novelODS 049 Ambition, right? Ryu, right?
049 Ambition, right? Ryu, right?
The live stream quickly shifted to SKT's main base.
It exploded with a bang!
"GG-!"
Li Zhixing had just taken off his headphones when he heard the two commentators shouting in unison.
Before he could hear what the narrator was shouting, he immediately felt a tremendous force coming from all around him, and his little brother rushed over and gave him a bear hug.
"We won! Hyung!" Kim Hyuk-kyu's face was filled with excitement.
Li Zhixing felt somewhat helpless.
His professional career in his previous life wasn't very long, only seven years, but he still won six championships, which could be considered a great honor.
He felt nothing about winning the second-tier league championship, it was as if he hadn't won it at all.
At most, it's just a bit novel.
Because in his previous life, he was snapped up by major clubs as soon as he debuted and became a core player in the top league. He had never actually played in the second-tier league.
Of course, he could understand his younger brother.
This was his first final in his professional career, and his parents were there to witness it. The significance of this championship might not be much less than that of the final S-series championship.
Li Zhixing didn't dampen his younger brother's spirits, but patted him lightly on the shoulder and whispered, "This is just the beginning, He Kui. We'll win many championships together in the future."
"Uh-huh!"
Kim Hyuk-kyu had a smile on his face, and his three teammates were also grinning from ear to ear.
Before the competition started, everyone was just thinking that getting an OGN spot would be a success, and they never thought they could get this far.
Moreover, it's so easy.
Since the offline top 128 competition, we've played five best-of-one matches and three best-of-three matches, a total of 11 games, and I haven't lost a single one.
It was through this series that they truly saw their own capabilities.
They had been training diligently under Li Zhixing's strict guidance, and each review session was met with scathing criticism. They felt that their shortcomings were as numerous as the stars in the sky.
But upon exiting, they discovered that even so, they were already invincible in the world.
Those same flaws exist in everyone else as well.
Li Zhixing's criticisms of them have now become weapons they use to defeat their enemies.
My brother is right, they are really strong.
Li Zhixing smiled and waved his hand: "Go shake hands, hurry up and finish so we can go eat."
On the other side of the stage, the five SKT players sat dejectedly in their chairs, their heads spinning.
The two matches combined lasted less than fifty minutes, ending far too quickly.
So much so that when the match ended, the SKT players even subconsciously felt that it wasn't over yet and wanted to go back to the backstage lounge.
But in the next instant, everyone came to their senses and then felt relieved.
It's over. I don't have to be tortured anymore. That's great...
Just then, the RISE team arrived, and they had no choice but to force themselves to stay alert and shake hands gently.
The two teams have faced each other many times and are quite familiar with each other.
Li Zhixing was too lazy to communicate much with his opponent; he simply smiled and shook hands with him as they passed by.
However, the people opposite him seemed to avoid looking him in the eye, and they all avoided his gaze when shaking hands.
On the contrary, his henchmen behind him seemed rather arrogant and smug.
They haven't forgotten that in the final round of the online tournament, when facing MVP, it was SKT who leaked their draft picks.
Its heart is awkward!
Now, winning by stepping on the head in the final can be considered a great revenge.
Mata's smile stretched almost to his ears, and he even patted his opponent's shoulder lightly while shaking hands.
"Well played, keep it up!"
Although no harsh words were said, the sarcasm was palpable.
Actually, the person who should be happiest at this moment is Lee Sang-hyeok.
After all, he had tried out for SKT before, specifically against the opposing K team. Due to some special reasons, the experience wasn't very good...
Now that old and new grudges have come together, it's doubly satisfying.
But Lee Sang-hyeok looked at the people opposite him with the demeanor of a master, gently extending his hand as if he had just won a ranking match and was completely at ease.
Just by looking at his movements, he looks exactly like Li Zhixing.
It just didn't match the expression on his face very well.
Kim Hyuk-kyu watched Lee Sang-hyeok's actions from behind and sneered inwardly.
Still trying to act like an expert like Brother Zhixing, look at that smirk on his face!
After shaking hands all the way, the R1SE members finally arrived at the center of the stage.
Here, in addition to enjoying the increasingly enthusiastic cheers from the audience, you can also get up close to the NLB championship trophy.
Even in the second-tier leagues, there are still trophies.
Of course, the quality isn't very high; it's made entirely of plastic and shaped like a standard five-pointed star with an eagle's beak engraved on top.
