The boss’s question caught Ye Shaoyang completely off guard. Right now, he could only play [Abyssal Lord], [Illusionist], and [Frost Goddess]. Even if he took the initiative to declare, “I want to play in the professional league,” no one would believe him.

Most people hearing those words would simply think he was young, frivolous, and ignorant of the world’s immensity. Therefore, other than stubbornly insisting on adding the “esports player” supplementary clause when negotiating with the Whale Platform, Ye Shaoyang hadn’t told anyone that he wanted to go pro.

Because his current strength wasn’t enough; saying it would be pointless.

His original plan was to earn a few more national server badges for his heroes, wait until his hero pool was sufficiently deep, and become a highly anticipated high-rank pubstomper before reaching out to professional teams. By then, no one would think he was just “spouting nonsense.”

He never expected the boss to ask him this question so directly. Ye Shaoyang didn’t answer head-on, but instead asked in return, “Boss, do you think I look like someone who could play professionally?”

Chi Shuo replied, “From my observations, there are no issues with your mechanics and game sense. As for whether your other conditions meet the standard, that will require professional assessment and testing.”

It wasn’t as simple as just being good at the game to play in tournaments; esports players indeed required a lot of professional testing.

Ye Shaoyang asked curiously, “Are you working in the esports industry, Boss?”

He had been curious about the boss’s identity for a while. At first, he thought the other party was just a wealthy gaming enthusiast, but meeting him face-to-face today, Ye Shaoyang realized the boss possessed a thoroughly transparent understanding of the game. When he introduced the players from Jingzhe and Huowen just now, it was obvious his knowledge of the esports circle was far beyond that of an outsider.

Chi Shuo fell silent for a moment before saying earnestly, “You guessed right. I am the coach of an esports team. If you have the desire to become an esports player, I can help you.”

Claiming to be a coach wasn’t an intentional lie to deceive Xiao Bai; rather, the identity of a coach would more easily put people at ease. This was because a coach’s opinion held a lot of weight when most teams signed players. Many team coaches would also scout the amateur scene for outstanding seedlings to bring back and cultivate.

Sure enough, upon hearing that he was a coach, Xiao Bai’s gaze instantly became respectful. “Hello, Coach. How did you notice me? I’ve only been streaming for a week.”

Chi Shuo explained, “Your Kings tier promotion match against Brother Yu was screen-recorded and posted in a group chat with many esports players. I watched that match and discovered you have a great talent for shotcalling, which is why I went to your channel and followed you.”

Ye Shaoyang was suddenly enlightened. “So that’s how it is.”

He really had to thank his “friendly force” Brother Yu for making him look good by comparison. Since Brother Yu publicly flamed esports players, his reputation in the esports circle was definitely rotten. When he ran into Brother Yu in ranked, he only wanted to hit King tier as fast as possible, which was why he patiently directed his teammates to turn the tables in a disadvantageous game. He never expected a simple promotion series match to be screen-recorded and circulated internally among pro players.

Looking at it this way, there were probably quite a few coaches keeping an eye on him.

This boss was just the fastest to act, fast-forwarding straight to a private meeting.

Ye Shaoyang asked, “So, you sending me gifts on stream, inviting me to watch the match, and meeting me—it was all to confirm if I’m suited to go pro?”

Chi Shuo frankly admitted, “Correct.”

Ye Shaoyang completely dropped his guard this time.

He had seen many instances of coaches discovering talented amateurs and reaching out personally. Since the other party was so direct, there was no need to hide anything. He straightforwardly said, “I’m already 21 years old. If I want to go pro, do you think there’s still time?”

Chi Shuo looked at Xiao Bai with some surprise. The young man’s gaze was incredibly candid, and his voice sounded very young, completely lacking the deep timbre of an adult Alpha. Chi Shuo had assumed Xiao Bai was around 18 and had just undergone his secondary-gender differentiation. He hadn’t expected him to already be 21.

Starting esports at 21 was indeed a bit late.

Most rookies began trial training in their teens, and by 21, they were already the core players of major teams.

But it wasn’t entirely hopeless.

Evaluating a pro player couldn’t be done solely by looking at their age.

Chi Shuo looked at him, his tone gentle. “As long as you are willing, 21 is still in time.”

Hearing the answer he wanted, Ye Shaoyang couldn’t help but smile. “Is that so?”

Chi Shuo said, “Playing competitively mainly depends on talent. Some people play for years and still perform poorly. Others can take the season MVP in their debut year.”

Ye Shaoyang nodded in agreement. “That’s true.”

Chi Shuo’s gaze was calm as he looked seriously into Xiao Bai’s eyes. “To become an esports player, you must pass some professional tests—like reaction speed, dynamic vision, and effective APM. I can take you to get tested, so you can also understand yourself more clearly.”

“If you don’t have the talent for esports, you can continue down the path of a streamer. With your mechanics and streaming style, you will definitely become a top-tier streamer.”

