Chapter 188: The Butterfly Effect! Career Highlights and Map Highlights!

Due to the massive actions taken by V5, countless "butterfly effects" occurred in succession.

The story must begin with the biggest winner of this transfer period: RNG.

Bai Xing originally wanted to save some face; after all, the team had won an international championship last year, and he had initially planned to keep some players, thinking that as long as they could still make it to the World Championship, it wouldn't count as tanking.

But then he saw the situation this year?

In the new LPL season, it was visible to the naked eye that there would be at least 4-5 super-strong teams!

What was the point of playing then!

Anyway, the core players had already been used to pay off debts, and the people coming to bid from the outside were more ferocious than the last. Face, how much is that worth anyway?

Forget it!

Simply put, after the mid-laner and jungler, they went insane and listed Breathe and Gala for sale as well!

Except for Ming, who was exceptionally loyal and didn't want to move around at the end of his career, preparing to stay at RNG until retirement—and he figured the team wouldn't treat him poorly in the end.

And because V5 had previously shown interest in Tian, the TES management felt an instant sense of urgency and immediately began launching offensives for the remaining players on the market.

Meanwhile, WBG, who were also preparing to go all out this season, had extremely abundant funds because they had failed to bid for Ye Bo and Knight, plus they had made a huge profit from trading Wei with BLG.

They had already been firm that they would replace Tang Huanfeng to strengthen the AD position in the new season, with the original plan being to buy LNG's Light.

But now they had money!

And there were better options available outside right now!

In the end:

WBG snatched Gala, TES snatched Breathe, and Bai Xing snatched the money.

As for the mid lane, it remained the biggest commotion of this transfer period.

It was all thanks to the wild maneuvers of WBG manager Stone.

After buying Gala, the WBG roster already looked somewhat luxurious, and paired with Xiaohu, whom they held in their hands, it was practically "RNG 2. ," which could be said to already have plenty of "traffic appeal."

But Stone wondered:

If they really wanted to "consume traffic," who in the team could compare to that one person in the top lane!

And that team name!

It just so happened that Karsa, who had been released by V5 earlier, was recruited by WBG.

And Rookie was now also released by V5!

Now they could not only consume the "Incheon" traffic but also forcibly latch onto V5's traffic.

A feast of traffic!

Stone made a prompt decision, directly entrusted someone to find Rookie, and offered a price that the other party couldn't refuse—a price second only to Ye Bo and Knight in this transfer period.

Rookie just happened to want to play "brother LOL," and his top choices were WBG and TES.

With an unexpectedly high-priced contract, it was a perfect match, and he signed on the spot.

The miserable TES mid lane was thus left empty, and not wanting to get involved in another more convoluted "battle," they had no choice but to hold their noses and pay a high agency fee to buy the "one-year usage" loan contract for Xiaohu from Stone.

Stone was full of himself.

With this back-and-forth, WBG not only obtained a seemingly incredibly luxurious, high-traffic team, but they didn't even lose much money!

He felt he was just too wise!

As for the other two top-tier mid-laners, Scout and Yagao:

One has to mention the "wealthy and gullible" Chen Rui.

This person was now extremely furious, venting his anger by frantically lashing out at his desk and the operations manager.

This mess was even more foul and long-winded.

To summarize simply, BLG had already negotiated a top-salary contract with Scout, the terms were very good, and they had even signed a letter of intent—only for Scout to turn around and use BLG's contract to leverage a deal in the LCK again and again!

That sounds truly familiar.

It infuriated Chen Rui so much that for several days he was gnashing his teeth and muttering: "That dog Lee Ye-chan..."

Chen Rui really didn't expect that after EDG had just experienced such an incident last year, he would be the one to suffer it this time!

It really is true that a dog can't change its nature.

Furthermore, Scout wasn't just leveraging in the LCK; he was also leveraging with other teams in the LPL.

It was precisely because they were being leveraged that BLG missed out on several best options in succession!

In the end, to avoid leaving the mid lane vacant, BLG had to decisively "pay a premium" to snatch Yagao, who had been squeezed out by Knight, from the bidding wars of other teams.

After some leveraging, Scout was once again shut out by LCK teams and slunk back to the LPL to look for work.

Only to be stunned to find that this year, the strong teams were all fully staffed early on!

Not a single person was waiting for him!

