Ming Kai glanced at the schedule Nofe was pointing at and frowned.
"Isn't that way too late?"
The schedule Nofe had arranged for Xu Cheng's debut put him in the latter part of the regular season. That was way too late.
At that, Nofe looked at the Factory Director and shrugged without saying a word.
The Factory Director understood what he meant.
In fact, the usual path for any rookie joining a professional team was supposed to be—
Youth training, a secondary league, an LPL substitute spot, then an LPL starting spot.
Some people might never make it onto the LPL stage in their entire lives, let alone become an LPL starter. Even getting a substitute spot would be a fantasy.
Especially on a powerhouse team like EDG, where competition for a starting spot was incredibly fierce. Starters naturally attracted discussion and the spotlight from the outside world.
But... Xu Cheng was different!
"We signed him to train him and put him to use. If his matches are scheduled too late, will he even get to play in S7?"
"I know all that too, but... our team's results are really bad right now."
Nofe's Chinese was still rather halting, and his expression was helpless.
How could he not understand what the Factory Director was saying?
For one thing, EDG's situation wasn't what it used to be. This year's EDG had its worst-ever lineup, strength, and results.
And the Summer Split that was about to begin would determine the S7 spots. The competition was fierce, and the stakes were exceptionally high.
At a time like this, how could EDG risk focusing on training rookies? If they performed as poorly as they had in the Spring Split, they'd be completely out of the running for the S Tournament this year.
Though people had always criticized EDG for underperforming at the S Tournament and getting knocked out in the Quarterfinals year after year, few knew that the team had never missed the tournament since it was founded. That was one reason they were considered a powerhouse.
S7 was so important this year. Missing it... was something EDG absolutely couldn't accept.
"Ultimately, he missed out on a Spring Split's worth of training. He hasn't touched LOL in half a year... No matter how talented he is or how quickly he adapts, one Summer Split... just isn't enough."
Thinking all this over, the Factory Director sighed.
No matter how talented you were, fully adapting to the Professional Arena took at least one split, at the very least.
Why had the clubs that once clamored to sign Xu Cheng changed their tune so drastically? Wasn't it because of this?
One Summer Split wasn't enough, especially when EDG's current results couldn't give Xu Cheng the opportunity to develop.
But...
"We can't just leave him on the sidelines. This schedule is way too late. I'll talk to the boss..."
After a brief moment of uncertainty, the Factory Director quickly made up his mind—
Xu Cheng had to play in the Summer Split. If he didn't get some experience now, he really wouldn't have a chance to appear onstage at S7 this year.
"Okay. Anyway, my recommendation is that we hold off for now... Let's look at his test results first."
Nofe shrugged. He knew that on EDG, Ming Kai wasn't just a player; he was practically part of management, too.
The Factory Director nodded and didn't say anything more.
Just then, Xu Cheng's test results came in.
When the staff member handed the report to everyone, they were still shocked, despite having expected good results—
The comprehensive report showed that Xu Cheng excelled in every aspect of talent, enough for a professional club to rate him at the highest level: S-rank.
At the moment, only Ah Shui, Xu Cheng, iBoy, and the recently popular Monster Master had that rating. Monster Master had been publicly reported by Faker and was making waves just like Xu Cheng had at the start of the year.
But unlike those three, Xu Cheng hadn't touched LOL in half a year.
In other words, it wasn't just that he had a knack for LOL—his memory, hand speed, and every other ability were already incredible.
"Man... You're incredible, bro! You're seriously cracked!"
The Factory Director's gloom vanished, and he beamed.
Everyone else was amazed, too.
"His hand speed and reflexes are this good? Are we sure he hasn't been practicing on his own these past six months?"
"Practicing what? How would you even practice this? It's pure talent."
"I've never heard of a top laner with stats like these..." Ah Guang said, looking envious.
"Monster Master, Monster Master. From now on, I'm counting on you to put food on my table..."
The congratulations and good wishes from his teammates made Xu Cheng feel a little embarrassed. "Uh... So, the test results are okay?"
