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IRAJAS Chapter 104

Jiang Xu's debut

WS, seeing their loss, had to make up for it elsewhere.

But Xiao Shengjing’s rhythm was impeccable.

They took Vanguard, Xiao Shengjing took the Dragon; they surrounded the top lane, Xiao Shengjing surrounded their bottom lane, and even managed to take down one of their towers.

What’s more infuriating was that Jiang Xu, though appearing new, was actually incredibly slippery; they couldn’t catch him even with all their might.

Meanwhile, WS’s bottom lane was noticeably slower, like sitting ducks in front of the agile Lin Lan. Each time they attempted to catch him, it resulted in their demise.

Yet, even with this, WS still believed, “We can’t let Jayce scale up.”

After three ambushes, Jiang Xu’s growth was starting to be hindered; he couldn’t win against Renekton in lane anymore and had to find another way.

He used his attack range to control Renekton firmly, but Renekton still found opportunities to close in. Jiang Xu immediately switched to hammer form to knock Renekton away, stunning each other simultaneously. This was a profitable tactic for Jiang Xu, but…

He frowned, sensing Renekton’s murderous intent. In a flash of insight, he realized why.

Just as Lin Lan returned to the lane, Lissandra had just finished clearing the minion wave and returned home. If WS had left wards behind them in the previous engagement…

In the bush behind him, a teleportation suddenly lit up. Jiang Xu’s heart skipped a beat; it was Lissandra’s teleport! Lissandra had just returned from base with new items, at least two items on her now!

Jiang Xu had just exchanged blows with Renekton and was still in a state of stiffness, with no chance to retreat.

Through the headset came the calm voice of Xiao Shengjing: “Jiang Xu, hold on.”

He couldn’t die yet, not at this moment. Otherwise, his development would be disrupted, and all his previous efforts would be in vain. DT would ultimately be defeated because of his failure…

Jiang Xu grunted in acknowledgment, gritting his teeth as he activated his E skill, accelerating back to the safety of the tower.

Lissandra used her E skill to pass through the wall, catching him in sight and stunning him with her W skill, followed by successive ultimates—Frostbite and Time Freeze—like a death sentence sung softly in his ears: “Freeze!”

The sound of freezing ice echoed, and Jiang Xu knew that he had only one chance to survive.

He clenched his teeth, every sinew in his body tensing instantly. He seized the gap between Lissandra’s W and R, and pressed the flash button!

While Lissandra’s R was a divine skill, stunning the enemy for 1.5 seconds, its flaw was also very apparent: there was a significant animation delay after casting!

At the moment when Lissandra’s ultimate was released, Jiang Xu flashed, simultaneously creating an unsolvable triangle between him and the two opponents.

Even if Lissandra’s ultimate took effect at this moment, it would only trap Jiang Xu under the defensive tower. However, in this position, neither of them could reach him!

The commentator exclaimed, “Jayce has been frozen by Lissandra, and the opponent still has their ultimate. It seems like Jayce is doomed… Wait, he has flashed! Lissandra’s ultimate still freezes him under the tower, but in this position, Renekton can’t output damage! The tower is targeting Lissandra, forcing him to retreat. Can Renekton use flash to enter the tower and kill Jayce?”

The whole arena held its breath. Renekton decisively used flash to enter the tower but failed to instantly kill Jayce. Instead, Jayce, freed from the freeze, pulled away and unleashed a combo.

Yes, after Jiang Xu was released from crowd control, the acceleration gate from his E skill was still active!

He used the last bit of acceleration to create distance, relentlessly outputting damage. Renekton, who couldn’t withstand the dual damage from him and the tower, was forced to use displacement skills to escape.

Jiang Xu swiftly switched to hammer form, using To the Skies! to jump up and deliver a heavy blow to Renekton.

“Bang!” With To the Skies! combined with Thundering Blow, the two types of damage almost instantly descended upon Renekton, leaving it with only a thin layer of health remaining.

He realized that Jiang Xu wasn’t just a paper tiger. When he tried to forcefully take him down, it was already too late. His blade had barely risen above his head when Jiang Xu struck him with a hammer, taking him out directly!