This is the logo of the OGN professional league.
Teams that win the NLB championship will never be weak, even if they enter the OGN.
The underlings stared longingly at the trophy before them, but restrained themselves from reaching for it.
After Li Zhixing looked around and gave a signal, his teammates finally couldn't wait to reach out and place their hands on the trophy.
The trophy wasn't very big; if you put one hand on it, it would almost completely cover it.
Li Zhixing was the last one to reach out, filling the final gap.
Then, the group worked together to lift the trophy high above their heads!
Off the field, cheers erupted instantly as countless spectators celebrated the birth of NLB's first champion!
Backstage, commentator and host Jeon Yong-jun quickly came up, shouting, "Congratulations to R1SE! A 2-0 sweep of SKT to win the inaugural NLB Pro League championship!"
Several teammates were seeing this kind of situation for the first time and were at a loss, not knowing what to do.
But they had a leader, and the group stood in a row beside Li Zhixing without thinking.
Seeing this, the Roaring Emperor also came over and started an interview after winning the championship.
NLB is, after all, a secondary league, so the interviews aren't as grand as those for OGN. It's basically just asking the leader a few questions and that's it.
The Roaring Emperor's gaze swept across the room, naturally finding Li Zhixing:
Before the NLB tournament began, probably no one would have predicted that Team RISE would win the championship. As the founder and captain of Team RISE, how is Neo feeling right now?
Li Zhixing took the microphone, his expression frank: "I feel very calm. The outside world didn't expect R1SE to win, but I did, because it was something I expected."
Upon hearing this, the Roaring Emperor clicked his tongue in amazement.
This guy's interviewing style seems a bit strange...
He thought for a moment, then continued, "After completing the NLB season, Team RISE will next embark on their journey in the OGN Spring Season. What are Neo's goals?"
"The goal is, of course, the championship."
Without hesitation, Li Zhixing said, "Wherever RISE goes, they will definitely be the champions."
These words caused an uproar in the audience.
They've only just come up from the second division, and they're already eyeing the top league championship?
What grand ambitions!
Jeon Yong-jun also tried to remind them, "In OGN, you'll be facing completely different opponents."
RISE's strength is undeniable, after all, they are a team that swept all the way to the championship, and their defeated opponents include OGN teams, and even Najin Sword, which was ranked ninth.
However, in a league, the top and bottom teams are never on the same level.
Does this guy think that after beating the fourth-to-last team, he can easily beat the top teams?
For the top three teams, defeating the fourth-place team is as easy as eating and drinking!
Unexpectedly, Li Zhixing just chuckled when he heard this: "I don't think the teams in the OGN league are that strong. In my opinion, they are no different from SKT today."
In Li Zhixing's words, the second team of the prestigious SKT club became a unit of measurement.
"Ani..." The Roaring Emperor was at a loss for words. He knew that the interview could not continue, so he simply ended the award presentation.
"Well... let's look forward to RISE's performance in the OGN arena. See you all tomorrow at the OGN Winter Playoffs!"
The awards ceremony has now concluded, and the live broadcast camera slowly pulls back.
As the audience began to leave, the teammates realized that the fun time was about to begin.
Several people rushed forward at the same time and took turns playing with their trophies.
After they had played enough, the group led them off the field to take turns taking photos with them.
Li Zhixing watched with amusement from behind, following them all the way back to the lounge. First, at the urging of his younger brothers, he took a group photo with the trophy, and then sat in a corner of the lounge, picked up his phone and connected to the internet.
In 2012, the latest mobile phone was still the iPhone 5.
The moment the connection was established, countless notifications flooded in!
Most of the notifications on my phone come from social media channels.
Because of R1SE's victory, countless fans went to his channel to leave comments and congratulate him.
Of course, he couldn't reply to such messages, so Li Zhixing thought for a moment and simply posted an update.
"I'll be updating the commentary video for the final match tonight."
Only then did he begin to read the messages.
Lee Ji-hsing was, after all, a visitor from a foreign land and had no time for socializing, so he didn't have many friends in South Korea, and there were only a couple of news stories about him.
"Congratulations on winning the championship!"
The message was in Chinese, so it was naturally sent by Li Qiming.
Li Zhixing replied with an "Mm," and then ignored him.
Did they only send the message during the finals?
Li Qiming didn't even know that the most important match for RISE was the quarterfinals for OGN qualification, not the finals...
