would have a big price to pay for jumping in.


    Luckily, Luocheng made it out alive and got a chance for his team to deal some damage to the enemy team.


    Shallow Dream saw that Renekton was taking the damage for Luocheng and put a shield on Renekton. By casting her ulti, she got the enemy Top and Mid wrapped up together.


    Shallow Dream already had a void staff, and with a few skills, the enemy Mid who was unlucky almost got killed again.


    The problem was, if there was a Kha¡¯Zix there, you would definitely not survive with so little HP!


    Of course the Mid tried to find somewhere to hide, but unfortunately, he was killed by Luocheng dropping down from the sky.


    ***


    This time, Jingsiong was smart. His target was not the ADC anymore, instead, he used his ulti and tried his best to kill Shallow Dream¡¯s Orianna!


    Shallow Dream in turn used her Flash to get away from the attack and used Orianna¡¯s skills to the best of her ability.


    ¡°This Orianna is also quite good!¡± Jingsiong thought in his mind. That China boy was quite lucky to get such a reliable teammate, otherwise, this game would be over already!


    Luocheng did not have much health left, which was why he did not jump into the fight recklessly again. He stood aside and watched Shallow Dream try to fight three enemies at once. After the tanky Renekton was locked in place for three seconds by Morgana, he was ignored by the three enemies!


    ¡°Actually¡­ actually, today we will be talking about how to play Orianna. Everyone should pay attention to how this Orianna plays¡­¡± Luocheng talked to his audience as he played.


    In fact, you could see how redundant Luocheng was being now. Earlier, he had just been telling Shallow Dream about how important this game was and how they should play properly, yet now, he was just sitting aside and watching Shallow Dream face three enemies at once. If he did not fight with him, it was still okay, but how could you also talk with the audience?


    ¡°Look at this movement¡­ The position of the magic ball¡­ Ah, that was awesome! I want to kill Morgana, Soraka does not have her Silence anymore!¡± Luocheng did not even finish and realized that it was time for him to show up, jumping fiercely from the bush! With an EQW-combo, he cleaned up Morgana who still had only half her health left due to Shallow Dream¡¯s damage and then jumped gracefully to the edge of the bush again!


    Kha¡¯Zix really was a disgusting champion. After watching him jump in with such low HP, he left after getting a kill even before you could get a shot at him!


    Jingsiong cursed him yet again.


    What could you do? That Kha¡¯Zix really could dodge. Just a second of being distracted and the Support¡¯s life was taken in a flash!


    Once the Support died, that thick Renekton could not be held down anymore. Renekton jumped in from the back and took some pressure off Orianna. All Shallow Dream had to do now was to wait for her skill¡¯s cooldown to finish so that she could deal more damage yet again.


    ***


    This teamfight went very smoothly. Other than the ADC not being able to stay alive, Renekton, Khazix, and Orianna were still alive.


    Lee Sin, who had killed the Support, had finally come by, but he did not have any use now that the fight was over. Luocheng did not go back to the fountain even though he had very low health and instead, he pushed the mid lane tower.


    That Lee Sin might have been scared off by Luocheng. After kicking Luocheng, he was still too scared to continue. You need to know the difficulty of not kicking someone after hitting the Q-skill was extremely hard!


    Upon successfully taking the enemy mid lane tower at the high-ground, Luocheng chose to return to base.


    Shallow Dream and Renekton decided against going back to base and proceeded to forcefully take down the enemy inhibitor, but it was just too bad that Renekton overstayed his visit.


    The enemy played it very logically, and once they saw that Orianna had rushed home, Renekton was killed in a second. Seeing that Kha¡¯Zix also needed time to regain his health, the bunch of people who had respawned rushed straight to the Baron!


    One of the best scenarios was when someone won a teamfight and pushed to the enemy high-ground, destroying the inhibitor along the way¡­


    At this time, once the enemy respawned, they would rush straight to the Baron. Once you had respawned and finally gathered up the courage to go face them, the Baron would already have been killed by them.


    This problem raised a big question in the community:


    After winning a teamfight, should you kill the Baron or push the enemy high-ground?

 Chapter 509 - Are You Playing or Not?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Actually, after winning that teamfight, if the ADC was still alive, you should move on to kill the Baron unless the fight had happened at the bottom part of the bottom lane¡­


    If you had won the teamfight but chose to take the high-ground, once you had taken the enemy inhibitor, the enemy would have just finished respawning or would be back to full health. In this situation, you would be forced to go back to base, and you might even be chased for a short distance till you finally got the chance to recall. Now, the enemies would try to rush to the Baron. How would you know if you would make it even after recalling to try and prevent the enemy from taking the Baron? Also, with your team scattered, it was extremely easy to get picked off by the enemy.


    After the enemy gained three minutes of the Baron buff and 300 gold each, it meant that the money lost from the last fight was made up for, and regarding the destruction of the inhibitor, it did not become that impactful. With the enemy having three minutes of the Baron buff, you would not start a teamfight lightly, and once the buff disappeared, the inhibitor might have respawned by then.


    Not to mention, by winning a teamfight and taking the enemy high-ground, it would be easy for the average player to think that he had the upper hand. After that, they would forcefully start a fight with the enemy team which had the Baron buff. Upon engaging in the fight, they would realize that they had no chance of winning and would get wiped and defeated instead!


    That was why, after winning a teamfight, the choice to take the Baron was usually the better one. After obtaining the Baron Buff and getting a lead in gold, the destruction of the enemy high-ground was just a matter of time!


    ***


    That fight earlier was an accident. Although they had won the teamfight, they did not have their ADC anymore. If they tried to take on the Baron without enough damage output, they might get ambushed by the enemy and get ACED. They may even lose the Baron to the enemies, which was probably why they chose to take the high-ground.


    After that, the only hope was that Luocheng, who had recalled back to base earlier, could successfully disturb the enemy and prevent the enemy from getting the Baron!


    Luocheng had already calculated all the steps that he needed to do later. He was sure that after pushing the high-ground, the enemies would definitely rush toward the Baron. This was why he did not join his teammates who were pushing the inhibitor. Instead, he chose to return to base and rushed to the Baron after buying all the items that he needed!


    Just as he had expected, the enemies had already gathered around the Baron and were attacking it.


    Naturally, Luocheng did not dare to walk to the Baron along the river, instead, he went to the top of the cliff of the Baron¡¯s pit.


    When he left his base, he was ready with enough wards. He placed three wards at the top of the Baron¡¯s Cliff and placed a vision ward there as well!


    Remove it, just try to remove it! Come and try if you dare!


    It was obvious that Luocheng wanted to use the wards to drag out their time in killing the Baron.


    The wards might be destroyed in a few seconds with basic attacks but it would definitely annoy the enemy ADC.


    Jingsiong was actually quite smart, and he knew what Luocheng was planning. Even if he took down the ward, he still had more wards on him. This was his plan to drag the time out for his team to get here. If that happened, a team-wipe would be inevitable!


    After ignoring Luocheng¡¯s constant wards, Jingsiong and his teammates tried their best and used their skills to kill the Baron. With that effort, the Baron¡¯s health was depleting non-stop!


    Luocheng looked at the location of his teammates and looked back at the Baron¡¯s health¡­


    They would not make it!


    He had to go in!!


    Luocheng stared at the Baron¡¯s health, not bothering to use his mouse to tap on the Baron to see its health. If he wanted to steal the Baron, it would depend on his game sense. Sometimes, you could not focus on the Baron¡¯s health in numbers because most of the time, you had to calculate the amount of damage that the other champions would do to it as well. When killing the Baron, Taiwan¡¯s team also had their own strategy. When the Baron had only 2,500 HP remaining, all of them would use their skills all at once to let the Baron¡¯s health drop to lower than 1,000 HP. At this time, champions like Lee Sin could use his skills to kill the Baron in one go. With this, the enemies who wanted to steal the Baron would not have time to do it¡­


    For Korea¡¯s teams, they always had a pattern when they took the Baron. When they saw the enemy Jungler swoop in, all of them would stop targeting the Baron at once. This was because most the Junglers who tried to steal the Baron would count in the damage that the enemies could do as well. After that, he would jump in ahead of time, but when he did, he would realize that all of them had stopped attacking the Baron and his own damage would not be able to kill the Baron. Hence, the Jungler who jumped in would die first, followed by the Baron!


    After many experiences, Luocheng was used to guessing when was the right moment to steal!


    When he saw that it was time to strike, Luocheng immediately used his Ultimate!


    Invisible Flash!


    The enemy Lee Sin had always been paying attention to when Luocheng would be jumping down, but suddenly, Kha¡¯Zix disappeared and there was only a flash of light left!


    Kha¡¯Zix was nowhere to be seen!


    They had the vision wards planted but still could not see where Kha¡¯Zix was!


    ¡°Bang!!!¡±


    A heavy hit was landed, and at the same time, claws came out from the sky and swiped across the Baron¡¯s body.


    The enemy Lee Sin had lost his focus because of Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s sudden disappearance, and alas, his speed was too slow. By the time he had regained his senses, he found that Kha¡¯Zix had already killed the Baron!


    It wasn¡¯t just that the 300 gold didn¡¯t reach their pockets, the Baron¡¯s buff was also stolen by the enemy! It really was infuriating for the five of them!


    ¡°Kill that d*mn Kha¡¯Zix!¡± Jingsiong shouted!


    Right then, the vision ward revealed the location of the annoying Kha¡¯Zix, and suddenly, Silences, restraints, and stuns were all cast toward Luocheng!


    Luocheng really had inhuman reactions and immediately after killing the Baron, he started to fly and landed outside of the Baron Pit, turning around to hit Soraka with a multitude of skills!


    It was obvious that Soraka was slow in reacting, only managing to Silence Luocheng after he landed on the ground. Earlier, she did not have any way to do it seeing as Kha¡¯Zix had turned invisible and Flashed in, making it impossible to Silence the latter.


    Upon jumping out, Shallow Dream gave him the shield as soon as possible, and Luocheng used his third skill¡¯s invisibility effect and flew right into the middle of all the enemies!


    When taking the Baron, it would be extremely easy to accidentally stand too close to each other. The place that Luocheng had jumped to was also the opening of the entrance to the Baron pit. Shallow Dream had found the perfect window to use her shockwave and successfully got four of the enemies!


    The stream started to explode with cheers!


    Other than Luocheng¡¯s shining Kha¡¯Zix, this Orianna was also heavenly in this game. Her ulti was always used in the key moment, and this time, she had managed to hit four out of the five enemies! With that combo, the health of the group of enemies who had tried to take the Baron was brought down extremely low!


    Meanwhile, Luocheng casually walked between them and used a Q-skill elegantly to kill the enemy Mid!


    That mage was also a top-tier player, but in this game, he was crushed heavily, always being the first one to die in every single teamfight!


    After killing the enemy Mid and refreshing the E-skill, Luocheng pounced on Morgana and Soraka. After the short cooldown on the Q-skill was over, it was another claw attack right across Morgana¡¯s throat and fresh blood spurted across the Baron Pit!


    Once he had tasted blood, Kha¡¯Zix¡¯s wings would start fluttering.


    The next one would be you, Soraka!


    Are you still healing? Really? Did you think that it would work!?


    I¡¯ll give you a swift death, Soraka!


    With a beautiful leap by Luocheng, Soraka could barely handle that armor-piercing damage!


    Since Soraka did not get killed instantly, Luocheng was unable to use her as a springboard to get to Jingsiong¡¯s ADC.


    However, Luocheng¡¯s teammates had already arrived!


    At this time, it did not matter how much you tried to act. Kunti looked at this scene, and after seeing them lose the advantage, he started panicking and used his skills to control Jingsiong¡¯s Battle Mistress. This led to their fellow ADC finally getting a kill and completing the slaughter!


    Now this was what it should be like!


    Kunti followed everyone into the high-ground reluctantly.


    Once he saw a big VICTORY on the screen, Kunti was shocked and annoyed.


    This Kha¡¯Zix was really too strong. Even with Kunti himself disconnecting in the early-game and also exposing his location constantly, he was still able to win the game!!


    Kunti was not originally in that group of people, and after that match, he had to admit that Orianna and Kha¡¯Zix were extremely good at the game!!


    ***


    On the other side, Park Yisheng started to swear constantly. How dare you, Kunti! You already received payment and still failed as the person on the inside!!


    Thinking about it, it really was a rank match. Once there was a mole on the inside, there would normally be no way for them to win anymore. Just how stupid could a person be to mess such an easy thing up?? This was why Kunti was still in the second-tier teams and could not show his face!!


    Yisheng was extremely unhappy. After such a detailed plan, how could he let that b*stard win a game!?


    ¡°Can you guys play seriously! Did you people seriously forget how he shamed Korean Esports?¡± Yisheng said to the crowd with an annoyed voice. It was fitting for a flagbearer of a competitive team.


    ¡°We tried our best.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, your insider was not good enough.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame anyone. If we had an insider with them, they also had one, like that idiot Lee Sin¡­¡±


    ¡°Who are you talking about? Who? Do you dare to 1 vs 1 me bro???¡±


    Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Yisheng quickly intervened. ¡°Stop fighting, stop fighting! Prepare for the next match. Don¡¯t let him win again. What do you think about a China rat coming into our turf and winning two matches!? As the best Esports players, can you guys take it!?¡±


    Once he mentioned Korea¡¯s dignity, everyone stopped fighting and were once again ready to go!


    ¡°Weird, why is he not searching for a match anymore?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. From the information that I got, that Chinese player is adjusting something¡­¡±


    ¡°He will definitely play all three games. If he does not play the third match, we can just laugh at him and say that he is afraid of losing the third game. The Chinese think that it can be settled with just that. Win one game and lose one game. They think that it is safe to tell their fans that.¡±


    ¡°If so, compared to our Korean Esports spirit, that really is too funny. Can a competition that you don¡¯t win even be called a competition? They really are scaredy-cats!¡±


    Yisheng started to praise their way of thinking and nodded. ¡°But really, only a weak person would think that a draw against someone strong would be something to be proud of.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that is correct.¡±


    ¡°This is also why they like to come to our turf to show off and don¡¯t play by themselves.¡±


    The competitive Korean players started to talk and were all waiting for the third game that was about to come.


    ***


    But what about Luocheng?


    With these people dragging him down, should he continue or not? Or could he make those Koreans pay for what they had done?

 Chapter 510 - Death, or Demise?

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In mainland China, thousands of miles away from the Korea peninsula, Luocheng was deeply troubled.


    This was obviously a trap set up by the Koreans, should he still jump right into it and continue the third game while streaming live?


    He had promised the viewers three matches. If he did not finish the third match and ended the live stream (that had racked up 200,000 live views at the moment) prematurely with one game apiece, he would surely be lambasted by the unforgiving local LOL society.


    Backing out was not an option. The problem was, he knew that the probability to win the next game was extremely slim. He risked losing his reputation if he and Shallow Dream were to be thrashed in the third game.


    ¡®These bastards from Korea are truly despicable.¡¯


    Luocheng knew that he had to keep calm amidst the challenging situation, and so, he excused himself by telling the audience that he needed a short break to make some adjustments.


    ¡°Luocheng, you cannot play the third game. Your team only had one renegade in the second match and look how bad it went. What if you were queued along with two in the upcoming game? Besides, I heard that those who joined this manhunt included first-tier players from Korea. It would be an enormous uphill battle if you were lined up against them. The Koreans can¡¯t wait to see you fumble. Sigh. Just explain to the audience and apologize properly. There would be complaints but it¡¯s better than jumping into this sh*thole. Tell them you will compensate by organizing another live stream later on. You must not fight the third game no matter what!¡± Xie Lianda advised Luocheng solemnly through the phone.


    ¡°I would look bad either way. If I refuse to play the third game, God knows how terrible the Koreans¡¯ mouth would become,¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Sh*t! Who is the whistleblower? I will punch the hell out of him!¡± Da Luo raged angrily.


    Judging by Lianda¡¯s intel, it appeared that the Korean players were determined to embarrass China¡¯s E-sports this time.


    This kind of video meant nothing if Luocheng was just an ordinary player, but unfortunately, Luocheng had just guided Team Skycrown to win the LPL, meaning he represented the best players in this country. If he were to lose two out of three games while playing on the Korean server, the boastful Koreans would definitely seize this opportunity to dwarf China¡¯s reputation in the international LOL forum.


    Luocheng was puzzled and disgusted at the same time. He never thought that the Koreans would target him while he was contributing to the gamer society by organizing live stream matches. Luocheng didn¡¯t mind if they challenged him fair and square, but he was pissed by how they had preposterously manipulated the game!


    ¡°Then, what should we do? There are 200,000 viewers online waiting for the third match. I believe someone is broadcasting his match in Korea too,¡± Da Luo urged.


    Luocheng was in a dilemma.


    ¡°Are we still playing?¡± Shallow Dream messaged him and asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m still thinking. The opponents have more than fifty professional players in line waiting to beat us up, apparently,¡± Luocheng replied.


    Shallow Dream gave no response.


    Luocheng was still contemplating. Soon, some of the viewers grew impatient and questioned the delay.


    For some unknown reason, even after all these years, keyboard warriors still persisted in the internet world.


    When one person started the mockery, others would soon follow and aggravate the quarrel. It then escalated to bringing out grudges over each other due to regional differences.


    Those who commented irresponsibly on the internet showed nothing but his/her own immaturity. Similarly, those who responded in kind were equally childish and should not be taking the internet too seriously.


    ¡°I can never understand these users. What¡¯s the point of chastising other¡¯s birthplaces? Why are these people criticizing Henan people?¡± Da Luo read through the rapidly refreshed comments and lamented. Henan citizens had nothing to do with the live stream, leave them alone!


    ¡°Typical. Some people just want to watch the world burn,¡± Lin Dong explained.


    Luocheng was having a headache. ¡®What should I do now? It¡¯s getting more hostile the longer I drag on.¡¯


    The professional players were also having a heated exchange in the QQ chat group.


    ¡°The Koreans are clearly coming after Luocheng. Who is the one behind this? This person has managed to amass 50 professional players to back him up,¡± Wind said.


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Hao Yue replied.


    ¡°In my opinion, this affects not only Luocheng, but the entire Chinese E-sports circle. We should not sit here and do nothing!¡± Xiao Wang commented.


    Everyone had been paying close attention to the development but they couldn¡¯t do much since this had happened on other people¡¯s turf¡­


    ¡°By the way, who has played on the Korean server before? How do the Diamond 1 players over there fare?¡± Xie Lianda asked in the group.


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Never played there. No time to spare.¡±


    ¡°I have several accounts. I sometimes play with my friends over there,¡± Ye Kuang from Team Dusk voiced out.


    ***


    The regulars of the Demacia Cafe knew what had happened and had not stopped cursing the filthy Koreans.


    Nonetheless, unlike those present in the cafe, the internet viewers had no idea what was happening. Judging by how some lowly users had brought up the birthplace issue, soon, someone might even come forth and ridicule Luocheng for being a coward.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ If the Koreans have 50 players on standby, why can¡¯t we gather people and do the same?¡± Lianda suggested.


    ¡°What do you mean? Speak up, quick,¡± Luocheng urged.


    ¡°I think at least a dozen people we know should have a Korean account, they should be able to borrow one quickly even if they don¡¯t. We should ask them to log in right now and queue for a game at about the same time as you. This way, the probability of you getting a traitor would be lessened and our people might even get into the opposite team as well!¡± Lianda explained.


    Everyone was impressed by Lianda¡¯s suggestion!


    ¡®That¡¯s right! Why can¡¯t we do the same? If they ambush us, all we have to do is counter-ambush them. This is a classic LOL strategy. We should have thought about this earlier!¡¯


    ¡°The problem is, can we get enough help in time?¡± Lin Dong questioned.


    Lin Dong was wary about the unity of the professional LOL players in China. He wondered whether they could assemble as many players as the more united Koreans could within such short notice.


    ¡°We won¡¯t know unless we try. Anyway, I have asked my teammates to start looking,¡± Lianda said.


    ¡°Ten more minutes. Regardless of how many players we can get, we will start the game in ten minutes,¡± Luocheng grit his teeth and decided to carry on.


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    Xie Lianda, Lin Dong, and Da Luo immediately got to work. They sent the SOS message to their closest acquaintances discreetly. Team Daemons was the first team Lin Dong attempted to seek out, however, the reply he got was that most members of Team Daemons were on vacation now.


    Team Daemons were not in a good mood after missing out on this year¡¯s international competition, and only Anubis and Mephistopheles were left in the training base at this moment. They had been playing a Challenger rank game but decisively left the game as soon as they heard the news. Five minutes later, they had gotten a Korean server account from their friends and logged in immediately.


    Lianda had great connections within the gaming circle and managed to gather six people.


    The Demacia Cafe had two computers that had been connected to the Korean server before, and Da Luo and Lin Dong were ready to fill in as well.


    A lot of attendees inside the Demacia Cafe were also making calls, reaching out to their friends with a high rank in the Korean server, hoping to provide as much help as possible to their idol, Captain Yu. Anyhow, this was a matter of their homeland¡¯s dignity, they had do something to revolt against the shabby Koreans!


    7 minutes later, they were only able to find 14 players.


    14 against 50 was still a heavily unfavorable ratio.


    This was when, as a last-ditch effort, Wu Sen pleaded for everyone to check on the LPL chat group as they waited anxiously.


    ¡°Luocheng, just go ahead and queue. We¡¯re here to back you up,¡± Hao Yue from Team Revelation said.


    ¡°I have five friends with me as well, let¡¯s teach the Koreans a lesson!¡± Wind spoke up too.


    Wind knew a lot of players and he had multiple connections in the first and second-tier circles.


    ¡°We trained on the Korean server before so everyone in our team has an account there. We¡¯re at your disposal, Luocheng!¡± Ye Kuang from Team Dusk said.


    ¡°What a joke. Have they not played in our Ionia server before? Our actors are ten times slicker than theirs. If the Koreans were to play here, we can have 9 out of 10 players turned against them. They wouldn¡¯t even know which side they¡¯re on!¡± Xiao Wang from Team 71 snorted.


    ¡°Lol! That¡¯s right! Luocheng, we are ready as well. Just go ahead and queue. Their balls sure have grown after we didn¡¯t show up for a while!¡± Earth from Team Stardust chimed in.


    Luocheng was not active in the LOL chat group because he was unsure of the relationship between the teams there.


    Unexpectedly, they had offered their help without being asked and had managed to assemble about twenty more high-rank players within a short period of time.


    This meant that they now had 40 people on their side, and this number almost equaled the Koreans!


    Luocheng was touched by the unexpected aid. Although the Koreans had used a wicked approach to get revenge on him for the video that was dated one year back, he admitted that they were indeed a united group, seeing as 50 Korean professional players were willing to spend the whole night waiting for him.


    However, how could the China E-sports circle stay quiet when their comrade was being bullied? Obviously they could no longer sit tight after finding out the truth!


    ¡°Let us have bloodshed!¡±


    ¡°Cut the bullsh*t and fountain farm them!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about our Captain Yu¡¯s expertise, writing with wards!¡±


    ¡°Hey, stop with the sarcasm. We have to stay united.¡±


    They would never forget how Luocheng had blatantly humiliated Team Sky by imprinting those words in front of their base using wards when he had first come back to professional E-sports. He had escaped punishment from ACE since the organization was unable to penalize him as he was under the direct surveillance of the International E-Sports Federation. ¡®That¡¯s what we call omnipotent!¡¯


    Luocheng had a wide smile when he saw the LPL players who were more eager than him.


    ¡®Korean dogs. You are not the only one with reinforcements. I have a band of brothers behind my back as well! Now tell me, do you prefer death, or demise?¡¯

 Chapter 511 - A Star-Studded Convoy!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng¡¯s low spirits was completely wiped off by the LPL players¡¯ enthusiasm. It was a familiar scene as he recalled how the other Chinese team had also helped them strive through the international DOTA tournament in the past by providing them with valuable information and advice.


    No matter how chaotic and hostile the Chinese E-sports scene was, the players were still willing to come together when they were facing a common enemy. Such unity pleased Luocheng and reignited his will to fight.


    ***


    Taking a deep breath, Luocheng sent a countdown message to the group.


    3!


    2!


    1!


    Let¡¯s start!


    At the same time, the news had immediately reached the Koreans and all professional players on standby for the hunt had also clicked the ¡®Find Match¡¯ button. They couldn¡¯t wait to see the demise of their primary target, Yu Luocheng.


    ***


    They waited anxiously.


    Teams in public ranked-game were set-up randomly, so there was no guarantee that Luocheng¡¯s reinforcements would be lined-up in the same game as him, let alone on the same team. The longer they waited, the more nervous they got.


    The spectators in Demacia Cafe were especially restless, praying hard that Luocheng¡¯s teammates would be someone from their side and not those IDs with unrecognizable Korean characters.


    Ding!


    Following the crisp sound, the screen jumped straight into the Ban phase of the game.


    The music of a ranked-game was different from the normal game. The deep and intense soundtrack subconsciously influenced the player to sit up straight and hold onto their breath.


    ¡°Who did we get?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in! Those who are still queueing can cancel now!¡±


    ¡°Sh*t, I think I¡¯m in a different game!¡±


    The members of the group began to report their respective states. Apparently, the probability of being placed in the same team as Luocheng was still slim even with more than forty of them.


    ¡®No matter what, just pray that Luocheng didn¡¯t get someone from their side.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°I¡¯m in. Quick, tell me who is the first to ban in the opposite team?¡± Park Yisheng said eagerly.


    He had been waiting for this moment the whole night and had finally gotten to play.


    Soon, they learned that the first ban from the other side was the same as his.


    It was confirmed. Finally, he could take revenge with his own hands.


    ¡°Who else is with me?¡± Yisheng asked.


    ¡°I am. I think I¡¯m on the third floor on your side,¡± Kim Zuoshen from Team Bok answered.


    ¡°Great. Anyone else? Speak up now,¡± Yisheng asked again.


    ¡°I am, but as your opponent,¡± A rookie professional player answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s even better. Wait a minute, isn¡¯t this Walker?¡± Yisheng recognized a familiar ID in his team.


    Walker was one of the veterans from the top eight teams in Korea, and his favorite position was Mid-solo.


    Yisheng had still been worrying about the caliber of his teammates the moment he had gotten into the game. After all, the opponents they were facing were no ordinary players, so he was relieved when he saw the line-up.


    He alone could have carried the tempo of the game. Zuoshen from Team Bok was perhaps the fourth or fifth best Jungler in Korea and would probably rank higher in other countries. Then, they also had Walker in the mid-lane. The ability of a Mid that had helped his team to become the top eight team in Korea went without saying.


    Although Yisheng did not know who the other two teammates were, he did recognize their IDs. They were more than capable and wouldn¡¯t be a burden at the very least. Of course, it didn¡¯t matter even if they did, because there was still a spy in the opponent¡¯s team.


    ¡°Wow, three professional players. We¡¯re going to win this easily.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯m not needed in this game at all.¡±


    The two players who were not involved in the manhunt said leisurely.


    The IGNs of Walker, Park Yisheng, and Kim Zuoshen were pretty well-known in the higher ranks. Normally, teaming up with either one of them would grant a higher chance of winning, but to be teamed up with all three at once? Lady luck must have been smiling upon them.


    ¡°Hyung-nim*, we¡¯ll be counting on you guys in this match. This is going to be my final match to rank up. This is my first time into the Challenger rank and I would die without regrets after this.¡± One of the pub players typed excitedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is going to be a sure-win.¡± Yisheng replied confidently.


    They didn¡¯t even need the help of a renegade. Rigged or not, this match had been decided the second the three of them had been placed into the same team.


    ¡®Chinese brats, let me show you the mighty strength of Korean E-sports.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Who¡¯s in? Anyone on the same team as Captain Yu? Or is anyone in the opposite team?¡± Messages in the LOL group erupted.


    Unfortunately, it seemed like no one from their side was positioned in the enemy¡¯s team.


    In other words, they would have zero chance in this game if another troll came into their team.


    ¡°D*mn! I didn¡¯t get in!¡± Da Luo said in disappointment.


    ¡°Me neither!¡± Lin Dong¡¯s screen had changed almost as instantaneously as Luocheng¡¯s game, and at first, he thought he had entered the same game, but was soon dejected after seeing the first ban in the two games was of different champions.


    ¡°Who is this player called One?¡± Wu Sen checked out Luocheng¡¯s teammates.


    Xie Lianda called them just as they were being curious about the player¡¯s true identity.


    ¡°Hahaha! Hahahaha!¡± Lianda laughed like a lunatic over the other side.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°I am that One! Have you guys forgotten my ID?¡± Lianda said jubilantly.


    They were pumped to learn that Lianda was on their side in this game. ¡®His skill as a Mid is unquestionable! Our chances of winning are very much higher with him on the team!¡¯


    Luocheng was equally excited as well, never expecting to be teamed up with Lianda under such circumstances. Such an opportunity was difficult to come by.


    Lianda¡¯s fabulous performance by using Zed had left a strong impression on Luocheng, and his worry lessened after having such a dependable ally in his team.


    ***


    ¡°Wow, this is going to be great! Number One from Team Beijing is also on the team!¡±


    ¡°Luocheng, Number One, and Shallow Dream. This is close to a dream team.¡±


    ¡°I dare predict that this third game is going to be a great one.¡± The audience in the Demacia Cafe was enthused. The all-star line-up was very promising and they could foresee that the level of this game might even surpass professional matches.


    Just as everyone in the club was discussing passionately about the potential of this game, those inside the VIP room once again frowned in despair following the early delight.


    ¡°Sh*t! Someone should have told us earlier, our fourth floor is their player!¡± Da Luo sighed grumpily.


    Lianda felt helpless too, having just been informed.


    In the end, a troll had managed to sneak into their team. Unluckily, the game had already started and they could not back out now.


    ¡°They¡¯ve got some great players, too. One is the signature ADC from Team STG, another is a Jungler from Team Bok, and Walker, with the highest point total, is in the Challenger rank. The remaining two players are very close to the Challenger rank as well. We have our chance if this is a fair game, but with a renegade, it¡¯s hopeless.¡± Lin Dong complained angrily.


    In the end, they faced the same fate as in the second game. Luocheng and Shallow Dream were able to salvage the previous game simply because the opponent¡¯s ADC was the only better player. That was not going to happen in this game since both sides had multiple professional players.


    ¡°Who is our last teammate? Has anyone seen this ID before?¡± Lianda inquired.


    If the last player was also a Korean, they could already call GG now. Even if it wasn¡¯t, they still didn¡¯t stand a strong chance in a 4 vs 6 game.


    ¡°It looks familiar¡­¡± Zhou Yan blurted out.


    ¡°I think so too. We must have seen this ID somewhere before¡­¡± Wu Sen echoed Zhou Yan¡¯s opinion.