This reversal caught everyone off guard, especially Lissandra. Even though Jiang Xu’s health was one touch away from death, why could he still counter-kill Renekton? Lissandra didn’t have time to ponder this. She trapped Jiang Xu under the tower, waiting for the cooldown of her E skill, preparing to go in and finish him off.

Just as Lissandra was about to make his move, Jiang Xu thought he was doomed. He had already brought out all his strength with no plan left.

Suddenly, a lantern dropped from the sky: “Jiang Xu, come.”

It was Jiang Jin!

Jiang Xu picked up the lantern, instantly escaping from danger.

With Jiang Jin, came Xu Shengwei. Lissandra didn’t dare to confront them head-on, turning to leave. But as she turned, she ran into Xiao Shengjing, who came to support. An Explosive Clask blasted her back, falling to Xu Shengwei’s hands on the spot.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Lan caught the enemy jungler in the wild, lurking in the shadows, unleashing a full combo and forcefully chasing him to his death.

The commentary on the stage was flying fast, still unable to keep up with the rapidly changing situation.

The audience below had already begun to boil, and the barrage surged:

[I can’t believe it. DT’s new top laner is amazing!]

[Wasn’t WS’s top laner supposed to be awesome? How come he struggled so much against Jiang Xu after chasing him recklessly?!]

[I can’t believe he actually survived that.]

[The new top laner not only didn’t disappoint but also performed amazingly.]

[Wow, DT’s strength is terrifying. I feel like they can definitely compete with ENG!]

[Seriously, DT really assembled a galactic battleship.]

[It’s really hard to say who will win the championship in this summer split…]

With this wave over, it can be said that DT has basically won. Even the commentators don’t know how they could lose.

Jiang Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that the sword that had been hidden in the darkness, hanging over his head, had finally loosened for a moment.

During that year sitting on the bench in IB, Jiang Xu told himself countless times: “Don’t lose it, don’t lose it, you can’t lose it, you have to wait for the opportunity…”

He endured the weight of the sword hanging over his head, the burden of a 30-million-dollar transfer fee, gritting his teeth through training, never allowing his hands to stop for even a fraction of a second.

Because he knew that once a professional player’s hands stopped moving, destruction was not far behind.

He was still young; he couldn’t afford to be destroyed.

So he persisted, enduring the maddening pressure, repeatedly bearing the pain of being torn apart, imagining himself as a starting player, and demanding perfection from himself to that high standard.

In his mind, he often rehearsed his appearances, imagining what it would be like to face them, every match, every team fight, and whether to win or lose. He would replay it hundreds of times in his mind… This painful training method became even more agonizing because he couldn’t take the field, forming an inescapable cycle.

But he never stopped for a moment.

What would he do if he were in their shoes?

How would he handle it if he were the one being replaced?

Sometimes, when you delve too deep, you can become obsessed. But in this profession, you have to be a bit obsessed to survive.

When he finally stood on the battlefield, holding a real sword in his hand, all those painstaking rehearsals that had caused him so much suffering erupted at this moment, his thoughts incredibly clear.

If it were him…

He wouldn’t do worse than Wulen.

No, that’s not right. He would do better than Wulen. He wouldn’t lose to anyone.

A surge of conviction exploded in his mind in an instant. He clenched every second, every moment, walking on the edge; calm, in control, in dire straits, ready to counter-attack!

As he leaped up with his hammer aimed at Renekton, the sword hanging over his head finally glimmered in his mind.

It was a sword that could destroy him, but also one that could make him.

Like death itself, silent, nameless, forgotten and gathering dust – that was the sword.

He would grasp that sword, turn its blade, and cut down anything blocking his path!

With the sword raised, he would change the world!

He brought down his massive hammer, catching Renekton’s final blow, and ruthlessly struck him down!

Jiang Xu couldn’t hear any sound, only his own faint gasps.

At that moment, he suddenly had a sensation.

He felt as if he were still sitting on the cold bench at IB, and everything that was happening now was just his desperate fantasy. The sword hanging over his head had never disappeared.

