Volume One, Chapter 16: To Be Honest, I Had an Epiphany

Upon hearing the final question from the Divine Arena, Wang Yaozu couldn’t help but furrow his brow. As the Divine Arena, its questions were supposed to be fair and just, or at least encouraging and appreciative, weren’t they? Yet in that emotionless voice, he detected a trace of disdain.

So, to the Divine Arena, the China team making it to the top 48 or even winning the championship was just wishful thinking?

“Where does your confidence come from?”

“Of course, it’s from myself!”

When he spoke again, a spark of fire ignited in Wang Yaozu’s tone. What Divine Arena? What gods? He didn’t care at all. What he wanted now was to bring honor to all of China!

“Before this Divine Arena tournament began, everyone kept talking about how formidable and invincible the Korean team was.”

“But what was the result? Our Qilin team defeated Korea’s runner-up, the Samsung team, without breaking a sweat.”

“Let alone anything else, can their champion Modern team even achieve such a crushing victory?”

“If they can’t, then it proves the Modern team isn’t even as strong as our Qilin team!”

“If that’s the case, then our Qilin team making the top 48 or even winning the world championship shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Wang Yaozu asked defiantly, his eyes blazing with an indomitable spirit, as if daring fate itself to oppose him.

His words completely ignited the passion of the Chinese audience.

“Captain Wang is right! The Modern team barely defeated the Samsung team, meaning the Korean champion and runner-up are actually very close in strength!”

“Qilin team > Samsung team, Modern team ≈ Samsung team, so Qilin team > Modern team! No doubt about it!”

“Captain Wang is so commanding! Even if nothing else, his sheer presence is enough to lead Qilin into the top 48!”

“Don’t just aim for the top 48, our goal for China is the championship!”

The Chinese fans were fired up, though the word “champion” felt incredibly distant to them. Yet at this moment, everyone believed without reason that the Qilin team had a real chance to defeat all opponents and claim the world championship in one fell swoop.

***

Of course, alongside the excitement of the Chinese fans came fierce ridicule from countless rival nations’ audiences.

[Korean Spectator]: Hah, this is the first time I’ve seen a Chinese person look down on our Modern team like this. Have they forgotten that from the 5th to the 7th Divine Arena, it was the Modern team who stopped them from reaching the top 48?

[Japanese Spectator]: Confidence from themselves? They can’t even claim the Chinese national championship, let alone place in the top ten of China. Such confidence will vanish at the slightest breeze.

[Indian Spectator]: Arrogant! This Chinese player is way too arrogant! I hope in the upcoming fifth round they face our Indian team, so they can truly understand what despair means!

…

Spectators from other countries hurled their boasts. Though they were competitors among themselves, at this moment they unconsciously acted as “partners.” Not for any other reason than the fact that China, despite being the third largest country in the world by territory, lacked sufficient strength in the national League of Legends scene.

Therefore, if they “joined forces” to eliminate all Chinese teams, they would have a chance to use the Divine Arena’s power to seize China’s resources or even territory.

Picking on the weak—that was why the world’s nations targeted China so aggressively!

“Thanks to Wang Yaozu of China’s Qilin team for accepting our post-match interview. We wish you luck in your upcoming matches.”

Though the Divine Arena still had many questions, only three could be asked during the post-match interview, so it wasted no time and ended it promptly.

In the next moment, Wang Yaozu immediately sensed the environment around him shifting. Before he knew it, he was already back in the lobby of the national operations center!

“Captain Wang, you’re back.”

Seeing Wang Yaozu’s return, his Qilin teammates rushed over, faces glowing with the excitement of victory.

But when Wang Yaozu slowly lifted his gaze toward the others in the national operations center, he noticed their expressions were strange—part joy from the win, part boundless anxiety for the future.

“Wang Yaozu…”

It wasn’t until his eyes met the national team’s head coach, Chang Guangming, that someone finally spoke.

“Wang Yaozu, first, thank you for leading the Qilin team to defeat the Samsung team and helping China temporarily escape the brink of disaster.”

“Secondly… in your post-match interview, you said you have the confidence to lead Qilin into the top 48, even to the championship. Is that true?”

Chang Guangming asked with difficulty. As head coach, his initial goal for everyone was simply to reach the top 48 again after five years.

***

But he never expected that after only five rounds, the other nine teams would be completely eliminated!

And in this situation, the Qilin team captain Wang Yaozu not only shouted slogans about reaching the top 48, but also set the ultimate goal of winning the championship.

Such a gap left Chang Guangming momentarily at a loss.

“Coach Chang, of course it’s true.”

“If we can’t win the championship, how else could we reclaim the resources lost over the past years?”

Wang Yaozu asked solemnly, leaving Chang Guangming stunned.

Reclaim all lost resources at once?

He had thought about the possibility, but the difficulty in achieving it was tremendous!

“Alright! I believe in you!”

“But don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just making it into the top 48 is a huge success.”

“As for resources, we can reclaim them bit by bit afterward!”

Chang Guangming wanted to tell Wang Yaozu his goal was unrealistic, but in front of all the national team members, he couldn’t bring himself to speak any discouraging words.

So, though he didn’t know how far the Qilin team could ultimately go, he decided to unconditionally believe in and support them!

***

Unbeknownst to him, hearing Chang Guangming’s tactful words made Wang Yaozu a little displeased.

“Coach Chang, I really am not putting pressure on myself.”

“To be honest, over the past two days I suddenly had an epiphany and improved a lot.”

“It’s not just the reckless Sion strategy—I have many more clever tactics in my mind now.”

“Even if I use one tactic per match, I might not be able to exhaust them all before winning the championship!”