    Da Luo and Lin Dong approached to get a closer look. Lin Dong suddenly slapped Da Luo¡¯s thigh and exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s Xiao Zhuai!¡±


    ¡°No wonder!¡± Zhou Yan nodded.


    This player was the Jungler of TPG from Taiwan. He had once led his team into the international tournament final.


    In the past, Zhou Yan had been utterly amazed by how Xiao Zhuai had defeated them with Lee Sin¡¯s decisive kick, and from that point onward, Zhou Yan had vowed to outshine this high-caliber Jungler one day.


    They were surprised to see Xiao Zhuai on the Korean server. He had used pinyin as his ID so they hadn¡¯t recognized him at first.


    Luocheng has Xiao Zhuai¡¯s contact, so he hastily sent a message to him through MSN.


    Xiao Zhuai replied not long after. He was likewise surprised to see them as shown by the number of exclamation marks he had sent back to Luocheng. ¡®How come the Chinese guy knows the account I am using on this server?¡¯


    ¡°Is this really you? Don¡¯t fool around with us, we are facing a serious matter right now.¡± Luocheng sent him another message.


    ¡°Why would I lie? Let me take a screenshot and show you.¡± He sent over a screenshot swiftly afterward. Luocheng, Shallow Dream, Lianda, and the ID of the troller was clearly on display.


    ¡°D*mn! It¡¯s really him!¡± The members of Team Skycrown rejoiced.


    Who was this Xiao Zhuai?


    He was indisputably the top Jungler in the world at the moment. He amazed even Luocheng when they practiced together through the MSN group. Luocheng had admitted that Xiao Zhuai¡¯s ability to carry the tempo was even better than him. More importantly, he seemed to have a knack of using pivotal play to kill off the game single-handedly.


    ¡°This game is very much alive with Xiao Zhuai in the team!¡± Luocheng regained his confidence.


    Teaming up with Xie Lianda, Shallow Dream, and Xiao Zhuai, had only one possible outcome¡ªvictory. They had nothing to worry about even going up against three Korean professionals. Although the renegade might cause them some hindrance, they still had a better chance as long as they didn¡¯t make any silly mistakes.


    Luocheng immediately updated Xiao Zhuai on the current situation.


    Xiao Zhuai became agitated and instantly cursed the Koreans harshly using his own dialect. Even though they could hardly understand, Luocheng assumed that the expletives used wouldn¡¯t differ much in meaning.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, China-man. With me as the core, they don¡¯t stand a chance no matter how ¡°good¡± their actor plays!¡± Xiao Zhuai gave Luocheng his word.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about with me playing Mid.¡± Lianda also announced confidently.


    As for Shallow Dream, there wasn¡¯t any ADC in this world that Luocheng was willing to exchange her for.


    He was now fearless with such a star-studded convoy. These were the players he, the best E-sports player in the past, acknowledged and greatly admired.


    Honestly, Luocheng was getting pretty emotional when he learned that Xie Lianda and Xiao Zhuai were his teammates in this match. ¡®This should be the first time I have joined forces with players from other professional teams to put the Koreans into their place. The taste of victory is going to be surreal.¡¯


    *Translator¡¯s note: Hyung-nim* is normally used by Koreans to address male slightly older than them. Similar meaning as big bro but this form is meant to be used out of respect.

 Chapter 512 - Galio, One of the Four Forgotten Champions

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The best act a troll would always try to pull at the start of the game was a Level 1 teamfight.


    Thus, when the Korean player pinged desperately for Luocheng, Shallow Dream, Xiao Zhuai, and Lianda to join him, they all tacitly ignored him.


    ¡°Which buff are they aiming for?¡± Yisheng asked the spy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± The spy answered.


    Yisheng was fuming. ¡®What kind of blind idiot are you? Why don¡¯t you know which buff your teammates are going after first?¡¯


    Yisheng had been planning to use the spy¡¯s intel to gain three buffs to start the game. Unexpectedly, the opponent¡¯s Jungler must have seen through his plan and instead, waited diligently at the middle lane as if he had gone offline.


    Besides, their mid and bottom champions had positioned themselves in their respective creep camp. It was really hard for the spy to tell which buff was being prioritized by the Chinese side.


    When the countdown was close to 50 seconds, Xiao Zhuai finally guided his champion, Wukong, to move toward the red buff camp.


    Luocheng¡¯s team had been spawned on the red side. Naturally, Xiao Zhuai would need Lianda¡¯s help to take down the red buff. As for the spy at the top lane, they had decided it was best to leave him out since it would be too risky to ask for his help. Who knew whether he would purposely wait for the last drop and kill-steal the creep, pretending he had mistimed his attack. This world had never lacked such sh*tty b*stards.


    As a result, Lianda would arrive late to his lane, but as the most dominant Mid champion of this patch, it was not that big of a deal for Ziggs to be slightly delayed.


    After Xiao Zhuai had taken the red buff, he had no intentions of infiltrating the enemy¡¯s jungle. The renegade at the top lane would certainly expose him if he did.


    ¡°Xiao Zhuai, it looks like you are used to tackling these trolls,¡± Luocheng, who was supporting Shallow Dream at the bottom lane, took a jab at his team¡¯s Jungler.


    ¡°True. Guess I¡¯ve been playing too much on the Chinese server these days¡­¡± Xiao Zhuai retorted.


    Luocheng went quiet because he knew Xiao Zhuai was right. He had had the same horrendous experience in the Chinese server before, playing in one rigged game after another the whole night.


    As usual, Luocheng¡¯s choice of Support champion in this game had not disappointed his viewers.


    His selection was none other than the most unpopular champion of LOL¡ªGalio, the Sentinel¡¯s Sorrow.


    In the last patch, Karma, Galio, Trundle, and Urgot, were collectively known as the F4 of forgotten champions.


    Nevertheless, in this current patch, Karma had been used extensively as a versatile Support, while Trundle had been picked numerous times in the LPL after being strengthened in the update. Thus, the original F4 had been reduced to F2, with Galio¡¯s and Urgot¡¯s existence continuing to be neglected by the vast number of Summoners.


    Not by this man, though. Luocheng had picked a champion that was said to have a lower chance of occurrence in the game than a pentakill.


    Fortunately, Shallow Dream was used to Luocheng¡¯s unpredictability. At the very least, his Galio was still better than the Ashe Support pick that would interrupt her farming.


    Shallow Dream had selected Caitlyn for the ADC role. She was equally excellent in Sivir and Vayne, but Luocheng still thought that Caitlyn was her signature champion. It was normal to see her Caitlyn maintain a zero death even in a Challenger ranked game.


    Going against three Korean professionals, Shallow Dream did not hesitate and selected her best champion in a match that was perhaps second only to the finals of the S International League. Lianda had also chosen the craziest Mid champion in this patch, Ziggs. Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Lee Sin was terrific, but unfortunately, that champion had been banned, and so, Xiao Zhuai decided to go for Wukong, which had high early-game damage and was equally effective in late-game teamfights. This champion also addressed their lack of frontline. As for Luocheng, a lot of viewers didn¡¯t understand the reason he had picked this champion. Luckily for him, his teammates were all top-tier players and could roughly grasp his plan.


    How should one play Galio as a Support?


    Galio was not as useless as people had perceived. This champion was formidable if his skills were being executed properly. This was especially true for his Ultimate, which was one of the most brutal CC skills in LOL if timed perfectly.


    Galio and Caitlyn were playing against Yisheng¡¯s Sivir and his Support Nami at the bottom lane.


    Sivir was a powerful ADC thanks to her ulti that granted a team buff as well as her Spell Shield to protect herself. More importantly, her ability to clear creeps was superior among the ADCs. By upgrading Ricochet first at Level 1, she could constantly harass and force back the enemy to reach Level 2 faster.


    Nami was so-so at Level 1, but two or three levels later, her ability to heal and harass would grow more and more prominent. If she was also good in placing her Aqua Prison, this Support was going to be a very scary opponent.


    ***


    During the early laning phase, both sides would have the same goal in mind¡ªto reach Level 2 first. Luocheng and Shallow Dream generously used up their skills, but the opponents were not being left too far behind in levels.


    Even so, Luocheng bravely stepped forward when his champion reached Level 2. Galio had sufficient damage at Level 2, so he wished to use the momentum and force a fight.


    Regrettably, the opponents did not fall to his trick and fell back slightly to move away from Luocheng¡¯s range.


    This was not the first time Yisheng had faced a Galio Support. He was amused by Luocheng¡¯s selection after successfully avoiding Galio¡¯s foolish attempt.


    ¡®He¡¯s digging his own grave by picking this champion. Galio is useless once he mistimes his skill, including his Ultimate.¡¯


    To be honest, it was extremely difficult to get Galio¡¯s skills right. Inconsistency was the main reason many LOL players condemned this champion.


    His ability to harass was not that great either because his skills came with a tricky trajectory and the usage of mana was another problem.


    ¡°This ADC is not weak.¡± Shallow Dream reminded Luocheng.


    Luocheng nodded. He bore the same opinion.


    In fact, the ability of an ADC could be gauged based on his/her basic maneuver of the champion.


    How exactly? The answer lay in the auto-attack.


    One could tell whether the player was good judging by his/her fundamental skill. For an ADC, the key would be Animation Canceling. If an ADC player grew so familiar with the champion¡¯s ballistic, attack speed, and animation, he/she could immediately move the champion the moment the attack was made. This canceled the short instance of lag due to the attacking motion and thus, the champion could maintain a fluid movement.


    The opponent ADC, just like Shallow Dream, appeared agile and dexterous despite the slower attack speed.


    This was not something a common player could imitate easily because it required an in-depth understanding of the champion¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°Park Yisheng, ADC from Team STG. He participated in the International League before, considered to be one of the best among the Koreans, hmm¡­¡± Luocheng murmured. He had obtained the player details from Lianda.


    ¡®The opponent is strong and this game is going to be a tough one!¡¯


    ***


    Luocheng was constantly in attack mode. As soon as his Shield of Durand was up, he would go forth and clash with Nami. Though Nami was a healer, her attacking ability was not to be underestimated when she had enough mana to spend. Her presence could even be more daunting than Sona because her Aqua Prison had a longer CC time.


    Thus, Luocheng used Galio¡¯s HP to exhaust Nami¡¯s mana, and then used his champion¡¯s shield to tank more damage.


    Other than that, the bottom lane was relatively peaceful as Caitlyn was tamed after being damaged several times by Sivir¡¯s aggressive Boomerang. She planned to emphasize more on her CS and out-farm Yisheng. Luocheng himself hadn¡¯t intended to be overly aggressive when he chose Galio.


    However, it was a completely different story on the other lane.


    In the middle lane, Lianda was his usual aggressive self and had pinned Nidalee back to her own turret with Ziggs. The turret¡¯s health had been halved as well.


    Lianda¡¯s opponent was Walker, a Mid player that was rather popular in Korea.


    Walker¡¯s champion, Nidalee, had seldom stepped out from the turret from the beginning of the game. Ziggs pushed the lane ferociously and continued to undermine him right in front of his own turret. This brainless Ziggs didn¡¯t appear to be wary of being ganked from behind.


    As a professional player, Walker had taken on a lot of Mid players using Nidalee before. Based on his experience, other players using Ziggs would usually stay slightly further back to avoid ganks coming from the rear or diagonally from the forest. He wondered where the confidence of this One came from for him to push the lane so high up away from his safe zone.


    ¡®Hmph. Enjoy the advantage while it lasts. You will learn the price of such aggressiveness. Our Jungler, Kim Zuoshen from Team Bok, is coming to claim your head soon.¡¯


    ¡°What a pity. You¡¯re 15 CS behind? It¡¯s rare to see Walker¡¯s Nidalee in such a pathetic state. From what I know, Ziggs arrived at the lane later than you did, didn¡¯t he?¡± Zuoshen mocked Walker.


    Zuoshen was no doubt a talented player, but his overbearing attitude had displeased many Korean pro-players.


    ¡°Cut the crap. He¡¯s seeking death by pressing high like this. We¡¯ll kill him easily once you¡¯re ready,¡± Walker replied.


    ¡°Sigh, ganking the middle lane just doesn¡¯t suit my style. You know, Nidalee has so little damage in the early-game, besides, I¡¯ve learned that your toss is far from great.¡± Zuoshen refused to leave his teammate at peace. Despite his foul mouth, his champion, Vi, was seen rounding the bush and entering the middle lane through the river.


    Walker was indeed experienced,moving his Nidalee to the right to sandwich Ziggs after noticing Vi was coming from the left.


    Still, Ziggs refused to retreat. Walker smirked. ¡®You are so dead!¡¯

 Chapter 513 - Formidable Monkey King!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lianda was enjoying his dominance over Nidalee when he suddenly saw Vi with a pair of giant gauntlets dashing out from the southwest position.


    He would have escaped through the river on the right if Nidalee had not conveniently moved there and blocked off his escape path.


    However, Lianda did not panic. It was common for him to deal with this sort of ambush when playing Ziggs. He calmly walked past Nidalee and scattered a handful of proximity mines to hinder Vi¡¯s march. He wouldn¡¯t allow Vi to close the distance gap easily.


    Zuoshen was vigilant and maneuvered Vi to avoid the minefield, her fists charged up at the same time.


    ¡°Boom, baby!¡±


    Vi leaped and turned into a giant fist that rushed toward Ziggs face.


    Lianda who was retreating suddenly came to an abrupt halt and turned back. This sudden change of direction allowed him to evade Vi¡¯s punch. He then stepped leisurely into the minefield right in front of Vi and Nidalee, as though he was provoking them to chase after him. ¡®Step through it if you dare. I will skin you alive.¡¯


    Ziggs did not stop moving and Nidalee was determined to kill him, so she stepped fearlessly through the minefield.


    The Hexplosive mines not only slowed her down, but also dealt a ton of damage on Nidalee. Soon, she was left with half of her health after struggling through the explosion.


    Vi swiftly followed. She avoided the mines by taking Nidalee¡¯s path and caught up to Ziggs quickly.


    Her punch that was embedded with the red buff hit Ziggs solidly, slowing him down while burning him with true damage. Vi then threw another punch and further reduced Ziggs armor.


    Lianda reflectively cast his W-skill to release Satchel Charge when Vi came close. The Satchel dropped right under him, which was also stepped on by Vi.


    Ziggs W-skill would work wonders if it was executed perfectly. A pre-calculated explosion not only would bounce himself out of danger, but also knock back and damage his immediate enemies.


    Lianda¡¯s mastery of this champion was top-notch. The Satchel exploded immediately and launched Ziggs far away from Vi.


    Despite that, Walker¡¯s Nidalee was persistent. Her Javelin flew across the air and hit the bull¡¯s eye right where Ziggs landed. The toss took away a large chunk of HP from Ziggs.


    Seeing the kill opportunity, Zuoshen marched on dedicatedly and kept up his attack. Nidalee also Flashed in to maintain her damage output on Lianda.


    Lianda had used his Flash earlier when he was pressuring Nidalee. He accepted his fate after both the enemies had surrendered their Flash to put him down. This did not mean that he was going to let them have their way without putting up a fight.


    He first fell back slightly and cast the Bouncing Bomb on the two pursuers.


    With his life reducing fast, Lianda activated his Barrier to delay the inevitable and landed another flurry of attacks on the two enemies.


    Bam!


    Another punch hit Ziggs in the face and Lianda was out of tricks this time. He could only watch as Ziggs groaned in pain and turned into a pile of ash.


    Walker finally put up a smile after they managed to finish Ziggs off.


    ¡®Dang it, it cost us two Flash to kill him. This guy is quite good at kiting and repositioning.¡¯


    Zuoshen had taken a kill at the top lane and this was his second. The opponent¡¯s Wukong, meanwhile, had been MIA so far. He used the tab button to check on the Monkey King¡¯s status and it showed Level 1.


    ¡®That¡¯s really odd. Why has this Jungler still not shown himself when those at the lanes have already reached Level 4 or 5? His presence can hardly be felt.¡¯


    Zuoshen sneered, but just as soon as he had finished chastising Wukong for hiding his tail in the jungle forever, the Doran¡¯s Staff promptly appeared on the screen.


    Pow!


    The staff hit on Vi¡¯s face mercilessly. Vi had been kited away and drained of quite a lot of HP by Ziggs earlier, and she dropped to the ground after another two hits from Wukong and died bitterly.


    ¡®Where did he come out from?¡¯


    Zuoshen looked at Vi¡¯s corpse sullenly and realized that he had to warn Nidalee. However, it was already too late. Wukong had dashed toward Nidalee on its Nimbus Cloud in under a second.


    Walker¡¯s Nidalee was low in health as well. Wukong¡¯s abrupt entrance terrified him and he instinctively worked his fingers to shield and heal his champion.


    The Monkey King was in no rush and he ¡°escorted¡± Nidalee all the way back to her turret.


    He did not attack Nidalee because her Barrier would last for 2 seconds, but as soon as the Barrier was down, Wukong instantly launched his staff right onto her face. He followed that up with an auto-attack, the Q-skill for armor break, and then another auto-attack.


    The Monkey King was ferocious, never once leaving Nidalee¡¯s side even after she had re-entered the turret¡¯s range.


    Walker¡¯s Nidalee only had one last drop of HP left, and he paced around the turret, hoping that Wukong would be killed first.


    ¡°Jeez, he¡¯s going to get himself killed! Why is he so persistent?¡± Lianda exclaimed as he watched Wukong sustain the heavy damage from the turret just to get Nidalee killed.


    This was unnecessary. Wukong still had the blue buff although it was going to wear off soon.


    Moreover, the price would be too hefty if he was counter-killed. Not only would he lose his life, he would also be handing the blue buff over to the opponent.


    Lianda didn¡¯t know who was the player behind Wukong. He watched him tower-dive at a mere Level 4 and assumed that he would not be getting out of this alive.


    Finally, Wukong was able to take the last hit and wrapped up the kill. He started to walk out from the turret with extremely low HP, there was no way he could take another hit from the turret.


    Bam!


    He Flashed!


    The turret had lit up and was about to release the beam, even the sound effect had rung out. Nonetheless, Wukong had managed to Flash across the wall in that final moment and successfully escaped the turret¡¯s attack range.


    The timing and position of the Flash were at its very limit. A tad slower and the tower would still attack, a tad earlier and he would be hitting the wall. Lianda couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he witnessed Wukong survive the certain death that he had predicted.


    As the ¡°Double Kill¡± announcement echoed in Lianda¡¯s mind, his eyes were beaming with admiration. ¡®This Wukong is legit!¡¯ He himself would have given up the moment Nidalee entered the turret range with her Barrier on.


    ¡®Formidable, truly formidable!¡¯

 Chapter 514 - Missed Big Time!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Lianda and Luocheng maintained their voice call. The damage that the Wukong had done when he tower-dived was clearly calculated and accurate, Lianda couldn¡¯t help but grudgingly change his view on his teammate, ¡°This Jungler is not bad, his timing of assisting is fast. He¡¯s aggressive and his actions are also on point.¡±


    Luocheng laughed. As the Jungler from the Taiwan team that had previously taken the runner-up position in the Worlds, wasn¡¯t that only to be expected?


    Wukong took a double kill which made up for the huge disadvantage at the top lane slightly.


    Concerning the top lane which was lost, Luocheng didn¡¯t feel anything at all. Even though the renegade was solo-killed only two times, Luocheng felt that his acting was not quite up to par.


    And it wasn¡¯t as though Xiao Zhuai could go to the top lane to gank or counter-gank, that would just drag down his own income. He had been focusing on developing his champion in the early-game and his level was now one level higher than Vi. With that double kill and a wave of minions from the middle lane, he probably needed just one more jungle camp and he could happily return to base with a Level 6!


    ¡°This Jungler leveled up d*mn fast!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the second buff hasn¡¯t even respawned and he¡¯s already Level 6, it¡¯s because of his jungle-clear speed and those two kills if I¡¯m not wrong!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird, was Wukong¡¯s clearing speed always that fast?¡±


    In the livestream, a lot of people had realized this.


    The level of a Jungler was extremely important, majority of the Junglers could only make it to Level 6 after taking the second buff, and to get to Level 6 before that was already considered fast. Usually, the Jungler would head to take the buff, and coincidentally, their team would get a gank at this time, gaining free experience from that.


    Wukong¡¯s jungling wasn¡¯t considered to be very fast and he was considered to be a Jungler that relied on leveling. With a high level Wukong, it could definitely cause fatal blows to his enemies!


    Xiao Zhuai didn¡¯t rely on his level to counter-gank, because he clearly knew that they were in a 4 vs 6 situation. The moment an attack happened, a bunch of obvious mistakes would lead to their opponents gaining the advantage, making it difficult to win later on.


    He took the red buff and then he helped Lianda to leash for the blue buff.


    Both of them were quite tactful and of the same mind, and right after taking the blue buff, they simultaneously signaled for an attack at the bottom lane!


    Although their champions¡¯ appearance differed, their mindsets were the same; finish taking the blue buff and then go to the bottom lane to do their job!


    At this time, the minions wave had been pushed toward their own turret. Lianda¡¯s Ziggs and Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong had positioned themselves behind the turret in the shadows.


    Luocheng and Shallow Dream naturally saw the arrival of their two teammates, but they didn¡¯t particularly change the way they were playing, neither did they suddenly become more aggressive.


    Suddenly, Shallow Dream broke away slightly forward, poking Nami who had come forward to hit the minion herself.


    Nami¡¯s reaction was just as quick, throwing an Aqua Prison at her.


    Shallow Dream also had her E-skill ready in her hands, and seeing the opposing Nami raising her staff, Caitlyn also released her shot at the same time, a 90 Caliber Net launching her backward, using the impact on her slender body to avoid the bubble. She landed steadily on her feet, her rifle already poised to shoot!


    The net landed on Nami which was followed up with a blazing Piltover Peacemaker flying true and onto Nami. Two basic attacks right after her EQ-combo directly took away half of Nami¡¯s health!


    Luocheng and Shallow Dream¡¯s partnership had not been short, and while she was attacking, his Galio had unleashed a gust of wind with his wings. The whirlwind didn¡¯t hit the opponent¡¯s Siver, but Luocheng hadn¡¯t been targeting her anyway. In actual fact, he was using this skill to create the draft in order to increase the movement speed of his two teammates who were hiding behind!


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong had already built his Boots of Mobility, when he moved in stealth from behind the turret, adding on the bonus movement speed from Galio¡¯s Righteous Gust, even with just 1.5 seconds of stealth, he was able to cover a big distance!


    Nami had already been slowed by Caitlyn¡¯s net and was trying very hard to retreat as fast as she could, but Wukong had already appeared in front of her.


    Nami¡¯s reaction was fast, and the moment Wukong appeared, she pressed her Flash. The skill she had used on Caitlyn previously also gave her a movement speed boost, increasing her movement speed.


    Xiao Zhuai had a red buff on him, but sadly, he was still short of just a bit of distance from Nami and the bonus movement speed from his Boots of Mobility and Galio¡¯s skill had also expired.


    Nami¡¯s passive was bonus movement speed and she could run extremely fast, making frontal confrontation a bit difficult, plus, the river was warded. Seeing the Nami extend the distance between her and Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong, it was obvious that for this time¡¯s gank, they had only managed to force out a Flash.


    However, Xiao Zhuai was persistent, and even though his speed had dropped lower than Nami¡¯s, he still continued to give chase.


    Suddenly, Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong let out a roar, spinning himself in circles, activating his ulti unto the oncoming wave of minions!


    Cyclone!


    The golden staff held by Wukong spun and changed into a gorgeous golden storm, passing through the minions but not sweeping in any enemy champion¡­


    ¡°This¡­is this Wukong a noob!?¡±


    Yisheng¡¯s eyes opened wide as he watched Wukong activate his Ultimate for no reason, and he couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    This ulti had missed big time, this was f*cking art. Was it because this guy had failed his gank and felt so unsatisfied that he slammed on his keyboard and accidentally pressed the R key?


    There were over 200,000 people watching this game live within the country, and not long ago, Wukong¡¯s exciting turret-dive performance had convinced everyone that he was quite a master. Who knew that not long after, you would see such a noob performance where his ulti would miss¡­ they were not sure what this Wukong was thinking.


    Lianda was also shaking his head helplessly, wondering how could such a basic mistake have been made. If he couldn¡¯t keep up the chase, he should have just returned to the lane and continued farming.


    However, Lianda who had decided to leave couldn¡¯t help but continue to watch Wukong who was still spinning in his ulti.


    Suddenly, Lianda realized something as both his eyes were staring at Wukong who was still spinning!


    As the golden storm was still spinning and kicking up the dust, his movement speed was getting faster.


    Wukong¡¯s ulti could last for 4 seconds, and initially, Lianda had thought that the ulti was a big miss. But now he found that Wukong was approaching Nami faster within the 4 seconds which his movement speed continued to climb, and his face broke out into an unbelieving smile!


    This¡­this wasn¡¯t a miss at all!


    Lianda slapped his thigh. He really had been playing Mid for too long, he couldn¡¯t believe that he actually forgot that Wukong¡¯s ulti, apart from being for the damage, had an extremely easy forgettable attribute, which was the bonus movement speed!


    That¡¯s right, activating Wukong¡¯s ulti would allow his movement speed to increase over the 4 seconds!


    The problem was that everyone subconsciously viewed this skill as a damage-dealing CC which could also knock up. Who would have thought there was someone who had this incredible thinking, using this move as a way to increase their movement speed!


    As his speed increased, the gap between the Monkey King and Nami was shortened. At first, Nami was also mocking Wukong for missing his ulti, who knew that his movement speed would increase as time went by, and now only did she realize how stupid she had been in mocking him previously!!


    ¡°HA!!¡±


    With a Nimbus Strike, Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong had finally caught up to Nami. Landing his E-skill on Nami, the slow effect from the red buff took effect!


    One auto-attack followed up with a Crushing Blow!


    Nami was squishy, and adding on to the fact that her level was not as high as Wukong, a set of combos would have brought down her health to dangerous levels.


    Taking advantage of the slow effect from the red buff, Xiao Zhuai threw out another auto-attack, successfully killing the Nami!


    For a moment, the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift was silent.


    Especially those who had been laughing at Wukong initially, they watched as the Jungler walked away with a kill in hand, and they were at a loss for words.


    To be honest, how many people would have thought of this method, when you couldn¡¯t catch up to your opponent, throw an ulti out, abandoning its most practical usage and instead, using it purely to increase your movement speed!?


    In fact, a lot of people would just keep their useless ulti because they couldn¡¯t even touch the enemy!


    ¡°D*mn, is that even possible!?¡± Yisheng wasn¡¯t able to collect himself for a while, his disdainful smile was frozen just in place on his face.


    Using his Ultimate to increase his movement speed!?


    Was there anything more crazy and wasteful than this!?


    However, it was this wasteful move that had given the desired effect, and his Support had been killed.


    The Support dying was one thing, it was just one kill after all. But the more obvious thing was, they had lost the Dragon!


    As expected, once the minion wave had been cleared a little, the four of them went toward the Dragon Pit.


    ¡°Do you want to initiate a fight? Wukong doesn¡¯t have his ulti anyway!¡± Their Jungler, Zuoshen said.


    Zuoshen and Nidalee were heading toward their direction.


    Yisheng glanced and saw that Zuoshen was still at his pitiful Level 5 and he inwardly cursed. You haven¡¯t even taken the red buff yet but you were talking as though you already got your ulti!


    Also, after taking Nidalee¡¯s blue buff, even if you got your ulti, did you think you were f*cking useful!? Hiding behind if it didn¡¯t hit anyone, if so, the few of them going into the Dragon Pit to fight would just be serving the Dragon and their heads on a silver platter!


    ¡°Walker, harass them from a distance, just stop them from taking the Dragon. You, hurry up and get your red buff to level up to Level 6!¡± Yisheng instructed.


    A Vi that had yet to reach Level 6 was really useless, rushing in would definitely be asking for a beating from Ziggs and Wukong.


    This Dragon, they didn¡¯t dare to go too near. It was better to see if Nidalee could land a few javelins or wait till their opponents had beaten the Dragon to a manageable level and they had lower health.


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, our Jungler is a bit on the sly side. That ulti earlier, even I thought that he had missed it big time!¡± Lianda said, surprise evident in his voice.


    Luocheng smiled without a word, Xiao Zhuai¡¯s identity wasn¡¯t that easy to be seen through.


    Usually in Team Skycrown, Luocheng would be the one setting the pace to get the Dragon. In his estimation, he would be able to set a wave with the Dragon once his Galio had reached Level 6.


    But for Xiao Zhuai, his pacing was clearly faster than Luocheng¡¯s by a bit. In a big competition, these little bits of time they managed to save was the key to obtaining victory!


    Luocheng turned around to glance at Zhou Yan who was still expressionless, but from his eyes, he could see that he was in deep contemplation.


    Luocheng understood, Zhou Yan had already learnt something from Xiao Zhuai¡¯s maneuver.

 Chapter 515 - Blind Spot

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°D*mn it, today is not a good day!¡± Walker sighed in irritation as he thought to himself.


    Walker¡¯s Nidalee was quite well-known in the Korean server, but today, in the situation to contest for the Dragon, he had only managed to hit one target out of the four targets that he had, and this one target he hit had been Wukong¡¯s clone, which was unbelievable even to Walker himself.


    Of course, if Walker were to realize the identities of the four he was playing against, it wouldn¡¯t be so unbelievable.


    Compared to a professional player from the top eight OGN team like Walker, no matter whether it was Xiao Zhuai, Xie Lianda, or Shallow Dream, their reaction time and positionings were definitely world-class level. If your Nidalee thinks she can poke them easily, dream on. You still need years of practice.


    To put it bluntly, the four of them that you were playing against were just that good, it had nothing to do with whether you had a feel for it or not!


    The Dragon was smoothly taken and Luocheng¡¯s team was definitely in the lead in terms of gold.


    After taking the Dragon, all of them returned to their respective lanes to farm.


    Lianda hadn¡¯t used his ulti during the previous gank, and during the time they were taking the Dragon, he had unleashed his ulti toward the middle lane, causing Nidalee, who had been hanging around them, to lose another wave of gold.


    At the bottom lane, Shallow Dream was in complete control of her health and mana. She had a Doran¡¯s Blade and had already reached Level 6. She had about 2,000 gold on her champion, and Luocheng was debating whether or not she was aiming to save enough for a Bloodthirster before heading back.


    Sure enough, Shallow Dream recalled back to base and immediately bought a B.F. Sword and Berserker¡¯s Greaves!