Barely, only LNG was left to pick up the pieces.

And Chen Rui, who had wanted to let the matter rest, thought about it more and became angrier.

Uncle wasn't as easy to talk to as Zhu Yihang; he had already been a sucker last season, and this season he was stabbed again, and even after several days, he was still holding a grudge.

"Did we sign a commercial supplementary contract with Lee Ye-chan last year?"

The operations manager, who was caught in the crossfire, nodded immediately: "Yes, boss. Because he transferred in the middle of the season, according to the terms of the paper contract, he could only get a quarter of the season's money, so we cooperated and signed a supplementary clause for commercial endorsements... What do you mean?"

"Get him for me!!!"

Following V5's series of bombshells.

The rosters of a series of top LPL teams were released one after another—

【JDG】: 369, Kanavi, Knight, Ruler, Missing

【BLG】: Bin, Wei, Yagao, Elk, On

【TES】: Breathe, Tian, Xiaohu, JKL, Mark

【WBG】: TheShy, Karsa (Weiwei), Rookie, Gala, Crisp

【LNG】: Zika, Tarzan, Scout, Light, Hang

【EDG】: Ale, Jiejie, Fofo (Fisher), Leave, Meiko

Rumors and official announcements were flying everywhere.

It could be said that the entire Jin-Northwest was in a state of total chaos!

As each confirmed piece of news was reported, the internet immediately exploded with sharp commentary.

【Laughing to death, heard Scout pulled another stunt and played BLG? Why doesn't he go to the Valorant scene next door to be a pro? What a waste of talent!】

【These teams are really something this year, adding V5 there are at least five luxury rosters, alright! I declare this is the most hopeful year for the LPL!】

【Hard to say, the LCK also has many galaxy battleships this year, GEN and Hanwha look fierce just by looking at them. The good news is T1 didn't change anyone, but based on Zeus's performance last year, I feel T1 still won't make it this year.】

【Isn't that because the champion and runner-up of S12 almost disbanded on the spot? Otherwise, how could so many galaxy battleships be formed?】

【Don't know, anyway I'm a ten-year veteran fan of V5, I'm really not familiar with other teams!】

【Requirements aren't high, the finals are in the home country of Korea this year, can we avenge the S7 and S10 grudges!】

The V5 members who returned to the Shenzhen base to settle down were in no rush to start training.

It was still the off-season, and everyone had just finished the high-pressure World Championship and needed to relax.

Flandre had recently become a bit addicted to the new game Valorant, occasionally playing with the EDG Valorant team, and had called Ye Bo several times.

It was just that Ye Bo couldn't muster much interest in other games, shouting "Loyalty to the League!"

It was mainly because he had severe 3D motion sickness and couldn't play almost any game that required rotating a 3D perspective.

The two new junglers, however, were full of energy; as soon as they arrived at the base, they spontaneously started crazy rank training every day—this reflected the meaning of "competing for a position," they were completely self-motivated!

As for the bot lane duo, they were following the professional private tutor hired by the team, urgently learning Chinese every day.

Outsiders could see it, and the team was naturally very clear about it too.

Language is always the most important threshold for foreign members.

In the rapidly changing battle scenes, relying on someone to translate is definitely unreliable, especially since BeryL's own Chinese was only half-baked.

Moreover, the situation this time was different.

Traveling across the ocean to China, these two naturally had only one reason.

The painful experience of being just one step away last year, even for a player like BeryL who had always been very Zen, was filled with deep regret and a trace of remorse.

Just relying on this drive, overcoming the most basic language problem was naturally nothing.

Besides, learning Chinese is inherently a bit "metaphysical."

Some people can communicate normally in less than half a month, while others might not be able to communicate normally even after four or five years; it purely depends on the individual.

There was also an interesting anecdote.

Ye Bo saw a clever tip from a netizen online, saying to let BeryL play 2D mobile games using the Chinese language version... It seemed to have miraculous effects after trying it!

This was equivalent to him learning Chinese all day, including his leisure and entertainment time!

At the very least, he was now very proficient at recognizing some of the text involved in the game.

Why else would they say interest is the best teacher~

Ye Bo hadn't been idle during this time either.

The 2023 preseason version had officially gone live, and there were quite a few new things.

First was a series of stat adjustments for powerful heroes, including Azir and Yuumi, who were must-bans or must-picks at the World Championship.

