Rebirth is fine, but I get eight hundred dollars right from the start?

The curtains in the rented room were half-drawn, blocking out the fading light of dusk in Shanghai.

Only two computer screens were lit in the small room, their blue and white light casting long, thin shadows on the walls.

Two bowls of instant noodles were on the table. One bowl was empty, the broth cooled into a thin film of oil. The other bowl was still covered with a paper lid, and wisps of steam escaped from the cracks at the edge.

The tall, thin boy sat sideways in front of the computer, his eyes fixed on the All-Star finals playing on the screen.

On screen, the heroes for both the blue and purple teams have been confirmed, and the game has just entered the loading phase.

He turned his head, tilted his chin slightly towards the screen, and asked in a somewhat naive tone, "Yuncheng-ge, do you think the OGN region can win a point?"

He used very conservative language.

"Get a point", not "Win the final".

Unlike the ordinary viewers outside who were still fantasizing that "South Korea might be able to turn the tide," Kang Seung-rok was well aware of the gap in strength between the two sides—he had played against these people in ranked matches on the Chinese Super Server and knew exactly what level of skill and reaction speed they had.

That's a gap that can't be bridged by "sudden bursts of talent" or "luck".

"It's very difficult!"

Dopa shook his head, his eyes also fixed on the screen, his pupils reflecting the blue-green hues of Summoner's Rift.

Given that Emperor uses English to teach his viewers in other regions during his live streams, his Chinese, which is mainly aimed at Chinese viewers, is already quite fluent, with a slight accent. "Chenglu, I told you before that the biggest problem for this year's OGN All-Star team is the lack of a core player."

He sat up a little straighter and pointed to the five players' heads on the OGN screen with his index finger: "Shy, Ambition, and Pary are all top-notch players. Individually, each of them can play their own position and would be a key player in any league team."

"First-class is not the same as top-class."

"Watch their match replays carefully. They don't lose in the laning phase and have some impressive plays in small-scale team fights, but once it gets to the mid-to-late game, when someone needs to step up and make decisions to unify the strategy, gaps inevitably appear among the five players. Although the gaps they expose are very small, they still managed to win against the European and American regions, but the opponents they will face in the finals are far stronger than those from Europe and America..."

"It's hard to say whether OGN's players can break through the LPL's dominance, which boasts players like Tele, Kelier, and Lawu, let alone with Emperor anchoring the mid lane!"

When that ID was mentioned, a hint of admiration appeared on Dopa's face.

Dopa continued, "The current Emperor is no longer the kind of player who can simply crush his opponents with awareness or control of details. Look at his match against Ambition, in the two solo matches, he dragged the first game until level six before killing him, and in the second game he finished him off at level three—it's not that he can't kill, he's choosing when to kill for the most effect and when to completely break down his opponent's mental defenses."

"Having someone like this in the mid lane is like the entire LPL team's axis of operation spinning at top speed. Think about it, when you're playing ranked, if someone can consistently dominate the opponent in lane and tell you what to do and when to group up—how ​​much higher would your win rate be? The gap between an entire professional team would only be greater."

He was truly defeated.

It's not just about the operation, but also about the understanding of the game. More importantly, that man never held back. Even though he was ahead of the entire league, he didn't use it as a bargaining chip to dominate the game. Instead, he spread it around the world.

He asked himself if he could be that selfless.

I don't have that kind of confidence.

Confident in their ability to teach, they force the water level of the entire competition area to rise, and then they themselves will jump another level above that raised water level.

What you teach is always what you've already digested, while new things are still growing in your mind.

Oh right, there's also a live stream.

As a South Korean who came to China to work and make a living through game streaming, he and industry professionals around the world should thank Emperor for the sudden expansion of the League of Legends game market.

This person, in the most flamboyant way, prematurely triggered a surge in viewership for a gaming event.

This will allow major platforms to see that "a young person who plays games can attract so much attention and create such great commercial value."

Without his presence, the market value of LOL game live streaming might not be completely lost, but it would likely take another year or two before it is valued by investors.

Even now, he can't receive such extravagant treatment.

"Wow!"

Inside the room, Jiang Chenglu suddenly leaned forward, his eyes wide, pointing at the scene in the jungle on the screen, his voice filled with disbelief:

"Should we give the blue buff to Ambition's Gragas at level one?"

"Has the match started?"

Dopa snapped out of his daze and turned his gaze back to the screen.

"Good idea. Gragas has a passive that provides self-healing, and with the blue buff in the early game, he can use his skills recklessly. Q clears the wave, W reduces damage and heals, E creates distance, and this cycle largely offsets the pressure of frequently using skills in the early game. I wouldn't say he's counter-pressing Emperor... but if he can hold his own in lane, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Just stabilizing the situation?"

Jiang Chenglu turned his head, his eyes still showing surprise and confusion. "Sirk sacrificed so much at level one—the Lee Sin started with a single buff, which meant that the early jungle tempo was completely given to the opponent—I thought that the mid laner could at least guarantee a lane advantage or something."

Dopa chuckled, "Chenglu, you're underestimating Emperor. You don't think no one has tried this playstyle in ranked games on the Chinese Super Server, do you?"

"A blue buff will certainly cause him some trouble, since Zed's energy regeneration is limited in the early game. If the opponent has mana, they can unleash a couple more rounds of skills to push the lane, and he can't completely ignore mana consumption like he does in a normal game. But can you really limit him just by doing that?"

"That's still a long way off!"

"You need to understand that the title of the number one player in the Canyon of Kings is not only based on rankings and official certification, but also on the heartfelt admiration of us mid-lane players."

"Hey, Yuncheng, have more confidence. In my heart, you're one of the top mid-laners."

"Haha, just to correct you, he's just a ranked powerhouse."

Dopa smiled, then looked at Jiang Chenglu beside him as if he remembered something and said, "Speaking of which, how did your tryout with WE go? You said you were going to go and play a few scrims to see how you were doing, but I haven't had a chance to ask yet."

Jiang Chenglu's expression stiffened slightly, and a barely perceptible hint of sadness flashed in his still somewhat childish eyes.

He looked away, reached out and touched the edge of the keyboard, his voice lower than before: "I passed... but I didn't get a starting spot on the second team. They said my jungler champion pool still needs practice, so for now I can only be a substitute jungler, and they'll adjust it based on my performance later."

"Jungler substitute, huh...?"

"How about this, don't sign a contract with WE yet. After the All-Star game, I'll take you to HWG for a tryout."

"As far as I know, HWG has already announced that they are going to form a second team. If you go there for a tryout, even if you start as a substitute for now, what you can get in that environment is different from what you get in WE."

"Emperor personally participates in guiding the youth training system. He's not the kind of boss who just washes his hands of things. You should know this by now that you've been in China for so long. He's never stingy with teaching newcomers. If you spend half a year with him, you might gain more understanding of the game and develop more professional habits than you would in two years with other teams."

"Okay, brother, I'll listen to you."