    Caitlyn was already very painful in the early-game in terms of poke, but there would be some mana problems in the early and mid-game stage. Her ulti wasn¡¯t as flashy as the other champions, but once she had a B.F. Sword and Berserker¡¯s Greaves, she would be a force to be reckoned with. In this case, the opponent¡¯s Support wouldn¡¯t even dare to come forward to harass her because the moment they got hit once, with one Headshot, an EQ-combo, and an ulti, they would definitely die immediately!


    Shallow Dream was smart, she knew that the enemy ADC was strong. There was not much possibility to take advantage in the lane, so she settled for farming peacefully, widening the gap between the CS by about 10.


    And now, with the gold from the Dragon and assist in kills, her items were definitely more effective than Yisheng who only had a Berserker¡¯s Greaves.


    ***


    Luocheng¡¯s Galio was not overly aggressive either, he was patiently waiting for Level 6.


    Looking at Shallow Dream¡¯s items, Luocheng knew that it was time to hit a wave!


    Their opponent was being cautious, and with Nami not having Flash, she didn¡¯t even consider using her CC skills, leaving Luocheng unable to get a chance to initiate anything. After all, you couldn¡¯t expect him to just Flash forward and activate his ulti¡­


    A string of Korean words that ended with ¡®simida¡¯ appeared.


    Luocheng glanced to the top lane, realizing that the turret had already been destroyed by the opponent Top. Their own Top was behind by 2 levels and his CS was below by at least half.


    Top had been slaughtered to the point that he wasn¡¯t worth any gold anymore, to the extent that their opponent could have gotten a Sword of the Occult.


    The opponent Top was high level and this was a serious problem.


    There was one thing in LOL that was easily overlooked, and that was the levels.


    In many cases, level was more important than items because you would always find that no matter how f*cking tanky the Top was, with a combo of skills thrown onto them, it would still be strangely painful, and the reason for that was because the opponent¡¯s level was way higher than yours!


    The Top right now was at a higher level than everyone by quite a bit, adding on the luxurious items that he had, it would definitely be a big deal in teamfights at 20 minutes.


    At the bottom lane, they couldn¡¯t be farming so leisurely anymore. The later the game dragged on, the advantages between them would be more obvious.


    ¡°Force it!¡± Shallow Dream pinged Luocheng.


    It seemed that Luocheng and her were of the same mind, they couldn¡¯t just farm peacefully anymore. Since they had the advantage of better items, it was better to use it and forcefully pressure their opponents!


    Luocheng nodded, waiting a while for this wave of minions to push slightly more to his side.


    ***


    Yisheng continued to maintain his pressure on the lane. As he had sufficient vision control at the bottom lane, he wasn¡¯t worried about getting ganked. Even if Wukong came from the top side, he wasn¡¯t afraid since he had his ulti.


    ¡°Eh, Galio is missing.¡± The Support Nami pinged a question mark.


    The minion wave had already pushed forward, but Nami could only see Caitlyn near the turret freezing the minion wave with no signs of Galio.


    Nami glanced at the middle lane, and seeing that a fight was about to break out, she hurriedly pinged missing at the bottom lane again, signaling that the bottom lane enemy champion was missing.


    ¡°Push and kill her then!¡± Yisheng smiled coldly. Playing against him in the bottom lane, they dared to leave Caitlyn alone here to defend, wasn¡¯t that just asking for it?


    Even if they had to force and dive the turret, they would kill Caitlyn!


    Nami could see Yisheng¡¯s intention, and she finally moved forward from the back of the wave, trying to find a chance to initiate with an ulti to kill Caitlyn.


    Bam!


    Just when the two of them suddenly stepped forward, out of the blue, a monster with petrified wings suddenly Flashed over!


    The Sentinel¡¯s Sorrow, its sturdy arms wrapped around itself, its body suspended in the air as its feet curled slightly, huge wings wrapped securely around its entire body. Its color changed completely, the wind picking up and surrounding it from the bottom of its feet, you could almost feel the intense prickly feeling coming from the gust!


    Anyone who stepped into this area would be filled with inexplicable anger and would become a bull who had nothing in his eyes but the red cloth, charging at Galio who was safely encased in its statue status.


    Idol of Durand, Taunt!


    The scattered wind surrounding the gargoyle had reached Nami and Sivir.


    Nami was not prepared for this assault and was ultimately caught in the taunt, unable to use any of her skills as the wind swept her mind with it. She lost control of herself in her rage, using her meager basic attack to attack Galio, knowing that it would only cause more damage to herself.


    Sivir was quick to react, activating her Spell Shield the moment Galio had Flashed in!


    Yisheng responded quickly, he clearly knew that Galio¡¯s ulti was a continuous effect, and even though the Spell Shield had briefly resisted the taunt effect, he would still be caught up in it when his Spell Shield fell.


    After activating his Spell Shield, he Flashed out immediately as soon as he could, leaving the affected area of Galio¡¯s ulti, throwing his skills from afar!


    ¡°This guy¡­where the h*ll did he come from!?¡± Yisheng cursed in frustration.


    This bush had a ward and they could clearly see what was happening from it, so why did it seem as though Galio had Flashed from this bush and ulti-ed out!?


    Yisheng had managed to escape by using his skills, but Nami who had been taunted would definitely die!


    Sure enough, after channeling the Idol of Durand for 2 seconds, the bonus damage coupled with Caitlyn¡¯s terrifying damage, Nami was instantly wasted.


    Yisheng knew that he stood no chance and he hurriedly activated his ulti and retreated with his tail between his legs. Even after recalling back to base, Yisheng still couldn¡¯t figure out where Galio, who was clearly missing, had come from!


    ***


    After killing Nami, the live broadcast platform was full of cheers and praise again.


    Yisheng and Nami¡¯s vision couldn¡¯t see where Luocheng was, but everyone who had been watching the stream from Luocheng¡¯s view could clearly see that Galio had actually been standing in the bush.


    Initially, everyone was puzzled. They had clearly seen Nami warding the bush previously, and with Luocheng standing there, he would definitely be spotted. If he was caught by accident, he would definitely be killed¡­


    At this time, Luocheng gave an explanation through his mic: ¡°Wards have a range of vision, including when in a bush. Just now, Nami planted the ward on the bottom left side of the bush. It seemed to have illuminated the entire stretch of the bush, but in fact, the detection range of the vision from it is based on the ward as the centre of a circle. In this slightly sloping terrain with tall grass, the top right corner of it is actually shadowed, so if you don¡¯t step into the bush, you won¡¯t be able to see it.¡±


    Nami had walked into the river to place a ward and she had walked back upward, not stepping into the bush at all.


    She and Yisheng had seen the minion wave pass the entire length of the bush as well as the ward that had brightened up the bush. Galio wasn¡¯t in lane and he wasn¡¯t in the bush either. They would have assumed that Galio would have used another route to go to the middle lane or recall back to base, never imagining that Luocheng had seen the position of the ward and had used it to his advantage to hide in that small patch of unseen angle at the top right side of the bush.


    That¡¯s right, the entire length of the bush was illuminated, leaving only such a small patch that was shadowed, the majority of the people would have ignored it!


    Yet, Luocheng chose to hide there because he knew that the spot he was standing on was a blind spot and they wouldn¡¯t be able to see him unless they face-checked the bush with their champions!


    Others would use other positions and the walls to achieve this effect, but Luocheng had used the angle of the ward, this was the highest peak of what knowledge of vision control was!


    If it hadn¡¯t been for Yisheng¡¯s quick reaction, both Sivir and Nami would have died here!


    This card that he played was indeed brilliant, an average player would never have expected someone to come out from a bush that was warded!


    ¡°This trick was something I learnt when I was playing Support Fiddlesticks.¡± Luocheng told everyone through his mic.


    While playing live streams, Luocheng had never hidden his cards. When he could show it, he would try his best to, and he would also give out patient explanations, so for the live stream¡¯s popularity to reach this height, it was not weird at all.


    As Luocheng said that, everyone had a sudden realization.


    ¡°F*ck, if it was Fiddlesticks that used this trick, there isn¡¯t any way to counter it at all!¡± A domestic professional player who was wearing a vest typed excitedly.


    ¡°Yeah, it would have hit both of them directly, getting a double kill!¡±


    ¡°This blind spot tactic is really something!!¡±


    What was the most important skill a Fiddlesticks needed to master?


    That¡¯s right, vision control. They needed to learn the best place to stand with obscured vision from their enemies to make that jump and ulti in.


    Last season, Luocheng¡¯s Fiddlesticks Support was brilliant. Luocheng had wanted to use this tactic a few times to jump and ulti in, but the situations had not been favourable. He didn¡¯t expect that he would be able to use it with Galio, but sure enough, there wasn¡¯t enough CC to suppress them!


    He had to be thankful that these two Korean idiots had managed to realize his Support Fiddlesticks¡¯ desire. After all, in this season, it was not suitable to use Fiddlesticks as a Support anymore.

 Chapter 516 - Show Your Face Under Turret, Caitlyn!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Break the bottom lane turret.¡± Xiao Zhuai had initially planned to gank after one more wave, but he hadn¡¯t expected that Luocheng would dispose of the enemy Support by himself, and so, he just pushed the wave forward.


    Luocheng nodded his head, their pacing had accelerated. The longer the game dragged on, the more obvious the gap of 4 vs 6 would be. They had to build back their advantage before the enemy Top started actively joining the fights.


    Yisheng had initially wanted to defend the turret, but upon seeing Wukong appear, he grit his teeth and gave up on the bottom lane turret.


    Sivir¡¯s wave clearing capabilities were fast, but in Yisheng¡¯s judgement, if he stayed any longer under that turret, he would definitely die!


    He didn¡¯t dare linger around to defend especially since Xiao Zhuai was pushing the wave forward aggressively, not giving Yisheng the chance to clear the wave.


    One wave of minions and three champions working together made quick work of the turret, and Shallow Dream moved toward the middle lane right after that, starting to exert pressure on the enemy¡¯s Mid.


    For Caitlyn to build a Bloodthirster first, the reason was for faster pushing capabilities. If she built an Infinity Edge first, it was for teamfights.


    Once Shallow Dream reached the middle lane, the turret was under immediate threat. Nidalee kept transforming into her cougar form and back to clear the wave, but the problem with her cougar form was that it was melee. Basically, when she transformed to clear a wave, she would definitely be chased down wildly by Shallow Dream!


    Pew!


    Pew!!


    Pew!!! Headshot!


    Lianda continued to throw his skills at Nidalee while Caitlyn was standing on the other side of the turret shooting at Nidalee. Caitlyn was on full offensive, and with three consecutive shots and a Headshot, Nidalee¡¯s life was cut down to half!


    Piltover Peacemaker!


    A flaming projectile shot out from her hextech rifle, dealing damage as it passed through the wave of minions that stood in front and also hit Nidalee!


    Seeing that something was not right with her health, Nidalee hurriedly pulled back, quickly transforming back to her human form to heal herself and push her health back to about two-thirds.


    Seeing that Nidalee¡¯s life had recovered a little, Shallow Dream stepped back slightly and started to attack the turret instead.


    As the next wave of minions came, Walker transformed into his cougar form once more, pouncing forward and quickly clearing the wave of minions with a swipe of his claws!


    It was at this time that Caitlyn pushed forward!


    A Headshot slammed onto Nidalee, shaving her life down to half.


    One more step forward and a basic attack landed!


    Walker was livid. This Caitlyn was too much and too arrogant! Daring to come into the turret-range to hit him twice, were you treating him like chopped liver!?


    Shallow Dream had taken some turret damage, it gave off the feeling that it was going to be a life or death duel under the turret!


    Lianda¡¯s Ziggs was out of mana, so he chose to recall back to base. When he realized that their Caitlyn was moving forward so aggressively, he hurriedly pinged a retreat signal, signaling that he definitely would not be able to join and follow up for her!


    Shallow Dream wasn¡¯t bothered that Lianda had recalled back to base, instead, she moved directly forward toward the turret, chasing after Nidalee.


    Walker, who was already pissed, immediately transformed into his cougar form and pounced toward Caitlyn.


    Walker had estimated that adding on the turret¡¯s damage and his own burst damage when in cougar form, he would definitely be able to take Caitlyn down!


    Roar!


    The sharp claws of The Bestial Huntress¡ªNidalee, adding on the items on her that gave her enough damage on her combo of three skills to have the effect of instantly killing as many other Mid champions!


    Takedown! Pounce! Swipe!


    Walker had gone through the set of skills in his mind, however, he couldn¡¯t just pounce like that on Caitlyn because he knew that Caitlyn still held on to her E-skill which would cause him movement restriction which was fatal.


    The moment he pounced forward, Caitlyn would definitely use her EQ-combo to launch herself backward!


    Hence, Walker used his W-skill and Flash!


    Similar to Shen¡¯s Flash and Taunt, Nidalee¡¯s W-skill and Flash would achieve the same effect, Flashing and launching the damage immediately on the position!


    Against such a glorious combo, Shallow Dream didn¡¯t bother to use her EQ-combo to create a distance, instead, she took a step forward into the turret-range, dodging Nidalee¡¯s claws!


    Activating her Barrier while keeping an eye on the turret as well as Nidalee who had suffered quite a bit of damage, Shallow Dream¡¯s own health was almost running out.


    The Barrier had absorbed some damage for Shallow Dream, and upon seeing Nidalee leaping toward her again, she now shot out her 90 Caliber Net!


    Her body was propelled backward gracefully, and her back nicely hit the thick wall which stood between the turret and the Wraiths camp.


    The Piltover Peacemaker was launched the moment her body hit the wall, the sharp flaming projectile sweeping through Nidalee¡¯s body!


    Walker, seeing that his health was abysmally low, hurriedly activated his Barrier to protect himself.


    ¡°This Caitlyn is too naive!¡± Walker laughed coldly.


    He still had his Barrier, wanting to kill him under his own turret, did you really think that he would allow this to happen twice in one game!?


    The Barrier protected Walker so that his Nidalee was not instantly killed. In order to prevent any other accidents, he immediately transformed back to his human form, healing himself !


    This way, even if he stood there and Caitlyn continued to attack him, it was impossible for her to kill him because his turret would immediately take her life. After all, Caitlyn didn¡¯t have any health left!


    Bam!


    Suddenly, in a flash of light, Caitlyn had Flashed directly into the Wraith camp. Walker cursed, she had really Flashed away very fast, otherwise, her life would have been forfeited here.


    Eh, why was there a ward here?


    Walker was confused. This ward was placed within the turret range, wasn¡¯t this just free money? Was it possible that Caitlyn had planted the ward to make him miss his attacks? Such a childish move, how could you use it on a professional player and expect to successfully fool him!


    Suddenly, a red sniper line emerged from behind the wall, locking on to Walker¡¯s Nidalee!


    Walker was stunned for a moment, finally realizing that something wasn¡¯t right!


    This ward¡­she had purposely planted it there to be able to have a field of vision from behind the wall, and then¡­Snipe!


    B*tch, Walker cursed in Korean.


    Walker¡¯s reaction was fast, and following the red line that was aimed at him, he threw a spear right across the wall!


    Let¡¯s see who dies first!


    Walker would not let Caitlyn snipe!


    Chuk!


    A crisp sound, which clearly indicated that his spear had met its target, made Walker extremely proud of himself.


    As a professional player, it was necessary to be calm in dangerous situations. If he had panicked and tried to dodge, he would definitely have died. It was only possible to survive if he could take Caitlyn down before she took her shot.


    Only¡­


    When he realized that the red line was still there, and seeing the flaming homing bullet which was flying through the wall, his entire face changed!


    It hadn¡¯t hit?


    How was that possible!?


    He was going to die!


    If he died, Walker could still take it. The problem was, he had f*cking died under turret once again, what the h*ll did he ever do to deserve this!?

 Chapter 517 - 4 v 5

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Bang!


    This bullet exploded on Nidalee¡¯s face, and at the same time, it gave the people who were watching the livestream an explosive surprise!


    This Caitlyn, she was literally performing a show!


    Moreover, it was a show that you just couldn¡¯t understand even if you watched the entire thing unfold in front of you!


    Lianda, who was recalling back to base, watched Caitlyn¡¯s maneuver and swallowed heavily as his finger hovered over the V key for quite a while. In the end, he didn¡¯t press on the signal key anyway.


    What was up with today!? Don¡¯t even mention the wild Wukong that appeared, this ADC Caitlyn was also another one. A set of operations that made you cross-eyed, one was more normal than the other, but it also revealed a confidence that even a professional LPL player like him didn¡¯t have!


    Strange¡­ was the strength of a Korean Diamond 1 player that strong!?


    ***


    If Shallow Dream was next to Luocheng, he would have definitely given her a thumbs up.


    The maneuver was so obvious that it put a stupid expression on Nidalee¡¯s face.


    ¡°It was a bit arrogant and you usually aren¡¯t so aggressive. Could it be that these Koreans¡¯ shameless behavior has also angered you?¡± Luocheng asked.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s ADC was strong and she herself was a strong player, however, she seldom exchanged all her Summoner¡¯s Spells just to take one kill unless it was a kill that could change the entire game. So for Shallow Dream to play such an excellent hand, Luocheng felt surprised, but at the same time, he admired that ward she had planted, to be able to even think of such details at that point of time.


    That ward that had confused Walker was very important, because the moment you Flashed across the wall, you would have lost vision of the other side and Caitlyn wouldn¡¯t have been able to use her ulti.


    At the same time, Shallow Dream had anticipated that Nidalee would throw a javelin in her direction and had purposely stood behind the Wraiths to block off the javelin which was the key, finally taking Nidalee¡¯s life.


    Shallow Dream was quite indifferent about Luocheng¡¯s praise, replying lightly:


    ¡°I needed 300 more gold to buy items.¡±


    Lianda¡¯s jaw was about to hit the ground when he read this.


    She still needed 300 gold to buy items, which was why she turret-dived and killed Nidalee¡­


    Hearing those words said, Lianda felt that usually when he played League of Legends, he was usually already quite arrogant, however, compared to this Caitlyn¡­the tone she said it in, it made it feel as though killing a champion was as easy as killing a minion wave in lane!


    ***


    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s really a group of crazy people in this team. Even with a mole planted within them in this situation, they¡¯ll still be able to beat a 6 vs 4!¡± Lin Dong exclaimed from beside Luocheng.


    The four of them gathered together, ignoring the Top¡¯s Hollywood acting stints. Their Mid, Jungler, and bottom lane had completely suppressed their opponents.


    For the four of them, their number of deaths was completely zero!


    At the middle lane, they were ahead in CS by 20 creeps.


    For the Jungler, his kills and assists were more than 3 times of their opponent which was already good enough, but even his CS was ahead by 10 creeps.


    As for the bottom lane, they were 2 kills ahead and 15 creeps ahead in terms of CS!


    The game was completely in their control, and looking at the situation, the opponent¡¯s middle lane turret wouldn¡¯t be standing for long. The gold difference between the teams would then be about 300 gold, one Dragon, one turret, and an exchange between the top lane turret against the bottom lane turret.


    A true master had a particularly strong ability to find money.


    What was this ability to find money?


    This kind of economic lead couldn¡¯t be obtained from farming in a lane from the minion wave, and at most, you could only get ahead slightly by taking some jungle camps. However, why is it that for some people, you felt as though their development of their champions was particularly fast!?


    They would also be farming in lane to get gold, but somehow, their CS would suddenly get higher, and the numbers would only continue to increase as time went by. This was related to development pacing problems!


    There were some teamfights that were obviously impossible to fight.


    Those were the ones that you could ignore and just continue to farm another minion wave.


    Some turrets were able to be defended and you could take the chance to maintain the lane a little longer.


    After clearing the wave in lane, taking a round in the jungle area would gain you about an extra 100 gold, and this was about as much as an assist would give you, it was impossible to ignore it.


    Therefore, how to grasp this development pacing was an extremely advanced knowledge.


    As a top-tier ADC, Shallow Dream¡¯s ability to farm for money was really first class.


    She only had 2 skills, but even before the 19 minute mark, she had already built a Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, and Berserker¡¯s Greaves. It was self-explanatory what kind of damage these items could deal in the early to mid-stages of the game.


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s items were equally luxurious, a Black Cleaver, Spirit of the Elder Lizard, and Ninja Tabis.


    As for Lianda at the middle lane, due to the fact that his items were a little bit more expensive, his Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap came out a bit later as compared to the others.


    During this period, there were some clashes between both sides, but not a single full-out fight had happened. The enemy Top had started joining the scuffle, but with inferior items on their team and without a confident chance of winning, it was impossible for them to initiate a teamfight!


    ¡°Give me this wave and I¡¯ll have enough to get a Rabadon¡¯s,¡± Lianda said to Shallow Dream as he glanced at the bottom lane wave.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s items on hand were mostly completed and she naturally knew that the Mid having a Rabadon¡¯s Deathcap in a teamfight was key.


    After Lianda took his third blue buff, he directly threw an ulti at the bottom lane, clearing the wave that Shallow Dream had let up for him. Once he was done, he recalled back to base to buy his Rabadon¡¯s!


    Once the cap comes out, aren¡¯t you just a deadman walking?


    Lianda cheered loudly and pinged in game, signalling that they didn¡¯t need to play passively any longer, they could now initiate a teamfight!


    Xiao Zhuai also pinged an exclamation mark, indicating that his golden staff was hungry for some action and couldn¡¯t be patient anymore.


    Luocheng, as the Support, also signaled that he was already more than prepared!


    A Talisman of Ascension for initiating or retreating, Mikael¡¯s Crucible which gave extra health regeneration as well as clearing off CC, Boots of Mobility, 2 Stealth Wards, and 1 Vision Ward, these were Luocheng¡¯s godlike items!


    ***


    The buff area was, as usual, the higher ground for teamfights to happen.


    Luocheng and the others didn¡¯t bother to initiate any attacks because they knew that their opponents would definitely be unable to resist invading their jungle area.


    Besides, the Top who had an Academy Award was definitely so obviously acting already.


    He was following the four of them, pretending to defend the buff and looking for a chance to initiate, but he purposely exposed his location, trying to bring up a bad pace for the team.


    The four of them followed this Top, enough to let him act out his play, let him pretend as much as he wanted to!


    ¡°I¡¯ll go bait, you guys follow up!¡± The renegade used English to inform his teammates.


    ¡°OK, VERY OK!¡± Luocheng, who wasn¡¯t very good in English, gave him a lot of praise for that.


    ¡°LOL.¡± Xiao Zhuai replied, expressing his praise for that bit of acting.


    The mole was actually just a Korean second team professional Top player¡ªMao, and he had already been harboring some resentment as to why the Jungler had not come to the top lane to assist him prior to this. Obviously, he had the intention to get rid of Xiao Zhuai.


    In order for Xiao Zhuai not to blow the cover that they were well aware that he was a mole, Xiao Zhuai had responded in very bad English saying that he didn¡¯t understand Korean and he thought that the Top had told him not to help since the lane was already lost.


    Mao was feeling sorry for himself that he hadn¡¯t managed to bring the Jungler down together with the top lane, so this time, he definitely had to bring the entire team down!


    Darius, so bold for someone who only had a Sunfire Cape, holding the battleaxe in his hands, stepped forward in his leather boots with his cape billowing behind him. He was facing the five enemies who were clearly lying in wait, lurking in the shadows, and without fear, he marched forward!


    Suddenly, a skill was thrown from the darkness of the fog, shining brightly. Mao hurriedly signaled for an attack to his teammates, meaning, ¡°Hurry and go simida!¡±


    A flurry of skills were flung around, overlapping each other, it was a chaotic mess and clashes of sounds. When all the smoke disappeared, it meant that Darious, who had ulti-ed in, was already dead.


    Interestingly, no matter whether it was Wukong who had been in the front or the Support who should have used his own body to block anything, the two of them had initially followed Darius forward, but when they were about 800 yards away, they had stopped in their tracks¡­


    If you could push a teammate in League of Legends, this would have been equivalent to that when the two of them easily pushed Darius into the dark.


    ¡°You¡­you guys, why didn¡¯t you follow up!?¡±


    Mao was frustrated as he typed into the chat, even messing up his English!


    Luocheng and Xiao Zhuai didn¡¯t bother looking at Darius¡¯ corpse. The latter had wanted them to take a leap into the snake pit together, did you think they were nuts?


    Your usefulness was just to f*cking open field reconnaissance, get it!


    ¡°We can go, Nami doesn¡¯t have any CC. Vi used her Q-skill, and as long as you don¡¯t get speared by Nidalee in the open field you¡¯ll be fine!¡± Luocheng glanced at the enemies¡¯ position and informed Lianda logically.


    At the same time, Luocheng also pinged the signal to attack to Shallow Dream and Xiao Zhuai.


    Xiao Zhuai was the front-liner, naturally he needed to be at the forefront. Luocheng gave him a gust of wind, boosting his speed and allowing him to get to the front.


    Luocheng himself was second in line, needing to stand in front of Caitlyn and Ziggs as he served as a front liner at the same time seeing as Xiao Zhuai¡¯s build on Wukong was not very tanky.


    The entire formation was clearly going forward, and their opponents obviously knew that this was the wave where a teamfight was going to break out.


    The first one to make a move was their opponent¡ªNami!


    The Tidecaller Staff was held high in her hands and she waved it in an arc, a melodic beautiful voice singing!


    The hypnotic magical sound awakened the calm ocean, the gentle sea waters suddenly becoming wild and ferocious, aggressively tumbling and climbing, building into a gigantic tsunami tidal wave under the Vastaya¡¯s control, surging forward!


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong was clever. He had made a gesture as though he was about to attack, and you could even see Wukong walking forward when suddenly, he stopped right at the place he was standing¡­


    This didn¡¯t mean that he had given up his advance. It just meant that he had entered his invisible state and was getting closer to launch his assault.


    It was this move that led to Nami¡¯s decisive act of unleashing her ulti!


    Only, when the Tidal Wave had swept through, the Wukong which they had thought was a clone moved. He turned upward, using his movements to dodge the Tidal Wave which surged past him!


    It was a fake !


    Faking was something a master ADC needed to do a lot. When a teamfight breaks out, whether it was the Mid, Top, or Jungler, they would purposely retain their skills or ulti to target the opponent¡¯s ADC who would come forward to attack.


    As an ADC, it was impossible for you not to attack until your opponents used their skills, the situation just doesn¡¯t allow for you to play it that way. That was why, when a fight was about to break out, a smart ADC would make a show of advancing forward, and just as the other side turned around to release their ulti or skills, turn back immediately and basically avoid any ulti!


    Xiao Zhuai was no stranger to using the faking technique, and with a press of his S key, he managed to bait out Nami¡¯s ulti. In the face of such an aggressive offense, he easily moved, it had given such an unexpected effect.


    After evading the ulti, Xiao Zhuai still didn¡¯t advance, he was waiting for their enemy to initiate!


    His own team had Ziggs, Galio, and Caitlyn. The three champions were all long-ranged, and they had sufficient CC to counter the other side¡¯s CC. Seeing as their Darius was dead and they were in a 5 vs 4 situation, the enemy would definitely choose to fight. Xiao Zhuai just needed to wait a little longer and choose a more suitable chance!

 Chapter 518 - We’ll Still Fight!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Nidalee¡¯s javelin flew forward, piercing Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong.


    If Nidalee¡¯s Javelin Toss gained enough distance, she could easily get rid of a squishy enemy. This javelin had easily shaved off Wukong¡¯s life by half.


    Kim Zuoshen saw the chance and felt that he could kill Wukong instantly, and so, he was the first to charge forward.


    All his items were tank items, as long as he stood in front to take the damage, the backline of his team could follow up with their attacks.


    Seeing Wukong with only half his life left, Zuoshen, who had been held back in the first twenty minutes or so, felt as though he finally had the chance to triumph and launched a Q-skill, Vault Breaker, right into his face!


    ¡°Tsk, a brat that came from who knows where dares to show off in front of me!?¡± Zuoshen scolded.


    In this game, the opponent Wukong¡¯s jungle control had been way better than Zuoshen by a huge margin, and this led to him being embarrassed and angry. How many players in Korea were above him, the OGN Jungler?


    That¡¯s right, today was just a bad day, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have lost to this d*mned Wukong!


    A fist flew forward as though it represented all of Zuoshen¡¯s resentment toward this Wukong that had appeared everywhere except the top lane. In order to prevent Wukong from escaping, Zuoshen speedily planted a Vision Ward where he stood.


    Wukong would definitely try to escape using his invisibility, so this Vision Ward would prevent him from doing so.


    As soon as the Vision Ward was planted and the vision around them expanded, Zuoshen¡¯s Vi had her ulti ready in her hand, all prepared to kill Wukong.


    ¡°F*ck!¡±


    Suddenly, Zuoshen cursed. Although cursing in Korean was not just one word, at this time however, it was only that one word which could express his feelings!


    What instant-kill, what Vision Ward to prevent him from escaping¡­ this stupid Wukong was too cunning, he had already used his Decoy earlier to escape! Nidalee¡¯s javelin had not taken half of his health, all of their attacks had been wasted on a clone!


    At this moment, Wukong, who was still at full health, had used his 1.5 seconds of Invisibility to dive right into the middle of them, the golden staff in his hands shone with a bright light, hungering with desire and impatience!


    Roar!


    The golden Sun Wukong rode his Nimbus Cloud toward the middle of the enemy, and then, his body started rotating, the golden staff so heavy in his hands but being swung around so easily like a whip, bashing everyone as it swept by, knocking everything in his path up into the air!


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring the big one!!¡± Lianda shouted, his eyes burning like flames!


    ¡°Oh! Look out below!¡±


    A giant shadow appeared in the middle of the enemies who were trying to dance out of Wukong¡¯s way, and you could even see the gunpowder forming a black skull pattern on the ground right before the blazing flames exploded!


    Xiao Zhuai¡¯s ulti had swept up 3 of their enemies and Lianda¡¯s ulti had hit the same three. Nidalee, Nami, and their Top¡¯s health all dropped by a big portion.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t rush. He was still a distance away from Wukong, and he kept the distance to continue launching Righteous Gust.


    Shallow Dream, who was beside Luocheng, was also in no rush, her rifle aimed at a random target, and the homing bullet wrapped in flames blasted toward Vi¡¯s chest!


    Bring down as much health as they could with the three of them unleashing their ultis, it resulted in a very gorgeous scene!


    In the midst of the smoke where everything was knocked up, you could already see their enemy Top and Vi tanking all sorts of attack while charging toward Lianda and Shallow Dream¡¯s direction.


    The two were aggressive and their primary goal was obviously to take out their backline!


    Vi started from afar. An eye for an eye, the red line locking onto Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn!


    In the narrow lane, you could first see a huge gauntlet in the front, followed by Vi¡¯s armored body flying through.


    Facing Vi¡¯s ulti which was unstoppable, Shallow Dream didn¡¯t have any way out. After getting hit, the enemy Top also made an appearance.


    With the damage from these two, if all their skills were launched on Shallow Dream, she would definitely die.


