Chapter 26: A Myriad of Immortal Arts, Behold This Firepower Coverage!

"Irelia?!"

"Irelia roamed all the way down?"

"Is RNG aware? No, V5's Nautilus actively initiated the team fight, Xiaohu's Corki is dropping the special delivery package, but what about the backline?"

"This isn't a 4v4, it's a 4v5!!!"

At the caster desk, Zhao Junri's attention had been firmly captured by this roaming Irelia.

V5 weren't fools.

Under normal circumstances, in a 4v4 with a Corki package, unless you can initiate on the Corki first, you either hold your ground or wait to counter-engage.

Not every man likes to take the initiative; occasionally, some prefer being passive~

But RNG didn't realize it.

Or rather, Bin failed to immediately communicate that their Irelia was missing.

At the exact moment when everyone's attention was focused on the frontline clash, Irelia's flank teleportation felt like a divine technological intervention!

The instant an Irelia ultimate shot out from behind, perfectly striking GALA at the very rear of RNG's formation, GALA looked back in disbelief.

There.

The familiar yet detestable voice rang out once more:

"Grandma always said..."

What the hell!

Will you make your grandma shut up, bro!

GALA tried his absolute best to position and micro-manage.

However, right now,

his three teammates had collectively charged at V5 on the frontline.

Originally proud of maintaining a remarkably good spacing to kite the opponents, he now felt a vague sense of conspiracy theories at play.

No wonder nobody was coming to deal with him in the backline.

Turns out they had come.

Only his teammates didn't know about it yet!!!

R forward, Q out, instantaneous W for the slow, followed by chasing and auto-attacking all the way. The 12% on-hit bonus damage made every single one of Irelia's basic attacks on Jinx feel like carving flesh from bone.

Xiaohu, finally realizing something was wrong, whipped his camera around.

Before he could successfully close the distance, Irelia's diagonal E landed once more.

Silvery blade light flashed.

This time,

it missed GALA. GALA in his prime still had quick reflexes, using Flash to successfully dodge the blade wave.

Xiaohu was just a fraction too slow.

He was successfully caught by the E skill.

However, Luo Ji didn't pay attention to him immediately.

Instead, looking at the Jinx flashing away in an attempt to escape, his Q skill [Bladesurge] followed up once more.

Basic attack, another basic attack.

V5 Mebius killed RNG GALA.

Only then did he turn back to deal with Xiaohu's Corki, who was just waking up from the crowd control.

It's blown!

Completely blown!

In a 4v4 team fight, RNG had over seventy percent confidence in beating the enemy, but a 4v5 team fight, where V5's Irelia had snuck behind enemy lines and touched the backline?

With one carry instantly dying and the other being chased down,

what winning odds did they have left on the front line?

Cast a "Geass" to make the enemy line up neatly on Corki's enhanced package W to barbecue themselves?

That was clearly somewhat unrealistic.

[Holy crap, the dream!]

[Ruined, he really learned something. This roam was the MVP.]

[He's creating a split-push opportunity for A-Bin, I'm crying, he's so gentle.]

[You can always see Mebius's figure whenever he's needed. Teary-eyed, is he a warrior from the Land of Light?]

A single flank in a team fight.

V5, originally at a 4v4 disadvantage, even managed a 0-for-4 counter-attack.

Luo Ji single-handedly assassinated RNG's two backline carries. Without any teammates to protect them, an Irelia pursuit left the victims completely speechless.

Even he himself sighed with emotion:

He truly was kind-hearted, carrying vast virtues, single-handedly transcending them to the Western Pure Land to enjoy bliss, while bearing the heavy karma of slaughter all by himself. Such boundless love was simply so self-touching.

He really was a good guy (confirmed).

After the team fight concluded,

not only did they secure the soul point dragon, but the mid lane defensive tower was also pushed all the way down to the tier-2 tower.

Until the tier-2 tower's health was nearly depleted and the respawned enemies rushed out again, V5's members began recalling one by one.

Well,

except for Luo Ji.

