Chapter 788: Departure!

After the bubble match, the three LPL spots were confirmed; next up is the departure ceremony.

The Wukesong Arena's nearly twenty thousand seats were packed, with spectators waving light boards, glow sticks, and team flags, shouting loudly.

On the big screen, a promotional video for the three teams played; when VG's footage appeared, cheers doubled, and when Liang Yan appeared on screen saying that declaration—"I will definitely bring glory back to the LPL"—the fans' screams almost lifted the roof.

Next came close-ups of Changzhang and Uzi, followed by another wave of cheers like a mountain roar and sea tide.

Finally, Liang Yan, Changzhang, and Uzi stood side by side, with Liang Yan taking the center position; all three crossed their arms, looked down at the camera, full of heroic spirit, their faces brimming with confidence.

Host Zhu Zhen stood in the center of the stage, microphone in hand, but before he could speak he was drowned out by the audience's sound wave. He smiled and waited silently, waiting for the noise to subside before speaking:

"Yes, at this moment I feel just as excited as all the summoner fans present; we've waited a year, and all the LPL teams have fought for a year, and it's all been for this day."

"That's right, after a whole year of competition, we can finally announce!"

"The three LPL teams that have qualified for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship are!"

"First Seed! VG!!"

"Second Seed! EDG!!"

"Third Seed! RNG!!"

"Now, our departure ceremony officially begins!!"

After finishing the bubble match, the RNG players stayed on stage, and coach FireFox somehow slipped up from backstage to stand with the players.

The stage lights flickered wildly, and the audience cheered like thunder.

The departure teams of VG and EDG stood on the lifting platform, which slowly rose.

Two days ago, VG lifted the summer championship trophy here; today, the three LPL teams heading to the S7 World Championship gathered together to attend the departure ceremony for the Worlds.

The host began introducing the three teams one by one, starting with RNG, then EDG, and finally VG.

With each name called, the crowd below burst into cheers; after the players from each team walked to the front and stood in a line, the atmosphere in the arena went completely wild.

After the departure roster was introduced, a person walked out from the side of the stage.

LPL's highest official, Jinyibo, wearing glasses, in formal attire with his hair neatly combed, walked to the center of the stage.

Someone in the stands shouted: "Bo Bi, wuu~~~"

Laughter rang out.

Jinyibo stood firm in the center of the stage, raised the microphone, first scanned the sea of people in the stands, smiling as he raised his hand and waved twice.

"It's been a long time since anyone called me like that; I feel honored and also nostalgic."

Jinyibo spoke, his voice transmitted through the sound system throughout the venue,

"I'm honored to be able to stand here today and say a few words on behalf of the three LPL teams competing in the S7 World Championship; I also miss the past year when all the teams in our region fought hard to earn these three spots."

"For today, we've all put in a lot. Therefore I can declare with a clear conscience and upright—"

"At this very moment, the three teams standing here are this year's strongest LPL teams, the ones that best represent LPL's competitive level!"

"Some have won straight from the spring season opener to the summer finals; some have experienced ups and downs but remain tenacious; others have nearly fallen into despair yet escaped from it!"

"But no matter which team, they all deserve this specially organized, grand, solemn departure ceremony held for them today!"

Applause rang out from the audience seats.

Jinyibo paused, then continued:

"Looking back at our LPL's performance in the World Championships over the past few years, I believe many feel the same as I do—regret, unwillingness, even resentment. In S3 and S4 we lost twice in the finals; in S5 and S6 we didn't even make it to the finals' floor. So people say our LPL is full of hope every year, yet ends in disappointment every year…"

The audience quieted down.

Jinyibo's voice rose a few notches:

"But this year I still have to say!"

"This year is the most hopeful year for LPL!!"

"Thank you everyone! Please believe me! Believe in LPL!!"

Jinyibo bowed deeply, then straightened his back; the thunderous applause and earth-shaking cheers still could not drown out his voice:

"I'd like to ask all the audience members here, and the online fans supporting LPL in front of their screens, to join me in cheering for the three departing teams—okay?"

The entire audience responded with a booming rumble.

Jinyibo raised the microphone and shouted loudly: "LPL!!!"

The entire audience: "Go!!!"

Piercing gold, splitting stone, the voice shakes the clouds!

Jinyibo wiped the corner of his eyes, then bowed deeply again toward the front stands before waving his hand and leaving the stage.

The audience continued to shout in unison:

"LPL!!!"

"LPL!!!"

"LPL!!!"

Backstage, the celebrities who were to participate in the upcoming star exhibition match were all frightened by the terrifying noise coming from outside.

Even Zhou Tianwang, who has held countless large concerts, had never seen such an astonishing spectacle.

The fervor of esports fans is too frightening!

……

The venue lights briefly went out then came back on.

A spotlight illuminated the stage, and Zhu Zhen appeared again at center stage.

"How about it, audience friends—was today's venue blown up!"

"But don't rush—hey, our battle isn't over yet!"

"So next, let's invite the two teams for the star exhibition match with even more enthusiastic applause! First up, please welcome the captain and representative of the Surpass Team!"

"Zhou! Jie! Lun!"

The venue atmosphere, which had just cooled a bit, boiled over again to the extreme the moment Zhou Dong's figure appeared at the backstage passageway exit.

No need to say how crazy the fans are; the venue already had many people who came for Zhou Tianwang, these people might not even have touched a computer, but they are all fans of Zhou Tianwang.

After Zhou Dong came up, he interacted with the audience in cooperation with Zhu Zhen, chattered on about a bunch of his outlook and expectations for today's special match, and then he called out the remaining Surpass Team members.

Cai KunKun had never seen such a scene before; when he came up, his face was a little pale, his steps were floating, he stood there nervously, inexplicably always wanting to get closer to Liang Yan, as if that would give him more sense of security.

Liang Yan didn't mind at all, nor would he suspect that this person might have any improper thoughts toward him; after all, as someone who's been there, Liang Yan still had some understanding of Ji Ge.

It just felt a bit novel.