    These two had already tunnel-visioned Caitlyn, ignoring the bombs scattered on the floor that Ziggs had thrown, stepping on it, not bothered by the amount of damage it dealt to their health.


    Lianda stood beside Caitlyn maintaining a Y position.


    He looked at Caitlyn who barely had half a bar of health left and he couldn¡¯t help but feel some concern. Their ADC definitely could not die, otherwise they would not have enough damage for later. If they lost the advantage of such a good teamfight initiation and with the amount of ultis they had unleashed, wanting to turn it around later would be hard.


    Lianda glanced at Luocheng who was also beside him, the dot above his champion icon was green!


    Galio¡¯s ulti was definitely the most perfect skill for protecting the ADC. The hundred yards around him was like a manure pit that nobody was in a rush to get close to, meaning the ADC could stand beside Galio and shoot peacefully!


    Lianda was well aware that his skills couldn¡¯t be wasted too much on the two tanks, that would be an insult to Wukong who had initiated with his beautiful ulti as well as himself.


    With Luocheng protecting their ADC, there shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. Lianda glanced at Nami and Nidalee who didn¡¯t have much health left, and finally, he couldn¡¯t resist. Taking the chance while Caitlyn had attracted enough aggro, he moved forward, aiming his skills at the opponent¡¯s backline and throwing it!


    Ding Ding!!


    The signal he kept pinging went crazy on the backline, and Lianda smoothly controlled Ziggs, throwing his Bouncing Bomb at Nami!


    ¡°Motherf*ck-!¡±


    Suddenly, Lianda let out a curse.


    He cursed not because he made a mistake or that he was f*cked, but rather, when he was moving forward aggressively, he realized that a champion with wings had charged forward at a rapid speed toward their opponent¡¯s backline.


    Wasn¡¯t this f*cking Luocheng¡¯s Galio!?


    This guy wasn¡¯t protecting their ADC!?


    ¡°Oi, Caitlyn is going to be picked off!¡± Lianda yelled into the mic.


    ¡°She won¡¯t kick the bucket so easily, less bullsh*t, let¡¯s go!¡± Luocheng shouted determinedly.


    Didn¡¯t you know that there were 200,000 people watching his game on livestream!


    Luocheng had been holding in his anger for a long time, riding the trail of wind he had launched. As a Support with the heart of a carry, he had abandoned his ADC and called for their Mid to follow him!


    With the Talisman of Ascension¡¯s active and Righteous Gust, both of this gave him an extra boost on his movement speed!


    The gargoyle seemed to float down from the sky, bringing a strong gust of wind surrounding him as he landed in front of the three enemy champions!


    Xiao Zhuai was still holding out in front. After launching that great ulti, he was naturally faced with the enemies¡¯ assault, and his health was now very low.


    Luocheng hurriedly cast Bulwark to shield him and raise his armor and magic resistance slightly, whether he died or not just depended on fate now.


    Bam!


    A Flash, and Luocheng¡¯s Galio was suddenly in the middle of their opponent¡¯s backline!


    Both feet suspended with its large wings wrapped around its body, a gust of wind whirled around, and a red cyclone was formed beneath Galio.


    The wind affected Nami and Sivir, both of their eyes turning red, unable to control themselves from launching their attacks on Luocheng¡¯s Galio which had turned into its statue form.


    The taunt had caught the both of them, and it was the Support and ADC!


    Xiao Zhuai had initially been planning to retreat, but seeing such a beautiful ulti pulled off by Luocheng, he grit his teeth and decided to fight with his team!


    With that, Xiao Zhuai lifted his golden staff, rode his Nimbus Cloud and immediately used his E-skill to turn back, landing a Crushing Blow on Sivir.


    Seeing that Xiao Zhuai had turned around in time, Luocheng smiled gratefully. That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good. You were sure to die anyway, but Sivir would definitely not be able to survive now!


    2 seconds of taunt was brutally fatal to these squishies, and Lianda¡¯s bomb was flung toward the red storm right before a few more Bouncing Bombs made their way over¡­


    Boom!


    The grey smoke cleared, and once it dissipated, Luocheng¡¯s Galio burst out suddenly from the statue, dealing an explosive damage!


    Yisheng¡¯s Sivir was instantly wrecked, buried underneath the final explosion with his Support, Nami.


    ***


    Bang!!


    ¡°Is this mechanical keyboard broken or what, I pressed D already a hundred times, why didn¡¯t it Flash!!¡± At the training base, Park Yisheng angrily slammed his hands onto the keyboard.


    He had seen Galio and he knew that this guy was going to launch an ulti at him. He had already prepared to Flash, but why hadn¡¯t it Flashed!


    He was wrecked in just a second, and although he had already dealt a massive amount of damage on Wukong, as one of Korea¡¯s top four professional team¡¯s ADC, how could he have been controlled so easily by such an obvious ulti!?


    That¡¯s why there must have been a problem with the mechanical keyboard, he needed to buy a new Blackwidow keyboard!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t care whether it was his APM or the keyboard problem, after managing to kill Sivir, he proceeded to help Lianda take Nami¡¯s head.


    Just like that, their opponent¡¯s backline had been crushed, and all that was left was a Nidalee that could only jump up and down, you could just ignore her existence. A Mid Nidalee who couldn¡¯t land her javelins was basically a useless existence!


    Wow!


    Luocheng twisted and dodged a javelin without much thought, hurrying to retreat from where he came from, heading toward Shallow Dream who had been chased to God knows where.


    ¡°Whoa, Caitlyn hasn¡¯t died yet?¡± Lianda said in surprise.


    This f*cker was really something. After getting punched in the face by Vi, getting chased by their opponent Top who had some very luxurious items, as well as getting betrayed by their unscrupulous Support, under all these harsh conditions, Caitlyn had still yet to die.


    Just as Luocheng had said, this Caitlyn wouldn¡¯t die so easily.


    Lianda naturally understood that Luocheng and this ADC must have a deep understanding between each other. He believed that she wouldn¡¯t die so easily, which was why as a Support, he was able to boldly charge forward, picking off the opponent¡¯s ADC.


    This was the case in LOL, there was a special kind of trust between partners. This was the same kind of trust between Shallow Dream and Luocheng¡­


    Lianda felt a tremendous amount of praise for this partnership. That was until Caitlyn had managed to recall back to base in a panic, and she coldly said, ¡°Next time, can you stay next to me and not abandon me?¡±


    And that was when Lianda felt that whatever thoughts he previously had about understanding between partners and trusting this d*ck was complete and utter bullsh*t. This b*stard Support Luocheng had really abandoned his ADC in order to show off his moves and find a sense of existence!

 Chapter 519 - Screwed By Taking Baron!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Shallow Dream didn¡¯t die and had managed to escape back to base.


    The fight results were obviously clear, and only Luocheng and Lianda were left in the battlefield.


    On the other side, Zuoshen¡¯s Jungler Vi, and the Top that had been fed thanks to the Hollywood actor.


    2 vs 2, the other side was the Jungler and Top, and this side was the Support and Mid.


    ¡°Dare to fight or not?¡± Lianda asked Luocheng.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare!¡±


    ¡°Then you go!¡± Lianda scolded.


    God d*mn, talk is cheap. Your Support Galio was even more insignificant than a Mid Ziggs, you still could say why wouldn¡¯t you dare!?


    Luocheng chuckled, wasn¡¯t he waiting for his skills to cooldown? Once it was done, he walked toward Vi and that tanky sh*t.


    Seeing Vi coming forward, Luocheng immediately backed up, a gust of wind sweeping out.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t expect much damage from his own skills, he just wanted the movement speed boost from it. That would enable him to position himself in a Y shape with Lianda.


    Lianda had the blue buff and had always been standing slightly behind Luocheng. This position didn¡¯t allow Vi to be able to touch him at all.


    Bouncing Bomb, Hexplosive Minefield, Satchel Charge, all his skills were thrown continuously, and despite the cleverness of Vi in dodging while moving forward, she still ate a big portion of the Hexplosive Minefield, her health dropping to a dangerous level.


    Luocheng activated his Bulwark shield and went over to Renekton, and since Renekton didn¡¯t have any damage items, this led to Galio who had a shield to survive a little longer.


    Lianda never had the intention to let Vi go, giving chase from the Wraith camp to the middle lane, leaving Luocheng to face off against that super big Renekton.


    It was easy to see how fed Renekton was. After that entire teamfight, Renekton was still at f*cking full health, Lianda didn¡¯t want to bother wasting any skills on him.


    Luocheng kept rounding the area, slow, boost speed, dodge in bush¡­if he didn¡¯t have his Bulwark or armor and magic resist items as well as health regen, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t have lasted 5 seconds under Renekton¡¯s blade.


    ¡°Hurry up, I can¡¯t hold him off much longer!¡± Luocheng shouted at Lianda.


    ¡°Coming, coming!¡±


    Just as he said that, the cooldown on Satchel Charge refreshed and he threw one down at his feet immediately. You can see Ziggs¡¯ little buttocks as the charge exploded, using the impact to fly upward and catching up with Zuoshen who was running away.


    You couldn¡¯t help but to also say that Lianda had quite a sly heart, and once he caught up with Vi, he deliberately danced a little bit before unleashing his Bouncing Bomb.


    Zuoshen dodged left and Flashed right, but in the end, he was still blown up. The moment his body fell down to the ground, the red buff that had been on his body flew toward Lianda¡¯s Ziggs.


    Dominating!


    Lianda had already gotten the dominating achievement for all his kills, and he turned back to Luocheng.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t playing around with his moves either, baiting around the level 14 Renekton for such a long time and he still had yet to die!


    Renekton had probably lost his temper already. Even if he had to chase Luocheng¡¯s Galio to the ends of the world, he definitely needed to kill him, having already chased him all the way to the in between of the mid-lane inner turret and inhibitor turret!


    Pew!


    Suddenly, a caliber net shot out from the direction of the base, landing on Renekton.


    Renekton¡¯s jaws had almost snapped onto Luocheng, but that d*mned slow effect forced him to let go of that intention and walk around to the other side instead.


    ¡°You want to back it?¡± How could Luocheng let him escape! He had used his body to bait the guy to where they were now, no matter what, he had to put an end to this guy.


    A gust of wind swept out toward Renekton and it burst onto the fed crocodile, successfully slowing him down.


    Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn caught up quickly, keeping a safe distance of 600 yards away from Renekton¡¯s attack range.


    Shallow Dream had a red buff on her and it kept the slow effect on Renekton, not letting him have a chance to escape.


    As if knowing that Renekton would definitely turn around to fight, Shallow Dream placed a Yordle Trap at her feet. The second Renekton opened his massive jaws and rushed toward her, all his movements stopped abruptly as the trap closed on his body.


    Shallow Dream retreated a few steps, her skillful Animation Cancelling making her attacks look very smooth.


    Luocheng, who had dangerously low health, didn¡¯t recall back to base, instead, he stood behind Shallow Dream releasing his slow and boost speed from afar, allowing Shallow Dream to kite Renekton better.


    This Renekton was like a shark, his armor was so high that it seemed like his health bar wasn¡¯t moving at all. A Headshot from Shallow Dream only shaved so much health off him, but the problem was, Renekton had so much health that it was almost reaching 4,000 HP.


    A Sunfire Cape, Spirit Visage, and Warmog¡¯s Armor made both Renekton¡¯s armor and magic resistance super high, adding on a Randuin¡¯s Omen to that¡­


    Fortunately, Shallow Dream had already bought Furor on her boots, otherwise, that disgusting slow effect from Randuin¡¯s Omen would make this chase a very big headache!


    One step forward and two steps back, while chasing, poke 3 times and then an EQ-combo to retreat. As the chase went on, Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn continuously attacked, the feeling was no different than fighting against a boss in an online game.


    Accelerate, slow, shield, Luocheng was properly carrying out his Support duties, protecting Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn, not allowing Renekton to come near her.


    This coming and going, Shallow Dream had been at it with Renekton for at least 15 seconds, but the result was only about one-third off of Renekton¡¯s health. If this happened in the teamfight, you wouldn¡¯t have any mood for it anymore.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡±


    Lianda finally hurried back, coming from behind Renekton.


    Bombs were scattered on the ground on the path that Renekton would have to pass, and with the big bulk of Renekton, he stepped on all of the bombs on the ground, and you could finally see a significant drop in his health.


    Renekton was angry then, charging toward Lianda, but Lianda¡¯s reaction was faster, throwing a Satchel Charge at his feet and blowing the charge right on time, blasting the big crocodile backward.


    Luocheng quickly launched his Resolute Smite to slow this guy while Shallow Dream kept up her attacks, keeping the slow effect from her red buff active on Renekton.


    The three of them surrounded Renekton like that, and to prevent him from escaping, Lianda kept his position in front of him and kited him. Luocheng and Shallow Dream stood behind him, almost akin to hanging on to the long line of a fishing line, you fight back, we retreat, you escape, we fight!


    This journey had been a long one, and in order to kill Renekton, they had followed him all the way from their base to the river. Just as Renekton was about to escape to their blue buff area, he was finally done in by a Headshot from Shallow Dream!


    Shutdown!


    500 gold floated above Caitlyn¡¯s head.


    In Luocheng¡¯s opinion, after seeing Renekton¡¯s tankiness and magic resist, 500 gold was not even close to being enough to reflect his value. Freaking h*ll, it should have been at least 2,000 gold! In order to kill him, they had taken so much time that their opponents were about to respawn and would have come to assist!


    The fight was finally over. Lianda had taken three kills and he could afford a Void Staff once he returned to base. With that item, it should be easier to go against Renekton.


    Shallow Dream had gotten 500 gold and after taking the big wave from the top and middle lane, she should be able to buy a Last Whisper once she returned to base.


    ¡°They¡¯re taking the Baron!¡±


    Suddenly, Xiao Zhuai pinged the Baron¡¯s Pit non-stop.


    In order to kill Renekton, they really had wasted a lot of time. Firstly, Luocheng with such low health had yet to return to base, and it was only when their opponents were almost at their position did he recall.


    Shallow Dream and Lianda¡¯s mana had all been used up and they were recalling next to the Baron Pit.


    Their opponents were smart this time, and the four of them had quickly headed toward the Baron Pit to force a fight!


    ***


    Luocheng and Lianda flew out of the base with their Homeguard, rushing toward the Baron¡¯s Pit.


    With the Talisman of Ascension activated and Righteous Gust launched, a bunch of movement speed boosts allowed them to reach at the highest speed possible.


    10 seconds, they would make it in 10 seconds.


    However, with the items on their opponents, even if they managed to reach the Baron¡¯s Pit, the Baron could still have been taken by their enemies!


    ¡°I¡¯ll steal, you guys assess the situation and decide whether to fight or not!¡± Xiao Zhuai stood on top of the Baron¡¯s Pit, his tone decisive.


    Xiao Zhuai planted a lot of wards in the Baron¡¯s pit, and their enemies were also smart to not waste time in plucking them all out.


    The Baron¡¯s health was dropping lower and lower, and when there was about 3,000 HP left, Lianda, who was still around the area of the red buff, pinged for an attack!


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring the big one!¡±


    Above the Baron¡¯s Pit, a huge shadow appeared over the heads of their four opponents.


    Boom!


    This ulti had landed beautifully on the four of them, shaving off a significant portion of health from Nami, Nidalee, and Vi!


    With three completed AP items, the damage from his ulti was massive!


    At the same time, Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn also unleashed her Ace in the Hole, locking onto her target. Even if the target was only one person, it could at least bring down one layer!


    Boom!


    The homing bullet wrapped in flames exploded onto Vi!


    Vi was responsible for taking the last hit on the Baron, and after taking on Ziggs¡¯ and Caitlyn¡¯s ulti, this guy only had about half of his health left.


    At this time, Xiao Zhuai¡¯s Wukong had already changed his position. From the top right side of the Baron¡¯s pit, he suddenly dashed into the middle of the Baron¡¯s pit.


    At this time, Xiao Zhuai didn¡¯t even bother about Baron, instead, he charged forward with an ulti toward the middle of their enemies!


    The biggest disadvantage of taking the Baron would be that it was easy to stand together in the pit, and Xiao Zhuai easily caught three of their enemies in his ulti. Sweeping through them and knocking them up, all of them were down to dangerously low health!


    Boom!


    An orange claw suddenly appeared from above the sky, landing heavily on the Baron. Having been knocked up, Vi was unable to unleash her Smite, and it was Xiao Zhuai that had pressed Smite after his ulti, stealing away this key Baron.


    After taking the Baron, Xiao Zhuai saw that his remaining health wasn¡¯t much, and so he hurriedly headed toward the bottom right side and Flashed out of the pit.


    With the Baron buff on Luocheng, Shallow Dream and Lianda, the momentum suddenly changed.


    The three of them, with Luocheng¡¯s Galio as the head, rushed toward their half-dead enemies like a war charge.


    A concussive blast slowed them, and Vi had nowhere to run. A Headshot and Piltover Peacemaker from Shallow Dream took her down with ease.


    Lianda¡¯s extremely fast combo of bombs immediately took down Nami who had just released her ulti.


    Park Yisheng¡¯s Siver and Nidalee fled in a panic as that little bit of health they had left was really not enough to do anything. A casual touch by Caitlyn or Ziggs and they would be goners.


    Shallow Dream and Lianda chased them along the river while Luocheng harassed them from the jungle area.


    Sivir, who had her ulti, was able to run fast, but Luocheng had his Boots of Mobility and skills that boosted his speed, his speed was not any slower!


    ¡°Where are you two running to!¡± Luocheng grinned with unholy glee.


    Jumping into the fray, Luocheng couldn¡¯t care less whether they stepped in or not. He sat there with his ulti activated, let¡¯s see how they were going to escape.


    Little Korean brats, let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll die or not!?

 Chapter 520 - : Embarrassed To The End!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Yisheng and Walker saw that they had been surrounded completely and their faces were flushed red in anger and frustration!


    They had screwed up with the Baron, and this time, they were utterly destroyed with no route of escape.


    ¡°What the f*ck was that, who was the one that signalled to Baron!¡± Yisheng roared violently.


    Just as he finished raging, his screen turned grey. Both their heads had been taken by Shallow Dream¡¯s Caitlyn.


    Walker¡¯s face was utterly dejected, and as he looked at the big ¡®ACE¡¯ on the screen, he felt a lump in his throat, making it painful to swallow.


    Their Support Nami was already in a state where she wasn¡¯t sure if she should cry or laugh anymore, wasn¡¯t this match supposed to be a guaranteed win!?


    They had three great Gods on their side, and from the looks of the situation, the opponent¡¯s Darius was obviously on their side! It was basically a 4 vs 6 game, and yet, they had somehow played until it became like this!?


    ¡°The four of them are really good!¡± The Renekton who had just respawned said in Korean.


    Renekton who had been playing at the top lane could obviously tell that someone was throwing this game, but the result was still that the 4 of their enemies had beaten the 6 of them as though it was nothing.


    Let¡¯s not even go into the previous fight, but it was undeniable that they had their priorities in teamfights in order, and that was to eliminate their backline, ignoring the meat tank Renekton. Once everything else was done, only then would they round back on him.


    In that fight, if you could trade a 3 for 3, that would have been sufficient, but the end result had been a 2 for 5 with one of it being the feeder¡­


    Looking back at the teamfight that had broken out at the Baron Pit, the coordination on their side was nothing short of amazing, the actual fight had yet to begin but the four of them were already more or less disabled.


    It was granted that there would be times when the godlike players from the OGN would have bad days, however, despite the fact that there were three of them together, they were still beaten.


    Renekton didn¡¯t matter, he was just a regular higher-ranking player, the problem was that there were three professional players that had lost their face in this game, and if it was recorded¡­that would be even worse.


    Renekton obviously didn¡¯t know that this game was more than just a video. Park Yisheng had wanted to restore his reputation, and so, he had posted about it on their webpage and had even broadcasted it live there!


    Live!


    After that teamfight, you could see the lump in Yisheng¡¯s throat that was making it difficult for him to swallow!


    Other Korean players were not stupid, most people could already tell that this entire match was rigged. The opponent Darius had been feeding, and even before it hit the 25-minute mark, Renekton was already almost Legendary.


    Under these circumstances, Yisheng as the leader, Walker, and Kim Zuoshen, these three OGN professional players had been utterly defeated.


    Meanwhile, on the other side, the four of them were alway grouping together, the delegation of tasks was clear among them. They knew exactly what to do during a teamfight and their controls and maneuvers were clear and sharp. Every movement they made was calculated, whereas on Yisheng¡¯s side, his team was scattered during teamfights while their controls were stiff and their cooperation was sh*t¡­


    All of this had clearly been displayed on the webpage live broadcast, and the Korean esports circle was already laughing up a storm.


    It really was too embarrassing, the professional esports circle could not say anything.


    Everyone that was anyone knew that this match had been rigged to be won, who would have thought that the results would be as such.


    ¡°Yisheng, you¡¯ve really embarrassed the face of STG until there is nothing left!¡± An Luoxuan scolded.


    An Luoxuan was the captain of Team STG and he played as the Support.


    He had been participating in a programme on ¡®Who Was The Strongest Support in Korea¡¯ tonight, and when he came back, he was faced with a game that left a disgusting taste in his mouth.


    As a professional player, how could you do something that showcased such poor sportsmanship in the esports industry, ruining the esports atmosphere and even getting someone to purposely feed¡­


    D*mn it, even if you want to rig and act, you still f*cking lost the game. Did you still want to show your face and hang out within the Korean esports circle or not!?


    Korea really has no shortage of professional players, there was always the possibility that they would be switched out immediately once you lost a game!


    There is a saying, never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. If Yisheng hadn¡¯t done the livestream, people would have just closed one eye, however, this idiot had chosen to broadcast it live, which was equivalent to giving solid evidence. If anyone looked at Team STG with a disgruntled face and took screenshots of what Yisheng has said, attaching it with this video, that would be a crippling blow to Team STG!


    Yisheng had already stuck his head into the sand like an ostrich. In the livestream chat room, the online viewers were already cursing up a storm.


    ¡°At first, I thought that the Caitlyn was definitely being played by our STG god, Yisheng. Alright, I admit that I¡¯m not willing to believe that this type of Sivir actually turned out to be the one hailed as Korea¡¯s most potential ADC!¡± One of the viewers from Seoul said in the chat.


    ¡°As a semi-pro player, I just want to say that those four people on the opposing team are really great!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, in actual fact, it seems like Yisheng has shown us a classic game on Wukong, Caitlyn, Ziggs, and Galio in the rift. Also, we would need to show our gratitude to Mao Qingqing for acting his traitorous role.¡± Another one from Seoul said.


    ***


    While the Koreans were bashing on Yisheng, an amazing screenshot had made its way into Luocheng¡¯s QT livestream chat room.


    It was a Korean chatting app, and even though everything was said in Korean and was not understood, it was translated.


    At this time, the commentator also stood up and he spoke into his mic to the players who were all watching the live broadcast.


    ¡°I think that as everyone can see, the Top in our Captain Yu¡¯s team is definitely a mole. Feeding 8 kills in 25 minutes, allowing their opponent¡¯s Renekton to be almost Legendary.¡± The QT admin said.


    Once it was said out loud, a lot of the internet viewers admitted it.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, from the beginning I could already tell. That Darius is definitely a mole.¡± One of the viewers from Beijing said.


    ¡°I¡¯m always playing on the Korean server and I remember that opponent ADC, I think he¡¯s a pro ADC from one of the top four strongest teams in the OGN.¡± A QT member said.


    ¡°You can see from the image, it says that the Koreans deliberately planted someone in Captain Yu¡¯s team, even in the previous two games.¡± Lianda¡¯s friend said.


    ¡°No way, wasn¡¯t it also a 4 vs 6 in that previous game then!?¡±


    4v6!!


    A Korean Diamond 1 and 3 OGN professionals!


    In that kind of 4 vs 6 situation, Luocheng and the others had still managed to win! How ridiculously strong were they and to what extent!?


    For a short time, there was an uproar in the livestream chat room.


    This match made it clear to everyone watching about the huge contrast between the collapse of the top lane and the wonderful cooperation between the four players.


    Even with the renegade, they had won all the same. This time, Luocheng, Xie Lianda, Shallow Dream, and Xiao Zhuai had displayed what it truly meant to be called the top LOL master!


    ¡°Sh*t, really, d*mn sh*t. Initially I thought that it was nothing short of a miracle that you four had managed to land in the same team, but still, there was a mole which was sh*t! Who would have thought that you guys still f*cking won!¡± Da Luo said, the shock clear on his face.


    This match really had the audience who was watching the live broadcast shocked to their core. Demacia Cafe was also full of noises of disbelief.


    This match was really played beautifully with the four of them displaying their potential to the fullest.


    Lianda, at the middle lane with Ziggs¡­his ulti had forever been hitting at least three enemies every single time which gave a new meaning to him being The Hexplosives Experts and was also an eye-opener to what was called maximum output.


    The Jungler, he was all about precise calculation, unrestrained playstyle, and top notch skills on Wukong. From the beginning, he had already given up on the top lane, performing many eye catching maneuvers at the bottom lane, middle lane, as well as the enemy¡¯s jungle area, leading the people who were watching the broadcast to get addicted.


    To be honest, without him carrying the rhythm of the game as he did, no matter how well Lianda or Shallow Dream had managed to farm up, there would have been no chance of winning the teamfights at the late-game. After all, as long as Renekton stood at the front line of the opposing team, whatever maneuvers or techniques they had would have been useless.


    As for the ADC, having 0 deaths was already an obvious testament of her skills. Her items were built extremely fast, her positioning during teamfights was great, and when killing Renekton, her extraordinary grasp of fundamental skills were extremely obvious and dazzling. Renekton hadn¡¯t even managed to touch the corners of Caitlyn¡¯s skirt.


    After getting the Baron, when Caitlyn had stood up to Renekton alone even with just half of her health left, it explained how when in a situation where the items didn¡¯t differ much, this Caitlyn could give it straight to Renekton.


    As for Luocheng, his Galio was disgusting from beginning to end.


    All kinds of health regeneration on himself, trapping their enemies and sealing off their escape path with his ulti, great use of boosting and slowing effects that meshed so well together¡­ When he stood with Caitlyn, they had slaughtered Renekton with their kiting as well as Vi, Renekton had no place to use his strength at all!


    Satisfying, utterly satisfying.


    Not only did the spectators see such an unrivaled glorious 4 vs 6 match, Luocheng also felt extreme pleasure in his cooperation with Lianda, Shallow Dream, and Xiao Zhuai.


    Top-tier players had always only used signals between themselves, sometimes, they even understood everything without the use of the pings at all.


    Their high awareness and performance also led to their trust between each other. I believed that you wouldn¡¯t die even when facing off with two enemies, and that enabled me to charge forward. I know that you would definitely steal that Baron, so I can turn my attention to the enemies. I know that you will be at the front with no hesitation, so I gave you the first shield¡­


    The most important thing was not to meet opponents of considerable strength, but strong teammates that you could respect.


    After the match, Luocheng could not help but feel nostalgic. He didn¡¯t know when they would be able to band together again to ruin some Korean pricks. With the three of them, no matter if the opponent was one of the top four in the OGN or even the OGN champions, Luocheng didn¡¯t think that there was anyone who could stop them!


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to congratulate you guys for winning the LPL championship before this, treat this as a big gift for you guys then!¡± Xiao Zhuai sent a message to him.


    ¡°Haha, thank you very much. Without you, that game would probably be doomed from the start.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°I had fun and it was very satisfying. Come to think about it, you know both the Mid and ADC, right? They¡¯re both f*cking masters!¡± Xiao Zhuai said.


    To be praised by the Jungler from a Worlds runner-up team, it obviously showed how great Xie Lianda and Shallow Dream¡¯s performances had been. That few ten minutes had really given a great impression!


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re both friends. The Mid is the captain of Team Beijing, a new team in our LPL, and he¡¯s been sitting at the top of our domestic server for about three months now.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say, his sharpness is not any less than Hades. What about the ADC? That attitude didn¡¯t feel as though it was that brat, Lin Dong.¡± Xiao Zhuai asked.


    ¡°Not a pro-player. I got to know her through ranked games and we have been partners for quite a while. We often play on the Korean server together.¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°You¡¯re sh*tting me, not a pro-player? Don¡¯t lie to me, you mainlander!¡± Xiao Zhuai didn¡¯t in a thousand years believe that the Caitlyn was not a professional player.


    Her feints and Animation Cancelling were extremely good, her control and actions were the bomb, Xiao Zhuai couldn¡¯t even pick out any flaws in this Caitlyn. How many people in Taiwan could play Caitlyn better than this?


    ¡°This one¡¯s special.¡± Luocheng didn¡¯t know how to explain. To be honest, it really was a pity that Shallow Dream wasn¡¯t playing professionally. Even Xiao Zhuai, at his level, felt that she was ridiculously strong!


    ¡°Forget it then, you haven¡¯t been playing with our teams for quite a while, don¡¯t want to expose any tactics?¡±


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve watched your LPL games. Those few d*cks found out that you guys still had so many strategies, all their chins were dropping to the ground. Seriously, if you had used those LPL tactics on them, they wouldn¡¯t have made so much noise.¡± Xiao Zhuai said.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to say, you guys are much livelier over there. It¡¯s more scary a thought if the routines are seen through. There are even some that we only dare to use once.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m off then.¡± Xiao Zhuai laughed, and then he was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Mainlander, see you in the S International League finals. I won¡¯t be so merciful at that time.¡±


    The smile on Luocheng¡¯s face also faded.


    Yeah, it wouldn¡¯t be long before it was time for the extremely cruel S International League finals, and a feeling of inexplicable uneasiness and excitement blossomed in his chest.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Luocheng replied.


    He was very much looking forward to it. Luocheng has been looking forward to being able to fight all out against Xiao Zhuai and his team for once, and at that time, his blood would surely be boiling!


    However, their team needed to start from the bottom¡ªthe group stage.


    As the earliest Worlds runner-up team, Xiao Zhuai would be up against the world¡¯s eight strongest teams.


    Only when they were able to emerge from the group stage would they have a chance to meet the team Xiao Zhuai was in. If they couldn¡¯t even make it past the group stage, he would have disappointed Xiao Zhuai¡¯s expectations on him!


    ***


    ¡°The number of viewers exceeded 200,000 people, Captain Yu, I really don¡¯t know how to thank you. Our boss has sent a small ang pao, please check on the transfer details to your account later on, Captain Yu. I¡¯m not sure when you will have time again, but I hope you can drop by more often.¡± The manager in charge of the broadcast sent a text to Luocheng and the happiness in the text was so obvious to the point you could feel the smile on the guy¡¯s face.


