Damn! Someone's actually that good?

To be honest...

A clear divide had already emerged among the clubs in the LPL.

If the Three Royal Houses each had a popularity score of around 100...

Then even reasonably popular clubs like IG and Snake would have been lucky to score 20.

For many pro players, landing a starting spot on one of the Three Royal Houses was definitely cause for celebration.

Results aside, they would at least be guaranteed plenty of exposure.

But Lu Chen had spent two years in RNG's youth training program.

Despite having the skill to easily reach the top of the Chinese server, he had kept his abilities completely under wraps for those two years.

It was almost as if he was terrified that RNG would discover him and promote him to the starting roster!

Rita found that rather unbelievable...

Lu Chen shrugged. "RNG already has Uzi. What would I go there for?"

Rita nodded slightly. "Hmm... fair point."

No matter how strong Lu Chen's performance in Ranked was, most people would still struggle to place him above that esports superstar.

"Besides, I don't like that club," Lu Chen added, shaking his head.

He didn't elaborate on RNG's status as the god of contracts.

A few years later, someone had posed a question.

"Who is the god of League of Legends?"

Some people answered that it was Uzi, the eternal god!

After all, that slogan, shouted by a streamer who later got arrested, had certainly generated plenty of discussion.

Others said it was Faker, Lee Sang-hyeok, the three-time world champion and demon king of the mid lane.

For professional mid laners of that era, solo-killing Faker in a match was an incredible achievement and honor.

Some even answered that it was a certain commentator surnamed Guan.

With his uncanny ability to jinx teams by praising them, he had become the god of jinxes, a favorite topic among countless players...

But all those answers were wrong!

There was only one god in League of Legends!

And that was RNG! The god of contracts!

Uzi couldn't win the World Championship.

Faker would grow old and lose his edge.

Even Guan Zeyuan's jinxes sometimes missed.

But when RNG trapped someone with a contract, it never missed. Whoever it caught was done for!

"So which team are you actually planning to join?" Rita asked curiously.

Lu Chen smiled. "I've had a target in mind for a while, but it isn't one of the Three Royal Houses."

RNG had Uzi, EDG had iBoy, and WE had Mystic.

They were all their teams' aces. Why would any of those teams casually replace them with some Ranked player?

As for his target, did it even need saying?

Of course it was IG!

Aside from the ADC position, IG was already close to its complete form.

If he hadn't been eyeing that spot, why would he have insisted on climbing as an ADC?

With every stat on Lu Chen's panel maxed out, climbing as a mid laner or jungler would have been the fastest option, and his win rate would have been even more ridiculous.

After all, those were the two roles that could truly dictate the pace of an entire game with ease.

A short while later.

In his dorm room, in front of his computer.

Lu Chen looked at the overflowing friend requests in the game client and felt his scalp prickle.

Still, going by memory, he found the request Kid had sent him a week earlier and clicked accept.

Then he sent a brief message: "Hello."

Meanwhile.

At IG's club, Kid was eating in front of his computer while livestreaming. When he saw the notification, he nearly spat out his food!

Once he recovered, Kid hurriedly said, "Guys, something urgent came up. I'm ending the stream!"

With that, he moved his mouse and closed the streaming software.

Instantly, a flood of chat messages swept across the black screen.

"Wait! What did I just see? That ID was Chen,Yu, right?!"

"It's him! No way I'd mistake him for someone else. He has that heart avatar!"

"Holy shit! Is C God finally getting in touch with a club? I'm moved!"

"I thought I'd never live to see C God play professionally. Boohoo..."

"Kid, we'll forgive you for ending early this time. Grab this chance and keep C God at IG! You guys are definitely taking off this year! I'm calling it—even Faker won't stop you!"

"Awesome! We finally get to see that monster torment pro players. What's the fun in stomping people at over a thousand LP in Challenger all day? I'm sick of spectating it."

"'Over a thousand LP in Challenger.' 'Stomping people.' Bro, do you even hear yourself?"

"Lol, you make it sound like C God won't play Ranked anymore once he goes pro."

"Whatever happens, we finally have news about C God. It's been a long wait."

In fact...

Online arguments had reached fever pitch lately.

Places like Tieba and Weibo had been particularly overwhelmed.

All kinds of posts and comments were giving the major clubs headaches.

For example: "Why is Chen,Yu a god, and why hasn't any team signed him yet?"

"Just how high are LPL teams' standards? Apparently, none of these clubs wants a monster who topped the Chinese server with an 85% win rate?"

"Are LPL teams just giving up? Why aren't they treasuring the chance to win Worlds on home soil?"

"The summer transfer window is about to close. Does C God still have a chance to sign with a team?"

"I don't care. I want to see C God go pro, mainly to find out whether he can crush everyone in pro matches too! Come on, LPL clubs! Get it together!"

It couldn't be helped.

When Lu Chen played, his flawless mechanics, incredible farming, picture-perfect teamfights, and unbelievable movement and predictions were simply too good at drawing fans.

That was the kind of game League of Legends was.

The more a play pushed the limits, the more memorable it became, and the more fans it attracted.

Faker's Zed duel, Uzi's flank on Vayne, TheShy's godlike descent...

Even many years later, people still talked fondly about those iconic moments.

And plays at that level appeared in almost every game Lu Chen played!

At that moment.

At IG's club.

A group of people crowded around Kid's computer, watching him type.

"Kid: Bro, I finally got in touch with you. That wasn't easy."

"Chen,Yu: Just saw this. Sorry, my friend requests and messages have been full the whole time. I haven't cleared them."

"Kid: I get it, I get it. Bro, I'll cut straight to the chase. Want to go pro? We at IG want to sign you. Don't worry-with your skill, your annual salary would definitely start at a million!"

"Chen,Yu: I've been considering it."

"Kid: Great! Talking in-game is inconvenient. Can we exchange contact details?"

"Chen,Yu: Sure."

Before long...

The two added each other on a messaging app and began discussing things properly.

Of course, on IG's side, manager Su Xiaoluo took over the conversation from Kid.

And the moment Su Xiaoluo opened his mouth, he made it clear money was no object.

Before this, he had already contacted his boss, Principal Wang.

After hearing the details, his boss's exact words had been, "Damn, someone's actually that good? Sign him! Even if he asks for a fortune, sign him! If he can show even half that ability onstage, that'll be enough!"

With his boss backing him, Su Xiaoluo naturally had money to throw around.

His opening offer was an annual salary starting at two million!

At the time, pro players had to make a name for themselves onstage before they could earn more than a million a year.

Yet Lu Chen hadn't played a single professional match.

That showed just how sincere IG was.

After reaching a preliminary agreement, the two sides decided that Lu Chen would visit IG for a tryout that very afternoon.

After all, both sides were in Shanghai, so they were close by.

Besides, the transfer window was about to close. They had to move fast.