Until he heard his teammates’ voices in his headset: “Nice job, Jiang Xu.”

“Nice, we’re making a profit from this.”

“We’ll help you counter-gank next.”

Their voices were too real, instantly pulling him out of his delusion. It was all real. He really had taken down the sword hanging over his head.

Jiang Xu felt a sense of rebirth, and from the depths of his heart, he smiled. “Yeah!”

The screen began to replay the recent team fight, showing Jiang Xu’s narrow comeback against his opponent. The commentators couldn’t help but remark, “DT really didn’t lose out in that exchange.”

Viewers picked up on the commentators referring to the 30 million transfer fee incident. Initially, everyone criticized Jiang Xu, saying he wasn’t worth it, maybe worth only 500,000, and accused DT of being blind.

After this fight, the tone of the comments changed: [Alright, alright, now he’s worth 2 million, DT didn’t lose too much.]

[The 30 million top laner seems decent. He played pretty well.]

[30 million is the transfer fee, not the player’s value. Don’t know why you guys are fixating on this.]

[Clearly, it was IB’s outrageous demand, but why does it seem like the player’s fault?]

[Jiang Xu is also a victim, you know?]

[Do you think Jiang Xu enjoys being benched?]

[Jiang Xu must have hated IB to the core; bought cheap, benched, then sold high. Is this even humane?]

[Now that DT is willing to spend money to rescue him from his predicament, he’s also willing to devote himself to DT. Both sides reciprocate, only IB is a clown jumping around…]

[Being benched during his peak for a year, it’s lucky that Jiang Xu didn’t go crazy. That’s already fortunate.]

Qi Rong in the audience gradually understood Jiang Xu’s past while helping him retort, feeling a slight pang in her heart.

Such a cheerful person… has actually endured such malicious treatment.

“Rong Rong, what’s wrong with you? DT is about to win, why do you look so unhappy?”

“I…” Qi Rong suddenly felt so sad.

Looking at the person sitting with Lin Lan on stage, her emotions became increasingly complicated.

He could have stood on the same height as Lin Lan and enjoyed the same glory, but he could only sit by the water dispenser, not even worthy of having a name.

Qi Rong: “Being a substitute, was it really that cruel?”

How did she react when she found out Jiang Xu was IB’s substitute back then?

—Wow, you’re so amazing!

—You were actually IB’s substitute. So, have you ever played on stage?

Jiang Xu’s heart must have been bleeding at that time, but he still joked with her with a smile, “With my skills, how could I play? Just let them see me by the water dispenser…”

Qi Rong clenched her lips, suddenly feeling her eyes moistening.

On the big screen, DT, gaining the advantage, kept attacking. Jiang Xu, who was developing well, did not disappoint his teammates. With his cannon, he decimated WS.

With DT taking dragons and towers, and attacking the high ground, WS had no chance of a comeback, only able to watch as their crystal was destroyed.

During the post-match data announcement, the commentators said, “The MVP might be Guts. His Jayce played flawlessly in this match. He was able to develop even in such circumstances, showing great skill.”

But unfortunately, after discussions, the MVP was awarded to Lin Lan.

Because his Ahri was just played too excellently, with a record of 5-0-10 and a terrifying participation rate of 80%. His flexibility and roaming ability far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Lin Lan’s headshot and the prototype of Ahri appeared simultaneously on the big screen. They both looked so good-looking. But paired with this performance, it seemed cruel no matter how you looked at it.

They originally thought Ahri was only responsible for beauty but didn’t expect her to carry the whole team!

The commentators were also surprised, “It really has to be Kiner after all. The opponent clearly picked Lissandra to target him, but just one kill from him left them dumbfounded.”

The barrage was lively as well: [Lin Lan can still shine even with such an unfortunate hero.]

[No one can target Lin Lan. If there is, then I’ll call jungle.]

[Jayce might be strong, but MVP still goes to Lin Lan.]

[Lin Lan: I’ll take your position, MVP is mine.]

