Chi Shuo didn’t mention signing again, and Ye Shaoyang also avoided the topic. As the two ate, they casually chatted about today’s matches. Coach Xu looked conflicted, seemingly lost in thought.

As for Qin Rui…

He didn’t dare say a word, obediently acting like an invisible presence on the side.

After the meal ended, Chi Shuo took the initiative to stand up and say, “Shall I drive you back?”

Ye Shaoyang said, “No need for the trouble, Xiao Rui and I can just take the subway. Our house is very close to the station.”

Chi Shuo didn’t insist: “Then let’s keep in touch. See you next time.”

Ye Shaoyang said goodbye to them, paid the bill at the front desk, and took his younger brother to the subway.

After the two left, Coach Xu finally said with a complicated expression, “Although Xiao Bai’s test results are outstanding and he’s a rare talent-type player, a rookie who has never played a match going straight to the main roster? His demand would probably only be accepted by second-rate teams that are desperately short on people, right?”

Chi Shuo said softly, “His situation is rather unique. If he started training from scratch in a youth camp at 21, it would already be too late. A pro player’s peak condition only lasts for a few years, and he is exactly in his peak right now. I actually think he’s very smart; he clearly knows what he wants.”

Coach Xu was silent for a moment and scratched his hair. “But will Tianhuan agree to this demand? You performed so outstandingly back then, didn’t you also stay on Tianhuan’s second team for over half a year? Later, it was only because your master argued strongly for you that you were put on the starting lineup for the arena.”

Chi Shuo stood up and walked to the window, looking at the “Star City Youth Training Base” sign on the building not far outside, and said softly, “Teacher Xu, four years ago, I walked out of this exact youth camp.”

Coach Xu also walked to his side, looked up at the youth camp building, and sighed emotionally, “Your batch was the most outstanding group of youth trainees I have ever led.”

Chi Shuo said, “Many people often say that if the five of us formed a team, could we represent the China region’s esports teams and stand on the highest podium of the World Championship?”

Hearing these words, Coach Xu couldn’t help but feel his nose tingle with emotion.

How terrifying was Chi Shuo’s batch of youth trainees?

Netizens often say that S6 was a true “battle of gods.” That year, highly talented rookies emerged endlessly, and it was also the year the China region was most likely to reach the pinnacle of the world.

The five rookies who walked out of the largest youth training base in southern China, the “Star City Youth Camp”—

Chi Shuo, Tianhuan’s main Jungler, the current Tianhuan captain; Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan, Jingzhe’s Mid Laner and Marksman, with Fang Zhengqing taking over as Jingzhe’s captain; Xu Zhuo, the Top Laner with the strongest pressure resistance in the league, the current captain of Yueying; Chen Qianhua, a Support with an exceptional sense of macro strategy, one of the few Beta players, and the current captain of ICE Binghun.

All five of them were brought up by Teacher Xu, and what they excelled at happened to be the five different roles.

Netizens often fantasized: if these five people had formed a team back then, could they have won the World Championship that the China region had anticipated for so many years but could never capture?

After all, those five people all later became “Glory 9th Dan Players” certified by the World Alliance, winning championships in solo and duo tournaments, and all became the leading figures of powerhouse teams.

Coach Xu took a deep breath and sighed, “If you guys had signed with the same team back then…”

Chi Shuo said, “There are no ‘ifs’.”

He turned his head to look at the coach beside him and said in a low voice, “You know very well that Fang Zhengqing and I are only suited to be opponents. Our philosophies don’t align, and our shotcalling often conflicts. Xu Zhuo and Chen Qianhua’s ways of thinking are also different from mine. The five of us are all very strong, but we aren’t suited to be teammates.”

If Chi Shuo wanted to go east, Fang Zhengqing would insist on going west. If Chi Shuo rushed up to team fight, Fang Zhengqing would Flash in retreat?

Back when they were at the youth base, they frequently clashed over their different understandings of the game. They were great friends in private, but just as Chi Shuo said—they truly weren’t suited to be teammates.

Coach Xu asked, “You think Xiao Bai is suited to be your teammate?”

Chi Shuo nodded firmly. “That’s right—he will be my best teammate.”

Thinking of Xiao Bai’s serious eyes when he said, “I will only play the Mid Laner role, and I want to be a starter,” Chi Shuo’s lips couldn’t help but curl up slightly, his voice becoming much gentler: “Back then, my master argued strongly to get me into the main team early. What my master could do for me, I can also do for Xiao Bai.”

Coach Xu asked, “You plan to convince Tianhuan’s coaching staff and team manager to sign this 21-year-old rookie who has never played a match, and have him play as the starting Mid Laner? That’s too difficult! What about Qu Jiang? Little Jiang has played matches with you for three years; how can you bear to tell him to give up the Mid Laner position?”

Chi Shuo was silent for a moment before saying, “I have the confidence to convince them. Tianhuan needs to change.”

He looked at the unkempt man in front of him, his voice very calm: “If our Tianhuan can win the championship next year, I will bring the trophy over then and take a photo with you, Teacher Xu.”

Coach Xu laughed heartily, “Then I’ll be waiting for it!”

