Chapter 337

But perhaps because he knew he was old and couldn't operate well, in this confrontation emphasizing personal operational ability he had no advantage, so Changzhang actually didn't sign up for the 1v1.

Liang Yan was greatly disappointed.

The next day, the All-Star tournament began.

During the on-stage introduction segment, Liang Yan happened to be standing next to Qi Jiang.

He quietly asked Qi Jiang:

"Hey Changzhang, why didn't you sign up for the solo tournament? Are you deliberately avoiding me?"

Originally Liang Yan was just teasing him, but Changzhang openly admitted:

"Yeah, I'm already 23, how can I compete with you youngsters in mechanics?"

His tone carried a hint of self-mockery, Liang Yan was left speechless, and then he recalled the historic scene of "nine blind monks and one ball" that would appear in this All-Star tournament, and suddenly he felt somewhat reluctant.

Besides, I don't know if I'll get to play in clone mode at that time; if I can, maybe I can help Changzhang save face, and let that iconic scene disappear into the void of history—after all, the LPL never lacks entertainment.

The opening match was a 5v5 showdown, with each of the two camps sending one team onto the stage; Riot had carefully arranged the schedule, first letting EU and NA, that old rivalry, fight to heat up the atmosphere, then came a cross-camp comprehensive showdown, with each side picking five players from its three regional teams to form a hybrid team for the confrontation.

Liang Yan sat in the audience watching the match.

The players fielded by both sides were also carefully selected by Riot, aiming for an even distribution.

The Red Team (Infinite Blaze) lineup is:

Karsa + Qi Jiang + BilseN + Uzi + Doublelift.

The team composition is one LMS, two NA, two LPL; well, Karsa takes top lane, and the senior brother gives Uzi support.

The opposing Absolute Zero Team is:

Saozi + Faker + Perkz + Levi + Madlife.

Two EU, two LCK, and one wildcard.

The fight went from level 1 teamfights to over thirty minutes, both sides constantly clashing; the result was Uzi going berserk, picking Lucian and slaughtering eighteen enemies.

And Faker, not sure if intentional, picked the blind monk, attempting in a certain teamfight to replicate the iconic Worlds semifinal moment where Liang Yan kicked five with a single foot; unfortunately he failed, his Flash W misaimed slightly, causing his R to cast a bit slowly, allowing the Fire Team to react, Karsa's Jayce hammer directly shoved Faker into the crowd, and the overfed Uzi Lucian instantly three-shot him to death.

The live audience laughed hysterically.

In the end, the Fire Team won this camp showdown, though few cared about the win/loss, the entertainment value was maxed out.

Having the senior brother support Uzi and letting Faker jungle just shows how playful Riot is; the live audience went wild, and global online viewers were thrilled beyond measure.

And in the subsequent LPL vs. wildcard regional showdown, Liang Yan finally got a chance to appear, taking A Guang's place and playing top lane.

The All-Star tournament doesn't allow coaches on stage; bans and picks are decided by the players on stage, and frankly there's not much to discuss—each side picks champions without worrying too much about team synergy, those with a stronger competitive drive grab lane-dominating champions, while those just looking for fun pick whatever.

Liang Yan said as soon as he came up: "I'll random, you guys do whatever."

When the pick phase arrived, Liang Yan truly randomed a champion.

The result was that he randomed Garen.

Liang Yan meant what he said, and regardless of everything he directly locked it in.

Caster: "What?!"

Live audience: "Whoa!!!! Hahahaha..."

LPL crowd: "Huh?"

Uzi laughed: "Holy shit, Garen? If the other side picks a birdman Jiao Shen, aren't you just going to blow up?"

Liang Yan smiled: "It's gotta blow up."

"Sigh, aren't you afraid of losing face?"

"Well, I'm still a bit scared."

"Hahaha..."

"Hehehe."

Changzhang could barely listen anymore, hehehe laughed and said: "Brothers, I'm going to play Lion Dog, you guys handle it."

Uzi calmed down a bit, but when he saw the enemy top lane pick Teemo, he laughed again.

"Holy shit, this top lane is the ultimate torment—can Jiao Shen hold up?"

"Can't hold up, it's like ten... twenty points, guys."

Luckily, I almost blurted out "fifteen surrender" out of habit, but my quick thinking corrected it in time, otherwise my time-traveler identity would have been exposed.

At this point, the fifteen surrender option isn't even live yet.

Changzhang chimed in: "Alright, let's surrender."

Aya Hirano: "I have no objection."

Uzi got a bit anxious:

"Holy shit, wildcard guys, are we really going to surrender?"

"Nah, I don't want to lose to the wildcard."

Wei Shen also feared losing face to the wildcard, so he picked Syndra, dead serious, feeling like a heavenly mandate had fallen on him—he had no choice but to step up and save the world.

The enemy's second pick locked in; initially Uzi was excitedly shouting for Vayne, but when he saw the enemy's fourth pick Celebrity lock in Caitlyn, he fell silent, and finally quietly pulled out Jinx.

Aya Hirano, being socially savvy, obediently locked in Senna.

The All-Star tournament used patch 6.23; the bot lane lane environment had some changes, but long-range supports remained strong.

After entering the game, Liang Yan typed an English sentence in all-chat:

【Peaceful development】

Red side wildcard top laner QTV:

【OK】

Then they went laning, and QTV pulled Teemo to dance in front of the blue side's first turret.

Liang Yan stood under the tower, facing, he jumped a bit then retreated, sneaking from his own jungle into the river, then sneaking into the enemy jungle, emerging from the gap before the red side's second tower.

He just managed to catch the first wave of minions.

QTV, who was hiding in the side brush preparing to ambush Liang Yan, saw this and slowly typed a question mark on the public chat:

【What happened to the promised peaceful development?】

Liang Yan used an E to advance and spin into the minions, while typing:

【Yeah, isn't this peaceful development?】

QTV typed a string of ellipses, but couldn't find anything to complain about, feeling extremely frustrated.

Teemo lacks a health‑regeneration passive, so QTV didn't dare to tank the minion wave like Liang Yan's Garen; he was pushed all the way to the tower by the blue side's minions, making him even more frustrated.

After clearing the first wave, Liang Yan darted into the jungle, placed a ward, then went straight to the enemy top lane high ground to intercept the second wave early.

QTV couldn't take it anymore and started calling for the jungler.

Levi's Jungler sneaked around Liang Yan's vision to flank him, but discovered that Garen had already charged onto the high ground.

Garen, with over a hundred health, gripped his great sword and sprinted straight toward the red side's fountain. Levi knew he was going to die for the tower, so he could only give up the chase.

Liang Yan saw no one coming to chase him and didn't go to die; he stood between the enemy inner turret and the top lane Nexus, dancing and flashing a G2 team sign.