In addition, there were several messages from classmates.
Among them were two of Li Zhixing's deskmates.
When the news broke that the Mapo Trio had swept the top three spots in the Korean server during Season 2, the most shocked people weren't those in the League of Legends community, but rather the two former players...
Are you two serious?
You mean Neo and Hide on Bush sit right behind me, listening to me constantly putting one down and praising the other?
The two students in front of them couldn't have imagined that such a dramatic thing would happen to them.
The two even sent Lee Sang-hyeok an apology message, saying that their previous mockery of Hide on bush was unintentional and not malicious.
Of course, Sang-hyeok said he didn't care about it and would let bygones be bygones.
The main problem is that even if you care, you can't say it...
After replying to his classmate's messages, Li Zhixing finally opened the INVEN forum.
The forum's popularity today is undeniable.
After all, both Lee Ji-hyeong and SKT have a large fan base, so when the two sides are on opposing sides, the level of attention is naturally not small.
Today's match result surprised most people, leading to an unprecedented level of discussion on the forum.
The moment I clicked in, countless comments flooded in.
【RISE! Invincible!】
I hereby declare the SKT dynasty to have collapsed!
Where exactly is SKT's dynasty? Their first team can't even beat KT and CJ in OGN, only managing third place. Their second team can't even beat RISE in NLB. They're just an ordinary club.
However, RISE is indeed a good team; I think they could reach the upper-middle level if they joined OGN.
[It's mainly Neo who's amazing! His Pantheon in the first game was unbelievably dominant, single-handedly crushing SKT. And his Vi in the second game was on fire!]
Horo's rhythm in OGN is actually quite good, but compared to Neo today, he seems like an idiot.
[He's got 3000 points after all! I'd believe you if you told me he's the best jungler in OGN!]
Esports has always been a game of praise when you win and criticism when you lose, and this has been true in any era and in any place.
With RISE sweeping the series 2-0, the forums were naturally filled with flattery towards Li Zhixing.
Many people are also discussing Li Zhixing's post-match interview.
But Neo is really overestimating himself, isn't he? What makes him think he's the strongest in R1SE?
[He's just bragging. Who would watch his channel if he didn't brag?]
[Follow Neo's channel for a live commentary video of the finals tonight!]
RISE has the skill, but winning the OGN championship is just a pipe dream.
[However, there is some truth to it. Their victory against Najin Sword in the semifinals was quite smooth, almost like KT's performance!]
[So they're trying to piggyback on the league's top team, KT? If they don't get completely thrashed in a real match against KT, R1E will be lucky to escape with their clean sheets!]
Li Zhixing glanced at the discussion before him and simply chuckled.
He anticipated this reaction when he said those words on stage.
At least one person is right; you have to say something strong to spark discussion and then draw people to your channel.
We still need to make money.
Moreover, what he said was not untrue.
When he actually steps onto the OGN stage, he will naturally fulfill all the words he has spoken.
In his previous life, Li Zhixing was known for his tendency to make harsh statements.
But unlike those who make threats and can't take them back, his credit score is also known for being very high.
In addition, there were many discussions surrounding teammates.
[It seems there's a reason Easyhoon was demoted to the first team; getting completely crushed by a random mid laner in two games is hilarious!]
It's normal to lose; Faker is clearly an exceptional mid-laner.
[What's wrong with your eyes upstairs? Wasn't the first game a 50/50 match between the mid laners? Faker wasn't that amazing, was he?]
[Where's the 50/50 chance? If it weren't for Horo's help in the first game, Easyhoon would have been tower-dived, okay?]
[He's just a mid-laner who's riding Neo's coattails and doing nothing. If he's so capable, why doesn't he go up against Ambition and Ryu?]
[Let alone going up against these two, even going up against Dade's team would be difficult, right?]
Li Zhixing found the discussion in front of him amusing.
Sang-hyeok is a man who cares about his reputation; wouldn't he be furious if he saw this?
"What are you looking at, bro?"
At that moment, Lee Sang-hyeok sat down next to him, having just finished taking a photo with the trophy.
Li Zhixing instinctively wanted to put his phone away, but it was too late.
Lee Sang-hyeok's exceptional dynamic vision allowed him to take in the entire screen with just a glance.
Finally, his face darkened, and he sat down to sulk.
Ambition, right?
Ryu, right?
Are these two the best mid laners in OGN?
You just wait!