The IG team house.
After settling in, Lu Chen spent the next few days streaming his games on the Korean Server.
The countless viewers who flocked to his stream finally saw for themselves just how Lu Chen climbed the ladder.
And they finally remembered why he had been called a monster!
Diamond games? He slaughtered everyone.
Master games? He slaughtered everyone.
High Challenger games? He still slaughtered everyone!
Even when he occasionally matched against professional players, he utterly demolished them!
In less than a week, he dragged an account that had placed in Platinum I all the way to over a thousand points in Challenger on the Korean Server!
Finally, on the very last day before the Summer Split began, he reached number one on the Korean Server with 1,580 Ranked points!
"Holy crap, isn't C God's climb a little too ridiculous?"
"Wasn't the enemy mid laner Faker last game?"
"Yep, hahaha. Twelve minutes in, a ridiculously fed Draven suddenly appeared in mid and killed him with two autos. Faker must've been freaking out."
"Draven's one-click rune setup-whoever's called Lee Sang-hyeok, I shall end his life!"
"It's not just Faker. C God's run into a ton of pros these past few days, too many to count, and he's still carried every game!"
"Good lord, isn't C God a little ridiculous? How can he rack up that many kills even in games like these?"
"Wait, what's the win rate on C God's account now?"
"I checked. Eighty-six percent..."
"Holy shit, seriously? That's absurd, man. This is the Korean Server!"
There was no denying that the intensity of Ranked on the Korean Server was something the Chinese server simply couldn't match.
Back then, people even claimed that Silver players on the Korean Server were stronger than Platinum players on the Chinese server!
That was an exaggeration, but it still showed just how competitive the Korean Server was.
And it wasn't only players from the LCK and LPL. Even players from regions like EU and NA frequently came to play on the Korean Server.
Especially now, during the offseason, when everyone was playing fewer scrims and spending more time in Ranked.
As a result, high Challenger games on the Korean Server were as competitive as they could possibly get. Sometimes, all ten players in a match might be pros!
Lu Chen's climb to the top was undeniably the real deal!
Meanwhile, Tieba and other sites finally entered their last frenzy of activity before the Summer Split.
Post after post flooded the feeds.
"The summit! C God reigns supreme at number one on the Korean Server!"
"A monster's a monster wherever he goes! An unprecedented eighty-six percent win rate has blinded me all over again."
"He routed an army of pros. Just how strong is C God?"
"The entire Korean Server has been beaten into silence. Just how brutal is C God's playstyle?"
"I hereby declare that IG has genuinely struck gold, while RNG has lost out big-time!"
"Number one on both servers! He's conquered them all!"
"How did someone this good spend two years unnoticed in RNG's youth training program? Welcome to: Two years honing a sword, one moment of enlightenment to ascend to immortality!"
"Let's discuss how C God's arrival will change the LPL's bot lane landscape."
"I can't wait anymore. I really want to see this guy compete. How will he actually perform?"
"If you can slaughter people like this in pro matches too, I'll finally acknowledge you as a 'god'!"
There were so many different posts that it was impossible to read them all.
And that wasn't all.
Even Lu Chen's newly registered Weibo account had already grown to over a million followers!
IG's official account had also enjoyed a small bump in followers as a result.
Inside the training room.
"Phew-"
Sitting in his gaming chair, Lu Chen slowly stretched before saying with a smile, "Everyone, the Summer Split is about to start. I might not have much time to stream after this, so I hope you'll understand."
Once the Summer Split began, they wouldn't have official matches every day.
But the scrims certainly wouldn't stop.
That was why he had kept his stream running these past few days-to make up his streaming hours for the month.
The chat immediately erupted.
This time, though, they weren't asking him to stay. They were excited.
"The Summer Split is finally starting?! Rubbing my hands together already!"
"C God, don't hold back on my account. I want to see you absolutely destroy your old team!"
"I'm going crazy waiting to see IG play RNG!"
"Forget it. I checked the schedule. IG doesn't play RNG until week five. Settle in for a long wait."
"IG's first match is against WE, one of the Three Royal Houses. I wonder if they can win."
"Probably not. WE won the Spring Split. How's IG supposed to beat them?"
"True. They flopped at MSI, but WE's still fierce against other LPL teams."
"Speaking of which, is the starting roster still not out? Is C God starting or not?"
"Do you even need to ask? C God's been duoing with Baolan these past few days, and West has barely played any Ranked. C God's definitely starting."
Regardless of what the chat said, Lu Chen had already begun tidying up his desk.
"Well, goodbye, everyone~"
With that, he closed the streaming software.
Nearby, Baolan also let out a relieved breath, a smile spreading across his face. "Getting carried by Chen these past couple of days has earned me at least four or five hundred points. It's been so nice."
In the end, Lu Chen hadn't duoed with Ning Wang.
After all, the bot lane duo needed to build their synergy.
Accordingly, after these past few days of duo queue, Baolan had grown increasingly familiar with Lu Chen's shot-calling. Sometimes, he knew what to do before Lu Chen even spoke.
Junglers, meanwhile, generally queued with their mid laners to develop their mid-jungle coordination.
As for top lane... that had always been the orphan role.
Besides, compared with Ranked, TheShy actually preferred playing ARAM.
Perhaps that counted as his own unique way of practicing?
Quite a few people even believed that TheShy's aggressive style came from playing too much ARAM!
After all, that mode was fighting from start to finish. Macro? There was no such thing. It was all about charging straight in.
Just then.
Su Xiaoluo and coach Mafa entered the training room.
Clapping his hands, Su Xiaoluo called out, "Everyone, look over here. The Summer Split starts tomorrow, so I'll go over a few things you need to keep in mind."
Once everyone's eyes were on him, Su Xiaoluo continued, "Our matches in the first week are on Tues-
"day and Friday, against WE and IM respectively. We need to take that first match against WE especially seriously. Also, I've arranged two scrims for tomorrow..."
A while later, Su Xiaoluo finished speaking and left with Mafa, leaving them with one final remark. "Get to bed early tonight. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."
The IG players in the training room exchanged looks, seeing traces of excitement and uncertainty in one another's eyes.
The Summer Split was about to begin!
An offseason of just over a month wasn't particularly long.
But going all that time without matches really had left them restless.
Or perhaps it could be put this way.
What professional player with a dream wouldn't want to shine on the competitive stage?
Even Lu Chen's eyes glimmered with a different light.
Was it finally time for my true debut on the professional stage?
WE... my first opponent?
Then let this match be the beginning. I'll show the whole world my legend!
Before you continue