Chapter 273: World Champion of Gaming

“Presenting… the Blood Eagle!” the announcer called out, turning her gaze to him.

Zhao Tinghua, the Blood Eagle, along with Qi Qiao, the commentator, came down from the commentary desk. With casual steps, he strode over to the players of Team Skycrown.

Once he was standing before Da Luo, Lin Dong, and Zhou Yan, Tinghua gave them a smile, and before the microphone could be passed over to him, he remarked, “Looks like you just barely made the cut. What a sorry sight you all are.”

Then the announcer handed the microphone to Tinghua, who cast a glance over to the shadows backstage. “A strong team surely relies upon the guidance of a wise coach. Team Skycrown, I’m sure you guys have your own coach, or analyst… why don’t you invite them up here, as well?”

“That’s right! Although you’ve never appeared in any tournaments before this, Team Skycrown has made an unstoppable advance all the way into the LPL! You must have an exceptional tactician supporting you—maybe a retired star from the pro-gaming scene?” Clearly, Qi Qiao was curious too.

The MC seemed to catch on to where the Blood Eagle and Qi Qiao were going with this. Casting her gaze over to the staff gathered backstage, she said, “Well then, let’s have Team Skycrown’s coach on stage with us as well! You won as a team, so everyone should get a fair share of the glory!”

The team manager, Xi Xi, hurried over to Yu Luocheng. “You’re the team leader and coach. Get out there! This is a rare chance to catch a bit of the spotlight!”

Luocheng hesitated. He hadn’t planned on going on stage himself. Team Skycrown’s victory was reward enough for him—everything else was beside the point. He didn’t want to go up there. It would only make things more complicated for him.

Xi Xi wouldn’t relent. Then, Zhang Aijing came over as well. She swung open the barrier, and then shoved Luocheng through.

Suddenly, Luocheng came into the view of three thousand people. Caught beneath the bright lights, he couldn’t see any of their faces, but he could feel them all looking at him.

More importantly, the camera had instantly trained onto his position.

“Keep smiling! Go on, go on… you’re already on camera!” Xi Xi urged from the shadows backstage.

Yang Ying, Xiao Jia, and Li Meiqi, seeing how Luocheng was frozen to the spot, all clapped their palms to their foreheads. “Don’t tell me he’s got stage fright!”

“A bit of stage fright is perfectly understandable,” Meiqi commented. “Faced with a crowd that size… if it were me, I wouldn’t even be able to walk straight.”

Xi Xi was now beside herself with worry that a university lad like Luocheng might embarrass himself on air. There were three thousand people just here alone, and a hundred thousand more watching over the internet.

Luocheng paused, noticing the burning gazes from the five players of Team Skycrown.

Alright, it’s no big deal either way.

He began to advance, making his way over to center stage. Wearing the ghost of a smile, he walked with measured steps, and even knew the precise moment when the camera would have him in focus.

In an instant, he had become a completely different person. Calm and collected, it was as though he’d long been accustomed to the spotlight.

You can tell by the eyes, whether or not someone is at home on the stage.

Luocheng’s gaze was unwavering. If there was any emotion to be described in his expression, it was pride in Team Skycrown’s victory.

It was no different from the usual smile he wore, easy-going and lackadaisical.

“Wow, to think that your coach was such a young man! Come to think of it, why does this guy seem kind of familiar…” The MC scrutinized Luocheng as he strode over to join them.

Qi Qiao was watching him too, her big eyes appraising him with fascination.

Yu Luocheng took his place alongside the victorious members of Team Skycrown. Lin Dong, Xiao Bei, Da Luo, Zhou Yan, and Wu Sen all greeted him with a warm embrace.

They had no doubt whatsoever that without Luocheng’s ceaseless training, they could never have made it this far. Though he himself hadn’t been playing, he nevertheless remained the team’s driving spirit.

In times of despair, their eyes would turn to him. When they sought courage and inspiration, they would look for it in him!

“Behind every strong team is a coach working silently in the background. I think the players of Team Skycrown must all feel deeply appreciative of the quiet support their young coach has been giving them!” the MC declared.

“During the game earlier, Qi Qiao already delivered an introduction for each of Team Skycrown’s players. Except for Wu Sen, who is already a renowned Support player within the LPL, the other players all represent the cream of the crop in Ranked play, each one equal to a first-class professional player in terms of individual skill. Could we now hear a little something about this young man who acts as your team coach?”