And the {Chemtech Dragon Soul}, which was deleted at the beginning of the year for being too buggy, as well as the new version of {Chemtech Rift}, were reworked and released.

The "Mutated Plants" in the new Chemtech Rift, especially the change where the "Mutated Blast Cone" doubled the ejection distance, were of great interest to Ye Bo, whom netizens jokingly called the "Godfather of Fruits."

The biggest change seemed to be the "Jungle."

Now, after the large monsters in a jungle camp were killed, the small monsters would naturally disappear, and the "counter-jungling fasting" tactic that EDG had used in the quarterfinals had become history.

Besides this, the Jungle Item that had existed for 12 years was officially removed, replaced by the "Spirit Pet Companion" from the Jungle Egg, creating a series of brand-new mechanics; the entire jungle area underwent earth-shaking changes.

However, Ye Bo and Beryl both noticed a change they considered the most important.

A change that seemed "dispensable."

It was as if the designers finally discovered that the influence of the top lane in this game was too low, while the status of the mid and bottom lanes seemed a bit too high.

Unless a situation like the DRX vs T1 top lane matchup occurred where one side crushed the other, it was basically difficult to influence the outcome of the battle!

Therefore, the designers chose to weaken these two positions and strengthen the top lane.

The nerf to the mid lane is: before 14 minutes, all minions spawning in the mid lane will provide 1 less gold upon last-hitting.

The nerf to the bottom lane and the buff to the top lane is: minions provide 2. 5% more experience to "solo lanes," while minion experience shared by multiple heroes remains unchanged.

This is equivalent to the top lane receiving a dual buff of both economy and level!

Although the mid lane seems nerfed, it also receives the compensation of solo lane experience; back and forth, it might even be considered a buff.

Only the bottom lane is absolutely the biggest loser of the whole game!

After the two of them tested it.

They discovered that in a 5v5 development scenario without any kills occurring—developing in a solo lane for 10 minutes would inexplicably and naturally result in being a full 2 levels higher than the bottom duo lane!

Playing until around 30 minutes, it is even possible to be naturally 3-4 levels higher, with the base stats alone differing by more than half an item.

Bottom lane players are all exclaiming: "Am I even human? Am I really human?!"

But the two head coaches of V5 both believe that this might be "good news" for their team.

And while researching the new version, Ye Bo was also busy "refining trophies."

After the Grand Finals, the number of trophies he obtained were all converted into {Basic Talent Enhancement Points}.

Considering this from a long-term perspective, this might be the most important thing.

Ye Bo has always been clear that his talent is not among the top-tier, it is just "diligence can make up for clumsiness."

But after fully digesting the gains from the Grand Finals, the "Talent Recovery Period" for this old-timer only needs two more trophies to be fully restored, and he will soon be able to unlock the true "Upper Limit Enhancement"!

The key is.

The upcoming All-Star annual awards ceremony.

Barring any accidents, there will definitely be quite a few gains there. Perhaps he can max it out upon returning!

Ye Bo is very much looking forward to the changes after maxing it out.

Of course, besides these "important matters."

Daily streaming was not neglected either.

After all, the Uncle spent a lot of money, so Ye Bo definitely has to do his job well; streaming on time every day, he can be called a model worker!

"Recently, everyone has been meshing quite well, everyone is a very good person... Oh, you little rascal Xiao Qi! Don't push around!"

"You might not believe it when I say it, but Saint Gunner and Beryl have so many common topics; they are more familiar with each other now than they are with me!"

"By the way, after streaming today, we will be resting tomorrow, as we have to go to the All-Star and annual ceremony."

"Our region's lineup is quite good this year, they all look very formidable..."

Holding two cats in his arms, Ye Bo chatted leisurely with the stream's chat.

One British Shorthair blue-white is named Xiao Qi, which is Ming Kai's cat.

One Ragdoll is named Little Raccoon, which is Meiko's cat—and also the 1-to-1 original art prototype for the champion cat in the S11 champion skins.

The EDG club has a floor dedicated to being a professional "cattery," keeping over a dozen cats.

Ye Bo had always wanted to raise one, but previously at home his mother was afraid of cats, and the pressure during the first season was extremely high; the original plan was to adopt one at the base after finishing S12...

Don't look at how Ming Kai and Meiko were howling when they heard that request before he left.