    A livestream with 200,000 viewers, this number had already exceeded a lot of other popular broadcasts. Even in the future, if just one-tenth of the 200,000 viewers stayed to watch, this livestream would already profit a lot.


    ¡°This would eat into our training time, I won¡¯t be able to drop by too often. We can discuss it in the future.¡± Luocheng replied.


    When signing the contract, Li Meiqi had given Thunder Club the rights for them to play a few matches to livestream, it served as free advertisement for them.


    ¡°If it works out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Not long after, another text was sent to him. Luocheng was chatting with some people in Demacia Cafe when he opened the text.


    ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Luocheng swore by accident in surprise.


    His account had an additional amount of 2,000 RMB!


    2,000 RMB!!!


    Luocheng had assumed that the ang pao previously mentioned would be about a few hundred RMB, who knew that Thunder Club would give him a lump sum of 2,000 RMB! This¡­this was too awesome!


    Hey, hey, my friend Thunder Club, shall I give you a few more games?


    I¡¯m okay with it, it doesn¡¯t affect my training, definitely not!

 Chapter 521 - Defeated E-sports Team

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Without realizing, the hot season had arrived. In the old apartment that they used to stay in with those six to seven computers that would be on all at the same time, the entire room would feel like an oven and they would be drenched in sweat as they trained.


    Nowadays, whether they were training at home or in the cafe, Team Skycrown would be in a fully air-conditioned place. In the cafe, there were even free drinks, it was extremely comfortable.


    In such environments, the team could devote their entire concentration on their training.


    September and October were the S International League finals. The championship of the LPL wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy them, and in order to get better results, the five of them began a rigorous training.


    ¡°News is out, this year¡¯s S International finals won¡¯t be held in the US!¡± Lin Dong announced.


    ¡°Oh? Where will it be?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°I hear it¡¯ll be in Korea¡­¡± Da Luo, who was busy queuing for ranked games, opened his mouth to say.


    ¡°Seoul, Korea. The officials have already confirmed it. I¡¯ll have to apply for the visas for you guys starting tomorrow, you can leave all the formalities to me.¡± Jian Feng said.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t we have to return to our hometowns to apply for the visas?¡± Da Luo asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Take a few days off and quickly prepare all the things you need.¡± Jian Feng said.


    Without delaying anything, the earlier you got the visa done, the better of course.


    Since the official announcement was out, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for them to complete the formalities. As long as they had sufficient documentation, the procedures were just a process to go through.


    The next day, everyone was packed and ready to head back to their own hometown.


    Luocheng¡¯s home was in the south, Lin Dong was from a remote town in Shanghai, Da Luo¡¯s home was a little above Beijing, and Zhou Yan was from the other side of Hunan, so in the blink of an eye, the five of them went to the various parts of China.


    ***


    It would only take about five hours to get to Lecheng by train. Unknowingly, it had already been a year and a half, and Luocheng walked out of the station, almost instinctively walking toward his home. However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly realized that he couldn¡¯t go back.


    ¡°Qianqian, I¡¯ve reached.¡± Luocheng braved the sun and walked on the roads which were giving off a bad smell.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve called my brother to pick you up. Do you want to have dinner at my house?¡± Yang Qianqian asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that inappropriate?¡± Luocheng asked, slightly surprised. Was this the ¡®meet the parents¡¯ scenario?


    ¡°There¡¯s no one home, my parents have left on vacation and abandoned my brother and I at home.¡± Qianqian replied.


    Luocheng let out a breath of relief.


    To be honest, he hadn¡¯t prepared his heart to meet her parents just yet.


    Not long after, a shiny black Ford appeared in front of Luocheng and Yang Ying poked his head out, saying, ¡°Big champion, get in the car!¡±


    Luocheng opened the car door when without warning, a few kids wearing uniforms who had passed him were suddenly standing beside him, their eyes big and wide as they stared at him.


    Luocheng was mystified, looking at those three to four students standing there.


    ¡°Aiyo my f*ck, it really is the captain!!¡± A kid wearing glasses exclaimed.


    ¡°Sh*t, SP god! I¡¯m not seeing this wrong, right!¡±


    ¡°It really is!! How, how, do you want to get an autograph!?¡±


    The others were eagerly moving and fidgeting, looking overly excited. Obviously, as LOL enthusiasts, they had never imagined that Luocheng, the captain of the LPL champion team, would suddenly appear in front of them in the flesh.


    Luocheng knew that he had been recognized, but as a great god or a celebrity, he should have the demeanor of a great god or a celebrity as well, and so, he smoothly slid into the car, leaving those few middle school students with a cool, handsome view of his back.


    ¡°Walao, I asked you to go up but you didn¡¯t want to, now you see!? He left already!¡± The shorter boy with glasses exclaimed.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go instead, then!¡±


    As they bickered, Luocheng was already in the car and on the way to Qianqian¡¯s house.


    ***


    You could tell that the Yang family was quite a wealthy family in Lecheng.


    Nowadays, people with a small amount of money who were able to buy an average house with more than 100 square meters were already considered well off. The Yang family house was a villa in the best environment which made Luocheng envious.


    ¡°Come on in, hurry up. I¡¯ll let you try the strawberry salad that I¡¯ve made!¡± Qianqian stood at the door to greet him, pulling Luocheng into the living room.


    A plate of cold strawberries mixed with various other small fruits was placed in front of Luocheng, and as he was feeling hot as though he was in a sauna, he didn¡¯t bother being courteous as he shoved the fruits inside his mouth to eat. As he ate, he glanced at his beautiful girl.


    Cute rabbits were wrapped around her dainty feet, the white long legs swinging beside Luocheng, signifying the happiness of its owner.


    A light blue dress hugged her curves and left little to imagination, outlining the shape of her body beautifully. Adding on the soft, serene fragrance in the air, suddenly, even in the air-conditioned room, Luocheng could feel the heat building. Especially after Yang Ying had said something about taking your time to be lovey-dovey, Luocheng was even more tempted to make a move.


    Bang!


    As soon as the room door was closed, Luocheng burst and turned into Warwick, unleashing an ulti and pouncing on the unprepared beautiful girl next to him.


    ¡°Ew, there¡¯s still some salad on the side of your mouth.¡± Qianqian was unable to completely deny this pervert, having a feeling of wanting to be swept away by the mood.


    However, it was still broad daylight, how could Qianqian allow this pervert to succeed? Pushing him away, her face was flushed bright red as she looked at Luocheng.


    Luocheng was thick-skinned, and upon seeing her embarrassed frustration, it felt more adorable and charming to him. Since his ulti cooldown had refreshed, he laughed as he once again pushed his goddess down.


    This sofa was soft and it was comfortable to be pressing down on it.


    This body was also very soft, pressing on it¡­ugh¡­


    Qianqian really couldn¡¯t help this shameless guy and she could only blush as she muttered to Luocheng, ¡°My brother went to buy things, he¡¯ll be back soon. Don¡¯t do anything rash.¡±


    Alright, there was still his teammate. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything within a few minutes, so Luocheng had no choice but to reign in the desire and addiction in his heart, wondering when he would be able to become a true man. They said that famous people would have all kinds of crazy female fans, why hadn¡¯t he met a single one?


    Sure enough, Yang Ying returned shortly after, carrying a lot of things in his hands and stating that Qianqian would be the one cooking tonight.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t really care whether Qianqian would cook or not, he was more concerned whether Yang Ying would head to the internet cafe and stay overnight there or not. He gave himself that sliver of a dream to dream.


    ¡°Oh right, did you read the latest news on the Asian Indoor Games?¡± Yang Ying asked as he sat on the sofa, opening a bottle of Coke.


    ¡°What news?¡± Luocheng asked.


    ¡°The e-sports team lost to Korea, and Korea has won several championships.¡± Yang Ying said.


    Luocheng frowned at that.


    Wasn¡¯t Lianda and the others on the e-sports team? The competition matches weren¡¯t broadcasted but Luocheng had kept in contact with Lianda. Lianda would have told him if anything happened.


    A few days ago, Lianda had still been full of confidence as he had told him not to talk about other sports as they would definitely be taking the championship for LOL, but unexpectedly, this was the result¡­


    ¡°I heard that the person in charge was a little disappointed in the e-sports team, I¡¯m not sure if it will affect the view of the General Administration of Sports toward e-sports.¡± Yang Ying said.

 Chapter 522 - One Hand Handicap

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After settling his documents, Luocheng stayed in Lecheng for a few more days.


    Qianqian meant for Luocheng to drop by home to have a look, since he had achieved pretty good results, there wasn¡¯t any reason to be estranged from his family now.


    However, Luocheng shook his head, knowing that his so-called achievements were nothing in the minds of stubborn elders, since the belief that ¡®studying is the only way¡¯ had been planted in their minds since long ago.


    It was early in the day and the weather was scorching hot outside, Luocheng and Qianqian had no intentions of going out.


    Qianqian was also slightly crazy about playing League of Legends, and since Luocheng finally didn¡¯t need to be training every other hour, he decided to accompany her to play.


    ¡°Haha, I think I¡¯m the only one in the world that would receive this kind of treatment, having a LPL champion carry me!¡± Qianqian said with a bright smile on her face, her beautiful eyes curving up into a crescent moon.


    Luocheng chuckled at that.


    In the beginning, he had taken up the role of Support for the sake of getting friendly with the girls, who knew that it would accidentally set his career path like that. Fate was really too funny, you never knew what to say about it.


    Just as they went online, Luocheng received a message on the game interface.


    ¡°Boss! I¡¯m not hallucinating right, it¡¯s really you!!¡± The message came from the ID Beast.


    ¡°Whats up!¡± Luocheng replied.


    In the Rising Dragon Cyber Cafe, a slightly buff guy suddenly exclaimed inexplicably, an excited expression on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you!¡± Zhao Kesong said in confusion.


    ¡°Luocheng, it¡¯s that a*s, Luocheng!¡± Wang Qin said, pointing at the ID that had not been seen online for god knows how many years.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nuts, Luocheng wouldn¡¯t be on. He¡¯s probably in some random country¡¯s team doing his training, how could he¡­holy sh*t, he¡¯s really on!¡± Kesong¡¯s eyes went wide as he cut off mid-sentence, looking at the friend-list displayed on his screen.


    Back when they were playing interclass competitions, they had added each other on their friend-list. They clearly remembered that Luocheng, that wonderful a*s, had had an ID that they didn¡¯t understand.


    Seeing this ID online, they couldn¡¯t help but reminisce about the time when they had kicked Class Three¡¯s a*s. It had been so satisfying to the point that it was hard to breathe!


    ¡°Great god, why is this great god online¡­¡±


    It was summer break, and the few high school students from Class Eight that loved to play LOL were gathered in the internet cafe for premade matches. Nowadays, they were no longer elementary school students who didn¡¯t have Junglers. Wang Qin had also gone through bitter training and had managed to climb to Platinum, Kesong could barely pass as a Gold, while the others were hovering between Silver and Gold.


    In the eyes of that group of people, even a Diamond player appearing was already awesome. Professional players¡­wow¡­that was already on another level that they didn¡¯t even dare to dream about. As for Luocheng who had taken a championship in a professional league against all odds, they could only worship the ground he walked on.


    If they had known that a classmate of their own would obtain such a high achievement in the field of LOL, they would have knelt and licked his shoes, even going as far as to turn gay for him back in middle school!


    ¡°Qianqian is also online. I say, no wonder this guy suddenly decided to use this ID.¡± Wang Qin grumbled, feeling envious.


    Saying that, he had already pulled out his cellphone, dialing Luocheng¡¯s number.


    ¡°Yo, where are you?¡± Wang Qin asked.


    ¡°In Lecheng, Qianqian¡¯s house¡­¡±


    ¡°Man, you guys are staying together already, my poor heart.¡± Wang Qin immediately felt nauseous.


    The goddess that all of them had once pursued had been taken by this pig.


    ¡°Luocheng, f*ck, finally we hear from you, man. We¡¯re at the Rising Dragon Cafe, come over and carry us for a few games, yeah? F*cking h*ll man, I¡¯ve been telling my uni mates that you were my high school classmate but they just wouldn¡¯t believe me. Hurry up over and take a selfie with me, I¡¯ll make them eat their words!¡± Kesong grabbed the phone and chattered excitedly to Luocheng.


    ¡°If I go to the internet cafe, I¡¯ll need to wear glasses.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Going to an internet cafe without a disguise?


    You would really be digging your own grave.


    Nowadays, which internet cafe was not occupied by League of Legends believers? If he was accidentally recognized, he wouldn¡¯t be able to walk out of the place in one piece.


    Especially in the Rising Dragon Internet Cafe where his group of friends were. They basically knew that he had won the LPL championship, if he went there without any form of disguise, he really wouldn¡¯t walk out of the place alive!


    After all, despite everything, he was considered to be a public figure!


    ¡°Also, let¡¯s go for drinks tonight!¡± Kesong said.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Luocheng replied.


    Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had gotten together with this group. It would be interesting to catch up with them.


    ¡°Oh yeah, since you¡¯re in the professional circle, could you get me an autograph from Sister Qin? I like her commentary the best! Every night I listen to her as I go to sleep!¡± Wang Qin said.


    Somehow, this sentence seemed strange coming from Wang Qin¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°I know Qi Qiao, Xi Ling, and Jojo. Who is this Sister Qin you¡¯re talking about?¡± Luocheng asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°F*ck, you don¡¯t even know her!?¡±


    ¡°Who is she?¡± Luocheng was confused.


    Luocheng knew most of the female LPL commentators and he was more familiar with Qi Qiao and Xi Ling, however, he had never heard of this Sister Qin. Was she a commentator from the other entertainment side? If so, how could he possibly know her? There were so many of them on YY and QT.


    ¡°Forget it, both of you come over first, we¡¯ll be in the gaming area.¡± Wang Qin said.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re coming.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ***


    In the Rising Dragon Internet Cafe, a young man smoking a cigarette leaned back in his chair, his eyes on something not far away.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Beast?¡± The young man with the cigarette in his mouth said to a girl with a punk-ish hairstyle sitting beside him.


    ¡°Ho, it is him. How shameless is this guy!? He clearly lost in that solo match and yet he still dares to show his face here.¡± The young girl with her colorful hair and big earrings said.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The young man got up from his chair and walked toward Wang Qin¡¯s direction.


    This guy shoved Wang Qin¡¯s head arrogantly, as though he owned the place.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Wang Qin was also angered, leaping up from his chair.


    ¡°Still so full of bullsh*t!¡± The young man was clearly unhappy, pointing at Wang Qin¡¯s nose. ¡°You still dare to show your face here!¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I!?¡± Wang Qin bit back, clearly unsatisfied.


    Kesong was more afraid of the situation, and seeing that the young man with short hair looked as though he was going to raise his hands again, he hurriedly cut in with a smile. ¡°Aih, Xiao Bin, don¡¯t be like that, let¡¯s talk civilly.¡±


    ¡°Civil my a*s, this guy laughed and said my girlfriend was a noob. I beat him in a solo match and kicked him out of the cafe, got any problem with that!?¡± The young man named Xiao Bin said.


    Xiao Bin was actually a barber from the shop beside the Rising Dragon Cafe.


    The girl next to him earlier was his girlfriend¡ªWei Wei, and her magnificent hairstyle was also his handiwork. Xiao Bin called it his masterpiece.


    ¡°So what if I laughed? Freaking h*ll, buying a Mejai¡¯s on Ashe, that would make anybody laugh!¡± Wang Qin said angrily, his temper running high.


    Zhong Xiaoyun who was sitting beside them also couldn¡¯t help but choke out a laugh when he heard that. Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer on Ashe¡­how much more of a noob could you be!


    ¡°D*mn it, the two of you are looking to die!¡± Xiao Bin said, his anger bursting!


    Laughing at his girl meant laughing at him, how could Xiao Bin tolerate that? Also, Xiao Bin had always looked down on these university students, they weren¡¯t the only ones he had trampled on in Rising Dragon Cafe!


    ¡°Xiao Bin, don¡¯t cause any trouble!¡±


    Just as Xiao Bin wanted to take action, another young man with yellow hair came over and glared at him fiercely.


    ¡°Mi, they¡¯re the ones starting a fight with me!¡± Xiao Bin¡¯s anger faded slightly as he looked at Huang Mi.


    ¡°If you want to bark then bark, don¡¯t annoy other people. If you have the guts then come 5 vs 5 with my people. If you lose, then f*cking don¡¯t come back to this cafe. Do you dare to or not!? If you don¡¯t, then take your flat-faced girlfriend and shove off, don¡¯t bother us playing our games!¡± Wang Qin wasn¡¯t afraid of this guy at all.


    Flat-faced girlfriend!? Those words made Wei Wei angry, jumping up and pointing her finger at Wang Qin, ¡°You motherf*cker!¡±


    Xiao Bin¡¯s temper also shot through the roof at that, and he shouted angrily, calling all his friends!


    ¡°You said it, 5 vs 5, the loser gets the f*ck out of this cafe and you¡¯ll f*cking let my girlfriend slap your cocky face!¡± Xiao Bin pointed his finger in Wang Qin¡¯s face.


    ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s what you want. I¡¯ve grown tired of watching you two cut and blow. What age is this, still cutting this kind of chicken backside hairstyle!¡± Wang Qin said, not bothering to censor his thoughts and insulting them right back.


    ¡°F*ck your mother, I¡¯ll roast you!¡± Xiao Bin growled back, his temper was really at its peak.


    Huang Mi glared at him again, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble on Boss Qin¡¯s turf. If you¡¯re a man, f*cking camp them in the fountain, why are you trying to act so big in an internet cafe!?¡±


    ***


    Wang Qin¡¯s call with Luocheng had not ended and he was still on the phone, and Luocheng had heard the entire argument.


    Huang Mi¡¯s words surprised Luocheng.


    What did he mean, if you¡¯re a man then f*cking camp them in the fountain?


    Had LOL already developed to this extent where fights in an internet cafe were this weak and it was better to just release their steam in the game by abusing them at the respawn point?


    However, if you thought about it, in this era, it wasn¡¯t so old fashioned where they would be acting like gangsters or arrogantly strutting around picking fights. Instead, it was settled through LOL solo matches or team matches, the lost dignity was worse than getting punched in the face!


    Not to mention, Xiao Bin had really called all of his friends over as his flat-faced girlfriend continued chattering non-stop.


    ¡°Xiao Bin, just wreck all of those b*stards. Slaughter them until they don¡¯t even dare to step out from the fountain! They really p*ss me off!¡± The flat-faced Wei Wei said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know my skills? Let them pretend to be great all they want, my good friends will also be here!¡± Xiao Bin glared scornfully at Wang Qin, Xiaoyun, and Kesong who stood not too far away from them.


    ***


    ¡°Cheng, you¡¯re still there right. We¡¯ll be counting on you, just abuse him all the way!¡± Wang Qin said as he sat back down, muttering into the phone to Luocheng.


    Kesong and Xiaoyun were trying very hard to hold back their laughter, their internal organs were about to burst out!


    Xiao Bin, that idiot had actually dared to accept the 5 vs 5 without knowing who would be seated opposite them!


    The captain of the LPL championship team!


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re almost there. I¡¯m just wondering if I should give them a one-hand handicap.¡± Luocheng said, the corner of his lips lifting into a smirk.

 Chapter 523 - The Blade’s Shadow, Talon!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Arriving at the Rising Dragon Internet Cafe, Luocheng adjusted his glasses and lowered his head in case anyone recognized him as he walked in.


    Walking over to the gaming area, Qianqian saw Wang Qin, Xiaoyun, and Kesong first. The three were called the three musketeers of Class Eight, and during the holidays, if you wanted to find them, you just needed to come to the Rising Dragon Internet Cafe and they would be here.


    ¡°My brother is here, enough with your chattering and nonsense. Just sit down, wait to be wrecked, and obediently shove off from Rising Dragon. F*cking hate Chinese noobs like you guys, the environments in internet cafes are destroyed by people like you to the extent that even girls are afraid to come.¡± Wang Qin said as he spotted Luocheng walk in, his tone more confident.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just shut your mouth!¡± Xiao Bin said, his face had long passed the red color of anger until it was nearly white.


    If you were comparing insults, Xiao Bin wouldn¡¯t be able to win over Wang Qin, who had received higher education and had chosen to study in the Chinese Literature Department.


    Luocheng glanced at the guy who was scolding Wang Qin and the girl beside him.


    She really was flat-faced, Wang Qin was just stating a fact.


    Forget about the flat-faced issue if that was the only thing, however, with that colorful chicken-butt styled hair, seeing the young couple who were still immersed in this kind of punk gothic fashion which might have been popular more than a decade ago, you could only say one thing¡­backwater thinking!


    Xiao Bin was already calling out for them to get ready while Xiaoyun and Kesong were chattering nonstop at the side.


    Xiao Bin was distributing cigarettes to his buddies. One of them who was wearing a shirt and looked slightly smarter than the rest looked to be their leader, and he gave a sweeping glance over to Wang Qin and the others.


    ¡°What¡¯s this, you even brought a girl to fight?¡± The guy in the shirt laughed.


    ¡°Yeah, got a problem?¡± Wang Qin retorted.


    ¡°Hahaha, bringing a girl to fight¡­don¡¯t tease us okay. If you can¡¯t find people, I can help you find some!¡± Xiao Bin saw that there was a girl among them and he couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing.


    ¡°Yo, do you want me to play too?¡± The flat-faced Wei Wei asked.


    ¡°Why not!¡±


    If they dared to bring a girl, why couldn¡¯t they do the same?


    Seeing that Xiao Bin was really going to let the flat-faced girl play, Qianqian laughed with no words left to say.


    Seriously nuts, an Ashe who buys Mejai¡¯s Soulstealer wanted to be compared to her ADC which could carry with a Quicksilver Sash?


    They were just asking for it, it was no one else¡¯s fault.


    ***


    Logging in and entering the custom lobby, it wasn¡¯t as though they had never used draft picks.


    After simply banning some champions, Kesong offered to Support for Qianqian, letting Luocheng take Mid.


    Qianqian picked Ezreal as she had recently been fascinated by Ezreal who was like the wind. Various flexible movements and controls which was more interesting than the other ADCs.


    Wang Qin was playing Jungler and he picked a higher-end champion, Elise.


    Elise was a champion that needed a fixed movement set of combos, you usually wouldn¡¯t see this champion appearing in normal games. Like Lee Sin, this champion required a lot of practice before even the smallest of results could be achieved, but once you had practiced to a certain extent, this champion would be invincible.


    Xiaoyun was playing Top and he picked Renekton!


    Judging by the champions they picked, this bunch were no longer like they were in elementary school. No more Garen, Master Yi, Ashe¡­


    Luocheng had been pondering for what seemed like half a day, thinking long and hard about it, and finally, he decided to pick a champion who had been silent for a long time, Talon!


    The Blade¡¯s Shadow, Talon!


    Luocheng had always liked this champion, he was the most typical representative of assassins in the entire League of Legends. Gorgeous and cool skills, dazzling and chic combo moves. The moment the assassin¡¯s blade was thrust and pulled free from the enemy¡¯s body, the bloodied scene and the calm indifference on his face¡­


    When playing other games in the past, Luocheng liked assassin characters. The Blade¡¯s Shadow, Talon, which had been created by Riot was created for people who loved assassins.


    Talon, the best burst damage champion who was unrivaled by any!


    Today, let the sharp volley of daggers dance and the blood flow, becoming a river!


    ***


    On the other side, Xiao Bin glanced at the man in the shirt, ¡°Lin Ming, the opponent Mid should be the Talon, who are you picking?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, such a champion from the cold storage and he still dared to pick it. He¡¯s just digging his grave, I¡¯ll pick Fizz and teach him a lesson!¡± Lin Ming said.


    He had already taught a lot of people in Rising Dragon Cafe a lesson.


    ¡°Wei Wei, pick Soraka and support me.¡± Xiao Bin said.


    Xiao Bin had picked Sivir, and pairing her up with Soraka, it would be impossible for their bottom lane to lose.


    It didn¡¯t matter how Wei Wei played, as long as she healed him and gave him mana, he could face-off by himself against the lot.


    ***


    Entering the rift, it was a normal start, and Luocheng moved Talon toward the lane.


    For a Talon against Fizz, you could say that it was a so-so match up. This mainly depended on the grasp of their understanding and skills on the champion. If Fizz could use his E-skill to avoid the main damage from Talon¡¯s skills, Fizz would be able to outplay Talon, but if Fizz was careless, Talon could easily kill him.


    Getting into the lane, Luocheng just farmed peacefully.


    It was true that Luocheng was indeed a master, but that didn¡¯t mean that he needed to keep slaughtering the Fizz from the beginning. A true master was often calm and alert, observing his own champion¡¯s advantage, determining when to use his skills and when was a good time to counter.


    This Fizz, he didn¡¯t show any obvious flaws in the beginning. You couldn¡¯t tell how good he was from just farming, you would have to wait to see how good a grasp he had on his champion¡¯s skills.


    Luocheng continued to farm, not using any of his skills to harass Fizz.


    After some observation on Fizz, Lin Ming felt that this Talon was somewhat a wimp, so he decisively used a WQ-combo to move forward, then using his E-skill to jump back.


    This set of combos knocked out two-fifths of Talon¡¯s health, and if he could pull off the same combo and throw in an Ignite, it should easily give him first blood.


    Lin Ming noticed that Talon was indifferent to the damage to his health, and this made him even more sure that this guy was just a wimp, so he prepared to launch his combo once again.


    Fizz¡¯s capabilities at clearing a wave was slow, and now, his skills were focused on harassing the enemy instead. So by the time Lin Ming once again had his WQ-combo prepared, Luocheng had already reached Level 4.


    Luocheng had been consuming his pots since the beginning, ignoring Fizz¡¯s harassment. He had maintained his health pretty well, and when he reached Level 4, Fizz, who was still at Level 3 suddenly launched his WQ-combo, however, Luocheng met the attack head-on!


    He used his Ignite directly and cast an auto-attack right after, and then continuing to cast his auto attacks. Fizz didn¡¯t seem weak either, and since he had his W-skill and slightly more health, he stood there and exchanged basic attacks with Luocheng!


    ¡°This guy, why isn¡¯t he using his skills!¡± Lin Ming cursed.


    He kept using his basic attack and Luocheng wasn¡¯t using any of his skills. He didn¡¯t even have one-third of his health left whilst Fizz still had three-fifths remaining.


    Soon, the effect from Fizz¡¯s W-skill¡ªSeastone Trident was gone, and there was no longer any bonus magic damage from his attacks.


    Feeling that an E-skill would be able to kill Talon, Lin Ming pressed his E key¡ªPlayful!


    Fizz jumped up, and using the trident in his hand, his body flipped over in the air, his legs aiming downward heavily!


    This first blood, it¡¯s mine!


    Lin Ming was about to pick up the cigarette beside him to have a pull.


    Faced against this, Luocheng didn¡¯t panic at all, instead, his fingers smoothly pressed his E key!


    And then, all you could see was Talon disappearing suddenly from his spot, reappearing on the far side behind the minion wave, changing his position!


    This repositioning had him beautifully dodging Fizz¡¯s E-skill that was coming from the sky!


    When Fizz landed on the ground, the skills that Luocheng had been holding on to for what seemed like a day was finally unleashed. First, a W-skill, and you could see a volley of daggers flying out from beneath Talon¡¯s cloak, cutting into Fizz¡¯s body piece by piece!


    Talon¡¯s W-skill at Level 1 and 2 had quite a difference in damage between the two, and at Level 4, Luocheng had upped it to Level 2 already. As the daggers swept past Fizz, his health dropped significantly, leaving about one-third of his HP remaining.


    Luocheng walked up, taking advantage of the fact that Fizz was still slowed by his skills to immediately hit the latter with a basic attack which had bonus damage from his passive!


    Talon¡¯s basic attacks dealt 10% bonus physical damage to enemies affected by slows, stuns, roots, or suppression. After being slowed by the volley of daggers, Fizz was immediately hit by Luocheng¡¯s AQ-combo and his remaining one-thirds of health immediately hit rock bottom!


    Lin Ming was stunned. He had still had a lot of health left earlier, but now, suddenly this Talon had just countered with one set of combo and all his health was gone immediately. He hurriedly pressed his Flash, trying to escape!


    Luocheng glanced at Fizz¡¯s health and realized that his attack just needed a little bit more to hit that remaining 20 health to kill Fizz, so he let him go¡­Anyway, for Talon to take his life, he only needed an instant!


    Drinking the last red pot that he had, Luocheng pushed the minion wave toward the enemies¡¯ turret.


    This way, Fizz who had run away would remain lagging behind Luocheng by one level¡­


    Recalling back to base, Luocheng had about 1,000 gold and he bought The Brutalizer, a ward, and a few red pots before going back to lane.


    6 minutes into the game, he needed another 6 minions before he could reach Level 6. Luocheng placed his ward to avoid ganks from the opponent¡¯s side, and the minion wave was already headed in his direction.


    Now, a real master could control the minion waves in the lane. Fizz obviously didn¡¯t understand this concept, daring to push the lane when Luocheng was almost at Level 6.


    Alright then, Talon will take your head with pleasure!


    What combo could Talon use to ensure maximum damage?


    If you could get the enemy with a W-skill first and then follow up with a set of EQR-combo, this would definitely maximize the damage output. However, most of the time, it was impossible to use the W-skill to initiate.


    So then, how could Talon deal the most damage with his skills in the shortest amount of time?


    Fizz had his E-skill which would allow him to avoid a lot of damage from Talon, and Luocheng was clearly aware of this¡­


    However, this didn¡¯t mean anything to Luocheng.


    The set of combos that he was going to use, it was completely possible to deal a massive amount of damage to Fizz before the latter could use his E-skill to avoid everything for that 1 second!

 Chapter 524 - Killing Is Easier Than Jungling!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Luocheng had equipped primarily penetration runes together with his Summoner Mastery which gave him another 6% in armor penetration. Adding on the armor penetration from The Brutalizer of about 15, all of it would add up to about 30 points of physical penetration. Fizz¡¯s armor at Level 5 was only about fifty, the reduction in damage wasn¡¯t high.


    Luocheng wasn¡¯t in a hurry at all, and he firstly pretended to continue farming.


    Fizz was a champion that once he was suppressed, he would be practically useless because his farming methods were all melee.


    Seeing Fizz about to take a last hit on that minion, Luocheng¡¯s Talon suddenly shot out a W-skill to initiate a fight, the volley of daggers flying toward Fizz!


    Fizz was obviously not prepared for it and he was hit by two of the three daggers, the slow effect also landing on him.


    At this time, Talon also stepped forward and his cloak flickered. The champion seemed to burst into nothing, turning into a ring of infinite blades!


    The cold light glinted on the blades, each piece sharp enough that it could easily slice through blood vessels. The blades had appeared the moment Talon disappeared into his surroundings, scattered and floating in the air, forming an array!