Luo Ji had already chosen to recall the moment he finished off the enemy bot-lane duo, and when he returned to the map, their own top lane's tier-2 tower had just been taken down by the Graves.

Hullbreaker Graves is terrifying.

In the short time he went down to roam, Graves had pushed all the way from the outer top tower to the inner top tower, almost reaching the inhibitor turret.

Yet the result was gratifying.

After all,

once these two towers are taken, sure, you had your fun, but don't even think about triggering your team's bounty gold anymore!

"RNG are drifting far away."

"Hullbreaker Graves' split-pushing requires teammates to create kiting space. Right now V5 already has three elemental dragons, and there's no way they can skip contesting the dragon soul. But contesting means losing the fight, and while continuing to split-push could take down an inhibitor lane, when you're losing the frontline 4v5, how can one person out-push the combined efforts of five V5 members?"

"Not to mention, after this wave, Zeri and Orianna's items are also nearing completion."

"V5's top lane play is too smart."

Outside the screen,

Redmi sincerely voiced his praise for Luo Ji.

The 369 in his imagination should have transformed into this exact version of Luo Ji in the screen: no help needed and won't feed in lane, can carry when helped, laning mechanics don't necessarily have to be top-tier, but global map awareness is an absolute must.

Sure enough,

by the time the dragon soul fight arrived, Irelia was already an absolute terror equipped with Goredrinker, Blade of the Ruined King, and a Stopwatch.

At this moment,

the earnest teachings of GimGoon, "Teacher Gong," once again echoed in his mind.

"There is a limit to weak-side survival."

"No matter how versatile a person is, surviving pressure always has a carrying capacity limit. Therefore, to become a championship top-laner, you must perceive the position beyond that limit."

"Since ordinary pressure-absorption has a limit, we simply kill everyone and then absorb pressure. As long as there is no pressure, the upper limit of pressure-absorption becomes completely infinite."

Enlightened!

I am enlightened!

Teacher GimGoon!

Accompanied by Karsa's Hecarim ultimate charge came Luo Ji's closely following dancing blades.

V5's composition is notoriously difficult to play from behind because damage is overflowing in the current patch, frontlines struggle to hold up, and combined with late-game dual carries, they easily fail to kill targets in the mid-game.

However, what if they aren't behind, but ahead instead?

Then,

the charge-in synergy of Hecarim + Irelia + Orianna ultimate means RNG's composition simply cannot withstand this burst.

A hundred martial arts, this is firepower coverage!

Under the momentum of V5's trident, Photic was having the time of his life in the backline.

With three big bosses on his team chasing five enemies around, all he had to do was follow behind and sneakily farm damage. Zeri was already famous for her mobility and high teamfight ceiling, and with such a comfortable output environment handed to her,

her performance in team fights was outright invincible.

When Bin finally realized that the tide of this match had completely reversed,

before his eyes,

his teammates were already collapsing like a mountain of defeat.

An Irelia and Hecarim with a lead were like two heavy dump trucks driving through a canyon.

Immovable, hitting like a truck, moving at absurd speeds, and most importantly, capable of cornering while moving fast—this was even more terrifying than Sion.

Thus,

under the massive lead spearheaded by V5's charge,

1:0

They successfully claimed the first game.

With the momentum from the first game, Rookie exerted pressure once again in the second, single-handedly suppressing Xiaohu and forcing him to repeatedly call for his jungler.

Bin showed backbone in the second game, locking in Graves for a second consecutive time.

Radiating sheer unyielding defiance.

However, the second game didn't go as smoothly as the first. With neither side paying attention to the top lane, Luo Ji and Bin traded blows in lane.

When they snapped back to reality,

their teammates had already pushed all the way to the enemy tier-2 tower, vividly displaying the isolated island effect of the top lane. V5's top-mid-jungle dynamic transformed into a mid-bot-jungle dynamic.

Then, during team fights,

Luo Ji completely outclassed Bin in both teamfighting capability and champion selection, completely overshadowing his opponent.

This game,

it was Photic's Zeri who became the focal point of the entire arena.

2:0

Successfully closed out!

