League of Legends: League of Unknowns

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—the 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—set 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—how 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—who 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—but 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!