But when they heard Ye Bo really wanted to take one away, fulfilling his original wish, they didn't expect it was Ming Kai and Meiko themselves who proposed it.

Thinking that these two little guys usually run around in the training room and are very familiar with Ye Bo...

【The cats are also transferring with the streamer, right? Then let me ask you, why didn't the cats release a transfer announcement? Answer me! LoL-kun, sell out!】

【Tears in my eyes, family, EDG even gave the team's Grand Eldest Prince and Second Eldest Prince as dowry to Master Ye!】

【V5 won big, the year hasn't even started yet, and they have another champion skin, heh!】

【Hey, not that, brother, so where is my championship documentary? It won't be that the documentary was stillborn because Master Ye left, right? I just want to see what Master Ye actually went through during the quarterfinals!】

【The streamer is going to the All-Star, so who is going to replenish the nutrition I'm missing from the stream, wuwuwu】

【Mail the trophies over! I'm telling you to pack the trophies and mail them over! Does Tengjing have any sense at all! I want to watch the stream!!】

【Why are those two people in the back acting so gay? Genshin Brother plus Saint Gunner, the ACG concentration of this V5 lineup feels higher than BLG's ()】

Speaking of which, the fact that Saint Gunner and Beryl can get along so well is indeed an unexpected matter that no one at V5 had thought of.

On the first day the two met, they were already chatting back and forth using translation software in the car, and they seemed to have quite a few common topics.

Thinking about it, it seems reasonable.

Ye Bo, as his roommate, knows best that Saint Gunner is also an old ACG fan.

As for the atmosphere in the V5 training room, it is even more harmonious than imagined.

Ye Bo, Deft, and Saint Gunner, the three with the highest status and seniority, are all easy-going personalities, and Beryl is more like a silly person who, besides training, spends his days poking his phone screen; the two newcomers are not under much pressure.

Plus, Xun also has that kind of sunny and humorous personality; the usual atmosphere in the training room is simply a convention for pranksters.

As for the All-Star and annual ceremony, as the defending champions, it is naturally impossible for the entire EDG team to be absent, and they will be able to gather once more then.

And the results of the "All-Star Voting."

Ye Bo, as a newcomer participating in the voting for the first time, ultimately led the mid-lane position by a landslide with 4. 3 million votes!

It is almost seven times the votes of the second place, Left Hand, who had 660, 00!

This shows his current level of popularity among the audience in the region.

And for the top lane voting, although TheShy's performance in recent years has been average, as the perennial vote king, he still had almost the same number of votes as Saint Gunner, and even slightly higher.

However, because TheShy was resting at home and returning to China would require an extra two weeks of quarantine, which was too rushed, he simply recorded an apology video and handed over his spot.

As a result, Bin, who ranked third in the top lane, can be considered to have eaten leftovers again, relying on a replacement to get a spot in the competition.

"It's useless for you to urge me about the documentary, you have to urge that lazy producer~~" Ye Bo shrugged helplessly: "I heard it'll be these next two days."

"The All-Star schedule this time is quite short, after all, the situation is special, I estimate it can be finished in one day; the reason we aren't streaming is mainly because we have to start preparing for battle after we return, the competitive pressure this year is not small..."

"Holy crap!! Double Gold Double Egg!!"

A clearly non-standard Chinese ghost-like shout appeared in the stream, and the chat was immediately filled with 【What kind of sound is that?】

But there were knowledgeable people who immediately guessed what it was, analyzing that the latter part should mean "Double Gold Double Egg."

"Genshin Brother is learning Chinese very fast, although he doesn't speak it very standardly yet, there's no big problem listening to us talk~" Ye Bo picked up the camera and turned it to the round face on the side: "Genshin Brother, say hello!"

"Hi, hello everyone, big brothers and sisters, happy new year!"

【Holy turtle! It's been less than a month and he can speak like this?】

【This, it's hard to imagine what kind of textbooks V5 used to let them speed-run Chinese.】

【Our Genshin is really too amazing, if we can win the championship this year, it wouldn't be excessive to take 30% of the credit, Beryl, shouldn't you pick a skin for my favorite Ganyu!】

【Report!!! It's born! The documentary is born!】

Ye Bo also happened to see the message sent in the "EDG Food Snatching Canteen" WeChat group.

