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

Chapter 36 Xiao Yan's Precise Control of the Scene! (Two-in-One)

With the Baron buff, the SKT team, like an army from hell, swept through the mid-lane crystal.

At this moment, SSG was like a boxer who had just been knocked out by a heavy punch and had not yet fully recovered, with unfocused eyes and unsteady steps.

"We can't hold on any longer—"

Ruler looked at Kalista, who was standing at the very front of the minion wave, even ahead of the tank, and his hand holding the mouse was trembling slightly.

That green figure was no longer a hero in his eyes, but the Grim Reaper.

Whenever Kalista raises her hand, Ruler instinctively shrinks back. This deep-seated fear causes SSG's defenses to crumble.

"XiaoYan is still pushing forward! He's still pushing forward!" Commentator Jeon Yong-ae's voice became shrill with excitement. "He doesn't treat SSG like human beings at all! He's dancing on the high ground! He's dancing at the fountain entrance!"

On the screen, Xiao Yan's Kalista used the ruins of the High Ground Tower and super minions as springboards to frantically slide across the faces of the SSG members.

Once, twice, three times.

The sound of a spear piercing flesh became the final straw that broke SSG's back.

"One wave after another!"

With the collapse of the two turrets, SSG's Nexus was exposed to SKT's firepower.

"Congratulations to SKT! They've taken the second game of the first round of the playoffs in a near-brutal fashion! 2-0! They have three match points!"

The moment the crystal exploded, the cheers at the scene erupted like a tsunami.

But amidst the cheers, a single, unified name emerged, quickly coalescing from a few scattered shouts into a deafening roar:

"XiaoYan!"

Xiao Yan!

'

"Xiao Yan!"

The director thoughtfully switched the camera to the players' seats.

Xiao Yan, having removed his headphones, showed no elation on his face, only a calm acceptance. He picked up his water glass, took a sip, and glanced at the frenzied audience below, a slightly wicked smile playing on his lips.

That smile was captured on the big screen.

At that moment, countless Korean girls watching the live stream felt their hearts skip a beat, while countless Korean trolls silently deleted the profanities they had typed.

Inven Forum (South Korea's largest esports community)

The forum had already crashed completely once, and it was only after the programmers urgently expanded the server capacity that access was barely restored. Almost all the posts on the homepage were related to "XiaoYan".

Does anyone have the GIF of that pentakill? I want to keep it as a family heirloom!

[I take back what I said before, this kid isn't just a thug, he's a tyrant! A tyrant!]

Is using a tree as a springboard something a human could actually react to? A urine test is recommended!

[Ruler seems to have been beaten to tears—the camera just panned across him, and his eyes were red.]

What's Bang feeling right now in the dressing room?

[Bang: Thanks for the invitation. I was at the water dispenser and just smashed my keyboard.]

Has SKT found their second "god" after Faker? I've seen this kind of aggressiveness in Faker during S3!

SKT lounge.

The atmosphere was so enthusiastic, it was as if they had already won the championship.

Wolf rushed in and hugged Xiao Yan tightly, his 200-pound weight almost making Xiao Yan faint: "Ah! Xiao Yan! That throw of me was so cool! I'm a cannonball! I'm an invincible bull-headed cannonball!"

Peanut exclaimed excitedly, "Bro! From now on, you're my real brother! Getting assists from you is so much fun! I can just spam my ultimate, you'll get all the kills anyway!"

Even the usually composed Fakr had a clear smile in his eyes as he walked over and patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder: "Well done."

To receive a "not bad" from Faker is the highest praise in the LCK.

In stark contrast to the festive atmosphere of the SKT lounge, which felt like a New Year celebration, the air in the SSG (Samsung) lounge was so thick it seemed to have solidified.

There were no arguments, no slamming doors, and even the heavy breathing was deliberately suppressed.

Ruler sat in the corner, clutching his hair tightly with both hands, his head buried between his knees. His body was still trembling slightly, a physiological reaction to the extreme fear and humiliation he had endured. Two matches, one with a policewoman, one with Kalista—that rookie named XiaoYan was like a madman with a scalpel, slowly stripping away his confidence.

"Raise your head."

A deep, hoarse voice, yet carrying an undeniable authority, broke the deathly silence.

Master An took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with the corner of his clothes, his movements deliberate and methodical, as if the game he had just lost was not a match point game, but an insignificant training match.

"Hey," Master Ahn put his glasses back on, his sharp eyes unwavering, "do you think that newcomer is a god?"