“But if you do have the talent to go pro…”

“You’ll have one more choice—to step onto that higher stage.”

Chi Shuo turned his head, looking toward the main stage in the center of the arena. Ye Shaoyang followed his gaze and looked back. Inside the soundproof booths on the grand stage, players from both sides were making their final preparations. Some were drinking water to adjust their condition, while others were huddled together discussing macro strategy with their coaches. They had to grasp this final rest period before the deciding game, because the upcoming match would determine their team’s fate this season. In such tense, thrilling matches, no one could be certain of the outcome until the very last moment.

Wasn’t this the exact stage he loved so deeply?

Even after reincarnating for a second life, his determination had never wavered.

So what if he was 21? As long as he was willing, it was never too late.

Ye Shaoyang withdrew his gaze and looked at Chi Shuo. “Thank you for your appreciation. I can go with you to take the tests and see if I have the talent for esports. However, I want to make things clear with you beforehand.”

He paused, then said seriously, “I cannot guarantee that I will definitely join your team, Coach.”

He was someone aiming for the World Championship. Therefore, it wasn’t just the team choosing him; he would also choose the team. He had to pick a squad with the potential to win the championship, not just casually join a second-rate team and waste his time.

Chi Shuo highly appreciated Xiao Bai’s honesty and nodded. “Of course, which team you choose is your freedom.”

The lights on the main stage flared, and the broadcast cut back to the caster desk. The caster, Youyou, said excitedly, “Welcome back, viewers! The players on both sides are ready. The deciding game is about to begin—let’s focus our attention on the big screen!” Mingyu: “The deciding game of the playoffs is different from the regular season. The rule is Blind Pick—not a single hero is banned. Players from both teams can grab their most proficient heroes.” Youyou: “Let’s look forward to what kind of team comps they’ll bring out—”

With BP (Ban/Pick) disabled for the deciding game, the hero pool was completely open to the players. All 10 players chose their heroes simultaneously, and both sides could even pick duplicate heroes. Ye Shaoyang had seen this format before; sometimes, when a specific composition was overwhelmingly strong, both teams might even end up playing mirror matches.

But today, Jingzhe and Huowen made different choices. Jingzhe truly brought out their poison comp: Fang Zhengqing’s [Cobra King] and Xie Yuan’s [Poison Warlock]. A double poison mage setup, where the [Poison Warlock] built attack speed to play the Marksman (ADC) role. Their tower push efficiency was incredibly fast, and paired with the support [Dark Priest]’s lifesteal shield, the entire team was exceptionally tanky while still dishing out massive damage. They were extremely hard to counter.

The composition Huowen locked in was one Ye Shaoyang was seeing for the first time. Captain Zhouzhou pulled out [Flame Goddess] as the mid-laner, the jungler took [Trap Hunter], and the marksman picked [Turret Expert]. Ye Shaoyang carefully recalled the skills of these three heroes, then looked at Chi Shuo. “A positional warfare comp?”

Chi Shuo replied softly, “Yes. [Flame Goddess] can lay down fields of fire on the ground, and enemies who enter will be afflicted with a burning status, constantly losing health. [Trap Hunter] can bury traps over a wide area, rooting enemies within the zone so they can’t move. [Turret Expert] can set up a turret in a hidden spot and fire AoE shells.”

Ye Shaoyang was suddenly enlightened. “In that case, the enemy won’t be able to take a single step.”

Fire and traps would be everywhere, plus a hidden turret marksman capable of bursting someone down with a single shot. When a team fight broke out, the enemy would face the sheer awkwardness of having “nowhere to step.” Huowen could rely on their positional advantage to steadily push forward until they destroyed the enemy crystal.

But this composition had a massive flaw.

Ye Shaoyang analyzed, “Positional warfare is indeed strong in team fights. With the ground covered in fire and traps, the enemy simply can’t dive in. However, if you single out any of these heroes, they lack burst damage and are easily picked off one by one.”

Chi Shuo looked at him with appreciation. “Correct.”

Xiao Bai’s comprehension was indeed high; he could point out a comp’s fatal weakness right on the money.

Chi Shuo said, “Huowen’s coach definitely guessed the enemy would pick the poison comp, which is why they brought out their specialty positional warfare system. Because the poison comp also lacks burst, both sides are drafted for sustained team fights. This game will likely drag out into a bladder match lasting over 40 minutes.”

What did burst rely on? Assassins who could instantly dive the enemy backline, mid-laners who could instantly delete the enemy core, or even mid-jungle synergy working together to insta-kill a target. Before the team fight even truly began, they would take away one enemy, creating a 5v4 situation and snowballing the opponents to collapse.

Looking at Huowen’s lineup, the [Trap Hunter] jungler had zero one-shot capability. The mid-lane [Flame Goddess] had incredible AoE damage, but her solo kill potential was extremely weak. As for the marksman? Let alone one-shotting someone, the key was not getting one-shot themselves.