{7777777}@All Members: "Brothers, the documentary is live on all platforms, if you have time, go help share it~~"

"Here it comes, here it comes, it's finally here!"

Xiao Qi, who was sleeping on his lap, was being restless again.

Ye Bo grabbed its scruff to discipline it, then quickly opened Bilibili to search for the EDG official account and clicked on the newly released documentary.

The title was concise and comprehensive.

"ONE&ONLY"

This was exactly the theme of the S12 Grand Finals; as a championship documentary, it was obviously most appropriate.

The screen alternated between light and dark, and the faces of the five EDG members appeared in the lens.

There was no time marked, clearly indicating that this was an interview recorded after winning the championship.

"Frankly speaking, everyone."

"At the very beginning, did you ever think that it was possible to win the defending championship this year?"

The narrator's voice asked a soul-searching question.

And the four heads, even though medals were already hanging on their chests, all smiled and shook their heads at this moment.

Only the one sitting in the middle was nodding vigorously, the contrast being extremely strong.

The screen flashed back, and the bottom right corner showed the time had come to September 12th—the group draw stage of the World Championship.

When the edge of that colored egg revealed a touch of "red."

That color made everyone at EDG almost instantly think of a team from the second pool!

The ribbon unfolded, with a pair of golden wings on the outside, and three dazzling golden stars.

"Oh my god!" Ming Kai was the first to hold his head with both hands: "Don't mess with me!?"

"Holy crap... we have to fight them right away."

Regarding that "Nightmare-level" opponent, that team which guaranteed a top-four finish as long as they entered the World Championship and had never advanced from the group stage in second place, everyone's mood at that time was very difficult to calm down.

Advancing in second place meant having to play a first seed in the quarterfinals.

Looking back at history, with the state of the entire EDG team being affected during the quarterfinals at that time, it might have really been somewhat dangerous.

This was undoubtedly a group situation that was not optimistic.

Only Ye Bo dragged his small chair and slid forward a step, looking spirited and fiery-eyed instead.

The number of people watching the documentary simultaneously exceeded 10, 00+, and the real-time chat was overwhelming!

【Looking back now, it's full of boomerangs everywhere!】

【The situation is not optimistic. But it didn't say who is not optimistic~】

【To be fair, the others' reactions are fine. Before Master Ye came, EDG had been bullied by SKT for seven whole years starting from S5! Seven years! Do you know how those seven years were spent!!】

The process reaches the first day of the group stage.

EDG defeats a poorly performing G2 with a bloody 17-2 slaughter, using a portal trick to slam dunk on the European King of Mages, Caps!

EDG secures a winning start for their region, yet the other three LPL teams all lost on the first day!

In the next match, they are set to face T1; tension and gloom seem to be circling over everyone's heads once again.

On the day of the match, the event recorder woke up early to follow everyone, gathering in Ye Bo's room to watch New York City at five in the morning.

On the eve of the great battle, no one had a good night's sleep.

Before going on stage, Ming Kai was still comforting everyone.

"Everyone, don't be under too much pressure. We are guaranteed to advance anyway, so just treat this game as a practice match; winning or losing is no big deal!"

"Director! What kind of talk is that!" Ye Bo's confident face was flushed, his voice full of vigor: "We will win! Definitely!"

"Brothers, let's go!!!"

"Master Ye is right! Let's go!"

The EDG team members stacked their five palms together, lifting them up in unison with a shout of "Victory."

The restless and loud sound echoed heavily within the enclosed room.

And just as the screen cut to the Summoner's Rift, an ethereal and cunning voice rang out.

"It is merely a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water."

【EDGYe has slain T1Faker!】

The system's mechanical kill notification sound was turned up several times! Along with it, the atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden was instantly ignited!

"SOLO!!! KILL!!!"

"My god! The game time is at six minutes and player Ye has completed a solo kill! A solo kill against the legendary mid-laner, Faker!!!"

"And it was done in such an incredible way! A way we have never seen before! A way we couldn't even imagine!"

"He seems to be controlling—he is controlling that clone!!!"

The camera flickered, and the EDG team voice chat was filled with passion and screams; morale seemed to instantly soar to the skies.

Nervous?

Who is nervous?

The one who should be nervous now is the opponent!

"Congratulations to EDG! A team wipe to push down the base and defeat T1 in the first round of the group stage! In Group A, the Group of Death, they have shown their dominance as the region's first seed!"

