League of Legends: League of Unknowns

A chilly strong wind blew as Jian Feng looked at the miles and miles of vast loess and hills, making him feel like he was in an entirely different world.

Also hailing from the countryside, he didn’t have the arrogance of the city kids, but it wasn’t until he walked into Xiao Bei’s village that he truly understood the meaning of ‘mountain village’. It really was completely surrounded by mountains and the only means of getting around was by walking.

The road was uneven and steep, it was hard to believe that people could actually live in this place!

Over the past few days, Jian Feng had seen and experienced the worst parts of the county. Forget about cell phones and computers, the village didn’t even have running water or lights.

It was completely isolated from the world, and more importantly, he was certain that the China census never reached the village either.

Most of the people here didn’t have identity cards, and even if they did go to town, they probably wouldn’t be able to apply for one anyway.

Fortunately, they at least still had cell phone signal.

“Hello… what… won?! F*ck, you’re serious right? They really managed to beat Team Revelation?!” Jian Feng shouted suddenly.

“What? What happened?” asked Xiao Bei as he hurriedly came over.

Jian Feng didn’t manage to get more than two words in before the call was cut off.

They could get a signal here but it was so bad that you’d be lucky to even be able to say one word.

“They won, they won!! Three to zero against Team Revelation, a top four team!! Hahaha!” Jiang Feng exclaimed in excitement, unable to hold it in.

“Really? That’s great!!” Xiao Bei also exclaimed loudly, excitement clear in his tone and eyes.

Three to zero against Team Revelation, they couldn’t even dream of this before!

With this kind of victory, every LOL player would now have their eye on Team Skycrown. They definitely would not be looked down upon anymore.

And they would definitely be able to find sponsors now, their money problems were as good as solved!

“Luocheng really is the best!” said Xiao Bei with a wide grin.

Yu Luocheng hadn’t played in the professional league for such a long time, but with one touch he managed to defeat Team Revelation with an astounding score of three to zero.

Xiao Bei’s heart sank as he thought about the problem with his identity card that still couldn’t be resolved. He really wanted to play on the same stage as Yu Luocheng. When they won together, the taste of victory would definitely be indescribable!

“Let’s go back, there’s no point in staying anymore,” said Jian Feng.

“Yeah, I’ll go back and ask my uncle. He does a lot of dodgy things, maybe he can help me settle this,” said Xiao Bei.

Jian Feng protested strongly, “Ask your uncle? Don’t be stupid, that guy’s a con man!”

Xiao Bei shook his head, saying, “No, I was the one who wanted to leave at that time. You saw what my village was like… and when I said that I was going to play e-sports, he didn’t completely stop me either.”

“Let’s go back first.”

***

The Shanghai University community was in an uproar!

The LPL was the most prolific professional league in the country. It was like getting to see their own schoolmate not only appearing on the CBA field, but also sweeping away all those well-known CBA masters!

No one could contain their excitement as they watched!

Yu Luocheng’s five roommates were all in the community area. The only ones who knew how to play LOL were Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu. At first, the other three were watching Yu Luocheng with a weird expression, wondering why he was so popular.

But when they saw the live broadcast, with such a gorgeous stage and a massive crowd that you normally only see in concerts, they suddenly realized that their roommate was someone who was damn good at playing the game!

“No wonder our e-sports club suddenly managed to get into the top four, there was actually an LPL player in there!” said a senior.

“You didn’t watch the later games, Yu Luocheng was singled out from beginning to end. If it wasn’t for that, they probably could have been placed first in the university rankings!”

“I think so too!”

“In other words, our school has two celebrities now—a swimming goddess who’s a national champion and a LPL god!”

***

The five members of Team Skycrown stood proudly on stage as confetti rained down on them from above.

“Congratulations to Team Skycrown! This round was amazing, it was the only one where a newly formed team managed to defeat one of the top four teams, you guys are really something!” the host commented warmly as he made his way to the stage, smiling.

Someone else was following the host to the stage. He was upright and wearing American-style denim, giving off the feeling that he just returned from a foreign country.

He was also holding a mic in his hand and had a smile on his face. His eyes were fixed on Yu Luocheng, looking at him fondly like he was an old friend. His gaze also carried a hint of admiration.

“Let me introduce the person beside me. He’s the coach of Team Free from the US. You can say that he has probably influenced more than half of all the strong teams in the US. He grew up in our country and returns here from time to time. This is Moke,” explained the host.

Even without the host’s introduction, the LOL fans in the hall had already recognized him.