    As the blades spread out, each of them sliced through The Tidal Trickster and the blood sprayed out magnificently, presenting a shocking display!


    When Lin Ming saw Talon unleashing his ulti directly on him, his face morphed into panic. He needed to hurry and press his E-skill to avoid the massive damage that Talon was going to deal on him.


    But how could Luocheng give him the chance to do so?


    Cutthroat!


    Talon, who was still in stealth, appeared suddenly behind Fizz, digging the blade harshly into Fizz¡¯s neck. At that moment, you could almost see Talon¡¯s mouth which was curved into a cold smirk beneath his hood!


    And those blades, glittering and floating in the air, as though hearing a call, flew swiftly toward Talon. The moment Talon used his E-skill to blink and stab Fizz from behind, the blades converged at his location, slicing through Fizz in passing and it looked horrifying and terrible!


    Sha! Sha! Sha!!


    As the blades pierced through Fizz, Talon had also raised the giant blade in his hands and pierced Fizz, dealing a massive amount of damage!


    The entire process was gorgeously dazzling, and the people who were watching were also stunned. More importantly, the entire combo had been carried out in just 1 second.


    When the blades were all returned and once again hidden on Talon¡¯s body, Fizz, who previously had four-fifths of his health left, was instantly killed!


    By right, Fizz¡¯s E-skill would have been enough to avoid most of the damage from Talon, but unfortunately, Lin Ming hadn¡¯t even had the time to press his E before he had been instantly killed!


    ¡°What the h*ll!¡± Lin Ming cursed loudly.


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the f*cking keyboard! I¡¯ve been pressing the E key all the time but it didn¡¯t come out, what the f*ck!¡± Lin Ming roared violently.


    ¡°Calm down a little, wait for me to help you gank later!¡± Sun Qiusheng, the Jungler, said.


    ¡°Lin Ming, stable a bit!¡± Xiao Bin said.


    ¡°D*mn, it must have been stuck, otherwise, why didn¡¯t my E-skill come out!¡± Lin Ming shouted.


    Huang Mi, who was standing behind the station and watching the entire scene unfold, said nothing as he tried not to laugh too hard. He already felt that Lin Ming was a joke on Fizz, and he didn¡¯t even realize that Talon¡¯s E-skill had the effect of Silence. The other side had unleashed their combo with such speed, all in just 1 second, even if you had your E-skill, what use was it? Really, what an idiot that couldn¡¯t be saved!


    ¡°Lin Ming, be careful. This Talon seems to be quite good.¡± Xiao Bin said carefully.


    Although Xiao Bin¡¯s strength was not quite at a Diamond level, Talon was still a champion that he had played before in the public beta environment. Talon¡¯s combos were very cool, but to truly bring out the highest damage with it, you needed to have quite a bit of skill.


    This Talon had not done the regular thing by sending an E-skill first, and then a QW-combo before his ulti. Instead, he had used the other cooler combo, the WRE-combo in sequence which enabled the highest amount of damage possible to be unleashed!


    First, using his W-skill to slow Fizz, and once Fizz had been slowed, it would automatically trigger Talon¡¯s passive, which gave an additional 10% damage on Talon¡¯s basic attacks.


    Then, he followed up immediately using his Ultimate, with the blades that swept outward, hitting Fizz. And just as Fizz was going to react by using his Playful to avoid the attack, Talon unleashed his E-skill which then Silenced Fizz. The recast of his ulti then dealt the massive damage, finally ending it with an auto-attack and a Q-skill!


    In actuality, it was difficult for Talon to directly kill another champion who was almost at max health with his combo. To render Lin Ming unable to react at all, the key was in the sequence of his attacks. Not only was the damage high, the speed and accuracy was all done in 1 second!


    ¡°I know, I know! Wait until I¡¯m Level 6, I¡¯ll wreck him!¡± Lin Ming said impatiently.


    ***


    After taking the kill, Luocheng pushed the wave forward. Once the wave reached the turret, he turned back and walked toward the top lane through the opening above the river.


    Luocheng¡¯s team was on the blue side which was the bottom side of the map. There was a trick to helping other lanes when you were the Mid, that was, after pushing your lane wave toward the enemies¡¯ turret, walk along the edge on the left side of the lane. If there were no wards in this area, the enemy would have no way to see that you were already walking toward the top lane.


    With this same logic, for the red side which was the top side of the map, their Top could also use this path to head toward the bottom lane to gank because average players would usually plant a ward in the river, and not in that area¡­


    Luocheng had finished his kill and pushed his wave, now, he had the feeling of having nothing to do.


    Should he clear some jungle camps?


    No way!


    Talon had a saying, ¡°Killing people, it¡¯s easier than Jungling!¡±.


    Using the tactic which relied on the lack of vision, Luocheng headed toward the top lane.


    Reaching the tribush, it was obvious that Riven, who had crushed Zhong Xiaoyun, hadn¡¯t bothered to ward over here, otherwise, she would have started to pull back.


    Luocheng gave a signalling ping to Xiaoyun, and Xiaoyun, who had a bit over half of his health left, became a mad dog as he charged in at Riven.


    Riven was also bold, daring to stand and fight against a Renekton. Luocheng waited just a bit, letting Riven use her E and W-skills before bursting out from the tribush!


    He immediately used his E-skill to blink to the back of Riven!


    One auto-attack, one Q-skill, running onto the path that Riven would retreat to, stabbing his dagger onto her head¡­ Up to the point where his range couldn¡¯t reach, Luocheng used his W-skill to slow her down.


    Xiaoyun¡¯s face was full of excitement, pouncing forward to land the last hit on Riven.


    The problem was, don¡¯t you see who you are trying to kill-steal from?


    Luocheng purposely paused in his basic attack, letting Renekton land the hit that wouldn¡¯t kill Riven before landing his own attack!


    Riven let out a strangled scream!


    Luocheng happily received the 300 gold.


    This was his second kill, and since he didn¡¯t have much mana left, Luocheng chose to return to base.


    For his second item, Luocheng decided to buy Boots of Mobility which cost 800 gold.


    Talon was a champion that relied heavily on the Boots of Mobility because it was the fundamental element of his roaming!


    Quickly returning to lane, Fizz, who was still at Level 5, was obediently pushing the wave over. Although Luocheng had roamed before returning to the lane, he hadn¡¯t lost out on much gold at all.


    A Level 7 Talon against a Level 5 Fizz was similar to a giant against a dwarf.


    Finally, finally, after taking another wave, Fizz was finally at Level 6.


    Lin Ming barely had any time to be happy and immediately turned bitter because Luocheng¡¯s Talon had just reached Level 8!


    Under normal circumstances, at this time, the Mid champions would usually be at Level 6 or almost Level 7. However, Luocheng had already taken two kills and adding on the half of the minion wave from the top lane, he hadn¡¯t lost out on much experience when he had roamed. A Level 8 Talon was basically a nightmare for Fizz even if that said Talon had spent 800 gold on a Boots of Mobility which didn¡¯t add anything to his damage.


    Luocheng continued to push the lane with a blue buff on him, his W-skill could easily dispose of the ranged minions at the back.


    After taking a glance at both the side lanes and deeming that it was not a suitable time to gank, Luocheng put his focus back on his lane to Fizz, wanting to see if he could get another kill on him.


    The minions were pushed forward, and using a W-skill to clear the rest, Fizz was resolutely standing beneath the turret, not letting Luocheng have the chance to kill him.


    ¡°Just f*cking come over!¡± Lin Ming shouted at his Jungler.


    Lee Sin had been approaching Luocheng from another angle and his skills on hand were ready to be unleashed.


    ¡°Go, go, kill him!¡± Lin Ming shouted.


    With Lee Sin from behind and Fizz in front, the two had surrounded Talon and were approaching him.


    Luocheng was daring, and even though he saw that Elise was still quite a way off, he wasn¡¯t the least bit panicked, walking downward calmly.


    Fizz was anxious. Upon realizing that there was too much distance, he used his E-skill to close it, and just as he was about 400 yards away from Luocheng, he launched his ulti.


    ¡°Shark!¡±


    A small shark flew from Fizz¡¯s webbed hands, right toward Luocheng.


    With this distance, it was impossible to avoid it.


    ¡°Flash, Flash!¡± Wang Qin shouted anxiously.


    He was still some distance away from Luocheng and he wouldn¡¯t make it in time!


    Under normal circumstances, most people would choose to Flash when they were surrounded, otherwise, with those two champions¡¯ damage, adding on Lee Sin¡¯s E-skill which could grant sight and see through his stealth, Luocheng had nowhere to run!


    However, Luocheng didn¡¯t do any of those.


    Watching the small shark that was about to land on him, Talon suddenly disappeared from his spot, appearing right behind Fizz!


    Cutthroat!


    Like a leaf, but as sharp as a blade!


    Rake!


    A glint of cold steel flashed by!


    Shadow Assault!


    The countless blades scattered, turning into an array, and with a gorgeous sweep of his cloak, the blades that had pierced the enemies once, once again swept through Fizz as it returned to its owner!


    And so, you could see Fizz¡¯s health dwindling down to that little bit left.


    Following that, Luocheng didn¡¯t even bother to look back, turning around to leave the area. Fizz was dead, because there was an Ignite still burning away on him!


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A strangled scream, and Fizz had already fallen to the ground.


    As for the Lee Sin who had come to gank, he stood next to the turret. He had seen Talon using his E-skill to beautifully dodge Fizz¡¯s ulti which had been thrown, following that up with a flurry of blades and shadows that had flashed in front of him, and ultimately, the latter had turned Fizz into a fish fillet!

 Chapter 525 - Slaughter Them Like Pigs

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    That dazzling maneuver had killed everyone watching, especially the Fizz player, Lin Ming. He was staring at his screen for what seemed like a day, and he still couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened!


    What the flying f*ck, you f*cking even managed to dodge my skill in that situation!?


    Can you imagine the feeling, an ulti that was a guaranteed hit, easily being dodged by an E-skill?


    Moreover, you couldn¡¯t help but admit, this guy¡¯s movement was nothing short of amazing!


    It was the second time¡­ Lin Ming had been killed for the second time!


    Previously, he had been solo-killed, and this time, even with the Jungler right there, he was still killed!


    ***


    Taking the kill easily, once Luocheng¡¯s skills had all been refreshed, he turned and swaggered toward Lee Sin.


    A Level 6 Lee Sin that didn¡¯t even have his ulti, Luocheng wasn¡¯t afraid of him. As for the Lee Sin, with one of Luocheng¡¯s W-skill thrown at him, one-third of his health was gone, there was no challenge at all.


    Seeing Lee Sin flee the scene using his W-skill in a panic, Luocheng laughed internally.


    In fact, in these pressuring times, it was better if the Jungler didn¡¯t come and help at all. Initially, if Fizz had continued to camp under the turret, nothing would have happened. However, because the Jungler had come to help, Fizz had served himself up to be killed.


    With a blue buff now in hand, it was easier and faster to clear the wave and obtain gold. Luocheng went back to base and picked up a Pickaxe and Long Sword to ensure his damage. Luocheng had wanted to wait until he had enough for a Last Whisper before returning, but the pressure at the bottom lane was hard to ignore now, and as a man, how could he let his girl be bullied by other people!


    With his Boots of Mobility, the speed he could lend his support was really too fast. Luocheng headed toward the bottom lane, pinging a signal to Qianqian and Kesong that he was on the way.


    There was a lot to say about pings.


    As a qualified Mid or Jungler, you absolutely couldn¡¯t be stingy with pings, especially the one which signaled that you were on the way.


    In normal games, the majority of people would be focused on farming and trading in their lane, they wouldn¡¯t even realize that you had reached. Even in Diamond games, a lot of people wouldn¡¯t realize that they already had assistance when they started to fight.


    By giving your teammates an ¡®on my way¡¯ ping, they would look at your position and adjust theirs before you arrived for the gank.


    In conclusion, you really could not afford to be stingy with the ¡®on my way¡¯ ping as this would increase your gank success-rate by 30%, no exaggerations!


    ***


    Qianqian saw that Luocheng was rushing over, and a smile stretched across her face.


    In fact, Qianqian was playing rather well on her Ezreal. Even against the disgusting combination of Sivir and Soraka who were brainlessly using their skills and pressuring the lane, Qianqian¡¯s CS on Ezreal was still at the same level as her opponent.


    Not being able to have the advantage plus the fact that his opponent was even a girl made Xiao Bin very frustrated and irritable, and he had been looking for a chance to kill.


    Unfortunately, his opponent kept her good control of the lane, freezing the lane below their turret or right in front of it, also having sufficient pots in her items. XIao Bin didn¡¯t have a good chance to do anything.


    ¡°Wait and try to kill the Support, Silence him.¡± Xiao Bin instructed his girlfriend.


    Wei Wei nodded her head. Actually, she could only play one champion as a Support, and that was Soraka. Her Ashe was worse than useless and she didn¡¯t even know what items to buy. She was better with Soraka, knowing when to heal as well as Silence.


    When the minion wave had once again reached their enemies¡¯ turret, Wei Wei maneuvered Soraka, waiting for the other side¡¯s Support.


    Pressing forward, Wei Wei launched her silence, following up with an auto-attack!


    The rest, she would leave it to her man, he would definitely kill the Support who didn¡¯t have much health left. She believed in Xiao Bin¡¯s skills!


    Only, she was not sure why, but when she stepped forward, she saw something like blades appearing in the shadows, and she didn¡¯t know what it was.


    Xiao Bin finally saw his chance and dove forward, ignoring the turret since Soraka could heal him later.


    Taking the damage from the turret, Xiao Bin urged his Siver forward toward Kesong¡¯s Nami right then!


    Just as Xiao Bin was feeling excited, he suddenly felt a chill at his back!


    A cold face under a hood appeared suddenly from behind him, a smirk on his lips, and the blades suspended in the air flew toward Talon, who had mysteriously appeared behind him!


    Sha! Sha! Sha!!


    This cool indifference like a blade of steel when he released the blades was so cool, the artistic beauty of killing someone in an instant, the one and only Blades¡¯ Shadow in the entire League of Legends!


    In just an instant, after you saw these blades flying over, your entire life would flash in your mind, and you could only weakly bend on your knees to the ground, both your eyes wide as you looked in front, not even able to see the face of your killer, and finally, you would fall to the ground, face-first.


    That was what happened to Sivi. She didn¡¯t even know what had transpired, there had only been the sound of the sharp blades in her ears, and then, death.


    Xiao Bin was unhappy, but there was nothing that he could do.


    This Talon, the ability of the player was too strong, especially the way he chose to come in!


    If he had seen the blade, he may have had a chance to survive by using his ulti and shield, however, he hadn¡¯t even caught a glimpse of Talon¡¯s shadow, and then he was dead!


    This was one of the most terrifying things about Talon. He had a lot of different moves he could use, and each one of them would achieve a different effect, just like the one that Luocheng had just used¡­


    Previously, Luocheng had set up the combo with the highest burst damage, and later the combo starting with his E-skill and the followed up with the WQR-combo. Just now, Luocheng had used Talon¡¯s coolest move, it was no less glorious than the move where Lee Sin planted a ward in the middle of his Q-skill on the enemy, flying back to it!


    There were two parts from Talon¡¯s Ultimate¡ªShadow Assault.


    The first cast would scatter the blades which would cause damage as it shot out, forming an array.


    At this time, Talon would enter stealth mode for up to 2.5 seconds, and he would have 40% extra movement speed.


    So basically, when you cast the first part of your ulti in the shadows and charge out with the extra speed from the 2.5 seconds of stealth together with the Boots of Mobility, you could move a big distance in a short time. Then, you could use the E-skill to directly appear behind the enemy, using the second cast of your ulti to pull back all the blades!


    Thus, you would see the scattered blades flying back in a flurry to where Talon was standing, the silver starburst blades, like the fallen leaves sweeping in the wind in autumn, extremely gorgeous and breathtaking.


    Also, if your fingers were fast enough and able to land all your other skills just before the blades returned, that would kill off the enemy easily. That clean assasination coupled with the fresh blood splattered everywhere was full of artistic beauty, you just wouldn¡¯t be able to help but to fall in love with this cold-blooded assassin in the shadows!


    ***


    Sivir was dead and Soraka was barely able to survive alone. Luocheng followed Soraka closely as she was running quite slowly. Wait till his W-skill refreshed, he would then slow her.


    As a gentleman, Luocheng was definitely giving this kill to Qianqian. Qianqian happily shot an E-skill followed up by her other skills, easily taking down the Soraka who was very squishy!


    ¡°That combo just now was so cool!¡± Qianqian said as she laughed.


    ¡°That, it was!¡±


    Why do you think he chose Talon if it was not to show off how cool he was?


    In just a short time, Luocheng had three kills already. Returning to his lane, Fizz was still attacking the turret.


    Seeing a Level 9 Talon, the Level 7 Fizz looked like a criminal who got caught in the act, frantically making a detour to escape.


    With the items and level he had, even without his ulti, Luocheng could easily beat Fizz like an ant.


    Luocheng cleared the wave of minions, and seeing that he had 1,025 gold, he could now afford a Last Whisper. However, he deliberately stayed slightly longer, farming enough gold to buy a Vision Ward.


    This was a habit of playing professionally, that was, when he had enough to buy the item he wanted, he would still farm an extra 100 gold to ensure that he could buy a Vision Ward as well.


    Return to base to buy the Last Whisper, and it seemed like his ulti was up again.


    To be honest, what was the most satisfying way to play Talon?


    Simple! Whenever his ulti cooldown was done, that meant that you would soon have another kill in his pocket!


    Since he had the blue buff, Talon¡¯s ulti cooldown was extremely short!


    Would it be Fizz?


    It looked as though he was not worth any money already, though.


    Top lane?


    It was a bit far.


    Bottom lane?


    Why not? Being able to take two kills was even better, but it seemed as though Soraka had planted quite a bit of wards, it was going to be slightly difficult.


    Pressing down his TAB key, Luocheng studied the information on his screen.


    ¡°It seems that I have yet to take Lee Sin¡¯s head once.¡± Luocheng rubbed his chin in thought, and slapping his thigh, he decided to go for Lee Sin!


    Xiao Bin, Lin Ming, Wei Wei, and the other person who were sitting opposite them, if they knew that Luocheng viewed them like pigs to be slaughtered, they probably wouldn¡¯t be as arrogant as they were before¡­


    In fact, with Luocheng dominating the middle lane, ganking the top lane, and killing the bottom lane, they already had lumps in their throats!


    ***


    15 seconds later, deep in the jungle area, a shout full of surprise, frustration, and confusion, rang out.


    ¡°Motherf*cker!!!¡±


    The ground was littered with blades, a corpse with fresh blood pooling around it, and a silver back leaving in the shadows.


    Killing someone, it was that simple.


    With a Talon who had his ulti and proper items, it was best if you didn¡¯t appear in the same vicinity as him, and even more so, never let him know your position, otherwise, you were just another corpse!


    Wang Qin and the others¡¯ level of admiration for Luocheng was sky-high. It had only taken about ten minutes to enter the rhythm of slaughtering pigs!


    You don¡¯t know what the rhythm of slaughtering pigs is?


    Actually, it just meant that the opponent champions were no longer champions, but instead, fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered!


    ¡°Luocheng, come and take the blue buff!¡± Wang Qin happily helped Luocheng take his second blue buff.


    With the blue buff reducing the cooldown on Luocheng¡¯s ulti, the frequency of slaughtering pigs would be faster!

 Chapter 526 - Heroic 1v5

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°You guys, come over and camp at the bottom lane. After taking the turret, we¡¯ll take the Dragon, understand!?¡± Lin Ming acting like a commander, instructing all of them.


    Among a group of people who played LOL, there would definitely be someone who loved to give orders regardless of the KDA he held!


    Lin Ming was that guy even though his Fizz had been made into a fillet. It was bad enough that he was small in figure, but now with the lower level, he looked even worse than a starved dog.


    Now, he acted as though he was the core of the team, calling all of them to the bottom lane, and for a time, all five of them were there, waiting to ambush.


    Qianqian and Kesong hadn¡¯t realized that their enemies had arranged such a fierce offensive, and when they tried to trade with the opponents, a bunch of them jumped out from the bush suddenly, catching both of them by surprise.


    Qianqian hurriedly used her E-skill, Arcane Shift, to retreat, and even Flashed to further the distance by a thousand yards. Just as she managed to retreat under turret, she realized another person had appeared, it was the Riven!


    Riven didn¡¯t rush toward the turret to dive for the kill, instead, she stood there to block off Qianqian¡¯s escape route. Qianqian was at a loss for the moment, not knowing what to do, and her beautiful eyes looked toward Luocheng.


    ¡°We¡¯re coming, we¡¯re coming¡­f*ck, how come so many of them are there? D*mmit Xiaoyun, Top was missing, why didn¡¯t you say anything!?¡± Wang Qin scolded.


    Hmm, it looked like Wang Qin and Lin Ming were the same kind.


    Xiaoyun looked apologetic. He had assumed that the Riven would return to the lane, who knew that she would run to the bottom lane to camp there and kill.


    Glancing down, it was impossible for him to lend his assistance. He could only clear the lane faster and try to take down the turret. That was the only way he could make up for the losses the team would be facing.


    ***


    At last, the five of them were gathered and were about to dive the turret for the kill. Qianqian already knew that there was no way out and she was going to die, so she said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t come, hurry up and push the middle lane.¡±


    It was all five of them on the opponent¡¯s side, even if Wang Qin and Luocheng managed to reach in time, they would also be killed, there wasn¡¯t any need for that to happen.


    Luocheng passed the tribush and realized that the enemies were already going to cross the turret, so he charged in bravely.


    ¡°Holy sh*t, Luocheng, you¡¯re crazy!¡± Wang Qin shouted.


    It was against five of them, charging in like that just guaranteed your death. Even for Luocheng, that was too much. Even if a hero wanted to save the damsel in distress, this wasn¡¯t the way!


    Seeing Luocheng charge in like that, Qianqian felt very touched.


    The feeling of being surrounded with no way out and nobody being able to help her was not a good feeling. However, upon seeing the silver-cloaked Talon charging in without a care, there was definitely a small ounce of happiness!


    Of course, this small happiness couldn¡¯t be expressed on her face. Qianqian pouted, pretending to be unhappy as she said, ¡°So hateful, I already said don¡¯t come over, you¡¯re going to give them 500 gold!¡±


    Luocheng chuckled. On the outside, he looked honest and reliable, but inside, he was burning with wildness and arrogance.


    You want to kill the great me!? You¡¯re not good enough!


    You could only see Talon shooting out from the bush, the blade in his hand making a clear sound, like a devil eager to drink blood, singing out loud!


    Activating his Youmuu¡¯s Ghostbblade to start, adding on the speed from his Boots of Mobility, Luocheng¡¯s movement speed was almost at 500!


    He was like the wind as he ran past the opponent¡¯s ADC, heading directly toward the turret. The look he had in his eyes was basically telling the five enemies, whoever dared to take another step toward the turret, he would be the first to die!


    Fizz was obviously affected, hesitating for a while.


    If he was killed once again, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live with himself!


    Fizz didn¡¯t dare to advance having been killed instantly before. Even Sivir, who had taken a bitter beating, hesitated before taking a step backward.


    Lee Sin, who had been wrecked in the jungle, also felt a chill in his heart, his body freezing in his position.


    As for Riven who had initiated using her ulti with the air of enthusiasm and pride of wanting to kill, after seeing Talon appear, her whole body shook in fear, and she wondered if the Support should go in first instead!


    ¡°Go, Wei Wei, go!¡± Xiao Bin shouted.


    Wei Wei wasn¡¯t very willing and rightly so if you thought about it. If you four big-ass masters were also scared of the Talon, how could you let a Soraka go in to die!


    However, Wei Wei still went in obediently.


    She walked in front, directly toward the turret.


    Qianqian saw Soraka coming forward and she cleverly made the decision to stand in the front side. As expected, Soraka launched an E-skill to Silence Qianqian¡¯s Ezreal.


    Qianqian didn¡¯t have her Flash or E-skill anymore, so even if she was Silenced, it didn¡¯t really matter. The most important thing was to not let Luocheng¡¯s Talon get Silenced.


    She attacked Soraka aggressively, wanting to bring this Support down with her when she died.


    At the same time, the other four enemies finally moved forward. It seemed that Lin Ming had shouted for them to advance, there were five of them after all, why should they be afraid.


    When he said that, Wei Wei looked at him disdainfully. Why hadn¡¯t he gone in when the need to tank the turret was there!? Instead, the second he saw Talon appear, he had acted as if he had seen his own father!


    ***


    Facing such a severe situation, Luocheng didn¡¯t panic at all.


    His eyes were only on one champion, and that was Riven!


    Calculating his damage, as long as he didn¡¯t give Riven any chance to unleash her E-skill, he could totally pull off an instant-kill on her.


    Hey, you brat, you still dare to use your E-skill to move your position, thanks for delivering your head to me!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t rush to make his move. He waited until Riven was nearer to the turret and also waited until the shield effect from her E-skill expired.


    Just when Riven entered the turret range, Luocheng suddenly moved, not bothering to make any extra fancy actions, he immediately cast his E-skill¡ªCutthroat, appearing behind Riven and pressing his W to follow up!


    Rake!


    This W-skill not only cut through Riven, it also cut through Lee Sin and Fizz!


    Basic attack, Noxian Diplomacy!


    At that moment, he followed up immediately with his ulti, the blades flying out, forming an array once again, tearing into Riven¡¯s body as it shot out in a gruesome scene!


    Riven had been at full health, yet now, she was instantly beaten to an inch to her death.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t recast his ulti immediately, using his stealth to move to the left of the turret, he passed through the four enemies and repositioned himself to their rear.


    At this moment, the countless blades suspended in the air rushed back to their owner, piercing through Sivir, Lee Sin, Fizz, and Soraka who were preparing to dive the turret. The scene felt as though Talon moved in the shadows, using only his blades in this chaotic battle to tear apart the curtain of night, leaving behind a cold, silver streak filled with blood in all the corners!


    Sha! Sha! Sha!!


    All five of the enemies took the damage from Talon¡¯s ulti straight-on!


    As though forming a silver line, starting from the most left, the first head to roll was Riven¡¯s.


    She had thought that she had managed to avoid that, but when the recast of Shadow Assault pierced her body first, her fresh blood splattered the ground, her body falling underneath the turret, dead to the world.


    A bloody instant-kill with no mercy!


    Immediately after, it was Lee Sin and Fizz¡¯s turn. After taking damage from Cutthroat, the two were subsequently injured by the recast of Talon¡¯s ulti. The high amount of armor penetration left them with barely half their health, and the damage so massive that they couldn¡¯t help but suck in their breaths!


    Lastly, the blades swept through Soraka who had been tanking the turret damage.


    Soraka had wanted to leave once her health was too low, who knew that those silver blades would suddenly all rush toward her, taking away the last of her life!


    Double kill!!


    It was a double kill!


    This combo had managed to churn out a massive amount of terrifying damage, killing a full-health Riven, crippling Lee Sin and Fizz, as well as killing off Soraka!


    What was more unacceptable was that this guy had reappeared behind them, and even if they wanted to kill him, there just wasn¡¯t enough!


    ¡°Sh*t, that was so f*cking awesome!¡± Wang Qin shouted excitedly.


    What is damage? This is what f*cking damage is! The damage from Talon¡¯s AOE if used properly was not any less than any mage champion. Luocheng had unleashed Talon¡¯s damage to the highest amount possible, and that 1 vs 5 simply made people want to kneel and worship him!


    As though infected by Luocheng¡¯s dominating streak, Wang Qin burst out from the bush, casting his E-skill, Rappel, and pouncing right at Fizz¡¯s face!


    Biting down in his spider form, he immediately transformed back to his human form to launch a skill out. Fizz had developed poorly, and as his health dropped rapidly, he hurriedly cast his E-skill in a panic to get out of the turret range, not daring to advance again.


    Lee Sin had probably been scared off by Luocheng, his Q-skill didn¡¯t even land on Qianqian and she was already kiting him, shaving off his health continuously.


    The only one that could deal damage effectively was Xiao Bin¡¯s Sivir, only¡­


    ¡°What the f*ck, why am I tanking the turret!¡±


    Xiao Bin shouted as he continued to attack Qianqian, his health dropping rapidly.


    Soraka, who had previously tanked the turret damage, had already died, and Riven had also been killed. Fizz had run off while Lee Sin had had a mishap with his Q-skill. Only Sivir was attacking now, so the turret would naturally hit the enemy who was dealing damage!


    Finally, he finally killed off Ezreal! But when Xiao Bin looked up, he realized that his entire team had collapsed!


    Even worse, that f*cking Talon had come back!


    Was he f*cking intending to annihilate everyone!?


    Five people had surrounded one Ezreal, but in the end, they were killed off by one Talon!?


    Was there anything f*cking worse than that!?


    ¡°What the h*ll are you guys doing!!¡±


    ¡°Why am I taking the turret damage??¡±


    ¡°Riven, you didn¡¯t even throw one skill out!!¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t even do anything, I was killed in a second! You¡¯re the one who fed the Talon!!¡±


    Suddenly, Xiao Bin, Lin Ming, and the rest of their teammates were all shouting, their faces red with anger, and it seemed as though they were going to physically fight each other.


    League of Legends was a game that could bond feelings between people and make them closer, however, it was also a game that could easily destroy friendships and feelings. If you were not careful, you could easily get into a big fight because of the game, especially within the society of this kind of punk, drunken friends!

 Chapter 527 - 1 vs 5 Once Again!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    This fight had once again fully fed Luocheng, he had taken four kills!


    Actually, Lin Ming, Xiao Bin, and the rest of them had intended to take out the bottom lane, destroy the turret, and take the Dragon, which would help the entire team get gold. In the end, all five of them had been annihilated by Elise and Luocheng countering them and pushing the lane, taking the Dragon at the same time.


    Alright, they had thought of the process, but they had never imagined these results.


    Unconsciously, Luocheng had achieved Legendary twice now. To Lin Ming and the others, this Talon was simply like a boss in Assassin¡¯s Creed, killing was as easy as blinking!


    20 minutes into the game, Youmuu¡¯s Ghostblade, Last Whisper, and Bloodthirster, this set of items was simply maddening!


    The disadvantage on the opposite side was obvious and even the Support was nervous about just stepping out to plant wards.


    ¡°Wei Wei, place a ward at the red buff.¡± Xiao Bin said to his girlfriend.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Wei Wei nodded her head, her colorful chicken-butt hair waving a little, looking extremely weird.


    She maneuvered Soraka toward the foggy area of the red buff, but just as she was about to plant the ward in the bush beside it, a volley of daggers suddenly burst forward from that very bush!


