LPL didn't want me? I joined SKT instead!

In early December, Seoul experienced its first heavy snowfall of the year.

The SKT club is located in a luxurious training base in Gangnam District, where the heating is on full blast.

When Xiao Yan pushed open the familiar soundproof glass door with the SKT team logo, the previously noisy sounds of keyboards and mice in the training room instantly stopped.

Xiao Yan took off his priceless Armani haute couture suit and casually hung it on the coat rack behind the door.

He changed into a loose-fitting team jacket with the SKT red and white logo printed on it, with the zipper halfway up, revealing a simple cotton T-shirt underneath.

"Sorry, I've been busy with business activities, that's why I'm late getting back to the team."

Xiao Yan walked to his computer desk, pulled out his gaming chair, and glanced at everyone in the training room.

Sitting to his left was Faker, still wearing his black-rimmed glasses, his expression perpetually calm. Seeing Xiao Yan return, a faint, yet trusting smile appeared on Faker's lips. He said nothing, simply adjusting his mouse sensitivity to its most familiar combat setting.

Sitting in the jungle position is Peanut, a blond-haired boy.

At this moment, Peanut's eyes burned with an almost frantic hunger.

The "betting contract," personally approved by Xiao Yan and drafted by Jin Shanzhong, has been signed.

Peanut earns the lowest base salary on the team, but if he can produce the required stats and win the championship, his bonus will be an astronomical figure.

More importantly, he stayed in this invincible fleet, and stayed by Xiao Yan and Faker's side.

For the past month, Peanut has practically lived in the training room. He has been frantically practicing various aggressive and map-controlling junglers in Korean ranked games, trying to regain the dominance of the jungle overlord that terrified the world during Season 6.

"Boss, you're finally back! I've already reached number one in the Korean server, and I'm ready to start anytime!" Peanut shouted excitedly, and even his address to Xiao Yan had unconsciously changed to the respectful "Boss".

To Xiao Yan's right was Wolf.

Wolf's wrist was wrapped in thick physiotherapy bandages.

During the transfer window, there were rumors that Wolf would be released by SKT due to a serious hand injury and a decline in performance.

But to everyone's surprise, the first thing Xiao Yan did after returning to the club was to personally take the contract renewal to Wolf's dormitory.

Xiao Yan knew very well that the upcoming S8 season would be a version that required extreme vision control and bottom lane roaming support.

Although Wolf's mechanics have declined somewhat, his abnormal understanding of vision and the synergy between the mid and support roles that Faker has cultivated over the years are irreplaceable by any young mechanical prodigy.

Moreover, Xiao Yan was confident that with his current laning dominance, he didn't need a support to make any extreme plays during the laning phase. He only needed someone who could shield him from bullets in the mid-to-late game, set up perfect vision positions, and accurately release protective skills in team fights.

SKT's four championship pieces for the new season are now perfectly matched.

The mid-lane is dominated by Faker, the jungler is Peanut, the bot lane is led by the absolutely dominant FMVP Xiao Yan, and the experienced and meritorious support is Wolf.

However, the top lane position is now vacant.

Just three days ago, SKT officially released an announcement that brought tears to the eyes of countless fans: top laner Huni has officially announced his retirement.

With Huni's skill level, he could easily have secured a lucrative retirement contract in North America or Europe. However, he rejected all offers.

On the night they left the base, Huni treated the whole team to a barbecue.

At the dinner table, this chubby man, who was usually always laughing and joking, cried like a child.

He held his wine glass, walked up to Xiao Yan, and bowed deeply.

"Xiao Yan, thank you." Huni's voice choked with emotion. "If it weren't for you this year, I might have left with endless regret and infamy. You led me to that championship that I never even dared to dream of."

Huni looked up at Xiao Yan and Faker, his eyes filled with relief: "I know my own situation. My defense is too easy to exploit. If I stay with SKT next season, alongside monsters like you, I'll only be the one holding them back."

"I've already seen the most beautiful scenery from the top, and I don't want to one day bring shame to this great team because of my mistakes. So, let's give the position to someone younger and more eager to win."

Huni's retirement has created a huge vacuum in SKT's top lane.

To fill this vacancy, Kim Sun-joong and Coach Choi went to great lengths during the transfer period. They tried out almost every well-known free agent top laner in the LCK, and even considered poaching them from other teams for a high price.