"This EDG really makes one feel the state they were in last year."

Looking back at the tie-breaker in the second round, it is full of narrative; everything seems so logical.

They gave Keria the slow-paced Yuumi, both sides banned mid-laners to set up hero traps, forcing Faker to pick a farming hero like Viktor—only to run into the "hero with the strongest snowballing ability"!

They didn't even wait for Yuumi to exert influence; while Viktor was still farming in the mid lane, the tempo had already been torn apart!

Compared to the "breaking through with force" of the first match.

The second match is perhaps what this EDG truly displayed differently at this World Championship.

The screen cuts back to the post-championship interview, and the narrator asks the five of them that question once again.

"So, when did you start to feel... that you could win the championship this time?"

Flandre said without hesitation: "It was after the second round of the group stage, when we swept T1! We ended their so-called unbeaten record and proved that nothing is invincible!"

Meiko also echoed: "After that match, I think not just us, but everyone should know about Master Ye's 'whimsical ideas.' He is our most special existence."

Viper nodded: "Meiko is right."

JieJie, with a slightly arrogant air, crossed his arms and said: "Actually, after the first match, I felt that I was going to become a two-time champion jungler! With this mid-laner, my jungle is simply invincible!"

Ye Bo followed up, arrogantly tilting his head: "I'm different; from the very beginning, I never thought about losing!"

"If we don't have confidence in ourselves, who can have confidence in us?"

The screen cuts back to the handshake segment at the time.

At that moment, the people going to shake hands were indeed filled with immense confidence, as if the transformation was completed from that very moment.

But immediately after, a sudden change occurred.

No one expected that on the very night of the celebration, four red slashes would become EDG's new "nightmare."

And in the quarterfinals, T1 and DRX each displayed a unique understanding of the game superior to others.

Before EDG took the stage, the quarterfinals were only halfway through, yet LPL was already left with only one lone seedling: EDG!

It was truly a case of it never rains but it pours.

Everyone at the time firmly believed that this would likely be the worst year in LPL history, and they had all resigned themselves to fate.

But, someone refused to accept it.

Fate, who does it think it is?

The camera shows a real mobile phone recording, a spontaneous moment captured by Ming Kai at the time; he didn't expect it could be used here.

Teammates and coaches were all groaning in fever on their respective beds.

Only Ye Bo was sitting alone in front of the computer in the middle of the night.

He repeatedly watched the footage in front of the computer, scribbling and making notes in his notebook, and then remotely conducted reviews and "make-up lessons" for his teammates.

Night after night of lonely all-nighters.

Ye Bo found the key to breaking the deadlock—the secret of Nuguri's Aatrox, hidden by Daeny!

Daeny could never have imagined that someone could be so "idle" as to take a magnifying glass to the "first-person" laning situations of the five DK members and conduct a "one-on-one" review, just to give his teammates make-up lessons.

This point alone won a winning springboard for EDG, who already had a draft advantage.

When Ye Bo appeared alone, standing face-to-face against the five members of DK.

He never lowered his head from beginning to end, holding his head high—because he knew he was not alone.

And when he carefully placed the four "EDG dolls" on the four empty seats, even watching it again, many people in front of the screen couldn't help but be moved.

At the pinnacle of the finals, the quarterfinals reunited.

Even if ten thousand mountains block the way.

Watch as the new wind breaks the clouds and sails!

Textbook-level Azir, textbook-level Maokai, commanding the overall situation in three games in every sense.

Until the moment the base was pushed down, Ye Bo felt the five spotlights covering him, and the shouts of his own ID from below; the surging blood that had been suppressed for three whole games erupted in an instant.

He let out that shout toward the audience, tearing his vocal cords!

It was this heartfelt action that won him hundreds of thousands of fans in the European and American regions.

When Ye Bo saw this scene again, his chest couldn't help but heave violently.

The Azir that broke the historical record for {damage share}.

One person arrives, and it is as if ten thousand horses and soldiers are present!

The final classic interview even used frame-by-frame jumps, superimposed in a carousel display.

Holding four hero dolls, he imitated the voices of his four teammates to accept the interview.

From that moment on.

This team truly had a new "Team Soul."