Jingzhe was the same. [Cobra King] and [Poison Warlock] synergized to stack poison. In a team fight, they could rapidly stack five layers of poison on the enemy, causing their entire team’s health to hemorrhage. However, stacking poison took time. They didn’t possess instant burst capabilities and were much better suited for wars of attrition.

Both sides had team-fight-oriented comps. In this situation, it was very easy to drag things into the late game, where victory would be decided by micro details.

Ye Shaoyang sat up straight in excitement, raising his head to stare at the big screen.

Minion wave management, team fight timing, and the players’ micro mechanics—he would definitely learn a lot from this game.

Chi Shuo noticed that Xiao Bai had once again entered his “unprecedented spectator mode.” It was as if absolutely nothing could disturb him; he was a cold, ruthless match-watching machine.

Such earnest focus was truly rare.

Chi Shuo withdrew his gaze from Xiao Bai, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the big screen.

Many viewers might find this game boring. Because right from the start, both sides avoided fighting, simply refusing to engage. Both teams buried their heads in wave clear, farming, and taking jungle camps, as if they were playing a single-player game… But Ye Shaoyang didn’t find it boring at all. In the kiting and stalemates, what he saw was a match overflowing with details.

For example, Captain Fang’s sudden skill shot forcing a reposition, making Zhouzhou miss a minion. Zhouzhou’s continuous fire field suppression, forcing Fang Zhengqing to retreat under his tower to clear the wave, while Huowen’s mid and jungler teamed up to counter-jungle and steal a small camp. The duel between top-tier masters lay entirely within these subtle nuances.

For the first 15 minutes of the match, not a single team fight broke out.

It wasn’t until both mages and marksmen finished farming and completed their core three-item builds that they could finally leave the mountain.

Both sides rapidly grouped up, probing each other.

In the first team fight, two of Jingzhe’s players were rooted by traps. Zhouzhou unleashed a combo of roaring flames, executing a 0-for-2 trade. Jingzhe quickly retreated, helplessly giving up the dragon. In the second team fight, Jingzhe actively forced an engage. Their top laner charged into the crowd through the fire, landing an AoE taunt on the enemy mid and jungler. Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan immediately chained their poison stacks, directly detonating the venom to secure two kills!

By the 20-minute mark, both sides had pushed down each other’s outer and inner turrets. Only the high ground remained. The high ground defense battle lasted for another ten-odd minutes. The back-and-forth trading showed just how intense the kiting was. It wasn’t until the deep late game at 40 minutes, during the most critical Baron team fight, that the two sides began a frantic tug-of-war. Ye Shaoyang clenched his fists nervously, his eyes glued to the big screen.

Gorgeous skills, limit-testing mechanics… And a long-lost boiling blood. Although he was watching these players compete as a bystander, he couldn’t help but wonder: If he were on that stage, how would he dodge Fang Zhengqing’s poison rings and Zhou Jiawen’s hellfire? How would he find a breakthrough in a terrain littered with traps? Could he evade the support’s peel and burst down the enemy marksman? It would be incredibly difficult. In such an environment, even his mage assassins might find themselves with “nowhere to step.” This was a world-class mid-laner. As an outsider, he still had a long way to go before he reached “world-class.”

The final team fight was exceptionally brutal. Two of Huowen’s players fell first, only to stand right back up using their Guardian Angel items; Jingzhe lost three men, and when they too revived and stood back up…

What awaited them was a graveyard paved in roaring hellfire.

Captain Zhou had purposefully held onto his cooldowns just to deal with their low-health state upon reviving.

Sparks flew, flames surged to the heavens, and the health bars of the three players vanished instantly!

Jingzhe was entirely wiped out.

Huowen fought until only Zhouzhou was left alive. Leading a wave of minions, he slowly pushed down the crystal.

The caster Youyou yelled excitedly, “Congratulations to Huowen for taking the first win of the playoffs!”

The cheers of the audience nearly blew the roof off the arena.

Ye Shaoyang also couldn’t help but applaud the players’ brilliant performance!

It was too cool. Every single player had performed exceptionally well in this match, especially in the final deciding game. The team fights went back and forth with incredible intensity—it could even be used as raw footage for coaches to repeatedly observe and study.

Chi Shuo turned to look at him.

Throughout the entire 45-minute deciding game, Xiao Bai had sat perfectly upright, his gaze never once leaving the tournament screen.

This was true passion for esports, wasn’t it?

The look in his eyes couldn’t deceive anyone.

Chi Shuo asked softly, “Well? This match today didn’t make your trip a waste, did it?” Ye Shaoyang smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I gained a lot. I’m definitely going to go online and watch the VOD again later.” Chi Shuo stood up and said, “It will take a long time for the audience to leave. Follow me, I’ll take you through the backstage channel so we can get out as quickly as possible.”