This man with messy hair and an unkempt appearance had broken his heart over the esports circle. Everyone called him “Old Xu.” He was a pro player in the first season, with average talent, and hadn’t won any trophies during his time as a player.

But he had always loved esports, and after retiring, he became a coach at the Star City youth camp. Batch after batch of rookies underwent his “devil-style training” here, and he continuously fed excellent fresh blood into the league.

He didn’t have the strength to win a championship himself, but he was always looking forward to it… That one day, a team from the China region could bring back the World Championship trophy. What he couldn’t do, his students could always achieve!

After Ye Shaoyang returned home, he placed the gift box next to the computer, sat in his esports chair, and turned on the computer.

Qin Rui asked quietly, “Brother, are you really planning to become a pro player?”

Ye Shaoyang nodded. “I didn’t get into a top university, and I don’t have any other specialties. I’ll give it a try, it might just work.”

Qin Rui said excitedly, “Brother, you can definitely do it. You’re the best person at playing games I’ve ever seen!”

Ye Shaoyang smiled briefly and didn’t explain much.

He went to carry the cat over and fed it some freeze-dried treats, then returned to the study to open his computer.

He had registered a Weibo account while watching the match today. After logging in on the computer, he found that the “Streamer Xiao Bai” Weibo already had over 50,000 followers, all of whom clicked over from his stream. Because his Weibo was completely blank, many people sent him private messages asking why he wasn’t streaming over the weekend.

Of course, there were also many Haters sending private messages to curse at him. At a glance, they were clearly newly registered alt accounts belonging to Water Armies, and upon clicking into a few others, it was obvious they were die-hard fans of Brother Yu.

Ye Shaoyang pulled all these people into his blacklist and then posted a Weibo: “This is the personal Weibo of Whale Platform streamer Xiao Bai, welcome everyone to follow. I have some personal matters over the weekend, so I won’t be streaming temporarily. See you punctually at 10 AM on Monday. Please click: [Stream Link].”

As soon as the Weibo was posted, it quickly received a bunch of comments.

[Xiao Bai, followed you. Post more cat pictures in the future!] [Taking the weekend off and starting the stream at 10 AM on Monday. Are you treating streaming like a 9-to-5 job with this schedule?] [Watched your [Abyssal Lord] tutorial, practiced for days, and then realized: I really am hand-handicapped.] [Xiao Bai, are you pushing for national rankings next week? Which hero are you practicing?]

Ye Shaoyang replied to the latest comment: “Next week I’m using [Frost Goddess] to push the national rankings.”

This reply received a lot of likes.

[Frost Goddess] was a hero the system directly gave to everyone upon registering for the game. Many players who didn’t buy heroes early on took her to the middle lane. Below Diamond tier, you could run into her in almost every ranked match.

This hero could be considered a beginner hero that everyone knew how to play.

But to play her well, one still needed some precision in game sense and mechanics. A [Frost Goddess] who couldn’t freeze anyone with her skills was just a squishy super minion; a [Frost Goddess] who could freeze people in team fights could instantly turn the tide of battle.

Although Ye Shaoyang was best at mage assassins, he also played this kind of control-type hero very well. Today, the boss gave him a set of Goddess series bookmarks, and he planned to obtain the national server badges for all the Goddess series heroes.

The 5S test result was his stepping stone.

An unfathomably deep hero pool was his capital.

He wasn’t strong enough yet. No team would be willing to sign an “overage” 21-year-old rookie like him, and no coach would feel at ease letting him play on the main roster.

Want to prove himself? Esports relies solely on strength to speak.

Ye Shaoyang opened Baidu and began searching for information on the Tianhuan team.

Tianhuan was established 10 years ago. When Gods’ War launched its professional league in the first season, this team was already active in the arena; they were a veteran club. The capital behind them, the Tianhuan Group, was a well-known tech company. Therefore, the Tianhuan Esports Club was wealthy and imposing, directly buying a whole building in the suburbs of the imperial capital and remodeling it into their club base.

This team’s track record could be said to have its ups and downs.

They took the overall championship in the first season, then went quiet for a year; they won the championship in the third season, and for the next two years, their results were ridiculously poor, failing to even make the Playoffs. The S6 season was Tianhuan’s most fierce year. The captain at the time was named Ming Sheng, respectfully referred to by netizens as Ming Shen, a world-class Mid Laner. The rookie Jungler was Chi Shuo, his disciple.

The moment the young Chi Shuo appeared in the arena, he became the highly anticipated focus of attention.

Relying on an incomparably sharp, fast-paced playstyle, Chi Shuo slaughtered all the squishies across the rift. Countless Marksman and Mid Laner players were terrified into using their Flash the moment they saw him. And that season, relying on the master-disciple mid-jungle synergy of Ming Shen and Chi Shuo, Tianhuan set the record for the highest Regular Season win streak among all teams in the professional league.

A 35-game win streak.

Ultimately, Tianhuan participated in the World Championship as the China region champions. Unfortunately, they only took second place, bringing home a silver medal.

The internet was filled with curses, and the Tianhuan team was flamed right onto the trending searches. Ming Shen suddenly chose to retire for unknown reasons, passing Tianhuan’s captaincy to Chi Shuo. Afterward, Tianhuan’s Mid Laner became Qu Jiang.