But ultimately, on Xiao Yan's advice, SKT made an extremely bold decision, one that even seemed crazy to outsiders.

Instead of signing any established star top laners, they made the decision to sign a rookie who was only eighteen years old and had never even played a single official top-level professional match.

The newcomer's ID is: TheShy.

When this seemingly shy, tall and thin boy with soft, tousled hair and a slightly bashful smile walked into SKT's first team training room carrying his peripheral bag, his hands were slightly sweaty.

He couldn't believe it was real.

Just a month ago, he was a well-known "ranked solo queue king" in the high-elo Korean server, but was rejected by many club youth training camps because of his overly individualistic and aggressive playstyle.

He possesses incredibly fast reaction speed and exceptional laning skills, often dominating his lane in high-elo Korean Challenger matches with champions like Riven, Jayce, and Fiora. However, once the game enters the rhythm of a trial match, his personality—preferring to be caught and killed rather than retreat an inch—often allows him to be easily outmaneuvered by experienced top laners and junglers.

Almost all the Korean coaches gave him the same assessment: "A time bomb that cannot adapt to a rigorous operating system."

But this newcomer, who was considered "unmanageable" by outsiders, was spotted by Xiao Yan at a glance while reviewing countless videos of random passersby.

"Extreme skills and combat instincts can't be taught, but anti-gank awareness can." These were Xiao Yan's words to Coach Cui and Kim Sun-jung, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "What we need is a sharp blade that can tear through all defenses in the top lane. As for how to use this blade, how to ensure it doesn't hurt our own people, that's my business."

At this moment, TheShy stood in the center of the training room, looking at the names of the gods sitting in front of the computer—Faker, Peanut, Wolf—and finally, his gaze fell on Xiao Yan, who had defied all opposition to bring him here and was regarded as a legend by everyone.

"Hello... seniors! I am Jiang Chenglu, ID: TheShy! Please take care of me!" The boy bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

The newcomer's ID is: TheShy.

When this seemingly shy, tall and thin boy with soft, tousled hair and a slightly bashful smile walked into SKT's first team training room carrying his peripheral bag, his hands were slightly sweaty.

He couldn't believe it was real.

Just a month ago, he was a well-known "ranked solo queue king" in the high-elo Korean server, but was rejected by many club youth training camps because of his overly individualistic and aggressive playstyle.

He possesses incredibly fast reaction speed and exceptional laning skills, often dominating his lane in high-elo Korean Challenger matches with champions like Riven, Jayce, and Fiora. However, once the game enters the rhythm of a trial match, his personality—preferring to be caught and killed rather than retreat an inch—often allows him to be easily outmaneuvered by experienced top laners and junglers.

Almost all the Korean coaches gave him the same assessment: "A time bomb that cannot adapt to a rigorous operating system."

But this newcomer, who was considered "unmanageable" by outsiders, was spotted by Xiao Yan at a glance while reviewing countless videos of random passersby.

"Extreme skills and combat instincts can't be taught, but anti-gank awareness can." These were Xiao Yan's words to Coach Cui and Kim Sun-jung, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "What we need is a sharp blade that can tear through all defenses in the top lane. As for how to use this blade, how to ensure it doesn't hurt our own people, that's my business."

At this moment, TheShy stood in the center of the training room, looking at the names of the gods sitting in front of the computer—Faker, Peanut, Wolf—and finally, his gaze fell on Xiao Yan, who had defied all opposition to bring him here and was regarded as a legend by everyone.

"Hello... seniors! I am Jiang Chenglu, ID: TheShy! Please take care of me!" The boy bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

The latest chapter is now available! Book lovers, hurry back!

The newcomer's ID is: TheShy.

When this seemingly shy, tall and thin boy with soft, tousled hair and a slightly bashful smile walked into SKT's first team training room carrying his peripheral bag, his hands were slightly sweaty.

He couldn't believe it was real.

Just a month ago, he was a well-known "ranked solo queue king" in the high-elo Korean server, but was rejected by many club youth training camps because of his overly individualistic and aggressive playstyle.

He possesses incredibly fast reaction speed and exceptional laning skills, often dominating his lane in high-elo Korean Challenger matches with champions like Riven, Jayce, and Fiora. However, once the game enters the rhythm of a trial match, his personality—preferring to be caught and killed rather than retreat an inch—often allows him to be easily outmaneuvered by experienced top laners and junglers.