"Okay? They're amazing, bro!"
The Factory Director grabbed Xu Cheng. "Come on, follow me inside!"
"Tryouts!"
They called it a tryout, but for Xu Cheng, it was basically just a formality.
What EDG really wanted to see was how well he worked with the other players.
By the end of a full day of tryouts, the results had left everyone both delighted and worried.
The good news was that Xu Cheng's talent and skill were no exaggeration. Give him some opportunities and resources, and he really could carry a game.
In an LPL where all the top laners were cowards, that was practically unprecedented.
Of course, that was also exactly what worried them—
Xu Cheng was too talented and too strong individually. Though he was extremely unused to the strict structure of scrims and often turned them into chaotic ranked games, he seemed to have the ability to overwhelm everything through sheer force.
To put it simply, Xu Cheng was like a monster no one could control. He had too many ideas of his own, and he followed them subconsciously. It was a habit, and an extremely hard one to change.
During one scrim, the Factory Director called out to Xu Cheng four or five times, but Xu Cheng never followed the team's strategy.
The result wasn't bad, but he'd thrown off the other four EDG players' entire setup and caused them to lose the scrim.
"Sometimes, being too strong individually isn't a good thing. What EDG needs... is a tree. Maokai, the Twisted Treant."
Coach Nofe smacked his lips, suddenly finding the situation absurd and bizarre—
A top laner like Xu Cheng would be a top-tier prospect in the LCK. But in the LPL as it was now, especially on EDG... the two styles collided like water and oil. They were completely different species, unable to blend.
Xu Cheng wasn't suited to EDG's "steady style," and EDG was even less suited to Xu Cheng's "bloodthirsty style."
Could anyone believe that EDG had turned one scrim into two different games, with two completely different styles?
It wasn't that they had no synergy at all. It was just that everyone had tried their best...
"He tried to force himself to change a few times, but in the end, it went even worse than when he didn't. He played so awkwardly!"
Meiko, one of the team's shot-callers, rubbed his chin as he offered his assessment.
"...Any change is a good thing. Let's call it a day."
The Factory Director hadn't expected things to turn out this way. With mixed feelings, he ended their training for the day.
Over the following days, Xu Cheng continued practicing with EDG, but the results remained disappointing.
It wasn't that Xu Cheng wasn't strong. He was too strong—so strong that his style completely contradicted EDG's "steady system," leaving everyone who'd been full of hope discouraged for a time.
That day.
EDG paused its training. Everyone was tense, staring without blinking at the big screen inside the room.
They watched the five members of WE, once standing at the pinnacle of the world and brimming with confidence, get crushed by the European team G2 with a score of one to three, ending their MSI run in disappointment.
The training room erupted in groans.
That was right. The LPL couldn't even beat Europe now, never mind the LCK!
The five young men in red on the screen had lost the confidence they'd arrived with. Their eyes were vacant, their spirits low, and Xiye, whom Xu Cheng knew fairly well, had even shed tears of frustration.
The LPL's MSI run had ended. That had been expected; getting crushed and eliminated by Europe had not.
WE would now face a wave of public criticism for losing to Europe.
But none of that had anything to do with EDG anymore.
With WE's heartbreaking elimination, this year's MSI finally came to an end, with SKT defending its title and lifting the trophy.
The end of MSI heralded the start of the year's fiercest contest for S7 qualification: the LPL Summer Split!
June 8, 2017.
The 2017 LPL Summer Split officially began.
That day, after half a year away, the Factory Director returned to the stage.
This time, a 7 had finally been added to the end of Clearlove's ID.
It drew endless mockery and teasing from the outside world.
Rookie Xiao 7's debut didn't go very well...
Although they won the match, it did nothing to solve EDG's current weakness.
A few more days passed.
Just as Xu Cheng was starting to think he probably wouldn't get a chance to play on the LPL stage this Summer Split, the Factory Director knocked on his door and said just one thing—
"Get ready. Tomorrow's your LPL debut. You're starting!"
Everything matters during a new book's launch, so please vote and keep reading!
Before you continue