[I knew RNG would know how to make people's hearts ache.]

[True good bros, yesterday EDG got tortured by IG Yellow (WBG), today RNG got slaughtered by IG Green (V5). The same exploded mid lane, the same 0:2. From quarterfinals and round of 16 all the way to a 10k gold throw, you've been there every step of the way.]

[EDG: Is Gwen op? I don't believe it / RNG: Is Zeri op? I don't believe it]

[RNG: With me and you, charge forward together!]

[Zika fell, TheShy collapsed, and even Bin met his downfall against V5. Is there anyone left in the LPL who can stop Lord Mebius?]

[I finally understand Mebius. Constantly ganking him is equivalent to feeding him little monsters for EXP to level up. If you leave him alone, he'll just win while chilling like in game two ()]

After the match concluded,

visibly, this V5 squad was vastly different from the V5 at the birth of the roster.

Winning streaks build morale, and morale changes appearances.

A 7-0 record.

The current V5 held a generation-defining lead over every team in the league. Aside from dropping a few individual games, they had yet to lose a single match series. They only needed two more wins to reach nine victories, virtually guaranteeing a playoff spot.

Such a record caused every player on the team to brim with confidence from the inside out.

Of course,

winning is winning, but getting cocky was strictly forbidden.

Having emerged from IG, Rookie deeply understood what a seventeen-win fourth-place finish felt like. That scalp-tingling roller-coaster experience was something he had no desire to endure a second time.

The moment they stepped down from the stage,

while Rookie was still sporting a silly grin, Luo Ji proactively handed over a nail clipper.

"?"

"Quickly groom yourself, Chicken Brother. You're about to go do the post-match interview, clipping your nails is important."

"Is that so?"

Rookie was stunned.

But thinking that he would soon head backstage for Xiaoyu's interview, clipping his nails would indeed benefit his image.

Even if not,

practicing good personal hygiene was a good thing anyway, so he casually accepted it.

Immediately afterward,

he heard Luo Ji continue:

"It's not just important for you, Chicken Brother, it's equally important for Sister-in-law."

"???"

After sending off Rookie to the interview, Luo Ji accompanied Karsa over to RNG's side to say hello and lock in plans for a post-game dinner.

To be fair,

RNG's management was utterly disgusting.

No working stiff in this world doesn't hate corporate management that defaults on salary payments. Bankruptcy is one thing,

the problem was they hadn't gone bankrupt.

They were still operating, yet simply refusing to pay—wasn't that pure bullying?

Karsa was a Taiwanese player, and though he had spent time on RNG, he had never been screwed over by them.

Luo Ji had also received an offer from RNG back then, but he turned it down.

The two of them strolled into the RNG clubroom feeling completely unfazed.

Yet the moment the door opened,

the instant they laid eyes on RNG's roster, Karsa felt a gust of wind blow past him.

The next second,

Luo Ji was already lunging like a starving wolf toward Bin.

"Bin-哥! I'm your biggest fan!!!"

Karsa: ?

Didn't you claim to be TheShy's fan just a few days ago?

Are you collecting idols like trading cards?

Wait!

Connecting this to his match history, he looked more and more like Clearlove's disciple—specializing in beating up his own idols.

Esports players in the LPL were mostly teenagers in their late teens or early twenties, and esports pros tended to lean toward social autism.

Not genuine autism,

more like the kind who could talk endlessly in front of acquaintances, but couldn't squeeze out a single fart in front of strangers. Suddenly encountering someone as brazenly thick-skinned as Luo Ji, they were truly somewhat overwhelmed.

Bin had originally been somewhat vexed about failing to accomplish anything in the top lane, but upon this encounter, all his temper vanished instantly.

"Is this the rookie you guys brought in?" Xiaohu asked, sizing up Luo Ji while walking over to Rookie.

"Yeah, pretty cracked right? Handpicked by Prime Gun, produced by EDG, absolute top-tier quality every time," Karsa showed off Luo Ji with the pride of a child showing off a new toy.

"He's certainly fierce. Have you asked around if Prime Gun has any more in stock?"