[Hahaha, so cruel, but so loveable…]

After this match, all DT fans had confidence in this new top laner. After all, being able to develop even under such targeted pressure, he was completely different from Wu Tianqi.

At this moment, ENG in front of the big screen also felt the crisis.

“Wow, Jiang Xu is even stronger than in training matches.”

“Could he have been hiding his skills during training matches?”

“Are you kidding? He hasn’t played in a year. What would he be hiding? He must be eager to show off everything he’s got to justify that 30 million.”

“Could Jiang Xu… be like Lin Lan, a tournament player?”

As this conclusion emerged, everyone gasped in disbelief.

The so-called tournament player is a typical pressure player. It means that the greater the pressure on them, the greater their ability to burst out, just like Lin Lan.

“Just one Lin Lan is enough for us to handle. Now we have another one. Oh my, I don’t want to play professionally anymore. I want to go home and raise pigs.”

“Hahaha, then I’ll grow sweet potatoes. Let’s get rich together…”

“Come on, grow your own…”

Qi Mo also chuckled along. But as he laughed, he couldn’t help but sigh helplessly. The current DT was a bit too terrifying…

On the big screen, WS continued to target Lin Lan, taking out all of his champions. Lin Lan once again picked Ahri, and the opponent chose LeBlanc to counter. The top lane switched to Camille, while Jiang Xu still went with Jayce.

“Why is WS picking like this again? Aren’t they afraid of losing?”

“Is there a possibility that not targeting Lin Lan will make it even harder to play?”

ENG’s teammates dared not speak again. Watching WS being beaten up again on the screen, they even had the feeling that they were the ones being beaten.

In the second game, WS played slightly better than in the first game. This time they focused more on targeting Lin Lan. But as long as Xiao Shengjing was there, Lin Lan hardly encountered any danger.

Jiang Xu struggled a bit more with Camille compared to the previous game, but he still managed to farm up quickly, faster than anyone had imagined, and once again ended the game in the mid-game.

In this game, there were no major kill outbreaks on either side, and the MVP finally went to Jayce, who stood out in numerous team fights where Lin Lan was targeted.

Seeing this top laner able to step up, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

WS’s top laner has always played very well, which made it very difficult for Xu Shengwei to play, and Lin Lan was targeted from start to finish. Jiang Xu’s stepping up was very important.

This is also why Shi Quan insisted on picking Jayce for Jiang Xu.

Everyone felt the changes in DT, not only the players but also the coaches.

DT has been making up for their weaknesses and actively improving!

As long as they are given time, they will strive forward and amaze everyone.

The barrage intermittently started discussions: [Although DT’s personnel changes are not significant, they just added a top laner and a head coach, but their overall strength has indeed improved a lot compared to the spring split!]

[When Feifei left, I was still cursing him. But now, I think it’s good that he left.]

[Wu Tianqi also left well. Otherwise, Lin Lan would have to play AD one vs four.]

[I can only say DT is blessed. They always manage to turn danger into safety.]

[Having Lin Lan is their blessing.]

[Hiss… ENG and DT have both become stronger. I’m actually starting to look forward to this year’s World Championship…]

[I hope this year’s World Championship won’t disappoint again. The Korean region’s performance last time made me unable to hold my head up…]

[I feel like both ENG and DT are very strong this year.]

[Everyone is getting stronger this year, except for IB…]

The discussion quickly shifted from the summer split to the World Championship, because the summer split would end with the World Championship approaching. In the last two years, the best result for the LPL teams was reaching the semifinals.

How will it be this year?

Back in the resting room, Shi Quan clapped happily for them, “Well done, well done, a great start today.”

Lu Shi was busy handing out phones to each of them. When it was Jiang Xu’s turn, he couldn’t help but say, “Wow, bro, you performed so well today. It doesn’t look like you haven’t played a match in a year…”

Jiang Xu humbly replied, “No, no. I still have a lot to learn.”

Not playing a match for a year was his hidden scar. It was painful to even think about it. But after this game, his mindset changed.

The phone “dinged” and Jiang Xu opened it to see a message from Qi Rong: Me and the girls all think you played so cool today. I might just fall for you if you keep this up.