    Cutthroat!


    Basic attack!


    Noxian Diplomacy!


    The combos were unleashed continuously, you couldn¡¯t see any pause in between the hits at all, and then, from the Soraka who had been at full health, you could only see blood red figures popping out before she released a strangled scream, falling to the ground!


    Too fast!


    The damage was also too high!


    Wei Wei felt as though she had only blinked once and then without warning, her Soraka was dead!


    ¡°How come you died again!?¡± Xiao Bin said unhappily.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one that told me to go ward!¡± Wei Wei said angrily.


    ¡°Then can¡¯t you be more careful!¡±


    The two bickered for a while, obviously unhappy.


    On the other side, after taking a kill, Wang Qin realized that there was no ward at the Baron at all, thus, he called everyone to begin the Baron!


    ¡°I¡¯ll distract them, you guys go ahead and take it.¡± Luocheng said.


    If everyone disappeared from the map, they would definitely realize that they were taking Baron. If the Mid was around, at least the enemy would be slightly more relaxed instead of vigilant.


    As expected, their opponent didn¡¯t realize at all. Wang Qin, Qianqian, and the others happily took the Baron while Luocheng stayed alone in the middle lane to be the distraction.


    Luocheng glanced at the Baron¡¯s health and saw that it wouldn¡¯t be long now, his baiting duties were about to be done.


    Just as he was about to leave, two enemies suddenly burst out from behind him!


    The two were Lee Sin and Fizz. It looked like they had taken a long detour around the jungle area to burst out from the wall behind him.


    Under normal circumstances, baiting oneself was to attract the gank. One death for a Baron was obviously very worth it.


    Only, how could Luocheng just be a sitting duck and accept his death?


    The road to retreat was blocked, and pressing down on the TAB key, Luocheng realized that these guys had prepared Vision Wards.


    Not bad¡­ in order to kill him, they had prepared well.


    As he was observing the information, another two enemies suddenly appeared, it was the enemy ADC and Riven, he really was between two fires!


    ¡°Luocheng, you¡¯re finally going to sacrifice your life. But don¡¯t worry, we got the Baron, hehe.¡± Wang Qin smiled a bit cheekily.


    Really, even if you were the LPL champion, playing with d*cks like us, you should still die at least once! Performing with such invincibility was just too abnormal!


    Xiaoyun and Kesong were vigorously nodding their heads in agreement. Come on, just die at least one time, let us have a dream that the gap between our skills are not that huge.


    Seeing the sly expressions on Kesong, Wang Qin, and Xiaoyun¡¯s faces, Luocheng¡¯s temper shot through the roof.


    What!? You want to see me die!? ¡­not only will I not die, I will take kills as well!!!


    Luocheng didn¡¯t bother moving toward the back since the two behind him had Vision Wards. If he was right, no matter what he did, Lee Sin would still send a kick toward him which would be followed up by Fizz¡¯s combo and ulti.


    Going backward was more dangerous, so naturally, there was only going forward to grab a kill!


    It¡¯ll be you!


    Luocheng chose his target and he pretended to move backward, waiting for Sivir and Riven to charge forward, and then he suddenly turned and used his E-skill, Cutthroat!


    The skill allowed Luocheng to appear right behind them!


    Xiao Bin was still smart enough and he had walked forward with his shield activated. The problem was, even if you had blocked one Cutthroat, what did that matter? The real damage comes after!


    Rake!


    Noxian Diplomacy!


    This combo itself almost killed off Sivir immediately, especially the stab from Noxian Diplomacy. The burst damage from it was terrifying and you could see Sivir¡¯s full health drop by half!


    Not even bothering to activate his ulti, he followed up with normal attacks as well as an Ignite, and the Sivir was once again killed.


    Riven, who had been watching from the side, was also stunned!


    Sivier had already used her shield to block one skill, and yet, Talon merely used his Noxian Diplomacy and Rake, taking down an enormous portion of her health. Couldn¡¯t you at least use your ulti to show some respect for other people¡¯s feelings?


    As for Xiao Bin, his face had flushed completely red to the extent that it couldn¡¯t get any redder.


    He also played Talon, why had he never played to the extent that a Noxian Diplomacy stab and a Rake could kill people instantly!


    Wei Wei who sat beside him mocked him. ¡°See, didn¡¯t you just die mysteriously like me too.¡±


    Xiao Bin¡¯s face grew blacker if that was even possible, not knowing how to explain it at all.


    ***


    After taking the kill, Luocheng still didn¡¯t dare to go backwards, so he continued forward, heading toward the enemies¡¯ base.


    The reason why he picked Sivir as his target was very simple. She had still had her ulti which could speed up the rest of her team, and this was a big threat to Luocheng!


    ¡°Chase him down! What are you doing!?¡± Lin Ming shouted at Riven.


    Riven frantically turned around to give chase, but she had also been hit by the slow effect from Rake, so she wasn¡¯t quite able to catch up to Talon.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead for sure!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s heading into our base!¡±


    This time, Talon¡¯s wings were clipped!


    The three of them were now a little smarter, huddling together as they chased down Talon.


    They followed the path back into their base with Riven in the front.


    Luocheng saw that the minions behind him were reaching and he decided to activate his Youmuu¡¯s Ghostblade, borrowing the speed boost from it to cut through the base from the middle lane to the top lane.


    Taking a few hits from the turrets, Luocheng¡¯s life was also cut down to about half.


    Rounding to the top lane enemy turret, as Luocheng walked out from the top lane side, Lee Sin managed to plant a ward and cross the wall of the base!


    ¡°HA!¡±


    A Sonic Wave flew out, and at this angle and distance, Talon had no way to avoid it!


    However, the moment the Sonic Wave was about to land on Luocheng, Talon suddenly disappeared from his position.


    Lee Sin¡¯s Sonic Wave hit thin air, not touching anything.


    Meanwhile, Talon had already reappeared behind Lee Sin, his blade digging into Lee Sin¡¯s neck, piercing it deeply!


    Lee Sin was surprised.


    This Talon was simply godlike! Other people would have used Talon¡¯s E-skill to engage without warning, however, this Talon¡¯s E-skill was not only used to engage, but also to avoid the various skills thrown at him! Fizz¡¯s ulti, Lee Sin¡¯s Q-skill, you can forget about touching him!


    A stab with Noxian Diplomacy and Lee Sin¡¯s health fell by one-third!


    At this moment, Fizz had jumped down from the base, launching his ulti into Luocheng¡¯s face!


    Bam!


    Flash!


    It seemed as though the ulti would be a definite hit, but once again, Lin Ming¡¯s shark hit thin air, because even without his E-skill, Talon was still able to avoid it since he could still use his Flash!


    What was even more hateful was the fact that Talon had used his Flash not to dodge them, but to reposition himself right behind Fizz, throwing out a basic attack followed up with his W-skill, Rake!


    The volley of rotating blades swept through Lee Sin and Fizz, and you can see their health drop drastically.


    Luocheng¡¯s mouth curved upward, pressing down on his R key vehemently!


    The blades swept out from beneath Talon¡¯s cloak, piercing through Lee Sin and Fizz, scattering into the air.


    However, the moment the blades hovered in the air, they immediately flew back again. Hence, the silver blades were only seen at a glance, sweeping back quickly in the next second, cruelly collecting the blood beautifully!


    Lee Sin had basically taken damage from all of Talon¡¯s skills, so he was easily killed off.


    As for Fizz, he still hadn¡¯t learnt his lesson and used his E-skill to reposition himself, taking damage from Talon¡¯s W-skill and both casts of his ulti, and his health bar was immediately at dangerous levels.


    Luocheng just added another basic attack on Fizz and the latter joined his teammate in death.


    Double kill!


    Adding on the previous kill on Sivir to this fight¡¯s kills, in an instant, he had three kills under his belt.


    At this time, Riven, who had finally managed to catch up, was once again in an awkward position. Her teammates had all died, did she still go or not?


    In the end, Riven still charged in. After all, Talon had only less than one-third of his health left!


    When Riven had charged in with Sivir previously, she had already used her ulti, and unfortunately for her, it hadn¡¯t even touched Luocheng at all.


    ¡°Hurry, kill him, go, kill him!¡±


    ¡°F*cker, you have to end this b*stard!¡±


    Lin Ming and Xiao Bin were both shouting at the side. To them, as long as they could kill Talon, this game was their win.


    Riven kept up the chase, and once she saw that she had almost caught up, she realized that Talon had regenerated quite a bit of health back due to the Baron¡¯s buff.


    However, he didn¡¯t have any more skills!


    Riven still had to go, and anyway, she believed that her own combo would be enough to kill off Talon.


    Besides, Talon was also running away, that must mean he was out of ideas¡­


    ¡°Ha!¡±


    In just another few steps, suddenly, Talon had appeared behind her, stabbing her throat, Cutthroat!


    Riven was shocked!


    How could it be!? How could the cooldown on his E-skill be so short!


    Silenced for one second!


    Basic attack!


    Noxian Diplomacy!


    There wasn¡¯t any need for overly flashy moves, just these two skills and Riven¡¯s health had dropped to half!


    After the 1 second of silence, Riven pressed her skills frantically.


    However, Talon was not afraid at all. He stood there and fought back, and finally, Riven found that her health was dropping faster than Talon¡¯s!


    ¡°Too slow!¡± Luocheng laughed disdainfully.


    Other people¡¯s fast speed QA-combo only needed 2 seconds, but this Riven was too slow, she had already used 3 seconds.


    If she could chain a faster QA-combo, he would be the one dead, sadly, this was not the case!


    Rake!


    Triple kill!


    It was a triple kill! Adding on Sivir, it was four kills!


    One person had killed four others!


    Lin Ming, Xiao Bin, and the other two young men playing Riven and Lee Sin looked as though they had seen a ghost, their eyeballs were about to pop out and fall to the ground!


    Only, it seemed like it hadn¡¯t ended. Soraka had respawned and had rushed out with her Homeguard, wanting to Flash downward and heal Riven, allowing Riven to fight back.


    In the end, Soraka Flashed and reached only to find Riven on the ground. And now, she, a thin, weak Support was faced with a killer with red eyes and a blood-stained dagger!


    A Red buff, blue buff, and the Baron buff, when all three buffs were gathered on Talon, the cold murderous aura that chilled people to the bone was terrifying to the point that Wei Wei felt her heart beat furiously.


    Talon had already turned around to face her, his face dripping with blood as he smirked coldly, as though saying, thank you for coming graciously to serve up the fifth kill!


    L¡­L¡­Legendary!!!


    The game announcement echoed through the entire Summoner¡¯s Rift, telling everyone that this guy had turned from godlike to a demon!

 Chapter 528 - Oh No, Recognized!

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The announcement of Legendary had completely enchanted Luocheng¡¯s Talon!


    A ground full of corpses, the only figure that remained standing was donned in a silver cloak, the blade in his hand still dripping with blood that didn¡¯t seem to stop.


    At this moment, everyone stopped playing.


    In everyone¡¯s view, to be able to get five kills was already beyond the highest limit available. However, five kills were normally taken with the help of your teammates, taking damage, protecting you, and deliberately giving you the kills.


    The problem was, Luocheng had slaughtered the five of them. From the beginning to the end, his other four teammates had been at the Baron, none of them had helped in this at all!


    This was the real 1 vs 5!


    Many people had heard from the beginning that LOL was not a one person game, and no matter how strong you were, you wouldn¡¯t be able to 1 vs 5.


    So, how did you explain the current situation where a Talon had picked a fight against the entire opposing team, and he alone had ACEd them!


    It wasn¡¯t only the five people on the opposing team that had been scared sh*tless, even Luocheng¡¯s four teammates had millions of thoughts in their mind as well as f*cking disbelief!


    Were you even still human!?


    Nine people all looked at Luocheng as though he was a monster.


    This was too horrifying, a pentakill compared to this situation was just too weak!


    ¡°Are we still playing?¡± The Lee Sin player swallowed heavily, his throat had a lump that didn¡¯t seem to go away and was twitching as he asked his teammates who seemed to be in a daze.


    ¡°Idiot, still play for nuts!?¡± Lin Ming couldn¡¯t keep calm.


    Being 1-vs-5ed by other people, normal people wouldn¡¯t want to continue, even f*cking more so they wouldn¡¯t want to play this game anymore!


    ¡°Why did you Flash and serve up your head, are you out of your mind!?¡± Xiao Bin said angrily.


    ¡°You f*cking sh*thead, you dare to say I¡¯m crazy, say it again if you dare!¡± The punk-hairstyled Wei Wei said angrily.


    Xiao Bin¡¯s previous tone had already made Wei Wei to feel upset, and now, he was actually shouting that she was out of her mind, Wei Wei was really pissed at this d*ckhead!


    So stupid! A messy barbershop, only being able to do a strangely cut hairstyle and then thinking that he was all that. After being beaten by others, he even dared to put the blame on her, was that even still considered to be a man!


    Xiao Bin was also angry, so many of his brothers were around and yet, his own girlfriend had cursed in his face, even threatening him.


    As a man, how could he endure it! His anger shooting up, he said, ¡°I said you¡¯re crazy, so what!?¡±


    Lin Ming, Xiao Bin, and the others were frequently hanging out in the Rising Dragon Internet Cafe and they had a bunch of brothers that they played premade matches with as well as online friends. No matter what, they would usually manage to beat the other team up half-dead, and if they saw anyone they weren¡¯t happy with, they would just directly have a match. They were nothing short of arrogant.


    To them and even to a lot of other people, winning a game felt so much better than winning an actual fight. This was a f*cking display of strength and skills, if you weren¡¯t happy then come at me again, I can just f*ck you up once more.


    The thrill of killing someone, double kill, triple kill, the feeling of elation after winning. This was equivalent to letting an idle group of youths who viewed the internet cafe as their core boost their confidence, and from there, they found a greater sense of superiority!


    Hence, for the sake of their face, they were like that.


    As for Wei Wei, as a short-tempered girl, getting scolded to this extent, of course she would scold back!


    For a time, a couple that was initially very affectionate now turned against each other, screaming obscenities that grated on everyone¡¯s ears.


    For the sake of saving his own face, Xiao Bin even rose up and yanked the girl¡¯s chair, letting her fall to the ground.


    Suddenly, the shouting match had become physical, fist hitting flesh and even kicks. It was unsightly.


    What, didn¡¯t you say it was just a game. If you had lost, that was it, what was the big deal? How could it cause a couple to end up like this.


    In fact, they were the ones that had had a face-problem with other people and had wanted to abuse them like dogs, but in the end, the ones who had lost were them, leaving them angry and frustrated. Losing was one thing, but they had been 1-vs-5ed and the entire team had been wiped out¡­


    Whatever dignity and face they thought they had, there was nothing left!


    ¡°This guy is seriously immature, so disgusting.¡± Qianqian whispered.


    In fact, Qianqian had experienced this kind of situation before.


    She had a few girlfriends who played LOL, but compared to Qianqian, they were just super bad. Occasionally, they would find some guys on those voice platforms to carry them.


    They would duo at the bottom lane, and the girls would play Support. If the girl played badly, the tone of the guy who was initially all smiles and laughter would change, and the more mistakes were made, the more angry the tone would get. Just a few more mistakes and they would start raging.


    This kind of guy, you couldn¡¯t say that he had a bad temper¡­ he was just immature.


    Of course, there was a point to this. That is, sisters, if you really meet someone who let you simply play, casually stepping on their heart, but from the beginning till the end he still managed to maintain that smile and comfort you by saying that you were not doing that bad, just marry the d*mn guy.


    This was not a joke, but a fact. For a man who liked to play games, he would show his childlike self-esteem in the game. If he could still display good temperament toward you, then in the long run in life, he would be very forgiving and gentle toward you¡­


    Anyway, for those girls who felt as though they couldn¡¯t play well, just play the way you played. Nobody would care whether it was good or bad, as long as you were happy. However, make sure you cherish that calm and gentle guy who protects you at the side.


    Luocheng had initially also started playing with this mentality, and when he ranked with Snowfall, he had brought this girl who was only around Gold level to Platinum.


    It was also the same with Yang Qianqian, in fact, it was difficult for Luocheng to have any sense of accomplishment when he played previously. However, with the girls, there were finally some difficulties added to the game which made it have more meaning.


    As for Xiao Bin, that kind of dirty mouth and the fact that he turned on his girlfriend like this, Luocheng felt that it was pretty funny. If you can¡¯t carry the girls, you shouldn¡¯t act so big¡­


    ***


    ¡°Give in or not?¡± Wang Qin¡¯s face was full of smiles, as though he was looking down on this guy, Xiao Bin, who had managed to run his girlfriend off by beating her.


    Xiao Bin straightened his clothes, trying to play it off as though he was still very cool.


    ¡°Give what f*ck, let¡¯s go another f*cking round!¡± Xiao Bin¡¯s anger was still high, how could he back down like that!


    In Luocheng¡¯s view, as a man, you had already lost all face when you raised your hand against a girl. Don¡¯t even talk about regaining your face, so immature and ridiculous.


    ¡°Crazy, you think I¡¯ve got so much time to slowly play with you!?¡± Wang Qin said scornfully.


    Xiao Bin¡¯s anger was still boiling, and he stepped forward, grabbing Wang Qin¡¯s collar.


    Luocheng saw that this guy was a little out of his mind, and he shoved the thinner youth away.


    ¡°You dare to f*cking push me!?¡± Xiao Bin¡¯s face was red, looking as though he wanted to fight as he started advancing toward Luocheng.


    In the game, they had been in a 1 vs 5, so no matter how, he wanted to bring this guy down in reality!


    However, before Xiao Bin could rush forward, a tall figure appeared in front of him.


    A face that had obviously seen a lot in life with the lines and bumps that adorned it, a pair of eyes that didn¡¯t let anyone mistake the fierceness in it.


    The man stood there, not doing anything, but Lin Ming and the others who seemed to have some position in the gangster¡¯s world were all stunned and hurriedly pulled the mad dog Xiao Bin back.


    ¡°B¡­boss Qin¡­¡± Lin Ming¡¯s face bore a stiff smile, and even the guys standing behind him greeted the man.


    Xiao Bin had still been seething mad like a crazy dog initially, but once he saw Qin Ying, he immediately became a puppy.


    Xiao Bin had been picked up by Qin Ying so he didn¡¯t dare to act out in front of the man.


    ¡°Xiao Bin, you¡¯re an idiot. You were already beaten 1 vs 5, you still dare to yell and fight with others?¡± Huang Mi, who had followed Boss Qin, said with a condescending laugh.


    ¡°That¡­that was just an accident, I was unlucky!¡± Xiao Bin defended himself.


    ¡°Accident? I¡¯ll bet my hands even if you play ten rounds, you will still be beaten 1 vs 5 and it still won¡¯t open your d*mn eyes to see who you¡¯re playing against!¡± Boss Qin scolded angrily.


    Lin Ming and Xiao Bin froze, staring at Wang Qin.


    This little dipsh*t was some big shot?


    That¡¯s not right! This guy was just a university student that had returned for a break after his graduation, he was nothing remarkable.


    Lin Ming and Xiao Bin then realized that Boss Qin and Huang Mi¡¯s eyes were actually on the youth wearing glasses, the one who had played Talon.


    This guy played LOL very well, he even seemed to be quite refined. He didn¡¯t seem to be some gangster either¡­but, he looked a bit familiar, as though they had seen him somewhere before!


    Lin Ming wasn¡¯t that stupid and he quietly asked Huang Mi, ¡°Mi, who is this kid¡­ could he be Lecheng¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°You id*ot of the highest order, did you watch the LPL for nothing!?¡± Huang Mi couldn¡¯t help but slap his head.


    With such a reminder from Huang Mi, Lin Ming suddenly realized something. As if an electric shock was coursing through him, his eyes couldn¡¯t stop staring at Luocheng!


    Ai! Yo! Oh! My! Mother! F*cker!


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­he¡¯s¡­he¡¯s¡­¡± Lin Ming kept tripping over his words, his finger pointed at Luocheng and he couldn¡¯t spit out the words from his mouth!


    Luocheng¡¯s heart hammered in his chest. This was bad. He had been recognized!


    ¡°Captain of the LPL champion team, Luocheng, also a brother to me, Qin Ying. Xiao Bin, are you sure you want to trouble him?¡± Boss Qin leveled his domineering gaze at Xiao Bin.


    Xiao Bin had been picked up by Boss Qin, and after seeing that frightening gaze from him, Xiao Bin was in a panic. Hearing the words ¡®captain of LPL champion team¡¯ made him want to piss his pants even more!


    ¡°F*ck! B*stard, I just said that he looked similar to Captain Yu but you guys were saying that that was bullsh*t! That¡¯s f*cking Captain Yu, okay!!¡± A boy not far away suddenly stood up, shouting loudly at the people beside him.


    ¡°Dog-my-cats, it really f*cking is. Oh my god, I¡¯ve seen a live idol!¡± A big man who was sitting two rows opposite Luocheng also stood up suddenly.


    ¡°It really is him, Boss Qin said so!¡±


    ¡°No way! Could it be that Captain Yu is really one of our Lecheng¡¯s people!?¡±

 Chapter 529 - Hacker Child, Lin Dong

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Some of the players suddenly heard a ruckus on the other side of the cafe, and one by one, their heads raised up, asking the people sitting beside them in confusion, ¡°What happened? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Not sure, they¡¯re shouting something about a Captain Yu. Who is this Captain Yu?¡±


    After Luocheng became famous in the LPL, people no longer called him the Fighting Hawk anymore, instead, they called him Captain Yu. The explanation for this was simple, everyone called him that, including those in the professional circle. On one hand, it was more intimate, and on the other hand, it was showing respect to this top professional player!


    ¡°F*ck your sister, you don¡¯t even recognize Captain Yu yet you still dare to say that you¡¯re qualified to play LOL! Brat!¡± His friend slapped the head of the friend that hadn¡¯t even watched the LPL before.


    ¡°Put it this way, he¡¯s our LOL god in China, get it?¡±


    ¡°Such a great person is actually here in this cafe?¡± That blur guy said.


    ¡°Looks like it. Look at those people there, they¡¯re not even playing anymore!¡±


    ***


    In an internet cafe environment, if you were a Diamond player, you could basically hold your head up high as you walked past everyone.


    If a Challenger or a professional player appeared, that was asking for most of the people here to look up at you in awe.


    The appearance of a LPL player was basically the same as meeting a celebrity. Moreso, the captain of the LPL championship team, hailed as China¡¯s LOL god, with him appearing in their small internet cafe, how could the cafe not explode!


    Nowadays, internet cafes were all occupied by LOL worshippers, and once everyone found out that Captain Yu from the LPL championship team had appeared here, everyone left their seats just to gather around. The scene was so spectacular, it was similar to when there was an underage inspection!


    ¡°What the h*ll, what¡¯s going on here?¡± A player on CF asked with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Seems like a LOL pro-player was recognized.¡±


    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s just a pro-player for a game, why does it need to be so exaggerated as if it¡¯s meeting some singer!¡±


    Those people who were playing Warcraft, CF, QQ Speed, and other online games were all confused at the commotion. They weren¡¯t playing their games anymore, these crazy bunch of people¡­


    The Rising Dragon Internet Cafe was in an uproar for quite some time.


    A large group of people gathered and surrounded the gaming area, a lot of them taking out their mobile phones and taking pictures or just directly calling up their friends.


    ¡°Hey, sh*thead, hurry up and come on over to Rising Dragon. D*mmit, do you know who¡¯s here right now!? Just shut up, put on some pants, and come over!¡±


    ¡°Oh my f*ck, Captain Yu¡­what, what!? I didn¡¯t borrow any money from you, I¡¯m telling you that the LPL champion Captain Yu is in our Rising Dragon Cafe right now, we¡¯re holding him here!¡±


    ¡°Luo Hao, do you know who I¡¯m seeing at the Rising Dragon right now! You f*cking can¡¯t even dream who it is!¡±


    ¡°Captain Yu, let¡¯s take a picture, please take a picture with me!¡± The man who had shouted earlier said excitedly.


    ¡°Shake my hand, shake my hand and send me some god aura for ten consecutive wins in ranked!¡±


    The scene descended into chaos and noise.


    As for Xiao Bin, Lin Ming, and the others, they had reached a stage of dumbfoundedness that they were almost forgetting to breathe¡­


    Huang Mi saw their states and said coldly, ¡°Being able to play a game with Captain Yu, that was some great luck that you¡¯ve overused for the next hundred years!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Lin Ming nodded his head so vigorously that it looked as though it was going to fall off.


    Xiao Bin also had a clearer head now. After knowing the identity of the other party, where he had dared to clamour for another round, hadn¡¯t he already died enough times?


    There was a saying, if one was unlucky, their teeth would drop even by just drinking water.


    God d*mn, what rotten luck he had today. By simply calling out someone to play a match in the internet cafe, a f*cking LPL champion had come out instead, this was really digging his own grave!


    But if you think back on it¡­


    Since the other party was the LPL champion, that 1 vs 5 earlier didn¡¯t seem so shameful anymore!


    Other people had come from Mars and played with these people that hailed from Earth, how was that even comparable!


    ***


    Luocheng glanced at Qin Ying with much resentment and reluctance on his face.


    God d*mn, would it have killed you to have kept quiet about it!? Now what was he going to do!?


    ¡°Go, go and borrow a big camera, hurry up and take a picture to commemorate this moment, otherwise, this guy will run off again without a trace!¡± Boss Qin said to Huang Mi.


    ¡°Yeah, alright!¡± Huang Mi said.


    ¡°Boss Qin, what are you planning?¡± Luocheng had an ominous feeling.


    ¡°Help me out a little with my business, won¡¯t you? No matter how things are now, you¡¯re a LOL universal more than godlike existence, taking a picture of you in our Rising Dragon Internet Cafe and hanging it up, that¡¯ll be my gold sign of the cafe!¡± Boss Qin laughed loudly as he replied.


    Luocheng sweat dropped. To be hung on the wall, was that really appropriate!?


    Before he could say anything else, Huang Mi really came back with a borrowed camera.


    Qin Ying was also very generous, asking everyone who wanted to take a photo to gather around for a group photo!


    Then, he took a solo picture with Luocheng himself and then pointed at the big wall at the entrance of the cafe, proudly saying, ¡°I¡¯ll have to hang you up here, hahaha! It will be extremely classy!¡±


    ¡°Alright, you win!¡± Luocheng said helplessly.


    However, thinking about it, he had played a lot of times for free in this Rising Dragon Internet Cafe. Letting them have that free advertisement with his face was fine after all.


    With such a big group of people, Luocheng was unable to cope very well, and in the end, Boss Qin dispersed the crowd, escorting Luocheng to leave.


    Walking out from the internet cafe, Luocheng finally took in a breath of fresh air.


    Can you imagine the feeling of those sweaty, smelly things that kept touching your body, how suffocating it would have been inside there.


    ¡°Haha, Luocheng, you¡¯re practically a big star already. I reckon that if you just simply walked into a random internet cafe, I fear that everybody will be able to recognize you!¡± Wang Qin laughed.


    When Wang Qin had told his roommates that Luocheng had sat at the same desk as him in the past, none of them would believe him at all. Up to the point that Wang Qin had managed to bring out his high school records as strong evidence, only then did he manage to convince them. This was indeed something to be shown off since Luocheng¡¯s glory had only got higher and higher, this image made people feel more and more proud.


    ***


    Staying In Lecheng for a few days, Luocheng couldn¡¯t be playing games all day. Together with Wang Qin and the others as well as some of the girls from their high school days, all of them went around Lecheng together and had fun. Luocheng¡¯s high-strung nerves were able to be well relaxed due to that.


    In the past, he would train to the point that it exhausted his brain, and it had easily led him on a destructive path. Now, Luocheng was still training hard, but he would find ways to relieve the mental pressure, often going out to socialize with other people.


    After playing for two to three days and handling all his paperwork, Luocheng felt that it was time to return to Shanghai.


    There were only a few months left until the finals of the S International League, and within these three months, they needed to train to synchronize even better as well as improve their coordination and design more strategies.


    The game was ever-changing, new champions continued to appear in the professional arena. The standards of the national team were also not standardized, making League of Legends all the more interesting.


    As the pioneer of this game and the leader of the industry, naturally, they wanted to become the strongest in LOL. Their tactics, strength, and understanding all depended on their accumulated experiences over the days and months as well as competitions that contributed to their growth!


    ***


    After roasting for a whole afternoon, in the evening, Luocheng rode a bicycle with Qianqian sitting behind him into the city.


    As they passed that river, Luocheng glanced at the somewhat old building.


    ¡°Do you want to take a look?¡± Qianqian asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s better to forget it.¡± Luocheng replied, shaking his head.


    Qianqian didn¡¯t push it any further, but as they continued on, Luocheng¡¯s phone started ringing.


    Qianqian fished his phone out from his pocket and answered it for him, she then happily placed it beside Luocheng¡¯s ear for him to take the call.


    ¡°Yo, what¡¯s up?¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°Nothing much, I just called to ask if you were done with your documents?¡± Lin Dong¡¯s voice came through.


    ¡°About done, when are you going back?¡±


    ¡°I might take a while longer, I ran into some trouble.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Can you handle it?¡±


    ¡°Should be.¡±


    ¡°Alright, if you have any problems, let me know¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s just some things that I need to handle on my own.¡±


    ¡°Alright, if you say so¡­¡± Luocheng knew that he couldn¡¯t really help Lin Dong much.


    ***


    Lin Dong hung up the call, adjusting his cap, not really knowing how to walk into the residential complex in front of him.


    It had been about three to four years since he had stepped foot here, the community wasn¡¯t much different from the time he had left, but the people were mostly strangers to him now.


    Lin Dong had thought that he would never need to come back here again since he really didn¡¯t know how to face the two people who were staying on the eighth floor.


    Even now, he still remembered the time when they had pulled all their savings out, bailing him out from the correction centre, watching them go from school to school, hoping that just one of them would accept him¡­


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t really want to face it, only, this time he had no choice because the Hukou book was needed if he was going abroad, and it was in their hands.


    Lin Dong had done the same thing as Luocheng, dropping out to play e-sports, choosing to leave their homes to do so.


    The difference was that Luocheng still had the option to continue to study, while he had given up on it. Besides, there were no schools that would accept Lin Dong and his parents couldn¡¯t do much for him, and they had had to let him out into society early.


    In fact, six or seven years ago, Lin Dong¡¯s family situation had still been good.


    His father was a senior programmer who excelled at deciphering and decoding. Lin Dong had been influenced by his father since young, being able to use a computer before he could walk. At that time, computers were a new thing in China and there were only few.


    Growing up in such an environment, it gave Lin Dong more superhuman control with computers. Without his father¡¯s knowledge, Lin Dong learnt a lot about the technology by himself. His parents were completely oblivious to the fact that the kid that locked himself in the room all day was actually a famous hacker in China!