Ruler trembled, slowly raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed: "Brother—I—I can't beat him. His reactions, his movements, they're not human—"

"He's not a god, he's just a mechanical monster." Master An stood up, walked to the tactics board, picked up a marker, and drew a circle heavily on the bottom lane. "Where did we lose in the first two games? We lost because we tried to out-mechanicate him, and we lost because we were led by his rhythm."

SSG's coach, Edgar, also approached. Although his expression was grim, his eyes remained resolute: "Ambition is right. SKT is riding high right now, and that rookie is indeed on fire. However, League of Legends is not just a killing game."

Edgar tapped his finger heavily on the tactics board: "It's a tower defense game."

"In terms of skill, we admit that no one can beat that madman right now." Ambition took over, his gaze sweeping over each team member, his voice gradually turning cold. "But when it comes to strategy, resilience, and the ability to drag the game into a quagmire and suffocate the opponent, Samsung is the king of LCK."

Crown Bro's previously gloomy eyes lit up for a moment.

CuVee clenched his fist.

Yes, Samsung's most terrifying aspect has never been their lane dominance, but rather their suffocating macro-management, like a python coiling around their body. They can tolerate falling behind, they can tolerate being outfarmed, as long as their Nexus remains intact, they can deliver a fatal blow in a team fight thirty minutes later, with perfect vision and positioning.

"Next game, don't fight him." Master An's voice was like a stabilizing force. "Give up all early resources and defend the towers to the death. Drag the game to forty minutes. I don't believe a rookie who has just debuted can remain calm under such high-pressure late-game decision-making."

"We need to let him know that the waters of LCK are much deeper than he imagines."

"Drag him into the deep sea and drown him."

The live stream chat was completely overwhelmed, with messages densely covering the entire screen.

SKT 3:0! SKT 3:0!

"Kill them! XiaoYan, charge!"

Samsung looks completely bewildered; they'll probably surrender this round.

"Don't rush, Samsung's resilience is terrifying, this game is the real test."

"Hilarious! In the face of overwhelming force, resilience is a joke!"

In the commentary booth, the Roaring Emperor was adjusting his tie, preparing for the upcoming match point game.

"Alright, everyone! Welcome back to the 2017 LCK Summer Playoffs! Currently, SKT..."

Leading SSG 2-0, with three match points!

CT adjusted his glasses and analyzed, "XiaoYan's performance in the first two games can be described as devastating. However, we all know the characteristics of the SSG team. They are like a piece of hard rubber; the harder you hit them, the stronger they bounce back. In the third game, SSG will definitely bring out their best defensive counter-attack system."

"That's right!" Roaring Emperor nodded. "So here's the question: facing SSG, who are determined to drag the game into the late game, what choice will SKT's rookie AD make? Will they continue to pick extremely aggressive champions like Draven and Lucian, or—"

On the big screen, the BP screen lit up.

SSG is the blue side, SKT is the red side.

SSG's first three bans were very decisive: Kalista, Caitlyn, and Lucian.

"Wow! Three AD bans!" CT exclaimed. "SSG is completely scared! They banned XiaoYan's first two hot picks, and also banned Lucian, the lane bully. This is clearly telling you: I won't lane against you, and you can forget about killing me!"

It's SKT's turn to select players.

After the first four picks, both teams' lineups were basically finalized. SSG drafted the ultimate turtle-shell composition: Maokai top, Sejuani jungle, Orianna mid, and Janna support. For the AD carry position, Ruler locked in Tristana.

The purpose of this lineup is clear: it has crowd control, counter-attack capabilities, wave clear, and late-game stability. It's all about stalling.

For SKT, the lineup is Rumble top, Jarvan IV jungle, Galio mid, and Rakan support.

All eyes were on SKT's final pick, XiaoYan's hero selection.

"What's left? Varus? Kog'Maw? Or Ezreal?" Quan Yong'e guessed.

The camera panned to the contestants' seats, where Xiao Yan's expression remained relaxed and carefree.

He seemed to be communicating with Wolf, who was laughing so hard he was doubled over.

Then, under the spotlight, a blue and white logo lit up on the fifth floor of SKT.

A longbow forged from ice.

Ashe, the Frost Archer.

"Ashe?!"

The commentary booth and the live broadcast room were in an uproar.

"What kind of choice is this?" CT looked completely bewildered. "Facing a multi-frontline composition like SSG, picking Ashe who can barely scratch the enemy? And Ashe has no mobility, so her survival is terrible against Sejuani and Maokai's engages!"