Jiang Xu chuckled and replied: Really? Then I’ll have to play even cooler from now on.

Qi Rong: Huh?

She sent a shy emoji.

Then Jiang Xu realized something too. His heart was pounding, his cheeks involuntarily turning red as he looked at his phone.

“Jiang Xu, they’re calling you up for an interview.”

Jiang Xu: “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

After the first game of the summer split was over, everyone went back and gradually got into their own tasks; some catching up on live streams, others analyzing the game.

Lin Lan also opened a live stream, even though he didn’t have anything else to do.

He hadn’t signed any contracts, so he couldn’t accept gifts, which left his fans in a frenzy: [Lanbao, you won today’s game. I really want to send you a gift. What should I do QAQ…]

[Lin Lan, hurry and ask the captain to open the live stream. We want to send you gifts!]

[Really can’t sign contracts? Cool Cat seems pretty good actually.]

[Lin Lan’s the first non-contracted streamer with over a million followers.]

[Sob sob, really want to celebrate with you…]

Lin Lan didn’t mind, casually responding, “It’s okay, you can save them for next time and send them then.”

The chat started wailing again. When Lu Shi passed by and saw it, he immediately joked, “I’ll open my livestream, you guys wanna donate to me? After you’re done, I’ll transfer it to Lin Lan…”

Lu Shi didn’t last long before signing a contract with Cool Cat, the most basic kind, where gifts were split fifty-fifty with the platform. At the end of the month, they’d share the revenue from subscriptions.

Although the money wasn’t much, Lu Shi was quite satisfied, and he enjoyed interacting with his fans through live streaming, especially discussing some gossip about Lin Lan.

The fans were teasing Lu Shi and enjoying bothering Lin Lan, flooding the chat with comments like: [No, go away.]

[Get out! Lu Shi, get out! We want to see Lin Lan!]

[Hey, certain streamer, don’t you have your own stream? Hurry up and leave.]

[If we’re sending the gifts to you, Lin Lan probably won’t even see the scraps…]

[Drag this contracted streamer out. We want to see the non-contracted ones!]

Lu Shi wanted to prove himself, “I’m not that kind of person, you guys believe me. I definitely won’t embezzle…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Lan kicked him, sending him away. “Hurry up and roll.”

Seeing Lin Lan being so laid-back in private, fans were going crazy in the chat. They really loved Lin Lan! They loved his chaotic kills on the battlefield! Even more so, they loved his casual demeanor in daily life!

[By the way, Lin Lan, did you really recommend Jiang Xu to DT?]

[Did you two know each other before?]

[How did you two meet?]

[Yeah, I’m curious too.]

Not only the fans were curious, but also Jiang Xu next to him. He unintentionally glanced at Lin Lan’s chat, immediately perking up his ears to hear Lin Lan’s answer.

Lin Lan looked conflicted. After thinking for a while, he didn’t know where to start. “Do you guys know about parallel worlds? Well, I met him in a parallel world…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the chat was flooded with “Don’t believe it, don’t believe it”, drowning out his live stream.

Lin Lan chuckled. Nobody believed the truth, so he had to resort to lies. “Well, it must be fate. We happened to meet while playing games. I happened to recommend him, and he happened to get chosen.”

As soon as he lied, the chat believed it all. [Wow, what a coincidence.]

[Jiang Xu was destined to come to DT to play top lane.]

[Nice. I really like this story.]

[DT does seem to be blessed…]

[Can you elaborate?]

Since they were satisfied with this version, Lin Lan didn’t explain it further. He continued his livestream happily, even adding a thrilling story.

Xiao Shengjing, standing behind him, sighed helplessly. Why was he still so mischievous?

Everyone seemed content with the answer, but Jiang Xu felt a bit disappointed. He felt like Lin Lan wasn’t telling the truth.

In reality, he trained using an alternate account, and hardly anyone in the team paid attention to who he was. Even if Lin Lan had really met him, how could he recognize himself?

So… was it really a parallel world?

Jiang Xu shook his head to dispel the thought. It was too absurd. He must be tired from training to think like this.


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