Qu Jiang was a very stable player who was excellent at control-type heroes like [Frost Goddess], performing outstandingly during team fights. However, from S6 up to the current S9, for a full three years, Tianhuan had never returned to the championship throne.

Starting from S6, Tianhuan had been steadily going downhill.

Although Chi Shuo was an extremely popular player, he was also a highly controversial one. Many people online mocked him, saying he “peaked at debut” and was “always going downhill, only stood tall for one season, and then just fell, fell, fell, fell, fell.”

Those mocking remarks were too numerous to count.

Ye Shaoyang thought of his past life; he too was dragged out and mocked every day like this. In the global finals right before his car accident, they lost, took second place, and were similarly flamed onto the trending searches.

How shockingly similar their experiences were.

Therefore, he could understand Captain Chi’s pressure.

However, sympathizing with this team didn’t mean he had to join them. He wasn’t a savior, and he had to consider his own future. If he joined Tianhuan, and Tianhuan didn’t have the strength to win the championship, then he would have made the wrong choice.

No one could sway his determination to win the championship.

Ye Shaoyang clicked into the league’s official website, pulled up all the match VODs from this season, and searched for Tianhuan.

He only watched the matches where Tianhuan lost.

Judging from the match replays, the Tianhuan team had massive problems right now.

Firstly, as the core Jungler, Chi Shuo was constantly targeted by enemy coaches. When playing against Tianhuan, the opponents would frantically invade the jungle. Let alone ganking people, Chi Shuo often faced the grand spectacle of the enemy grouping up to hunt him down, making it very difficult for him to drive the tempo.

Secondly, the mid-lane player Qu Jiang favored a stable, team-fight-oriented style. In every team fight wave, he could CC the enemy in time. However, locking them down didn’t mean killing them. Tianhuan’s late-game team fights often collapsed, again because the Marksman couldn’t keep up the damage.

The current Tianhuan was like a series of gears. Each individual component looked fine on its own, but when running together, they just couldn’t twist into a single cohesive rope. Either they jammed here, or they malfunctioned there.

This was the key reason for the Tianhuan team’s declining results. They had major issues with their team coordination. Should he join such a team?

Ye Shaoyang frowned, lost in thought.

If he joined Tianhuan and played the Mid Laner position, what would happen to the original mid-lane player Qu Jiang?

Qu Jiang’s individual strength actually wasn’t a problem. As could be seen from the match replays, this player’s performance was truly incredibly stable. Although not flashy enough—a player who never makes mistakes is also quite terrifying!

Tianhuan’s biggest problem lay in their Marksman and Support duo.

The coach also mentioned today that the Marksman and Support would retire after finishing this season, and they would be replaced by rookies next season.

If the Mid Laner was also swapped out… That meant out of Tianhuan’s 5 players, 3 would be replaced. A massive roster overhaul!

This would definitely lead to facing issues like insufficient synergy and disjointed coordination all over again.

Ye Shaoyang rubbed his temples with a headache, temporarily putting aside the Tianhuan team, and conveniently looked up information on other tier-one teams that had a chance of making it to the World Championship.

The teams that made it into the top 8 of the domestic Playoffs this year included JG Jingzhe, HW Huowen (Fire Rune), ICE Binghun, YY Yueying, BM Beimu, TH Tianhuan, LSD Luoshendian, and YG Yaoguang.

Among them, Jingzhe and Huowen (Fire Rune) didn’t need to be considered. Fang Zhengqing and Zhou Jiawen, two world-class Mid Laner players, were there, and they were also the captains. Ye Shaoyang couldn’t possibly go and fight them for their spots.

The remaining teams still needed to be slowly investigated.

Perhaps some teams whose Mid Laner just happened to be retiring and were short a mid-laner would be willing to take him? There was still some time before the next season; he had to pick a team that best fit his desires.

Ye Shaoyang opened Weibo and casually clicked follow on the official Weibo accounts of all these teams.

Out of curiosity, he clicked into the “[Tianhuan Esports Club]” Weibo homepage for a look, and then he discovered a pinned photo—it was Tianhuan’s promotional photo for the Playoffs.

The background of the photo was the “Tianhuan Esports Club” base. The five players of the main squad were wearing neat blue-and-white team uniforms. The young man standing second from the left (the Jungler position) was tall and handsome, and beneath his picture, it impressively read: “Tianhuan – Shuoyue.”

Shuoyue was the registered player ID of Tianhuan captain Chi Shuo.

Ye Shaoyang: “…”

This face perfectly overlapped with the face he had seen at dinner today.

Captain Chi Shuo, wearing the blue-and-white team uniform, had a cold expression, looking extremely cool.

Coach?

Does your captain also double as a coach?

Ye Shaoyang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He opened his phone, found the “Boss” avatar in his WeChat list, sent over this group photo of the Tianhuan team members, and typed: “Captain Chi, your secret identity has been exposed ^_^”

Chi Shuo: “…”

He only managed to pretend to be a coach for half a day before Xiao Bai stripped off his disguise.

Cough, cough.