【Damn, I really want to cry watching this. I dare not imagine that this was an 18-year-old rookie player. What kind of pressure was he under at that time?】

【Looking at that Emperor's Divide, Master Ye was even saying "I feel like I didn't command that well, I could have done better..." He was still blaming himself for not doing better. Really, I'm crying to death.】

【I can only say that for the affection EDG has for him, he is worth it.】

【Indeed, so there are still people saying EDG was stupid to let him go. This is true mutual achievement! You treat me with all your heart, and I cannot let you down!】

【In that last wave, he just said "I can push them back"... So cool! He's like the protagonist of a movie!】

By the semifinals, EDG was truly completely different.

With a team soul, having experienced everything in the quarterfinals, their fighting spirit against the LCK's first seed soared to the sky!

Looking at it now.

The so-called "Song of Ice and Fire" was just like an ice factory falling into a churning sea of magma.

This match was also a true explosion of potential from everyone; all three lanes frontally crushed the LCK's first seed, striding onto the stage of the finals!

A re-shot scene is inserted here—it is a true restoration of the scene where the DRX bot lane duo called to congratulate the EDG members after the semifinals.

Deft and Beryl happened to be there to help with a friendly performance, restoring that moment for everyone.

It was also then that everyone was stunned to discover that there had been a bond in the dark all along...

It was on the way to California.

The words Li Xuanjun said to Ye Bo were insisted upon by him to be restored in front of the camera.

"It's not four world champions carrying you."

"It is you, who is carrying four world champions."

And this final.

It absolutely deserves to be called one of the most exciting matches in history.

The hundred-mile kunai thrown by the Falcon Dance and Cold Shadow is the sharpest shadow blade of the Order of the Balance—four solo kills in the same matchup will become an indelible historical record at the World Championship!

The thousand-fold targeting of the mid lane, the peak game of top-tier exchanges.

In the last wave, despite being outnumbered and engaged, the scene where everyone turned to fight at the words "We can fight" proves the growth and integration of this team.

And the battle of "Peak of the Forbidden City" between Sylas and Aatrox at the river entrance.

When the two heroes stood amidst a sea of corpses, shouting defiantly at each other in Summoner's Rift, then charged with swords drawn, fearing no death!

The decisive match, the ingenious idea of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and the leap from the steps that ended all hope.

It was also here that everyone finally learned the truth behind the "Astral Tracking" of that time.

【Ah?????】

【But it's one thing for a cat to watch, but playing Fiddlesticks and still being able to screen-switch? This is len!】

【My god, this guy is truly a monster! Can he really think of this kind of hero mechanic during a live match?】

In fact, everything has a traceable path.

Being able to discover that mechanic is because of a sufficiently profound study of mechanics, and the underlying logic of the vast majority of mechanics leads to the same destination, making it easy to draw associations.

As for being able to adapt to "screen-switching"—that was a skill he had started training ever since Ye Bo first understood the true playstyle of the Emperor of the Sands.

Nothing descends from the heavens; nothing is innate.

Everything is the accumulation and tempering along this journey.

When the DRX nexus exploded, brilliant fireworks filled the arena, and the golden rain falling from the sky was dazzling.

"Champions! We are the champions!!!"

"E-D-G! E-D-G! E-D-G!"

The cheering of the audience changed quietly without any guidance, turning into the chant of "Ye! Ye! Ye!" that echoed through the air.

At this moment, a mobile phone video with poor image quality was abruptly inserted.

"Son! Son! You're so amazing, son!!!"

The person who later filmed this video to "arrest the mom-fans" only realized what the hell they had done—they had caught the real mom!

Fortunately, that person was also a fan of Ye Bo, so they found the club, sent the video via private message, and even went back to the Tieba forum to start a new thread to spam for experience points.

The video reached its end.

Amidst the footage of the trophy lift with golden rain falling, the title "One & Only" appeared once again.

This phrase had never had an official translation.

Some said "The Only One in This Life," some said "Who Else But Me," some said "Both Heaven-Chosen and Unique," and others simply and crudely translated it as "One! I!"

The narrator spoke again, using this title to ask everyone.

Meiko and Viper both translated it according to the literal meaning.

"I think it's really fitting, One & Only, only him," Scout said with a smile: "Only when he came could this result be possible."

"Damn, Scout, you finished my sentence!" Jiejie complained from the side.

And the screen turned to the final Ye Bo.

He looked at the camera, revealing his signature sunny smile, and recounted his own understanding.