    In the end, the shocking cybercrime had ended Lin Dong¡¯s seemingly ordinary and peaceful life. He clearly remembered the day it happened, he had been in school when four policemen had come to his class, taking him away in front of his teacher and classmates.


    His home had also been invaded by the policemen, scaring the living daylights out of his parents as well as his neighbours.


    (Translator¡¯s note: Hukou is a system of household registration used in mainland China. The system itself is more properly called ¡°huji¡±, and has origins in ancient China; hukou is the registration of an individual in the system.)

 Chapter 530 - Computer Prodigy

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°Boy, I¡¯ve seen you standing here for quite a long time. Are you looking for someone?¡± The building supervisor walked out, asking him.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t reply and looked as though he made up his mind, walking toward the residential complex.


    The building supervisor was puzzled, muttering under his breath.


    At the same time, an aunty who was returning from her shopping saw Lin Dong and said, ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that the child from the Lin family?¡±


    ¡°Madam, you know him?¡± The building supervisor asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a few years, I almost didn¡¯t recognize him. It¡¯s Lin Xin¡¯s son. Wow, this kid caused quite a commotion at that time, scaring all of us half to death.¡± The aunty said.


    ¡°What happened?¡± The building supervisor had been stationed as security not too long ago, and he asked curiously.


    ¡°It was one afternoon and there were several police cars present, they drove directly into the building. I was feeding my grandchildren when I saw the policemen rushing upstairs. It was a shock to us, thinking that there were murderers hiding here. Later, we learnt that Lin Xin¡¯s kid was involved in some cybercrime, stealing a lot of money!¡± The aunty said in a low voice.


    She said it in a low voice just so Lin Dong wouldn¡¯t overhear, then, another older lady who had been walking by also heard it, stopping there to listen. She then said in a surprised voice, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard about that but I didn¡¯t know what happened in the end.¡±


    ¡°He was just a child, how could he have stolen such a large amount of money. It shouldn¡¯t have been such a big deal.¡± The building supervisor said.


    ¡°What do you know! He stole from government enterprises, it was hundreds of thousands!¡± The aunty said.


    The older lady and the building supervisor gasped in shock. A child had managed to steal hundreds and thousands from the government, wasn¡¯t that just terrifying?


    Other people¡¯s children at that age only stole money from their own house to play online games, and that was just a small amount!


    ***


    Lin Dong kept his eyes forward as he walked on, he had already long been accustomed to people whispering behind his back, giving him strange looks.


    Lin Dong¡¯s hearing was very good, even when wearing his headphones, he was able to distinguish the skills others were casting just by the sounds. He could even hear Sona¡¯s harp music when she was hiding in the bush.


    ¡°A few hundred thousands?¡± Lin Dong muttered scornfully at the aunty¡¯s words.


    They were gossiping like this about him until the whole neighbourhood knew, but they still got the numbers wrong. A few hundred thousands only, that was an insult to him.


    Have you ever seen the government sending people to monitor someone for 5 years just for a mere few hundred thousands? It would already cost that hundreds of thousands to even pay those people supervising!


    ***


    Getting on the old elevator, Lin Dong reached the tenth floor.


    This elevator was really quite old, in fact, 20 years ago, only those of the middle and high society could afford to live in this kind of place. Nowadays, those that stayed here were mostly elderly people with their kids, the later generation all having their own newer homes, and sometimes, multiple newer houses.


    Coming out of the elevator, he turned to walk along the corridor. The house at the innermost corridor belonged to his family.


    The corridor was long and the windows were all closed for a reason, and due to that, the corridor was very dark. Especially the last section, if you didn¡¯t turn on the light, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see your hands.


    Lin Dong knew that they should have changed their accommodations earlier, and they had the capital for that too¡­


    When he reached his destination, Lin Dong didn¡¯t bother to turn on the light. The darkness gave him a sense of security, just like every time he hacked into a system with IP in a hidden state, it gave him an extra peace of mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that nonsense! There is nothing wrong with my system! What Trojan Horse manages to steal your company¡¯s data, is your company so valuable!? When I installed security protections for the top 500 companies, your company wasn¡¯t even in the list. What do you mean I have to bear the losses your company suffered! I already told you before, those firewalls and defenses needed to be upgraded, otherwise, it would be easily pierced through by the latest malwares! You guys are the ones who didn¡¯t listen!¡±


    Lin Dong hadn¡¯t even knocked on the door yet and he can hear a middle-aged man roaring angrily in the room.


    ¡°What!? Deduct five thousand from me!? Don¡¯t make me take action against you bunch of businessmen! You will pay me the amount that we agreed on before, not a penny less!¡±


    ¡°Change, you¡¯re asking me to change it again. I already told you, there would be loopholes if I wrote it according to your specifications. You didn¡¯t listen to me and now you want to put the blame on me!?¡±


    The continous roar could be heard throughout the whole building. Lin Dong lifted his hands, hovering beside the doorbell for a while before he dared to press on it.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t be so angry, it¡¯s bad for your health.¡± A soft, feminine voice said.


    ¡°These disgusting hateful profiteers are too much! I won¡¯t take any orders from these broken companies next time, wasting my time, no profits and just making me angry!¡± Lin Xin cursed.


    Ding dong! Ding dong!


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m coming! It should be my express delivery.¡± The woman¡¯s voice said.


    Footsteps were heard and the door was opened a moment later.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you turn on the lights¡­¡± The woman opened the door, seeing a boy wearing a hat standing in the dark.


    Many couriers wore hats nowadays and the woman didn¡¯t think anything of it at first, all prepared to accept a delivery. However, when she realized that the youth was wearing a hat and keeping his head down, the woman was shocked and surprised to see Lin Dong.


    ¡°Dong, you¡¯ve come back!¡± Bai Wenyi said with a face full of joy, hurriedly ushering Lin Dong into the house.


    ¡°Who is it¡­¡± Lin Xin glanced up through the thick black-framed glasses on his face.


    When he saw Lin Dong, his expression changed immediately, and you couldn¡¯t tell whether it was joy or anger.


    ¡°You still know how to come back even though you haven¡¯t been home for a few years!¡±


    ¡°Reign in that temper, don¡¯t scare the child!¡± The seemingly soft Bai Wenyi said with a fierce glare toward Lin Xin.


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t dare to anger Bai Wenyi, but he still shot a glare at Lin Dong, his eyes conveying the meaning behind it: Just you wait and see how I¡¯ll deal with you!


    ¡°Are you settling well in Shanghai?¡± Bai Wenyi started to busy herself, pouring water for Lin Dong, opening the fridge to see if there was anything Lin Dong liked to eat in it.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°So if it¡¯s alright does that mean you won¡¯t bother coming home for a few years!?¡± Lin Xin shot out.


    ¡°Go, go, go away!¡± Bai Wenyi said, pointing her finger at Lin Xin.


    Lin Xin was also angered, complaining, ¡°He has always been spoiled by you, never thinking about the consequences of doing anything!¡±


    ¡°Are you hungry? Aih, you¡¯re not around so I don¡¯t have any of the things that you like to eat in the house. It¡¯s about time for dinner anyway, go and play some computer in your room first, I¡¯ll go out to buy ingredients. I¡¯ll cook what you feel like eating. Oh, that¡¯s right, I heard that you won the championship, let¡¯s treat it like a celebration.¡± Bai Wenyi said, her face full of smiles.


    From her expression you could tell that she was feeling overwhelmed with joy.


    Lin Dong was her only child and Bai Wenyi had spoiled him ever since he was born. He took after her be it her face, eyes, nose, and even personality. At the same time, he had inherited his father¡¯s innate talent for computers.


    Lin Dong had been a prodigy since he was young, he was way smarter than the children his age. It was also for this reason that Bai Wenyi doted on him even more, because he made her extremely proud.


    In fact, for even his father, Lin Xin, when Lin Dong was ten and had placed first in a junior computer design competition, the former had been so happy that he hadn¡¯t been able to sleep for a few nights!


    Perhaps it was this endless spoiling in his upbringing that had caused that huge scandal, and in just one night, the happy family suddenly had to carry a heavy burden.


    Bai Wenyi seemed to have forgotten what had happened so many years ago and didn¡¯t place the blame on Lin Dong at all, instead, she spoiled him even more.


    Bai Wenyi didn¡¯t feel that it was the fault of the child for embarking on the path of hacking, but the fault of her as the parent for paying too much attention to the child¡¯s talent, not teaching him right from wrong.


    In our opinion, fighting, stealing, and lying was wrong, these were the basic common sense that should be taught to children. Even if these things were not taught, it was common, it was just the way things were. However, some children were not told of these things.


    Lin Dong was that way and he didn¡¯t know that what he was doing was a crime. He only knew that it was fun to hack into other people¡¯s systems and break it. It was particularly fun to watch them panic and get frantic, and it was fulfilling to see people¡¯s transfers fail. All of this was just a game, just like playing League of Legends, destroying other people¡¯s turrets, killing the opponent¡¯s champions, and letting others lose their gold¡­


    The higher your talents, the more the elders would ignore the most basic common sense and things. Bai Wenyi was deeply aware of this fact.


    That was why, the guilty party and blame shouldn¡¯t fall on the child, but on the parents instead. Blinded by that ridiculous pride, it had led him to go astray.


    ¡°Lin, I¡¯m going to buy groceries. I¡¯m telling you first, if you dare to scold him again, don¡¯t talk to me in the future. It¡¯s so hard for him to come back and yet you want to chase him away!¡± Bai Wenyi pulled Lin Xin aside to warn him harshly.


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Lin Xin said grudgingly.


    Normally, Bai Wenyi was a very gentle and obedient wife, but that was relatively speaking. Once the kid was in the picture, he was nothing.


    Bai Wenyi hurriedly left the house, leaving Lin Dong and Lin Xin in the living room together.


    Lin Dong cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence. ¡°I heard you yelling just now, what was it about?¡±


    ¡°Just talking about it makes me angry. Two months ago, I took on this private job. They kept asking me to make changes whether it was just cosmetic, technical, or even upgrading problems. I told them before that if they didn¡¯t have those protections, there would easily be problems in the future. At that time, they said it was fine, so obviously, I followed their specifications and proceeded with it. In the end, it turned out to really have problems, and now, they¡¯re asking me to continue to change it again. Keep it beautiful and have protections at the same time, otherwise, they will deduct five thousand from my pay!¡± Lin Xin said angrily.


    ¡°Is that the system?¡± Lin Dong pointed at the laptop on the coffee table.


    The laptop was a bit old, and it seemed that Lin Xin was reluctant to replace it.


    As a senior programmer, the computer was a tool, and it was hard to be stingy on it.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Let me take a look.¡±

 Chapter 531 - Zhou Yan’s Real Life 1 vs 3

    Chapter 531: Zhou Yan¡¯s Real Life 1 vs 3


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t mind it, walking off to make a pot of tea, and as he was doing so, he asked, ¡°How is it with the games, what did your mother mean by championship just now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a game, it¡¯s e-sports. The China champion for League of Legends professional league!¡± Lin Dong corrected him as he tapped away on the notebook.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the one they¡¯re calling LOL, right. A lot of people are playing that game. The youths in my company are always making a racket about some ¡®premade¡¯ during lunch hour, disturbing other people¡¯s rest, really!¡± Lin Xin said.


    ¡°Yeah, the game¡¯s really popular. The local competition has been done, and in September and October, we¡¯re going abroad to play. I came back this time to take the Hukou book to settle some documents and procedures in the office.¡± Lin Dong said, his eyes still on the screen in front of him as the clicking and clacking sounds continued.


    ¡°Going abroad again? The last time you went there was that commotion, this time, you¡¯re going again¡­¡± Lin Xin said somewhat unhappily.


    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°What ¡®I¡¯m done¡¯! I¡¯m telling you, without your mother¡¯s approval, don¡¯t even think about taking the Hukou book to process your going abroad!¡± Lin Xin said.


    ¡°I meant, I¡¯m done with the system. I maintained the original appearance of the system and I¡¯ve added the protective wall that you wanted.¡± Lin Dong said, pointing at the notebook.


    Lin Xin was stunned.


    Lin Dong stood up and walked toward the bathroom.


    Lin Xin was still watching him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.


    It was impossible for Lin Xin not to feel any anger inside, this kid had brought a huge disaster on the family, and no matter how good a person was, it was impossible to maintain a calm mind at that.


    Only, at this moment, Lin Xin understood why he and Bai Wenyi had never really blamed him for that matter. Because his talents were practically a perfect wonderful gift from the gods, it could drown out all his wrongdoings, making them unable to muster any anger toward him.


    Something that Lin Xin had spent his whole life researching, but Lin Dong could learn it in such a short period of time. Not only that, he could even make it better, wasn¡¯t that something to be proud of?


    ¡°Their surveillance on you has ended?¡± Lin Xin took a deep breath to settle the sudden onslaught of emotions that he felt.


    ¡°There¡¯s still two months left.¡± Lin Dong replied.


    In the past five years, Lin Dong would feel a pair of eyes on him from time to time, making him uneasy.


    Soon, soon, all of this would be over.


    ¡°After it¡¯s over, find a private company and work hard. With your talents, it won¡¯t be long before you can be the top designer in our country and maybe even overseas¡­You can easily earn money from there and foreigners also have a high interest in this, not like our country who feels that this is not worth it.¡± Lin Xin said.


    Lin Dong shook his head.


    ¡°Why? What else have you been planning to do!¡± Lin Xin said.


    ¡°I¡¯m playing professional e-sports, this is my job. At least¡­until we take the World¡¯s championship, I won¡¯t be doing anything else.¡± Lin Dong explained.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the future in playing that!¡± Lin Xin stood up all of a sudden.


    These five years had not been easy. Lin Xin really hoped that Lin Dong would be able to buck up and use his talents in the appropriate field so that their family could turn around for the better¡­


    He was fed up with this old elevator and this old place with the gossiping aunties and those shameless small companies!


    All these years, he had endured it and was fed up. Since graduating from university, he had always been a proud man, when had he ever had to endure anything like this!


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother about what I do. What I want to do, I will definitely accomplish it.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°You¡­you¡¯ll only be happy when you make me die from anger, is it!?¡± Lin Xin was obviously getting angry.


    ¡°I will bear the responsibilities of what I do. But the things that I want to do, I will also definitely finish it.¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Hmph, do you think that by playing that game, you will be able to get back all those things?¡± Lin Xin was mindful of his wife¡¯s warnings and he reigned in his temper.


    Lin Dong didn¡¯t reply, he couldn¡¯t give up on e-sports either way. Even if he hadn¡¯t personally witnessed the fresh red blood that flowed freely from the wrist onto the floor which was split for the sake of passionate e-sports¡­


    Not long after, Bai Wenyi returned. She spoke a few words to Lin Dong before heading into the kitchen to prepare dinner.


    Lin Xin had not spoken for a long time, and finally, he called out to the kitchen, ¡°Your son wants to go overseas for a competition.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great!¡± Bai Wenyi said happily.


    ¡°¡­¡± Hearing what Bai Wenyi said, Lin Xin didn¡¯t feel like saying anything else.


    Lin Dong wanted to avoid a quarrel with Lin Xin, hence, he went into the kitchen to help Bai Wenyi wash the vegetables. Just as he was about to begin, his phone started to ring.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Zhou?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°I met Zhao Tinghua in my hometown.¡± Zhou Yan replied.


    ¡°Ah, how¡¯s his situation?¡± Lin Dong said.


    ¡°Beat up some local ruffians and they want me to cough up some cash. I can¡¯t get a hold of Meiqi, could you ask her to advance me some money first, I think about a few thousand.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let her know. What happened, is everything alright?¡± Lin Dong asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s do this first.¡± Zhou Yan¡¯s tone was decisive.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Dong nodded his head, and after Zhou Yan had hung up, he felt a strange feeling blossoming.


    ***


    Qu country was a country with poor economic development, and describing it as a country was also pushing it because it looked more to be a gray area. The streets were worn out and the cracks in cement were everywhere. The houses were old, there was moss when it rained, the walls were broken, and the ditches gave off an uncomfortable feeling all around.


    In a muddy alley, a burly man stood in a puddle, his face black.


    He put down the phone in his hand, his gaze on the three men who were laughing and carrying bats in their hands. The three men were adorned with metal chains, and you could tell at a glance that they were ruffians. From the way they were holding the bats, it was obvious that it was not just for show.


    ¡°That thing, see him once then beat him once. He dared to be so arrogant in front of us¡­ so what if we teased his sister? What if one day I get unhappy and take her, what can he do to us!¡± The long haired man who was walking in the middle said.


    ¡°Hahaha, then you wouldn¡¯t leave us behind either?¡± The man who placed the bat on his shoulder, standing on the left side said.


    The other guy just gave a lustful laugh.


    ¡°Hey, stupid big guy in front, don¡¯t block our way. Don¡¯t you see these guys in our hands!¡± The long-haired guy with a sloppy face said.


    Zhou Yan stood there, his body moving slightly, as though he was giving way to them.


    The long-haired guy gave him a haughty look, swaggering on past Zhou Yan.


    Suddenly, a hand shot out to grab him!


    This same hand lifted the long-haired guy with ease, throwing him into the guy who was holding the bat!


    The two men were completely unprepared, crashing into the wall, their eyes seeing stars!


    When the last guy finally reacted, suddenly Zhou Yan¡¯s feet kicked out, planting itself in his stomach. The guy shrunk into himself, unable to scream as he kept gasping and choking!


    With a punch, he smashed the face of the guy who was curled up, breaking his nose. The blood splattered out, the person falling into the muddy waters, not able to get up.


    ¡°F*cker!¡± The long-haired guy finally stood up, raising his bat against Zhou Yan¡¯s head!


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t even bother dodging, the bat landing on his head didn¡¯t even hurt at all!


    Another punch, this time on the long-haired guy¡¯s face, he could feel the bones breaking, the sounds were crisp.


    The other guy was shocked by Zhou Yan¡¯s actions!


    This f*cker had shoved two away, one kick and one punch had instantly downed one, while the other one had been crippled by one punch. He hadn¡¯t even tried to dodge their bat, the damage was on a whole different level!


    The bat in his hands was tossed away, and since he knew that he couldn¡¯t beat him, he chose to run. The other two were rolling on the floor and crawling away, an extremely embarrassing scene indeed. As they ran, they were still throwing curses¡­


    Zhou Yan¡¯s face was still dark as he glared at them, and they didn¡¯t dare to say anything more as they ran away as fast as they could.


    Zhou Yan didn¡¯t bother chasing them and turned back instead, walking along the alley until he reached the end. His eyes were on the person who was sitting down and leaning against the wall, his body full of bruises and blood.


    Zhou Yan bent down, pulling the person¡¯s arm across his shoulder, lifting him up.


    ¡°Im fine.¡± He stood up on his own, but it looked like his leg had taken a heavy blow from the bat, making him unsteady.


    Zhou Yan still held him up and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t injure your hands, right?¡±


    ¡°Impossible.¡± Zhao Tinghua said.


    As a professional player, how could he not protect his hands properly. Even if his head got bashed, he wouldn¡¯t allow anything to hurt his hands.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you to the hospital.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll treat you.¡±


    ¡°Busybody.¡±


    In the game, Tinghua could face off against many opponents alone, and no matter how strong they were, they would still fall to him. But in reality, facing three guys with bats, he was helpless against them. Instead, Zhou Yan being able to 1 vs 3 in reality made Tinghua unsatisfied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve also come back to process the formalities?¡± Tinghua asked, limping as he walked.


    ¡°Yeah. You guys changed bosses, how has it been?¡± Zhou Yan asked.


    With the fall of Xu Pingyang, Sky Club had dropped from being the number one club. Now, the strongest club should be Thunder, followed by Daemons and Revelation.


    Thunder Club didn¡¯t have any substantial teams, but they were well versed in operations and had signed on a few strong teams to expand their influence on their position.


    There was some inkling that Sky Club would merge with Thunder Club, so if Sky Club was going to enter the S International League, it would most likely be under Thunder Club¡¯s name.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad, the money¡¯s much better.¡± Tinghua replied.


    ¡°You should do it with us, the money is all our own.¡± Zhou Yan pointed out.


    ¡°Heh, and then disband after two years? I can¡¯t afford to not have income for even a month, and also, some things are not about the money.¡± Tinghua retorted.


    ¡°You¡¯re just too stubborn.¡± Zhou Yan said.


    ¡°Whatever you want to think¡­wait, let me tell my sister that I fell off from a bicycle.¡± Tinghua said.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get such serious injuries from falling off a bicycle, she¡¯s not stupid.¡± Zhou Yan pointed out.


    ¡°A motorcycle then!¡± Tinghua flinched, gritting his teeth in pain.


    ¡°You¡¯re a celebrity now, you should be more mindful¡­¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, who would recognize me in this godforsaken place¡­¡±

 Chapter 532 - Beautiful Assistant

    Chapter 532: Beautiful Assistant


    Luocheng had returned to Shanghai ahead of the rest of them. It was expected that they would stay home for a while, it was a rare vacation after all.


    Luocheng didn¡¯t stay too long in Qianqian¡¯s place since her parents had come back early from their vacation. Sigh, the heavens were not on his side. He had thought that with Yang Ying leaving after a few days, he wouldn¡¯t need to sleep in separate rooms under Yang Ying¡¯s supervision.


    Back in Shanghai, Luocheng contacted Li Meiqi first.


    Meiqi had become very busy, and oftentimes, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see her from the early hours of the morning.


    Taking out the key, he walked into a clean and tidy apartment. Luocheng then turned on the computer.


    While waiting for the computer to boot up, he suddenly got the urge to pee, so he went to the bathroom and opened the door.


    Eh, there was so much fog.


    Why was there the sound of water running? Luocheng was puzzled.


    And then, when he looked forward, he realized that there was a figure behind the frosted glass, and it looked like a naked figure!


    A pair of surprisingly big knockers that you could vaguely see the outline of in the mist, but if you looked closer you could see milky white skin and the curves¡­it should be at least a 34C, and this led Luocheng to think of Sona for a moment!


    Luocheng had always thought that the fullness and thin figure only existed virtually, he never expected it to exist in reality. Seeing it in person made the blood pump in his veins!


    ¡°Ahh, who is it!?¡± The horrified voice of a girl rang out.


    Luocheng, with his face flushed red, cursed, hurriedly retreating from the room and slamming the door shut.


    Once the door was locked, Luocheng tried to calm his beating heart.


    Holy sh*t, why didn¡¯t people lock the door when they showered? That was strange, it didn¡¯t seem to be Meiqi. Her chest wasn¡¯t that big, could it be that she had deliberately bound it?


    Also, the scream didn¡¯t sound like Meiqi, it had sounded more like that girl, Dai Lan, who had been with Meiqi the other day.


    See no evil, see no evil. Even though Luocheng couldn¡¯t figure out whether this was a sin or a virtue, no matter what, you must never debate with the girl whether or not locking the door was whose fault. As long as you were the one who went in, you were ultimately the one at fault.


    Luocheng was very calm, and he hurriedly went into the living room. He turned off the computer that he had just turned on, quickly erasing any traces of him coming in, and then, pretending that he had never come back, he purposely ran to Demacia Cafe instead.


    ***


    After a while, the bathroom door opened. Dai Lan had already dressed, the water droplets still dripping from her body.


    This girl was quite daring. If it was any other person, they would have called the police. This was a house where there was no one else but her, after all.


    The members of the team were all back home, and Jian Feng had followed Meiqi to Beijing to find a sponsor. Since there was only her in the entire house, it was normal for her not to lock the door.


    It was nightfall and Dai Lan was still full of doubts when a handsome boy with a backpack knocked on the door.


    ¡°Luocheng?¡± Dai Lan had never met Luocheng in person, but his face was well-known to many.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re the translator that Meiqi hired, right?¡± Luocheng put down his bag and said, as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Yeah, nice to meet you. Please take care of me in the future.¡± Dai Lan said as she extended her hand.


    Luocheng shook it carefully, thinking internally, after taking a bath, a girl¡¯s skin was really soft and smelled good¡­


    ¡°Same to you.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Did you just reach?¡± Dai Lan asked casually as she poured a glass of water for him.


    ¡°Yeah, got on the subway after getting off,¡± Luocheng replied, his face not betraying anything.


    ¡°Did you come by train or flight?¡± Dai Lan asked.


    ¡°Train.¡±


    ¡°Is your computer this one, or this one?¡± Dai Lan continued.


    ¡°This one.¡± Luocheng pointed out his computer.


    ¡°Did my body look good?¡±


    ¡°Not bad¡­ugh!¡±


    Dai Lan was amused as she gave him a look that said ¡°you think you can beat me, little brat?¡±.


    Luocheng was speechless.


    Sigh, why was there no trust between people.


    If he had known that he would have been seen through, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered going through the trouble of trying to erase the evidence and pretending that he had just gotten back.


    Meeting for the first time, other than getting to know that Dai Lan had a very generous bust, he also understood that she had the brains. Whoever said that having big boobs meant no brains?


    When Dai Lan proposed that he carry her to Gold and she would forgive his recklessness this time, Luocheng finally felt relieved. He was really afraid that this girl would have asked him to take responsibility for something, that¡­that would be so awesome though.


    At night, Luocheng then accompanied her to play, and at the same time, he tried out some new Support plays.


    ***


    ¡°You¡¯re using Gragas as a Support, can you win? In the newest patch, Gragas has been nerfed a lot. His win-rate is only about 42% which is terrible.¡± Dai Lan said.


    The people who knew Luocheng also knew that his selection of champions for Support had always been eccentric. Only, could a Gragas serve as a Support, that was debatable.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m experimenting.¡± Luocheng replied.


    ¡°Alright, big champions always treat Silver and Gold players like AIs, right?¡± Dai Lan said.


    ¡°That¡¯s not really true. Playing this game, if training this champion fails, I will also be bullied.¡± Luocheng replied.


    In fact, there were many Silver and Gold players who were quite good. They were often able to easily bring down the lane, so naturally, it was impossible for Luocheng to win against these people using champions that he wasn¡¯t used to.


    The main problem was that in Silver and Gold, they were not playing to win, but playing for fun. If it was just for entertainment, that was fine. But if you were serious about climbing the ranks, this was something that needed to be corrected.


    Taking a lot of kills was useless because if you lost, then you lost. Even if you died a lot, as long as you won, it was still a win¡­


    Luocheng often mixed around in the different groups, so he had a better understanding of the different personalities around. At the same time, he also had sufficient experience in dishing out the abuse. Hence, even though he practiced with unconventional champions for Support, he was still able to maintain a high win-rate.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it seems that the venue of the S International League has been changed to Korea. Do you speak Korean?¡± After a sudden thought, Luocheng asked.


    ¡°Of course I do. I majored in English in university and had a minor in Korean and Japanese. I love to watch Korean dramas, so naturally, I learnt well!¡± Dai Lan said confidently.


    ¡°Oh, then why did you learn Japanese?¡± Luocheng asked quietly.


    Dai Lan¡¯s face flushed slightly, putting on a straight face. ¡°I like to watch Japanese dramas too, so what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, if there¡¯s a chance we can communicate¡­¡±


    ¡°Pervert!¡±


    ¡°You died.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you protect me!?¡±


    ¡°There were four of them there and you rushed in. There¡¯s no way I could have.¡±


    ***


    After about three days, the rest of them came back one after another.


    Da Luo and Wu Sen saw that the assistant Meiqi had hired turned out to be such a beautiful lady, and their eyes drifted elsewhere for a moment, privately guessing whether it was a D or an E.


    Luocheng was quite disdainful about their d*ck behavior, anyway, he had seen it personally, it was definitely not an E.


    There were suddenly two beauties under one roof, everyone was in a happy mood. Even though they couldn¡¯t touch, obsessing, flirting, and washing eyes was still fine.


    On the fourth day, Team Skycrown was officially back to training.


    During the time when the rest were not back yet, Luocheng and Dai Lan had discussed a little on their training plans.


    In the morning, everyone had to get up at 9 AM, from 10AM to 12PM was basic training and tactical discussions.


    In the afternoon, there would be training matches and they needed to play 4 full games. Every game needed to be treated and approached like a competition, this would equal to four sessions of class.


    At night, they would head to the Demacia Cafe and rank on their own. They could also find their own people for custom games, treating this time as their personal training time.


    They would maintain this rhythm everyday, and even when the S International League arrived, they would not be able to miss a single day.


    Without hard work, how could you achieve excellent results. Luocheng would never think that e-sports was something that relied on talent.


    No matter how much talent one had, they would only be able to hold onto the glory for a little while. If they were unable to improve themselves, eventually, they would be eliminated.


    The five of them had no distractions now since the business affairs were handled by Meiqi, Jian Feng, and Dai Lan. They just needed to concentrate on the eventual fight for the Worlds.


    ***


    ¡°Luocheng, there¡¯s someone looking for you!¡± Dai Lan called out toward the living room after opening the front door.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m coming.¡± Luocheng walked to the door and found Xie Lianda with his curled hair there.


    Luocheng was a little surprised that the latter had come all the way to Shanghai.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, coming to see me specially?¡± Luocheng asked.


    After his relationship with Lianda had gotten better, Luocheng would often contact him and have training matches with Team Beijing.


    ¡°Yeah, came to talk to you about the happenings at the Asian Indoor Games.¡± Lianda said, his face sullen.


    Luocheng looked inside the house, then he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go down and talk.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Reaching the small park downstairs and sitting on the stone benches, Lianda lit a cigarette, offering one to Luocheng.


    Luocheng shook his head and waited for him to speak.


    ¡°Sigh, initially, after the Asian Indoor Games was over, the E-sports Association should have been established. Who knew that our results would be so poor and now, there¡¯s really no reason for the top dogs in the General Administration of Sports to pay any attention to us.¡± Lianda said in frustration.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself too much, you did your best. It¡¯s all up to the situation now.¡± Luocheng comforted him.


    ¡°That side said that the General Administration of Sports will be paying attention to you guys when you play against the foreign teams. Even though I don¡¯t know what they actually mean, I hope you guys can achieve some amazing results in the S International League.¡± Lianda said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll definitely give it our best,¡± Luocheng said.


    ¡°This time, I want to give some special training to your Mid, Wu Sen.¡± Lianda said, explaining his visit.


    Luocheng¡¯s eyes brightened, this was a fantastic thing!


    Lianda¡¯s ability as a Mid should be the closest to Hades, and if he were to be Wu Sen¡¯s opponent, Wu Sen¡¯s abilities would be able to improve greatly in less than a month!


    For the sake of higher victory, Lianda was able to push aside the rivalry relationship they had in order to help them improve their abilities. This was really too valuable, Luocheng didn¡¯t know how to thank Lianda!