"Don't you already have Bin?"

"The more, the merrier."

Xiaohu chuckled softly.

RNG's club management might be somewhat inhumane regarding player salaries, but unpaid wages were still better than having no games to play. In reality, countless trainees in the youth training system were desperately waiting for a chance to move up, and even for RNG, they were more than willing to come.

Just like outside:

jobs with two days off a month paying three to four thousand yuan—as long as it's an office job, aren't there still countless corporate slaves scrambling to squeeze in?

Don't ask; asking means there's a surplus of people.

That evening,

the RNG delegation arrived via a chartered transport at the private dining venue to meet with the V5 delegation. Both delegations expressed warm welcomes to each other and delivered formal speeches.

The RNG delegation first emphasized:

Both sides are friendly neighbors who have maintained traditional friendship for a long time. The parties share highly unified views on critical training block resource distribution, individual solo matchups, and version tactical resource exchanges, built upon which they trust each other, deepen cooperation, and maintain stable relationship development.

The RNG delegation also expressed that this gathering aimed to consolidate friendship, deepen cooperation, and promote mutual progress.

After the meeting,

it even allowed Luo Ji and the others to enjoy a completely free, satisfying meal.

"They've got money, all right, RNG."

"Defaulting on salary is one thing, but the accumulation of several old bosses over so many years is no small sum. Besides, they wouldn't dare skip paying Xiaohu and the crew—at worst it's reduced or delayed payments, otherwise they would've gone on strike and started griefing long ago."

After eating and drinking their fill,

Karsa casually offered an explanation.

As Ming and Xiaohu, who joined RNG as early as Season 6, they had experienced the booming era of capital entering League of Legends, lining their pockets long ago, meaning a few meals were completely negligible.

"What about you, Karsa?"

"Me? I joined the LPL later on. Before coming here, I had no idea you could make this much money."

Thinking back to his salary on Flash Wolves,

and comparing it to his income after coming to the LPL,

Karsa couldn't help but sigh that he had arrived a bit too late.

The signing bonuses weren't drastically different between the two regions, but the additional commercial traffic monetization was something his Flash Wolves days couldn't possibly compare to.

Of course,

for him, the most important thing right now was the championship.

Photic nodded along half-comprehendingly. As V5's match victories piled up, he gradually noticed more and more female fans overtly and covertly trying to get close to him.

If it were the old him, he would have found this immensely exciting.

But now?

His horizons had elevated!

"Seeing you nod so profoundly over there, what's up, did you enlighten yourself on some great truth?"

PPGOD had been standing beside Photic, and seeing him look so enlightened, his interest was piqued, prompting him to ask directly.

"Yeah, I'm enlightened."

Photic nodded sagely:

"Once you have money, you can treat people to meals whenever you want; once you have achievements, you can date casters instead of internet influencers like Chicken Brother. If I want to advance further, I have to practice hard and make money. Once I make money, I'll definitely go hook up with a female celebrity."

"A female celebrity, seriously? Holy crap, bro, have you ever considered the compatibility issue?" PPGOD was clearly taken aback.

Sure, professional players make good money.

But compared to female celebrities?

Better wash up and go to sleep.

"Pfft, you've got it all wrong!"

Luo Ji patted Photic's shoulder, his eyes filled with overwhelming approval:

"Why wouldn't my Photic be a match? You've got looks like an outer jacket, a face like a tragedy, an education like a medical chart, an IQ like hemorrhoids, and eloquence like spitting phlegm—why wouldn't you match? You match those female celebrities back and forth eight hundred times without missing a beat, your legs are longer than their lifespans!"

Photic looked deeply moved.

Though somehow the compliments sounded a bit off, at least he was supportive.

Yet the very next second,

Luo Ji seemed to remember something else and continued:

"Right, just remember to pick your target carefully when handing out the steel wool scouring pads. Below 50 years old and hopes are slim, but above 50? Basically a guaranteed hit every time."

Photic: ???

Wait!

That's not the kind of female celebrity he wanted at all!!!