Watching Luocheng, Qi Qiao thought she felt a faint flicker of recognition. After staring at him distractedly for a moment, she eventually gave a sheepish smile. “We don’t actually have much information on Team Skycrown. Everything I’ve told you about the players, we just dug that up on the spot earlier. Otherwise, there’s still a lot about this team that we’re still in the dark about.”

The crowd eyed Luocheng curiously. For a newly formed team to have achieved such a breakthrough, and claimed a place within the pantheon of the LPL, their coach must be someone special. Everyone was eager to learn the truth of his identity.

Still, looking at him, he didn’t seem any older than the players themselves. He didn’t bear the look of a person who’d spent his whole life on games.

Zhao Tinghua knew who he really was.

From the moment Luocheng stepped onto the stage, Tinghua’s gaze had remained fixed on him. He betrayed no evident expression in his features, but it was like the tense silence before a volcanic eruption!

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It was an atmosphere that sent a chill up your spine.

Suddenly, Tinghua smiled. To Luocheng, it looked like he was baring his fangs viciously. A great many things hid beneath the surface of that smile.

It was the first time since his retirement that Luocheng had seen Tinghua. That made it perhaps two years, now.

Two years ago, they’d still been best friends. Now they felt like complete strangers. They lived in different worlds, now.

It felt like there had often been a voice echoing in his ears, full of rage and sorrow, always screaming… calling him a traitor.

The owner of that voice now stood before him. Seeing him reminded Luocheng of what it had been like, coming home from their defeat in England.

“Eh, Blood Eagle… would you happen to already be acquainted with Team Skycrown’s coach?” Sensing something amiss, the MC spoke up.

With a little laugh, Tinghua regained the proper stage composure. Microphone in hand, he nonchalantly said, “I bet everyone here is eager to see just how good this coach is. To be able to produce a stand-out team like this, he must really be out of this world!”

Qi Qiao and the MC both nodded. The audience would certainly like nothing better than to find out exactly how this guy measured up.

To be able to become a coach, there must be something worthwhile about him!

“How about this: For the upcoming activities, let’s have this coach from Team Skycrown be my opponent. As the Blood Eagle, I shall personally investigate the depths of this mystery man’s abilities. What does everyone think of that?”

As he said this, his grin hardened, his predatory eyes set in a playful slant as he watched Luocheng.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he was replied to with a resounding round of applause!

The Blood Eagle vs. Team Skycrown’s coach!

It was an absolute must-watch!

Blood Eagle stood among the best of the best in the nation, while Team Skycrown’s coach had to be an elite professional player in his own right. It promised to be a fight to remember!

The MC and Qi Qiao looked on with eyes brimming with excitement. This was truly attention-grabbing stuff. They were all for it!

Backstage, Aijing was already all smiles.

A solo duel—one between F-Hawk and Blood Eagle!

Aijing had already collected a wealth of information about Blood Eagle. What she fervently desired right now was more combat data on F-Hawk.

A solo duel was the greatest demonstration of fine gameplay skills. One round between them, and Aijing would have a much clearer picture of F-Hawk’s Individual Ability Index in ‘League of Legends’!

What a marvellous fellow this Blood Eagle was! He was giving her exactly what she wanted!

***

“Zhao Tinghua, is this necessary?” Lin Dong frowned at him.

Not equipped with a microphone himself, these words were spoken only privately—however, Qi Qiao the commentator and Su Mei the MC both caught it. They maintained their smiles for the camera, but the intrigue had deepened.

Qi Qiao suddenly remembered that, at the start, Zhao Tinghua the Blood Eagle had declared that he would make sure to crush Team Skycrown beneath his heel. It was obvious that there was some sort of history between them.

What was their connection?

Moreover, Blood Eagle had deliberately issued a challenge to Team Skycrown’s coach. Was there some meaning behind this, as well?

Switching off his microphone, Tinghua coldly replied, “Of course it’s necessary. There’s a certain someone who’s still holding on to the title of world champion in gaming. Since he’s not playing professionally anymore, it’s time for him to pass on that honor.”

World champion… in gaming?

Qi Qiao and Su Mei stared in disbelief at Team Skycrown’s coach!

The World Cyber Games Solo Championship had been a prestigious event organized under the IPL. The grand champion of this tournament could be considered the indisputable king of MOBA-gaming!¹

After that, no one ever held an event like that again, meaning the grand champion from that tournament remained the only person to have ever received that highest of honors.

The MC, Su Mei, had never imagined that she’d be standing before that legendary figure in person—or that he’d be this young man with the goofy smile!

Who could have anticipated that the coach of Team Skycrown carried such a legacy!