US Team Free’s amazing coach who led the team to step into the S International League… he is the golden coach of the Worlds’ runner up team!!

As long as you watch the S International League, you would definitely know who he is.

In the beginning, many people were confused and suspicious about this Asian American coach. They guessed that he was Korean as the level of Korean e-sports was too high, having surpassed many other countries. No one expected the coach of the runner up team to actually be from China!

This made the domestic LOL fans even more excited.

In the e-sports industry, the other countries have always looked down on China. Their version is slower, their play style is outdated, and their technology is lacking. The fact that they didn’t even appear in the qualifiers for the S International League was proof of their inferiority.

Then, everyone found out that the coach of the Worlds’ runner up team was actually from China! Doesn’t that prove that Chinese people aren’t as weak as they thought?

But if he was from China, why didn’t he just stay and develop the local teams? If such a strong coach were to remain in the country, he could definitely cultivate a world-class China team!

“Do you have anything to say about the match you just watched between Team Skycrown and Team Revelation? With your unique vision, I’m sure you can explain and analyze our new Team Skycrown, and tell us how they managed to get a landslide victory like this,” said the host.

“Moke is what I go by in the US, my actual name is Li Tuchuan, just call me Tuchuan,” said the golden coach.

He smiled as he continued with his analysis.

“In the first match, they were using the fast pushing tactic that some teams in Korea have already been using. However, Team Skycrown’s use of Malzahar and Soraka on the cannon minion to destroy the turrets was actually unprecedented. It was quite surprising to see. I think that if this tactic was used on the world stage, it would have wrecked even those famous veteran teams and left them unable to counter.”

“So you’re saying that Team Skycrown’s win in the first game was inevitable,” said the host, attempting to clarify.

Li Tuchuan nodded his head.

“To be able to come up with such a tactic, you have to be someone who not only has a comprehensive understanding of League of Legends, but also has a bold and innovative mindset. To be honest, I admire the creator of this tactic.”

Li Tuchuan maintained his smile as he glanced at Yu Luocheng.

“Oh, it’s a great honor to be recognized by the strongest tactical coach in the world! Team Skycrown, can you tell everyone who was the creator of this tactic?” asked the host, facing the members of Team Skycrown.

With the exhilaration of victory still running in them, Team Skycrown unanimously pushed Yu Luocheng out front. Apart from him, who else could come up with such a tactic? This guy was born to play games!

“As expected… Fighting Hawk’s boldness is undoubtable,” said Li Tuchuan as he grinned, exposing a row of clean, white teeth.

Yu Luocheng was also looking at him in shock. He never expected Li Tuchuan to appear at this time. What’s more, this guy turned out to be the coach of the strongest US team!

Who is Li Tuchuan?

We have to go back to the time when Yu Luocheng first came into contact with e-sports, because when Yu Luocheng was just a budding sprout, Li Tuchuan was already a god in this industry!

You can say that this guy is a legendary e-sports veteran!

At this moment, memories flashed through Yu Luocheng’s mind…

***

“Fighting Hawk, I’m leaving the country,” said Li Tuchuan who was still in his early twenties at the time, taking a sip from the glass of alcohol in his hands.

“Leaving the country? Why?” asked a younger Yu Luocheng.

“The local e-sports circle is a mess. I’ve really done all I can to try and change it… in the end, I have nothing to show for my efforts. I don’t even have the qualifications to participate in a professional competition, what a joke.”

“You want to go overseas and grow?”

“Yeah, I’m thinking of developing myself out there. Instead of rotting here and searching for scraps to eat.”

“Good luck on your journey.”

“Good luck to you too.”

***

Yu Luocheng saw him as an e-sports predecessor who had been completely heartbroken by the local gaming scene.

And in just a few years time, he seems to have succeeded!

Relying on his strength, he had grown to the extent that he was now training the Worlds’ runner up team. This in itself was evidence of his success!

“To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like the third match before. Using Ashe as the centre, the Top, Jungler, and bottom lane were all highly mobile champions. With the various repositioning skills and incredible movement speed… watching them freely move around the enemy’s jungle area was like watching a high-suspense action movie! Frankly, I think even my classic poke lineup would have completely failed!” said Li Tuchuan.

The classic poke lineup was first seen in Korea, but in fact it had been developed by Li Tuchuan and a Korean coach.

And the reason that Fudan University could use the poke tactics was because the team that was supporting them was actually that very same foreign team who was the Worlds’ runner up team—Team Free.

The reason Fudan University could be strong enough to win the LPL was precisely because they received guidance and training from this golden coach, Li Tuchuan!