"One & Only, perhaps it doesn't necessarily describe a certain player."

"I would rather describe it as this journey."

The screen faded to black until the playback finished.

Ye Bo watched with deep emotion, and even Xiao Qi in his arms seemed to be mesmerized, having quieted down.

Looking at everything he had experienced during this time, it was just as he said at the end of the video.

This special, unique path was a journey that would be hard to forget, no matter what happened in the future.

Several emojis were sent in the 【EDG Food Snatching Cafeteria】 group, and everyone was quite emotional.

【Jie】: {Hey, this editor is an old rascal. He didn't cut in any of the footage where I was bragging, he only cut the part where Scout stole my lines!

【Viper】: {Me too, I kept saying, what I said during the group stage wasn't trash talk.

【Meiko】: {Master Ye, don't let Xiao Qi beat up the raccoon. Even though it's fat, it's a weakling!

【Ye Bo】: {(Two cats hanging on his legs) They're sleeping soundly!

【Jie】: {@Master Ye (Web link) Look quick! Look at what good stuff I found!

Ye Bo subconsciously clicked the link; it was a Bilibili video.

"Master Ye's God-Tier Play Appreciation Gala!! Player Ye's 2022 Career Highlight Reel! A Great Watch!"

Looking at the video duration, it was a full 22 minutes.

As a "highlight reel," it was ridiculously long!

Ye Bo clicked play in his livestream room, muttering: "This wouldn't have cut in the footage of me farming minions, would it..."

But it was different from what he had expected.

From the very first scene, Ye Bo was stunned.

Because the very first scene was a recording from a livestream using Akali—that was the content from the first time Ye Bo streamed after unlocking the Old Man's Diary.

Ye Bo didn't even know where the other party had found that footage!

It started from the first "Thousand-Mile Dance of the Piercing Thrust" to the "Four-Fold Thrust" operation in that match.

To the first match in the LDL, to the final 1-vs-9 LeBlanc "Black Rose Blooming in the Stone Crevice," and then to the back-turned "Human-Wind Mystery" Yone in the first LPL match.

Taliyah, Zoe, Sylas, Akshan, Nunu, Pyke, Emperor of the Sands, Camille, Fiddlesticks...

Every scene was so familiar and intimate.

Every segment was mostly a flash of inspiration he had on the field, improvised on the spot.

Ye Bo felt as if he could instantly recall that scene, recall why he had done that at the time, his thoughts then, and whether there might have been a better solution...

He watched with great interest.

The 22 minutes that had felt a bit long just a moment ago seemed to pass so quickly, and he only came back to his senses when the video reached the final scene.

【The crowdfunded video really came? My monthly votes and triple-likes weren't wasted!】

【It's so damn satisfying to watch, but why is it only 22 minutes? Is the uploader being lazy here?】

【It's already absurd to the extreme. Many people can't even scrape together two minutes of highlights in their whole career! All they talk about for a lifetime is moving forward or backward.】

【Others go on stage to play matches, you go on stage to play a highlight reel, right?】

【My review is: keep it up! Try to make a movie before you retire! I will definitely support a movie ticket!】

【Roar, the real heavy-hitter is at the end of the video! Took a screenshot, going to Tieba to spam for experience! Let's see who played for several seasons and still isn't as good as Master Ye in half a year!】

At the end of the video, Ye Bo saw an image.

It was a "Full Map Highlight Moment."

A panoramic bird's-eye view of Summoner's Rift, with characters in various colors and fonts.

Every character in it was incredibly familiar; they were the footprints he had left in the Rift, and they were all characters that had once made everyone in front of the screen experience emotional ups and downs.

Even Ye Bo himself didn't know there were already so many...

The livestream room's "Hulu Brothers" fell into a carnival!

And it was obvious that the Canyon highlight map would soon spread across Tieba, becoming a super nuclear weapon for the anti-fans of a series of players famous for their operations...

After all, this really was one season that topped many people's entire careers!

After ending the stream, Ye Bo was in a great mood.

Whether it was the documentary or the highlight reel, whether for himself or for those who supported him, looking back at the past, these only made him feel even more that the effort along this path was worth it.

And these—were only things he had achieved in half a season!

Thinking of the current year.

Everything coming on the road ahead, new teammates, new challenges, changing opponents...

At this moment, Ye Bo seemed even more high-spirited.

(End of chapter)