"Is he planning to initiate a team fight with his ultimate?" Jeon Yong-ae was also puzzled. "But isn't XiaoYan's style that of an assassin-type AD carry who 'uses his body as a sword'? Is Ashe, a utility AD carry, really suitable for him?"

The live stream chat was filled with question marks:

"??????"

"It's over, we've gotten too cocky."

"This game is over. Ashe against Maokai and Sejuani, you could poke them for a year and still not kill them."

"Did the coach force him to make that choice? Was he trying to play it safe?"

"This is boring, I want to see Draven!"

The game has finished loading.

Summoner's Rift is in turmoil.

However, the start of this match took everyone by surprise.

There was no first-tier team design, and no radical roster changes.

Xiao Yan controlled Ashe like a precise last-hitting machine. He stood behind the minion wave, using Ashe's W skill to whittle down the minions' health in a very tricky way, while controlling the position of the minion wave.

Ruler's little cannon was prepared to withstand the pressure, and even brought an extra bottle of red potion. But to his surprise, he found that Xiao Yan didn't even bother with him.

Whenever Ruler goes forward to finish off an enemy, Xiao Yan retreats; whenever Ruler retreats, Xiao Yan goes forward to block his position.

An eerie peace.

But beneath this peace, suffocating undercurrents are surging.

The game lasts 8 minutes.

Ambition's Sejuani had just finished clearing the bottom half of the river crab and was preparing to harass Faker in the mid lane.

Just then, a shimmering eagle spirit streaked across the sky, precisely illuminating Sejuani's location, and even clearly showing the duration of the newly refreshed red buff on her.

"We've been discovered." Master An frowned, and had no choice but to abandon the gank and turn to farm jungle monsters.

Thirty seconds later, just as Crown Bro's Orianna was about to place a ward, another Eagle Spirit flew by, revealing not only his location but also Sejuani who was crouching there.

"Damn it—is Ashe's E skill using a global cheat?" Crown Bro couldn't help but curse.

This is Xiao Yan's strategy for this round.

Since you want to play the operations game and focus on vision, then I'll play along with you.

Xiao Yan, with a Varus proficiency of 100, has reached a state of perfection in his positioning and distance control as a marksman without mobility skills.

Ashe, despite having different skills, shares a similar philosophy with Varus in terms of "map control" and "kiting".

Coupled with his abnormally fast reaction speed, he turned Ashe into a "mobile radar station".

The game lasts 15 minutes.

The score remains 0-0.

For viewers who were used to the bloody massacres of the first two rounds, this was so boring it made them want to fall asleep.

"Why is this so hypnotic?"

"Why doesn't XiaoYan kill anyone?"

"Is this how SKT operates? It looks exhausting."

However, cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the person explaining the CT scan.

"Something's not right—something's not right." CT pointed to the data panel at the bottom of the screen. "Look, the economy is bad."

Quan Yong stared intently, then gasped, "Two thousand?! How can there be a two thousand gold difference? We haven't gotten a single kill, and not a single tower has fallen!"

"It's about last-hitting, and jungle resources." CT's voice trembled slightly. "XiaoYan's Ashe out-farmed Ruler by a full 40 CS! And because of Ashe's unpredictable E skill, Ambition's movements were completely known, and Peanut's Jarvan IV stole three of Ambition's jungle camps and secured two dragons!"

"This is like boiling a frog in lukewarm water!"

The SSG players were even more upset than the commentators at this moment.

They felt like they were standing naked in front of SKT. No matter what they wanted to do, who they wanted to catch, or what vision they wanted to establish, there would always be a damned eagle flying by, or a cold magic crystal arrow grazing past, forcing them to use their Flash.

Xiao Yan's Aisha is no longer the executioner who only kills, but has become a high-ranking commander.

He doesn't need to kill people himself.

He only needed to stand there and use his bow to guide the way, and the SSG's defenses began to crumble.

The game lasts 22 minutes.

A team battle where the dragon is about to win.

SSG is backed into a corner. If they let the Fire Dragon go, and SKT gets the Fire Dragon Soul, their Maokai and Sejuani will be as fragile as paper.

"We have to fight." Sect Leader An gritted his teeth. "Ruler, watch your position, don't get hit."

"I know." Ruler's palms were sweaty.

The two sides are locked in a standoff in the river.

Just as the SSG players were focused on SKT's front-line Jarvan IV and Galio, preparing for a strong engage,

Off-screen, a huge, crystal-clear arrow, accompanied by a whistling sound, pierced through the gap between the tree and Sejuani at an extremely strange angle.