Almost all the Korean coaches gave him the same assessment: "A time bomb that cannot adapt to a rigorous operating system."

But this newcomer, who was considered "unmanageable" by outsiders, was spotted by Xiao Yan at a glance while reviewing countless videos of random passersby.

"Extreme skills and combat instincts can't be taught, but anti-gank awareness can." These were Xiao Yan's words to Coach Cui and Kim Sun-jung, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "What we need is a sharp blade that can tear through all defenses in the top lane. As for how to use this blade, how to ensure it doesn't hurt our own people, that's my business."

At this moment, TheShy stood in the center of the training room, looking at the names of the gods sitting in front of the computer—Faker, Peanut, Wolf—and finally, his gaze fell on Xiao Yan, who had defied all opposition to bring him here and was regarded as a legend by everyone.

"Hello... seniors! I am Jiang Chenglu, ID: TheShy! Please take care of me!" The boy bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

The newcomer's ID is: TheShy.

When this seemingly shy, tall and thin boy with soft, tousled hair and a slightly bashful smile walked into SKT's first team training room carrying his peripheral bag, his hands were slightly sweaty.

He couldn't believe it was real.

Just a month ago, he was a well-known "ranked solo queue king" in the high-elo Korean server, but was rejected by many club youth training camps because of his overly individualistic and aggressive playstyle.

He possesses incredibly fast reaction speed and exceptional laning skills, often dominating his lane in high-elo Korean Challenger matches with champions like Riven, Jayce, and Fiora. However, once the game enters the rhythm of a trial match, his personality—preferring to be caught and killed rather than retreat an inch—often allows him to be easily outmaneuvered by experienced top laners and junglers.

Almost all the Korean coaches gave him the same assessment: "A time bomb that cannot adapt to a rigorous operating system."

But this newcomer, who was considered "unmanageable" by outsiders, was spotted by Xiao Yan at a glance while reviewing countless videos of random passersby.

"Extreme skills and combat instincts can't be taught, but anti-gank awareness can." These were Xiao Yan's words to Coach Cui and Kim Sun-jung, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "What we need is a sharp blade that can tear through all defenses in the top lane. As for how to use this blade, how to ensure it doesn't hurt our own people, that's my business."

At this moment, TheShy stood in the center of the training room, looking at the names of the gods sitting in front of the computer—Faker, Peanut, Wolf—and finally, his gaze fell on Xiao Yan, who had defied all opposition to bring him here and was regarded as a legend by everyone.

"Hello... seniors! I am Jiang Chenglu, ID: TheShy! Please take care of me!" The boy bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

Good books and good stories accompany you every day.

The newcomer's ID is: TheShy.

When this seemingly shy, tall and thin boy with soft, tousled hair and a slightly bashful smile walked into SKT's first team training room carrying his peripheral bag, his hands were slightly sweaty.

He couldn't believe it was real.

Just a month ago, he was a well-known "ranked solo queue king" in the high-elo Korean server, but was rejected by many club youth training camps because of his overly individualistic and aggressive playstyle.

He possesses incredibly fast reaction speed and exceptional laning skills, often dominating his lane in high-elo Korean Challenger matches with champions like Riven, Jayce, and Fiora. However, once the game enters the rhythm of a trial match, his personality—preferring to be caught and killed rather than retreat an inch—often allows him to be easily outmaneuvered by experienced top laners and junglers.

Almost all the Korean coaches gave him the same assessment: "A time bomb that cannot adapt to a rigorous operating system."

But this newcomer, who was considered "unmanageable" by outsiders, was spotted by Xiao Yan at a glance while reviewing countless videos of random passersby.

"Extreme skills and combat instincts can't be taught, but anti-gank awareness can." These were Xiao Yan's words to Coach Cui and Kim Sun-jung, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "What we need is a sharp blade that can tear through all defenses in the top lane. As for how to use this blade, how to ensure it doesn't hurt our own people, that's my business."

At this moment, TheShy stood in the center of the training room, looking at the names of the gods sitting in front of the computer—Faker, Peanut, Wolf—and finally, his gaze fell on Xiao Yan, who had defied all opposition to bring him here and was regarded as a legend by everyone.

"Hello... seniors! I am Jiang Chenglu, ID: TheShy! Please take care of me!" The boy bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.