Rise

Chu Fang was in charge of the East China Regionals, so he was present at the event. And he was also in charge of Team Shanghai, so he watched their games. Right now, he sat in a private room backstage in front of a large tv screen that showed the game between Fuzhou Tech and Team Shanghai. Staff members were walking into the room and asking him to sign off on things, but he brushed them away. His full attention was directed towards the screen, towards Lin Feng. Maple. He smiled and balled a fist. He’s good! Much better than the last time I saw him play! I don’t think it’ll take him much longer to reach Goalie’s level. That’s a good start for him. And from there we can push him to the real top!

The last weeks since Chu Fang had rediscovered Lin Feng came to mind. He lost a lot of his skill during his four year hiatus. I really wasn’t too impressed with what I saw… Chu Fang shook his head and grinned. But he was the best. And he still is the most talented player I’ve ever seen! If we use the normal grading system, Maple would’ve hit anywhere between 95% to a perfect score. And Lin Feng hasn’t dropped that far down. Some things you just don’t forget. I’ll give him a solid A right now. Yeah, I think that’s a fair grade.

The system to judge a player’s skill level was incredibly comprehensive. Lin Feng’s ability in some aspects had declined sharply over the last few years, his game mechanics being one of them. But there were other aspects of the game that he didn’t unlearn. He knew like no other how to roam around the map, follow up on engages and control the flow of the game. They were the aspects of the game that many professional players were still struggling with, yet he’d mastered them. This was why he could still play at the highest level despite his break from the game.

Chu Fang was in an incredibly good mood. Some of these things just come so easy to him! As if it’s second nature! So many pros struggle with learning how to roam their entire career, yet he just knows how to do it! It’s those little things that he’s just so good at! And then there also is… He turned his attention to the large tv screen which was currently focused on the mid lane.

A storm was brewing around the tip of Yasuo’s blade. Lin Feng had dashed through to one minion! Sweeping Blade’s cooldown was almost zero. He just couldn’t target the same minion twice. He didn’t want to. There was another minion closer to the Lux. He had his Yasuo dash through that minion and clicked on the Lux, his finger lightly pressing down on the D key.

Fuzhou Tech’s Lux panicked. She saw the fed Yasuo dashing towards her and knew she was dead if he got on top of her. Light Binding! She cast a sphere of light that flew straight towards the Yasuo!

Lin Feng was ready for the Light Binding. He cast Flash. Yasuo disappeared with a mottled flash of light, then reappeared on top of the Lux. He activated Steel Tempest. The storm brewing at the tip of the blade was unleashed onto the battlefield! Winds howled and raged, launching Fuzhou Tech’s Lux into the air! And then Yasuo used his ultimate skill. Last Breath! He blinked to the Lux and suspended her in midair! Then he unloaded a flurry of strikes on her before slamming her back to the ground! The unquenchable flame from Ignite started burning on Lux’s skin and a sharp cut from Steel Tempest pierced her body!

《You have slain an enemy!》

The audience erupted into cheers! Lin Feng had achieved a solo kill on the Lux! And he got away with zero damage dealt to him! It was especially the dodging of the Light Binding that evoked a strong response from everyone watching. That wasn’t just limited to the spectators, but also to other teams competing in the tournament. Even the players from Zhejiang University were feeling the heat. Their Midlaner, Zuo Cheng, started to realise that beating Lin Feng might actually be impossible, while Sun Ruinian began to reevaluate his earlier assessment of Lin Feng’s skill level.