Chapter 66: Mindset Control

At the exact same moment the first match between NXG and BLQG ended.

Across the country, internet cafes and individual users, upon opening the League of Legends client to prepare for battle in Summoner’s Rift, were astonished to find the client’s homepage flooded with news about the professional league and NXG-related content.

The top recommended slot was completely occupied by blood-red headlines!

#The 2013 League of Legends Professional League Pre-Season begins today!#

#The first match schedule is out—NXG, undefeated in all six selection matches, is listed prominently.#

#Audience photos revealed—NXG’s team bus drew countless eyes.#

#Team bus, head coach, uniforms + ads—how many more surprises can NXG still give us?#

#The opening match of the LPL ended like a landslide—NXG still maintains their terrifying tactical style!#

#NXG—LPL’s own M5?#

What the hell?

In a cybercafe in Shanghai, a young man about to queue for ranked was staring at his screen in shock. He trembled as he took a screenshot of the client’s 3x3 recommended grid and posted it to his group with the caption, “The client has been hijacked!”

“Has the professional league already started?”

Many players in the group who closely followed pro news immediately realized the truth, and several promptly paused their ranked queues to enter the official live stream.

But as soon as they arrived, they were stunned.

“What the fuck, a twenty-point lead in kills—is this a pro match?”

The promotional resources pre-approved by the LPL organizers spread across the internet at an astonishing speed.

Some players might have seen “Professional League Begins Today” one second, and the next, “NXG Crushes BLQG, Wins First Pre-Season Victory.”

All press releases were prepared in advance—even the shock version about BLQG’s upset was ready, just in case of unexpected outcomes.

In fact, Jiang Ming and his NXG did not disappoint the LPL’s operations team.

A decisive victory, a crushing domination typical of pro teams, combined with the final teamfight—NXG’s fluid, artistically executed coordination that radiated pure esports artistry—made the LPL’s promotion effortless.

Not to mention the players who had been following their own region’s pro scene all along.

Within minutes after the purple team’s nexus exploded, online discussion ignited like wildfire.

【666!】

【I thought NXG was just dominating the selection matches because there were no real tigers in the mountains, but I didn’t expect them to be this brutal in the actual pre-season.】

【They feel like they have no weaknesses—Top laner norsha just shredded the enemy Kayn.】

【Honestly, in ranked, if I were Kayn, I’d have surrendered already—top lane’s got internet addiction.】

【(lol) You couldn’t surrender before twenty minutes, and maybe NXG just didn’t want to push too fast and gave the enemy some face.】

【The jungler’s Lee Sin was in the same boat—the blind guy kept invading his jungle; I’m scared I’ll wake up tonight with one hiding under my covers.】

【BLQG’s Twisted Fate is terrible—they tried copying WE but got their legs broken before they could fly.】

【Haha, why not mention the ADC Caitlyn? She’s a master, her teammates gave her tons of resources, yet she got last-hit down by thirty and dealt pathetic damage.】

【They picked a full ultimate build and only landed one 5v5 teamfight—BLQG is brain-dead.】

【Wait, I feel like BLQG just couldn’t fight back—they were constantly being led by the nose.】

【Exactly! I felt NXG’s guys were always moving—especially after taking down towers, you never saw anyone standing around staring.】

【How do they do it? Always running—when the dragon respawns, they’re suddenly all there, and their last-hitting isn’t affected at all.】

【Something called wave management—JM mentioned it once during his stream.】

【Here we go again—has NXG ever beaten a strong team? PE? Wait till the main tournament—I’ll show you how WE will handle them.】

【WE has crushed NXG dozens of times in training matches.】

【This is a WE-hating thread—WE fans get out!】

【Hey, anyone know if NXG has another match today?】

【Yes, yes—pre-season matches are all played in one day; NXG will face the winner between the second and third teams.】

……

“Good job!”

Behind the stage, Jiang Ming stood at the doorway, greeting his victorious team.

“Hehe, Ming-ge, wasn’t our first game pretty solid?”

Entering the room, Song Yuan pulled up a plastic chair and sat down, grinning at Jiang Ming.

“Excellent. You dominated your lane, made no major mistakes during rotations, perfectly suppressed Kayn’s farm, and the final teamfight’s restriction choices were brilliant.”

“What about me? What about me?”

Xu Tao, the flamboyant player, grew impatient upon hearing his captain lavish praise on the top laner.

His Vel’Koz had posted a perfect 6-0-4, dealing damage on par with the Gnar.

“Ahem, Lao Xu, your fourth item…”

“Fourth item?”

Feeling his support tug his sleeve, Xu Tao suddenly snapped back to reality—his expression collapsed instantly.

“That… that… Ming-ge, let me explain—not defend—I bought the big Stormrazor first because the enemy had a Lulu and our damage was too low, so I didn’t consider building the Giant’s Belt into Warmog’s!”

“Your reasoning makes sense, but what if, lacking Warmog’s health buffer, Lulu failed to protect you in time, and you got instantly killed in the teamfight?”

In the early S3 season, the era of Warmog’s dominance had passed, but this affordable item offering massive health remained the best defensive build for ADCs.

(A bit blurry, but this is the clearest one I could find.)

“I’ve always told you—what’s the core philosophy of our NXG team?” Jiang Ming didn’t directly scold him, but asked instead.

Xu Tao lowered his head sheepishly. “Fight for damage when behind, build defense when ahead! Until the nexus explodes, everything is uncertain!”

“Good. We’ll discuss the details during training back at base.”

Jiang Ming waved his hand—he disliked criticizing players after a win; it rarely helped and often disrupted their mental state.

“As for the rest of the commentary, you can check the forums yourselves and see what the audience is saying.”

Lin Yidan understood immediately, pulled out the players’ phones from her bag, and handed them out one by one.

Soon, the room was drowned in the excited chatter of NXG’s young players.

“Hehe, hehe, prehistoric Gnar—I love it.”

“Of course—my Flash + Wind Slash control on three targets? So cool. Audience has taste—get to know the Support God.”

“Haha, Shi Zhenyu, check out this guy’s reply—he’s asking if you have a personal grudge against Kayn and are giving him a professional internet detox.”

“Pfft, BLQG’s Twisted Fate got his legs broken and couldn’t even outrun the Spring, Qiangzi—you’ve become the Divine Traveler.”

“Hey, over there, flashy ADC—someone praised your aggressive playstyle.”

Jiang Ming watched quietly as the young players chattered. Under current material constraints, providing them with some spiritual value could still fuel their inner drive.

Of course, deliberately arranging for the players to read post-match commentary was also one of his small techniques for training their mindset.