High winds, vast skies, and autumn passing swiftly; iron steeds and golden blades at the mustering ground!

Once the excitement had subsided, they still had the formalities to get through.

When the IG players reached WE's side for the handshakes, they finally noticed.

The mood over there was unbearably heavy. Xiye's and Mystic's eyes were red; they had clearly been crying.

"Hey, keep at it next year."

In the end, all IG could do was offer a few words of comfort, shake hands, and leave.

There was no helping it.

Esports was that brutal. The strong advanced, and the weak fell behind.

There was only one spot left. If IG took it, WE would inevitably miss out on the World Championship.

A short while later, in IG's lounge.

Su Xiaoluo looked at Lu Chen. "Lu Chen, you've got an interview coming up. Get ready."

Su Xiaoluo wasn't smiling, but his voice alone made it obvious that he was absolutely ecstatic inside.

"An interview?" Lu Chen paused.

After two months without playing a match, he had almost forgotten about those.

"Right," Su Xiaoluo explained. "There's also the send-off ceremony today, so this interview will be short. Just give them a few answers."

"Okay." Lu Chen nodded.

Only when he reached the interview area did he realize that today's audience was on an entirely different scale from the crowds during the regular season!

Countless fans were waving illuminated signs.

And they weren't just for IG. He even spotted plenty bearing his own ID.

"C God is invincible!" "C God, please take IG to the World Championship!" "C God, I want to have your babies!" "Chen Yu, sending you hearts!" Signs like those were everywhere.

When Lu Chen appeared, the atmosphere in the interview area exploded.

Countless people began shouting his name.

"C God!"

"C God! You were insane today!"

"Lu Chen! I love you!"

"Holy shit! C!"

"You're my god!"

Auntie Yu Shuang was conducting the interview today.

Of course, back in S7, there really was nothing to criticize about Yu Shuang's looks.

Dressed in a tasteful teal qipao with her hair in a ponytail, she had a distinctly classical charm.

Otherwise, "Kill Guan the dog and steal Yu Shuang" would never have become such a popular line.

"Welcome, everyone, to our post-match interview."

Yu Shuang smiled. "We've invited IG's AD carry, Chen Yu, to join us. Why don't you say hello to everyone first?"

Lu Chen nodded slightly and looked out at the audience. "Hello, everyone. I'm IG's Chen Yu. I'm happy to be here for this interview."

Another wave of cheers immediately rose from the crowd.

Most importantly, quite a few of them were young women-female fans!

Watching backstage, the other IG players' faces twitched. Sure enough, this was still a world that judged people by their looks.

They had played for so long, and their fans had always been nothing but guys!

"All right."

Still smiling, Yu Shuang said, "Let's begin the questions. How does it feel to win today's match and qualify for the World Championship?"

"How does it feel..." Lu Chen considered it briefly. "Pretty good."

"Uh..." Yu Shuang choked, almost losing her professional composure. "Could you elaborate a little, Chen Yu?"

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "If I have to describe it, it's probably like buying instant noodles and finding two noodle blocks inside, or cracking an egg to fry it and finding two yolks. It just makes me happy."

The audience nearly burst out laughing.

"Ahem... well, now we all know you like instant noodles."

Somewhat helplessly, Yu Shuang continued, "Now that you've qualified for the S7 World Championship, do you have any goals or thoughts?"

At that, Lu Chen's expression grew serious. "The goal is simple, of course. Every team that makes it to the World Championship ultimately has one aim: to win the championship. We're no exception."

As soon as he finished, the fans erupted in cheers and screams.

It couldn't be helped.

These days, there really weren't many players bold enough to declare outright that they wanted to win the championship.

Especially after what had happened with GodV, saying something like that usually got you flamed.

That was why so many players were extremely modest in interviews, saying only that they would do their best or try to achieve a good result.

"We can certainly hear how confident Chen Yu is."

Yu Shuang's smile widened. "That brings today's interview to an end. We also wish IG a smooth run through the upcoming play-ins!"

The interview ended.

Lu Chen let out a breath and returned to the lounge.

Only then did Su Xiaoluo clap his hands to get everyone's attention. "Get ready, everyone. We're heading backstage. The send-off ceremony is about to begin."

Soon, when they entered the backstage area, they found quite a few people already there.

The EDG and RNG players were all chatting inside.

The atmosphere was nothing like the tense standoff one might have imagined. Quite the opposite-it was downright friendly.

No matter how fiercely the clubs and fans fought, most of the players were still on good terms.

"Oh, Old Song! Congratulations."

As soon as they entered, the players from both teams came over to greet them.

"That's C God for you. You were seriously amazing today."

"Everyone's here now!"

Rookie, in particular, clearly knew everyone well and naturally fell right in with them.

As Lu Chen stood around with nothing to do, he noticed someone approach him.

He looked up. It was iBoy.

There was a complicated smile in iBoy's eyes. "Seriously, bro, I don't want to run into you at the World Championship at all."

Between their earlier scrims and regular-season matches, he had been thoroughly thrashed. He genuinely respected Lu Chen's ability.

"Aw, come on." Lu Chen waved a hand and teased him. "If we both make it to the Bird's Nest, we'll have to face each other sooner or later, won't we?"

"You really will say anything." IBoy shook his head helplessly.

In his eyes, having even one LPL team reach the final would already count as a success.

As for an all-LPL final... nothing that good had happened in the previous few years, anyway.

While everyone was chatting.

The venue staff finally brought over their "battle gear."

They were black jackets decorated with gold patterns.

On the back of each jacket, three large letters-"LPL"-were emblazoned in gold.

The left breast also bore each team's logo.

At least they looked pretty cool.

Soon, following the host's impassioned introduction.

All fifteen players from the three teams walked to the center of the venue and stood side by side beneath the spotlights.

"Let's give a warm welcome to the three teams who will represent the LPL at the S7 World Championship: EDG! RNG! And IG!"

The fans' cheers rang out from every direction.

"Let's go, EDG!"

"Let's go, RNG!"

"Charge, Little IG!"

Then the send-off declaration echoed throughout the venue.

"High winds, vast skies, and autumn passing swiftly; iron steeds and golden blades at the mustering ground!"

"Towering talent rises ten thousand fathoms high; now is the time to ready steeds and sharpen blades! Dragons hone their strength through bitter toil, meeting the enemy with spirits soaring across the battlefield!"

"Strive with one heart to forge an unyielding resolve; stand united to defend the glory of our home ground!"

"The 2017 League of Legends World Championship-follow our hearts, without fear or dread! Let the world see China's red!"

For a moment, the entire arena erupted!

Fans of every team began chanting the same slogan!

"Let's go, LPL!"

"Let's go, LPL!"

"Let's go, LPL!"

Meanwhile, the chat in the official livestream was just as lively.

"Cringe, cringe, cringe."

"So we're doing cringe now?"

"LMAO, C God looks like a celebrity standing in a crowd of gaming addicts."

"They look so awkward."

But in the end, perhaps swept up by the atmosphere in the arena.

Every comment became the same chant, densely packed across the entire screen-

"Let's go, LPL!"

Thank you, dear readers, for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes. This humble author bows in gratitude.