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 didnât need to play the fifth and were directly qualified for the preseason!
Team Skycrownâs 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 Skycrownâs. To triumph over those teams would not an easy feat.
Luocheng didnât 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 didnât 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.
âI need to take my exams soon so I wonât have time to look after you. Make sure you guys practice properly, donât slack.â Luocheng urged.
Team Skycrown had once been a professional team, if they couldnât even endure this repetitive training, they werenât worthy of being professional players.
Luocheng wasnât around for the next few matches, he needed to sit for his exams and couldnât be with Team Skycrown. Even during training, they were on their own.
Fortunately, during the absence of Luocheng during this time, Team Skycrownâs performance was very good in all of the matches and they were getting closer and closer to the gates of LPL.
***
âA wild card has appeared in the Media War, and Iâm afraid that Team Beijing who is very promising might also be eliminated at the end.â
âAre you talking about Team Skycrown?â
âThatâs right, Iâve heard that Team Skycrown entered the preseason with a 100% win rate!â A fat student eating meat buns said.
âTheir first match in the preseason will be against Team Beijing, but sadly, it wonât be broadcasted, otherwise, Iâd want to watch it.â The guy holding a book said.
âWhat competition are you talking about? What is Team Skycrown and Team Beijing?â The girl at their side asked.
âPreseason.â
âWhat is preseason?â
ââ¦â
Both the guys had to explain the general system of the gameâLeague 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 wasnât 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 didnât 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 wasnât concentrating on his studies but playing e-sports.
Also, Yu Yu didnât 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 didnât 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 hadnât been to Team Skycrownâs 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 teamâTeam 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 hadnât 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 didnât have any counter for Team Skycrown to use.
***
Luocheng had the key to the door in Team Skycrownâs 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.
âZhou Yan, do you have any ideas?â Lin Dongâs 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 didnât want to be overheard. Luocheng was about to open the door, but upon hearing Lin Dongâs voice, he stopped.
âWhen you first formed the team, didnât you have the intention to be completely independent?â Zhou Yan said.
âYeah, 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 didnât give us anything, instead, they took everything we had. Thatâs why Iâm afraid of exploitation and management of a club.â Lin Dong replied.
âThen doesnât that confirm it? Letâs not bother about the deal with Thunder Club.â 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 wasnât all that weird since Team Skycrown was a beautiful wild card in this yearâs preseason. Although other players may not know of their existence just yet, the industry should already be paying attention to them.
Letâs 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 teamâs 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.
âI fear that if we donât manage to enter LPL, the preseason competition doesnât have any rewards.â Lin Dong said quietly.
Zhou Yanâs face fell as he also said quietly, âActually, we have also thought of that already. Sigh, eating plain rice or noodles every day isnât going to solve thisâ¦â
Luocheng was about to open the door but halted at Zhou Yanâs 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 competitionsâ¦
Luocheng hadnât 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 livingâ¦
The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt.
There werenât 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 burdenâ¦
But if there wasnât oneâ¦
What if they couldnât 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 werenât the same as him, they didnât have anywhere else to go. For the sake of e-sports, they had given everything. LOL had reignited their passion and hopes, they couldnât 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.
âOh, Luocheng, youâre here!â Xiao Bei said when he finally noticed, his face turning into a smile hurriedly.
Xiao Beiâs 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 Beiâ¦
âWhatâs wrong?â Luocheng asked.
âOh, nothing. I just went to my uncleâs place to take some stuff.â Xiao Bei said.
âThen whatâs wrong with your face?â Luocheng asked.
âNothing, nothing. He lied to me, so I threw some things at himâ¦â Xiao Bei said, stuttering slightly.
âYou have no more money?â Luocheng asked.
âUh, I still have some. Luocheng, donât worry about it. Once we get into LPL, thereâll be sponsors, then weâll have the money.â Xiao Bei said, optimistic.
âWhat if you canât get in?â Luocheng asked quietly.
Xiao Bei looked startled at that, the thought had never even crossed his mind.
âIf we canât get in, then weâll have to pick up more training and earn some money to survive. Wait till next yearâs competition, weâll just try again. Thereâs bound to be a way.â Xiao Bei said.
Xiao Bei was so optimistic that Luocheng didnât know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, and for a moment, he didnât know what to say.
âOh right, Luochengâ¦â Xiao Beiâs face changed slightly, there seemed to be something he wanted to say to Luocheng.
âWhat is it?â
âOh, ohâ¦itâs nothing.â Xiao Bei wanted to say something, but he didnât know how to say it, so he changed the topic instead, âI just wanted to ask you, do you really not want to play professionally? Everyone knows that youâre the strongest, if you were thereâ¦everyone has been in the real professional scene before, and theyâre great plus full of experience. Iâm afraid that Iâm just holding them backâ¦â
Luocheng shook his head.
Luocheng was well aware of Xiao Beiâs 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 Asmodaiâs ADC, it was a testament to how strong Xiao Bei was.
His Vayne was probably a little less rigorous than Shallow Dreamsâ, 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 Beiâs 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 brilliantâ¦
He would take Luochengâs regret and step up onto the peak of the mountain! Luocheng was sure that Xiao Bei could do it!